gurlygirl

Dr. K does surgery at two locations. One of them is Crown Point in Parker CO and the other location is across the street from his office in Aurora (this is where my surgery will be next month). His office will recommend a few hotels closest to the surgical center that will be used for your surgery. You can ask for a medical rate and save a few bucks. You will probably want to book one with a fridge and microwave for your post op liquids. We will be renting a car for convenience reasons and my husband hates to be without a set of wheels LOL. I know that the Parker facility is a little bit farther out. I read someone on this thread had shuttle service to the hotel out there, but they stop at quite a few hotels and that may not be too comfortable on your trip back to the airport. Also, you will be meeting him the afternoon prior to your surgery at his office in Aurora, so we felt that having the car to get around was a good idea.

Me and coworker have been watching our calories and looked at all the Starbucks drinks to find the ones with the least amount of calories and fat content. The grande nonfat sugar free latte's are only 130 calories. Super filling too. So the tall would be even less than this and you can get the decaf variety if your Water intake is of concern. :ranger:

Hi Chilipepper ~ I am from British Columbia. I will be flying next month to Dr. K in Colorado $9950. To save on flying back down to Dr. K for fills I will be getting my fills done at North West Fills in Arlington WA. Their web site is northwestfills.com and they charge $150 for the initial fill/visit and $125 for every fill after that. Which is quite reasonable. Most people that have been to them on LBT have been pleased with their fills and service. My husband and I will be flying out of Seatac for $197 return to Denver. Flying out of Vancouver is twice this much because of the taxes and airport fees. I would weigh all your options before you make your final decision. Good luck to you I hope everything works out.

I had a phone consult with him on July 30th and my surgery date is Sept 18th. This is when I had my vacation time booked. I never tried to get in earlier. I am also a self pay patient. I must say that I was very impressed with him. He did not hesitate to answer all of my questions and put my mind at ease. I am just under 4 weeks to surgery and it is coming so quickly for me. It will happen before you know it. Mark is right. Check out the thread "Considering Dr. Kirshenbaum". You might want to post the same question on that thread. But I think he is getting busier as word gets around about the good Dr. Best of luck to you.

Shelbi, My thoughts and prayers go out to your friend Ann and her father. I hope everything turns out okay. I am scheduled for my surgery with Dr. K on Sept 18th (one day before you). I am looking forward to my band date like a kid looking forward to Christmas morning. It is okay to be disappointed. I certainly would be. It doesn't make you selfish or a bad friend. :car: Best of luck to you. Maybe I will see you in Colorado.:whoo:

Wow LapDancer - you look awesome! Amazing transformation! :whoo:

Thanks for all the info Kat. I too am a bit scared with my surgery date set for Sept 18th. I am happy to hear that I will be able to drink normal and a controled amount of food after the healing period following the surgery. After reading some of the posts I have found on here, it can really freak a person out. This makes me feel good about my decision. Congrats Kat on being one with your band! Good luck hford on you upcoming surgery!

I will be banded next month by Dr Kirshenbaum in Aurora Colorado. I chose him for a number of reasons, which include but is not limited to his aftercare. I will definately be making some trips back there for some initial fills, but was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for fill Dr's in Western Canada that they have used. I have researched a fill center down in Arlington, WA (northwestfills.com) which is only 1 1/2 hour drive away and has reasonable rates. So, if I need to get a fill or defill and don't have time to make the trip to Colorado, I will make the drive there. I would love to hear what other BC and Alberta banders are doing for their fill needs if your surgeon is quite some distance away (ie. Ontario, United States or Mexico). Thanks for all that reply to this post.

mdicurn - I agree with you. Not drinking with meals will be hard to get used to for me too. I guess we can take solace that we are not in this alone. bubblebelly - Is your surgeon in Mexico? stacy73 - Congrats on 7 lbs down. You're already making the scale move in the right direction. WOW...SEPT 20th seems to be a popular date for this crowd. Welcome everyone. I would love to hear all your experiences with surgery, so please keep the posts coming. My band date is 6 weeks today.

Dr. K charges $9950. Which includes: surgical assistant anesthesiologist LAP-BAND placement outpatient surgery at JACHO accredited Surgery Center 3 months of follow-up care and adjustments pre-op and a post-op consultation with our nutritionist indefinite participation in our lap band support group Costs NOT covered in the fee are travel expenses, food costs, hotel fees and prescription fees. After the 3 months the fills are $15. He truly cares for his patients and wants to give them another alternative to Mexico, which is why his price is lower than most. I had my phone consultation over the phone with him while I followed along with pictures on a pdf file to illustrate what he was explaining. I just cannot say enough about him. I guess everyone has their own reasons for choosing the Dr they do. We have to do what feels right.

Thanks for the info everyone! Doddie63 - How many times have you been to Dr. Woodhead? What was your overall experience like? Was he pleasant or treated you differently because you had your band put in by another surgeon? Just curious. $400 seems steep for the initial consult. :faint:The northwestfills.com is only $150 initially and $125 every time after that. Some other banders on this forum said they were really good. I am kinda leaning that way myself. Do you know if you can claim the fills on your income tax if they are done in Canada?

Woofay - I love your honesty. I am sure I will have no problem opting for the suppositories myself. I would much rather do that, than risk throwing up and ripping out the stitches that are securing the band. On another note....I would like to book my flights soon, so I am going to call Marilyn and ask when Dr K. feels that it will be safe for me to fly home. I would like to fly home the following evening, but if I am going to have to deal with feeling icky, then maybe one more day might be best.

What type of preop diet is everyone on and how long before surgery do you have to start it? My Dr. has me on no-carbs of any kind starting 10 days before surgery. Just curious, there seems to be a bunch of different preop diets out there. Congratulations to eveyone for getting their band dates.

This question is for all the Dr K. post banders.... The day following your surgery did you have a set time to go back into Dr. K's office for your follow up? I will most likely be flying home the next day after surgery and was wondering if flying out later in the afternoon into the early evening would be doable? Or would you recommend staying another night? How did you all feel 2nd day post op? Is flying this soon out of the question? I do get nauseous very easily, so I am concerned with the post surgery sick feeling. Did any of you experience heavy vomiting? I have had two c-sections before and was able to manage the pain fine with very minimal pain medication, so I am not too concerned with the surgery pain as I am the nausea. Oh to be a post bander and have all of this behind me. lol

Hello to all you Sept 2007 bandsters! I am getting my band on September 18th. Very excited yet nervously anxious at the same time. Looking forward to this journey! :whoo:

Hi Everyone, I am new to post on the Dr K. thread, even though I have followed along for a few months reading your posts. I want to thank all of you for sharing your journey of pre/post banding with me. It has helped me to make the choice for a healthier future. I had my phone consultation with Dr Kirshenbaum last Monday evening. Yes, he did not hesitate to accomodate an evening call. I have chosen to not tell my work at this point in time, so I was very appreciative he could do this. Also, following along with a pdf file with images and pictures while he described them over the phone was great! He put my mind at ease. I am soon to be a banded girl!! My surgery is scheduled for Sept 18th. I am sure I will get nervous & anxious as the date gets closer. Shelbicallie, Justplainme, Mare5569 - Good luck with your August Band Dates! Shesha - thank you for starting this thread.