Dreamingof139

I had surgery on Thursday morning and my doctor has me on liquids that will go through a strainer for four weeks.

I just got my date today - August 7th. It does not seem real yet. I had a band in in 2010 and out in 2012 and have regained all of my weight so I am ready for this. I have to travel for mine, so I leave home on a Tuesday evening and return home the following Monday evening.

If you cannot afford an in person therapist, there are several websites that offer therapy by licensed therapists for a VERY reasonable rate. Something to consider if cost is an issue that is preventing you from seeking help.

The only bariatric doctor that I know of in Spokane does not have the best reputation. What is the name of this surgeon?

I called the office before my surgery to arrange my post op care as I was having surgery out of the country. I had inquired about having surgery with the doctor but was told that I 'was not even close to qualifying'. I learned from the doctor post op that he would have accepted me and done my surgery here. Dr. Pennings is wonderful, unfortunately the staff that surrounds him is not. From every interaction, most especially with their scheduler, there has been a problem either with the information that I was given, or not given. I was told that I could have a half day of appointments to get setup in their aftercare and I took a day off of work and stayed overnight in a hotel to be there first thing. I then learned that I had been misinformed and I actually was only meeting with the doctor that day. In trying to arrange the pieces of my aftercare, I was treated horridly by the counselor - she was just mean and very unprofessional - she told me that the doctor 'does not treat patients who have had surgery in Mexico' and stated that she was going to 'call a meeting to see exactly what it was that I had been told'. There was no need for her to be so hostile to me, I was nothing but kind and trying to get my appointments set up from a distance. At that time, I had already met with the doctor and he had agreed to treat me. I wish that the letter that I sent to the office manager would have worked to make things better, but it has not. I had one fill, which went fine, except for more foul ups and mis communications from the scheduler. The bottom line seems to be to get me to pay for aftercare elements that I cannot use because I live three hours away from their office. It is unfortunate that what the doctor tells me in person is not what is playing out in his practice.

Please remember that everyone is different - if WW worked for us, we would not be considering or have had surgery. I think that the point to be taken here is that the band is not a magic fix - we are still accountable for our choices. If you get your Protein in and get an exercise program on that works for you, you will see results 99% of the time.

And I can personally attest that Chris is WONDERFUL! He did an unfill for me a few months ago and he is an expert. So thankful to have found the New Image Clinic in Kalispell.

Hello - yes, you are very normal to be a bit nervous! I flew home from my surgery, so I was on an airplane less than 24 hours after surgery and even had to make a connection. It was just fine. I did have my doctor give me a small fill in surgery - you may want to ask yours to do the same. Good Luck - shopping without looking at how things drape is wonderful!

So sorry to hear that you have had to deal with this. I am six months out and have told very few people and very slowly because I was afraid of the backlash. I already have one person in my life telling me that I took the easy way out, so I figure the less people I tell, the better. I appreciated what you said about finding out who people really are to be a gift - great perspective!

For anyone in Kalispell and the surrounding areas, I have found the most amazing follow up care. New Image Clinic, right next to the hospital does fills. I had a fill yesterday from Chris, a wonderful PA and it was the ideal situation. Quick, accurate and just a tiny pinch. Given that I live hours from any kind of care, I was just delighted to find such a great clinic and provider within a days drive of my home.

My six month band anniversary is on the 24th of this month. I started this journey with a BMI of 34.7 and today my BMI is 26, still overweight, but getting closer to being a new healthy me. I love my band!

For me, the band has done two things. First, I was not aware of how quickly I was eating before the band. The band slows me down, because if I eat too quickly, it is uncomfortable and I sometimes burp up what I have eaten. This is an unpleasant experience, so this has modified my behavior and I tend to do that less often now. Second, diets worked, but I rebounded after and gained not just that weight back, but 20 or more pounds for good measure. Being on a diet for me is torture and cannot work permanently. With the band, I can eat anything that I want, but in a small, thin person portion. I am down 54 pounds - my surgery was 9/24/10. I was 215 when I started at 5'6". I am now one size away from my goal in about six months. Something that I could not have done without the band. I also had the thought of why not just diet and stick to it? I liked the post where the person noted the quote about the definition of insanity. This is VERY true in this case. Good Luck regardless of what you decide to do - my only regret is that I waited so long to do this.

I asked ahead of time because I have had complications before from the cath and was told that they do not use them because the surgery is so short. I was very thankful and had no issues with ambulating to get to the restroom when needed.

My grammar is excellent - occupational hazard. Nothing amiss with my post - not sure what you are referring to. Perhaps it is how you changed my post above to give the impression of an error. Go back and look at what I initially posted - it may not be the best sentence that I have ever constructed, but it is grammatically sound and correct. I write for a living and hold advanced degrees in English and in Education. Yes, you may call me doctor. Sorry, I do not general spout my education, but I wanted to explain the position that I am coming from. And before someone goes there, the Masters is from a top 20 and the PhD is from an Ivy. Real schools - very expensive too. I find it so interesting that people pipe up and jump in, yet fail to assert a valid point or actually find anything wrong with what I am writing. So very interesting to watch this unfold.

My post was polite and respectful. I find your comment interesting in that you 'heard' rudeness in polite conversation.

I have a 4 cc LapBand. My surgeon wanted to use the smaller band because I was smaller to start with. I agree with finding a surgeon that you trust and letting him or her make that part of the decision for you.

I am self pay. My first fill of one cc was done in surgery. My second fill was under fluro and was $750. I have arranged with a PA to do any future fills - he charges $135.

Amazing weight loss - I see that you were also banded in Mexico. Wonderful to see someone else that had a great success story from Mexico.

I have seen you in other threads posting in all caps just to respond to people in general, which is why I presumed that you were not aware. I am not sure what you mean when you say "loose your cool" I think you meant to say lose. The words loose and lose are mixed up in writing; for some reason, many people write loose when they really mean lose. But there's no reason to lose your mind worrying about this, just lose the extra o! Loose Loose is an adjective, the opposite of tight or contained. My shoes are loose I have a loose tooth There's a dog running loose in the street Lose Lose is a verb that means to suffer the loss of, to miss. I win! You lose! Don't lose your keys I never lose bets

First, very sorry to hear about all that you are going through and dealing with. I also have a 4 cc band, filled to 2 cc's and I have had zero problems, so your story hits me as we have the same size band. Writing in all caps is universally considered shouting in emails and in online communication and IS considered rude - some people are not aware of this and I see that someone mentioned it to you. It was mentioned as information, it was not an attack, so please try to keep an open mind and please do not presume that someone has a negative intent when they post or reply to you. You may also want to consider turning on the spell check - we are not meeting you in person and we cannot 'hear' the tone in your messages - caps and poor spelling can give a less than accurate impression of what you are trying to communicate and can make it harder for others to understand what you are trying to get across. Best of luck with your situation - hopefully you will have a great and positive outcome in the end.

I know someone who added the band to her sleeve because the sleeve is not enough for her. She is so happy with her band.

Slow down - we are NOT kids anymore and our bodies can take longer to heal.

Statistics vary and complications happen and people do die. I met a woman on a retreat a few years ago and she died a few months after her gastric bypass - Heather was in her 20's. It can and does happen, but, if you look at statistics (if you can find reliable ones), in my case, I was way more likely to have a complication from the diabetes that took my Nanna and my cousin in their 60's and both of my Uncles as well and that has wrecked havoc with my other cousins and my Mom. Statistically, I was more likely to die in an accident driving to the airport or flying to my surgery and back than I was from the surgery itself. You are way more likely to be killed by a drunk driver or by any of the complications of being overweight/obese than you are from surgery. Do you research carefully and ask lots of questions - I am confident that you will make the decision that is best for you.