AbbieRoad

It went pretty well - got my giant check list of things to do! Cardiologist, sleep Study, Loose 15lbs, Barium Swallow, Bloodwork - Nutritionist for 3 months, Psyche exam...the whole 9 yards! Where did you go for the Barium Swallow? I'm nervous about the sleep study too.... I am not good at falling asleep in strange places and hate sleeping away from home!

Well, my bmi is higher, 45, so I don't need co-morbidities....which seems like a kinda strange thing to be "happy" about, but, I think that should help me get approved. I'm tall, 6', but I weight 350lbs. I live in Medford! Not too far from you! Howdy neighbor

Went to Dr. Goldstein's June 7th seminar. Really impressed with everything. I am going tomorrow for my first office visit with him. I have Aetna too - so, jumping through hoops I'm sure. But - I did find out that they cover it 100% if I can qualify! Woo Hoo! How are things going with you? You're about a month ahead of me - hope your hoop jumping is going smoothly! Abbie

there is one at the Center for Emotional Wellness in Cherry Hill that is supposed to be fantastic - haven't checked it out yet. Going to my first appt. with the lap band doc tomorrow, stoked after the seminar this week and just found out my insurance will cover 100% of the cost so I am really excited! Abbie

Hey all- This question is probably going to make me sound awful - but - here it goes. I don't drink often at all. Less than even once a month usually. However - there are certain occasions that I drink, er, excessively.... My best friend's halloween party, a high school friend reunion annual christmas party, a 4th of july party - that's about it. So, more or less three times a year. These times, the object is obliteration pretty much - we drink a lot, laugh, play drinking games, kinda relive our college days (I'm 29) The other 363 days of the year I'm more or less obtaining from liquor all together. At most I'll have a glass of wine at a social function but that's even rare. I know drinking is empty calories, I know carbonation is a no-no (adios beer & captain & cokes) but -what about shots? Haha--so, is three times a year binge drinking ok? Does it even work? I have a really high liquor tolerance now (Irish heritage?) does that really change all that much? I know I'll prob. have to wait a few months after the surgery before trying it, and if I can't drink like that it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me but I'd be bummed. Maybe I'll party heartier at this 4th bbq to make up for loosing the future ones.

Just went to dr goldsteins seminar today, but yes he only does one day pre op liquid diet, 7-10 post op liquid, another week of mush, and then he said by one month out you're on whole foods. I was really impressed by him at the seminar, feeling very good about choosing him! First appt is the 14th, got a journey ahead of me, at least 3 months!

Oh that makes me feel better! Thanks browneyedgirl! I ignored going to the doctor for the same reason....embarassment, and, I knew they would tell me to loose weight, which, I knew I had to do...just didn't want to face it kinda, ya know? I'm going to a seminar on June 7th and will hopefully have things move quickly after that! Good luck with your journey!

Oh good..... Yeah I'm hoping it's something where common sense would prevail...how can I be 363lbs now and 325 2 years ago...obviously I wasn't weighing in at 170 inbetween that! But.....with red tape and corporations, you can never quite count on common sense! I get nervous! Abbie

I have Aetna HMO insurance and they do cover lap band surgery. The selection criteria says "For adults age 18 years or older, presence of severe obesity that has persisted for at least the last 2 years (24 months), documented in contemporaneous clinical records, defined as any of the following: Body mass index (BMI) (see appendix) exceeding 40; or And here lies the problem for me. Though I have been overweight pretty much all my adult life...I very rarely go to doctors. I had been to the obgyn in January of 2009 weighing in at 325, and then not back in a doctors office until February 2011 weighing in at 375, and then again last week at 363. Do you think they will count the OBGYN's weight documentation even though it's older than 2 years? I could go back farther than that and get my old obgyn's docs from 2006 when I was pregnant with my son, and also overweight (though closer to 275 then). I've finally made the decision to get the lap band, I'm attending a seminar on June 7th and I'm really looking forward to this. I meet (and beat) he BMI requirement (at nearly 50bmi) but I'm worried because I've not really been an active doctor frequenter. I would really hate to have to wait 2 years since February to 2013 to get my weight records! Too bad pictures of my fat ass from those time periods couldn't suffice : / Anybody have any idea? This is also my first posting here, been lurking for a few months. I'm 6' tall, 363lbs, size 26/28, 29 years old momma of 1. Only other comobidities that I have is high blood pressure, high cholesterol...but the doc has recommended weight loss and that's it. No sleep apnea, that I know of! Abbie