lovex5

hey judy you just set off a lightbulb for me. i only have one kidney and get dehydrated really easily. lately i havent been drinking enough water and my red flags are showing up...lightheaded, extreme thirst in the morning AND, leg cramps! curious now if it could be connected.

is ground beef typically a problem? i went to a support group yesterday and a lady there mentioned not being able to eat hamburger. just wondered if that was common or not?

Yvonne, she told you that you are too fat?! Ooooh i dont think so, i'd have told her off then complained to someone in office management.

Yvonne have you tried scott&white bariatric support group? I plan to go this week.

i have really bad acid reflux. i will get a pain in the center of my chest and like clockwork within 10minutes i burp up acid. gross i know. i believe it's called esophogeal spasm. it also hurts and is really scary. so i told the np at my first visit and she asked if i take anything for it. i take prevacid but it doesnt really help. anyway she told me all else i needed was the bloodwork, lifestyle class, mental health and meet with the surgeon before i get a date for surgery. i kind of figured i would need an endoscopy, because i've heard they are usually done in people with bad reflux amongst other issues. i had my blood work over two weeks ago and still no one ever would return my calls/emails about the results. i assume i was negative for h pylori. i'm still curious if i may have an ulcer. sorry, rambling. anyway i guess this is something i can just bring up to the surgeon? or is the surgeon like a last minute right before surgery type thing? i dont understand the lack of communication...this is supposed to be one of the best bariatric centers in the state.

i have heard all the stories from people about how friends (especially women) act afterwards. some of it isnt pretty. i think some people have pointed it out best to me that when someone you're close to loses weight it can evoke different reactions. maybe to them you were the trusty "big girl" friend that they always felt superior to. or maybe you are now smaller than them and it's forcing them to see their own weight problem etc. i think you look great and hope this wont hold you back. you are doing this for you and no one else. if that snotty chick cant handle it then too bad for her. i would have had to bite my tongue to keep from saying something totally childish like "takes a b*tch to know one huh?" hahaa!

is the port placed really close to the surface of the skin, where you can feel it?

ok ladies thanks for the advice. i called my bariatric office friday afternoon and asked if i need anything else besides mental health, and also to get an idea of when i would have surgery. the lady who runs the office is who i spoke to (i had been speaking to someone else every time i called in) and she helped me out. i asked her for those lab results. she got to looking and guess what? all they ran on me was vitamins! she was not happy. she told me she was going to have to see why the np only ran vitamins on me and left everything else off. low and behold she called me yesterday to let me know she had talked to the np and they were going to get the rest of the labs from me. so i did them today and it was like 6 different things including the hpylori that i've been so curious about. i also found out from her that i should be having surgery the first part of july which is certainly exciting. just wanted to update =)

honestly? my insurance will only cover me having a sleeve at a military treatment facility, which makes me uncomfortable. everyone is different though. i'd rather use my own hospital since i have other health issues that they are well aware of, and they are one of the top hospitals in the nation. supposedly my insurance will be covering the sleeve for civilian poviders within a couple years and if that's the case maybe i'll have a revision if i need it...way down the road. i plan to succeed with the band though. good luck in your decision!!

Wow i love all the replies!!! Yall are great =)

I wondered the same, how did you keep it from your husband??

i used to work for bcbs and processed illinois claims how long will really depend on how quickly your pre op appts can be handled, if you need a medically supervised diet, what tests are needed on you as well as how quickly your insurance moves with authorizations. my first appt was april 18 and so far i've had initial lab work and that's it. my lifestyle change class is tomorrow night and friday is my psych eval. they told me that for this particular psych office it takes 2 weeks for results, then i'll have to meet with a surgeon for any further questions/issues/etc. assuming he doesnt need further testing on me they'll call me the next day with a date for surgery. they told me their fastest is about a 5 week turnaround but for some people whose ins requires a 12 month diet it can take them 12+months to get everything done. good luck and best wishes to you!!

i asked the bariatric nurse (who has also had wls) and she said it will be easy and not to stress. when i made my appt i asked the person scheduling me. she said the dr will talk to me for an hour and then have me answer 350 questions on the computer. everyone tells me not to stress over it but no one will answer the question--what do they ask? i mean, do they ask why you're fat or why you want the surgery? are they trying to find out if you're crazy or something? and 350 questions...about what?

