WASaBubbleButt

Better you than me! :eek:

Well MY doc has started paying people to let him band them so THERE~ :eek:

It really depends on the specific drugs you are taking. Not all drugs can be crushed, if they are time released the absolutely can't be crushed. You need to talk to your pharmacist and verify before crushing ANYTHING.

Are you sure you are chewing verrrry well? Eating slowly? Taking pea sized bites? Solids Proteins are a big part of making the band work well.

No, people aren't suggesting this is only one day of liquids, we are saying if someone can't do liquids for even a single day, how will that person manage the post op diet?

Please read this post: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f11/researching-mexican-doctors-101-a-43575/#post599207

Mexico is a great option for self pay folks if you can find fill docs locally. If anyone is looking at Mexico options PLEASE do your research. There are fantastic docs there and there are a couple that are quite bad. Do your research and you can do exceedingly well. Please see the link in my sig.

You really can't compare fill amounts from one person to another. With one person 4cc could restrict them to the point that they can't drink Water and another it wouldn't touch their restriction. It's all very individual and unique. Do you feel you have any restriction? How much food are you eating? What is a typical daily menu? How much exercise are you getting?

I'm not sure I understand. If you aren't losing weight with a band why would you lose weight with a different procedure? You have to really work at it and that doesn't change with a sleeve procedure. I'd get back to basics with the band before jumping into another procedure. What is your daily menu? A typical menu? What is your restriction like? How many calories are you consuming daily? What is your exercise routine like? Soooo many questions. :eek:

Congrats you two on getting banded! It's the best decision I have ever made. Dr. A is a gem, you'll love him. The quality of care is great. But the surgery is the easy part, the rest is when it gets tough. But you can do it!

If you want thin and healthy bad enough, you'll reach any goal you want. The band offers an amazing opportunity. Traditional diet and exercise were too hard for me. Some can take it off but they can't keep it off. I couldn't even get more than a few pounds off. While the band is hard, very very hard... it's different. It's the kind of hard WE can do, OUR population, those with eating disorders. WE can do this kind of hard, traditional diet and exercise are the kinds of hard most of us can't do.

This is a fantastic place for support. People from all over the world post here. However, if you want to check out local folks from TX, click here: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f64/

Mexico is great, I wouldn't do things differently for anything. One up side to Mexico is that you are usually in the hospital/clinic for at least a day. In my docs case you are in the hospital for two nights. In the US you go home when you wake up. Not a lot of supervision. If you are considering Mexico it is a great place for a safe surgery but you HAVE to do your research. Please, see the link in my sig.

Sounds like your doc has a good thing going. For himself. :eek:

If someone can't do one day of liquids, how will they manage the post op diet? I still say, you have to want thin and healthy bad enough to do anything it takes.

I think there are two sides to that story. What about the working poor? They are out there doing really hard jobs, washing cars, washing dishes, digging ditches, hard manual labor. They are out there doing their thing in society and they get ... not a lot. Certainly less than free medical care. People are going to shoot me for writing this but the truth is I'd rather help the working poor over others in many cases. Medicaid patients have to pay $300. The working poor often times have to pay for the entire surgery. They have to pay $8K+. I'm not sure that is fair either. They simply don't have the option of having surgery at all. If I had to come up with $300 as a poor person that would be one hell of a lot easier than coming up with $8K+. I've seen what people do to come up with the money to pay for the entire surgery. They sell off personal items including their computer and they stop internet service. They sell their car, their home. They'll do anything to get the surgery down to dumpster diving and selling treasures on ebay. Then people who are getting the surgery for free throw a fit over paying $300? Nope, not buying it. Most employers don't take those issues into account either. That's how life works. That's how it is for EVERYONE. If my house payments go up my employer doesn't care, I get paid what I get paid. If I choose to break the law and fail to pay for car insurance and get caught, my employer doesn't care. No employer cares. Social security and Medicare were never designed to be the only source of income. It was designed to be an added source to retirement savings. With that said I'd rather those dollars go to those who paid into the system, not everyone else.

No, I just won't buy another Dell. I called to look into it and the salesmen just annoyed the crap out of me. I had such a horrific experience the first time, I'm not going the Dell route again. I even bought the extended warranty the first time and out of sheer frustration I paid someone to come and fix the problems when I finally did get the computer. The customer service is horrible, and tech support... a joke. I wasted a ton of money the first time. I'm not doing that one again. But does he do laptops as well as PCs? I only need a laptop now.

This is my concern in here. If someone can't do liquids for one day, what will happen post op? Then it isn't a choice, there can't be cheating. The post op diet sets the tone for the life of the band. What about if the band slips? We are talking liquids for 3 weeks. Nobody died of starvation on the pre op or post op diet. Yes, it's hard and has to be done, more so the post op diet.

HA! I can do that. Actually, I am good about that. When the patient is complaining of pain and the doc explains he already gave "X"mg of Morphine, I stand there and annoy them until they do something. Obviously, the amount of morphine wasn't enough or the patient wouldn't be doubled over and in tears. Sometimes the magical number of mgs they order isn't enough. It actually shocks them that they didn't 'cure' the problem the first time around.

Sometimes I wonder if the liquid pre op diet has anything to do with those that sell the liquids patients HAVE to use pre op. I mean... Optifast stuff.... don't the docs usually sell that? Maybe that's the reason?

I'd do it. I've done it for others during banding. I love surgery, it's very cool. There are few folks here I would not want to meet. I like fat people, they are fun. We all relate to the same experiences and the same battles. We have great conversations that nobody else seems to "get" in the way they need to in order to understand.

HA! Are you gonna ask me to bow my head in prayer? ;) (private joke from another thread)

Some people will stoop to *any* low to suck up someone's hard earned money. As I have written on other threads, I have no problem with patient coordinators. They are doing a job and they can be pretty darn good at their job of teaching patients what they need to know. The people I have a problem with are the liars who don't tell you the reason they are pushing you to go to their doc is because they are making a commission if they talk you into going to their doc. Those people are the scum of the earth taking advantage of people who are desperate to lose weight. They don't care if you are going to the doc that is right for YOU, they care about their commission. They are pushing docs with crappy stats and fake experience. Those are the people I think should suffer a life of being fat for the rest of their days.

People may not agree with me on this one but when it comes to the kid using the word, I feel more sorry for the kid than I do the person it was used against. That kid is being raised in a specific manner. It will take years of education to undo the trash the kid is being taught. I'm not making light of what the victim was put through, I can't imagine the horror she felt. But at least she's an adult that knows better. A five year old child doesn't even know better.

Well, FWIW, I disagree with a liquid pre op diet. I think it's stupid. The same thing can be accomplished with a low carb, low fat, adequate Protein diet so the reason for liquids would be?? What? I don't get it. A method for torturing we fatties? What's the value? I've yet to get a good answer on this one from docs.