Totallytater

You are an adult and have to make your own decisions. Your family can't live your life for you. My family wasn't wild about my decision either, but I had to do this for me. Good luck.

Glynda, Hi. Keep in mind that I lost 50 pounds prior to the surgery. I have only lost 15 since the surgery but I am excited about it. No the $9950 was just for the surgery cost and Dr. gives free fills for 3 months, then fills are only $15. Luckily Denver is a cheap flight from many areas, including Charlotte where I am coming from.

Trodd, Greetings from NC! Good luck and have a great surgery.

At least it is not on your face. In college I went to a party and snuggled up to a cute white kitten. Then I got ringworm on my face. There was a nice big ring around my chin.

For those who will fly in for surgery in winter, go a few days early and take in the sights. We went to the Manitou Springs area. Being from NC, we rarely ever get snow (except for the ski areas in the NC mtns) so we enjoyed the snow. Here are a few pictures. It was lovely.

I saw it here in the US somewhere too. It is truly awful, but she was dead anyway (or almost anyway). She probably didn't lose much time here at all, but every single day is a gift. I hope her family will not follow in her footsteps, and watch their weights (or get bands like us)

Georgia girl, Since you have a Belks in your town, I would suggest you go there during the day when the older gals are working. Have one of them measure you. (make sure she is a bra specialist and knows what she's doing) That is the only way to truly get the right size. You can buy one from her then shop around for the best deals on the others. Oprah had a show one time about how we all tend to choose the wrong bra size, so it is important to be measured, especially since you have lost weight.

What's so bad about a small baked potato with some cheese or sour cream or something on it?

I am another Dr. Kirshenbaum patient (for $9950). You may want to do what I did. Fortunately for you Air Tran airlines flies from Cleveland to Denver (and it also flies from Charlotte to Denver for me). It is pretty cheap for you. About $100 each way most times. Anyway, this is what I did. I got an Air Tran credit card. Just for getting the credit card, I got a one way trip. Then I actually charged the surgery on the Air Tran card. That earned me a one way trip. That would be a free round trip for you to go out there and get the surgery. They have a very liberal frequent flyer program. I am charging everything I can think of each month to my Air Tran Card to earn the miles so I can go back to Denver cheaply for my fills.

If you want to self pay, Dr. Kirshenbaum in Colorado is only $9950. I am doing well so far, down 15 pounds in a little over 3 weeks after surgery.

I researched and decided I would lose weight on my own. I did lose 50 pounds on my own, then I hit a plateau. For months and months, I lost nothing and even gained and lost the same couple of pounds over and over. I knew if I didn't do something, I would gain the 50 pounds back and I didn't want to do that because I had an additional 100 pounds I needed to lose. So I got the band. I'm glad I did. 2008 is going to be the year I get this flab off!!!

You can self-pay with Dr. Kirshenbaum for $9950 including everything. It's a great deal and he is a great surgeon. You ought to see how incredible my incisions look at 3 weeks out. 4 of my 5 incisions are virtually not even visible anymore. The big one is still visible but it looks like a slightly pink paper cut. So far I am very pleased. Good luck to you.

Rivi, Ask me anything you like. I will be getting my first fill on Jan 15th so I will have more information after that. Right now I can eat about anything I want. I just chew it very well and don't eat much at a sitting. I might eat 1/4 or 1/5 of what I used to eat and I'm just tired of it and ready to stop eating and move on to something else. I can't wait to see what happens when I actually have a fill. I'm pretty excited. My weight was down another pound today but I haven't changed my ticker yet. I have never lost weight this easily. I hope it will work for you too.

Mona, So sorry to hear about your trouble. Please take care of yourself.

Gallbladder disease is VERY PAINFUL. It is terrible pain, that makes you feel like you are dying. It is also often accompanied by painful diarrhea or vomiting. It is not a normal pain. But gallbladder disease is easily diagnosed using an ultrasound. A diseased gallbladder is often filled with stones that can be seen on the ultrasound. Good luck with things.

Frisky1, Add me for December 11th. Thanks

I have never heard of anyone who wasn't afraid. Just pray and have faith.

ShelbieCallie and Skyblue, Just checked Dr K's website map and we're finally there. 3 from North Carolina!!

LA, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but almost all insurance policies take the same stance on this. If it is not a covered procedure, then the complications are also not covered. This was something I really worried about before the surgery. I didn't worry about dying or anything like that. I worried that my $10,000 surgery would turn into $100,000 from complications. You just have to pray and keep the faith that you won't have complications.

Unless I have complications (and I sure hope not), mine cost $9950 in Denver.

Hi everyone! I am in Monroe. I was self-pay as my insurance, Wellpath, doesn't cover WLS. I flew to Denver, CO where everything was only $9950. I am going to fly into Denver for the 1st year for fills if possible. I joined AirTran's frequent flyer program and got one of their credit cards. I actually charged my surgery on the credit card and the surgery alone earned me a one-way ticket. And just applying for the credit card earned me a one-way ticket. So my first round-trip was covered without spending a dime. My surgeon does fills free for 3 months, then they're $15. So it won't cost me that much more to fly back and forth to Denver than to get a fill locally. I checked prices around Charlotte and for self-pay they wanted $17,000 to $24,000 for everything. So that is why I went to Denver. I am happy with my decision, and everything is going well so far.

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope I can look 1/2 that good!

Hi folks. My surgery was 12/11 and I am pretty much back to 100% by now. Everything went pretty well for me although I must admit the 1st night was a doosy. I had the most terrible pain in my shoulder that I screamed out in pain a few times. My surgery was in an outpatient surgery center and I went to the hotel as soon as I woke up. Luckily the hotel room had a recliner, because I needed it. I flew back home the day after surgery and I took my last dose of pain meds on the plane and never took another. I never even needed tylenol. I had to sleep in my recliner at home for 4 or 5 nights, then I was back in the bed and back to normal. Everything is good for now and I'm going for my first fill on January 15th. Good luck to everyone.

I went to Dr. Kirshenbaum in Denver for $9950 for everything. It will be easy and cheap for you to fly from west coast to Denver. I think it will be a good option for you.

There are LOTS of surgeons that don't require liquid diet at all. There are some surgeons that require NO diet at all. But if the surgeon gets in there and your liver is too big, they will close you back up and send you home with no lap band, so it is really a serious matter. My surgeon said NO bread, NO pasta, NO rice and NO potatoes for 10 days. And that was all.