zoomomma

My kids are 13, 8, and 6. I have told them all about the surgery and why. My 13 yr. old understands more and so was given more details. The 8 and 6 were just told the basics. Mommy is going to have surgery to help her feel better (physically and mentally). She is going to eat differently and will lose weight. My kids are excited for me and can't wait until I can play with them again. They deserve to know. They will understand and support you. Please don't leave them out of this journey, they will notice things and will be asking questions. You will have to tell them something, why not the truth. Just my opinion.

I agree with TQUAD64. You need to give your body time to recuperate or your healing time could be longer. I've had multiple surgeries, also, and I can tell you when I went to fast it longer to heal. Take your time and talk to your doc, see what he thinks. Personally, I would wait.

Hello all. I am wondering if anyone has used medicare to get the lapband?My husband is going to switch jobs before I can get the surgery done. Don't know if he will even have ins, much less if it will cover it. I am on disability and am eligible for medicare in a little over a year. I'm just wondering how difficult it is to get the lapband through medicare. What are the requirements? How much do they cover? stuff like that. Any info would be appreciated. I want to make sure and get all the stuff they want done so that I am ready to go when I get it. Have only lost a pound on this diet through the doctor. She's taking it slowly so I don't go into "starvation mode". Not losing much, though. Kinda depressing sometimes. I know I shouldn't compare myself to others but sometimes seeing people who succeed with just diets is really depressing when you can't do it yourself, you know. Anyway, just wanted to ask and see what kind of info I could get. Thanks for this great group by the way. Anytime I get depresses or discouraged I come here and get a pick me up. Knowing there are other people out there who struggled like me and still succeeded helps so much. Thanks a bunch.

Hi. Not banded yet. Going to be as soon as possible though. I have severe rapid cycling mixed state bipolar. without meds I go really crazy. I worry that some of my meds will be to big to pass through. How has anyone dealt with this? I don't know if they can be crushed. it is geodon, abilify, ambien and klonopin. those are pretty small and shouldn't be a problem. the kicker is the wellbutrin - it is huge. does it come in liquid? I heard that it may come in shot form? anybody heard of this? I need to know because with three kids to take care of i cannot risk being off on my meds. This is the whole reason i can't do bypass. any suggestions? does weight affect dosage?

I have been scared of the opposite happening. That HE will leave ME for a fat woman. I have been heavy since I met him. He loves my body now even while I don't. So I worry that he will not like me thin. I tease him about it, but it is a real fear deep down. He always says, "Honey, I love YOU for YOU not for the way you look and you will always be beautiful to me whether you are 100 lbs. or 300 lbs. " So I guess I shouldn't worry but sometimes I still do. Silly I know, but I can't seem to help it. I have never had very high self esteem so this is just another part of that popping up I guess. I'm working on it but its hard when people look down on you because you are heavy. I wonder if I will ever lose the weight.

death is a risk for any major surgery but it is very rare and unlikely. I have had 11 surgeries and everytime I get the warning. as long as you follow your docs instructions you should be fine. it is a very scary thing the first few times you have surgery but with the lap band it is worth the risk. because if you don't do something to help you lose the weight your cutting years off your life by being obese.

just watched your slide show and all i can say is WOW! i only hope that i am as successful as you. you go girl!

I am so impatient. I have another 4 mos to go before i can see the surgeon about my lap band. doing the 6 mos supervised with my doc first. Have the sleep study done, tons of blood work in my records, have a psych who will sign off after i try with reg doc for 6 mos, and have a dietician in doc's office so unless they want me to see someone in particular I set. Probably some more hoops on the way but hopelfully they will fly by and I will be ready to go. Soon, very soon. Hoping for a Feb or March date. Some days it goes really fast other days it is so SLOOOOWWWW!!!

congratulations!!!!:thumbup:i going on my 3rd month of ins. hoops, so soon it will happen and my sister said she would do it with me. cool, huh?

Hello. My sister and I are going to be banded in late Feb early March. I am going to go through Dr. Bob Korn. I am in the Twin Falls area. Where are you?

CONGRATS!!!!!:thumbup: so jealous just a few more months for me

I have had migraines for about 13 years now. Started right after my first was born. My doctor has be on Midrin and phenergan (pill form) or zofran (these dissolve) and for maintenance he has me on Verapamil it is a calcium blocker used for blood pressure generally, but it works like a charm. The constant daily headache is gone and now I only have a couple migraines a week instead of everyday. I would wish for less but I'll take what I can get. I saw somewhere that the weight loss with the band can sometimes resolve migraines or at least make them less. We'll see when I get banded. He also recommended Migravent (google it). Says it works wonders, just haven't gotten any yet, or 600 magnesium a day. magnesium helps your body use meds better especially long-term pain meds. Hope this helps.

Sorry I've been gone so long. Life took over. Well, I had to start my 6 months over so it is all consecutive. I'm on month 2 and they are flying by. My sister is also doing her 6 months and we hope to get banded together. Still at 278, maintaining. At least I'm not gaining, my doctor says that's good. I'm not happy about it. Keeping a food and exercise journal. Started walking - OW! I hurt so bad after my walk I have to take my pain pills. I've tried walking less but it still hurts. But the doc says walk so I walk. No weight loss yet. I walk about 9 blocks a day, down to get the mail at the post office and back. I barely make it back. Can't breathe, hurt real bad, the works. I can't wait till I get banded. My insurance says if I get the 6 months consecutive then I will qualify and be good. My out of pocket max is only 1800 and I can do that with the tax refund next year. Hopefully my sister gets done at the same time. She is just starting her 6 months but mine are up in December however won't have the money to pay for it until Feb. so she can catch up. Just means I'll have a couple extra months is all. That can only help. Doc wants me at 1800 calories a day, having trouble cause I'm so hungry but doing my best staying between 1800 and 2200. Big span I know, but doing my best. Anyway, just thought I'd drop in and say hi, let everybody know I'm still alive. Will try to be on more often now. Things have settled down a little bit. Okay having trouble with my ticker, what's the website again to fix it?

