andyisbanned

I think that I will be switching back to butter. Pass The Butter .... Please . This is interesting . .. . . Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research wanted a payback so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money back. It was a white substance with no food appeal so they added the yellow coloring and sold it to people to use in place of butter. How do you like it? They have come out with some clever new flavorings DO YOU KNOW….The difference between margarine and butter? Read on to the end...gets very interesting! □ Both have the same amount of calories. □ Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams compared to 5 grams. □ Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study. □ Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods. □ Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few only because they are added! □ Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavors of other foods. □ Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years . And now, for Margarine.. Very high in Trans fatty acids . Triple risk of coronary heart disease. Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol) Increases the risk of cancers up to five fold. Lowers quality of breast milk. Decreases immune response. Decreases insulin response. And here's the most disturbing fact.... HERE IS THE PART THAT IS VERY INTERESTING! Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC……This fact alone was enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance). You can try this yourself: Purchase a tub of margarine and leave it in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will note a couple of things: □ No flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should tell you something) □ It does not rot or smell differently because it has no nutritional value ; nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not find a home to grow. Why? Because it is nearly plastic . Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast? Share This With Your Friends.....(If you want to 'butter them up')! Chinese Proverb: 'When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others'. So..., DO IT !

When did you have surgery? --- February 14, 2008 Where did you have surgery? --- Marshall Medical North Guntersville, AL Who performed your surgery? --- Dr. Stephen Britt/Dr. John Groves assisting When is your first fill? --- March 20, 2008 When is second fill? --- May 1, 2008

Here is a list of common message board terms created by Cindy M and I have added to it. You may know others that we have missed. Please add to this list. This should help our newbies and others that just want to know what we are typing in Chat or on the forums when we use these shortcuts. 250/175/130 = Was/Am/Wannabe = starting weight/current weight/goal weight BTW = By the way B/C = Because BP = Blood Pressure BRB = Be Right Back AFK: Away From Keyboard (tell people you’re stepping away for a moment) AFW: Away From Windows (You are there, but not watching for a moment, but will respond soon) CUL8R = See you later CYA ( cya ) = See Ya CYA = Cover Your Arse (In addition to "See Ya Later") DB = Darling Brother, Dear Brother or whatever “D” word depending on mood DD = Darling Daughter, Dear Daughter or whatever “D” word depending on mood DH = Darling Husband, Dear Husband or whatever “D” word depending on mood DS = Darling Son, Dear Son or Darling Sister, Dear Sister or whatever “D” word depending on mood DS = Duodenal Switch DW = Darling Wife, Dear Wife or whatever “D” word depending on mood FAQ = Frequently asked questions. FWIW = For What It's Worth FYI = For your information. GR8 = Great GTG / GTR: Got to go / run HTH = Hope this helps. or Hope that helps. IMHO ( imho ) = In My Honest Opinion, In My Humble Opinion IMO ( imo ) = In My Opinion IT = Information Technology. KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid. LAP = Laparoscopic Procedure L8TR ( l8tr ) = Later ( Like see ya later ) LMAO = Laughing My A$$ Off LOL ( lol ) = Laugh Out Loud MB = Message Board. NEWBEE ( newbee, newbie ) = New user of Internet and or computer. NICK ( nick ) = Name used by people ( Individual ) on the Internet. NSV = non scale victory (a change other than the scale…something suddenly fits, others notice your weight loss, etc.) OMG = Oh My God, Oh My Gosh OP = Original Poster OT = Off Topic, used on message boards when the post is not on the threads subject.. PB = Productive Burp (quick vomit without the stomach acid since it is just the food in your pouch) PCP = Primary Care Physician PIC ( pic ) = Picture PPL ( ppl ) = People PS = Plastic Surgery RTFP = read the fine print RNY = Roux En Y (Gastric Bypass Surgery) ROFL ( rofl ) = Rolling On Floor Laughing ROFLMAO = Rolling on floor laughing my a** off SLIME- an overproduction of saliva that occurs in an attempt to force an obstructed piece of food down SNAFU = situation normal, all fouled up SV = scale victory (when the numbers on the scale actually show a change) SWEET SPOT= when you're losing 1-2 lbs/week on average over time and your sensible meals are making you full, so you don’t get physically hungry again for a good 3 to 4 hours TMI = Too Much Information TT = Tummy Tuck TTFN = Ta Ta For Now TTYL = Talk to you later TYFS = Thank you for sharing URL ( url ) = Uniform Resource Locater, Internet address of a web page ( http://sitename ) YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary WTF ( wtf ) = What the Freak or your other favorite explicative WTG = Way To Go! WLS = Weight Loss Surgery YGG - You Go Girl! ZZZZZZ ( zzzzz ) = sleeping or Bored

