Time to love me

Diva, If your husband is looking for another hospital closer to you, have him try Lahey (as we talked about). They don't require a 6 week program. You go one day for your Psch. testing, your physical,meet the nutritionist and meeting about the band. It's a one day program. From 9 - 4. Then you have to go to two support groups.. Then you'll be on your way to be banded, with approval of course. I'm trying to talk my husband into this as well. I think he gained my pregnancy weight and then some. He's gained 60 pounds in two years. I've gained 50 with my pregnancy and bed rest, and I have taking a little off but not enough. It's so funny to read that those with the band eat less, so their hubby's do too. It just goes to show that we act on others inpulses to eat. If he eats ice cream, you've never thought about it.. but he's eating it.. then I will too. I DO THAT! TOOO FUNNY:heh:

YEAHHHH!! you did it! Best of luck to you.. and many wishes of a speedy recovery.

WOW.. I hope it doesn't take me 6- 8 weeks. I'll miss my surgery. I'm still liking the approval before they give you a date for surgery. Less stress! Let us know how it goes!!

Poodles... I'm hoping you have a speedy recovery, sorry you're in so much pain. Just think to yourself that every day that you wake up, is better than your last. Robyn.... Good luck with your surgery. I had my gall bladder out, but mine was done the long way, not laproscopically. It didn't matter to me, just having all that pain go away was worth it all. Any how.. many wishes to a speedy recovery, please let us know when you come home.

I'm very lucky, I'm not required a pre-op diet Although, I can not eat 12 hours before surgery. I do have one requirement.. I can not gain any weight before the surgery or it will be off. I'm not sure how strict the Dr. is about this.. but it seemed to be a deal breaker for a few people who go to the same support group as I do. One person did gain 10 pounds, while the other only gained 3. So I'm watching what I eat... It's nice to meet you!!

Congrats Heather. It's so nice to hear from a preg. bandster. I'm happy to hear that you are not having any issues. There have been a few threads lately asking about pregnancy and the band. I really feel that there should be a sticky on that topic. It comes up so often. Any how. good luck, I hope this summer hasn't been too uncomfortable for you.

Congrats. WHEETSIN:clap2: best of luck to you!!! You know we all could use a little :help: now and then. Kelly, Thanks for all your support, and good luck to you. :eek:

Jen, that is how I think every Dr. should do the process. That way it saves us the heartbreak of doing all the leg work, only to be denied for whatever reason. I would take a denial so much easier if I knew right away, rather than putting six months to a year into it, only to be denied later on. Best of luck to everyone, I really hope the insurance people would treat this like any other disease.

Diva, I sent you a PM. :eek:

Thanks for all your input, I'll let you know how it goes for me. I just got off the phone with the Physicians Assistant and she says the clinic uses the same contact person at each insurance company, so it's usually pretty quick. Like some of you have said, if you have a date.. it's usually quicker. Let's hope! I changed my surgery date for the 27th of July. I'll have more help with the kids. Good luck to everyone, I'll check in with you all soon to let you know what happened.

Keep positive, you CAN do this. Just think of what the out come is going to be and I hope that motivates you. I can't imagine what you're going through right now. I just got my date of July 27th and I'm so happy that I don't have to do a pre-op diet longer than 12 hours. Keep your chin up... I know it's easier said than done, but you will get through this. Just think of all the support you can get on LBT.

Hi Everyone, I just wanted to share with you all that I've finally got a surgery date of July 24. After a year of waiting lists,testing and jumping through hoops, It's finally my turn. The only thing that makes me worry now is that my insurance company (BCBS of Ma) has new guidelines stating that if your BMI is under 40 with 2 co-morbid diseases, they do NOT have to cover you unless the diseases are to the very extreme, meaning you could die if you didn't lose weight right away. BUT my Dr. is pretty sure I'm okay. My BMI is 39.8 with 2 co-morbid diseases but, I do have many other medical issues that would benefit me if I lost weight, so the Dr. thinks this is what will get me through. Now don't get me wrong.. I know that the insurance company doesn't have to cover anyone. I'm just stating that they've changed the severity of the co-morbid disease. Anyway, wish me luck. I'm told that the ins. comp. will inform me either way. I'm not sure how long it will take, but i'll be waiting by the phone. How long did it take for any of you to hear from them?

Thank you so much for your input. It's such a hard decision for me. I was thinking if I waited that It would be much harder for me. I just didn't know how many months people, who have been banded, waited until they became pregnant. I'm sure that is a battle in it's self.

Thanks so much.. I keep coming back here to read all the replys and I feel so much stronger about what I am. Good luck to everyone else who is going through the "closet' with me. In the end, we may not tell many people but we all have each other for support.

Hi Everyone.. Just a question for those of you whom this may apply. How long did you wait to become pregnant, after you had the band? I'm just curious. I'm at a crossroads right now. My husband really wants one more baby, I do too. But I think I'm being selfish because I'm sick of being overweight. I have a 12 yo and a 2 yo. I did promise him 2 babies close together and my 2 yo is not getting any younger. The crossroads comes because I am finally done with all the requirements I needed for surgery and I've met my weightloss goal with the nutritionist. I am just awaiting a date now. Thanks for all your help, in advance.

