PSJ71

I have been meaning to ask this and then I forget! But, I have a 6-1/2-year-old son, which means if he gets sick....I get sick...And twice when he has gotten the stomch flu I have gotten it and I usually get it worse than anyone else. Once I had it so bad when I went to the ER I had purple splotches on my face and the veins in my eyeballs were busted. The ER doc looked at my husband and then at me and said, "who has been strangling you." I said, No one. I have been vomiting all night long and dry heaving. So, this is my MAJOR apprehension. I am terrified when I get banded I am going to end up with the stomach flu and end up with a slipped band, because I tell ya, when I get this stuff it's horrible!!!! Thank you

Hi Emilie, Thank you very much for that info. I will call them Monday and find out if they will do this. I have a feeling though, that they will probably tell me that I will have to use their doctors, but it's worth a shot and I will definitely see what I can get done. Thank you again for that information

I have been thinking about some things about my insurance and my doctor. I have not gone to my doctor visit yet, but I do know my insurance does cover this type of surgery, but I still have to have an H and P, psych eval and nutrition evaluation. But, what bothers me is I talked to my insurance to find out if they cover the psych eval and the nutrition eval and they said they did. However, I am going to have to pay 200.00 for the psych eval and 200 for the nutrition consult, because apparently the doctors in the surgeons office does not take the insurance? Also, I am going to have to pay for my doctors preop diet supplements and and the postop stuff they want their patients to have. I guess what I am trying to get at here is about how much out-of-pocket money was everyone out for their surgeries? I do know it is going to cost 150 dollars for the preop diet stuff and 200 for the postop diet stuff. I don't even mind paying for this, but I can't figure out if my insurance will pay for the psych eval and nutrition, then why are they sending people to doctors who they have to pay that much up front? Even the insurance lady told me 200 was sort of high for those. What do you guys think? I really want to have this done as soon as possible, but with all the extra stuff I don't know when it will be. I was supposed to have gone to the history and physical appointment yesterday, but had to cancel because I couldn't do the evals next week.

Hi All, I haven't been to the board in a couple of weeks because much has happened. On August 2nd my mom passed away and I'm still having a hard time with it. She has been ill for quite a while with COPD/Emphysema, but she was my best friend and I have no idea how I am going to get on without her. I am saddened because I wanted to have this done and to have lost a lot of weight before anything happened to her. I do have some good news I think, though. I am going in for my H&P consultation with the surgeon on the 22nd. I am supposed to go for the psych evaluation and the nutrition consultation on the 26th, but I don't know if I am going to be able to go to that one because I don't have the money up front to pay for that. I find myself getting the jitters here and there, but I know I have to do this to keep myself on track with any type of diet. I have also become a vegetarian and it's been 33 days since I have eaten any meat and don't miss it. I am worried I am not getting enough Protein though. Anyway, I'm sorry for rambling and I've missed you all. I'm just looking forward to getting everything done.

Hi! Yes, actually this is a normal process that happens when you do low carb and high Protein diets. When your body goes into ketosis this is released in the breath, thus the bad smell to the breath. This is good though! At least you know your body is burning the fat it needs. Having stinky breath is an unpleasant side effect though. You could try rinsing your mouth with Water frequently and see if keeping your mouth moist helps. Good luck to you!

Hi Angela, I do the very same thing. I have to wait about 2 weeks to find out if my insurance will approve me or not. We all get nervous about having to do something so drastic. Surgery is a very scary thing and then the thought of eating one way one day and then waking up the next and having to totally change everything. YES!!! It is very daunting. However, we all know, or at least I do, that I cannot do this alone anymore. Strangely, I have always been an advocate of diet and exercise getting you the results you want, because I lost a lot of weight in 2000 before getting pregnant and now I am over 100 pounds larger than I was then, BUT, if you have an addiction to food, such as I, then sometimes we need a little extra help. This IS okay. I think the hardest thing for me and what I am most anxious about is the fact that I will no longer be able to eat AND drink at the same time. I am the type of person who either has to have tea or Water when eating, and believe it or not this is what I am nervous about. :thumbup: I am so ready to make changes though and FINALLY be thin. I have NEVER been thin from the age of 6 up I have had a weight problem and was always told, "You are so pretty, imagine how you would look if you lost all your weight." And now, it's not even about being sexy or attractive anymore. It's knowing that after I do this, I will be around to see my 6-year-old grow up and know that he will never be ashamed of me for being the biggest mom or have to defend me if his friends say something about how big his mom is. And knowing that I will be healthy. lol sorry for getting off topic, but I guess I just wanted to say, you are perfectly normal for having these thoughts and for being nervous. Just remember there are so many that have had and will have this procedure and we are all here for one another. :crying: Good luck to you!

Congratulations on taking the plunge! I can't wait until I can get an actual surgery date. I am so ready to get this going. I think it's great you and your husband are doing this together. This will provide so much support for you both. Nothing like team work! My husband is very supportive. Keep us posted on how things go! :biggrin2:

Hi Mamacj, I went to my seminar on Wednesday, but it isn't for the doctor you asked about. I will be going with Dr. Ronnie Keith. I am just waiting to see if the insurance approves me and hopefully go from there! I just wanted to say hi! Good luck to you! :biggrin2:

Well, I went to the seminar today.:thumbup: I must say I am really excited to get this thing going. They said it will take about 2 weeks to hear something from the insurance, but there were a lot of people there, so I am sure it could take longer if they are checking with the insurance. They said the quickest would be about 4 weeks that is if everything is smooth sailing with the insurance and they approve. My only thing is some of it is going to be expensive. The psych eval will be 200.00, the dietician will be 200. I will have to buy THEIR supplements and Protein foods for the preop will be 150.00, for the postop part it will be 200.00. The 400 dollars for the psych eval and the dietician has to be paid on the day you meet with them. One good thing though, the fills will only be 87.00. I was expecting it to be much more expensive than that. I just hope I can come up with the out-of-pocket money. If not, then it will make everything slower. They have a diet class that is held on Thursdays and is 4 hours long. Anyway, I didn't mean to ramble, but I'm excited and please keep your fingers crossed I will be one of the lucky ones that will get to have it done in a month!

It's a diabetic medication.

Hi :scared2: I have been feverishly researching all of this since I deciding to get the Lap Band. Learning more from all of you each and every day. The more I read, the more I feel this is definitely the best possible thing for me. I do have to ask though, after surgery the band has nothing in it, correct? How long after surgery do they fill your band? Also, how is it decided what size of band the doctor will place? Thank you all, and Wednesday is the seminar. So, hopefully things will go quickly from there! :biggrin:

Hi Grama, Thank you for the info. When I called the surgeon's office they told me to go to the seminar, bring the packet with me, which was asking about my history, diet history, weight, weight loss attempts and doctor info. They told me after the seminar, they would contact me to schedule an appointment with the surgeon. I went to see my primary care physician on Friday and told her what I was planning and she just said if the lap band doc needed anything, then she would gladly comply. So, now I guess it all rests in what the surgeon wants. I hope it is soon though. I hope you get yours soon and good luck to you. :crying:

This is good! :wink2: I'm glad I won't have to wait forever. :smile: Thank you for responding! :scared2:

Hi again all. :thumbup: I was wondering once banded, how long do you have to wait until you can really start exercising? thank you

Thank you for your responses. I definite want to do this. The worst surgery pain I have ever had was when I had surgery as a kid on my hips a year apart from each other for a slipped capitellum of the femoral head. The muscle spasms were excrutiating!! My C-section wasn't so bad. I likened it to doing too many situps or crunches. Thank you again for making me feel much, much better.

Hi all, I have been reading some of the posts. I am soooo addicted to this site. I have really been looking forward to getting the lap band, but I have been seeing posts about chest pain after surgery? I'm scared of that. On a scale from 1 to 10, what are your scores for the after pains of surgery? I have had many surgeries and soreness, muscle spasms, I am no stranger to, but I don't know if I could handle chest or shoulder pain. I really want to have this done, but now I'm scared.