I was banded on Feb. 14th. I am 30 days post-op. I have lost about 30 lbs so far according to our scales at work. I go for my first fill March 20th. I will get to do the official weigh in at my doctor's office since he says only his scale counts.

I noticed a few names missing. I went thur the thread and I hope I got everyone's name and date right. :smile: Babedoe4---------------March 6th Becca------------------March 6th Shinyhappymommy------March 6th Enchantedruby----------March 7th Ponomimi---------------March 10th Jaxbanster--------------March 11th Angie4b1g--------------March 11th CynthiaMcc-------------March 12th Marathinner-------------March 12th Sadie-------------------March 13th Happy One--------------March 13th NewCreation413--------March 13th Mary04-----------------March 13th purplecandle..............March 13th......so ready for it!!! Sharon160--------------March 17th mhazelrigg--------------March 17th terri guilford-------------March 17th LoupNocturne-----------March 17th Applesmith1226---------March 18th Viridesence-------------March 18th gweniviere--------------March 19th....and looking fwd to it! Danielle......................March 19th AndyisBanded----------March20th (1st Fill—Woohooo) Michelle9003-----------March20th Absofsteel--------------March21st Nurseoffaith------------March 24th Beachbum0519--------March 25th Coolcrystal-------------March 25th Beachbum0519---------March 25th Nicolek-----------------March 26th Mel119 (Melinda)------March 26th Rhapsody♥ ------------March 26th Princess21--------------March 27th Taismommy-------------March 28th Marathinner................April 2nd (FILL #2!!) Angie4b1g.................April 2nd (#2!) BlessedTwice-----------April 3rd Woo Hoo..Hoping for restriction 1st time! Jennyxo----------------April 3rd StLouisGal--------------April 3rd JaxBandster.................April 4th (Fill #2) LilMissBand-Aid---------April 10th Misspeesh95621--------April 11th tskelli-------------------April 16th

Grace: Sorry to hear of your lose, but I rejoice with you on the news of approval. I wish you the best.

Babedoe4---------------March 6th Becca------------------March 6th Shinyhappymommy------March 6th Enchantedruby----------March 7th Ponomimi---------------March 10th Jaxbanster--------------March 11th Angie4b1g--------------March 11th CynthiaMcc-------------March 12th Marathinner-------------March 12th Sadie-------------------March 13th Happy One--------------March 13th NewCreation413--------March 13th Sharon160--------------March 17th mhazelrigg--------------March 17th terri guilford-------------March 17th LoupNocturne-----------March 17th Viridesence-------------March 18th gweniviere--------------March 19th....and looking fwd to it! Danielle......................March 19th AndyisBanded----------March20th Michelle9003-----------March20th Nicolek-----------------March 26th Princess21--------------March 27th Taismommy-------------March 28th Jennyxo----------------April 3rd StLouisGal--------------April 3rd LilMissBand-Aid---------April 10th Misspeesh95621--------April 11th

Hi everyone: I am 42 and banded on Feb. 14th. I have lost 25lbs so far and doing great. I love my band. I look forward to losing the 130 lbs I need to lose and become the new thinner me. I wish I could have been banded much sooner, but happy to have it now.

Bama: I had my surgery at MMCN in Guntersville. North treated me well. the hospitals are virtually the same except their locations. Good luck on the 4th.

Congrats Bama. where will you have your surgery? Good luck.

Bama: Good luck on your surgery. Dr. Britt and staff are wonderful. I was banded on 2/14/2008 at Marshall Medical North by Dr. Britt. amy is great and the pre-op class with her is very informative. Elizabeth will actually schedule your surgery. If you have started you pre-op diet, then I would think you should be able to have surgery next week. Keep us informed.

Bama: Good luck on your surgery. Dr. Britt and staff are wonderful. I was banded on 2/14/2008 at Marshall Medical North by Dr. Britt. amy is great and the pre-op class with her is very informative. Elizabeth will actually schedule your surgery. If you have started you pre-op diet, then I would think you should be able to have surgery next week. Keep us informed.

Welcome and congrats to you GG. I am from Alabama too. I live in Hartselle which is about 80 miles north of Birmingham on I-65. I was banded on Feb. 14 by Dr. Stephen Britt in Guntersville. You will find a lot of folks on here from Alabama and several from the Mobile area. Andy

I pre-registered at the hospital today. I had to get bloodwork and an ekg along with a consult with the anesthesiologist. My surgery is one week away. February 14th will be here quick. I start my pre-op diet in the morning. Low sugar, low carb, high protein with lots of water diet. I am so excited! :regular_smile:

Ara I am in Hartselle. Who is some of your family? I may know them. I grew up in Priceville/Decatur area. I graduated Brewer in 1984.

AL My surgeon is Dr. Stephen Britt. He is part of the Marshall Surgical Associates. He has surgery rights at Crestwood (Huntsville), Madison Outpatient Surgery Center (Madison), Marshall Medical North (Guntersville), and Marshall Medical South (Boaz). I will be having my surgery in Guntersville.

To get approved, you have some hoops to jump thur. I started with a seminar on the Lap-Band and learned as much as I could on-line. At the seminar, Dr. Britt & Dr. Groves along with their staff provided a very informative hour. They stay afterwards for an hour or two for Q&A. BCBS of AL began approving the Lap-Band surgery in April 2007. It may vary according to your policy as to what or how to qualify. My policy will only cover 80% of the surgery but 100% of any follow up for 1 year. I will have to pay about $400.00 prior to surgery. Here is my experience to get approved with BCBS: 1. You must have a BMI over 40 without any co-morbidites or over 35 with at least 2 of 3 co-morbidites. The co-morbidites are sleep Apnea, High Blood Pressure, & Diabetes. My BMI is over 40 and I have Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and High Blood Pressure. Due to my OSA, I have a trach. 2. You must have maintained a BMI of 35 with co-morbidites or over 40 for the last 3 years. This is will be checked and verified by your surgeon & BCBS thur copies of your medical records you must have submitted by your doctors to the surgeons office. I received a application packet at the seminar and it had the forms to send to my doctors to request the release of a copy of my records to my surgeon. I was able to have my sleep doctor, my ENT, and my family doctor submit copies of my medical records for the last 5 years which I think helped. Any of the doctors you have visited in the last 5 years counts. The insurance is looking to verify you BMI thur your recorded weight & height records from the various doctors. 3. If you meet 1 & 2, you must now complete at your expense a 6 month doctor directed diet with your family physician. During the diet, you must maintain a exercise and food journal to document your success or failure of the diet. This stage will require 7 monthly visits, scheduled at least 30 days apart with your family doctor. This is key as BCBS requires at least 30 days between each visit or it does not count. One day to soon and it will result in failure for approval. Your physician will be required to fill out a paper each month to provide to your surgeon for submission to BCBS. My surgeon provided the form and my family doctor just made copies each month and gave me the original to send to my surgeon. It cost me about $500 to complete this phase. I finished in December 2007. My family doctor knew why I wished to complete this diet program and was very supportive and understanding. My sleep doctor and ENT want me to get this surgery to help with my OSA. 4. Once complete with the diet, your surgeon can submit your paperwork to BCBS. BCBS will then require a consult with a physical therapist and a nutritionist. These consult visits are to teach you the exercise and diet plans you must follow prior to and after the surgery. I spent an hour showing I could do the exercises with the PT. I then went and spent the next hour learning how & what to eat. I am putting it to practice now. They say it takes 40 days to make or break a habit. I have learned that some people are not required to complete this step. However, some have to complete a psychiatric evaluation and/or a sleep study. It just depends on your policy. 5. After the consults, your surgeon will submit the paperwork with the reports from PT and nutritionist. Now is the time to sit back and wait on BCBS. My approval only took an hour as the surgeon's office file on-line. Just a note here: My surgeon tells me that if BCBS rejects your request for approval, BCBS will tell you why. One patient of my surgeon was rejected because he went to his last diet visit on the 24th of the month. All of his other visits had been on the 26th of each month. This patient had to return to his family doctor for the last visit, then resubmit his paperwork. By the way, he was approved. It just shows how critical it is to keep the apponitments 30 days apart on the diet visits and to work closely with your doctors & surgeon. 6. With approval, I had to complete a pre-op training class (about an hour long) with the surgeon's staff, then have a pre-op physical with my surgeon. Then my date was set. I will have surgery on February 14th. 7. Final step is to get the surgery and start life a new. I am using Dr. Britt of Marshall Surgical group from Guntersville. They provide a free seminar monthly at the Madison Surgery Center on Lanier Road in Madison, Alabama. They also provide free seminars on the Lap-Band at Marshall Medical North & Marshall Medical South. You can check their website at http://www.samc.stirsite.com/home.html or at the hospital website Marshall Medical Centers. Dr. Britt & Dr. Groves have surgery rights at the Madison Surgery center, Crestwood in Huntsville, Marshall Medical North in Guntersville, and Marshall Medical South in Boaz. I hope this helps anyone who is looking at the Lap-Band surgery and has BCBS of AL. BCBS Federal is different than the standard BCBS of AL. You can find several on the forums with experience with the Federal version of BCBS.

BCBS of AL has been approving the Lap-Band surgery since April 2007. It may vary according to your policy as to what or how to qualify. My policy will only cover 80% of the surgery but 100% of any follow up for 1 year. I will have to pay about $400.00 prior to surgery. To get approved, you have some hoops to jump thur. Here is my experience: 1. Your BMI must be over 40 or over 35 with at least 2 of 3 comorbidites (IE: sleep Apnea, High Blood Pressure, Diabetes). My BMI is over 40 and I have Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and High Blood Pressure. Due to my OSA, I have a trach. 2. You must have maintained a BMI of 35 with comorbidites or over 40 for the last 3 years. This is will be checked and verified by your surgeon & BCBS thur copies of your medical records you must have submitted by your doctors to the surgeons office. I was able to have my sleep doctor, my ENT, and my family doctor submit copies of my medical records for the last 5 years which I think helped. 3. If you meet 1 & 2, you must now complete at your expense a 6 month doctor directed diet with your family physician. During the diet, you must maintain a exercise and food journal to document your success or failure of the diet. This stage will require 7 monthly visits, scheduled at least 30 days apart with your family doctor. This is key as BCBS requires at least 30 days between each visit or it does not count. You physician will be required to fill out a paper each month to provide to your surgeon for submission to BCBS. My surgeon provided the form and my family doctor just made copies and gave me the original to send to my surgeon. It cost me about $500 to complete this phase. I finished in December 2007. My family doctor knew why I wished to complete this diet program and was very supportive and understanding. My sleep doctor and ENT want me to get this surgery to help with my OSA. 4. Once complete with the diet, your surgeon can submit your paperwork to BCBS. BCBS will then require a consult with a physical therapist and a nutritionist. These consult visits are to teach you the exercise and diet plans you must follow prior to and after the surgery. I just completed this phase last week. I spent an hour showing I could do the exercises with the PT. I then went and spent the next hour learning how & what to eat. I am putting it to practice now. They say it takes 40 days to make or break a habit. I have learned that some are not required to complete this step, but some also have to complete a psychiatric evaluation. It just depends on your policy. 5. After the consults, your surgeon will re-submit the paperwork with the reports from PT and nutritionist. Now is the time to sit back and wait on BCBS. My approval only took an hour as the surgeon's office file on-line. 6. With approval, I had to complete a pre-op training class (about an hour long) with the surgeon's staff, then have a pre-op physical with my surgeon. Then my date was set. I will have surgery on February 14th. 7. Final step is to get the surgery and start life a new. I am using Dr. Britt of Marshall Surgical group from Guntersville. They provide a free seminar monthly at the Madison Surgery Center on Lanier Road in Madison, Alabama. They have surgery rights at the Madison Surgery center, Crestwood in Huntsville, Marshall Medical North in Guntersville, and Marshall Medical South. I hope this helps. Andy

