N E 1 been Banded at Mt. Carmel col, oh

[SpecialK 22]

Yes, always, always check your own medical insurance list of In-Network doctors as I got the list of clearances I needed, and the names that the doctors were giving me as options, and I had to go and find which of those were on Aetna for my health insurance and they all were not in network. Same with the psych eval, the names Mid Ohio Surgical Assoc sent me had none that were on my in-network for my behaviour health coverage plan (Magellan Health) and so I just got one In Network on my plan and she's qualified to do the clearance and its covered. Yea!

Bottom line to newbies who are starting the insurance and clearances process - pick doctors on your In-Network plan list.

[debbiek1 0]

everyone seems to staying "on course". ath this point that is all you can do--just dont give up and follow up on all your paperwork. and keep going to all those darn appointments and classes.

TM--my mom always said that whoever said "it is so nice to have a man around the house" was either single or crazy!! so i know what you mean.

I am down to 233 now and looking pretty good. One of the guys at work told me i look like a movie star!!! and yesterday at least 4 people stopped me and told me how good i looked.

so that right there is worth any cost or test or hoop i had to jump thru!!

does anyone know if mt carmel has a 2008 calender for those monthly meetings. the reason i am want to know is that last january they had a fashion show. it was so inspiring to see people that had lost weight and were up there on the runway. they showed "before" pictures on the screen. some of them just made me cry for happy. if they have one this year i would like to go again.

[SpecialK 22]

Debbie, congratulations on your very well deserved compliments.

I'm planning to attend the December 3rd Mt Carmel Support Group forum next week and if they say the schedule of 2008 classes, I'll post it here.

[SpecialK 22]

I'm posting alot today but I had a big week of making progress with the jumping through the hoops. Specifically today I met Dr. Phil Price who will be my lap band bariatric surgeon. He had a 4th year resident, Dr. Matt Bauer, come in and talk with me and he was great. They both asked me for my BMI if I really didn't want to consider Gastric Bypass or why I was sure I wanted Lap Band surgery instead of GB. There were real satisfied about how I answered and why I thought LB was for me, I showed them how much I had read and asked them lots of questions, and they were real patient answering all my questions. Dr. Price said, okay, we'll do a lap band on you!!!

I asked him about his medical experience and he graduated about 20 years ago from Ohio State with his medical degree and completed residency at Mt. Carmel and is a specialist in laprascopic surgeries and he's also a trauma surgeon. He was one of the very first surgeons in Columbus performing the GB surgery. He's on the teaching faculty of Mt. Carmel helping other new and young doctors earn their 'wings' per se just as he had to do himself.

What Dr. Price and Dr. Bauer both emphasized is that I will lose weight more slowly with LB than I would with GB and that I'll have to work harder to lose with a LB. I said I was ready to do this for the long haul and that I've been real pleased with the progress I hear from others posting on the board about how they are doing with the band. I think from what I'm reading the lap band is catching up really well with the GB results within that first year.

Finally, Dr. Price said that I'd get my first fill about 6-8 weeks after surgery and that they do this with fluroscopy.

P.S. He has a sense of humor - his biography on the web site said he graduated from Capital University and then went on to Ohio State for his medical degree. I went to Otterbein College which is Capital's biggest rival - kind of like the OSU-Michigan rivalry of small colleges in Ohio! He teased back to the resident doctor (Dr. Bauer) and said jokingly "put a note on her chart, no anesthesia for surgery since she went to Otterbein!" HA HA!!!

Okay, I'll stop hogging all the web space here!

[debbiek1 0]

special k--that is what this forum is for--to talk and share. someone reading this may find that information very useful in making their decision as to which surgeon to choose.

i agree with you about the GB vs the lapband.

i wouldnt get the GB because i dont want my insides permanently rearranged.

a friend suggested that several years ago and i would not even consider it. but as soon as i heard about the lapband i decided that was for me.

[debbiek1 0]

i dont know if i can do this or not but i am going to try and post some pictures. i should call the before one "the beast" . I still have a way to go but i do look a lot better.

[Lady Q T 0]

Debbie, you look GREAT!!! You look years younger, now you can go out in that dress, doesn't it feel GREAT to try on some thing that didn't fit and now it fits where you can wear out in public.........It just makes me so very happy when it happens to me!!!!!!!! I am a pound away from the 50 pounds loss, I am a slow loser, but I figured I would be being how I was on the lower end of the M.O chart, not to mention I am not very good with forcing myself to work out.

Let me also say I was VERY PROUD OF YOU, for being able to post a picture on here, I thought you said you wasn't very good at the computer, now when the time comes and I want to post a picture you will have to talk me through it, because Lord only know's I don't have the first clue on how to do it:heh:.

How is every one doing?

