New Here with some questions

Hi everyone,
   My name is Sam. I am 24 and a mom to 2 small boys. I am 5' 8" and am 290-300 (depends on the time of day) and have lost weight in the past only to gain it all back plus some. I have been looking into Lap Band and have some questions. 
   2 Weeks ago I went to my PCP and got a referral and got an appt in October with Dr. Loggins in Lewiston. I am trying to figure out a timeline and how it all works. From my first appt about how long will it take to get to the surgery (assuming i get approved) and what appt are involved? Will I need to do a 6month diet, liquid diet. etc that some need to do? Any answers would be great. Thanks a bunch....and if it matters I have MaineCare. Thanks

~Sam

Hi Sam, Welcome to the board. Good luck with your WL journey. You've come to the right place.

I can tell you my experience. I am also a patient of Dr. Loggins and he is amazing. I go for my 6 month check up on Thursday. My starting weight in October was 232.5. As of this morning I am 161. I had the RNY surgery. My first appointment with him was in October and I had my surgery in February. I was also very pro-active about getting all my appointments done. Feel free to check out my profile. I have all of them listed. He does not require a 6 month diet. What he will ask is for you to lose 10% of your weight so you'd need to lose about 30 pounds prior to surgery. When they submit to your insurance they use your starting weight. I was required to lose 23 pounds and actually only lost 10. Corinne is the nutritionish and she will have you keep a journal for a while. Don't get too excited with her. I only know of one person that she passed after their first visit. Most people have to see her 2 or 3 times before she will release you for surgery. She really wants to make sure you get the jist of things. She's very fair and really cares about us. So that's it in a nutshell. For more details check out my profile.

If you want more info on the lap band Cheryl aka MamaG can help you out. Most of us have opted for the RNY surgery. I know for me it was to keep me in check. I was afraid of a foreign object in my body for the rest of my life plus we dump if we eat the wrong things. This is a very personal decision so make sure you do lots of research. Regardless of the surgery you choose you are doing a wonderful thing for yourself.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Hi there I started this whole process in Sept 07. That was when I had my first consult with Dr Loggins. It took me 4 month from start to finish to have my surgery done and over with. My timing was really great. I know Dr Loggins is super busy now and is booking a couple months out. So you are looking at maybe 6 or 7 months? From start to finish. That is just a guess it could be longer as I am not familiar with your insurance and how easy it is to get approval. The six month diet is kind of ins specific. I only needed 3 months with the nutrishionalist. Everybody goes in needing different tests depending on your own health issues. But I believe everybody needs the pshyc evaluation, and upper endoscopy, and um maybe the leg ultrasound looking for blood clots. EKG not sure what else I needed a sleep study. That is all I can remember at the moment hope it helps.
 Its nice to have you here and feel free to ask away. We are all here to support and encourage you through the process.

Hi Sam!
Congrats on taking this first step on your journey!  I, too, am a Dr Loggins patient and I had the lap RNY in April.  My first consult was Dec 20, 2007, so I was able to get all my testing done in just under 4 months.  I had to have and EKG, chest x-ray, ABG(aterial blood gasses), leg ultrasound, 2 sleep studies, endoscopy, coloscopy, psych eval, and 2 meetings with Corinne, the Nut! I, also, did not need the 6 months of supervised diet, but my insurance did require 5 years of documentation of my weight (which was all in my PCP's records).  I, also, had to lose 10% prior to surgery, which was about 25 lbs, for me, though I lost more.  At the time of your first consult, they will review what testing you might need to have done depending on what is identified on the paperwork they have you fill out and the other questions they ask you.

Mamag(Cheryl) has a lap-band that Dr Loggins put in and I'm sure she'd share her experience with you...her room mate, Jill, is on here too. 