BCBS of AL has been approving the Lap-Band surgery since April 2007. It may vary according to your policy as to what or how to qualify. My policy will only cover 80% of the surgery but 100% of any follow up for 1 year. I will have to pay about $400.00 prior to surgery. To get approved, you have some hoops to jump thur. Here is my experience: 1. Your BMI must be over 40 or over 35 with at least 2 of 3 comorbidites (IE: sleep Apnea, High Blood Pressure, Diabetes). My BMI is over 40 and I have Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and High Blood Pressure. Due to my OSA, I have a trach. 2. You must have maintained a BMI of 35 with comorbidites or over 40 for the last 3 years. This is will be checked and verified by your surgeon & BCBS thur copies of your medical records you must have submitted by your doctors to the surgeons office. I was able to have my sleep doctor, my ENT, and my family doctor submit copies of my medical records for the last 5 years which I think helped. 3. If you meet 1 & 2, you must now complete at your expense a 6 month doctor directed diet with your family physician. During the diet, you must maintain a exercise and food journal to document your success or failure of the diet. This stage will require 7 monthly visits, scheduled at least 30 days apart with your family doctor. This is key as BCBS requires at least 30 days between each visit or it does not count. You physician will be required to fill out a paper each month to provide to your surgeon for submission to BCBS. My surgeon provided the form and my family doctor just made copies and gave me the original to send to my surgeon. It cost me about $500 to complete this phase. I finished in December 2007. My family doctor knew why I wished to complete this diet program and was very supportive and understanding. My sleep doctor and ENT want me to get this surgery to help with my OSA. 4. Once complete with the diet, your surgeon can submit your paperwork to BCBS. BCBS will then require a consult with a physical therapist and a nutritionist. These consult visits are to teach you the exercise and diet plans you must follow prior to and after the surgery. I just completed this phase last week. I spent an hour showing I could do the exercises with the PT. I then went and spent the next hour learning how & what to eat. I am putting it to practice now. They say it takes 40 days to make or break a habit. I have learned that some are not required to complete this step, but some also have to complete a psychiatric evaluation. It just depends on your policy. 5. After the consults, your surgeon will re-submit the paperwork with the reports from PT and nutritionist. Now is the time to sit back and wait on BCBS. My approval only took an hour as the surgeon's office file on-line. 6. With approval, I had to complete a pre-op training class (about an hour long) with the surgeon's staff, then have a pre-op physical with my surgeon. Then my date was set. I will have surgery on February 14th. 7. Final step is to get the surgery and start life a new. I am using Dr. Britt of Marshall Surgical group from Guntersville. They provide a free seminar monthly at the Madison Surgery Center on Lanier Road in Madison, Alabama. They have surgery rights at the Madison Surgery center, Crestwood in Huntsville, Marshall Medical North in Guntersville, and Marshall Medical South. I hope this helps. Andy

Marie: I am a newbie too. My name is Andy and I am from Hartselle. I just received my surgery date. I will get the band on Feb. 14. Who is your insurance with?

I have been overweight for years and obese for the last several years. I left the Army in 1989 and weighted 174. I work at a desk job and I have worked long hours over the last 18 plus years which has added to my weight. I also seem to eat a lot during the time our children were in the womb. I ate when my wife ate during this time which was at all hours of the day & night. I gained weight with her. She had the children (a girl in 1997 & a boy in 2000) and lost her weight. However, I did not. I have been over 250 lbs for the last at least 6 years. I can not seem to lose weight through diets. If I do lose weight, I always seem to gain twice the weight back once the diet fails. I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and severe obstructive sleep apnea. About three or four years ago, I was diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea or OSA. According to my sleep study, I was having 109 episodes per hour and my oxygen level was falling below 70%. My sleep doctor put me on a CPAP machine. After trying for a year and failing to be able to sleep with the machine. I was referred to an ENT for surgery. This first surgery was an uvulopalatopharyngoplasty or UPPP, which is intended to enlarge the airway. This is completed by trimming or removing the uvula, tonsils and adenoids (if present) as well as part of the soft palate or roof of the mouth. While doing this procedure, the doctor tied my tongue down a little and straightens my bent septum (Septoplasty) in my nose. After this surgery, I had a second sleep study. We saw some improvement as I only had 103 episodes per hour but my oxygen level continued to fall below 70%. Again, we tried CPAP which failed. I changed to a BIPAP machine, which will breathe with you. I still felt like I was suffocating when I was on the machine. The doctor reduced the pressure and added oxygen, but I continued to have difficulty. On December 5, 2006, I went for my annual check up at my sleep doctor. With my severity of OSA and not able to sleep on the machines, my doctor recommended more surgery. He referred me back to the ENT office. On December 20, 2006, I went to see my ENT doctor, where I had a consult for surgery with two of the surgeons in the ENT office. We discussed my options of either maxillomandibular osteotomy (MMO) or a tracheotomy. An MMO is a procedure to extend the lower jaw bone to align the teeth and provide a larger airway. The recovery period is 8-10 weeks with 6-8 weeks of having your mouth wired shut. The benefits of this surgery for me would be minimal in the doctor's view versus the pain & recovery. It was determined my best option for immediate relief would be a tracheotomy. This is considered the most effective procedure for OSA. I had surgery for the tracheotomy at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Birmingham on December 26, 2006. I was released three days after surgery. The benefit of the tracheotomy has been to provide immediate relief to my lack of air, increase my oxygen and provide me with a good nights rest while sleeping. I keep a cap over the Trach tube during the day to talk. I uncap it to sleep & breathe at night. This Trach could be removed once I lose weight and complete a sleep study to show I no longer need it. My ENT and Sleep doctors would like for me to get qualified with Blue Cross Blue Shield for a gastric weight loss surgery. I have done much research and decided the Lap-Band would be best for me. I have begun my journey. I have selected a surgeon, Dr. Stephen Britt. I completed my 6 month doctor directed diet. I was required to complete a consult with a dietitian and with a physical therapist to get approved for surgery from my insurance carrier. I will have surgery on February 14, 2008. :tt1:

I received my surgery date today. I will get the Lap-Band on February 14, 2008. What a valentine's day gift to myself! I cannot wait. :tt1: Yeah!!!!!:frown:

Okay. I don't know everything. Federal BCBS is evidently different. I can only speak of my experience and what I have been told by others. :tt1:

Sharpei: I have not found any BCBS policy that let's you skip the 6 month doctor directed deit. According to my surgeon's office, BCBS requires this for all of their insurees no matter the plan. This is their policy for any weight loss surgery as of 2006.

Heather: It was only an hour with online submission. You will do it.