StephC

I actually had to pick up insurance from my job because hubbys wouldn't pay for any bariatric surgery. So then I did a little research found my dr. and went into my pcp. I had to do 6 months of the weight loss study with her, but in the mean time the surgeon had me do ALL the other tests during the 6 months. That all flew by for me, I work at a golf club and I planned it so I could have the surgery in the off season and so for those 6 months I was busy. I had my last pcp visit Oct.11 and then it was horrible waiting to hear from my insurance to see if I was approved. I finally called them and they called my dr that very day and ok'd it. My surgery is scheduled for Dec.11th so... that would be a total of 8 months from start to finish. Good luck!

for some reason this thread made me think of Star Jones. Remember when she lost weight she told everyone she didn't have gastric bypass? Well I don't know for sure but I would lay money on the fact that she did have lapband surgery. I'm not ready to tell everyone I'm getting the surgery and even when I do lose weight and people start asking me I don't think theres a whole lotta peeps out there that I'm going to tell. If another overweight person asks I will definitely tell them how but not the skinny nosey people who just want something to talk about. Last year one of the ladies who come in where I work made a comment about my having a baby - this is not the first or last time - I have that fat baby looking belly - so I'm wondering if she comes in next spring and I've lost weight if she'll think I've had a baby. LOL

I'm scheduled to be banded Dec 11th and my dr will have me do 10 days of liquids - this scares me. I haven't been pigging out really but since my DH is working out of town all week my DD and I have been eating out or ordering in almost every night or we eat real healthy like grilled cheese and soup. But I don't think I've over ate, just not real healthy. As far as fast food - thats not much of a problem, I don't do them very well anyway. I have IBS (irritable bowel) and it goes right through me. What I will miss is the steak, fries, chips, popcorn - hot and spicy.

Missy that sounds like me - the past 16 years I put on about 80 lbs, thats an average of about 5 lbs a year, but with all of my dieting ups and downs... its just been crazy - and yes I do love food, I always have but when I was younger I could binge and then not eat again for 24 hours and it never bothered me. Of course I lived on coffee and cigerettes then too. I quit smoking for real 16 years ago - after 14 years of not smoking I started again - I always had it in the back of my head that I could go back to the cigerettes and coffee thing and lose weight, well that was a lie right out of the pit of hell! I still loved food and ate just like I always did but now I had coughing fits and couldn't walk without being out of breath. So I quit smoking 1 1/2 years now - and decided I'm going to do whatever it takes to lose this weight and I believe the band is what it is going to take. I've said this in another post but I believe when the bible talks about plucking out your eye if it offends you ... well my stomach is very offending so I'm banding it for life!

This is a great topic for those of us who haven't been banded yet. Thank you so much for starting it. I also have chosen to keep it quiet only because I'm afraid of failure and I don't want anyone who doesn't really love me to know. I don't think I could stand people wondering why I had surgery if I wasn't losing weight faster then this. I have told a few who I feel will support me no matter how fast or slow I lose. I'm afaid my dh will be the one saying you aren't losing very fast. But then again I may be wrong just when I think the worst of him he's the best. I had to smile when I re-read that line about dh - when I diet he always snuggles up to me in bed and grabs my butt and says wow you're really losing weight. LOL I love him.

Ariel - I'm glad you told your dad. I'm sure he wants what ever is best for you. And I'm sure you'll have so much more confidence and self assurance when you go to college. Did you say when your surgery is? I can't wait - I didn't realize Thanksgiving is next week and then ... zoom.. the time will fly for me .. December is always a blurrr anyway. Yippee we're getting banded in December! We will have to come back next year at this time and do our before and after pics!

Its hard when you have to decide to tell a loved one or not tell. I have chosen to NOT tell my mother in law. Only because her step son had it done and they were so disappointed that he can't eat like he used to. He always loved food (this is my father in law talking) and now he can't eat but a little bitty bite without having to throw it up. And its not even fun to cook for him anymore (my mother in law speaking) he used to love potato salad and fried chicken blah blah blah - needless to say they didn't think about his being obese would shorten his life and then they wouldn't ever have to cook for him again! So since they are 1000 miles away I have decided on keeping it quiet - there's no point in even trying to tell them that Larry just had the surgery and he will be getting different eating habits. They are both close to 80 too - but my mom who is 78 is all for me having the surgery. She just doesn't like me being fat, thank goodness my immediate family - hubby and kids - are all for me having it done. Kari, I agree lets keep this thread going and be here for each other. I was noticing that you are just having some of your testing and consults now. I had all of those during my 6 months with the pcp obesity consults. She didn't order them, my surgeon did, but that was when I had sleep tests, psych eval, stress test, sono of my liver, exercise, and nutrionist, and probably 20 others that I'm forgetting. Did you insurance demand a 6 month consult? Just wondering - amazing how every doc and insurs is different.

Hi everyone! I'm scheduled for Dec. 11th I'm soooooo excited! I'm not telling "everyone" but my family is happy for me, my daughters are real excited about me having it done. I've got 3 kids, a son - 21, 2 daughters 16 & 20 and the girls and I love to shop BUT I hardly ever buy anything for myself because I hate being fat, and I keep saying when I lose the weight.... you all know what I'm talking about? Now when we shop my girls say mom, you are going to look so hot when you lose weight, I think they will keep me stylish. LOL anyway, my birthday is in Feb. and I always get the end of winter sales - so I'm hoping by Feb. I'll be needing some new clothes.

It may be hard but you can do it!

So the last time I wrote I was whining about a tooth being pulled (still a little sore) well I had written that entry at 7 in the morning, I took the day off of work since my daughter was driving back to college and I wasn't feeling real great. We decided to go to lunch near the turnpike so we drove separately as we were going she was infront of me, there were 2 cars that were coming towards us, my daughter was a good 10 car lengths in front of me, anyway the car in front stopped to make a left turn, she had to wait for me to pass, the car behind her didn't see her stop until it was too late and rear ended her. The car in front spun around in front of me and I crashed in to her. What a mess! I looked up and the older lady was slumped over her steering wheel, she had been hit twice! I prayed oh Lord no, please let her be ok, I got out of my car and she looked up dazed, and got out of her car, she comes over to me and starts yelling at me, you didn't have your turn signal on! I said I wasn't turning. It took a while for her to understand because the car that hit her was in the ditch. Anyway they took the older lady in the ambulance, my daughter drove me to the hospital and the younger girl was fine. I have a broken knee cap. I thank God it wasn't separated just cracked across so they put me in a stabilizer (brace from my ankle to the top of my thigh). Next day I go to the bone dr. and what do you think is going through my head? My lapband surgery! Which btw I had just heard that morning before the accident from Nate and my date was set for Dec. 11th, so the bone dr says it won't interfer with my lapband surgery and I may even be out of the brace by then. All is well. They gave me pain pills, and I'm getting around ok, just get tired easy, which could be from the pills. Bad thing is my hubby leaves today for Philly for a week to work. Ugh! I am used to this - his working away - but when he told me I started to cry. It'll all be ok. Just keep me in your prayers.

So the last time I wrote I was whining about a tooth being pulled (still a little sore) well I had written that entry at 7 in the morning, I took the day off of work since my daughter was driving back to college and I wasn't feeling real great. We decided to go to lunch near the turnpike so we drove separately as we were going she was infront of me, there were 2 cars that were coming towards us, my daughter was a good 10 car lengths in front of me, anyway the car in front stopped to make a left turn, she had to wait for me to pass, the car behind her didn't see her stop until it was too late and rear ended her. The car in front spun around in front of me and I crashed in to her. What a mess! I looked up and the older lady was slumped over her steering wheel, she had been hit twice! I prayed oh Lord no, please let her be ok, I got out of my car and she looked up dazed, and got out of her car, she comes over to me and starts yelling at me, you didn't have your turn signal on! I said I wasn't turning. It took a while for her to understand because the car that hit her was in the ditch. Anyway they took the older lady in the ambulance, my daughter drove me to the hospital and the younger girl was fine. I have a broken knee cap. I thank God it wasn't separated just cracked across so they put me in a stabilizer (brace from my ankle to the top of my thigh). Next day I go to the bone dr. and what do you think is going through my head? My lapband surgery! Which btw I had just heard that morning before the accident from Nate and my date was set for Dec. 11th, so the bone dr says it won't interfer with my lapband surgery and I may even be out of the brace by then. All is well. They gave me pain pills, and I'm getting around ok, just get tired easy, which could be from the pills. Bad thing is my hubby leaves today for Philly for a week to work. Ugh! I am used to this - his working away - but when he told me I started to cry. It'll all be ok. Just keep me in your prayers.

I am between 16 & 18 and my ideal is an 8 I'm 5'3" and think that a 8 is somewhere around 140. As for those of you who say I'll know it when I get there I would be suprised if you really do. My friend had gastric bypass and shes 5'7" and 145 and she still isn't happy with what she sees in the mirror. She has the "apron" and still considers herself fat.

I'm in pain. I had a old root canal tooth break off and had to get it pulled. So I guess I won't go in to work today. Not a big deal since I didn't have any work to do. I didn't hear from Nate yesterday afternoon so I am going to call him today to see what dates we have to pick from. It would be so cool if I could get it done this next monday! :scared: Pray for me!

yikes! did everyone bruise like that? I should have said, did anyone else bruise like that?

shouldn't you be on clear liquids now? My dr. has clear liquids for 2-3 days then only liquids 2-3 weeks, then mushies for a month. so we're talking 2 months for actual food.

I'm in pain. I had a old root canal tooth break off and had to get it pulled. So I guess I won't go in to work today. Not a big deal since I didn't have any work to do. I didn't hear from Nate yesterday afternoon so I am going to call him today to see what dates we have to pick from. It would be so cool if I could get it done this next monday! Pray for me!

:welcome: Hi - I'm sure you will find this all really helpful. I haven't had mine done yet either but there is a wealth of information here. My first peice of advice is call your insurance company and find out if lapband is covered and what is expected of you. I had to have 6 months of weight loss consults to qualify - you may want to get that started before you go in Feb., it'll give you a jump start. Thats 3 or 4 months, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb you can get out of the way. My friend had gastric bypass and she had taken care of all the pre-op things before she even saw the surgeon so it was March when she saw him and May when she had the surgery. I just got my insurance approval yesterday so I will get my surgery date today. Yipee!

BTW Drewslou - VERY pretty !!

I've seen the ear done and thats cool but when my daughter came home with her lip tatoo'd I nearly fell over! LOL I don't really care tho - same with the piercings. My daughter got her belly button pierced at 16 and my husband was furious - I think big deal! it can grow shut and besides that if I had thought of it when I was her age I would have done it too. Needless to say my younger daughter didn't have as much flack from her dad when she did it. Speaking of painful places I'll tell you what my son says - first of all he has both shoulder blades done, both upper arms, lower forearm, his chest (mom & dad in hearts - my favorite) a huge cross on his side and the last one he did was his wifes initials on the inside of his wrist, where they take your pulse - the said that was the worst! He said it sent pain all the way up his arm past his elbow - they must have been hitting a nerve. My daughter has butterflies flying up her side - I like that one too. And my neice has stars scattered on top of her foot - she cried the whole time and my daughter in law has dad in a heart on the top of her foot - they both said it was horrible. Of course thats the only place I've even considered.

:bump2: :update: I'm approved! :Banane10: I called my dr last week to check on things and they said give it 1-4 weeks with my insurance. So after reading some posts and hearing that some of you called your insurance company to see if you were approved I decided to call yesterday morning. The insurance company said they hadn't received anything and I should contact my dr. and let them know - which I did - and Nate (the PA) said we just sent everything on Nov. 1st (hmm:guess so was that before or after I had called) anyhoo he said lets give it a few more days - ya know the weekend and all. :sigh: ok. So this morning I got a call at 9 am from Nate he said guess what? the insurance company called late yesterday afternoon and said you are approved. Oh yeah I'm dancing on the ceiling!

:update: oh yeah I'm approved!! :dance: yeehaw! I called insurance yesterday morning to check on my status and they said they hadn't gotten anything from the surgeon yet - I was like oh man! bummer - :think so I called and the PA said they had just sent all the info in on the 1st of november so I should give it a few more days - last week he told me it took a week to 4 weeks to hear from the insurance - I don't think they had even sent out the files - I musta lit a fire under the doc's butt and he sent them in - so then Nate (the PA) calls this morning at 9 am and says good news the insurance company called them yesterday late afternoon and said I am approved! Go figure! I said wow I must have pushed it alittle by calling! I am SO excited. :banana So Nate is supose to be calling this afternoon with dates for me to pick from. He said we need to do the crash diet to shrink my liver (10 days of liquid) and we should be set. I said I am ready - I planned it this way. I work at a golf club in PA so I get laid off in the winter so I had planned to have it this month - oh I am so excited!

:update: oh yeah I'm approved!! :dance: yeehaw! I called insurance yesterday morning to check on my status and they said they hadn't gotten anything from the surgeon yet - I was like oh man! bummer - :think so I called and the PA said they had just sent all the info in on the 1st of november so I should give it a few more days - last week he told me it took a week to 4 weeks to hear from the insurance - I don't think they had even sent out the files - I musta lit a fire under the doc's butt and he sent them in - so then Nate (the PA) calls this morning at 9 am and says good news the insurance company called them yesterday late afternoon and said I am approved! Go figure! I said wow I must have pushed it alittle by calling! I am SO excited. :banana So Nate is supose to be calling this afternoon with dates for me to pick from. He said we need to do the crash diet to shrink my liver (10 days of liquid) and we should be set. I said I am ready - I planned it this way. I work at a golf club in PA so I get laid off in the winter so I had planned to have it this month - oh I am so excited!

I've seen the commercial too - my friend from church told me she saw it and before I told her about it she had never heard of the lapband. I said yeah the insurances are finally covering it so they have to start advertizing.

good luck! I'm sure all will go well.

Hi - I have upmc - I haven't met anyone else on LBT with upmc and would love to talk to someone about it. I went through the whole 6 months, all the preop tests and now its just the waiting for approval. I called my insurance today and they said they hadn't received anything, so I called my doctor and he said the had just sent them on Nov. 1 and we should give it a few more days. I had really been hoping to have the surgery before thanksgiving but may have to wait a little while longer. The 6 months didn't feel as agonizing as this month. Anyone else out there have UPMC?