MacMadame

Absolute weight maybe, but % of EWL is a different animal. What I see is that WLS helps most people lose about 100-150 lb. A LOT of people just can't lose past that. So if I have 100 lb. to lose, and someone else has 250 lb. to lose, and we both lose 100 lb., I've lost 100% of my EW and gotten to goal and they've lost 40% of their EW and not gotten to goal. Note: that doesn't mean it's hopeless for anyone with the higher BMIs. My surgeon has a patient who lost 250 lb. with a band! But this is another reason why I think it's great for people to have WLS once they realize they have a problem and not wait until their problem is even worse and why I think the NIH recommendation of waiting until morbidly obese is totally bogus.

Really? I had no idea!

Chinchillas! Don't buy them at the pet store though. Too expensive and they'll probably be sick. Get them from a rescue group. They will ask for a small donation that should be less than half the pet store price and they'll probably start you off with food and stuff. Ours even came with cages -- though we ended up replacing one of them. So the stuff we gave them was worth more than the $50 we gave them. Because people decide that growing chinchillas for their fur is a good profitable hobby, there are often 30 chinchillas at a time at a rescue group. The fur farmers get in over their heads and then Animal Control comes out and confiscates the chins. It's sad. But good for us pet owners looking for a pet!

I would hire someone to watch your kids at your dad's house so that they are hanging out with someone older and responsible instead of the irresponsible teen. That person would clearly be in charge and could stop any shenanigans before they started. Alternately, you could make play date for them that don't involve the teen so they are away from his influence.

Their point is they don't understand statistic. :thumbup:

It's 9:10pm and I'M STILL AT WORK! I tried to go home about 30 min. ago but my car won't start. Well, it will start, but as soon as I let off the gas, it dies. Which means I'd be dying at every stop sign and stop light if I tried to drive home like that. I'm waiting for Mr. Mac to pick me up. And he's SURE TAKING HIS TIME!

Actually, it's not the center. It's the left side. :thumbup: A sleeve is basically a partial gastrectomy like they used to do for ulcer patients and still do for stomach cancer patients. The main thing is that they take off a very specific portion, including the portion that produced ghrelin, the hunger hormone. They started doing this for really high BMI patients who were too big for a lap RnY. They'd do the sleeve and then they'd wait until the patient had lost enough weight to be safe and they'd do the second half -- usually a DS, but sometimes a traditional RnY. What they found is that patients often lost so much weight with the sleeve that they didn't need the second part and so some docs started doing it as a standalone surgery.

If you are going to post the disadvantages, why not also post the advantages? Not to mention, if you are going to copy an entire post from another board, you should really give the author credit and provide a link. Btw, the chance of getting a leak is less than the chance of a band erodiing (and drastically less than a band slipping). Also, the information on weight loss and stretching is incorrect. Weight loss with a sleeve is about the same as with RnY and more than with a band on average in the first 3 years. The part of the stomach that remains is not very stretchy and patients tracked for 5 years have shown no significant stretching. The sleeve stretches slightly the first year and then holds.

I suggest asking them for links to those studies they keep quoting but never back up ... the 90-100% EWL and the 98% resolution of diabetes.

You could say you put them out there and they escaped. Except they might want to search for them if you do that. Guinea pigs just don't live that long really, so if it wasn't this, it would have been something else in a few years. Let them grieve then buy something else. We have Chinchillas -- they live to be around 12 so you don't have to go through the grieving process so often. Before that we had mice and rats and guinnea pigs but they all died too easily even if you take really, really good care of them.

I loved my statistics class too. I've never taken an economics class though.

Most surgeons sumbit your weight BEFORE you start the 6 month diet. Talk to your surgeon's office and see what they say.

Search these forums. There are lots of threads about him. He appears to be a controversial doctor, with a lot of complaints about erosion of bands. There are other doctors in MX who charge what he does that have much better reputations.

When I put the receipt in, that means "you can exchange it." :thumbup:

I wouldn't have submited that letter. Get a PCP who supports WLS and won't say stupid things like that! I was going to say that! You can deduct the cost from your income and then whatever taxes you would have paid on that income get saved. So if you pay 20% in taxes and your lap band costs 10,000, then you can get reimbursed 2,000. If your tax rate is lower, you get even less back. If it's more, you get more but if your income is high enough, you can't even claim the lap band... it has to be 7% of your income or more. (So if your lap band is 7,000 or less and your income is over 100,000, you can't deduct it.) Also, if you use your health care flex spending account to pay for part of the cost (assuming your company has this option), the money comes out of your pre-tax income and so you can't also claim this amount on your taxes. But you can claim the rest. The cool thing about using your FSA is that you can take the money out any time and spend the rest of the year putting it back. It's like an interest free loan from your company!

I agree that the PCP is not the best judge of who is qualified anyway. Many of them are prejudiced against WLS or they are ignorant about it. If you are close to the weight that your insurance wants, you can work that. Here are some ideas: -wear ankle weight or put fishing weights in your pocket when you go for the initial consult -slouch when they measure your height -wear your heaviest clothes -drink a bunch of Water and have a meal before you go. All these things could help put you over the top without having to actually gain weight. Insurance companies vary as to what they count as a comorbidity. I have high blood pressure but some insurance companies only count that if it can't be controlled by medicine! Also, I think my cholesterol is high but they don't. All my other stuff like plantar faciitis and chronic heartburn don't count AT ALL! It's frustrating to see your weight affecting your health and your life and have it all be in ways the insurance company doesn't count.

The world is ending. Plain is going on vacation! :thumbup:

Where's the canary?

My family feuds all the time. My uncle didn't talk to my mom (his sister) for 15 years once and no one knows why. My sister didn't talk to my mom for 11 years. This is what I think about all family feuds: 1) Don't get involved. 2) Don't take sides 3) Don't engage 4) Make all plans as if there is no feud So your cousin wants to give you crap about what you did? Don't engage. Tell them that you are sorry they are hurt, but it's not up for discussion. Then don't discuss it. There is a family event and this one won't go if that one is there and that one won't go if this one is there? You aren't taking sides and it's not your problem. You invite everyone you want to be there and if they have issues with each other they can work it out between them. If you love your Grandma, go to her birthday party. Have fun with the fun people and don't engage with the crazy people. If they start in on you at the party, tell them it's not the time and walk away. You can't control other people but you can control yourself. That means taking the high road at all times and not letting crazy people drag you down to their level.

These days I think you have to tell them you'll take away their Excel, if you really want to get them to take notice.

Now, now. If all the cool kids jumped off a cliff, would you jump too? :thumbup: [For some reason I can just imagine my mom saying that. Even though I don't remember her ever saying anything like that to me in real life.]

Sleevers Support Forums - Sleevers Support Forum sleevesters.myfreeforum.org :: Index VSG FAQ's (Powered by Invision Power Board) Also: There is one that is part of ObesityHelp.com - Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Forum (VSG) - Home There is one that is part of WLSfacts.com and one that is part of the Living After WLS Neighborhood forum - LivingAfterWLS Neighborhood - Your Safe Haven Circle of Friends

Well I won't be in the band, per se. I'm trying to think of a good pun with 'sleeve' in it, but nothing is coming to me. You bandsters got all the good names! How come you never compliment me like that? :pout: Thanks. :eek:

I got my surgical consult date! Hey, this might finally happen!

When I looked at Mexican Docs, Rumblaut stood out to me too. Anyway, be careful about Tijuana. There has been a lot of violence there in the past few months or so. Something about drug cartels and organized crime going on shoot sprees and also kidnapping people. It wasn't as bad this time last year, IIRC so maybe it will die down a bit before your surgery time draws near, but if not -- it's something to think about.