brttny88

ok...1) open mouth 2) insert foot. after much consideration i decided to go back to my inital decision of having lap band. i'm certain that with a lot of hard work i will eventually get to the same place. determination is key -- and if i'm going to have surgery for weight loss, i'm not letting myself fail. sooo..one week from tomorrow i will be banded and i couldn't be happier about it! :thumbup:

I've been looking into Gastric Bypass or Lap Band for the last 2+ years. I finally decided to pull the trigger. I was 110% focused on having lap band. Yesterday, I went in for my first consult with the surgeon, nutritionist, and dietician...and by the time I left I had completely changed my mind and decided on Gastric Bypass. I'm not usually so wishy-washy with big decisions like that. The only thing from holding me back before was the fact that there is a national average mortality rate of 1 in 200. That seems like a LOT to me. While I realize that a lot of surgeries probably carry that same mortality rate -- it still just kept me from wanting gastric bypass. I was very pleased to find out that my surgeon's entire practice has only lost 5 people in 9 years. All of those were due to that patient's own health problems that were not directly related to surgery. SOOO, with all of that being said - at this point I'm just waiting for my pre-op appointment and prior approval. There is a tentative surgery date of Dec 21!! :frown: :wink: Words can not even express my excitement. I don't know why I put this off so long but I do know that 12-18 months from now, I'm going to be 100 times healthier. I aspire to be one of those skinny bitches I hate so much Anyway, thanks for reading for those that have. I just wanted to share my story so far! Soon, you'll be seeing a lot more (or rather LESS) of me as I'm sure I'll have a million questions I didn't think to ask before the surgery. :thumbup:

I went to his seminar the other day and I was pretty impressed with him personally. The only thing I didn't like is the fact that he made a mortality rate of 1 in 200 sound like it was nothing. I think that's a pretty big deal. Plus, he kept quoting national averages and saying "but ours are better"..without ever saying what his were. AND I felt like he made lap band specifically sound like it was no big deal..like you were just getting shoulder surgery. He seemed nice..I just didn't hear anything in the seminar that I hadn't heard before..and I felt like he left alot of information out.

I'll be at his seminar on August 12th! :wink2:

wow! i'm so surprised i found this! i was just looking at his information online today and seriously considering him as my surgeon! for those of you who went to him: did you just set up a consult as the first step? and also, had you already completed your prerequisites for surgery?

OH wow! great! Do you think they'd do the multidisciplinary monitored weight loss instead? This one is for 3 months and you have a low calorie diet supervised by a dietician/nutritionist, exercising supervised by profressional, and behavior modification supervised by a professional. Thanks!

After several phone calls with Aetna today, I found out they will consider surgery if I get letters from doctors saying it's medically necessary along with quoted prices from surgeons and hospitals. So there is hope. As for my stats, I am 19. I have a BMI of 54. While I don't have any co-morbidities documented, I have been struggling with high blood pressure and hypoglycemia in the last year or so. I also have a really bad family history for heart problems, diabetes..and the list goes on. So I would think (judging by what I've read from people here) that I definitely qualify.

Thanks for all of the advice and support guys. I'm feeling much better about things now and I'm even more determined than ever. :thumbup:

I don't usually post here but I've been coming here for several months now and absorbing all of the information I can find. Honestly, after all of that research I wasn't prepared for the phone call I had today. I have Aetna coverage and thought that in my explanation of benefits it said something along the lines of "Weight Loss Sugery*" as being covered. Which I thought meant they will cover it if you qualify.. So after finally riding 5.10 miles in 21 minutes on my new exercise bike (a major victory for me) I got the courage to call my insurance company to find out about their requirements....but THEY WON'T COVER THE PROCEDURE AT ALL! :eek: Now, after all of the hard work, mental preparation, and research I feel completely and utterly defeated. I don't really know where to go from here because I didn't expect this to happen. So the advice I'm looking for is how to go about surgery when you pay cash? I really can't afford it, but my mom has offered to help me out. I am almost 20 years old and I don't want to waste another minute feeling or looking like this. I'm not interested in going to Mexico or out of state even (no offense to those of you who have, I would just like to stay close to home). I'm in North Carolina by the way. Any help would be appreciated.

hi all! i'm new here as a registered user but i've been reading everyone's posts here for about a month now. i haven't been banded yet - actually i haven't even discussed it with my doctor. the idea of having the surgery is this really weird mix of emotions for me. i know it's a life-long journey and a tool to help me lose weight..but i've been morbidly obese for years now (and i'm three months shy of my 20th birthday)..so the idea of change is very scary. i want to be thin and healthy but i'm terrified of the process. however, i know that i won't ever do it on my own. i'll have to do something as drastic as surgery or i won't stick to it. i think it's more that i'm afraid to admit that i NEED the surgery...that i've actually let myself go that much. the idea of going to an amusement park and riding the rides, flying on a plane without having to ask for an extension, going to the beach without feeling completely self-conscious, or just going out to dinner without having people stare at me is something that i would love to have! so i guess what i'd like to know is: at what point do i stop researching and decide i actually know enough about it? also, even though i've done a ton of research i do still have some questions like how long did it take from the time you first discussed it with your doctor for you to be approved and scheduled for surgery? does it take months or is it a matter of a couple of weeks? days? sorry for the long post! any help is appreciated. also...has anyone here had the surgery in north carolina? thanks! brittany