MicheleK

YAY! Grats on the date!!

Ok, so here I go!!!! Thought I'd start keeping some sort of record of my journey involving my decision to have Lapband surgery. I figure 6months from now when I want a piece of cake, I can look back and see what a pain in the butt it all was...that just might stop me! :wink2: I've been thinking about weightloss surgery off and on over the last 2 years. I'm horrible about putting off minor decisions so it's no surprise that this one has taken so long. Initially, I considered RNY surgery (gastric bypass). I'm a horrible coward and am scared enough of this procedure, so I've decided against it. One of my best friends has a RNY about 4-5years ago. She lost an amazing amount of weight within the first year or so (She ended up getting down to around 180lbs, from 400+) but lately things aren't going to well. She's back up to 300+lbs. :crying: I feel really sorry for her, she's even considering having the procedure re-done. On the flip side another friend had Lapband surgery a little less then 4 years ago and is doing great (she has put on some weight, but she drinks a TON of milkshakes...). She is supposed to be scheduling a fill in the next few weeks to help her lose some excess weight (I think around 30lbs left for her) and I'm excited to see how that works out for her. I attended the seminar in November, and was not too impressed. I actually made up my mind NOT to have WLS after attending. There seemed to be a lot of hidden charges (equalling 1300 PRE-surgery). The doctor's office I was looking in to actually required you even purchase your protien powder from them!!! It was insane. My insurance (Aetna) requires a 90 day supervised diet plan before the approval process can begin (mine started 3/7/08). The former doctor's office did not file these appointments with insurance and required I pay the entire amount of pre-surgery visits out of pocker (including the psy exam). I felt that something was really wrong with the whole system. So, about mid-February I started looking around for other doctor's and found one in Oklahoma City (I live in Norman, about 17miles south). It's a surgery group that does all types of bariatric surgeries. I was very excited to find out that my insurance covers all of the above!!!! Now, I feel that I'm really one my way down a path that will actually lead somewhere! :biggrin: I had my first appointment with the dietician on March 7th. She really didn't tell me much I didn't already know (I DO know what I'm SUPPOSED to eat), but I was glad I met with her. She did stress the importance of at least improving some habits (no sugar, bread etc) pre-surgery. After my appointment I stopped at McDonald's and had a bigmac meal super-sized (real smart huh?). BUT I've finally decided to try and improve some eating habits before I see her again on April 18th. It's tough...I love bread, I love potatoes and I love sugar...obviously. I bought some Lean Cuisines, some yogurt, fruits/veggies at the store Saturday night. I'm snacking a lot but at least it's on decent stuff (beef jerky, carrots etc) so I guess it could be a lot worse. I'm just so damn hungry!!! Tomorrow I have a sleep test to attend (not really looking foward to that) but I realize I need to be tested for sleep apnea especially before I am booked for surgery. Might as well get going now so I'm good and prepared when the time comes. If I need a CPAP machine, I'd rather spend the next few months getting used to it instead of finding out at the last minute sleep apnea is going to be an issue for me. I'm kind of scared of all the test I'll need to have done before surgery (especially the chest xray) I smoke (trying to quit, ugh) so I'm a little worried. I just don't want anything to come between me and my surgery!!! Ok, well I'm off for now...thanks for listening to my ramblings. I'll post tomorrow before I head off for the sleep study!!! :smile:

Ok, so here I go!!!! Thought I'd start keeping some sort of record of my journey involving my decision to have Lapband surgery. I figure 6months from now when I want a piece of cake, I can look back and see what a pain in the butt it all was...that just might stop me! :wink2: I've been thinking about weightloss surgery off and on over the last 2 years. I'm horrible about putting off minor decisions so it's no surprise that this one has taken so long. Initially, I considered RNY surgery (gastric bypass). I'm a horrible coward and am scared enough of this procedure, so I've decided against it. One of my best friends has a RNY about 4-5years ago. She lost an amazing amount of weight within the first year or so (She ended up getting down to around 180lbs, from 400+) but lately things aren't going to well. She's back up to 300+lbs. :crying: I feel really sorry for her, she's even considering having the procedure re-done. On the flip side another friend had Lapband surgery a little less then 4 years ago and is doing great (she has put on some weight, but she drinks a TON of milkshakes...). She is supposed to be scheduling a fill in the next few weeks to help her lose some excess weight (I think around 30lbs left for her) and I'm excited to see how that works out for her. I attended the seminar in November, and was not too impressed. I actually made up my mind NOT to have WLS after attending. There seemed to be a lot of hidden charges (equalling 1300 PRE-surgery). The doctor's office I was looking in to actually required you even purchase your protien powder from them!!! It was insane. My insurance (Aetna) requires a 90 day supervised diet plan before the approval process can begin (mine started 3/7/08). The former doctor's office did not file these appointments with insurance and required I pay the entire amount of pre-surgery visits out of pocker (including the psy exam). I felt that something was really wrong with the whole system. So, about mid-February I started looking around for other doctor's and found one in Oklahoma City (I live in Norman, about 17miles south). It's a surgery group that does all types of bariatric surgeries. I was very excited to find out that my insurance covers all of the above!!!! Now, I feel that I'm really one my way down a path that will actually lead somewhere! :thumbup: I had my first appointment with the dietician on March 7th. She really didn't tell me much I didn't already know (I DO know what I'm SUPPOSED to eat), but I was glad I met with her. She did stress the importance of at least improving some habits (no sugar, bread etc) pre-surgery. After my appointment I stopped at McDonald's and had a bigmac meal super-sized (real smart huh?). BUT I've finally decided to try and improve some eating habits before I see her again on April 18th. It's tough...I love bread, I love potatoes and I love sugar...obviously. I bought some Lean Cuisines, some yogurt, fruits/veggies at the store Saturday night. I'm snacking a lot but at least it's on decent stuff (beef jerky, carrots etc) so I guess it could be a lot worse. I'm just so damn hungry!!! Tomorrow I have a sleep test to attend (not really looking foward to that) but I realize I need to be tested for sleep apnea especially before I am booked for surgery. Might as well get going now so I'm good and prepared when the time comes. If I need a CPAP machine, I'd rather spend the next few months getting used to it instead of finding out at the last minute sleep apnea is going to be an issue for me. I'm kind of scared of all the test I'll need to have done before surgery (especially the chest xray) I smoke (trying to quit, ugh) so I'm a little worried. I just don't want anything to come between me and my surgery!!! Ok, well I'm off for now...thanks for listening to my ramblings. I'll post tomorrow before I head off for the sleep study!!! :smile:

Looks like my approval won't be done until the end of June. More then likely my surgery will be scheduled for July sometime. (I have to do a 90day supervised diet, I started March 7th).

Kat, you are an inspriation!! WOW! My reasoning behind choosing the Lapband is I completely trust my PCP and Lapband is the ONLY WLS she recommends (she's totally against RNY/bypass). I have a friend that had gastric bypass 4 years ago, she went from 425 to 180 and she now weighs over 300. I'm not willing to go through all of that to re-gain most of my weight 3 years later. She now has the same health risks she had when she had her surgery... Safer, slower weightloss with long term effects. Sign me up!

Words I need to start living by!!! :mad2:

I'm certainly no expert, but I have two friends of mine that each has WLS. One had the RNY (bypass) and the other had the lapband. Both are 4 years out. My RNY friend had a starting weight of around 450lbs. She got down to 180lbs very quickly, and is now 300lbs. :mad2: My Lapband friend had a starting weight of 325lbs and is now 190lbs (and has maintained that weight for sometime....she hasn't had a fill in ages and enjoys milkshakes a little too much, lol). I don't know about you, but coupled with the fact that Lapband surgery is MUCH safer and the recovery time is MUCH shorter, it was a no-brainer for me to choose Lapband. I'm not saying RNY doesn't work for a lot of people, but the possibilty of it not working for me was not worth the risk. Also, when I went to my seminar back in Nov 07, there were like 6 people there wanting to re-do RNY's. I think maybe it might be too easy to stretch your stomach back out???? Which, in my opinion would suck, especially after going through a massive surgery like that. I wish you the best of luck, I don't think you're going to have any problem taking off the weight! You sound very determined, and with the support here for you...there's noway you can fail! :cool: Best Wishes

Hello Everyone :mad2: My name is Michele and I live in Norman, Oklahoma. I've been overweight most of my adult life, and yo-yo dieting has been my reason for living! I think I've started a "Monday" diet every week for the last 15yrs. I'm currently going through my 90 day supervised diet in order to be approved by Aetna. I'm working on changing some old, nasty eating habits that have been my drug of choice for a very long time. I'm hoping to lose about 40lbs before I have my surgery, but we shall see! At my current weight exercise is very difficult. I have a great boyfriend, and a fantastic supportive mother (that too has struggled with weight). My main motivation for having Lapband surgery is I want to be healthy!!! I'm tired of taking BP meds and feeling/looking 15yrs older then I am. I would also like to have a child in a few years (yeah, I know I better hurry!LOL) and I know my weight is keeping my from being able to do this.

Whew I'm glad I found this section.....my current BMI is 53.2 I have a total of 180lbs to lose. I have to admit I'm pretty scared!! That seems like an overwhelming about of weight to take off. I'm 34 years old with high BP and pretty severe sleep apnea, I also suffer from hypoglycemia which has made weightloss pretty darn tough. I'm scared of being this heavy, tho I've fought weight my whole life this is the biggest I've ever been. I'm currently working on my 90 day supervised diet plan, and hoping that Aetna is fast in approving my Lapband surgery after I'm done. I'm trying hard to lose some weight as my nutrionist told me, even to get down to 300lbs will make my surgery a lot easier. I look forward to getting to know my BMI 50+ brothers and sisters, we really do have struggles in our lives that I think only someone that's been in our shoes can understand.

