Pamela Yvonne

Hey Chimboree, Thank you and congrats to you also, I am very excited but kinda scared too. I will be on the lucky 7s thread. YEEEEPEEEE... Pamela

Hello BJ and marylanders, Today I found out that I was approved for the surgery and my date is July 16 at Holy Cross Hospital. I cannot wait to lose this weight!! It seems like everyone out there is doing great, Keep up the good work if you all have any suggestions or concerns please let me know. I will keep you all posted. Pamela

Hello everyone, I live in the DC & MD area, has anyone out there had the lapband surgery here. If so can you recommend a good Doctor. I have done some research on a couple of doctors and I would like to know if anyone have tried Dr. Marc Rickford at Providence Hospital. If so please let me know. Thanks:help:

Hey Janine, That is o.k. I am having my surgery at Providence Hospital soon I hope. I wish you the best and keep in touch. Hopefully we all can get together and meet one another.:nervous Pamela

Hello Janine, Congrats on your surgery date:clap2: I hope I will be next in the month of June. I have not been to Potomac Hospital support group, I didn't know they had one. I will find out the dates and let you know I will certainly go because I need some support. In the meantime my support is you all (lapbandtalk.com). Janine I live in suitland, md and I go to Providence Hospital to see Dr. Rickford for the Lapband procedure. I am in my last stage before the surgery, I have to do the sleep study and hopefully I will have my surgery date also. I look forward to hearing from you and YES we all need to get together and talk. Pamela

I am with that BJ just tell me when and where;) . Pamela

Hello Chimboree26, I haven't had the lapband surgery as of yet. Far as I know you need to do a pre-op diet to shrink your liver. Dr. Rickford in DC told me I would have to do a pre-op diet for one week so you are good; just for oneday WoW. I spoke with BJ yesterday and she goes to Dr. Halmi & Dr. Tran, she loves them also. BJ has BCBS and so do I but I think every doctor has its own requirements. Dr. Rickford ask for a lot, talking to BJ you are going to Love them, you are in good hands. BCBS is fast so you should be getting banded very soon, please keep me informed. Let us know how your doing. Oh! I live in Suitland, MD not to far from you around a 30 minute drive. Pamela

Yeah, I agree. If you lose quickly you will have to go to the doctors get that excess skin taken off. Oh! Do your band hurt or is it called the portal the one that is near your stomach? Please let me know how your office visit went on Friday too.

WoW, give it some time but when you get your first fill maybe you'll start to feel full. At my doctor's office the doctor nurse assistant told me that one lady got the lapband and her first office visist to get the fill she dropped over 55lbs, I said "I cannot believe that". 55lbs within a month or so, she could not be eating at all. It looks like you are doing great you have lost some weight just keep up the good work and you will be down in no time. When is your next fill with the doctor's?:clap2: pamela

BJ, When I go back to my Doctor at the end of the month and if he tells me I need to lose the 30lbs before surgery I will call Dr. Tran & Dr. Halmi, I mean that:mad: . A couple of my girlfriends that had the Gastric Bypass had to lose weight before they could get the surgery but how crazy is that. I just don't want to travel so far to get fills but If I gotta do it, I will. I wonder how far is Inova from Arlington, VA because I work on Wilson Blvd? Thanks for the information BJ I will let you know but in the mean time do you feel hungry at all?:hungry:

BJ, That is wonderful, I'am going through hell and back and this doctor is asking for a lot. Well, what hospital did you go to again Inova? Did you have any complications after your surgery at all? Pamela

Hello BJ, Did you have to lose any weight before your surgery? I guess every doctor is different because they wanted me to get a Physc evaluation which was $150, dietician was $15 co-pay, cardiologist $15.00 co-pay and sleep study $15 and then I'm done. However, I need to lose 30lbs before my surgery date. Pamela

Hello Danielle, Dr. Rickford didn't tell me that I had to lose 30lbs, but his assistant doctor did; her name is Dr. Tapscott. I feel if I could lose the 30lbs why in the heck would I need the Lapband. I told her I have tried to lose weight on my own but I keep gaining and gaining. I will talk to him about it because she is not doing the surgery and other people on the forum even said they didn't have to lose weight before their surgery. Let me give you Dr. Rickford number 202-448-4080. Please keep let me know how you are doing and what's going on with you. Pamela

Thank you Stephanie, please keep me posted on the outcome. Pamela

I know that's right. I should have driven up there to B-more. Well, my doctor told me that I would have to lose 30lbs before my surgery date. So, I said that is why people are coming to you to help them lose the weight. They don't look at it that way, so she said if I come close to it is great but I need to try to lose some weight. I will keep Dr. Steele in mind if I cannot lose the desired weight they want me to. Pamela

Hello Stephanie, I just wanted to say congratulations and did Dr. Steele put on a diet or drink Protein shakes before your surgery. Do you have to lose 30lbs because that is what they told me? Pamela

Hey Bhabydoll, OK, you have the same insurance I have which is Fed BCBS. If your BMI is over 35 your automatically approved, I called and spoke to a BCBS rep. My doctors office said, I do not need any paperwork to fill out I believe the doctors office does that because that is what they told me. If you are looking for a good doctor in your area, I would call the local hospitals and ask information about who does lapband surgery their. I remember when I started looking I called BCBS and ask which doctors in my area does the procedure and she told me to look under general surgery too. So I was looking at the forum and I kept seeing Dr. Brody name and I did call his office but no one never called me back so that is when I called Providence Hospital and asked Do you have any doctors that does the lapband/gastric there and they told me yes Dr. Rickford and Dr. Fullum and they gave me their numbers. So I would try that first and look up Doctors under this forum and see what other people wrote in your area.

