faithmd

Dammit, I ordered four boxes. I couldn't stop myself. It's like they are laced with PCP or crack or meth they are soooo darned addicting!

Please, please PLEASE tell me you are kidding about not knowing who he is!!!!! OMG, if you are not kidding, I am SOOOOOOO OLD!!!!!!!!!!!! The man singing is Tattoo from Fantasy Island. He was the little guy who would run at the beginning of every episode to the top of the bellfry and ring the bell and point and yell, "De plane, Boss! De Plane!"

Here's a few links to threads to help you: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f15/what-should-i-bring-w-me-mx-4-surgery-20092/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f84/going-mexico-what-should-i-take-41039/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f84/packing-list-mexico-35074/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/travelling-banding-packing-list-25646/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f84/packing-hospital-30599/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f73/post-op-checklists-things-have-before-surgery-14814/

It is common to take a couple of weeks for a fill to "kick in." But in reading the boards and researching the band for months before being banded myself, one of the biggest things I took away from my research was that it usually takes a FEW fills before you get to that "sweet spot" (and sweet spot feels different to everyone) of restriction. Good luck!

I believe you need to PM one of the Moderators or Alex (the board owner). You can find the moderator's names on the home page at the bottom, if you click on a name, you can select to PM them.

Marty, please go check out the Insurance forum. As I recall there are quite a few folks there who have had UHC. Also, just a word of caution, if YOUR policy does not cover Adjustable Gastric Banding because of an EXCLUSION, then you are sadly stuck. Just because you and I may both have United, my employer may have paid for a Bariatric surgery rider, but yours may not have. That is why you may not have coverage, but I may. Good LUCK! I hope this helps.

dream, you might want to check out the Cosmetic and Reconstructive surgery forum (yep, there's a whole forum in here dedicated to that subject, isn't that cool?) for the answers to this. I think if I recall correctly, there is a long thread or possibly a poll thread that already asks the question about waiting to goal. It is unfortunately probably impossible to judge whether you will need cosmetic surgery based on what someone else needed. We are all so different. Sometimes insurance will cover breast reduction and panniculectomy, depends on your policy. For that answer, you'd have to call your insurance company and ask what the requirements for RECONSTRUCTIVE surgery are. No one covers cosmetic surgery that I have heard of.

If you have a choice, I'd ask for the AP band. And there is no way they all have a 5cc capacity. I'm not sure what he means by this. But it doesn't really matter. Doesn't hurt to ask for the box, though. That way you know what band you received (I have mine, it's a neat keepsake!).

I've only lost 27lbs since surgery (June 21, 2007), but it's completely my fault, I've not yet had a fill. I had one scheduled with Christy (Hurley) but had to cancel it and it's a challenge for me to schedule another with my work schedule. I do feel "soft stops" and get feelings of being "satisfied" but I continue to eat through them. I'm working on it, though. I was back up to 308 and have gotten back down to 301, so I'm hoping I can stay on track.

CONGRATS on getting approved!!! But I have a question, how many bands has your surgeon done? That is a consideration. I am certain that as a nurse I do not have to tell you that you want someone experienced to place your band. Have you discussed this with him?

Call your insurance company with your card in hand and ask them yourself of they cover adjustable gastric banding on YOUR POLICY. Then ask them to send you a copy of the requirements. Good luck!!!

Tuna makes me ill, but I wonder how it would be with canned chicken? Your recipe sounds good, I think I'll try it tomorrow.

I prefer Trader Joe's to Whole Foods. Though the selection is smaller, the prices are MUCHO better. I also love Central Market, but they don't have any up here in MI, I only can shop those when I am in the DFW area.

That's interesting. Most bands come in small and large sizes (or some other name variant). I am uncertain if the Realize band comes in two sizes, though.

Here's a link to another thread about it: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f9/crud-i-swallowed-piece-gum-48277/

Jack, I was a flaming, tree-hugging, granola eating, skate board riding liberal...until the Clintons. i was such a liberal that I even skipped school in the 1980's to go to a Mondale-Ferraro rally. And when I discovered my mother voted for Reagan, I didn't speak to her for two solid months, not a word. My father didn't speak to her for almost a month. I finally woke up. It was a serious haze I was in, that liberal smoke. And I DID inhale. I would never call myself a conservative, nor would I ever say I was a liberal. I think there are pieces of both platforms I agree with. For me it is a question of issues. And who will "scare" the world into acting right. Let's face it, the role of President of the United States is a figurehead position, it's a high-stakes game of poker, and if the President doesn't have the best hand, s/he better be intimidating enough to bluff their way out of it, or ready to stand behind their words. (Though Hill has some balls that are probably harder and bigger than most of the men she's running against-save McCain.) The biggest issues globally right now for us seem to be this "War on Terror" and to be realistic, radical Muslims think less of blacks, and even less of women. While the US may finally be ready for a woman or black male as President of the United States (I am talking about leading the US, not a smaller country), I am sorry to say I don't think the world is. The world is rife with conflict, and while it would be soooo nice to say we can sit down and talk about our differences and work them out, it WON'T happen. That is NOT human nature. Being that the world is full of wars and skirmishes and "military actions" I am of a firm belief that our President, nee our COMMANDER IN CHIEF absolutely MUST have military service in their past. And not the fake crap they passed off on us with W. Of the group running today, the only one that fits the bill of all the above for me is McCain. Bob Dole would have kicked butt as President, but I couldn't stand his wife. Colin Powell would have made an excellent President as well, and should never have been made Sec'y of State, he should have been Sec'y of Defense.

Remember the higher the watts, the more power, the more power, the better able it is to crush ice (for mixing protein shakes) and chop up food for the pureed stage. I had no problems fully pureeing chicken or beef. then I realized it was just sooo much easier to go to the grocery store and buy baby food and mix that with stuff. No sodium, no preservatives, etc...

Here's a link to another thread that shows the different ALLERGAN bands and sizes: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/does-14cc-band-give-same-restriction-10cc-band-50248/

and I second what snowbird said, emphatically

The different sizes are for different types and ages of bands. Just as we all do not wear the same size of jeans, our internal structure does not wear the same size of band. Check out the FAQ and References section for a thread about Technical LapBand reference. The info there is a bit old, but still will address your question about the different sizes.

Every surgeon seems to be different, some require a recent sleep study, some an EKG, some require a psych evaluation (that's mostly an insurance requirement). Some wand to do an upper GI, it is impossible to tell you what you absolutely will have to have. I had some other issues in the year prior to my banding, so I had EKG's and lab work and the surgeon accepted those. I did still have to have lab work down right before the surgery, though (electrolytes, blood count, blood type, etc). My surgeon did not require an upper GI, nor a sleep study, nor anything like that.

If you are going to rely on insurance to pay for the band your VERY first call should be to them. You need to know if they even pay for adjustable gastric banding ON YOUR POLICY (some policies have different riders and exclusions than others). If they do, then you want to get a copy of their requirements and have them in hand. You also need to know who they will pay for you to be banded by. I would not go pick a surgeon or go to an information session until I knew my insurance would pay for me to see that surgeon. Once you have a list, then do some research about those surgeons. There are many threads here about surgeons, but I think the largest board for surgeon reviews is on obesityhelp.com. Then based on the requirements given to you by your insurance company, if you need a certain length supervised diet or a referral by your PCP, call and make an appointment to get that started. At the same time, schedule some information sessions with the surgeons you have chosen. Good luck!

Isn't PB peanut butter? Can they make it with fish?

The news I read this morning said it is not her... Hopefully they find her soon.

Here's a post I've written before: I know many are fond of the Magic Bullet, but I am just not impressed with it's power (or lack of) compared to other blenders out there. Plus it's pretty expensive at $50-$60, the cheapest I've seen it was at Kohl's at Xmas and that was a four hour day after Thanksgiving sale price for $36. The Magic Bullet has *only* 225W of power. There is a personal sized blender at Walmart that you can get online that is 350W and is only $18ish, here's the link: Back to Basics 3-Speed Brushed Chrome Personal Blender Express, BPE3BR - Wal-Mart I can't find it in the stores, but I did find it online at Walmart and if you're not a Wallyworld fan, here's an msn link with more estores that carry it: Back to Basics 350-Watt Personal Blender Express price comparison I just ended up buying a new blender (I needed one anyway) from Walmart, it's an Oster that came with a food processer attachment and a free personal size mix mug (not all the boxes had that, but they do sell those for about $13 or so) and it was $40 (now less than that). It has 450 watts. I do really like it. This is it: Oster 12-Speed Osterizer Blender With Food Processor Attachment - Wal-Mart Here's the link to the personal mixer cup: Oster Blend-n-Go Cup - Wal-Mart But did you know that if you have a blender that has the screw-off base with the removable blades (screw the base off the jar and take the blade assembly and a gasket ring out for cleaning) that that ring actually fits on canning jars? Talk about nice and small, you could use half pint or pint size jars and not have to worry about buying another blender/mixer at all. I have a bunch of those old glass canning jars with the handle on them they used to sell in the dollar stores, those work great.