HeatherA

Are you kidding me???? That's awesome!

Yeah, mine doesn't require a five year history which is unusual for UHC and I have no idea what Cigna will require and I don't want to find out :-) I'm just praying that I'm a lucky one and all goes smoothly!

Please send good thoughts and prayers my way... I just verified with UHC that they have my packet and it's in the approval/denial process. They received it on the 10th and say it will take 15 days for a decision due to it being the end of the year. I am on a really tight time line trying to get this approved and the surgery performed before the 1st of the year when my INS will switch to Cigna. I will have little time for appeal if they decline me. All good thoughts, vibes and especially prayers are welcome. I want to have this done so very bad! Thank you!!!

Hilary, There are risks with both procedures. The difference is that the risks involved with the bypass are more devastating than the ones with the band. Please make sure you research that procedure as well as you have this one before making a decision. Good luck to you, whatever you do!

My doc has not yet started using this band, but he has them to use when his supply of the VG band runs out. He has told me he will use this band on me. I hope the improvements prove to be what they are expected to be!

That site is cool! I just checked it out and spent too much time there getting set up :-) It's just like when I journaled on the Weight Watcher's site only free! I'm so impressed I may just spring for the year subscription. Thanks!

Hi Topdownbug... The funniest thing is... we have the same doctor!!!!!!!!! LOL It's good to know their scales run heavy... I was thinking it had to be the difference between weighing nekkid at home and jeans/sweater at the office. I go in Wednesday for my 2nd Nut. appointment and I'm dying to see what their scales say this time!

****Sorry for the duplicate post. My subject was incorrect**** Just a heads up for you Columbus bandsters there is a support group meeting next Tuesday at 6:30 at Riverside. It's located at the building at 500 Thomas Rooms H&I (Next to Riverside). There is also a meeting for Gastric Bypass patients just prior to the bandsters meeting. It starts at 5:30 in the same rooms. Hope to see you there!

Did I forget to tell you? If I remember correctly he said they were using the VG bands and then will switch to the AP bands... he told me that he would use an AP band on me, but that I was to remind him closer to surgery. I can't believe I forgot to tell you this? It was part of the reason I was there so late so I could talk to him about it.

Welcome MamaT! How exciting that you're getting banded on Monday! We'll want all the details of course :-)

Just a heads up for you Columbus bandsters there is a support group meeting next Tuesday at 6:30 at Riverside. It's located at the building at 500 Thomas Rooms H&I (Next to Riverside). There is also a meeting for Gastric Bypass patients just prior to the bandsters meeting. It starts at 5:30 in the same rooms. Hope to see you there!

Hilary, I'm sorry I didn't see your first post about Fresh Start... My replies will be a little backward and I apologize! Your Doc and my Doc are the same Doc... so I'm a bit confused by the information given to you. Was he perhaps referring to gastric bypass patients? Maybe it was the nutritionist that gave me my information? If you post your question on the general lapband boards you'll probably get better response than here. Again, I look forward to getting to know you!

Hi Flashkat! You'll love Dr. Myers. He will be the gentleman in the bow tie handing out waters :-) He makes a point of meeting each of the people in the meeting and is just so nice. You'll feel right at ease. Hunter and I were at the same seminar/meeting and even though we didn't meet there, we've struck up quite a friendship. We're both at the same stage in the process right now and it's been great to have someone to talk to that's going through the same things. We'll be here for you if you decide to go with Dr. Myers (or any other program for that matter) so feel free to ask any questions you might have. As Hunter mentioned there is a support group meeting next Tuesday at 6:30. We're both planning on attending and if you decide to go let us know so we can meet up with you. You can get more information tonight about it, or feel free to private message me for the details. Good luck tonight! Don't forget to take your insurance card with you if you think you'll be interested in getting the ball rolling as they'll have someone there to photo copy it for you when you hand in your initial paperwork. It's really a painless process! I look forward to hearing more from you!

