coltonwade

I would be ok with the slower hair growth too . Here is a tip though . Many people have told me If you have PCOS and get laser hair removal DO NOT Tell them you have it. If you do they wont gurantee the hair removal and you will have to keep paying when new hair pops up . From others with PCOS I have heard laser does work but it requires more treaments than "normal" So Just FYI . Mindy

I have learned that many docs do not even " believe " in PCOS . Espically male docs, they tend to over look it. It wasnt until i TOLD my doc " Im pretty sure I have PCOS " HIS (I now have a female doc) response was " What makes you think that " He was very condisending . After I told him my symtpoms he said " well I guess you could have it if you buy into that theory " Needless to say I switched docs . Some docs just do not either think to look at PCOS or dont want to . I think its better now than it was 10 yrs ago . Mindy

I too have PCOS and was hoping the band will help my symptoms. ( im not banded yet , hopefully next month) I do not have periods unless they are induced my provera. I cant take the pill because of migraines. The pill makes my migraines MUCH Worse. I was wanting to do the laser hair removal too, I was tryign to decide if i should do it now, start it now or wait until after surgery . It sounds like though surgery doesnt help the hair problem . I too have the nasty hair on my stomach ,the line of dark hair woman get when they are pregnant , mine never went away . Also I have "peach fuzz" On my breasts. Some of the hair is dark. My biggest problem from PCOS by far ( other than weight) is the hair. I get waxed every week on my chin. I have a WONDERFUL Aesthetician that does my waxing and if i have those hairs that pop up on my chin that are dark but do not need a full wax, she will sit there for 20 mintues and pluck every single one of those suckers. I have to go in for a eyebrow, chin and lip wax every 2 weeks then in between that i go in so they can "Pluck" me basically lol. It costs me about as much as it would to just start the laser treatment. So i need to do that. UGHH Lovely PCOS . For those of you who have the pcos , how has your weight LOSS been with the band ? Mindy

I am not banded yet but I plan on getting on once im banded . Mindy

There are some financing options for self pay . Best thing to do is to do a search for "Self Pay" and it should bring up all the options for you . The doc Im using ( self pay) does still require the nutrionist, psych exam , ect before surgery . however his price is resonable . Its $12,000 including the cost of fills for the first yr. The pre op testing and appts will run me about $750 I belive his BMI requirement is 35 with comorbidities . Here is his website . http://www.saweightlosscenter.com/ Im going to be self pay HOPEFULLY by the end of next month. Good luck Mindy

Good link Leatha. Not to leave out "regular" staph infections, bacterial infections and a variety of other infections that can be gotten from reuse of needles . Just makes me shutter. Mindy

What I do not like or agree with is : In Austin where I live there is a certain doc from Another town ( I wont name doc or town ) that has an INFORMERCIAL For lap band surgery on our local cable channel . Its on a " Video on Demand" Channel. I find that very tasteless as a doctor to advertise that way . Granted I'll give it this , for info on the lap band itself , it has good info in it, But I find it very distasteful . Mindy

I guess its just me from being in the medical field and it being DRILLED into my head from OSHA and EVERY SINGLE HOSPITAL and DOCTOR that I worked with. You DO NOT REUSE NEEDLES . I dont get why that is so hard or difficult to understand. I dont get why some do not see how the risk of infection can be spread , regardless if its reused on you or not . I find tha arragonce that some think they know more than doctors, the goverment, OSHA, CDC, and can tell or imply to others that this is even SLIGHTLY Ok to be VERY Worrisome. And I can gurantee you that if you informed any doc in the US that you are reusing a needle on yourself for something that has to do with a band they would either A, drop you as a patient or B make you sign a wavier that from that point forward they are no longer responsible if something happened in your care with your band. Im sorry , I do not mean to be rude , but I Just dont get this train of thought that this is ok , healthy , safe, .. Its just NOT . Mindy

