Band Chick

Portland, Oregon burbs

:whoo: CONGRATULATIONS! That's great news!!! :clap2: See ya in Bandland!

(I'm not banded yet) The band is a tool, not a cure. Here's how I think of it and explain it to the few people I tell about it... Say you're standing in the store and see a fun item you weren't planning to buy and is a bit expensive. If you have the cash in your pocket it would be easy to buy it. If you have to leave the store, drive to the bank, go inside and withdraw the cash, and go all the way back to the store, it would make the purchase easier to resist and you probably wouldn't bother. That's how I look at the band. Right now it's easy to drive into a drive-thru and eat bad food. With the band I would REALLY have to work at cheating over and over and over. It would be easier to have something small and be done with it. I'm too lazy to bother cheating. LOL!!! A friend of mine is banded and says that another great thing is that if you are craving say ice cream, you can have it and be satisfied after only a few bites. That rocks! :whoo:

What are "don'ts" of being banded? No coffee, alcohol, etc? I know there are things that some people do or don't tolerate that may be different, but I was more wondering about things I won't be allowed to ever eat, drink or do with the band. What are the rules?

I'm curious about travel too. The hospital is only about 50 miles away but it's on the other side of a major city-- lots of traffic. So, I will be in the car 1-3 hours, depending on time of day and traffic accidents. I'm worried how awful that car ride might end up being. Good post.

I am getting ready to go through all my tests. I strongly suspect I have sleep apnea. If I do, how will this effect the LB process? Thanks. ~Kathy

Is getting the Lap Band worth all the risk, side effects, complications and major overhaul to your daily life? What happens when you get sick with the flu? Is it worse? Thank you, for your help.

Thank you for sharing that. Very interesting. It explains why my hubby can plow through a big bad of popcorn and still have room for a meal less than an hour later. I'm not a big popcorn eater, but everyone else in our family is. Thank you! That answers my question!!! That helps a lot. Thank you for sharing so many personal details. Mentally I am trying to prepare myself for many of those same kinds of things, but I'm sure there's no way to really do the work until I get to that point. One of the things I had to go through was "do I really want to give up all these yummy things and behaviors?" The answer I came up with is "No, but I have to one way or another in order to lose weight and live. So, maybe it will be easier with the LB that without." Thank you everyone! This is such a great group!

Why am I so fat????!!!!! Why are other as big as me and bigger? It's not like I am enjoying a single minute of this. I am so miserable and can't function in life normally-- like even walking and breathing. Why can't I just stop bending my elbow? Oprah says you won't be able to keep the weight off until you find the reason you over-eat. I can give a million reasons why I eat. I'm very busy with five kids and business. I love the taste of food. I eat to Celebrate. I eat when I'm emotional. I was raised in a house and society that was very superficial and pressuring. Bla, bla, bla... BUT I'm miserable this way and I have been trying to stop this for years and can't just stop overeating and lose weight. WHY? Is it just lack of willpower? Is it genetics somehow? Is it a mental illness? It seems like it should be so easy to not get fat or lose weight. Why is this so hard? I work so hard and fail every time. I would LOVE to hear your insights into this! Please post any thoughts you have.

I like the real thing best, of course, but am perfectly fine with imitation and simi precious. I love my wedding band-- a diamond rose with two saphire leaves. With my current lifestyle being so busy with five kids and our own business, I worry too much about jewelry being damaged or lost. Plus, my financial priorities don't include jewelry at this time-- kid's clothes for summer, new bikes, swimming pool, Lap Band, etc. There are many seasons of a woman's life and eventually diamonds will be more a part of one of those seasons

