Tropicana

I am down to 237 from 286! I have 4.5 cc in my 10 cc band.

I've lost 38 pounds so far.

I've lost 38 pounds so far.

I am having surgery Thursday June 30th. Should I shave, trim, or even remotely care about my nether regions? *Note: I am single and haven't gotten any action in YEARS so it's a wilderness down there*

Tomorrow is my big day too! Nervous, scared, excited. A large part of me thinks I am completely nuts to be doing this.

I am doing my research on getting the band and what the success rate in weight loss is for African AMericans. I have found limitied medical articles on how response to the band. Going on obesityhelp and clicking under black and african american, I saw that most of the banded people lost but struggled a great deal (seemed that the typical story was 40 pounds over a year period with the same struggles as yo yo dieters). I also joined a yahoo group of african american bandsters but have not found that to be helpful at all. Can someone point me to a website, medical article, or anything else that I might not be thinking of that might be helpful?

I blame House, M.D. He's an internist, surgeon, pathologist, radiologist, pediatrician, obstertician, and full time drug addict. So, of course you'd think your doctor and pharmacist should know everything.

It's amazing what patient's expect from their doctors.

I really wonder why people concern themselves with matters that have absolutely nothing to do with them?What other things do you take on as your own personal headache, I wonder?

How much is Dr. Rumbaut?

Any mexican surgeons performing the single incisiion procedure?

Do you ever look at plastic surgery websites with before and after pics? After massive weight loss ppl look disgusting, and the plastic surgery to remove excess skin is okay but the after photo doesn't look all that much better. Am i trading one nightmare for another? I'm fat but at least I'm a firm kind of fat....what's the point of being slimmer if I'm still worried about exposing my flabby body because of the surgical scars?

Nice! If I get this procedure done (and it's looking like it will happen no matter what my PCP thinks) I'm going to go crazy weight lifting. By "firm fat" I mean, I don't have dimples, rolls, cellulitis. I'm smoothly round. :thumbup:

I thankfully don't have any of those problems. And I look at these plastic surgery pics and think "Shoot...I'd rather stay fat" Boobs sagging to my belly button, hanging flesh everywhere? Yuck. And then the after pic, looking al scarred up everywhere. I dunno man. Scary. And I notice most of the before and after pics are of people very dressed up.

I am new to NYC and also new to havinginsurane. I am fortunate enough oto have an insurance plan that will pay for all the lapband costs after a three mnonth weight loss regimen. I went to a PCP to start the three month weight loss process. Unfortunately i found one that is not supportive of the lapband system. So I'm trying to find a new PCP who will write the letter of recommendation without a total headache. Does anyone have suggestions on a good PCP?

I have Aetna. Any suggestions?

Sometimes I read stuff on this site that makes me raise an eyebrow. Would you rather your surgeon give you his opinion based on his experience and education with other patients like you or would you rather your surgeon just tell you what you want to hear so as not to upset you? Get a second opinion, definitely. And research, research, research. But there is no reason to be upset nor is there a reason to be suspicious that your doctor has "another agenda." Ultimately they are there to help you.

Methadone is in the opiate class. Opiates can cause constipation and reduced gut motility. I don't know how or if that would affect your success with the band but your surgeon may keep that in mind when determining how much to put in your fills. Just a thought.

Anyone used this doctor? How was your experience? His office staff? His aftercare?

Any healthcare professionals know about training seminars or CME ccourses for training in lap band fills? I was thinking about calling Allergan directly...

I'm not a nurse. I'm a physician in training. They didn't give me that answer...they told me the steps they usually take to train physicians and nurses in doing fills. I totally get why they would want to limit the number of people allowed to do this. But I know it's not nearly as complicated as some of the other procedures I've done. I know there are a few nurses and physicians on this site and I could have sworn there was a thread similar to this one a few years back. I was just wondering if there were CME training courses on bariatric surgical aftercare.

I called FillCenters yesterday and they gave me an answer contrary to yours. I see your point, though.

What happens if you have to get surgery to repair your lapband? Does the surgeon charge you the full price?

I haven't selected a surgeon. I'm wondering if it is standard or if their are caveats.