ThinDolphin3

Welcome to LBT and good luck on the surgery at the end of the month..sorry it took a little bit to reply I at work and its not as fast as the computer at home. blessings for a New Year!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WTG on starting your new yr off right!! Wish I would have thought about getting this surgery when I was 20, but instead I'm finally woke up at the age I am not. AGAIN HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND WELCOME!!

I am here in Emerald City in the Land of OZ!!! This is always the first joke I hear when I say I'm from here...so I figured I'd beat everyone to the punchline first...LOL

Thank you to all your responses...and the doc Malley in KS sounds hilarious and MY KIND OF DOC...just wish he wasnt so damn far away...I can see driving 2 1/2 hrs to KC to get a . something CC of saline.....I also know I am going to need an over night stay in the hospital because I dont do too well with surgery...and I dont want to be driving back home for 2 1/2 hrs right after having surgery..that would NOT BE TOO GOOD AT ALL....but I love the way the doc introduced himself....you NEVER hear of doc's acting like that...at least NONE of the docs I HAVE EVER EVER HAD!!!

Welcome to LBT!!! Congrats on getting the surgery and I'm glad to hear you are doing well post op! You will find friends, info and support on this site it's wonderful!! blessings and happy new year and cheers to the new you that u WILL become!!

Welcome to this site JenniferZ!! You will find this site very helpful and make lots of friends at the same time. I am a total newbie also havent even spoken to a doc yet, I'm waiting til after the holidays are over to get this started. I know I wont be able to get through the holidays with just a Protein shake and still maintain traditions that my family has especially me making my FAMOUS ham that they cant get enough of....but I will be contacting a DR soon. I'm still in the search for just the right one....and now yesterday I seen about this realize band and I really want one of those...but there is no doc's in this area that do it yet Hope to become friends and HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU AND YOURS!!! BLESSINGS

Welcome to this site you will be glad that you joined..it's awesome....lots of info and ppl are really nice here and are willing to help however they can...I havent been banded yet but I can tell I will have great support from this site and from my hubby and stepson at home and some friends at work...I'm keeping it hush from in laws and my parents and brothers because I want to go back to PA and shock them once I'm to my goal weight...I live in KS!!!

Ya know this site is so great everyone is so helpful and kind. Just wish I had a workout partner after I get my surgery done, but everyone is just all over the place. Nice to meet you Buffy look frwd to getting to know ya'll. blessings and happy new yr!!

I'm new here as well and I've decided to get the surgery because my hubby's insurance will cover 80% of it which is better than having to self pay. I am still looking for just the right doctor. I also think I should get that new realize band that ppl on this post are talking about.... Welcome to the site and hope to become friends with everybody because lets face it..we are ALL IN THIS FIGHT against our enemy FAT!!! LOL BLESSINGS TO YA'LL

Thank you everyone for your encouragement and it's nice to know what I'm in for before commiting to the surgery, not sure if I will have the willpower to do it considering I cant even get the energy to do my damn laundry or get up to go to work etc!! But it is very nice to meet ya'll and hope to become good friends with ya!

