peacequeen

Hi Kevin! I'm pretty new around here too. I'm sorry to hear of your troubles and prayers are lifted for you in hopes that the year will only get better. It sounds like you are on the right track. Keep us posted and good luck!

I'm disabled, I have a form of muscular distrophy called Myasthenia Gravis. I can't do anything high impact. This sounds crazy coming from a fat lady but I found a dance that I love..belly dancing. I bought Amira's dvd, the beginning level and she is amazing. The dance is actually designed for people who carry some weight. I'm not great at it yet but I really enjoy it. It's totally low impact and the it focuses on isolated movement. You think your not even working out but you'll feel it the next day.lol I'm not ready for the cute little costumes but look out!lol My niece does Zumba..she carries some weight but she's young and healthy..she loves it. She said it has really toned her butt and legs.

I've been cruising around the site and can't figure out how to upload a profile photo or gallery photos. Help would be so appreciated..thanks! Karen

Thank you, I was able to load a photo! But not sure it loaded my "little profile pic" for the forum. This is one of the hardest websites to navigate!lol

I'm sorry, I haven't had surgery yet so I shouldn't give advice. I know there is a protein infused diet but I don't even know if we can have fruit based anything or soy milk.lol Disregard my comment. Good luck!

I signed up for the seminar online. The registration form asked if I had insurance but didn't ask anything beyond that. I downloaded the "other" forms and filled them out to take to the seminar but didn't have to, it stated they handed them out the night of the seminar and anyone could fill them out there or take them home to fill out if they wanted to. I turned mine in after the seminar was over. When I went to my seminar, they discussed self pay. I know you said you couldn't self pay but if you are considering paying high dollar for private insurance, you might think about self pay or at least talk to them at the seminar about it and what the payments would be. Are they making you turn all the forms in before you go to the seminar? You might talk to your HR lady but more than likely they will tell you they can't do anything. Most who I have heard that fight the insurance companies do that by hiring a lawyer or getting their physicians to send letters stressing how it is medically necessary for them to have the surgery. But those cases are usually people who's insurance pay but may reject a person for some reason. If your insurance doesn't cover bariatrics at all,,I don't think there is much you can do about that. If your parent would do that for you, that would be awesome. I think you can stay on a parent insurance till age 26 but I don't know the stipulations. Try to get to a seminar somehow and talk to someone in person. Don't give up till you've weighed every option. Good luck! I'll pray for you!

It seems since I've started this journey reading, educating myself, gathering all the info I need to get started towards getting the surgery,,I have started obsessing about food BIG TIME! More so than I ever have. I thought I would be so excited that I would stop that and start watching what I eat but I'm not and i'm gaining weight. I feel down and unmotivated. Has this happened to anyone else? If so, please tell me what you did to snap out of it!

Are you lactose intolerant? If you are or if you just have a problem with milk products in general, you might try soy milk or fruit based shakes/smoothies.

I'm replying to myself in hopes this will repost, I still need help. Where and how do I post a profile photo? I checked in my profile and went to the gallery but I still can't figure it out. Thanks!

I'm reading all the posts here and I am crying. I need this surgery so bad and everything for me always goes so wrong. I'm feeling lonely and sad, I feel confused. My emotions are a roller coaster right now and I'm not sure why. The past few years have been pure hell for me. I don't even know where I would begin. I came here to this site all excited, I dove right in to commenting and posting,,trying to make friends for support. Just thinking, I'm going to learn so much about lapband..I'm going to be so sure that this is the right thing to do since I've tried everything else under the sun for my entire life. So excited that finally after years of horrible health that I just might have a chance at being happy and healthy and feel good about myself, that I would show them all and start getting respect. It's bad enough that I have to resort to surgery to get healthy but I can't believe I've let myself get to this. I've been having some problems with my bowels, passing alot of blood so I had to go to my gastro today, looks like I may be having surgery again..yeah, not my first surgery. I've had several and it's caused alot of adhesions in my abdomen so it appears my bowels are being tangled by the scar tissue. I've been in alot of pain, passing blood, irregular bm's, nausea, heart burn. We talked about the lapband, he thinks it's definitely for me but thinks I need to take care of this surgery on my bowels so I'm sure it'll be a while for me now..again. I wanted the surgery earlier last year but was having problems, ended up with my gallbladder being taken out. How long do I have to wait? I haven't even made it to the seminar yet! Has anyone here had surgery for whatever reason but still able to go on with the lapband and if not, how long will I have to wait after a surgery? It will be pretty invasive. I know they will do a scope to check it out then they'll probably go into the same incision where I had my csection and my hysterectomy, disect my organs and remove all the adhesions they can. Oh gosh, I hate even thinking about it. I'm so upset and so disappointed. I'm sorry to go on so much. I'm having a big pity party I guess. Thanks for letting me have this blank space to just lay it all out there.