thank you all for the replies. what about if they ask about your eating habits? i have gotten portions under control but yes, in my life i have binged a lot. i want the band there to know in my head if i overeat i'm going to have physical issues. should i be honest about that? i'm scared i'll say the wrong thing and they'll keep me from getting it done. one girl who is local said they are making her attend therapy before she can have surgery due to her psych eval results.

don't be embarrassed. i've been told numerous times dr's have seen and heard it all. they are there to help you with your health, not to outwardly judge you.

Yes i'm pre op and no i've never had it before. I also want to get my cholesterol levels. Last time they were barely within normal range and i want to see if they've improved any with a little weight loss.

I had my initial labs drawn thursday morning. Different vitamin levels, cholesterol and h pylori. I really believe i have an ulcer so i'm anxious to get the results. I called yesterday to check. So the girl i spoke with was really huffy and told me they didnt have everything in yet. Does anyone know roughly how long it took to get your lab results back?

i'm not sure how to make the group to be sure it's private. does anyone want to make it then we can all request invites? i belong to a fb support group that have all had wls and it's completely private..i believe several of them have not told friends/family etc and no one can see our posts. i love the support but most of them have had sleeve or rny from what i can tell. would be awesome to get support from other lapbanders!

Are any other secret keepers interested in a private facebook group?

do lapbanders experience the same hair loss as those who have rny or sleeve? makes me a bit nervous to think about it since my hair is already really thin.

i'm not sure what to do. i don't want to tell anyone but on the other hand i'm proud and excited about lapband and want to share the good news. after hearing about people whose friends abandoned them i'm not sure. i don't have many friends to begin with. i also wonder about how my family will react. our other issue is child care. if we get my mom to watch them i wouldnt feel right not telling her what's going on. plus if God forbid something happened in surgery they'd be really upset that i didn't tell them. i think the main reason i'm worried is fear of not losing weight. if people know i've had surgery and then i don't drop weight i'd feel like a loser, and not the good kind of loser.

yvonne74 you have to really stay on top of tricare! they don't like me because i worked in medical insurance for several years and i've called them on several of their mistakes. i had a major surgery a couple years ago and they asked for some info from me that was not needed at all. it took me months going round and round with them for them to finally pay. i hope you can get everything straightened out with them. also, did you ever speak with anyone regarding your benefits for surgery? if so, and they quoted you on a certain amount that they arent honoring you may be able to get that call retrieved. when i worked for bcbs they paid many claims that the reps had misquoted. one girl nearly got fired for incorrectly quoting a bariatric surgery as being covered at 100% of the allowed amount. turns out that person did not even have bariatric coverage on her policy but because she was quoted those benefits bcbs had to pay the bill. good luck to you!

i have not had surgery yet but everything is lined up for me to possibly have it late may/early june. i have lost some weight since jan 1. i was 255 and started cutting down portions to about half what i had been eating. i still ate whatever i wanted including a small dessert (small coffee and 1 gs thin mint or small brownie, etc) some nights. by march 1 i hit 235. so i lost 20lbs in two months just by slashing portions. i was lazy and didn't exercise either. that's all fine and good but my loss has stopped. the lowest i reached was 231 but as of today i'm back at 235. i want the band because although i'm doing good at portion control i still binge on occassion. i'm hoping that between therapy and knowing i'll get sick if i overeat i can overcome this battle and lose the weight for good. but yes i think for some people they can comfortably lose that way. i belonged to a group doing a religious diet that encouraged prayer vs eating a lot. it continued to work for many of them, even those who lost 100s, and they swore no exercise was involved. for me though it obviously stopped working.

great job congrats and thanks for sharing! this is really encouraging to me!

i need to start taking biotin again. i lost a lot of hair after my last child was born in summer 2010. it seems like it just stopped last summer but my hair is still really thin. i'm curious if it would help to cut my hair? i've been considering going short and now may be a good time. i appreciate everyone sharing their experiences!!