ReneBean

Aw Heck, Betty, I never REALLY expected Blue Cross to pick up the phone and call me - 24 point font or no... I will be calling them pretty soon - but they are in the middle of the lunch hour right now, and getting a human on the phone would be extremely unlikely. Beleive me, when I hear something - you guys will definitely hear about it... :]

You guys are all so talented... Wow.

Liiiiisa, oh Liiiiisa? How are you? Step AWAY from the Coke machine!! How's that "Don't Feed the Lisa" sign working? :]

Go Donali!! Go!! :]

You start with your doctor's appointment. They will refer you to the other pre-op tests that you need. You can pretty much count on bloodwork and an ekg. I had those plus a psychological evaluation and a meeting with a dietician. You may need to do a sleep study or a stress test, too. You should also start compiling your diet history. Find any records you have on medically supervised diets and write down a list of all the non-supervised diets you have tried. Once you meet with your doctor, it will all seem a little more clear - I hope! :]

Your success is what we pre-bandsters hope to have! Congrats and thanks for posting the good stuff. :]

OOOOOOO - look at the techno-chick! pictures, even. OK. Any other nominations? I think we will have to start the voting on Monday... Come on ladies - EYE CANDY - it has NO CALORIES!!

Have you been to a Lap Band Informational meeting? The Band is a little silicon belt with a balloon sheath. A fill is when saline is injected into the balloon to make it expand and squeeze your stomache closed a little tighter. Check out this link for lots more info. http://www.inamed.com/products/obesity/us/patient/lapband/prodinfo.html Welcome! :]

Surgery Center of Richardson is chock full of doctors who do this procedure every day - it's their main practise - so they have all done WELL over the 100 surgery learning curve. www.surgerycenterofrichardson.com Happy Researching!! :]

She can call her clinic "Thin & Sin" It will cause a media sensation. :]

Oh yeah - Friday. The very coolest day, ever! On my agenda today - (I bet you could guess!) I will be following up with our friends at Blue Cross to confirm their receipt of my appeal letter. (24 point bold face font asking them to call me to confirm receipt must have been too subtle). Other than that - not so much. I figure eventually, I will have to actually work for my pay, but for right now, I am coasting... Really, it's very boring. I would rather work. Thank goodness for LBT or I would have certainly lost what little mind I have left by now. This weekend is the usual blank slate. Even less exciting than a trip to costco... I will be doing some laundry - just on the off chance that I get called in as emergency support for the Due Diligence review in Burbank - but that is pretty unlikely. DH has been doing yard work with the (Finally!) cool weather, and we bought some plants to add color to the front walk - so I imaging he will actually expect me to put them into the ground. That will be fun. I like to play in the dirt every so often. Otherwise, it will be old movies and hanging out with the DH. Everybody have a great one!

Yes, Sunshine Give us all the "dirt" on you. :] Welcome!

Girls, Girls... I am sure that Fee was just frustrated. We all have our bad days. And I would imagine that she has come back and read the posts - she just hasn't replied. Or, maybe she really did feel unloved and leave. That would be sad.

Thanks, Cindy! You're not so bad yourself! I am glad to hear that you aren't planning on starving yourself. I understand about conflicting and confusing info... After reading about a hundred scientific abstracts, I realized that it doesn't really matter what the studies say, as much as it matters what you know will work for you. Take Care! :]

Anesthesia CAN cause death in patients with weak hearts - but that is why you have to get and ekg and all that other pre-op testing. The docs have to certify that you are medically fit for the surgery. Really - If your tests are all good, then you are good to go. :]

Well, the difference between 600 calorie a day skinny and 1200 calorie a day skinny is your health... Yes - if you take in the low calories you will waste away - literally, your muscles, bone and everything else will get burned up because your body is not getting enough of anything it needs. 1200 calorie a day skinny allows for your body to retain muscle mass and burn MOSTLY the fat. Since it gets the nutrients it needs, it does not attack it's own systems to keep functioning - it just breaks down the excess fat. Make sense? Keep in mind - if you ARE exercising - you will need the higher calories to keep functioning. And exercise is what helps you retain muscle mass and burn fat. Remember, the RNY has severe health risks, malnutrition being one of them. People die from that procedure - not just under the anesthetic, but afterwards from the complications and side effects. PLEASE try to be patient with yourself and your body. Low calories can be used to shock the body - switch back and forth between high and low to freak it out - but please do not try to live for extended periods of time on the very low calorie diet. :]

I have no band, yet - but I did read a study while researching for my insurance appeal that indicates over-aggressive fills may lead to slippage and erosion. Just FYI. :]

I was told 1 in 2000. :]

Congrats, Andrea! We'll all be thinking good thoughts for you. Check in when you feel up to it. :]

You're a wild man, Ira... Have fun at Costco!

