Dolittle

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I'd be consulting your lap band doctor. 7 years is about the life span for the lap band. Seems patients start having issues with the band and opt to switch to the sleeve. Get it checked out ASAP.

Congrats go to the OCC for recently receiving their re-certification. JCI certification confirmation 2019.pdf

I hate to tell you this, but 99.99% of the patients that need plastics to remove their excess skin will be denied by their insurance providers. Cosmetic surgery is considered an elective surgery. It really depends on your insurer and your doctor. If you and your doctor can build a case to show that the excess skin is causing you all kinds of health issues, you might get it done. Good luck.

Sorry, but 99.99% of the gastric sleeve patients on this forum are self pay. You are in what we call "insurance hell" for weight loss surgery patients. If you're an insurance patient in the USA, you're not going to find much information here concerning the insurance hoops and requirements that may pertain to you. Here's some food for thought, there have been numerous patients that had insurance but still chose the OCC for their surgery and were self pay. Many found out that with all the insurance hoops and other requirements, plus their portion of the deductible and co-pay, the OCC and its award winning bariatric program was a better choice. www.obesitycontrolcenter.com

If you were banded in 2003, my opinion is that your way past the average life of the band. Most patients of that era only got 6 to 10 years out of the band before having issues. The OCC uses the Marriott in TJ for the patients and companions to stay post surgery. For info pertaining to reflux, hernias, etc, contact the OCC and talk to one of the surgery coordinators at 866-376-7849

A tummy tuck is where a plastic surgeon will cut and carve with a scalpel to remove excess skin around your waist line. Liposuction is where a special thin hollow rod is inserted under your skin that has the capabilities to cut and suck fat deposits without removing outer skin. My best advise is to go to Youtube and which a few videos on these subjects.

There's pros and cons to each. The Plication surgery and sleeve are really similar. On the Plication, they fold and sew the stomach to the same size of a sleeved stomach. It can be reversed, or say undone. Sleeve is permanent, you can't undo it. But most have better results with the sleeve than the plication. If you consult your surgeon, they can give you a better perspective and some statistics.

No need to exchange money to Peso's, everyone takes American and Canadian money, especially if your just using it as tip money. Places like Walmart will do an exchange right at the cash register.

I loved my band,, but after years of high maintenance and fills, unfills and acid reflux. I found it time to dump the band and go with the sleeve.

Best to call the OCC surgery coordinators. 1-866-376-7849

The TSA only goes after stuff that will bring a plane down and prohibited items, example, guns, knives, bombs, liquids over 3.4oz, gels and aerosols in your carry on. Protein powder isn't one of those and it isn't a prohibited item. They might check it, but it will end up ok to go. If you are checking a bag, pretty much anything can go in checked. The TSA has examples on their website if you need to be assured.

Call the toll free number 1-866-376-7849 and talk to a surgery coordinator and they will answer all your questions.

Protein powder and supplements will be fine going through customs and airport security. The only thing the airport security is looking for is liquids, aerosols and gels over 100ml in your carry on. If you have anything that's larger than 100ml, put it in your checked bag. If you don't have a checked bag,, don't bring it. Walmart has a lot of travel size stuff under 100ml available.

I had no issues with using FMLA at work. Signed the proper forms at work and it was approved. I don't remember if the employer can ask where your procedure will happen? Your surgery coordinator at the OCC should be able answer that question. They deal with it everyday.

It's never too late to have surgery. There are a lot of patients our age that have chosen to go this route and have had great success. I started this journey back in 2007 at the age of 54 with the Lap-band, then at age 61 switched to the Sleeve. One of smartest things I had ever done.

I really don't hear of patients that need aftercare. If they have an issue they can call the OCC and they advise you from there. Most are very minor and handled over the phone.

Just send your flight info to your surgery coordinator and the OCC concierge. That way your covered. And a week out, email them to get conformation. They should give you a contact number for the van driver too. Just in case you need to contact him when you hit the ground in SD.

Sorry to say, the app isn't ready yet and there's no estimate of when it will be ready.

There's two leak tests. The first is during surgery, they push a little air into your new stomach and run a little water over the stomach at the same time checking for air bubbles. This test is shown being done in some of the live surgery videos. The second is nothing but a barium milk shake without the milk. It can be a strawberry or cherry flavored and you drink it while they watch the fluid pass through the your new smaller stomach on a fluoroscope. Pretty harmless and quick, takes a couple minutes and it's done the last day before you leave for home.

This topic is one that you just don't hear much about. It's mainly because it's an easy surgery and patients have very minor issues with the sleeve. So, not much to report. But I do give you kudos for doing your homework about the sleeve surgery. Picking a great surgeon will be the biggest hurdle. Since you have found the OCC, your on the right track.

Here's my thoughts on this subject. DO IT FOR YOURSELF. There's always going to be positive and negative people in your friends/family circle. Sometimes I personally think its better to not tell anyone. You just never know who in your circle is going to be the Debbie Downer.

My advise is to consult the OCC surgery coordinator. I personally never had a drain when I had revision surgery from Band to Sleeve. And I don't remember being stuck at the hotel. The revision surgery was pretty much identical to the Band surgery as far as recovery. Pretty much an easy peasy surgery.

A lot of these questions can be answered by the surgeons or clinics support staff. And a lot of these post surgery side effects I've never heard of or do I know patients that have ever experienced them. For me and 99.9% of the Sleeve patients I know had a pretty normal surgery with no side effects. The surgery is pretty easy peasy. Flying is nothing out of the ordinary. Pain? Didn't have any except a little post op CO2 trapped in my shoulder joints. The only thing I know that's a pain in the butt is the pre and post op diets. If you read all the horror stories on the internet, take those as maybe fake. A patients success depends on how good your surgeon is and how well you follow the pre and post op diets. So,, pick a great surgeon/clinic and be a good doobie and follow the pre and post op diets. PS,, there's nothing that says you need to tell anyone or you can tell the world,, your call.