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I am in the same situation. If you pay yourself you "should" have no worries. Call and ask to be certain. Jason

Was not that big of a deal to me. I was nervous because of all the hype... tried first sip and was ready to drink the rest. Not something I would want to do on a daily basis, but truly not bad whatsoever. Jason

I am due to have the Band in August and have finished all required testing from my surgeon. I am self pay. Stress testing was not part of my work-up.

Well reading this thread makes you think twice, but it still feels like the right thing to do in my mind. I suppose we should all hope for the best. Interesting read though. Jason

For a long time now I have had a belief that if you have a bad day a really good one will follow soon... & this came true for me this week. I was kinda down this past Monday, but today made up for it. My meeting with Dr. Fox was nothing but encouraging! He told me that my weight training has slowed my progress, but that he does not mind at all and he is still willing to proceed with surgery this August even though I have not yet reached his original goal for me of 70-100lbs. There is still a great chance I can reach 70lbs. He was very pleased with what I have done so far. It was good to hear that from him! He also told me that the weight training will help my healing process be less painful which is a big plus. He then turned to me and asked me why I have not picked a date for surgery yet. I was like... umm. He smiled and said .... "oh... you want me to do that now right?" LOL Well we went out to the nurse station and was going to pick a date which looks like August 20th right now, but he did forget that I must see the GI doc next week. He told me to hang on until I see that doc and then he will write the date in ink. Until then it is tentatively set for 8-20!!! I am excited! Now a few days ago I had to give more blood for an anemia workup. When I came out of Dr Fox's office I had a message from my primary doc saying that those results were also abnormal. They sent me for ANOTHER lab test... haha!! So we are now waiting for that and my GI doc appt. which I moved up to Monday. So things are moving forward and it is awesome that he is still willing to move forward!!! I am more than ready!

This thread died, but if anyone is looking for someone to talk to or info about Dr Fox I am currently seeing him and having the Band August 2009. Living in Richland. Jason

I was a bit anxious about going mainly because I knew this would bring out to everyone I knew that I have a weight problem... something I had never been willing to freely talk about before. The seminar was the beginning of opening a new door outside my comfort zone. Once it was done and I found out that everyone who loved and cared about me was very happy and supportive it was so much of a relief. The seminar was nothing, but exciting for me once I was there. To hear all of the information I had wondered about and getting to meet a few that have already been through the first year of having the band was inspirational for me. I knew at that point I was ready. After that its a waiting game and following all of the instruction of your surgeon once you are approved or able to self pay if need be. I am having to self-pay... that is why I am so determined to do well. I am not about to spend $15,000 just to eat around my band. I am going to change my life! Best of luck to you... you will enjoy that seminar! Jason

I am 30yrs old & married to Dana. We have a 4yr old daughter, Lauren & 15 month old son, Tyler. They are a handful, but too much fun! I have been overweight my entire life. I grew up in the South in Birmingham, AL & loved to eat.... too much. I had my initial consult on April 27, 2009 with Dr. Fox in WA where I currently live. I had never worked out or eaten healthy in my life. I weighed in at 489lbs at a height of 5' 8". This gave me a BMI of 74. Dr. Fox opened my eyes when he told me that he was unwilling to do surgery because of my enormous size. Ok... it's time to do something to change my life so that I can continue getting those precious hugs that my kids give me daily!!! I left his office and went to the local gym and signed up. I have gone every night since. I have lost 58lbs so far and Dr. Fox tells me he is willing to do surgery next month. I am hoping to get a date tomorrow at my 3rd appt with him. We will see what he says. I have been loosely following the Atkins Diet with the help of a prescription appetite suppresant (Phentermine). This combo has done wonders for me. Luckily the only med problems I had was high blood pressure, but my primary doc has already taken me off of those meds... my HBP as gotten down to normal from working out and eating so much better (& less). I have never felt better & to think I am still 431lbs. I can't wait to shed 100-200lbs and be a new Jason! I have completed all testing. My last doc to see on July 22 is a GI doc for clearance and then watch the clock tick. Let's Roll. Thank you to the creator of this forum. It will prove to be very helpful I am sure. This website has brought me a lot of joy & help thus far. I am excited about the future! Nice to "meet" all of you. Jason

Stick to the liquid diet no matter what. It is more important that the rules of the wedding. About being nervous... just think of the weight you will lose! That will be great! I would think it could even delay your surgery should you choose not to follow the surgeons orders. Stay the course & good luck!!! Jason

I am glad you went and were encouraged! I don't think it will be a problem getting approved. I am certainly no expert, but your BMI is elevated. Now I only had one comorbidity of HBP, but my BMI was 74... I was and still am super morbidly obese so it was an ease to get approved. Don't let that one person get ya doubting... let the paperwork fly and you might just get what ya want. Good luck... keep this thread going and let us know what happens. Talk to ya soon! Jason

I must admit today has been a bit rough. Cannot get the kids to act like humans, health insurance premium went up, and am at a plateau with my weight. I lost 2oz this past week. HeHe! I expected this at some point, but thought I would lose this week. Last week I ate less food, walked further distances at higher speeds on the treadmill, and walked for longer times because I gained last week. I suppose that kept me from gaining this week, but I was enjoying so much seeing lbs lost each week. Now don't think I am giving up by any means... I don't mean to sound so down... just a tough day that's all. I am still very much motivated for weight loss and will not let this day hold me back... that is a promise not only to myself, but to all who care and love me! I tell you one thing... I love this site too. Reading posts on my thread and success of others is so helpful especially on harder than normal days! I am looking forward to hearing what Dr. Fox has to say Wednesday at my appt. I am also on my 12th week now of the appetite suppresant... from what I read most clinical studies last 12 weeks on this drug... I wonder if he will keep me on it longer. I am going to be out of it after this week. I have quite a few questions I want to ask Dr. Fox Wed. I am making a list for him... haha! Well now that I have been at my plateau I expect a 15lb loss next week!!! LOL J/K We will see what it brings though! When y'all respond be sure to let me know how your progess is going... would love to hear how all of you are! Thanks. Jason

Hello & welcome! I went to my seminar in March of this year and looks like I may have surgery next month. The seminar is approx 2 hours. I went to 2 of them. They explain a few different surgery options, but concentrate mainly on the Band, of course. They go over what the diet will consist of and the proper way you must eat afterwards. These are all very basic and general and all of the details will be discussed further should you decide to proceed. Once you have attended the seminar you will be given a time where you can call or go in to make your initial consultation appt. They gave me a large packet of paperwork including a lot of personal questions to get an idea of your history and lifestyle. You will need to be honest with yourself and them with this. This will make your journey easier I am sure. In my case I had a much higher BMI so I am haivng to lose quite a bit of weight first. Each surgeon is different... from this point you will find out MUCH more info at your inital consult. The seminar is your first step. Congrats on the decision to go and I imagine you will be pleased with the information you get from it. Hopefully the actual surgeon will give the presentation and you will be able to ask him/her questions afterwards, but this is not always the case. The first one I went to they sent a former patient that now works for that particular clinic. Keep up informed on how things go with you and, again, congrats. Best of luck to you! Jason

It will only effect you if you do not tell him/her. Always safe to devulge all info to somone who is doing surgery on you.

Surgeon says August for me... hopefully will know more at my next appt on July 15th! Jason

Well Dr. Fox got in touch with my primary doc and I had to see her today. I did one more lab and it will be tested for anemia. I was given a prescription for Allopurinol to help prevent Gout. I have mentioned this before, but was put on a prescription for Vitamin D as well. Also Dr Fox wants me to see a GI doc. He is concerned with my initial labwork. He says that he has seen two patients in the past that had similar labs. He wants me checked for a pre-cancerous polyp in my colon... yeesh. My reg doc tells me this today and I immediately got concerned. She explained that they are not saying I have this issue, but the labwork suggests the possibility. My paternal grandmother passed from cancer in her 70's; other than that there has been no cancer in the family history. I am to call the GI doc tomorrow to schedule the appt for him to review my labwork from the hospital. If he agrees with Dr Fox I will have some fun... a colonoscopy! Come on! The good news is that if this happens he will remove the polyp while performing this test. Whew... what a day. Now for the bit of good news - My reg doc DID say to discontinue my high blood pressure med!!! I was like.... YES! Guess what - I still ain't lookin back!!!!!! Going to the gym... talk to y'all later:)~ P.S. Hi Hel:) It was just one poke today... nothin. Waiting for the 15th now!

Sarah - My next appt with Dr. Fox is next Wed July 15th. I think I may get a surgery date at that time. He talked to my primary doc today and she wants me to see her tomorrow for a complete anemia workup... more bloodwork it sounds like. Like getting poked 8 times a week ago wasn't enough ya know... Yeesh. HaHa!! Good luck with your fill Monday... hope all goes well. Thanks for the note! chatty - Congrats on deciding to go see a surgeon about the LapBand! It is very neat meeting people close by here in WA. sweetheart181 is also in WA. I just turned 30 this past April and I feel the same as you do about wishing I had done something earlier. I am thankful I am still here to do something now... I got way too heavy, but I am not looking back I tell ya! This is going to be a new beginning as it is with most that go through it. I would not give this up for anything. Thank you for the post and I look forward to hearing about your journey as well! I am going to keep this thread going through most of my journey with the surgery and most likely the first year... I guess so check it every once in a while and let me know when you make your thread. I am excited about reading it!!! Talk to you soon. Jason

Becky, Julie & Sarah, I enjoyed each of your posts and thanks for the ideas and information. I was very interested in hearing about the liquid diet from Dr. Fox Sarah... it sounds lengthy, but it also sounds like some serious lbs may be shed during that time period which, if true, would be great! Just to clear things up I don't have Gout now... just at high risk for it. I was told by Dr. Fox that if I had it I would certainly know it. He is talking with my primary doc this week sometime about treatment to prevent it from happening. I hope all goes well with that. I have been doing some more exploring on this site rather than just looking at threads. I noticed your blog Sarah... and I must say WOW... what progress you have made! I know you are very proud of yourself as am I. Awesome job!! Watch your back very closely... I'm going to catch up with your progess very soon!!! HaHa!! Again... congrats on your success thus far! Talk to y'all later. Jason

Thank you all for your responses and continued support! Please know that it means as much now as it did during my first week. I love getting on this site and seeing people care so much about each others progress. Each of you are doing a great job in your journeys as well!!! When I was getting ready to go to my weigh-in today Dr. Fox himself calls me. He has gotten the test results back from the hospital. This is what I know so far... I have mild anemia and am at a high risk of getting gout. I went to webmd.com and read a bit about these two conditions, but am anxious to discuss things with him at my 3rd appt next week. He is planning on calling my primary physician this week to come up with a plan for treatment for me. I am not sure as of now what this entails as far as my progress goes. I hope and pray it does not postpone surgery, but will do what is safe, of course. I am following his directions to a tee. One other thing is that I am low on Vitamin D... but he already gave me a prescription for that which I will pick up tonight. Well I had to take both of my kids to their doc appts today so I did not have much time to read about my two conditions. I must admit I was a bit nervous because I was not 100% certain what to expect. I am still not certain. Before going to their appts I am going to stop by Dr. Fox's office for my weekly weigh-in. I step up on the scale and BAM - it has to be this week I have my first GAIN. Yeesh. I gained 4lbs this past week. The good news is that I know exactly why and can certainly reverse it quickly. So this new chicken wing rest opened up recently close to my neighborhood right... LOL When I lived in Alabama we had wings restaurants around town and it was a family fav. When this rest came to town I we went 3-4 times last week. Here I was thinking... they aren't fried. They do have the skin/fat still on and I think I went a little hog wild on them. So now I have had my fix and I am not letting this happen again. I was a bit disappointed to see a gain... it is FOR SURE not as much fun as seeing a loss... so no more wings for me. HaHa!! The only change in my exercise routine was actually walking a bit faster and longer on my treadmill nights so I know I have not been slacking on the exercise. I am still doing my 30 mins 7 days a week. Summing things up... learn from my mistakes and don't let em happen again. Also I am going to try to keep from worrying until I talk to Dr. Fox again and have more information about the problems that came up. I think I have given everyone enough to read for the time being... I look forward to talking with y'all soon! Jason

I am happy for both of you! I'm sure all will go well and you both will be happy with your surgery. Best of luck! Jason

Hel - Thanks and that was taken at my son's baptism at Christ the King Catholic Church here in my home town. That is the church my wife and I were married at in July of 2001!!! Kat - Hey thanks to you as well! My next appt with Dr Fox is July 15th. I imagine I should get a surgery date during that visit. I also have not been told about his version of the liquid diet yet. I am hoping this next visit is full of useful and exciting information. I will keep y'all posted for sure. Happy 4th of July everyone!!! GOD BLESS AMERICA Jason

So I am done with all of my hospital/psych testing. Today I went to the 2nd part of my psych eval which was nothing more than the guy asking me if I was depressed, hearing voices or having any suicidal thoughts of which I was luckily able to say no. The interview lasted roughly 5-7 mins and was actually pretty dull. I suppose the last thing I will need to do is to see my primary physician one time before my surgery; other than that I am ready! I will keep on keepin on with my eating habits and exercise as usual. Anxiously waiting August!!! Jason

Get in your car...crank it...put it in gear... STEP ON THE GAS!!! Go with another surgeon that will actually talk to you and help with the process. I have not had my surgery yet, but feel as if I am being guided through the process in a very professional matter. There is follow up already in place and things seem to be falling into place just as they should. Research other docs and see what you find. Best of luck to you! Jason