kathystrick

The doctor I am consulting with said he only requires a 2 day liquid diet, but most I have seen on here say 2 weeks. Don't know why he doesn't require that, but I plan to find out.

Sometimes I feel like the only difference between me and a drug addict is that they usually lose weight and I just seem to keep packing on more and more. :faint: I agree with what you said about genetics and body chemistry. I was watching a show on tv the other day and they said children of obese parents are ____% more likely to be obese. Well DUH!! I know my parents have both struggled with weight. But could it also be that everyone in a household is most likely eating the same things and practicing the same sedentary lifestyle? I am just ready for my fight with my body to be over. I have been losing this battle since I was a teenager and have all but given up doing it on my own at this point. :cry Hoping the band will be just the kick in the butt I need to regain control of myself. Kathy

I have Anthem BCBS and from what I have read on here, they seem to be pretty lenient with their requirements compared to some others. I don't have any comorbidities, so I am hoping to get by without having to have a lot of extra testing done. Just with what I already know is required I am anticipating having to wait until I find a job so I can pay for the tests, but I am attributing not being able to find a job in part to my size, so I am in a real catch 22 here. But I keep looking and going to interviews, so maybe something will come along soon. Thanks for responding! Kathy

Thanks for the info. Wow, there is a lot to do! I don't have to have a referral from my PCP because I have PPO insurance. I will be calling my insurance company tomorrow to verify coverage, then Monday calling the office to set that first appointment. Dr. Steinberg was in surgery for most of our seminar, so I really didn't get a feel for him as I would like to in order to make my choice between the two, so looks like I will be going with Dr. Menachery.

My name is Kathy and I live in Alpharetta. I have my seminar today with Dr. Steinberg and am so excited!! I have heard a lot of wonderful things about him and really loook forward to meeting him.

Living in Alpharetta, Georgia (just outside Atlanta) since 7/07 Born and raised in Sumter, SC

I think a cookbook and/or website would be AWESOME!! As someone just starting out on the journey to Bandland, I know I would find it very helpful. I keep reading through the posts and think the food changes are going to be the most intimidating thing about the change.

Thanks Rumar. I had trouble sleeping last night just anticipating the seminar. I can't imagine what I will be like as I get further into the process!!

I am going to Dr. Steinberg's seminar tomorrow (10/18) at Dekalb and plan to have him do my surgery if everything goes ok and I am approved and everything. Kathy

I am in Alpharetta and new to the site. I just called and scheduled my seminar for tomorrow (10/18) at Dekalb with Dr. Steinberg. Woo hoo!!! Getting the ball rolling! Kathy

I did and it helps to know a lot of people share the fear but are still grateful they had it done. Good for you finding a different hospital!! I have been looking around myself hoping to find a seminar on a weekend, but they are all well over an hour away! When there are perfectly good, reputable hospitals and doctors very near my house that have seminars during the week, I can't justify planning surgery at a location that far from home. Good luck to you and keep me upated!! Kathy

<p>Hi Ginny!</p> <p>I am in the thinking stages too. I fear complications most of all, but also failure. I hate to go through all of this and end up fat again because I am weak!! Do I really believe that or is it just easier to believe that than to fight the battle? I think I'm just a scaredy cat!! Anyway, good luck on your journey. The 28th will be here before you know it!</p>

Hi Charise! I know where Buckhead is! :Banane35: Not far at all! This site has provided some wonderful information and I am really enjoying all of the great people here. I have Anthem BCBS through my husband's work and from what I have read here and on other sites, it's pretty easy to get approved by them if your BMI is over 40, which mine is. I hope that is the case. Now I just have to take that first step and get the ball rolling. I wish I weren't such a chicken!!:rolleyes I do clerical/secretarial work. I have been on countless interviews in the past 2 months and honestly the discrimination I have felt because of my size is one of the reasons I have begun seriously considering the surgery. I have always tried to "lie" to myself and think that because I am so tall and just big, that I could carry 300+ pounds and no one would notice. Ha! Then I started going to interviews around here where everyone else in the office is in their 20's and looks like they just stepped off of tv. Talk about a reality check! Anyway, thanks for the welcome and it's nice to meet you. Look forward to chatting more! Kathy

Hi everyone. New here and been lurking around, reading posts and gathering information. Thought it was about time to come out of hiding. :embarassed: I am 37 y/o, 5'10", and about 315. The biggest I have been when I have actually weighed myself was 343, but by clothing size, I know I have been bigger than that. I have always been heavy, but really packed on the pounds about 5 years ago when I had to go on a series of birth control pills for PCOS problems. I gained over 50 pounds in 3 months and it has never come off. That put me over the 300 pound mark and no amount of diet or exercise has been able to get me back below that. :cry I am an emotional eater, something I know I will have to work on if the surgery is going to be a successful tool for me. I am scared by the idea of the surgery, but I don't really understand what it is I am afraid of. I know a couple of people who have had various wls, lost a lot of weight and promptly put it back on. I know a couple who have had major complications from the surgery (one is in the hospital right now) and their overall health has suffered because of it. Maybe I am just afraid of being one of those statistics we all hear about. I am new to the Atlanta area, Alpharetta actually. We relocated here from SC about 3 months ago for my husbands job. I like it so far, but it would be much nicer if I could find a job, another thing I am attributing having difficulty doing because of my weight. Sorry to be so long winded. If there is anything else anyone would like to know, feel free to ask! Looking forward to getting to know all of you... Kathy

