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Last Wednesday (the 21st) I called St. Francis & spoke with Karen. I asked her to cancel my endoscopy that was scheduled for 4/28 and the follow-up a week later. She said she'd do that. I didn't get a warm fuzzy feeling that it would be taken care of though. That feeling kept nagging at me so by the time Sunday rolled around I decided to call & leave a message to confirm the cancellations. I said "I'm calling to confirm that two of my appointments have been canceled. My name is... My phone number is... I spoke with Karen on April 21st about canceling my endoscopy on 4/28 and the follow-up on 5/5. I haven't had the best results when speaking with her so I wanted to double check to make sure the cancellation was made." I'm passive-aggressive like that :biggrin: Bright & early at 9:30 this mornin' Karen called to say that she did cancel my appointments. Hmmm... So, as I was on my way to a consultation with my new surgeon today, I got a call. I normally don't talk while driving, but considering the phone prefix I thought it was probably something about one of my many appointments. Sho'nuff. It was a lady from St. Francis Patient Registration who wanted to get me squared away for an endoscopy appt on Wednesday. Huh? I told her that I'd spoken with Karen at the weight loss center & she was supposed to have canceled the appts. The lady was nice, but I sure felt like a dummy. Thanks Karen! I turned off my phone when I was at my consultation. I checked my phone when I got home...someone from Patient Registration called & left a message while it was off! That was about two hours after the first call. I had barely come inside the house & taken off my shoes when I got ANOTHER call from Patient Registration! I told this lady the same thing as I said before - that I spoke with Karen *twice* about canceling my appointments. She was really nice about it. She apologized & said she'd note it in the file so they don't keep calling. Oy vey! :confused:

Hi everyone, I am a Colorado resident and I have Kaiser Connections. I have called to confirm that they cover weight loss surgery but the docs keep saying that my BMI has to be at least 40. My current BMI is 36 and I have gone through the weight loss management program and they put me on meridia and it has not worked. I have finally sent in my wight loss packet and now I guess I want to know what the next steps are and a time frame that I may be looking at? It has been 2 weeks since I sent the packet in and havent heard anything back yet. I have thyroid issues and my thyroid doc is the one that recommended me to look into weight loss surgery because they are having a hard time maintaing my thyroid. Diabetes runs in my family and I have a feeling since my BMI is no 40 that I may have to fight a little to get this done so any tips would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

Many of teens and young guy face the acne problems. The main cause of their embarrassment and stress comes from these problems. It is just comes from eating junk or oily foods which breaks the nutrition balance from our body so your body need the right nutrition in right quantity. Don’t worry, because if the problem comes then solution is also come with the problem. Here is some useful tips, may be these are helpful for acne remedy. Honey mask is very effective for your acne because it has antibacterial properties so it fight with the harmful bacteria and help to acne cures. Wash your face at least three times in a day with the acne soap (sulfur base soap). Don’t wash more time because it increases the ration of your acne. Try to keep hair off from your face because your hair contains any kind of oil, which is not good for acne. These are some useful acne remedies, if you obeying these rules than surely you will get the clean face. Your skin depends on the nutrition if our nutrition is right then we will be free form any kind of disease. Nutrition gives the power that our body fights with harmful bacteria if our power is not strong than we will surround by many kind of disease so take proper nutrition. Excess of anything is not good first of all take advise from the doc.carrots is also a effective treatment for acne because it contain vitamin-a. It helps to repair the tissues of our skin. Don’t forget about your pillows and try to wash the pillows everyday. So try to take healthy and full of nutrition foods. beware of any kind of junk foods.thus,you can say bye bye acne.

It is very frustrating and disheartening to say that I have no support with my decision to have lapband. I am 25 and have only told a few about my decision. My mother, little brother and boyfriend all think it is an unnecessary choice. Any advice on what to do? I have my last weight loss visit this upcoming Wednesday and will hopefully have surgery at the end of July.

Jan. 18, 2013 -- More than 200,000 weight loss surgeries are performed each year in the U.S. Several recent studies have questioned the effectiveness and safety of one type, gastric banding, which has led to a decline in its use as patients choose other surgical options. But the largest and longest study yet of the procedure found that patients followed for up to 15 years maintained significant weight loss -- an average of about 60 pounds. Study: Banding Effective for Weight Loss About half the patients in the study needed additional surgeries to adjust the bands or deal with other complications, but only about 1 in 20 patients opted to have the bands removed. Researcher Paul O’Brien, MD, of Melbourne, Australia’s Monash University, was a pioneer of the Lap-Band procedure, and his latest study was supported by Allergan Inc., which markets the gastric band system. He says gastric banding offers an effective, reversible, long-term solution for weight loss as long as patients get good follow-up care and are willing to carefully control the way they eat. The study is published in the January issue of the Annals of Surgery. “Placing the band is just the first step in the process,” he says. “Compliance and follow-up are critically important. There are plenty of people out there doing this surgery without a follow-up program for their patients, and they are setting them up for failure.” Banding, Bypass, and Sleeve Gastrectomy The Lap-Band procedure is one of several weight loss surgeries performed in the U.S. and the only one that is easily reversible. The band is an inflatable silicone ring that is wrapped around the upper part of thestomach to create a pouch the size of a golf ball, which limits the amount of food that can be eaten. The band can be tightened or loosened to increase or decrease the size of the opening to the lower stomach. The most commonly performed type of gastric bypass surgery also reduces the size of the stomach to that of a golf ball. The surgery also bypasses a section of the small intestine, which limits calorie absorption. The gastric sleeve procedure involves the surgical removal of a portion of the stomach to create a "sleeve" that connects to the small intestine. Just a few years ago, gastric banding was widely seen as less risky, less costly, and less invasive than either of the other surgical options, and about half of weight loss procedures in the U.S. involved banding. But that has changed as the long-term data comparing weight loss surgeries has come in, says Ronald H. Clements, MD, who directs the bariatric surgery program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. Fewer Lap-Band Surgeries Performed Clements says just five of the 360 weight loss surgeries performed at Vanderbilt last year were Lap-Band procedures. “We have essentially stopped doing this operation,” he says. “The sleeve and the bypass are just better for helping people lose weight and keep it off. That’s what we are seeing in our patients and that’s what the data are telling us.” A 2011 study from Belgium found that the bands eroded in 1 in 3 patients, while 60% required additional surgeries. And a study published last year that compared banding to bypass surgery found that bypass patients lost more weight and kept it off over six years and had fewer complications. Four years ago, as many as 40% of weight loss surgeries performed at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York involved gastric banding, says Mitchell Roslin, MD, who is chief of obesity surgery. Today, the figure is closer to 3%. “Last year we took out 80 bands and converted them to other procedures,” he says. “Patients do well in the short term, but they tend to have problems later on.” Banding Good Option for Some American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery President Jaime Ponce, MD, confirms that fewer Lap-Band surgeries are being performed in the U.S. Allergan’s sales related to its Lap-Band system reportedly fell from close to $300 million in 2011 to about half that figure last year, and last fall the company announced that it was looking to sell its weight loss surgery division. But Ponce says the surgery is still a good option for some patients. “The band is a device that requires a lot of maintenance and multiple adjustments, and one problem is that our insurance system is not set up to pay for this,” he says. He says gastric banding is much more popular and widely performed than gastric bypass in Australia. “In Australia, aftercare is covered by national insurance, so patients don’t have to worry about paying for adjustments,” Ponce says. And there are plenty of gastric banding success stories here in America, including New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan, who lost more than 100 pounds after having the procedure in March of 2010. Ponce says patients who understand that gastric banding will require careful compliance and frequent follow-up visits to their doctor can achieve good results with the gastric banding surgery. “Patients need to be followed, preferably every month or so,” he says. “If your surgeon doesn’t offer this kind of follow up, you need to go somewhere else.” http://www.webmd.com/diet/weight-loss-surgery/news/20130117/lap-band-shown-effective-long-term-weight-loss?page=2

You know when the surgery is the right option for you other people can't determine that. I know that I resisted for a while thinking I can do it on my own but Once I decided to do the sleeve I feel more encouraged and knowing that it could be a great tool for weight loss and hearing all the success stories is a plus too. I am 30 ... 5'5"...290lbs and a BMI of 49...

Thanks guys. Yesterday was not easy - yes, I left the office feeling pretty darned elated. I mean, I not only have a surgery date (12/16), I already have a time (8am). And overall the process of getting to that point was pretty painless But man, when I got home, I was thinking WTH did I just do? Can't I just try to lose weight on my own again? But then I realized, uh, we'll. that hasn't exactly worked out considering I've never lost more than 42 pounds - didn't keep that off either. And what's to say I won't just keep putting on weight? So then I had a good cry snuggled up with my pups, and then had another one when hubby got home. Slept like crap last night. Woke up today feeling still a bit worn out but overall I am feeling a little better about my decision. I imagine the next few months are going to be a crazy roller coaster of emotions. In one way I wish I could schedule the surgery earlier and not obsess about it for months. But in another way I'm kind of glad I have time to process everything and start gearing up for my new lifestyle. Weight loss surgery right before Christmas - what kind of a masochist am I? Lol

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I go for my pre op surgical consult tomorrow and I saw someone who was sleeved about two years ago who looks so frail and thin and now I am worried that could happen to me. I want to be healthy - not uber thin. Will I be able to control when the weight loss needs to stop without gaining it all back? I am writing this instead of doing what I really want to do (which is find anything in my house to eat myself stupid and sabotage my appointment tomorrow).

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Weight loss, even the relatively small amount I have lost so far, has dramatically changed my view on how I take care of myself...I do a much better job of taking care of me. That leads to more confidance, and some have told me I am more outspoken (as if that is even possible!) I think they mean that I am less likely to accept bad behavior toward me...I've always been out spoken. I'd say that sums up all the little changes into one big nutshell! Thanks for asking, John, and blessings to you! Cindy

I was just told yesterday that my surgery date is April 19. The day after my B-Day! Happy Birthday to me! I am 34 years old and a mom of 3. I live with my husband and children in Ohio. I have struggled with my weight all my life and I can't wait to have the band to help me with my weight loss. I work full time and my oldest daughter is 14 and my son is 2 and my youngest daughter is 1. I have a very busy life and I have made a promise to myself that I am going to do this for ME. I have spent my life raising my children and taking care of my hubby and have left no time for myself. I will keep you posted on my story and I hope to hear from all of you!

Since they are 4 I would definitely keep it short and simple. "Mommy is having surgery on her tummy. The new tummy will be small, and I won't be able to eat very much for a while. Mommy isn't sick, or hurt, but this surgery will improve my health. I might feel tired after the surgery for about a week or so but then I will be feeling better and back to playing with you like normal." We talked to our girls about the weight loss aspect of it simply because they were older. (like 8 & 10 at the time, plus mommy & daddy had sugery...not at the same time but we are both sleeved) so they understand what it was about. It was still a bit scary for them and they had a lot of questions. I didn't tell them about surgery until about a month before my actual surgery date, I didn't need them worrying for 6 months about what was coming. We also covered the privacy issue, that this was something that we were doing but that we didn't necessarily want them to talk about it with the whole world. They did pretty good, and of course now that we have lost almost 130lbs between the both of us, they say things like "we can hug all the way around you" and little stuff that is encouraging. But for the most part I would keep it short and simple and just answer their questions as the come up.

So after much consideration I decided I would go ahead and blog my sleeve journey.... I wasn't going to because of keeping up with it but after surgery I find myself on this forum 3 and 4 times a day! So I guess I'll start out with why I decided to even get the sleeve and go from there This first blog will be long!! sorry!! In May this year, I had a meeting with my knee doc who explained to me that if I did not lose at least 60 to 80 lbs in the next year I would have to have a knee replacement because it was simply not holding up to my weight requirements. I cried and complained, went on yet another diet and failed and then ran across an ad for Dr Nicholson's weight loss seminar. I thought yay! I'll get the lap band and get this weight off! Well, I went to the seminar and loved him and all of the information, if you can possibly absorb all of that info in one setting! Anyway, after hearing the info I went home off on my own new journey to find the best option for me because what he was saying about the lap band was definitely going to be a no go. I did not want to deal with the fills and unfills and the possible erosion complication just from the info he was giving me. I started to look at video blogs of people with the lap band and couldn't believe it! There were problems with food getting stuck, vomiting if your food didn't like your band (ex: a piece of lettuce covering your opening), NOPE! the band was def a no go for me.. I did not like the extreme of the RNY or Gastric Bypass but the sleeve seemed like a good fit for me! Low complication rate, quick recovery, back to normal (albeit smaller portions) food after a couple of months and people are keeping the weight off! So I sent off my paperwork to Dr Nicholson's clinic!! Now for the Doom and gloom .. lol My Aetna policy has a weight loss surgery exclusion on my policy, as I am self employed so if I was going to consider going on with the surgery I was going to have to self pay. I contacted several medical financing companies and even my bank but for what I was doing and the associated costs it was just simply not going to happen. As I said before, I am self employed, as is my husband so those are hard circumstances to get financed for a large unsecured loan like I was talking about, approx $14K. Now, you have to know my personality, if I want something, I don't just sit back, I am a go getter and something like financing was not going to hold me back! I researched and dug and found a couple of companies would either 1) finance me or 2) do it for much cheaper. I was thrilled! Until I learned that these surgeries were in Mexico AHHHH!!! Are you kidding me?!?! Surgery in Mexico?!?! Don't they harvest your organs there?!?! I know, I went a bit overboard but I couldn't believe I could afford it so it was at least looking into right? Well, I researched lots of Dr's in Mexico and decided on Dr Jose Rodriguez in Juarez. He operated out Star Medica hospital. I researched his credentials, his staff, the hospital, the area and on and on. I found out that he had been doing these surgeries longer than Dr Nicholson and had a low complication rate. He was out of a company called Belite Weight and they would finance half of the surgery for me as long as I could cover the other half up front! Woo Hoo! So Mexico it was!!! Now for the surgery My surgery was scheduled for June 29th and I was completely prepared. I did the preop diet of Dr Rod's choice, basically the Atkins diet but with 50 carbs a day. I could handle that, as a matter of fact my husband and daughter (21 yrs) went on it with me and we lost weight! I lost 19.2, my husband 30 and my daughter 10.4. I was so stoked to get on with this surgery! I had bought our airline tickets in the early part of June and gotten our birth certificates to cross the border (don't believe the hype, the birth certificates worked just fine, no problems!) finance documents signed, family doc here on board with my journey, and so on and so on. I was prepared! We landed in El Paso and the hospital sent a shuttle for us to take us across the border to the hospital. We crossed the border and Juarez was a pit... a desolate pit. Scary as a matter of fact, sand lots with kids playing in them, people living in conditions I couldn't even fathom! They lived in cinder block houses!! businesses boarded up, people driving like idiots, I freaked completely out! I thought, what the HELL have I gotten myself into?!? Now, please know at this point that my husband and my daughter insisted on going with me so I am not alone but there were 2 other women there who were alone! I couldn't imagine being alone! Well, we finally got to the hospital and man was I relieved!! It was so nice! It was super clean, modern, smelled nice (not hospitally lol) so completely different from the outskirts of Juarez! There was mall across the street, nice restaurants within walking distance, the US Consolates office was 2 blocks away. Couldn't have been more pleased! Anyway, we did a brief stay at the front desk (I was with 4 other patients) to get our arm bands, checked in, pre op, etc. All went well and we headed up to our rooms. I was completely floored! It looked like a spa hotel room with 2 rooms, leather couches, cushy futon with giant pillows and a really nice bathroom. So nice! I was calming down at this point and happy we were in a safe area!! Day of Surgery!! I was so nervous the morning of the surgery! They came in and drew blood and took my vitals and EKG the day before so the day of surgery you don't have much to do or think of except that you are about to embark on a journey of a lifetime! Your choice! The thoughts that went through my mind were... 1) What if I am not one of those people who recovers quickly? 2) What if I die on the operating table? 3) What if I need a blood transfusion? How does that work in Mexico? Do they have the same strict testing as the US? (the answer is yes by the way lol I asked!) 4) What if I don't get to see my grandson ever again? CRAZY questions!! My mind was playing tricks on me and I was doing this surgery electively!! What the crap was wrong with me? doing this in Mexico no less?! My husband was wonderful in calming me down and so I just cried instead of backing out =) When they finally came and got me around 11:30 I was about ready to just back out, call it quits and go back home, stomach in tow! lol They got me down to preop and I was praying (along with my husband :wub: ) that everything would be fine, quick recovery, the whole bit! I remember them giving me something to "relax" me and off I went..... I woke up in recovery and they wheeled me back up to my room quickly so I was with my family. I had a little gas under my shoulder blade and a little pain from the drain site but great other than that! I got up after about and hour and walked walked walked! The gas pain went away after the first day and I never really had any nausea problems so I was a lucky one!! God is good!! My mom and her boyfriend came to the hospital to see me, yep! they drove in my Dallas and came to Juarez for 2 days to spend some time with me! I love my supportive family <3 My whole family and all of my friends were so supportive and good to me the whole time! I love them all!! Anyway, fast forward a couple of days to going home!! Home again, Home again, jiggity jog!! We left for the airport around 9:30 am although our flight wasn't until 1:30pm. We needed to make sure we got across the border in time to catch our flight and had heard horror stories about it taking sometimes 3 hours to get across. Lucky for us, it was the Mexican Election day!! There were only 3 people ahead of us to get through the border so less then 20 min to get across! Woo Hoo! We got to the airport with plenty of time to shop, go through security and time for me to sit down and rest for a while. The flight home was uneventful and once home I was content to take a nap =) Happy to see my kitties (Bella and Momma) and my 12 year old lab Buddy. I have a grandson that is 1 year old and lives with us and seeing him made me melt!! There is nothing better than a grandbaby!! I love him dearly!! Well, after all that, I am home! I work from home so it is nice to be able to work, nap, sip sip, work, sip sip, nap lol I feel like one of the cats! I feel good though! I have walked, done some laundry, cleaned and even cooked a little. I will venture out tomorrow!!! Thanks for reading!!! They will be shorter here on out! PROMISE!! Oh by the way, my weight!!! 6/15/2012 247 lbs 6/29/2012 227 lbs -19.2 lbs 7/1/2012 229 lbs (gotta love the IV fluid and being swollen!0

rememeber to not weigh yourself too much. Weight fluctuates Sooooo much. First losses are often water weight, but fat weight loss is coming fersure...

Who are the rapid Resolution Specialists with Aetna? My weight loss was due to an abdominal surgery - they took out 11 inches of large intestine. Any info is great! Thanks YMJ!!

Great work! Turkey day seemed to coincide with starting real fat loss for me so I lost 6 pounds over the long weekend.

I have my preop on this Friday. Surgery next Wed the 28th. This has all happened so fast. My weight loss to date is 11 pounds. I have really been oblivious to the things that I really thought would bring me down. Refocusing on the things that I need to do and accomplish before and after surgery. Right now I am pretty calm but, surgery day I hope I dont freak out. I have so many wonderful things to be thankful for and am looking forward to giving everyone in my life my very best.

hi i am a military wife also airforce at no-hope-pope !! yeah you know it wasn't on the list especially from germany but learning to live here :phanvan theres some doctors in north carolina that do bands and i know a doctor eduardo gonzalas at surgical weight loss center winstom-salem will fill patients from other doctors providing you have all your paperwork ect his number is (336) 784-8299 and if your self pay like me as tricare suck fills in office are 200 with flour 300 plus 250-300 additional for hospital lab fee's. well i hope that helps . i hope your hubby doesn't get deployed as much as mine gone from may through oct and now at nco accademy i am so glad the base is closing and we can leave !! i need the cola !!!!

Thank you so much for your response!!! I can tell you know that I will be same, and from your weigh loss I see you have been successful. Again thank you!

Get a new Endo. My Endo told me to eat less and workout more even though I was working out 2x a day. I was out in BC and metformin to help symptoms and the BC got rid of all the excess hair and he metformin curbed the appetite a little but not enough to really help-probably because I needed a higher dose. Hang in there, but definitely see a new Endo.

How many of you still use a lot of sugar free products daily? I know it's the best option for weight loss but I worry about the chemicals and fake sugar. About 6 months ago I stopped eating frozen meals,reduced fat foods or processed foods. I felt great but I realize now my portions were way too big. I am 14 days in so I still have a long way before I can eat solid food. My goal is to be able to lose weight but not rely on "diet" food. I love to cook and don't mind putting the effort in for meal prep. But is that realistic? What plan have you found success?

Hi guys. I'm about 3 months post op and I'm feeling a little depressed lately. I've lost about 50 pounds which is amazing and I'm so happy but lately I've been thinking what did I do to myself. Every time I eat I feel nauseous and feel like I'm going to throw up (and no I'm not eating too much I could barely eat 3 oz of food) I also haven't gone to the bathroom for the past 2 weeks. I'm only 19 and I keep thinking how can I live like this for the rest of my life. Don't get my wrong, when I look in the mirror and see that I have a collar bone (which I've never been able to see) I'm instantly happy, but I just can't believe that this will be my life forever. I'm so limited in the foods I like, I could only eat plain salmon, tilapia or tuna steak with minimal seasoning because any other involved recipes make me vomit or lead to severe nausea. I don't eat meat or poultry anymore, I can't stomach the smell of it either. I can barely eat salad because the lettuce gets stuck in my chest. I was just wondering if anyone else has gone through similar feelings, anyone out there my age that feel or have gone through the same? Maybe things will change as my stomach keeps healing, but as of now I'm at a loss. Thanks guys, Rebecca Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I went into this thinking I was gonna have to do three months medically supervised weight loss, then last week I found out that I have no supervised weight loss required and just a few appointments to take care of. Those appointments are scheduled for this week. My patient advocate says I can have surgery next month as my insurance normally approves in a week. At first I was really excited that I didn't have to wait months for surgery as I have been doing nothing for the last month but reading about it and participating on these boards. But now that October is drawing close and I have so little left to do I feel like it's all happening really fast and I'm getting nervous. Maybe all the people that have to wait months have a good thing, I don't know maybe it's just my nerves getting the best of me. Or maybe I should give myself a few extra weeks to schedule surgery, I just don't know