First Blog 6/22/09

I've been reading a lot of people's blogs lately regarding their experiences with weight loss surgery, and have appreciated reading everyone's experiences so much that I figured I should document my journey. I hope that this not only helps people who are interested in surgery, but also for my own benefit to journal my success.

My experience as of today includes: I attended my Lap Band Seminar @ Lahey Clinic in Burlington MA with my mom on May 11, 2009, a few weeks later on 5/21 I had my first appointment at the hospital. This included an initial consult with a nutritionist, psychologist and nurse practitioner. After meeting with these 3 people it was concluded that I would be a great candidate for Lap Band Surgery. I was really nervous for this appointment because I didn't know what to expect, but it was so easy. The nutritionist just wanted to understand my eating and exercise habits, and make some changes to help me lose weight. She suggested I start cutting my meat portions down oz by oz until I was around 3oz with each meal. She also wanted to me mix up my exercise routine, try different equipment and work different muscles. The psychologist just asked family background questions, and determined if I was mentally prepared for surgery. The Nurse Practitioner basically just went over the surgery process with me, and my options.

The next step was to take a closer look into my insurance (aetna) This stated that I had to do a 3 month dr. supervised diet, which would bring us to an estimated August surgery date. Sounded good to me! About 3 weeks after this appointment, someone from the scheduling department @ the hospital called me with a surgery date, she asked if August 14th would work, of course it did! So basically if everything goes as planned with insurance, I will be an official bandster on 8/14/2009.

My next appointment is tomorrow 6/23, this is to meet my surgeon and also follow up with my nutritionist. I set a mini goal for myself @ the initial consult to lose 5lbs by this appointment. I have been doing really well, and I think I might achieve this. yay! I think this is a good start to my first blog entry, please let me know if you have any questions/comments! :)