Totallytater

It depends on the Dr. Mine did not require any pre-op testing and I only had to do a 10 day low carb diet to shrink liver also.

I would have it ALL if I could afford it. Great work!

I do the gummies too and the chocolate viactive for calcium.

Do not feel guilt about spending this money and don't feel bad because some others pay less or just a co-pay. Life is not fair and it is not fair that we got so fat while others stay slim. We just have to deal with these facts. If you needed a car, you would get one. If you needed to eat, you would buy some food. If you needed a larger house, you would buy one. If you needed a new dress to go to a wedding, you would buy one. Now you need to work on your body and it will cost like anything else you buy. Don't worry about it. Make that investment in yourself, the most valuable asset you have or will ever have. Take care of yourself and good luck!!!

People really started commenting at about 80 pounds for me. I'm at almost 100 pounds lost now and people don't even know me anymore. Of coures it doesn't hurt that I have blonde hair now instead of dark brown. I wanted to look like someone else because the old me looked so bad

Don't worry about a fipped port. That is pretty unusual and if it happens you will find out when you go for your first fill. At your fill, you will see where it is. It is usually near your largest incision. Mine is in the middle of my belly, just under my bra line. Now that I've lost almost 100 pounds I can easily feel it by rubbing my hand across my belly. It sort of sticks up but no one would notice it but me.

Hi. I flew from NC to have my surgery with Dr. K. Denver is fantastic so I vacationed there a few days before the surgery. I had the surgery the day before I left. I had surgery in Aurora and stayed at the Best Western Gateway because it is close to the surgery center and had a recliner and fridge in the room The recliner was very important for that first night (and subsequent nights when I got back home). I had to refrigerate one of my meds, so that was good too. The first night was horrible because of the gas pains. Everything was very easy except for one thing. I should not have flown on the morning after surgery. I should have waited to fly home until the 2nd morning after surgery, or at least much later on the day after surgery. I upgraded to 1st class on the way home and that made it more comfy. My sister went with me for surgery and she wheeled me through the airports in a wheelchair because I was half zonked out of my mind on the pain med. But I didn't take any prescription painkillers after that first day, so you know it couldn't have been too bad. Dr. K is fantastic and he has tons of people that fly to him for surgery so you have lots of company. Let me know if you have any questions.

Hi. I just think you need another fill. If you can eat 2 tacos and then a few bites of anything else without feeling any soft stops, you need a fill. I have pretty good restriction and I don't think I could eat a whole taco. Seriously doubt it.

Tell her "Yep, I am going to one up you" and be done with it!!

Have you considered Dr. Kirshenbaum in Aurora Colorado. It is about 15 minutes from Denver airport and you can probably fly into Denver for way cheaper than to DR. Dr. Kirshenbaum is $9950 for everything and he will be much cheaper to get back to if you have problems in the future. I loved Dr K and he does such a great job.

I am hiding the fact that I had the surgery. It is a secret, even from my best friend. Luckily she is dieting too, so she talks about food choices, exercise and clothes even more than I do. It also makes it nice on our girls nights out because we both try to outdo each other on how great of a food choice we can make.

I had my son at 36. My doctors acted like I had one foot in the grave. The biggest problem you will have over 40 is that your eggs are old. The previous posters had healthy babies, but statistically you have a much greater chance of a down syndrome baby and some other problems. It is a crap shoot really. You may get a good egg or an egg that is too old. Some women over 40 use donor eggs from younger women. And many women use their own eggs over 40 and have perfect babies. I wish you much luck. I would like to have another child myself, but at almost 41 I think I'm past my prime.

No thanks for me. That's where my poop comes out, and since having the lapband that is a sacred activity if you know what I mean. Not messing with that area.

Be sure to do Slim Fast Low Carb. The carbs are too high in Optima IMO

It will be a bit of a drive for you but there is a great FillCentersUSA doctor off of I-77 in Huntersville. I hear of people having to pay crazy prices for fills when they get surgery in Mexico. But will FillCentersUSA it is only something like $185 for a fill.

If you are ready to crap the motherload, this is what you need. A bottle of Magnesium Citrate Oral Solution. You can get it at any drugstore. Once you drink this stuff you will get seriously cleaned out. After you survive the ordeal you will eat better and won't let this happen again. You will never want to encounter a bottle of this stuff ever again in your life. But when you are really backed up and cramping and hurting severely, this stuff will do a serious trick for you. Good luck!

I am not good at remembering numbers so I am giving you approximate prices here. Call FillCentersUSA to get the exact prices or maybe someone else on here can remember. They charge the same everywhere. The first fill is something like $350, and subsequent ones are like $185. Or you can just have a consultation for like $80. If you need floro for your fill, they do it at a nearby hospital and it is more, but I don't know how much. I never needed floro. My surgeon in Denver Colorado had a little ultrasound machine and he would use it to "see" the port location. I was a bunch fatter then. By the time I got to Dr. Ahigian, my port was very obvious. If you rub your hand across my belly you can easily feel it. So I don't know how Dr. Ahigian "sees" the port if you are heavier. I'm not sure if he uses ultrasound or not. I would just go ahead and schedule your first fill visit and wing it. FillCentersUSA charges you directly to your credit card and they charge it about 2 days prior to your appointment. If you got there and he couldn't do the fill, I'm sure there would be some sort of refund for the difference between the fill that didn't happen and the consultation fee that would be owed. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Another vote for Dr. Kirshenbaum in Colorado. I flew in from NC for surgery with him. $9950 for everything and he is fantastic. Denver is also a great place to vacation. I vacationed there for several days before my surgery, then I deducted my flight cost for me and my companion, as well as my hotel stay the night before and after the surgery and part of my rental car expense.

You are very lucky!!! We have a FillCentersUSA provider in our area. He is Dr. Ahigian and he works out of offices in Denver and Huntersville. I think either is only about a 30 to 40 minute drive for you. And Dr. Ahigian gives a fantastic fill. He is as good as my original surgeon, and that's saying something. Contact FillCentersUSA to schedule with him. It's cheap too, like $185 or so for a fill. I can't remember exactly, but your first fill is more.

Mindy, I don't think it is a FillcentersUSA policy to give conservative fills. My FillcenterUSA doctor will give me as much fill as I am comfortable with when I try to swallow the water. I am usually more conservative than he is and ask him to back off a bit. I don't want to be throwing up my spit, so I take it easy. But he would give me as much as I will tolerate. So I don't think there is any rip off policy across the board. Some providers may be conservative, and others are more agressive. I really love my FillcentersUSA provider. He really seems to care about my weight loss even though he was not my original surgeon. He is Dr. Ahigian in Huntersville, NC.

Seven lbs away! But I just got a fill so maybe I can do it soon. But I started at over 300, so it will so nice for the scale number to start with a 1, not a 2, or a 3. Can't wait!

I would suggest taping the child to a chair so that they cannot move at all (just kidding). I don't have any other suggestions. My rowdy 3 year old almost killed me during my recovery with his jumping and crashing into me.

12 pounds is totally fine for the length of time you've had your band. You should only expect 1 to 2 pounds per week if you are doing very well, so you are doing very well. It took lots of time to gain the weight. You are not going to lose it all in 7 or 8 weeks.

I like Slimfast Low Carb Chocolate and Atkins Advantage Milk Chocolate. The Atkins Advantage dark chocolate is good too. The smell of unjury grossed me out. If you are a smell person you might want to avoid unjury

It is still all about your choices. Once you are properly filled, eating a regular meal (meat, veggies, starch) is difficult. You can eat just a few bites of each item and you are sooo full, you can't eat another thing. You don't want another thing. However, if you choose to eat junk food, the band won't help much with that. You can still eat lots of ice cream, milk shakes, and some cookies and other junk foods. The band is excellent if you eat real food, but if you can't stay away from junk foods then it won't help as much. I must admit that I fail often and eat too much junk food. I often just substitute junk food for real food. But before the band, I ate huge meals, then plenty of junk food too. Now, just the junk food sometimes, so I still lose weight because I'm still eating less. I am a slow loser because I make lots of mistakes. But I am still down almost 100 pounds so I'm not complaining. Loving this band!!