Hello everyone...

I have been reading on this site for the past month and finally decided to become a BANDIT I am 38yr old female, 5ft 4, 216 pds and most people tell me that I should not do the procedure because I am not big enough (in their eyes) well for me having the procedure will be more than just being vain about my size. I have and take medicine for daily: Psuedo Tumor Cerebrii, High Blood Pressure, sleep Apnea and Diabbetes..yea I know right????? so when my surgeon Dr. Touliatos looked over my medical records he laughed and asked me did I drink or smoke and I said no and he said well maybe you should start (lol) because you have everything else which is sad but true.

My procedure will be done more for health reasons than anything but the added weight loss will surely be a plus!!!!!! I am an Lab employee at Trinity Medical Center of Excellence and I will have my procedure done there as well so I will have NO OUT OF POCKET COSTS which is great and my insurance is BC/BS.

I will be in a familiar atmosphere with the doctors and nurses that I have known for years so I will feel safe. I have chosen to do the Lap Band w/ Plication and I am so excited because at Trinitry the doctors have been doing the Lap Band w/Plication for the last 8 months and the results have been awesome. So far Dr. T said he has only had to do a couple of fills so whatever he is doing seems to really work and alot of patients that was considering Gastric has chosen Lap Band w/Plication and the pounds are dropping!!!! I have to complete a 6 month diet which sucks because if not for that I would be having my procedure in a couple of weeks but Im gonna have to wait this thing out which right now seems impossible. I really love this site and I enjoy reading posts from everyone and getting all the helpful tips and advice. I just wanted to say hi to everyone and goodluck!

TheNewMe2012

Oh, Honey, with your health issues added to your BMI of 37 you should certainly have this done. Ignore the naysayers. They usually don't have a clue what they're talking about. You're a medical person and know full well where you're headed if you keep up the way you are. You'll be so happy once the weight starts falling off and you come off of the meds. Everything you are being treated for is reversible and weight loss is the way to reverse them. Good luck with your surgery and your journey!

I don't think you could find a better hospital to have your surgery done. I'm a big advocate of CoEs. I'm only

a month out, but I've already cut my diabetes meds in half and my blood sugar was 88 this am, sleep apnea

has a way to go. My stay at the CoE I went to was the best hospital stay I've ever had. I came away with

almost no pain and was able to walk almost two miles the day after my discharge. Hope your experience

is just as good.

As part of the requirements for insurance to cover my procedure, I had to lose 10% of my starting weight in a year's time. I kind of put it off until the last couple of months so everyone saw my weight fall about 25 pounds in two months; this had people saying that I didn't need to surgery since I was doing so well.

I will be 40 next month, my starting weight was 300, I have never been thin in my life, I have high cholesterol, my knees are absolutely horrible and I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant with my daughter. After so many times of losing some weight and then putting it back on plus some I was tired of it; however, my mother had a real problem with the bypass and almost died. I felt that I needed weight loss surgery but I didn't want anyone to cut my stomach. I tell everyone that I know my history and I have done the research and the prep work for this and it wasn't a decision I made lightly but this is the right decision for me. I just started my pre-op diet; I am scheduled to be banded on October 17th and I am looking forward to the next step in my journey!