3loves

Hold your head high....you have no reason to be ashamed! I'm sorry you had an encounter with this woman. :phanvan Like you said, her intentions may have been good, however, she was very rude and out of line. I was a member of a gym, at least 50 lbs ago, and I felt out of place even then. It's not easy going to a gym b/c people do judge. Don't let this person keep you away if that's where you want to be. I am preband as well and I am so thankful for LBT. Isn't it nice to come here for comfort and support without being judged? :biggrin1: Stay strong and always remember there is always a friendly face at LBT.

Very well said ddiedre!! There is an issue of ignorance/lack of knowledge of the band. I think some surgeons base success on how much and how fast a patient will lose weight. They are proud when their patients lose weight quickly. Those of us that have chosen the band are paving the way for our furture bandsters. I'm preband myself, but know the band is the best choice for me. The band is fairly new to most people. Time will show that gastric bypass is not the only way to go. There are choices and WE will be successful.....one pound at a time regardless how long that takes. Hang in there Dana & you know you can always come here for support!!!

Yeah...FINALLY!! Congratulations!! You must be elated to have this phase behind you. It's the biggest hurdle if you ask me. I hope to join you soon. Nothing can stop you now girl!! :cheer2::banana :eek: :dance: :peace: :clap2:

YEAH....glad to hear that. I will be sure to ask my surgeon since they are all different, but it's good info to know!! Most of my shakes are in the fridge and speak to me every time I open the door. :uwelcome: I hate to keep asking questions, but I'm preband......is the Hydrocodone a nasal spray? I've heard of the liquid. Interesting. :rolleyes

Well Merry Christmas to you (just couldn't resist b/c of your previous post)!! I know you'll be enjoying your present once the swelling goes down. I can't wait to join you. Take care and Congratulations!!:uwelcome:

LMBO :pound: Sounds like good advice to me. You know, chocolate does release a chemical in our brain....the same chemical released during sex. Leener ~ My dietitian recommended a Viactiv to curb the need for chocolate, have you tried it? Has anyone tried it? I'm preband, but can relate to eating a chocolate bunny.....banded or not. Tomorrow is a new day and you are strong!! Take the reins and hold on tight!! :uwelcome:

Steve ~ Congratulations on your new band!!! Fantastic job on your weight loss so far. :clap2: You know, I still have some Optifast left from last year and was going to use it, but someone here at LBT (will have to look that one up) said it didn't have enough Protein. I better double check that b/c it would be a tremendous help if I could use those instead of buying new Protein shakes. They don't expire until June or July. Did your doc approve of the Optifast shakes? Maybe I'll add that to my list of questions. Anyway, I apologize b/c I didn't mean to hi-jack. :phanvan I wish you the VERY best and a QUICK recovery!!

:update: My psychologist wrote a letter on my behalf recommending me for the surgery and he used the wording they requested and NGS has a copy. I also confirmed they rec'vd my medical records once again. Now my file has been sent to the insurance doc for review for the 2nd time. I asked my advocate what her feeling was and she said they indicated that while I was on Optifast I was able to lose weight. :uwelcome: What the heck? Last week they were complaining about me not being 100% compliant. I can't win for losing!! I may be looking at an appeal. My advocate did tell them that I can lose, but gain it back and she also said the band is to me what meds would be for an alcoholic. If they drink they get sick. The band would be a tool to help me keep weight off. Good analogy I thought. Should I line up an attorney? Any suggestions for one? We don't have much money b/c I'm a SAHM and things are tight as always. :phanvan Still praying for a positive outcome, but I'm ready to fight.

I feel I can contribute even though I have small feet.....size 7W.....kind of small anyway. The only shoes I wear are Easy Spirits. They offer casual to dressy in all sizes, including 11's and 12's. I don't have a store near me since we moved to IN so I use www.easyspirit.com or E-Bay since I know my size. ~Good Luck~

Glad you got all the pics....I'm sure you had fun. :biggrin1: You are in NASCAR country for sure!! I bet it feels good to be there. I know how beautiful it is. Enjoy your time and let us know how things progress....your about to get down with band business!!

Maybe your surgeon can give you a relaxer in addition to the local. Don't know if that's possible b/c I don't have experience with that type of thing, but I do know Ativan works really well!! You'll be fine regardless.....I'm sure. Keep in touch!!

Yippee!!:dance:Sounds like your just a letter away....verbal approval...:wow2: Glad to hear that!! :clap2: I find it interesting that we can become so educated on the procedures of a company in a short period of time and help train their employees in the process. We should get paid for training, don't you think? My psychologist wrote the letter I needed. I will call to make sure they get the fax and I dare them to come up with a new excuse. :Banane04: Since Friday is Good Friday, I don't look for an answer until next week. We will be doing the happy dance soon!! :dance:

Cheri ~ You are more than welcome!! I'm glad to hear your enjoying your bunny surprise!! I hope it didn't take too long to take off all the saran wrap. :Banane04: I wrapped it pretty good to keep it in the basket on it's journey to you. This was so much fun and I'm looking forward to next time.

Mrs Sabre ~ I am so excited for you!! I am also getting close on an answer from my insurance. God's timing is perfect even though we would like to speed it up sometimes.....human nature creeping in. Sounds like your insurance is on top of things!! I will pray for you.

Diane ~ Thank you so much!! This is going on my hard drive for future reference. You are a super inspiration!! :clap2:

Lisa ~ I think you do love yourself. If you didn't, why would you have gotten the band in the first place? Like you said, you are having head-hunger which is, as we have seen here, a common demon in many of our lives. Yes, I do think it goes back to filling a need of some sort. Did that need come from our childhood? Perhaps it did for some, perhaps not. Only each person can speak to that. I'm also not sure we even know where this need comes from. All we know is that it's there and food helps us feel better. IMO what TommyO was saying is that we need to give ourselves what we can't get from others. Is that forgiveness for you (as in anyone reading this) or is it something else? Find out what that is and maybe that will help. It would be easy to offer advice and type "words of wisdom" all day long. I could act like I have some answers, but truth is, I can't answer that for myself right now. How can I answer that for someone else? All I can do is offer what little knowledge I learn and hear. Knowledge is one thing, but acting on it is a entire different ball game. It's nice to know you have others on your team in the same game. Thanks for bringing this up.....it's making me do some soul searching.

Funny you bring this up....I just noticed this last night. You could copy and paste most, if not all of the posts, made by this member. This person is definitely here to advertise and I am of the opinion that this should be stopped. I don't mind a couple times, but pull this user up and you can clearly see they are here to recruit. They seem to prey upon the posts of individuals that are vulnerable. I'm not for censorship, but other members do have the right get legitimate feedback without having to hear a commercial. That is not the purpose of this site. I didn't know/recognize the little red flag....great tool!!

Wow....congratulations on the road to a new you!! Glad to hear your doing so well.....that's encouraging!! Take care and like they always say, sip...sip...sip!!

Good luck Joy Joy!! You seem very focused and determined. I can't wait to get my band. :biggrin1: Best wishes for you!!

Bless you heart Jana!! I am preband, but wanted you to know I'm here and I will definitely pray for you. I see your a SAHM and even though I hope to get my insurance to pay, I understand your financial concerns. You know, I don't have any experience with this yet, but the first thing that comes to mind is I'm wondering if your tubing is at the proper length? Perhaps that is an issue you can discuss with your surgeon. I'm going to add that to my list of questions for my surgeon as well. Hang in there.....you deserve for this band to work and I know it will once you get over this hurdle. Take care and let us know how things go.

Mvpo8961 ~ Yup, sounds like my insurance company....NGS American....they need to work on some training issues. Isn't is amazing the things they can come up with from day to day? I was told today the lapband is not covered by my insurance. :censored: That info is incorrect, but still, why do some of these insurance companies have a hard time keeping their story straight? You are soooo close!! Hang in there and keep us posted.....I'll do the same. You too nanahanna!! Fight Bulldogs Fight :fencing:

Hey Kim ~ You didn't hijack at all!! This is about all of us that have to fight. After being part of this site, I have heard it all and feel I'm armed and ready. I'm about to pull out a can of pre-menstrual whoop ass on them!! Good for you for staying strong....we will fight together!! Long story short, I now have an advocate that represents the company my husband works for. She handles insurance for our self-funded company. She was told today that they don't even pay for lapband. What a crock. I have taken notes since day one and told her on 1-9-06 at 2:15 PM I talked to Kathy at NGS and she informed me it was a paid benefit. They also said they didn't have my other medical records. I told her I talked to Keely on 1-22-06 and confirmed they were rec'vd. I sent another copy of my records to NGS with Delivery Confirmation (she said it wouldn't pay to overnight them) and when the mail room gets this envelope, they are to hand deliver it to the manager of the Pre D dept. Also, thanks to LBT, I was able to also provide her with the procedure code. I told her about all of you. :biggrin1: She called NGS back and put my file into the hands of management! :clap2: She told them there is no reason for my file to be denied and no reason for me to be waiting this long. She gave them until the end of April to get my file in order and make a decision. She said thinks looked positive and I should be able to get the surgery IF I can get the Psy Eval put into wording of a favorable decision.....it's all about perception. My surgeon's office is going to address this with the psychologist. Boy, it pays to document. I have every date, time, person, and conversation documented from day one. I guess it's a habit from my admin days that seems to be paying off.

Make the "Search" feature more efficient. For example, the results should show posts of searched item instead of a thread where you have to swim through pages of info that doesn't pertain to your search. I just don't get the expected results when using the search button. It's easier to create a new thread in some cases. Thanks!!

I love it!! :pound: I wouldn't mind a piece of that arse.

:clap2: Way to go Philip!! "Since Sat" is a long time in their little lives....good for him!! I know he is very proud b/c my Danny has me check him each time to see if he "got bigger". Of course, he does get bigger each time he uses the potty. :biggrin1: Oh, if you only had your video camera like you said. We do get so busy sometimes with life we forget to catch those special moments we play back in our heads so many times. I can't remember, do you have a dog? Running around in circles.....that is too funny!!! I bet he cleared the yard in a hurry. LMBO Pass the Prozac, will ya?