If you are interested, there is a pre-surgical support group tomorrow evening (Tuesday from 7-8pm at 12 High St in the downstair conference rooms). They are usually led by Corinne, the nut, and there is usually a good mixture of pre and post-op patients there.  All are welcome, even if you aren't a Dr Loggins patient (yet).  If you decide to come, be sure and say hi, I'm usually there.

Good luck with your decision......it's amazing how these surgeries transform lives!  Keep us posted!   Ruth

HI, Sam, my dgt is Sam G, anyway, i'm the mamag who had lap band, I dito everything everyone said.  I did opt for the band cause I didn't want my insides removed and decided this was a better choice for me cause of scary things that happend to dear friends of mine.  MY husband would not have supported me with RNY.  BUT, It truley can be a very wonderful tool, but you really need to learn and teach yourself how to do things right, follow the rules and be healthy.  ON the Band side.  Dr. L will try to talk you into RNY. he did me.  I am not sorry I went with the Band, but you need to understand it is VERY hard,  it is just like dieting, I have nothing right now to help me.  I had surgery, as you can see April 21st and up till now have not recieved any help from the Band yet.  I have faith I soon will, with another fill, I can feel a small difference now, but not quite enough to stop me from eating what ever I want.  If you have alot of willpower, to stick to a diet, for another 6 months and not get discouraged, the band is for you.  If you want to start loosing ASAP, and loose fast and consistant, then you should go with RNY.  The girls on here have been wonderful support to me, and understand how depressed and unsuccessful it has been up till now.  I am here to answer anything you want to know.  Every one has different goals.  I was under 40 BMI and wanted this to be as minimal and less invasive as possible.  I did not have Diabetes.  If you want to loose a hight persentage of your weight RNY,  also, there is much information on the band site, here on OH.  Please go there and read, I do love the Maine board, the girls are my buddies, but like they mentioned there isn't much Band info here, but the support is awesome.  Good luck and keep in touch.  Im here for you.

Hi Sam, my name is Linda, I too had Lap band but not with Dr. L ~~  I am very happy I had Lap band. Yes it is much slower in the weight lost but if you really think of it most of us didn't get big in a short period of time so loosing should be done the same way. The skin hanging wont be as bad because it will have time to tighten up. I am not saying that RNY is not good. It is what you choose. The pounds do come off slower But I have change in the size of my clothing. I had high blood pressure, Gerd, diabetic,  high cholesterol, all of which are gone now. I have been told that Dr. L will try to talk people into going with RNY but if Lap band is what you want just tell him. He once told one of my day care mothers that lap band has not been around for too long and that there is not a lot of research done on it and that is just not true. Lap band has been done for a long time maybe not here in Maine (espesically Lewiston) but my Dr. and Dr. Cobean have done hundreds of them. Anyways do what is best for YOU. Good luck and Welcome to this Great Board this is A GREAT BUNCH OF PEOPLE  and it doesn't matter what you choose.... Linda

 Welcome Sam !! 
I'm more of an "outsider"    (but everyone is still nice to me)  ~LOL~ 
seems like (almost) everyone is from the Lewiston-Auburn area...but I'm closer to the Bangor area...and will be going to EMMC.  I don't have a date yet but do have all my pre-approval appt's done...waiting now on my app't to meet with the surgeon.

Whichever WLS you decide on...you have definitely come to the right place for friends, answers and support.  Everyone here is truly amazing and very supportive !!

The best of luck to you as you start your new journey 

deb

Hi Sam !
   I too had Dr. Loggins and had the RNY done on 7/30/07.Feel free to take a look through my profile. I started this journey with my initial visit in February of "07":and (also being a Mainecare "client") was approved prertty quickly once the required testing was done. I COULD of had surgery in early July but had to ask for a later date due to a musical performance I was in later in the month.
   Everyone who has answered here so far, that has Dr. Loggins, is on target with their advice. I can't add much more. As I said, feel free to check out my profile and even pm me if you wish. Like everyone here, I'm willing to help all I can through this journey to a healthier life.

Anne