kacee

From one Kathy to another....from one Spivak patient to another... I'm thinking GREAT thoughts about you this morning!!!!! I am T-Minus 12 days and counting down and I will be right where you are today...I assume at Park Plaza. Let me know blow by blow how you're doing! You GO GIRLFRIEND!!!

Congrats to ALL of you! I am still waiting for what I fully expect is the inevitalbe denial of my insurance request. However, that won't stop me because I am fully prepared to bite the proverbial bullet and self-pay (so what if I have to keep my car for another six years!). Every penny, nickel and dime will be money WELL SPENT, and Then SOME!

I am T-minus 19 days to my surgery. I have to tell you guys....my anticipation and excitement outweighs trepidation by 100 to 1. I too have had more than a few surgeries (no stranger to the knife). My motto is "Beauty (and health) know NO PAIN." I'll do pretty much anything short of cutting off my left foot (and depending on the situation and what I'd stand to lose or gain...even that is negotiable) in order to get my goal. I probably sound like an idiot to most of you, but for some reason I have been a person all my life who doesn't look back once I make a decision. It's there, it's done, it's RIGHT, let's get on with it! YEEEHAAA!

Many times obesity is seeded in self-worth issues. I would think that those individuals who have struggled through their lives with their gender/sexual identity issues would be more prone to have problems with self-worth issues too, which could lead to eating. After all, we all know that we use eating as a crutch and a panacea. This is just a layperson's view however.

Saw an advertisement for Dr. Spiegel in Houston magazine when I was sitting in the ENT's office to get checked for snoring. Shortly after I was diagnosed with OSA.

Ok, whew. I had visions of feeling the thing hanging around in my body with all that tubing and stuff. I don't mind feeling it from the outside. I have knotty scar tissue from an accident that has a bumpy feel, so I am used to that.

When y'all say you "feel the port"....do you mean you actually feel it sitting INSIDE you, or do you feel it from the outside?

Everyone keeps talking about nutritionist meetings, psych tests, etc. I only had to do two things...Stress test and EKG (which I had done last month anyway because I was having chest ache (not pain) (which turned out to be nothing) and blood work (which I had done last month during my regular 3-4 month checkup at the doctor). There's been no mention of psych test or anything else. Could it be because I have hypertension, high triglycerides, high cholesterol, obstructive sleep apnea (just tested for that thre weeks ago) and diabetes runs in my family? I am 55. Also expect to be self-pay. What were the rest of you Spivak patients required to do? On another note....how long did it take you guys to be approved/denied by your insurance, and is there anyone with CIGNA in the bunch? I haven't done the 6 month program with a doctor to lose weight (not going to), so that would be the basis of my denial. I think they probably submitted on the 19th or 20th. No word back yet.

Did you experience nausea post-surgery? I read somewhere here that someone said something about the "anethesia being used in Texas" causing that or something. Did you ask Spivak's office for phenergan before surgery?

This is something I learned from my cousin about 25 years ago on a camping trip when I thought I was going to pass out from gas pains and let me tell you it works like a CHARM. When you have gas pains, lay face down on the floor with a pillow under the soft part of your tummy (not at the rib cage) and let the pillow press your tummy. Slightly elevate your butt. You will get relief very quickly. It's the best way to press out gas. IT WORKS.

Hi guys....I'm a pending bandster (May 23) in Houston and really looking forward to this adventure (but then, I am the type of person who LOVES big change)... I'm on the slippery slope to 56 and fought this mess all my life. I am more than ready and I am going to make this work!

I found this cool thing called a Tribest Personal Blender out on VitalityPlus website (http://www.vitalityplus1.com/). Not the cheapest thing in the world (~$65), but it is a single serving blender (I cook for just me) with 8 and 16 oz blender cups with lids. Great for doing single smoothies, making single serving blended foods. Looks like it will really be something I can use! You can also get a carrying case for the blender/cups. That's great for traveling!

YOU GO GIRLFRIEND! Remember, by the time some of us get to where you are today YOU will be a veteran!

Now THAT'S proactive! I can take all the post-surgical pain in the world but nausea is a MAJOR BUMMER.

