Hello from South Korea

[anymouse 0]

As you can probably tell from my user name I don't want to give out too much information about myself. I plan to tell only my husband about the road I'm on (at least for now) but I need some support from people who understand.

Briefly.

January '08 looked into lap-band and decided to give myself a year too loose weight on my own. Bought treadmill and walked faithfully everyday for six months. No weight loss.

January '09 hit my highest weight ever at 250. I'm 5'4". I was 175 pounds after my first child was born and would be very very happy to be and maintain that weight again.

February '09 moved to Korea to be with my husband who is in the US Army.

April 10 '09 will be my first appointment to discuss weight lose surgery with my PCM. I'm very nervous because I am currently Tricare Standard.

[Lighterload 0]

Hi Anymouse,

No one needs to know too much info about you unless you decide to share it. We are all in this together, sharing one common goal and that is to lose weight and be healthy. I too, am an ex-military wife, spent 15 years bouncing from place to place and seeing the world, I loved it, especially the 6 years in W. Germany.

I know nothing about Tricare, because when I was with the military we had Champus. I would find out what Tricare covers and their requirements.

Don't feel bad that you had several unsuccessful attempts at weight loss. We all have and that's why we are here. I wish you the best in your venture and keep in touch- Lighterload

[Armywife0306 0]

I know Tri care Prime will pay for it

[anymouse 0]

That was easy. PCM put the request for surgery consult in without a blink. Calling on Monday to get the appointment. I was so nervous, but the only problem is he doesn't know if they do lap band at our hospital. I hope so. If not at least I'll be in the system for when they start or when we move to our next duty station.

[sustainable health 0]

Im in S Korea as well and went with Dr Sehoon Kang. He speaks english and is in Seoul. you can find more info at lapbandseoul.com. What helped me decide was talking to another american who went to Dr Kang. I dont know about insurance but if you self pay its affordable compared to the US. its at least 50% if not 40% of what it costs in the US. Fills and dr appts are 10,000won/$8USD.

[AlienBandit 10]

Wow there are quite a few people here that live in South Korea and were banded here. I thought I would be the only home.

How is everyone's progress going?

[sustainable health 0]

Hello Jenkins!

Dr Kang asked me if there would be interest in forming a foreigner support group. What do you think?

Banded 9/19/09. lost -8 kgs since then. i feel good.

Edited November 3, 2009 by sustainable health

[AlienBandit 10]

Hello Jenkins!

Dr Kang asked me if there would be interest in forming a foreigner support group. What do you think?

Banded 9/19/09. lost -8 kgs since then. i feel good.

I think it would be great for other patients to be able to talk with each other. I had my first appointment with him the day u were banded. Maybe i almost met you because he asked me if I wanted to see if the person who was banded that day would let me talk with them. I was in a rush so he never asked.

[sustainable health 0]

I think it would be great for other patients to be able to talk with each other. I had my first appointment with him the day u were banded. Maybe i almost met you because he asked me if I wanted to see if the person who was banded that day would let me talk with them. I was in a rush so he never asked.

oh they came in and asked me if I wanted to meet an american but I said no bc I was so nauseous and felt like crap. Maybe it was you? Well Its nice to meet someone else who has the same procedure and the same dr.

[AlienBandit 10]

nope that wasnt me I am from Canada. I do remember the nurse mentioning that the person who had, had surgery didnt want to see someone earlier. Hope you feel much better then that day :drool:

[isaviolinist 11]

I'm not from Korea, but my fiancee is. We go every summer. We were just talking about beginning to plan our trip for this July earlier today.

I may join this conversation because I want to feel like I at least have some resources when we go there. Ironically, both of his parents are physicians and one is a prominent physician at Samsung Medical C. in Seoul. However, I definitely do not plan to tell any of his family about my procedure even though I am sure they would be able to make sure I was taken care of. Like most Koreans, they are very judgmental about weight, and even if I were a size 6, they would probably still look at me and think about how obese I am, so I won't give them another thing to judge me about.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that I am at least into a size 10 by the summer, which will temporarily appease his mom.

