Michelle514

kelly25 Hiya. I'm from right here in buffalo as well. I went to my pcp in april and was given both dr's names as well. Posner and carruana's office. I called posners office first in which i was directed towards a automated line to leave my address. They took my address and sent me a packet in the mail. I just received that packet this past week. On that same first day i called dr' caruanna's office in which they emailed me the information they wanted me to have. In the time that i waited for dr. posners information.... I have taken care of a good chunk of paperwork with dr caruannas office. Gotten my blood work done, a sonogram done, scheduled my psych eval (which is today) scheduled a nutrionist appt (weds) and am well on my way to getting the surgery soon. Overall I'd say that caruanna's office is faster. Dr. caruanna is not the dr that does it tho. Dr. Viglianco is. As far as insurance goes. I have independant health and i know that with dr. viglianco they do not require a 6 motnh preop weight loss, and they just require a medical neccisity letter. IF you'd liek to talk more send me a message in my email and hopefully i can help you. Or send me a private message. I'm still going through this myself and i'd love to try to help you if possible. thanks for reading michelle

I am fat for many reasons. However I'd like to say I know I am the reason and that it is in my control only. As much control I have over eating... I have the same control over not eatin.g 1. I am/was a bulimic/binge eater for my teenage years 2. I was sexually abused and I've always found comfort in foor rather than dealing with my issues. 3. I along with my siblings are all victims to a inherited family mental illness. Actually just got my diagnosis the other day: Bipolar I, GAD, Panic, Borderline personality disorder and agoraphobia. 4. my mother did not do a good job at showing me what was important in a meal (nutrion wise). rather: meat veggies starch - eat it all syndrome. Sometimes i like to think to these things and put the blame on them. However i know inside it's me. That i hold the power to stop what I'm doing. I'm excited to see my nutrionist on tuesday b/c i want to know how to eat and get on a schedule. It takes a lot of self discovery to concur this problem. I'm in counsling and I'm seeking supportive people in my life to help me witih my journey.

I know I will also have to be on some sort of liver reduction surgery. Which i expect to start this week and follow it trhrough until the date of my surgery which has not been chosen yet. I went about two weeks ago for a sonogram of my liver. All my other organs look good. just my liver is fatty. So, i need to reduce it's size by surgery date. I feel as though it wont be hard b/c I feel like i could do a liquid diet. It's along the lines of "dont break the seaL' as soon as you pee the first time after youve been drinking you pee alot and more often. Well, the first time i eat durin the day... and bam I eat and i eat and I eat. No portion control. that is why i am praying that the lapband will teach me how to eat. I am excited b/c I've been reading up on post op diets and it says you learn to re-eat like when you are a baby. You start on liquids and work your way up. And clearly my mother didn't teach me very well so I have to do this all over again as an adult. I am very excited about getting it done. i just want to be healthier, lower blood pressure, more time to play with my kids. If you want to stay in touch i've madea blog ... michelle514.blogspot.com

HIya, I'm michelle. I'm 24 years old, Mother of two toddlers and severely morbidly obese. stats: 5'3.5" 311 (highest) currently 306.2 BMI of 54 last time i checked. I've been overweight for a significant amount of time and my weight only steadily goes up. Never down. I started my journey on april 23rd 2009. That was the first dr's appointment with my PCP to get this going. I'm excited that I've finally started to do this. I"ve been nervous and scared however, I know I need to take charge somewhere and this is where. I'm looking for friends and support and even a buddy. I'm hoping to get banded by july... i know it's wishful thinking but my PCP seems to think it'll happen b/c my health is not that bad. So if u'd like to keep in touch let me know. I haven't quite figured out this forum yet but i'm sure a couple more days and i'll get the hang of it.

i'mnot banded yet, but I"m glad i read this thread b/c I didn't understand the "sweet spot" yet. I now have a better understnading

My motivations: I want to be healthy again I want to play with my kids and NOT get tired I want to get pregnant once i loose the weight and to look pregnant rather than fat I want a better sex life with my husband. I've gotten rather boring over the past few years I want more choices in clothing - I'm tired of settling for what fits. I dont want my kids to be the ones with the "fat mom" at school. I need to feel better about myself and I know this will help. My goals::thumbdown: By christmas of 2009 I want to be between 200 and 250 (currently sporting a weight of 306.2) By the summer of 2010 - I want to be between 150 and 200. Ultimately I'd love to be about 150 again. I know those are broad weight goals, but I'm leaving them that way so that I don't put to much pressure on myself. I'll be happy to make it to that point.

I have a NSV this week, however - I'm not banded yet. Two months ago i started going to the gym everyday. When i started I could barely do the weight machines and I could only walk on the treadmill because i had no muscle in my leg. Well, this past week, i got on the precor machine and figured it's been a while and wanted to see if i could use that machine and to my suprise i could! i did it for a half hour! OMG i was so sore the next day, but i feel great that i am slowly seeing changes! yeah me!

I have them and was wondering the same thing. My dr's office told me that they don't require a diet and they do require a thyroid test to be done. They also said you have to have a clearance letter and a referral to be seen. thats all i know of as of right now. if you are already past all of this stage would you mind sending me an email and letting me know what has happend with your situation?

congrats! thats super exciting!

hiya, I am from Western Ny and I do not have a date set yet, but am anxiously awaiting a date now. May 14th is my birthday! I'll think of you on that day and pray that your surgery is going well. Where in NY are you located? You can email me if you intrestested in talking. I'm not banded and I'm very nervous and scared of the surgery.... but i also hope that one day my story will inspire someone else to make a change. I'm taking before and during and after pictures of myself. I want it documented on what i've done and what has helped me! talk to you soon Michelle

WOW. this is very inspirational to read! I'm just beggining the process to get banded and I hope that mine goes just as well as you guys have done! Any HUGE tips that really help? I already work out everyday and I enjoy working out. So... if there is somethingelse that is very helpful PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

Hiya, My name is Michelle and I"m just begining the process of getting banded. I am 310 lbs, 5'3.5" (no I'm not sensitive about my height, it's just that I was FINALLY measured and know for sure my height now... I used to tell people 5'3" or 5'4" i dont really know my height. But now i know so i will be sharing it! lol) My BMI is 55. I went to my primary dr's this past thursday 4-23-09. I'm considering that my first day to the rest of my life. I asked my doctor about getting GB, but she suggested LB seeing how I'm active and I have very little health problems. I have elevated blood pressure (143/89) and i suffer from mental illness. I do not have any other comorbidities so I'm hoping that they can push through and get the medical neccisity approved by my insurance. The dr's office that I've called about the lapband has a really good rate of getting people approved. However it didn't really dawn on me that people get deneid until i started searching online about the surgery. I"m hoping I dont have any problem with getting approved. And i'm hoping I can get it done relatively quickly! How long did it take you to get approved ? and how long did it take from the first day you decided to the day you got the surgery. I'm really not looking forward to this upcoming summer months as over this past winter i"ve put on so much weight that now I'm chafed everywhere (it seems) and i'm rather uncomfortable. Any insight or support or well wishes are much appreciated. I'm really scared and nervous but I know this is what i need to get to a better me.

Hiya, i happened to stumble upon this thread and read for the first 22 pages. Then I realized it was 114 pages and thought OMG i can't do this! it's 1 am already! lol. Anwways. I'm from the buffalo area also, I'm in Riverside and I just started my adventure in WLS and I'm looking to make some WLS friends. My dr has recommended the Lapband over gastric bypass. And I've gotten in touch with Dr. Viglianco's office. I'm waiting on my doctors approval letter and a blood test to be sent to them in order to get my first appointment. I've got alot of questions and I'd love to talk first hand with someone who has BTDT with the lapband. If anyone is intrested in being a mentor and helping me in this journey I would LOVE to talk to you. My email is magg0607@yahoo.com Please email me and we can talk! thanks for reading and hopefully i'll get to know some of you soon! Michelle

I'm new and have not yet had the surgery done. I"m hoping to get it done by july. I know thats asking alot to do in 2 months, but.... I'm pretty sure I can get the ball rolling pretty fast. Please email me if your intrested in keeping in touch> i have so many questions and could use a veteran bander to help answer questions. or just looking for someone who knows what I"m going through. thanks! thanks Michelle

hiya, i'm from buffalo ny and I'm going to be trying to get my approval starting this week .... My family doctor said she doesn't see a reason for it to be deneid. ( i'm 5'3" and weigh 310. BMI of 55). Just curious but what are your stats that you got approved so fast for the surgery? I"m hoping mine goes fast as well. As my health is headed downhigh slowly (periods are getting very odd, every two weeks and my blood pressure is going up and I'm very depressed over the fact that I'm so heavy ) any infor is greatly appreciated! thanks michelle