Lap_dancer

We are all lucky to have had positive experiences. We can count ourselves the fortunate ones.

JSIL good luck with that. I wish you all the best. I was a cocktail waitress...loved it, worked a grand club and made obscene money. That was then, this is now. I'm starting to mentally prep myself for the multiple procedures I will have done. I'm not at goal, still probably a year out the gate from any surgeries but I'm seeing my stomach and breasts and arms and KNOW that I exercise alone ain't gonna do the job. Checkout the other topics on TT below at the quick JUMP forum. Click the box and you will see all the other topics and may find exactly what you are looking for on a previously started thread on the topic. AGain..LUCK!!

Moon is right about the vitamins. Also, if you aren't drinking a lot of H20/aqua/water...that can happen as well. Try drinking more water, room temp, start first thing in the morning, no straw, sip, and keep your water with you all day. You may find that deep color will change if not, call the doc.

Long2Bthin, best of luck on your decision. As a career obese individual, morbidly, my foremost thoughts are that we feel comfortable and confident with those we choose to have our medical procedures performed by. With all the weightloss promises and, as I often say, false hype of wonderous weightloss wizardry that I've encountered, I was mindful as I searched methodically for my doctor. I had done so much studying on the band that I wanted a doctor with solid experience. When I learned insurance wouldn't pay for my procedure here in Florida, that ended up being the most freeing experience I could have hoped for. Lucky you to live in the Denver area! You can check my signature line to see I picked Dr. Kirshenbaum. How I ended up with him was a web search that got me to pricing. When you are paying for the surgery yourself, you have the luxury of reading, jotting down names and numbers, calling and shopping for surgery. When I came upon Dr. K, he was the lowest priced doctor at the time and the WHY of his pricing is what moved me from Mexico to Aurora. (If you go to his website: link on my signature or www.lapbandrockies.com you can see his cost comparisons.) Bottom line was told to me by Marilyn, who is someone on his office staff ( I also did a test run of the office staff...more on that later ) Dr. Kirshenbaum priced his surgery to encourage people to stay in the United States because as you probably have learned, cost is greatly reduced in Mexico. The problem with Mexico is should you have a problem ( you can read one nightmare story on this website ) you have little recourse. Mexico operates under a different standard than we do here in the U.S. Secondly, I am an educator - 18 years. Education, knowledge and how that is communicated ranks HUGE on my list so I was very glad to see your seminar left you with feeling like you were informed. It should. When I spoke to Dr. Kirshenbaum, he sent me an electronic presentation so I could follow along with him on my computer, like I was having a one-on-one seminar from my living room. He speaks very methodically and carefully goes over what will happen. When I hung up, I was committed. My surgery was in Parker at Crowne Point. Gorgeous! Clean, open, modern and the comfort I felt from the time I checked in until the time I was wheeled out, was such that I was not afraid or skittish at all. Marilyn, the woman I mentioned earlier, has been with Dr. K for over 20 years. That's dedication and with the personnel rollover that can happen, seeing a new face every time you go in can be daunting but at Dr. K's office, there is a "home spun" feeling that I find very appealing. I don't like to feel like a number, I do like to feel like they know something about me and remember me after a few minutes on the phone or in the office. As you can imagine with all the media attention the band is getting now, his office is very busy. Despite being in high demand, I can tell you truthfully that once you are in and a patient, you get that special touch. Think about the post-op service/aftercare, convenience for you ( I fly to Denver every four months or so ) and then..the price. You will have this band, perhaps, the rest of your life. My best to you. Here are some photos I took of your amazing and wonderful state while I was there a few weeks ago. Patty This is Natalie and me. We found a spot during my visit that was quiet so I could talk to her. It just happened to be in a walk-in closet!! She makes time to listen. I have found that to be an unexpected benefit and also another tool that has helped me.

Oh I will step up here and add to your thread. I know absolutely that I have an addiction to carbs. I am very carb sensative and if I have too much carb intake in one day, I go into a spin. Emotionally, I start popping, my appetite goes up, and I want to GRAZE foods. I dare not mention the foods that set me off because if I am not out of a spiral I will obsess over the food until I eat a form of it that's what I mean when I say I have an addiction. I'm just like a drunk. How I handle this, take control of the situation, is I am accountable for what I put in my mouth to a sponsor through OA..yeah I joined Overeaters Anonymous. I stay way far away from my red light foods. Right now, to hold on to my food program I switched over to liquid intake for two meals. I LOVE fruity anything so I mix Propel flavored water 33.2 oz bottles, with one vile of Profect Protein Beverage which has 25 grams of protein and 100 calories. I know my body is getting loads of Vitamins and the protein it needs so there is no psychological game of me denying my body any calories (the old Bube' in my head says EAT! You'll STARVE TO DEATH doesn't work). Try Muscle Milk vanilla cream sold at drugstores. Again, loaded with protein. I had to cut the 100 pack Snacks from my food plan when I ate four in one day. Just too much treat and I got too much meat to be treating right now.

I'm staying on plan today because in one week I have lost 10 pounds. I had my fill last April 9th, and since then have had great restriction. I'm staying on plan because there are no excuses when the nutritionist shows you the mistakes you have made in your diet plan. Change takes place when we make the change.

Staying on plan today because I want to see my goal a reality.

Everything will go great! If you don't live out west you can look forward to everything having a western/native flair. You can anticipate seeing snow capped mountains in the west. The sculptures on the outside of Crown Point are beautiful. Bring your camera, try to get a window seat and see the amazing clouds from above. They never cease to amaze me. Parker is a simple town that is neatly on the edge of a mountain range to the west. My husband and I took a day, the one two days after surgery, and just quietly drove the gravel roads above Parker.

I'm staying on plan today because after a year I haven't lost as much as I know I could have had I reduced my fat intake. Feeling so great but I know I could feel so much better.

This one's for you Next12BeBanded...I took it last week when I was in Colorado. One of the joys of being banded in this beautiful state is the wonderful places to discover.

Gibson girl what a GREAT thread. My dream outfit are several. It looks something like this and involves knee high black zip up stelleto boots.

Hi Karen- No such thing as luck that I happened upon your post. Most everyone that I kno that is overweight is an emotional eater. I actually didn't even need an emotion to overeat I just did it. The thing to keep in mind is the band is a tool. One tool. The next one is your diet, the diet is better controled because you aren't able to overeat (well you can but it isn't at all pleasant and you learn to just do something different). There is a JUMP FORUM on this site at the bottom of the page. Simply click on the arrow and drop the box open. You'll see loads of topics from Lap-Band related subjects. Search there and read. My best to you on your journey.

Your name says it all. Long2BFree. We all long to be free. You are taking the steps to get there and reaching out to others is a great step. Watch the carbs as in the breading on the sub. Yeah. Carbs rock my socks. I can get a *high* from too many carbs and I suspect by the days after you were getting the hungrys. Carbs do that to me. Power up on Protein. Honestly, you do what it takes and for awhile you have to just make YOU a priority and if that means leaving a restaurant because nothing fits the plan then so be it.

Sorry I can't help you out with this one. There is a JUMP FORUM on this site at the bottom of the page. Simply click on the arrow and drop the box open. You'll see loads of topics from Lap-Band related subjects. Search there and read. My best to you on your journey.

Would be nice to live in the north if for this meet and get. Thanks for your generosity.

Typically they need an authorization NUMBER to proceed with surgery. Sounds like a glitch. After having the plastic you know that you have already gone the great distance of weight loss. Power and strength is on your side. This is but a pebble in the lake.

Hi Crystal. Welcome!!! You'll find many friends here. There is a JUMP FORUM on this site at the bottom of the page. Simply click on the arrow and drop the box open. You'll see loads of topics from Lap-Band related topics. Search there and read. My best to you on your journey.

Sorry I cannot help you on a review of this doctor but try Googling the doctor's name. You may see other sites where this doctor is mentioned. There is a JUMP FORUM on this site at the bottom of the page. Simply click on the arrow and drop the box open. You'll see loads of topics from Lap-Band related topics. Search there and read. You may find other answers as well. My best to you on your journey.

Teanne, expect to fight with the billing office...I'm just sayin is all. You need to call your insurance company and find out specifically what they will cover. Get a copy of that, maybe they will have something WRITTEN online. Then call the doctor's office and ask them what will be covered by your insurance, the office manager usually knows this. Give them plenty of time to get this to you, a couple of days should do it. I suggest using the jump thread option on LapBandTalk to the Insurance thread. You will find loads of answers there.

Journal entry: December 20, 2006 We do love our appetizers. Vidalia onions, sliced medium, dredged in cracker meal and fried right. Here came this plate heaped high and hot. Out of the six people at our table, the other server placed the dish directly in front of me and not blinking he looked me square in the eye and asked if I would like a refill on my tea. "Sure", I said. I looked at the rest of my family and they didn't see what I saw. The server automatically thought the food went to the fattest person at the table! Being my usual sarcastic yet jovial self, I hunched over that plate like a dog on a meat wagon and grunted to the waiter " I'm good " while I grabbed a hot ring. My husband immediately picked up on my agitation (after 25 years he's getting good) no one else at the table did. It's that assumption. Like it never goes away or it goes so far away assumption has crossed the space-time continuum and will meet me sometime next year. Like the booths at (Belly Deli) the restaurants. Who believes that the average human has the body circumference of a Water glass? So I got to the point of looking directly at the hostess asking for a "Belly Booth". Who wants a gastric reduction just by sitting down at the table? Acid reflux with your dessert? (No thanks, I'm good) Astrology today reads: Daily extended (by Astrology.com) There's a threatening gray cloud of pessimism just over the horizon. Its power over your life will increase exponentially with each negative person you encounter today, so try to stick with people who always see the bright side of life and who are good at cheering you up. Stay away from naysayers who tell you that the things you want to do can't be done. Because the truth is, anything that you can think of can happen -- if you persevere. Damn straight I persevere. It's 2008 and I'm one year post operative with my Lap-Band. I am a new person in ways I never anticipated. I feel the words from the last scene of The Shawshank Redemption: "I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it is the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope." ... More to Come...

Wow, you sure know how to make an entrance!

I would encourage you to do the same thing.

Next One to Be Banded congratulations. (fyi- I fought my insurance all the way to the end and then to the Florida Insurance Commissioner's office. *But it just makes this all the sweeter*) My best to you for having the resolve to do something for you and fight for it. I wish you all the best on your smoking. You will do it. Flying is awesome. Bring your camera because the clouds from above are breathtaking. Patty in Florida

I found your question strange being on a Lap Band Bulletin Board forum BUT I will answer it as I see it. The best treatement for obesity for ME has been the Lap-Band. The other procedures you posted were explored by me but did not feel like the right fit for me. I'm not going to pidgeon hole my answer and express that the Band is for everyone because I think people who are overweight are not only victims of their size but victims of an industry that targets them, preys on their emotions and desperation, and promises a plethora of medicine show type pills and machinery that will magically melt away the pounds.

I'm from the bay area and before JL, at the time I was doing my quest for insurance coverage (fat chance) JL was not yet open. Since then, the facility does function as a "middle man" good choice of words, for the doctors housing meetings and support. I have not heard anything negative. They are still new. In the bay area that is the best option. I wish you well. I do not regret having the band done one single day of my life post the surgery. Best wishes to you.