Thanks for your reply!

God doesn’t give you the people you want, He gives you the people you NEED - to help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you and to make you into the person you were meant to be.

I had gastric bypass and Dr Acosta was fantastic and the hospital stay was great....my hub stayed with me all the time while i was in....the staff at las palmas are great.....and i feel very comfy calling them when i need too...i am 3 wks 2 days post op....

The office for the fills should be up and running by the end of February. I had my last fill the day before Thanksgiving!!  I asked them how long it would be before the office here was open and Trish told me sometime in Jan or Feb but that they were not making appts. for that time yet to call before Jan. So, Dec 31, 08 I called and Trish called me back the 3rd of Jan and she told me they didn't know for sure if they would be seeing patients on the 16th because they have a seminar here on the 17th. She later called back and said February would probally be when they could start seeing patients but for me to call again in 2 weeks. So, I'm just waiting and exercising :  ). I have 4cc's in my 10cc band and I don't want to be tight, I feel I can eat too much even though I'm keeping my hunger at bay I feel this is why I got the band to help me. I can lose weight but then I put it back on and I really think this will be the last time!!

As for the protein, I got the Benniprotein from Las Palmas and my SF CIB (vanilla) there also. The Benniprotein was $68.00 (I think) and CIB was $19.00 it was right around $100.00 for both. I really thought I could get the CIB anywhere, I was wrong. I just ran out of the CIB in Nov and I still have two cans of the Benniprotein. You know Albuquerque now has a smoothie king and they sell Syntrax Nectar (a protein that Las Palmas endorses) in fact they gave me free samples in Nov. and I think a jar of that is like $36.00 if you want to get ahead of the game on getting your protein. If you go to smoothie king order the gladiator, it's 180 in cals and 45 grams of whey protein isolate. After your surgery you will have to go to Las Palmas for a two week check up, I don't know if they will do that in the office here or not but maybe, I'd ask Dr. Acosta if I were you when you go for your pre-op appt.  Keep us informed on your progress. My husband was very concerned too. He supported me with this decision and that helps so much. Any questions you have write them out to ask the doc, I get nervous and would forget half of what I wanted to know so I did this with Dr. Lara and he answered everything.

Good luck and you will be fine. Debbie :  )

Hi Dispatchman, my surgeon was Dr. Lara at Las Palmas. You must keep calling Trish at Las Palmas so that she keeps you in the loop of setting up the surgeries. I was approved in Aug 08 and my surgery was Sept 4th 08!! I just kept calling and ....bugging them. If you've done all the test and had all the blood work (I faxed everything) I got a copy of all my blood test and bugged my Psychologist to send in my results and then I would call Trish to make sure she had it and even called my Insurance company to make sure everything was in a row! I saw the doctor the day before my surgery and the next morning I was banded. My husband and I drove up to El Paso on the 3rd, we checked into the Marriot that is like 2 blocks from the hospital and has a contract with Las Palmas for surgery patients we paid around $90.00 they have a good workout room and pool <---we didn't go swimming. We did walk on the treadmills and used the weights. My appt was at 1:00 pm and I had my (last meal) I didn't go crazy grilled Chicken salad, had tomato bisque from room service around 4:00 pm and could not eat after 6:00 pm on the 3rd. Checked into the hospital at 7:00 am on the 4th and by 9:00 I was out of surgery and around 2:00 pm I was up and walking, still haven't had a drink or eaten anything, kept walking and swabbing my mouth with those fake lollipop things. :  )  The hospital staff at Las Palmas were great, they go out of their way to make you comfortable. The next morning I had my barium test (x-ray) I made the techs show it to me. It taste bad and I sipped it slow I just kept thinking ...this will be ok and I'm getting water soon. When I got back to the room I asked for water and kept walking. I saw the doctor and he released me and my husband drove me home. I remember getting in the car and drinking some ice tea then I fell asleep and when I woke up we where home. My advise is for you to keep calling, get you some good house shoes and a soft robe, some face wash towelettes and hand lotion and get ready to go. You might want to buy your SF CIB (sugar free carnation instant breakfast) and beniprotein there at Las Palmas because it is hard to find here. I bought a case of each and it was around $100.00 at Las Palmas. I put the sf carnation IB with protein in my cereal. Smith's has a 4 pack of sf CIB (chocolate) for $7.00<---crazy I got the choc powder in Tx at Walmart and have not been able to find it here at our Walmarts and I would rather have the vanilla for my cereal. I now just make the choc with my protein and fruit for breakfast.
Good luck, Debbie