I'm pretty new here myself, so welcome from another newbie!! There is a TON of fantastic information on these boards. You're very lucky to be scheduled so quickly!! I have a 90 day supervised eating plan I must go through before being approved by insurance. Are you using insurance or private pay? Just curious, cuz if it's insurance pay...your insurance ROCKS!!!

The sad thing is, this doctor is very respected in my community. I was sad to find out that his offices require this kind of out of pocket expense when it's not nessecary. In addition, the man seemed very sincere about helping folk's lose weight, that's why I was so SHOCKED when his officer worker got up and started "selling" psy visits and protien powder!! Just weird... Anyway, so far so good with my doc of choice. I can't wait to get these 90 days over and get my surgery date!! WOOHOO!!!

I don't have a date yet, it's required that I do 90 days supervised eating plan. Once that's done it generally takes Aetna 2wks - 30 days to finish approval. Seems like a long journey, but I know it will be well worth it. Thanks all for the kind words :biggrin2:

Wow, you've been through a lot!! You're courage is an inspiration to me. I wish you nothing but the best, you will be in my prayers. Keep fighting the good fight!! You can beat this!

I had my first dietician appointment on March 7th, for some reason I didn't take the whole thing seriously. I left the appointment, stopped and McD's and ordered a super-sized Meal with a coke. For some reason, yesterday I started reading the forum...I mean REALLY reading it. If I want to change my life forever and lose this weight that has plagued me for all of my adult life, WHY WOULD I WASTE THIS OPPORTUNITY??? You folks helped me realize this, I'm taking this 90 diet thing seriously. I stopped at Wal-mart and filled my cart with fresh veggies, fruits, lean meats and lean cuisines. I'm eating healthy today and I feel amazing...it's not about the weight I will lose pre-surgery it's about developing new habits for the future (and the rest of my life). Thank you everyone that has posted your struggles with weightloss, you guys gave me courage to face something I've been afraid of for many years. I can't wait to be banded, but until then I'm going to work on the habits that got me to this point. :thumbup::wink::thumbup:

Back in Nov. I attended a WLS seminar in Norman, OK. My original goal was to have my band done by Dr. Ronnie Keith. He is one of the top bariatric surgeons in my state. Needless to say I was VERY excited to attend the meeting. How disappointed I was once I arrived. Dr. Keith gave a wonderful presentation discussing in great detail the entire procedure, from what to expect to the unexpected. Too bad after he was done one of his staff got up in front of the group and started discussing what it was going to cost us.... They require purchasing protien powder from their office, they don't turn in the psy exam to insurance nor do they turn in the dietician visits (my insurance requires 90 day supervised). Total cost out of pocket - $1300 (this doesn't include regular co-pays for the surgery itself!!). I was flabbergasted, and very, very upset. So, I started looking around (this site included) and talking to a few folks that had the procedure done in my state. This is not the norm, I don't have to buy anything, and my insurance will cover pre-surgery expenses (ie. psy exam). So, I made an appointment with Dr. Holsaeter at St. Anthony hopsital. Guess what?? EVERYTHING is billed to my insurance and come to find out they will pay for everything including the psy exam with a low $20 co-pay!!! I'm very confused...why would a weightloss center try and take advantage of folks alread desperate for answers?? Sure, I could've paid the $1300 but why?? I'm getting excellent help and paying a fraction of that.... Honestly, I'm a bit insulted by Oklahoma Weightloss Center's "sales pitch".

My name is Michele I'm from Norman, Oklahoma. I just started my lapband journey. I'm currently waiting on my 2nd appointment with the dietician. My insurance company (Aetna) requires that I go through 3 months of supervised diet in order to qualify for the surgery. Obviously, I would've rather been able to schedule my surgery immediatly and I'm fairly disappointed that I need to waste time/money going to a dietician when I've tried every diet in the book. Frankly, I wouldn't be considering surgery had I not given every option an opportunity to work for me. I have a lot of weight to lose (roughly 170lbs.). I chose the Lapband system because the surgery risks are so low (compared to RNY). I'm looking forward to getting to know you all. :biggrin2:

My 3 month supervised diet plan starts on March 7th. I'm glad I don't have to do the 6 month plan but I still feel kinda sad that I'm having to jump through hoops for Aetna. The plan I'm on (through my husband's job) covers most of the surgery but it's still pretty depressing that a person with 52 BMI has to go through all this to get some help.

Hello Everyone, I'm so glad I found this site!!! I just started my LabBand journey. After many months of research and soul-searching, I've decided this is the best option for me. I'm from Oklahoma, 34 yrs old and I've fought weight all my life. Over the last 2 years I've seem to spin out of control and am now the heaviest I've ever been. I've tried everything to lose weight, but nothing seems to help. I'm hoping LapBand is the tool I need to get me on the right-track. I'm starting my nutrionist supervised diet plan on Friday March 7th (as required by my insurance company). I have to stay on this plan for 90 days before I will be approved for the proceedure. I'm very excited to be here. :w00t: