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I am glad you went and were encouraged! I don't think it will be a problem getting approved. I am certainly no expert, but your BMI is elevated. Now I only had one comorbidity of HBP, but my BMI was 74... I was and still am super morbidly obese so it was an ease to get approved. Don't let that one person get ya doubting... let the paperwork fly and you might just get what ya want. Good luck... keep this thread going and let us know what happens. Talk to ya soon! Jason

I must admit today has been a bit rough. Cannot get the kids to act like humans, health insurance premium went up, and am at a plateau with my weight. I lost 2oz this past week. HeHe! I expected this at some point, but thought I would lose this week. Last week I ate less food, walked further distances at higher speeds on the treadmill, and walked for longer times because I gained last week. I suppose that kept me from gaining this week, but I was enjoying so much seeing lbs lost each week. Now don't think I am giving up by any means... I don't mean to sound so down... just a tough day that's all. I am still very much motivated for weight loss and will not let this day hold me back... that is a promise not only to myself, but to all who care and love me! I tell you one thing... I love this site too. Reading posts on my thread and success of others is so helpful especially on harder than normal days! I am looking forward to hearing what Dr. Fox has to say Wednesday at my appt. I am also on my 12th week now of the appetite suppresant... from what I read most clinical studies last 12 weeks on this drug... I wonder if he will keep me on it longer. I am going to be out of it after this week. I have quite a few questions I want to ask Dr. Fox Wed. I am making a list for him... haha! Well now that I have been at my plateau I expect a 15lb loss next week!!! LOL J/K We will see what it brings though! When y'all respond be sure to let me know how your progess is going... would love to hear how all of you are! Thanks. Jason

Hello & welcome! I went to my seminar in March of this year and looks like I may have surgery next month. The seminar is approx 2 hours. I went to 2 of them. They explain a few different surgery options, but concentrate mainly on the Band, of course. They go over what the diet will consist of and the proper way you must eat afterwards. These are all very basic and general and all of the details will be discussed further should you decide to proceed. Once you have attended the seminar you will be given a time where you can call or go in to make your initial consultation appt. They gave me a large packet of paperwork including a lot of personal questions to get an idea of your history and lifestyle. You will need to be honest with yourself and them with this. This will make your journey easier I am sure. In my case I had a much higher BMI so I am haivng to lose quite a bit of weight first. Each surgeon is different... from this point you will find out MUCH more info at your inital consult. The seminar is your first step. Congrats on the decision to go and I imagine you will be pleased with the information you get from it. Hopefully the actual surgeon will give the presentation and you will be able to ask him/her questions afterwards, but this is not always the case. The first one I went to they sent a former patient that now works for that particular clinic. Keep up informed on how things go with you and, again, congrats. Best of luck to you! Jason

It will only effect you if you do not tell him/her. Always safe to devulge all info to somone who is doing surgery on you.

Surgeon says August for me... hopefully will know more at my next appt on July 15th! Jason

Well Dr. Fox got in touch with my primary doc and I had to see her today. I did one more lab and it will be tested for anemia. I was given a prescription for Allopurinol to help prevent Gout. I have mentioned this before, but was put on a prescription for Vitamin D as well. Also Dr Fox wants me to see a GI doc. He is concerned with my initial labwork. He says that he has seen two patients in the past that had similar labs. He wants me checked for a pre-cancerous polyp in my colon... yeesh. My reg doc tells me this today and I immediately got concerned. She explained that they are not saying I have this issue, but the labwork suggests the possibility. My paternal grandmother passed from cancer in her 70's; other than that there has been no cancer in the family history. I am to call the GI doc tomorrow to schedule the appt for him to review my labwork from the hospital. If he agrees with Dr Fox I will have some fun... a colonoscopy! Come on! The good news is that if this happens he will remove the polyp while performing this test. Whew... what a day. Now for the bit of good news - My reg doc DID say to discontinue my high blood pressure med!!! I was like.... YES! Guess what - I still ain't lookin back!!!!!! Going to the gym... talk to y'all later:)~ P.S. Hi Hel:) It was just one poke today... nothin. Waiting for the 15th now!

