Alex Brecher

We had voice and video chat in the past. Not too many members used it and it was a major resource hog. We'll take another look at this again if there's a lot of interest.

Sent you an email.

Thanks for posting that article! I linked to a few articles discussing this monster announcement here. I remember when Inamed health was purchased by Allergan in 2006. Many bandsters thought the sky was falling in on them and everything turned out ok. The Lap-band and the Lap-band brand will continue. The question still remains, who will be taking over. For more in depth info on this topic, please listen or read Allergan's latest 3rd quarter earnings call transcript. To save you some time, I've copied and pasted the info pertaining to Lap-Band: ------------------------------------------------------- David E. I. Pyott, Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer: In our press release, we commented that we are exploring strategic options for the obesity intervention business as the sales dynamics do not fit the profile of a high growth company like Allergan. Vigorous management of our portfolio of businesses has always been integral to our strategy. Quote from Allergan press release: "Allergan is exploring strategic options for maximizing the value of its obesity intervention business, including among other things, a potential sale of that business unit. To the extent Allergan elects to pursue such a strategic option, the company intends to offset any potential earnings dilution related to the transaction." ------------------------------------------------------- Jeffrey L. Edwards, Chief Financial Officer & EVP-Business Development: "One of our key drivers of Allergan’s long-term success has been the continuous evaluation of our portfolio of businesses to ensure that they are delivering high growth. During the past few years, the entire obesity intervention market has faced challenges as a result of economic conditions and reimbursement limitations. Earlier in the year, we committed to improving the reimbursement conditions for LAP-BAND. We have been able to reduce the wait time for surgery by reducing the time patients must undergo medically managed weight loss. Now 63% of commercial lives or 120 million patients have this benefit in their policies, an increase of 22 million lives just this year. While we are confident in the long-term prospects of the business, we also must consider the best potential for future development and clinical advancement may exist outside of the company. Moreover, Allergan’s business model strategy emphasizes the importance of leverage and scalability. It’s clear to us today that Allergan will have the same ability to achieve the strategic business – it is not clear today that Allergan will have the same ability to achieve the strategic objective with this business. Therefore, we are exploring strategic options including among other things a potential sale of the business unit. " ------------------------------------------------------- Operator: Our next question is from Steve Willoughby of Cleveland Research. <Q – Steve Willoughby – Cleveland Research Co.>: Hi, thanks for taking my question. I was wondering if you could just provide a little bit more color regarding the LAP-BAND and your comment on the lack of leverage and scalability and what has changed in your thinking now versus the past couple of years? <A – David Pyott – Allergan, Inc.>: Well if I cast the clock back a couple of years, we had lots of years of really good growth and this was in the timeframe 2006, 2007 and 2008. And at the time, if I restrict my comment to the US first of all, we didn’t realize that a lot of that was not only cash pay but actually it was credit card pay. And so of course, with hindsight that market, which at the peak was about a third of our US sales, has really shriveled down to a very negligible part. So I think the next part of the thinking then came and that was my commitment over a year ago to you on the sell side as well as the investment community on the buy side, that our job is to improve reimbursement conditions. And as you heard from Jeff’s remarks, we have made progress. But then comes the real kind of what I call the tough call. Clearly you know as a company we are very committed to high growth and we have been able to do that. So a business like this, which is going the wrong direction, is a drag on that overall growth rate. Now I come to the point about leveragability and scalability. If you think of all of the business areas we are in, ophthalmology and medical aesthetics being very clear, we have a very broad range of products so we often have multiple sales forces presenting multiple products. And of course that gives you the benefits of scale. If we look at the general surgery market, where we are present with LAP-BAND, it’s basically a one product entry, and as we have looked at alternatives, that would take us deeper into general surgery, which would be fine. But usually those products are associated with lower gross margin than the ones we have. So really ending the whole stream of thought, it may make better sense either for another company that one would call as strategic to add LAP-BAND and ORBERA overseas which is the intragastric balloon to their portfolio. Or it could make sense for a private equity firm to acquire this business because of course it’s profitable. It is cash generative. It has a great brand name. It has very good intellectual property and finally of course, just to make it clear, we are assessing the sale because everything comes down to numbers at the end of the day. And so as you know we could always, if we don’t get the numbers we like, choose just to keep this business and run it in a different way. ------------------------------------------------------- Operator: Our next question is from Chris Schott of JPMorgan. <Q – Jessica Fye – JPMorgan Securities LLC>: Hey there, it’s Jessica Fye on for Chris Schott. I just wanted to follow up on some of the comments you made earlier about the obesity business. And I guess specifically, can you comment at all on the operating margins for that franchise just to give us a little bit of a sense of what the dilution might be? And then I know you talked about maybe offsetting that. Would that be more likely to come from share repo or more likely from an acquisition? Thanks. <A – Jeffrey Edwards – Allergan, Inc.>: Well, we don’t comment specifically on the operating margins for any of our businesses, so we are not going to do so here. This is a profitable business and to the extent we do something that’s external in nature with this business, it’s our objective to try to address the dilution. And that’s a commitment we are going to do our level best with achieving. And that’s really all we can say at this juncture in time, because we continue with a very in-depth internal assessment process as to how we are going to address that business on a going forward basis. ------------------------------------------------------- Operator: Our next question is from Louise Chen of Guggenheim Securities. <Q – Louise Chen – Guggenheim Securities LLC>: Hi. My question is with respect to your capital allocation strategy, I was wondering if you could provide an update now especially given your large cash balance and also your decision to potentially divest your obesity franchise. <A – David Pyott – Allergan, Inc.>: Well, I think as we’ve said over the years, first and foremost our goal is to add to the depth and breadth of our portfolio and whether that be through licensing, the Molecular Partners transactions were like that, although all that being said of course, in terms of use of capital, the up-fronts aren’t enormous relative to our cash flow generation. The second of course is we continually look at are there products we could buy or even companies that we could buy. And I think you as investors would prefer that we find good return assets like that versus the very modest levels of return we can get by investing in the capital markets where obviously right now the returns are very, very low, indeed. So we remain confident that we know the spaces in which we operate very, very well. We have seen over the years that technology owners tend to come to us. It’s not altruism because of course in theory we can afford to pay more than others because we have the best worldwide footprint in these businesses.

I think we have this option here. Let me know if that works for you.

Just a reminder about the RULES we all agreed to abide by when signing up for LBT.

Thanks! This is a confirmed issue. We're lookin in to it.

No need to send a pic! I see what you're saying. I'm going to report asap to developers.

I'm going to test now with the app. This is line two. I'm double spacing my lines. Line four Line five Line six Line seven Line eight No problem here. Very odd! Are you using 4S ? Is it in panoramic view ? I tested both views and they worked perfectly for me after 7th line. Can you take a screenshot and send to me please ? To take screenshot on your iPhone, click home and power button at same time.

Install our mobile app. That should resolve any issues you're having on your phone.

Are you using the mobile skin or our dedicated app on your iphone please ?

You can only "friend" someone from a desktop browser. We definitely will add support for it in future mobile app versions.

After you type your message, click the enter key....and then click submit

My apologies! I wasn't very clear on how to accomplish this..... On your iPhone or iPad.... 1) Go to Settings 2) Click on Notifications 3) Scroll down to VST app and click on it 4) You can turn off all notifications, sounds and messages here Let me know if that works please.

We're having major issues with our notification server. In the interim, you can shut off app notifications in your settings.

Until this issue is fixed, you can shut down notifications for it within the Notification Center within your phones settings.

We're not sure where this issue is coming from. We think there are other apps that are having the same issue and it might be an Apple problem. We hope to know shortly.

This is a small bug with our latest app and we're working on resolving. All you need to do is press RETURN key after the text you type and the send button will light up once the return key is clicked.

Brooklyn in da house!! :-)

You can only access Social Group forums from a desktop computer. We hope to add mobile access in the near future.

It is free....

Support/Social groups aren't supported by our mobile apps. We hope to support them in future releases.

Can you refresh your browsers cache ? What issue are you having when you attempt to respond please ?

We've been trying to optimize the way our pages load in order to give our users a better experience.This is what's been causing these issues. We've rolled things back until we figure out a way around these issues. We need and appreciate all our member feedback, thanks and keep it coming!

Let's simmer down now folks EVERYONE is entitled to their own opinion. Dr. Simpson's link explains restriction well and that's really how bandsters should be feeling.

Hey, Banders! Summer’s over and we’re into the beautiful days of early autumn. No matter where you live, we hope you’re getting a chance to get out and enjoy the weather! Any activity you do counts toward your weight loss, health and pleasure, so make an effort to get outside and get moving. Don’t forget to take your LapBandTalk.com app with you so you can read the newsletter and keep up with the boards! Here’s what you’ll find in October’s newsletter. Member Spotlight: Meet CocoaBean! Bander Challenge: Lend a Hand! Having a Healthy Autumn: A Few Tips for Parents – and Other Busy LapBandTalk.com Members! Weight Loss Surgery: Not the Easy Way Out! Can’t wait to get started? Neither can we! Enjoy the newsletter and please feel free to let us know what you think! Thanks for your support. Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder LapBandTalk.com Member Spotlight: Meet CocoaBean! This month, we’re pleased to put the spotlight on Denise, known as CocoaBean on LapBandTalk.com! She’s a 48-year-old Californian who had struggled with her weight for most of her life. Her dieting included a few rounds of Weight Watchers, as well as some attempts with Atkins and South Beach. Her weight went right back up after each diet. She and her husband set the limit at 200 pounds – but then she hit 217 pounds and couldn’t face another try at Weight Watchers. That’s when Denise learned about the gastric bypass from a coworker who had lost weight. Denise did the research and decided that the lap-band was a better choice for her because it wasn’t as invasive and she didn’t feel that she needed the malabsorption from gastric bypass. She waited a year until her insurance covered the lap-band and got her surgery in 2008. Since then, Denise never looked back. She lost 71 pounds and has maintained a BMI of 24 – all without the help of a dietitian. Instead, she was able to use her own experience and knowledge from a college nutrition course to make her own meal plans. She can walk up stairs without getting winded and is a size 8 to 10 – down from an 18W! She has had a few struggles, mainly with people who look down on weight loss surgery as an “easy way out” rather than a treatment for a likely fatal health condition – obesity. She’s gotten food stuck a few times in public. One time she slimed up while serving as a juror in a trial, and once she snuck a doughnut at work – and paid the price as it got stuck! Overall, Denise’s husband has been as supportive as possible considering that he’s never had a weight issue. Denise is on LapBandTalk.com daily for her main source of support; she loves the positive attitude here. We asked Denise for some advice with the lap-band since she’s been so successful. Here are a few of her pointers. Take a long-term view; the lap-band is a lifelong journey, not a quick weight loss diet! When you’re not losing weight, look at your other health measures, such as your blood pressure, sleep apnea or size. Are they improving? “Relax and go with the flow.” What a great reminder that you can’t control everything, but you can do the best you can by adapting to whatever happens! Thanks, Denise! Obviously your advice has worked for you, and we’re so glad that you shared your story and tips with us! Thanks for being in the Member Spotlight. If you want to be in the spotlight or you want to nominate someone else, let us know in the Spotlight Forum or send Alex a private message. We’re always looking for outstanding members to highlight! Bander Challenge: Lend a Hand! We like to challenge you to try something new or unusual in each newsletter. The Bander Challenge is a non-competitive way to push yourself a little further and experience something new while gaining confidence. Why do we ask you to post what you did? It helps motivate others and give them ideas for their challenges! This week’s challenge is pretty simple. Before the next newsletter, we’re just asking you to help someone. It can be any kind of help, from helping an elderly neighbor take the newspaper in to volunteering to give a motivational talk at your local weight loss surgery support group meeting to making dinner for your spouse even when it’s not your turn. This challenge does more than make someone else’s life easier. It makes you value yourself more when you see how powerful you can be just by being kind to others. Don’t forget to let us know how you helped someone! What did you do? How did it make you feel? Let us know how it goes in the Bander Challenge forum! You can always check out any of the previous Newsletter Challenges and give us updates on those. You can always see the old challenges in the archived newsletters. You’ll see challenges on food, fitness and more! It’s never too late to try something new and exciting! Make It a Healthy Autumn: A Few Tips for Parents – and Other Busy LapBandTalk.com Members! Okay, we know that the autumn is a busy time of year. If you’re a parent, your children are back in school and their activities are in full swing. You may be juggling work with your chauffeuring, catering and cleaning business – aka, taking care of your family! Most of us are pretty busy even if we’re not parents. It’s easy to use not having enough time as an excuse for getting off track with your weight loss. You might eat foods that you know you shouldn’t because you feel you just can’t squeeze in the time to prepare a healthy snack. We’ve all done it. You rush out the door in the morning and are busy all day. Some of these happen along the way. You are starving by lunchtime and grab a few truffles that get stuck in your lap-band You go by the vending machine for a soft drink that’ll make you feel sick within minutes. You realize at the end of the day that you haven’t stopped to drink for hours, and you have a headache and your stomach hurts. You know you should be eating lean Protein, but the closest thing you can find is pepperoni from the company’s pepperoni pizza – so to be polite, you eat the entire slice and it causes an obstruction. You start to depend on Protein shakes because those are the closest thing to a healthy meal that you can find at the company cafeteria. You don’t have to let a hectic schedule get in the way of your health! What can you do about it? Here are a few tips to make the most out of every day Prepare some of your meals and Snacks at the beginning of the week. Wash your fruits and vegetables so they’re easy to prepare when you need them. Cook some your Proteins - chicken breast, fish, seafood, lean beef and/or veggie burgers – and freeze them in single-serving baggies or containers. Cook up bigger batches, put them in single-serving containers and freeze them so you can defrost them when you’re ready to eat them. This is a great option for healthy side dishes, such as whole wheat Pasta, carrots or Beans. (You don’t have to make too much, since your single portions post-surgery are pretty small). Place snacks in single-serving bags if you buy a multi-serving package Plan your Breakfast the night before so you don’t have to think about it in the morning. Take the time to make a grocery list. It’ll save you time in the end. Using a list will keep you from forgetting foods and needing to go back to the store during the week. You’ll be faster in the store because you won’t get distracted. Sticking to a list will keep you from buying foods you shouldn’t. Buy ingredients for breakfast Buy snack foods Make sure you drink enough. Stash Water bottles in your car and at work and keep them filled. It’ll encourage you to drink throughout the day and you won’t have to take the time to run to the kitchen each time you need to drink. Stick a pitcher of water in the fridge so you see it several times a day. Keep healthy snacks at work so you never find yourself starving with nothing healthy to eat. Beef Jerky and canned tuna, chicken, beans, vegetables keep for months. Frozen foods to consider keeping around include grilled chicken and fish, veggie burgers and vegetables. Yogurt, low-fat cheese, cottage cheese and deli meats are high-protein snacks to keep in the fridge for a week or more. The more you plan, the better off you’ll be. You’ll save time and be more likely to eat well. And remember – you’re worth it! We suggest picking one or two strategies and working on them until you master them, then moving on to a new tip. Let us know how helpful the tips are! That’s a lot to chew on for this newsletter, so we’re going to end it here. There’s no end to the news, tips and conversations over at LapBandTalk.com, so come on over via your computer, smartphone or Kindle! You can always check out the old newsletters, too, in the Newsletter Forum. Thanks for coming along in this newsletter and for being part of our fantastic community! We couldn’t do it without you. Have a great month and take care of yourself and each other, Alex. ============================================================== If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, you may unsubscribe by going to your Control Panel and clicking on the Newsletters tab, or clicking on the following link: {unsubscribe}