mattintosh

I am down over two hundred. Give or take.

Well I am a long term bandster I think. The only problem I ever had was remembering that I was banded. Like forgetting to take a small bite or chewing stuff like that. But I did get an unfill once cuz I had irritated my small tummy and she swelled up tight!! We call this self tightening. I could not swallow my own spit. Other than that its been a real steady ride. Down around two hundred pounds!!

I think everyone has thought about Bypass, sleeve, ect ect. I tell folks that are unsure which is right for them to get a band. Simple if you can't work it then look into Bypass ect. The best thing is to reasearch your choices way before researching your Dr.

Most folks that join a group like this are in a couple of catagories such as; 1. They are looking into weightloss surgery. 2. They have determined that a band is for them. 3. They are on their way to getting approved by their insurance carrier. 4. They have been turned down by their insurance carrier and are looking into self pay as an option. 5. They are banded and are asking questions about the journey they are on or are helping others with their journey or both. (most of us ). 6 They are bottom feeders looking to push a self pay to their Doctor so they can get some kind of payback say a free fill or couple hundred bucks ... Now the group you are talking about the "then whats" are the folks that come by once a month or so and say very little. They are where you and I want to be (at goal). At least thats how I see it.

OMG! Don't tell a soul you are banded. If you do you will be giving to them the power to attack your self confidence and self esteem. Some times we tell people private things and they react in a negative way and that hurts, bad! Just don't say a thing until you lose 50% of the weight you want. This is about you, not them. ssshhh!

Hi, I usually only deal with the self pay patient. However I would guess you need to have your deductable ready as well as you 20 percent at the time of surgery. Just a guess. Can I ask how much this surgery is in total?

Well what exactly have you done so far? Have you found out if your Ins. will pay? Can you self pay if you have to?

HAHA! Good one. I have been banded seven years now. Things have changed considerably since my banding. Maybe they are just stringing you along, maybe not. Hang in there and if they bail out on you self pay is not all that bad really.. Less than a used car... Hang in there and get yourself an contingency plan.

Yes to every thing posted so far. One thing though, the band is removeable or at least can be unfilled to have little to no restriction at all. This means if you can't commit to the bandster way then you can have it unfilled and go back to the way you are now. Try that with a BYpass or sleeve... JMHO:thumbup:

Oh by the way I have a friend Debbie, that paid a fee of 38,000.00 as a self pay. The bummer was that when she went back for some follow up her Dr. said he wasn't doing bands anymore and that she would have to find another Dr. for any care she may need. Now that sux!

Welcome Mike. Yes self pay sux no doubt about it. But as I tell people, it no more than a good used car. You are worth a used car, right? Also it will be there for you your whole life.

All the best to you. I was with Kaiser and I spent a year jumping through hoops till they finally said no to the band! Pissed me off! Why not just tell me up front? Dang! I wasted a whole year! Yes this is a good group,,,

I am also saddened by your distress. It is really makes me mad when these so-called experts mess up so badly...

Well I rest my case. You get what you are paying for most of the time. About Pompa and 6500.00 banding?? Oh hell this is getting old. How many times are people going to shop for a band like they are looking for a new pair of shoes??? I have a friend that got banded for over 38,000.00. Now here is a person getting banded for 6500.00 and complaining about the surgery and blaiming the Dr. I am so sorry you were injured, really. I am. WATCH OUT for flashy ads promoting low fee's!! Just because someone advertises on this board does not mean you should use them. JMHO.

One more thing about ads found here. If you see an ad that says "get information" or "find a surgeon here" or "tries to make you think they have info that is open an available is not true remember I mentioned some promoters actually have several websites designed to send visitors to surgeons that THEY WORK FOR! I wish we could not allow any advertising at all!! No promoters at all!!! Also we would just give support to each other and not mention our surgeon of choice..... I am sure to get angry responses for this post but I am getting sick of the hidden tactics.JMHO!:thumbup:

The main problem with Boards like this one and by that I am talking about all the others as well is that Promoters, co-ordinators, surgery schedulers ect are on these boards. About 20% of all the posts are made by these employees of the Drs. The presence of these "bottom feeders" has completely contaminated this medium. I say this because I have been around long enough to see it. I mean take a close look at the advertisements around edges of this board. These cost alot of money every month. The sole purpose is to reach newbies. A newbie will see the ad and think "hey these guys must be good they are on this board". Then the posts. Man can't you see they how surgeons are held up high by certain posts or the cordinators. I see that Joann has been mentioned here. I know her personallyI also know that there are a number of websites that are in effect the same site because they all lead to her or Beliteweight which are the same thing. Now thats sick. What we need is a site that does no advertising at alland does not allow folks to promote or attack any surgeon. Also stops private messaging. In a perfect world huh?

I agree. Rest my case.

My Spanglish is perfect! I know exactly what Corvala said. In any event "want2beme" The Angeles Hospital does not go by US Standards! You can be sued by saying things like that. If the hospital was the same then why is it so much cheaper? Look I have been around this stuff for 6 years not six months. I travel to Mx weekly, I meet these Drs. often and I can tell you the ones that are doing mega surgeries are making most of the complications aslo the ones that are very lo in fee as well. Do real research and you will see..