UPDATE: I reviewed the Inamed bibliography - which was current thru 2004 - and have researched to find more current documented studies to combat the BMI issue and the Investigational issue. I am submitting my own appeal. If I have to go to the insurance board, I will get help for that. I won't post the whole letter (4 pgs) but I will post the documentation that I am using: From the FDA New Device Approval: “When is it used? The system is used for weight loss in severely obese adults who have been obese for at least 5 years and for whom non-surgical weight-loss methods have not been successful. They must be willing to make major changes in their eating habits and lifestyle. Patients must have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 40, a BMI of at least 35 with one or more severe morbid (unhealthy) conditions, or be at least 100 pounds over their estimated ideal weight.” From the journal of Obesity Surgery, Volume 14, Number 8, Sept. 2004 “Laparoscopic Gastric Banding as Universal Method for the Treatment of Patients with Morbid Obesity” pp. 1123-1127 (5) “Conclusions: LAGB should be recommended without limitation as the operation of choice for morbidly obese patients. Gastric bypass operations should be recommended only in cases of unsuccessful LAGB.” From the journal Obesity Surgery, Volume 13, Number 3, June 2003 pp. 427-434 (8) “Outcome after Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding – 8 Years Experience” “Conclusions: LAGB is safe, with a lower complication rate than other bariatric operations. Reoperations can be performed laparoscopically with low morbidity and short hospitalizations. The LAGB seems to be the basic bariatric procedure, which can be switched laparoscopically to combined bariatric procedures if treatment fails. After the learning curve of the surgeon, results are markedly improved. On the basis of 8 years long-term follow-up, it is an effective procedure.” From Surgical Endoscopy, Volume 17, August 2003 pp 1541-1545 “Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding for massive super obesity (>60 body mass index kg/m2)” “Weight loss with laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding in this group of massive super obese patients has been similar to all other surgical techniques with reduction of BMI from 69 to 33 kgs/m2 at 3 years. The relative safety of the Lapband avoids bowel surgery in these very big patients, suggesting that laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding is a valid surgical approach to these difficult patients.” From the journal Obesity Surgery, Volume 15, Number 6, June/July 2005 pp.858-863 (6) “Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery in Super-obese Patients (BMI>50) is Safe and Effective: A Review of 332 Patients” “Conclusion: Laparoscopic bariatric surgery is safe in super-obese patients. LAGB, the least invasive procedure, resulted in the lowest operative times, the lowest conversion rate, the shortest hospital stay and the lowest morbidity in this high-risk cohort of patients. Rates of all parameters studied increased with increasing procedural complexity. However, the difference in %EWL between RYGBP and LAGB at 2 and 3 years was not statistically significant.” From Journal of the American College of Surgeons, Volume 201, Issue 4, October 2005 “Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding: 1014 Consecutive Cases” pp. 529-535 “Conclusions LAGB can achieve effective and safe weight loss. Change from perigastric to pars flaccida technique reduced slippage rate. Preoperative body mass index alone was not found to be a predictor of effective weight loss in the long term.” ADA Regulations for Title III Sec..36.214 -- 36.299 [Reserved] Subpart C -- Specific Requirements Sec.36.301 Eligibility criteria. (a) General. A public accommodation shall not impose or apply eligibility criteria that screen out or tend to screen out an individual with a disability or any class of individuals with disabilities from fully and equally enjoying any goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations, unless such criteria can be shown to be necessary for the provision of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations being offered.

UPDATE: I reviewed the Inamed bibliography - which was current thru 2004 - and have researched to find more current documented studies to combat the BMI issue and the Investigational issue. I am submitting my own appeal. If I have to go to the insurance board, I will get help for that. I have posted the study references in the sticky thread: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=2527 :]

Scroll all the way to the bottom of the screen. In the bottom left hand corner there is a box that talks about things being "on". Click on "Smilies" and it will bring up a screen with all the codes you can type in to get these things to appear. :]

I'll post the letter for SURE - if it Works! :]

In the past, I have been most successful dieting when I allowed myself a "Cheat Day" when I could eat 1 bad thing - like 5 scoops of ice cream. When I had 1 "cheat day" every week i was able to control myself better the rest of the time. I could resist that pizza today, because on Saturday, I was going to be able to have it. And, since I knew that there was going to be ANOTHER cheat day next week, I was able to control myself a little better on the cheat. So, you had a little ice cream orgy... that's not the end of the world. Next time, maybe you can have just 1 scoop. Especially since you know that it is NOT the last time in your life that you will ever eat icecream. ((Hugs!))