U_go_gurl68

Just wanted to send well wishes to all of you having surgery today. Mine is not until the 30th and I can't wait.

I love to chew gum too and this will be a hard habit to break for me as well. I don't swallow my gum but occassionally have accidentally had it go down when laughing too much with coworkers during those late night hours trying to stay awake til the end of my shift.

Besides the complications that may arise with the band related to swallowing gum and the gas build up that goes along with it, I guess giving up that habit will also teach me that I don't always have to be putting something in my mouth.

My employer recently added the Lap-band surgery, but has to be performed by our hospital's docs, which haven't been performing the procedure very long. They are great trauma surgeons but I didn't feel comfortable so I went out of network, which isn't covered on my insurance for this kind of procedure.

The first place I went to look into lap-band surgery was going to charge me $23,000. The place I am actually going to is charging me about $12,000 with 6month worth of aftercare and fills. The other was for a one year worth of aftercare. In any case, get on the net and research different offices in your area. Some do cost more than others.

As far as taking phentermine, I wouldn't recommend that route for weight loss. I have done that so many times and when you quit taking the meds, the weight piles back on and then some.

With all the news about obesity in this country, you would think the insurance companies, employers, and physicians would do something about it by including wls in the policies, but when you think about it, if you lost weight and had good health from here on out, they all have more to lose. When it comes down to it, the only one who cares is you, those who are going to go through this and have gone through this and those physicians that are trying to help those of us battling obesity. When we lose weight and stay healthy, the pharmaceutical companies lose out, so do the docs, so does insurance, so does the government, and so on and so on. The truth is they want us to stay fat, it puts more money in their pockets. Think about it. We spend more money in weight loss products, exercise equipment, gym memberships, plastic surgeons for Lipo procedures, etc...

Sorry to make this long, just my thought about that.

Back to what I was going to say, I am having to self pay too and my credit is bad due to an ex husband that ruined my credit. I took a loan out against my 401k and my payments are lower than those companies financing medical procedures. If you have it available, this may be an option for you. It doesn't take anything away, so their are no withdrawal penalties and your money keeps growing. Also the wls procedure is tax deductible because you are having it to treat obesity which is a disease. Under the IRS rules, it doesn't pay for weight loss programs, but will pay for surgery to treat obesity.

Good luck!!!!!

Stephanie Marquez

I will have to get me a journal just for my weight loss journey. Great idea.

Your fiance is just scared. Try and take it easy on him. I just told my husband that I am going to do this a few days ago and he refused to be a part of it. He is very upset that I am thinking about selective surgery but I can tell that he is coming around. I am sure he is going to be cold and quite closer to the surgery but only because he loves me and is scared that something might go wrong. I love him so much!

Skinnysons,

I hope you are right about this. I have tried and tried to include him in all this , but like I said, the closer it gets, the more distant he becomes. I tell him about things and he doesn't want to discuss it further, he just says ok and looks as though he were upset with me. I guess he will just have to come around on his own and in his own time. I love my guy very much too, but I love myself just as much and my health is important to me.

Sincerely,

Stephanie

Sarah H,

My fiance has been with me at all my appointments too. He has even taken off of work and driven me two hours to get to them. I live in Waco, Tx and my surgeon is two hours away from me. I guess that is what bothers me about this whole thing. If he wasn't going to be supportive, I don't understand why he pretended to be.

He is an insecure person, when it comes to me. He does love me no matter what size I am, as he has seen me at my heaviest and tells me how sexy he thinks I am all the time. I don't necessarily feel ugly, I just want to be able to do things without my joints aching all the time. I want to be able to take my dog on walks and play with her without getting tired so quickly. I want to do things with my kids. I want to go dancing. Take adventurous trips. All those fun things without getting out of breath or hurting. I guess the biggest thing is, I am trying my best to hault any problems that may develop due to being overweight. My mother has many health issues and I don't want them. She has the attitude that she doesn't care and wants to live her life doing what she wants without restrictions and if she dies,at least she dies doing what she wants. To me, I guess being that I am a nurse and do my best to help people. hate that attitude in people. I want to do everything possible to stay healthy and alive for as long as possible. I am fighting it all the way.

Thanks all, for your ecouraging words.

I also don't want to be a size two, I think that would look terrible on me. I think I look better at an 7/8 or 9/10. I want to keep all my curves, just want smaller ones, LOL.

Just checking in. Hope everyone is doing well. Good luck to all of you being banded this week. Will be praying for all of you.

My turn is coming on the 30th. Couldn't come quick enough for me. I am sure as it gets closer, I will get nervous, but right now I am too excited.

Great idea, since I am already experiencing problems with my fiance due to his fears and insecurities.

I think this would be wonderful.

Thanks for the info gkeyt. I will have to check into this further.

Thanks froggi1985. I love all the support found on this website. It has been the most helpful and encouraging. Without all of you guys I would probably just call the whole thing off rather than go through hard times with my guy, but I figure I only get one shot at life and I have to live it to the best of my ability.

I have been considering a lift for sometime now. When I lose weight the first place I tend to lose is my breasts. According to supposed experts I should be wearing a 38 dd for my measurements, but I don't have the volume on the top portion to fill that size bra out. I have been told that the reason so many women have the back fat look is due to a redistribution of fatty tissue from wearing poorly fitted bras. I wish I could just take all the fat from those areas and redistribute in the right place, LOL!!!!

I have heard of people getting breast augmentation using their own fatty tissue, but then again that would decrease in time as well and your girl's would go back south.

I do know that I get some tingling sensations and sometimes pain due to heaviness of droopy boobies, so maybe I can get insurance to pay for something since I am self-pay for band.

Thanks a million and congrats to you on your weight loss, WOW!!!!!

You're doing awesome. See ya on MySpace.

Amen to that. Everyone I know is supportive of my decision except my fiance. I told him I was doing this for me and my health and so that I would be around longer to enjoy life with him. He understands that part, but still worries about other stuff (jealous side of him).

If he loves me no matter what, he will just have to come around. I told him I need his support and hopefully he will be there, but I have to do this for me.

My kids are 15, 17, and 22 and although they are practically grown, I have been both parents to them, most of their lives and they still depend on me to be there for them. So it is also for them that I do this.

I really love this website.

Good luck to everyone.

I wish I had a supportive guy like you girls do. I have included mine in every part of this journey. He was supportive at first and wanted to know everything, but the further along I got into it, the more he step back and he doesn't see to be for it.

He wants me to be healthy and loves me the way I am now. I have been thinner and at my heaviest with this man. I know he is insecure because he thinks I am going to get thin and find another man. I think that is so silly, but I guess a valid concern on his part. He is a very slender man and can eat anything and never gain weight.

I just wish I had his wholehearted support.

I will be banded on June 30th and have not heard anything about use of a camera either. The camera is usually placed through one of the laparoscopic openings, but I wonder why they go down the throat?

I know this is done with a procedure called a EGD when they are wanting to see into your upper GI system (throat, esophagus, stomach). My daughter had one of those when they were trying to figure out why she was throwing up alot. They did some biopsies inside her stomach and diagnosed her with reflux disease.

But why they would do this with band is beyond me. Since you will be under anesthesia and your throat will be relaxed, you wouldn't feel any choking sensation. Your throat normally feels kind of sore, dry, or scratchy after being intubated anyway, but have not known anyone that has complaints after being scoped. Ask your surgeon why they are using a camera down your throat. It is his/her responsibility to provide you with all the information you need in order to make an informed consent for surgery.

Good luck.

You girls are lucky to have such supportive husbands. My fiance pretended to be supportive and even offered to pay for my band, but now everytime I bring up my upcoming surgery (june 30th) he shuts down.

I am not by any means trying to discourage anyone to not tell their Spouse, but if you think your hubby may have a problem, research it more before going to him and starting up some fears or insecurities that he may not currently have. But you should tell him when and if you decide the band is for you.

I have decided to pay for my surgery myself using my 401k. This way he can't hold it over my head that he paid for something he didn't want me to do.

I wish you the best heidib.

Hi all, I will be banded on June 30th and will be turning 40 on July 9th. This is my bday present to myself.

Its funny how all the years have gone by and I don't see myself as being old. I may feel old, with all the aches and pains due to being overweight, but I don't think of myself as old.

When I was younger, I thought 40 was old. Sometimes when I hear others talk about being 40, I almost revert to thinkng this way, until I realize I am at that point myself, LOL!!!!

When I turned 21, I was excited for a minute, then I realized I was closer to being 30, then 40, and so on. The years seem to go by faster, but more reason for me to make this decision for myself. If the years are going to keep going by so fast, it is better I get healthy and enjoy them. Otherwise, they will pass quickly and I will still be in the sad shape I am in now.

Glad some people are finally posting on this thread. thanks for all the adds. I look forward to getting to know you all better.

I haven't been banded yet, but will be on June 30th. I am also a Nurse and took off for two weeks. I work on Pediatrics and sometimes in the NICU, so I am always picking up babies and assisting children with positioning and such. I think two weeks should be plenty of time for me, at least, I hope it will be.

My page can be found at www.myspace.com/u_go_gurl68.

Always welcome new friends.

