yellowroseaz

Hi to all of you!:wink2: I would like to get together for lunch or dinner with some bandsters and bandsters to be from Arizona. Maybe in the first to middle of June. Is anyone interested? Pm me if you are interested.

I joined this forum in January. I'm married to a very supportive husband and we have 2 dogs and 2 cats. We live near Casa Grande Arizona. Half way in between Phoenix and Tucson. I have done a lot of research on the net and have chosen to get a lap band. I have been to 2 seminars and have received a referral to a surgeon. My consult with the surgeon and my psych eval are both on Monday 4-21-08. Then in May I have to go to a class called the ABCs of lap band. My Doc is Hilario Jaurez. I expect to be put on a 6 month diet but I won't know until Monday when I see the surgeon. I hope my insurance doesn't make me jump through too many hoops. So far they haven't. I'm both nervous and excited about the surgery. I'd like to talk to other Arizonans who are just starting out too. My goal is to lose at least 105 pounds and to enjoy my life again. Good luck to all in their journeys.:crying:

What is a body bug? Thank you for the info and the inspiration. Jachut of course you count. I'm thinking that I'll be riding my exercise bike and doing aerobics. I have a pretty bad left knee. If it improves with weight loss I will be walking too. Pretty sure I can't run on it but you never know. I am so ready for this. Jumping through insurance hoops is taking a while but I will get there. Congrats to all of you and your lost weight. Keep the success stories comming! If anyone has any exercise suggestions for me please let me know. I can't swim. I live 20 miles from the nearest gym on a dirt road. So I probably won't join the gym but do all my exercising at home. I have several Richard Simmons workout videos and a large womans workout video and I hope those will help. I may hire a trainer a couple of times to teach me strength training. Sounds like you all pretty much just eat less of normal foods. I wish you all further success in your journeys. :smile::wink2:

My surgeon uses both bands a lap band and a realize band. McMadame put it very well. I went to a class last week ABCs of Lap Band. At the class they showed us both bands and it is true the Realize band is bigger but the port is smaller. And I was told that the Realize band comes with a computer program that is very helpful. So I think I want the Realize band. GoodLuck in your new bandster journey JohnC. Keep us posted on your progress.

So you are from Casa Grande. I live near Casa Grande. About 30 minutes south and west. How far are you in your journey? These boards are a great place to get info and support. If you have any questions at all this is a good place to ask them. There is no doc in CG that does it though. My PCP Dr. Patrick Flyte had to send me to a doc in Phoenix. Dr. Hilario Juarez. I go to the cardiologist for my surgery clearance this week. Then the first week of June I have a consult with a nutritionist. I am glad to see there is someone who lives near me on here. Most are from Phoenix or Tucson.:wink_smile:

I am not yet banded. I am in the process of getting all my ducks in a row for ins. approval. I went to a class called the ABCs of Lap band yesterday. It is required by my surgeon. The nurse who did the class said that it is her recommendation to avoid anything that says sugar free on it as well as anything that tastes sweet on your tongue because it makes your body create insulin the same way that sugar does and it makes you hungrier. Has anyone ever been told this? That sounds way too hard for me. I can avoid sugar and sweets but sugar free stuff? Let me know what you think.:biggrin:

So when I had my surgical consult last week, I asked the surgeon. I take 2 capsules everyday one of which is time released. The surgeon said capsules are ok. And all of my other meds are small enough to take one at a time. Ask your surgeon if they are ok. Good luck to you in your journey.

My fingers and toes are crossed for you. Much good luck to you and I hope you have a fast approval. God Bless You.

Welcome to LBT Snowman. As others above have said, keep us posted on how you are doing. I am still jumping through hoops and hope to be banded before the year is out. I hope you are home and recovering now. All the best to you.

I know many of you have been in my shoes. I have my first surgical consult tomorrow and then my bariatric psych eval. I am wondering what the Doc will have to say. I am pretty sure I qualify and that my insurance will pay . I have been big and up and down for about 20 yrears or so and now I desperately want to be thin again. Why am I so worried about this appt? I expect him to say I need a six month diet. :thumbup: I wonder if he'll order a cardiac clearance and a sleep study. Do I really have to sleep with people watching me? My mother had open heart sugery at 57. Will I pass the cardiac clearance? And of course their is the psych eval. Will I pass or fail that? Can anyone give me some advice before I go to these 2 appts tomorrow? Something to calm the nerves. Help!

Hi to Kristeyk in Marana. That is not far from where I live. I live south of Arizona City which as I said is near Casa Grande. I survived my psych eval. Doc says he's sure I would pass that. I went to the surgical consult and Doc approved me. Now he has to submit to the ins. for final approval. Now I have to meet with a nutritionist. Things are progressing. And the surgeon says no 6 month diet. Yay! Where are you fellow Arizonans in your journeys?

I am in the process too. Waiting is hard and I am not a patient person anyway. I have been to 2 seminars and have had one surgical consult. I had my psych eval last week. Hope I passed that. Don't know yet. Now I need a cardiac and a pulmonary clearance. And I need to meet with a nutritionist. All before my surgeon can submit to my insurance for final approval. My surgeon says I should qualify just fine but now it is up to the insurance. I hope to be banded by the fall. Good luck to all of you. Keep reading the posts here and keep posting updates on your progress. This is a great place to learn and to gain friends.

I want to finally get control of my diabetes. I want to get rid of a few other meds too. I really want to be able to exercise and like it again. I want to keep up with my husband and my mother in law because they walk fast without being winded. I want to wear white shorts and a tank top and look good. I want to shop in the normal people section of any store I want. I want to shop at Victorias Secret. I want to be healthy and grow old enough to have great grandkids. I could go on and on here. It's fun and interesting to read what everybody wants. This is a great thread. Good luck and may all of our dreams come true.:grouphug:

Great News for all of you! Keep us posted on how it went.

Kathy that provides quite a picture, I mean my stomach hanging down that far. Argh!!! I think I'll call my insurance and ask the tt question. Course I have a long way to go before I would need one. Good luck to you in your journey.

Congrats on all your weight lost. Now you are looking forward to a tummy tuck. What a great place to be! Is your tt self pay? I hear sometimes you can sneak it by insurance but I don't imagine too often. Anyway it is great to hear from bandsters like you.:glare:

I see there all others of you all in about the same place on your journeys as I am. I wish us all a quick journey to surgery and a speedy recovery. Maybe by the fall we'll all be new lap bandsters. Then we can talk about how much weight we are losing. It's all so exciting. It makes me feel better to talk with others here. Never have I felt so much in common with so many. Those of you who have been through it, you are such a big help to the rest of us. I look forward to reading many more posts. :glare:

The surgeon consult went fine. He approved me but now has to submit it to my insurance for final approval. He said that could take 2 to 3 months.:tongue_smilie: But he did say that I shouldn't have to do a 6 month diet. Yay!:thumbup: So I guess I'll just try to be patient and wait anxiously for insurance approval. The psych eval went fine but I was there later in the afternoon and he said that I have to take a 550 question test on Friday. He is sure I will pass it though. I also have to meet with a nutritionist so I'm going to try to do that on Friday as well. I live out in the middle of nowhere (love it) so I have to drive into the city to get all of this done. It is about an hour and a half away but I know this will all be worth it. I feel more excited after today but of course I am a bit anxious about the insurance and if the will approve quickly or not. I like the surgeon and he answered my list of 30 questions with no problem. He says he does about 20 lapbands a month so I feel pretty confident. If anyone has any comments I would love to hear them.

I have my very supportive husband and my supportive younger brother. My middle brother is not supportive at all. You just need to go on a diet and not eat so much he says. Like he really knows. Not! I have read a lot of posts about of the subject of who to tell. Many people including myself are telling very few people. Some tell none. On these boards you can tell all what is in your heart of hearts and what is on your mind. Everyone is so great here. It's amazing how many unsupportive people are out their. I mean family and friends etc. I do hope you have at least one supportive person. But in the end remember we are doing this for ourselves. I have my surgical consult and my psych eval today and I'm looking forward to having that behind me. I will post tonight and let eveyone know how it went. Good luck in your journey. Remember here you are amoung friends.

So you and I are both going in on the same day. Cool! Let us (me) know how you did too. Thanks for the good advice.

Boo Boo Kitty Congrats on all your lost weight. That is so great!

Wow Alsorl! Your steps to surgery went by fairly quickly. I hope I have the same luck. I wish you well through your surgery and your recovery process.. Georgia Girl! You have lost a bunch of weight. I love to hear success stories. Congrats. Wasabubblebutt Yes we Arizonans are cool. Haven't seen any postings about you and the others getting together again. Do you think you might do that again any time soon?

I think 15 pounds in a month and a half is pretty good but I know some have lost more. I have my consult with the surgeon and my psych eval on this comming Monday 4-21. I hope I get to the liquid diet stage soon but I think they'll probably put me on the dreaded 6 month diet. Keep us posted on how you are doing. I have Dr. Hilario Juarez with Bridges of Arizona. Who is your Doc?

I am going to my surgical consult on 4-21 and am worried about losing weight to where I don't qualify if I have to be on a 6 month diet. And for after the surgery I am worried will I fail again? Can I really lose over a hundred pounds? Vomiting and PBing and slippage and erosion. All that loose skin. Can I afford plastic surgery? A lot to worry about. But I have made up my mind. I am going to do it. I read through these posts and it seems we all have about the same worries. I love the people here. It's so great to know you are not alone. Good luck to all of you in your journeys.

I take 2 psych meds and have for years because they work. But one is Cymbalta and only comes in capsule form. Can't be taken apart and obviously not chewed. I hate to ask the Doc for a substitute because it works so well for me. What would you do or what did you do? I am not banded yet but hope to be this year. I have a consult with the surgeon on 4-21.