My husband made a comment that when we "needed" for me to work I didnt but when I "Wanted" Something I went to work and the money went towards the band. Well ( background) before we couldnt afford to pay daycare for me to go back to work, it didnt make sense to do so . Now my youngest is in school , we can afford alot more things. Now im not even working for the money we will have it next week. But he made the comment it was "Selfish" . I reminded him that the previous choice for me NOT to work was a MUTAL desicsion. And that If he brought this selfishness crap up again about the band, I would just not have it , I explained to him again why i was getting the band( Im not banded yet) that it was a beneift to our children as well , and that IF he brought that he thought i was selfish up I would not have the surgery. We talked about it and I made SURE that he no longer felt this way . It might be a good time for ya'll to try counseling before things get out of hand ? I know the divorce rate after surgery can be high . This was something I explained to my husband as well, that we would BOTH go to counseling after surgery if there was any issues. We have not had any problems before, he's been very supportive before. But From what I have read on here things change with men. Like someone else said men are like big babies. LOL Hang in there, talk to him and think about counseling if you need it. HTH Mindy

http://www.bddiabetes.com/us/main.aspx?cat=1&id=266 Mindy

well at first my surgery was going to be paid for by cleaning houses . ( I am self pay ) I picked up 6 houses really quickly. We own our own concrete company and my husband picked up this ridicoulous job that is paying VERY WELL . the profits from that job along are going to pay for my surgery . So once i found out about that i quit cleaning houses LOL Now im just waiting for this job to finish which should be next week barring no more weather delays. Im looking at surgery now the middle of Feb. It was suppose to get done this week actually but the job is delayed. Everyone else put in what their surgery cost , after reading more i guess i will too . LOL total with pre op testing ( I have no health insurance) its going to be right around $13,000 in the USA in Texas So here's hoping Mindy

The doc im using is in San Antonio TX . its $12,000 which includes a yr of fills. He's by far the cheapest around here and an AWESOME Doc. Here is his website. http://www.saweightlosscenter.com/ HTH mindy

I think so , It might not be the most popular post fill diet . And honestly im not real thrilled with it . Just another reason to have as few fills as possible lol Mindy

I have a 14 yr old son and a 15 yr old daughter. And EMO to them is "EMOtional " Music that is based on emotions. Talks alot about emotions . The kids who listen to that kind of music and " Dress" a certain way , black hair, tight pants, more punk rock are EMO . Here is a good link http://www.fourfa.com/ This has pics of "Emo" Fashion" Here at least Emo kids arent known for cutting Mindy

Oh Kat, I did not take it as you putting me down at all. I wasnt sure what you meant for sure. I am not banded yet so sometimes i feel Like I should not say something about something I do not know or have experienced yet. But I do know for me , NOW , being self pay , im going to say i'll follow my docs advice to a T . My doc has you on 3 days liquids, 3 days mushies, 3 days semi solids and 3 days solids after every fill. I have had people tell me " FIND A NEW DOC" just because its not what their doc does. But personally I would rather be safe than sorry , for just the reason you said, everyones body will do something differently . Like you also said , asking questions is important. Knowing a docs fill policy is important as well. Some feel my docs fill policy is goofy ( the post fill diet) therefore probably would not want to go to him , I find it better to be safe than sorry , so I do not have a problem with it . BUT its better to know before hand than when you go in for a fill. Also like i said , I may go in have the first fill under flouro and feel its not needed? I wont know until im in those shoes. But I did not take your post as offensive at all. I hope you did not take mine that way either. Thanks for your help Mindy

Im not sure if this is what you meant or not . But for me its not a matter of if I can see it or not . Its a matter the the DOC can see it. For me its a the fact the doc can see the flow , he should know the amount of flow even with swelling is going to give you such and such restriction once swelling goes down, with actually seeing it , he know's ( and I do ) the tubing is not being punctured and is not leaking. Its not a matter of "all is well' So pig out. Of course you have to still follow ur docs instructions. My docs post fill diet is VERY conservative, its almost a week before ur on solids again after a fill. I realize its more conservative than other docs BUT He's got the stats to back it up . So i'll follow it. So if it means less sticks, possibly avoiding another surgery and less fills in the long run , flouro is worth it to me. Mindy

I too was disappointed. I do like Sharon but she's very immature in my opinion. She could have used this as a tool to help others, to help herself understand WHY She wants the band removed . She said she's going to get as big as a house once the band is off she's going to eat eat eat .She wants the band off to eat , in my opinon it was plane and simple . Dr Phil said because she hasnt dealt with her issues as to WHY She eats that having the band off is going to do change nothing but have the band off, its true, and ya know what ? She's not going to change . She's too immature to . Dr Phil says she thrives on drama , so she'll blow up again to have the drama around her so her kids need her again . She had no intention on coming on that show to "Deal" with or learn anything, it was to promote her book and that was it . Just my take on it. Mindy

a friend of mine goes to the same doc that im going to use and her first fill was under flouro . The Dr wants to do the first one under to get a feel for the placement , location ect.. He did her second fill with out the flouro and hits the port every time the first time. One thing I read that made sense to me was under flouro the doc can see the flow of the barium therefore see the amount of restriction that you are getting. Its not a guess when your not under the Xray . Even though my first yrs of fills are free if i dont use flouro I think i'll still opt for the $100 if it means I might needs LESS fills , less pokes and better restriction ? Just my opinion of it. I might change my mind after being banded. LOL MIndy

I am going to be banded in Jan and I have decided after being on the boards for months now that I am pretty sure im doing all my fills via flouro . My doc does the first one under flouro anyway . But I think being self pay as well that I cant risk or afford not to . I think i also read in a book im reading now that ppl who do fills under flouro tend to have less fills before they reach their sweet spot. So Im opting for flouro every time. I think in the long run the $100 i'll have to pay for that is worth it . Mindy

I saw this on a morning show the other day and About fell of the couch. The main thing that caught my eye at first was this doc was the doc my friend went to and most people in Austin go to for Lipo in Austin because he's so good. I think his judgement is clouded on this one ! What do ya'll think ? http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=2631490&page=1 Mindy

thanks Susan, I think I would actually be better if i had a date. Its the not being 100% certain thing that is killing me right now. Congrats on your surgery. I hope it goes well. if everything goes as planned I want mine to be the week after yours. So that i can be recovered for the most part for my son's 6th bday . Thanks again Mindy

Ok so here i sit waiting to "Start" this process. Im going to start my pre op testing the week after Christmas. IM waiting on money to come in from a job my husband is doing( we own our own business) i plan on having surgery the first or second week in Jan. DH tells me last night that the job might not be done until Jan. It was suppose to be done in December. So i get pissy , he tells me , " Could you wait until Feb ? " I got pissed and said " IM NOT WAITING until Feb you better figure something else out if i have to wait " Then i felt bad telling him that because he works SO HARD, not many husbands would bid a job working for an ass just to ger his wife surgery , which is what my dh did. But im so tired of waiting, I dont even want to start my pre op tests until I have my money in hand, Im afraid if i do then i'll be jinxing it or i'll be SO ANXIOUS I wont be able to stand it. I have had to watch my shopping habits. I think im trying to make myself feel better by shopping and i need to watch it . DH even said something and he usually doenst care how much money i spent as long as our bills get paid which they are . But im just obssesing about things right now. UGHHH. HOW DO you wait ? Thanks for listening Mindy:think

Have you looked into the Clothing exchange on Obesity Help ? I got some really nice clothes from there. I needed some warm tops , knowing winter was coming up i didnt want to buy something w/surgery so close. I explained it to the lady i got some items from . They are very nice . I think i got 10 tops for about $10 with shipping ? Might want to check it out. Also if you have an Avenue store they usually have clothes on sale for CHEAP. PLUS you can use coupons on top of coupons , then when you outgrow them sell them for more clothes. Just a thought. I may have a shopping issue but im a tight a$$ too . LOL Do you have Craigslist ? Look on there for clothing . Email me i might be able to help you out. Or at least give ya some ideas email is coltonwade@yahoo.com or PM me. Mindy

This is a good topic for me right now. I have been over wt for about 7 yrs. Never have I really felt ( or noticed is probably more accurate) discrimination or even looks about my weight until recently . I can not get health insurance because of my weight. On top of the fact I have migraines. But its my weight. I have gotten private health insurance with migraines so its my weight. I was in tears a few days go because i got yet another rejection letter . Even though here i set 30 days or less before surgery , it hurts . HOnestly i do not know how the insurance company gets away with this. Its wt discrimination. Not only that but they TELL YOU they are deniying you because of your wt. My ONLY Option now is something called the Texas High Risk Health Pool. Its going to cost me $250 a month for a $5000 dedcutible for a PPO policy . Thats what im paying for my husband and my 2 boys . Its NUTS. Mindy

What I have been doing is putting away like $25 a week in a seperate savings account for my "Skinny" clothes fund. That way by time i am in need of skinny clothes I'll have a good chunck saved up and i'll be able to just have some fun buying them LOL. I did do something that I thought was silly when i heard others do it ... I LOVE LOVE LOVE Old Navy's Yoga pants. They are the best thing since sliced bread . The day after thanksgiving they were on sale for $10 . they are hardly ever on sale . I usually were an XL , they had one pair of XL , a L and the rest were M and S SO what do i do ? Buy the XL , L , M and S LMAO They are NEVER on sale and I thought " this will be motivation to get into something plus i can work out in them " I looked at the small and though " BOY this is a long way away " LMAO . But oh well . everytime I go to the mall I think " I cant wait until i can wear those " Thanks for listening so glad others understand. MIndy