LULU TATT

SO...I'M ACTUALLY HAVING A LITTLE TROUBLE WITH THE VIDEO..EVERYTIME I UPLOAD IT THERE IS NO SOUND...BUT I PLAN ON HAVING THE ISSUE RESOLVED TOMORROW..AND WILL LET YOU KNOW ASAP...I PROMISE...

THANKS CAZZY...AND YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RITE...I'VE PRETTY MUCH COME TO REALIZE THAT I JUST GOTTA DO WAT I GOTTA DO...SO IMMA GET IT DONE...BUT THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR ENCOURAGING WORDS...BY THE WAY I'LL BE DOCUMENTING MY JOURNEY ON YOUTUBE...I JUST UPLOADED MY FIRST VIDEO TONIGHT, WELL I'M DOING IT NOW...BUT YEAH CHECK ME OUT SOMETIMES, IT'LL GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO KINDA KNOW THE REAL ME...

SO....I HAVE DECIDED TO DOCUMENT MY LAPBAND JOURNEY IN HOPES TO INFORM POTENTIAL WLS PATIENTS AS WELL AS GET SUPPORT THRU MY JOURNEY, AND ALSO GIVE YOU GUYS A CHANCE TO KNOW ME MORE PERSONALLY...SO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL NAME IS LULULAPBAND, AND I JUST UPLOADED MY FIRST VIDEO...AND I HOPE YOU ALL WILL FOLLOW ME AS I MAKE WEEKLY UPLOADS AND SUPPORT ME, AND I WILL DO THE SAME FOR ANYONE ELSE WHO IS OR WILL DECIDE TO DOCUMENT THEIR JOURNEY....BY THE WAY ARE THERE ANY OTHER PPL ON YOUTUBE THAT'S ON HERE???

WHATS YOUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL NAME

64...

SO.....I WENT TO INITIAL ASSESSMENT APPT. TODAY, AND FOUND OUT INDEED MY BMI WAS TOO HIGH TO DO THE SURGERY RIGHT NOW...I HAVE TO LOSE ABOUT 45 LBS BEFORE THEY WILL EVEN CONSIDER ME FOR THE SURGERY...I HAVE TO BE HONEST WHEN I SAY THAT I AM A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED...I EXPECTED THEM TO SAY MAYBE LIKE 20 OR 25 LBS, BUT 45 IS A BIT MUCH...I KNOW THE WEIGHT WAS GOING TO HAVE TO COME OFF ANYWAY BUT IT PROLONGS MY PROCESS OF GETTING BANDED...BUT I'M NOT GOING TO JUST GIVE UP... I AM GOING TO JUST HAVE TO LOSE THE WEIGHT, AND I PLAN ON SUCCEEDING...ANYHOO, I WILL BE POSTING A VIDEO ON YOUTUBE ABOUT MY JOURNEY AND PROCESS AS I GO ALONG...I'LL ACTUALLY BE POSTING THE FIRST ONE TONIGHT...I WANT PEOPLE TO GET A CHANCE TO KNOW ME, UNDERSTAND MY STRUGGLE, LEARN FROM MY STRUGGLE, AND HOPEFULLY THRU YOUTUBE I WILL GIVE AND GET SUPPORT...MY YOUTUBE NAME IS LULULAPBAND...AND I HOPE YOU GUYS WILL CHECK IT OUT...I DO WANT TO KNOW: HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD THIS SITUATION HAPPEN TO THEM??? IF SO, WHAT DID YOU DO??? WHAT WEIGHT LOSS METHODS WORKED FOR YOU??? ETC?? SHARE YOUR STORY WITH ME PLZ!!! TAKE CARE GUYS....

um...SO I GO FOR MY FIRST INTIAL ASSESSMENT ON MONDAY...REALLY EXCITED TO JUST GET THINGS MOVING...DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THIS POINT BUT, WE'LL SEE...I PLAN ON DOCUMENTING MY WHOLE PROCESS ON YOUTUBE...I HOPE YOU'LL FOLLOW ME...I'LL GIVE YOU THE YOUTUBE USERNAME AS SOON AS I UPLOAD...AND THAT WAY YOU AND EVERYONE IN THE WLS COMMUNITY WILL GET A CHANCE TO REALLY GET TO KNOW THE REAL ME...YA KNOW....

WOW...SO IF THAT HAPPENS HOW SOON WOULD THE SURGERY PROBABLY COME???

I'M FROM CHICAGO...GOING THRU THE MERCY HOSPITAL LAP BAND PROGRAM AS WELL

SO MONDAY IS MY INITIAL ASSESSMENT APPT...THINGS MIGHT BE MOVING KIND OF FAST AFTERALL...I'M EXCITED!!! I DON'T KNOW WHAT ALL TO EXPECT BUT SO FAR I FOUND OUT MY LABS AND EVERYTHING WILL BE DONE THAT DAY...BUT WHAT ELSE????

you still smoke???

are you banded already??? if so did you stop smoking??? or are you waiting to get banded??? if so, what is your plan about the whole smoking situation???

how long you been banded???

yea i can give it up eventually and even slightly temporarily...but to up and give it up outta nowhere can be quite hard...and its not like imma wait til i have finally completely gave it up before i try to pursuit the surgery...so it makes it a harder situation...but i guess imma have to do what i have to do...in all honesty, the procedure can be abit stressful, so i anticipated on using the cigs to help me get thru it...guess i can cancel that plan...lol

SO...DID THE SURGEON KNOW YOU WERE A SMOKER AND APPROVED YOU??? OR DID YOU NOT TELL HIM??? AND DOES THE SMOKING EFFECT YOUR BAND AT ALL???

SO I FINALLY HAD A CHANCE TO MEET THE SURGEON TODAY, AND I SAT THRU THE SEMINAR...PRETTY COOL...I REALLY LIKE THE DOCTOR, I'M FEEL REALLY COMFORTABLE WITH HIM SO FAR...BUT HE DID MENTION THAT HE WILL NOT DO THE SURGERY IF I SMOKE CIGARETTES...NOW I KNOW THEY ARE NOT HEALTHY AND I DO EVENTUALLY WANT TO STOP, BUT THE TRUTH IS: ITS EASIER SAID THAN DONE...AND IF YOU ARE A SMOKER YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN..NOW I CAN SEE MYSELF SLOWING DOWN AT FIRST AND WORKING TOWARDS QUITTING, BUT TO JUST UP AND STOP WILL PROBABLY DRAW ME BACK EVEN QUICKER AND I'LL PROBABLY SMOKE MORE...ANYWAY..HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD A PROBLEM WITH SMOKING AND BEING BANDED, OR BEING APPROVED FOR SURGERY AND BEING A SMOKER??? I GUESS I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT SMOKING CIGARETTES CONFLICTING WITH GETTING BANDED...

IN TERMS OF FINDING A DOCTOR HERE...(IN ILLINOIS) MERCY HOSPITAL HAS A LAP BAND PROGRAM AND TEAM...YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT GOING THERE AND CALLING THEM THEY MAY BE ABLE TO HELP YOU...

YOU MAY HAVE JUST ANSWERED MY QUESTION...SO THEY WILL CONTINUE WITH THE PROCESSING ON THE STRENGTH THAT YOU PROMISE TO LOSE THE WIEGHT BEFORE THE SURGERY????

I WAS TOLD I MIGHT HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM...HAVEN'T FOUND OUT YET BUT ONE OF THE COORDINATORS WAS TELLING ME MY BMI MIGHT BE TOO HIGH...WHAT IS TOO HIGH???WHAT IS YOUR BMI??? ON ANOTHER NOTE....YOU DEFINITELY JUST DON'T WANT TO STOP WITH THE PROTEIN SHKES BECAUSE YOU MIGHT ACTUALLY GAIN WEIGHT FOR YOUR BODY MIGHT INTO SHOCK...STAY DRINKING LOTS OF FLUIDS AND TRY A WATER PILL, YOU MAY BE RETAINING FLUIDS...

THAT IS CRAZY...I THINK YO DOCTOR MAY BE JUST TWEEKING...SEE IF ANOTHER DOCTOR CAN WRITE THE LETTER YOU NEED, OR HELL TRANSFER TO ANOTHER DOCTOR WHO WILL LOOK AT YOUR RECORDS AND HELP YOU BEGIN YOUR JOURNEY...BUT GOING OFF SUBJECT...I AM NEW TO THIS WHOLE PROCESS AND AM TRYING TO GET BANDED... HAVE A QUESTION: YOU SAY YOU'RE SCHEDULED FOR MAY TO GET YOUR SURGERY...HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WAITING>??? BETTER YET, WHEN DID YOU FIRST GO TO THE SEMINAR??? JUST TRYING TO SEE HOW LONG I HAVE BEFORE I MAY GET THE SURGERY??? THANKS IN ADVANCE!

OMG!!! U R TOTALLY SCARING ME RIGHT NOW...I AM GOING TO TRY AND GET BANDED AND AM IN THE BEGINNING PHASE TO THE EXTENT THAT I AM JUST NOW ABOUT TO GO TO THE SEMINAR...BUT I'M SCARED I MAY END UP FEELING LIKE YOU AND GOING THRU THE SAME THING WHICH WOULD THEN MAKE THIS A WASTE OF TIME FOR ME...MY QUESTION TO YOU IS: IS IT EVEN WORTH IT??? IS IT REALLY THAT CHALLENGING TO DEAL WITH THE PROCESS OF CHANGING YOUR LIFESTYLE??? IDK...I HAVE SO MANY EMOTIONS RIGHT NOW....

HELLO EVERYONE, MY NAME IS LULU AND I AM NEW ON HERE AND AM TRYING TO GET THE LAP BAND. I LIVE IN CHICAGO, IL AND AM USING MEDICAID AS MY INSURANCE. I PLAN ON GOING WITH THE MERCY HOSPITAL LAP BAND PROGRAM, BUT I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS ITS NOT EVEN FUNNY, AND AM HOPING I GET SOME ADVICE, FEEDBACK, AND SUPPORT FROM THIS SITE. FIRST AND FOREMOST, I AM SO MUCH IN THE BEGINNING PHASE OF THIS JOURNEY THAT I HAVE YET TO EVEN SEE A DOCTOR. I AM SCHEDULED TO GO AND SIT THRU THE SEMINAR ON 4/16/12. I GUESS AT THIS POINT THE BEST THING TO DO IS TAKE IT ONE "SECTION" AT A TIME...I DON'T WANT TO OVERLOAD THIS SYSTEM WITH TOO MANY QUESTIONS...LOL...BUT ANYHOO, WHAT AM I INITALLY TO EXPECT? HOW HARD IS IT TO GET COVERED BY MEDICAID? HO LONG FROM THIS POINT RIGHT NOW SHOULD I EXPECT TO ACTUALLY GET SURGERY? AND I HEARD MY BMI MAY BE TOO HIGH, CAN THAT BE POSSIBLE AND IF SO WHAT WILL HAPPEN THEN??? I HOPE SOMEONE WILL PLEASE HELP ANSWER SOME OF MY QUESTIONS, ESPECIALLY ANYONE WITH THE SAME CIRCUMSTANCES...I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU AND BEING A PART OF THIS GROUP...THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!