MaryfromMI

Between the time of my first PCP appointment and my first appointment with my nutritionist, I think I ate everything I could get my hands on and gained 4 pounds in a month. After that appointment with the nutritionist, I was told to either maintain or lose weight, but not gain because then I would have to see the nutritionist again. I am still kinda eating everything in sight, but I started exercising 4-5 days a week. I went for my surgery consultation today and I lost 4 pounds! I was so surprised! I agree with you, I do think it is psychological, because I keep thinking I need to enjoy things now that I won't be able to eat after surgery, but with working out consistantly now, I don't feel as guilty about it.

This might sound silly, but the first thing I want to do once I reach my goal weight is cut my hair short. I know that might sound dumb, but I realized I keep my hair long to hide my face and to take attention away from my face. I would love to have a cute little bob at my shoulders! :tongue2:

My surgeon does not require a certain amount of weight loss before surgery, but he would like to see some sort of downward progression, so I have been exercising for 45min-1hr 5 days a week doing cardio and strength training. I plan on doing this up to my surgery in January. I figure it is good to get in a routine now, so it is not as difficult to start exercising after surgery. I just wanted to know if anyone was on an exercise regimen before surgery and if you felt that helped speed up your recovery or somehow made the recovery easier?

1.What is your current and goal weight? 245/150 2.What is your surgery date? January 4, 2010, 8:30 a.m. 3.What is your age? 22 4.Where do you live? Michigan 5.Where are you having surgery? Covenant Hospital 6.Who is your Doctor?? Dr. Ringley 7.Insurance or self-pay? BCBS-but I have to pay over $1400 out of pocket. 8.What was your "deciding factor" for having this surgery? I have been alive for 22 years and haven't "lived" yet. I decided to stop living in denial and had to admit I couldn't lose the weight on my own.

For my psych consult, there was two parts. First was the discussion with the psychologist. He wanted to know about my family and their health, my social life, my fears about the surgery, diets I have tried, what I look forward to doing after the surgery, if I knew anyone who had weight-loss surgery, and my support system. He also asked me questions about ever being depressed or suicidal and if I ever wanted to kill anyone(which was a little weird). The next part was the tests. I had to take a T/F test and also a test where I had to pick the next pattern or the next thing in a sequence. I was told to expect the whole thing to take 3 hours, but I was done in 1 1/2 hours. I agree with HappyMe2009. I don't think having depression would prevent you from having the surgery, they just want to help you get it under control before the surgery.

I just need one question answered that has been freaking me out for the past couple of days. I was watching someone's videos on Youtube that got the Lapband. This particular woman went and talked to her doctor about why she wasn't feeling satisfied after she ate and was still hungry. Her doctor told her that the purpose of the band was not to make you full or "satisfied" faster, but the band is used to create pain when you are getting to the point of eating too much as a "reminder" that you need to stop eating. What I want to know is: Is this true? I thought the point of the band was to make you feel full sooner and keep you from being hungry for 4-5 hours, not something that will cause me pain so I know when to stop eating and am hungry again an hour later. I know that I will struggle with hunger until I find my sweet spot, but what happens when I get there? I am getting nervous because if the point of the band is to cause pain and not help with hunger, then the band may not be for me. Please help! :w00t:

My surgeon only requires an EGD if you have a history of heartburn. Because I don't have a history of heartburn, I just had to do an upper GI with the barium. I think the EGDs are done to check for hernias, which if a person has a hernia that is big enough, the lapband cannot be done, but if the hernia is small, it can be removed during the surgery. During the EGD, you might also get a biopsy done of your stomach lining to check for H-pylori, which is a bacteria in the stomach that is the leading cause of ulcers and also duodenal ulcers. H-pylori effects 3 out of 4 people, so it is pretty common. This could possibly be what NancyNC has. Because I just had the barium swallow, I had to do a H-pylori test where I had to breathe into a small bag. I just found out this week that my test came back positive. Now, I have to take a pack of acid reducers and 2 antibiotics 2 times a day for 14 days to get rid of it.

Thanks everyone for your responses! I am glad to be reassured by everyone that I was not overreacting and that this lady was really in the wrong. I do plan on doing something about it, though. I was told to expect a survey and comment card in the mail, so I will be letting the people at the facility know what happened. I think I am going to write a letter also. That lady needs to know what she did was unacceptable.

And it was from someone that I will unfortunately see again, and again, and again. So here's the story: I had my UPPER GI today and had it at the same facility that my surgeon's office is at, and is at the same place where my fills will take place. The x-ray tech comes in to take the first x-rays, and takes a look at me and the first thing out of her mouth is "How old are you?" So I told her my age (22), and the next question was "And why do you feel like you need this surgery?" in a very condescending tone. It was pretty hard to hide my shock and I told her I needed the surgery because I have been heavy all my life and I have tried to fix that on my own and couldn't do it and that I need help which the band will provide. She then proceeds to tell me that her 16 year old daughter said she wanted surgery, but it wouldn't be right for her because all she does is sit on the couch all day, and it seemed like she was insinuating that because I am young also, I must be like her daugher and haven't really tried to lose weight. I then told her that I have literally tried everything and that my surgeon wanted a list of all the diets and exercise that I have done, and she proceeds to ask me what I have done, like she thought I was lying!!! By this point, I am so shocked that I am almost crying and when the radiologist came in to introduce herself I felt like I was rude to her (not on purpose) because my head was still spinning from this lady interrogating me and I couldn't even think straight. I am still at the point where I don't really want to talk to anyone about the surgery (except on here) because I am having some trouble coming to terms with the fact that I failed trying to lose weight on my own and need the band to help me, and for me to be interrogated by someone who works with bariatric patients everyday really makes me mad. :cursing: I'm just upset because I feel like that x-ray tech WOULD NOT have asked those same questions to someone who was older than me and I definitely feel like she was in the wrong. I am on this forum all the time and I constantly read about the only regret some people have is that they didn't have the surgery done sooner and I don't want to have that regret. Everyone that I have come in contact with regarding the Lap-Band® are amazing, and this is the first bit of negativity that I have felt regarding the band, and I just hate that that rude x-ray tech will most likely be the person who will be working when I get my Upper GIs for my fills. I just needed to vent. Thanks for listening.

I had a very productive day today. I had an appointment with the nutritionist and the RN at the surgeon's office and got a tentative surgery date!!! It is scheduled for January 4, 2010, which is great because I start nursing school on January 11th, so that will give me a week to recover. Because I don't have any health problems, the only tests I have to get done are an Upper GI, lab work, a psych eval, and an appointment with the exercise/physical therapy people. I also have to do a sleep study, but I don't have to go a sleep clinic. I am excited that things are starting to come together and hopefully everything works out!

May does seem like a long ways away, but hopefully the time will go fast. Just try to stay busy and focus on the positive and the time will fly!!! Just wanted to add that I just got done calling my insurance AGAIN...I got a packet of papers to fill out from my surgeon and included in it was a insurance worksheet. I had to call them to ask if they covered all the potential tests, what is needed to send to insurance, etc. Once again, they told me I had to go on a 6-month diet, but I didn't argue with them, I just let the lady talk. But then she started getting mean with me and saying that all the questions I was asking should be answered by my surgeon because of an inquiry policy and there is no way the surgeon could get away from answering my questions. I explained why he wanted me to ask these questions, but I don't think she understood that I needed to do this so my surgeon could become my surgeon and not that he already was. Based on the information I give the surgeon will help the surgeon decide on whether or not I will be his patient. I hope I never have to call them again. I am always so frustrated and agitated after talking to them!:blushing: Has anyone else had to do the insurance worksheet?

Well if your insurance company is like mine, you still might not get the right answer if you call them. Have you attended a seminar yet? They most likely would have people there that work with your insurance everyday and can give you the answers you are looking for. You could also probably call a surgeon's office and talk to the nurse coordinator and he/she will help you out.

Hello everyone!!! I have been looking around this website for close to a month now, but wasn't planning on posting for a while because I was doing a 6 month supervised diet for my insurance and figured I had PLENTY of time to post. (lol) After talking to my insurance twice (BCBS of MI) and double-checking with them what the requirements were for lap-band surgery, (because I read on one of the posts here about BC of MI changing their requirements for BMI's over 40 and mine is 40.1), I went to my PCP and got put on a 6-month diet, which began last month. Tonight I went to a seminar put on by my potential surgeon and in his presentation he informed us that as of April 1, 2008, BCBS of MI changed their requirements so that if your BMI is over 40, you don't have to do the diet!!!! So being the natural triple-checker that I am, I asked the nurse who handles the insurance for my surgeon again about Blue Cross and she said that she was 100% sure about the change and that BC never has their own information up to date when you call them. I was so thrilled!!! I am hoping to start nursing school in January and was thinking the only time I would be able to get the surgery would be over spring break in March, but now if everything goes according to plan, I can hopefully have the surgery over my Christmas break from school and have almost a month to recover instead of one week. I am trying not to get my hopes up too much, because things have a tendancy to never go the way I want them, but I have started filling out the pages and pages of medical info for the surgeon and hope to get this ball rolling soon!! And another thing...I found it pretty funny that at the seminar tonight I actually didn't learn much because I already knew everything the doctor said FROM THIS WEB SITE BC IT IS SO AWESOME!!! I was glad I went though to get a "feel" of the surgeon, but was secretly giggling to myself through the whole thing. :thumbup:

Hello, I was just wondering if anyone has or knows anyone who had Dr. Ringley as their surgeon. He practices out of Saginaw, MI and I believe operates at Covenant Hospital. I am considering him to be my surgeon as my PCP has said he is a very good surgeon. I am attending one of his seminars on September 8th and am just curious what other's experiences with him and his staff were like. Thanks! :thumbup: