cranberry31

of course you can react to silicone, 3 months after my band 2 1/2 years ago i developed hives, itching and rashes which will not go away. i have to take zyrtec and benadryl every single day for intense itching, i am pretty certain my body is reacting to the band material. I have never had any skin issues in my life prior to banding, now i am scarred from the scratching.

Thank you, yes she screwed up, she knows it, she has learned from it, berating someone and beating them over the head really doesn't serve any purpose!

Hi, I was horrified by care credit and Citerra personally, they are predatory lenders, they charged a hideoulsly high interest rate of almost 15 % and there was a charge/fee of $2500 for a $10K loan, yopu could pay it off in a year with no penalties but you would still pay that 25% fee. I ended up getting a $7000 cash advance from my credit card for a $100 fee and a 1.9% for 12 months, the interest rate defaults to 9.9% on the unpaid balance after AUG 2009. you could check with your credit card companies to see if they have a special promo.

oh my god bella, i love you, i have been wondering what is with these spasms i can feel in my oesophagus, it just happens randomly even when i am not eating anything, what causes them, ? it started as soon as i got my band on saturday and all the way home from mexico too, however i have to say today is my third day and it is already less, i feel the spasms are getting lower down in my oesophagus instead of at my throat so hopefully they will just fade away.

I flew into san diego july 18th from atlanta and was picked up by a guy named Ernesto, he picked up several other people which was good as i got a chance to meet other people going for the same procedure with the same doctor. He drove us across the border in a minivan, I slept through the whole 2 HR ride so the border experience eluded me. We arrived at the hospital first where we all had our pre-op testing done, urine, blood, EKG, CXR. We also all had individual meetings with the nutritionist. Then we all had a meeting with the coordinator Yolanda to go over questions and answers, paperwork needed (consents) and payment was collected at this time. We were then driven to our hotel for the night to freshen up and relax from the trip down. A few hours later, one of the other doctors brought all of us together at the hotel conference room to go over Q & A again and to show us the bands and get used to the different sizes. After this we were all told to go get a last meal somewhere. Unfortunately for me the meal I ordered was so horrid, I simply couldn't eat it. We were to take an antibiotic pill and a sleeping pill and go to bed by 10pm. We were picked up at 0700 saturday, driven to the hospital, assigned to our rooms, put in gowns and waited for the doctors. First the internist to go over all your pre-op testing, then the anaesthesiologist and then the surgeon to discuss everything. At this time they give you an anti-clotting shot in your stomach. Everyone gets a pill an hour before surgery for anxiety/pain. I was wheeled in to OR at around noon and out before 1pm, my surgery time was 42 mins instead of 30mins because they had to repair a hiatal hernia. As soon as you are awake they want you to walk! walk! walk! They give you ice chips and Water the first day, i was too terrified to put anything in my mouth so I deferred, the rest of the day for me was sleeping, the occasional walk and surfing the net. The next day sunday started with the barium swallow to show pass through and then they give you Jello, Soup, tea and apple juice for Breakfast, lunch and dinner. The IV fluids stopped later that day and the doctors come in to check on you randomly during the day. Today is monday and at 0700 Ernesto will come and drive us back to san diego for our flights back home. They will give you your xrays/lab results/operative letter and info about your band for you to give to your physician:thumbup::ohmy::thumbup:

:scared2: I have read some posts from people complaining of hair loss after lapband surgery, why is hair loss possible? i thought that only happened with the RNY, any info would be appreciated.

this is my absolutely best freaking story! I am also going to be banded by Dr Aceves on july 18th, I am also an RN going over there by myself and you my friend totally rock it!

hi nia, do you have any staples that need to be removed?

Hi Camjay, my name is margaret, I am actually from England myself but I moved here 8 years ago. The system here in the US is basically that you can arrange to have your surgery via your insurance company if they cover the procedure, this way you won't have any costs other than copays/deductibles which could be between $20-$40.00 each time you go to see a doctor, the insurance company would then pay the balance. The insurance company has a list of requirements that ou must satisfy in order to meet the criteria for surgery, e.g your BMI must be in a certain range, they may need you to attend a seminar, you might have to provide a written history of your weight loss history for the past 5-10 years, they may require you to go on a 3 month diet and loose a certain amount of weight prior to surgery. The requirements vary from company to company, it could take 2, 4, 6,9 or more months for you to be approved for surgery but even then it is not unusual for people to be approved one minute and then be turned down just before surgery. This is where the self-pay comes in, you may be able to get the surgery quicker for anywhere between $10K and the high 20Ks . Some people find this too much, I know I do, I found a surgeon here in Atlanta for $16500K and decided to fly to Mexico on july 18th to have it done for $7000K If you don't mind me asking how much did you have to pay privately? I trained as a nurse in London and used to work in the NHS myself, I now work in the healthcare system over here, I have an insurance company for my health benefits and they do cover the LAPBAND but I am not willing to spend almost a year jumping through their hoops to find out if I will be approved or not. It is very nice t chat with someone from "home", you know what I miss the most? fish and chips and EASTENDERS. how much weight have you lost so far? my email address is odamom@bellsouth.net

don't beat yourself up, some of us are basically addicted to food, it is impossible for that to just go away, and as for doing this for your daughter or husband e.tc, you have to do it for yourself, not anyone else, I wish I had some good advice to give but all I can say is get back on the horse! tell your doctor and follow his advice, maybe have some people you can call on speed dial, like a sponsor like they have in AA. I know I will have these kinds of issues myself, I will be banded july 18th, and I am already freaking out over all the foods I won't be able to eat anymore, I will probably join a food addicts group or see a counsellor to cope with these issues. Good luck!

I;m confused, why won't he give you a fill? there are fill centers everywhere if he won't oblige. What is the reason he won't?

HI I also get banded on the 18th! by dr aceves in mexico, am totally freaking excited, i can't sit still, i think with the whole liquid thing we have to have high protein while on liquids to ward off hunger, good luck, who's doing yours?

Hi everyone! I have just found out about this website today and loving it so far, I am planning on getting the band in mid-july and have arranged to pay for it myself, however I was thinking of going to Mexico and paying $7000 instead of $16500 in atlanta, ga, has anyone being banded in mexico, if so how was the experience, hope to hear from someone cranberry31 odamom@bellsouth.net atlanta, ga:tt2:

is there a phone number/website available for this clinic?

Hi, I am a CCU nurse and have assisted with sleep studies in the past so willl try to interprete for you basically you snore when you sleep, when you snore your oxygen saturation drops, this is the level of oxygen in your body, they are wondering if you need to be evaluated for surgery to make sure you don't have a structural abnormality in your nose or your throat that blocks your airway when you sleep. the quality of your sleep is poor, only 60%, which means you are basically exhausted the next day, you take too long to go to sleep, there are different stages of sleep and you don't spend enough time in the good stage, all of this is basically very common in people who are very overweight, usually if you retuen to a normal weight your sleep pattern will improve dramatically, ask them to sit down and explain it all to you in plain english, hope this helps a little.