melmarlem

I definitely agree with you, Jujuvee!

Recently I have come to the conclusion that I cannot stand hearing the "F" word. You know..the word "fat". They say "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." Couldn't be further from the truth. In my opinion, being called "fat" is the worst thing to ever be called. Call me large, overweight, obese, heavy, chubby, chunky...anything but "fat". What brings this up? Well I overhead some...errr "intelligent" person say, "I don't think we should have universal healthcare unless all the "fat" people have to lose weight or pay for their own healthcare." If only she could walk a day in our shoes, she would know it just isn't that easy... Thanks for letting me rant! Being banded in 9 days!

I have tried the DaVinci sugar-free french vanilla syrup and personally I didn't care for it. It had too strong of a vanilla flavor, but maybe another flavor would be yummy :cursing:

Oh my gosh, Als74, you just made my day! You are hilarious! hahaha :frown: You couldn't be more right about the band being a "tool" and "cheating". I never looked at the situation quite like that before Thanks for posting.

I haven't had surgery yet. I'm scheduled for August 18th. I have decided to tell all of my family, my closest friends, and all of my co-workers. Originally I had decided to not tell anyone at work. However, I work in a very small doctor's office and decided that instead of having my co-workers discuss my weight behind my back, I told them, so they could discuss it to my face. There are always going to be negative people who think that what we are doing is "cheating". But what a better way to educate them and proove to them what this is really all about...it's about hard work and determination. It most certainly is not taking the easy way out!! :frown: Good luck!

August 18th here. I'm being fitted with the realize band by Dr. Schumacher at Kettering Medical Center-Sycamore in Miamisburg, Ohio. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!! :frown:

So after 7 months of jumping through 101 hoops...I FINALLY got a surgery date! August 18, 2009! I'm so excited and can't wait! :confused: Anyone else getting banded on or around the same day?

I haven't been banded yet, but my dietician said no rice allowed!! Has anyone else been told this too? :biggrin:

I agree with you, RestlessMonkey. I definitely can be my own worst enemy. When I look in the mirror, I see someone who is "huge" and I assume everyone else sees me the same way. I definitely did not intend to offend you or other nurses by painting all nurses with the same brush as he. When I said, "So much for caring and empathetic nurses", I only meant to point out that he is lacking in characteristics that most other nurses exhibit. In fact, he is the only nurse that I have come across that has acted the way he did. "If you don't like it when someone picks on someone else, speak up!", that can be easier said than done in a positioin like I was. I was a guest nursing student in the cath lab, meaning I had been invited. I didn't think that it was the appropriate time to speak up, as doing so could have jeapordized future students being invited to the cath lab. Also, I am a 20 something year old female nursing student and the RN was a 40 something year old male and the surgeon was a 50 something year old male. Kind of intimidating for a female nursing student to stand up to two older males, one being a nurse with 20+ years in nursing, and the other a well-known physician. I guess at the time I was trying not to give them the satisfaction of knowing that they had bothered me, as "wootsie73" had suggested. I applaud people who could've had the courage to stand up to them.

If all else fails, and after surgery you actually are feeling nauseous...tell the nurses you are afraid that you are going to vomit and choke on it...I'm sure they would be working their magic to get you an injection of either very quickly! haha Good luck!

I can't tell you how it is after surgery as I am still waiting to be banded myself. However, as a nursing student I know just enough to be dangerous...maybe you could ask your surgeon to presribe you zofran or phenergan. Both are antiemetics and can be used to prevent nausea after surgery. Just a thought...

So, I'm sure all of you can relate to having something like this happen to you... I'm currently in my senior year of nursing school. I've chosen to be a cardiac nurse, and so my instructor was kind enough to send me to the cardiac cath lab for the day to observe as a student nurse. I was so excited to go! I love everything to do with the heart and was thrilled to get to see anigoplasties and what not. Well, I'm 5'5" and 260lbs, obviously not in the best shape. To make a long story short, everyone in the heart cath lab was in remarkable shape. Including the RN's, the surgeon, the techs, etc. I felt sooo out of place, but didn't let it get to me until.....the male RN had the NERVE to make fun of obese people in my presence, and in the presence of the obese patient being worked on. My fellow student nurse is from Kenya, and the RN asked him while laughing "I bet they don't have an obesity problem in Kenya?". He kept on, making jokes about how fat people should just eat turkey sandwiches instead of cheeseburgers. It was all I could do to keep from running out in tears. The surgeon was no better, he rolled his eyes in disgust as another obese person was wheeled into the room. I just thought it was really ironic that a man that operates on hearts could be so heartless himself! So much for caring and empathetic nurses!!:smile2: Thankfully I am being "banded" soon. I will never forget their faces, and in due time I will run into them again...next time much healthier. I plan on reminding them of how they made me feel....

I'm only about 3 years late to the thread, but 1000 micrograms is equal to 1 milligram. Nursing student here :thumbup:

katwmn63- It sounds like you have Tricare Standard which is very different from Tricare Prime. With Tricare Standard you do NOT have to have approval or preauthorization. With Tricare Prime, you do!! For Tricare Standard you do still have to meet the same criteria for surgery. You need to have your surgeon send proof of this to Tricare in order for them to pay for the surgery. I also have Tricare Standard since my parents are retired ARMY. I was confused as well :biggrin:

I'm going to be banded by Dr. Schumacher from Kettering Bariatrics, hopefully sometime in August. My last appointment with him before surgery is July 9th, and I'll receive my exact surgery date then. My surgery will be at Sycamore Hospital also. So far, I'm very happy with him and his staff!

Hi Heather, I was approved on the 3rd of June for lap-band surgery through Aetna PPO. I had no issues with Aetna and they approved in 5 business days. Of course I should mention that the insurance coordinator at my surgeon's office sent all the paperwork and communicated with Aetna. I had to prove that I had a BMI of 40 or greater for the past two years or a BMI of 35 or greater with at least two co-morbidities also for the past two years. I proved my BMI with medical records from my primary care physician. Have you joined any type of weight loss program such as Weight Watchers, where they record your weight? That could be used as a record I suppose. Find out if the physician you are going to see has someone who deals with obtaining insurance approvals. They are more than willing to help!! Good luck and let us know how it goes...

I know what you mean when you say, "I didnt realize how much of my family interaction has revolved around eating!" It seems as if every gathering my family has revolves around food. Weddings, birthdays, reunions, holidays, graduations, and even funerals. My family definitely lives to eat instead of eating to live!

Hi everyone, I'm Melissa from Ohio and new to the forum. I was just approved for lap-band surgery on the 3rd of June! I'm here to find out as much as I can about what to expect before and after my surgery. I have one last appointment with my surgeon on the 9th of July. I will find out my surgery date that same day. I'm excited to say the least!! Looking forward to sharing this experience with others who know what I'm going through!