ShellShock

One month down for my 6 month supervised diet. It is very exciting to get closer to approval. I say approval because I know it will happen. You have to be positive. Well for my first month it was kind of crazy. I went back and forth for what I was supposed to do since I was getting info from different people. The first nutritionist gave me one diet then the surgeon didn’t want me to see her and gave me a different diet and a different nutritionist to go to. So I tried his diet then saw the other nutritionist and she gave me a different diet again. I like her diet though. It was easy the first two weeks and now it is more difficult because I am poor. I have to drink three protein shakes a day along with some eggs as a snack and a regular dinner as long as I eat soup, salad, and beans before anything else. The shakes are confusing because I have to add a bunch of things to it and make enough to take to work for all three servings. It is just hard to do that because I commute an hour to work and have to do it the night before. I have gotten lazy and now just mix it with a spoon at work but it isn’t as good and I am omitting some things because I am not blending it. I have also gone through like five canisters in three weeks because my boyfriend wants to try it too. So that is the expensive part. Some of the powders are just gross tasting too. At one point I need to switch from milk to water and that won’t taste good with the stuff I have now. I need to experiment more. The shakes do fill me up though. I actually like not eating and just drinking. At dinner though, I have been failing lately. I have been tempted by other things than I should and have been eating them. I had lost 10 pounds when I went to my doctor last week and I need to shape up to not gain anything. I don’t care if I don’t lose but I sure don’t want to gain. I should also be exercising more but I have only started to walk a little more in the afternoon instead of taking the bus a few blocks. I know a lot of people on the forum say not to do the diet but I can’t just not do it. Besides I am learning how to make the shakes and I like the approach the nutritionist is giving me. She is making sure I am as healthy as can be before the surgery. She has put me on fish oil to get my omega 3 up. She has been looking at my lab work and wants me to use specific products in my shakes to add the right vitamins and minerals. That part just makes me feel better and I have been in a great mood. Going to a nutritionist is something that I have never done but have always wanted to do.

One month down for my 6 month supervised diet. It is very exciting to get closer to approval. I say approval because I know it will happen. You have to be positive. Well for my first month it was kind of crazy. I went back and forth for what I was supposed to do since I was getting info from different people. The first nutritionist gave me one diet then the surgeon didn’t want me to see her and gave me a different diet and a different nutritionist to go to. So I tried his diet then saw the other nutritionist and she gave me a different diet again. I like her diet though. It was easy the first two weeks and now it is more difficult because I am poor. I have to drink three protein shakes a day along with some eggs as a snack and a regular dinner as long as I eat soup, salad, and beans before anything else. The shakes are confusing because I have to add a bunch of things to it and make enough to take to work for all three servings. It is just hard to do that because I commute an hour to work and have to do it the night before. I have gotten lazy and now just mix it with a spoon at work but it isn’t as good and I am omitting some things because I am not blending it. I have also gone through like five canisters in three weeks because my boyfriend wants to try it too. So that is the expensive part. Some of the powders are just gross tasting too. At one point I need to switch from milk to water and that won’t taste good with the stuff I have now. I need to experiment more. The shakes do fill me up though. I actually like not eating and just drinking. At dinner though, I have been failing lately. I have been tempted by other things than I should and have been eating them. I had lost 10 pounds when I went to my doctor last week and I need to shape up to not gain anything. I don’t care if I don’t lose but I sure don’t want to gain. I should also be exercising more but I have only started to walk a little more in the afternoon instead of taking the bus a few blocks. I know a lot of people on the forum say not to do the diet but I can’t just not do it. Besides I am learning how to make the shakes and I like the approach the nutritionist is giving me. She is making sure I am as healthy as can be before the surgery. She has put me on fish oil to get my omega 3 up. She has been looking at my lab work and wants me to use specific products in my shakes to add the right vitamins and minerals. That part just makes me feel better and I have been in a great mood. Going to a nutritionist is something that I have never done but have always wanted to do.

:party: On Thursday I get weighed. It will be second doctor's visit and one month done with my diet. This month has been difficult. I was so confused as to what I should be eating. I went to the nutritionist on Jan 31 like I was supposed to. She wanted me to do 1500 calories and try a gluten free diet (because of my headaches). The gluten free part was not as bad as I thought but it was causing me to eat more calories and I wasn't able to stay under 1500. On Feb 7th, I went to see Dr. Srikanth. He was really nice and of course thought I was a perfect candidate. He said he didn't want me to see the nutritionist that I saw and wanted me to see a different one. So then I got more confused because they gave me a different diet to follow which was basically the atkins diet. I ended up cheating because I couldn't stand guessing what to do. I made the appointment for the other nutritionist and I actually really liked her. I decided to change over to her. I liked that she wanted me to start the protein shakes and looked at my lab work to add the right things to my diet to make sure I was going to get healthy before the surgery. I don't know if I will have lost any weight before my weigh in thursday though. Since I was up and down with what to eat I and ended up cheating I may have actually gained. I know some people say they don't even try the diet but I can't do that. I might as well get some weight off now and it will be easier

:biggrin: On Thursday I get weighed. It will be second doctor's visit and one month done with my diet. This month has been difficult. I was so confused as to what I should be eating. I went to the nutritionist on Jan 31 like I was supposed to. She wanted me to do 1500 calories and try a gluten free diet (because of my headaches). The gluten free part was not as bad as I thought but it was causing me to eat more calories and I wasn't able to stay under 1500. On Feb 7th, I went to see Dr. Srikanth. He was really nice and of course thought I was a perfect candidate. He said he didn't want me to see the nutritionist that I saw and wanted me to see a different one. So then I got more confused because they gave me a different diet to follow which was basically the atkins diet. I ended up cheating because I couldn't stand guessing what to do. I made the appointment for the other nutritionist and I actually really liked her. I decided to change over to her. I liked that she wanted me to start the protein shakes and looked at my lab work to add the right things to my diet to make sure I was going to get healthy before the surgery. I don't know if I will have lost any weight before my weigh in thursday though. Since I was up and down with what to eat I and ended up cheating I may have actually gained. I know some people say they don't even try the diet but I can't do that. I might as well get some weight off now and it will be easier

smilin_apple, I am not banded yet so I don't know if this will work... but I have a friend who is and was having the same problem. She asked the surgeon's office and a lady that was also banded said that if she kept herself hydrated her band wasn't as tight in the mornings. So maybe try to drink more Water and see if this works.

My Psych Eval was easy but super long. After talking to the guy answering common sense questions I had to take three written tests. Two had about 400 questions and the last only had about 50. But the questions were like "I am a happy person" true or false. "I sometimes hear voices" true or false.

What did your doctor do wrong? I am on my first month of the 6 month diet and I want to avoid the same situation. What exactly does my PCP need to include?

I would change doctors. If this doctor doesn't support your decision then you should not be seeing her. I am sure that as long as you can provide 6 months of consecutive doctor's notes then you will be fine. Just don't let the change in doctor's make you miss a month then you will have to start over. Will the surgeon that you want to have the surgery with see you to supervise the diet? I had the option to see my pcp or the surgeon each month and I am choosing to see my pcp since I like her.

The only way to know is to get a copy of your insurance's policy on Bariatric Surgery. My insurance policy with Cigna specifically states that they require the 6 month diet. Call your insurance with your ID number and have them look it up and mail you a copy. If they don't require it then you don't have to do it.

I did Jenny Craig for six months last year but wasn't going to the doctor each month to document my progress so I cannot submit it to my insurance. If your insurance requires a six month "physician supervised" diet then you must do the diet and see your doctor every month to discuss it. Then you will submit copies of the actual doctor's notes to your insurance not anything from WW. I wasn't thinking about the surgery when I went to JC, so now that my insurance requires this I have to start a new diet for six months.

futurejd, you better check your own plan because my plan with Cigna says it must be 6 consecutive months within the last two years. Just give them a call and give them your ID number to verify what your specific plans says.

I have been to the Blue C. That place is awesome. I'll have to keep that after I am banded when I crave sushi.

I am not banded yet, but am doing some research while jumping through insurance hoops. I am a vegetarian and just wondering what it has been like for banded vegetarians. Is Protein an issue? What about eating the veggie meats and tofu? Has it been a good experience? Any input helps.... Thanks,

Today, I had my annual physical with my PCP. She doesn't like weight loss surgeries but she said she would provide the 5 year weight history. She recommended I try Weight Watchers. I had brought up a surgery a few years ago and she said the same thing then and I let her persuade me away from it. I am not backing down this time though. I have tried so many diets that I am not going down that road again. Afterward I was going to go to work late but considering how long my commute is I decided to take the enitre day off. I went down to the Jenny Craig center to pick up a copy of my file. I was sooooo pissed. The lady said it was ready last Thursday but I didn't make it in. So was it correct of me to assume that it would be ready for me to pick it up today... I guess not. There was nothing waiting for me and they asked me to come back later when the lady arrived. I was frustrated and asked them to look for it. They called the lady that supposedly put it aside for me and still no one could find it. This was at 10:30 AM. They said she would arrive at 11 o'clock and I could get it then. I left and came back and took a seat since she saw me walk in. I saw her get the file but didn't motion for me. I waited since they were busy. The lady said she couldn't find it so she had to make another copy. I waited another 40 minutes before I got the copy. I was polite but really wanted to yell. I took the copies and the medical history with me to the surgeon's office to turn in since it wasn't that far. I opened the envelope with the JC file in it and it was incomplete. Seriously, how stupid can you be to not copy every page. I was missing an entire month of paperwork. I was already at the surgeon's office so I handed it in anyway. When I was looking at it though it was jibberish. I really don't think that the insurance will take it alone. So I went to the nutritionist's office and spoke to them. Last week I called and gave them my info and they said that they would contact me after they spoke with my insurance. Apparently they don't do that until the referral arrives from the surgeon, which never arrived. So I had to go back and get the referral and bring that back to them. So now I have to wait another week before I can even make that appointment and she said they are already looking at February appointments. The recepionist there was really nice though. She gave me some good advice, like to keep a copy of everything. She said to make sure that everything is documented when I see my doctor, like my vitals, weight, and what we talk about. So I now plan on doing their 6 month diet and at the same time I will see my doctor each month to document it. From what I am reading online Jenny Craig alone won't work since I wasn't going to my doctor at the same time. So the current time frame looks like: January - 14th Pychological Evaluation February -7th - 1st Appointment with Dr. Srikanth February -? - First appointment with nutritionist and start supervised diet. August - Turn in paperwork to insurance September - Get approval October - Surgery Well, I don't want to wait that long... Who knows maybe I will get lucky and get approved really quick.

Yesterday I left work early to go to my Psych Eval. I was about 45 minutes away from my work but I left earlier to beat the traffic. I got there 30 minutes early and sat in the waiting room. A lady had two bratty kids with her that were making so much noise. It was unbearable. I almost went outside to wait but it was raining. You could tell that the children didn't listen to her at all...ever. When I was called into the doctor's office the guy was super nice. It was hard to understand him though because he had a cold and he was slurring his words. I was kind of nervous but I got over it. I had to do some tests like repeat words he said and draw a picture. Then he asked me some personal questions. I had seen a therapist for a while the last year and he asked about that. He really didn't go into great detail though I guess since it was for testing and not to cure my problems. I thought it was funny when he asked me what year, day, month, etc that it was. After the initial interview and verbal testing, I had to do some written tests. There were three of them and boy were they long. The first had over 500 questions but luckily he only had me do about 400. Then 200 on the next and 80 on the third. They were all true or false and were questions like "I feel comfortable in large groups of people." or "I hear things that other people don't hear." Some of them were kind of funny to "normal" people like "Sometimes my soul leaves my body." He made a joke about that one.... He said that if that happend to be true, I should know that the surgeon's don't like to hear that and I should answer it false no matter what.... When I left I had a really bad headache. I got there about 4PM and left just after 6PM but I had to drive across town to pick up my boyfriend. So I didn't get to eat anything until after 7PM. I ended up having a migrane and it was aweful. I was up all night and didn't get any rest. So today I stayed home from work. I should actually eat something now because I am getting a headache again. That is something that I am wondering.... I get migranes and headaches often. Will they be worse when I have the lapband. I know that some are sparked by not eating. Not all of them but some. I know that I should cut back on caffene or at least soda's and carbs now so that I am not in withdrawl later. That is something that I read on the message boards. So I called the nutritionist's office again yesterday and they still don't have an answer yet. It is pissing me off I want to get started on the diet immediately. I will also go to my doctor each month to be official but I need to see the nutritionist.

Yesterday I left work early to go to my Psych Eval. I was about 45 minutes away from my work but I left earlier to beat the traffic. I got there 30 minutes early and sat in the waiting room. A lady had two bratty kids with her that were making so much noise. It was unbearable. I almost went outside to wait but it was raining. You could tell that the children didn't listen to her at all...ever. When I was called into the doctor's office the guy was super nice. It was hard to understand him though because he had a cold and he was slurring his words. I was kind of nervous but I got over it. I had to do some tests like repeat words he said and draw a picture. Then he asked me some personal questions. I had seen a therapist for a while the last year and he asked about that. He really didn't go into great detail though I guess since it was for testing and not to cure my problems. I thought it was funny when he asked me what year, day, month, etc that it was. After the initial interview and verbal testing, I had to do some written tests. There were three of them and boy were they long. The first had over 500 questions but luckily he only had me do about 400. Then 200 on the next and 80 on the third. They were all true or false and were questions like "I feel comfortable in large groups of people." or "I hear things that other people don't hear." Some of them were kind of funny to "normal" people like "Sometimes my soul leaves my body." He made a joke about that one.... He said that if that happend to be true, I should know that the surgeon's don't like to hear that and I should answer it false no matter what.... When I left I had a really bad headache. I got there about 4PM and left just after 6PM but I had to drive across town to pick up my boyfriend. So I didn't get to eat anything until after 7PM. I ended up having a migrane and it was aweful. I was up all night and didn't get any rest. So today I stayed home from work. I should actually eat something now because I am getting a headache again. That is something that I am wondering.... I get migranes and headaches often. Will they be worse when I have the lapband. I know that some are sparked by not eating. Not all of them but some. I know that I should cut back on caffene or at least soda's and carbs now so that I am not in withdrawl later. That is something that I read on the message boards. So I called the nutritionist's office again yesterday and they still don't have an answer yet. It is pissing me off I want to get started on the diet immediately. I will also go to my doctor each month to be official but I need to see the nutritionist.

I have Cigna and am starting the process for approval for the Lapband. I did Jenny Craig for six months last summer on my own and wasn't thinking about the Lapband at the time. I lost 60 pounds but then I had to stop because it cost so much. I have now gained almost all of it back and I am at the end of my line. I can't keep doing this to myself. My question is: Will Cigna accept those 6 months on Jenny Craig? Or will I have to do a physician supervised diet for the next six months? I have called them and one lady said Jenny Craig was fine but when I read the policy it stated it was not sufficient, but it was worded weird... What have your experiences been?

Today, I had my annual physical with my PCP. She doesn't like weight loss surgeries but she said she would provide the 5 year weight history. She recommended I try Weight Watchers. I had brought up a surgery a few years ago and she said the same thing then and I let her persuade me away from it. I am not backing down this time though. I have tried so many diets that I am not going down that road again. Afterward I was going to go to work late but considering how long my commute is I decided to take the enitre day off. I went down to the Jenny Craig center to pick up a copy of my file. I was sooooo pissed. The lady said it was ready last Thursday but I didn't make it in. So was it correct of me to assume that it would be ready for me to pick it up today... I guess not. There was nothing waiting for me and they asked me to come back later when the lady arrived. I was frustrated and asked them to look for it. They called the lady that supposedly put it aside for me and still no one could find it. This was at 10:30 AM. They said she would arrive at 11 o'clock and I could get it then. I left and came back and took a seat since she saw me walk in. I saw her get the file but didn't motion for me. I waited since they were busy. The lady said she couldn't find it so she had to make another copy. I waited another 40 minutes before I got the copy. I was polite but really wanted to yell. I took the copies and the medical history with me to the surgeon's office to turn in since it wasn't that far. I opened the envelope with the JC file in it and it was incomplete. Seriously, how stupid can you be to not copy every page. I was missing an entire month of paperwork. I was already at the surgeon's office so I handed it in anyway. When I was looking at it though it was jibberish. I really don't think that the insurance will take it alone. So I went to the nutritionist's office and spoke to them. Last week I called and gave them my info and they said that they would contact me after they spoke with my insurance. Apparently they don't do that until the referral arrives from the surgeon, which never arrived. So I had to go back and get the referral and bring that back to them. So now I have to wait another week before I can even make that appointment and she said they are already looking at February appointments. The recepionist there was really nice though. She gave me some good advice, like to keep a copy of everything. She said to make sure that everything is documented when I see my doctor, like my vitals, weight, and what we talk about. So I now plan on doing their 6 month diet and at the same time I will see my doctor each month to document it. From what I am reading online Jenny Craig alone won't work since I wasn't going to my doctor at the same time. So the current time frame looks like: January - 14th Pychological Evaluation February -7th - 1st Appointment with Dr. Srikanth February -? - First appointment with nutritionist and start supervised diet. August - Turn in paperwork to insurance September - Get approval October - Surgery Well, I don't want to wait that long... Who knows maybe I will get lucky and get approved really quick.

Well, yesterday I didn’t make it to JC to pick up my file. When I get off the ferry each evening I have to walk ten to fifteen minutes to get to my car and it was raining sooooo hard. It was the kind of rain that soaks you through and through and hurts when it hits you. Hopefully tonight it won’t be as bad but I didn’t realize that they close by 6PM on Fridays so it may not be until tomorrow. I posted a question on the lap band forum yesterday asking opinions about the 6 month diet. Only two people have responded but the answers were not helpful. They doubted whether JC would be accepted and they said that since I lost so much weight I would probably be denied. I hope that someone with more knowledge responds so that I can get a better idea. I wish I knew about the supervised diet sooner and I could have done that instead of JC. Like I mentioned yesterday, I am going to start it anyway. That way if I am not approved I will have it to fall back on. I just don’t understand why there are so many hoops to jump through. I know that some people really don’t need the Lap band but there are others that really do. If your BMI is over whatever then you should be automatically approved.

Well, yesterday I didn’t make it to JC to pick up my file. When I get off the ferry each evening I have to walk ten to fifteen minutes to get to my car and it was raining sooooo hard. It was the kind of rain that soaks you through and through and hurts when it hits you. Hopefully tonight it won’t be as bad but I didn’t realize that they close by 6PM on Fridays so it may not be until tomorrow. I posted a question on the lap band forum yesterday asking opinions about the 6 month diet. Only two people have responded but the answers were not helpful. They doubted whether JC would be accepted and they said that since I lost so much weight I would probably be denied. I hope that someone with more knowledge responds so that I can get a better idea. I wish I knew about the supervised diet sooner and I could have done that instead of JC. Like I mentioned yesterday, I am going to start it anyway. That way if I am not approved I will have it to fall back on. I just don’t understand why there are so many hoops to jump through. I know that some people really don’t need the Lap band but there are others that really do. If your BMI is over whatever then you should be automatically approved.

Yesterday as soon as I got to work I faxed in my insurance verification form to the surgeon's office. I got a call back during my lunch time but had to wait to call them back until they got back from their hour lunch break. I spoke to the woman and she told me what I already knew and that was that I was covered but needed to do the 6 month supervised diet. I told her that I had spoken with someone at my insurance and they said that Jenny Craig was fine so I wanted to submit that and see if it get's approved. She went ahead and scheduled me for my first visit with Dr. Srikanth and that will be one Feb. 7, 2008. I wanted one sooner but I guess it is fine since I will need to get the approval process started anyway. After work I went to the Jenny Craig office and asked them to make a copy of my file for my insurance. The manager wasn't in so the lady wanted to wait for permission first. I said that would be fine and she called me back today to let me know I could pick it up tonight if I signed their release form. So I will do that and mail it off tomorrow. Today I also got the referral for the Phych Eval and made my appointment. I could not believe it when she said I would be there for two hours. What the heck do they need me for that long????... Anyway, I called the nutritionist and she took my info and said she had to verify insurance before scheduling an appointment. I may start a supervised diet now and if the Jenny Craig stuff doesn't work I will have that to fall back on. Besides, I feel pretty miserable lately. I have been down on myself because I have gained so much weight back. I am having a hard time in the morning walking to the ferry. It just isn't as easy. Days when I have to rush because I am running late I am completely out of breath when I arrive. When i had lost weight walking was easy but I was also going to the gym a few times a week. So yeah, I might just start that supervised diet anyway. I sure hope that I get approved with the other stuff though because I hate waiting and I really want to get the surgery done. I want to feel better.

