9pdmnm5

Hello and welcome! I will be banded on Sept. 29th. Yay!!! Good luck to you! :tt2:

Im getting banded in September, and could use a band buddy. I live in Oregon as well. Just wondering the crazy pre-op diets that your being put on as well.

Thanks and Good Luck

Elaine

Hi! I was supposed to be an October bandster but my surgery date just got moved up to Sept. 29th. :tt2: I am currently in CO but I have family in Bend. I also noticed we are about the same age. Would love to be band buddies.

My surgery just got moved up today to 9/29. What about you?

Okay so all my stuff was submitted to the insurance exactly one week ago and i was told it would take 6 weeks to a month to get approved. So to my surprise i got a call today saying they got the approval and they have scheduled my surgery for Thursday!!!! I can't believe this has happened so fast it has taken less than a month from the first time i walked into the doctors office until now this is crazy. When i first went to the doctor they told me i would have to wait six months to do a presurgery diet so the insurance would approve it but i begged them to submit what i had and they did and it went through i am going crazy i was not ready for this. Any last minute tips of what i should run out and buy or have on hand.....I could scream i am so happy!!!!:thumbup::crying::ohmy::boink::confused2:

Congrats! That's exciting!! Who is your Dr. in Vegas?? I will be so jealous if its Atkinson. :tt1:

My pre op appt is Thurs 9/25 and my surgery is at 1:30. What time is yours? Are you soooo excited? I have to do the pre op diet for 7-10 days and I'm waiting for Paula to call me for nutrition consult over the phone.

My pre-op is also the 25th @ 9a.m. My surgery is scheduled for 10a.m. I am excited but probably more nervous at this point. How about you? All Dr.K told me was no carbs one week prior to surgery. Is that what they told you? When do you plan on starting? Natalie said Paula will call when my surgery date gets closer. :thumbup:

I'm so happy I've found someone else going through a similar journey at the same time.

P.S. How did you like Dr.K???

Congrats everyone on their upcoming surgeries! I am so thrilled that I am going nuts! I just want this all to get going asap! The longer the wait the more thoughts that cross my mind of insecurities. What about the rest of you? By the way... new to the site - how do you get your picture up when you post a comment?

Hi Cassie! Looks like you are manuevering around the site pretty well. I accepted your friend request so hopefully you got it since I have no clue as to what I'm doing on here. lol... Reminds me of when I first opened a myspace account. :crying:

When I first found this site and started reading I was having a lot of doubts about surgery. I have since decided to experience my own journey b/c everyones body/experiences are vastly different. So...now I am at least not driving myself insane but am still very nervous and think about surgery every day. I'm hoping this is normal. :boink:

I'm so glad you started this thread! :biggrin::thumbup::biggrin::tt1:

Hi Stacey! I used to live in North Pole and I too, have fibromyalgia. I do not have any suggestions for Medicare but do know any insurance company is a huge pain to deal with. I was supposed to have the surgery back in March after getting everything lined up. At the very last minute I was getting ready for my EKG and the Doctors office called down to day surgery to say that there had been a mistake and I could not have surgery unless I paid out of pocket. Grrr....:tt1: I was not very happy, if you can imagine. (I was on my husbands insurance and so the hospital [his employer] decided only employees were covered and not spouses) So here I find myself 5 months later and we are having to pay out of pocket. The good news is, this time around it has been uneventful and less stressfull.:thumbup: My surgery is scheduled for Oct. 1. After all of this, I am excited and nervous. Would you go to Anchorage for surgery? PM me if I can help answer any questions or if you just want to chat. Best of Luck!

Good luck! I have 5 wks. until my surgery so its constantly in the back of my mind. You'll be so happy to be on your way to a new healthier you.

Cheers!!!

Ambraberger:

We will be having surgery on the same day. :crying: When is your pre-op appt.? Do you know what time your surgery is???

Hi! I'm being banded Oct. 1. Yay! October does seem forever away but I'm sure Sept. will fly by. I am excited, anxious, nervous and concerned all at once. Would love to keep in touch.

For Billy:

I'm not sure where you are located or how much you are paying in Mexico but here is an option. Dr.Kirshenbaum in Aurora,CO does lapband surgery for $9950. Yes, this is all inclusive and includes everything, unless there are complications. He will even do a consultation over the phone. If you think this is something you might be interested in, you can PM me and I can give you more details. :biggrin: Dr. K is doing my surgery on 10/1. Good Luck!

Shelbymooy:

Sorry to hear you've had quite a time. I had my own experience with the insurance company. Anyway, Dr.Atkinson in Vegas is wonderful. However, I think he charges around 16,000+ for the lapband. He performed my mom's RNY a few yrs. back. I am now a self-pay pt. and simply could not afford that much. So...Dr. Kirshenbaum in Aurora, CO is doing my surgery (10/1). His charge is $9950 and is all inclusive. He will do a consultation via the phone if need be. If you are interested the site is lapbandrockies.com Good luck!!

I don't want to waste any more of my life failing at weight loss. After the frustration of dealing with insurance and finally making up my mind to self pay and just go for it, I can hardly wait for my consult appointment with Dr. Kirshenbaum 8/25. (Denver CO)I'd like to get in touch with someone recently banded or getting ready to be banded so we can help each other.

Hi! I just had my consult with Dr.K on 8/12 and I will be banded on 10/1. YAY! Do you live in CO?

Hi to all of Dr. K's pts! I was wondering what surgery center to have my banding done? Crown Point in Parker or Dry Creek in Englewood? I am currently scheduled for 10/1 in Parker but was hoping for Dry Creek b/c it is closer to home. Would anyone recommend one over the other? Thx!

Hi everyone! I have my consultation with Dr. K on the 12th. I was wondering if anyone would be willing to share their overall experience with me? Thanks!

Hello everyone. I just joined today. I got approval for surgery and it's now official. I have a few more things I need to get done before I will get my date scheduled. My EGD is set for the 20th, my cardio clearance set for the 11th. I have been working with a nutritionist and the doctor for 3 months. I am excited but scared at the same time. It's actually going to happen! If your waiting for surgery to, lets be friends! If you just had surgery, I would love to hear of your experience and be friends. Just watching your success will be motivating for me. Please drop by and say hello. :w00t:

Hi! I am also waiting anxiously for surgery. I was supposed to have it done in March but insurance denied it at the last minute (EKG appt.). Grr... Anyway, I will be a self pay and now have my consultation with a different DR. on the 12th. I am also very nervous but excited. Am hoping to have surgery scheduled around the middle of Sept. I see you are in WA, where are you having your surgery done? :eek:

I don't know, spreading around this kind of misinformation and urban legends about an entire country is insulting to those in that country who worked very hard for their education and reputations. If there was a single news article, media attention, anything other than my friend had a friend that knew someone that said something... that's not really fair to the medical professionals that work very hard for a living. Just think how insulting that would be if someone suggested your doctor couldn't be trusted not to kill people because he was stealing their organs for profit, it wouldn't be very flattering.

This kind of story needs to be somewhat verified before posting.

In this country we are already so amazingly ignorant of the countries outside the US and what they have to offer, this kind of urban legend just makes it worse. We already have media spoon feeding us information, if one doctor does something stupid from another country we believe the media that the entire country is not to be trusted. Yet we have the SAME thing happening in THIS country but somehow that is excused because not all US docs are stupid. But ONE doctor from Mexico does something ignorant and we blame every doctor in Mexico. It is insulting to them and makes us look like the real idiots.

Perhaps if we would start picking up a book and doing actual research, educating ourselves about places outside the US we wouldn't need the media teaching us about cultures based on sensationalism.

My advice was directed to yaya. It was not fair for everyone to throw negative replies in his/her direction when all yaya was trying to do is make people more aware.

With that being said, my DH and I are both medical professionals (yes, we work very hard) and let me be the first to tell you similar stories like that do happen almost everyday and never make the media. To say this story needed to be verified is crazy...this is a forum not a news press! This is simply a site to exchange information,experiences,etc. Believe what you may but still be kind to others.

