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Hello Sandy, I am going to the meeting on the 21st!!!!!!!!!!! It will be really great to meet you in person. Why was your port tilted? Did the stitches come loose? Cheryl

Hello katspaww, I have my last appointment with Dr. Nguyen on August 28 and will probably get my band in September. Could you share your thoughts about what you liked about Dr. Nguyen and if you have any complications. I think I am a little pre- surgery scared and want to know all I can about him from people who have had the band put in by him. Thanks. P.S. I would love to get together with the group. I have to say, it was cool to see the faces of the people on this site.

I have my final appontment with Dr. Nguyen on Aug. 28. I will probably get my band in September. How did you like him as a surgeon? Do you have any issues with your band.I posted a thread for anyone who had surgery with him but no one responded so I started to worry about his skill at the lap band. I know he has trained Dr. Paya and Dr. Naim who were both on Dr. 90210.

I agree that it is one of the most annoying slogans!!!!!! However, here we are talking about it and now for some reason I feel like some pound cake. I guess that is the object. Pretty clever!

They have it at costco online. It is around $1200- 2000.

I have one knee that always bothers me when I bike or do any other exercise. You mentioned you also have a bad knee so how is the elliptical on the knee? The motion of the elliptical looks like you move the knee alot bjut has it really helped it?

I am going to have my surgery done by Dr. Ninh Nguyen at UCI. He has been doing lap bands since before they were approved by the FDA and he has trained doctors like Dr. Paya and Dr. Naim who were on Dr. 90210. I haven't had the surgery yet but my insurance will cover all but $2000 ( I have Blue Cross PPO). It is a one night stay at UCI and it is considered a center of excellence by the insurance company. I hope that helps.

Dear IMFINE, Well, the Porn thing is what killed my marriage and sex life. I tried to put restrictions on it but then he would just sneak around. I tried to say that I don't mind the porn as long as he was being intimate with me as much as he was looking at the porn, but that never worked either. I even left the marriage for a few weeks ( before I had my son) over the issue but that did not work either. I think that porn is accepted these days as a hobby . I hate it . Finally, 1 1/2 years ago I told my husband to look at as much porn as he wanted and I did not care as long as he was intimate with me. We haven't had sex in 2 years so I guess that plan did not work. If you have a great relationship with your husband than just accept it for what it is. I hate to sound like a "debbie downer" but if a guy is happy satisfying himself all the time then we need to accept it, find a lover, or be forced to move on because I think it makes a woman look desperate to have to beg for sex. I wish I could give you a great suggestion to try but nothing has worked for me so I would be a hypocrite if I tried. I hope things turn around for you.

Dear Gadgetlady and Green, I wish my husband would just give it a shot but he already said he won't. He would not care if I already paid for it because he would view it as money lost but his sense of self saved. I know that he understands that I am at my wits end because we had a big blowup about this already last week. Green, I will try to use your advise about not losing my temper in the conversation. I have to admit that I always start out in a conversation and by the end we are both defensive and angry and one of us just walks away. I will make a real effort this weekend and who knows, maybe he will respond better. Thanks for your help.

Thank you All for trying to help. I wish i could talk my husband into the weekend but there is no way he will go. I am so grateful to all of you for caring about my marriage and my child. I really hope we can work it out but we have been together for 13 years and married for 7 of those years and I just don't think we can change at this point. I hate feeling hopeless but I really can't see a clear solution. Thank you though for your kindness and compassion.

Dear Gadget Lady, You sound like a truly wonderful person. I would love to go on a weekend retreat BUT my husband thinks it sounds ridiculous. He was raised Catholic but decided when he was about 17 that organized religion is a not for him. He thinks that anything organized in a Christian church is set up to sort of brain wash people into becoming super religious. I was raised Catholic and went to catholic school but stopped going to church a long time ago. We didn't get married in the church which I have always felt bad about. I did have my son baptized but my husband has said he will not go to church. To tell you the truth I think he would make fun of a weekend retreat even if it has no religious affliliation. He hates organized everything. He won't see another therapist because he thinks the whole therapist thing is "full of shit". I am at my wits end and I can't think of anything else to do that could possibly help us. I really appreciate your kindness and I hope that whatever couple is lucky enough to go to that weekend really appreciates your heart.

You are not off base but we have already tried to see 2 therapists to help us. The first one completely sided with me so my husband thought he was "full of shit". We went to a second one who sided with me about 60% and my husband thought that going to him was not helping us. He decided that we could do it on our own and that was over 2 1/2 years ago. We haven't had sex in almost 2 years and we barely talk. When I do try to talk it ends poorly so we interact when my son is awake and then the minute he is in bed my husband goes outside or in the garage. I just accepted this until I started reading this thread and now I am really having second thoughts about being married. then I think about losing my son a couple days a week OR my son having a step mother and I remain in this loveless marriage. Yes, I know that it is not good for my son to see us as role models for marriage . I am really confused but I know for sure that I can not deny the pain and loneliness any longer.

Hello Everyone, I went for my lap band consultation today with Dr. Ninh Nguyen in Irvine, California. I was hoping that he puts in the new AP lap band but he likes the VG band and won't switch bands until a supposed new one is out in 2008. What does everyone think of the VG band? I hate to wait till 2008 but I will if most people hate the VG. Thanks.

Thank you to everyone that posted responses. You helped me to make the decision to just get the VG band. I guess I was really needing the support from experienced lap banders to help me through this. Thank you for giving me the info to make the right choice.

Dear Nume 130, I am so sorry that you are no longer able to deny the magnitude of your pain. I know that you probably wish that you could go on for many more years avoiding the thought of divorce and the thought of being single again. I am in a similar situation. I know that my husband would never divorce me but is willing to remain in a marriage where we are little more than room mates. I wish I could remain in denial but I can't . Each day that passes is one more day that we remain in a relationship that is chipping away at our self esteem, self respect, and happiness. I have a beautiful son who is almost four and I can't bear the thought of one day without him so I remain in a loveless and sexless marriage. I don't know how long I can hang on but the more and more I read this thread the more and more I can no longer deny how very distructive the marriage is to my person and to my soul. I wish you ( and myself) could know for sure if leaving would put us in a better situation or if staying married is what is best for us and the children involved.

Pam J4, Thank you so much for explaining that. I was under the impression that most doctors did this but found out they don't. I appreciate you explaining the procedure.

Did any of your doctors put a mesh lining around the port to prevent it from moving?

StacyinDE, Thank you so much for the info. My doctor did say that it is made by the inamed company and will be here next year on an experimental basis only. I guess it needs to be perfected but it sounds really nice not to have to get a port. By the time it is approved to be on the market I would have gained more weight so I will get the VG band . Thanks for your response. If you find the link could you post it because I can't seem to access the info.

I am awaiting insurance approval and will be having my lap band surgery soon. I am an RN and I was wondering if I should take more time off. Gigi 8 I am wondering if your doctor wrote you a note? If he did then did you receive disability or did you have to exhaust all of your PTO? How was it when you went back? Any issues I should prepare for?

I wish I had a devoted friend like you. She is lucky to have you . I think you should direct her to this site and we can all send her Birthday wishes.I hope her A-Hole husband atleast takes her to dinner.

Thanks, that was a good article.

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That picture was worth a thousand words. Thanks for posting that .

Thank you so much for responding. I thought the same thing. I will just have to ask my Dr. to give me the name of the new band and Peg him down tell me the release date.

Thanks for your responses. I went for my consultation appointment yesterday and my Dr. uses the VG band. He said he doesnt want to switch to the AP because a new one is coming out in 2008 and he will switch to that one. I am bummed because I want my surgery as soon as I am approved but unsure if I should wait till 2008 for the new one. Bummer.

FAITHMD, You are always a wealth of medical info. I am an RN and appreciate the fact that you always give us the links to increasing our knowledge. By the way........My doctor said that the company who makes the VG band will be putting out an updated version in 2008. Do you have any info on that beacuse I can't find anything. Thanks.