If there are any Christians out there who are looking for special support during this time I thought we could start a thread related to this. It might help with those thoughts and doubts as to if this is the right thing we are doing or any other 'shares' that might come to mind. I could use some at this time in my walk.

Sister in Christ,

Valerie

Thanks for your encouragement!

hey everyone

i have really loved coming to this section hearing

your stories has made me think about the way forward ,i was banded in Nov 8th 2007 it was one of the best things i could have done truly amazing and God has been with me all the way.

I have had one of my many talks with God and just asked him to help me each day to to the best i can with the changes i have to make i feel that he is in this wth me and i am thankful.

Just want to keep following what i need to do

and be healthy, at peace and move forward in where he need me to go

peaz for now

xR

<p>I had surgery on 12/12/07 and I am still a little sore. when will this soreness go away?</p>PS

I am itching now.

My port was sore for the longest of all the incisions. I think it's because it's stitched in to the muscle to hold it in place. That does go away but I think it's different for everyone on how long it will take.

I would hold on to my port if I was bending in a certain way etc to keep it from pulling and that made me feel better. I was too scared to exercise because I didn't want to mess it up. I was self-pay and I couldn't afford to do it over if something went wrong. I just now started exercising (I know - 6 months late on that one :eek: )

The end is near; you are almost 2 weeks out. Keep the faith and walk when you can!

Prayers and hugs,

wombat <><

Thanks for the information wombat712. I was just getting a little nervous about it all. I walk around at home and work quite a bit. I even go up and down the stairs at my house.

Do any of you live in the Maryland/Delaware area?

allheart - no I don't. I used to live in Baltimore many years ago. It's such a lovely area. I live north of Dallas now

:help: Have scheduled LB surgery for the end of Jan. I have failed at every attempt to lose weight, and have battled with this problem for years. I'm tired and discouraged from this battle. I'm looking forward to banding however, I am concerned about complications, since my insurance will not cover any procedure which is related to bariactric surgery. Even complications Are there any of you who did this procedure knowing that there would be no insurance help with complications? What were your experiences regarding no insurance coverage? I have prayed about this and still feel drawn to this solution (LB) but still I have these concerns.

Thanks for your thoughts and please pray for me.

Praise the Lord everyone, I am at the start of my journey. I have my first counsoltation with my surgean on Jan 31st. I looking forward to that, I have a sleep study to go to on Jan 8th. There's a very good chance I may have sleep apnes and I'll be gald to get the help I need because a girl needs her beauty sleep. Well I hope to get some responses and meet more of God' s beautiful people!

God Bless

welcome Joyross and Tyme4change!!!

I know the beginning stages of approvals can be trying. I wish you both the best on getting through all the pre-op work!!

Joyross - I was self-pay because any treatment is specifically excluded from my insurance. As far as if anything happens, well, they have to help you no matter what. They just may not pay for it. And, medical bills cannot be considered when evaluating your credit. You just may need to go to the community hospital (I'm not sure what they are called). If God can provide a way, then He can provide the means as well

tyme4change - are you trying to go through insurance? Usually it's a BMI of 40 or higher qualifies you or a BMI of 35 + comorbidities. I had not comorbidities but just squeaked by with a BMI of 40. My doc wouldn't do the surgery even with self pay unless you met those guidelines. Sadly - I made sure I didn't lose an ounce before surgery incase he wanted to change his mind. God speed on your journey!

Hugs and Prayers,

wombat <><

I appreciate your encouraging words, very much! I did't know about the credit rating stuff. Can they take money from your wages, remove money from savings? I was told gallbladder problems can occur as a result of weight loss, to what are other possiblities. I suppose the surgeon will talk with me about this, but he is not a Christian so there is not the kinship feeling. I would rather hear these things from a Christian before I talk with the doctor. Once again, thank-you so much.:clap2:

No medical bills/hospitals cannot take money from you. That's the IRS :Banane34: You can pay each bill $5 a month and they can't do anything about it. My sister had almost $250K in bills after her son was born. She got plenty of phone calls but she just sent each bill $5 when they called. I personally would get SICK of the calls.

I haven't heard any risk with gallbladder. The only risks I heard about were just from the surgery/anesthesia and any health issues you may currently have. I was the healthiest fat girl around

I am so so blessed to find this thread! You all are wonderful!

I began my journey on November 16 with Dr. Spivak in Houston, self-pay since my insurance won't cover since I didn't have any co-morbidities YET. Dr. Spivak is such a blessing, too, as is his staff!

I went back for my second fill yesterday after being stuck for about a week. I now have 5.5 cc of omnipac in my 11 cc band, and I am DEFINITELY finally feeling restriction now! I also started exercising (FINALLY) on Christmas, and have been increasing the speed every day. I just finished 33 minutes at 3.5 mph, which may not sound like much, but is a HUGE step for me! So far, I'm down 30 lbs. 114 to go!

I've been feeling in a slump, though. It's amazing what a stuck scale will do to your morale. The funny part was, every time I would picture the devil sitting at my feet with his hooves on the scale, going "ha ha! You just THOUGHT you would be successful!"

I have GOT to stop being a slave to the scale. But it's hard, especially when you've been fat ever since you were in first grade. I will never forget to the day I die, the elementary school nurse berating me as I stood on the scale in her office at the tender age of 6, being called Miss Piggy.

And now, I see my oldest son going down the same path, and am watching my parents kill themselves one twinkie and one chicken wing at a time, and I'm screaming SOMETHING HAS TO STOP. That's why I had the surgery.

Please pray for me. God bless you all!

welcome Joyross and Tyme4change!!!

I know the beginning stages of approvals can be trying. I wish you both the best on getting through all the pre-op work!!

Joyross - I was self-pay because any treatment is specifically excluded from my insurance. As far as if anything happens, well, they have to help you no matter what. They just may not pay for it. And, medical bills cannot be considered when evaluating your credit. You just may need to go to the community hospital (I'm not sure what they are called). If God can provide a way, then He can provide the means as well

tyme4change - are you trying to go through insurance? Usually it's a BMI of 40 or higher qualifies you or a BMI of 35 + comorbidities. I had not comorbidities but just squeaked by with a BMI of 40. My doc wouldn't do the surgery even with self pay unless you met those guidelines. Sadly - I made sure I didn't lose an ounce before surgery incase he wanted to change his mind. God speed on your journey!

Hugs and Prayers,

wombat <><

Wombat, thanks yes I'm going through my insurance my BMI is over 40, but I wanted to lose weight to get a head start should I not try to lose weight?

Hi guys do any of you have a myspace account? Feel free to put in a friend request!