I just have to let everyone know after 2 years of wanting the band soooo bad, and exactly 1 year of fighting with my insurance company I have decided its time to pay on my own and get this done!! My date is April 23rd with Dr. Kirshenbaum. I am flying from Wisconsin and I would love to here anybody's recommendations about this, as to what to take, or any info you can give me!! I am so nervous right now, but I am quitting smoking next Friday (I just started Chantix) I have never been on a plane before so this is a little jump for me but I am so happy Its finally going to happen!!

Hi it's Carol from SE Ohio. Good luck on that quitting smoking. I know it's going to be hard. I had my last cigarette on 12/19/05.....later that day I had a heart attack and on 12/21/05 i had 5x coronary bypass at 51 (now that sucked). Anyway that was a lousy way to quit and if I had known that cigarette that morning was going to be my last I would have enjoyed it more. Anyway I'm sure you'll do fine. After about 5 years of checking into surgery, and even RNY I am now self pay (my ins. co. excludes weight loss surgery) and having surgery on April 8 with Dr. Trace Curry in Cincinnati. I don't know what to take because I haven't even thought about that yet. Flying is great fun...don't worry about it but try to sleep if you can. I can't sleep in any type of moving vehicle so I just take a good book and listen to everyone else snore.

I just have to let everyone know after 2 years of wanting the band soooo bad, and exactly 1 year of fighting with my insurance company I have decided its time to pay on my own and get this done!! My date is April 23rd with Dr. Kirshenbaum. I am flying from Wisconsin and I would love to here anybody's recommendations about this, as to what to take, or any info you can give me!! I am so nervous right now, but I am quitting smoking next Friday (I just started Chantix) I have never been on a plane before so this is a little jump for me but I am so happy Its finally going to happen!!

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

best of luck to you!

Congrats~

I was banded by Dr. K in December, by far the best $$ I have ever spent on myself!

Brandy

Thanks everyone for posting. I had a few computer problems but I have them fixed and back to reading again. So many posts on here its gonna take 6 months to try and read them all. I have been smoke free since Friday the 21st. I quit on my daughter's 11th birthday, It has been really hard, but I wouldn't dare go in for the operation without quitting a month before to help with blood flow. Thanks Carol for your story, It makes me want to be done with smoking all the more and never start back up!! Just please be thinking of me on April 23rd at 11:00 am, and say a little prayer for me!!!

Edited March 25, 200818 yr by next12bbanded

next12bebanded

I got back 5days ago from Denver. My daughter and myself were banded by Dr.K at the Crown Point surgery center. Everything went great. I went into surgery at 12:15 and was discharged at 3:20. I took no pain meds after the first 9 hours. I have had no gas pain which usually shows up in the shoulder. Getting in and out of bed, a chair, and the car has been abit difficult. My daughter had abit of shoulder pain. We did lots of walking and I,m sure this helped for that. It has been a top notch experience in Denver. My only warning is we had turbulence coming and going when flying in around Denver. Take it easy and get as much rest as possible. We stayed out in Aroura and itwas a fair amount of driving,so if you can stay at the hotel right by the surgical center. I think its A Holiday Inn Express. Much more convenient for you. There is some shopping close by if you need something. You will feel like going to your roon after the surgery for sleep I do not sugest you plan any thing for the next day. I spent my first day back at the surgical center waiting for My daughter to have her surgery. They could not believe how well I was doing. I was off all pain meds and this helped tremendously. Let me know if You need more info. Everything will be fine. Dr.K is great.

Lizzieann

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.

Awesome picture!! I love it, I am trying to think of the beatiful pictures I should be taking rather then focusing on being scared to death and crashing. I will be flying out early Tuesday morning, so hopefully everything goes good!!

Awesome picture!! I love it, I am trying to think of the beatiful pictures I should be taking rather then focusing on being scared to death and crashing. I will be flying out early Tuesday morning, so hopefully everything goes good!!

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.

Hi next12bbanded, congratulations! I was banded by Dr. K two months ago and it was a great experience. Colorado is absolutely beautiful.

If you are having surgery at the Crown Point Center in Parker, I'd recommend the Holiday Inn Select. It's two minutes away and an extremely nice hotel. There's a restaurant on the top floor and we got room service there. There are plenty of places around as well for whomever is coming with you to eat and get stuff for you. Do be aware that Dr. K puts you on an antibiotic. It's supposed to be refrigerated but we didn't get a suite at the hotel, so Dr. K said it was fine to keep in an ice bucket.

As for what to take, I'd suggest comfortable clothing and shoes. Check the weather before you go. When we were there, it was in the low 60s one day and snowing the next morning. liquid Tylenol and Gas X strips are good also. Not much else I can suggest otherwise that isn't on the site here somewhere in the form of a list. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

SAVE THE DATE:

Dr. Kirshenbaum is hosting a BBQ - Reunion for all of his Lap Band Patients.

August 2, 2008, Saturday

Time and Place to be announced.

Please email an RSVP to Natalie @ ncardenas@lapbandrockies.com by

July 25, 2008 with your before and after pics.

Thanks! I look forward to seeing you all there!

I was banded by Dr. Kirchenbaum on 3/12 and the surgery was simple, my recovery was a little harder than I expected; not a lot of pain, but I slept for about 3 days. I'm still on the fence about the money I spent, as I've not lost much weight. My first fill was on 4/14 (I have a 14cc band and he put in 6 cc's). I have only lost about 8 pounds since surgery and I'm not sure why I'm not losing more. I dont' know exactly how many calories I'm eating but I only eat about 1/4 of what I ate before, I'm drinking tons of Water and doing 2 to 3 Protein shakes per day (110 calories each).

For you long timers, how long did it take before you really started losing weight?:thumbs_down:

Hey there, I'm not a long timer, but this part stuck out to me:

I dont' know exactly how many calories I'm eating

Why not? If you're not losing weight and you think that you're doing all of the right things, keeping track of your food is a good place to start. There are many free and easy-to-use resources out there (I use SparkPeople). You may not be getting in enough calories and/or Protein. Or you may be eating more carbs or taking in more salt than you think you are. Any of this could slow down your weight loss. You could also consider having another phone appointment with Pam Pierce and discussing your diet with her.

Are you exercising? That's also a good way to jumpstart loss.

Good luck!

I was banded by Dr. Kirchenbaum on 3/12 and the surgery was simple, my recovery was a little harder than I expected; not a lot of pain, but I slept for about 3 days. I'm still on the fence about the money I spent, as I've not lost much weight. My first fill was on 4/14 (I have a 14cc band and he put in 6 cc's). I have only lost about 8 pounds since surgery and I'm not sure why I'm not losing more. I dont' know exactly how many calories I'm eating but I only eat about 1/4 of what I ate before, I'm drinking tons of Water and doing 2 to 3 Protein shakes per day (110 calories each).

For you long timers, how long did it take before you really started losing weight?:wink2:

Hi Macemar,

I sense your frustration and it bothers me. I know that the NUT advises Protein Shakes, but I really found that if I drink my meals or Snacks, I don't lose weight. I'm 3 months post surgery and I'm down 43 lbs as of this morning and 63 lbs from my highest weight.

I eat my protein, solid meals makes the best solution for me. I am very careful too about logging in all of my intake in Free Diet Plans at SparkPeople or FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal. I found they are both very similar but fitday is less involved. I agree with Green, you should log your intake in and see exactly how many calories you're eating. I also take my measuring cup with me everywhere. I have to, I am an overeater and if something tastes really good to me, I will continue past my 'soft stop' and eat more than I should. I discovered this during my early days with the band. I measure one cup and then put the rest in the fridge or if I'm out, I put the rest in a take out container and place it out of reach. It's the way you have to treat a addict, but that is really what I am.

I advise, eating your protein, cut out the Protein drinks. Make your meal, 1/2 protein, 1/4 veggie, 1/4 whole grain carbs. Drink your water, (it's great if you already do this) Log your food for atleast a week, watch your protein intake there, and don't exceed 1200 calories, but try to get in 60-80 grams of protein. Start moving your body - atleast 30 mins a day. If you can't do a whole 30 mins when you start, do like I did 3-10 mins then 2-15 mins then 20 and a 10 min, now I'm up to 40 mins a day of hard recumbent cycling.

Good Luck, don't be discouraged. Be motivated to use this time to reinvent yourself and your lifestyle of eating right, working out and taking care of your body as a whole person.

Come back often for support and encouragement. It's not easy, Dear, but it's totally doable if you take it one small bite at a time!

dee~

Dee gives great advice! I don't measure everything, but I do whip out the measuring cups if I'm unsure. Looks can be deceiving.

I must confess, I don't follow Paula's advice to the "t" either -- I only use the Protein shakes if I absolutely can't get anything else or don't have time (which on average works out to once or twice a week), and snacking is a rare event. I've found it's not that difficult to get in at least 60 g of protein a day eating solids, so why drink the shakes if I don't need them?

It is definitely a process and it takes awhile to change a lifetime of habits. But with perseverance, we'll all get there.

Edited April 28, 200818 yr by GreenChrysalis
Because Dr. K's nutritionist is Paula, not Pam. Oops.