New here and need info!

Hi all. I am new to these boards and would love all the info you can help me with. First off........I am a 38 year old divorced Mom of three boys. I have battled with my weight all my life. I don't think I need to bore you all with the story........as you've all lived it. My most recent temporary "success" at weight loss was about three years ago when I lost over 80 lbs. I have since gained most of that (about 60) back. Before I lost the 80 lbs. I had checked into bariatric surgery. At that time I needed to travel to Illinois for the surgery! I had my initial consult and gotten approval from my insurance company. All I needed to do was set the date. (I do have different insurance now). However the thought of major surgery and all the side effects made me decided against it. I have since heard many things about the gastric banding. I also didn't realize that you can now do the bypass with a scope. I really like that idea. I am a nurse myself......funny that I am so afraid of surgery isn't it!!! I also like that the banding doesn't seem to have the side affects. I live in the Appleton area and have touchpoint insurance. My bmi is 40.....can you believe I actually am happy about that, lol. Enough to qualify me as morbidly obese! I"ve suffered with reflux, although never been officially diagnosed, I have bursitis in both knees and I'm quite sure now my hips as they are horribly painfull to even lay on my side at times. I get winded going up the stairs and dont have energy at all. All I want to do is sleep. My paternal Grandma had high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes. She lived attached to an oxygen tank for years. And died at the young age of 73 from obesity related problems. I don't want to follow in her footsteps. Yet I've battled with this forever and am ready to do something about it. Any help etc. you can all offer would be so greatly appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read this! Katie

Katie, I can certainly understand your concern. I've been overweight most of my life as well. If you are concerned about a major surgery, maybe you should check into being banded rather than gastric bypass. It's a more safe option, the recovery time is less, and while you lose weight less quickly (which is also a good thing as it gives your body more time to adjust and your skin to try to kick the elasticity in), you do typically lose the same total weight, just over a longer period of time. I had my lap band on 5/11/04, I have no regrets, I had it done in Milwaukee, I was in the hospital for approx 24 hours, and I went back to work just 6 days later. I even slept on my stomach again within the week! My scars are almost completely healed, and I've lost 15 lbs since surgery (3 lbs per week). My family would not have so strongly supported me either if I had put myself at risk having gastric bypass. I didn't feel like I was doing anything that would put my life at risk with this surgery. Please, for your own sake and for the sake of your family, consider lap band as an option. Obviously, this is a choice that only you can make, but I hope you'll at least check into it. Good luck with your weight loss, -Rachel

Katie, I am about 5 weeks out from the gastric bypass. I have lost about 15 pounds since surgery. 26 if you count the 11 pounds I lost on the liquid diet the week before surgery! The best advice I have is to find a support group in your area and talk to those both pre-op and post-op. We have a group here in Eau Claire that meets once a month and it was the most help to me. There is nothing you can't ask in that group. It started out as a post-op group, but they invited the pre-ops to come and listen and ask questions and we just kept coming bac****il we were also post-ops! You can do the same with people on this web site, but face-to-face is still the best. Another thought, sometimes insurance dictates the surgery. GOOD LUCK

Not to bring you down here......but I believe Touchpoint has a direct exclusion against WLS. My company changed from Touchpoint to Lumenos...Lumenos excludes it as well. I am going ahead with RNY and I am now a "self-pay"....surgery is set for June 24th. ---Jojo BMI 37/208 Pre-Op

Hi Katie, I think your first step would be finding out about your insurance coverage and go from there. I am a nurse as well and was unable to handle the drastic nature of the bypass and opted for the adjustable Lap Band. I'm having surgery 6/30... it's a safe and from what I can see effective WLS. If your insurance does not cover... there are a couple of doctors in Mexico that have been doing the gastric banding longer than anyone here in the states. I think the cost ranges from 7,000.00 to 9,000.00 and I believe that includes your airfare... pre-op testing and lodging. If you would like more information regarding personal experience with the Lap Band please visit http://lapbandtalk.com ... everyone is extremely friendly and helpful there. Good luck with everything! Darcy