girlygirlz

Thanks for the input. I thought about it all last night and I think I am going with the 17th because I have a lot to do to the house before the party and that will give me time to get ready for Christmas. I hope I will feel ok by Christmas but at least I can have an excuse to take it easy instead of trying to be super mom and do everything (usually the night before!) It sounds like I lucked out to get Sasse but I have heard good things about everyone. I guess it is time for me to get serious about the diet now!:whoo:

Hi Northern Nevada people! I heard there was a Reno thread but I hadn't found it until now. I just spoke to Michelle today and have to decide between Dec. 3 and Dec. 17th a WBI for my surgery date. I have to host a small Christmas party for my husband's work on 12/15 so I am not sure which date I should pick. Either way the 3rd or 17th I won't be able to eat (and probably drink for that matter!) I hope the thread gets active again. I would love to be able to get together with people for exercise and encouragement. By the way I have not done a ticker yet but I am 45 years old 5'5" BMI 35.6 and 215 with goal of 135. Hope to hear from you all soon. P.S. She She my doc is Sassie also.

Hi everyone. I have been hanging around lapbandtalk since August and now I can officially join a group! My doccs office called at 4:45 today and asked how December 3rd would work. I asked if there were any other dates in December and was told the 17th. So now I have to decide which one. We are supposed to host the pre-Christmas party coctail party for my husband's work on the 15th so I don't know if I should wait until after or if the 17th is too close to Christmas. Either way I won't be eating at the party (either post-op mushies or pre-op liquid!) And I am assuming that I can't have alcohol pre-op because of the shrinking liver thing so I don't know what to do!! What excuse should I use for not eating ? :help: I am a bit of a procrastinator so maybe the 17th will give me more time to get ready for Christmas with the hubby and three kids. Any ideas? Also I love the Merry Losers!

But I am supposed to be dieting - they want me to lose 8 pounds before surgery but since I still don't have a date I figure I can drop those pounds fairly quickly with slimfast. It's not the losing thats hard for me it's the keeping it off. Anyway best of luck and don't give up.:whoo:

Westerm Bariatric Institute in Reno, Nevada requires meeting with dietician, psychological evaluation, lower gi (where they x-ray your stomach and esophogus), two different classes at their facility, attend a support group meeting, a letter from your primary care doctor recommending surgery, a five year written statement detailing your diet history and a letter written by you stating why you want the surgery. These are required whether you are self-pay or not. They have all these requirements because they are a "Center for Excellence in Bariatric Surgery" I had to do all of these things before they could even submit my surgery to the insurance company! In addition to all this my primary doc had me do a stress test for my heart and when he didn't like how that came out I had to have an imaging test. That came out ok so I should be good to go but am waiting for my primary doc to send the letter of recommendation!! Some people even have to go on a Dr. supervised diet for six months before insurance will consider surgery. So hang in there - I am passing the time until I get my approval eating cookies! LOL :omg::hungry:

Chickie:You look incredible! Did you lose additional weight in the ten months post-surgery? I bet nobody can believe you were ever heavy you look like a natural skinny mini!

I think you should definitely consider lap band. If you read a lot of the threads here you will find that there are people who have kept weight off for 2, 3 or more years for the first time in their lives. You do not automatically lose weight with the band and you can gain, but what I have gathered from reading this site is that it is much easier to keep the weight off!! I am what bandsters call a low bmi (35) and have had a few people who don't know me say that I am not that heavy and should try dieting. But those who know me no that I have lost weight time and time again just to gain it all back! My family and friends support me because they have seen me struggle over and over. Do not feel guilty about gaining the weight back! Studdies have shown that almost all dieters gain their weight back. The only exception is weight loss surgery patients!!! Studies show that most weight loss surgery patients keep off at least half of the excess weight (both lap band and gastric bypass) I would advise you to read as much as you can on this site and then see about getting that surgery! I have found that very few people on lapbandtalk regret the surgery and many believe it saved their life!

Hi Julie I just finished reading the entire thread and you are an inspiration! I love reading the ps threads because it shows the kind of success you can get with the band (and some hard work!) I hope to be there by next year- I finally got everything together and my Doctor will submit to insurance this week!!! Just wanted to give an opinion on the boobs. You mentioned that you might get implants but I think your boobs are beautiful! A lot of people on the site say they want big boobies but I think natural looking breasts that are in proportion are so much more attractive than the look some get of two bowling balls glued to your chest!! You are going to be so tiny after your thigh surgery that your boobs will look huge anyway. Thank you so much for your inspiring journey!

