Lori in Cali

I worked in a bridal salon for a long, long time. The first thing you do need to do is track down the manufacturer of the dress. They almost certainly have showrooms in Manhattan. Call them, tell them you have had weight loss surgery and that you are wondering if you can wait until May or June to order their dress. The odds are very good that they will tell you that won't be a problem. The vast majority of dresses, from both high end and low end manufacturers alike, can be had in under two months when necessary. Four months is usually quite comfortable. You need to talk to the actual alterations lady at the salon to see what she has to say about the dress you've picked. She may say to you that she can only take the dress down one size and if that is the case, then that's probably not a good choice for you. When I had pregnant brides coming through, I'd always have them talk to the alterations lady so that they knew exactly what they were getting into. Generally speaking, a size 14 can be altered down to a 10 or back up to a 16 - that's probably your best bet, but that doesn't into account the style of your dress. They are certain necklines and certain bodices that have very little room for alterations. Next, put an ad up on Craig's List Creative Gigs (it won't cost anything) for a local dressmaker. Find someone with a real portfolio and real references. There are lots of seamstresses who make their living knocking off bridal and evening gowns for individuals and they do a beautiful job. Also, check local fabric shops that carry HIGH END bridal materials and see if they have referrals. They will usually know all the best seamstresses in the area and who is the most reliable. Under your circumstances, that's probably the best way for you to go. Having worked in the bridal industry, my alarm bells are going off. I'm wondering if either the salon or the manufacturer is in financial trouble and that's the reason for the long wait period. Something isn't right here. Anyway, however you go, have a beautiful wedding. :thumbdown:

Your daughter is well within the guidelines that physicians look for when performing weight loss surgery on teens. If you can help her now - great. Here's a couple news articles: Lap Band Surgery Helps Bremerton Girl Be 'The Kid I Want To Be' : Top Stories : Kitsap Sun Lap band surgery effective in combating obesity in adolescents The top article is about a young girl in New jersey who went to Mexico with her mom and Dr. Ariel Ortiz did the surgery. At his website, he has the story of Cassie - a young teen he performed surgery on who has turned out to be quite a glamorous young lady - as well as, effective spokesperson. Here's an interview with him I have posted on my site. My apologies for the blog pimping: YouTube interview with Dr. Ariel Ortiz I think Dr. Van Wagner does some teens, but I don't remember the full story. I do know that he has smart people who answer the phone and answer your questions very directly. He has some videos up online. You can get a real sense of whether he someone you're interested in. He's the only physician in the practice, so you always see him. He does all the adjustments and follow up care for his patients. It's small and personal. Heart of America Bariatrics, LLC Video Website Best of luck. I think you're doing a wonderful thing for your daughter. Set that child free and let her be the young woman she really wants to be. This forum has a sub-forum for teenagers, so she can communicate with other teens.

I've been reading Dr. Paul O'Brien's book, The Lap Band Solution. He's one of the doctors in Australia that's done a massive amount of research on Lap Bands. He would say that you must get in and talk to your doctor and impress upon him/her that you are not losing weight. When was the last time you went in for a check up? Had you stalled at the time? What did the doctor tell you when you called to say you weren't losing weight? On another note, are you consuming any caffeine? Caffeine causes the blood sugar level of Type II diabetics to spike up to 36% after dinner. That can definitely have an impact on your weight loss. Dr. Atkins always told his patients that wouldn't lose weight on his diet if they were drinking coffee. He didn't know why but he did know it to be the case. Along that line, one can of diet soda a day is sufficient to trigger metabolic syndrome - the series of health symptoms that lead to full blown diabetes. Since you're stuck, if you haven't laid off those things - do it now. No caffeine, no artificial sweeteners. See what happens after a few weeks. I had a friend who struggled mightily for months on Atkins to lose 40 pounds. She finally laid off caffeine, and boom! it was gone. And she was in her fifties at the time. It's been several years, and she still won't touch it. But really, you need to get back in to see your surgeon, or a bariatric surgeon.

Jeff, Well, lucky you. I'm savin' mah pennies to get my surgery done. The numbers on diabetes remission and Lap Bands are fantastic. Something like 73% of Type II diabetics see their diabetes move into remission. I have a friend who was taking 120 units of insulin a day. She was in her fifties, and weighed 350 pounds. Within a few months of having her Lap Band surgery, she was totally off insulin. Her diabetes is now in complete remission. Good luck. Gastric Surgery Can Send Diabetes Into Remission - Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 Diabetes, Type 1, and Metabolic Disorders Treatment and Medications on MedicineNet.com

BubbleButt, I'm not trying to mislead anyone, nor did i say that World Med Assist works with Ortiz. I mentioned several options and World Med Assist was just one. I mentioned Baker in Dallas, as well as Rumbaut and Ortiz. It may well be cheaper to have the surgery without World Med Assist but the fact that they have a clientelle for this is evidence that not everyone has the nerve to get up and fly there on their own for surgery. For those of us in the southwest, it's probably a good deal less foreign that for people in other parts of the nation. And for those people, having an additional interface may make the process less intimidating. The point of my post was to open up options for someone who needs options. That's all.

bariatric surgeons in Texas and includes their credentials, how many of each type of surgery they have performed, where they went to school, what their professional affiliations are and reviews from their patients. For instance, here's Dr. Wade Barker's page: http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/bariatric+surgeon+profile+Wade+Barker+dhs.html Using the list should probably allow you to assemble a lot of information over one afternoon. Here's all of the doctors for Texas. Good luck! http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/TX/a,doclisting/type,46/

I'd encourage you to have a talk with your doctor about your need for treats. it may well be that there is a way to tweak your eating plan that's helps deal with that. I can't speak for others, but when I'm on a low carb diet with sufficient fat in it, I experience very little need to munch. I've been reading Dr. Paul O'Brien's book - he's the researcher/surgeon in Australia that has done more studies on the Lap Band than anyone else I know of. What he emphasizes over and over again is that if something is getting in the way of you losing weight or doing what you're supposed to, you should talk to your doctor about it. Don't assume this is just you being an undisciplined bum. I'd also encourage you to understand the mechanics of weight loss and weight gain. Because if you know what catalyst you're unleashing every time you drink a Starbucks drink or snack on something you shouldn't, it may make it easier to avoid that stuff. The first problem with coffee or tea is the caffeine. Studies have found that drinking caffeine with Breakfast makes blood sugar levels spike through out the entire day - including a 36% spike after dinner. When your body has lots of glucose floating around in it, your pancreas releases insulin to convert all of that energy to fat. With Snacks - particularly processed food - you're causing your blood sugar to rise quickly, and that's food that's going to be plastered directly to your hips, thighs and tummy. Here's a 60 second video from the Mayo Clinic about how food turns into glucose and what happens from there. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/blood-sugar/MM00641 And here's an explanation of the whole process from Calories Per Hour: http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_sugar.php "Our pancreas creates a hormone called insulin that transports blood sugar into our body’s cells where it is used for energy. When we eat refined grains that have had most of their Fiber stripped away, sugar, or other carbohydrate-rich foods that are quickly processed into blood sugar, the pancreas goes into overtime to produce the insulin necessary for all this blood sugar to be used for energy. This insulin surge tells our body that plenty of energy is readily available and that it should stop burning fat and start storing it". Watch the video a few times. Reread the text. The next time you're tempted to snack on something you shouldn't, remember that stuff. Thinking about your fat cells getting fatter because you're drinking Starbucks will likely slow you down as least part of the time. Remember, that drink isn't bad for you just because it's calorie dense and liquid so it slides through your band easily, it's bad for you because it has caffeine and that caffeine may very mean that your body holds on to MORE of the calories you eat ALL DAY LONG. As for snacks, they're processed and quickly broken down by your body, so your blood sugar will rise rapidly in response, and your body will store more of what you eat as fat. And talk to your doctor. See if he/she has any advice for you or if they want to make some changes in your diet.

http://www.cmcwls.com/insurance.php A patient is 100 pounds or more over ideal weight for height and body structure, and has one of these associated medical conditions: Diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cholecystitis, narcolepsy, Pickwickian Syndrome (and other severe respiratory diseases), hypothalamic disorders, and severe arthritis of the weight-bearing joints. A patient is 200% or more of the ideal weight for height and body structure. An associated medical condition is not required for this category. A patient has complications from a non-covered surgical treatment for obesity, such as intestinal bypass, and needs one of the three surgical procedures that are covered. Tricare Standard does not cover any others services, medications, or supplies related to obesity or weightreduction. Non-surgical treatment of morbid obesity, such as wiring the jaws, camps for obesity treatment,or special diets, are not covered. Gastric bypass procedure is covered, Lap Band procedure is not covered. And hypertension is high blood pressure. If you're doing loud, ugly moose snoring where you can't breathe, that is sleep apnea. If they turn your down, call the Obesity Law Center and get their help. Call 'em even you think you can't afford it. They work hard at making themselves affordable for us working class types. http://www.obesitylaw.com/

will help you get it done in Mexico for $8k. They'll fly you there, drive you to the hospital, make sure all your paperwork is in order and drive you back to the airport the next day. If there are any problems, they'll function as patient advocates and help straighten the problem out. if any aspect of your health is causing your concern above and beyond obesity, you'll also spend the night in the hospital there with the physicians keeping an eye on you. That would cost thousands of dollars here in the US and make it much more expensive. You'll find a lot of people on this board who had their surgeries done in Mexico. The doctors there were doing Lap Band procedures before the doctors here were. When the FDA finally approved the Lap Band, Inamed brought physicians up front Mexico to teach the doctors here how to do the surgery. People like Ariel Ortiz and Roberto Rumbaut have performed literally thousands of the surgeries. Rumbaut, himself, has a Lap Band. The centers in Mexico where these doctors work are beautiful, modern and specifically designed to get American healthcare dollars - so they are built to satisfy American consumers. Here's an interview with Dr. Ortiz and you can see the facility where he works. http://lovemylapband.wordpress.com/2008/02/19/youtube-interview-with-dr-ariel-ortiz/ And here's World Med Assist: http://www.worldmedassist.com I know someone who posts on this board has a signature that says her surgery was done by Dr. Wade Barker in Dallas for $9500, so you might want to check that out as well.

Denise, Most bras today aren't very comfortable. I have no idea why, either. I'd really encourage you to hit a real lingerie store with real undies and try a few things on there. I just took a girlfriend of mine to Nordstrom a few weeks ago. She's 45 and had never bothered to buy herself a really good bra. She would say things like, "Victoria's Secret bras last a long time." I kept trying to tell her that good bras could be comfortable but she didn't believe me. She got fitted right, and she's sworn off Victoria's Secret from here on out. I know, I know. :coolgleamA:

about going to Mexico. A lot of Americans think it's scary but there are oodles of healthcare facilities in Mexico that are designed to attract wealthy foreigners to their confines. There are companies like World Med Assist that help arrange American trips to Mexico for healthcare as well. Lap Bands were approved in Mexico before they were approved in the US. Cathy Pickren, who works for Dr. Rumbaut (who has a Lap Band himself), lived in Seattle and was referred to Mexico by her physician in the 90s. When the FDA finally approved the Band, the manufacturer brought in the surgeons from Mexico to teach American doctors how to perform the surgery safely. You look at people like Ortiz, Rumbaut and Corvala and they've performed, literally, thousands and thousands of surgeries. Most of the hospitals and surgery centers that they use have lots of photos online and you can see testimonials from their patients. However you go, best of luck!

yes, of course, they'll help you deal with insurance. It's how they get paid. They know what your insurance requires and they'll help you find a way to meet the requirements. Northwest Surgery Center has a really good page on what you need to do: Adjustable Gastric LAP-BAND Surgery Insurance Coverage Information If you want to learn more about Lap Bands, you should check out the manufacturer's site: Home As well as read as much here as you can. There is great stuff in the magazine here. Have fun.

congratulations on all the life changes. You know what they say - living well is the best revenge. I've loved being in my fifties. I think you'll find it's a whole lot of fun.

Ebay is great for stuff like that. Sometimes you can find really amazing deals. It's not as much fun as shopping at Nordstrom but I've gotten Wacoal and all sorts of stuff on Ebay. Look for a vendor with a lot of feedback - over 30 at least. Stick to brands you know and don't hesitate to ask questions. In addition, www.justmysize.com has some amazing sales on undies and I think they carry your size.