BeckyinTexas

Y'all are the best! Kat and Steph, I'm so happy for both of you. I sure hope that I can make it the 3 Musketers soon! I'm so excited for you two and I know that y'all have to be both excited and nervous at the same time but I know it's a great feeling!

It's been a week and a half and still no word from my insurance company. It's nearly all I can think about. I just hope and pray that I get good news from them soon. I hate to have my hopes up as much as I do and then have them come crashing down. I went shopping at lunch today and went into the dressing room to try on some capris...when I looked at myself in the mirror I just knew how much I wanted and needed this surgery. If any of y'all are praying people, please, please, please, say one for me and if the Good Lord is willing, I'll get some good news soon. I sound like I'm having myself a big ole pity party but it helps to sometimes just share what you're feeling with all of y'all. Most of you can so relate to how I'm feeling right now.

Donna....Thanks so much. I think just waiting and hoping to hear from my insurance company is the hardest part! I pray everyday that it will come through for me. When I first started losing weight I said I didn't care how much skin I had hanging. I said if men can go on Maury and strap and tape body parts to make then appear to be female, heck, I could strap and tape myself up. Well, hopefully I can through away all those girdles that resemble straight jackets very soon. Thanks again for everyone's support and prayers.

I just found this thread. I can't believe I haven't seen it before now but glad I found it. I live in McKinney and was banded by Dr. Jay, my hero! I've never been to his support group that meets at Medical City but he comes up once a month to McKinney for a support group meeting. I'd love to hear from anyone that lives close to McKinney and would like to get together and talk lap band...something I can do with no problem!

It's so great to have all of y'all cheering me and everyone else on! Steph, thanks so much for your prayers. I believe that prayers can make miracles happen and I'm sure hoping for a miracle. I've been following another thread, kinda like an on-going soap opera, where the guy has had a rough experience, supposedly, with his lap band and it's all so negative. It's so nice to be able to switch over to this thread and feel what all of us come to this site for...support and encouragement. Thanks from the bottom of my heart!

Angelyco.....OK, I said I'd spare y'all any more reading but I just had to tell you, I did the same thing you did with my minigoals....first it was to get out of the 400s, then the 300s, then the 200s and when I hit onederland, I screamed like a banshee! Now my goal is a simple one....I have no set weight at all, I just want to look in the mirror and not see the old 469 pound Becky but the Becky that won't ever have to hear again, "You have such a pretty face, if only you weren't so fat." So, hang in there and you'll be at out of those 300s before you even know it!

Tralyn...like I said I was determined that my lap band was going to be the tool to help me lose the weight and keep it off for good. I make as good of food choices as I can but honestly my band tends to make my choices for me. There are so many things I don't attempt to eat any longer because they stick every time and that's not a fun feeling. It's really strange though because before I ate junk food like crazy, 460 pounds was evidence that's pretty much what I lived on, but now for me, those are the foods that give me the most problems in regards to sticking. I'm a sweetaholic to the max so I'd be stupid to think I would never eat sweets again. Now with the help of my band, 1 or 2 bites of something sweet and it does the trick for me. I exercise 2 to 3 days a week and most evenings, I simply put on some rockin' music and dance my butt off, literally and figuratively, in my bedroom. I just hope no one ever sees me through my window because they'd think I was nuts but it works for me. I had polio as a baby so my left leg is very weak so most conventional ways of exercising are hard for me so I just go with whatever I can do. Other than being blessed with a fairly fast metabolism and working with my band and it's moods, I've done nothing special. One thing though, I haven't had anything carbonated since the night before my lap band surgery. I think that helps play a part in how well I've done. OK, as you all can see I can go on and on about my lap band story, but I'll step down from my soapbox and spare y'all any more reading...for now at least.

Man, bikini panties, I haven't thought of those in years! Steph you have inspired me, I'm going out this weekend and buy me the sexiest pair of bikini panties in a size 12 and then hope like heck my insurance company will approve me so I can fit my new body into them! Now just deciding what color to buy will be my only problem. I've always gone with blank granny panties cause we all know they're slimming...yeah right. So I just might have to find me some fire engine red or electric blue ones and chunk all those ole black granny drawers!

Hi all....my surgery is set for Friday, the 29th and I'm hoping to find someone that has used the same surgeon as me so I can know what to expect. If so, please let me know cause my nerves are fried and I could sure use some encouragement. I especially hope to hear some great experiences with Dr. Jay so if you have any.....please, please let me know. Thanks.

I haven't posted on this thread for a while but I am now just hoping someone will see it and check it out.....I started this thread just want to check and see what people thought of Dr. Jayaseelan (Dr. Jay), my lap band surgeon. This man is the best! I can't begin to say how wonderful he is, both as a surgeon and human being! He goes out of his way to support his patients. He goes above and beyond that most doctors would ever do for his patients. If anyone is looking for a doctor in the Dallas area, you couldn't ask for a better doctor to trust your lap band journey to than Dr. Jay! I told him not too long ago that he is one of my heroes and he truly is. The procedure he did for me and his fantastic support gave me my life back!

Steph, I'm so excited for you! Wow, just to think that you're only a few days away from surgery just makes my heart glad for you!

Steph....if I mean WHEN I get my pannicolectomy, the doctor said it could be 20-25 pounds. Man, that would make me weigh the least I've weighed in over 35 years. From the waist up I can wear a size 12, I just hope that soon from the waist down, I'll be able to wear a 12. I'm so happy for you. Now just prepare yourself for tons of questions from me after your surgery so I'll kinda know what to expect.

I was telling one of my coworkers about my visit and what the doctor told me about my belly button being either shaped different or in a new spot and she said to just tell them to forget the belly button and afterwards I could just a smiley face tattooed where one should have been. Steph...I just noticed you have only 8 pounds to goal....wow that is so great! I don't have a number goal. My goal is to be able to look into a mirror and just think to myself...damn, I look hot for an old broad!

Findingme....I'm trying my hardest to quit thinking if my insurance comes through and thinking WHEN my insurance approves it. I hope we both get the go ahead and get the surgery! The rest of y'all that posted here, you're great! You know when it's something that is so humiliating, being about to laugh about it just makes it so much easier to get through. But the upside to this now is...I did keep my panties! someday after my surgery, I plan on getting those babies out and strutting my stuff in them...hopefullly a whole lot less stuff to strut with!

This is to Willsmommy.....I've had my band for 3 years, have lost 278 pounds, have only had 3 fills and not one problem. Well, other than people being so negative about the lap band and that is a problem. Headhunter, I was the first to post to this thread and I wished you luck and still do but some of the things you have said are just hurtful. Like it's been said, this is a support group and you are less than supportive of so many things. I understand you have had a horrible experience but thank God you are in the minority. You certainly didn't help your case by talking about law suits and talk shows. That just brings to mind someone trying to make a buck off something. If you do any talk shows or whatever, I'd volunteer to go along with you and tell the positive experience I've had and am still having with my lap band so people can see both the good and the bad. Willsmommy, don't let one person's experience, although there are problems that can develop for anyone, stop you from achieving your goal. All this talk about risks....well we all take a risk everyday of our lives. Heck we could start to get out of bed, trip over something and break our necks. Not likely to happen though, just as the horrible outcome that Headhunter has experienced with his lap band. Again, good luck Headhunter but try not to scare the living daylights out of people that are here for the sole purpose of getting support. Willsmommy - just how I feel, but the lap band has given me my life back and I'm so thankful for that! I hope that for you as well.

