HeatherGurl

I told you once already, but I can certainly say it again!!! YOU ROCK!!! Congratulations again Neal for all of your hard work!

I do not know of any Dr.'s in your area, but my Dr. is in Houston. I don't know if that is too far for you, but Dr. Hadar Spivak is the best surgeon in the world :mad: I think he is great. Best of luck to you in your journey.

I am VERY glad to hear that cherg!!!

How did you come out Chickie?

Dr. Spivak is my Dr. and I wouldn't recommend any other in Houston. He is an excellent surgeon. The best in Houston in my opinion. Spivak has done all of my fills. If you want your Dr. to do your fills, you simply request it. Good luck to you all considering the lap band. It was and is my life saver.

confusedgirl~ I had surgery on Wednesday and went back to work on a Monday. I sit at a computer all day if that helps you any. Best of luck to you in your desicion.

I haven't been on LBT in a while and I am glad I stumbled across this thread! I was banded by Spivak on 11/09/05. I have nothing but awesome things to say about him and his staff. I went into surgery weighing 329 lbs. and I am currently 184 lbs. I am enjoying life and living it to the fullest. It will be nice to have a place to talk to other Spivak patients. I am attaching a before and after pic. The biggest pic of me was at 350 lbs. and the other 2 were taken this past weekend at 184 lbs.

That is a great goal!! You will get there!

If 2 women were running for president, I would choose the Republican, hands down. I can not think of a woman that would be qualified to be president at the moment. I have to admit that I am not much into politics. I just know that most of my beliefs and morals coincide with Republicans. I honestly don't know if there is a woman or man interested in running right now that I would vote for. I haven't been keeping up too terribly much.

Yes, I would vote for Laura Bush over Hilary Clinton in a heartbeat.

Gender would not matter for my vote. I would not vote for Hilary though. Unless she was the lesser of 2 evils, but I seriously doubt I would choose her over a Republican.

What? You did your own fill? Please elaborate. What did I miss? :rose:

I have only seen Spivak for my aftercare. When you call for a fill, tell them that you want to see Dr. Spivak and you will.

1. Matthew McConnaughey 2. Jesse James 3. Toby Keith

Best of luck to you! I used Dr. Spivak in Houston. I would seriously research whatever Dr. you choose. This is a very important decision and the wrong Dr. can make for not so great results. I wish you all the best in your journey.

If I were you I would do a search on Spiegel's name here on LBT. I have a friend that used him and does not care for his professional ways or value him as a surgeon. He really did a number on her. I would NEVER recommend him to a friend or family or stranger. There are MANY qualified surgeons in the Houston area. Best of luck to finding what is best for you!

I just finished reading every post in this thread and I now know why there are so many failed marriages. People get married and don't take their vows seriously. Carlene, I had a similiar situation... We used to hang out with a few couples a few times a month. I found out that some of the couples were Swingers. That is not right in my book, and I felt VERY uncomfortable around them. They had some other moral issues that really bothered me. We don't hang out with them anymore. I never confronted them about why, because that is their business. It just made me uncomfortable being around them. I completely agree with you on this one. If you feel uncomfortable, then I would not associate with L.

How do I feel now about the surgery? It is one of the best things I have ever done in my life. If I wouldn't have had it done I would be close to 400 lbs, no doubt! There isn't much I wish I knew before I had it done... I researched fairly well, and Spivak's office is wonderful if you have questions. Spivak just put me on a low carb diet until surgery. To shrink the liver in case it was fatty.

I am just now seeing this thread. Dr. Spivak is my surgeon. I couldn't recommend anyone else for you but him. If I were you, I would attend both Spiegel's and Spivak's seminar's and decide from there what you want to do. I am not pleased at all with the way Spiegel treats his patients and I wouldn't let him come near me with a 12 foot pole. That is my opinion though. I can speak from personal experience as to how he has treated a dear friend of mine. I just do not care for him at all.

Welcome! You are doing something great for yourself by having this surgery. I understand how you are feeling now. MY DH was supportive but very worried and skeptical in the beginning. He had seen my go on so many diets and didn't want me to fail again. Talk to him now and he is a 100% FIRM believer in the powers of the Lap Band. Best of luck to you!!!

Welcome!!!!

That is a GREAT start!!! Good for you. It will make you have so much more energy doing that.

There is no choice for it, so I didn't vote, but I lost 17 lbs the first week. It did count! I didn't gain it back either.

Oy vey! I do not think anyone was implying that you are a complete failure. Myself and others are trying to stress to you how important it is to follow the Dr.'s rules. I have NEVER been one to tell someone "oh, it's ok if you eat solids when your Dr. says no" I am not going to sugar coat it. You are very lucky to have the band and we are all trying to help you understand the importance of screwing up things and losing it. Right before I had my surgery I was told that a guy had his band placed on a Monday and ate a steak the next day and had major complications and had to have it removed. I realize you didn't eat a steak, but why would you want to lose it now. I am sorry if you took my post the wrong way but I do not believe in disobeying Dr.'s orders and I will not apologize for that. I will apologize for making you feel bad though, no one deserves that.

I just want to say that I have not forgotten how hungry I got, but I just kept on following my Dr.'s rules. I didn't eat a solid food one until my 4 week period was up. Sorry, I didn't waste my time and money to sabotage myself. Keep strong and let your Dr. know you are hungry and do as they say. If you are overweight enough to have surgery, I seriously doubt you will starve to death. I always told myself that. Find something else to do to get your mind off of the food. Watch a movie, take a walk, go shopping. Just do anything to get away from the temptations.