Wow Diane you are going to look amazing! I am still blown away at what a tummy tuck can do. I hope to be there this time next year (I finally got everything done and my paperwork gets submitted to insurance this week so I am hoping I am approved and don't have to blow my ps budget on self-pay!) Anyway thanks for sharing everything - even if it does make me cringe a little! Keep those pictures coming. Kim

Hi Ghost- it sounds like you are doing well. I have been thinking about you all week. Please take it easy so you can recover and enjoy that new body. I can't:clap2: wait to see the pics!

Yeah ghost - be sure to get us some pics - though we know your DH won't be posting them. I have a question does DH stand for Damn Husband or Dear Husband?? Mine is both but not at the same time

Hi Ghost - I think we are soul sisters - we have the same pantry and the same husband!! I am always embarrassing him because I will tell anyone anything! I am worried about FSC too, I hope she will get in touch. I live in Reno so I am not too far from her. I will have to hop over to your ps thread and see if you have updated. Thanks for the pics - my husband would be horrified if I posted mine I am sure. I think that he is not thrilled that I am on this site since it can eat up the time. I never used the internet for anything other than shopping before!!!

Wow, wow, wow! You look great! I need to lose about 70 -75 pounds and was convinced that I would need a tt and boob lift but your abs are fantastic! What is your workout routine? Do you use weights to get that hard body? P.S. you really do not need to lose another ounce, besides if you get too tiny you will have a hard time finding clothes in size zero!

Food Stamp Champ I am so glad you are going to be ok. You absolutely should report that ER Doc! I am glad to hear you got the right treatment in Reno and your Plastic surgeon sounds like a really good guy. I sure hope you are back to good health soon!

FSC, OMG - Your stomach is so flat! and boobs are huge you look like Pam Anderson! Congrats and can't wait to see you after full recovery you're going to look gorgeous! P.S. I met the cutest plastic surgeon at lap band support group I wonder if he could be yours? His name is Dr. Scott Wrye - any of you in the Reno area should check him out he looks like Carrie's Mr. Big on Sex in The City and he and his partner specialize in weight loss surgeory patients.

You absolutely should not feel guilty! You have worked so hard to lose the weight and deserve to have the absolute best outcome. The guys at work probably are having a hard time getting used to the change and may be bothered by working with a sexy woman instead of one of the guys. I think there is a difference between wanting to look good and being overly vain. I know women who are obsessed with their appearance and I doubt you will turn into one of them. For one thing that type of woman would never be a gold miner because it would ruin her nails! It is probably weird getting attention from men but I am sure you will get used to it. I must admit that I was thin until I had my children 14 years ago and after I got fat it was sometimes nice to be invisable to men (and sometimes not I did miss the attention sometimes!) Hang in there.

Yeah!!! Are you more excited now or when you were banded? I can't wait to see how it works out for you and hope to be in your shoes one day.:huggie:

Hey, the first Western Barriatric person I have seen!! I am going through the process and hope to have surgery by October or November (insurance approval or not - I am worth it!) I hear Dr. Ganser is great, my surgeon is Dr. Sasse. At first I wasn't going to tell anyone but my immediate family but I have a big mouth and can't keep a secret! I am most afraid to tell my really heavy friends because they may be jealous or judgmental. I thought when I told people they would say oh you are not fat enough for weight loss surgery but nobody did. I guess I look fatter than I thought. I think you should probably tell your parents - assuming they aren not the controlling type. My mom was very sweet and said she will come stay with me after surgery. The rest of the world it really is none of their business! Good luck and I would love to here more from my fellow Renoite!

Paul - am so with you! My bmi is about 35.2 and I am hoping that I have enough co-morbidities to get approved. When I went to my seminar I was probably the smallest person there and I asked myself if I shouldn't just give dieting another try. But I am a lot older than you and I have lost hundreds of pounds (10-50 at a time) and have gained them all back. I have only told a few people that I am having lap band and I expected them to say that I did not seem over weight enough for something so extreme but hardly anyone has said that (I guess I look fatter than I thought!) As a guy you probably carry your weight better than a woman so you probably have people tell you you look fine. My husband recently lost 30 pounds and nobody but me even noticed! He went from 220 to 190 but at 6 foot 1 he has a lot of room to carry his weight. I do think you should do the surgery because your health will benefit and as someone who has struggled with weight for twenty years it doesn't get easier! I have seen too many people gain their weight back and I don't want to do that again. We should do this before we get to a bmi of 40 and possible heart disease, diabetes, knee replacement, hip replacement etc. Good luck!

I can't wait to here how surgery goes. I live in Reno and hope to be banded before the end of the year so I will probably be looking for a plastic surgeon next year. Good luck and congrats!:clap2:

Wow - I didn't know you had to do a liquid diet before the surgery! I am still jumping through the hoops to get approved hopefully can have surgery by November (a sure way to make sure I don't pig out at Thanksgiving!)