WASaBubbleButt

Awwww, com'on... you did the same thing as HH.

I don't think so. I honestly don't. Some people use religion to avoid life and everything they do to others is based on justifications from the bible. I truly, sincerely, believe it is a disorder that needs treatment and I only see it getting worse with time. I was dead serious in my (above) post where I wrote that I see it as an OCD issue.

Dr. Simpson is annoyed with the business he's losing to Mexico. I can't really blame him, being a border state we are used to crossing the border for medical care, surgery is not a big deal. If you are used to going to Mexico for other medical issues and you had a choice of paying $16,500 for outpatient band surgery or $7K for inpatient (2 nights in the hospital) surgery, which would you choose especially if you are self pay? What is the value in spending an additional $9500 for less care? Simpson will not see those banded in Mexico. He's not a fan of Mexican doctors due to business lost. That's fair, aftercare is not where the money is, surgery is. He's in business to make money. I know that FillCentersUSA just opened something like three new locations in Arizona? Or maybe they are about to open, I'm not sure. But there are/will be three new places in the valley for fills.

Sometimes I wonder if transfer addiction isn't really the problem. Do you think some people go from obsessing over food to obsessing over religion? Or is it OCD that causes the food and religion things? I do not believe food is really an addiction, I think it is an obsession. When my head hunger kicks in full force I take Luvox and it kills my head hunger. Luvox is for OCD. I really wonder with some obsessed over religion... what do you suppose would happen if they were treated for it? I'm not talking someone who has faith in their God, I'm referring to the Patty and Gadgetlady types. Almost makes you want to slip a bit of Luvox in their coffee for a few days just to see if it helps. ;o)

I had complications immediately after surgery but it was not related to the surgery, it was because I was so ill due to being banded. As for surgical complications... none. Sleeve complications, none. Sleeves ROCK!

Welcome to the forum! Any surgery is a spooky thing but once you have it you look back and wonder what the big deal is. ;o) It's not a horribly dangerous surgery and as a matter of fact, as far as surgery goes it is pretty safe. When I was losing I was banded. I revised to a sleeve at goal. I was doing 1-2 hours of hard cardio daily and keeping calories at 600. I was able to get all my Protein in with no problem. In the beginning you can't really get all the protein you need in solid food but you can supplement with Protein shakes. Protein is not a problem while doing muscle work. And besides, if you don't get surgery you can't do the muscle work, right? You have to be ready for a life style change, you can't just jump into WLS. If you aren't ready it won't work, you'll learn to eat around your surgery type. I totally relate to your feelings about not wanting a band due to all the problems, I lived it! ;o) I relate to not wanting malabsorption. I don't remember to take a Vitamin daily let alone a fist full of supplements. I am just not bypass material, never have been. I'm good to go with restriction alone. When you are ready you'll do it. Don't let anyone push you into something you do not want to do. On the same token, please do remember you get your life back with WLS. You'll hear everyone saying that. It's a great feeling to be able to lose weight and know it is staying off this time. Good luck to you!

Bariatric Surgery: Waiting Times Too Long In Canada 6/5/2009 Obesity is now acknowledged as a chronic disease with a number of related complications, and its prevalence has reached alarming epidemic proportions. While bariatric surgery is effective at treating the disease, access to this procedure is still too limited in Canada. The latest article published by Dr. Nicolas Christou, of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), in the June issue of the Canadian Journal of Surgery assesses the waiting times for this procedure. According to the study, the average waiting time for bariatric surgery in Canada is 5 years, a timeframe that is long compared with the 8-week average for cancer surgery or the 18-month average for cosmetic surgery. Yet many studies have shown that this type of procedure reduces the risk of death over 5 years from 40% to 85%: bariatric surgery can therefore save lives. "Waiting times for bariatric surgery in Canada are much too long," Dr. Christou stated. "However, the provincial government's recent announcement of additional money for our speciality is a positive and beneficial step. This funding will help us address our main obstacle, a lack of resources, and therefore represents real hope for our patients." This investment should also have positive spinoffs in the medium-term for the health care system. Another article recently published by Dr. Christou in the World Journal of Surgery showed that bariatric surgery is the only treatment that ensures major and lasting weight loss. It can also significantly improve the long-term health of these patients by reducing their risk of developing obesity-related complications, such as diabetes, cancer, or heart and respiratory diseases. The costs to the health care system to treat these related pathologies would therefore decrease, and the initial investment would lead to savings within 3 years. Notes: The Research Institute of the MUHC is supported in part by the Fonds de la recherche en sant? du Qu?bec. Dr. Nicolas Christou Dr. Nicolas Christou is Director of Bariatric surgery at the MUHC and a researcher in the Infection and Immunity Axis of the Research Institute of the MUHC. He is also Professor of Surgery at the Faculty of Medicine of McGill University. Partners This article was co-authored by Dr. Nicolas Christou, MUHC, and Dr. Evangelos Efthimiou, MUHC. Source: Isabelle Kling McGill University Health Centre

