GayleTX

Hunny, if you don't have a family doctor or gynecologist, you need to find one....... for lots of reasons in the future,not just this one. How far are you from the next town? Do you have transportation to get there? I live in a rural area, and there are transportation vans that will take state insurance patients to wherever they need to go to see a doctor. You are very young but everyone needs a doctor that knows their name. It goes a long ways in getting an office to 'work you in' for such as this. Don't mean to be 'playing mama' and certainly don't mean to be condescending, hun....just the mama and old schoolteacher coming out in me. I want life to be easier for you!! Everybody needs a support system. Now is a good time for you to be building one.

A week later...... I stand corrected! I talked to my aunt in Borger today and she said that a doctor just started advertising on the Amarillo TV channels this week that they are doing bariatric surgery there. Don't know what kind or who but apparently someone has come in there. Good luck!

What a mess! I'm sorry that happened to you! Do hope you didn't have to pay for all that!!

A few years ago I had lost about 50 lbs but hadn't bought any new clothes. I was walking down the hall at school with high school students on every side of me and all of a sudden I felt it.....my drawers slid right now to the floor!! I kicked them in an office door and just kept on walking! And then I went shopping!!

My cardiologist was the first one to mention wls to me......guess he was tired of trying to keep me alive. My PCP wouldn't write me a letter, thought I needed to try WW......been there, done that and few hundred other things, too. Cardiologist wrote me the letter. We moved right after that, got a new PCP, told (not asked) him what I was going to do.....he wouldn't even discuss it. Figured out later he wouldn't talk about it because he didn't know anything!! So I proceeded on my own, and kept bringing him brochures, info for the next few months. He has gradually worked up enthusiasm for the process and he and his nurse are always eager to see my blood work and weight and are now being very supportive.

No deadener but I didn't feel a thing, didn't even know when he did it. (I don't look at things like that so I don't know what he even used). He did it with me standing up.

Hey, Kim! That looks like a skinny-girl collarbone to me. Do you think Dr. Benavides would implant one in me? I don't think I can grow my own!

You have a wonderful way with words!! I've lost 45 lb and nobody seems to have noticed. I warned my family in advance this was a slow process and they haven't expected much. Please don't let other people control your feelings. They are yours!!

OMG!! First time I've read this thread.....you people are amazing!! Today I did a pretty impressive thing myself........I walked - I walked into the fitness center for the first time!!! I had sat in the parking lot and cried several times, but today - I made it through the door. And I wrote a check. And I bared my soul to the trainer. And I walked 10 whole minutes on the tread mill. Ta-da!!! (then i came home and slept 2 hrs, but things will get better)

Sounds like your sugar may be falling low. Are you diabetic? On diabetic meds? Even if you're not, your sugar level may bounce up and down. Have you got a way to check it?

Ditto.....sounds like you are perfectly normal. Are you using protein supps? They will help you combat the hunger.....make them nice and thick with ice and maybe a little fruit and nonfat coolwhip.....it'll help fill you up and keep you feeling energetic.

Not band related, but.........Never be afraid of having a colonoscopy. Be afraid of never having one!! It can save your life. Colon cancer is the most easily prevented cancer there is, and a colonoscopy is a simple, painless non-event test. Don't fear it!!

Leatha, I'm so glad you felt good about your visit this morning. It's so important to have trust in your physician. Maybe things will get better and better for you now. Best wishes.....

I understand not wnting to do it with your schedule.......I was a 'circuit rider' school counselor for many years. You just would not be able to eat correctly at the beginning of your program with the running you will be doing. I spent a year researching, attending different doctors' seminars, stocking my pantry, losing weight .......when it finally came time I felt like a "professional" and was prepared and healthier than I had been a year before. My surgery was a simple non-event and I know it was because I was prepared and ready for everything. (Spend some time sampling different Protein supplements.....they are NOT all created equal!! Also it'll give you energy to get thru a demanding year and help you lose weight).

If you have a craving for a Danish, try a thin piece of wheat bread, toasted, smeared with lo fat cream cheese, maybe a little SF preserves. Small bites!!

I don't have pix but just a vote of confidence. I had surgery at age 61 with a heart condition and sev. other co-morbidities......I did great, continuing to do great, feel great. My fill dr (who did my pre-op testing) said he had patients who had surgery as old as 75 who had done very well and lost both pounds and years!!

Sugar LeatherTush......one tough mama!!!

The hospital is brand new but they've been doing wls surgeries in the other hospital for years. We are 2 hrs away so we went the night before and stayed in a motel a couple of blocks away (dont' stay at the Best Western....ugh). We had planned to stay that night but it wasn't necessary.....rode 2 hrs home, dozed most of the way, didn't have any discomfort at all. They gave me a little pillow to hold on my tummy. Gave me 2 prescriptions I never even filled (pain/nausea).

What type of surgery are you having? I had a regular LapBand at another place but with a surgeon that also uses SCOR....he kept me about 3 hrs after surgery. Unless they have worked something out by now, SCOR won't take insurance for fills (they are $150 cash), so I'm having to go to another clinic (I get them there for a co-pay each time).

Be sure you check out the 'pre-existing condition' clause....there's usually a waiting period before it will cover something even if it is a covered procedure. There are finance companies that will finance a surgery....most surgeons have the brochures in the office. I think Chase is one of them.

Same ins. , Poodles, but it was not a BCBS issue....NO insurance will pay for fills there for some reason...they said they were 'working on it.' BTW....I've been experimenting w/protein supps for the past 6 mo and the Reclaim powder they sell there is very good....mixes w/water, no clumping. $40 canister (cash only, please...LOL!)

Poodles.....you might ask about the fills......he sends his patients to the Surgery Center of Richardson for fills BUT insurance won't cover their fills. So unless you want to pay $150/fill you're going to need to go somewhre else. I'm going to Dr. Maese (Cardiology Wellness Center) in Highland Park and all I have to pay is a co-pay each time .....$25.

If you have not had physicals lately is would be wise to go thru one before surgery just as a safety precaution.

Dr. B did my LapBand 7 weeks ago. He's one of the more experienced surgeons in the business.......the clinic that I went thru for all my pre-op work referred me to him because I was 'special' (senior citizen, heart condition, etc.). I had my surgery at the hospital in Decatur (only place he works that my insurance would pay for). The nurses/anesthesiologist/staff seemed very skilled - said they did 10 LapBands every Monday morning. The whole thing was flawless......I was in at ll:00, out at 2:30. Never even had so much as a gas pain afterward. I've had haircuts that were more traumatic! (The hardest part was trying to get on the damn surgical hose!) I've had one follow-up visit; he said come back in 6 months, but he gave me instructions to call him any time I needed to. (I'm getting my fills at the clinic that did all my pre-op work).

I understand about not being able to exercise. I was hardly able to walk. As I improved, I said "I'll start when I get below 300." Well, I'm below 300. I did go inside the fitness center one day, but I haven't joined and haven't been back. Like you, I don't want my ex-students to see me and how big I've gotten (I don't leave the house much). I keep thinking one morning I'll get up and know that "TODAY IS THE DAY!" But I'm not ready yet. Hey, you and I had the same surgeon! He did a great job.....no problems at all!