Forestcat5

The bariatric unit where my banding will be done, St Vincent Hospital in Cleveland Ohio, has a clothing exchange for their patients. Just a room where you can bring clothes that have become too big, and then look around for clothes in a smaller size. All volunteer, all free.

Who else is loving this weather? I LOVE when the weather turns cool. I hate HOT! I love spring only a smidge better than autumn because of the spring flowers. When everyone else is grumbling about the snap in the air, I have to contain myself to not do "The Dance of Autumn" in the parking lot at work. Terrisch - I called and left messages yesterday with LaTonya and my Dr's office asking them to call me back today and let me know if my paperwork had been sent, and no one called me back....... I'll call them again on Monday. Are you still feeling good? When do you go for your first fill? I wonder how restriction is going to feel. Has Connie called you any more? I've been on the Atkins diet for the required 6 month diet, and I'm still on it even though the 6 months are up. I plan to stay on it until the pre-op liquid diet - unless this process keeps dragging on and on, I may have to have a few bites of pizza or some ice cream to keep myself sane. We are hoping to go visit our daughter in the spring, and I wanted to have a good amount of weight off by then. I wanted to at least fit in the seat on the plane better. Do you post on any other threads here? I have a few times. But I jump around and read a lot of them - such good information. Let me know how you're doing!

sbee - Thanks for the info on the arrows!! Now I can stop thinking: "Why ME? What did I do to deserve these arrows??" Did your Dr tell you what you had to drink for your liquid diet? Does it have to be Optifast, or the stuff from GNC or something? How are you feeling now that the date is getting closer? I'm glad you started this thread! Where are all the rest of the banders from the Cleveland area??

terrisch - I wrote and wrote a post to you, then my computer did something weird, and now it's gone! So, in a nutshell: Called LaTonya because of your encouragment, and left a message for her to call me tomorrow. You are doing GREAT!!!!!!!!! I'm still doing the Atkins diet,(so I don't gain wt before surgery) and my daughter says she can tell I've lost weight. I'll write more tomorrow......I can't believe I lost that post!

Hi Marieze! I found out I had sleep apnea before I started all the testing for the lapband surgery. I haven't been banded yet, (Waiting on insurance approval) so I can't tell you if losing weight has helped - but the Dr told me that it definitely will. Plus I have read on this site that many, many people no longer have to use their c-pap machine after losing weight. I absolutely feel better since using the machine. I got used to it pretty quickly, and couldn't believe how rested I felt right from the beginning. (My DH also uses a machine, and we laugh about if a burgular ever creeps into our bedroom, and we both jump up out of fear - the bugular would probably have a heart attack thinking he stumbled upon some aliens!) My insurance paid for most of the cost of the machine. I think I may have had to pay around $150. When I decided to have lapband surgery right after being diagnosed with the sleep apnea, I thought I'd just let it go and not get the machine. But after doing some research, and talking with my family Dr, I decided to go ahead with it. The main reason is that sleep apnea is hard on the heart - you stop breathing, therefore you are not taking in enough oxygen, so your heart has to work harder. I already had high blood pressure, high cholesterol and morbid obesity - how much could my poor heart take?!? I feel that using the machine is just another tool for becoming healthy. I hope this info helps, and if you have anymore questions - just ask. We're all here to help one another! Forestcat

Do either of you know why I have that funky little arrow on the envelopes of my posts? I know it's supposed to stand for that I'm registered or something - but no one else has one.....

sbee, HOOOOOOOORAY!! Only a few weeks away!! Do you have to go on a total liquid diet before the surgery? Do you know if you'll spend the night in the hospital or not? Please keep us posted what's going on and how you're doing before your big day!!

Terrisch - You are doing so amazingly well!! You are quite an inspiration! Reading your posts just makes me want to have the surgery right now. This waiting is for the birds. I feel like one of those race horses that are in the gate before a race, banging around and snorting, screaming in their heads "C'MON!! LET'S GO! LET'S GO! LET'S GO!!!" I am trying to imagine what it's like to eat a little bit of food - and be full. The only thing I'm a little concerned about is not drinking with meals, or before or after. Are you having any problems with that? I only drink Water and coffee, and I drink them all day long. I chug down a whole bottle of water easily at every meal. I have tried a few times not to drink during meals, and didn't succeed - so I have to work on that. I'm trying to be patient and not call LaTonya to see if she's gotten the paperwork from my Dr. I have a lot going on for the next few weeks, so maybe I can get my mind off of the W-A-I-T-I-N-G. You mentioned the burping - have you had any heartburn or acid reflux? I have to take 2 Pepcid's a day or I'm in agony. Dr Ben-Meir sent me for an upper GI barium xray to look for a hiatal hernia, but I don't know what the results are. He said if I had one, and I already have the one by my navel, he could not fix both AND do the banding. Wonder if I get to pick which ones get done?? :confused: Enjoy your day tomorrow.....do you still plan to go to work on Thurs??