Sarah - My next appt with Dr. Fox is next Wed July 15th. I think I may get a surgery date at that time. He talked to my primary doc today and she wants me to see her tomorrow for a complete anemia workup... more bloodwork it sounds like. Like getting poked 8 times a week ago wasn't enough ya know... Yeesh. HaHa!! Good luck with your fill Monday... hope all goes well. Thanks for the note! chatty - Congrats on deciding to go see a surgeon about the LapBand! It is very neat meeting people close by here in WA. sweetheart181 is also in WA. I just turned 30 this past April and I feel the same as you do about wishing I had done something earlier. I am thankful I am still here to do something now... I got way too heavy, but I am not looking back I tell ya! This is going to be a new beginning as it is with most that go through it. I would not give this up for anything. Thank you for the post and I look forward to hearing about your journey as well! I am going to keep this thread going through most of my journey with the surgery and most likely the first year... I guess so check it every once in a while and let me know when you make your thread. I am excited about reading it!!! Talk to you soon. Jason

Becky, Julie & Sarah, I enjoyed each of your posts and thanks for the ideas and information. I was very interested in hearing about the liquid diet from Dr. Fox Sarah... it sounds lengthy, but it also sounds like some serious lbs may be shed during that time period which, if true, would be great! Just to clear things up I don't have Gout now... just at high risk for it. I was told by Dr. Fox that if I had it I would certainly know it. He is talking with my primary doc this week sometime about treatment to prevent it from happening. I hope all goes well with that. I have been doing some more exploring on this site rather than just looking at threads. I noticed your blog Sarah... and I must say WOW... what progress you have made! I know you are very proud of yourself as am I. Awesome job!! Watch your back very closely... I'm going to catch up with your progess very soon!!! HaHa!! Again... congrats on your success thus far! Talk to y'all later. Jason

Thank you all for your responses and continued support! Please know that it means as much now as it did during my first week. I love getting on this site and seeing people care so much about each others progress. Each of you are doing a great job in your journeys as well!!! When I was getting ready to go to my weigh-in today Dr. Fox himself calls me. He has gotten the test results back from the hospital. This is what I know so far... I have mild anemia and am at a high risk of getting gout. I went to webmd.com and read a bit about these two conditions, but am anxious to discuss things with him at my 3rd appt next week. He is planning on calling my primary physician this week to come up with a plan for treatment for me. I am not sure as of now what this entails as far as my progress goes. I hope and pray it does not postpone surgery, but will do what is safe, of course. I am following his directions to a tee. One other thing is that I am low on Vitamin D... but he already gave me a prescription for that which I will pick up tonight. Well I had to take both of my kids to their doc appts today so I did not have much time to read about my two conditions. I must admit I was a bit nervous because I was not 100% certain what to expect. I am still not certain. Before going to their appts I am going to stop by Dr. Fox's office for my weekly weigh-in. I step up on the scale and BAM - it has to be this week I have my first GAIN. Yeesh. I gained 4lbs this past week. The good news is that I know exactly why and can certainly reverse it quickly. So this new chicken wing rest opened up recently close to my neighborhood right... LOL When I lived in Alabama we had wings restaurants around town and it was a family fav. When this rest came to town I we went 3-4 times last week. Here I was thinking... they aren't fried. They do have the skin/fat still on and I think I went a little hog wild on them. So now I have had my fix and I am not letting this happen again. I was a bit disappointed to see a gain... it is FOR SURE not as much fun as seeing a loss... so no more wings for me. HaHa!! The only change in my exercise routine was actually walking a bit faster and longer on my treadmill nights so I know I have not been slacking on the exercise. I am still doing my 30 mins 7 days a week. Summing things up... learn from my mistakes and don't let em happen again. Also I am going to try to keep from worrying until I talk to Dr. Fox again and have more information about the problems that came up. I think I have given everyone enough to read for the time being... I look forward to talking with y'all soon! Jason

I am happy for both of you! I'm sure all will go well and you both will be happy with your surgery. Best of luck! Jason

Hel - Thanks and that was taken at my son's baptism at Christ the King Catholic Church here in my home town. That is the church my wife and I were married at in July of 2001!!! Kat - Hey thanks to you as well! My next appt with Dr Fox is July 15th. I imagine I should get a surgery date during that visit. I also have not been told about his version of the liquid diet yet. I am hoping this next visit is full of useful and exciting information. I will keep y'all posted for sure. Happy 4th of July everyone!!! GOD BLESS AMERICA Jason

So I am done with all of my hospital/psych testing. Today I went to the 2nd part of my psych eval which was nothing more than the guy asking me if I was depressed, hearing voices or having any suicidal thoughts of which I was luckily able to say no. The interview lasted roughly 5-7 mins and was actually pretty dull. I suppose the last thing I will need to do is to see my primary physician one time before my surgery; other than that I am ready! I will keep on keepin on with my eating habits and exercise as usual. Anxiously waiting August!!! Jason

Get in your car...crank it...put it in gear... STEP ON THE GAS!!! Go with another surgeon that will actually talk to you and help with the process. I have not had my surgery yet, but feel as if I am being guided through the process in a very professional matter. There is follow up already in place and things seem to be falling into place just as they should. Research other docs and see what you find. Best of luck to you! Jason

Yeesh! You weren't kidding. They had to stick me 8 times before they found the vein that gave them enough blood. Fun times. So glad I am done with that. Now for the respiratory stuff tomorrow... hoping that is not much of a big deal. Talk to y'all soon! Jason

Hey Hel! I did go in for my 9 week weigh-in today and lost 3lbs. Now I don't mean to be nasty, but I honestly do not think that the Barium that I had to drink for the Upper GI tests is out of my system yet... the nurse agreed and said that would make my loss this week 5.5lbs, but either way I am happy with a loss. I am now up to 62lbs in 9 weeks!!! I also did my initial psych eval today and it lasted about 1 hour. It was nothing more than describing my life to a new friend. I thought that the therapist would ask very detailed questions about anything and everything, but it seemed pretty generic and pretty much a "chat session." She said that she would not have a problem in the least writing a letter of clearance to have the Band done. Now I must go back to this same clinic this coming Friday to see what she called a Physicians Assistant. I did not ask any further details, but I assume I will find out Friday. Should not be much to deal with though. Tomorrow when I wake up I am going to do my lab work for the surgery. Wednesday I am going to do the respiratory testing that Dr. Fox has ordered at the hospital. It looks like after this coming Friday I will be done and ready for August! I will continue my eating well and exercise. Things are on the right track & I must admit I am getting excited!!! One more thing... as of Sunday night I was feeling a bit odd. Before I took my regular nightly blood pressure medicine I checked my pressure and it was 91/62 which I thought was a bit low. I decided not to take the meds, of course. I have been keeping track of it since and it has gone back up to normal and stayed. I am going to call my primary phys tomorrow and talk to her about it. I may be getting my hopes up, but it would be nice not to need this med any longer or at least be put on a lesser strangth for the time being! We will see! Talk to you all soon and I hope everyone is doing well this week! Looking forward to some fireworks this coming weekend!!! Jason

Becky & paisleypea - As you both know encouraging words mean more during this process than just about anything else. I have said it before & plan on saying it 7,384 more times.... THANK YOU!!! Your continued support coupled with the support I am getting at home gives me all of the motivation I need. I decided on Apr 27 this year that I am not willing to look back at the old me. This feels so much better than sticking myself on the couch with a plate of food! Thanks again for following me in my journey! Talk to you soon! Jason

Well this morning I went to the hospital for the first part of my pre-op tests. I did the abdominal ultrasound, chest x-ray, & upper GI series. Let me tell y'all (for the ones who don't know) that Barium you have to drink is so YUMMY!!! LOL j/k but it was not as bad as I thought. Radiologist said things looked normal, but he would send a full report to Dr. Fox Monday or Tuesday. Next week I will finish the respiratory part of the tests. Also on the 29th of June I take the 1st of 2 parts to the psych tests. I am not sure why it's 2 parts, but I will soon find out. Anyhow it was interesting when I got to the upper GI series... the table was limited to 300lbs so they decided to do the entire test while I was standing. It all worked out ok. Took me about 2 hours today... not bad at all. I sure was ready for something to drink after not drinking anything for 14 hours. HaHa!! hsj - Thank you again for your encouragement!!! Jason

Howdy Howdy!! I got quite the surprise yesterday at my 8 week weigh-in. Last week was my first week doing weights at my gym and I was very curious to see how this would affect my weekly weight loss. Much to my surprise it helped this week... 7.5lbs!!! So this brings the grand total up to 59lbs in 8 weeks!!! I am excited! I made my appts yesterday also for my pre-op testing. Things are starting to roll in the right direction. This week alone my BMI went down 1 whole point... I have gone from 74 to 65. My surgeon wants a BMI of 60 before doing surgery so I am well on my way! Talk to you all soon!!! kat, hsj, & Hel - Thank you all for your responses... y'all are awesome!!! Jason

I have found the same thing about this site... what a help! Best of luck on your journey... post up a bit and let all know how it goes! Jason

Hello. I am certainly no expert and have not yet had the surgery, but I have over 200lbs of weight to lose. From the research I have done and informative videos I have seen about losing 100lbs or more it is a given that you will have loose skin no matter how slow/fast you lose the weight. Once the skin has stretched that far there is not a way for it to disappear alone. The fat cells will shrink, however the skin has been formed and must be surgically removed if desired/necessary. I don't mean to disappoint you... just sharing what I have learned thus far. I know without a doubt that I will have to undergo extensive loose skin removal after reaching my goal weight. I tell myself ... whatever it takes to feel great and life live as it should be lived is what I plan on doing! Best of luck my friend... don't get too discouraged!!! Jason

This thread is very informative and helpful... thanks for sharing your experiences everyone! Jason

I want to be able to complain... I want to be able to complain to!! LOL I am at the start of my journey, but have lost 51.5lbs in the last 7 weeks and this is before getting my band. I was at 489 starting weight and looking to have the band sometime this August. One day I will be writing my own post like this and I cannot wait!!! Great job on your success and you are another awesome role model for us all! Enjoy life to the "fullest" without overeating, of course!!! Jason

Thank you for the compliment! I hope all is going well with you after your band. Let me know how you are doing up till now if you don't mind. Jason

Hey everyone! I forgot to post up again yesterday... I think my memory is going with the weight. HaHa!! I lost another 4.4lbs and hit a short-term goal... I crossed the Halfway Point!!! 51.5lbs in 7 weeks!!! I was excited to see that. I have started doing weight training three days a week now and it is pretty cool. I still do treadmill the other 4 days. In case some of you have not looked I posted up a recent pic in this thread. For me it is located on page 2... not sure if it is different on other computers or not. Anyhow check it out and now you can put a face to a name. Remember... you will be seeing less and less of me as the weeks pass by! lol Talk to you all soon and have a great night! Jason

Now the reason I have lost so much is that my starting weight was 489 with a BMI of 74. I lost a lot of water weight the first two weeks and now and just plugging away at body fat. I have taken my BMI down to 67 in 6 weeks and am still going strong. I will talk to my surgeon about the phentermine and going off it slowly. That sounds like great advice and I appreciate you letting me know. Talk to yall soon! Jason