http://www.lapbandtalk.com/blogs/1/ Lap Band Talk Forum - The largest forum for Lap Band Surgery Discussion and Lap Band Procedure Support en Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:40:30 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.lapbandtalk.com/images/styles/lapband/misc/rss.jpg http://www.lapbandtalk.com/blogs/1/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/blogs/1/blog12961.html Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:43:53 GMT I was with a group of bariatric coordinators and surgeons recently as part of their ongoing commitment to share best practices with the bariatric healthcare community. It was a great opportunity to hear what’s going on in practices across the country and what tools and resources are needed for... I was with a group of bariatric coordinators and surgeons recently as part of their ongoing commitment to share best practices with the bariatric healthcare community. It was a great opportunity to hear what’s going on in practices across the country and what tools and resources are needed for LAP-BAND System patients.

I’d like to share some of the highlights of the conference:


1. Patients are waiting longer to schedule surgery. Patients know they want the LAP-BAND® System, but they’re putting it off. The economy naturally is playing a role. Here’s an alternative: Allergan, the maker’s of the LAP-BAND® System offers exclusive financing options, which can also be used to pay the co-pay and adjustments. Visit www.carecredit.com to learn more.

2. Patients don’t understand the impact of comorbidities on their general health.This is also playing into why they are waiting to have surgery. Studies confirm that obesity increases the risk for serious diseases. The discussion included how Allergan can help educate patients about the positive benefits of losing weight-- improvement or resolution of conditions such as Type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure.

The My LAP-BAND® Journey Health Tracker has a customized co-morbidity tracker so LAP-BAND® System patients can track their condition and share their progress with their surgeon and primary care doctor. As you know, meds often need to be adjusted soon after surgery. This was an important topic of discussion.

3. Bariatric practices report that they now use 95% LAP-BAND AP® System compared to other LAP-BAND® System models.Allergan has evolved a 3^rd generation technology and designed the pre-curved “pillows” to minimize leaks caused by silicone creasing or rubbing where it folds together.

Do you know the differences between Realize™ Band and the latest generation LAP-BAND® System? A lot of patients are asking their surgeons, Allergan laid out the differences. Take a look at http://www.lapband.com/get_informed/obesity_weight_loss/lapband_vs_other/#chart


4. Patient Follow-Up Care. Practices agreed that it was extremely important that patients return for regular visits and check-ups. I’m truly amazed with the level of compassion and care bariatric surgeons, coordinators, NPs and office staff have for their patients. LAP-BAND® System patients are truly lucky.

The bariatric coordinators’ concern is how we can make sure patients understand the importance of regular adjustments. One way is to rely on the My LAP-BAND® Journey Adjustment and Appointment Tracker. Allergan sends emails to Journey members with reminders, and patients can keep track of their adjustments. ]]> alex http://www.lapbandtalk.com/blogs/1/blog12961.html http://www.lapbandtalk.com/blogs/1/blog12960.html Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:19:24 GMT I've been reading many posts lately from members wondering about the differences between the Realize Band and LAP-BAND System.

My first suggestion to these members is to contact their surgeon and ask them to explain their level of experience with each band and what the differences are for the bands.

I'd like to reiterate that both bands offer great online support programs and for more information on the differences, check out:
http://www.lapband.com/get_informed/obesity_weight_loss/lapband_realizeband/ .

I'd like to point out that there are two LAP-BAND sizes and two ports for the surgeon to select the best option for each patient. There seems to be some confusion and talk about the Realize Band port been slimmer—the 1mm is negligible—good marketing perhaps but definitely not something I'd base my decision on.

I've also read a few posts stating there is more online support for patients with the Realize Band. Allergan provides My LAP-BAND® Journey with the FitDay™ food diary, health comorbidity trackers, appointment reminders, goal tracker, weight tracker and the LAP-BAND® friendly Recipe Box free of charge for anybody that's had the LAP-BAND procedure.

I'd also like to clarify misinformation — the Realize Band being smooth vs. the LAP-BAND System pillows is not a benefit. The pillows are 3^rd generation technology and were designed to eliminate crease folds that can cause leaks requiring re-operation and enhance performance. You can see a more detailed comparison at http://www.lapband.com/get_informed/obesity_weight_loss/lapband_realizeband/ or you can read about the differences below:


LAP-BAND AP^® System
Allergan has patented the 360° OMNIFORM^™ technology (soft pillow-like sections for evenly distributed pressure), which is the most advanced technology.

The 7 pre-curved, pillow-like sections embrace the stomach with a natural shape for evenly distributed soft pressure, which provides band stability, reliable restriction, and the ability to personalize your adjustments to control food portion sizes for optimal weight loss.


REALIZE-C Band
REALIZE-C Band is 1 long tube-shaped balloon that may “kink” like a rubber hose when filled with higher levels of saline (see photo above). This “kinking” is called a crease-fold. It is possible that over time this may cause the band to leak saline, which may require an operation to replace the band.
]]> alex http://www.lapbandtalk.com/blogs/1/blog12960.html http://www.lapbandtalk.com/blogs/1/blog10263.html Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:51:50 GMT We've added a few small features to LapBandTalk which should make your experience even more enjoyable than it already is :thumbup:

1. Album Picture Clicks to Next Picture in Album: This feature allow you to click on an album picture to go to the next picture in an album. This feature makes albums work just like in facebook and other sites in regard to what happens when you click on a picture.
2. New Thread Notifications: This feature adds instant email notification for entire forums. If you are subscribed to a forum using instant email notification, whenever a new thread is posted you will be sent an email containing the details and the thread text.
3. Automatic Media Embeder: Allows you to simply 'paste' in a URL (i.e. a youtube link) without needing to know any special tags. However instead of displaying just the URL, it will show the media within the post.

]]> alex http://www.lapbandtalk.com/blogs/1/blog10263.html http://www.lapbandtalk.com/blogs/1/blog10192.html Tue, 02 Jun 2009 03:35:44 GMT Thanks to our active and dedicated members, we received our *1.2 Millionth* post just moments ago! This is a huge milestone and LBT deserves a huge pat on the back :thumbup: Thanks to our active and dedicated members, we received our 1.2 Millionth post just moments ago!

This is a huge milestone and LBT deserves a huge pat on the back :thumbup: ]]> alex http://www.lapbandtalk.com/blogs/1/blog10192.html http://www.lapbandtalk.com/blogs/1/blog10154.html Sun, 31 May 2009 11:33:41 GMT Just to give you an idea on the sites we're launching over the next few weeks:

1) Realize Band Forum
2) RNY Forum
3) WLS Revision Forum
4) Plastic Surgery Forum
5) Recipe Forum
6) Duodenal Switch Forum
7) One Main Site which will pull content from all sites together

I've found that having one web site serving the needs of multiple WLS communities isn't the greatest idea. That's one of the main reasons we're going to keep LBT focused on one thing - Lap-Band and only Lap-Band.

Stay tuned...... ]]> alex http://www.lapbandtalk.com/blogs/1/blog10154.html http://www.lapbandtalk.com/blogs/1/blog10153.html Sun, 31 May 2009 11:29:43 GMT We're happy to announce the launch of http://VerticalSleeveTalk.com ! Over the last few months we've received many requests from LBT members for their own Sleeve surgery forum. You asked, we listened! ]]> alex http://www.lapbandtalk.com/blogs/1/blog10153.html http://www.lapbandtalk.com/blogs/1/blog10152.html Sun, 31 May 2009 11:23:05 GMT It's hight time that I joined the thousands of awesome LBT bandsters and start my own Blog!

Subscribe to this Blog to keep informed on the many new features we plan on announcing in the very near future.

Just to give you an idea......

Lap-Band Surgeon Locator: Allows you to find an approved Lap-Band surgeon closest to your area. You'll be able to read about the Lap-Band surgeons qualifications as well as read real feedback and reviews left by the surgeons own patients. Plus many more feaures.

Bandsters Locator and Profiles: Allows all of our registered members to create a profile with detailed information. This profile will be used to connect our awesome members and allow them to communicate in a much easier and orderly fashion. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

LapBand Resource Center: We're working together with Allergan, the makers of the Lap-Band to bring our banded and yet to be banded members a fantastic multimedia resource. ]]> alex http://www.lapbandtalk.com/blogs/1/blog10152.html