Desserts that give you a whole day's worth of calories in one dish. For a heart-healthy lifestyle, the average person needs only 2,000 calories a day and should limit their intake of saturated fat to 20 grams, and of sodium to 1,500 mg. Bear this in mind while you peruse the following list. The "winners" of the 2009 Xtreme eating award include: * Cheesecake Factory's Fried macaroni and cheese which contains 1,570 calories and 69 grams of saturated fat. "You would be better off eating an entire stick of butter", said the CSPI statement. * Olive Garden's Tour of Italy invites you to pile Lasagna, chicken Parmigiana, and Fettuccine Alfredo onto a very large dinner plate. * Uno Chicago Grill, The Melting Pot and Olive Garden's Red Lobster Ultimate Fondue, described as "shrimp and crabmeat in a creamy lobster cheese sauce served in a warm crispy sourdough bowl," contains 1,490 calories, 40 grams of saturated fat, and 3,580 mg of sodium. * Applebee's Quesadilla Burger is essentially a bacon cheeseburger inside a quesadilla and contains two flour tortillas, two kinds of meat, two kinds of cheese, pico de gallo, lettuce, Mexi-ranch sauce, and fries. This dish has 1,820 calories, 46 grams of saturated fat, and 4,410 mg of sodium. Plus there is an option to top up the fries with more sauce and cheese. * Chili's Big Mouth Bites is four mini-bacon-cheeseburgers with fries, onion strings, and jalapeno ranch dipping sauce (the term "mini" is misleading said the CSPI report because each burger is like a quarter pounder). This dish comes as an appetizer or an entr?e. The entr?e version contains 2,350 calories, 38 grams of saturated fat, and 3,940 milligrams of sodium. * The Cheesecake Factory's Chicken and Biscuits has 2,500 calories. CSPI describes this dish as "discomfort food." and said that "if you wouldn't eat an entire 8-piece bucket of KFC Original Recipe plus 5 biscuits, you shouldn't order this". Unless you live in a city that has menu labelling, you wouldn't know about these figures. CSPI senior nutritionist Jayne Hurley described some of the dishes in the list as "would you like an entr?e with your entr?e?" Over the last couple of years several states and cities have passed legislation forcing restaurants to put nutrition and calorie information on menus to help people make better informed choices, and CSPI suggests Congress will soon pass national legislation to the same effect, especially as one of the federal judges who agreed to allow New York City's law stand when they appealed a ruling that favoured the restauranteurs, is President Obama's nominee for a seat on the Supreme Court, Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Part of the argument that the chain restaurants use to resist the legislation is that consumers are adults and should be free to choose what they eat without a "nanny state" telling them. However, lobby groups and health experts counter this with the argument that without the nutrition and calorie figures consumers can't make an informed choice and therefore can't properly exercise their responsibility. They can still choose to eat unhealthily if they wish, so the "nanny state" argument is a hollow one. CSPI nutrition policy director Margo G Wootan said: "Ultimately, Americans bear personal responsibility for their dining choices." "But you can't exercise personal responsibility if you don't have nutrition information when you order. Who would expect 2,800 calories in a dessert?" The CSPI did a survey of New Yorkers recently and found that 82 per cent of the respondents said seeing the numbers affected their choices. There is a bill currently going through Congress, put forward by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and US Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), called the Menu Education and Labeling (MEAL) Act which if implemented would force big restaurant chains to show calories on menu boards and other nutrition basics on the menus themselves, including saturated and trans fat content, carbohydrates, and sodium. If passed, the law will apply to restaurants throughout the US that have more than 20 outlets, and then only to their standard menu items, not to their daily specials or to their custom orders.

Female hormones are stored in fat cells. Your periods can change. Let's cross our fingers that it does not. ;o)

They are a food group to me too. I used them a LOT during weight loss and lost quite well. I still use them, no problem.

HA! My avatar does make it a real head scratcher! I have Patty on ignore because I find her rambling, closed minded attitude, and the inability to form an opinion without checking her bible first - beyond annoying. There are lots of people I don't agree with (seen my posts lately? Heh...) but there are only two I have blocked, patty and GadgetLady. I find the better than thou, my way is the only way, you are allll wrong and I'm the only correct person tedious and belittling. When someone has nothing of value for me I find it a waste of their time to read their posts. I gotta give you a hats off for being able to tolerate it.

No, you are not. That is why so many have her blocked. This was a fun topic and then... she started posting and most left. It's just not worth it.

