Who'sThere

Thanks to all. I knew I would get some answers on here. My husband called today (he's home after knee surgery) and they said I do not have to fast. I will go after work tomorrow. However, the script is only for TSH. I'll have to ask about T3 and T4. I don't recall ever having those done, and I just check my results from my last "big" work up, and they weren't on there. Thanks again.

Sorry to intrude in the men's room, but this is the best place I knew to ask my question. I am just starting the process to get banded, and my husband has a lot of questions about possibly having the band himself. He works in industrial maintenance where he has to bend, squat, lift, crawl.... Basically, he has a pretty phsically demanding job. He is worried that the band might be incompatible with his type of work as he is sometimes in awkward positions. I admit I peeked in the thread about what you fellas do, but I don't understand a lot of the job titles. I did see a firefighter, I think, and that MUST be physically demanding. I wondered if any of you have physically demanding jobs that could offer some advice or words of wisdom. Thanks in advance!

Hey. I have PCOS and have struggled with weight issues since puberty. I have also struggled with infertility since I started trying about 7 years ago. I wondered if any of you bandsters are also cysters and do you have any words of advice or wisdom. Any stories would be appreciated either ugly or pretty...I want the straight, honest truth.

I have read some things that are no-no's after one gets the band. I will list those that I have heard about. If there are comments on these, please let me know. Also, what else is a no-no that I don't know about? Thanks in advance!:wink2: 1. Soda 2. Beer (no problem...can't stand it anyway) 3. Rice 4. Straws--although some say okay to this 5. Pasta P.S. Also please add anything that is not a food/drink. Is there any activity that you can't do anymore? (I'm sure there will be plenty of new activities to make up for these.)

I have United Healthcare. I am hoping to get surgery approval. My question for others with UHC is if the surgery is covered, are the fills covered? If not, how much should I expect to pay for these? I have the HMO, so all of my normal doctor visits and such are on a co-pay system. For example, for maternity, it costs $100 for the hospital stay and $15 for the first OB/GYN visit...that's it. I think it is pretty good insurance, so I'm hoping everything will be covered. I would appreciate hearing about anyone elses experiences with UHC or similar insurance plans. Thanks in advance.

I am very sorry to hear about you denial from UH. I also have UH and will be going through this process soon myself. However, I would be surprised if PCOS was considered a co-morbidity. Many PCOS patients are obese, but PCOS is not caused by obesity. There are folks with PCOS that are not overweight. Since you do have PCOS you are at a higher risk for many co-morbidities that go along with obesity. High blood pressure, diabetes, or insulin resistance (kinda like Pre-diabetes) are just a couple. As others have suggested, I would look into ANYTHING that might be considered a co-morbid condition. Good luck!

I LOVE the French Vanilla (Optima). I especially love it with frozen strawberries. I mix it with one of those hand-held drink blenders. Wowza! It's just like a strawberry milkshake.

Lalaredd, good luck with your big day tomorrow! Thoughts and prayers...Amy

Thanks, guys! Plain, you were the exact same height and weight as my husband is now. (He went to the Dr. today, so that is his exact official weight.) It will be interesting to see your progress. Do good, I'll be watching.:wink2:

I'm from Rogersville (about an hour east of you). I don't think there are many people on here from our end of the state, at least not that I have noticed. I am also just starting my journey, but I haven't been to any meetings, groups, or seminars. I have done all of my research online and am getting all of my support on here as well (with the exception of my family who are also supportive.) I think a meeting might be nice, but I'm sure I'd have to drive to K'ville or Johnson City to go to one, so I probably won't. As for your love of food and not knowing about giving that up, I am having some of the same thoughts. I read that you can't have Pasta post-op, and when we ate at the Olive Garden this week, I thought to myself, "Can I really go without this for the rest of my life?" I think that is a natural part of the process. We would be unrealistic if we thought we could do this without mourning some of the things we love from what will be our "former" lives. I think we will be able to have most things "in moderation" with is certainly going to be a new concept to me. I too love food, so moderation is really going to be a new word to my vocabulary, but I'm sure it will be worth it. I have a co-worker who had RnY, and she says, "Nothing tastes as good as this (being thin) feels." I certainly hope I can have that attitude. Good luck in all your efforts. I'd love to hear how your meeting goes tonight. Take Care!