DerickM, Those lyrics also sound like a song by Foreigner........"Long Long Way From Home"?? Forestcat5

It's such great news to hear you are doing so well! Some of the posts on the main board are pretty scary - all the problems and pain people have. I know it's because everyone is different, and our age and health make a difference. I just don't want to have a horror story to tell. And YOU were able to sleep on your stomach - very impressive! I know there's nothing in the info that St Vincents gave us about not drinking any coffee, but just the fact they say not to drink too much was enough to make me begin to whimper. I plan to use my 2 week vacation for the surgery. I'm thinking I might need the 2 weeks because of the hernia repair. Plus I'm on my feet most of the time at work. So I hope to be at home, trying to get in all my liquids and calories like you are, and taking walks. When do you go back to see the Dr, or get a fill? Do you have to call Connie to let her know how you're doing? Yes, LaTonya is nice - everyone there has been nice. I can't imagine how they keep all our paperwork straight. The only bad experience I've had is when the vascular Dr sent me downstairs to get a blood test....the woman who checked me in and took all my info to put into the computer had to be one of the rudest, non-professional people I have ever met! I'm pretty easy-going and can easily understand how people can be having a bad day - but this woman went beyond all that. I had recently switched jobs, and when she asked for my employers phone number and I didn't immediately know it, she gave this huge exasperated sigh and loudly said "I'm putting you in as "Unemployed" because if I don't enter anything it will screw everything up!" She acted like I was a huge pain, never once looked at me, and she was slamming her fingers so hard on the keyboard I thought the keys would start flying off. If they send me back down there for pre-op testing, and I get her again, I'm going to lean over the desk and get in her face and yell "HELLO SUNSHINE!" Then duck. Take care and keep up the good work!

How are you feeling today? Everything going ok? If you work outside the home - when do you see yourself returning? I'm going to have a difficult time cutting back/giving up coffee. My Dr already has me down to 2 cups a day of "leaded" and the rest has to be "unleaded". Are you on any meds that you have to crush or get in liguid form? (I won't bring up the Tylenol incident!) I take quite a bit, so I need to check into all of that. My Case Specialist is LaTonya - who is yours? Only my husband and daughter and 2 close friends know I am doing this. I have a hernia that Dr Ben-Meir said he can repair along with putting in the band, so I've just told people I'm having hernia surgery. But I spent the day with some of my family today, and they kept asking why it was taking so long to get scheduled for the hernia surgery....I felt like I was a big fat liar (literally!). I said that I thought the ins company needed more paperwork or something. I have had problems in the past with some family members, when I would be losing weight, being told I didn't look healthy or I was getting "too thin". I don't know - I guess I'll play it by ear. I hope you continue to do well, and rest and HEAL. I'm sure I'll have more questions! HEY sbee - HOW'S IT GOING?

Teri - So happy to hear from someone who went to St Vincents! I'm glad you are doing so well. (well, besides the removal of the endotracheal thingy!) I've only been to Dr Ben-Meir once, but he seemed really nice. What have you had to drink since the surgery? I'm concerned about getting enough Protein post-op, since that is key for healing properly. I ordered some samples of the "InJury" protein mix I've seen people write about, so I can see if I like them. I hope they come soon. Did they have you do a liquid pre-op diet? Sorry I have so many questions.......... Please keep in touch and let me know how you're doing. I'll check back often.

Hello to everyone in Ohio! I am 52 years old and live in Northern Ohio and plan to have my surgery by Dr Ben-Meir at St Vincent Hospital in Cleveland. I have finished all the testing and the insurance required 6 month weightloss program. I was denied by my ins company last week, but it was due to not all of my information being submitted - so my Primary Care Dr and Case Specialist are working it out. I HOPE to get an acceptance letter by the end of the month..... I have been overweight since about the age of 9, and can remember going on a hard boild egg diet at age 10, and have been yo-yo-ing since. I have lost 90lbs on Weight Watchers, and 100lbs on UltraFast - a Dr supervised liquid diet. (I also lost my gallbladder,and some hair on that one!) I regained all the weight and more each time. 2years ago I lost 60lbs on Atkins, but once again regained it. I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, hypothyroidism, sleep apnea, and the general fatigue of dragging all this weight around. I have been married for 29 years, and my husband is very supportive about me having the surgery. We have a daughter, 27, and 4 inside cats. Seeing my weight at my last physical,(280) the mounting health problems, and realizing I hardly ever went anywhere, besides work, because I lived in fear of seeing someone I knew, is what made me look into the surgery. I looked up everything I could online, then saw the advertisement for a seminar near where I worked. That was at the first of this year. So here I am now, waiting for 'the powers that be' to give me the ok. That's it for me.......who's going to introduce themselves next from Ohio?!? Forestcat5

How great that you have a tentative date!! Is it tentative for you or the Dr? Will you have to have any more testing? I got a letter last week from my ins (CIGNA) telling me I was denied because I didn't have enough documentation of the required 6 month weightloss. Turns out my Dr's office had only sent in 2 months. So now they are working on getting the rest sent in. I talked to them yesterday and they told me that my Dr was really ticked that I got denied, and that she might be calling my ins company. I've had all the tests, psych eval, etc. I found out that I have sleep apnea. and the c-pap machine has made a BIG difference. I no longer feel like I'm going to fall asleep at work and have my head THUD down on my desk. And they found the hernia. Let's start the countdown to Oct 2nd!!

GREAT!!! Please let me know when you get your date. Any idea how soon it might be? I think we are very spoiled here in the Cleveland area with all the good hospitals - no matter what kind of surgery you need. I feel so bad for the people on the site who have to drive for hours to and from the Dr. I live about a half hour away from St Vincents. I was planning to contact the Cleveland Clinic about lap-band surgery, but then saw a seminar for St Vincents that was scheduled only a few days away, and impatient me just had to go! I hear only good things about both places. I also have a hernia (inguial?), anyway - by my navel, and the surgeon is going to repair that at the same time. I've had 2 abdominal surgeries in the past, emergency C-section and 10 yrs later my gallbladder removed, so I know something of what to expect. Main thing I learned was make sure you have a pillow to hold against your stomach for the ride home! Let's hope we have our surgeries before the snow starts piling up.....

Hi newmel - I didn't have to have the scope, but I did have to do a barium swallow upper GI xray. I have talked to quite a few pre-banders though who did have to do the scope. I imagine it depends on the Dr, or maybe something in your medical history. For instance, my Dr sent me to a vascular specialist based on the fact that my sister developed a clot once. I'd rather that the surgeon know EVERYTHING he can before the surgery.....I'd hate to wake up after surgery only to be told they couldn't do it because of something they found!! I'm waiting for insurance approval too. Hang in there!!! Forestcat

Hi there! I was beginning to think I was the only person from Northern Ohio too. I plan to be banded at St Vincent Hospital by Dr Ben-Meir. I have gone through all the testing, and then was denied by CIGNA because they said I hadn't met the requirements of documentation for the 6 month pre-op diet. Turns out my primary Dr had only sent in 2 months of documentation. So hopefully once that is cleared up I will get a surgery date. What hospital/Dr are you working with? I'll check back soon - Forestcat

Hello! I have been through all the testing and just finished the insurance required 6 month weight loss the middle of Aug. Last week I received a letter from my ins (CIGNA) that I was denied..... My heart sank. I couldn't believe it! The letter said I had not met the requirements of the 6 month weight loss. The next day I called my case specialist and she said she only had diet info from my primary Dr for 2 months! (I'm wondering why in the world she sent it in then????) I called the Dr's office and explained the problem, then after work I dropped off letters for my Dr and her nurse at their office explaining exactly what info they needed to fax to my case specialist. I'm going to call on Thurs to see if she has received anything from my Dr. Ever since I attended the seminar in Feb and started the ball rolling immediately - I've had in my mind that I would have my surgery sometime in Sept. But I've decided to look at this as only a minor setback and will NOT give up. I'm very glad I eavesdropped in the surgeons office and heard someone mention this site - you have all been a great help to me!

Good Morning! I'm Pre-Op, 2 months into insurance required 6 month weight loss, and had my first appt with my surgeon last week. I have been looking around this site and am very glad to see all of the support!!!

These replies really helped me. Not waking up is my main fear also. The comment about risking our lives everyday by carrying around 100lbs or more of weight far out-weighs (no pun intended!) the risks of surgery.

Hi BonJosie - I'm new to this site too. I agree about ins co's making people wait for the surgery. I have to do a 6 month weight loss program for them, when all they would have to do is look at my medical records of continual weight gain-weight loss since age 10. But I'll do what it takes to get this done!! Good Luck on your journey!!

hoosierpoms - thanks for responding! It's so great that you have your surgery on Wed! You get to begin your journey of being a healthy person. What, if any, pre-op testing did you have to have? How are friends/family responding to your banding decision?

Good Morning! I am 52 years old and pre-op at St. Vincent Bariatric Center in Ohio. I'm 2 months into my 6 month required weight loss plan, and had my first appt with my surgeon last week.