Thanks for the welcome Amy. You are seem to be doing well to have just had surgery!! Congratulations on that and good luck!! Kathy

Hi Brandy! I was actually looking at your pics on another post of yours before I started this thread and admiring your success. I had never seriously considered WLS until I found out about the band because of fear of complications and regaining the weight. Hubby's ex-wife had RenY a little over a year ago and is already putting it back on. Hubby is from coastal NC, but we LOVE the mountains, so I am with ya there!! Kathy

I haven't even been to a consult yet Shirley! I'm chicken!! But my goal is to do that before 11/1 and I am going to DeKalb as well. Not too far from where I live. Do you go to any of their support meetings?

Why am I fat? Oh geez, I could write a novel. I came into the world in 1970 at 10 lbs. 1 oz., quite a big baby at that time. I was a very active child, playing outside, taking dance classes, etc. Then came our good friendpuberty. Within a year of starting my period, I had to go on the pill for hormone imbalance that caused me to have very long, very heavy periods and stay anemic. The curves began developing. In high school, I was about 220 (would LOVE to be that now) and 5'11". Although I know now I wasn't fat, at the time, in a world of size 5 friends, I felt like an elephant. I stood out in the crowd no matter how hard I tried to hide and there wasn't a guy around who would ask me out. When one finally did pay attention to me, I was a senior, still a virgin, and thinking I would never have a date. He was a pot head, unemployed dropout with an abusive mother who made me feel like I was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen and made me think we would "live happily ever after". We got married when we were both 19 and despite all efforts to avoid it (and a miracle acording to the doctors), I promptly became pregnant. I was very careful about my eating habits during my pregnancy and 5 months after my 20th birthday delivered a 10 lb. 8 oz. baby boy and went home from the hospital weighing 180 lbs. Well, in an effort to keep an already long story short, over the next 2 years, my now ex-husband lied, cheated, stole, went to jail, spent more time unemployed than employed, set me up to take the fall for a crime he and another guy committed, then promptly took off for Virginia, leaving me alone with our 2 y/o son and trying to defend myself against a crime I had no knowledge of. Talk about depression!!! I couldn't figure out what was so wrong with me to make him act that way. I started eating everything I could get my hands on. From the time I got up until I went to bed, I ate. About 5 months later, I met a man 10 years older than me who showed me what a great person I really am. He loved my son, he loved me. We had a great relationship. Then one day he just came home and said he wanted me to move out. No excuses, no reason why, just move out. So again, I began I found myself trying to figure out what I did wrong. I started hanging out in a bar and drinking, staying out late, partying on weekends, and lost back down to about 225 lbs. I felt skinny for the first time in years. I couldn't believe it. But I realized I was going down the wrong road and decided to straighten up my life. And the weight started creeping back on. I watched in misery as pound after pound and more came back. I plateaued at about 280 finally and stayed at that weight for over 3 years until I started having period problems again. I went to the doctor and he started me back on birth control pills. I promptly gained 50 pounds in 3 months. Once that 300 pound mark was broken, I have never been able to get back under it. I have fluctuated 10 - 20 pounds here and there, but never below 300, no matter how much I diet and exercise. My husband says he doesn't care. He likes bigger women I know, but I know I have surpassed even his limit, which is even more depressing to me. So I eat. I try to control it, then start thinking about why I feel like I have to control it, and get even more depressed. In the end, I know it is a decision to lead a happier, healthier life. Both of my parents are diabetic, my mother has high cholesterol, my father had a heart attack at 36. I suffer from anxiety and depression, both of which have gotten better when I have lost weight. I want to live to see the children of my now 6'5" 200 lb. handsome, well-adjusted 17 y/o son, born and grow up. Heck, I just want to be able to haul the groceries up to our 2nd floor apartment without feeling I am going to have a heart attack!!! So, in a nutshell, THAT is why I am fat. Kathy

I am only planning to tell DH, my son, and my parents. I am hoping DH can keep his mouth shut, because I really don't want his family to know. They are very judgemental for the most part and his sister is a huge gossip with ties to DH's ex, who I would just as soon didn't know about my surgery. Maybe I will feel diferent once it is actually done, but while I am still in the planning stages, I want it kept as quiet as possible.

Hi everyone. I am new here and haven't even had my first appointment with the doctors yet. I wanted to do some research first to see if this is really what I want to do, and I have to say, you all have given me a lot to think about in this post alone!! I never imagined so much could go wrong. I guess I was in the mind set that the surgery is the fix-all and everything else will just fall into place from there. Thank you all for sharing your complications and how you dealt with those. It really is a lot to think about. But hearing that it is possible to find a successful resolution to the problems is encouraging to those of us still in the thinking stage.