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I had my surgery in Juarez, by Dr. Natera. I was in a private hospital that was very clean!! He did a wonderful job. The only problem was finding aftercare. My aftercare is being provided by a surgeon from San Antonio, Dr. Steggeman. Dr. Steggeman informed me at my appointment Friday that he and 8 other bariatric doctors in Texas are going to start doing surgery in Mexico starting January 2010. They are contracting with a hospital in Cancun that has the same standards as US hospitals. The cost of labor and materials is just so much cheaper in Mexico that they can offer their cash pay customers a much cheaper surgery rate if they do the surgery in Mexico. That way people can have a US surgeon do their surgery for a cheaper price and then come back to the US for aftercare. Lapband patients will stay three days, and bipass patience will stay five days.

I had my Labpand surgery done in Mexico. I am a cash pay customer and just could not afford the price of the surgery in the US. I do my aftercare with a Doctor from San Antonio, Dr. Steggeman. According to Dr. Steggeman, at the beginning of next year (January 2010), he and 8 other surgeons from Texas will be offering to do surgeries in Mexico. So that cash pay customers can have the cheaper cost associated with surgery in Mexico, but still use a US doctor. These 8 doctors will be doing a rotation in Cancun, Mexico. Lapband patients will stay three days, and Bipass patients will stay five days. They will be using a hospital that has the same standards as a US hospital. Just the labor and materials cost in Mexico allow them to charge much less for the surgery. Just thought I would share:smile:.

Everyone is different when it comes to how they lose weight, so your body is neither strange or horrible!!!

Mine is on the left a few inches above my waist line.

I take 5000 mg of Biotin everyday along with my other supplements. On one occasion I skipped taking the biotin for three days, and I started losing a lot more hair. So I started taking it again and the hair loss slowed down drastically. Which as you can imagine makes me a firm believer in the biotin!! Everyone is different, but this has really helped me considerably. I have very fine/thin hair regularly so I did not want to take any chances on losing any more than I had to!!

I can totally relate to this. I have been morbidly obese for so long it is VERY hard for me to see myself at the "normal" weight range I should be at. SOOO my goal is to weight less than 200 lbs. So I set my first goal at 199, and will be completely ecstatic about that weight :thumbdown:! I have an OMG goal as well though, and that is to lose a total of 100 lbs. I am not so hung up on my final weight, I just want to be healthier and fit into any restaurant booth, on any amusement park ride, etc. :biggrin:!!

This is the only rule I have not been able to follow. I have tried, but just can't. I do not have a problem with not drinking after a meal, it's the during the meal that I can't handle. So I am a during the meal sipper :thumbdown:. Bad Bad, I know!

I took off three days butted up next to a weekend. So I did not work for a total of five days.

I personally waited 6 months before my first fill. I was losing steadily and felt restriction. I chose to get my first fill because my weight loss was getting slower and slower and I noticed that I could eat more than before. You know your body better than anyone else, so I say follow your instincts. Congrats on your lose so far!! Keep up the good work!!!

I took gas-x strips, but never used them. I stayed overnight in the hospital. The thing that really saved me was a sippy cup. Before banding I drank quickly and took large drinks. I did that once after banding which caused pain!! So the childs sippy cup was a lifesaver for me. I used it for about a week until I learned to take tiny drinks. Playtex has a sippy cup that looks like a small travel coffee mug, so not so babyish. I bought this in the baby section of walmart.

I eat spicy foods almost daily, I LOVE LOVE LOVE them! No issues what so ever! Went to a Crawfish Festival a couple of weeks ago, was sucking wind because it was so spicy :thumbup:!!

I drink tea daily, and coffee about 4 mornings a week. No problems at all!

I live in Texas, there are many good Doctors in Texas. San Antonio would not be a bad drive for you and they have many many bariatric doctors there. I myself chose to have my surgery in Mexico. I have insurance, but it would not cover the LapBand surgery. So being that I was a cash pay customer I could not afford the surgery in the U.S. (Basically half price in Mexico). I love my band, but it is not the answer to all of your problems. It is a great TOOL to help you succeed in weight loss, but you HAVE to do your part! You can definitely eat around your band. So if you are not willing to make a lifestyle change then the lapband is probably not the surgery you want or need! If you are not willing to change your eating habits then most likely you will be greatly disappointed in your band! Good luck in your search, and with what ever you decide to do.

I flew 4 days after surgery with no problems at all, but I was on liquids at the time. I go to a wine tasting once a week, and have not had problems with that either :thumbup:. Have a wonderful trip!!!!