Coco

Hi Dr Schulman, I'm writing to you from Dublin in Ireland, I have been reading your thread for sometime now and have learned so much from your replies to others. My question to you is this, would you do a preliminary consultation via a email with an estimate of costs before doing a face to face consultation. My dilemma is this, in Ireland we have few PS who are as qualified - particularly in surgery required after significant weight loss - as you and your colleagues seem to be. There are options with surgeons in Europe but again I have heard mixed results with these. I would go to NY at the drop of a hat as I love that city, but obviously with having surgery in mind and at tickets costing 600 Euro return it would be good to get an initial consultation via email. I am looking at a breast lift, tummy tuck and upper arm lift. Could those procedures be done at the same time and how long would I have to wait before flying back to Ireland. I have a brother in NY so accommodation is not an issue for me. Thanking you in advance. :smile:

Hi Sheila, Yes I agree, the brown bread we have here is great!:thumbup: Congrats on having the surgery, hope you have fantastic success with it. As for which bread you will be able to eat, well as a general rule of thumb, bread is a no no once you get good restriction which for most people is by their third or fourth fill. But I do know banded people who eat our great brown bread, albeit, very slowly and usually sliced very thinly and sometimes toasted twice, but its not impossible. I would say to you to enjoy an odd slice of bread whiile you can, even though you've been banded it will probably be a couple of months before your restriction level will prevent you from having it.:thumbup:

Hi Girls, I know the following has absolutely nothing to do with Gastric Bands or Weight Loss, but I got this email sent to me yesterday and I laughed so much I had to stop reading it several times, hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did. Love Coco. This is a genuine letter sent from an woman in Texas to the company.... Dear Mr. Thatcher, I have been a loyal user of your 'Always' maxi pads for over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts. But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic. I can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16 in my pants. Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? Ever suffered from the curse'? I'm guessing you haven't. Well, my time of the month is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I'll be transformed into what my husband likes to call 'an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.' Isn't the human body amazing? As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you've no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customer's monthly visits from 'Aunt Flo'. Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it's a tough time for most women. In fact, only last week, my friend Jennifer fought the violent urge to shove her boyfriend's testicles into a George Foreman Grill just because he told her he thought Grey's Anatomy was written by drunken chimps. Crazy! The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants... Which brings me to the reason for my letter. Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words: 'Have a Happy Period.' Are you f------ kidding me? What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling, laughing happiness, is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James? FYI, unless you're some kind of sick S&M freak, there will never be anything 'happy' about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don't march down to the local Walgreen's armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory. For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad , wouldn't it make more sense to say something that's actually pertinent, like 'Put down the Hammer' or 'Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong', or are you just picking on us? Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bullshit. And that's a promise I will keep. Always. .. . Best, Wendi Aarons

Hi Corrib, Delighted that you're doing so well and don't worry you will get used to the fills, although I can see how daunting it must have seemed having the fill done under Flouro. You should point your Dr's in the direction of LBT so they can see for themselves the issues and aftercare that's needed by so many of us here in Ireland who have already been banded not to mention the amount of people out there currently looking for information on it. Best of luck again with your band and I continue to be impressed with the great team you have to help you on your way.:drool::smile:

Hi Corrib, Welcome to the site and congratulations on having the band done and especially being done by the HSE. I am so thrilled that this is becoming available to people in Ireland safely and with all the aftercare and help that they need. You are really blazing the trail for all who go after you. Well done and I wish you nothing but success with your band and the great team you have working with you.

Hi Magna, Check out the Hi from Ireland thread, there are a load of us on that thread who were banded by ACS.

Hi Kathryn, Welcome, it is a difficult time when you have the op. It took me a good two weeks to feel a 100% back to normal. Although I have to say it gets better and better as each day goes by. You are over the worst now and keep your eye on the big picture, it will be worth it.:thumbs_down: Where did you have your band done. Here or abroad? Hope you're feeling better soon. Best of luck, and well done on the weight loss to date.:cursing:

Hi, I'm vegetarian also (although I have started to eat fish now and again) but as far as the band is concerned you can get plenty of protein in with nuts, seeds, pulses and grains. For a while I found eating basmati rice difficult so I switched to cous cous, after a couple of months I tried rice again and I can eat it fine now. When you are making your Soups (broth) I suggest you put a handful of lentils in with your veggies. Protein drinks are terrific when you are on the liquid stage. A bowl of porridge (oats) with some animal milk on is as protein rich as a piece of quality meat. For the mushie stage I found houmus (blend a tin of chick peas, 2tbl sp sesame seed paste, clove of garlic and juice of 1/2 a lemon add olive oil as you blend) a terrfic protein rich easy to eat food. Good luck on your journey.:glare:

Hi Ellen, Well done you, maybe you are being impatient it does take a while for swelling and fluid retention to leave you. But just in case I'm off down to Tony Quinn. Byee:biggrin:

Hi Ellen, How you doing, any sign of those last 7lbs leaving you?:rolleyes2::biggrin: I just spoke to my sister and she said it was 16K not 25k as I wrote before, she didn't have the brow lift or some other cheek thing done. She says she won't be ready for the outside world for at least another week. She's not in any pain and says that she couldn't have been treated any better than she was. So I'm thinking of going up and having a free consultation with them so that I can compare it with the other clinics abroad. Talk soon.:scared2:

Hi Ellen, Yes he has a good reputation, I think he will be on that Make Over show, Inside and Out, next week on TV3 Tuesday at 8.00pm I think, but check the guide to be sure. Fillers and fat reduction without the knife is his thing as far as I know but I wouldn't be worried about him. His clinic is the Ailsbury Clinic (think thats how its spelt.) and you can get it on the web. I'm going for a consultation with Derma Laser in Blackrock next week to see what they reccommend for my poor sagging face.:crying: I don't want to go down the surgery route for my face just yet. My sister had a full face lift with cosmetico last week at a cost of 25K I've not seen her yet but she better look ten years younger than me at that price. She is in fact 10 years older than me.:crying: I phoned her 3 days afterwards and she couldn't talk to me she was so sore,:eek: I will phone her tomorrow and see how she's doing. :smile:

Hi Girls Here's another link I found on this site which explains what to expect after the first year of banding, I think its worth reading. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f220/first-year-after-lap-band-surgery-58249/

Hi Alesha, Welcome back to band world :sigh::glare:. What great news on the taking in of the wedding dress, how good are you, and that was with the broken toe. How did you do it.:lol:. Allure sends her best, she has been without her lap top for a while now but will hopefully be back posting very soon. Best of luck with the wedding and keep posting.

Hi Wella, Good to see you posting again. I take it this new place is nothing to do with where you had your band done! :sigh:. Its great to see new places opening up to do WLS and its particularly good that this new group are doing all the different types of WLS that way you know you are getting the right advice and choosing the correct operation for you. Its all good.:biggrin2:

Hi Guys, Here is a link which I took from another post on this site and I hope it helps all you newbies with extra information on what/how you should be eating to get maximum benifit from the band. http://lapbandtransformation.com/Adjustments.htm Hope it helps.:smile: