JamieNP

Well, I am figuring I won't ever be eating any of this crap ever again once I get my band. I just had my cholesterol check and it was good (shocking!!).

ML, how much over weight are you according to the metlife wt scale? What is your bmi?

You just need the clearance that you will be ok for surgery. I don't know what the EF requirements are for lap band, but with it being a laproscopic procedure, you may be ok. It will improve with weight loss. If you talk with him again, make sure you make it clear to him that you know this is not the easy way out. That it is a tool and you are trying to get healthier...you want the lapband so that you can exercise more to get healthier. You may want to do some research on weight loss and CHF and lapband and improved cardiac function and hand it to him. Doctors like to know that you are educated on the pros and cons of the surgery. Good luck!

I have 3 books that I just got from Amazon: Weight loss surgery for Dummies Laproscopic adjustable banding:Achieving permanent weight loss with minimally invasive surgery Exodus from obesity: The guide to long term success after weight loss surgery

Browneyes, I am in the same boat. My surgeon's visit is Monday. Since that time I have been eating everything in site to gain that extra weight to qualify (at first I started LOOSING weight!!!). I am now just at the low end of the chart. Weight-222 lbs (I will gain weight by Monday!!) Ht 5'5 Sleep Apnea -on cpap High Blood pressure Had PCOS- But I had a hysterectomy because of endometriosis Knee and joint pain Family history of Diabetes, Coronary artery Disease, Obesity, Myocardial Infarction (heart attack), Rheumatoid Arthritis My PCP has given me the referral, my Pulmonologist said he will write up anything I need, I have gone to numerous "diet doctors" so I have the diet history. While you are waiting to get the referral, type up your medical history, your family history, all of the meds you are on, all of the diet programs you have been on, your weight history, the work out programs you have been on, type and paste Tricare's requirements from the handbook, and type and paste the metlife weight chart. Put anything and everything in there that you may think is important. Hand it to your pcp when you go, and give a copy to your surgeon, and psy doc. They will be quite impressed that you are so organized . If you need a copy for an example, pm me. I will let you know Monday how it goes ( I have a different primary insurance that will have to deny it first before Tricare gets it so it may take a few days to find out) Good luck and just go for it.

I love my cpap! Yes, it took some getting use to. There have been a few times that I have fallen asleep without it and I felt like crap afterwards. The mask can be uncomfortable, but it is worth it to me to get a good night's sleep and not wake up 28 times a min (according to my sleep study) and snore so loud that I wake up the whole house!

Once again, I think Yaya's heart was in the right place and meant no harm to anyone. It is just a story that does not need to be going around the internet and needed some clarification. Just like the nice informative emails my dear little aunt sends me...the ones warning me about people spraying perfume in my face, the poisoning of pets with swifter wet jets, and elevators decapitating doctors (the last one is true according to snopes). Let's not start rumors here unless we know it to be true. I found NOTHING on the internet about the stolen pancreas. I would think it would be big news if just part of the "facts" were true.

Hi Nashvegas!!:thumbup: Your doctor can document if you are morbidly obese. Also as far as being Bipolar, your psy doc could write a referral for you saying that you are mentally stable enough for the surgery.

<-----------clapping I think the fact that Yaya was INSISTING that this was true upset many people here. Signed, "lost my brain in a Mexican Lapband surgeon's office....LapBrain"

Dr are you sure you are not missing an organ? I heard there is a black market for penis transplants in Mexico!

Yaya..it is ok. We are not making fun of you...we have fallen for these types of stories. It actually is a good post. It should make everyone wake up and check out these rumors before they believe them. It also should make everyone that is interested in surgery to investigate their doctor. There ARE quacks out there. I know Doctors that I wouldn't let operate on my dead dog. Perhaps there is a ring of truth to your story. Perhaps they came back without their gallbladder...and it turned into a pancreas after the story was told a couple of times.

Sorry, I am one of those that unless it is quoted by a scientific journal or I saw it with my own eyes, I don't believe it. Now, as an ER nurse and ICU nurse, I have seen some pretty wild things. But your friend's friend's friend's patient is...well, need I say more. Let's not try to scare people especially if we don't know that facts. What you are saying is not fact. Yes, everyone should look into the doctor/surgeon/facility that they chose. Whether it be over seas, in Mexico, or here in the states. There are back alley surgeries everywhere.

Woo hoo!! I hope I am the next tricare approval!!

How about getting her a gift certificate to that restaurant and take her out. You can make it for whatever you are willing to spend.

I have paid for this surgery 4 times over if you count all of the money I have spent on diets...remember the "cabbage soup diet" or the "mayo clinic" diet...yeah, I lost wt, but I gained back even more!!

Yes, I love those reactions. "Oh, why don't you work out with me; you don't have to do something so radical!" "I had it in 1984 and only lost 30 lbs...and had all of these complications...the worst thing I ever did"--the person had stomach stapling "You don't have that much to lose". "OMG if you are fat, then I must be be really fat". "Do you really know what you are getting into? People die from this" All of these people do not realize that I have been on every diet, taken every diet pill (prescription and over the counter). I am a member of the YMCA and Curves, and I have researched and read everything I can get my hands on (I am a nurse and I have read some of the bariatric surgery text books.) I have high blood pressure and sleep apnea. I am miserable, and it is all weight related. I wasn't going to say anything to anyone in the first place, but I was so excited. Oh well!

That's strange. about the fill thing...it is just costing them more in the long run! As far as the breast reduction/lift. I was approved for one a couple of years ago, but wanted to lose weight first. I have documented upper back issues. As far as the TT, if this is something you are wanting, take pictures of any skin conditions that you have because of the loose skin..any yeast infections, any redness, etc. Any time you have problems, go to the Doctor so that it is documented. Then, when you are ready, you can submit all of that.

Congrats!! I am hoping to be an All-star too!!:embaressed_smile:

That definitely is a HIPPA violation. When you start mentioning news papers, tv stations and lawsuits, I guarantee you will get someone to notice! If someone in their "mailroom" is doing this to you, imagine what they are doing for people needing breast reconstruction or has to send nude photos in for medical purposes. Someone in that company needs to be held accountable. Good luck to you!

You may not need one for an outpatient surgery unless you have lung issues. I think out of the 7 surgeries that I have had, I only used one after my hysterectomy...and I only used it a couple of times.

You will only use it a short time. When you start getting up and moving around, coughing and deep breathing, you will no longer need it. It opens up your "lung sacs" to keep them from getting "stuck together" andt will also help you avoid atlectasis (a collapsed or airless condition of the lung) and pneumonia.

they should give you one post op...all hospitals have them. Ask your pcm if he can get you one, or ask someone that works in a hospital.

As I begin this journey, I am doing a great deal of soul searching. In my 20's I was 120lbs. I can remember a boyfriend that I had (at the time he was a professional Baseball player). He said he could not date anyone that weighed over 140 lbs. I asked him if he would still love me if I lost an arm in a car accident? If I lost my sight? If I had a baby and gained weight? Needless to say, I dumped the conceited jerk. Over the years I gained weight. I was a waitress at a fabulous restaurant while in school. Then, studying all of the time, I snacked all of the time. After graduation and becoming a nurse, I found that I had to cram food in my mouth IF I had a lunch break. Many times after a 12 hour shift and no eating, I would stop at a fast food restaurant and eat a big juicy cheeseburger and a supersized coke. I worked long hours and the last thing I thought when I got home was working out. And I stressed over my husband being overseas. Then I had the hysterectomy...yikes, 25lbs in a year! ...and here it begins. to be continued.....

As I begin this journey, I am doing a great deal of soul searching. In my 20's I was 120lbs. I can remember a boyfriend that I had (at the time he was a professional Baseball player). He said he could not date anyone that weighed over 140 lbs. I asked him if he would still love me if I lost an arm in a car accident? If I lost my sight? If I had a baby and gained weight? Needless to say, I dumped the conceited jerk. Over the years I gained weight. I was a waitress at a fabulous restaurant while in school. Then, studying all of the time, I snacked all of the time. After graduation and becoming a nurse, I found that I had to cram food in my mouth IF I had a lunch break. Many times after a 12 hour shift and no eating, I would stop at a fast food restaurant and eat a big juicy cheeseburger and a supersized coke. I worked long hours and the last thing I thought when I got home was working out. And I stressed over my husband being overseas. Then I had the hysterectomy...yikes, 25lbs in a year! ...and here it begins. to be continued.....

My surgeon says that this is what insurances do to try to get out of doing surgery. Get records of any and all doctors that you have gone to over the years.Even if it was not wt related, there should be a history of your weight there. Now, make a list of ALL weight loss programs you have attempted, diet pills you have taken, wt loss books you have read, exercise programs you have done. Make a list of your weight history, health history, family health history (esp if there are cardiac issues, lung issues, diabetes...anything wt realated) If you can get a letter from any of your doctors, that would be great (ie. my pulmonologist wrote a letter to give to the surgeon) Then go to your PCM and give him a copy of the list. These are the hoops you have to jump through, unfortunately.