MacMadame

These things can be caused by vitamin deficiencies. But if you are getting all your Vitamins and taking all your Protein and you have surgery, your hair may still start falling out 3 months later. It's one of those necessary/sufficient things. If you want to minimize hair loss, it is necessary to have proper nutrition, but it's not sufficient. :tongue: Anyway, it starts growing back in a few months, so I'm not going to worry about it. I want to be healthy for the rest of my life and if it takes 3 months of hair loss to do it, so be it.

They can charge you before you have it because they can. Shrug? Their contract with your insurance company lets them. In fact, they could make you pay the entire thing upfront and then have insurance reimburse you, if that's how they wanted to do it.

I forgot to say that I also think it's horrible that you can amend the constitution of CA with a simple majority and that whacko fringe groups are trying to push their views on other people by amending the constitution to include things that are not really constitutional. Both Prop 4 and Prop 8 are about that, btw. Even if you agree with the sentiments behind them, these are not matters for our constitution.

Those ads are ALL OVER THE INTERNET. When I came here this morning and saw them all over here, I was SO UPSET and couldn't believe Alex would allow such a thing. But then I found out they are from Google and a lot of web sites were caught flat footed when they appeared. It's still upsetting because the big, mostly out of state, push for Prop 8 is really about bigotry and depriving people of rights. But they can't say that because that just wouldn't fly in CA. So they've thrown out all these wild accusations trying to play on people's fears. I hope it backfires on them BIG TIME. Oh and the one that has McCain on one side and Obama on the other is a Yes on 8 ad -- it's trying to imply that these guys both support 8 but Obama has specifically said he doesn't. So it's a lie. The way I've always looked at it is, if you can't make your point without lying, then maybe you don't have one.

But I was! :tongue: I just marked up my sample ballot. It took me twice as long as Mr. Mac and I had to tell him several times that some of the people he voted for didn't support things he liked and he had to mark them out and start over. Ha!

Good luck! I think you'll be happy in the long run.

I started out wanting a band, but the long-term complication rate was freaking me out. The kicker, though, is that my main food problem is ghrelin related and Lap Band doesn't reduce the amount of ghrelin in the bloodstream but the sleeve does. That sold me! In case you don't know, ghrelin is the hormone that increases your appetite. It makes food look tastier and harder to resist and it makes people who aren't physically hungry think they have to eat something or they will die. It's made mostly in the stomach and that part of the stomach gets removed.

I wrote to Alex about it, but it turns out it's not anything he approved. It came through the Google AdSense system and these ads were EVERYWHERE on the Internet today. I also saw them on Obesity Help. My husband said they were on some newspaper site and on Macintouch. Those whackos must have bought up every single keyword there was otherwise there is no way they'd end up on such diverse sites. Macintouch put an apology on their front page: MacInTouch: timely news and tips about Apple Macintosh, iTunes, iPhone and more... I think Google is going to get a LOT of flack for this. At least I hope they do!

There is a Band Buddy forum to get a mentor, but it will probably be quicker to post something the Georgia state forum asking for the name of a good PCP in your area who is WLS friendly.

Speaking of being pissed off... I am looking at an ad for Yes on 8 right now on LBT! That's completely inappropriate IMO. Plus it has a picture of Obama on it and Obama has come out against Prop 8. I say if you can't make your point without lying, maybe you haven't got one.

Sounds good. There is also some discussion of Sac. area docs in the Doctors subforum.

Welcome to LapBandTalk! Let us know how your seminar went.

Welcome to LapBandTalk! Let us know how your seminar went.

I was sleeved by Dr. Cirangle. I think, surgeon-wise, he's the best! Way more than competent. I really like him. I think he really cares about his patients and their success. OTOH, sometimes he gets upset with people, if he thinks they are not following the program. So some people think he is mean. Those same people think Dr. Jossart is a teddy bear. Maybe I'm unusual but I actually prefer Dr. Cirangle. He tells it like it is and sometimes I really need that. But their program is top-notch and they get great results. They are getting 10-20% better EWL with the band than published averages. I really don't think you can go wrong with either of them.

Take protein powder and order milk and make a shake. Assuming you are on the kind of liquids that allow protein shakes.

The time change is stupid. It's robbing Peter to pay Paul. Plus, it turns out it wastes energy, not saves it.

No, I went with LapSF in, er, SF. But I've been curious as to who does WLS out that way and who people think the good surgeons are.

I think that's a good approach. If she is reluctant to put you on meds after you tried WW and failed, then you've got your answer... she won't be supportive and you need a new PCP. If she's on board with it, then you are okay. If she's not onboard with it, ask your surgeon for a recommendation for a WLS friendly PCP.

Welcome to LapBandTalk? Do you know who your surgeon is?

Welcome to LapBandTalk. I wouldn't worry about doing it so close to Christmas because the first couple of weeks you'll be on a restricted diet for health reasons so cheating isn't really an option. But that's me. Other people might have a different opinion.

Welcome to LapBandTalk!

Insurance companies tend to count the following sorts of things as co-morbidities: high blood pressure, Type 2 Diabetes, high cholesterol, and sleep apnea. Things like joint problems, pain, arthritis, stress incontinence can help paint a picture of medical necessity but generally aren't considered co-morbidities. In fact, I had high blood pressure but it didn't count because it was controlled by medicine. How's that for a kick in the pants?! You need to check with your specific policy though. They all have their little subtleties.

You should probably ask this in the POST-OP Support thread: POST-Operation Lap-band Surgery Questions & Answers (NEW) - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum But I'd say, yes, it's normal to have an appetite until you get proper restriction.

Welcome to LapBandTalk!

Welcome to LapBandTalk. Since you are 6-7 months out, I'd post in either General LB Surgery Discussion: General Lap-Band Surgery Discussion - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum or Lapband Complications: Lap-Band Complications - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum depending on what the issues are. There are other more special purpose boards as well, but those are a good starting place.