HA! Good point! Don't their Protein bars have them as well?

The band causes soooo many problems that it is a good thing that the band can be reversed. This procedure is kinda sorta like a permanent band and I'm not so sure that would have fewer problems. But it is an interesting concept. I don't get it though, why keep the Ghrelin? Ghrelin is our enemy. ;o)

What sentence is an exaggeration? I was pretty darn clear about when you do NOT know the ingredients of a given dish. I think most people know what Mac & Cheese or brownies are. The part above that I bolded is what I was talking about regarding not always knowing how to make good food choices. So no, no exaggeration on my part. ;o) If I go to a restaurant and decide to splurge and have fried Mac & Cheese (honestly, it sounds disgusting) and then I saw just how much I was splurging, I would not likely order it.

I'm not a fan of fruit. If I buy the stuff it sits there until it goes bad and I throw it away. However, if I did eat fruit I would count those carb grams. I do not worry about Beans, veggies, etc. But white carbs I count.

I would! I would be more careful in what I order if there was a food label there. I think about how many times I've been to a restaurant since WLS and I try to determine the best choices. Since we don't know the ingredients of the food we can't always know what is good and what isn't. I agree with you, business would decrease if people had a clue what they were consuming.

It looks very interesting! I hadn't heard of this. I have to say, it looks like it still has a stoma and that's where most band problems come from regarding band intolerance. I wouldn't do it but only because I am gun shy of having another stoma in my stomach. But it kinda looks like a cross between a band and sleeve. Seems like it would make more sense just to go for it and have the sleeve. No Ghrelin works wonders! Not experiencing hunger is a feeling of freedom, hard to explain. You know what seems promising about this surgery is failed bypass. When someone stretches their pouch and stoma this looks like it could have some potential. Currently they have Stomaphyx, Revise, Rose, etc., but those are proving to be big failures. It's the same concept as your link but the problem is that the clips they use to tighten up the stomach do not work, they fail and as soon as the person starts on solid food they break the clips. Maybe if they used titanium such as your article suggests it might work better. But I'm not sure there is enough pouch to work with for this type of device on a failed bypass. Interesting, thanks for posting it!

The only things I count are Protein and white carb grams. I don't worry about the rest. I would guess this is the closest to my diet as well.