Hi Kristin, I agree with all that has been said. It's such a hard decision because we don't want to wait to be banded. If you're like me.. you wanted it done as soon as you decided that you wanted the surgery. Me personally, I wouldn't want to be the first patient for the Dr. to band. That's just me. Maybe there is another Dr. in the practice/clinic that has more experience that you can switch over too? That shouldn't change your referrals from the insurance company. Best of luck!!!

Wow, thanks for all the great responses. You all have made me feel so much better. I know I will get through this, people get banded everyday and some do just fine with keeping the secret. I know I can do this. Like a few have said.. I'll always have you guys to talk too.I'll have to send my very nosey 12 year old to cheerleading camp for the week I get banded and then that will take care of her. She's a great girl, but boy does she like to know everything and then tell everyone. LOL My two year old, of course, I have no worries.. until she's 12 LOLThank God for this message board, I'd have severe anxiety trying to figure out how to deal with this. My husband is telling me to do what I want and he'll support me. He's such a great guy. He said he'd deal with politics later, family first. As it should be.Once again.. thank you very much.

Thanks Jen, Wow you are so lucky to be able to share your story with your friends and others. Sorry to here that your Dad isn't responding to the WLS. Doesn't he notice you've lost weight? Well you have a great attitude towards him, good for you. Good luck with your GB surgery. I hope it goes well for you. It will feel great when it's out.. no more pain. OUCH, I remember how painful that was . I appreciate your input.. but... I had my gall bladdar removed after I had my kids. Go figure!!! It couldn't wait.. could it!! LOL

Hi Kristin, I also have BCBS of MA. I don't know what hospital or clinic you are going too but I go to Lahey clinic in Burlington. This is how it worked for me. I had 39.8 BMI and weighed in at 236. What happened to me was the clinic uses my first weigh in as my weight that the insurance company gets. Then I was giving a number of pounds that I needed to lose to get the WLS, so the liver would shrink and what not. So you should be okay. It would not reflect your starting numbers. Not all, but most Dr.'s ask you to lose a few pounds before the surgery. Mostly to help shrink the liver, some do it to see that you have made the commitment. That is just my experience. I'm sure others may have other thoughts on this. Good luck, if you're looking for a buddy to chat with, I'm here for you.

I started this thread a long time ago (are you a closet bandster?) There were so many great posts on this thread. http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=10035 I would like to follow up with a few questions. I wanted to say Hi to everyone, I'm finally back. I was due to have the band in Nov. '05 but my grandfather got cancer:cry , I chose to put it off to take care of him in his finaly months. He has since passed & I'm getting back on track. I met with the Dr. on Monday and now I'm awaiting the date. I'm just thinking it's been awhile and I'm sure many who responded to the post before have now been banded. Did you end up telling anyone? I'm still sticking to just telling my husband. My friends and family are so against WLS. If I go ahead and tell them it will be one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I'd be under a microscope 24/7. To those of you who chose not to tell anyone or just one person. What did you give your friends and family the reason to why you were in the hospital? I know some may have not had to do this, But I have 2 children that will see that I have had surgery and they will tell the world (lol). I'm trying to think of something that will cover me. It may just be too obvious to some people that all the sudden I'm not eating as much or going out for drinks on Thursdays, like I used to. What type of surgery could I tell them I've had? Gosh.. I'm not a good liar... :help: It makes it even harder because I'm very secretive about WLS for a few reasons. My husband it a politician, I don't want the neg. thoughts that some people may have against WLS affect him and my family is so critical of ME and my weight problem. Any suggestions would be great!. I welcome any comments, but please don't bash me and tell me I'm shallow. I am anything but that, really. I need to start thinking about me and forget about everyone else. It's just harder than I thought it would be.. *Don't get me wrong, I'm not a shallow person nor am I ashamed of getting the band. I just don't want to be judged or treated differently because I made a decision that will help my health. I don't want to be in a wheel chair so young in life. I'm 34 years old and my doctor told me I have a skeleton of a 60 year old.<!-- / message --><!-- sig --> Thank you, in advance.

Congrats Flower! :clap2: It will only get better from here. Keep up the great work!

****shaking my head saying YO DOC... pass the pipe back to the nurse**** I do agree with the exercise part, but really..... like you said..... if you had the time that would be ideal, at least you're trying to fit it in to your busy schedule. As far as the calories, you need more than 800 a day. I also agree that you should seek a nutritionist, I go to one now and I'm not banded yet. She is teaching me healthier habits as I head down to bandland. Take care and best of luck to you..

Great attitude! I hope it all works out for you, insurance companies, in my opinion, don't like to see people get healthy.. but they love our money.

Happy Birthday, Pink Mary.... I hope you have a wonderful day!!!:banana