Fat, Fat, Fat..........................

Hey, I'm Keith, from Chattanooga. I've been on here once before and got some useful information. I have been trying to get together funding for the Lap-Band, because I have no insurance and work very little. I have unmanageable swelling in my legs which means I wor****il I can no longer walk then put my feet up, wait until they go down, and start all over. I have applied for help. It just takes a long time. So, enough *****in', I have chosen Dr. Ponce and have seen him. At this point I am waiting for money and losing weight for the surgery. Anybody have any thoughts or ideas about any of this? I'm a male, 35, crazy, and abnormal.........

No thoughts on how to raise the money. Just want to let you know that I'll be praying that something does come through for you. If you are trying to lose weight on your own, you are at least moving in the right direction. Anything you can lose pre-op will make the surgery go that much easier. Good luck and welcome back to the board. Susan

Good morning Keith you need to go to top of this page and click on the word forum ,then scroll down till you get to lap-band.. you will find all sorts of information and help and advice there , it is a very popular board and gettting much more popular every day .. I was told at Centennial Hospital where I had my surgery in Nashville, they are doing hundreds of lap-bands every year and it is really getting more popular by the day no tubing. no needles in the neck. no cahteraters no vomitting at least not for me... this was the easist surgery I have ever had..... many of us are from Tenessee too..and Arkansas and Texas and Aabama and Georgia and everywhere else... most on all the other boards are RNYS and this lap-band surgery is really different in many ways and also the problems are different I had lap-band surgery this past Thursday and came home the next morning no pain no gas just feeling really sore in my tummy and very tired and have gotten a little stronger every day .. also i have lost 6 lb already by following my surgeons's instructions I attribute much of my sucess by all the support and caring I received on the lap-band board Of course I had a well experienced surgeon, Dr David Dyer and Centennial takes excellent care also... I knew what was going to happen and what to expect, how to prepare, good luck sure hope you get your funding when you come into the lap-band forum you will also learn much more about the problems bandsters DO have and you can make up your mind better after all lap-band is not right for everyone but then again .. neither is RNY... after studying it all. Do not give up ... Do not get discouraged..sincerely ....Arianna

Hi Keith, have they checked around your heart and lungs for fluid build ups? When my left leg swells up, it's because i have fluids around my heart (congestive heart failure) and lungs. I am on a water pill each day because of it, I don't use salt, I use substitute salt, onion powder or garlic powder instead of onion salt and garlic sal****ch your intake of those as salt will cause you to retain fluids. Keep working on losing the weight, and excercise daily. But get the water retention checked and have them put you on a daily workout program. I wish you the best. Some Dr.'s offices will allow you to pay in payments or getting the surgery financed. You might check into that option. May God be with you on this journey, love Kathy

Keith, Everyone else has given you great advise, I really don't have anything to add however, here is a link to a website that does financing for medical procedures. http://www.advancedpatient.com/ Good luck Toni

Hey Keith, I'm sort of in the same boat as you... 35, fat fat fat... I was fortunate to have some equity built up in my home, so I'm refinancing it to pay for my Mini Gastric Bypass surgery ($17k). If you own your home, maybe you have some equity yourself? Or maybe you've already thought of that... Just trying to help.