OK, I know I'm not the only Missouri person searching for surgery. I was surprised to get on here and find that no one has ever posted here.

I would like to start a rapport with other Missourians looking into, scheduled to have, or already had lap band surgery. If you're willing to post, I'd love to hear from you!

Have a great night

Billie Branham

Hi fellow MO/KS banders! I normally don't look too much at the diff threads, but found this one and thought, what the heck. I live south of KC about 40 miles outside of Harrisonville. I was banded 2-8-08 by Dr Corvala in Tijuana. I go to Institute for Advanced Bariatric Surgery in Lenexa for my aftercare. I really wanted to see Dr Malley, but his wait list for MEX patients was just too long. I don't know anyone personally that has the lapband, so I just come on here for fun and understanding. I'm doing pretty good on my weight loss. Had a setback recently, but getting better now. I will keep in touch on here!

Howdy country girl, Me too! I am 45 miles north of St Louis.

Just banded 4 weeks ago, doin Great, hope to lose enough to get back up on my horses without them giving me the dirty looks when I get on!!!

Haha, you know they are thinking "who's gonna get stuck carrying her around?" LOL. Nice to meet ya!

How come when I head for the pasture they run the other way??So how has the band treated you. I am still not pigging out as I used to so, but don't get my 1st fill till the 23rd.

Horses never like to be rode anyways, at least ours don't, they always try to run. :crying:

I've been banded for 8 months now. I've done really good considering my recent setback. I had a fill in june and was really tight, but handling it ok. Then around Sept 15 or so I got something stuck. I pb'd for almost 4 days. I went to the doc on the 19th and found out that it slipped my band. So, the pretty much unfilled me and made me wait 2 LONG weeks. Luckily, the unfill allowed the stomach to go back down. So, I just went back on the 3rd and got another refill. So, I'm back on track to lose this last darn 34 lbs. I'm soo close I can almost taste it, haha.

dundore

my sister lives in south county. i will be banded on Oct 22 at St. Alexiius hospital in st. louis. my dr. is Follwell. i have been on a liquid diet since the 9th. 7 more days left. my brother-in-law's sister was banded by him 2 yrs. ago. she is doing great. i have to drive a little over 3 hrs. to my sister's and she drives me downtown to the dr. i live in a small town in southeast mo. and the city traffic makes me a nervous wreck.

I was banded by Dr Follwell last month. Everyone at St Alexis was very nice. I am 1 hour north of St Louis, don't like going to the city either. Good luck with your surgery, mine went great!

where do you guys buy your protein powder at. do you order it over the net or do you buy it in the store. which is cheaper?

It is hard to beleive that it has been 13 months since I have been banded. A lot of things have happen since being banded and I will do that in another post.In June of 2007 I went in for a sleep study and found out that I did indeed have sleep apena. I was put on a CPAP machine in August 07 and did ok with it. I was banded in September of 2007. After being banded I was having some issues with the CPAP machine, in regards to being bloated all the time and taking the mask off at night. I talked with my doctor about this and he had the machine set to the lowest settings. He also suggested that I look into getting a dental applaince. I went and meet with the dentist who deals in sleep apnea and she said it would not be a problem and so it took about 4 months to get it approved by insurance. I was fitted with the herbest retainer in February, 2008. I went back to my doctor who handles the sleep apnea in August and he was real pleased with the way I looked and the amount of weight lost. So the doctor order a new sleep study. I had the sleep study on year to the date of being banded. I will say that the band can help people get away from using the CPAP. Keep in mind that everyone is differant and what works for one might not work for the other person. Here is the results of the study:Per BandOriginal study (pre weight loss) Weight 250 BMI 40Breathing event per hour: 68Total breathing cessation per hour: 49Lowest recorded oxygen level: 70%BandedNew Study: post weight lossWeight 186 BMI 29.1 Breathing events per hour: 19.4Total breathing cessation per hour: 19.4Lowest recorded oxygen level: 91%With the Herbst Retainer Dental Device:Breathing events per hour: 4.6 (counting little bitty ones 6.2)Total breathing cessation per hour: 4Lowest oxygen level: 92%It turns out that with the Herbst, you are worst when you lie on your left side. Then you have 8.3 events per hour. In dream sleep, you have 10.2 events per hour.I went to the sleep doctor this week to review this study and he said that I could stop using the CPAP Machine and continue with the Herbst Retainer. He also said that my numbers were low enough that even if I did not use the retainer that I could do away with the CPAP. He also felt the numbers would go down lower with more weight loss. My goal range is between 165-175. He also said that I did not need to come back and see him unless I feel that Iam having problems. He said that I can just go back to the dentist and get a new herbest retainer when this one wears out in a few years. Also I no longer have any snoring issues either.So as you can see here proof is in the pudding about the band and how it can help everyone out. It just takes a lot of time and effort to make it all happen. It does not happen overnight.Chris

CHACHA

how much weight have you lost in the month since banding?

Chris61

who was your doctor? was it in st. louis. i am on a bi-pap. sure would be great not to have to use it.

i am still on my pre-op diet and i have already come off of my insulin.

Dr. Minkin did my band sugery. The average weight loss per month was 17-20lbs. Almost 50 lbs. I have the RemStar Auto A-flex machine and go between the nose mask and nose pillows. Since I was having problems with using the machine, I went to using a dental device and that has worked out real well.

Glad to see that you are getting off the insluin. It looks like you were boaderline. When are you having surgery? I was on a pre clear liquid diet for 4-7 days before surgery. If you have any questions just ask. Who is doing your band?

Chris

Chris

chris61

i wasn't borderline. i was on a sliding scale with quick acting insulin. i had to have different doses according to what was sugar. and i took a different insulun at bedtime.

i am having my surgery at St. Alexius with Dr. Follwell next wednesday. i started my Clear liquids on the 9th. ugh. been on it for 9 days. 4 days left.

did you say on an older post that your wife had the surgery too?

It sure has been quite on here for a while. I guess everyone must be loosing and doing well. Iam down to 177 from my high of 250. Was a the doctor a week a ago and he says that I did not need a fill since Iam well and need not to come back for another 4-6 months. The wife is doing ok but is having some problems. She goes in this week to have her gall bladder checked. Dr. Minkin says that about 35-45% of his people that have not had there gall bladder out before surgery will have it taken out sometime after having the band due to the weight loss. So will know more in the next couple of weeks. Well it's about that time of the year again to start thinking about what you want to do for next year. I can say that out of the list we had made we did keep up with one item and that was to loose weight all year long. SO us us that is a great NSV and enjoying it. Well I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and Christams.

Chris

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Hello, Dr Minkin is also doing my surgery. I have met with him several times and with surgery in less than 3 weeks, I am getting very anxious! Not really nervous just the thought of the unknown. It sounds like you have been very successful! Congratulations!