lapband to sleeve conversion

Hi everyone! So I was banded in 2012 and was so-so successful with it. My heaviest was 235 and I got down to about 198 for my lowest. Over the years the weight crept back up and two years ago I was pregnant. Lost some baby weight by breastfeeding but unfortunately I am back up to 220 :( I’m really hoping the sleeve will be a better tool for my weight loss. My motivation has changed, I am not motivated by my son and wanting to live a better life for him and with him. Next week I have my G.i. Testing when they check out the band and then I am being sent my sleep apnea test package to do my sleep test at home. Since my BMI is 35 insurance will only cover if I have high cholesterol, diabetes and/or sleep apnea. Im pretty sure I have sleep apnea but depending on the sleep test determines if I’m covered. My insurance says if all goes well I could be sleeved in as little as three months! Fingers crossed and I’ll keep everyone posted. I appreciate following peoples journeys to getting sleeved so i will do my best to document the process as well.

Since my BMI alone doesn’t qualify for VSG with my insurance I had to do an at home sleep test to prove I have sleep apnea. Well two weeks later I received the results that I have mild sleep apnea! Normally I wouldn’t be happy that i stop breathing while sleeping but this means I have a greater chance of being approved by my insurance :)

Last week I had my upper GI and they said everything with my band looked fine. Which i knew, i mean I’ve heard horror stories of band slippage or erosion but my biggest problem hasn’t been pain it’s just been discomfort so i consider myself very lucky that it looks good. But honestly I just want this damn thing outta me!! Ughhh! 6 years of this thing I’m over it.
Anyways I have another appointment next week with a dietician and the nurse. So far it hasn’t been stressful at all.. all the appointments are pretty spaced out so it’s not too overwhelming. My insurance requires atleast 3 months so I’m trying to stay busy and keep my mind off it. I will update after my next appt!

Today I met with my nutritionist and went over my food journal I’ve been keeping for the past couple weeks. She made copies of it to keep in my file and said it will look great to my insurance company that i am dedicated to making these changes.

I also met with a nurse practitioner afterward and discussed my lap band and she wanted to take out some fluid to see if my weight changed. She said it would show my insurance that no matter how much fluid is in my band it doesn’t help my weight loss. Well.. she couldn’t even access the port of my lap band since it was flipped! She was trying to access it for about ten minutes then finally we decided it wasn’t happening. Sooo another “good” note for my chart. This will show my insurance that I cant even adjust the band so it really needs to go!

Next week I have my psych evaluation, then the week after that I finally meet my surgeon. Then I have just one more meeting with the nutritionist in 4-6 weeks and hopefully then I can submit everything and fingers crossed get this surgery!