I thought someone might find this helpful. It's the approval guidelines for BC/BS Regence. Even if this isn't your ins. co. it's a good guideline. Policy/Criteria 1.Gastric bypass using a Roux-en-Y anastomosis with an alimentary limb of 150 cm or less, or adjustable gastric banding, consisting of an adjustable external band placed around the stomach, may be considered medically necessary in the treatment of morbid obesity when all of the following criteria are met: A.BMI greater than or equal to 40 kg/m2; or BMI greater than or equal to 35 kg/m2 with at least two of the following comorbid conditions which have not responded to medical management and which are generally expected to improve as a result of obesity surgical treatment: 1)Hypertension 2)Dyslipidemia 3)Type 2 diabetes 4)Coronary heart disease 5)Sleep apnea B.Documentation of active participation for at least one year in a structured, medically supervised nonsurgical weight reduction program, meeting all of the following criteria: 1)Medical supervision must be provided by an MD, DO, NP, PA or a registered dietitian under the supervision of an MD, DO, NP, or PA; and 2)Participation must occur during at least 12 consecutive months within the 24 months prior to the request for surgery; and 3)Documentation must confirm structured oversight and active participation, including: a.At least four visits over the course of 12 months, occurring approximately once every three months; and b.Assessment and counseling concerning weight, diet, exercise, and behavior modification; and c.Either weight loss or no further weight gain over the course of 12 months. C.Evaluation by a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist documents the absence of significant psychopathology that can limit an individual's understanding of the procedure or ability to comply with medical/surgical recommendations (e.g., active substance abuse, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, uncontrolled depression); and D.Documentation of willingness to comply with preoperative and postoperative treatment plans; and E.Age greater than or equal to 18 years. Surgery for Morbid Obesity

I found this link. You may find it helpful: Surgery for Morbid Obesity

Hi! I'm in Newberg, OR. I'm currently dealing with insurance and finding the right Dr. Welcome to the boards!

Hi. I thought I would share this link. My appologies if it has been posted before. Surgery for Morbid Obesity

I have a silly dream that I thought I would share with you. I dream of being skinny and in shape enough to be a roller derby chick and join the Break Neck Betties What is your skinny dream?

I've been hoping I won't have this problem too (having to lose weight to get under 50 bmi). But I'm trying to prepare myself that if I do I can lose 40 lbs once with a big reward at the end, that I can do! I just can't lose 200 lbs all by myself with no extra help. Just think of it as a short term thing. I hope that helps some

That's it! You're absolutly right! O.K. So now I need to find healthy ways to deal with stress. Any advice? What do you do? I'm not yet banded. I'm preparing to make this 100% successful.

I'm new and may have totally misunderstood. The movie I am referring to is the one at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f73/two-live-lap-band-surgery-videos-33949/ I watched the movie again (very interesting!) and the part I'm talking about is at about the 33 minute mark, right after they cut the stitches and they talk about the collar and one of the problems being erosion. It's really vague and now I'm not quite sure what he meant. A little side question for you... Is it weird having an object in your body? Do you feel it or know it's there?

I wanted to let you know I read your replies and have been thinking about them for days. I appreciate every last word. I'm still not sure that I really understand "why". Here's what I do know: I do hide behind my weight and it has been a kind of self-filled prophecy-- I now look as big as I've always felt. I was having a down day and couldn't get cheered up. I thought let's go get dinner from Baja Fresh and all of a sudden I was happy. I enjoyed driving to get it, eating it and the rest of the night went better. food made me HAPPY. Ugh!

So far I am not impressed with Oregon Weight Loss Surgery, LLC and Legacy Good Samaritan Obesity Institute of Portland, Oregon (Drs Jay Jan and Emma Patterson). Long story short... I went to their information seminar today and was treated horribly. The worst was when they refused to give me a packet because I have Health Net insurance. I had to argue with the lady that I plan to get new insurance or self pay, just to get a packet and attend the seminar! If I hadn't been hanging out here reading posts I probably would have given up and left like she wanted. These are supposed to be great surgeons in their field but from what I've read and experienced they have crummy "bed-side-manner". I'm not sure if I will continue working with them in hopes this improves or go to someone else :cry

The Drs I have looked into so far all want any portion not covered by insurance paid before surgery. What insurance do you have and what state do you live in? (looking for a new ins. company)

Acording to the operation movie I watched it is supposed to be able to move back and forth. If it's too tight it can lead to erosion or something like that.

Congratulations!!! On both the approval and the wedding! Who is your insurance through and what state do you live in?

Too funny, Lucy! (SNL I like a little bit of EVERYTHING. Right now my top favs are: Crazy Town Gwen Stefani Toby Mac Nickleback Will Smith Linkin Park Bon Jovi Daughtry and Andrea Bocelli ( I am so in love with his voice!) Fun question!

Chickie, that is soooo cool!!! So, tell us how it went! How long has it taken you to reach this goal? Snaggletooth, I know what you mean. I want to be able to cross my legs comfortably again. areellady, ME TOO! Very cool! Thank you all for sharing.