Yes, please let me know how it taste to:hungry: . Dr. Rickford told me he likes for his patients to use unjury this is a Protein shake that taste great and also you can look this up on the internet they have so many flavors and you can also do different kinds of shakes with this. I will purchase unjury when I get my date for surgery. I will let you know what the doctor say on Friday. Good luck to you and don't forget to look Unjury up on the internet and let me know what you think about it. You are going to look fabulous, I am so excited for you. Please keep in touch;) . Pamela

I have BCBS Federal, I spoke with a BCBS representative and I ask her the procedures of getting the Lapband, she said as long is my BMI is 35 or 36 I am qualified right away so I do not have to go to a long and drawn out weight loss program. I did that with Kaiser. Oh! I had Kaiser for six years and they only offered the Gastric at that time, so I was really thinking about it. I had to have supervised visits to the nutritionist for six months also. I completed that and did my therapy with the therapist, Cardioloy and something else I just can't remember then I was ready to schedule my appointment to get the procedure done but something happen to my girlfriend. My girlfriend had the gastric procedure done and she passed away seven or eight months after her surgery. So I said, Hell no I will do it the natural way. Her death really bothered me so I know a few of my girlfriends that had it done and they are doing just fine and one of me girlfriends husband had it done and he looks good and doing just well. So, I said I really don't think that is for me and I asked them about the lapband and they said they do not offer that. So I changed to BCBS because of my daughter and this year I just called to see if I can go to a doctor that prescribes diet pills and then I asked the rep do you all offer the lapband yet? she said as of a matter of fact yes we do we just started offering it this year. So that is when I started hunting down a doctor in the area. I am so happy that they offer this and I really wish you well. Don't be nervous you are going to look good and feel great. My back is really starting to hurt me very often and my knees are too. So the sooner the better for me and Dr. Rickford said I only stay in the hospital for oneday. that is great for me, and he would like for me to stay home for at least two weeks after the surgery. What did Dr. Brody say for you? Good Luck!!

Well, I found Dr. Rickford at Providence Hospital when Dr. Brody office never called me back. I did wait and left a couple of messages at Dr. Brody office but no one never called. So I done some research of Doctors that does the lapband in the DC area and he Dr. Rickford came up and I done some more research on him and read his forum of people that talked very highly of him. So I made an appointment went in and he was so nice, he walked me through everything and a very young nice looking doctor might I say. He was great, we talked for 30 minutes and I asked him a lot of questions and he answered them just fine. I asked him about the liquid diet also he told me he wanted me to do one week of Optifast to shrink my liver. I scheduled my therapy appoint April 11, and my Cardiology appointment April 13, I should be done, I hope, but I do see the Doctor on Friday late that afternoon. I will keep you posted on what they say. What insurance do you have? and did you have to go through a lot of hoops to get approved, like cardiology, therapy, and dietician. Pamela

Hello Mumof2boys, I was just checking on you? I have called Dr. Brody office a couple of times and no one called me back. So I heard he was a great doctor, I would have loved to go to GW hospital. So are you getting ready? do you have to do one or two weeks of liquid diet for Dr. Brody? Please Keep in touch. Pamela

Hello Nancy, I did not get the band yet. I am in the process of getting it done soon... I hope. I have seen my doctor which is Dr. Rickford in DC he told me that I was a good canidate so I have to see the cardiogolist and therapist and they will submit my information to BCBS then he will give me a date so I can get the procedure done. I really cannot wait to get this weight off of me. Well, I go to the therapist on April 11, then I go to the Cardiogolist on April 13 and I will see my doctor on April 13 in the afternoon then I am done I hope..:clap2: The doctor told me that I have to be on a liquid diet for a week before my surgery date because he would like for my liver to shrink before surgery.:hungry: Are u in that process yet?

Hello Nancy, Good luck to you and I wish you well. Keep in touch and let us know how you made out. Where is Dr. Singh and Averbach located?

Hello Pansy and all the Marylanders out there. I finally went to Dr. Rickford, he said that I was a good candidate and the next step is to see a cardiologist and therapist. Oh! They want me to write a letter stating why I would like to have the procedure done and also state all of my diets that I have tried and failed. So after that they would send my information into BCBS for approval. I spoke to a BCBS representative and they told me that they do offer the Lapband procedure and there is no wait time. So I will keep you all posted. Thank you all for the support.:clap2: Pamela

Thank you so much Pansy. Talk to you soon.:clap2: