New New new!!! (& excited)

[aug13hereIcome 9]

Hi All!

New to the site and somewhat newly interested in Lapband…. This became a serious option about 2 months ago.. I've tried it all… medi-weight loss, dr. weight loss, phentermine, some other appetite supressants… nothing worked… I'm young- 23, and cant live with a bmi of 40 for ever… So… after getting my parents support (my husband has been my #1 support since day 1) I sought out some places… I decided upon Hollywood Bariatrics in hollywood Fl. Dr. Brett Cohen is doing my surgery (have any of you gone to him? please let me know if you have).

So here's my story. Whether or not insurance accepts my claim- i'm getting my surgery done. I Scheduled surgery for AUGUST 13!!! I CANT WAIT!

I'm a little bit nervous and because weight has been a source of shame and embarrassment for me my whole life, I'm too embarrassed to tell any of my friends or co-workers.. Thats where this community comes in. Because I will have no peer support because I'm too afraid to tell anyone about my banding procedure, i'm hoping to find that comfort and support here. Plus, who can understand the pains and joys of surgery better than people who have lived it or are about to.

Submitting my packet tomorrow will mean BlueCross/BlueShield has until the friday before my surgery to approve me… unfortunately we leave no time to appeal :-x anywho.. If i have to pay out of pocket, i will- well…. I'll take out a loan and then I will… So we're praying for approval- if you pray, please pray for me!

Anyhow…. Hi all… I really look forward to being part of this little lap band talk community and hope I can share my experiences and support with those of you seeking it as well..So as of July 18, i'm 26 days from surgery-- does anyone have tips, warnings or stories to share,… the hardest parts to get through etc! thanks all!

Bands

[winkie80 147]

Your insurance may have pre-operative requirements. Mine had a 3 month medically monitored weight loss program, psych eval, meetings with a dietitian and I had to go to a bariatric center of excellence. All said and done it took 6 months. Don't be afraid to wait if your insurance ends up with requirements. The time flew by for me and it was worth it since they paid for the surgery. I learned a lot in those 6 months as well. Get as much knowledge as you can because the band does not do all the work. You have to work with it. Best of luck to you and congratulations on taking the first step!

[Lady VS 1,147]

Hi and welcome. Prayer said for you. If you just take your time when you have nothing else to do but read, go to the pre-op, post-op and other sections of this board to hopefully get some of your questions read. If after reading many of the thousands of posts and you still have questions, post a way and somebody will respond. Congratulations on making steps to the new you.

[aug13hereIcome 9]

Thanks to both of you! Yes I've done a lot of reading and questioning - took LOTS of questions to the doctors and really am sooo glad I found this to do nothing but read about the surgery, people's experience and their questions… sometimes it helps because people ask things you'd never think of!

And Winkie- i guess i did a half job of explaining my prep.. my insurance has similar requirements.. but the diets i have done in the past have been medically supervised by my pcp and then some were just weight loss programs run by MD's.. I was really luckyh and i got my LOMN and my mental health eval and my nutritional appointments in all in 3 days… i have been very very blessed with effective and supportive health care providers… now it just depends if the insurance approves of the total of 16 months of medically monitored weight loss attempts or if they want more… Thank you for your encouragement though! i'm hesitant to wait because once school resumes i will not have the time to take off to do surgery and to recover… unfortunately my graduate program is very intensive and provides no time off after this break for the next 4 years … I really dont want to wait that long… do you think i'm rushing? I've wanted to do this for a long time but didnt have familial support until the last few months

[JOANNE M HOLL 388]

The best of luck to you. To add my 2 cents to your story, I would suggest you not talk about this to anyone but family. Once all your friends know they will watch & judge. You will be the only one recording your nutrition, and if you want to substitute a taste of something (for other foods) it should be only your business. I take cake & mess around slowly and act too full, no one notices I did not clean my plate, then the plate goes to disposal & we don't have to talk about it! Go girl & healthy happy future to you.................. :wub: