Russian_BANDit_inNY

Anyone having surgery in March?

March 2 is MY day :-) yeye

I never understood the advantages of forums.

I sure do now :-)

THANK YOU for your responses. It is priceless to have people who are in the same place or/and understand where I am coming from.

THANK YOU Thank YOU thank YOU!!!

Got my surgery day yesterday.

All of a sudden my friends and family turned on me. Were they hopping I will not get approved? or pass psyche evaluation? lol

They compare quitting smoking to stopping overeating... I quit cold turkey when had "live vs smoke" diagnosis. They INSIST I can change my eating habit... They insist I don't need to risk my life to go under a knife and loos weight myself... DON'T THEY KNOW ME??? HELLO?!?!?!

I am shocked, confused, mad, sad...

Still.... they know me best..... start to question myself? and my decision?

Anyone had the same or similar reaction from the closest people?

Took my insurance 30 min or less to approve me with no 6month diet or 5 year history or any of that....

Took my doctor's office 3 ...three ... THREE weeks to fax papers from my file to them. ALL papers were in my file on the 20th.

I am scheduled for March 11 in NJ. I am really hoping to bump up the date if possible though!

Lis,

Where in NJ?

YEYYY Got the date today

Surgery scheduled @ NYU with dr Fielding.

Scared, existed, can not wait,

Anyone scheduled for the same date? Same hospital?

Would be good to 'share' the experience with someone who is going through the same process at the same time :-)

1. Portion control
2. Portion control
3. and portion control

I stopped eating most bad foods long time ago. When I was 10-11 and chubby my father told me to stop eating bread. For many (10-12) years I did not eat almost any bread with any of my meals, yes - no pizza, no sandwiches.... I did eat a piece of cake 2-3 times a year at birthdays. All relatives were saying " well she does not eat bread so she should have more of other foods." And I did. Not sure why everyone was always scared I will go hungry - I was a very very chubby kid all my life :-)

For as long as I can remember I never felt full. I can eat all day long as long as I have food variety.

When I was 26 I got very sick (not weight related) and made a conscious decision to change what I eat. It was an easy change for me to switch from all foods to better food choices (natural, organic when can afford, whole grains, lean meet, etc etc etc....)

One thing never changed - portions.

Yes I dont eat fried chicken. But I do eat half of the skinless baked chicken in one sitting.

Yes I dont eat fish chips and potatoes. But my lightly steamed/fried (low heat frying on Water :-) tuna stake and stir fried veggies portion can feed a family of 6.

And even a salad is not a 'free' points food in my case. First - it is a bucket (family 8-10 size) and with the splash of unrafinated sunflower oil, 1 sliced avocado, a hand full of flax seeds... and all veggies in site .... and maybe some fruit ... It does add up!

I wish and hope and pray band will help with portions.

UPDATE

A warning for those who consider going to NYU for the surgery

My coordinator at the NYU Surgical Coordinator Office - unprofessional voice mail always full,

never return messages,

did not tell the truth regarding when they she submitted or even IF they she submitted paperwork to insurance.

Had to get Office Manager involved in order for my file to be sent to the insurance. However the key papers (already in the file) were not submitted by my coordinator. Spoke with Office manager again, hopefully my coordinator will send complete file to the insurance on Monday.

On the lighter note - my Insurance rep is wonderful!!! Have to wonder if all the 'insurance delays' I read about, are really do to the doctor's offices.

This might sound like a crazy question to some.

I read a status update from an exited newly banded person : " I can sleep on my side and I am only 3 days post op."

Got me thinking.

I can fall asleep ONLY on my tummy. So here is a silly question:

Can I sleep on my stomach with the band?

Isnt it wonderful that we have choices in life? The word would be so dull if everyone did the same thing.

Best of luck to you.

FLORIDAYS - YOU SAID IT BEST!!!!

Thank you for all replies - will be calling my Doc's office on Monday to find out if/when I should do it.

2beskinny ,

I love brussel sprouts as well :-)

I am pre-op so my snack portion would be up to 2 pounds :-( that would be like 5-6 portions ?

I cant wait to feel full from just 5-7

Thank you for the post 2beskinny!

Anyone can suggest a whey Protein Shake with no artificial ingredients?

I was told Whey is the best... Any idea why?

Help please

I am pre-op. I know band does not work for all.

And band can not change WHAT we eat.

My problem - portion size. I hope band will help with that :-)

My doctor never mentionned endoscopy. Is it something everyone required to do before the surgery?

I have Anthem BCBS as well and hopping for the fast approval.

If only my doctor's office finally SUBMITTED the papers.

Everything was suppose to be submitted on Monday. Insurance got NOTHING yet.

I wonder if anyone else had the same issue with doctor's office at the NYU?

Today is day 8 after I have completed all of my doctor's requirements for the surgery.

Today is day 4 after the day my doc's surgery coordinator should of submitted my papers to the Insurance for approval.

As of 3pm today - Insurance received nothing. I still can not reach the 'right' person at the doctor's office to find out why.

Doctor is on vacation second half of Feb, and I have to have 2 weeks of pre-op diet... That means February surgery is most likely out of the question.

I now understand why NYU docs require psyche evaluation from all patients - they don't want us to go mental on them from all that delays.

The irony is my Insurance person was very nice. I can not reach the person at the doctor's office. And the doctor's office never submitted the papers. Anyone had the same issue with NYU office?

Insurance person i spoke with was very helpfull, to get the process she got basic info from me and set up a case to start the ball rolling. But they need all the forms from the doctor.

I feel like going to the doctor's office, getting the copy of my file, and faxing it myself

Was told after all my appointments that doc's office will submit papers to insurance on Monday 24th. If more papers required - would know this week. If approved next week.

Today is Thursday. I am hopping it is a YES... Just in case something is missing and to expedite the process I called my insurance. They never got a call from my doctor ... AHH!?!?!

Called my doc's office - the 'right' person was not available. Through the message from the third person I was told I will be contacted when they have any news. AHH!?

Have anyone called their insurance directly while waiting for the approval?

I need to get my mind off this... every time I think about it - I get hungry.

I was not telling while thinking IF I should get a surgery.

After I started the process, decided on the band, doctor.. etc... I did tell my mom and her boyfriend, my brother, his girlfriend, my cousin, my closest friend, her parents, her husband, 1/3 of my coworkers ...

Now I simply can not fail and be embarrassed - I have to succeed

Anyone knows how docs select 11 vs 14 cc band?

I must be hormonal. I actually found myself crying while reading his article. Don't you wish everyone would just 'get it' already?

True true ElfiePoo!!!

That was Dr Fielding's article from NYU. You can find lots of good things written about him in this forum.

Was kind of easy to decide what type of surgery I want .

Reversible and adjustable - BAND is a clear winer .... for me.

To make a desision to do it - was much much harder.