Hi Hilary, my doc says that those things are fine if I can tolerate it. The meats will need to be very tender and probably eaten with a sauce and the bread will go down better toasted than doughy. I'm not banded yet so I haven't tried... but that's what I've been told. P.S. Where are you in Ohio?

Hi Special K! Welcome! I'm with Hunter in trying to get banded at Riverside. We're neck and neck in the process and it's been so nice to have a "buddy" to go through this with. Welcome to the Columbus thread, I hope you stay in touch!

I am a diet soda junkie... I used to be addicted to Diet Coke... however, I have weaned myself off of caffeinated beverages and on to drinks such as Diet Rite or Diet Hansens sodas... both have no sodium, no caffeine and use splenda rather than aspartame. I am supposed to be weaning myself off of them while working on my pre-op diet, but the dietitian said I could wait until I ran out of what I had in the house before quitting altogether. I'm now down to my last 2 6-packs and plan to go into mourning this weekend. The other hard thing for me will be to give up drinking from a straw... my routine is a nice big Tervis tumbler, tons of ice, soda and a straw... the only time I don't use a straw is when I drink from a Water bottle with a sport cap. These two things may just be the things that keep me from being successful with the band... I am not sure I can do it.

Hi everyone! I am not yet banded but I just took my "before" shots today so I thought I'd post them here to officially get the ball rolling :-) I am hopeful that I will be banded by mid-December but I've started working on myself already in preparation. So here I am in all of my glory. Enjoy! BTW... that weight for today is wrong... it should say 278!

That's such exciting news Lori! Congratulations! I will be 38 in January and I'm hoping to be down 38 pounds by then :-) I won't be banded until about a month before my birthday (if all goes well) so most of it will have to be me if I want to achieve that goal. I'm already working on it as I type! LOL I can't wait to wear a size 12! You need to do that happy dance every time you put those jeans on!!! Whoo Hoo!

ObesityHelp is a great site! I actually started reading there long before I moved here because it was the first site I found. I lurked for months before actually posting. I love it there, as much as here, but the board software is not nearly as nice as this board and it's a bit cumbersome to keep up with posts because a new message does not float it back up to the top like it does here. However, the people are as terrific as those here and it's a great second home :-)

I was so lost yesterday without the board! Thank goodness for the ObesityHelp boards... they're the only thing that got me through :-) If both went down at the same time I'd be one sad lost puppy!

Hi All! I just went for my full day appointment to get my surgery ball really rolling. I met with the Nut., Psych. and had my physical. the only extra test I need is an EXG which I hope to get soon. I then have to have two more visits with the Nut. that my Dr. requires, even though my Ins. does not. I also need to talk to the Ins. girl to see when she'll be submitting me for approval... I'm hopeful she'll say next week. Then after the Nut. clears me I can get a date... long story longer... hopefully mid-December! Now, Christmas is MY time of year... I bake and bake and make candies and everyone expects them from me... and I just know if I'm on a liquid diet there is not going to be any motivation for me to do all of this creating and tempting of myself. I think having this Surgery in December will be very trying... but also a good thing as I won't have to deal with the typical extra Christmas weight I tend to gain from Nov-Dec.

Ok, I admit it... I am addicted to straws! I use them ALL the time... every single day. The only time I don't use them is if I'm drinking from a water bottle. My surgeons instructions are adamant that I not use straws after surgery. Combine that with the no-carbonated beverage rule and I start to question whether I can actually go through with this surgery. I know it sounds ridiculous but straws and carbonated beverages are two of my favorite things. *sigh I'm very worried about this.

Topdownbug, Congrats! I've been looking at my "journal" and I'm praying I'll have the strength to do this. My biggest hurdle is going to be the no straw rule and the no soda rule... The liquid diet will be ok because it has a start and an end... but the other rules seem to be forever. I need a 10 step program for straw addiction :-)

Fingers crossed!!!!!

Thanks Juli!!!!