cammilla

HI- I haven't had my procedure yet, but I live in Jarrettsville, and could use someone local to talk to, too. I'm going to hdg, and so far, so good. hope to hear from you- Cammilla

Hi Lisa! Wow...next week, huh? You'll do just great; attitude is 90%. If you want it to happen, then it will. But I'll be thinking positive thoughts, and saying prayers for your success. Will you be in Denver very long? And where do you spend your recovery time? Do you have friends or family nearby? Are you taking your computer? I'll be sure to keep in touch. Yea, I can hardly wait for the head doc to get ahold of me. If I don't wind up in the looney bin, then I'll be set to go. But just this once, maybe I'll keep the sarcastic retorts and give-a-sh*t attitude to myself! So the gastro stuff wasn't too bad? That's the part that concerns me most. Well, that and the needle used for the fills! I'm not sure if eating around the band scares me, but clogging it definately does. In fact, it terrifies me. I'll probably puree everything for the next year!! I hate to tell you this, but my insurance is covering it all, including any possible plastic surgery later on. In fact, they're just thrilled at not having to spend all that money on my current meds. I have a three to six month wait, but that is not an insurance requirement. It's mine. I may wait until the last week in December. I agree with you about the Adkins diet. It's the only one that has ever worked on me. So I'll humor the cute little nutritionist, and lose the pre-op weight as requested. But as for my daily food, I have a book that I bought online (Barnes & Noble) written by a women who has had the lapband procedure done and couldn't stand the diet she was given. So she successfully reworked the whole thing and made recipes that actually taste good. It's a book called: Eating Well after Weight Loss Surgery by Pat Levine. It runs about $14.00. Anyway, let me know how you're doing; I'll cross everything I can, and keep positive thoughts running through my head. You'll be great!!! Barbara

Hi! I'm not a West Virginian yet, but hope to be in two years or less. I currently live in northeast Maryland, and will be moving to the Keyser area (near Cumberland, md). So my first question is...why do you have to go all the way to Colorado for your surgery? If that sounds nosy, I don't mean to be. It just seems a long way to go for this procedure. Although, come to think of it...Mexico is a lot further, and many of the banders have gone there. I have had my initial consultation, and now start the neverending tests...you'd think I needed a heart transplant. So far, I'm pleased enough with the doctor and his staff...although the dietitian and I will have a few serious discussions, I'm sure. I will certainly compromise on the quantity of the food I'm eating (like I have a choice), but not on the quality. If it doesn't taste good, I'm not going to eat it. If I have to chose between no-fat sour cream (her idea) and none at all, then my choice will be none at all. That other stuff is just vile. Well, enough of that. I wish you the best of luck. You're further down the road than I am, and any advice you can give me would be welcome. My fingers are crossed for your success! Hope to hear from you soon- Cammilla

Hi! When I was diagnosed with PCOS in 1982, the only medication available was Spironolactone. My doctor told me that it was the recommended medication to lower the androgen levels that cause the excess hair. It also acted like a diaretic. I've taken it almost exclusively since then, and my facial hair is controlled. I take 200 mg daily. My doc told me a funny story about the medication, tho. He said it was originally formulated for men with high blood pressure. About a year after it was released, it was "redesigned", due to unforseen complications. It seems that men who were bald were regrowing hair (the good news) but they were also growing breasts!!! I haven't benefited from the boob explosion, tho! I use Vaniqua on my face and neck, and it does a good job. I wish I had a magic formula you could try, but I don't. Hope this helps... Cammilla

Hi everyone! I am at the very beginning of the lapband journey. I'm so happy to have found this site, and especially others with pcos. I was diagnosed with Stein-Leventhal syndrome in 1981. While my doctor could tell me basic information about the syndrome, he could provide little else, since little else was known about how to treat the symptoms. The only medication available was Spironolactone, which I still take. I was diagnosed four years after our son was born. We have a daughter who is five years older, and inbetween her birth and his, I had three miscarriages. I wasn't diagnosed until I began gaining weight and was unable to lose the weight. I had never been overweight, so this was more than a little shocking. Over the next ten years, my condition worsened, and I had an emergency hysterectomy-ovaries, and hot appendix, too. It was done because I was bleeding to death. Afterward it was determined that my uterus was filled with precancerous polyps, all of which were bleeding profusedly. And here's where the fun begins..... The surgery was performed by my gyn, who told me that the good news was that since I no longer had ovaries, then I no longer had pcos. And I believed her. No more spironolactone, no more periods, what luck! About nine months later, I almost stroked out. All my bloodwork was just like it had been before the surgery. My blood pressure was out of sight, and my new doctor was so concerned that he referred me to an endo. at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. She gave me a great education, and got my meds restored, and did everything she knew how to do. The only thing that couldn't be controlled was my weight. I felt like there had to be an evil twin inside me that ate copious amounts of junk when I was asleep, since I subsisted on 1000 calories a day. And I still gained weight. So I added more exercise. And my muscles gained weight. I also made the decision to quit smoking, and I did, cold turkey. And then even more weight happened. Now I'm more than 100 pounds overweight, have type 2 diabetes, and need to get this whole situation under control. I'm so very tired of all these darned pills!!! I'm also really tired of people assuming all the wrong things about me. And yet, I'm one of the lucky pcosers...I never had a problem with acne, the hair growth is under control (vaniqua is really effective) and the spironolactone keeps the hair loss under control. But this darned stomach has to go! And the fanny, and the fat fingers that no longer fit my really pretty rings. But the good news is that I'll never get uterine, fallopian, or cervical cancer. So that's my story. My first appointment is in three weeks. I can't wait! Thanks for listening...it's good to vent to someone who actually knows what you're going through. Cammilla

Hi! I'm brand new to this site, this is my first night, and my first post. I am going to have the lapband procedure soon, and have my big interview day with all the doctor's helpers in three weeks. I also have pcos. I was diagnosed when I was 31, when our son was 6. While the diagnosis explained alot, no one knew enough about it to tell me what to expect medically. A lot of very serious mistakes were made with my health, simply because the doctors knew less than I did about my condition. Fortunately, things have gotten a lot better in the last ten or so years, but the damage to my system was done. When I went to the first info seminar, I almost fainted when the doctor listed pcos as a cause for obesity. At any rate, I'm committed to this procedure now, and am determined to have a successful experience. I live in northeast maryland. What part of Pa do you live in? If this procedure does nothing more than eliminate my type 2 diabetes, I'll be grateful. But more so if the 100 pounds I've put on go away. I'm sorry I can't help you with any postsurgical situations, but I'm a good listener. If I can help, let me know.