hopelives124

Thanks to all of you who responded to my fears which are rationale and irrational. I am going forward and planning to do the lap-band after all because bottom line I must say, I know that I have really tried on my own and it just has not worked. We all know that if we could have done it on our own we would have. There is always that hope, but it just is not the case anymore. I regret that I have spent so many years of my life muddled in the prison of obesity. There have been brief respites on the losing of 60 or 70 pounds for a time, going down to a "normal" weight and then just to have the crushing disappointment and mind-blowing self-esteem suppresent of gaining it all back and then some I am done with that. I am glad the community is here to share with. Thanks to all of u ffor being their.:thumbs_down:

Hi Erika, First, Congrats on your graduation from Culinary Arts school. Sounds wonderful. You must call United Healthcare again, get the name of the person you are speaking to and find out what is going on, because I have united and they are going to cover it. Initially when I called them, they indicated that they did not have the name of the program that I was using, when I gave them a doctors name, suddenly, they covered him. They have all levels of skill and expertiese shall I say. You don't have to write and appeal letter I believe until you are officially turned down. So get back on the phone with them and get a supervisor to help you if you are not clear. I have a friend with the same insurance I have at work,and he had the lap-band a year ago, and it was DEFINATELY covered by united. ( he also lost 150 pounds) In term of children, I must say... a few things. I have three, and concieved every one at the weight of 200 pounds and above. Of course it is healthier to be thinner, and that will aid in helping to prevent gestational diabetes (which I never had), but overweight and even obese women do have children. My last two were born in my earlier 40's...that being said, you must do what you think is best for your health. I have spent many years overweight and then obese ( I am now 260 pounds, 47 years old and have decided that I need assistance in doing this.) I would say that due to the overweight and obese problems, I have allowed myself to physically and mentally miss out on alot. I would hope that maybe with the tool of the lap-band that may not happen to you, one that is still so young and new in your journey. So, the best of luck to you Erika, let me know how you are doing. all the best. Rosie :thumbup:in NYC

:biggrin::embaressed_smile::embaressed_smile:I would really like to have some feedback on long term consequences of the band. I am scheduled to be banded on 8/26/08 and commited to making alot of life-style changes, etc...I read about those individuals who had to have the band removed because of erosion, slippage and other issues. How does everyone feel about this? Further, I am concerned about the long term consequences of the band, like can you have permanent scarring and other problems in your stomach. I spoke to my surgeon yesterday, and although she is great, we did not really get into any long term problem/ discussion with it. I started thsi process at the end of May and was pretty clear then and still feel clear about doing this, just wondering what the rest of the lap band community feels. Thanks!

My date is Aug 26th as well at NYU in NYC. I am getting a little nervous reading about others who have had it out and long term consequences of the lap band. I still think it is a great option and am excited.

awessssssssssome congratulations, I am hoping to get banded by the end of the summer, I am inspired want to loose 130 pounds

I have to agree with MacMadame on the issue of how incredibly stupid our healthcare system is to make people wait till they get sick of get to a certain BMI for weight loss surgery to be approved. Further, there is such an incredible predjudice against us for being fat. If only, we had made better life-style choices, if only we were no so addicted to food. Well, I have been struggling on my own for soooooooo long that this is the first thing that has ever come along that I feel takes obesity seriously and treats it as a medical condition which it is as opposed to some kind of laziness/character flaw. So, of course, someone with a lower BMI should do all they can without an intervention, but through the years, my BMI has steadily risen, and it hasn't been until recently (past few years) that it has consistently been over 40....but it was on it's way up for all of those years that I thought I could control it. Finally, I realize I am not just some undisciplined lazy person who can't get it together as most people who have never had a weight problem may feel. But, I am someone with a real medical condition (eating disorder/obesity) that needs to be treated seriously. So there it is.

I am deathly afraid of sabotaging myself with ice cream once i do the band, do you find yourself wanting the ice cream and how has frozen yogurt been instead. I think it is fine if you eat it slowly enough by the way.

Sounds completely normal. I too keep saying to myself just one more diet, if only. I keep thinking that the will-power is lacking but so many of us have alot of will power. I too am having my doubts, by surgical consult is for 7/7/08 and I did my health assessment with my primary and the psychological. It is scary to have surgery, but we know that all else just did not work. The best of luck to you:thumbup:

I too am very worried about ice cream since it is my most problematic food. I do not want to go through this whole thing just to keep struggling with something. How does the band work with ice cream? I am definately willing to work a program and keep up with everything, but how easy is it to eat ice cream once you are banded? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!

it think we have all been their. being ridiculed because of overweight is such a common practice that no one even thinks twice about it unless you are fat of course! You will get their, and these teens may some day be enlightened otherwise they will remain forever empty shells and their is no lap band for that. We are (fat people) exceptionally sensitive, loving and responsible, shame on others for treating us that way, but most of all shame on us for putting up with it. Keep the faith girl...I know that you can do it, thanks for sharing your brave story. I will be lap-banded hopefully soon by the end of the summer!

I am new to the whole lap-band process. I just scheduled my surgical consult and just had my pychological yesterday. I am so looking forward to no longer doing this totally by myself. I want to lose 130 pounds but would be estatic with 100 ( I weigh 260 and am 5'4"). I would like to know specifically what others experiences are with ice cream and other sweets, because in addition to overeating that is what I struggle with the most. I was told that ice cream can be eaten slowly, but I was hoping that was not the case. How do people cope and not sabotage all the hard worK? Anyway, if the insurance company is not a royal pain, I may get a date by the end of the summer which would be great. I hope to hear back soon about the process. My surgery will be at NYU with Dr. Kurian. Please give me feedback on the ice cream and other issues for those further along! thanks!!!!!!