Okay I need to get to bed, we just got home from Cleveland watching my son play Basketball.....(It is snowing there and the roads were a little slick.) Oh and by the way...Yes they WON :confused:! So I will check back later to see whats been going on... Still waiting on where oh where is Heath Ohio.

[SpecialK 22]

:clap2: Debbie, You Look wonderful. Seeing something that didn't fit before or you could get it on but my fat rolls showed, will be such a wonderful feeling. Congratulations and keep up the hard work. You're going great!

[SpecialK 22]

I attended the Dec 3 forum on Healthy Eating and they passed out the schedule of 2008 support group meetings. They are held at Mt. Carmel West Hospital, Medical Staff Bldg, which is just to the left of the Emergency Room entrance, in the Auditorium on the 1st floor. Here are the dates.

Jan 7 - New Years Resolutions

Feb 4 - Post Op Patient Panel

March 3 Relationship and Sex Therapist Presenter

April - ANNUAL STYLE SHOW - will be at Polaris Mall - more details to be announced. These are patients at or nearing goal and the mall stores help put them into new outfits and you get to hear their Before and After stories.

May 5 food is a Nutrition Tool

June 2 Vacation Planning

July 7 Self Esteem

August 4 Ask the Expert (Dr. Patrician Choban, MD)

September -- TBD

October 6 Reconstructive Surgery (Dr. Bivik Shah, MD)

November 3 Holiday Planning

December 1 - Patient Panel - The Gift of Weight Loss - Life Changes

[debbiek1 0]

oh, so the fashion show has been moved to april. that is good because i usually take vacation time in april. so i may be able to go. since i work nights i cant get to most of them

i wonder what kind of venue polaris has for a fashion show. i wonder if they have an auditorium or will it be out on the floor of the mall.

forgive me i am chatty--just got up and full of caffeine right now!!

how did the healthy eating class go? did you learn anything you didnt already know? i think giving a seminar on healthy eating to a room of fat people is like preaching to the choir.

most of us already know everything there is to know about healthy eating--we have already read every diet book that comes out--we could probably write our own book on healthy eating. Unfortunately, we either eat too much healthy food or eat the healthy food and then follow it up with a half a gallon of ice cream!!!

[Thinner me 1]

:clap2::clap2:OMG Debbie you look wonderful!!! You and Lady are doing great! I know you have to feel like a million bucks. WTG with the NSV, it the greatest feeling when people notice all your hard work.

Special K, girl you are moving right along in your journey. I feel like it is taking FOREVER.... its been 9 months so far! But there is an end in sight. Keep a jumpin'!!

Lady, Heath is east of Columbus right between Newark and Buckeye Lake. Kind of like Reynoldsburg is between Pickerington and White hall, only closer. I can be at 256 in about 15 minutes (without lots of traffic) DH and I go to church in Reynoldsburg and it takes about 20 minutes to get there.

BTW 50 lbs is amazing!!! :whoo: You guys really do inspire me and help me keep faith that this is gonna happen for me too.

Sue, I feel you pain with the doctors. My psych eval was 500.00 and insurance didn't pay one red cent!!!! You would think after all the $ we pay into our insurance company that when we need something they would cover it. So when will you hear if you are approved or not??? I would think with sleep apnea that it would be a sure thing for getting approved. Hang in there my friend, we will get through this.

Hey Dorothy! How are you doing?

I hope you all have a blessed day!

[Thinner me 1]

Debbie, I just went back and looked at your pics again. Lady is right you look years younger. I would have said you were in your early 40's NOT 57. Thats just wonderful. I am so happy for you. Keep up the great work!

[debbiek1 0]

it is quite painful for me to look at that "before" picture. but i am glad it was taken. I just look like i am in so much pain. and i was. everything hurt and doing anything was tiring and an effort.

i cant wait to see what i look like in another 50 pounds.

[Thinner me 1]

Debbie, I know that pain. Just walking is painful sometimes. I don't think my back or feet have ever hurt as bad as they have the last year or so. I usually say its because I'm getting older, but I'M ONLY 39!!!!!!

I don't really care about being "skinny", I just want my life back (and if I look as good as you do..... BONUS).

[SpecialK 22]

Thinner me aka Angie - any news about your surgeon situation with him leaving Barix? Have you met a new surgeon? Good luck!

I'm real well acquainted with Heath, OH as my mom lives in Pataskala now and used to be in Reynoldsburg and her favorite store is Elder Beerman's at the Indian Mound Mall in Heath so I'm over there all the time on a weekend. She has a husband with progressing Alzheimers and I drive her and sit with him so she can shop and even get groceries because he has wondered off and out of the stores before when she sat him down at a chair/table like in a store where she could do that in the past. Really scary to see how Alzheimers takes away the quality of life.