SElaine

Hi Wasa! As you know, I lost my band 5.5 months ago due to erosion. I'm currently looking into getting rebanded. However, I would definately consider a VSG if money wasn't an issue.

Hi Belinda! Welcome to LBT! :thumbup: You know, sometimes the waiting is the hardest part. Who's doing your surgery?

Hey, bigdog! Congrats and welcome to bandland! How are you feeling?

Christina, It's good to hear from you again and I'm glad you are doing well. Keep up the good work. :thumbup:

Hey! You're back! :biggrin2: I'm so glad it went well. I've been wondering how you were doing! Thanks for sharing your story. I agree the "band police" should mind their own business. The band doesn't work for everyone and you should only concern yourself with those who can be supportive of what YOU know is right for YOU. I can't believe someone actually told you to chew more.....really?

Wow, Patricia, thank you for the kind words. That really means a lot to me. I'm actually not in Bama. I live in Arizona and just happened to notice your post today. I've spent some time in Alabama, though. I have relatives there-- mostly in the Mobile area. I was awarded a nursing scholarship to the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!) many, many years ago, but I messed that up by running off with my then-boyfriend in the military. Life has a way of working out, though, and we're always better off for the lessons we learn along the way. :thumbs_up:

Hey, all of my southern friends! I just thought I'd share a very short version of my story with ya'll. I'm one of the few people that had complications. In an eight month period of time I had three surgeries, three blood transfusions, several infections, and 23 nights combined in the hospital. In the end, I lost my band due to erosion. You know what? I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I wish things had turned out differently, sure, but I have never regretted the decision to have my lap-band. In fact, I'm hoping to get re-banded within a few months and risk going through it all again. You take a gamble either way, but which hand do you want to bet on? First hand: You continue to gain weight and live the rest of your life in the same or worse state than you are in now. You develop more life threatening co-morbidities, take more medications, and your quality of life decreases. Second hand: You have a surgery that has a high success rate/low complication rate, most likely lose weight, your health improves, your quality of life improves, and you live longer. This is just my experience and my opinion. Good luck to you in your journeys. I'm wishing you much success.

Oh, Jodie! That is GREAT news! I'm sure that is a huge relief to you and I'm happy you got that out of the way. :behindsofa: Oh, the waiting.... I'm so tired of waiting. I hope the summer goes by quickly for all of us.

Hello to both of you! :biggrin2: I was originally banded last year but had to have my band removed due to erosion. :biggrin: Anyway, I'm now in the waiting and wondering phase and hoping to have another lap-band surgery in August and start this process all over again. I'll keep my fingers crossed for all of us! Good luck!

LOL, AZChick..... Yes, they will "arrest" you if you don't follow the rules! I like that. Thanks for the kind words, BTW. I'm not brave, though-- just trying to get by. I don't know for sure when I'll be going back for my next appointment. Right now I'm in the process of waiting and wondering, waiting, and wondering.... remember that part? :tongue2: I'm just wanting to get through to the next phase of my journey, whatever that may be. Do you think you might make it to the support group on Saturday?

Hey, KristieBandy! Sending good wishes your way. I hope your surgery went smoothly and you are healing quickly. :tongue2:

Hey, AZChick! The fills are not bad. I assume you'll be going to Dr. D for your fills, right? They'll take you back into the room, do an ultrasound, and mark your port. Then Dr. D comes in, numbs the area, pulls out a big needle (don't look!), checks the saline level, and adds saline. It doesn't hurt but you can feel a lot of pressure. Then they'll have you stand up and drink a bunch of Water to make sure it goes down. That's it! How are you doing with eating now? Are you hungry at all?

AZChick, I'm so happy to hear your post-op went well! :biggrin2: KayBee-- thinking of you and wishing you the best of luck with your upcoming surgery. You are almost there!

Great idea, BadgerMom. And it's great to know you are supportive and care so much about the well-being of your SO.

Yup, sure am! I'm also self-pay. It looks like you are making amazing progress-- nice job! :scared2:

Hey, azbanded! Welcome! I am also a patient of Dr. DeBarros. Please keep us updated on your progress. Good luck!

