Hi everyone! My name's Lauren and I'm new here. I'm getting banded on September 17th (after going back & forth with my insurance company for nearly a year) so needless to say I'm very anxious and excited. I'm being banded by Dr. Guillermo Ponce de Leon at Methodist Sugar Land. I'm worried about the 2 week pre-op diet but I know I can do it. Anyhow.. just wanted to pop in and introduce myself!

Hi Ms.Kitty and welcome. I'm from Louisiana myself.

Hi Lauren,

I am pretty new here too. My name is Becky and I am scheduled to have my surgery on September 12th in Houston Texas. It sounds like you have jumped through many insurance hoops. I hope that is all over and you get your procedure done soon. Good luck to you. Let me know if I can answer any questions or help you in any way. KEEP SMILING!!

Hi Lauren,

My name is Becky I am from Austin, TX. I have been going through the insurance crap for a while now so I finally got approved and finished up all my pre op requirements i am waiting to see my surgeon one more time Sept 4 and hopefully get my surgery date. I am hoping for sometimes in Sept as well. So welcome to the forum and maybe we can be friends??

Good luck to u and keep in touch.

Hi Lauren! I'm in Houston too...well, Katy. Not sure what part of Houston you are in, but if you are in the Katy/Cypress area you are more than welcome to come to an informal meet-up this Sunday at 2 PM. If you are interested, just let me know and I'll give you the specifics!

Welcome to the fun!

Misty

You will be able to fly through the preop, just think of the way you will feel with the help of the band, when you start losing weight!!

By the way I am in North Texas, Fort Worth. I was banded at the very end of December, and as of today have lost 102 pounds. So just follow the rules and stick with it!! Remember to exercise, it helps alot.

Sept 17 will be here before you know it.

Thank you everyone for your words of welcome and inspiration! As the countdown continues I become more and more excited. I'm trying not to view the pre-op diet as something horrible and more like the beginning to a new life.

MissBS, where are you having your surgery done? I live in Houston but am having it done not too far away in Sugar Land. I wanted to have the procedure done at a hospital closer but my bariatric doctor recommended Dr. Ponce to me and I trust her professional opinion.

austex, it really sucks jumping through all the insurance hoops huh? The first time I talked to the insurance they told me I just needed to have 6 months of documented Dr.'s visits, a psych eval, and a meeting with a nutritionist. Then, 6 MONTHS later, they told me they couldn't proceed without a sleep study. Then, as my luck would have it, I had to go back for another sleep study because the first one confirmed I that I have sleep apnea. Ugh!! Definitely an uphill battle. I feel so blessed to finally have a set date.

MistyD65, I actually do live in the Cypress area! I'm sorry I just now saw your message. Do you meet every week? I would love to meet with a group of people going through the same thing.

sparker919, thank you for your inspiring words! I have well over 100 lbs to lose and I hope one day I will be saying the same as you. I just hope I don't regret getting banded because I'm such a wuss for pain. Just have to remind myself how worth it the whole process will be!

Wow, now that I've written a novel.. off to explore more of the forum!