Wow I've been reading this posts for awhile now and I realized that alot of what other ppl are saying is my problem as well with food. I LOVE FOOD SO MUCH!! It's always been there to comfort me when I was down or like someone said on here when you grow up poor the pay days you remember because that's when you got to eat out some where or get an extra treat. :cry I have been fat most of my life and I do believe it has to do with my biological father and his second wife...I was only 4 yrs old and I remember that if I was eating too slow for them or not eating everything on my plate I would get punished and sent to my room. My father actually called my mama one day and said "if she isnt done by the time we're all done then she doesnt get anymore". My mother screamed at him saying "she is only 4 yrs old and you are a huge man, OF COURSE she isnt going to eat as quickly as you you a**hole!!" So I believe that is where most of my problems started, at a very very young age it was either shovel it all in or go without or get punished. :faint:Then when I hit teenager and I was still gaining weight a little here a little there...my younger brothers made sure to let me know I was a fat a**, and then I had almost everyone at school making fun of me because I was fat. I did have a boyfriend in junior high, but he wanted our relationship kept a secret :angry after that I didnt have any other boyfriends in high school. I was big chested and size 18 at 17 yrs old. Oh yeah forgot to mention my Ex-aunt also had no problems telling me that I had to lose weight. Well both her daughters were in size ZERO clothes so compared to them I was HUGE and she didnt "LIKE" that...so basically I guess you can say the only positive support I got growing up was from my mother and stepdad even though they did give me the nickname Pudgelet! Had to have a breast reduction at the age of 20 because the weight from my breasts was endangering my upper back and shoulders. I also blame my weight for jumping into a marriage with the first guy after high school that showed interest in me, he was emotionally, verbally, physically and sexually abusive to me and I put up with it because I believed that there was no one else that would want me and I was evidently BLIND AS A BAT FOR 2 1/2 FLIPPING YRS OF MY LIFE. :angry Anyway I finally woke up and kicked him out after he cheated on me with a woman from New York that he met online in a slingo chat! I still say to this day if it wasnt for that woman having sex with my ex that I would probably still be with him. So in a way it was a good thing he cheated it woke me up and I wasnt blind anymore. I met a wonderful man that I'm still with to this very day that actually loves me for me NO MATTER WHAT I LOOK LIKE!! 8 yrs on Thanksgiving day this yr and still going strong:whoo: Found out about 2 yrs ago that I have PCOS and INSULING RESISTANCE :angry and I'm infertile. Fertility pills also added to my weight gain also. To this day he still says that I'm hot and I dont need to change anything, he said he loves me for me..what's on the inside and the out. Sometimes I sit and think why in the hell is he with me. I mean I look in a mirror and I hate what I see and say to myself I wouldnt have sex with me, why would he want to....My hubby is a little reluctant for me to have this surgery, but I've had to explain to him several times that I'm not doing it to hurt him and that I'm doing it to get sick I'm doing it because I want to get HEALTHY and to be happy with the person I see in pictures and in the mirror instead of this huge blob in photos that makes me sick to my stomach that I LET MYSELF get this damn big. So I'm pretty sure I'm going to get the surgery, I know my hubby's insurance covers it. I'm just scared about the after...I've tried so many things and nothing has worked and I'm just wondering because I've seen all these posts of how long it takes to lose this weight and I'M EXTREMELY IMPATIENT!!! I want it gone like NOWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! :help: Well there is my story boys and girls!! Happy Holidays to all and to all a good morning!!! :ranger:

Congrats on getting the banded, I am still in research mode and decision making mode...but I'm so happy that the surgery went well for you!

So basically what I seem to be seeing from this post is that since I have PCOS it's basically useless to get this surgery because it will still be hard for me to lose weight. Well that just totally sux!!!! I know there is only one other way to lose weight and that's the bypass but that is so so dangerous for your health. I mean I've done the metformin and only lost water weight and that was maybe 5 lbs max....I've done the 1500 calorie diet and that didnt work either. I have hair coming out my chin, but my am not losing hair on the top of my head. My leg hair grows like crazy, I shave and get out of the tub get goose bumps and BAM STUBBLE!!! lol So it sounds like with the PCOS and insulin resistance and pre-diabetic I'm basically doomed to be fat and get fatter the rest of my life because nothing else is going to make this crap go away...Sorry I'm just really frustrated with pcos, being fat and not able to lose any of it, and I TOTALLY KNOW all about the hormonal imbalances I can go from happy and laughing to wanting to rip someone's head off the next minute!! lol Thanks for letting me rant and vent!! Blessings to all and Happy Holidays!!

First of all Congratulations on your approval to get the surgery. I also have Anthem insurance but I live in Kansas(my hubby works on a military base here and they use Anthem insurance out of VA). I was wondering if you could help me know what all kind of hoops I got to jump through to get approval for this surgery?? Do I have to do the whole 6 month weight loss program with reg doc or can I just go to a lapband doc?? Welcome to this site and I look forward to becoming friends you and alot of other ppl in here!! blessings and Happy Holidays

Thank you for the welcome from the people that posted. Nice to meet you and hope to become good friends. So far I'm not liking the lack of response when I came here to get as much help as possible, I'm scared to death about so many things with getting this surgery. Will my marriage go down the crapper, will I have to wait a yr before I get this surgery, will it hurt so much that I cant move, will I be able to drink anything, how will I lose the weight even if it is just 3 super small meals a day...my body is a food magnet literally. I've tried the 1500 cal diet and all I did was lose water weight that's it. No lbs!! I'm just so frustrated at this stage....I dont know where to turn my friend is trying to talk me into the bypass and I know I dont want that one. But I am just wondering how the lap band is going to help. I mean I see so many ppl that have lost so much weight, but I've been fighting all my life to lose weight and to no result!!

