Where are all the nurses?

Hi All! I'm an RN from PA. I had lap RNY 5/15/03 - almost 8 months out and down 75 pounds. Never felt better in my life! I'm a visiting nurse and I love my job! Best of luck to those waiting and keep on loosing to those who've been there.

HI everyone, I'm an RN in Iowa, I work in a small county hospital, so I work in all departments except ER & OR, but hope to be crossed trained to those areas. I like to call myself a well rounded nurse, only I'm getting less round. Down 28lbs in 4 weeks, I see my Dr. tomorrow & will see what 5 weeks post-op brings. Denise

Hi gang! My name is Aggie and I work as a staff nurse on a medical unit in a 500 bed teaching hospital. Can't believe that I have now been in nursing for almost 24 years! I have worked in many areas: pediatric adolescent medicine, pediatric critical care, adult critical care and diabetes education. Also worked in the private sector as a clinical consultant for medical sales co. I was on the waiting list for a year and have completed my initial evaluation and signed consent last week. Now I wait for a date! The surgeon said it could be as soon as 2 weeks or as long as 4 weeks. Can't wait to hear from the scheduler at her office. Although my surgeon is listed as Dr. Cobean, my surgeon will be Dr. Renee Wolff, his new associate. I work (3) 12-hr shifts per week (7A to 7P) and I am interested hearing about how other hospital staff rn's have worked out the frequent meals after returning to work. Also, how soon did you all return to work? I would love to hear about your experiences in this area. Glad to have a group of buddies to share with. Aggie

It is really great to see nurses on here! I so agree with forgetting you're a nurse when you walk through the doors, except for the post op recovery. I am waiting for my insurance approval and am on pins and needles. I think of it constantly, it is crazy! Did anyone go through this? I am restraining myself from calling my insurance company. I went to the consult on the 30th, and just want to call and see if they have the papers? Should I? Thanks! Pam

I am a little late with this post, but I am new to the site and am excited to find a nurse's board. I am a RN working in the Emergency Dept. of a semi-rural hospital. I am pre-op for lap band. Actually, I have just jumped through all of the hoops the insurance co. has requested thus far. Woo-hoo!!! I am hoping that the paperwork will be sent to the insurance today or Monday. As an employee of the only hospital in the area that does lap banding, the approval process should be short as the HR dept and the CEO get involved to make it expediant. My doctor says possibly this month or March at the latest. Look forward to sharing this journey with other nurses. Kristen

Kristen, Good luck on your journey. I had my surgery at a "sister" hospital in our corporation. I also involved our HR VP and the CEO of my facility. I thought since we are scheduled for JCAHO survey in April they would help me expedite the process (the was back in November 2003). I wanted to be finished with my FMLA as soon as possible. However, they decided that I needed to follow the insurance guidelines (they are the administrators over the insurance) of six month wait, supervised diet, etc. I had my surgery on 1-26-04 and plan to take off wor****il at least early March. Now, they are very anxious for me to return to work to help prepare for JCAHO. (I manage an OB unit). However, I plan to take care of ME............ Hope everything works wonderful for you. Good Luck again, Sandy

Sandy, Thank you for the encouraging words. I just recently found out about the brand new (as of November) 6 month rule. I have records ftrom 2 physicians in the last year, and I have been in a "diet club" with one of the ER docs I work with, and he is going to write a letter...he is a physician, and he has been involved with the dieting pitfalls over the last 18 months...my insurance coordinator says that may be enough to get it pushed through. I am hoping to schedule the surgery on a Wednesday of my weekend off week...I will only have to use PTO for the Wednesday and Thursday. The LAP-BAND recover time is very short compared to bypass. I wish you a rapid and complication-free recovery...keep me posted on your recovery and weight loss. Kristen

Hi! I am an Rn in Ohio. I work at the VA facility here and have for the past 21 years. The last 10 years in acute psych. There are many staff members here who have had wls. Enough staff to be able to have an onsite wls support group at work. I am awaiting insurance approval. I am trying hard to keep up my spirits until then. I am glad to find others who are going through this.

Hi,nurses! I am an RN(21 yrs) in NICU 7pm-7am. Two of my friends at work have had the RNY. They are 4 and 8 months out. One has lost 100 pounds and the other 70. I am scheduled for 1st appointment in August- It took almost a year to get in. My PCP insists on this guy due to success rate and decreased mortality rate...I am ready now and I am sick of roller coaster blood sugars,yeast infections and hypertension. I am afraid of being hungry post op. After all, I would not have gotten this big if I did not love food. How am I going to mentally change over the long hall....? Will I be sad over the loss? I am normally a very positive person but people in my life say things like-I heard you can out eat that pouch and get big again- Is that really possible with the RNY? Can the stomach return to the size of a football? I really want this and I am smart enough to find support-esp. with fellow nurses...