I have some info in the Drs that will be used by TLC Edge in Dallas.

I was sent some bios from one of their staff.

If anyone would like this please email me at shanmorton@gmail.com. It's a word document and it's fairly large.

I am going to use them b/c 1) insurance denied me and 2) they have a special going on right now until the end of Feb. I am researching the drs myself on the web.

Shandra

Congratulations Staci, I don't blame you for being excited, that's wonderful!

I did my psych eval Saturday. I go see Dr. Kim Tuesday and start my liquids on Thursday.

I'm sorry to be a pest but I have another question. Did any of you use anything other than the Optifast? In reading through some of the papers they gave me I noticed that they had some options listed. I'm suppose to call tomorrow to order the product if that's what I'm going to do.

T

Hi T~

I did buy the Optifast from TLC b/c I've had other Protein drinks (EAS brand for Body for Life....you can buy this from Walmart etc...). The Optifast was good, I actually like the taste. I bought 2 cases pre-op and then another 2 cases that I took home with me on the day of surgery. I still have a case left and use it for one of my meals each day to get the added protein. I believe Dr. Kim requires the 2 week pre-op diet to be Optifast. Not sure what the other TLC surgeons require. Best of luck and keep the questions and updates coming. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have had this surgery and to see the changes that have occured in just 2 months. It's worth every penny.

best wishes on your journey~

Stacey

tweenwaters: That is wonderful. I lost about 18 lbs before surgery. I have only lost 2 lbs since surgery. I sure hope this fill helps and I have to start to walk. I am so happy for you.

Thank you Dianne!

I'll be thinking of you this week as you go for your first fill. Please post your experience .... if you had any saline in your band from surgery, how much you have added etc... I can really feel the restriction in the morning. As the day goes on, it seems to loosen up a bit and I'm hungrier. The scale is still the same, haven't seen any more of a drop yet. I'm going to the Vitamin Shoppe today for those protein bullets....New Whey (42g). I really need to make my fluid intake a daily goal...that is my real problem area. The New Whey protein added to a 1 liter water bottle will help me get both in each day. I love that!

Have a great week and stay in touch!!

Stacey

I understand about getting the protein in. I need to go get me the Protein at the vitamin store as well. I will keep you posted. I also need to start walking. When my port was hurting I just backed off and took it real easy, But this weekend and today I feel pretty good.

Dianne

Thanks for the info. I orderd my optifast today to get me through to surgery. I'm a little worried that I may have a lactose problem with it but we'll see. I ordered some of the chicken soup as well. I'm thinking maybe if i do that in between maybe it will break it down a little and it won't be to bad.

Okay, here's another question. Did you tell people you were doing this or did you keep it to just a few?

I still have not decided who I want to know. At this point I haven't told my kids (they are grown) yet.

T

Hi T,

good luck with the Optifast...I enjoyed the chocolate best. I didn't try the soup. As for telling people about lap-band....only my husband and one friend knows that I have had this surgery. My children are young, so not ready to share this with them. It's a personal choice....do what ever you feel is right for you. Looking forward to reading your journey along the way!! You will be in bandland before long!!

I had the EKG and blood work done today. Have any of you used the folks with TLC over in the Mid Cities area? My first visit over there was a little odd. They did not even have chairs in the waiting area. I found out I was the first one to go to that facility and they were not as ready as they thought they would be by the time I got there. I understand it is temporary while they wait on their new facility to be completed. I wish it would be ready by my surgery date, but I'll have to go to Dallas for that part.

I go from being scared to being excited. Some times I can't sleep because of it. Did y'all do this. I know most everyone here is pretty new to the process which is kind of what makes this so good to be able to sort of do it together.

Okay, I'll quit for now. I look forward to getting to know you all better.

T

Was it in Euless? Just remember that you can go to ANY TLC location for follow-ups and fills. Your surgery will be at Prestonwood and you know Dr Kim is fantastic (we've all agreed on that...all of us who have him as our surgeon at least). My kids are still young, so I would get so freaked out and scared that I felt sick. This was my first surgery....so I was extremely afraid of dying and leaving my husband and kids behind. The day of surgery, I cried and cried at the thought of leaving them. I finally just started praying and put it in God's hands. I am a Christian and truly believe that God is in control, so I needed to stop worrying and just let God handle it. That's the best advice I can give you....just pray about it. Hopefully you will find peace about it sooner then I did:)

Oh my goodness, that must have been hard on you. My kids are all grown so I don't worry about that as much as I did when they were little, but I can definately relate.

I think I'll probably feel better once I meet Dr. Kim. I think it's partly the just not knowing stuff that is what bothers me most. And I'm a bit of a control kind of person. I want to know it, plan it, do it and so the waiting in between for things is hard.

I am really more excited than scared. I've had plenty of surgeries before so I think I'm pretty well prepared for the surgery itself. I think I probably have a good idea of what to expect pain wise. I had a laproscopic type surgery just a little over a year ago.

I am not planning to tell anyone I work with, so I think I'm a little worried about that. I'm going to just call in with a "stomache problem" for a couple of days and hope that I feel like going back to work on Monday. If I don't quite feel up to it then I may have to admit to an "emergency" surgery and hope they don't ask to many questions.

T

Knowing what to expect from a surgery is a HUGE advantage for you.....that's great! You already know your pain tolerances etc... and will be able to heal and recover quicker knowing how to manage the pain. Hopefully you will not have any of the gas pains that many people write about on here. I didn't have any gas pains...at least that I was aware of. I had serious bruising at the port and that is where most of my pain came from.

The not telling anyone is such a personal choice. Like I've mentioned several times....just my husband knew the day of surgery. About 3 weeks ago, I was talking with a friend and she confided to me about her lapband surgery...which prompted me to share about my surgery as well. It's been wonderful to have someone to share daily victories and struggles with. I don't want to share this with my other friends and family for fewar of being judges....being a self pay, this is a HUGE sacrafice on my family, so I didn't want to hear negative comments about how expensive it is either. Maybe someday I'll share the whole truth but for now....it's safe.

Hi to all you Dallas bandsters! I was banded on Jan 24th at Prestonwood. They were great! I used Dr. Veninga as my surgeon, and loved the way he was so down-to-earth and made sure I understood *exacty* what was going to happen. I've never spent 2-1/2 hours in a doctor's office before- it was nice to feel like they "cared" over there!

Now for the main reason of this post: I discovered pre-op that I was VERY lactose-intolerant of the Optifast, and I had bought quite a bit of the drinks- chocolate & vanilla- as well as several boxes of the powder that you mix with water. If there's anyone in the Dallas/Rockwall area who would like to have it, please drop me a message. I'll be happy to pass it on to you at no cost. (I tried again to drink one, and in less than 10 minutes my stomach rebelled~!!) I'll have to look and see exactly how much I have left, but it will probably be enough for someone's pre or post-op needs! That stuff is rather costly and not covered in the basic self-pay fee they charge. I would rather see someone get use from it than throw it out!!!

Pat, I am in my two week pre opt and I too can not drink the medifast. I have tried other soy protein drink but can not seem to handle the either. What did you use? How are you doing after your band? Leah

I am being banded with dr. kim on march 13!!! so nervous....how are the incisiions by this doctor are they nice and neat?? Were there any extra fees outside the 10k??? Are you not starving on that liquid diet????

Hi, I am scheluled with Dr. Kim on the 13th, too. I will meet with him tomorrow. I am really having a hard time with the liquid diet. I think it is sort of funny that they expect over-eaters to not eat for two weeks. Maybe we will meet up there next week. Leah

I had my surgery on Jan 24th with Dr Kim. I was very nervous about the surgery too. I think my problem was, I was self pay and new if something went wrong I could see $ signs everywhere. When I went to meet Dr Kim my husband went with me. Dr Kim made us both feel very confortable with the process. The only ones that know I had the surgery are my husband and a very close friend. I have not told any one at work, or my adult kids. I just did not want to hear any advise nor did I want the attention as to how much have you lost. I have just told everyone I was back on one of my diets and trying to eat healthy.

I am still drinking one optifast a day for breakfast. I guess I was lucky, I did not mind the optifast. I also got the tomatoe soup and had it for dinner. It was really pretty good.

I go for my first fill tomorrow morning. Hope I like this Dr Fears. I am going with a positive outlook and will keep you guys updated on how it goes. The pain I was having in my port area is much better. I think I just pushed it when I started to feel better and pulled some muscles

Dianne.

TexasT- I'll PM you with the info about the Optifast!

Hi Leah--- Well, I was lucky- Dr. veninga was my surgeon, and when I explained my problems with the Optifast, his nurse told me to eat one "normal" meal a day. I did *try* to make it a low cal low fat meal, and it helped a LOT! I filled in with the reduced fat Soups like the broccoli cheese, tomato, and the broth from regular chicken noodle, etc. I managed to get by! But as an experiment, one day about a week ago I still had two cartons of the Optifast at my office, and decided to drink one. Within 15 minutes, my stomach rebelled like crazy! :thumbup: So.. there's just something in that stuff that I can't handle!

I get my first fill on Friday, March 7th. Yea!! I've had very little restriction, so I'm looking forward to a bit more "help" from my band. I can eat the band-size portions and feel full, but in about 2 hours I feel like I'm starving to death!! That's when the will power has to kick in, and let's face it- if we all had it, we wouldn't be here! So my weight loss hasn't been what I'd hoped it would be. :w00t: Thank goodness for fills!!