Carmel IN anyone

I now have a date and will be looking for a buddy to meet up with while I am in the hosp. Are you game?

I read your profile, that was a long wait for approval! Congratulations to you - you finally got it! I am sure you will be fine, and all your problems will be gone once you successfully loose weight. I have a surgery date on Nov 17th. My BMI is 39, and I am nervous I will not get approved, since it is below my insurance requirement of 40. I was 305lb, but I have lost 70 lb over the year on medication. I then hit the wall and stopped loosing weight. When I try to get off medication, I gain. I tried different types of meds, and they gave me hives. So surgery is my only option. I feel so wonderful after I lost all these pounds, that there is no way back. It looks like however, that I have to gain back to get insurance approval....I don't have medical problems any more, even though I used to....That's why I am nervous about denial. I am in process of getting the evaluation of 5 specialists per insurance requirements (HealthNet). Anyway, I wish you the best with your upcoming surgery and good luck!

Hello Lena, I also read your profile, and was intrigued to read that you speak Russian; are you originally from there, or is your hubby a serviceman? I am so interested in other languages and would love to learn Spanish for my job (it's a great assest when you are a nurse!), but I think it may be hard to teach this old dog new tricks. Speaking of pets, I also have 2 birds (****atiels), and the greys are so intelligent! We have been trying to find a good home for our birds though as we think they are causing me to have respiratory problems (asthmatic symptoms). I feel for you really; I cannot imagine doing all that work and then being denied. Have you considered gaining a little bit just to get the BMI up to 40? I think that's what I would do, especially since you are so close. I was afraid to lose too much too, just because I didn't want my insurance company to think I can attain my ideal weight on my own. I have never been an easy loser. I have lost 5-10 lbs at a time. The most I ever lost was after the death of my first husband (even then I only lost about 30 lbs); and I never ate then. I have friends who yo-yo all the time, in fact I have one friend who has had the surgery and when she applied for ins approval her MD added up her losses. In her previous 20 yrs of weight loss attempts she lost over 2,000 pounds!!! My feeling is that if you can't keep it off w/o Adipex then you need surgery. You can't be on Adipex forever. Best wishes to you. I am as chatty as a schoolgirl since I have been scheduled. How about you? Will you have it even if ins does not pay?

Hello, thanks for your kind words! Only those in your shoes can understand so well¡K My family came to US in 1993¡Kthat¡¦s where my language knowledge is coming from. Your next question will be how come my English is as good as it is. I don¡¦t know - I guess I am smart¡K ?º?º Look, when you come with $700 in your pocket, 4 suitcases, two children 9 and 11, no jobs and no English, you¡¦ve got to struggle to survive. It¡¦s like throwing somebody off the boat in the middle of the river and that somebody cannot swim. This stage is gone though ¡V we are well established now with a beautiful home and nice jobs. Sometimes I want to forget where I am from. Those damn communists wanted to make everybody equal, so my parents, both college professors, could not afford to feed their 3 children enough. As far as I remember I was hungry. My weight problems are originated from that unconscious fear of hunger, the urge to eat more in order to stay fed for a longer period of time. Not that I eat a lot, but I eat so fast (animal fear that somebody will take it from me), that I miss that point when I am full. You are correct about my medication program, I guess if I knew from the beginning, that this is only a temporary relief, I would not start it, and head straight to surgery. However, I was not ready mentally to do it a year ago. I am able to maintain my weight now on Adipex. If I stop I crave for food. I can easily get to BMI 40, but what a shame! It took me 3 months to get these 10 lb off! If they deny I will appeal, and no - I am not paying from my pocket. Regarding your asthmatic symptoms ¡V I had a full blown asthma for 2 years after I got it as a complication to strip throat. I could not go anywhere without inhaler! Guess what ¡V after loosing 70 lb, it is gone forever! I have not refilled my asthma medication for 9 months! So it could be just due to extra weight you are carrying¡K Don¡¦t get rid of your lovely birds ¡V wait until after the surgery! Since you are a surgical nurse, how it feels to know that they will do it to you in November???

