Time to love me

Kstrehlowk, Congrats on being banded and thanks for all your info. I hope you get to eat those mushies soon, I hate to hear that you're hungry.

About the Chat room.. I can do nights as well, EST.. I have a 2 year old that I put down around 8:30. So even if you all start.. I can always jump in later. Let me know. I'll use TIVO to record my fav. shows. Although, I still can watch them while I'm chatting. We tried doing this on another thread one time, and it lasted two nights. Let's try to stick to it. We'll get to know each other so much better, IMO. :clap2:

July 11 - marlluvia July 11 - ubermom1 Hey you two!!! Best of luck to you tomorrow. I hope you have a uneventful surgery... and a speedy recovery. Prayers will be sent your way from today all the way through your recovery. Marlluvia.. I'm sorry to hear that you have a headache, I get migraine headaches all the time.. and I'd rather be punched in the face over and over.. than feel the pain from the migraine. Try taking some tylenol PM, it may relax you. Take Care.. Quote: <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">Originally Posted by Tricia Hello July Bandsters! I was banded July 26th 2004 so July has always been a special month for me! Congratulations to you all! Tricia </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Thanks for your support, Tricia.. BTW Congrats on your weightloss!!! Good for you.. keep up the good work. Liz... Glad to help you out, that is what we are all here for. I'm sure I'll be needing you all, as my time gets closer. Keep your chin up:girl_hug: and congrats on the loan approval. Quote: <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">Originally Posted by oktwigs I'll be banded by Dr. Ortiz on July 27th. Anyone else? Janice </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Hi Janice, I'm not getting banded in Mexico, but I am being banded on the 27th of July. There are a few more people who are also getting banded that day!! Congrats to you.

Best of luck to you, Fishy! I hope your surgery goes great! I'll be sending prayers out to Mexico to you and the three girls!

Windy, Welcome to the 30 somethings.. LOL Nice to meet you! I am a SAHM too, I have a 12 yr. old and a 2 yr old. I know what you're talking about. FULLTIME is not the word. LOL I noticed your pictures on the before and after thread.. and you look amazing.. Bravo to you!!! You are a inspirations to me, keep up the good work. I can't wait to be feeling and looking the way alot of you do! Best of luck to you.

Well, I'm being banded in the Boston area by a very good Dr. and he didn't require me to go on a liquid diet for any amount of time. I think that this may depend on how much you weight or how large your liver is.. When I went in for my physical with the Dr. he felt my belly and said Your belly is soft with plenty of room. We don't have to worry about your liver. Also.. some Dr.'s like to see you make a commitment to the band, so they give you a number of pounds to lose before surgery to see how you do. My Dr. does this, a lot. Others may not.. Every Dr. is different, with different rules. Also, There are a few of the Mexican Dr.'s who have done over 3,000 band surgeries. And one of the Mexican Dr.'s teaches, worldwide, other Dr's all about the lapband and how it's done. One last thing.. this video, from one of the threads, shows a live lapband surgery done in Boston, last July. Around 38 min. into the video they talk very briefly about liquid diets before hand. They said some do it to shrink the liver, some have to have it for medical reasons for going under the anest., and some make you do it because the insurance requires you to lose weight prior to surgery. It's not word for word but here is the thread to the video. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3190472028990485080&q=lap+band

Kat I just wanted to tell you that I love reading your posts. You are very positve and have great advice.

Hey Liz, Please sit down... close your eyes.. put your head back.. and slowly count to ten!!! Take a few deep breaths and exhale!!! okay...? What is a medicine audit? I hope that you don't think I'm stupid, but I've never heard of this. As far as the family situation.. Sometimes shit happens. Try to let it slide off your back. Let your sister know that you are having a rough time right now and that you are stressed out. Don't forget to say that your sorry if this caused any problems with her "BF". That usually works and smooths things over with the relative. :biggrin1: Sometimes when you have issues with a particular person, we always seem to over analyze what they say or do. One time you may be right, the next time.. you may be off yoru rocker.. wrong. LOL this has been my experience. Sorry to hear about the BF. Don't take this the wrong way, I mean no harm in my statement. But.. It seems like maybe it could be a good time for this to happen to your relationship. You are starting to make big changes in your life, starting with the band.. and you have to make a commitment to yourself.. maybe you'll be so into having the band.. exercising or whatever it is.. and find out that you may not have had any time for him anyway. I'm sure as you lose weight, gain more confidence and become healthier and "Hotter".. You'll find another BF. As far as your teetering over the band... hun.. it's up to you!! How bad do you want this? Are you going to regret this if you don't go ahead with it? This is a HUGE life changing decision.. Please make sure that you are 100 percent sure this is what you want. Besides... Who will I have to chat with.. if you are gone? We're getting banded so close to each other!!. I'll miss you buddy... But seriously... it's totally up to you.. just make sure what ever you decide. is for the right reasons. I'll be here for you, no matter what you decide. If you need a phone buddy to chat with, let me know. I love ya, Sista!! I thought I'd throw some color in the post for you, to cheer you up.

Mallorie, I have to say that it wasn't stressful for me at all. I've had the same PCP since I was 18 and I am now 36. I would complain to him about my weight issues for years, he gave me meridia at one time, it didn't work. About the letter, it was odd to me. I asked the Dr. for a referral to a nutritionist and at that time I asked his thoughts on WLS. He said that the Lapband would be a great choice for me, but he'd support the bypass if I chose too. ANYWAY back to my point. I went to the weightloss Dr. that he referred me too and that was pretty much it for me. I never heard about a letter of referal or anything else. This hospital did it all for me. SO as you asked.. was it that much of a big deal?In my case, it wasn't. My nutritionist, surgeon, Psych. eval and exam were all located in the same area of the hospital. They all worked together and got me approved, in a short period of time. Obviously, I had to have the insurance requirements met. I also wrote a letter explaining why I'd be a good candidate for surgery. My struggles of weight loss and gain, diets, pills, books, exercising history and all I could think of. What I did was made a timeline from my adolescent yrs. until now. It consisted of what I weighed, how active I was, any weight gain or loss within the time frame and so on. I gave every person involved in my WLS a copy. When I turned the timeline in to my nutritionist, she stated that this is awesome to send along with the papers to the ins. comp.. That way, they can read what your thoughts and struggles were/are. Sometimes when they can read what you have been through and hear a voice through your letter, they soften up.. more likely if their decision is on the fence. (so I was told). Anyhow, don't sweat the PCP. That, to me, was the easiest step of the whole process. Best of luck

:opps2: Sorry John, I didn't read your other post! I just read your first one.. sorry. I'm glad you have seeked out help from the Attorney. Best of luck.

Hi John, First off.. I'm very sorry to hear of the injuries you have. I hope you get better quickly.. and as painless as can be. I am a retired police lieutenant, I know that doesn't mean much.. but I just wanted to let you know that this is a felony and A and B. You can most likely get this person to pay your bills. Pain and suffering is a lot harder to get now a days than it was years ago. But.. you can still try. Get yourself an Attorney.. but be careful to weigh the difference between his/her cost and the out of pocket expenses of your injury. Sometimes you can get the defendant to cover your lawyer (in our state your Attorney has to request attorney fee coverage, before you enter the hearing) Anyway, best of luck to you!! I'm sorry that you went through all this! Sometimes people try to do the right thing and ALMOST ALWAYS, get the shit end of the stick. I've found that whenever there is an arguement between any couple, call the police and don't get involved. About 99 percent of the time, the lover will turn on the person who is trying to save them from their spouse or BF./GF. I've never understood how a person could have the crap kicked out of them.. and a innocent person tries to help... only to have the "saved" person start kicking the crap out of you for pulling his or her BF of GF off of you! LOL too much! As far as the dog is concerned, why hasn't the town official done anything about this dog? Do you have a dog officer in town? That baffles me.. they probably won't do anything until it bites the face of a child off!! This pisses me off...

Sherri, Amy and Tracey!!! Best of luck to you all. WoW.. it seems like you all are having a party right before surgery! How fun to get to share this special time with your friends.. You'll have lots of memories and stories I'm sure. PS.. what did you have for your "last supper" as I call it. LOL

July 10 - fishy July 10 - mysherrijo July 10 - funnyduddies July 10 - rubyband Hey you all, I know I already said good luck, but I just wanted to tell you again.. GOOD LUCK! I get so excited when people are going in to be banded, You are changing your life for the better, happier and healthier life. Sherri and Amy.. Fill me in.. Are you in the same hotel? If so, do you ladies get to have a room near each other? It would be nice to have a buddy that you already know and who can speak English. LOL Fishy... That must suck so bad to want something and you can't have it. Just think that this is the first of many battles. It is nice that your loved ones are making it easier for you. YUCK pizza IS SO GROSS!!

