Newbie!!

Hi guys! I am new to this board and to the lap band process. I have chosen a surgeon I think and go to an information seminar soon. Has anyone used Dr. Anderson and Dr. Balder? Because I am new to all this I am hoping that y'all would share your experiences with me. Any and all suggestions would be great!!! I am so ready to start the process and begin living again. Look forward to hearing from you... Wyn

Hi guys...me again....after reading the older post I realize that the most of you have had RNY surgery. I would really like to hear your experiences with that too! I have not totally ruled out RNY. What made you choose that over lap band? LIke I said earlier...I am totally new to this and researching all my options. If I go with lap band it will be in Conway. If I go RNY it will be with MUSC. So...help!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!! wyn

Hi, I had the RNY after much research. I found that Dr. Byrne at musc is considered one of the experts in the southeast, if not if the region. When questioned, he said that he had not seen enought long term research of the lapband to be convinced of its effectiveness. I also have a job that where I read lots of medical records, I noticed that Dr. Byrne "fixed" lots of people that had complications in other hospitals. I haven't heard much about the group in conway, but I would be glad to answer any questions that you have. I had surgery 9/30/05 and I've lost about 55 pounds. Look forward to seeing more of you Mary

Welcome to the board. I had my RNY at MUSC with Dr. Morgan 13 months ago and have lost 108 lbs. I am pretty much at goal. Mary and I are in the same support group and used MUSC doctors for the same reasons. They're considered the best around here and they feel RNY provides the best long-term success for their patients. I think the key is to trust and believe in your doctor, whoever he is, to follow his plan, and you will be fine. Our group meets every Thursday night in the North Charleston area. We'd love to have you join us some time for dinner if you can. The locations vary every week and are posted on the board. Look for LCBB messages. Everyone is welcome and it is very casual. It is a wonderful group of people in all stages of the process who have grown to be really close. No one can understand you as well as someone who's been through this too. So, don't feel intimidated. Definitely go to a seminar in your area and check for information on this board while you make your decision. Get as much information as you can. Deciding to have this surgery is one of the biggest decisions you will ever make, but most of us will tell you that we feel blessed to have had the opportunity to have this surgery and that we'd do it a million times over. I don't know anyone *****grets it. I'm not going to tell you that it's a piece of cake (LOL), but it's definitely worth a little discomfort and changing your way of life. Best of luck to you. Love, B

Hi, I'm new too! I am 5 days out from my surgery and Dr. Anderson was my surgeon. He was really nice and well informed. Since Conway is smaller than the bigger places, I felt that I wasn't just a number, so to speak. He's a nice guy, did a fantastic job on me, so I would recommend him in a heartbeat! Good Luck! Crystal

WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME ... WE LOVE HAVING NEW MEMBERS OF OUR LITTLE COMMUNITY. YOU'LL GET A TON OF INFO & SUPPORT HERE. I BELIEVE THAT THERE IS A MESSAGE BOARD JUST FOR LAP BANDERS ... SO, CHECK OUT THE "FORUM" & SEE IF YOU CAN FIND IT. I HAVE ABOUT 160 #s TO LOSE & LAP BANDERS TEND TO LOSE SLOWER & LESS WEIGHT OVERALL. ALSO, I'M NOT SURE IF THIS IS ALL LAP BAND PROCEDURES, BUT I WAS TOLD THAT THE BAND HAS TO BE TIGHTENED EVERY SO OFTEN. THAT DIDN'T APPEAL TO ME. I'M 52 YEARS OLD & HAVE SUFFERED WITH OBESITY & ALLLLLLL THE RELATED HEALTH ISSUES FOR 20 YEARS OR SO ... I DIDN'T WANT ANY PROCEDURE THIS RADICAL TO BE SOMETHING I COULD REVERSE ... I WANTED MY MIND TO REALIZE THAT THIS WAS PERMANENT SO I HAVE COMPLETE FOCUS ON SUCCEEDING. PERIOD. NO ESCAPE BACK TO "NORMALCY" & OBESITY. ALSO, I TRUST MY FAMILY DOCTOR COMPLETELY. HE IS VERY CONSERVATIVE & CAUTIOUS BUT HE SAID THAT IF I WAS GOING FOR THIS TYPE OF SURGERY, THE ONLY DOCTOR HE WANTED ME TO GO TO WAS DR BYRNE AT MUSC. BOTH DR BYRNE & THE STAFF AT MUSC ARE THE ABSOLUTE BEST IN THE REGION. THEIR REPUTATIONS ARE FANTASTIC. I COULDN'T AGREE MORE. IF I HAD TO DO THIS 10 MORE TIMES TO GET IT RIGHT, I'D GO BACK TO DR BYRNE & MUSC ... BUT, IT WAS DONE RIGHT THE 1st TIME & I CAN'T BRAG ENOUGH ON THE MUSC STAFF & DR BYRNE. OTHER THAN MARRYING MY NICK, I'VE NEVER DONE ANYTHING AS GOOD FOR ME THEN HAVING WLS. WITHIN 3 WEEKS I WAS OFF ALL MEDICATIONS EXCEPT MY HEART MEDICATION (MY HEART CONDITION IS NOT RELATED TO OBESITY). I WAS JUST TESTED & ALLLLLLLL OF MY MEDICAL PROBLEMS ARE GONE AFTER SUFFERING WITH THEM FOR DECADES. THE PAIN IN MY JOINTS HAS DEMINISHED AT LEAST 95% & I'M NOW ABLE TO WALK & MOVE AROUND NORMALLY. CONSIDERING THAT NICK HAD TO HELP ME OUT OF BED, OFF THE COUCH OR OFF CHAIRS & OUT OF OUR CAR ... &, THAT I COULDN'T EVEN WALK AROUND WAL*MART TO SHOP FOR GROCERIES WITHOUT SITTING DOWN 2 OR 3 TIMES BEFORE THE SURGERY ... MY MOBILITY HAS IMPROVED SO MUCH THAT I TRULY NEVER THOUGHT, EVEN WITH THE SURGERY, THAT I WOULD EVER BE ABLE TO WALK NORMALLY AGAIN ... BUT, HERE I AM DOING JUST THAT. MY VORACIOUS APPETITE IS GONE, GONE, GONE. FOOD DOESN'T RULE MY EVERY WAKING MOMENT. I'M BEGINNING TO BE ACTIVE AGAIN FOR THE 1st TIME IN LITERALLY YEARS. NICK & I HAVE HOPE & PLANS FOR THE FUTURE NOW. I COULD WRITE A BOOK AS TO WHY I HAD GASTRIC BYPASS & WHAT IMPROVEMENTS IT HAS GIVEN ME IN LIFE. DON'T HESITATE ... GET INFORMED & GET THE BEST SURGEON & HOSPITAL STAFF YOU CAN FIND ... &, THEN BEGIN TO REALLY LIVE YOUR LIFE TO THE FULLEST, WYN. WITH EVERYONE I KNOW THAT HAS HAD GASTRIC BYPASS, I DON'T KNOW 1 PERSON *****GRETS IT. SOME HAVE HAD THE "AFTER SURGERY REGRETS" BUT ONCE THEIR BODIES BEGAN TO HEAL, THEY ARE RIGHT THERE BRAGGING ABOUT THEIR WEIGHT LOSS & IMPROVED HEALTH & LIFESTYLES. I'VE LOST 50 #s IN 69 DAYS ... THAT'S ALMOST 3/4 OF A # A DAY AVERAGE. I'M ALMOST 1/3 OF THE WAY TO MY GOAL IN 10 WEEKS. I DON'T KNOW OF ANY PROGRAM THAT CAN OFFER THAT KIND OF SUCCESS. WITH OUR LCBBuddies (LOW COUNTRY BYPASS BUDDIES), MR DAVID HAS LOST 22 #s IN JUST DAYS ... MS SUSANN HAS LOST 46 #s ... MS BRITTY HAS LOST 70 #s ... MS WENDY HAS LOST 92 #s ... MS BARBARA HAS LOST 108 #s & I THINK MS TOWANA HAS LOST 68 #s ... THOSE ARE IMPRESSIVE NUMBERS & THOSE ARE JUST THE ONES I CAN REMEMBER OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD! JOIN US ON THURSDAY EVENINGS BETWEEN 6:00 - 7:30 AT OUR LCBB MEETINGS. MS SUSANN WILL POST WHERE WE'LL MEET EACH WEEK. WE HAVE MEMBERS THAT ARE FROM PRE-OP TO A YEAR+ POST-OP. YOU WON'T MEET A NICER GROUP OF PEOPLE. IF YOU WANT, GIVE MS SUSANN YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS & SHE WILL SEND YOU A GROUP E-MAIL REMINDING YOU EACH WEEK OF THE MEETING & WHERE WE WILL MEET. GOD BLESS YOU DAWN & NICK PS: FORGIVE ME, BUT PLEASE TELL ME IF YOU ARE MALE OR FEMALE ... I CAN'T TELL BY YOUR NAME OR YOUR PROFILE INFO ... OR, I'M JUST DENSE AS A BRICK THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING!