rkwilliams1013

As a nurse, I chose the band because I have taken care of a lot of bypass patients and needed to make an informed and educated decision on what was right for me. here's why I chose the band: 1) I didn't want the long-term mal-absorption issues that bypass patients have. I needed more control over what and how much I lost. 2) Its not completely permanent. While I'm a strong believer that the Lap Band is a life long decision, if I ever need it removed for any reason, its possible. 3) I don't have kids. I wanted a means to lose weight effectively, but still safe for baby when the time comes. 4) The weight comes off gradually, allowing me enough time to change lifestyle habits, and adjust psychologically. 5) I didn't want a "quick fix", but a tool to help me get healthy. Lap Band won't change what you put in your mouth- its up to you to change that, but it will train you to make healthy choices. Hope this helps. Every person has their own individual reasons for choosing the band/bypass, but like I said, As a nurse, I felt this was right for me. Good luck with your journey!

JerseyDiva, you sound just like me! I'm always joking that my eggs are gonna dry up if I don't have one by thirty! (Thanks Dr. Oz, I hate your guts) But, I didn't want to get pregnant at my current weight of 257 and we all know that obesity causes fertility issues and high risk pregnancy. So, I opted to have the lap band, wait a year under my doc's advice, and see what happens later! I hate that everyone always asks me whats taking so long too! How 'bout NONYA?!(none ya business) I'm sure we'll be fine after 30, at least that's what I keep telling myself!

I am a proud recruiter of our club because I know I need all the help I can get! Rebecca

Hi there & welcome! I am also having surgery 9/2! There's actually a whole thread for us September Bandsters under the Pre-Op Forum. Congrats on your surgery date!

Yay! I have a September 2nd Band Buddy!!! I unfortunately am not in the midwest, I'm in hot and humid Georgia. Anyone know how I can add that graphic to my posts? I love it! You did a wonderful job!

Girl, If you find a good man, he's going to love you for who you are, port or no port. Stop worrying and go have some fun!

Hi All, I was kinda curious how many of you out there got a surgery date before insurance approval. I am frustrated with my doctor's office because I have had an insurance approval for almost a week and no surgery date. I call my doctor's office almost every day for updates and am at a loss as to what could be taking so long! My doctor's office wouldn't even consider a surgery date without hearing back from insurance first, and now that insurance has approved, I can't seem to get anywhere. Am I being impatient?!

All of the "jewelry looking" bracelets have a medical alert charm. It would defeat the purpose of wearing a medical alert bracelet if first responders thought it was jewelry. It all comes down to preference, to each his own. I would invite everyone to take a look at the bracelets and necklaces from Lauren's Hope. There are a lot of different styles, and lots of room for engraving medical information! I just purchased this one: http://www.laurenshope.com/product/1466/I9/isle-of-capri--medical-id-bracelet/size

Hi Guys! I was just about to start a thread about medical ID bands. I'm purchasing mine through Lauren's Hope. You can google it and the website will pop-up. Medical bands aren't my style either, but after my mom purchased a GORGEOUS one for my sister, I started checking them out. They look like normal beaded bracelets. If someone notices it and asks, I will use it as an opportunity to share my success! As for the what to wear to the hospital question- I actually just bought a really comfy pair of stretchy pants, and a loose fitting boyfriend tee from Target. It was the perfect choice! Its soooo comfortable! I actually plan to go back tomorrow to purchase some more of the Boyfriend Tee's so I will have plenty of choice to lounge in after my surgery! 21 days and counting!

That's great! I'm super excited to meet you! What hospital are you having your surgery at? I am doing mine outpatient at Northside Forsyth.

As a nurse, it was an easy, yet tough decision to finally have lap band surgery. To all the fellow nurses out there, what made you decide to take the step and be banded? For me, I was always afraid of being the big,fat, woloppy nurse who comes into the room and gives you a shot in the butt. I am currently an orthopaedic surgery nurse and see day in and day out what being heavy does to your joints. I see chronic disease on a daily basis and always want to make sure I stay on the right side of the bed!

Sarah, I love your kids already! Now when I'm out in 95 degree georgia heat trying to exercise I will remember the castle-sexy abs! Its funny because now that I actually have a surgery date I feel like I'm nesting-I went to target today and stocked up on Liquid Tylenol, Gas-X, all kinds of stuff! I even bought a super comfy outfit to wear home from the hospital- Like I'm preparing to give birth to a Lap Band! I also scheduled my pre-op today one week prior to surgery August 25th and am self starting my pre-op diet on Monday. Three more weeks!

I think my best analogy I use for people who don't understand why I want to do this is that being an obese nurse is like educating your patient on smoking cessation right before you go out to smoke one. I feel like my patients (and doctors) would take me more seriously if I could practice what I preach.

I feel the same way! I don't even own a scale for that exact reason! However, the fact that we've made the decision to be banded means we've already won half the battle when it comes to facing the humiliation of stepping on the scale-so commend yourself for that! We're all here for the same reason!

I think as nurses, we tend to "know too much". being a nurse definitely made me not want to do the bypass either! Its nice to know there are so many of us Nurse-Bandsters out there! And for those of you in nursing school, or soon to be nurses, keep going- nursing school does end eventually!

Deciding to finally get the lap band I felt like I was finally doing something good for myself. However, as I wait for my surgery date, I can't help but think of how my husband will hold up with all the dramatic changes that will be coming our way. So I wanted to find out from all you post-op bandsters how your spouses did with the changes and how you helped transition from "old-you" to the "new-you". My husband is so super supportive of my decision, but I do all the cooking in my household. We don't have kids, which is a good thing, but I'm concerned how to make the adjustments- Do you cook for just him although you're not going to eat it? I know this is going to be a major lifestyle change not just for me, but for him too- I'm just not sure if he realizes that yet. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

This is exactly why I joined this site, because just like raising a child- it takes a village! We have had several discussions about what life will be life after lap band. He wants to lose a little too, so I think we will be just fine and I'm worrying way too much about this. He can cook for himself if he needs to, and from what I understand after the mushy stages we should be able to eat much of the same foods, just different amounts of it. This has been very helpful!

I thought it was odd after reading all of your posts that my doc didn't require a pre-op diet, he only said not to gain anything, because it would make my liver larger. However, I want to do a pre-op diet on my own just to jump start the surgery. I think I'm going to be doing a two week liquid/light meal diet and am scheduled for surgery September 2nd.

Just got my surgery date september 2nd! I'm approved and on the books waiting to be banded!:thumbup:

Yay! I got my surgery date scheduled for Sept. 2nd! I'm so excited, but now I'm nervous because its REAL! My phone has been attatched to my hip for a solid week, I go get my purse out of my car for two seconds and she called....had to leave my surgery date on my voice mail- just my luck. But, I'm excited nontheless!

PROTEIN! Sounds like you need to revaluate your protein intake. Your hair tends to fall out when you drop below your recommended daily allowance. If you increase your protein intake and continue to have this problem, I would meet with the nutritionist and your doc to see if there are other problems. For instance, my hair was falling out by the wads and it turned out I had a major thyroid issue. Just make sure you start with protein, the prenatal vitamins are great, then check with your doc!

All I had to do was 6 months of MD supervised weight loss, nutritionist, and the psychiatrist. I also had to attend a support meeting, and jump through some pre-op hoops (upper GI series, EKG, and bloodwork). Now I'm just waiting on my surgery date... I will call them again today and hope for the best.

As I anxiously await my surgery date, I was hoping everyone could give me some advice on the things they felt were helpful after surgery. I read in a similar post that someone said that chewable gas tablets were really helpful. So I'm trying to compile a pre-op list of things to get me through! This can be anything from sleeping in the recliner to gas tablets, to band-friendly foods. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

My coordinator told me a few months ago that once I got the approval the surgery scheduler would call me within 72 hrs to schedule because she does the scheduling for all three surgeons in their practice. I chose this specific surgeon because I'm a nurse and have worked with lots of his patients and know that his patients always have good outcomes. My husband says I'm being impatient, that I've already won the battle of getting the insurance company to approve the surgery, and I should allow them the full 72 hrs to call me back. I think I have a right to be impatient. Not to mention the fact that an insurance approval is a guaranteed paycheck, you'd think they'd be falling all over themselves to get me on the books.

I was told by the bariatric coordinator that has been handling my file for months now, that they would schedule my surgery then I would need to see the doctor one more time before the surgery date. It just seems like it shouldn't take them a week to schedule a surgery?! So yes, I'm being impatient, after all it's just my future!