I posted on line yesterday before I left for my doctor's appointment. Now it's just a wait and see game with my insurance company. I wish I had talked with someone about their first trip to see a plastic surgeon so I would have known what would happen when I got there. I was completely shocked when they said I'd have to have some pictures taken. I should have known they would do that but I guess it was just something that I didn't think about. After the initial interview and answering a lot of questions, I was told that as soon as the photo room was available, they'd take me there. That's when the nerves hit! I didn't know what to expect at all. Then the moment of truth came and I was taken to the photo room and told to take all my clothes off and put on a pair of surgery panties. Needless this was nothing more than a small piece of cloth held together with elastic strings. I told the nurse that was helping me that I had always thought my first time to wear a g-string might be under different circumstances. Then the doctor came in and that's when the tears started to flow! He told me this wonderful story about daffodils and what it all meant was to not look back at the past but just look forward to the future. So, there I stood completely naked with tears rolling down my cheeks and have pictures taken. Now those will be sent along with a couple of letters from doctor's stating medical necessity for the surgery to my insurance company. All I could think of was "great, now a bunch more people can look at my horrible body". But if that's what it takes to make part of a dream come true, so be it. I'd be stupid to not know that I couldn't have blown my body up to the size it was and not expect there to be some "party favors" left over. I feel like a balloon that was blown up way too much and then all the air was let out. Not that that isn't a great thing because I feel like a different person, now I just want to be able to look into a full length mirror and not be grossed out by my own reflection. I just wanted to share my first step with anyone that might be taking this journey as well. Like I said, I just wish I had talked with someone so I would have known somewhat to expect. Now I have to just sit and wait to hear from my insurance company and the good Lord willing, I'll be scheduling a pannicolectomy in the near future. Thanks for letting me share all this with y'all cause if there's any one in the whole world that can even somewhat relate to all of this I know it's y'all. As you can see by my novel disguised as a post....I'll keep everyone updated on how this all goes for me. __________________

I'm living proof that even people that start out needing to lose a massive amount of weight can and will do it! My goal was 300 pounds by my 3rd bandiversary but I'm just a bit shy of that goal. When I first started considering the Lap Band, I had some people tell me I was too fat for it work...well, I can be a bit stubborn so my attitude was...stand back and just watch me! Hang in there and yes, it most certainly can be done!

David....So sorry to hear about your horrible experience with your lapband and I hope everything turns out well for you. Good luck with your upcoming surgeries! I guess the lapband is like anything else, it does wonders for some but has horrible results and causes horrific problems for other, like yourself. I'm one of the very fortunate and mine has been a wonderful experience and I hope and pray it continues to be one. Again, good luck with your future surgeries.

I never had to have sutures removed. They told me to keep the steri strips on until the either fell off by themselves or started curling up and then I could gently pull them off. Being the paranoid person I can be....I used bandaids for like a month afterwards cause I was so afraind I'd do something to mess up my band. Good luck and hope everything goes great for you!

Steph....I've just been reading your posts and I'm so happy for you! I just hope to jump on the bandwagon and get approved by my insurance company. I hate the waiting game but man it'll be so worth it if I do get approved. Good luck and thanks for the great posts cause I need all the help I can get. So, get ready girl cause I'll get all Perry Mason on you and ask tons of questions!

Thanks so much Barb and Julie.....it means so much to always know you have someone in your corner that truly hopes for nothing but the best. We're all on this trip together and man, that so helps!

Lori Ann......My insurance luckily does cover if it's deemed a medical necessity. My original surgeon, Dr. Jay, is going to write a letter documenting the problems with the "fat apron" as will the plastic surgeon. I work for a county and we have an employee health clinic and any problems that I've had with infections, so forth, I've talked to them about but the plastic surgeon seemed to think my pictures alone should be enough. I go through a can of Gold Bond power weekly and yesterday I didn't use it on purpose. By my appointment it was red and had some blisters. They took pictures of that as well. It's even caused a couple of yeast infections that I had to be on antibiotics for. I know this all sounds gross but it's something that does help with insurance approval....hopefully! I'm just so afraid I'll get my hopes up and then have them burst my bubble. Good luck and let's keep each up on what's happening for us.

Shannon....Good luck to you! I had my first visit to a plastic surgeon yesterday and now I'm playing the wait and see if the insurance will pay game. I'm so excited about it happening that's about all I can think about. Hope everything goes well for you!

I had my surgery done on a Friday and went back to work at noon on Monday. I was miserable on Saturday but then woke up Sunday and couldn't even believe myself good I felt. I would have loved to have been able to take some extra days off but I honestly felt well enough to go back to work. Good luck to you and I pray your lapband experience will be as wonderful as mine has been!