RayeP

You're right! I am a Dr. Owens patient too and i've been very happy. I go to a few different support groups which are good too. I learned in the Torrance group that he's now doing lap bands at a surgery center there so i know a lot of people in that area who are looking for a great lap band surgeon should know that he is very caring and one of the most experienced

Hi everybody. A friend of mine lives near Albuquerque N.M and needs Gastric Bypass (or maybe lap band). Anyway, i told him i'd ask to see if anyone knows a good doctor in the area and has had a good experience. thanks! Raye

My surgeon does Sleeves too and i know he's done a lot of revision surgery too, but i think that it's mainly for people who had gastric bypass and regained their weight. I don't know about the statistics for lap band success, but i feel that with whatever surgery you have, you're going to do fine if you follow the rules! You can fail with anything or probably succeed with anything. I have the band and i am very happy. I'd considered a Gastric bypass initially but my family was far from supportive. Anyway if you want to go to California instead of Mexico, Dr. Owens does Sleeves and Revisions, but i don't know the price. he's at Coastal Center for Obesity, Gastric Bypass and Lapband Weight Loss Surgery in Los Angeles and Orange County, California

I used Dr. Owens. He's great and he's at Chapman hospital in Orange and at Rancho Hospital in Rancho Cucamonga. All i can say is that i was a self pay patient and they took great care of me. He even gives patients his cell phone number so you can call him anytime. I wouldn't want any impersonal treatment on something so important. His website is Coastal Center for Obesity, Gastric Bypass and Lapband Weight Loss Surgery in Los Angeles and Orange County, California

Hi! Where are you located? There is research that shows the best results are using surgeons who have done at least 75 cases.Another problem is that there's much more to the lap band than the surgery, there's the fills and management of your follow up which is so important as most anyone here would tell you. I wouldn't settle for a brand new doctor even though he's done other weight loss surgeries. I think that if a hospital is a Center of Excellence, they have to have Center of Excellence surgeons to get their qualification which means they have a whole lot of experience. No way I'd go with a brand new surgeon.

I think that most of the time it doesn't matter if you are in a hospital or not if you have a good surgeon and a good anesthesiologist. I think it might be worth asking how much experience the anesthesiologist has with overweight people because it's not the same as doing just anyone since theres alot of fat in our neck area, we can be different. I had mine done in a hospital that the cash price was almost as good AND it included coverage in case there were any surgery complications which was important to me since i couldn't afford to have any extra charges. Good luck with your weight loss journey and congratulations!

Check out Bariatric Advantage - Nutritional Supplements, Vitamins, Proteins, and Help for Gastric Bypass, Distal, Lap Band, Realize, Stomaphyx and Duodenal Switch Surgery Patients They have incredible people working there who can tell you everything you are wondering about with Iron and other things you should be taking. It's for patients, so i know it's all either chewable or drinkable. The iron is great tasting too and not smelly like alot of iron! They come to alot of the support groups we have in California. Good luck!

It takes a long time to put on muscle weight, and doing cardio doesn't do alot of muscle building. Cardio burns calories and is healthy in other ways but that's not where your weight gain is coming from. I have a trainer who's taught me alot about working out, but the main thing is the motivation of meeting with her. I cant really afford it right now, so i'm back to walking mostly, but i do it with a friend and my dog so it's harder to get out of when i don't feel like it. I heard that one of the makers of the band (Allergan) just worked out a deal for patients with Curves and some sort of online tracking and after program with Lindora. I don't know if it's only for new patients but check it out on the Weight Loss Channel- there's a video about it there. There are tons of fun workout dvds you can do from home too if you need ideas and fun workouts

Hi Mariela, I called alot of different physicians and finally made an appointment with Dr. Owens. I had my lap band with Dr. Owens in April of 08 at Rancho Hospital. I just love him. It was slow losing weight at first and I was a little discouraged. Today I weigh in and I’ve lost 101 lbs!! I’m very close to my goal. I rarely think about food anymore even though i know that it's harder for some others. When I do, I’m very conscious about what I eat. I loved the support group there too but i don't get to go that often, but i make sure i at least walk everyday and i always try to remind myself that i can't take any of this for granted. There's a few others on this site that went to Dr. Owens too. Good luck with your journey!

Wow! this sounds fantastic. I read about it too, but felt a little bit bad that i bet the surgery will be great but insurance won't cover it. i think it took a really long time till they would even pay for lap bands! they wanted everyone to be stuck with bypass surgery. i hope things move quicker with new operations!

The surgeon might be hip, but the proctor and head surgeon won't be with her when she's managing your care. I see alot of people shopping for surgeons by price or personality or whatever, but managing your ongoing care is so important to your results too. Experience counts :cursing: By the way, you say you like to control things, but you are now going to be a partner with your surgeon and shouldnt be controlling something that your surgeon should be the expert on! choose an expert and then listen to him (or her)

What kind of insurance do you have that you're so limited to your choices?

When my weight loss slowed down, i looked really hard at what i was eating compared to what was working and it was that i was eating too many carbs and not enough protein. I know it can be so easy to get discouraged but if you keep looking at photos on this site, you can get re inspired. Also i know that lots of us think we're eating right but when you go to support group, you see the people who are doing well are eating the right things and not starting to snack or increase the size of what you eat. Did anyone see Oprah the other day with all the Obese kids and the health problems they already have? I was very happy that i already have my band to help me stay as healthy as i can. Good luck, you can do it!

I had my surgery done at Rancho Hospital in Rancho Cucamonga by Dr. Owens. I love him and the staff and the support group is the best! The leader, Stevie is a post op patient and the most motivating group I've been to. The group helps so much after surgery. Before surgery Dr. Owens' website gave me a lot of information and he gives seminars too at the hospital. Good luck! Raye

Aloha! I agree; it's the best thing to do if you are struggling forever! I'm hoping to spend some time in Hawaii (starting next week for 1 week). Who is the doctor you're thinking of going to? Are there support groups near you? I'm going to Kuahi (sp?)

He was the other doctor i considered and i heard good things about him, but I chose Dr. Milton Owens. He was closer to me. I saw him at Rancho Specialty Hospital which is close to you. They have great support groups there too. There are a lot of us on this site who have had Dr. Owens and are happy. I guess you'd want to decide depending on insurance and price too. Anyway, that's my 2 cents! Good luck!

You guys can read about the Post Op complication insurance on Obesity Help (Obesity Help - Weight Loss Surgery, Obesity Support Groups, Obesity Forums, Surgical Procedures) They have some PDF articles that I read before my surgery. It's one one the reasons i chose the surgeon and hospital that i did because i didnt have any kind of health insurance so if i had a problem i couldnt get insurance to cover it which they sometimes do even if they dont pay for your surgery. I didnt have any complications but I was worried about the "what ifs". It was hard enough to pay cash for surgery so I knew I couldnt take any chances. I took this off of Obesity Help: BLIS is a comprehensive financial solution designed to protect bariatric surgeons, their hospital, and their cash-pay patients from the financial consequences of known medical complications that are associated with weight loss surgery. BLIS reduces financial uncertainty for everyone involved, thereby paving the way for a significant increase in the number of surgeries that can be performed.

I have only the best things to say about my doctor Milton Owens who is in Inland Empire and Orange County. I was a cash patient and went to the hospital in Rancho Cucamonga. I paid around $15,000 including the band, anasthesa, fills for a year, support groups. There were cheaper places but i went there because if you have a problem after surgery, you don't pay extra. Dr. Owens has alot of experience and the Lap Band site Home lists him with alot of credentials. If you live nearby, you should go to a support group there to hear what other patients say. I highly recommend him.

i just wanted to send you a reminder. Its hard to do the preop diet but its very important and if you can just do it this one more time you will get your surgery! After your surgery everything will get better and better. hang in there and stay positive, Best, Raye

From everything that my doctor told me, its not about cheating, its about making sure that your band heals into place and you dont do anything that you might threaten that with. If you eat something and your busy chatting away and socializing you might not chew it enough. if you gag or throw up it isnt going to be worth it. there are lots of ways to socialize without threatening everything you have worked for. My advice is dont risk it.

I think you are doing great too. Dont get bummed out. I lost 12 lbs the first month, then 8, 9 and then 15. Maybe without your band you might be GAINING weight every month, instead of losing it slow. Dr. Owens told me that you shouldnt get your band to tight because if it is you will want to eat things that go through easily like maybe ice cream instead of the right things chewed slowly. Keep your chin up!

Have any of you gone to Dr. Tavoussi in Huntington beach in California for tummy tuck? He was referred by my surgeons office. I never heard of him but i saw his results for body lift and its exciting. Im not there yet but i hope i will be sometime. thanks!

:cry_smile: I think everyone is nervous before surgry. As long as your doctor has been doing this for awhile it'll all go ok! My family wanted to talk me out of it at first until the doctor told them that the surgery is safer tan all the health problems if you don't lose weight. That made the decision for them.

Tee hee! yes, familys can be hard sometimes. I wanted Gastric bypass for 9 years but they thought i was crazy and i'd die. They are happy with the band for me too.

Sorry, no, he thinks i'd loose more wieght with the Sleeve than the band. I didnt have the money to get the sleeve. No one in my family wanted me to get any surgery except the band.