hungryforchange

Glad to see that you are progressing along TheFox. I'm currently looking at a US Doctor that is about 4 hours from me. He does the surgery for $10,000 and that includes 3 fills. I would have to pay for the preliminary test myself though. All in all once you add up all the expenses of travel and what I would have to pay for fills if I went to Mexico, etc the cost difference would be about $500 - $1000 less to go to Mexico. Now if I do it here in Oregon, my husband and son can come with me and I will only be away from them for a few hours instead of 4 days. I would not have to stay in the hospital and could rest on my own and would then go back the next morning for a swallow test and could then go home to my own bed. Also, my husband would be doing all of the driving and I would not have to worry about riding with strangers and catching airplanes when I'm not feeling well after the surgery. I just need to do further research on the doctor to make my final decision. I'm also looking at pushing the surgery up to the end of November. I just want to get this done and over with.

What do you think is the best place to request for the port? I am also a stomach sleeper and I don't want this to be a problem later. Thanks!

So it does go away eventually? That's good to know. I work very closely with clients and I can't imagine burping or trying to hide my burps around them constantly.

Also, the death rate is higher with GB than with the band. The last thing I read said it is 1/100 with GB and 1/2000 with the band.

I was wondering and worrying about having to travel so soon after being banded. When I look at the driving and flights, it's between 7 - 10 hours of travel between getting on a plane, waiting in airports, switching planes, etc. Of course this isn't a problem on the way there, but how miserable is it going to be coming home by myself like this? Isn't it really hard to do this so soon after surgery? Thanks!

Did you see the Dr yesterday? What did you find out? I hope everything is A OK.

I would love to read your banding experience if you don't mind sending it along. I am considering the same doctor that you used. I also became even more curious when I read a recent post you made saying that you have had a lot of problems with your band and asked to have it removed a few months ago but worked through it. Do you see your original doctor for follow up?

Wow Sghatl! Look at you go! I'm busy having my last supper all day at the moment. Hopefully I will stop this soon. :hungry:

I will be calling them soon (next few days) and I'll report back. I was looking at the cost for airline tickets and it was not as cheap as I expected, that's for sure!

Well Aceves and Rumbaut were the two at the top of my list! Ortiz was #3 but I am concerned about the factory style of care and no longer providing any sort of after care as well. We must be reading the same threads. Between Aceves and Rumbaut I need to compare their level of after care and if that pans out the same then I will go by price and convenience of travel. Both seem to have wonderful track records, have the experience, the personality, the level of care, etc. I was leaning more toward Rumbaut a little more because he has had the procedure himself and everyone cannot say enough about his personality. Obviously personality isn't everything but having personal knowledge and experience is a huge plus when combined with his experience and excellent track record.

Hi all! I'm aiming for December as well. My busy season for work is October and November and then things slow way down in December so I'm hoping to go the first week or so of December. This should give me enough time to heal up and be "normal" enough for the holidays. I'm not a big Christmas eater so that won't really be a problem for me as far as feeling deprived. I'm going to try to get back to the exercising before the surgery so I can be in the habit. I have a nice gym membership that I have paid for for 4 years now and have never gone consistently. Sghatl - You're doing great so far on your own and with the liquid diet. Great job!! It sounds like you are really invested in your journey. TheFox - I'm also self pay, semi low BMI, headed for Mexico and still trying to pick my doctor. I have it narrowed down to about 3 or 4 with 2 coming up toward the top. We should talk and maybe we'll end up with the same doctor! I like the "Merry Losers"!

Hi! Obviously I'm new here. I've been reading here for a few days. Before I came to the forum, I was sure that lap band was for me and now I'm wondering. I'm 40 years old and have been over weight most of my life. I have never been out of control over weight but maybe always 20 - 30 pounds over. As the years have gone on, it has become more and more and I am now 90 pounds over where I'd like to be. I have tried dieting and I lose it and then I give up and it comes right back. I do not have good eating habits and I never have. I was raised on junk food and fast food and pop and Snacks and hamburger helper. Therefore, these are the foods that I like. I was praised for eating and finishing everything on my plate. I have had emotional issues and also eat emotionally. I look forward to eating and what I will eat. I think about food far in advace of eating and look forward to what I am going to eat. In short, I like to eat. I will often eat when I'm not hungry just because I want the particular food. I have a son who is almost 3 and I am having a hard time keeping up with him. I also have my own business and I feel like I can't take it where I want to go at this weight. I am embarrassed and have no friends because I do not want to go out and see people or meet new people because of my weight. I constantly feel self conscious of myself and how I look and how I feel in my clothing. Either I am uncomfortable stuffed in clothes that do not fit or I look like a slob in loose fitting clothing that I am comfortable in. They say that men think about sex every 7 seconds? That's about how often I think about being fat in some form or another whether it's feeling uncomfortable in clothing, hating myself for what I'm eating, thinking that someone thinks I'm a pig, etc etc. Of course I want to lose the weight for myself. I want to be happier and have friends and go out and be able to be more active with my son and have fun and take him swimming. I also want to be able to take my business to the next level but I just can't being at this weight. I cannot look professional and I just don't have the energy because of my weight. That said, I am the main household provider and so obviously I would like to take that next step with my business for my family. My husband is very supportive and he will support any decision that I make so that is not a problem. He wants me to be happy and will be there for me 100% no matter what. My insurance will not cover this because I am at 35 BMI with no other issues and so I would be self pay. I am looking at the Mexico options or the dr. in Colorado. The thing is that we are also looking into getting a new house but that will be put on hold for a few months if I do that. This is ok with all of us because once we have the house, I cannot take the time off from work that this surgery requires. I am a wimp when it comes to pain. I don't like it. I did have a c section and I'm assuming that this will be very much like that or maybe even easier than a C section. Hopefully easier because I was very uncomfortable for quite some time after the c section. Things that I'm worried about...obviously the complications. I have the money to pay for the surgery but for complications I doubt my insurance will cover that and that would be really reaching into the family funds at that point and would make things difficult for us financially. I have the amount needed right now to pay saved in the bank but not for expensive complications. I'm afraid that I will still eat? I cannot imagine never having pop again (rather have none than drink it flat)? or bread or sugar? or my favorite diet snapple because it has artificial sweetener? Will I ever feel "normal" again after the surgery or will I constantly be worrying about throwing up and feeling gassy and bloated and having to obsess about what I'm eating even more to make sure that I don't mess things up. I get headaches when I don't eat enough now, so when I can only eat little bits am I going to have constant hungry headaches? I want to lose this weight so bad and I want to keep it off. I HAVE to. I know that I will be so much happier...but can I do it? Thanks for reading!

Thank you for all of the wonderful replies...especially bubble. I have been reading and reading and reading and I think I'm ready to do this. I can't do it until December. That will give me time to get everything in place. Thank you all again!

Thanks for your informative posts Bubblebutt. I appreciate them.

Julie, thank you for sharing so much of yourself and your journey. You really are an inspiration. I have looked and looked and cannot find your before photo. Is there a link where we can see it. I think it may motivate me even more! Thank you.

This is an interesting thread because I wondered about this very fact and if it was something that you are ever able to forget and just be "normal". But then I thought of how often I think about being fat (constantly on my mind) and I think that I may think about the band less than I currently think about being fat.

How often does this happen for most of you? It sounds yucky! :rolleyes Does it eventually go away after awhile of being banded?