Well need to know what kind of stuff I should have ready before calling the doc to make an appt to be seen for a consult. I read something somewhere about needing a list of all the diets I've tried, and I've seen some questions on here that I view while I'm at work but never get them written down. Hell I'm at work right now typing this...I have so many things going through my head it's not funny. I'm thinking I shouldnt have waited this long to get this done, but on the other hand I dont feel that I have enough info to make an informed decision. I know I want to lose weight and get healthy(even though hubby is scared I'm not gonna be if I get this done) and make the pains in my knees, my back, my neck, and I want to be able to see my feet and not hurt after shaving my legs in the tub because I gotta move all these different ways just to get to my damn fat thighs! :faint: I've read posts that are post surgery and I love the fact that ppl are happy about seeing their collar bones. I know I have one I can feel it but I cant see it. I'm also tired of not being able to breathe good at night because my breast and fat come up to my throat in the bed and my double chin doesnt help either. All this stuff I'm typing I'm not sure will be okay to say to a doc. I am also fighting with my head at the moment thinking I'm not gonna be able to do this diet thing because food has been there when I was depressed, stressed, happy, etc... I mean hell if I had will power I wouldnt be so fat now right?? I have talked to my insurance and they said I could just go to the lap band doc, that they dont believe I will need a referral from my physician, which not sure but to me that sounds strange. I am also hearing about this pre-diet thing that everyone is talking about but I'm not sure what kind of diet it is, is it just liquid or what? :help: I'm just so tired of being fat and my hubby said when I told him I'm classified as morbid obese he was like really I didnt think you were that big. I said honey I'm only 5'5 and I come from a family of small frame women on my mother's side. Now on my dad's side is a different story, he's huge he had to have the gastric bypass done and he's still huge. So I got my mother's frame and my dad's fatness. He was like "oh okay, well if this is what you want to do then do it and I'll be right there with ya." I said that's good. I said I'm not rushing into this, I am researching daily on everything the pros the cons everything. I'll tell ya with all this research my head is spinning...LOL So any help would be greatly greatly appreciated!! blessings to all :ranger:

Congrats!!! I'm new here but I'm so happy for you!! I have Anthem Insurance because my husband works on a military base. SO I know if they take a long time to approve mine I'm gonna be worried too. I'm not telling the families, the only ppl that know are my closest friends and ya'll and my hubby and stepson! Calling the Doc this week to get in to talk to him and ask him all kinds of questions that I've seen in the posts here on lapbandtalk!

congratulations and welcome..keep us posted on your progress

wow that is so great congrats to you. I hope I have that much luck when I get the lapband. love and light

<p>Well let's see where do I start. Well I've been fat pretty much since puberty. I've tried starving myself in high school only eating crackers and iced tea for lunch and eating lettuce with mayo for dinner and nothing for breakfast. Well those bad habits made lots of weight pack on me over the yrs. Went through a bitter divorce and as we all here know food is the bestest friend you could ever have in the world. I've done OTC diet pills, mail order pills, herbal pills, exercised my butt off and only lost at the most was 25 lbs in two months and then I gaind about 50 back because I couldnt afford the gym fee anymore. I dont really eat much but my body immediately stores anything I eat. I have been diagnosed with PCOS and insulin resistance and I am BIG TIME Infertile. <img src="http://www.LapBandTalk.com/images/smilies/angry.gif" border="0" alt="" title="angry" smilieid="34" class="inlineimg" /> So I've given up on the fertility train after 11 yrs of trying with no luck. Just a bunch of fertility pills that packed more weight on me. </p> <p>Well anywho my friend had the gastric bypass done and she went from 350 to 140 in one yrs time and that scares me and it just seemd to drastic. She is having all kinds of health problems etc and I dont want that. I've done research on both the lapband and the gastric bypass. I'm tired of looking in the mirror and absolutely hating what I see I've become. So I've made the decision to get the lapband done. I havent spoken to a doc yet because I'm waiting til after the holidays. I want to get all the in's and out's of this procedure and know that this is in fact the right way to go. That way I start 2008 with a new life choice. My insurance covers the surgery just hope it covers all the doc appts and nutrition appts etc. Havent really seen anything about that stuff in the posts I've been reading in here for the past two days. My hubby is scared for me he doesnt want me getting sick like my friend is right now from the RYN. He also doesnt want me losing my breasts. LOL And the darling hubby that he is says that I look fine to him. I said well honey that is really sweet but I HATE THE WAY I look and cant understand why you love me or even want to ya know with me. But he is behind me 150% when I get this surgery done. </p> <p> </p> <p>So this is me in a huge nutshell. I'm 5 foot 5 and I weigh about 250 and considered by that wonderful BMI CHART as EXTREMELY MORBIDLY OBESE! My BMI is 41.6. I dont have a specific weight I want to get to ...I just want to be able to fit into a size 14 jean like I did before I gained all this weight. I want to still have some meat on my bones to keep me warm...LOL LOL </p> <p> </p> <p>Love and light to all of us that are in search to make our outside person match our lovely inside person!!</p> <p> </p> <p>Dolphin </p>