Alexandra

OK, at that height and weight your CURRENT body-mass index is 18.9. So you want to model, that's great. A lap-band is not going to help you. Hell, it might even be visible on you. For sure the port will be. If you want to have surgery to remove cottage cheese from your tushie, you want liposuction. Why not explore that, or body contouring, or some of the other procedures out there for that purpose? You really don't want something that will compromise your ability to eat, since you really don't need to lose any more weight. Please reconsider.

Oh, and I meant search here for threads on Betencourt Medical, not Google. Although doing both is no doubt a good idea.

Mya, at your age I'd really suggest doing something else to try to lose weight. You didn't answer the question of your height, but even if you're less than 5' tall you already have a normal BMI. Why is your goal weight so low?

20 lbs is not, in my opinion, worth running the risks of surgery. EVERY surgery has risk, and no doctor in the US would perform weight loss surgery on someone trying to get down to double-digit weight. How tall are you? Unless you are 3 feet tall this just makes no sense to me, I have to be honest. Are you seriously thinking of spending multiple thousands of dollars and running the very real risk of surgery to lose 20 lbs?

Hi Mya, You might want to do a search on Betancourt to read up on some prior posts about people's experiences there. 'Nuff said. Next, are you saying you currently weigh 117 and are having surgery to lose 20 lbs? That can't be what you mean, can it?

I wish you all the best luck for an uneventful surgery and quick recovery, Mary. Good for you for making the best decision for your health!

Oh, Deezer, that's awful! What a terrible thing. I don't blame you for being depressed and teary, but try to hang on to the good thing about all this. Once your band is removed you can HEAL and you will be healthy again. I hope your infection is quickly a thing of the past. :hug:

Yay!! That's one less thing to worry about, and one less BIG thing at that! Congratulations!!!

A co-worker of mine has a 4 y.o. nephew who was treated for brain cancer most of last year. He had surgery, chemo, and radiation and as far as we in the office heard was doing well. I just got an e-mail from the co-worker letting me know his nephew's cancer has returned, and the doctors say it's progressed to the point where he has only 2-3 months to live. My heart is just broken in two for this family. I can't imagine. :think

Marjon, would you object to a little judicious editing of the title of this thread? Usually, adult content warrants a label, and I guess there's some grounds for objection on that score.

No one is supporting the activities mentioned on the linked site, though. It seems you are objecting to the mere mention of reprehensible activities. What line is it that you want drawn?

We just got haricuts this morning, and I'm sad to say it ended in tears for my older dd. We went a little, um, shorter than she wanted. :shuffle Normally I'd let her have all the say, but she didn't really even need a cut, she just wanted one because her sister was getting one. So while she was in the chair the hairdresser and I discussed "long layers" and Gillian didn't say a word. The hairdresser seems not to know what "long" means. Gillian was aghast, and inconsolable for a couple of hours. The before and afters are below. She's over it now, and I think it actually looks really great. She'll be very happy not to have to deal with long hair for the summer.

Brandy, as I understand it there is very little risk for banding surgeries to be converted to open. The fact is the lap-band is designed to be installed laparscopically, so converting to an open surgery would make no sense. If there were a problem, the surgeon would be much more likely to not install the band at all.

Hey, anyone can ask at any time that something be removed. That doesn't mean we're going to DO it.

I didn't really know what was meant by "long layers," but then the stylist clarified and said she would keep the longest part as long as it was before the cut. That sounded OK to me and Gillian, who was concerned that it stay feminine and long-looking. So that's what I was expecting. We were both a bit taken aback, but now we're lovin' it. :biggrin1: Thanks, everyone!

Excellent post, Helen! Very well said and really, can't be said often enough. Thank you.

That does seem an odd rule if there's any pretense at all to being an open forum. We inadvertently used to allow a similar thing, by letting people delete their own posts. That's fine in principle, but if they delete their own thread-starting posts, they end up deleting the entire thread. And that's not fair to everyone else who posts in a thread. That's why here people can only delete their OWN posts, not entire threads.

I found that not saying anything before the fact was a better approach with most people. As the weight loss become apparent, that's plenty of time to figure out who to be honest with. In my experience no one judged me or gave me a hard time--the proof was right in front of them that it was the right decision for me. Personally, I think that any friend who would feel "hurt" that you didn't tell them earlier is no friend. They'd just be expressing their displeasure at having been denied some juicy gossip (and I did have one former relative who felt just that way. Phooey.) Some things are personal, and you are completely and totally allowed to keep them that way until you feel ready to discuss it. Any real friend would understand.

Heather, I can't advise on the doctor but I can tell you that until/unless you literally can't get any liquids down it's probably not an emergency. In order to keep your irritation from getting you to that point, you must stick STRICTLY to liquids. Start taking Prilosec immediately, or even better if you can get a prescription get one for Nexium or Prevacid. You have to do whatever you can to calm the area down. Stay away from coffee (brutal, I know, especially on a business trip) or anything acidic, and don't have anything at all late in the day. I really sympathize, I know how you feel. Good luck, and as SOON as you get back from your trip CALL YOUR DOCTOR!! (If there's any way you can call him today you should, even if just to talk--I don't know about that lower stomach ache and it doesn't sound good.)

1. Was your procedure outpatient or did you stay overnight? Outpatient. Surgery at 8:00 a.m., home at 1:00 p.m. 2. Did you have complications related to surgery? No complications. 3. What you were given for at home pain? How many days did you take it? Generic Percocet, I think (Endocet). I didn't take any of it. 4. Pain after surgery for how many days? Next day and for the next three days I was sore, but that was about it. No gas pain to speak of. 5. Degree of pain...10 being your arm was cut off and 1 being a paper cut? 4 down to 2 pretty quickly. 6. Doctor and state where surgery was done? Dr. Alexander Abkin, Morristown, NJ

Actually, that's more of a survey than a poll. I'll create a new thread with these questions.

Even though this sounds like a unreasonable hoop that your insurance is asking you to jump through, I think it makes a lot of sense. You can think of it as practice for the banded life, and if you're not successful at losing weight during this time that's nothing to worry about. The simple act of meeting with your doctor on a monthly or bi-weekly basis to talk about your behavior can really get a patient in the right frame of mind for surgery. I don't know of any way or reason a carrier would simply waive that requirement. You just have to get started, and it will be over before you know it. Six months is nothing.

This really rings true for me, Unsure. This was the song of my early life too. As a result, I've spent all my life feeling deprived and thus somehow entitled to any extra food that was laying around. That's how I got to 340 lbs over time. While it can't cure the mental issues, the band can act as an enforcer of behavioral therapy. It forces you to think about every bite, and just that action can really make a difference in your mind if you are willing to let it. While you are working on the mental issues with therapy, the band gives you the means to actually lose weight and SEE what a difference eating differently can make. And that's a big impetus to continue working on the mindgame. Good luck with everything, and keep asking questions!

Laurend's right, Zully. "Exclusions" are usually the province of the employer, not the insurance carrier. If your employer excludes bariatric surgery on one of its policies, it's likely an across-the-board thing.

Carlene makes a good point. It's always wise to be mindful of this. Most weddings/receptions I've been to in the last several years have been at someone's home, so it's not an issue. But yes, of course if it's a church/hall event sending the gift elsewhere makes a lot of sense. But again, why should it be the bride's mother packing up gifts and taking them somewhere? IMO any defined roles like this are utterly outdated. Whatever works, works.