Over the last 2 weeks I've gotten to know some REALLY nice folks here on the site, and the support here is just fantastic. I would love to meet some locals to the Orange County area .... Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Anaheim, Costa Mesa etc. I have not received my band.... I'm still in the approval stages but I thought there must be someone out here in Southern California that has been banded and wants to share their story and their wisdom to someone closer to home. Here's hoping, :)

Hello, I'm in Brea. I was banded on Feb 19th at Orange Coast Memorial with Dr Francis. I am having my first fill today. So far I've lost 15lb. :wink_smile:

I would love to chat with others from Orange County. How are things going for you?

Hey there. How are you? I saw your post and would love to chat. IM me if you get the chance.. i'm @ pcarr0648 on AIM. :thumbs_up:

Hello all from OC. I am right by the angels stadium and havent been on here for ages. I have failed my band miserably :thumbup: and have no one to blame but myself. Today I am going to start again as if it was my first day again , and not 11 months out !!! I will also be making arrangements to go Mexico for another fill. I also will make a promise here and now to visit this site at least once a day as this is where to get the support I need.

Hugs

Myra

Hello all from OC. I am right by the angels stadium and havent been on here for ages. I have failed my band miserably :thumbup: and have no one to blame but myself. Today I am going to start again as if it was my first day again , and not 11 months out !!! I will also be making arrangements to go Mexico for another fill. I also will make a promise here and now to visit this site at least once a day as this is where to get the support I need.

Hugs

Myra

Hi Myra,

Good for you for rededicating yourself to a healthier life. We all slip up and make mistakes, otherwise we would not be bandsters! I will be banded on May 6, and will try my best to stick with it. But I am sure I will slip at some point. The nice thing about this board is that we support each other. Good to hear from you...

Hello from OC. If anyone in OC would like to meet up with our group we have put together with locals send me an email. We have a really great group and we meet up at each others house or last time at the park. It is great to have local support so send me an email if your interested. vikki4mymail@yahoo.com I am also going down to get a fill this Sat. 26th in TJ with one other person so if anyone wants to join us for the drive let me know. We go down early so we can get back early. We walk across and my Dr. office picks us up then drives us to Los Angeles Hospital for the fill and then drops us back off to walk back across. So much easier then driving back which takes hours to sit and wait.

Hi everyone!

My name is Matt; I live in Orange and just received a referral from my PCP to a lap-band surgeon (waiting for referral to be processed). I have so many questions and I am so lucky to have stumbled on this support group. All of you are so positive and have so much wisdom! I am 41, 340 pounds and have always battled with my weight. I have a supportive PCP who guided me to the lap-band option. So, my journey has started...

Questions:

What can I expect during the pre-op process? Shall I anticipate problems with my HMO? What about psych evaluation? How long until a surgery date? Is there a doctor expectation of weight loss before surgery?

I appreciate your help and friendship!

Peace ` Matt

Hi Matt! Welcome to our little group!

Do you know the doctor/group that the PCP is referring you to? What is your insurance?

Through my doctor, I was referred to Leport's office in Fountain Valley. Then I had to go to a 3 hour seminar in which I filled out a ton of forms including a pych test. They weighed me and discussed my desires and went over insurance stuff. I have Blue Cross of CA HMO, and was with St. Jude IPA. That IPA did not cover the band (even the BC did?!?) so I had to change IPAs, which means a new PCP.

Then I had to meet the new PCP and get a new referral. Then I went through all the hoops, which vary depending on the insurance and IPA.

I can go on more, but don't want to overwhelm you. Suffice it to say, I am super excited because my band date is May. I started my process mid-Dec, and had a lot of (in my opinion) needless delays.

Please message me if you want more detail!

Good luck!

im off the 57 and 10--not in orange county, but close...since you are all locals, i'm trying to find out some info - i need to find a place to go for this process...i'm hoping my doctor will work with my insurance to get me covered (he would not do it for gastric bypass, but I'm hoping he'll go for this)...first off, any recommended doctors??? and did you have to do a 6 month diet plan???? i dont get having to do a 6 month diet after a lifetime of dieting. Im already discouraged about how long this will take to even start this program.....it would be nice to chat with locals when i finally get into this...i really need help cuz i'm discouraged already....

oh gosh i envy you... i guess i'll call my doctor NOW and hope once i talk to them, they'll refer me...i so want to be like you and have things to do to get this going!!! good luck to you!

Esmeralda,

Hello my name is Glynda and I live in Corona. I noticed that you said you live in Rancho Cucamonga. Do you attend a support group? I also noticed you seemed to have lost weight, and I wanted to know if you wouldn't mind sharing how. I have been banded two 1/2 months and feel like I have stopped loosing weight, I feel like I need to "diet" to get it going again. I went in for my 2nd fill yesturday, but it was small...

Hi all,

I live in Westminster, CA and have a band date for May 29th (two days away). It was a long road to get to this date, I started back in January 08. They have me going to Dr. Khalili at Cedar Sinai so it takes a long commute to get there. Every appointment has been about a month appart so it takes an ecessive amount of time to go through the whole process. My Dr. told me that they do that on purpose to weed out the ones who are not really committed to the surgery. I have HMO Anthem Blue Cross - it covered the surgery and approved it within 3 days of submitting the forms. Dr. Khalili demands all the pre test done, EKG, Ultra Sound, Barium, blood test, Chest Xray, gosh, I cannot even remember them all. But with all the tests, I know that he knows me inside and out! :huh2: I found out that I have a huge gall stone already and inflamation around the heart that they will keep an eye on over the next year. Those are great reasons to get the surgery no matter what! They are going to leave the gall stone alone til it starts to give me problems. My doctor says that some people go their whole lives with a gall stone and never even know it because it never gives them problems. The inflamation should clear up with a healthy diet and exersize. all of which should happen after the surgery.

Only 2 days to go....I only have to do a liquid diet on Wednesday. Yeah me!!!

I'll keep you posted on my progress!!

Congrats! I'm in Garden Grove. Would love to chat more. Email me if you want, i'm at hbjester_98@yahoo.com

Lets chat!

Good luck to you! I am still waiting for approval, hope to hear this week! I cant believe they made you go all the way to Cedar Sinai...i am hoping for a local hospital with my approval!

Did they make you do the 6-month diet???

Bobbie

Bobbie - no diet except the day before surgery. Tomorrow I have to have a healthy Breakfast and then liquids the rest of the day. At noon I will take a Fleets orally so it cleans the system out by the time you have surgery. Then I cannot eat or drink anything after midnight tomorrow evening.

I have to check into the hospital by 5:45am on Thursday and will have surgery at 7:45am. Doc says I may not even have to spend the night since I am his first patient. I have a terrible time with Anesthesia though, it tends to make me very nausious and vomit after surgery. Hope to speak with the Doc before surgery to tell them to go easy on the anesthesia and give me some anit sickness meds before hand.

I will keep you posted on how it goes.

Oh Wow! Everyone has been talking about some mandatory 6 month diet - and i dont understand...i've dieted all my life...and t hey want 6 more months worth? My doctors office KNOWS i've tired for years to lose and have not been successful - I'm so hoping i get approved and they waive that.

Good luck to you - i'm excited FOR you! I am so ready for this procedure...I hope it goes great for you!

Take care...