O.K., So I started this process on December 28, 2008 when I notified my insurance company of my intentions.  Here we are, close to a year later, and I have completed all of my dietician programs,  6month physician supervised diet, cardiac, pulmonary, GI, and psych exams.  So I will patiently be waiting over the next several weeks for the insurance company to render their verdict.  Wish me luck.  The soonest I would be able to have the RNY would be mid-January, according to the stipulations of my insurance company.  I do have to say I thought all of the consults were going quite overboard, but I did find out I that have sleep-apnea and required CPAP; as well as, having the EGD-I found out I have a condition of Barrett's esophagus with cellular changes and require yearly follow-up to prevent esophageal cancer.  Had I not had those tests, who knows where I would have been in 5 years regarding my health.
So if everyone could keep your fingers crossed and pray that I get approval, that would be much appreciated.  Thanks!
Carol B
NE Iowa
Go Hawks!!

I would suggest you hang on to it if you haven't gotten rid of it already- give yourself a few months. It is rather astonishing how your tastes change after a few months. But it is possible that you will never like it

Mine didn't turn out so well.  Very painful and awkward to do anything. ie., sit ,stand ,lay down ...especially sitting at work.   It gets worse year by year.  Had surgery in 2001. 
Click on "leechetta" to view pics.

Last week we released two major updates. First was the public release of OH Groups where any ObesityHelp member can now create their own Group. Second was the addition of Activity Tracking to Health Tracker, which provides a robust and easy to use tool to track and monitor your exercise and activity. Today we have added My Meals and an Activity vs. Weight Loss Report to Health Tracker. 

My Meals My Meals allows you to group and store multiple food and beverage items as a custom meal that can be used over and over again. If you have meals that you eat on a regular basis, you will no longer need to log each food item individually.

To access My Meals, go to your Health Tracker in My OH and click on the Nutrition tab. You will see My Meals listed under Nutrition.

Creating a new meal works similar to your Food Log. You can search for food items on the right and add the foods to the meal on the left. A Calorie Breakdown chart and Nutrient Summary Label are also available for each meal.

Once a meal is created you can add that meal to your Food Log from My Meals by clicking "i had this" or you can search for the meal from your Food Log.

When searching for a meal to add to your Food Log, all meals will be returned when "My Foods" is selected in search. So, to "drill down" on meals that you have created, select to only show "My Foods." When a new meal is created it may require up to 30 minutes for that meal to be indexed and become searchable.

Activity vs. Weight Loss Report Adding to the Macronutrient and Export Reports previously available, there is now an Activity vs. Weight Loss Report. This report will allow to compare Average Time in Activity vs Weight over time, providing you with further insight into what impact physical activity as on weight loss and weight loss maintenance. In Health Tracker, click Reports and then select Activity vs. Weight Loss.

We hope these additions to Health Track reduce the time required to log your daily food intake and makes it easier to view how physical activity impacts your weight.   Create your first meal now! If you have any questions, comments or concerns about this release, please post them on the Main Message Board.

Thanks Heather,
I did find a support group that is 1.5 hours away and I spoke with the receptionist at a clinic and am having my records faxed there to get an appointment set up. I am so excited!! Made going to the gym tonight seem so much brighter. I believe I put on my message that I had RNY in 2006 but that was an error it was May 25, 2004. For 2.5 weeks now I have watched calories and only get weighed on Sundays as well as writing down everything that goes in to my mouth and going to the gym atleast 5 nights a week. My husband and daughter are doing this with me. My husband has lost 10.2lbs and 15 yr old daughter has lost 6.8 and me, 0.4. So, my goal is to continue on and get to clinic for check up and make sure I am on the right path.
Thanks again,
Jenn