slojo67

I wish my surgeon did the lap band the SILS way. They'll probably start doing SILS right after I have surgery with my luck. That seems like it would be so much easier to recover I would think,and and less scarring.

I'm calling it pre-op hell, where I still have this ferocious appetite, not much control over my diet at all. Trying to change eating habits at this time, more veggies, protein, & taking vitamins in preparations for surgery August 28th. Have all of the arrangements made up to my first post op aptmnt. on Sept. 4th to remove suturess if I have them. I guess I'll have sutures. The director of nursing where I work just had gastric sleeve done 2 weeks ago tuesday and she didn't have sutures, she was just "superglued" on the outside. My bariatric dr in the states is Dr. Brian Swain in Murray Ky. My best friend, the one going with me to mexico had her surgery/fill per this dr. as well. He's only an hour away, I got lucky when I found him, the only other option I had for my follow up care/fills was going to be in Cinncinati Oh. which is 5 hours away from me! I just found out earlier today that Dr. Swain would take me, as I'm having the band done in Mexico by another surgeon. The nurse I spoke with said more dr's are taking patients who had surgery out of the states nowadays. The first visit will be 450.00 the subsequent office visits/fills will be 200.00. This is also less than the Dr. in Cincinati was going to charge. I have been very fortunate in my quest for lapband surgery options. I found a reputable surgeon in Tijuana mexico with the awesome price of 3500.00, my flight is onlly 333.00 round trip, I have a fill dr. 1 hr from home... I have a best friend who was banded 3 years ago and also is a nurse. I feel very greatful that i'll have good care at decent prices...I just wish the day would ARRIVE! I can hardly stand myself. I want to be healthy and look good again...5 years ago I weighed 125 lbs, but I had to starve to get there and starve to maintain it. I took diet pills everyday just to maintain it. I hated the nervous feeling they gave me. HATED IT! Well, gotta go do something else. I just got a new laptop today so that I can stay in touch with you all on my trip in August... Enjoying sitting on the sofa on the pc rather than at the desk all the time. My right shoulder would kill me after just a short time on the desktop pc. Good-bye and Just a waitin'...

I hope my surgeon puts mine in the center under my sternum. Seems like this is the favored spot? I'm going to ask him if it matters where to put it, if not I'll ask for that position.

I've found a physician that will take me close to home! I'm having lapband in Mexico,and you all know it's hard to find a dr. to take you for f/u care & fills if you had surgery per another physician. But my best friend recommended her dr. Dr. Brian Swain, I called and they'll take me! it's only 1 hr away, had found another dr. but it was 5 hours away! So glad I called this dr. It's 450.00 for 1st visit/suture removal, record review etc. the 200.00 each fill after this. Not cheap but it's cheaper and alot closer than the other physician was.... I'm ecstatic I found this dr. I had assumed he wouldn't take me so I hadnt called him. I live in western ky. Can't wait to get started on this journey...

My friend's port is placed like that as well. I don't know what determines where they put your port really. Does anyone else?

