HAD FILL NUMBER 5 TODAY........

AND IM CROSSING MY FINGERS THAT I CAN START LOSING AGAIN. I know I have to be more careful. I know I have to watch my food closer, but Im hoping the better restriction will help too. Im at 3.2 cc in a 5cc band.

Cathy, Congrats on getting another fill. I hope this one does the trick for you. I'm coming up on my one year anniversary. On my doctor's scale I've officially lost 51 lbs. He is happy with it but I know if I would have been more compliant, the loss would have been better. The good thing about the band is there is no honeymoon phase - so it is still there to help me. I've recently re-committed myself and have been journaling what I eat and staying consistent with my walking and exercise. I still have about 40 - 45 lbs I want to lose. It is good to see another bander posting here. Most posters are RNY's. I mostly just lurk here but everyone here seems to be very supportive and just an all around great group of people. Are you aware there is a messageboard for lapbanders? Here is the link. http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/LapBand/ This is another helpful place. Good luck in your journey. Mary C

hi, im looking for a facility and a surgeon, in the state of mi. can you tell me where you had your procedue done, by who, and what you had to do.

Sylvia, I had my surgery with Dr Genaw at Henry Ford Detroit hospital. He is a great doc and their facility is fantastic! My story is a little complicated. I originally began looking into the surgery in 2003. Dr Gasareli out of Troy is the first surgeon I went to. For him I had to have a swallow test, some kind of a gastro scope, a psych test and cardiac clearance. The cardiologist gave me a stress test which I failed. I ended up having a triple cardiac by-pass in January 2004. In the fall of 2004 I began looking into lap band surgery again. Dr Gasarelli uses a smaller hospital in Pontiac (sorry I don't remember which one) Because of my cardiac history I wanted to be at a bigger hospital with a good cardiactric department just in case. Plus I wanted someplace closer to home. My research lead me to Dr Genaw at Henry Ford. Dr Genaw, the facility and their program are rated one of the best in the state. I took the results of all the tests Dr. Gasarelli had me take to my first visit with Dr. Genaw. He requested a cardiac clearance, a chest x-ray and clearance from a primary care Dr. from Henry Ford. Of course I had to have a letter of medical necessity from my PCP. I had to write a letter stating why I needed the surgery, my understanding of the surgery and how my life would change after the surgery. He asked for a list and results of all the diets/weight loss/exercise programs I have tried in the past. If I had to say anything negative about the Henry Ford program it would be that the aftercare support is geared to the RNY patients. But I'm sure that is because the majority of the surgeries they do are RNY's. They have a yahoo group which I belong to. While most of the members are RNYer's and can't answer band specific questions they are a great bunch of people and give general support and encouragement. We get together socially and have had loads of fun. Sorry for the novel. LOL Last time you'll ask me a question! Good luck in your search. Mary C

thanks for the info, i have been considering henryford. i have a friend who has dr.genaw. she had the rny done. she has nothing but good things to say about dr.genaw and the facility. i have also been looking into a small hopital in alma mi. its closer to where i live. i have already had one bad experience with an md. she insisted i see all these consults of her choosing, join a support group for a fee. when i began asked for more information re: the support group, i wanted to find a support group closer to home. if i needed to pay that fee if i did not join her support group, she refused to do my surgery. she kept her consult fee. i missed a day of work and used a tank of gas. this web site wont let me mention her name. if i do they wont let this message be posted. im a single working mother and going throgh finacial hard times right now. i can not affort any more errors. sylvia