Madeline's mom

Daisey, I will be a happy to be your friend in this lap Band adventure. My surgery is 3/15 in Belgium. And I would like to compare notes with you on planning. So far I have a three Ring binder and a spiral note book devoted to my trip/surgery. My husband laughs at me and thinks I have lost my mind. But I personally feel you can never be too prepared. So far I have typed out 2 iteneraries that include confirmation numbers, addresses and Dutch Phrases. Any way, after I get back feel free to email me and I will happily share with you any experiance I had from the surgery. I am sure that you will have no trouble finding friends on this board. And it looks like there is going to be quite a few of us getting banded over the next few months. So watch out veteran bandsters we are all going to be looking at you guys for support!

Pam, I put in my information at the site and they emailed me back stating the distance I was from the dr. and it stated in the email if they took both international and domestic patients. Did they email you back with the same info? I was incorrect about having to pay before getting the Dr. 's information- sorry.

Ok Whipple Daddy's poem and the Rainbow Bridge have got my crying! Nancy, I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your dearest Niko. We grow so close to our pets that we can't help but love them with all out hearts. So I know what you must be going through. I wish you peace and serenity during this trying time for you!

Chantal, I sincerely hope that all goes well with your sister and baby Rose. They will be added to my prayers tonight.

According to the site you have to pay the membership and then they tell you whether or not the Dr. sees international patients or not. However, all the Dr. information is posted and you could contact him before you pay the fee to check if he will follow patients banded outside U.S. or not.

Green tea is a great antioxidant and can help with weight loss -it is put in alot of weight loss formulaions (potentially speeds up metabolic rate) However, I think it tastes really yucky. Chammomile tea has a natural agent that helps you relax and may help induce sleep I have also heard it is good for menstral cramps. My favorite tea is spiced chai (mixed with milk) it has a lot of sugar in it Earl Gray is really good and I like plain old Liptons with milk and sugar. If you don't know which one you like Bigeolow makes a variety pack of teas that you can by and see which one you favor most.

I am going to be Banded in March also. I hope that we both have a speedy recovery and a safe trip back home! (The thought of normal size clothes make me giddy too)

Leatha, Thanks for giving me that information on the "Hospital cost" of the Lap Band I really appreciate it. I also hope that you are getting over your flu and feeling better. I always know I have the flul because I get "really fainty" and ache all over. Hope you are feeling much better !

Hope your surgery goes well and you have a quick recovery

Lisa, Your should be really proud of your weight loss. If you can do that under all this adversity look what you can do once your wound has healed. I hope that you are not rejecting your band. Best of luck. Keep us posted you are an inspiration to all of us.!

I do not know personally about this surgeon but he appears all over the internet in all kinds of studies. Apparently he was one of the first surgeons to perform the band. From what I have read Belgium was one of the first countries to use the band. I would be interested to know which TYPE of band he places (midband, swedish or Lap Band).

I have heard from a couple of different surgeons offices that the price of the actual Lap Band device is going up in Jan 2005. I have emailed Don Mills at Ionamed and he says that he does not know what the price increase will be but that the Dr.'s and Hospitals will be notified. I contacted the DR.'s offices but they do not yet know what the price increase will be. Does ANYONE know anything about this and know what the new price will be. It is my understanding that the current cost of the Ionamed lap band is approximately $3,5000.

One of my favorites is myagb.homestead.net. I found it to be VERY inspirational and also contains alot of good links.

Leo, thanks for the post I am going to read that every day. It inspired me to go and have another glass of water.

Leatha that would be great! But I don't want you to get in trouble. I am just trying to figure out How much more money I am looking at spending

Percocet contains oxycodone(opoid analgesic ) + tylenol. It is certainly safe on the stomach but may lead to dependence ( it is a schedule II narcotic). It can cause some nausea but it does not damage the stomach. Tramadol is a safe analgesic that has lower abuse potential, but will require a prescription but it is not scheduled yet ( unlike darvocet, lortab, or percocet) Many doctors will write for this drug instead of the opoids because of the lowered risk for abuse.

Motrin ( Ibuprofen )and naproxen both belong to the nsaid class and and in my opinion are bad news for the stomach. The drugs are acidic in nature and have been known to cause peptic ulcers and gi bleeds. They are even more riskier for banded patients because an ulcer formed from using nsaids could potentially result in band erosion.

I have been researching lap banding for the last several months and have found this site to be very helpful and honest. I am trying to decide on a surgeon in mexico to perform my lap band procedure. I have family in San Diego and am leaning towards a Dr. Mascareno in Tijuana. Can anyone provide me any input on this surgeon???

Thanks to each of you for replying so quickly, I did not expect such a speedy reply. Like many other unfortunate people I do not have a insurance company that will pay for lap band surgery. In addition do not have a husband that is really happy about forking out much more than seven to eight thousand dollars on this surgery. ( WE DON'T SEE EYE TO EYE ON THIS ISSUE) Anyway I certainly don't want to put my life in jeopardy trying to save a few bucks for my husband. That Dr. 's website is "getbanded.com" and what I liked was that he was listed as a fellow in the American College of Surgeons ( but could not find that he was board certified in laproscopic surgery). The site says that he has placed over 1,800 bands( but anybody can say anything). There are two doctors in my area that I have found that will do after care for Mexican patients. So my concern now is finding the best surgeon with the best price to perform my surgery.