I'm confused. I thought we all had the right to put in our 2 cents.:sad: We all have different opinions and different perspectives. If we are a newly banded person our perspective is going to come from that of a newly banded person. There's nothing wrong with that. Frankly, I read a lot of posts that I think are not applicable to me. I just move past them and pay attention to the ones that are. And from what I can tell, there is nothing in the rules excluding banded people from posting in the lap-band removal forum. Frankly, it seems a little more offensive to me that a 2 day old poster comes to the board and starts belittling and attacking someone else for their opinion. I've had my lap-band removed and I certainly didn't feel "attacked" by mstrina. Aren't we all enthusiastic when we start our journey? We didn't go into this thinking it would fail. Why try to squash someone else's enthusiasm and hope?

Hey, Teresa! I'm also in Gilbert! :biggrin2: Good luck on your journey. Be sure to check us out over on the AZ board. Who's doing your surgery? We're here for you. Please keep us posted!

Hey, all! I am a May 21 bandster as well! (OK.... does 2007 count???? J/K) I'm happy to share my bandiversary with you all! When I came out of the hospital I weighed about 10 pounds MORE than when I went in. There was a lot of bloating and Water weight. It took about 7-10 days to lose that and then I dropped steadily for the next several months. I hope it's the same for all of you. Good luck on your journey's my fellow May 21st bandsters! :biggrin2:

Hey.... congrats to you that have recently been banded!!!! Welcome redmtnwolf and good luck with your 6 month diet!

Mariem, I think it's smart that you are looking around, getting information, and checking out all of your options. I haven't seen her around in a while, but if you can reach her through PM, I would try to get a hold of BandaPanda. I don't remember what insurance she had, but I know she faced quite a nightmare with it going through True Results. She was all ready for the surgery and it was either the day before surgery or the day of surgery they told her they couldn't get the proper insurance approval. She then went to WLIA and got approved right away and had surgery. I was a cash pay patient and I know I paid more to go through WLIA than I would have elsewhere. I went to several seminars and talked to several people before making my decision, too. I feel I made the right decision for ME and would do it over again. Not all docs and all programs are created equal; But, neither are the patients. You need to find the doc and the program that's right for YOU. Like Nichole, I'd be happy to answer any questions you have. Good luck with your decision!

Hi doots53, I also had my surgery through WLIA. They have an incredible support program. There are meetings one Monday and one Saturday a month. I attend all of the Saturday meetings and Monday's when I can. We also have a group that meets and communicates regularly outside of scheduled support group meetings. They do surgery at The Surgical Specialty hospital in Phoenix and at Tempe St. Luke's (where there offices are located). I had my surgery at Tempe St. Luke's. The rooms are private, but I've also heard a few say that they prefer the Surgical Specialty Hospital. (By the way.... I also went to the seminar w/ Dr. Simpson and felt the same way you did. After that, I knew I wouldn't be having surgery with him and attended several other seminars. I'm glad I looked around and I think you will be, too.)

Hi Mariem, I am a cash pay patient, so I don't know much about the insurance process. However, I wanted to let you know I've been very pleased with my experience at WLIA. The surgeons are great. Also, if you need to do a 6 month supervised diet, they can help you with that. Mike is a registered dietician and has been working in this industry for many years. I can tell you that he's really helped me with my journey. I think it's great you are researching different doctors. They are not all created equally and not every doctor will be a good match for YOU. Good luck to you!

Congrats! I'm so happy for you! :huh2:

Hi Ice456, Yes, I've gone through something similar... twice. I've had a series of abcsesses that required surgery and draining. One was so severe they had to remove part of my liver that attached itself to the abcsess and became infected. I've also had to have a series of blood transfusions. I understand what you mean about the stabbing pain. I didn't know what it was at first, either. I went to the PCP and an urgent care facility and got no help whatsoever. The best I got was "you have the flu, sleep it off and get plenty of liquids." (I had a fever and was complaining of severe, stabbing abdominal pain.) The good news is my lap-band docs believed me the first time I called and I was in the hospital having a CT scan within hours. A few hours after that I was in surgery. I'm so sorry you've had to go through this as well. Contact me anytime if you want to talk.