Thanks so much Linda. I would really appreciate having you as a band buddy.

I thought it was funny how we have the same ticker design, LOL!!!

My fiance came to visit me here at work and when I mentioned something related to the surgery, he just kind of shut down. I am going to have it done, no matter what he says and he will just learn to deal with it or he won't. I don't want to make it sound as though I don't care about his feelings, but this is about me and my health. Not about him, not about trying to find anyone else, and not to please anyone but me.

He had offered to pay for my surgery but I decided to pay for it myself when he kept putting me off and making excuses or delays. He says its not about the money, when I asked. He said it was more about me and if I really wanted it and why. I told him it was my health and I would find a way to pay for it myself if he was so against it and not wanting to pay for it any longer. So now I am funding my surgery using my 401k, which won't be too bad since I can deduct it from my taxes.

We have already gone through so much together, I would think nothing could tear us apart, but if it does, then maybe he and I were the thing not meant to be. It is not like our relationship is fairly new and we decided to get married. We have been together for 6 yrs and engaged for 3. He would do just about anything for me, but seems hesitant about this.

I want so much just to be able to get a good nights sleep or go for a long walk without my knees and ankles hurting. This is kind of funny, but last year I fell three different times while wearing high heels. I attribute that to being overweight and having weak ankles. I have mild sleep apnea and starting to develop high blood pressure. I have not been diagnosed with high blood pressure, but it is higher than it has been and my mother has hypertension, sleep apnea, depression, hypothyroidism, etc....you name it, she probably has it and I didn't want that to be me.

Sorry to ramble on so much. I am work right now and we only have 3 kids on the unit. I am on here trying to stay awake. Thanks so much for being here for me. I will keep you updated.

Hi my name is Stephanie and I am from Waco, Tx. I am 39; will be 40 July 9th. I am currently engaged and I have three kids ages 15, 17, and 22.

I am a Registered Nurse working on a Pediatric unit. I am currently working 7p-7a three nights a week, but should be switching to the opposite shift( 7a-7p) by early August.

I have been struggling with my weight issues since I was a teenager. I have yo-yo dieted all my life and finally want that madness to end, which brings me to my decision to be banded. I understand it still takes work, but I believe it will be easier for me using this tool.

I am in need of a buddy/mentor because I don't know anyone that has personally gone through banding. I have some friends that have had gastric bypass and have done well, but some just look tired and sick.

My fiance doesn't really understand why I need to get banded. Part of him understands, but the jealous part thinks I am just trying to look good to attract the opposite sex. I have explained the health benefits and he says he wants me to be healthy, but thinks I can do something other than surgery. He has seen me go up and down in weight and also been by my side when I am crying from frustration of being overweight. I hate it when we go shopping and he says he would like to see me wearing something skimpy from Victoria's Secret or Frederick's of Hollywood and I think to myself, "I couldn't even fit my leg in anything from those stores".

He says he doesn't think of me as being fat and he loves me no matter what. But I say, if he loves me then why not want me healthy? Am I wrong for saying or thinking that? I don't think so.

I am getting banded for me and me alone. Sometimes I feel I have no control over much of anything, but this I do.

It would be nice to have someone to talk to and help me through this exciting journey I am about to begin. Everytime I bring it up with my fiance, Michael, he doesn't really want to talk about it. He says he supports me, but I don't think he truly does.

I guess this is all I will say for now. I look forward to meeting someone to share this experience with.:rolleyes2:

All of you have some really great tips. I will have to write all this down to reference after I am banded on the 30th.

Fortunately this time of year is not too busy for me at work, unless we get a trauma or diabetic pt. The busiest time for me is during the winter and early spring months. So hopefully I will be able to get the eating part down during this slower period.

I guess the good part is, I will be getting banded right before my mday (July 9th), so I will still be in the healing process and won't be able to overdo it, LOL!!!!

After all the mishaps I have experienced over the last month, I am finally going to be banded on June 30th. I have really enjoyed reading all the posts from this group.

I am taking vacation for two weeks starting on June 29th, but was afraid they would schedule my surgery for July, so I specifically asked for June 30th so I could join you guys. You are a great bunch of people and I am honored to be part of this group.

I have enjoyed reading all your posts. I know I didn't originate the question, but your suggestions are very helpful. Will be getting banded on June 30th.

Besides food and soda, my biggest addiction is the home shopping channels. The other day I bought a new pressure cooker. Will have to try making meals and freezing them for those days when I just don't have the energy to cook.

I also work all my days in a row, but mine are during the week. Have gotten lucky enough to not have to do weekend shifts, but I am sure when I go to days, that will not last. Will keep checking back soon for additional posts. Thanks.