jmegirl

Yay, I'm so happy to see you're doing well after surgery!! Keep us updated on your recovery. I guess you've got your own spot on the Loser's Bench now! I'll be joining you all in 62 days....:thumbup:

I'm so glad I asked! PB'ing sounds like the absolute worst thing on the planet. Not looking forward to the experience...

I have heard lots of bad things about Dr. Ortiz' book, such as the English being pretty bad in parts of the book, as well as numerous spelling mistakes. I have not seen these in person though, so I'm just relaying what I've heard. I searched Amazon last month for Lap Band books and settled on this one. [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1600940021]Amazon.com: Weight Loss Surgery with the Adjustable Gastric Band: Everything You Need to Know Before and After Surgery to Lose Weight Successfully: Robert Sewell, Linda Rohrbough: Books[/ame] I am not done reading it yet, but I am thoroughly enjoying it. It's very easy to read, informative, and there are several personal success stories with pictures. I highly recommend it, and it's pretty cheap too!

MORTGAGE INDUSTRY! Well why didn't you say so? I've listened to my mom bitch about the Mortgage industry for about 23yrs now - and I'm only 26! She works for Wachovia Mortgage in Raleigh, NC (formerly First Union Mortgage - before they were bought out) and let me tell you, she is stressed to the max every damn day of the week - and by month-end, she's doing good if she hasn't banged her head against the wall more than five times!

Have we got a name yet??? I'd love to make a sparkly Notorious Novembers tag to put on my siggy! Let me know!

Please don't get mad when I say this, as I'm only trying to give you some perspective. I think a lot of your struggles stem from your age. I think you are genuinely angry, and I'm not faulting you for that. I'm just saying that with a little more life experience under your belt, you will soon realize that this is how life is, and it's a waste of time and energy to get so worked up over these things that you can't control. They are minor in comparison to the big picture, and eventually you'll calm down and realize that getting angry and stressing yourself out like this is just pointless. Until then, go tattle on your boss to her boss and tell that she's reading gossip online and making personal appointments during work hours.

I have a question! When food gets stuck like you just described, will it not go down easier by drinking a sip of Water? Or, will that make it more likely that you'll have a messy PB?

I've also noticed problems with the site sometimes, like it doesn't load at all and gives me a PAGE CANNOT BE DISPLAYED error. This has to do with the servers that the site is hosted on and it has nothing to do with you - promise! Don't stress. The site runs slow sometimes during high traffic times - don't worry, it always comes back!

Your surgery is in 4 days!! I hope you've already started the pre-op diet!

Aww, I'm so sorry to hear that. You really seem to be struggling! I think it's very important that you see a counselor, because you seem to have a lot of anger building up inside you, and counselors are really great ways to vent all that anger and frustration in one place - so you don't go out and shoot somebody! Or, go on some crazy shopping spree and come home in debt. Take a deep breath, relax, and call the counselor's office. Tell them your situation (rationally) and ask for the next soonest appointment. I think it's important you speak to someone. In fact, I think all lap banders should probably see a counselor in the first year or so, simply because the changes that you go through as you begin to lose weight are extensive, and talking with someone, even if all you ever do is just talk, can certainly help regulate your mood and calm you down. Good luck chica, you can do it!

YAY for DenverGirl! Good luck! I can't wait to hear about your BIG DAY tonight. I hope you feel well enough to post. Gosh, 62 days until my DATE with Dr. K. I don't think I can wait that long!!!!

Good luck to you! Let us know how it all goes, and how you're feeling come Monday morning! I wish my surgery was this Friday!

And that my friends is why I decided to be self-pay. :blushing: You make the appointment, and BAM you get your lap band. No doctor supervised diets, no required bloodwork, no required nutritionist meetings or psych evals. Just give them your money and you get banded.

From what I gather, nearly every insurance company considers a BMI of 40+ as "qualifying" for surgery. Any lower than that, and you must have at least 2 comorbidities for them to consider you. I'm 5'8 and 250lbs and a 38 BMI, so I know I don't qualify as far as insurance is concerned, which is why I convinced my husband to put us into debt for a few years and self-pay for my surgery! :blushing:

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound like I thought it was cosmetic surgery! My HR person said that since my decision to have a lap band was my own decision and was not supported by a doctor (I'm a 38 BMI and therefore do not qualify by insurance) that the weight-loss surgery was considered "cosmetic". It actually sort of hurt my feelings and angered me to hear her say that.