Weight Loss Surgery Weight Loss Pregnancy Seniors Heart Health Vegetarians Cancer Patients Wound Healing Healthy Lifestyle More... Why unjury is Better Nutrition Facts Quality is Essential How Much Protein? Why UNJURY? Recipes and Tips 7 Great Flavors Chocolate Splendor Chocolate Vanilla Strawberry Sorbet Chicken Soup Unflavored Protein'd cheese Sauce "It’s downright scary" – says FDA's Head of Dietary supplements Daniel Fabricant. If you use Vitamins or protein powders, you need to read this...and share it with everyone you know. "Federal inspections of companies that make dietary supplements - frommultivitamins and calcium chews to capsules of echinacea andbodybuilding powders - reveal serious and widespread manufacturingproblems," For years we have been saying that with UNJURY® and OPURITY®, “Trust is the First Ingredient”. It is also the most important ingredient. Read on! The Chicago Tribune, June 30 reports that it found violations of manufacturing rules in half of the supplement firms inspected. “Some firms don’t even have recipes...for their products”, stated the article. Other factories are unsanitary. In 2009 we told you about a protein supplement maker Quality Formulation Laboratories in New Jersey (whose customers included Costco) was closed after the FDA was finally able to get an injunction after two years’ efforts. The FDA press release noted rats, rat feces, rat urine and gnaw holes in the bags. If you aren’t squeamish, and want to read more, further detail is below our signatures. Here’s the bad news: While Quality Formulation Laboratories agreed to stop manufacturing, according to the Tribune and the government, they simply moved their production to another plant in New York. So some protein supplement users (not ours of course) have been consuming their products. We hope they got a good price on the non-whey protein. It isn’t just grossness. People’s health is being damaged. According to the Tribune, the FDA reported that some of Kirkman Labs’ zinc andstevia products contained undeclared antimony (a heavy metal). There is at least one lawsuit from the parents of a child who was damaged. Some Perspective: At least in the US, we do have an FDA and they are trying. In China, there is nothing comparable, and when there are inspectors, sometimes they work for the same company that owns the Vitamin maker they are inspecting. In short, it's a lot worse in China. So when a company says, “Our ingredients are from China, but they are good”, we don’t believe them. We believe you have to have trust from one end of the production process to the other. And Chinese manufacturers as a group have proven themselves to be untrustworthy. Why do companies use Chinese ingredients? We believe: some big companies want to sell their products into the giant China market -- so they want to have good relations with China. One example is Amway. They sell supplements in China and perhaps hope to have a hundred million multi-level marketing distributors there. We mention Amway because one Amway subsidiary[ii] is Metagenics (Metagenics owns Bariatric Advantage). We’re willing to bet that Metagenics supplements use more ingredients from China, now that they are in the Amway “family”. What to do: Consider the risks of buying the low price products at the big discounters. We believe that pressures to keep price low push quality to the back seat. Buy protein and vitamins from companies you know you can trust. UNJURY® Protein is recommended at America’s top-rated hospitals, and increasingly, OPURITY® is too. Buy UNJURY Protein and OPURITY Vitamins Now Healthy regards,

okay, I feel better now, took some ibuprofen, and took down my heavy ponytail that I slept in OUCH! Well, anyways, back to to trip to San Diego then Mexico for surgery august 28th 2012. My friend Donna is going! She was banded 3 years ago and lost a significant amount of weight and looks awesome...we work together, we're both nurses, what could be better than having an experienced bandster and nurse with me on my surgery trip? Nothing! I enjoy her company very much, besides one other friend I have and my husband, I can't think of anyone else I would want to take with me. My husband is going to Sturgis SD the beginning of August and couldn't take off at the end to go with me... We plan to rent a car on the 29th in San Diego to go do something before we head back home the next day...That was Donna's idea, I would just as soon use the shuttles, taxi's to get around. She'll be driving probably so whatever...She bought her plane ticket a week after I did, but we still got a good deal for her on KAYAK.com, 433.00 for round trip from western KY. not bad... Mine was only 333.00 a week earlier! We were able to get her seat next to me even...YAY! Neither of us have flown on a commercial flight before. I'm more worried about missing my flights than I am having surgery.I didn't think about the fact that you have to arrive at the airport 2-3 hourse before your flight, until yesterday when I was reading airport tips/facts. Glad I noticed that! We could've been left behind, I would die if I missed a flight... Well, as far as family & friends' responses to my upcoming surgery, I have mostly heard:" You don't need that, you're not that big". I weigh 185 and 6 years ago I weighed 125. That is 60 pounds, and my whole family is very obese, like 300 lbs and such. I don't want to wait until I already have HTN, and diabetes to do this... And I know I'll keep gaining, I've tried pills, Nutrisystem, everything without success.. If I did lose some weight I would gain it back. I have a ferocious appetite the past few years. And I have to absolutely starve to death to lose and maintain. Guess I'm just getting older. My thyroid, and other hormones are all WNL. I've had to give this little speech the past few months when I tell someone about what I'm doing, the last time I heard "you don't need to do that"! I just replied, "i'm doing it!!!" "I don't care what you say, so don't waste your breath. I know you may mean it as a compliment, but it doesn't feel like that, it feels like you think I'm stupid or something for doing this", that is exactly what I'm going to start saying, I left the woman speechless, it was a coworker at work (also a nurse). I know alot of you have heard the same responses, you might try my little:" Nip this in the bud" speech.... It worked awesomely, she shut right up, right after her mouth flew open for a few seconds... haha It felt good, I'm tired of hearing negative remarks, I haven't even told my parents yet,, they'lll say the same thing, I know them very well... But they also know me and knowt that I don't care what people say, but it does still get in my crawl when I don't get encouragement when I reveal another "hair brained scheme" as my dad calls it. HAHA Thanks alot for taking time to read my jumbled thoughts...

Saturday I got great news! My best friend who also has been banded (3 years ago), and who also is a nurse is going with me to mexico for my surgery! I am so happy.... I'll have to continue this later I've got a terrible headache, woke up with it..

I just ordered 100 lap-band chewable vitamins and 15 unflavored Protein packets from Unjur for 56.00. This is medical quality protein that can be added to my puree's, shakes, coffee (haha). I find this very reasonable price. I have to have packets for the plane flights to Mexico in August for surgery. Plan to add these twice daily pre-op and post op. This will equal 50g protein that I won't have to worry about achieving some other way... And the Vitamins are chewable...

don't listen to people who probably don't know what they're talking about. It's normal to have doubts, and think it wont be successsful,, but if you eat right, do what the doc says, exercise you WILL lose weight.

I am being banded by dr almanza august 28th can you tell me how you thought it went,and would you recommend them to others? thanks

Dr. Curry is going to be my lap-band dr. after I have surgery in Mexico. He takes WLS patients who've had surgery with other surgeons for follow up care and fills.

to join" august 2012 bandsters " group, click on" groups" at top of homepage then click on" follow this group" we had started this forum then I decided to form a group for august surg. bandsters. Please join and nice to meet you...slojo67

well, found out I can probably get in my room before 4pm as long as they have one ready. No extra charge. I'm so excited about this and i'm trying to get everything in perfect order so that I'm not down there stuck somewhere miserable... I appreciate your input very much...

I thought I would get someone to say I would be okay to do this but I guess the odds are against this being a good thing to plan on. Thanks for your responses...I really want to go to seaworld haha. I'm obsessed with sharks, dolphins, & killer whales...think i'll try to get into room early then if I do happen to feel like it i'll go ahead and go to seaworld...

I may see if there's anyway I can check in early without paying out the yingyang at the Hampton Inn in San Diego...

but what am I going to do for 3-4 hours? I can't go lay down somewhere...

I'm planning on doing sea world the day after surgery, not the day of surgery... I will be taking it very easy. But I have 4 hours after I leave the hosp.(the day after surgery) before I can get into my room. So I have to be somewhere for that four hours, why not seaworld?

Source: Will I Be Able To Do Seaworld, For 2-3 Hours, 1 Day Post-Op?

While I normally bounce back from everything, I am not sure about purchasing SeaWorld ticket in advance . I have 4 hours from the time I leave hospital until I can check into my room in SanDiego 1st day post-op. I really want to take the mission bay sky-lift ride, and see the dolphins & sharks. I think I can do these 3 things and be alright. They aren't physically demanding, but the walking will be quite alot. But I'm think I'll need to walk,and that it would be away to ensure I do some walking that day. I'm afraid if I went back to the room immediately I might just lay down and sleep. I think I'll just wait and see...But I have to have something to do for 3 hours so I might as well do Sea World...What do you all think?

that's great, seems like you're doing very well...

I don't have any info on fill/follow up dr.'s in canada area, but I am going to the most reasonable surgeon in Mexico if interested google Weightlossagents.com Dr. Mario Almanza, the Director of Nursing where I work just got back from there as well, and said she was very pleased (and she's a tough cookie) with her gastric sleeve surgery. I'm being banded by this dr. August 28th as well. Lap band is 3500, gastric sleeve is 4500. Hope this is helpful...

I also had to give 30 days notice, i'm only taking 8 days off after the surgery, I can delegate lifting jobs to nursing assistants at work for sometime.( I'm a nurse). I plan to just get back into the swing of things. Hope I can, I usually bounce right back from things... I've never had a choice not to though...We have a group for August Bandsters if you're interested.. Please join..Good luck to you...

OMG! That's funny, it's a good thing you have a sense of humor. I would've been pissed...You're funny...

I've been doing the very same thing, but my decision was fueled by the fact that with the band you have control of the restriction you have, I just didn't like the idea of 80percent of my stomache being gone forever. While the band has a lot of after care involved, I just had a gut feeling that it was the best choice...It's not because it costs less either because in the long run it ends up costing more...If you picked the band, it might mean that this is what your gut feeling choice is. But, it's up to you totally. Whatever you think will be the best for YOU is what's important...Good luck either way.. Did you join the August Bandsters group? Please do if you like...