BethFromVA

If it helps any, I wish I was you -- down 70 pounds. :cool2:

Oh wow, thanks for filling me in y'all! :cool2: Yes, the seminar WAS informative. I got a bit... disgusted... with one woman who, when it was listed what some people may not be able to eat, exclaimed to her friend, "PASTA??" They were the first ones to leave when the seminar was over. Guess they were looking for that magic cure-all which allows us to keep doing what we are doing and lose tons of weight. :laugh: I have set up an appointment to begin the process next week. Well, actually I secured the date. This doctor is not in my network, though his father is. This doctor does these operations exclusively, so that is a plus, but I will talk to one of their office personnel who does the insurance to see what my out-of-pocket would be if I DO use him, not being in my network. Still have not told hubby what I'm contemplating. He's a bit perplexed that I am being so silent. I told him last night I needed to get all MY information together first before I started potentially dealing with HIS negativity and BS...

Hm, I have Anthem Blue Cross. I should find out tomorrow how mine will go. The doc at the seminar tonight thinks it's a 3-month pre-op thing.

I have to ask a dumb newbie question, but I haven't found the answer yet. What is PBing, and what is sliming. I have a guess as to sliming but I can't figure it all out for sure. :smile2: By the way, I went to my seminar tonight, and I have made an appointment with the doc for next Thursday. Still haven't told hubby yet tho. He just asked me a few minutes ago if I was going to tell him what my "meeting" was about (he knows it's health related), but I said not yet. I just don't need any potential negativity clouding my decision right now.

Halloween, look at it this way: How easy could it have been to GAIN 70 pounds in the last 8 months? Pretty easy, no? So don't look at it as you've only lost 70, you've REALLY lost 140.

Wow... I see y'all need some Troll Spray around here.

Thank you, kiz. That's how I feel as well. I'm not talking 20 irritating pounds here... we're talking nearly 20 years of bad health that WILL cash its check with me soon. I call myself a doctor's nightmare because I don't have a lot of the health issues I should... but I certainly don't want to tempt fate. I don't know what I feel: Fear? Guilt? That he'll try to dissuade me when I make my final decision? I've already run it through my head -- when I make a final decision on this, I will tell him that I am telling him about this because I love him and I need his support, not his acceptance or "permission". I feel horrible about myself and it has really changed me for the worse, and I don't like the person I see. I feel worthless and like a failure. I need help that I haven't been able to find within myself before now... so if that means I need help in the form of restriction, then I'm at a point where I can now admit that.

For me it's not so much the junk food. One would think it is, but it isn't. He goes to costco and buys the industrial sized Snacks and usually takes them to work, though some end up at the house. I rarely touch them. My issue is the portion control and eating healthy foods. When we go out to eat, I'm not choosing the chicken, we're going to a restaurant where we love the drunken ribeye... or we do Thai or Indian or Greek or Japanese (and though sushi isn't bad, it's the AMOUNT we do). So for me, it's certainly about portions (which is one of the biggest reasons I'm considering this surgery) and the choices when we eat meals. That, and being good about eating timely. I can drink coffee for Breakfast and then not eat a bite until 12:30 at work. I know that is not healthy. And I'm bad about my Water. I do well when I'm losing -- you couldn't find anybody more dedicated, until... something blows it. I give up. The portions get big again. I dunno... Sad thing is, he USED to be fat as a kid then got thin in college. I was always thin until my mid-20s.

I go for a seminar tonight to find out more. For once in my life I am truly considering doing something like this, and so far I like the sounds of this procedure. However, I have this husband... lol... I have gained 140 pounds since I've known him -- double my weight from when we met. I gained 100 of that within the first couple years. I have now been fat for nearly 20 years. My husband LOVES food, but he's not fat. He's maybe gained about 20 pounds since we met, but he's certainly not fat. He can eat massive amounts at one sitting. I, however, just look at food and blow up. Oftentimes he only eats one meal a day which SHOULD make him fat. I have tried dieting before, and he was as supportive as he could be in the beginning. Maybe 6 months or so into a diet, he'd really want to start going out to eat and having stuff that certainly was not on my diet. The problem was, I could do pretty well, but then his constant want of bad foods really got to me and my weakness. I'm certainly not blaming him, but his love of food and wanting me to eat with him would override what he knew I wanted. Does that make sense? Anyway, this type of procedure, should I do it, will really put a change in that relationship... with food, that is. We even have friends who would have us go out with them nearly every night of the week if they could, but it's easier to say no, we're busy, to them. Anybody else have this concern/issue? If so, how did it go or what ended up happening??

Wow... what insurance?? :thumbup: I hope mine's not like that!! I go for the seminar tomorrow. So far I haven't told anybody. I just told hubby I had a "heath-related thing" to go to and I would explain more once I heard more.

Personally I'd opt for lots of hubby lovin' to keep my mind off hunger. :biggrin::dita::tongue::tongue:

I am new to this forum and am seriously considering LBS. I will go to a seminar on Wednesday. Anyway, I have one HUGE desire once I become healthier. I WANT TO DANCE!! I watch all the dancing shows on TV andcatchballroom when I can (hubby watches with me), and I think this is something we would love to learn together. I WANT TO DANCE!!

Hi, Pidgekk, and nice to "meet" you. :cool2: I've spent hours now perusing this site. The search feature has been somewhat helpful as I'm sure all my questions have been answered here somewhere... I just hope there is some forgiveness by other members if I can't find them right away. lol I will go to the meeting on Wednesday, and I have set up a meeting with my primary care physician to get some info or any feedback I may need (if he can answer). It is also to start the process (if I like what I hear Wednesday) of getting things started -- deeming it medically necessary, etc. Whatever the very very beginning stages are. My insurance covers the procedure (though I'd like to get a better description of exactly what), and it covers skin removal surgery should it be needed later on. That is one topic I'm trying to find out about but haven't had much luck yet. I use the keywords in the search engine, but I get these humongous posts that are 10+ pages with the knowledge that just because those words are in the post somewhere doesn't mean it addresses what I'm curious about others' experience with excess skin. Anyway... at this stage I'm beyond vain. I used to have dreams of getting my 18-year-old hot bod back. Now I'm more focused on health and quality of life. No matter what, even if I was thin, I wouldn't have that body, and I have grown past that. I think that's a huge step (well, I think it is anyway! lol). Hope to talk to you more. I'm really enjoying the support and care that is shown around here.

All the more reason I feel, for me, the fewer people know I'm considering this, the better. :thumbup:

I am to the point that I am not looking for a quick fix, though I know this surgery CAN be a bit quicker than strict diet and exercise. I just want to be healthy. I will never get back the body I had in high school, and I am okay with that. I forgot to mention I have also lost my gall bladder due to my weight too... :thumbup: As for my mom, she ditched that doc and found another. She's a tough cookie and won't be told what to do. What also helped is a lady where she lives had the surgery this one doc suggested and was in a LOT of pain -- not just in her breasts, but in her back due to the invasive removal of muscle! And after all was said and done, she found the results "just okay." I love this site already, and I just joined last night. I was able to search the doc whose seminar I am going to go to, and so far he has gotten lots of kudos, as have his staff.

I'm so sorry if this has been answered before (and likely it has). I got to page 2 of this thread and noticed a lot of mention of a 6-month pre-op monitoring. Is that typical, or does that depend on insurance or doctor? I guess I'll find out when I go to my seminar on Wednesday, but don't want to have too many surprises when I go there, I guess...

I'm in Northern Virginia, Kiz. I was just in Richmond on Thursday-Friday for a teaching seminar. I hate when doctors have an agenda rather than listening to their patients. Of course a gastric bypass costs WAY more than LB does, so he has a vested interest in such a procedure. I'm glad you walked (ran?) away from that one! My mother is in the same boat in a way -- had breast cancer in her 40s, had a radical double mastectomy and two breast reconstructive surgeries which have both ruptured (first time was silicone, second time was saline). Now at age 66 she just wants them out. One doctor kept pushing for having ANOTHER reconstructive surgery -- one which would literally take muscle from her back to reconstruct her breasts! At this age she has become okay with the thought of no longer having breasts. We have to do what is right for us. I never really knew there was a difference, and for me, gastric bypass was a HUGE no because it was SO invasive and SO permanent. This procedure looks much "friendlier." I have just given up... I was thin until my mid-20s and then I ballooned, gaining about 100 pounds. I was fat for my wedding. I'm fatter now. I have asthma (likely due to my weight), I have been pre-diabetic for a while now (going in for another glucose tolerance test this week) and I have a large number of extended family members with diabetes, high cholesterol (usually in the mid- to high-200s), my joints hurt, I huff and puff, and... well, I just give up. :thumbup:

That's good to know, that they want you to attend the seminars anyway. It's not like the one doctor who appeals to me on paper is that much further away... maybe 17 miles or so. The other two are here in town, maybe a mile or two away. I can get to the further doctor using the toll road, so it's a pretty quick trip even though I'd have to go to him as often as it seems I will.

Sorry, I didn't clarify myself. The one I would like to talk to who also teaches the procedure also happens to be the one giving the seminar on Wednesday. I don't know if/when the doctors who are closer to me would have a seminar, but I am interested in talking to (and potentially using) this doctor -- or somebody like him -- who also teaches the procedure. That makes me feel a bit more comfortable about who I may potentially use. Anybody have thoughts on that?

Hello, all, I have bookmarked this site to peruse soon when I get more time. I have finally given up with dieting and wishing. Maybe it is time for me to consider help. I never wanted surgery before because all I really knew about was stomach stapling, and that was just too permanent and excessive for me to think about. I have been reading about the lap band surgery instead -- less invasive, reversible (if necessary), and slower, which I personally think is better than the drastic measure that stapling is about. I noticed that a doctor who caught my eye is doing a free information seminar on Wednesday, and I want to go hear more. He is actually a doctor who teaches the surgery, so even though he is farther away than some other doctors who do the surgery, I would probably prefer somebody who teaches over somebody who is simply close. I don't even know what to ask yet... I guess this is more of a hello, and those of you who are better informed about this, if there is any info you can offer up, I humbly ask for your advice. In the meantime, I will read when I can and learn more. For the record, I am 43, been overweight since my mid-20's, and my BMI is 43.5. I am 290 pounds at 5'7". I have asthma which I believe is weight induced, am pre-diabetic, and I have a history of cancer in my family which has me concerned beyond the other obvious ailments that go along with being this weight. :biggrin: Nice to meet everybody ahead of time. Beth