cattoy71

Hi everyone, Just thought I'd put my services out there for anyone who may have questions. I live in the San Francisco bay area and have worked as a Sex Educator for over 6 years! I'd post the company I work through, but my post will get deleted again, lol. Hit me up if you ever want to chat or send me a private message if there is something you want to ask but aren't comfortable putting it in this kick - ass thread. Thanks and a big congrats to everyone who has made the decision to become a bandster:thumbup:

I'm totally interested in attending the conferene....It would be great to finally meet some of my amazing lapbandtalk friends in person I'm in California, and would love to see something closer to home, but would not mind flying to the conference....of course, I would probably prefer NYC to New Jersey then, but it's all very doable if I have enough time to get a decent priced ticket Please keep me posted!

Anne, Thanks for posting....I think we must be scheduled for our fill on the same day, 11/24/08. This saves me the trouble of having to ask the questions

This is a great resource!! Thanks for posting

I paid my surgeon $7500 for his 5 year plan, so that means free fills and office visits for those 5 years. After that, i believe its just the fill cost of $150/per adjustment.

Haha Jen I love this thread (as I guess all scale-a-holics would) Thanks for posting and making my day!

I'm totally interested in attending the conference. I am from California and would obviously prefere something closer to here, but would look into the east coast too!

:tt1: OMG I did the same thing!!! They were so so so horrible I literally had to throw them away.....what a gigantic waste of time and money (I ordered them through the manufacturing website)

My favorite site is BariatricEating.com - BE, Inc. The number one bariatric website for protein, vitamins, and success.! The woman who runs the site is amazing and had the RNY surgery like 7 years ago. She only stocks the best tasting ready to drink (RTD) protein drinks along with other best tasting protein powder. You can get sampler packs too. I just placed a second big order this weekend and can't wait for my delivery.

Omg I totally know what you mean when you say people don't realize you are around 100 pounds overweight! Me too, and no one ever believes me (which is one of the ways I was deluded into believing my problem wasn't so bad for such a long time!) We can and WILL get there!

The $9500k hospital fee was out of pocket and they usually change the insurance companies around 30k for an out-patient procedure. I have no idea why there is such a dramatic self pay difference for people getting the band in the United States.....Cost of living doesn't cost double the amount from state to state....weird. All I know is that I am grateful to have the means (and a great APR through Capital One, lol) to afford the surgery.....it truly has been an amazing ride so far.

Hey again snorkel, we are banded sisters since our operation dates were 10/13/08! My first fill isn't until 11/24.08, and I'm really curious about this question too. Let me know what your doctor says if you get filled before me please.

Around May, 2008 my highest weight was around 225 and I'm 5'4. My weight at my pre-op apptointment was 210 (BMI of 37). Tomorrow I am exactly one month post-op (woohooo!) and weigh in at 195.

Hi Mom, Try doing a search on this site for post-op diet (might want to look in the food and nutrition specific thread), but you should really stick to what your surgeon's office says you should eat. Most doctors have all patients do Clear Liquids only, then slowly progress to Protein drinks/shakes followed by creamier Soups and pureed foods, then mushies, then regular foods. Doctors can be pretty specific and like I said, some have people do clear liquids for 2 weeks even before they start on shakes so make sure to get an answer from your own doctor My standards were sugar free crystal light, sugar free Jello and puddings, broth, sugar free popsicles, skinny cow fudge pops, Protein drinks, and instant grits/ instant polenta. You're in the hardest stage right now, because you have no restriction so you are always feeling kinda yucky, tired, and huuuuungry! You can do it, and in a couple weeks, it will feel worth it!

It's great to see so many of us commenting on this thread! Monday is my month anniversary and I couldn't be happier! Continued good luck to everyone.

My bill came to $17k and I was banded almost a month ago close to San Francisco. My surgeon's fees for 5 years was $7500, hospital and anesthesia was $9500. The 5 years covers all fills and doctor visits! You can get deals in Mexico for less then half of that, but then you also need to figure in travel costs and will still have to find a surgery or fill center for your local follow -ups. Just keep in mind that you will have many other co-pays for all of your primary doctor pre-surgery visits along with the necessary psychological evaluation. I ended up paying my surgeon's fees up front and got a great 3.99% APR for the remaining hosptial fees, which comes out to about $400/month for me. Hope this helps.

I'm with Fanny! 11 pounds a week is crazy

Damn, Is it just me, or does everyone look freaking amazing in their pictures!

Omg I had my first sliming incident today....kinda gross, and it hurt my chest like hell! I'm just glad that I know what it feels like and my husband is understanding knowing that it's kinda normal for me to figure out what works now that I'm a bandster.

Jachut, you look amazing!

I've read a few books (Successful Habits of Weight Loss Surgery Clients/ Life after the Gastic Lap-Band/ Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies/ Before and After) and I noticed one really interesting fact. As weight loss patients, we have this amazing window of opportunity that ranges between 7 and 10 months for us to maximize our weight loss goals! The books say that after that, the chance of meaningful weight loss like that experienced just after the surgery is greatly diminished. That information is all I need to keep my butt in gear! I actually can't wait until Monday, so I can finally get back on the recumbent exercise bike :thumbup: Good luck to everyone on your amazing journey.

I did not spend the night, and was released about 6 hours after I was admitted.

Woot! Thanks for the hint, just got back from the store with the dried aprictors...thanks again for your awesome post :thumbup:

I was banded on 10/13/08 and could feel the band in right after surgery due to the swelling. I completely forgot I had surgery after the pain went away about 1 week later. I'm over 3 weeks out and still feel some restriction, but am still able to eat much less then before I was banded. Maybe it's because my doctor mentioned that many patients do not feel very hungry for up to several weeks just following surgery :rolleyes2: I'm scheduled for my first fill on the 24th, but am not even sure if I need it at this point.

Hi Pegs! I bought a belly bandit (post pregnancy compression belt) that came in sooooo handy about 1 week after my surgery. There's something about the binding compression that alleviates the port pain! You can get the same kind of compression from other post-surgical garments and maybe spanx.