barbarossa

I hope everyone is feeling better now (Brenda, Heather, Jill)! And glad I didn't catch anything! See you all next month. P

Amy, welcome to the forums. We're glad to have you and congrats on your decision (and your engagement). Want some pre-surgical results? Get with your program nutritionist and start working a pre-surgical diet. I lost nearly 30 lbs from my first check in Sept to my surgery right before Thanksgiving. You have to be able to find a diet you can live with. The other thing that helped me was starting to do a daily food journal (you can buy one at Barnes & Noble, Mt. Carmel will probably have them available, or you can do it online). Paying attention to what I am eating every day has been a great help (I started journaling when I started my 4 week pre-surgical diet). Finally, get some support. We have our monthly meetings at Polaris (annoucements posted here in the forum) and we also have a local Yahoo group. Contact Heather about getting on. The band provides reinforcement to stick to your diet, but nothing to stop you from jump-starting the process. I can attest that the temptations don't go away once you get the band. Start developing good healthy habits now. Just think how great you'll look in your wedding dress. Good luck!

I just wanted to pipe up here since I was one of the first recipients of the Realize-C from Dr. Curry on Nov. 24th (the FedEx man literally delivered the bands while we were in the waiting room). He just did my second fill yesterday. My experience has been fantastic. No problems whatsoever. I have not had any issues with stuck food. No PBs thus far. About the only trouble I have is with pita bread. Everyone in my support group, all of whom have older version bands, is jealous.

I was one of the first patients to receive the Realize-C band from Dr. Trace Curry on Nov. 24, 2008. I'm on my second fill now and I have had no complications whatsoever, and my experience with the Realize-C has clearly been superior to the others in my support group, including those who have the first generation Realize. I have yet to have anything stuck and my tolerances for types of foods are greater than anyone else in our group. About the only thing I have trouble with is pita bread. And no PBs thus far. Perhaps the only downside is that a gastric band is to assist in behavior modification, which includes negative reinforcement when you're not eating the right things. I really haven't experienced any downsides yet, so I do eat things I shouldn't. As you can see with my ticker below, weight loss hasn't been a problem.

Saej, welcome! I was banded by Dr. Curry right before Thanksgiving as a self-pay patient. My experience has been nothing but positive. Price was one factor in my decision to go to Dr. C, but his experience is what sealed the deal for me. All but a few of his office staff have been banded, so virtually anyone you speak to there relates to what you might be experiencing. They return calls promptly and their two nutritionists, Rebecca and Erin (both banded), have been a wonderful help. I haven't updated my ticker, but I've lost close to 60lbs since my pre-surgical check in September. As for my surgery, we drove down that morning. They took me back ~11am, I was in surgery by 12n, up and walking around pretty quick, and was discharged by 2p. We were home in Cbus before rush hour, having had to make stops at all 3 rest areas on the way home for me to walk around to avoid clots. I had very minimal pain and never had to use my pain medication. No problems with the band whatsoever. Two recent developments might also factor into your decision. The first is that Dr C has opened up a satellite office in Cbus by Doctors West. That's where I did my 2 week check-up and where you can get your fills after the first. The second development was the announcement made today that Dr C has now done a single incision procedure, performed last week. I can send you the press release. I would highly recommend coming to one of our monthly gatherings at Polaris (next one Feb 14th!). I'm usually there, but getting the advice and counsel from everyone else (who are part of other area programs) was very important to me as I was going through the process. Getting a lot of input from folks with varying experiences and having a support network has definitely improved my success. Any of us would be glad to help you as you begin this journey.

Day 5 and counting. Feeling great overall, but I don't want to jinx it. Down 9 lbs already from Monday. On track sometime this weekend to be -40lbs from my mid-Sept consult weigh-in. Went out for a while tonight and got tired pretty quick. Might try to walk a bit at the gym on Monday. I did have a Eureka moment on Thursday - KFC mashed potatoes and gravy. Stirred up together it was soupy. Was able to get 3 servings out of one side. One cup serving came to 130 calories, 4.5g fat, 19g carb, 2g prot. Made it feel somewhat like Thanksgiving. Hope everyone else is doing well!

This is a question for all you veterans out there. I'm about 6-8 weeks away from my surgery (should get my date this week!). One problem I'm having, however, is that I work myself into an absolute panic at the very thought of having surgery. Did anyone else experience the same? Honestly, I would be much better off it were tomorrow morning. I'm a "get it over with" kind of guy. Having weeks to think about though really concerns me. It's more than "there are some risks associated with this procedure", but "I'm going to sleep and never getting up" kind of panic. The only time I was ever under for any procedure was when I was 4 to have my tonsils out. I have embraced my need for this procedure, and it will hopefully save me from further and more serious surgery down the road. It's not a problem of understanding the rationale behind it, but overcoming my fear. I don't want to invest thousands of dollars, and then bolt at the last minute. Help?!

Kutach, I was also banded yesterday. Some slight soreness (as one of my nurses said, "Hey, it's surgery. There's going to be some pain") and some tightness from the band. Overall, my experience was much better than I expected. Thanks to Dr Curry and his staff! I'm on my way!

Well, today was the big day, and it was much better than I could have expected. Dr. Curry and his staff were exceptional. I was there at 10am, and they released me by 2pm. I do think that the anesthesiologist must have snuck up and hit me on the back of the head, because I don't remember going down (no, really didn't hit me on the back of my head). One moment I was talking to one of the nurses in the surgery suite, and next thing I know I'm waking up in recovery. Incredible. All in all, this was a great experience. In retrospect, not sure why I was scared. Thanks to Dr. Curry and his staff, and thanks to everyone here who encouraged, supported and prayed for me coming up to this, especially our Columbus support group!

Yes, all set for 11am on Monday. Still scared! Thanks for asking!

Thanks Christy! Actually, having spent the day with Dr. Curry's staff doing my nutrition counseling and pre-op testing today, I feel much better. Got to take a look at the pre- and post-op rooms and spent some time with the nurse who will be assisting. A lot less of the unknown, and I know I'm in very capable hands. Still, "minor surgery" is something someone else has. And I'll see how I do as I get closer to the 24th!

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again this month. This time I have a date for my surgery - Nov. 24th. Just in time for Thanksgiving. And a shout out to all the men out there thinking about attending. Join us and I can assure that you won't be the only male there!

I just had my consult with Dr. Curry and his staff today, and I have to say that I'm very pleased with my experience thus far. They are very quick to respond to questions, and it didn't take 6 weeks to get in to see them (which was my experience with some of the programs here in Cbus). Dr. Curry is about to open an office here for fills (somewhere around Drs West, I understand). I'm planning on getting banded mid-Nov. I'm a self-payer, and the program for Dr Curry costs $13k, including two years worth of follow-up and fills. In response to Dorothy's original question, I'm having to do 4 weeks of Medifast prior to surgery due to my BMI, though I do hear that 2 weeks is typical. I suspect what Dr Choban would require depends on your individual health situation.

It was great meeting everyone today. Thanks for letting me listen in.

Hello all. I've been browsing this thread throughout the day and it's been a treat to read everyone's stories. I'm at the very beginning of this process, so clearly there's a ways to go. A Dr. friend of mine at OSU highly recommended Dr. Choban. One question I had is whether anyone had gone through this experience self-pay, rather than with insurance. That's my only option presently, but this is definitely something I want to pursue. I do understand that it will be a sizeable chunk of change.