ReneBean

I'm kind of groovin' on my Elf Name: Finduilas Helyanwë I am not sure at all about my Hobbit name: Sweetpea Foxburr of Loamsdown I don't know about "Sweetpea". Foxburr is more like it. :]

Dang - where is that post about smashing the scale and lighting it on fire? Just do it. Think back to why you started this. I can't speak for you - so I will have to use my own example. I am here because I feel like crap every day and - if I don't just drop over dead in the next 15 minutes - I face the next 40 yrs in pain and misery if I don't change my body. I suspect that you had similar reasons for starting this. PLEASE - try and remember that the scale only produces a meaningless number. I am doing this to get a life. LOVE that large jacket. LOVE the running. Burn the scale and love yourself. Everyone on LBT does - you can count on it. xo

I'm with ya, Sister! I finally got my letter from my PCP and now AIGB should have everything - but it's back to waiting for me... They have to package it up - and send it off to LapBand Solutions, so THEY can package it again and send it off to Blue Cross... And then, I get to wait for BC/BS to make a decision. Oh Joy. I guess all we can do is wait and hope. Keepin' my fingers crossed for both of us! Irene

Gabriel 1st - try and appeal your insurance - if you have co-morbidities, BMI of 36 should be sufficient. 2nd - lots of thread on Mexico on this site. Run a search for "mexico" and read on. :]

LOL. My BMI is about 61, too. I am 5' 5" and 356 lbs at my last doctor's visit. I relocated from Oregon to TX about 3 yrs ago. Maybe you're just MY long lost cousin. Hopefully, we will soon begin to lose our resemblance to that other guy... Slow & Steady - Slow & Steady. :]

Running? Yeah, Baby! Sign me up for that. Right now, I do an Excellent impression of Jabba the Hut... but no running. My knees would simply implode. My Doc's letter is finally ready!! (Yee Haw!) So, now I can get this insurance show on the road... maybe Pam & I can do our Turtle Slow & Steady thing together! Everybody think good thoughts.

You'll have to think about why he doens't support you. It could be he is afraid that you will get skinny and leave him. (low self-esteem on his part). You can work on that by stressing that the surgery is about your Health - not beauty. Lavish him with attention and tell him how much you need him and want him with you all the way. If he knows that you love him and want to stay with him, he may loosen up a little. It could also be a control issue - if you have the surgery, you will be independent of him in regard to controlling your weight. The Band will be in control. If its a control thing - you won't be able to make him feel any better and he will never support you. Of course, if it's a control thing, that isn't good, overall. Change is scary. Hopefully, he is just afraid. Try lavishing him with attention and love for a bit and see if it gets any better. We're all thinking good thoughts.

Yep. if you are listed in any public phone directory - that information is available to everyone, world wide. I just figure that anybody who really wants to "get me" is going to find a way. No sense living in fear. I found this site on Google. I hope many others continue to find us the same way.

Love Lingers for Time's Magic zdctb

Hard Candy. If you have to have a sweet - suck on a piece of hard candy. (no crunching!) I like those hot cinnamon drops - one of them lasts for several minutes - but only hits you with like 11 calories or something. Just remember - ice cream is evil...

I have decided that I am going to get the band and let my twisted psyche catch up. I figure it's like any other life-changing event - you cannot truly prepare for it - you just have to do it and learn as you go. I have been waiting to be "mentally prepared" to lose weight for something like 10 yrs - and it hasn't happened yet - so screw it. God knows, I have tried all the diet plans there are and you can see where THAT has gotten me... So, if my insurance will pay - I am getting the band NOW. (I want it NOW - just call me Veruca). I will battle the Mind Monsters as they attack - with lots of help from my new LBT friends.

No Band, yet. I am still waiting for the letter from my doctor - she has taken 3 weeks! - but I expect to have that by Friday. Then everything has to be submitted to my insurance company. I am using Doctor Fox. He is the only doc in the Surgery Center of Richardson who takes Blue Cross. (I work in Addison - so its on the flight path). I think my procedure will take place at RHD - since Blue Cross will only pay if the procedure is performed at a hospital. I was bummed. The SCR does it as a day surgery in their clinic on Coit just south of Arapaho. I was hoping for that.

Dang - I'm just in Lil' Ol' Allen... But I'm still in the North 40...

I think those flowers are Clematis. It's a vine. There are lots of colors available - and they seem to be fairly hardy. I love them. You can never have too many flowers.

Be More Happy, Says Irene DLTGQ

I get the inner ear thing too. Allergies kick up. My head isn't stuffy or aching or anything - I just get dizzy sometimes when I stand up to quickly. The first time it happened - I went to the doctor and found out it was an inner ear infection that I didn't even know I had. Since then, I just check with my husband to see if his allergies are giving him *#&$ and go on about my business. If it lasts for more than a few days, you might want to have your doctor check it out, just to be sure.

off. Brains or Looks?

Jack, you always make me smile. Thanks, Darlin' :]

I guess you could post this under "Things I have done since losing the weight" Woo Hoo! And, you ARE beautiful. Good luck and have fun!

I am also married, have 2 cats, love crafts and Law & Order. I graduated from the University of Oregon in 1990 with a degree in Psychology.

Her Family preferred "real diets". qrstd

Butch Wow! Incredible work! I am so happy that you have lost one of the extra people you were carrying around. I also carry an extra body - and I can't wait to get my band and start getting rid of it. I know that some part of you is hiding from something - it's true of me and probably lots of others on this site. Fat provides a form of protection - from the eyes of the opposite sex, or whatever. It's an excuse for failures, and of course the food is a comfort. The trick is to try and find out what you are hiding/protecting yourself from and try to deal with it in some form other than the "eat another pie shop". You are already a huge leap ahead of me. You have the band and you have lost a large amount of weight - but being fat is as much of a state of mind as a state of body - and it's time for you to work on the mind-part. Relax about the body part - let it ride and maintain. Talk to someone, preferably a trained counselor, and think about what type of protection the fat has been giving you. It takes courage to change your life - but you have already shown that you have it. Everyone on LBT is behind you - thinking good thoughts and sending positive energy. {{{HUGS}}} Irene ps - if you can get past the whole "girly" thing - a girdle might help with the apron/back issues.

I am in Allen TX (Near Dallas) and I am going to get my band from Dr. Fox - IF I can ever get my PCP to write the letter of medical necessity! I guess two weeks doesn't seem like a long time to a busy doc - but I am DYIN' over here.... It's the last thing I need!

The only thing I miss about the wet northwest is the coffee. I used to LOVE the Coffee People and some of the other local places. Starbucks is a poor substitute - but it will have to do. They are EVERYWHERE (Thank God) and I will never have to be without my drug of choice. How Have I missed out on the War Hammer? I will have to see if my local place makes that one. Of course, they all shudder when I order my Iced Quad Carmel Machiatto... :]

Congrats!! My insurance is BC/BS of CA - and I am just waiting for my doc's letter to send everything off for pre-approval. You give me hope! I sooooooooo want this surgery! Maybe we can both be banded in August! :]