:wow2: That is a great start for you! Congrats on your victory of making the scale move down.. I'm still amazed by the whole concept of the band. I wish the band was around 20 years ago, I'm sure life would have been so much different. BUT on that note.. I wouldn't want to give up one part of my life story.. Anyway.. continue to lose that weight and please let me know how the weightloss is coming. PUGCHICK, Thanks for letting me know how the "cold turkery" liquid diet worked for you. I hope it's the same for me. To all of you who have been banded and reported your weightloss.. YEAHHH CONGRATS! MDG.. best of luck to you, I've added you to the list!

Hi Kim, I'm not a Jimmy Johnson fan either. I do like many of the drivers, I just have my favorites, just like everyone else. Jeff and Jimmy just rub me the wrong way. More so Jeff than any other. The funny thing about it is, Jeff has won a lot of races in his career and I'll give that to him.. BUT on the last lap of the race, If Gordon is in front.... I SHUT THE TV OFF! I refuse to see him win... EVER! If I'm at a race and he is winning.. I put headphones on and turn Aerosmith music to the highest volume, just so I don't hear his number or name called at the finish line. Needless to say.. getting to my point.. I'm starting to do this same childish thing to Jimmy Johnson too. He rubs me the wrong way! My poor children are following their Mom's iratic behavior towards Gordon.. I need to stop :help: I Love Jeff Gordon.. .Like I love the Yankee's... I just don't... LOL HAPPY RACING DAY TO EVERYONE!!!! *Just a quick note, please don't take anything I say as offensive, I'm just having fun with you all. If I do offend anyone.. please let me know and I'll stop* and yes, this has happened before, that is why I'm posting the "DISCLAIMER" lol

Missy, Although we definiately don't agree on the likes of Jeff "the cry baby" Gordon, (LOL:help: him...) I have to say that I do agree that you have the most beautiful children!!! How cute are they? NOW.. maybe Jeff might make the top ten.. if you pray hard and that his doesn't hit the wall!! LOL just some fun joking, hope you don't mind. On that note I'll have to :bolt:out of here before you track me down and beat me like a :deadhorse: .

Hello, I'm happy to hear that you have all the appt. set up, in no time things will just fly by for you. Just because you met the surgeon doesn't mean he'll make sure you're approved. He can say all he wants but if the insurance company says they wont' approve you, then all he can do is help you appeal. In my opinion.. I can not see why the insur. comp. would not except you. You have so many major medical issues going on with you, they'd be crazy not to approve you. BUT.. you never know, some insurances are awesome and cover WLS more freely than others do. it's all depending on your Insurance. Do what I did.. once your paperwork is in to the Insurance company. it needs to be assigned to someone.. it takes a few days for them to do this, usually the closer your surgery date is.. the quicker they make the decision.. anyway, keep calling your insurance company until they have an answer. I called everyday until I got mine. I think you're golden and will have no problem. You have more going on than me and I've been approved. I have BCBS of MASS.

Thanks Danielle, 4 pound is 4 pounds, just as you said. I'm very happy for you, and just think.. it's just a start to many more - pounds. Thanks for all the info., I'm going to see my surgeon on Tues. and I'll have a small list of questions to ask him. You and are are around the same weight.. Do you mind if I ask your height? I'm 5'5 and a half.. LOL I always have to throw that in.