sleep apnea (i.e., patient meets the criteria for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea set forth in Aetna CPB 004 - Obstructive Sleep Apnea); or 4. Medically refractory hypertension (blood pressure greater than 140 mmHg systolic and/or 90 mmHg diastolic despite optimal medical management); and 2. Member has completed growth (18 years of age or documentation of completion of bone growth); and 3. Member has attempted weight loss in the past without successful long-term weight reduction; and 4. Member must meet either criterion 1 (physician-supervised nutrition and exercise program) or criterion 2 (multidisciplinary surgical preparatory regimen): 1. Physician-supervised nutrition and exercise program: Member has participated in physician-supervised nutrition and exercise program (including dietician consultation, low calorie diet, increased physical activity, and behavioral modification), documented in the medical record at each visit. This physician-supervised nutrition and exercise program must meet all of the following criteria: 1. Nutrition and exercise program must be supervised and monitored by a physician working in cooperation with dieticians and/or nutritionists; and 2. Nutrition and exercise program(s) must be for a cumulative total of 6 months or longer in duration and occur within 2 years prior to surgery, with participation in one program of at least three consecutive months. (Precertification may be made prior to completion of nutrition and exercise program as long as a cumulative of six months participation in nutrition and exercise program(s) will be completed prior to the date of surgery.); and 3. Member's participation in a physician-supervised nutrition and exercise program must be documented in the medical record by an attending physician who supervised the member's participation. The nutrition and exercise program may be administered as part of the surgical preparative regimen, and participation in the nutrition and exercise program may be supervised by the surgeon who will perform the surgery or by some other physician. Note: A physician's summary letter is not sufficient documentation. Documentation should include medical records of physician's contemporaneous assessment of patient's progress throughout the course of the nutrition and exercise program. For members who participate in a physician-administered nutrition and exercise program (e.g., MediFast, OptiFast), program records documenting the member's participation and progress may substitute for physician medical records; or 2. Multidisciplinary surgical preparatory regimen: Proximate to the time of surgery, member must participate in organized multidisciplinary surgical preparatory regimen of at least three months duration meeting all of the following criteria, in order to improve surgical outcomes, reduce the potential for surgical complications, and establish the member's ability to comply with post-operative medical care and dietary restrictions: 1. Consultation with a dietician or nutritionist; and 2. Reduced-calorie diet program supervised by dietician or nutritionist; and 3. Exercise regimen (unless contraindicated) to improve pulmonary reserve prior to surgery, supervised by exercise therapist or other qualified professional; and 4. Behavior modification program supervised by qualified professional; and 5. Documentation in the medical record of the member's participation in the multidisciplinary surgical preparatory regimen at each visit. (A physician's summary letter, without evidence of contemporaneous oversight, is not sufficient documentation. Documentation should include medical records of the physician's initial assessment of the member, and the physician's assessment of the member's progress at the completion of the multidisciplinary surgical preparatory regimen.) and 5. For members who have a history of severe psychiatric disturbance (schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, suicidal ideation, severe depression) or who are currently under the care of a psychologist/psychiatrist or who are on psychotropic medications, pre-operative psychological clearance is necessary in order to exclude members who are unable to provide informed consent or who are unable to comply with the pre- and postoperative regimen. Note: The presence of depression due to obesity is not normally considered a contraindication to obesity surgery. 2. Vertical Banded Gastroplasty (VBG): Aetna considers open or laparoscopic vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG) medically necessary for members who meet the selection criteria for obesity surgery and who are at increased risk of adverse consequences of a RYGB due to the presence of any of the following comorbid medical conditions: 1. Hepatic cirrhosis with elevated liver function tests; or 2. Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis); or 3. Radiation enteritis; or 4. Demonstrated complications from extensive adhesions involving the intestines from prior major abdominal surgery, multiple minor surgeries, or major trauma; or 5. Poorly controlled systemic disease (American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) Class IV) (see Appendix). Aetna considers VBG experimental and investigational when medical necessity criteria are not met. 3. Repeat Bariatric Surgery: Aetna considers medically necessary surgery to correct complications from bariatric surgery, such as obstruction or stricture. Aetna considers repeat bariatric surgery medically necessary for members whose initial bariatric surgery was medically necessary (i.e., who met medical necessity criteria for their initial bariatric surgery), and who meet either of the following medical necessity criteria: 1. Conversion to a RYGB or BPD/DS may be considered medically necessary for members who have not had adequate success (defined as loss of more than 50 percent of excess body weight) two years following the primary bariatric surgery procedure and the member has been compliant with a prescribed nutrition and exercise program following the procedure; or 2. Revision of a primary bariatric surgery procedure that has failed due to dilation of the gastric pouch is considered medically necessary if the primary procedure was successful in inducing weight loss prior to the pouch dilation, and the member has been compliant with a prescribed nutrition and exercise program following the procedure. 4. Experimental and Investigational Bariatric Surgical Procedures: Aetna considers each of the following procedures experimental and investigational because the peer reviewed medical literature shows them to be either unsafe or inadequately studied: * Loop gastric bypass * Gastroplasty, more commonly known as ?stomach stapling? (see below for clarification from vertical band gastroplasty) * Sleeve gastrectomy * Mini gastric bypass * Silastic ring vertical gastric bypass (Fobi pouch) * Intragastric balloon * VBG, except in limited circumstances noted above. * LASGB, RYGB, and BPD/DS procedures not meeting the medical necessity criteria above. Cholecystectomy: As a high incidence of gallbladder disease (28%) has been documented after surgery for morbid obesity, Aetna considers routine cholecystectomy medically necessary when performed in concert with elective bariatric procedures. Notes: Calculation of BMI: *BMI is calculated by dividing the patient's weight (in kilograms) by height (in meters) squared: BMI = weight (kg) * [height (m)]2 Note: To convert pounds to kilograms, multiply pounds by 0.45. To convert inches to meters, multiply inches by 0.0254. or For a simple and rapid calculation of BMI, please click below and it will take you to the Obesity Education Initiative. *BMI = weight (kg) * [height (m)]2 See also CPB 039 - Weight Reduction Medications and Programs.

I do but I had it before I was sleeved. It started after I was banded.

No. It's a shock to the body that is at issue. People swear by special shampoos, Vitamins, biotin, Protein... if you are losing your hair because you are deficient in those areas then it will help. But if it is because of weight loss then no, it isn't going to help. Not everyone loses their hair. When I quit losing weight I quit losing hair. :thumbup:/

Agreed. I'm a fan of my surgeon too, he's been there for me through all the band issues and fixed everything when he did my sleeve. He's great! This would have been really hard without a supportive doc and someone making sure I was being honest with myself about all kinds of issues. He's honest with me, he doesn't BS me, he's a sweetie but more important I can be honest with him... and most of the time I am. ;o) So I agree, you have to find the right match.

Someone knocks my doctor merely because he's Mexican and in Mexico.... oh boy, the battle is on! If people had ANY idea of what goes on with medical care in their own country, the mistakes, the intoxicated surgeons operating, wrong drugs filled at the pharmacy, etc., we aren't all that perfect as some would make it seem.

You are just now noticing? Heh... We love you Mac!