laney75

My family has always been overweight. The funny thing is that they criticize me for my weight all the time. I have finally decided to change my life so that I don't need to worry about my health (or fitting into an airline seat or a lawn chair).My mom had her stomach stapled in the late 1990's when it first became popular. She looked great after several month, but then gained alot of weight back. But I remember all of the problems she has had: the very long period of a liquid only diet, the inability to eat meat even to this day and other various foods making her sick.I have tried alot of things to lose weight and none have worked effectively as I have always gained all the weight back. As someone in the medical field, I couldn't make the drastic decision of altering my gastrointestinal system as much as the gastric bypass required. When I started looking at the Lap Band, it made alot of sense and looked like a better option all the time.I remember going to my PCPs office and complaining about my weight hoping they would suggest a surgery, but all they did was offer me pills to help loose the weight. Then I started seriously researching it and made the decision to tell my PCP that this was what I wanted.My husband wasn't thrilled in the beginning because he thinks that I should just be able to eat right and exercise to lose the weight but he just didn't understand that I had tried all of that. Now he's fully supportive because he only wants to make sure that I am happy and healthy and if this is something that I want to do he will be there for me.I got my referral from my PCP to the surgeon that I wanted and tried to make an appointment but was told that I had to attend the seminar first. I attended the seminar on September 14, 2009 and I brought my husband with. I think that listening to all of that information is what really helped him to realize that this was the best thing for me.My first appointment with the surgeon was on September 30, 2009 and it was one of the best experiences that I have had with a doctor. At that visit I weighed 299.0 (my highest ever). His office is very dedicated to the program and provided me with alot of information. His office also requires that you complete a checklist prior to even asking the insurance company for surgery approval. I was required to do all of the following before they would even submit my information to insurance: get a letter of medical need/referral from my PCP, complete labs and a chest x-ray, have a psychiatric evaluation, have a nutritional consult (the best thing I've ever done), an upper endoscopy (my surgeon prefers this to a regular barium swallow as it provides him with a better picture of my anatomy prior to surgery), and complete an online training course.I completed my labs and chest x-ray on October 12, 2009. My letter from my PCP arrived on October 13, 2009. My upper endoscopy was on October 21, 2009 and this is when it got fun. My surgeon discovered a hiatal hernia which wasn't a problem, but he also found some irritation and thought it might be Barrett's disease which is a pre-cancerous condition. A biopsy proved to be negative and he prescribed me Nexium to help with the GERD that I experience. I've never felt better, I haven't gone this long without heartburn since I was 13. My psych consult took 2 visits; one for a test and one for a discussion with the doctor. I completed it on October 26, 2009. And last but not least, my nutrition consult on October 28, 2009. This proved to be very useful as the nutritionist gave me alot of printed information about diet post-surgery (lots of great options for protein in the pureed stage - I was really dreading putting turkey in the blender).After all of that I was finally able to make another appointment with my surgeon to go over everything. I had that appointment on November 16, 2009. Once that was done they submitted my information to the insurance company. I received my approval for inpatient gastric banding and hiatal hernia repair on November 25, 2009. My surgeon's office called the same day to set my surgery date.I am having my Lap Band surgery on December 18, 2009 - the day after I finish my Fall semester final exams in school. I will be recovering the entire Christmas Break but that way I don't have to take any time off of school. I can't wait to begin this new chapter of my life - though I am a little scared as well as nervous and excited. I started a low carb (40g or less of carbs per day) diet on December 3, 2009 and I need to lose 15 pounds before my surgery. I have already lost 6 pounds and can't wait to lose alot more.