Ok Banded pro's this is my first time posting , I would like to know if n e 1 has been banded in columbus, ohio at the Mt. Carmel hospital and if so how was your experience? I have just sent in my first set of paper work to be approve by their Dr. Also they are charging $300.00 for administrator fee (paper pushing to the Ins.), not to mention I will have to spend another $200.00 for their nutritionist and this $500.00 is not covered by my insurance:faint: . Are fee's normal? I was just wondering because I feel as much as the surgery cost, these things should be included! N E help would be nice

Hello,

I have my surgery date set for 10/26/2009 and Dr. Miller had told me to lose 10 lbs. Any suggestions on how to do this and how soon should I start?

Thanks

ASAP! I had to eat like I aleady had the band which was 1/2 of what i would normally eat. No fast food. It is so tempting to do the farewell to food tour as Dr. Choban called it. You want to get in everything bad you might miss with the band. Good Luck!

I did 1 Slim-fast protein shake for breakfast, 1 for lunch, sugar-free jello for snack, sugar free popsicles for snack and lean meat and vegetables for dinner. Add a piece of fruit as needed. I went low carb and lost about 10 lbs pre-op on my own efforts. Also, try getting some extra walking in where you can. Anything to burn calories.

Good luck.

Good for you on getting your date!!! Hooray! I would start now,and just eat like the other gals said; I did low fat,low carbs,and walked,and had no problem with the ten pounds. I had my surgery September nineth,lost sixteen pounds the first couple of weeks,and now am stuck at that weight a couple of weeks. It is frustrating because I have been excercising more than ever! Hopefully that will change with my first fill on the 20th! Good luck,and keep us posted!!! I am sure you will do fine.

Joyce-wishin she was in Florida! LOL

Hi there Mt. Carmel bandsters. The October bariatric support group topic was on body image distortion and how we struggle post weight loss, or in the middle of our weight loss journey for me, to really see what we have truly accomplished and be satisfied with ourselves. I mentioned in posts around December/January that I am keeping a scrapbook of my weight loss journey. I haven't been as good working on it lately. I did find an old journal from 2 years ago when I first started to check out Mt. Carmel's bariatric program, going through all my tests and pre-qualification things and finally remembering the joy when I found I was approved and had a surgery date.

If you are someone who is just banded or will be soon, I highly recommend keeping a journal.

For any who might be interested, I set up a Tuesday night get together at the Polaris mall for those who find a Saturday hard to fit into your schedule. I'll be there about 6pm in the corner of the foodcourt by Chik-fil-A and Great Indoors. Pre or post band welcome.

Hello!

I was finally banded on 10/14/09 and I am so happy. First day home was rough but its getting better. Im trying to use the this site to find some nice savory liquid items because I am so tired of the sweet liquids!! Id like to get a fab month name....where are the other October 09 people hiding?

Also Dr Choban gave me the choice or realize or lap but when I asked about the different port options from the bands she made it seem like she had put in 1000s of normal lap bands and she was comfortable with it, but i could do whichever I wanted...duh i picked the one she had done 1000s of times;-)

Lisa

Hi Lisa. Here is a link to the October 2009 bandsters list on this website.

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f22461/

I don't know how many other Mt. Carmel bandsters might be hanging out there but at least you'll connect with those going through the same stages as you. When I looked at the one thread, I didn't see any cute logo name for the month group like I think last October was the Halloween Hotties. Maybe you could suggest something or design something and they'd jump on board with your idea. I have always loved our Shrinking Shamrocks logo for March 2008 when I got banded. I was banded by Dr. Price on St. Patrick's Day so that is a special day for me.

Something liquid other than sweet shakes like chocolate, vanilla, etc. protein. I have used the Unjury Chicken Soup and its good protein. I also bought the Unjury Unflavored protein powder and it goes in about anything you'd want, e.g. a glass of V-8 juice maybe if that is something you like? Also, I am a whiz at putting things in my blender or using one of those hand bullet blender/mixer things. I buy Wendy's chili and put it in the blender early on and it was yummy. I also used refried low-fat beans for a soft food that is good fiber and protein and I put salsa on it. I also made a soft food meal out of ricotta cheese mixed with parmesan cheese and then put spaghetti sauce over that and topped it with some shreds of low fat mozarella cheese. Microwaved that. and it tasted along the lines of a pasta-free lasagna. I also mixed unflavored Unjury into that dish when it had cooled a little to give it even more protein boost. You have to be careful with protein powders clumping up if you put it in something too hot.

Hope these ideas help. Loved Dr. Choban, Price and Dr. Miller is my follow up doc. I see him Tuesday for a small fill and I hope it helps me get losing again. I am thankful for my -120 lbs so far but need to keep losing and I'm a little stuck.

We do have an informal group that meets at the Polaris mall once a month if that interests you. Private Message me and I can give you an email, etc. to stay in touch.

Hi there FloridainOhio -- I bet you are getting really excited. There is a new poster on here named Lisa and she is also an October 2009 bandster for Dr. Choban at Mt. Carmel. You should Private Message her and stay in touch because you will be going through the same stages of things together for awhile now.

Best wishes as you countdown to your band surgery date!

:confused:

Hello,

I have my surgery date set for 10/26/2009 and Dr. Miller had told me to lose 10 lbs. Any suggestions on how to do this and how soon should I start?

Thanks

Lisaasil9 --See the posting above this from FloridainOhio --getting banded Oct 26 at Mt. Carmel. You can Private Message to connect up via email or whatever. Good luck.

Hello!

I was finally banded on 10/14/09 and I am so happy. First day home was rough but its getting better. Im trying to use the this site to find some nice savory liquid items because I am so tired of the sweet liquids!! Id like to get a fab month name....where are the other October 09 people hiding?

Also Dr Choban gave me the choice or realize or lap but when I asked about the different port options from the bands she made it seem like she had put in 1000s of normal lap bands and she was comfortable with it, but i could do whichever I wanted...duh i picked the one she had done 1000s of times;-)

Lisa

Just wanted to stop in & ask a few questions hoping no one minds.

I am in the progress of getting my journey started with the lap band.

I was told I had to go to a seminar before I could start this journey. I actually go Oct. 21st for my 1st seminar.

Can any one giving me information on what to expect out of this seminar. Do you actually get to talk to the Dr’s?

When or where do you get your package of papers to start filling out. Is there any fees involved

I was wonder if any one has Anthem blue cross/blue shield as their Ins. Company & if so what all did they require you to do be you was approved. How long did it take

Thank you for your time

Kidmiester

Hi K~

I am assuming the meeting you were referring to was last Tuesday night? Whenever you all are planning a meeting,will you please let me know? As you know, I was banded sept 9th. I get my first fill on Tuesday,and am hoping it will make a difference. I know I am geting hungry too fast,and I don't feel any restriction at all. I have been excercising like a fiend,but have only lost 17 pounds the past six weeks (following surgery). It is a big mental thing! I'm thinking, ok, lots of people have had this surgery,and lost hundreds of pounds,and this is all I have lost in six weeks? Did I have the surgery for nothing? I am hoping after my first fill the weight will start coming off,and I won't be able to eat as much... Any advice you can give is always helpful.

Thanks!

Joyce

Hi Kidmeister! Nice to see/hear from another new Mt. Carmel lapbandster person at the pre-op/investigating stage.

Sillypuddy also answered. I went to my information session late October 2007 and that changed my life. At the one I went to Dr. Marcus Miller was the speaker and I was very impressed with him. I have heard they rotate which of the surgeons speak, sometimes its Dr. Choban and I actually had Dr. Price for my surgeon. Dr. Miller sees me for all my follow up care and has been great. I'd recommend any one of the three of them. Hope you take your time investigating your options because being informed is the best thing you can do for yourself. This website is a great source of information.

On insurance, there is a Insurance section off the main page and you should check there. Anyone who has a specific kind of insurance can post there and ask others or search in that forum thread area specifically and it should tell you what others have experienced with your insurance company.

Best wishes,

Kathy:smile2:

Just wanted to stop in & ask a few questions hoping no one minds.

I am in the progress of getting my journey started with the LAP-BAND®.

I was told I had to go to a seminar before I could start this journey. I actually go Oct. 21st for my 1st seminar.

Can any one giving me information on what to expect out of this seminar. Do you actually get to talk to the Dr’s?

When or where do you get your package of papers to start filling out. Is there any fees involved

I was wonder if any one has Anthem blue cross/blue shield as their Ins. Company & if so what all did they require you to do be you was approved. How long did it take

Thank you for your time

Kidmiester

Good to see someone from Zanesville on here I was the only one for sometime. I have blue s/blue cross after getting in all of my papers and doing the test they want it only took about one month for me to be approved. And it is also a good thing to get information. I have been banded since 2008 down 150lbs so far. Good luck to you on you race to good health. Roz

Hi folks.

I told Dr. Miller I definitely thought I needed a fill because my portions were growing larger and my hunger was coming back sooner since my last unfill adjustment. He asked me a good question that kind of made me stop and think and I thought I'd share it here:

Are you eating until you are not hungry or are you eating a measured portion of food? I had to say I was eating until full and he said to go back to putting a measured portion on my plate, eat 3 meals a day, 2 snacks in the daytime and to try not to eat a night snack unless I felt I really needed it.

Trying this approach now and hoping this helps me mentally.

Like packing my lunch today and I ate all I had and was looking for something else in there and it was empty! No going to the snacks machine at work. lol

Dr. Miller put back in .25cc of the fill amount he had taken out 6 weeks ago and I'm doing fine with no reflux. On day 2 now and eating more foods and trying to see where my restriction level is. I don't know if I will get back up to where I was or if this fill level will be the sweet spot. Wish me luck, I still have a long way to go, maybe 100 lbs according to what he suggested. Yikes, I thought it was closer to 60 lbs left to go!

K