I am still disappointed with myself, and my pre-op weight loss ( I am supposed to loose 35 lbs on my own before my surgery in May)... I guess if I was good at loosing weight on my own, I would not need the surgery, but it still makes me feel pretty down. I went ahead and scheduled an appointment with a psychologist here in town. I saw him before, back when I was having issues with my social phobia. It actually kept me from going to college for a year. With his help and a really excellent friend, I made it to UNM. Anyway, when I was in Scottsdale AZ for my consult, the Psychologist there suggested I talk with a psychologist here, prior to surgery. He felt it was a good move to better understand why I eat and when. Recently I have had mood swings and depression, so I am finally taking his advice. I just hope that the Dr. can help me a little. I know there are many factors to deal with after surgery, many are psychological. So although it is not required by my Surgeon to see the Psychologist, I think I am making a wise move. I am really tired of this short fuse I have had lately. Any one else go through similar things pre-op... post op? Richard

Hi Richard Congratulations on your upcoming bundle of joy. I hate this snow and cold weather. I'm still a Calif.girl at heart. Wait until you start losing you will be cold all the time. I always thought it was my menopause but it was all my insulation. Your time will be here before you know it. Take care, Mary Ann

I have medicaid. I have found two Dr. in lubbock. Dr. Freeza will do the lap band and Dr. David Syn will do the by-pass. I'm going with Dr. Syn on Jan 25. There are a lot of help you can get with medicaid, travel, testing, lodgeing post op. Call to get a case manager and she should be able to get the ball rolling. Good Luck BLDutcher.

Hey there, Arlene! Well, I have decided that it is better to get your band in the States and the closer to home you are, the better. I think that makes El Paso the closest and I have heard very good things about their clinic. My reasoning is that if any complications develope or you want your aftercare closer, not many surgeons or doctors want to have anything to do with you because of having surgery out of the country. Personally I feel that is totally unprofessional and immoral to deny a human health care because they chose to get surgery in another country. But that remains to be seen. Things will go smoother for you, in my opinion to stay local. There's a surgical weight loss program at the Marriot Pyrimid on Jan. 27 at 11 am if you are interested in learning more. I plan to go to meet the physician and staff. As far as "average fills," the answer is it is an individual thing. It also depends on the size of your band since that varies some. The wonderful thing about the band is, after you lose weight, but for various reasons start to gain again, you can have a fill to give you the restriction you need to start losing weight again. Nothing stays the same forever but you can beat the problem with your new tool!

Thank you, I have much to be thankful for. We are very excited...