Thanks to all of you. I'm feeling better now. I actually re read what I posted and am a little embarrassed of my ranting tantrum. I went to the seminar tonight and the surgeon informed me I would be a good candidate despite an autoimmune diesease I suffer from so that was one hurdle. I then asked the nurse about the surgery I may be having and how long it would hold up lapband and she said it wouldn't be long, maybe a month..2nd hurdle. I was told that I had to go through a 6 month pre diet program, that my insurance required it. I found that odd because I called the insurance company prior to going to the seminar and was told what the criteria was and that was not mentioned..hmmm Oh well, guess I'll have to do what I have to do.

Sorry, no my husband is just going for support also. He does have some weight to lose though. We are both middle aged and it just isn't easy. I think he's hoping to gain some knowledge while at the seminar too. I posted a venting session.lol I'm feeling a little down today, I had a doctor's appt and may have to have surgery and this may postpone the lapband. Anyway, I'll stick around the site to keep learning about the band and watch others success that are inspiring me. Gives me hope.

Yes! This is awesome to find someone else in the same stage. My husband and I are going to the seminar in Lexington, Ky on Jan 4th. Glad to meet you on here! Looking forward to hearing how you are progressing. Karen

Bless your hearts! I had heard of it, I realized when you spelled it all out there for me.lol Thanks for the information, I like to be educated : ) I hope the weight loss will help you be rid of PCOS! Victoria, congrats on your 27 lb loss,,that's awesome! I'll put you both in my prayers!

I'm just starting this whole process. I am sheduled for the seminar on Jan. 4th. When I called my insurance company to ask if lapband was covered the lady asked me if this was just something I wanted to have done or were there doctors recommending it. I felt like it was a "trap" question. She said they would require a doctors recorded medical records stating I was morbidly obese and have had this problem for up to 5 years and the doctor who is recommending that I have the surgery. My neurologist is the one who suggested the lapband surgery after I told her I was dieting again and not doing so well as usual..it was casual conversation,,she's a neuro.lol. Do I need to go to my primary care doctor and get recommended for this surgery or do I go through the surgeon that will be performing the surgery that I'll be meeting at the seminar? Do I ask a doctor to recommend it for me or tell them I want it.. I'm a little confused on what I need to do, I'm afraid to say I want the surgery but who here would say they don't want it? I think its something that is necessary in my case.

Kat, I had to take steroids too, I was already overweight,,,then an extra 57 lbs later and I'm checking out lapband. It threw me into an all time high and I remember the mood swings..oh how I don't miss prednisone.lol I have dropped 16 pounds but I'm still at 261 and have struggled so much since. I don't really have a problem getting the records of my weight history, that shouldn't be a problem. I'm more than 100 pounds overweight now, I also qualify due to co morbidities but I have myasthenia gravis, it's a rare autoimmune disease, I don't know if it will be a hurdle for me or not. I am disabled, I have UHC right now and will be getting medicare in April, should I wait and have the secondary or does medicare make you jump through hoops too? I'd almost rather pay some out of pocket than put up with the insurance company headaches. Thank you all very much for your advice and comments. I think I need to get a journal started.lol It's kind of nerve racking to think about it all. I think writing everything down and keeping good records is a very good idea..thanks again!

Just a thought for those on a budget. I've bought and sold on ebay for several years. I know that plus size clothing sell. If you display them and take good photos to present them, you would be surprised how much you can make. A good idea is to sort your items and lot them up in 6-8 pieces each, start a low bid. You not only get them out of your house but you make some money to spend for new clothes. You can also find some good deals on ebay to purchase for yourself. Items you feel aren't worth selling, you can donate or give to the needy. If you donate you get a receipt for your taxes. You can also sell on craigslist and it's free but only covers your area. You can also sell them directly from your home like a yard sale/garage sale during winter. I just like doing stuff like this and have been very successful. Just a thought, some may not feel it's worth the trouble.

Good for you.. that's an awesome accomplishment! Congrats!

Hi Allison, My name is Karen, I live in central Ky. I'm new to the process too. So far I have called my insurance company and they will pay 80% so I feel pretty good about that. I figured that was where I should begin but I'm still a little lost. I am disabled and qualify for medicare in April so I'm thinking of waiting till then to start with the larger part of the process. I am going to the seminar on Jan 4th thought..just so I can learn more about it and talk to the surgeon. I'm just going to keep educating myself, this seems like a good place to start learning. Anyway, just wanted to say hello and I guess we're off on a journey to change our lives one way or another. Btw...what is PCOS? I'm not too good at decoding acronyms.lol I'm here if you ever need to talk! God bless!