July 10 - fishy July 10 - mysherrijo July 10 - funnyduddies July 10 - rubyband It's your turn now!!! I'm not sure if anyone else went to Mexico, besides Funny and Sherri.. but either way.. best of luck to you. I'll send prayers your way and wish for a uneventful surgery and a speedy recovery. Take it easy and remember.. All your friends are waiting to see how you've done and how you're feeling.. Let us know and WELCOME TO BANDLAND:clap2: now it's time to beat the crap out of the fat.. LOL

Well once again, thanks to you all for your daily updates, I love reading your posts. The one thing I am not scared about is having surgery, I've had over 15 in my lifetime of 35 years LOL. I'm just scared of the affect the anestetics (SP)? have on me. BGP... lol you crack me up!! I'm so glad I've got to know you, I can't imagine a day on LBT with out cha! lol For those of you on the liquid diets.. my love is sent out to you. I'm so glad that I didn't have to do that. I am thinking that maybe I will regret this later though...My thought was maybe some people have a better mind frame about not eating food because they started a pre-op diet.. and I'll be going cold turkey!! TO YOU RECENTLY BANDED.. do you think this might be true? July 5, Donna, Daniella and Eric's Mom.... I see that July5 said that she could be down 20 pounds within 2 weeks. That is amazing.. Did your Dr's tell you the same thing. Also, do you think this is all Water weight? If it is.. It usually comes back on.. but since you're banded.. do you think that this would still be true? I'm hoping it doesn't come back.. but my guess is that maybe a few pounds would, What's your thought on this? By no means am I trying to rain on anyones parade.. it's been a burning question for me and I figure I'd ask in a thread that I feel most comfortable with. Thank you, in advance, for all your answers.

WOW that is absolutely nuts for you not to be approved. The spine surgery, High Chol. and bursitis alone.... should have done this for you! See if you Dr. has put failed back syndrome on your claim.. this should help you. Alot of Dr's miss this!!! so I'm told by my Dr. I'm not trying to rub it in. but we were almost identical and I just got approved. I had bmi of 39.8 and co morbid issues of failed back syndrome (had a few surgeries.. fused spine), intrathecal pain pump, HBP, back pain, hip pain, bursitis in the hips. I'm just floored that the spine issue wasn't the deal sealer for you! the back is a huge expense to keep treating and if you lost weight.. a lot of those things would probably go.

I'm happy to hear that you are having barely any pain. That is so good to know. Thanks for the daily updates, I'll look back at all these posts, when my time comes.. just to see how you all progressed. Any before pics?? or are you waiting to post a before and after..? I can't wait. Make sure you post here too, not just on the before and after page. I'd love to see the progress as you post them. DONNA MARIE.. congrats to you, thanks for the update too! I'm just so happy for you all.

Sherri, You are way too funny. You DD must think you're loopy:loco: right now LOL but we all know you're not. Much love and hugs to my buddies, Sherri and Amy!! I'll be thinking of you both. You have TONS fo support waiting right here for you, so let us know when you're able too.. how you both are doing. PM me if you like, I'll be there for you . Get that gas rolling, :target:I'm sure the people at the mall will love you both. LOL

I hear you on this thought.. I'm sure, at one point, we've all felt this way. I went throught this thought.. while I was going through the early stages of the process. I've decided that this is the best solution right now. I can always put some pills in my mouth and lose .. and then gain it back.. While waisting my money. LOL... along with the many other things that I've tried. Try to stay positive... You can do this. Sometimes ,I believe, that if you set yourself up for the fall.. then you will fall.. and fall harder than you thought. Try setting positive thoughts in your mind. Don't sabotage your band and goals.. keep them alive.. write them down and put it on your fridge..Give this band a shot, and read the threads and posts of those who have had sucess. If it didn't work.. noone would be on here chatting about their victory of beating the fat demon. I know it's definiately going to be a challenge, it's a tool not a magician saying "poof" make me skinny now. You'll have to work at it, for sure. From what I hear.. once you start getting your fills.. it's a little harder to cheat. I'm not banded so don't hold me to that. I've also heard you can eat around the band.... BUT let's not even think that way. Let's think that pretty soon.. You'll be a healthier, happier and thinner.. YOU.

Chuckle, Congrats on your surgery and welcome to band land!! I'm not too far behind you. I'm not banded but, I've heard what Daniella said is true. A lot of others say that too. Also, besides the gas-x and walking.. try a heating pad to help you out with it. Anyway, I'll add you to the list on July Band Crew.. It's just a thread of people that are banded or being banded in July.. There a a few who are in the same stage as you, maybe you can exchange thoughts or solutions with each other. We, who are being banded after you.. Love all the stories of advice of what works and what didn't... Once again, congrats. Here is thread! http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=19235