SMMC LB support group chicas

[Wheetsin 714]

Weighed this morning & my scale finally budged... 276.08.

It seems like I only lose when I PB. :/

[dpingl 0]

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!I am really beginning to get frustrated with this process. I have been to the meeting, I have been approved by my Ins Co. I have been to the nurtrionist, I don't have any other test to do BUT the PYSC Dr ACTUALLY ADDED ANOTHER VISIT! WHAT? . I spk with Billie and she actually thinks no band until Nov! I don't understand what I am saying or doing wrong with guy. I am changing my habits, not perfect but making great changes. :angry And now more appointments, more money and no BAND until NOVEMBER. I am considering another surgeon. This is really just dragging on and on! HELP!

Am I am over reacting. 4 pysc evaluations seems a bit much! I have no depression, I have quit drinking soda. I even turned down a job opportunity so I would not have insurance issues. I would think they could see the commitment is there!

[Rockin' Robyn 15]

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!I am really beginning to get frustrated with this process. I have been to the meeting, I have been approved by my Ins Co. I have been to the nurtrionist, I don't have any other test to do BUT the PYSC Dr ACTUALLY ADDED ANOTHER VISIT! WHAT? :eek: . I spk with Billie and she actually thinks no band until Nov! I don't understand what I am saying or doing wrong with guy. I am changing my habits, not perfect but making great changes. :angry And now more appointments, more money and no BAND until NOVEMBER. I am considering another surgeon. This is really just dragging on and on! HELP!

Am I am over reacting. 4 pysc evaluations seems a bit much! I have no depression, I have quit drinking soda. I even turned down a job opportunity so I would not have insurance issues. I would think they could see the commitment is there!

I totally understand what you are going through. I am one of the ones that was "forced" to jump through Dr. Sabopathy's psychological hoops. At the time I absolutely hated him because I felt he was the only thing standing in my way of the surgery. I was forced to go through I think 8-9 visits. I was pretty rebellious at first because I was mad....I even had a surgery date scheduled, and after I saw Sabopathy, they called me and said my date was cancelled until he okayed me for sugery!!! You can imagine my frustration to be in the mindset and tell everyone you have set the date, then have to try to come up with an explanation as to why it is postponed (without revealing the true explanation...which was of course in my mind very embarrassing...and how do you tell everyone your psychologist things you still have food "issues" to work through:confused: ).

In retrospect...I NEEDED each and every one of those sessions to help me work through some of my food issues (emotionally based). I have even called and gone back to Dr. S post-op 6+ months out, because some of the things were coming back again. Look at it this way, you can't get out of the required visits, so try to make the most of it and truly get out of it all that you can to help you maximize your weight loss when the surgery date finally arrives (and it will!)

Without being too windy/wordy here...I can tell you that it took me a long time to see the importance. But I can tell you that I did finally see it, and came to the appreciation that this was one of the things I actually love about Dr H.'s "program", is that they try to be very comprehensive. I know probably 6 other people that have gone to other surgeons that are more "popular" and highly advertised in town, and they do not have near as much pre-op preparation, nor the support afterwards.

My advice to you would be this:

• Do exactly as he says (if he asks you to bring in your food logs, do it). I was bad about this at first, and as I became more "compliant" (and that is the key thing they are looking for because compliance pre-op in a psych's mind equals compliance post-op) the faster he moved me along in the process.
  
• Don't hide your frustration with his decision....tell him point blank how you are feeling, but then tell him HOW you are planning on dealing with his decision, and HOW you plan on doing your best to do what he asks because you see the importance of it all.
  
• Don't get distracted at the beginning of the sessions by talking about all the food failures/problems going on in your life. Make a point of starting out the session by outlining your accomplishments that you have made since your last session (i.e. for me...I would go in and say for example..."Since my last visit I haven't had fast food even once....I have stopped drinking coke altogether...and am doing better at eating more Protein at each meal...but I still have to work on drinking more water)....that's just an example.
  
