Hopeful to be full

You look good! great progress! u can do it!

Much to my dismay, my pulmonary doctor (who I was required to see as part of the pre-op requirements) ordered a sleep study; her initiative: "I have a closed off (a.k.a. fat) throat". Anyone who knows me, knows that I have trouble sleeping. I can't fall asleep. I can't stay asleep. Which leads to oversleeping. I'm an anxious person when it comes to sleeping. And so, the doctor's order seemed rather counterintuitive: This girl has trouble sleeping, so let's hook her up to lots of machines, with lots of wires, in an alien enviornment and see how it all works out. Long story, short: I COULD NOT SLEEP. Short story, longer: I will most likely have to do the study again. When I got home from sleeping all night, I, in turn, slept all day. Which lead to staying up all night again etc. I am out of sync. When I can't sleep, or don't sleep well, I eat. Nothing calms me down and starts the ZzZzzzz like some carbs and peanut butter. On this given night I devoured a box of fruit roll-ups (interesting choice, I know!) The result, I feel sluggish, overtired, undertired, tired, plain blah. And then the negative thinking starts. (Devil) How will I deal with the band when I have yet to control my eating . (Angel) The band can help you control your eating. (Sly Devil) It will be just another diet, set of rules, you can't follow. (Angel) Maybe things can be different? (Devil with the blue dress) You can't do it. This is a bad idea. You are worthless. You can't matter. (Angel) Maybe he's right. (Devil Wearing Prada) You will never wear Prada! How do people who have dieted all their lives and tried and failed and tried and failed, come to the decision to get banded? Even if the band is just a "tool" how do you decide to want to learn how to use it when you've tried other tools (gimmicks) without luck? How do you aspire to hope when you can't remember how?

as far as insurance I have BlueCross Blueshield of Northeastern PA

that's so awesome!!!!!!!! I just had my first consult in July It's great to get that first step out of the way. It gave me a real sense of hope. Good luck

Hi. My name is Lauren. I'm 25 years old, 5'4'', 252 lbs. (BMI about 42/43?)I have been struggling with my weight since I was about 15 when I was put on prescription medication for depression. As a result of the medication, I gained a signifigant amount of weight in a short amount of time. Fortunately I was able to loose that initial weight gain with diet and exercise. Then I changed medications again, gained weight...lost the weight. Changed medications again etc etc. In summary, I have been yo-yo-ing for about ten years, going from skinny to obese and back about 3 times. Each time I yo-yo I gain back the weight, and then some. Familar story for a lot of us. IN 2008 I weighed about 155 lbs. Then a bunch of things happened: went through a breakup, lost my job, havent been able to find a job (I'm a teacher). Now I'm 251 lbs. and feeling really bad I'm depressed and ready for a change. I have been thinking about bariatric surgery for a couple of months now. At first, I was thinking of gastric bypass, but then I found out about the band. In July I met with Dr, Edward Garber (York, PA, USA) about the possibility of getting the band. I went into the appointment thinking, "They will say no. They will say no." Because so many bad things have been happening in my life I was sure no one would be able to help me. Good News. Dr. Garber said the surgery could help me. He said people around my height/weight have a lot of trouble loosing weight. This made me feel like, "Ok, this is a problem other people have." For so long I just blamed myself and blamed myself, and ate, and blamed myself. Now I don't feel so alone. So far, I have gone to 2 nutrition classes, and had a pulmonary exam. I still have to go through a psych eval. which I am worried about since I'm depressed (but stable) . Then I have to meet with the dietician, and also go to a support meeting. After all that's done, I hope to send my paperwork in and get an insurance approval. My insurance is different than a lot of people's in that I don't have a mandatory supervised pre-op diet. I am thankful for that because I have been dieting and exercising all year to no avail. I hope to get the surgery in Novemberish/Decemberish depending on when the insurance approval comes through. I am hoping and praying to get approved as I know this can be a complicated and disappointing process. I am trying my best to stay calm and mantain my weight. I can't wait to make these changes that will improve my quality of life!

Hope everything goes well!!!! Thoughts and prayers are with you! Just try to relax and realize things are going to get so much better from here

Just wanted to say hi, and YOU LOOK GREAT! Keep up the good work!

ticker is not showing up

I have an insurance question. First, if you are from Pennsylvania this question is for you....Does anyone have Blue Cross Blue Shield of Pa. If so what do you have to do to qualify for the lap band (pre-op diet?). I know every plan is different. I have blue care ppo, looking for a banster who has the same. P.S. i did call the insurance helpline, but i get different answers for different people augh! I know this is a long shot, but thanks if u can help!

unflavored, no sugar added, greek yougurt can be really blah....you need the right brand. The answer: Chobani brand yogurt with fruit on the bottom. it's delicious. It comes in 0% 1% and 2% in a variety of flavors, pineapple, black cherry, strawberry to name a few. if u don't like the taste of plain yogurt mix the fruit on the bottom so it "coats" all of the yogurt, give it a good swirl. You are eating something healthy while getting a minimal damage sugar fix. It's great for you; it was recommended to me by two different nutritionists. Another great brand of greek yogurt is Fage, it comes with honey, fruit on the side (usually can be found in the organic section of grocery store). Hope this helps!

I have some of the same fears. I am an emotional eater and addicted to Starbucks (I go there everyday). I really enjoy eating out and other "food activities" as I call them. I'm afraid of what I will have to give up in order to be sucessfully after surgery. How will I cope without food? How will I calm my nerves when things get stressfull?.....I agree with some of the others that say the need to emotionally eat will subside when the scale starts to go the other way. I have to put my hope in that notion. I know I'm not perfect and even if I "fix" my need to emotionally eat, there will be times when it happens and I will have to bounce back.

I wasn't always heavy and now I'm a fat friend. For most of my life I was the hot friend that got all the guys, and now no guys look at me. I've lost all my confidence and sense of self. I am getting banded partially so I can feel like a real person again, and partly because I now have health problems. I just wonder how I can life six more months in this inflated body!! help! impatient!