Tropicana

How much are Rumbaut and Sanchez?

Of the big names...how much do they charge and where in Mexico are they located?

charlesvox, how have u done with ur band? how long have u had it?

Wow...that's crazy. It's amazing that you lost 70 pounds in the first place. A day on Atkins gives me such a severe headache. I cant do without my glucose.

You know. That's a really good way to think about it. Plus I know my weight and my performance are very closely tied together. I get so stressed out...and what do I do? Eat. Late night studying? Stay up with food. All the exercise in the world cant counterbalance one week of final exam binging. And then I get so tired so fast and stuff. The thing is, I've been thinking about this for so long. Had I just gotten it back when I was researching, I'd probably be at the size I wanted to be by now. I've done a year of WW, vigorous exercising, even TrimSpa pills (HA!) with no more than a 15 pound weight loss. I think I'm gonna just suck it up, take out an extra portion from my Stafford loan and just do it.

I know that's right. My classmates go on alot of extravagant trips. And I havent seen anyone truly living hand to mouth. I just hope I am not going in over my head in student loans. :faint:

Any students been in this situation?

I went to this party the other day and I just felt completely and totally invisible. Like the 20 ppl around me forgot that I existed. I was wondering if things wouldbe different if I was a hundred pounds lighter.

i dont need to get any permission to use my money however i see fit...as long as my tuition gets paid and I pay everything back...it's all good.

IF I had 40 hrs a week to work ...even at a half decnet job...I would definitely do it...but Im in med school. There is no time for a part time job. Even if I got one it would be YEARS before I could collect 10,000 dollars.

With my student loans...I would have 30 yrs to pay it off at low interest....im prolly gonna have 100K in loans anyway (grad school) so what's 10k??

TO get a student loan to get lapband surgery?

Do you notice that people have treated you differently? Like...do you notice sales people looking you in the eye more? Or getting preferential treatment from strangers? Or your friends no longer wanting to hang out with you?

Got denied by UHC six months ago. In that time I managed to lose about 15 pounds putting me in an even lower BMI category. I think I'm 34 down from 36 or 37. If I can prove 2 comorbidites. i might have a chance. So I made an appointment for sleep apnea and one to my primary physician for lab work to see if I have high choloesterol or hyperglycemia. I'm just hoping that this isnt one huge disappointing waste of time. But you never know til you try, right?

If you really think I am going to take the time out of my day to read that rubbish thesis.....lmao. Please. :tired You can think and believe whatever you want. I'm still right. The statement that "dieting" does not work is a joke. Maybe we have different definitions of what dieting is. I consider it, eating at or below your caloric requirements, eating the right kinds of things, on a permanent basis. If you eat less and exercise more, you will lose weight. Take less in, put more out, weigh less. That is what it is about. The lap band prevents you from consuming too much. it makes you feel fuller with less food because you've stretched your stomach past its limit and now you require more to feel as full. If you diet for an extended period of time, stock up on Fiber and Water, you can beat that. There was a time before the lapband and RNY was around and ppl still lost weight. Come on.

What does the lap band do? Doesn't it basically prevent the person from eating large amounts of food? It doesn't change a persons metabolic rate or anything on a chemical basis. So how is it different from dieting? All dieting is is reducing the amount of nutrition. The high failure rate of dieting is due to lack of motivation and follow through. To say that eating less and exercising more doesn't work is a joke. I stand by what I said.

You people are haters.

I want to go check out whether I have sleep apnea or not. I don't need a referral with my insurance company so if anyone has any recommendations that would be great. (Especially those in the UHC network)

I'm a grad student. I live solely off of financial aid. I have no assets and getting a job, even part time, isn't an option right now. I could get more financial aid money but I'm already $60K in the hole. No need to add to it. If i can't get insurance to cover it, I will have to lose weight the traditional way.

Wow. Okay, well I will continue with my healthy lifestyle and still go and see my lapband doctor. I am still seriously thinking about getting a new physician though.

I had no idea the process was that intensive. How long did it take from your very first visit to when you were approved?

Yup yup, back to Weight Watchers.

Hmmm........

I reported everything I could think of but it didn't seem to sway them. I am getting a copy of my insurance benefits mailed to me from HR and really go through it. I have 6 months of failed diet (WW) but no doctor's verification. I just went to the meetings and have the little booklet they fill out. I haven't gotten any sleep tests or cholesterol checked but I probably don't have high cholesterol or diabetes since I don't have a family history of that going back 3 generations. The sleep tests might come out in my favor, however. So I will schedule that. Self pay is not an option for me. One thought, does the insurance company frown on the idea of switching doctors? I really don't have much confidence in the paperwork my first doctor sent. If I go to a different lapband doctor, you think I will have more of a chance or do I have to stick with the same doctor for a second appeal? How many times can you appeal?