A place for bandsters in their 60's

I just started a new thread under the 60's threads called New 60+ Thread. Maybe that will get folks over to that one??!

That should do it. The only reason there was no thread under 60's is because nobody started one.

Thanks Denise

I am considering lap band in three months and am interested in hearing from people who are over 60. Also people who have sleep apnea, IBS or back pain and how the surgery helped.

Also medications and if the liquids work ok.

Hi, Della,

This site is kind of hard to find.... try this one: New 60+ Thread
It's under the age specific listing and we're trying to all gravitate over to that one. They revamped the whole LBT site a couple of weeks ago and our 60 thread wasn't there.

I had my surgery about 6 1/2 mos ago and I'm doing great. I'm feeling good, losing consistently, etc. I have high BP and cholesterol, joint problems, sleep apnea. BP seems to be down, I'm walking better.. not so much pain, etc. Hoping to get off one of my BP meds when we go home in the spring (we are "Snowbirds"), and maybe get rid of the CPAP machine!

This is a great place to get your questions answered. What did you mean about the liquids? Supplements? I take quite a few meds... BP, cholesterol, etc. Don't have any trouble getting any of them down. I have always had trouble with calcium, so I found some chewable...calcium citrate chews... Rite Aid sells them, and liquid sublingual B-Complex (Target or Wal-Mart). I like to take fish oil supplements and they are quite large, but I found some smaller ones, also at Rite Aid, GNC brand and they go down fine. I use Centrum Silver chewables for multivitamin. Haven't yet found Vitamin C that i like. I don't like the chewables.

I'm 63 and am starting my 6th week and am down 25 so far. (310 to 285)

I think I finally have some restriction. I had the fill 2 days before I got restriction. Weird! I have heard that happens to others too. I wonder why. I'm thinking that maybe it stays in the tubing and takes a while to work it's way into the band. What do you think?

Here's something I think you can relate to:

>What Made Me.....Me
>
>Long ago and far away........In a land that time forgot,
>Before the days of Dylan,.....Or the dawn of Camelot.
>There lived a race of innocents....And they were you and me,
>Long ago and far away.........In the Land That Made Me Me.
>
>For Ike was in the White House...In that land where we were born,
>Where navels were for oranges.....And Peyton Place was porn.
>We learned to gut a muffler.......We washed our hair at dawn,
>We spread our crinolines to dry...........In circles on the lawn.
>We longed for love &romance......And waited for our Prince,
>And Eddie Fisher married Liz....And no one's seen him since.
>We danced to "Little Darlin".....And Sang to "Stagger Lee"
>And cried for Buddy Holly......... In the Land That Made Me Me.
>
>Only girls wore earrings then......... And 3 was one too many,
>And only boys wore flat-top cuts.....Except for Jean McKinney.
>And only in our wildest dreams.........Did we expect to see
>A boy named George with Lipstick......In the Land That Made Me Me.
>
>We fell for Frankie Avalon,......Annette was oh, so nice,
>And when they made a movie.......They never made it twice.
>We didn't have a Star Trek Five.....Or Psycho Two &Three,
>Or Rockey-Rambo Twenty...... In the Land That Made Me Me.
>
>Miss Kitty had a heart of gold........And Chester had a limp,
>And Reagan was a Democrat.......Whose co-star was a chimp.
>We had a Mr. Wizard........But not a Mr. T,
>And Oprah couldn't talk yet............In the Land That Made Me Me.
>
>We had our share of heroes........We never thought they'd go,
>At least not Bobby Darin...........................Or Marilyn Monroe.
>For youth was still eternal.........And life was yet to be,
>And Elvis was forever...............In the Land That Made Me Me.
>
>We'd never seen the rock band......That was Grateful to be Dead,
>And Airplanes weren't named Jefferson .....And Zeppelins were not Led.
>And Beatles lived in gardens then.......And Monkees lived in trees,
>Madonna was a virgin................In the Land That Made Me Me.
>
>We'd never heard of microwaves.......Or telephones in cars,
>And babies might be bottle-fed......But they weren't grown in jars.
>And pumping iron got wrinkles out.....And "gay" meant fancy-free,
>And dorms were never coed...........In the Land That Made Me Me.
>
>We hadn't seen enough of jets.....To talk about the lag,
>And microchips were what was left.....At the bottom of the bag.
>And Hardware was a box of nails.....And bytes came from a flea,
>And rocket ships were fiction.........In the Land That Made Me Me.
>
>Buick's came with portholes...... And side shows came with freaks,
>And bathing suits came big enough.....To cover both your cheeks.
>And Coke came just in bottles......And skirts came to the knee,
>And Castro came to power..........In the Land That Made Me Me.
>
>We had no Crest with Fluoride......We had no Hill Street Blues,
>We all wore superstructure bras.....Designed by Howard Hughes.
>We had no patterned pantyhose.....Or Lipton herbal tea
>Or prime-time ads for condoms.......In the Land That Made Me Me.
>
>There were no golden arches.......No Perrier to chill,
>And fish were not called Wanda.....And cats were not called Bill.
>And middle-aged was 35........And old was forty-three,
>And ancient were our parents........In the Land That Made Me Me.
>
>But all things have a season.....Or so we've heard them say,
>And now instead of Maybelline.....We swear by Retin-A.
>And they send us invitations..........To join AARP,
>We've come a long way, baby.......From the Land That Made Me Me.
>
>So now we face a brave new world.....In slightly larger jeans,
>And wonder why they're using.......Smaller print in magazines.
>And we tell our children's children.....Of the way it used to be,
>Long ago and far away.......In the Land That Made Me Me.........
>
>
>

ATTENTION: DO NOT look at the ads in the Sunday paper today!!! They are FULL of CHOCOLATE TEMPTATIONS!!

Think THIS:

NOT THIS:

I drink choc slim fast every morning and I'm actually sorta tired of choc. Never thought I would say that!

Isn't that great!! I don't care much for sweets anymore either. I don't want to waste my calories on stuff like that.... I want my meat/fish and veggies! We are truly making lifestyle changes!! Hooray! I looked at all those ads yesterday and felt bombarded with chocolate!! But, you're right, it doesn't really tempt me now!

I am at the beginning stage of researching this surgery - and impressed with how successful and happy most band patients seem to be. I understand Medicare pays for the surgery. How 'bout the fills, follow-ups, etc.? How long does it take for the okie-dokie from the Medicare folks? I am attending the informational seminar at the nearest "Center of Excellence" next week - BUT just can't wait for some answers!

Once I decide I'm ready I want to move forward. Sounds like I will have to learn patience again...

Everyone's experience is different, but for me, Medicare was a breeze. My doctor's office said from the beginning that it wouldn't be a problem... they were a Center of Excellence, my BMI was high, I had multiple co-morbidities. They took care of everything. They didn't require supervised diet... I had a long history of that & probably my primary care doctor's records documented that. also, they did not require a psych eval, which surprised me because most have had to go through that. So my first appt with the surgeon was the first week of May and my surgery was July 20. I haven't paid anything except a $200 co-pay for the surgeon. I have Tricare for Life secondary because my husband is retired military. They paid all the co-pays except for that. I haven't paid anything for fills so far either. One strange thing that happened is that Medicare rejected the hospital portion of the bill... $17K... absurd since I didn't even stay overnight... So I called them about that and they told me the hospital had coded it incorrectly and if they would change the code and resubmit it they would pay it. But when I called the hospital they told me my balance was $0 and they'd already written it off!! Huh?? So I guess they didn't want to get paid! Go figure!

Hi Joann, Medicare pays if you go to a center of excellence so be sure you ask if they are before you start working with any Dr. They don't pay all of it but my AARP supplemental ins. pays the rest and yes, they pay for fills etc. There was no wait for medicare to ok it but it was a 6 mos process getting all the pre=op tests etc done. Good luck

Thanks so much for your replies. I'm happy to hear that good news - maybe I'll be able to hang on! I had heard about the Center of Excellence requirement and am scheduled for an informational seminar at the one closest to me next week. I looked up info on the Medicare/CMS website and it was pretty straightforward as far as whether or not it is covered - written in gov-speak of course, so there was still that concern... I appreciate your information and encouragement.

Joann