Yesterday as soon as I got to work I faxed in my insurance verification form to the surgeon's office. I got a call back during my lunch time but had to wait to call them back until they got back from their hour lunch break. I spoke to the woman and she told me what I already knew and that was that I was covered but needed to do the 6 month supervised diet. I told her that I had spoken with someone at my insurance and they said that Jenny Craig was fine so I wanted to submit that and see if it get's approved. She went ahead and scheduled me for my first visit with Dr. Srikanth and that will be one Feb. 7, 2008. I wanted one sooner but I guess it is fine since I will need to get the approval process started anyway. After work I went to the Jenny Craig office and asked them to make a copy of my file for my insurance. The manager wasn't in so the lady wanted to wait for permission first. I said that would be fine and she called me back today to let me know I could pick it up tonight if I signed their release form. So I will do that and mail it off tomorrow. Today I also got the referral for the Phych Eval and made my appointment. I could not believe it when she said I would be there for two hours. What the heck do they need me for that long????... Anyway, I called the nutritionist and she took my info and said she had to verify insurance before scheduling an appointment. I may start a supervised diet now and if the Jenny Craig stuff doesn't work I will have that to fall back on. Besides, I feel pretty miserable lately. I have been down on myself because I have gained so much weight back. I am having a hard time in the morning walking to the ferry. It just isn't as easy. Days when I have to rush because I am running late I am completely out of breath when I arrive. When i had lost weight walking was easy but I was also going to the gym a few times a week. So yeah, I might just start that supervised diet anyway. I sure hope that I get approved with the other stuff though because I hate waiting and I really want to get the surgery done. I want to feel better.

Yay!!!! Happy New Year!!! I already have my new insurance card and I am so excited. The first thing that I did this morning was start filling in the insurance blanks on my paperwork. So now it is ready to send in. Unfortunately today is a holiday.:cry Tomorrow I go back to work and I will fax in the insurance verification paperwork. The last time I did that with my other insurance they called me back the same day with the bad news that it wasn't covered. But this time I know the news will be positive. I already have my ducks in a row and have called Cigna myself. I asked about the specific code and they said yes it is covered at 90%. I just have to worry about the approval. I shouldn't be bad since I did six months on Jenny Craig last summer. I lost 60 lbs. I was so proud of myself. Then my boyfriend got laid off and I had to quit. Boy did the weight pack right back on. I believe I have put 50 pounds back on already. I feel so lame. My sister was in town for Christmas and she is soooo skinny. When I told her about the Lapband she thought it was great but then every time I ate anything she would look at me and tell me something like about portions or the kind of food I was eating was bad. My other sister who has weight issues also was getting the same thing from her and we both agreed that unless you have had weight problems you just don't know what it is like. Sometimes I eat bad things and I just cannot help myself. It sounds bad and people will say yes I can but no, I cannot. I will eat something and as I am eating it I will tell myself that I need to stop or boy will I never do that again but I always do. If I could help myself, don't you think I would be skinny just like my sister. There are times when I have control and times that I don't. When I was on Jenny Craig I was so strict. But when I stopped, my body or well mind said hey you haven't had that in a while just try some. Then it is telling you, you will go back on that diet as soon as you have more money but for now go ahead an splurge. It is so frustrating. I feel like the Lapband is the only way I can control myself. For something else to do that control. Enough of that.... My goal is to be banded by my birthday in March. I really don't know how realistic that is. I have to get a bunch of files copied and sent in to the surgeon's office. I have to mail those off tomorrow also. I hope they mail those to them quickly. I know that you cannot submit partial information in to the insurance. You have to have everything they ask for sent in all at once. I have looked at the message boards and Cigna seems to be pretty good about approving people. The ones that didn't get approved had really low BMI's or didn't do any diet. So I am crossing my fingers...

Yay!!!! Happy New Year!!! I already have my new insurance card and I am so excited. The first thing that I did this morning was start filling in the insurance blanks on my paperwork. So now it is ready to send in. Unfortunately today is a holiday.:cry Tomorrow I go back to work and I will fax in the insurance verification paperwork. The last time I did that with my other insurance they called me back the same day with the bad news that it wasn't covered. But this time I know the news will be positive. I already have my ducks in a row and have called Cigna myself. I asked about the specific code and they said yes it is covered at 90%. I just have to worry about the approval. I shouldn't be bad since I did six months on Jenny Craig last summer. I lost 60 lbs. I was so proud of myself. Then my boyfriend got laid off and I had to quit. Boy did the weight pack right back on. I believe I have put 50 pounds back on already. I feel so lame. My sister was in town for Christmas and she is soooo skinny. When I told her about the Lapband she thought it was great but then every time I ate anything she would look at me and tell me something like about portions or the kind of food I was eating was bad. My other sister who has weight issues also was getting the same thing from her and we both agreed that unless you have had weight problems you just don't know what it is like. Sometimes I eat bad things and I just cannot help myself. It sounds bad and people will say yes I can but no, I cannot. I will eat something and as I am eating it I will tell myself that I need to stop or boy will I never do that again but I always do. If I could help myself, don't you think I would be skinny just like my sister. There are times when I have control and times that I don't. When I was on Jenny Craig I was so strict. But when I stopped, my body or well mind said hey you haven't had that in a while just try some. Then it is telling you, you will go back on that diet as soon as you have more money but for now go ahead an splurge. It is so frustrating. I feel like the Lapband is the only way I can control myself. For something else to do that control. Enough of that.... My goal is to be banded by my birthday in March. I really don't know how realistic that is. I have to get a bunch of files copied and sent in to the surgeon's office. I have to mail those off tomorrow also. I hope they mail those to them quickly. I know that you cannot submit partial information in to the insurance. You have to have everything they ask for sent in all at once. I have looked at the message boards and Cigna seems to be pretty good about approving people. The ones that didn't get approved had really low BMI's or didn't do any diet. So I am crossing my fingers...

Today is my first journal entry. I have been wanting to start one up but hadn't really looked into it. Well anyway, today is Friday, December 28, 2007. Only three more days til the new year and my new insurance will kick in. I have been very impatient because I just want to get the process started. I want a confirmation whether I can get banded or not. I have always been impatient but that is another story. Let me go back a few weeks to the seminar that I went to. On December 17th I went to a weight loss seminar at St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way. I wanted to get the seminar over with since it was kind of inconvienent. I was very happy that I went though. It really made me see what the potential can be if I do things properly. I teared up when a lady pulled out her pants from her highest weight. It was a dramatic change. There were three people, one from three different surgeries. It was cool to see the before and after photos. I liked to hear their stories and hear what they went through. One lady said that she went onto forums and went to some support groups a long time before her surgery. I think that is a great idea and want to do the same. I really liked the surgeon, Dr. Srikanth. I think that is how it is spelled. Anyway, he was really funny. He kept joking around but you could tell that he liked what he does. He was really knowledgable too. From reading the forums he does sound strict when it comes to diet, but I like that he seems to really care about how you are doing and wants to see you a lot after surgery. The seminar really started a fire in me to get this going. I have all the paperwork filled out and plan on sending it in on Jan. 2nd. I can't do it before since my insurance company changed and I don't technically have a account number until the first. I know that I am covered though. It still depends on them approving it but I am definately at an appropriate BMI and am starting to have some health issues. I had some chest pains a few weeks ago and the doctors are still baffled why but they are ruling things out. We now know it wasn't my heart but it may mean stomache problems. I hope that doesn't complicate my surgery. Boy do I need to cut my nails... It is hard to type... I today with end my current weight. At the doctor's office on Wednesday I was 310 lbs.