I'm a 26yo female and an only child. My parents divorced when I was 2, so all I've ever known is living with my mom, and seeing my dad every weekend. My mom is like my best friend, and we are close as can be. For that I am extremely grateful. I told her last night that I had decided to do this, and she couldn't be happier for me, because she knows the struggles I've had with weight my whole life. She's actually flying to CO with me when I get the surgery. Then there's my dad. I am a self-proclaimed "Daddy's Girl" and we get together almost every weekend for lunch/dinner, and just to catch up on what's going on. Even though I got married in May, my dad and I still have that close relationship, and I love it. But, even though I feel like I can tell him anything, there are certain things that he doesn't approve of, and won't understand. This is one of them. I desperately want to tell him what I'm doing, and I want him to understand that it's something I have to do for myself. He also knows that I've struggled with my weight my whole life, but I think he'll see me as "weak" if I have the surgery, and he'll think I'm taking the easy way out. Since my dad and I meet nearly every weekend for lunch/dinner, then it's obvious to me that I have to tell him. Come November 5th, the way I eat in public will be forever changed, and he's sure to notice. So, I have to tell him. My question to all of you is: how do you tell your family and make them understand? Are there any books I could get for him, to help him along? Kudos if you made it to the bottom of this post!

I don't mean to be a "Negative Nancy" or anything, but I've heard that you need at least a week to get back to normal everyday activities. I honestly don't think you'll be able to wear your work clothes come Monday, because your incision sites will be too sore. If you have to do anything more than sit at a desk all day, then you might be in for some tough times! I'm having my surgery on a Wednesday and not returning to work until the following Thursday. Thankfully, my employer is allowing me to take sick time for this. Technically, "cosmetic surgery" isn't covered. :tt2: I'm interested to see replies from others who have "been there, done that".

So, at dinner this evening, I told him. I prefaced it by saying "I really wasn't going to tell you about this, because I knew how you'd react and I didn't want to hear any negative feedback, because this is a hard enough decision without hearing negative comments from others." All in all, I have to say it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Though I might have made him feel a little guilty by beginning the way I did. Overall, he said I am an adult and I can do whatever I want. He commented that getting a band means making a lifestyle change, and I told him I was willing to do that. He said "Well, you've dieted and exercised before and you couldn't make that lifestyle change then. Why is it different now?" I told him that getting a band pretty much forced me to change, or else I'd face painful side effects, along with all sorts of other consequences. He didn't seem satisfied with my answer, but dropped it. Thanks everyone for your advice and support on this. My dad even said that we can postpone our lunch/dinner dates while I'm on my liquids/mushies phase! :thumbup:

Let's do it! I'm in Denver for my surgery from Tues 11/4 through Fri 11/7. Although...I guess since I'm having my surgery during that time, I probably won't be able to eat :biggrin: I'd still love to meet you guys!!

I said this on the first page, but so many people came in and said the opposite that I guess my opinion got lost in the shuffle. I will do a pre-op diet, because I don't want to be put under and wake up to find that I had a fatty liver and that I don't have a lap band because of it.

Splenda does seem to be as perfect as everyone claims. However, I'm convinced that since I use it so much, at some point in the near future it is going to come out that Splenda somehow causes heart disease, loss of hearing, and psychosis. :tt2:

3 days post-op and eating cream of wheat? i though the first week post-op was clear liquids only?

I am also a beer drinker. And a soda drinker. The thought that in 69 days I won't be able to have either of them ever again is almost enough to make me depressed, haha. I've never been one to drink a lot of water during the day, and I never really got into drinking hard liquor. I absolutely HATE wine, too. Looks like I'm going to be one sober chick after 11/5/08! But hey, at least I'll be a sexy skinny sober chick! :tt2:

I am also going to be self-pay. I didn't even bother trying to file insurance, since I have a BMI of 38, and most insurances require you to be 40+. I am getting banded by Dr. Kirshenbaum in Denver, CO on 11/5. His cost is $9,950 total. That's it. And he's not cheap because he's a bad surgeon. He offers the discounted rate to people who are denied by insurance and must pay out of pocket, because he wants to prevent people from going to MX for the surgery. Going to MX, while it is cheaper, is not nearly as safe as staying in the US. You have no legal recourse in MX if something goes wrong during your surgery. Dr. K offers a much lower rate than anywhere else in the US in order to help people better afford the surgery and keep them in the US! As for Dr. K, you are responsible for flights/hotels but his fee includes everything else. Dr. K's website is here: www.lapbandrockies.com My husband and I were able to get a medical loan through www.surgeryloans.com so maybe you should look into that.

I'm getting banded November 5th with Dr. K in CO! There is a November thread - you should go over and say 'Hi'. They're currently trying to come up with a name for our little "group". Welcome! :tt2: