faithmd

Absolutely NO!!! Those who have made goal or close to it (and even half way there) are such inspirations to me. And as a person who started at not too far from 400lbs, I am somehow even more inspired by those who started near or above 300lbs. That you and Julie and now Losing are RUNNERS is soooooooo fantastic. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not take your stats nor your pics down. I smile everytime I see your sig line.

Check out this forum: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f73/ There are a couple of threads here that have questions to take with you to the doctor.

First, :welcomeB: to LBT! Next, take some time, look around, the search function works really well, I've found lots of answers to my questions by using it. So if there is something you're burning to know about, check it out. The pre-op diet is not always liquid, and not every surgeon has their patients do a pre-op diet. The purpose of a pre-op diet is to decrease the amount of fat in your liver through weight loss and limitation of fat intake. Your liver is kind of right in the way when they place the band, so they have to grab on to it and lift it out of the way. The smaller it is, the easier it is to lift out of the way, or the less they have to move it, and the less likely it will be to sustain an injury from being grabbed.

Hello Suzzzie! Three are a couple threads out there, but they haven't been active for a long time, I think your idea of a new thread is a great one! Here's links to a couple of the others if you'd like to go check them out: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/hands-up-nurses-23713/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f7/how-many-nurses-do-we-have-out-there-9216/

Did he do labs to check all these levels before giving you this shot and list of supplements? Have you been complaining of increased tiredness and fatigue?

Holy Mary, Mother of God, WHEN WILL YOU STOP telling people they can have creamy soups???????? Do you not take even a moment to read what they wrote about the doc wanting the poster on the CLEAR KIND (NO milk!!)????? So how on EARTH can she have CREAMY soups?? I'm beginning to think you have stock in a Soup company or something. Maybe you just want to sabotage people? Neither you nor I are these peoples' surgeon! How dare we presume to know what they can have at any given point in their diet unless they tell us where they are at? In this case the poster CANNOT have CREAMS!!!!!! Then along you come spouting your soup talk. And your famous "you can have anything that could fit through a straw." You know what, maybe she can't. I know I couldn't. There was a specific order I was to take things in. Please, knock it off.

If it is an insurance REQUIREMENT, then yep, they'll make you do it. There is always the obesity law canter to contact, though. obesitylaw.com

I dunno about the B vitamins, I had all my levels checked and they are all well within normal. Could a supplement help even though I take B complex, and all my labs are already normal?

One other important point: If your surgeon didn't go to the ASBS conference this past June then s/he will likely need a proctor for the first AP placement. It is a little different and it does require larger instruments to place it with. Something that is needed to be planned for so that the appropriate people and tools are available.

Tell your dad the AP band has been in use in Australia for (I believe) over a year and in Canada as well. It became available in the US in June of this year, so it isn't really all that new. I cancelled my first surgery date because my surgeon wouldn't have it in time, and INSISTED on it for my surgery June 21st. My surgeon's office is not "using up" the old bands, they are using some of every type (regular, VG and AP). They do plan to switch to all AP soon, though. I also wrote on my stomach in sharpie marker "AP Band ONLY!!!" I asked for and received my AP box after my surgery so that I was assured that is what I got. I'd hold out for it.

What's sex?

I am at the same place myself, I thank everyone of you for taking the time to respond to losing, I'm taking it all to heart for me, too. I've got a lot farther to go, and at this point, barely 9 months into this weight loss thing, I can't believe that I seem to have lost my mojo. The clothes are looser, I can fit in things I haven't worn in years, and I'm happy about that, but... I can't seem to put down the chocolate Peanut Butter Chex Mix and the Doritos...

Try these two threads: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f81/what-heck-do-i-do-39652/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f110/question-guys-39649/

Often it is VERY difficult to get fills from someone other than your surgeon. You MUST MUST MUST get after care set up RIGHT AWAY, as in NOW. Call around in your area and find someone who will take you WELL BEFORE you have surgery. Please, please get your aftercare set up now. Frequently there will be an extra charge for you not being one of their patients. It varies so widely I can't even give you an average. Sometimes it's an extra charge per fill, sometimes it is like a "program fee" to even take you on as a patient and then an additional fee per fill, too. Make sure when you call around that you ask about their fees for coming on as a patient banded elsewhere.

Allergan advises a fill of (I believe) approx 3cc's/mL's in the new AP bands. It is to fill the tubing and minimally fill the baffles. It does not necessarily give you restriction, it fills the "dead space" in the band. I have read that some surgeons do slightly fill other bands, and for that I have no opinion other than to agree with a poster above me who said that if you trust and are comfortable with your doctor, then that is what he advises. Since very few of us have had bands before and those who have rarely know whether their first band versus their second band was soft filled, I think it would be hard to know whether a soft fill made a difference.

If you are thinking of Harper, why not contact them directly? Or do you HAVE to use the Belite service? I always worry about middle men, will they pull up shop, or will they end an affiliation with one place and start one with someone else after you have already established a realationship with a surgeon, etc. I can say that I am very glad I had the band placed, I cannot imagine having bypass surgery, and I know I needed some sort of help to lose the weight. Diets were not cutting it.

Hello and :welcomeB: There are simply LOADS of threads on here about this topic, here's a few, I hope it helps: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/keeping-secret-31977/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f15/keeping-my-surgery-secret-most-my-family-has-anyone-else-41689/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f84/keeping-secret-what-excuse-did-you-use-work-29885/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f84/keeping-band-secret-28793/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f15/anyone-not-telling-family-37889/

Go to this forum, there are a couple of threads with good questions: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f73/

Thanks, Wheetsin!

Dang! That stinks! How about duct tape? Put it on, then pull off the old stuff with it? Just kidding...kind of :eek:

Me: 1) I'd have perfect teeth. Straight and pearly white. 2) I am the QUEEN of procrastination, I would get rid of that horrible personality flaw. DH: 1) He'd no longer have horrible back/neck pain. 2) He would be more affectionate.

That was HILARIOUS!!! Laura: baby oil.

Oh gosh yes, MRSA is one of those things I wouldn't want to mess around with at all!

IndigoGirl, the OP posted just above my post that she saw the doc this morning and it is fine, closing well. But I certainly agree with on principle, if in doubt about anything like an infection, do not substitute help on a board (though I understood why Mandi78 came here, she couldn't get ahold of her surgeon at the time) for an MD's advice.

Here's some photos of the different bands. The first is the regular Allergan/Inamed band, the second baffled/pillowed one is the VG, the last one is the AP. You can see that though they all go around the stomach, the inflation area is not 360 degrees in the first two, only in the AP. Whether or not that makes a difference, who knows. The manufacturer says it does but they are the manufacturer. I would have been happy to get the original or the VG if the AP hadn't been available at all yet. But it is, so I held out for it.