I started gaining weight at around the age of 6. So, I had an aunt who was only related by married, who EVERY TIME she would see me would say, "Paulette, you are such a pretty girl, but there is just too much of you." I remember how I felt at such a young age and I ALWAYS dreaded going back over there. In high school, there were these 3 jerks that were about a year older than me, and mind you, I really never had anyone make fun of me in school until this. But, this guy was in my home ec class and we were in the kitchen area and he told me to look out "big mamma" They also used to pass me in the hallway and say really loudly Jabba, jabba, jabba. Because they were tell me I looked like Jabba the Hut from Star wars. Man that hurt and it still does when I think back to that day. I finally had to go to the principle and tell him about it so they would leave me alone. They harrassed me most of the year.

Wow!! that IS awesome!!! Good for you!!! I hope I am as lucky. :confused: I still have a long way to go yet. I haven't even gone to the seminar yet. Soon though :thumbup:

Oh!! This is WONDERFUL news!! I am soooo glad to hear this. I was really apprehensive about it. Funny, the thing I remember the most about the surgeries is the darn anesthetic. Thank you so much for easing my mind!

I was wondering what type of anesthesia was used in the surgeries you all have had. Was it gas or IV? The reason I am asking is because I have had to under go many surgeries, as I was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate. I had other surgeries too, but I do remember a certain kind of IV anesthesia that was used and I could actually smell it and taste it when it went into my veins. It was soooo yucky. I was a little kid and STILL remember how it smelled/tasted. I just hope they won't use the same stuff. :frown: Also, how long did the procedure take? Thank you, Paulette

I don't know why I didn't think of this before, because it was actually humiliating. One day my husband, son and I were on our way in the car somewhere, and I dropped my cell phone in the floor and try as I might I could not bend down to get it. So.....I had my husband slam the break hard enough to get over my belly to get that cell phone. I was so embarrassed and humiliated. My husband didn't say anything and we actually laughed, but really inside I was so humiliated. And this is not the first time I have had to do this to pick something up.

Yes, this is true. Life HAS been passing me by. I just hate that it has taken me so long to really decide on this method. I told my husband that when I do this, I don't want ANY of his family knowing, except for maybe his mom. His mom and I get along great. I just want to do so many things with my son and not feel embarrassed or afraid I'm going to hear someone's snide comment that could potentially hurt his feelings if he heard it. I want to be able to take him to Sea World or even to ride rides somewhat and not have anxiety because I'm afraid the bar won't go across me. I think I have been a prisoner in my own body for at least 30 years!!! Well over half my life. I am so ready for this and can't wait to join the rest of you in this wonderful journey. :tongue_smilie: Since deciding on doing this almost a week ago, this site has become an addiction. lol

Hi all :tongue_smilie: I called my insurance again just to make sure I understood everything. At first, I thought I was going to have to make an appointment with my primary care physician to refer me to have the Lap band; however, luckily I called and they said all I would have to do basically to get an authorization is to have the surgeon call, which sounds divine to me. :tt1: So, I go to the seminar on the 23rd. I am guessing by what the receptioniost at the doctor's office said from there they will call the insurance. So, for those of you whose insurance worked like this, how long after the seminar did you find out if you had been approved? Thank you, Paulette

Dolly, you are so pretty though!!! Wow!! But, I know what you mean though. It's funny, because when I was about 100 pounds lighter and I still wasn't slim, I would see myself as being HUGE. Now that I AM HUGE, I don't see how large I truly am until I see a pic of myself. Worst of all is the fact that I have a 6-year-old and I have refused to have a family portrait made because I am so ashamed at how I look. :tongue_smilie: My little one looked at me the other day, we were watching some lap band videos on youtube, and he looked at me so sad and put his hand on my stomach and said, "Momma, I don't want you to get bigger." I promised him I wouldn't and I would love to have a sibling for him before I get too old, but I don't want to even attempt to try to carry a baby at 280. So, this is for real and I am looking forward to the seminar soon.

I haven't been banded yet, but this was a great discussion. I, too, will have a difficult time after being banded with my diet lime cokes, but I think this will definitely be a small price to pay to become healthy. I wish you well.