I guess I didn't think about it because I have to go to my doctor every three months or so to get bloodwork done for my cholesterol anyway....so I had full bloodwork done last month already. Then I had had a stress test and EKG done as well, so I just sent for those results. THEN I had just gone to an ENT for my snoring and had my sleep test(s)....CPAP here I come (YUCK) so I had those results too. Basically I walked in the door and all I had to do was start calling my doctors to fax stuff. I wasn't required to have a psych test for some reason. Maybe because my medical issues were prevalent...who knows.

What do you use to alleviate your nausea? Has anyone ever used an accupressure band around the wrist (i.e., BioBand, etc.) or a patch for the post-surgery nausea? I would like to be proactive on this and not wait until it hits me to do something. I'd like to have some things on hand.....

That's my magic date....by hook or crook...(insurance or no). They've sent in my insurance but I KNOW I will be declined. Guaranteed (cuz I haven't been on the prescribed number of months on a program). I'm gonna do it either way. Scheduled for May 23....hoping I'll be fit for work the following Tuesday after Memorial day. That gives me surgery plus 5 days.

Just a word of warning and I know you all have heard this before. I was a sun goddess in my former life and I am PAYING THE PRICE. I go every 4-6 months (and will the rest of my life) to have the pre-cancer spots burned off my body (my record was 13 in a sitting) at the dermatologist. They take this cannister and shoot something I figure is akin to "liquid nitrogen" on the spot for several seconds. Let me tell you...it HURTS. Then a big blister wells up, takes two weeks to heal and more often than not leaves a scar. That's what you have to look forward to....

I know there are a gazillion protein drinks, shakes and powders out there. I also know everyone's taste is different....however, there are a lot of products that are just plain yucky to a LOT of people, and also some that are either NOT BAD or pretty good to many folks. Can you give me some feedback on the good, bad and the ugly on this? Thanks!

Smurf....this is normal for any type of invasive procedure. The first day you are probably still at the mercy of some residual anesthetic, for one thing, but it is very typical for you to feel the worst the 3rd day after an operation. Kindof like when you go skiing or something you do not do on a daily basis. The muscles hurt the next day but NOTHING like the way they hurt the day AFTER that. This will be your worst day and it will be better every day after this....:phanvan

If I've dumped the money, time, pain and discomfort, permanent lifestyle change and everything else that I have to go through to get something like this PEOPLE BETTER NOTICE AND SAY SOMETHING!!!! (Kindof like if I had a boob job....If people noticed I'd be going, "Hell yeah they're fixed! Paid for every inch and proud of it!")

I think your co-workers are trying to inspire you and give you encouragement. I most definitely expect those kindof comments after my surgery (no different from when you announce to everyone you are going on a diet and after the first flush of success - yeah, those first 5 pounds - people start making those comments to you....then of course you fall off the wagon and gain it all back:eek: ....but that was THEN and this is NOW....no more of that! ). To be completely honest I would probably find myself saying the exact same things to someone else in the same position. We're not being mean...we are just reveling in their potential success...

I think a lot of people ask questions about the lap band out of curiosity. Can't fault someone for that. I don't mind educating someone if they ask. I'm not worried about what other people say or think. Been on this earth way too long for that garbage to bother me anymore. I've told my boss, all my co-workers, and close friends and family. I'll answer anyone who asks me afterwards how I lost the weight that I was blessed to be able to get a tool to help me cuz I've fought and won many battles but I was losing the war. If someone thinks I am weak for making that choice for my body....hey, no harm no foul that's their problem. I'll just take it on down the road.

I too have a 6 month requirement to be on a doctor supervisoed program and I don't have that. You got CIGNA too or something? I am hoping my other physical messes (high blood pressure, triglycerides, cholesterol, OSA) will outweigh that but I am not optimistic. I'm getting it done either way and plan on borrowing the money if necessary. By hook or crook I will be on that table come May 23.....with a SMILE on my little chubby face!

May 23 for me to be "Spivak'd". Sooooooo looking forward to it. Insurance probably will NOT cover me, but I said "dam the torpedoes" full waddle ahead!