Last summer (which was the first time I met his extended family), his aunt gave me a gift card to Shinsegae but I could see, when she handed it to me, she was thinking "what will she ever be able to buy there"? That was a really low point (and I was pretty heavy then...not my heaviest, but getting there). I hope, sometime, I will be able to shop for clothes in Korea. That would feel awesome!

Anyways, I will just linger around. Good luck to everyone.

[sustainable health 0]

violinist: welcome to the chat! Im from Philadelphia. How ironic?! You come to Seoul to visit family and I go to Philadelphia to visit family. Yes I know what you mean about koreans and weight. I felt fairly normal in the US but I came to Korea and suddenly Im like a monster. Good thing approval of the korean people is not a goal I have. I know what you mean, that no matter what your size, you wont be small enough. Its just how it is here.

Wow youve lost alot in 4 months! That must feel good.

I also have a 11cc band and right now Im almost at 9cc. Why almost? Bc my dr wanted 9 and I wanted 8 so we agreed on 8.5 but i think he snuck in more than he's telling me. Anyway, i feel good with this fill. Ive thought about getting this band for at least 6 yrs before doing it. Coming to Korea helped push me and it also made it possible for me to afford it. I love the medical care here and Im a fan of Korea overall.

One last thing, REALLY you come to Korea in the SUMMER??? Its so hot and sticky! Spring and Fall are so much more enjoyable.

Edited November 4, 2009 by sustainable health

[sustainable health 0]

Jenkins150: yeah I was a bit groggy so maybe Nurse Lee just said an english speaking woman (vs an american) so Im thinking it was you. What a small world! Yes I am happy with how I healed and happy overall with the band and how its really just brought more consciousness to the quantity of food I eat. What I ate wasnt the problem as much as HOW MUCH i ate. So the band is quite helpful in reducing the amount of food I eat.

Edited November 4, 2009 by sustainable health

[isaviolinist 11]

violinist: welcome to the chat! Im from Philadelphia. How ironic?! You come to Seoul to visit family and I go to Philadelphia to visit family. Yes I know what you mean about koreans and weight. I felt fairly normal in the US but I came to Korea and suddenly Im like a monster. Good thing approval of the korean people is not a goal I have. I know what you mean, that no matter what your size, you wont be small enough. Its just how it is here.

Wow youve lost alot in 4 months! That must feel good.

I also have a 11cc band and right now Im almost at 9cc. Why almost? Bc my dr wanted 9 and I wanted 8 so we agreed on 8.5 but i think he snuck in more than he's telling me. Anyway, i feel good with this fill. Ive thought about getting this band for at least 6 yrs before doing it. Coming to Korea helped push me and it also made it possible for me to afford it. I love the medical care here and Im a fan of Korea overall.

One last thing, REALLY you come to Korea in the SUMMER??? Its so hot and sticky! Spring and Fall are so much more enjoyable.

Thats so cool that you're from Philly! And ironic too :scared2:

Thanks for the compliments :drool: I'm really feeling good. I'm seriously motivated to be some category of thin by the next time we go to Korea. I'm so not interested in getting judgemental looks from family/in-laws, or from the general population in Seoul (the stares got old after awhile lol...I don't care if they stare because I'm white, but I hate when the stare because of my weight).

I would love to come in Fall or Spring, but sadly, because of my work schedule (I'm a violinist - I perform professionally, and I am also a violin teacher), my main performing and teaching seasons go from September-June. So we'll probably go for 5-6 week in July-August. My fiancee is still in school also, so he has about the same schedule as me. But its okay. Last year when we were in Korea, we took a trip to Club Med in Thailand for a week (which was great in the hot weather...we just sat by the pool all day!), and we spent a weekend in GyeongJu and another few days in Jeju do (SO nice to visit when its hot...you can just swim and take boat rides around...ah, can't wait to go back). And I sleep in my fiancee's air conditioned room when we go and he sleeps in the hot living room lol. During the day I don't mind the heat - but I need a cool place to sleep in haha.

[AlienBandit 10]

if anyone is interested I am having a seoul meet and greet at olympic park June 20th. Msg me for details or check my blog