Being a smoker and then going into surgery with General Anesthesia is dangerous to you. Smoking simply makes your lungs weak and then they do not absorb oxygen as efficiently. This could lead to a longer recovery for you. There are some lung exercises that my doc gives out and also a website that tells you where to get this exercise thingy. You breathe into it over and over and it helps strengthen your lungs.

This is too easy. Of course I want you go to the Getbandednow.com site and go with them. But thats not what I was trying to get across. If a person wants a "good" team they really should go and meet them ect. Yes I know thats easier said than done. I live close to the border and meet these people often. In fact I spent christmass eve with some of the Dr.s and families that you mentioned earlier. Does that mean they are the best? Maybe but I chose the people that I knew were more into helping and supporting their patients. Not getting more and more till they become inigmas of banding. Look generally any choice will be ok but there are some that are just not safe, period.... I know one Dr. while his patient was getting prepped for banding she said she was scared and was having second thoughts about it. This dr. stopped everthing and cleared the room. He held her hand and said" Lets let God decide" he prayed with her for twety five minutes holding her hand the whole time. Can't you just see a Dr. from Kaiser doing that? Well he told her to let God speak to her that their would be no charge for the room or Hospital ect if she decided to pass. He said he was going to go see some patients that he had worked with earlier in the week and said just to lett his staff know what she wanted to do. Now thats the kind of Doctor you should be looking for and they are down there in TJ. But you gotta go there in person. If you don't or can't make the trip then I suggest you go with a Dr. that has FACS after his name, Fellow of The American College of Surgeons, uses a second full surgeon in the O R as back up and has a Full surgical nurse and a full anesthesiologist thats four people not one or two and Getbandednow has a Emergency Cardiac specialist . Also they should not charge any deposit at all and should allow you to go home with no charge at anytime prior to actually getting your band. You should feel that you are the only patient he has that day and you should get plenty of attention before and after banding. Also his team should provide real support after banding. No extra charges. You see if the Dr's were doing that kind of service (and some do) there would not be very many people on these boards. Why? Because their Dr's and team are answering their questions for them. Don't get this wrong I love the boards all of them but sometimes people are asking serious questions of people that quite frankly are rookies and can only say what they "think" or what someone else has told them or what they have read online. OK OK I gotta stop here cuz I don't want any one getting on my case. This is all just my humble opinion. After all I have been banded for over five years and have lost over 200 lbs. I have personally witnessed fifty five banding surgeries and over at least two hundred fills not all from the Getbandednow folks. There is a huge gap between , reputation, charisma, self promotion.advertising, fancy websites and competency. Again JMHO

Sweet spot? To me the "sweet spot" is where you have the best of both worlds. That is you lose weight by following the eating program but are not so tight you have discomfort. I think you are doing what I call testing your band. I mean really a sandwhich?A pastrami no less!! I sugest you go back to liquids for a couple days then start back eating the bandster way and get your mind completely around eating as you know you should. There is just no place for a pastrami sandwhich. You should never had even tried it. The band will not work for you if you dont "work it" .. If you continue to eat sandwhiches and non band friendly food you will stretch your esophagus and develop a second tummy no a pouch. You should be eating around 900 - 1000 calories a day. Are you? Keep a diary of what and when you eat. Do you drink the water you are supposed to be drinking? Do you get all your protien 50 - 75 grams a day? Stop testing your band and get back on track. The band won't do it by itself.....

You are a cutie. ok so pot and the band should not be such a big issue. Just don't eat it, haha! Coughing and the band? Nope no problem at all. The main concern is not disturbing the formation of fibrosis on your band and that is what gets messed up 2when u eat to soon after banding. Can u say slippage? Seems u have no trouble saying fuck fuck fuck! Me either I love talking like this online LOL!

Queenie, if u r still working on whom to go with remember what I said in the previous posts. Most people on these boards have not had any problems so thay have no experience to draw on. Does that in and of itself mean their doc is a good choice? No it doesn't. Why? Because it is very likely that if you doc dejur is mega popular then he/she is most likely to busy to deal with problems. See there is not much profit in problems. Figures like this, quality surgery goes from 8500.00 to 12,000.00 in Mx. Takes about an hour. You talk with lead surgeon about ten minutes tops in most cases. Problems can last for hours with many phone calls, office visits ect. Do the math. There is something many online experts don't know, ready? The nominclature Doctor in Mexico means something different than in the USA. Dr. Morales although a stunningly beautifull lady was tattooing eyeliner a few years back. Is she really a Dr. as you think the word Dr might mean to a USA citizen? I just know I am going to get a bunch of flack for bringing this up but as I said Rookies Rookies Rookies. Getting one surgery in no way makes you qualified to say to a poor soul, that is open and trusting, go to Dr @#$%. because I did and they were great! B.S. I know of another Dr. of the day that has more than three patients prepped for banding and he goes from one to the other wham bam see ya mam. Also did you know the designation CIRUJANO does not necessarily mean this person is a SURGEON as you would expect in the US. I am not trying to confuse you, really. its just that Many folks on these boards should be asking and not giving info ...(wait and see the flack that statement will bring).