Lena, Wow, thank you for sharing your history and feelings about your homeland; I cannot imagine how it would be to be hungry like that. I admire you for being able to recognize your weaknesses when it comes to food. My weakness is boredome (it's much more satisfying to eat than do things that need to get done) and Coca-cola. I will most likely grieve for my soda more than anything else. I have stopped drinking it before, so I know it is possible. I also havn't quite figured out what I will say when people notice I am not eating much (the people who do not know I had surgery done), and try and make me eat more. As far as being a nurse I feel like it will be a blessing because I have taken care of a lot of abdominal surgery patients and know what to expect. I know the nurses that act like drill sergeants are the best, even though you want to hate them when you don't feel well. I know that it shouldn't hurt when they make me walk; if it does I am not using the pain medicine enough. I am a little afraid I will be a wimp with the pain and so I will warn my doc that I have a low pain tolerance. I feel good though that I know I will report any slight abnormal feeling to the doctor, because I do not want to have any life-threatening complications. I feel like some of the people who end up dying or near dying are the ones who don't call their doc right away when they suspect something is wrong. I am praying daily that this surgery goes smoothly for both of us. I looked at your profile, and wanted to tell you that I think you have a beautiful face! Now that I know you are from Russia I can see the Russian characteristics. You will be so stunning when you lose the weight. Are you excited about that? I tell everyone I want this for health reasons (which I do), but the cosmetic benefits are exciting to me. I am looking forward to next year going to reunions etc. Are you married or single? How do your children feel about the surgery, and your family? How old are the children now? Maybe we can be weight-loss pen-pal buddies! I look forward to hearing from you again Lena!

Thanks for your compliments! LOL, I never considered myself beautiful nor that I can imagine myself with 140 lb of weight as my doc tells me I will weigh after the surgery. I never had weight like that, even in high school when I was doing all kinds of sports and was on most school sports teams - so I have doubts. I was always told that this was due to my bone frame - my bones are thick and heavy, however the surgeon says it is all bull, it only adds 3-5 lb to your weight. When I married at the age of 19, I was slim and still more than 140 lb. My hubby was able to lift me up in his arms for pictures though. It will be 25 years in March since we married, our sons are 21 and 23, and we are going to Vegas to celebrate! We have never been to Vegas, so hopefully I will be back to normal in March... I am excited just imagining how I will look by then and what I can put on! Size 6-8? Wow!!!! My husband is very supportive of my decision about surgery, we went to see the surgeon together and it is actually OUR decision...He has normal weight - 100 lb less than me My sons think I look great already, so why bother. I don't consider 240 lb great shape though and I struggle to maintain it, which they don't see. I already feel like a new person after loosing weight. I am XL-16W (3X before), I can actually tuck my shirt into the pants, since my stomach is not hanging over any more. My PCP says it is good that I started with medication first, lost the first 70 lb slowly and gave my skin enough time to shrink, that will help to avoid the tummy tuck after surgery. Since I have to exercise on a treadmill to maintain it, I am also physically strong. We are also wrapping up the construction of addition to the house - since we did most of it ourselves, THAT was a lot of exercise! We gave ourselves a break in summer after we finished one floor and I started gaining - that's when I panicked and made an appt for gastric bypass consultation. Bying the treadmill after that helped a lot. As far as other members of my family (who all live in US)- I told my sister, she also struggles with weight, even though she is much lighter and shorter than me. We are very close and she is worried. I did not tell my mom - she will ******ve reck, and I need a confident support now. What about you, are you telling your family, friends, co-workers? Since our surgeries are before Thanksgiving, how to explain that we cannot eat turkey this year? I am sure it will all come out for my relatives... I am sure most will say I am crazy...Ha-ha - whether they approve or not, that will be too late! How many days off work you are taking? I am concerned since there are a lot of people that depend on me, and 2 people from my team recently left. I enjoy your replies too, so will wait for your response!

Hey Lena, I replied to you through email instead of on the site. I didn't want anyone to get upset that we weren't following the rules (staying on topic and such...). I also sent my email address. Talk to you soon! Lori