I am just starting on the journey to be banded, and I'm trying to gather as much information as possible. I would like to know how many of you were able to be out-patients and how many had to spend at least one night (or more) in the hospital. Also, if you expected to be out of the hospital sooner, why did you have to stay longer? I hope my questions make sense. Thanks in advance for your responses.

These are the things I will miss the least... 1. Being the fattest person in my family 2. Patronizing comments from others who feel obligated to say "You're not fat!" if I comment on wanting to lose weight... Please! I'm 5'3" and weigh 270 pounds. Do people really think I will say "Oh, great...I guess I will eat that!"? 3. Missionary sex 4. Granny panties 5. Feeling too tired to even shop because trying on clothes wears me out 6. Trying to always be the one with the camera so that I won't be in front of it 7. Thinking that all my high school friends look so much better than I do (I used to be the one who always got hit on first when we went out!) Gosh, I could think of so many more if it weren't so late! There is so much I am looking forward to giving up!

P.S. I would have made this a poll, but I don't know how.

I haven't been banded yet, but I lost my gallbladder 4 years ago after losing 100 pounds in 71/2 months on a commercial weightloss program. (Of course I've gained all of that back.) Here's my story. I started passing out because my blood pressure and heart rate dropped too rapidly. At 5'3' and 270lbs, my BP usually runs in the 90something/50-60 range, so you can only imagine how this rapid weightloss did a number on me. Well, along with this, I started having very severe pain under my left breast. The doctor originally diagnosed me as having pericarditis. Well, the meds for that did nothing for me. I had had typical gallbladder symptoms before losing the weight, but the ultrasound showed nothing. I had another ultrasound and some blood work. The ultrasound showed some very small stones, but the Dr. said these weren't significant enough to cause my severe pain. However, he scheduled me for an appt. with a surgeon just to be sure. I never threw up with the pain, and I never had diarhea (sp?). I didn't have even one typical symptom. However, when the blood tests came back, they showed that it "could" be GB problems. Again, I was told to just keep my scheduled appt. Finally, a week after an ambulance ride to the hospital for severe pain and a heart dropping from the 30's, I had another episode of SEVERE pain. The surgeon at another ER (yes, I should've gone for a second opinion earlier but I was waiting on my appt.) said, "It doesn't sound at all like gallbladder, but if I take it out and it isn't, it won't really hurt you. If I leave it and it is gallbladder, it could really hurt you." A couple of hours later and ever since, I have been without my GB. Unfortunately, I have that "dumping" also. As a teacher, the class after lunch is really always a gamble. I live with immodium in my desk, and I always pick a student early in the year and tell him or her where to go to get an adult if I run out of the room. :thumbup: I suppose I am happy that I won't have to worry about losing it after I'm banded. I try to look on the bright side.

I thought that my PCP would submit the initial paperwork, but from what I'm reading, so people meet with the surgeon first. Who submits the initial paperwork to the insurance company, one's PCP or surgeon? If the surgeon submits it, does insurance pay for the consult with the surgeon? I have UHC. Thanks in advance

I am just starting on my journey to get banded. I am wondering what I can expect to eat after being banded. Please include portion sizes, too. Thanks in advance

One more thing...I want to be able to wear a normal off the rack necklace. Oh, how I miss cute costume jewlery!

I want to be able to do the following: 1. wear shoes that tie (I don't bother trying to tie shoes anymore) 2. sit anywhere I want whether it be an airplane seat, theater seat, or restaurant booth 3. walk my students to lunch and back without having to basically collapse when I get back (I'm a teacher) 4. buy clothes from the regular stores/departments 5. comfortably get in the backseat of my two door car 6. see my "cat" (sorry if that's TMI) The only reason I don't worry about painting my toenails is that my loving husband has taken care of that task for the past ten years. (I'm such a lucky girl!)

I also have PCOS and have been diagnosed for about 6 years. I also have hypothyroidism and am just starting my journey to be banded. As far as I know from all I have read (which is a lot) PCOS is not actually a complication from obesity. (There actually are folks with PCOS who are not obese.) It is a much larger problem. Since the symptoms of PCOS are so wide in range, one can have lots of the symptoms and not have PCOS. Conversely, one can have only a few of the symptoms and still have PCOS. While losing weight will CERTAINLY help with PCOS, weight loss will not cure it. I know that you are not all that concerned with it right now, but I urge you to make sure to keep your eye on your PCOS. There may come a day when you want children and having PCOS is one of the leading causes of infertility. Good luck in your efforts.

Take it from me, you don't want to lose the weight any faster than that. I did a commercial weight-loss program in 03 and lost 100 lbs in about 7.5 months. Along with that came gall bladder trouble (emergency surgery) and a rapid decline in blood pressure. My blood pressure and heart rate declined so rapidly that I was passing out and nearly died. It wasn't from being too thin either. I was still obese even after loosing the 100lbs. I had an ambluance ride on Christmas eve on atropene (sp?) just to keep my heart beating until they could get me to the hospital. After all that, I gained back all the weight. I am just starting my journey to be banded, but I am looking forward to slow but permanant weight loss. After all, I want to be healthier, not just smaller! Good luck and hang in there. It will be a long process, but I'm sure it will be worth the wait.

Hello! My family doctor said I needed labs done before I had a consult with a surgeon. My thyroid came back at 9.8 (which is apparently not good) so I have to take thyroid meds for 2 months and be rechecked again before I can have my surgery consult. Is this normal? It seems that the insurance paperwork and all would take a while, so I am wondering why I can't get the ball rolling so to speak while I am waiting on my two month recheck. Can anyone explain this to be better? Thanks in advance.

I have a very conservative family doctor. He very reluctantly put me on fentermine (sp?) a while back only because my fertility doctor had and I told him that I could get it from him, but I would have to drive further. As far as I know, the only weight loss solution he believes in is WeightWatchers. He even told my obese mother not to worry about her weight because she was genetically predisposed to being overweight. Anyway...my insurance requires a referral before I can meet with any other doctors, so I have an appointment to see him this week to ask about the LapBand. I am afraid he will refuse to refer me. I really think that this may be the best solution for me. I've done WeightWatchers, the diet pills, and LA Weightloss. I can loose weight, but it is always a short term thing. I usually gain it back more quickly than I loose it. I am only 30 and have a BMI of 46.1. I wondered if anyone else has had a similar experience or has any advice they can share. I would really appreciate it.

People can be so insensitive. I once lost 100 pounds (in an unhealthy way and gained it all back) and the comments people would make were so rude. However, I really don't think it ever occured to them that they were rude comments. I am a teacher and the school secretary would comment about "now when you gain it back" (which I did, but that's not the point). The worst, though, was a parent who was trying to compliment me who said, "Oh, I'll bet your husband is so happy with the new you." I was so insulted. My husband couldn't give a rusty possum fart what I weigh. To him, my worth is not tied to my size. Hang in there...just know that you are still the same person just in smaller pants. From my experience, I got used to the "new" me much quicker than everyone around me.

Well, my appointment was today, and I was pleasantly surprised. My doctor said he thought I would be a "very good candidate" for the surgery. He asked about my insurance, wrote the script for the labs they will require and has a surgeon in mind. He said as soon as my labs come back he will schedule my consult. He thinks the only problem I will have getting my insurance to approve me would be if my thyroid is elevated (has been in the past). I may need to get that under better control with meds. I am SO relieved. I really thought he would be dead-set against it, but I guess I wasn't giving him enough credit. He has been my doctor since I was the obsese captain of my high school cheerleading squad, so he must truly understand my struggle. I go tomorrow morning for my labs! He's not waisting any time. YIPEE!

nevermind...found the info on pbing and slimming on another thread...thanks anyway