• If money is an issue (which it was for me since I was self pay...and more appointments with him meant more money)....tell him point blank. He is very good about working with you on that (even might write off some part if you are self pay).

You get where I"m going with this. Believe me, if any of us thought you should go to someone else, we are all very straightforward here and would tell you in a split second....but we all believe in our hearts and mind that Hoehn is a great surgeon and has a great comprehensive program. And that in my mind is what has made specifically the group of ladies on this web site so successfull. Look at the weight loss and the time frame in which the weight has been lost. NONE of the other people I know in the other local programs have done as well....and I say that based on factual-pure numbers, not opinion.

Don't go looking for another surgeon....it's going to end up being the same amount of time because you will be starting the process over, and many of the other surgeons in town are just as busy, if not busier-meaning you would have to wait with them too. I am sending you hugs, because I truly do understand what you are going through. This will all be worth it all soon. Hope that helps, and hang in there!

[katt 0]

I agree with Robyn. The program is the most comprehensive I have found anywhere. And that is what I was looking for. A program that would give me the proper tools and support to be successful at something I have failed at so frequently. My surgery is scheduled for Wednesday and I feel ready in all areas of my life. I would like to encourage you to stick with Dr. H. (either one of them) cause so far its been great. And look at the weight loss on this thread!!! WOW! Something is going right. Katt

[nolagirl2 0]

lost an lb. down a total of 80 lbs. since 9/28/05 (weight at first consult)

[Wheetsin 714]

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!I am really beginning to get frustrated with this process. I have been to the meeting, I have been approved by my Ins Co. I have been to the nurtrionist, I don't have any other test to do BUT the PYSC Dr ACTUALLY ADDED ANOTHER VISIT! WHAT? . I spk with Billie and she actually thinks no band until Nov! I don't understand what I am saying or doing wrong with guy. I am changing my habits, not perfect but making great changes. :angry And now more appointments, more money and no BAND until NOVEMBER. I am considering another surgeon. This is really just dragging on and on! HELP!

Am I am over reacting. 4 pysc evaluations seems a bit much! I have no depression, I have quit drinking soda. I even turned down a job opportunity so I would not have insurance issues. I would think they could see the commitment is there!

I think we get so used to hearing about less comprehensie programs, where the psychologist is not vested in the outcome of the surgery. That's when you'll hear most of your, "1 visit" scenarios. I had to see Dr. Sabapathy 3 times, twice pre-surgery, and a quick follow-up the day before to do the relaxation breathing (BTW did anyone else feel like an ass having to sit there and do that? :eek: ). Trust me when I say that if he's requiring additional visits, it's serving a good purpose. Don't assume it's his way of saying you aren't committed, because I doubt that's his concern. He is going to do what it takes to feel confident that he has helped you see the tools you will need for success. Don't get frustrated by it, it really is for your own good, and I don't know *anyone* who has regretted or resented the additional time after the fact. I too wanted my surgery "now" once I had decided to do it, and was frustrated that I had to wait (due to Dr. H's availability). But truly - November is just a month and a half away, and even though day by day it's going to seem like an enternity, it's time you can use. There's a lot of prep to be done, especially introspectively. I'm not saying you haven't already done it, but you can never do too much.

Something else to keep in mind, and forgive me if this sounds a bit too "tough love" (you can ask the girls here... I'm just a to-the-point kind of perosn) - but especially if you're an emotional eater, the core of what you need to get figured out is what you're going to divert your focus to when it can no longer be food. An easy way tol say it is "trading obsessions". Not drinking soda, ok -- good thing to give up, and a good step toward longer term behavioral changes that will lead to improved health. Not taking a change of jobs, probably not too relevant when you see it from a psychological perspective (in which case it's about getting the surgery paid for, not comittment to lifelong & lifestyle dietary & health changes). Neither of those have anything to do with how you will react, mentally, to the surgery... how you will cope, and if you're an emotional eater, how you will mourn. So while the soda is a good start on the behavioral side, it's all the other stuff of "why I'm fat" that you should think about.