Yaya:

Please do not let this post discourage you from exchanging your stories and experiences on here. Some of these people have been down right rude and a lot of the replies were uncalled for in my opinion.

I agree, EVERYONE should do their "homework" before selecting a surgeon and letting them perform a procedure.

Lapbandmexico:

I also believe it has a lot to do with everything you've tried in the past. I have about 50-60lbs. I would like to lose. At first, I thought lapband was too drastic for me. I've done the strict diet thing and I exercise on average 4-5x/wk doing a lot of running/cardio/weights/etc. I have not been successful at losing weight on my own. So, I look at the lapband as a tool to help me along my journey. I think it just depends on your past experiences and how you feel in general. Everyone is different. I would definitely tell you to do your "research" as it definitely isn't a "quick fix". Good luck to you, whatever road you may choose. :thumbup:

Wow! Thank you everyone for all the great info on Dr.K. I have not had a lapband placed as of yet. I was denied with my insurance company in March and thought it would be out of the question, until finding Dr.K on this site. Like everyone else, the price sounds too good to be true but am ecstatic to hear that everyone has had a great experience.

I am SOOO upset. My surgery is scheduled for Aug 1st. I've done everything required & I'm so ready for this. I went to my PCP for my pre-op testing on Thursday. The bloodwork I did at the beginning to middle of June, (I had edema at the time, all gone now), was 14 and the max should be 10.5. No one ever called me from the drs office to tell me this (SO PISSED!). Anyway, she took new blood for my pre-op testing, but what if it's still high??? I'm hoping the June elevated white blood cells were from the edema in my legs. She put me on antibiotics for a sinus infection that I think I'm getting to be safe. What if the count is still up?? I need medical clearance by 7/17 & I am going on a cruise July 20th!!! I'll get the results Monday & hopefully they'll be ok. Please someone make me feel better & say they went through the same thing. I'm hysterical over this!!:tt2:

If your WBC is high then that is from an infection within the body. I'm sure you will be fine if your edema is all healed now. If for some reason your count is high and there is an infection lingering in your body wouldn't you rather find out before than after? That would only make your recovery time longer. Trust me, I do know how disappointing it can be. I had my surgery scheduled for a Mon. and on the Th. before I was sitting in pre-op when the office called down to say my insurance wasn't going to cover the surgery after they had already pre-approved it. Grrr...extremely frustrating! Left me in tears, and now almost 5 mths. later I still am trying to find a way. So...I say, better safe than sorry. Good luck to you! :thumbup: Oh, and don't let it ruin your cruise. Have fun!

Please let us know how it goes. I am thinking of having Dr.K do my surgery (due to low cost) and am anxious to hear about a recent experience. Good luck!

i used to live in np around 1987, i drove school bus then. I was raised in delta. When did you live there?

Johanna

I lived in NP from '79-'98 (all of my childhood). I attended NP elem. And then Badger. Maybe I rode your bus...lol :thumbup: My parents were teachers for many yrs. and finally retired in '97.

I just wanted to say "hi" from an old NP girl. I currently do not live there anymore but was so surprised to see someone on here from Fbks. and had to say hello. Good luck to you!

Omg! We are twins! :smile: Same weight, height,

PCOS, thyroid, etc. I started the lap-band journey in Jan. '08. At first everything went well and I was scheduled to have surgery Mar. 10th. That didn't last long as ins. company denied it after pre-approval. This was of course a huge set back for me. I then decided I would try low-carb once again...gave up after 1 month and 0 weight loss. So now I'm back to having surgery but will have to be a self-pay. :wink2:

Anyway, I did qualify for surgery even though BMI is borderline. My PCP was 100% supportive (knowing my history w/diet & exercise) and co-morbidities (PCOS,thyroid) were huge factors for my surgeon.

We have since moved and I am currently trying to find the best surgeon at a reasonable price. So now you know what I mean by "journey". :out: I hope this helped and I wish you the best of luck on your journey to lap-band surgery.

~PDMNM~