un4getable2u

Hi Tracie, I am from San Clemente. Not quite as far south as Sashay and I am having my surgery in 7 days. I am 38, 5'7" and weigh 237. It wasn't until last week I realized just how ready I was for this life change. All of my friends and co-workers as all thin, small & cute. I have never shared my weight with ANYONE. EVER! I was talking to my boss last week about all these changes that I will be going through and I found myself telling her my true weight. And then on the same day, I also told my best friend. That is when I realized that I am completly dedicated to loosing this weight, getting healthier and taking control of my life. For me, this was my 1st step. I have been making myself crazy recently about the what if's? What if the band slips, or erodes into my stomach or I don't loose anything, but.....what if I don't have the surgery, what happens then. I have gained 7 lbs since January and I am a diabetic with Hypertension and a bad back with a lot of pain. And again I am only 38. So, with these health challenges that I already have, the surgery sounds like heaven to me. Good luck and I am sure that you will get your date soon. Once you get it though, don't start thinking of reasons not to get the surgery. Keep up the momentum!! :eek:

I would hate to be told I had to do a 6 month Dr supervised diet 1st. I don't understand why they make some do that. I think it is the insurance company! I had to do an orientation, nutrition class, Dr's Talk and cardiac clearance. I had my one on one with the surgeon on Tues and he told me that I did not have to do a liquid diet until the day before surgery. I started this in the middle of Jan and I thought that was a lot. I am getting banded on 5/3/10 and I am so ready to start this new journey into my new life. I wish you all the best and hope that you get your date SOON! GOOD LUCK! :thumbup:

Hello! I am sooooo excited! I am getting banded on May 3rd. I had my upper GI, chest x-ray and one on one with my surgeon yesterday. I am having my pre-op blood work tomorrow. This journey started in Jan and I realized that fighting the whole cardiac clearance thing only caused me unnecessary greif! This next 2 and a half weeks are going to be agony! You wait and wait to make a decision to do this and then once you decide to jump in with both feet you hurry up and wait some more. I am excited. energized and scared all at the same time. What if I fail? I have tried all of the diets before and lost some but ALWAYS gained it back. I realize this surgery is only a tool to help but then I wonder, what happens if I don't chew long enough or take a drink after a bite. Will I stretch out my new stomach? Will it erode into my stomach and then I have to have it removed? My mind is racing a million miles a minute. WHAT IF I FAIL?? I can't talk to anyone else about it cause they would not understand. All of my friends are all skinny and while they all support what I am doing none of them have ever had a weight problem. I would love to get down to about 150-160 which is not unreasonable for 5'7" and big boned, but I know I need to make small goals 1st. I bought a dress online a few years ago for a banquet dinner and when I put it on, I looked like a stuffed sausage. So currently my goal is to be able to wear that dress to another banquet dinner scheduled for Aug 1st. I hope & pray I can get past my fears and work this out! I will keep y'all up to date on my progress. Thanks for all the support!! :thumbup:

I am not sure why they scheduled me so far out. They said it was the 1st available surgery opening and that was NOT with Dr LaPorte. But when I have my surgery in May, Dr LaPorte WILL be doing it. WEIRD HUH? BUT GOOD FOR ME! :thumbup:

They re-scheduled my surgery and now it's less than a month away. This is a good thing!!

It WORKED! They called today to give me a new surgery date! May 3rd!! Yea!!!! I am soo very happy! Thanks for the suggestions!

I finally got my new surgery date! Went from Sept 1st to May 3rd!! I am so happy that they were able to re-schedule me for this! I can't wait!! :thumbdown:

Good luck with your surgery tomorrow, Montynic!! Thanks!!

Thank you for the advise, Betsy. I called the office this morning and spoke to the girl who schedules the surgeries and she is working to get me a earlier surgery date due to the insurance issue. I have finished all my required appointments so it is only their schedule that is holding up my surgery. I still can't believe that with 4 surgeons they are scheduled out 5 months. Even if my insurance was not an issue, this would still be unacceptable to me. I will let you all know what happens. She said she should be able to let me know by Friday. Thanks for your reply!! :-)

The office I am going to has 4 approved surgeons too. This threw me into a headspin. In the initial orientation they had stated anywhere between 4-8 weeks scheduled out, now 2 months later they scheduled it 5 months out. I called the scheduler back twice this afternoon and I hope she calls me back tomorrow. I am really hoping they take into consideration that my insurance MAY change as of July 1, 2010 and if that happens then....what?? I have to start all over again! I really really hope not. I would feel so discouraged! Here's to.....hoping things will get better!! :frown: :smile2:

Does anyone have Orange Coast Memorial Medical in Fountain Valley for their surgery Dr's? I just got my surgery date today and they stated their 1st available surgery date isn't till 9/1/2010. THIS IS CRAZY! Not only will my authorization be expired by then, I have a feeling my insurance is going to be changing in July! Does anyone have any advise that could help me out? PLEASE!!!!

Does anyone have Orange Coast Memorial Medical in Fountain Valley for their surgery Dr's? I just got my surgery date today and they stated their 1st available surgery date isn't till 9/1/2010. THIS IS CRAZY! Not only will my authorization be expired by then, I have a feeling my insurance is going to be changing in July! Does anyone have any advise that could help me out? PLEASE!!!!

Does anyone have Orange Coast Memorial Medical in Fountain Valley for their surgery Dr's? I just got my surgery date today and they stated their 1st available surgery date isn't till 9/1/2010. THIS IS CRAZY! Not only will my authorization be expired by then, I have a feeling my insurance is going to be changing in July! Does anyone have any advise that could help me out? PLEASE!!!! :frown:

Does anyone have Orange Coast Memorial Medical in Fountain Valley for their surgery Dr's? I just got my surgery date today and they stated their 1st available surgery date isn't till 9/1/2010. THIS IS CRAZY! Not only will my authorization be expired by then, I have a feeling my insurance is going to be changing in July! Does anyone have any advise that could help me out? PLEASE!!!!

I understand what you mean. It took me a while to decide this is what I needed and wanted to do. Once you make the decision to do it, you want it NOW!! With no waiting involved. lol Yeah Right! I am trying to be positive about the whole thing though. :thumbup:

OMG! The surgeons office told me my insurance approved my surgery BUT I have to have cardiac clearance first. Well it seems to me that I can't actually be approved then until I do a treadmill test and have a consultation with the cardiologist. I did my treadmill test yesterday and my results were within normal limits. So why do I still need to have a consultation with the Cardiologist? Once I jump through these hoops they will schedule my surgery date. The waiting is driving me mad!! :w00t:

Does anyone (please anyone) know how long it takes for the insurance to approve the surgery once all your requirements have been met??

Does anyone know how long it takes once you finish all of your insurance & surgeon requirements would it take to get a surgery date?

So, I went to the "orientation class" today and I things are starting to roll along smoothly. :thumbup: I go for my psych eval on the 25th and have 1 other mandatory appointment required by my insurance HealthNet (Monarch Medical Group). I scheduled the rest of my appointments within the next 2 weeks. I am really excited :tt1: about starting a new life for myself!