faithmd

I can't speak for what your insurance might or might not cover, the very best course of action is to call them. Some people travel a great distance to get the band but not necessarily out of the country. Perhaps across the state, or a state or two away or a plane ride away. Sometimes peoples surgeons retire or move away. Sometimes their surgeon's fills are $500 when for example fillcentersusa might only be $250.

Hunny Bunny, for that price, GO FOR IT!!!! Do it now with him, and you will get some idea of what type of shots you like, what angles capture you best, etc. Then when you are at goal, spend a little more and have it done again. Luv to you!

I totally believe in the eye for an eye thing. I think if you rape and murder someone, that's how you should die. If you strangle someone to death, then you should be hung or suffocated. You pour gasoline over a person and light them on fire, then you need to burn. You dismember and rape someone with a tree branch, then you should lose your limbs and meet Mr. Stick, too. In this sick fuck's case, I agree that the general population will likely give him what he deserves and like Dahmer, he'll likely meet his maker in due course as well.

A bit off topic, but I have always interchanged mL's and cc's in conversation, work and in teaching. I wonder if it's like saying soda or pop or soda pop, maybe what you say or how you have learned it is based on where you were taught? Dunno, just found the comments about cc's versus mL's interesting.

OMG it is so funny you two are discussing this right now. (Two of my fave ladies, BTW) Last night at work a lady says, "Wow, you're melting! How much have you lost?" I told her almost 70 lbs (no one knows about the OR). She asked how much more did I want to lose and I said about 130 more if I can. She said, "Wow, that's a lot of weight, I wouldn't have guessed you carried that much around."

Go for it, Brandy!!!! BUT: Find another photog, this one's really not very good. DH owend a studio in the past and did quite a bit of this kind of work. He agrees, find someone else. This guy's work isn't bad, but it isn't fantastic, either. For example, check out the photo gallery for Dita Von Teese (Marilyn Manson's soon-to-be ex) Dita Von Teese - Website Main Page WARNING there are a couple of topless or near topless shots there**** Those photos weren't all taken by the same photog, they were various folks, some of them were even taken by Marilyn Manson. And IMHO, they are all much better than this gentleman's work. Again, not that his stuff is bad at all, but I don't know if you'll be truly happy with the photos, especially if you do them now. I don't know if he'll be able to do you justice. The flip side of that is if they are going to be free or really cheap. Then I might say give it a try.

The biggest issues with tthe pre-op diet is clearing the liver of fat. While they may be "sugar free" (though they are full of sugar alcohols which in many people increase their, ummmmm, stooling), I would doubt they are fat free. Read the saturated fat content and make your decision based on that. Are you talking a few pieces meaning one of those little bags with about five small pieces in it, or are you talking a few pieces meaning a few whole candy bars?

Hello and welcome! Go to this forum: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f73/ Read all the threads there, there are a couple that have good wuestions to ask.

I'm soooooooo excited for you! Good luck, best wishes and here's hoping for as pain free of an experience as possible!!!

I LOVE the Smart Ones Thai chicken MMMmmmmm! I also like the Healthy Choice Steamers. They are quite good. South Beach makes some good meals, too.

I know...sooooo close! I am NOT changing my ticker until I am solidly below the 300 mark. Fingers crossed it's before the end of the month!

Yep, I work out regularly. Elliptical, NuStep, Treadmill, Airdyne bike, stationary programmable bike. It's starting to come off slowly again. Slow is better than none. But I'm not changing my ticker until I'm less than 300. I'm holding out until then! I have found that when I eat about 2000-2200 calories a day I lose. Less than that and I seem to plateau. I should be grateful, huh? You're right, it is normal. I have to keep telling myself that. I have been on this weight loss journey since February (lost about 40 lbs pre-band) and thus I should realize I will plateau. It's time that I do it a little more frequently. I will get a fill if I can't break the plateau, I'll try stepping up my exercise by five mins each session and see if that helps, too. I just really want to hold out for as long as I can. I like being able to eat whatever I want (not amounts, but types of food). I cannot IMAGINE not being able to eat things like peanut butter or chicken or shrimp or a touch of brown rice or eggs or, or, or... I do have more restriction and can't eat much without hiccoughing (hiccupping) when I wake up and I know that when I start to hic... I should STOP. I'm just still having head issues, I'm sure we all are. If we weren't, we wouldn't have been banded. Have a great day folks!

Getting closer.... Name...............................Starting……....L oss.......Current…....Goal….....ToGo losingjusme..(Christine).........293.............. ..15 .............278...........275............3 tann.............(Tammy)...........211............ ..... 3..............208..........198............10 Josette......(Josette)..............322……......... ..8..............314...........307.............7 RidinMyHDDream..(Carol)......264.................. 4 ..............260............254............6 FaithMD...............................308......... ........6.7...........301.3...........299.......2.3 Elisabethsew..(Elisabeth)......275................ .0..............275 ...........265............10 Libra.....(Angela)...................214.......... .......0..............214............208 ............6 glindab.................................282....... .......3.4............278.0..........265.......... .13. Inner_me...(Chris)..................295........... .....0..............295............280 ............15 waterlily1072...(Nicole)...........289........... ....12..............277.............0............. . 0 Rainer...(Lorraine)..................311.......... ......12..............299.............260......... .39 staindgal....(Bridget)..............319........... ....5 8...........313.2...........299..........14.2 jbtullis...(Jonathan)................317.......... ........7.............310............299.......... ..11 Insubordination.....................311........... .....6.6...........304.4...........299........... 5.4 Squale.................................334…....... ........9.............325……......310….........15 ShaunECook........................256.2........... .....0...........256.2……......245........11.2

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/article-new-lap-band-advanced-platform-ap-band-allergan-37905/

I haven't gotten a fill yet, but I'm expecting it not to be too big of a deal (even though I am BEYOND ridiculously scared of needles) because I am completely numb since my surgery around my port area. I posted about it and discovered I'm not at all the only one. So perhaps you'll be lucky (I guess you can call it that) and will be numb around the port.

Where's WasaBB? She's a BIG fan of Dr. Aceves, and for good reason, his practice has got a great reputation.

Ask your surgeon what s/he thinks about this topic. Every surgeon may be different, but mine wants me to call ASAP if I'm feeling fluish. Either call his office or my PCP. There is always someone on call to call you back if you have an issue. I also have some compazine supositories and some reglan pills on hand for times I'm feeling urpy.

I would suggest you get the opinion of a really good GI doc about what would be the best to allow your esophagus to heal. The GI doc may not know loads about the band itself, but what you need to know is how best to heal. If you can get another band, and have been successful losing weight with it, there are a few more types of bands that have come out in the past couple of years. You may wish to have it removed and then do some research for a while about whether to replace it or not. Good Luck!

Hey hold up proteinguy. Your freaking signon name is "proteinguy" and you are not selling this product? Come on, even you have to admit that is a stretch for us to believe. Yep, every post you made was about this Protein and in a thread that talked about protein. Sure, maybe you are just interested in protein supplements, but then why aren't there posts in nutrition threads about the use of protein versus foods to eat to get said protein requirements? How come you haven't posted places suggesting protein intake, etc...?

Shouldn't hurt the port, it is under the skin. But if you are less than a year out from surgery, you might want to cover your incisions, they can turn a brilliant red from the UV exposure. Doesn't happen to everyone, but a couple of folks here have mentioned it happened to them.

Thanks WasaBB! Your information is so important to all of us who use protein supplements. I have to ask, have you read any of proteinguy's pitches on the various threads hawking his protein? Do you know anything about the quality of what he's pushing? I'd love to see you respond to him.

Also, what was your post-op eating plan, should you have been starting solids by this point? If not, then why continue to try? If so, and they aren't agreeing with you, then again, why continue to try? Your body is a wonderful, marvelous thing and if it's not ready for something, it's not ready. Listen to it. Maybe you need to be on mushies or full liquids a bit longer. Really, call your nutritionist or surgeon. Your band is something you don't want to mess around with. Good luck and keep us updated, please.

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f73/abbreviations-what-they-mean-7959/ This thread will help with the abbreviations we sling around. Please tell me you called your doctor to discuss your problems with taking in food. Do they know about your "hurling" sessions? If not, please call them and tell them now. Some people do have delayed gas pains, sometimes the nerves that run to the shoulder and neck are irritated by things we have going on in the stomach/abdomen. After your "hurling" I hope you went back to liquids for a while. The irritation to the stoma can be significant.

I've only been to Central Market a few times (I live near Detroit but used to visit Dallas fairly regularly), but was enthralled by their options for "health foods" and the really good food in their premade food counter. I love the choices for bulk nuts and veggie burgers and whole grain breads. I appreciated the excellent cuts of meat and the amazing variety of fresh fruits. I also loved to get the gelato as a treat at the gelato/sorbet counter.

So glad it went well!!!!