Newbie here

Hello! I'm looking for a good doctor in Shreveport to do adjustable lapband. Anyone know of one? I have 3 heart valves leaking, constant back aches and my feet/legs tend to swell alot. I'm about 90lbs overweight and I know that I'm suppose to be more than that but with my heart like it is I don't know if I'd survive gaining more weight! I was skinny - to - slim until I turned 34 and then it hit me: 70lb weight gain in one year. I know that I'm hypoglycemic although it's hard to get a doctor to listen. After the 'low-blood sugar' epidemic of the 90's doctors tend to not want to listen, I guess thinking that the patient is looking for the easy way of saying why they gained weight. I wasn't overeating, as a matter of fact I was eating less when I gained the weight. I got up at 7 am and was on the go all day with only dinner around 6 and maybe a snack or two. Most of my snacks are of fruit. No doctor would listen to me, that I was eating just one meal a day. So here I sit, fatter than I've ever been and very miserable about it. My heart flutters, bangs and chokes, gasping for oxygen. Imagine what it does when I try to walk! I'm going to push my insurance to cover the lapband and hopefully I'll be approved the first time out of the starting gate! I hope Cigna is good at helping. Thanks for letting me vent!

Hi Laura, You should check with a gastric surgeon like Dr. Mark Gibbs in Little Rock, Arkansas. His seminars are full of information. It might be that your health problems are enough for your ins. to cover your surgery. You just need to get to a doctor.......a gastric surgeon to find out what your BMI is along with all the health problems you are having. Document everything is what I am told. You probably have a heart doctor, so get your medical records from them first and then call Dr. Gibbs or maybe someone in Shreveport about the gastric bypass.......or lap banding. The surgeon will have to tell you if you are a good candidate for the lap banding or not. God bless you, Dodie

Thank you for your reply! I'm getting messages and phone calls from some of these places already and I just joined. Wow. I am to get a psych evaluation this coming Monday and I do believe I'll pass it with flying colors. I really need this to help me lose weight. Sometimes I snack without even realizing it!! Be nice to at least be able to lose enough by summer so I won't look like a big elephant in a tutu when I go swimming. Ugh!

Laura, Welcome to our site. I hope you find all info. you need here. Best Wishes on your journey Debbie Moya