dustout

For insurance to pay for my banding, I have to get a referral from a general doctor to do this. Did anyone else have to do this, and how hard was it? Most of my dieting has been on my own. My doctor did give me Phentermine for a couple of months a couple of times but it was awful. I was really hyper but I feel high all the time and it made me unstable emotionally. I've always been fine emotionally but it messed me up horribly while I was on it. I'm a bit worried that my doctor may not referr me since my diet attempts have been on my own. I know a 'doctor assisted' diet won't any better. Any weight I lose will just come back. When I diet I usually lose about 10 or so pounds then gain it back over the next few months as I cant stay on a diet any longer as I seem to platue and I'm miserably hungry. I eat too much. I'm 23 and have tried losing weight so many times. I've tried Atkins for 6 months and lost 20 pounds but I couldn't stay on it and gained most of it back over the next few months. That was my most successful weight loss attempt. My highest adult weight was 300 and my lowest is 280 which I am now. Any suggestions on things to say to the doctor to help him realize that this is for me? My doctor is associated with my insurance so I'm worried they may try to avoid surgery if they can since that will cost them more... I have high blood pressure, Multiple Sclerosis, and diabetes and heart problems run in my family. From my point of view it seems pretty obvious that this is something I need to get and will be in my best interest. Thanks!

I've decided I'm going to move forward to the next step on this and move towards getting banded. While thinking about it this past week I decided I would eat healthier until either way. Well, I've already been screwing up and eating too much. This reminded me that while I can be motivated and improve things, I need help in doing this and that if I could get rid of this weight on my own I wouldn't be stuck hovering at 280 for so many years. Thank you so much guys! I will hang around here and probably document my process on this and another lapband forum. I'm excited although scared.

Oops! Height fixed. I'm 5'10". Thank you for the replies so far. It is immensely helpful to hear these responses! I remembered one more concern I had. Saggy skin. I've heard some about it but not a whole lot. Is there inches and inches of saggy skin everywhere, or does it tighten up some? Is there anything that helps the skin tighten after losing the weight so quickly? My mom thinks that if I lose 100 pounds in a year I would have to get like a body lift to look normal. In before and after pictures I don't really notice this problem on people too much. Most of my excess weight is on my abdomen area as probably a lot of guys here have/had so maybe the sagging hides well under clothing. I'm getting excited thinking about having to worry about what happens from becoming so thin!

Hello, I'm 23, male, about 5'10 and 280 pounds. I've always been overweight and have had minimal success dieting. I tend to lose some and bounce back up until I get to 299 before I panic and start losing again. Recently I was diagnosed with M.S. and high blood pressure so I need to lose weight. I once tried Phentermine but I felt super hyper and had anxiety and was emotional and felt kind of mentally crazy while on it so I got off of it. I'm considering lapband. I need to lose a ton of weight and doing it on my own is so slow and I seem to always bounce back up no matter how motivated I feel. I think lapband will help give me a jumpstart and keep me motivated to continue. I also think I have sleep apnea although I haven't gone to the doctor about this. So what's holding me back? Well a few things. 1. I've never had surgery so I'm a bit scared of that. Surgery seems SO extreme to lose weight. I feel like I should have the control to lose this weight myself. I know there's nothing wrong with doing this to lose weight and be healthier. It's just hard to shake that feeling and the fear of stuff going inside of me. It's just weird. I'm kind of uncomfortable with the thought.... but wow... help in losing this weight would be amazing. How was the actual surgery? How was the pain? Did you recover quickly? Scarring? Any complications? Anything I should keep in mind? 2. It's hard for me to imagine not being so overweight. I've been single all of my life so far since I'm so self conscious of myself. About 5 years ago I got down to 230 pounds and WOW I felt like a million bucks and gained so much confidence. I gained it back though and that kind of fell away. I'm doing okay in life but I think losing a ton of weight would help me get a better view on life. I want to do more and enjoy life more but I feel like I'm being held back. I want to run a block without worrying if someone is looking and see my fat bouncing around. It sounds silly to be so self conscious I guess but that's how I am. Strangely enough even though I want these things, thinking of myself being like 170 pounds, is unimaginable! I can't remember weighing that little. I guess I feel like I've gotten used to being how I am. How have others coped with this? Is it just so great to lose the weight that this problem goes away? I'm probably just overthinking this aspect. 3. I hear a lot about the extra chewing and the small portions. One thing that I wonder: Are you still able to enjoy food? Cutting back and eating healthier is great. But I worry that this will hamper the process of eating so much that I will be missing out on enjoying eating anymore, which everyone is supposed to enjoy. Is it as simple as eating less, chewing more, and watching what you eat? Also, how do you deal with restaurants? Do you find they often have something you can eat or do you get doggy bags if you go? Being in college, late night restaurant trips are bound to happen. 4. I have to get a doctor to referr me for insurance to cover me. Has anyone had to deal with that? I have a fear that he will think I just need to try dieting harder and push this off. He is the doctor that prescribed me phentermine before that didn't work out for me. However, next year I won't have insurance. I need to get this process started this summer so I can get it done before school starts back up or early in the semester. Any advice for this or dealings with it? 5. Not a reason, but a question. How long did it take from the point of start to finish. As in seeing the lapband doctor to having surgery? If I get this, I have to squeeze it in before or early in the next semester of college. I'm a bit worried about if the timing will work. The place that does it couldn't give me a precise timeline due to things like doctor issues, insurance, etc, etc. Sorry for all the questions... I am so wanting to do this but at the same time since I don't know anyone who has had it, it's been hard to get answers to these key things. I figured you guys would have great answers to these things as many of you can probably relate to much of this. Thanks in advance!