kathystrick

In South Carolina, state employees do not have converage for WLS (they did until 2004). I know this is not the case in all states, but I am interested to see if you all think employees of any state should at least be allowed to purchase an insurance rider that would provide coverage for those who want it without effecting the premiums of those who may never use the coverage.

State employees in SC are denied coverage for WLS under the self-insured state health plan. We are attempting to start a letter-writing advocacy campaign in an attempt to get this changed. Just because you are not a state employee doesn't mean you can't have an opinion or a voice on this! Check out this link: OAC to see what you can do to help. We are in the process of composing a letter to all of our representatives and recruiting people to help us get our voices heard. Anyone interested in helping can email me at moonchyld70@yahoo.com. Please, SC, step up and help us get coverage for all state employees who otherwise may not be able to ever have the advantage we have had with this valuable tool of the Lap Band! :confused_smile:

Glad I don't rely too heavily on prepackaged foods! :confused_smile: I would defintely be putting lots of $$ in the trash if I did!

Hi Stacey! There is a ton of information right here on this site. I would also recommend Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies. It covers everything pre-op to post-op and thensome. My surgeon's office recommended Before and After by Susan Maria Leach, but she is a bypass patient and I didn't find it as useful from the band perspective. For motivation, I enjoyed Fighting Weight by Kaliah Ali. Her story is very inspiring and she didn't have the kind of childhood you would expect. Hope that helps. Welcome to LBT and good luck!

Hi! I am from Sumter, so not far from you. Which program are you using? I am using Dr. Tribble at the Weight Management Center through Baptist. Welcome to LBT and good luck going through the process. If I can be of any assistance, don't hesitate to give me a shout!:leaving:

Hi and welcoem to LBT! Are you on a pre-op diet? The next 10 days will pass before you know it. Good luck!

Hi and welcome to LBT! Good luck getting your approval. Do you have any documented comorbidities? That would definitely help with your approval.

A lot of the time I access from work and since I work at the public library, I am on a network and that causes me problems on occasion. When I log on from home I generally don't have any though.

Welcome to LBT and congratulations on getting your band! How much longer until you are off of liquids? How much weight have you lost so far? Karri - Thanks for sharing the recipes. They sound yummy!! Filing them away for my time.

:thumbdown: My hubby and I were walking out of Walmart last night and saw a woman with a 5 o'clock shadow. Hope I never go there either.

I'm sorry you are having to go through all of this and hope you get some answers soon. Take care and keep us posted on how you are doing!

Good for you! Glad it worked out without too much pressure for you.

I know it must feel awesome to have that weight loss goal out of the triple digits. Good for you! Keep up the good work!!

If you actually threw up, your stomach could be irritated. I have read on here that some doctors recommend going back to liquids for a day or two after getting sick to give your stomach time to heal again. Hope you get to feeling better soon!

Hi and welcome to LBT! Good luck getting approval. Does your insurance cover WLS? If so, have you seen a copy of their WLS policy? That would be the first step. Good luck and let us know how things are progressing!

Hi and welcome to LBT! I just got my surgery date and you are exactly one week after me! Good luck!

Hi and welcome to LBT! Congratulations on getting all your pre-op stuff done. Let us know when you have a date!

Hi and welcome to LBT! How much longer do you have in school?

Hi and welcome to LBT. I am pre-op with surgery scheduled for June 18th. The best piece of advice I can give is read, read, read. There is a load of information on this forum, so look around and educate yourself. Good luck!

Hi and welcome to LBT! I'm sorry you have been having problems. Hope things get better for you soon. Check the Tennessee support thread and the doctors thread and you may find more of the information you are looking for. Good luck!

Hi Crystal and welcome to LBT! I am in the same position as you with the support group thing and this is a great substitute. Glad you are feeling better after your little scare. I am still pre-op, so no advice, just wanted to say hi and welcome. Good luck!

Hi and welcome to LBT! Attending the seminar first is pretty standard. A lot of questions will be answered there that would take a lot of time out of the doctor's day if he had to answer them individually for every patient. In the mean time, research the procedure and make sure it is right for you. Use the time to educate yourself so you can make an educated decision when the time comes. Good luck!

Hi and welcome to LBT all of you! Congratulations on your decision to get banded and hope you find all of the information and support you need right here. Good luck to all of you!

Check out this thread: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/new-band-update-realize-47058/. I may be banded with the Realize too. There is some information here about it, but not a lot. Try doing a search for Realize Band. Good luck!

Hi John and welcome to LBT! Congratulations on getting your band. Glad to hear everything is progressing smoothly for you. Be sure to keep us posted on your progress!