Lap Band Surgery

[nickiean]

I had lap band surgery & have lost 62 lbs since Thanksgiving. It was the right choice for me. I am so glad I had it done. I have Medicare & Tri Care & they covered it all.

 

[True_Love]

Congrats on the 62 pounds!!

That's awesome!!!

 

[2earls]

Welcome back Nickiean! I bet you look and feel great. Congrats

 

[True_Love]

Yeah I would feel like a million bucks if I lost that much.

Way to go!!

 

[nickiean]

Thanks guys. I do feel better. 

 

[bunnies]

congratulations on your progress.  i'm sure your family and friends are happy to see you'll be around longer now you've made such a dramatic, positive, healthy permanent lifestyle choice.

 

[nickiean]

The only problem I've had is the oxcee 40 time release does not work like it did. My pain doc added 15mg oxceecodone immediate release for breakthrough so I just take it & try to unload the other. Works out much better. I do feel like a new person. I can't believe it when I look in the mirror.

 

[2earls]

The only problem I've had is the oxcee 40 time release does not work like it did. My pain doc added 15mg oxceecodone immediate release for breakthrough so I just take it & try to unload the other. Works out much better. I do feel like a new person. I can't believe it when I look in the mirror.

So the surgery changed the way your meds work for you? How are you doing now that it's been a while? I thought that I was going to have to try this surgery. I was on Prednisone a lot and grew and grew. Strangely, when I take pain meds, my overall health improves. So now I am off the Prednisone and my weight is going down.Scares me to think what may happen if I stop the pain meds.

 

[sadminion]

be careful, my cousin has that sugary and she was addicted to pain meds for yrs..kind of mad they let her go through the sugary knowing they would be giving her them after..

she went on a rampage after and ended up dead due to the meds.. she would take her same dose but because the sugary it did something fast to her...just be so careful , please xx

 

[nickiean]

I've lost 85 lbs & they changed me to oxcee 15 4/ day along with the 40 op which I don't take. I see him again this month & will take about the time release again. I meant talk to him. They are good about working with me. I would love to switch to the 30mg with a couple of 15 for breakthrough. Thanks sad for your concern. I am super careful with my Medes and I don't take near what the give me. 

 

[Leigh Anne]

I had a lap band placed about 7 years ago and lost about 150 pounds.  My doctor did it laprascopically, so I only got a couple days worth of Ultr@am, and only 50 mg of that.  I had like 14 Phenerg@n, too, for the nausea, but I had no need for hard core pain medication.  I had repeated surgeries related to the band over the years, it got infected so it had to be removed, the port flipped over backwards & the MD couldn't access the band, so another surgery for that, then my port started eroding through my skin this past spring, so I had surgery to remove the port.  I went back after three months to have the port replaced, and he said the entire band was infected and he removed the entire thing.  I was so pissed!  Now I'm too thin to qualify again for the surgery, I have no triggers to tell me anymore when I'm full, and I've started to pick up a few pounds which is completely freaking me out.  I'm watching everything I eat and counting calories, but I'm on Addys for depression, and instead of making me not want to eat, I feel like I'm starving all the time.  So, God bless my psychiatrist, he went down on the Addys and added Phenterm!ne which is a diet pill that has worked wonders for me in the past.  I had asked my GP for them my last appointment, & he said my BMI wasn't nearly high enough to justify him prescribing a controlled substance.  But my shrink said he's used it in the past for off-label use of depression, so I got a real script!  I got on this forum trying to find a legitimate place to buy these because I got ripped off so many times getting fake meds, and my doctor ended up giving them to me!  I have a $25 co-pay because I don't have pre-approval from my insurance company (and won't get it because I'm not heavy enough), but I spent that money gladly--I wasted hundreds getting fake pills!

 

[Leigh Anne]

be careful, my cousin has that sugary and she was addicted to pain meds for yrs..kind of mad they let her go through the sugary knowing they would be giving her them after..

she went on a rampage after and ended up dead due to the meds.. she would take her same dose but because the sugary it did something fast to her...just be so careful , please xx

If she took the same dosages she was taking prior to the surgery, then she lost weight, then her tolerance would have gone down.  Don't know what she took or how much she lost, but when you're addicted, what you need to get high, and the amount that will overdose you can be a tiny amount.  Your metabolism is different after the surgery, too, and her stomach absorption could also have been affected.  Her doctor's should have warned her to be more careful, I am sorry for your loss.  That must have been terrible.  I just heard on the news that people who have lap bands and bypasses have a much higher rate of depression and suicide after the procedures.  So sad...

 

[Leigh Anne]

The only problem I've had is the oxcee 40 time release does not work like it did. My pain doc added 15mg oxceecodone immediate release for breakthrough so I just take it & try to unload the other. Works out much better. I do feel like a new person. I can't believe it when I look in the mirror.

So the surgery changed the way your meds work for you? How are you doing now that it's been a while? I thought that I was going to have to try this surgery. I was on Prednisone a lot and grew and grew. Strangely, when I take pain meds, my overall health improves. So now I am off the Prednisone and my weight is going down.Scares me to think what may happen if I stop the pain meds.

Steroids can cause enormous weight gain, especially when you take them for an extended period of time.  Watch out with your pain meds--as you lose a significant amount of weight, your tolerance to the meds may go down....be careful!

I had lap band surgery & have lost 62 lbs since Thanksgiving. It was the right choice for me. I am so glad I had it done. I have Medicare & Tri Care & they covered it all.

I was approved by my insurance for the lap band when I had it because I had sleep apnea.  It covered everything.  The insurance companies have wised up--they have finally figured out they can shell out 15 grand or so now, or 100's of thousands to treat your diabetes, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, knee and hip replacements, back problems, etc. etc. etc. in the future.  I have encouraged a friend of mine to get it done, but her brother had it done and it really hasn't helped him.  He lost about 100 pounds, but still weighs about 330 lbs.  But he drinks sugary drinks, eats ice cream and popsicles all the time, and the doctor's won't tighten his band any further because he has been so non-compliant since the surgery.  It was a life-saver for me, though.  My acid reflux got worse, & I would puke quite a bit after a tightening until I figured out how much I could hold and changed the way I took bites and chewed, but it was all well worth the effort.  I had to have it taken out a few months back because I lost so much weight, my access port poked through the skin on my stomach just a little bit, but when it rubbed against my pants waistband, it created a small pressure ulcer, which got bigger, which got infected...Ended up losing the whole thing.  Desperate to have it back, but too skinny for surgery to be approved now.  I think my doctor took the whole thing out instead of just the port because he told me I looked anorexic.  Such BS.  I'm about 5'7" or so, and got down to low 130's--thin but hardly undernourished.  I was wearing a size 6 or an 8.  Now my 8's are tight, and I have bought some size 10's.  Now I'm taking Phenterm!ne for "depression" to help decrease my appetite.  I have heard about Asenl!x (cl0benzorex) or 0becl0x, but can't find a site on here that seems to carry them--well, I did find one, but he charges a fortune.  So I guess I'll stay on the Phen and keep taking the OTC Camb0gia 1600 mg three times a day.  I'll be damned before I let myself get as big as I was before.  It was miserable!  Best of luck to you!  Leigh Anne

 

[nickiean]

I have lost 97 lbs & it was the best thing I have ever done for myself. I spent a year researching any info I could. I wanted to be mentally ready because I didn't plan on failing. I was so ready to reclaim my body. I would do it again in a heart beat. Their are challenges with finding foods that you can tolerate & the ones you can't . You have to chew you're food until there are no bits left unchewed as it can get stuck & then it will come back up. You can only eat small amounts & then you're done. No drinking while eating & then you have to wait at least 30 minutes. It will be a year Thanksgiving as I had it done the day before & went home Thanksgiving day. Everyone kept saying  why would you not want to wait so you can enjoy a last big splurge. I told them that's what got me in this place was all the splurges I convinced myself I deserved them. I was my own worst enemy when it came to foodI now don't stay hungry all the time, I don't sit & think what can I eat next, & best of all (besides not having to shop plus sizes)  is that I feel so much better. I preferred the lap band because it is adjustable. You can have it tightened if you need or if is too tight you can have them take some of the fluid that inflates the band out. It is not for everyone & you have to be ready to make a lifestyle change. I was so ready.Sorry about the long post but I am just so grateful the weight off I get carried away. Best of luck to you. I feel the same way you do. I never want to ever be that way again. I was able to cut out my Prilosec,IBS meds,& my Celebrex. I will always have a bad back I have severe degenerative disc disease, knee replacement, & neck issues but the weight loss sure has helped. My pain management doc is very generous with my meds so that helps . I only wish he would switch my oxcee 40 to the immediate release. He does give me the 15mg 4x a day for break through so I just take those. Good luck to you also. Nickiean

 

[nickiean]

I am lucky as my husband is retired Military so with that & Medicare we have no co- pays. That is challenging  because they add up. I took phentermine many times in the past. I guess there wasn't much I didn't try to lose the weight. I also have joint issues. I rally am fortunate to have such a good pain management doc. So many people with such bad pain with nowhere to turn. It's sad.

 

[Pacman22]

i wouldn't do it my best friend regretted it it ended killing him Rip Ralphi