LynneB

Good Luck!! I cant wait to hear how it goes.

1st consult w/ surgeon today went really well. Since getting verbal approval from ins he expects to have auth by Monday so all I need to do is meet w/ the nutritionist, have my psych eval (scheduled for this Monday), and start my 10 day preop diet on the 29th. I am still in shock, I cant believe its really happening!!

After deciding to finance and giving up on insurance, my Dr called the ins co today & fought with them. He got them to approve my surgery!! Not only are they covering the lapband at 80%, they are covering my tubal ligation at 100%!!!!! He got them to give a double surgery discount for all they have put me thru! So I will be having both surgeries by mid Feb at the latest! Never give up on insurance, sometimes they do come thru!

I was just shopping on bariatriceating.com & noticed they have "sweet" stuff that is safe for post bariatric surgery. I know this is just for after you can eat non liquid again, but its something to keep in mind for later.

On the scar stages threads several people said that it speeds healing of scars and internal healing pain so I figured it couldnt hurt to try it.

I was reading on here about how great the stuff is. I went today to GNC, they did not have Arnica Montana but they had Arnica Relief cream and pills. Are these the same thing as Montana? I hope so, I bought them just in case, they were $7.95 each. I also got to sample several types of protein drinks. The best were Pro complex GNC brand chocolate fudge, strawberry, and cookies and cream. They are 22gm of protein per scoop and 4 carbs.

oh yeah and the paste they use in your hair to hook up the electrodes is DISGUSTING!!! Make sure you bring your own shampoo and take a shower there with the hottest water you can stand. Only really hot water dissolves the glue stuff. Otherwise you end up going home looking like Medusa. Also, dont count on really sleeping soundly, they were in bugging me like every 30 mins both times...felt like every 5 mins!

I had 2 studies done, the first one they told me not to take anything to make me sleep any differently than normal. To me that was hard cuz I take ambien every night, but they wouldnt do it if I took it. The second one, they told me to take my ambien as a comparison and eval for a cpap. It was odd cuz without the ambien I qualified for cpap but with ambien I did not. I would ask your Dr , you dont want to affect the outcome and be placed on cpap if its not necessary or not qualify if you do need it. The cpap makes a huge difference in your band surgery needs and hospital stay. Better safe than sorry!

Hi I am 36 & I live in Bradenton, FL. No surgery date yet but pre op is this Tues the 15th & psych eval is Jan 25th. After that I start the 10 day pre op diet & I hope to have surgery by the 1st week of Feb. Cant wait to not be the "fat mom"!!! I am so excited!!!

So cool, Dr Bunch will be doing my surgery too! We must be close to each other!

Thats awesome! Congrats! Hope I can do that good too. Keep it up!

Good news is my mom is finally starting to get it. She agreed that if I could have my tubes tied while I have the band done that it would be worth it. I am 36 & have my boy & girl so I am done w/ having kids. Has anyone else had both surgeries done together? I am scared of what that recovery would be like, but my gyn said they could coordinate the surgery with my surgeon. At least my mom has finally agreed to help me with the kids. I am planning to have the surgery done before March 1st so I feel good enough to go to Disney World w/ my kids on spring break the last weekend in March.

I think it was because my interest rate is so high (29%) I have to pay almost $600 a month for the next 5 yrs.

I tried talking to my family about it and boy do I REGRET it!! All I get is "just go to weight watchers and just diet and excercise" Do they not think I have already tried all that?!? I even went to a Dr supervised weight loss program that cost me over $140 a week & lost 75 lbs, but then I got criticized for spending all that money. Well, now that I left that program, I have gained 25 of it back in less than 6 months and I still watch my carbs like I was, but with no injections and pills, its not the same. I feel like I just can't win! My family is wonderful IF I do things THEIR way, with their approval. But I am 36 yrs old and I am making my own decision this time. I need it, I want it, I am DOING IT! To hell with everyone elses opinions. Do it for you, make yourself proud.

My first appt w/ the surgeon is Jan 15th @ 3:30 and my psych eval is Jan 25th @ 11. After that I start my 10 day preop diet & I will be banded by mid Feb at the latest!! I cant believe it is really gonna happen. I still dont have support from my family so I will have to take a taxi to and from the hospital and find someone to pick up my daughter from school and bring her home to me but I will figure it out. I will not have to stay in the hospital overnight. Some of you were asking about the cost of my surgery & why it seems so high, the cost is around $16,000 and that includes all preop tests, the surgeon, the hospital, the anesthesiologist, and the first whole year of fills. The only thing I have to pay separate from the loan is $250 for the psych eval. My payments will be around $550 per month for 5 yrs. I am expecting a car accident settlement that should help me pay a good portion of it back in the next yr or so. So, my questions for all of you is what do I need to buy to prepare for surgery and what do I need for after surgery? Tell me all you know to help me get ready, now that it is a reality I am a little scared.

I called UHC today & found out that my plan does not cover any bariatric surgery at for any reason with no exceptions. I would be devastated if I hadnt already gotten financing approved to fall back on. So now, I just gotta figure out how to come up with an extra $600 a month for the next 5 years to pay off the loan. But, I called my Dr & told him I want to get started on the process so I should be getting a phone call tomorrow with my 1st apt date. I went to my first support group meeting last night & I felt kinda out of place since I was the only one there under the age of 55, but I liked it & I will be going every month. So at least now I am on my way & there is an end in sight with no ins hassles!! I am so excited!!!

HOLY MOLY!!!!!!!!! Way to go!!!!!!

