I suppose you could freeze garlic if you could stare at it with that GTH look you have mastered with you S/O.....or if you catch it running away and say "FREEZE!"
As far as the Lap band.....Here are my thoughts because DF and I just went to a 3 hour Obesity clinic and learned a LOT about why someone would opt for it, why someone would change their minds, what you could do or should do instead, what they are requiring NOW before you commit to it, and what most people do NOT realize - that the actual follow-up is a LIFE-LONG committment. That part blew me away. And I'll explain why. I'll also tell you about what Medicare is now as of 7/21/09 requiring.
First of all crazymom is correct about that there are three procedures.
The first is where they re-route your esophagus and basically eliminate it from going into your stomach but DO NOT remove your stomach. They create a pouch that will hold 2 oz. of food and you have to learn to eat smaller portions. This IS reversable but not recommended. The most asked question was "what happens if you cheat - will you stretch your pouch or stomach out?" and the answer was that should you attempt to not keep to the lifestyle change for life there is the chance that with this procedure you could gain the weight back. Trying to overeat will make you sick.
The second is where they actually remove part of your stomach and staple the remaining portion shut to create a 2oz stomach. Nothing is rerouted but your stomach is thrown out, can't be reattached ever, it will never grown back. the answer was "NO - you will think you are dying - throw up and you will ONLY do it once."
The third is where they stitch a water-type-filled life preserver apparatus around the top portion of your stomach to create a 2oz. pouch. they stitch a portion of your stomach over the life-preserver to hold it in place and run an air-type tube down to a ring that is to the right of your belly button that has a hole in it. This hole can be filled with solution that will travel up the tube that fills up the preserver making it tight around the stomach and thus creating a pouch. The ring is permanent - it is never removed. You can feel it if you press on anyones belly that has had the procedure. Once you loose the weight - and have adjusted to a lifestyle of exercise and healthy eating - I asked if you would go back in and have it removed. I was told NO. Whatever it was that caused you to GAIN the weight - would come back despite changing your eating habits and exercise habits....(I found that hard to believe...but figured that ring would be removed eventually - and nope - it stays there for life).....
Okay so my next question - if it's there for life - how long is follow up care? The answer? For life. After surgery? Three weeks visit, SIx week visit, then six months then one year......then every year, once a year after that AND if you move you have to find a doctor that is certified and have your records transferred from the clinic you had this surgery done at to that office AND they charge to make copies of your records each time you move AND you have to have copies send to ANY OTHER doctors you see because once you have this surgery done there are certain prescriptions that you WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO TAKE AGAIN and your MD, GP, OBGYN will need to KNOW that you have had this surgery. YOUR Hospital will need to know - FOR LIFE.
SO - it's not like - you can have this done and NO ONE will ever know. EVERYONE will know. FOREVER. And the thought of paying for visits every year to be checked until I'm 85 - or whatever were like - NAH.
Now as far as cost/insurance and how long it takes to find out if you qualify. Once you start the paperwork and you have to do MOST of the calling and filling out and with YOUR insurance company. The offices of the surgery centers do not. That responsibility is yours. First you have to find out if your insurance even allows it, how much they will cover - then you need to see an MD to get a referral TO the obseity center. From there - they have a gigantic packet of stuff you have to fill out and correspond with your insurance co. All this takes about six weeks. You will be calling the insurance company - and the surgery center.
If you don't have insurance the average cost ranges from 26,000.00 to 39,000.00. You ALSO are required to get a psychological exam from a psychiatrist to make sure that you are doing the surgery for the right reasons.
My husand says I'm fat, I hate the way I look - will not get you an approval - I want to be healthier - will. But it's not that easy.
Medicare patients are now REQUIRED to have a six MONTH DOCUMENTED exercise and diet daily record from a qualifying dietitian, gym or health spa with written records - SIX MONTHS.....it has to be Weight watchers, curves....something like that and it has to be SHOWN that you did it under an MD's care - with records to match. They passed this rule recently to make sure that people were TRYING diet and lifestyle change as a first resort.
What they told us about HOW much weight you lost was a little disappointing. I figured with a 2 oz stomach the weight would POUR off you. I thought - If I did have this done I'd be thin in a year..back to a size 5-6 by this time next year....and when they put the statistics up and showed actual peoples picture of last year in July and then brought them up I expected a WOW factor of 10 - and while I was proud for them I was not impressed. 30 lbs.....in 1 year. $26,000.00/30 lbs. Lifelong committment/dr appts/more money - ring in my belly???? Hmmm.
After the seminar - and after I looked around at all the people in the room I wanted to hug them all. There were people there that were so obese that they had to bring in special chairs for them to sit in. I know (sadly) they were in excess of 600 lbs. And it doesn't take much to get there so it's not like anyone was judging anyone else in the room....but it just made me sit there and think - OMG I am ONLY 140 lbs overweight - I can try something else----I have to try this - my insurance has a $2500.00 deductible, I can't miss ANY work- I don't want to do this for LIFE...with a ring near my belly button - I think I'd feel like a blow up mattress.
It made me sad for the people in the room like myself who have probably NO idea HOW we got like this...Angry, bitter, we give up - we think What is the use, no one cares...I go see my doctor I got told I am just FAT....and things spiral, we get depressed and we eat.....That's not what happened to me....but I know it happens to a lot of people.
So I got lucky - found a Nurse that gave a hang - told her LOOK SISTER I need help - and made a list of ALL the junk that is bugging me. EVERY LAST THING.....I asked for tests - I'm not a medical person - Most of what I know medical I get here from the smart medical know it alls here who say - TRY THIS...and I ask for that....and now In a month? I feel a little better, I've lost 12 lbs.....in one month.....that's almost 1/2 of what I would have lost in a year to the lap band. And I'm still loosing.
I'd be glad to help your friend if she wants to try what I'm trying or ask her dr. to test her for what I got tested for. I think it would help a lot of women. My NP said "OMG look at your blood sugars...." and now we can move on to the next set of problems." so maybe before your friend commits to this - she should consider giving her body a six week trial of a lifestyle change and mild exercise -and I mean MILD....not diet either - just throwing out junk....
I'm sure she is beautiful.....she just needs to know that......It's working for my other friend who was going to have lap band - she's already lost 9 lbs in 3 weeks.
Hugs -
STar