[Wheetsin 714]

BTW all of the above is just MHO.

[Wheetsin 714]

Now... you guys know how I've told you that no one was noticing, or at least not commenting on, my loss? In the last week + handful of days, I've had probably 15 people, some of whom I don't even know, say something about how I've lost a lot of weight. So ok... whatever... thanks for the compliments. It's not about the compliments to me. I don't like being complimented anyway, makes me feel too akward. It *is* about the fact that other people see a difference, even though I don't (some but apaprently not as much as others), so it's affirmation that I'm getting there. It serves the same purpose as looking at pictures, only I can reason around the changes on paper (flattering angle, just an unusual "good picture" - the kind you hold on to and the only one you ever let anyone see... I'm sure we've all been there...), but I can't reason around 15 people in different settings, familiar & unknown, making comments in one week.

Yay me. :cheer2:

[dpingl 0]

Thanks for everyones support! I was almost in tears last night thinking about this situation. I suppose your right in on welcoming the help.... But everything he seems to be telling me I feel like I am aware of. Its almost the South Beach Program all over again. I understand I will have to make choices, I have been working on good choices forever! I have made positive steps. You don't change a lifetime of behavior in two/4 weeks, it just does not work that way. I think will defiantly try communicating more effectively. Outline my good behavior for sure. Try harder to have perfect behavior! Not easy as we all know, thats why I am fat. I guess two more appointments, two more weeks of food logs isn't the end of the world. I do have a concern after 6 months of trying to get this accomplished. The other issue is that my employment is changing insurance at the beggining of the year. I emailed and told Billie that and have not gotten a response yet...... I really don't think they understand that if their not going to get my surgery done before the 1st of the year I need to go some where else right now.

Ok, re-focus.. do your food logs, correctly, more protien, more Water.Don't resent the appointments, use them! I am trying!!!!!!!!!!!THANKS AGAIN everyone!

[dpingl 0]

Wheetin, don't you think everyone noticing is a GREAT THING? You should! You deserve it, WOW look at what you have accomplished. SMILE and say Thank you!

[TheGh0st 9]

Well girls today was my official 1 year. Had an appt with Hoehn & I was down 10 pounds since my last visit. I was still able to get another small tweak to my band since it was my last freebie. Hope it doesn't turn out to be too tight. According to the docs office I was down to 183 or 71 pounds down from the start. Pretty pleased as that is with close on unlike my ticker weights. (I know TMI, but there you go).

I also had something kind of "strange" happen this morning. We were getting some new desks installed at work and I could have swore one of the two installers did a little traveling up & down with his eyes when he first saw me walk in. If I didn't know better I would have thought he was checking be out. Hmmm...

Well I'll post later. I'm beat. Need to know from all if everyone/anyone is still interested in meeting up Sat evening for dinner at the Blue Nile. Let me know.

[Rockin' Robyn 15]

Diane-

HAPPY BANDIVERSARY TO YOU!!!! Great job with all of the hard work you have done this year.:clap2: :clap2:

I'm glad you posted, because that was the sole purpose I got on here real quick while I am at work today, was to see if we are still on for Saturday. I know I have talked Holli into trying it (and we need to eat with our fingers just to gross her out!!!) Just kidding. I can still go if we go in the early evening....6 ish??

Wheets, Jen, and Cynthia........Can you all go too? Haven't seen ya'll in a while.....Come on...it will be fun!!!

[Wheetsin 714]

I'm up for Ethiopian but Saturday is probably not a good day. I could do Friday evening, and just about any time Sunday, but I think we're going out of town Saturday.

[Rockin' Robyn 15]

Diane, Pat, Holli.....are you all open on Sunday pm?? I am available Saturday night, but Sunday would be better for me too;)

[Wheetsin 714]

Unexpected trip to Florida next week, so we'll definitely be out of town Saturday. It was a "maybe", because I might have been able to do it Wed of next week... but not anymore.