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I have had a brown color tounge since having the band put in two years ago. My dentist tells me about it all the time. Didn't have it before the band. I scrape my tounge daily, brush teeth and tounge dailey, use mouthwash. I have it when not drinking coffee. Never goes away. My wife had her band done same day, same doctor. No brown tounge. IT has to have something to do with the band as I never had this before except when I took Pepto-Bismal. I havn't had pepto-bismal in years either. In time maybe we will know why some get it and some do not after getting the band.

Most people here have faced the loss and gains repeatedly over the years. If there is one thing learned is that as hard as you try, you can loose the weight but it will, always come back. I do not think the fight is against weight but rather the fight is against your body or your brain. Your body, your brain has it's own idea as to what your weight should be and if nothing else, it has proved itself effective in beating you every time at the weight loss game. In most other aspects regarding ones body, Genetic make up plays a crucial role in development and disease. The maintaining of a constant state of over weight may be one more thing attributable to genetics. IT is not to hard to believe that one person may metabolize fats and carbs differently then the next person. Obesity has been found in certain Indian families and Hawaiian families further proof of genetic findings. The foods you eat play a role but in so far as keeping it off the fight is against your own body and your body usually wins. That's why the band is so useful, it leads your body to think is is the weight it should be.

I am using my husbands log on. We both had this surgery 3/29/04 my husband has lost 105 lbs and I think I qualify for the slow loser group. I am only down 60 lbs. I really struggle. This is my first time to post myself. My main problem time is in the evening. I feel I like to graze all night long if I don't watch it. Any suggestions. I feel I have good restriction. I want to loose another 40 lbs. I'm restriced on my walking so I was using a Gazelle for almost 2 yr, although not as consistant as I should have. I just bought an elliptical trainer last night. WOW what a trip I really need to ease into this one. Trish

I and my wife were both banded March 30, 2004. I was 340 when banded and am now and am now 238. My wife was 260 and now is 203. We have each had 3 fills now. Going soon for another fill. I wanted to tell all of you what has worked well for me as it might work well for others. I bought a smoothie machine. For six months now I have used Hills Bros Cappuccino French vanilla carb wise bought at wall mart. It tastes more like chocolate then coffee.What I do is put ice in the smoothie machine, milk and then the cappuccino mix. Blend and drink. It is thick enough to keep me full and I drink it often between meals. Sometimes after eating my stomach doesn't feel real good depending on what I ate, I slowly drink this mix from the smoothie and it feels better. It must work OK because I have been loosing weight and continue to. My doctor has a band he he drinks the same thing and says it is like priming the stomach. Another side effect from banding. Before banding I was diagnosed with triglycerides of 300 and HDL of 30. It is known as dyslipidemia. Also after eating a carb filled meal I could not keep my blood sugar with in normal limits. Very pre-diabetic. I am happy to announce that my dyslipidemia is gone and total cholesterol is 150 and I eat right and don't deprive myself very much. Pre-diabetic state is also cured. Sugars are now normal and no longer pre-diabetic. food seems to be less a factor in my life. I am about 30 pounds away from my goal weight. By the way, women loose slower then men. May be a fact of life due to metabolism. As long as you are loosing, slow as that may be, that's all that counts. It's not how fast you loose but that you continue to make progress and still feel good.

Well, I see what you mean. I have searched all over the net and cannot find it on the net which means it is going to be hard to find. I did see other forums where people were discussing the carb wise and they had also bought their's from walmart superstore. Bummer, this stuff really tastes great and goes down easy for the band. The container looks just like the Hills bros. Cappuccino french Vanella can at super walmart. The difference is that it has a blue printed flag on the front which says carb-wise. 9 grams of carb in 2 Tbsp. While it says Hills Bros. on the can it is made and distributed by Sara Lee coffee and tea harrison ny. Customer care at that location toll free is 1-888-246-2598. Hope they can find a location near you or a place on the net to buy it.

It is at super walmart. You seem to be by the coffee as the regular Cappacchino is there but the carb wise should be right next to it. The carb wise is made with splenda. We found it in our super walmart but do not know if all super's carry it.

Her and I had it done same day and had the same hospital room. Ladies first how ever. The drink out lined above is also good with a bannana in it as well.

Like many people here I read a lot, went to the seminar and was told $16,500 total cost for the proceedure. This included the doctor, hospital, two weeks in the hospital if something went wrong, lab work, everything. I had insurance and had everything pre-approved before hand by the insurance. When I arrived at the hospital they had notes from the insurance as well so I know they had spoken with them. After the surgery the explination of benifits came in from the insurance company. Total hospital charges alone went up to $20,000.00 Not exactly the $16,500 I was told. But I was told 16,500 and was going to stick to that. Feeling was if they wanted to bill the insurance for more, the insurance usually handles the billing the way they see fit. I told the insurance up front, before surgery that it was 16,500, total Well insurance paid the Hospital 15,000.00. This did not include the doctor. Then the hospital balanced billed me for $5000.00. I called the hospital and said 16,500.00 total? Ring a bell? They said no one sets our price but us. I said the doctor said he has an agreement with you to accept the 16,500 total price. They said it was only for those with out insurance. I said if someone is told 16,5000.00 up front and the price changes after, someone set a lower amount up front and then up charged after the proceedure. Not legal! They didn't care and held me up for the additional $5000.00. I saw my doctor one day, told him what had happened and they wanted another $5000.00 from me. Doctor said the agreement(16,500) is for those with and with out health insurance. He picked up the phone and called the director of finance at the hospital. He ordered them to never contact me again and to drop all bills against me at once. They did. I wrote the administrator of the hospital and advised him of fraud statutes and the cost of mis-quoting cost up front. He said he'd look into it and never again contacted me. For those of you who had no insurance cover this and had to pay the full bill (16,500.00) I know your thinking, great bill, only $5000.00. But I also pay $625.00 each month to buy health insurance. So for those with health insurance, watch out for the hospital as in as much as your told going in the cost will be XYZ, the hospital may just decide to charge you more than agreed with with the doctor and try to get it out of you. Make sure everything is in writing before you go.

That was not an out of pocket. I have a $600.00 yearly deductable and after that it pays at 100%. The $600.00 was met long before the surgery. I have a fee for service and the hospital decided, on there own, to go about $10,000.00 over what is normally charged and what had been agreed to. What the problem was is the doctor and the hospital had an agreement (contract) to charge no more than 16,500.00 total. That was for any patient having the proceedure done. The hospital didn't want to follow it and billed the insurance way more then agreed to and then tried to get even more from me. The doctor has some leverage as he does a lot of those type proceedures there. If the hospital chooses to start over billing the patients, he has the choice to make arrangements with other hospitals willing to accept what is usual and customary. Not only that but by billing for an amount larger than was agreed to, it put several people on the hook for mis-representing the agreed to price. You cannot give one price up front and then double it after.

My wife and I were banded one month ago innamed band. We are on soft foods. food is being chewed real well and bites are small. When my wife takes her first bite and swallows she become very light headed. The next bites she takes then are OK. She says it makes her feel like she wants to pass out after swallowing. Any Ideas?

QUOTE]they would not pay for the tube and port replacement since it was still under obesity surgery which is one of our exclusions. I would think that when there becomes a problem with the band, port, or tube it is not obesity surgery. Obesity surgery may be the initial surgery but when something goes wrong later on medical necessity becomes the issue. If a company chose not to pay for a heart pacemaker and you had to self pay to have it implanted, then what would happen 5 years later if the device failed! Unfortunately if there was a failure and the insurance would not cover I would have to seek an attorney as you cannot claim the repair of a failed device as obesity surgery.

DK, Dr. Grossbard banded me and my wife (back to back) on March 30 2004. She is down 22 and I'm down 25. Both waiting for first fills. Thank god for blenders.

Once you reach a weight of 100 pounds or over your body will always fight you to regain the weight. The fat cells are there and unless you cut them out they will always be there. Of those who diet many are successful but less then 5% are successful in keeping it off. My opinion is the band is not designed to loose the weight because most people can loose the weight through diet. Rather once the weight is off, the band is used to maintain your weight loss. Maintaining the weight once you have lost it has always been the missing link. For the first time the band will control and maintain the loss through fills.

My wife and I were banded yesterday here in Florida by Dr. Grossbard. She went first, ladies first after all, and I went right after her. Stayed over night in the hospital and discharged today. I have been reading here for 3 months now and have learned a lot regarding foods, the gas afterwords and a lot more. My wives gas settled at the bottom of the rib cage. Mine seems to go around my lungs and into each shoulder. Walk, walk, walk, I know. We were both up and walking 1 hour after surgery. First night in hospital was tough for both of us. Couldn't get comfortable and could only lay on the back. Hospitals air conditioning broke down all night as well which didn't help. First day home will be a quiet one though. Thanks for all the past information. It helped the both of us.

That's why we decided to go together. Eating and meals after would not be a problem. We eat the same now. You are also right about different pains and such. But both glad to get it done and we both realize one will loose weight faster than the other. I'm out 5 days from surgery and have lost 5 pounds. Tired of liquids already but keeping nutrition and such up.

We are 5 days out from surgery. Doctor order 2 weeks clear and next two full liquids. Found Swanson or butterball canned broth much better tasting than cubes or others. Carb solutions from wal-mart give a chocolate taste and works well. I mix it with water. It isn't clear in color but has almost the consistency of clear liquid. I supplement with small doses of Boost (wal-Mart) to keep the strength up. It is all about healing.

While people are told the gass X isn't supposed to work because this gas is not in the GI track, it may work because it takes what gas is present in the GI track and reduces it which intern may shrink the stomach allowing more room for the chest cavity CO2 gas.

First I found him listed on the net while I was reading about Lap-Band. I found the forum here and did a search under the name "grossbard" and read the comments that people had posted here. I learned he had a lap-band himself. I went to one of his seminars and found he has banded 150 people so far. He was a straight foreword person at the seminar and did not mince many words. This is all he does is lap-bands and he used to be a general surgeon. That is how I selected him. Other than that I found he does not make an appointment with you until you have all the paper work handed in to include all paper work the insurance wants. He then will make an initial appointment when the insurance approves the procedure. I am in the process of making appointment for psych consult and nutrition consult. Once that is done all paper work goes to my medical group and I'm told by the medical group it will be approved. My insurance is different then most. Medical necessity is decided by a medical management team located at a large northern hospital unrelated from the insurance. Then the medical management team authorizes the insurance to pay the bills related to this procedure. It is different trying to convince doctor Grossbard's office that medical personnel are deciding rather than insurance.

Good morning to all you banders. I have been reading here for several months. My wife and I are both planning to have the Lap-band. Went to the seminar with Dr. Grossbard in Zepherhills Florida on January 3, 2004. All necessary doctor records were turned in for past 5 to 10 years history of obesity. History of Obesity related problems as well. Insurance covers it as my employer (retired) is self insured and the procedure is listed in the insurance booklet. Insurance requires a psych consult in which both of us will go next Monday. Insurance requires the consult with nutritionist once before the surgery and three times or more after. Dr. Grossbard, Zephyrhills Florida, does not work with any nutritional or dietitian for counseling so I need to find one. I have called hospitals in my area but all they have is dietitians for hospital, nothing for private secessions. My insurance says I need one to tell me what to expect and what to eat and nothing more. Any one have any one they can suggest in the area of Ocala Florida?