[flowergoddess]

I'm waiting on insurance approval for lap band surgery hopefully to be scheduled in January. I'm about 75 lbs overweight so I don't meet the weight requirement, but I have several health problems (insulin resistant, PCOS, arthritis, hbp, sleep apnea..and i'm only 30) along with a bmi of 35 so I'm still a reasonable candidate. I'm really excited about this surgery as my health will greatly benefit and the extra weight attributed to the insulin resistance will come off.

My surgeon told me not to get preg until one year post op. I laughed at him. He told me that when the extra weight was dropped, PCOS would reverse, as well as insulin resistance and I would regain fertility. Has anyone else ever heard this or experienced this?

Hum......

[kiwi]

Wow, this sounds like a friend of mine could have written this post three years ago! She had PCOC, uterine cysts, lupus, thyroid issues and diabetes and was closer t0 150 pounds overweight. She had bypass surgery and about a year and a half after, became pregnant with a beautiful baby boy Almost all of ther other issues resolved themselves once she was at a healthy weight.

This half of my post may seem negative, but it's a topic near and dear to me so I have to at least pitch it out there... Your doctor knows what he's talking about asking you to wait. Your body goes through so much so fast and a pregnancy on top of that would be so hard on a person. I feel I must tell you about my MIL who two years after GB surgery was in the hospital on a ventilator for two weeks because of some complications from the surgery. Not complications like something went wrong, but just a complication due to her body changing so rapidly that would have been fatal if undetected. Not that she's trying to become pregnant, but if she were, well, I don't want to think about that too much if you kwim

Seriously consider the risks with this type of surgery. The procedure itself is not the only danger. I have no idea what you have tried as far as weight loss, but please keep surgical intervention as a last resort.

So, my bottom line is that I hope you have great success in your weight loss and that no matter how you go about it, you are as safe and healthy as possible.

[flowergoddess]

Sarah,

Thanks for your post. Because of the risks of GB, I definately decided against it. I'm not sure if you're familiar with lap-band, but it is a much safer alternative. It's also adjusted with saline so you can't lose too quickly and if you get preg, you can have it loosened to have full capacity to your stomach. GB just had too many risks involved and also, I'm not overweight enough to have it anyway. Just the thoughts of that surgery scare me to death.

I'm really glad that I've had a full year to think about it. My insurance company makes you do 12 months of dr supervised weight loss before they'll consider covering it. My last weigh in was in dec.

I don't want to get my hopes built up about getting preg and I don't want to go through infertility again...I've actually always felt more compelled to adopt anyway, however, it will be interesting to see what happens. I sure wouldn't be disappointed!

Thanks again for your input,

[Mommy Kim]

I Just Wanted To Tell You About My Experince With Pcos. I Hade A Son 10 Years Ago Long Before I Was Over Weight. My Husband And I Tryed To Concive For 5 Years Battling Pcos. We Went Thru Many Thousands Of Dollars And Nothing Ever Came Close For Us. We Gave Up And Moved On With Our Lives And Much To Our Surprise My Youngest Came Along All On His Own. My Doctor Said It Was Due To My Weight Loss. It Caused Me To Ovulate Out Of The Blue. So There Is Very Much A Conection To Pcos And Weight. Best Of Luck To You On The Lap Band Surgury. Could You Pm Me And Let Me Know How Much This Surgury Is I Have Been Thinking About It. Also If You Could Tell Me If You Had Problems With Your Insurace And If So What Did You Do.
Thanks For Your Post,
Kim

[numbr1dbcksfan]

My friend who is like my surrogate mom has a lep band... she actually flew to mexico city to get it done because it was MUCH cheaper...and just as safe. Anyway... she has had saline added a few times and she seems to have tapers off as a nice weight... only thing is that she has to be very careful what she eats... like bread... she says no matter how good you chew it it likes to ball up and not pass through the hole... (it is like an hour glass) She has to throw up a lot whenever she has it adjusted.. hard to guage how much she can eat... she eats soup a lot.. she seems healthy though....

[flowergoddess]

Kim- the surgery itself is between 17 and 23k. however, if your bmi is over 35 (i think) and you have certain medical conditions either brought on or aggrevated by weight, you can be a candidate. we have bc/bs and our insurance will pay 90%. i did have to do a one year physican supervised weight loss program and attend an informational seminar on the procedure.

the group's website i'm using is www.gastricbandinstitute.com

you do also have a tendancy to throw up if you eat too much or too quickly. i think it varies from person to person though. my best friend had it done 1.5 years ago. has lost 55 lbs and has never thrown up. she loses about a pound a week, which is what my surgeon's goal is for me as well.

[numbr1dbcksfan]

Oh man.. I know she paid a lot less than that... hmmm.. let me ask her...

[numbr1dbcksfan]

OK just asked. $9000 plus airfair... so something to think about is you cant get the insurance to go through...

[Sleeplvr]

I was thinking about getting lapband surgery. I'm under the required BMI but meet the requirements due to health issues. My BMI is over 35 but less than 40. I've contacted a clinic in the Atlanta area but haven't found out what it will cost yet. They said that most insurance companies will pay for it you just have to know how to ask.

17k to 23k seems kind of high for lapband. What do they charge for Gastric bypass?

[BrandyHagz]

My bypass cost $48K - that is without insurance. Because I had insurance and they covered it (less my copay) it ended up being less than $500 with all the required Dr. visits, labs and tests pre-op and all of my post-op check ups.

I am one year post-op Open Roux-en-Y - I've got a scar that runs from just below my breastbone to by navel - not that it matters, being fat did so much damage to my stomach skin that I'd never wear anything that showed it anyway

[Kindreds]

In Mass - BCBS is refusing to pay any hospital for these types of surgery unless they do over a 100 per year and have a low complication rate. I would say research where you plan to have the procedure very thoroughly. Ask how may they to per year, ask their complication rate. Most states are now tracking complication rates by DRG codes (these are the codes they explain the reason for admission) May not be perfect - but this is really life or death. Some states have closed programs because fo complication rates. Your state may not be as active as some when it comes to tracking quality so you may have to do some digging on your own(Mass is a highly regulated state - often a plus for consumers)

[flowergoddess]

sleep...my bmi is only 36, but with medical probs, they will cover 90%

other than the standard prerequisites for being a candidate (over 100 lbs? or bmi of 35 or higher plus weight related medical issues) my insurance requires one year of dr supervised diet plan. all insurance plans require different things, i think.

[ucme4dk]

(((((Brandy))))) my fellow GB forum friend! I had GB in May 2004. I went in to the hosp. tues am and left thurs pm, and had zero complications! I had all 3 of my kids back with me by Saturday. They were at the time 4 mon, almost 4, and almost 7. I have lost a little over 100 pounds and it was the best thing I have ever done for myself first, and my family second! I was only 29 when I had it and was experiencing health problems of a 65+ year old. i live in Dallas and my surgeon here is world renound. He is a big pioneer in this field and has done over 4000 with very minor complications and no deaths. There are horror stories out there of surgeons who lack adequate training and experience. My best advice to you would be to do you research, research and more research! My surgeon swears that Lab band patients usually end up in the long run with more problems than GB. Best of luck to you sweetie, and we are all here for you! Keep us posted! here is the proof....
All the best,

[ucme4dk]

one more before

[ucme4dk]

now that you survived that here is my whole family now...well Oct
Take care,