globally yours

Good for you! Keep it up.

Mary you look fantastic!

Congratulations to all who have their surgery behind them!

Congratulations! Always good to hear from fellow Hoosiers. Way to go!

How nice to hear from everyone working on getting their surgery, and WAHOO to Tracy and her sister for having theirs. Please keep us posted on your slimming!

:lol:Nice to meet you Ronna. What a precious little family it sounds like you have! Bet you are proud of your daughter and all her hard work. I've been married 7 years, to a real sweetheart. We don't have any little ones, well we do have furry little ones who you can see in the picture. They are Squeakers (the bigger one) and Harry. Good to have someone closer to home to go through this with. We have Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and they seem to have good bariatric benefits. I dropped off my packet to the Drs office last Monday, so now waiting to hear for my one on one with the surgeons. Have you been to a seminar yet? Keep me posted. Nice to have some warmer weather huh?

There's a Dr Allen in Louisville, I think he works out of Norton's. Also look at St Mary and Elizabeth. I'm from the sunny side of the river, and they are doing lapband at Clark Memorial now.

So sorry Mary. Where's my mind. Here's one I copy/pasted it for you. Hope it's not too late! AMPLE LETTER FROM PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN ON YOUR PROFESSIONAL LETTERHEAD (Date) RE: (Patient’s Name) (Date of Birth) Dear Dr. Pleatman: Mr./Mrs./Ms. (Name of Patient) has been a patient of mine for ___ years. The patient is (height) and weighs (weight in lbs.) with a BMI of ____. The patient has been excessively overweight for (period of time) and having attempted and been unsuccessful at many different methods of weight loss, would certainly benefit from Bariatric surgery. In addition to morbid obesity, the patient is suffering from the following co-morbid conditions: (e.g. diabetes, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, hypercholesterolemia, hyperlipidemia, ASHD, exertional dyspnea, urinary incontinence, degenerative joint disease, osteoarthritis, PVD, shortness of breath, etc.) **The patient has tried many methods of weight loss including diet pills (SPECIFIC DATES & LENGTH OF TIME) with (# of pounds lost and whether it was regained or not), Physician administered diets for (SPECIFIC DATES & LENGTH OF TIME) with (# of pounds lost and whether it was regained or not), etc. The patient is limited due to his/her co-morbidities in the ability to exercise but has tried (LIST ALL ATTEMPTS AND AN SUCCESSES OR REGAINING OF WEIGHT). Family medical history is positive for (e.g. Obesity, hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, etc.) I feel that my patient would benefit greatly from bariatric surgery as a tool to help lose the excess weight, lessen the co-morbidities and regain a more healthful life. Sincerely, Maybe something like this....:frown:

Did your Dr's appointment go well? I received my letter from my PCP, the one I did, Friday afternoon. Dropped my packet off to the Bariatric Coordinator this morning. So hope to hear from the surgeons within two weeks.

Here's a link that might be useful Mary. Melinda

Hello all I'm from Southern Indiana. Nice to know there are fellow Kentuckiana folk here.

Hi ChaCa I'm from Southern Indiana as well. What kind of dog is in your photo? We have 2 maltepoos, Squeakers and Harry. I went to a seminar at Clark beginning of January, have received my letter from PCP, and tomorrow will drop off my packet to the bariatric coordinator.

Precious, precious, precious

Hi Everyone I'm Melinda, 43, married 7 year to a wonderful man from England. We have 2 maltepoos, thus the picture. I received the letter from my family Dr saying he approves me having the lapband. I'll take my packet Monday to the hospital, and should hear from the surgeon's office within a couple of weeks to meet with him. I'm nnnnervous and excited. Maybe you felt the same way about your procedure

I did read that study. Very interesting.

I am pre-op, and decided to quit my pop habit now. Every morning started with a stop to get a Polar Pop of Diet Pepsi, then switched to Diet Dr Pepper, interlaced with Water...Well, I'm happy to report, I've not had a pop since Wednesday! I've had my moments, especially in the morning. For now I am drinking unsweetened ice tea. Which makes my very British hubby shudder, he doesn't understand why anyone would want ice tea! But he is being VERY supportive of my decision. So for me, it's a HUGE deal to give up carbonated drinks, but I try to think, this is one step I can do NOW to get ready for the surgery.

I stopped by the PCP's office today, and his assistant was walking through, so was able to hand her my letter. That made me feel positive, and that it wasn't going to end up in a pile on the front desk. I work for a Physical Therapy Hospital, at their branch offices, filling in for the Office Coordinators when they want off. So I know about stuff on the OTHER end of the fax machine. There are some Drs who refuse to sign POTs now. Our company has gone paperless, and we're adding DRs a bit at a time, where they can do their signing for us online, in one fell swoop. The office where I've recently been covering, hasn't gone paperless, and I'm about to lose my mind, trying to keep up with 4PTs, 1SLP charts. ARG! So I do understand a little what it's like. Trying to be my own advocate if you know what I mean, so I can keep the ball rolling for the surgery. You´ll have to keep me posted on your appointment. Bet you're counting down the days.

You are all very inspirational! I'm only in my "waiting to get a letter from my PCP" phase. Thanks so much for your encouraging words! Here's to good choices, and better health!

Very enlightening! That eases my mind. I've always loved my doctor, but was just taken aback a bit. Well, I've written the letter, so am going to drop it off tomorrow after work. I went to seminar 1/10, have filled out all my paperwork, the letter from my PCP is the last bit I need to submit to the surgeon. Looks like yours is full speed ahead! Thanks again.

You might try putting a bit of peppermint essential on your forehead, back of your neck, and on your cheekbones if you like aromatherapy things. Or if you don't like putting in on your skin, you could put some in a diffuser, or if you don't have a diffuser you could put about 5 drops in a pan of near boiling water, and breathe in the steam.

Good advice Shoresexy. Thanks for your practicality!

Thanks for this thread. I've been lurking in the background on and off for months. We went to a seminar Thursday, and felt very positive afterwards. Spent Friday evening filling out the paperwork, wrote a letter to my PCP, which is the only thing I'm waiting on to be able to turn in my package. I'm excited and nervous at the same time, but feel like it's time to take control of my weight problem, which has been haunting my entire life. Thanks again for the post, and will be watching with you.