All of you are so right. Michael, you dont need to scare me, at 36 yrs old I have already had 2 mild heart attacks all because several years ago I got tired of being fat & went crazy anorexic & bulemic. I starved myself from 285 to 110 in 11 months time. I only ate a salad once every 5 days and only drank water in between. A day or 2 would go by without even drinking water sometimes. My dad found me unconcious (sp?) with my son who was only 2 yrs old crying over me. He had to kick the door in to get to me when I didnt answer the phone for a few hours. I was in the hospital for almost 2 weeks & in a coma from malnourishment for 5 days. I almost died in my desperation to be thin. I did so much damage to my body from starvation and dehydration, I was honestly lucky to be alive. The heart damage that caused my heart attacks is because of this. I also did kidney, liver, gallbladder, and thyroid damage. I dont want to end up that way again & I can feel myself getting back in that "desperate to be thin" frame of mind again. Obviously it didnt work because I gained it all back, and I am smarter than that now so I wont do that to myself again, but I want to be thin so badly I am going to do this surgery, no matter what the cost it has on my family. I want to do it right this time, I want it to be forever.

This was the one thread that made me cry! I want all of these things so badly too. The one I realy want is for my beautiful daughter to finally come home from school happy because not one kid there could make a "your mommas so fat" joke. The affect my weight has on my kids is what breaks my heart more than anything. Also knowing that my little girl will also have to struggle with her weight for her whole life too & I want to set a good example for her so she is healthy too. I am going to email a list of "wants & don't wants" to my mom, maybe then she will be a little more supportive!

This was the one thread that made me cry! I want all of these things so badly too. The one I realy want is for my beautiful daughter to finally come home from school happy because not one kid there could make a "your mommas so fat" joke. The affect my weight has on my kids is what breaks my heart more than anything. Also knowing that my little girl will also have to struggle with her weight for her whole life too & I want to set a good example for her so she is healthy too. I am going to email a list of "wants & don't wants" to my mom, maybe then she will be a little more supportive!

I am very close to the airport so we cant be too far apart, I would love to have her email and myspace. As far as school ffriends, my son is home schooled & my daughter just changed schools a month ago so I dont know anyone from her new school. The only close friend I have that I would trust lives about 30 mins away & has her own kids to take to school in totally opposite directions from my daughter. My Dr only does the surgery on Mon & Tues so it will be a middle of the week thing, it would be so much more convenient if I could have it done on a Fri but I guess because of possible complications he wont do them before a weekend. I will do some checking with local colleges and nursing schools though, that is a good idea. I am looking for a new church because my regular church just sold out and I dont like the new pastor there, so thats not an option. My kids will be a great help once I am home, they were wonderful after I had my gallbladder removed 2 yrs ago as well as after surgeries on both hands for carpal tunnel the last one was in July 07, so once I am home that will be fine. I guess I will just quit discussing it with my family till insurance is approved and my date is set. I just cant keep getting myself so upset over it, its just not worth it. My mind is made up I am going to do this for myself and to he** with anyone who opposes me being happy and healthy!

I am in Sarasota, FL

I have no one I can trust, I live in a mostly older neighborhood & I dont even know any of my neighbors names, my son has never even been left home alone for longer than a quick trip to the grocery store or bank so I know he would be scared & would never be able to responsibly take care of my daughter (plus they fight terribly). I dont know of any babysitters who could keep them for more than 24 hours straight. I just gotta figure something out.

I am so sick of my family discouraging me from having this done! Every time I try to bring up the subject I get shot down. I am a single mom so I have no one else to watch my kids while I am in the hospital & all I get from my family is one excuse after another. My mom wont take time off work to help me, my dad has no patience for children at all (even when I was little) my brother is totally useless & refuses to help me for anything, not just surgery. My mom thinks I can lose the weight just with diet & exercise, but she has seen me yo-yo all my life. She just doesnt get it, she has maybe 20 pounds to lose to be perfect so she just doesnt understand. All I hear is "join weight watchers", blah blah blah!! I have tried so many diet programs even a Dr supervised program that cost me $175 a week. Yeah I lost 75 pounds in 6 months but I couldnt afford to continue at that price & I have gained 30 lbs of it back again in less than 5 months even though I am still eating according to the diet but I am not getting the injections and pills like before. My kids ages 8 & 14 are supportive but that doesnt help with actually getting it done. I am so tired of my 8yr daughter coming home from school crying or getting into arguements with other kids over fat jokes about me. My son had to be pulled out of school & put on home school because he always felt he had to defend me. Why cant people just accept that this is my decision & my body & I want to do this!!??!! My aunt and my grandma both died from complications from diabetes recently & I want to live to see my kids have my grandchildren!! I am 36yrs old and I weigh almost 240lbs at only 5"1" I have at least 100lbs to lose. I am already non insulin diabetic, have sleep apnea & hypothyroidism. I am fed up with depending on pills and glucose meters. I just want to be healthy and thin, why wont my family get it??? The more they object the more determined I get, I just have to figure out where my kids can stay while I am in the hospital. I have no friends who can keep them for an entire day and overnight so I dont know what I am going to do. All I know is this is what I want more than anything in the world. Thanks for letting me vent

I was on COBRA for the last 18 months & as of 11/30/07 I converted to the individual plan w/ united healthcare. I live in FL but the billing office I get correspondance from UHC is out of Dallas, TX. Anyone have a similar plan & if so, were you approved or denied & how long did it take to get a decision?