Calif_Princess

Thanks guys for all the info. I got to talk to my primary Dr. Friday (5/16/08) so we'll see what he says.....hehehe I'm excited!

Thanks Julie!!

Ohhh Thank you! I'll check to see if he's in my "net work" what ever the heck that is......health insurance....arg........

Thank you all for your replies. I guess I'll find out who my insurance sends me too after I see my primary on the 16th. I thought I'd get to choose which Dr. I wanted...but, duh, I have an HMO....no choice..... :tt1:( I'm in Riverside Co, so I guess it'll have to be a specialist in my "net work" so he/she will probably be here in Riverside Co. But who knows?? hehe

Thank you Telecia! I'm sooo excited about going to college! I've wanted to go for 21 years, but hubby and I got married and had our kids very young (started at 18) so college was out. I'm so blessed because the State of California is paying for my education...I'm SO happy about that. I have learning disabilities and my short term memory loss has also been a HUGE issue for me for the last several years, but I'm just going for it. I've raised my 3 kids (home schooled 2 of them) and my last is graduating high school this year (a year early) so the heck with it! I'm gonna do it and just get tutoring if I need it! :tt1:)

Thank you everyone for your answers. I can't wait until my dr.'s appt on the 16th. I know he'll just probably send me to a specialist, but at lest I'll be that much closer. :tt1:)

VERY good point. I'm such a baby that I'd probably die from going into a diabetic coma because I wouldn't prick my finger all the time... :tt1:( I didn't know you had to go in for fills only until you hit the right point, but, duh, I guess that makes sense.....lol </insert>

Oh wow, what's PB/slime???? :tt1:

Thank you Telecia~ ) My insurance company will approve with in 24 hrs after the Dr. say's it's okay. I hope this process will go quickly. I start college in the fall...am already nervous about that since I'm 40! lol Melissa 5'8" 271lbs goal 130

Has anyone hear of someone who has gained their weight back with the band? It would seem very hard, I mean if you go for your fills. Do you have to go for your fills for the rest of your life, or does it finally get filled enough to last forever? I am a HUGE baby, do the fills hurt???? Thanks again everyone!! Melissa 5'8" 271lbs goal 130

Thanks for the experience!!! I am a HUGE chicken, and that makes me feel better. I'm not scared of being naked or my boobs, just PAIN...lol what does that say about me? hehehe Where is the fill port and is it visible?? Does it interfere with the band of your bra? Melissa 5'8", 271lbs goal: 130

I've had chronic and horrible constipation since birth....that's right...even on breast milk! It ruined my childhood and continued to plague me through my adult years until finally a few years ago I got a blockage. Since I was only 38 none of the drs took me seriously and just kept giving me more powerful laxatives that did not work. The result, I quit eating solid food for 4 months and lost almost 50 pounds. Finally I found a dr. that put me in the ER right way and got a surgeon to remove the blockage. Another dr, whom I highly respect, suggested that I take 4 TABLESPOONS of psyllium husks mixed into to either apple sauce or orange juice every, single day...along with plenty of Water (drink at least 1 1/2 liters a day). I have done this and it has changed my life. I no longer get constipated. If you do this everyday I guarantee your problem will be no more! Melissa

Oh My Gosh Amy, those photos are amazing! Did you have to work out a lot or is that just from your tummy tuck??? How much scaring did you have? I am planing on having all the procedures you had. Did they do it all at once and what was the recovery time? Melissa

Thanks guys for your answers. The slow weight loss for me is a draw back, I'm impatient, a HUGE downfall for me lol. I guess I'm most worried that it won't work. I've heard everyone talk about restriction (I think I have the word right...I also have a bad memory lol) and hoping that they will get it with their next fill. I've also read here about those who didn't get that all important restriction.... For me the lapband seem the easiest and has the lest recovery time, which is VERY attractive to me since I'm a baby. ) But again, I'm already 40 and don't want to be 45 and still have half my weight to lose. I need to lose about 120 -130 pounds..... Molly, you mentioned that some people who have the gastric bypass have gained the weight back?!?!?! Is that possible. Now that would be so horrible if you went through all the pain and side effects only to gain the weight back....does your stomach just stretch out again? Also, floppy skin.........because the lapband folk lose the weight slower, does that mean less stretched out skin? Or is it just the same? I have VERY UNelastic skin. When I was pregnant with my first child at 17 I got horrible strech marks. I had no idea what they were ( my mom never got them when she was pregnant) and I thought I was dieing..... Soooo I'm worried that I will have so much extra skin that I'll look like Jabba the Hutt.... ( Thanks everyone for helping me with these questions. I want to be prepared when I see my dr on the 16th.

Oh wow, congrats on your weight loss Molly! You're doing SOOO good! )

Hi all, I was just wondering why everyone chose Lap-Band surgery over other weight loss surgeries (like stomach stapling etc...)? Melissa

Thanks for sharing your experience and giving me your encouragement!! :frown:) I don't know what I'll do if my dr tells me to eat less and move more........arg! There's only one dr in the office at my place. I'll have to change primary dr.s and that takes a month. ( I'm nervous about seeing the dr., wondering what he'll say. I've got 2 weeks until my appointment.....

Thanks guys! :party:) Melissa

Thank you so much April!!! I feel so much better now. :party:) I'm more the pear shape so hopefully I won't have to go through that diet thing...I mean, c'mon, I went on my first diet at 12 and I'm 40 now............... Thanks for the info and good luck with your surgery! :party:) Melissa So Calif

Hummm I don't have any documentation of all my diets with my dr. I wonder how that will affect the speed in which I can have the surgery.....well at 270 pound and 58%BMI I should hope it wouldn't take too long..........

Thanks JEM! I called his office yesterday and they said because I have an HMO and they are out of network that I couldn't use my insurance. :thumbup:( I called my insurance and they DO cover the surgery (Yay!) but I Have to find a dr. in our network....sooo off to my primary dr. on the 16th to get a referral.........I have a feeling this is going to take a long time. Melissa

Thanks, I think I'll need it! :cool2:) Melissa

Thanks! I'm trying to picture all of this....I'm glad I won't have a valve steam sticking out of me lol I called to put my name on this list for a seminar that Dr. Oliak is having here in So. Calif but was told the since I have a HMO my insurance will not cover that Dr. since it's out of network. I was SO crushed. Well I called Health Net and asked if the surgery is covered and they said yes and my first step is making an appointment with my primary care Dr. So I did that and I go into see him on the 16th.........we'll see what he says. :cool2:) Melissa

That's GREAT news. I was so worried that Health Net would laugh at me. What constitutes documentation of diets? I'm 270 pound with my BMI at about 58% and I've been fat all my life. I have tried a million diets over the years (as have we all) but I didn't go to my dr. every time I started a new one. In fact, we moved and this dr. is sort of new....we've only had him for a few years now. I'm worried and I haven't even gone to the seminar yet....lol Melissa

Oh I hate red tape. I wish I wouldn't take so long. I guess the waiting is the worse part. :smile:( So does something stick out of the incisions? I don't have a clue what this will look like when it's done. How is the band "filled"? I keep thinking something is going to be sticking out of me like the air stem on a tire...lol Also, is there much scarring left? Melissa