adorkbl

I did find a surgeon finally in Tempe (abought 1.5 hour drive for me) who will do aftercare, but he is kinda spendy. Sound like they are VERY thorough though... so I may still go that route. $500 to become a patient $370 for the first 2 fills with Ultrasound $265 for each fill after Then a year out they do a ETG? scan. Something they require for follow up. They said insurance would cover it. It may be just about the same as traveling to Colorado but this way I don't have to take off work or be away from home. I also am waiting on a call back from a few sugeons still closer to home. We will see! Thanks so much for the info!! I appreciate your input from a nurses standpoint. My surgery is scheduled for a Thursday. We plan on driving back home late Saturday or early Sunday. We are staying with relatives in town. We are contemplating flying instead, but we don't want to inconvenience family with picking us up, driving us, etc. Plus I HATE flying right now. So uncomfy! Wow! What a distance to travel. So glad to see you don't regret your decision. I am feeling 100% better about the aftercare now that I finally found someone who is willing to closer to home. I haven't had my phone consult with Dr K yet, that is on the 27th.. but I am so glad to know he covers things up to a year out! Fantastic! :girl_hug: Thanks so much for the insight to your food experience after. I am already mourning the loss a bit as I mentally prepare for the changes. I can't imagine how hard it is going to be to REALLY not be able to eat something when I am upset, frustrated, or just plain feeling like gorging out. I NEED this band to keep me in check though during those times. I can't wait!! YIKES! That is COOOOOLD. I just moved to AZ from WI last year and I miss snow a lot!!! But I DO NOT miss the cold and the grey for sooooo many months. I am freezing right now and it is only in the 50's. lol. Back in WI we would be breaking out the shorts. Here I have the heat on, a sweater, and booties and am still cold! I am pretty sure my family will be supportive, I just don't want people watching me, waiting for me to lose weight. Asking questions all the time. Judging everything I do with regard to food. About 2 years ago when I first started researching the band I talked to my mom about it a lot since she needed to lose also. Well I started working with a dietitian and working out and lost a little over 50lbs. So I decided I didn't need the band anymore. Big mistake. Now 2 years later I have regained all that weight and then some. I am at my highest ever. My mom on the other hand was so inspired by my loss that she started walking and eating better. She has lost over 100lbs ad has maintained it. She never shuts up about what she eats, how far she has walked.. yadda yadda. Drives me nuts! lol. So now I don't want to tell her because I am afraid she will try and convince me to try yet again on my own. I know I can do it. I have done it before, but I can't maintain. I fall off the wagon. I am 100% sure that this is the route for me now. She is coming into town on Thursday for the holidays, I may tell my sisters and her over Christmas. I guess I will feel it out! I just requested the time off for vacation. So I didn't tell anyone anything. I work four 10 hour days so I only had to take 4 days vacation which gives me 10 days away from work. I am hoping that will be enough. My surgery falls on a Thursday and I don't return to work until the Saturday the week following. Plus I sit 100% of the time as I am dispatcher. Is there a way you can just take off vacation time and not tell them it is medical related? I guess it really is no one's business there. In my opinion. As far as eating at work, I am sure people will notice the difference. Specially when I am sipping on protein shakes during the day. I figure that will explain my weight loss sufficiently enough. they can assume what they want! :girl_hug: Yes. that is why I am also apprehensive. WE understand the band and how it works. I don't think people "get" the difference between WLS and will expect pounds to just "melt" off. I don't want to have to try and educate people on the differences. Or have them think I am taking the "easy" way out when I know this is going to be a lot of work!

Thanks so much everyone for taking the time to answer my questions! Appreciate it. I have my phone consult in the morning with Paula! I have already been cutting out all bread, pasta, and rice in my diet for the past few days. Been practicing chewing slower (so hard!) and have avoided my worst enemy... ice cream (even harder)! Tomorrow I am going to start subbing a protein drink for breakfast in preparation of the liquid phase. Mona: Glad to see you made it home safely! I live in Tucson and am not looking forward to the drive. I have not had luck finding a fill Dr... so I may look into yours in Flagstaff... not too bad of a drive. Were you not able to find anyone in Phoenix who would do it? Has anyone here kept their surgery private? I am not going to tell anyone at work for sure, but am undecided about family and friends.

Brandy... so glad to hear everything went well for you I hope your Christmas goes well.

Thanks for the welcome Mal. I am so sorry about your sons friend. So glad to here you don't regret writing that check. Ack! I am still worried about complications arising and not have the $$ to fix it! How much weight have you lost so far? How many fills have you needed?

Wow... thanks so much for this info. I am not vegetarian, but this sounds delicious! I am going to try the baked squash!

<p> I haven't told anyone yet, besides my husband. I am not sure if I am going to tell the rest of my family or not. I don't want people to think I took the easy way, which this is NOT. I also don't want to have to constantly feel watched or monitored... KWIM? My dilemma is we are staying with my husband’s family in CO where I am traveling for surgery. We haven't told them WHY we are coming up, other than to visit. Not sure how obvious it will be I had surgery. Heh. Thinking it would be a miracle to pull that secret off. If we tell them, then I figure it would be a matter of time before word spread, so I am trying to figure out whether or not to spill it! lol

So is anyone here traveling out of state to their surgeon?? Or is everyone staying local?

Hi ladies.. I posted on the other DrK thread but everyone seems to check in here so I will repost here if that is ok. :biggrin1: First off my name is Lori! I live in AZ with my hubby and 4 cats. Been fat forever and very much so looking forward to the extra tool to keep me on track. :biggrin1: Not so much looking forward to the extra debt, but ah well, gotta do what ya gotta do! I have a few questions about aftercare that I am concerned about. I have my phone consult with DrK on the 27th... but some of these questions I think are better answered by bandsters. I checked with a local surgeon here and he WILL NOT do my aftercare for me. *grumble* I still have another one I can check with today so I will be doing that. I plan on traveling to CO for my first fill/follow-up with DrK, but after that I am not sure if it make sense $$ wise to continue to travel for fills. I would prefer to have a follow-up Dr closer to home. My main questions and concerns: (apply to those that have traveled for the surgery) 1) What if I have an emergency? His staff seems very accessible and friendly on the phone, but I am apprehensive about feeling like I have nowhere to turn locally. 2) Do you regret your decision to travel to your surgeon? If yes, why? 3) Were you able to line up aftercare in your hometown? OR Do you still travel to CO every time you need a fill? 4) How often have you had to travel back to CO since your surgery? (for fills, complications, etc.) 5) Is there anything you wish you knew before the surgery that no one told you? Thanks so much for any help/insight! I look forward to getting to know you ladies and participating in this group. :biggrin1:

Ok I am started to want to chicken out. I am really concerned about aftercare. I checked with a local surgeon here and he WILL NOT do my aftercare for me. *grumble* I still have another one I can check with on Monday. I am not sure how often I will need to travel to CO for aftercare. I can't afford to continue to go to Colorado for fills and such. I am also a tad worried about having a surgeon that is 13 hours away. What if I have an emergency? His staff seems very accessible on the phone, but I am still apprehensive about feeling like I have nowhere to turn here locally. So I would love any input from a "been there done that" patient about what it is like having your surgeon so far away. Do you regret your decision to travel to your surgeon? Were you able to line up aftercare in your hometown? Or do you travel to CO every time you need a fill? And how often have you had to travel back since your surgery?

Congrats! I am interested to see how your drive back is. I am driving up from Tucson next month and am trying to decide if I should fly instead.

Hilary I like the January Jewels! Since we are all jewels in the rough right now. :scared:

I just scheduled my date for January 17th! :scared: Dec 31- Chrisann (honorary member of the Jan 08 bandsters) Jan 1- HAPPY NEW YEARS! Starting the year off right! Jan 2- phowell, Megmarie21 Jan 3-WOWOX7, Woodsy Jan 4- KUgirl Jan 5 Jan 6 Jan 7- CallmeJim, comepickmeup, NukeChik, mamato3 Jan 8 Jan 9 – Redtulips3, FLMan Jan 10- luvsrocks, Hilary, Jen25bl Jan 11- brez1015 Jan 12 Jan 13 Jan 14- CoreynVA, acalpn Jan 15 Jan 16 Kathy-CA Jan 17- SJK, Alfie, L.A. Jan 18- RuthE? Jan 19 Jan 20 Jan 21- Jan 22 Jan 23- min Jan 24 Jan 25 Jan 26 Jan 27 Jan 28-Amber/Amberwaves Jan 29 Jan 30 - Stephanie/PortuguesePrincess Jan 31

Oh HA HA! That is what I call an impulsive buy! :scared: WTG! How fun.

Hi ladies! Just wanted to check in and introduce myself. My name is Lori. I live in Tucson with my husband. I just turned 31 and am still fat. Oye. I was suppossed to have kicked this years ago! :scared: I have been researching the band a LONG time. I had some success with diet and excercise about 2 years ago and lost about 50lbs. I have since gained it all back (boo!) and decided I need the extra tool in my arsenol to keep me on track. I just bit the bullet and scheduled my surgery with Dr K. Finally have insurance that covers it, but employer has a clause... grrr.... so I am paying out of pocket. Hubby is very suportive thankfully! I am excited and nervous as all heck. I will be driving up from Tucson with my hubby. Anyone here drive a long distance after their surgery? It is an 11+ hour drive. Hoping I won't be in too much pain.

I am excited right now since I just booked my surgery. I am also scared as hell! Scared about going under since I have never had surgery before, scared about the changes I will be making, and scared about the big ass loan I am adding. But the excitement overshadows everything else right now. I am READY for this journey. :whoo: I am sure a few days prior to my surgery I will be a bundle of nerves though. :scared:

I can't wait to get back to a more enjoyable bedtime routine. It isn't so much getting winded as having no drive due to my hatred of my body! Hopefully that will change soon!

Has anyone had a problem with pre-op appointments causing them to delay surgery. I am considering Dr. Roberto Rumbaut in Mexico... but worried about complications prior to surgery. I would hate to take off of work and fly out of the country and encounter problems. Thanks.

Guess I misunderstood stuff I was reading. I thought he did pre-ops the day before surgery in MX. I am just starting research for self pay.

**I did a search and found an old thread (few years old) that talked about complications where some one had to have the band removed. Wasn't sure if the thread was legit, or troll... so I decided to start a new thread. I hope I didn't miss one in my search, sorry if I am being redundant** I would just like to know if anyone here has had complications with their band... I am interested in both minor and major complications. My main questions are: What kind of complications did you encounter with the band? What kind of side effects do you deal with on a regular basis? What side effects did you have that went away with time? Would you do the operation again even with the problems encountered? I see a lot of posts about the good, but I also know not everyone sails through without any bumps. I am aware of the risks and statistics (conflicting as reports can be), but I just want to get a better feel for what kind of bumps I can expect from talking with people who have "been there done that". Figured it was easiest to compile the info in one post, rather than hop thru a bunch trying to find the experiences that were not so "wonderful". Thanks!

Kathy... I hope I didn't offend you with my post yesterday. I have an aunt who has serious heart issues because of weight loss pills so it is a touchy subject for me. Not judging anyone who feels they need the boost. I just wanted to stress there may be other factors. I should realize not everyone can overload on exercise like I do. I am lucky in that I don't have kids right now so I can go a little overboard on that end.

Kathy I am sad to see you suggesting diet pills. I don't think that is the answer. I hate to see that suggested. I am glad it is working for you, but she can do this without the aide of drugs. Smootch I can sooo feel your frustration. You can tell me to take a hike if you want... since I am not banded yet, my experiences are not the same as yours. I too have felt the frustration of working hard and seeing little result. Haven't we all About 6 months ago I started a new health plan. I changed my eating with the help of a dietitian. After a few months I added in treadmill workouts about 3 times a week for 30-40 minutes. I was seeing about 1/2 lb weight loss a week. I was super frustrated as well! I thought I was doing sooo much more and seeing such a small payout. So I decided recently to kick it up a notch. I had a personal trainer write me a program. I told her my goals, my weaknesses (bad knees) and she came up with a program to help me. I started slow (about 30 minutes of cardio) and worked my way up to 60 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of strength training 5-6 times a week. I have seen a HUGE difference in my loss. The first 2 weeks I lost SEVEN lbs! I was floored. I have PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome) and I lose weight VERY slowly because of it, I never thought I could lose that much in 2 weeks!! I am on a plateau again, and have stayed even for 2 weeks. I blame my birthday and the holiday for that. Well actually I loosened my eating habits and slacked off a bit in the gym. I only made it about 1-2 times the last week. I guess what I am trying to suggest is shake it up some more. Try adding in a serious cardio program, and see if that helps. I am so sorry you are frustrated, I know you don't want to hear it, but hang in there!!! You WILL find the combination that works for you. You need to keep plugging away!

Thank you for this post. This was a great read for me. I was 80% sure I was going to get the band, but I had changed my mind after I started having success on my own. (lost 40lbs since 05/31/05) Now I have hit a wal,l and have had a few episodes of just wanting to cram my mouth with anything and everything. Times like that I just know the band would be so helpful. So now I am back to researching. This was very helpful to me!

Hello all. Me again with another annoying question I am not banded yet... still researching. I was wondering if I could also benefit from Protein shakes?? I am up to 33 lbs lost since 5/31/05 and am pretty siked with that! Will adding more protein to my diet help? Or is that something that is more beneficial for someone after being banded? Oh... and since I have your attention... what is a good protein supplement to start on? Thanks! :)

I scored a 36.... I pretty much agree with that. Neat lil test.

These are non propulsive contractions that occur when the primary and secondary contractions are unsuccessful at clearing the material. Not sure if it will prevent you from getting your band. Take a deep breath and hang in til you see the specialist. ((hugs))