NurseLaureli

OMG! I got the call from my doctor's office today! My surgery date is scheduled for 5/14!! I go for my pre-op labs, to see the nutrionist for a final visit, and for my "glamour shots" (my doc takes before and after pics) on 5/9. I am so excited, but then again, all of a sudden I am really scared. I can't believe this is finally happening! :clap2:

:clap2: CONGRATULATIONS!!:clap2: July will be here in no time!

Hi Cara...congratulations on getting approved! I'm sure you are excited! My husband says the same thing too...he is afraid that I'm going to get skinny and leave him. He said the same thing too when I graduated from nursing school...he said I was going to leave him for a doctor (if he only knew them like I do, he'd know for sure I wouldn't date a doctor!) I agree that it is about insecurities. I wouldn't leave my husband, it took me too long to get him trained right!! (just kidding!)

I only had a one visit psych eval too, and he told me in his office that he approved me and was sending a letter to my surgeon saying I was a good candidate. My co-pay was $35. I didn't have to pay anything extra for the letter to the surgeon. I would shop around if I were you. Do you have to use those listed by your surgeon, or can you pick your own? Also, are you covered by insurance so that you can have your eval covered too...that may help with the cost.

Gosh I hope so....this time last year I had made it to onderland(barely...199 but I was there!!)doing WW. I am anxiously awaiting insurance approval...they said I would know it two weeks!

Good luck...we will all be thinking of you and wishing you a speedy recovery! I'm still doing all the pre-op stuff and hope to be on the banded side soon. Congratulations!!!

Oh, Oh! I LOVE MySpace...it is SO addicting. Here is my address: http://www.myspace.com/nurselaureli2006 I like new friends!

WooHoo! I FINALLY got my psych eval scheduled. Just as I was researching other doctors, the one I had initially tried to contact finally called me back. :clap2: I have by psych eval scheduled for 3/27. So, after the nutrition class on 3/22 and the psych eval on 3/27, my surgeon can submit my info to the insurance company for approval. They said my insurance (United Healthcare) typically takes 2 weeks to approve. THEN, maybe I'll have a surgery date. I am so excited!!

Good Luck! I hope everything goes well for you. I was SO nervous the day of my consultation and excited that the day had finally come. I hope you get your surgery date soon!

Thank you all so much for your responses. It helps so much to know that there are others out there that have the same questions and are experiencing the same things that I am. Everyone at this site has been so helpful. As far as my progress, I am still trying to get an appointment for the psych eval. I cannot seem to get ahold of anyone at their office. If I can't get them by tomorrow, I think I'll call my insurance and find my own doctor to do my psych eval instead of the doctor the surgeon has referred me to. He said I could if I wanted anyway, but I thought I would use his referral as I thought it would speed things up...seems like it is just slowing me down. GRR! Anyway...good luck everyone. I am rooting for you all!

Well, finally the day came and I got to meet with my doctor for the very first time. I absolutely love him...he has such a great bedside manner. He took time to answer all of my questions (all 20 something of them) and spent more than an hour with me explaining the lapband process and was actually happy to see me pull out a whole list of questions! :faint: So, now I have a class that I have to attend on 3/22 that covers nutrition and exercise. It is a requirement and cost $300, which is not covered by my insurance. The class is from 8:30am-1:30pm and apparently we are supposed to cover pre- and post-op nutrition information. There is also information regarding exercise...has anyone else had to attend something like this? Also, my insurance requires a psych eval. I have called the office of the doctor I have been referred to and left two messages as we seem to be playing phone tag. Can anyone who has had to have a psych eval tell me what I might expect? Seems like the ball is finally rolling...:clap2:

uhmmm....okay, so I found a thread on this subject in the Labband FAQs section right after I posted this...don't I feel like a dummy. Sorry...if you can think of anything that might be missing from the FAQs thread, please let me know. Thanks again!

Hi everyone! I am not yet banded but I have been researching the band and reading this board for quite sometime and was wondering if I could get some help. After what seems like forever I am finally going for my first consulation with the doctor on 3/7/07 (:dance:YEAH!!). I am trying to come up with a list of questions to ask him (i.e. pre/post op diet he recommends, fill costs, type of band used...etc). The problem is, I have read so much information, I think I have become super-saturated and just can't think straight anymore and I am not sure what to ask. What questions did you ask your doctor, or wish you would have asked your doctor, about the band and the whole banding process? I tried to use the search feature to see if a thread was already open on this subject but I couldn't seem to get it to work. Thanks in advance!!

Neal, OMG! :faint: You are awesome and such an inspiration! I have seen some of your posts on different threads and you are so very helpful whenever someone has a question. As a newbie here starting in this lapband journey (which seems like it won't start soon enough!), I just wanted to say thank you for sharing your experience with everyone.:mad:

This is so funny. We have three cats and a dog: Cats: Ditz, named so because she isn't very smart-- Ditz-a-roo, diddle, diddle-roo WeatherBee--weather butt, weather bottom, fat cat (he is about 16lbs!). Oliver--Olivia, Featherbutt Our dog Clover is a bearded collie. We call her fuzzy dog or Cloverdean. We even made up a song: "Cloverdean, beauty queen. Prettiest dog I've ever seen". We are such dorks!

That is so funny...watch out for the Banded Lorelei's!! :0) That shopping list would be great. Thanks so much. I'll be sure and PM you when I get my dates (which seems like forever from now). I'm sorry to hear that you are so sore. Wowsers...I hope you feel better soon. Just know that it is worth it, you'll forget about the pain in no time I'm sure!

Hey thatgirl! My name is actually Laura, but my husband calls me or writes me notes with my name as Laureli (pronounced like you spell it). I have always loved that name. I so can't wait to join everyone here on the "banded side". :0) I am waiting for my doctor to call and schedule an appointment for me to have the first consultation after the lap-band seminar I attended. My doctor is new to the area and isn't taking appointments until February so I'm kinda stuck as he is the only doctor my insurance will cover. Good luck to you...I hope you are recovering well and doing

Oh, I meant to add that I believe ibuprofen and Tylenol can be harmful to the liver if taken excessively and over long periods of time. But, I think Tylenol (acetominophen) does so more than ibuprofen. You may want to double-check with your doctor to see what his preference would be for you. Hope this helps! :rose:

Congratulations to both of you!! I'm so happy for you both! Hope to be in your shoes soon...

Oh great....I'll do that...thanks so much! :0)

Hi all....I am looking into lap-band surgery with Dr. Castro at Dallas Methodist. Has anyone heard anything about him? I know he came from El Paso and is new at Methodist. I have to go to Methodist d/t my insurance so I don't have much choice.