I saw my surgeon today. He said he would have to talk to my psychiatrist before he would decide to do the surgery. He wouldn't even discuss it. Just sent me home and said he would contact me. I wasted all that gas and a 4 hour round trip for nothing. I am so upset it's not even funny. I could spit nails. I'm seriously considering switching doctors. They could have told me before I came up that this would happen. I wish they would have. I don't have the money to waste gas like that. I asked if they knew if he would have an answer this week because I was not going to waste the gas to come up for the seminar if the answer was no. They said if I don't hear from them by Friday to give them a call. A complete waste of time. Just because a psych doctor once told me I might have Borderline Personality Disorder. I don't even know if it was ever even put on my records. He says he doesn't have any luck with BPDs and the lap band. If I do have it, it is mild. My sister is BPD and I am nothing like her. I tried to tell him all of this but he wouldn't even give me a chance. All he would say is that he needed to talk to my psych doctor. I mean I would understand if I had this disorder in a severe case but I don't and he wouldn't even listen. I'm furious. I'm trying to see his side but it is difficult. Has anybody else come up against this? How do I handle this? What should I do? Should I switch doctors? I just don't know. There is one other doctor in Boise, Idaho that does this. The only other one does the bypass. Please give me some advice. I am so mad I can't hardly think straight. Sorry about the rant, but it upset me. And to add insult to injury I gained 5 pounds. So now I weigh 285!!!

Hey, just wondering of anybody from Twin Falls or Magic Valley area. There is one support group that meets in Twin on the first Monday of the month. Anybody gone? How is it? I'm in Hazelton. Going to Boise for my surgery. Wondering if anybody is nearby.

My surgeon in playing phone tag with my psychiatrist. They've been doing this for a week. He won't even talk to me about anything until he talks to my shrink. Won't discuss the possibility or anything. Hopefully, things get rolling soon. I'm considering looking into a new doctor, but I don't know. The other one I've looked into is a Center of Excellence, the one I'm with now isn't. I'm not sure what to do. I want to get started now. I have never been a patient person and now is even more difficult. I know I want this. I know I can work it. I know it will change my life. After five years of research I'm stalled. I get everything set to go, I'm moving on it and now this. It's like a stop light in the middle of nowhere that won't turn green. Can't run it and hate sitting. What's a girl to do?:biggrin:

Oh, but this isn't the psych eval for the surgery. This is my maintenance psych for my bipolar. He won't even proceed with the preliminaries until he talks to her, won't even discuss it with me.

We get new shoes? What more motivation does a girl need?:biggrin::thumbup:

Do you eat alot of pork or seafood like shrimp? My husband has gout and he has to stay away from certain foods. You might try looking on WebMD they have a lot of info. Gout is extremely painful, and the joint(s) that have it become inflamed, red and sometimes warm to the touch. My husband has trouble putting shoes on when his flares up. Hope this helps.

I'm having that same problem. What's up? Did it get hijacked or what?

I was on phentermine and phendematrazine (sp?) and it was awful. I am bipolar so I take regular psych meds. These drugs counteracted with my psych meds and I ended up in the psych ward, twice. I was so depressed I couldn't be left alone. I only lost about 15-20 lbs on it, too. And I gained it all back and then some. These are also very addictive. Be very careful and don't miss any doctor appts. while on it. They have to keep track of your heart and bp and all kinds of other stuff it can mess with. Because I was on it I have to have an EKG before my surgery.

Hey everybody. I just wanted to apologize for my rant the other day. I was really upset and just went off. I thought about it after I calmed down and the doctor is probably just wanting the best for me and my band. I don't think there will be any problems when he talks to my shrink. I also talked to my insurance company and found out that my out of pocket maximum is $1500 plus a $300 deductible. So the only amount I will be paying out of pocket is $1800. I love it! This I can afford. I have to save up but I can do this amount. I was thinking I would have to pay something like $4000 for my part. Woohoo!! All the better for me. One step closer. I have to call my surgeon tomorrow and find out what he found out and decided. I have to trust that this is going to happen. I just need to keep praying and hoping. Things will work out for the best I am sure. They always do. Anyway, sorry about the rant. :thumbup::biggrin:

I like minis. Somewhere between mid thigh to just above the knee. Nothing super short. These skirts get any shorter and everybody will know these girls' assets. I don't wear them now but when I lose weight I will. Besides it makes my DH happy. I only wear them out though because I have three kids. Just not practical for everyday wear.:thumbup:

There is one that meets on the first monday of every month. It's not specifically for Lap Band just for weight loss I think. However, when I called about it the gal was very welcoming and said to come on in. Seemed like they had other people that had weight loss surgery. They meet in the old Norco building on Addison at I think 7pm the first monday of each month. Going to try and go to the next one, see what it's like. Maybe see you there.