whiterabbit

I know your pain I am scared to death to go under the knife. I have had nightmares about it more than once but I have to push them away. You have come this far, don't let fear stop you now. I lost a close friend to a "simple cosmetic procedure" so I can kind of understand. My want and need to get healthy is going to trump the fear I know I am going to go through right before the surgery. After it is all said and done you will be glad you powered through your fears to do what is best for your health and happiness. I wish you all the best!

I will be lucky if my hubby regain consciousness anytime this week. The knuckle head stayed up all night playing WoW. Anyway back to the subject at hand... I am really going to miss my PacMed doctor. I wish i could keep her since she is the first doc in over 10 years that actually listened to me. I got sick and tired of so many docs telling me "is because you are over weight. Fix the fat and you will be fine." Hello! Earth to doc... did you some how miss the stack of medical records on your desk that i have been keeping since I was 135 pounds and in good health?! My back issues are not from being overweight (yes being fat does not help but...) it comes from wrapping my silly young and seemingly indestructible butt around a tree while snowboarding when I was 16. The pain in me right knee... a tree branch going through it the next winter while stupidly participating in the same sport! I did a lot of damage to my body as a young woman and it has impacted my life from skinny to overweight. Doc Ed is wonderful, she went over all my records with me and set up a work out that I could do and not damage my joints until I lost the weight. I don’t want to give her up but my current insurance won’t even look over my case no matter how many times we have submitted it L.

Oh I want this more than words can even begin to explain. I have been doing my research for over two years. I have tried other ways and due to my health have failed. I know my reg doctor will back me 100%. She has been amazing through all of my struggle, tough when she needs to keep me on my toes and understanding when I need support. Thank you (again) for your reply. You really put my mind at ease about the eval. I am sure it will be a piece of cake. In my years of struggling and trying to heal I have come face to face with my demons and cast them aside. I was just wary of a shrink. I have had so many "lets just throw medication at it and it will be all better" doctors and 'mental' professionals and I am tired of it. I know what I want, I know what will make me better and I am not going to let ANYTHING (even my weaker side) get in the way! Hubby has orientation tomorrow.... I am SOOO excited (and proud)!!!! :blushing::w00t::thumbup::w00t::thumbup::w00t:

Thank you for the informative response keithf. I am SO excited about getting banded I can think of little else. I know it is going to be tough work but I am sick and tired of being in massive pain all the time. I know about the pros and cons and even the horror stories but nothing can be worse than the handful of pain pills i have to take every night. The only worry I have at this point is the psych eval. I stopped taking my bipolar meds and decided on a more holistic way of controlling my disorder. I do not want to be forced back on meds because some shrink thinks it is the only way to deal with mental illness.

My husband just got hired on @ Microsoft. he has not received his orientation date yet but I am chomping at the bit to get banded through his insurance. Can anyone give me details on the requirements? I am at a 42 BMI with High BP and Sleep Apnea. Can someone give me the rundown on the hoops I am going to have to jump through? Does Microsoft benefits pay for reconstructive surgery of excess skin after weight loss?

Have you tried: Northwest Weight Loss Surgery- www.thelapband.com Puget Sound Sergical Center- www.pugetsoundsurgicalcenter.com Swedish Sergial Center- Lap-Band Surgery | Swedish Medical Center / Seattle Obesity Help- Bariatric Surgeons in Washington performing any Bariatric Surgery Type

I did it! I got off my butt and started working out. I joined my local Y and started with swimming laps and water aerobics to get my heart and joints used to working out. I added ridding (sit down bikes) for 20 minuets a day before my swim. I have been walking during lunch for 20 minuets as well. I am up to 5 days a week of working out and decided to get on a scale.... how in the heck have i GAINED 10 pounds?!?!?!!? I have cut out fatty foods, kept a log of everything I have put into my mouth, cut portions, went from whites to browns ect ect! Why on earth am I gaining weight?!?!?! I have been 337 for 5 years with only a 5 pound up or down flex that only lasted a day or two so where in the heck is this 10 pounds coming from?! I was really hopeful that I would get used to my new way of living and working out and not need to be banded but this just put a hug speed bump in my motivation. I do whatever I want and don’t loose but don’t gain… I start doing what’s right for 2 months and I gain weight? I have heard the “oh its muscle" line and its not muscle. I am POed and frustrated! :scared2:

My advice is to try a Hypnosis Program. My best friend loved his smokes. He is 31 and had been smoking since age 15. After a few sessions he has not even picked up a pack, the smell of smoke makes him ill.

To band or not to band.... This is the question I am wrestling with. For years I have had an insurance company that flatly refused to do a band on me. New job, killer insurance and there is a 90% chance I will get approved right out of the gate. I have sleep Apnea (documented), High BP (documented), and borderline Diabetic. I was a skinny kid so skinny in fact my friends swore I had an eating disorder. I ate like a horse and then some but I was active and had an off the charts metabolism. I never weighed more than 135. I was 5 foot 8 with a 36 DD chest, very curvy with a tiny waist. No issues with weight until I had my first child. Between my 6th and 9th month I went from 145 to 210. It was like someone was injecting me with Water or fat or something. I was still active. I walked everywhere, took yoga, watched what I ate the whole 9 yards. After my baby I stated active (duh new baby) and got down to 165 on my own. I stayed at that weight until I had my second baby. Same thing, more pounds… this time I went to 165 to 230. I was not as active and the extra weight had started to take its toll on my knees and back. Gaining so much weight so fast put my “body and skeletal system into shock” according to my doctor. I started PT, worked out as best I could and watched what I ate. By the time baby # 3 came along I was 190 and again active (but in a lot of pain). Third time was the charm it would seem. The bottom fell out from under me. I went to 290 and had sever depression after the baby. After post partum went away issue were still lingering. My doc sent me to a shrink and low and behold I find out I am Bipolar the 24th power!!!! Like a fool I let them pump me with an insane amount of medication because the thought of being crazy scared the hell out of me. My outbursts were taking a toll on my marriage as well as my children. Meds worked… for about 6 months. Zoloft, Zyprexa, Celexa and our lovely thyroid killing friend lithium (lot and LOTs of lithium my friends 2k mils twice a day… oh yeah crazy!). To top it all off my birth control at the time was Depo. Needless to say waking up out of a haze 2 years later I find myself… still a little batty, 335 pounds and unable to loose a pound. This was 5 years ago. Here is my dilemma now that you know a little bit about my background… food is not my problem. I despise soda, don’t like sweets of any kind really, don’t eat many fried foods, watch my calorie intake (I try and keep it under 2k a day), swim and work out 3 times a week, drink about 6 to 9 ounces of water a day and I don’t eat after 8pm. I walk in the evenings with my husband and IT WONT GO AWAY! All the crazy meds were flushed a few years ago, I conquer my mental issues with meditation, self discipline and communication with my husband when I start to see the signs of anger and must admit I am doing swimmingly. My question is… if food is not my problem but im 5 foot 9 and 334… do I still need the lapband? I don’t want to stick something in me that dose not need to be there. I tried asking this same (long) question at an open seminar we had on the lap band and all I got was a bunch of :cursing:cheerleader:cursing: like answers “oh its great my life is so much better”. Yeah but…. Your problem was food. Is this right for me “ You will loose all the weight you want YEAH!” All I want is a straight answer….:thumbup: Anyone?