slimcolagirl

you still have gas after nearly a year of being banded? Is it still painful and in your shoulder/neck or are you just farting a lot? I am dealing with gas pains now and it's ultra annoying and painful... much more bothersome than even the incisions.

I'm happy for you but... I jumped the gun and had the surgery done in Mexico before getting the final word from my insurance. (I'm blue cross anthem too) well, 2 days after getting back from mexico I got the email that I was approved for surgery. Now I will be paying a cool $4K extra for the procedure and aftercare/fills. Of course I did my consult in mid Nov and only got the word this morning. If my approval had happened in two days I could've saved a lot of money. Word to the wise, dont' jump the gun. wait for you insurance company to give final word before you go self-pay. :-( at least I had the money and surgery is done, but I could've used the savings during these tight times. Hopefully they'll agree to pay a significant portion of my aftercare.

I don't expect people to really "get" my situation with the band, which I guess is why I'm not telling anyone about it for a very long time. I've got all kinds of stories I'm going to tell when it comes to why I'm not eating a lot or eating very slowly. I'm prepared to lie my ass off. Is this totally wrong? I'm only 2 days post op and haven't had the pleasure of eating with people yet. The first time I do it will be an experience and probly not as easy as I thought it would be. But yeah since everything revolves around food I expect that a lot of people will be caught off guard but what your restrictions are.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A10QP8dVnQQ]YouTube - Dr. Ortiz - Interviews a Teenager[/ame]

ok my turn... I'm going thru a special situation with my "friends". Most of them fell slave to the charlie (cocaine) in the last few years. As a result I don't talk to any of them much anymore. None of them are overweight and would understand anyway. No more whining about my weight, loss of friends, family stuff, whatever! I'm getting banded in less than a week and am so freakin' excited to turn my life around. I tried to tell my mom. She expressed fear of losing her only child on the operating table as a result of a frivilous weight loss surgery that might not even work. So I let her think I cancelled or changed my mind. Another friend I discussed my wls consult with told me I wasn't big enough to have such a drastic surgery and just needed to eat lighter, so she wasn't very supportive either. My father, a health nut and life long fitness enthusiast, would not be supportive at all of such a procedure. Everyone would think I was MAD to have it done in Mexico. So I've decided to keep this just between me and my ultra supportive husband, who has seen my struggles with weight loss in the past years and thinks I would do very well with the band. He is as excited as I am. I don't regret the decision to keep it a secret. It's a nice little juicy fact that only I know. People can be so judgemental about these things. Hell even Oprah is against them and she's fat AND my idol! (it's ok girl, ur entitled to ur opinion.) It's gonna be fantastic when everyone starts noticing the pounds peel off. I don't want others paying any attention to how much I eat, or whether I exercise all the time. I just want them to one day notice that I'm looking great. They'll be jealous I'm managing to get healthier, happier and hotter while they snort their miseries away in some dingy club every weekend. They'll want to know how I did it. They'll want to know my secret. But I'll never tell. HAHAHahahahaha

I tried to tell a friend, who said I didn't need it and wants to start cooking low fat meals with me instead. Also tried to tell my mom, who stayed up all night crying and told me she couldn't bare to lose her only child in surgery. I let them both think I changed my mind about the procedure... but I'll be banded on Jan 9th in Tijuana, Mexico. I'm lower BMI and being banded outside the US. There are a lot of people who would stop me in my tracks if I told them what I was doing. It's a risk I am willing to take and I'm so excited about it. My husband is behind me all the way and I appreciate his support, but I won't be telling ANYONE else about this procedure for a while. I agree with luluc completely... better to do this without the watchful eyes of others, especially if I lose slowly. Also its kind of cool to have this juicy secret tucked away from others. If I lose a LOT, I'll just tell them that I was banded and didn't want anyone to worry. Easy as pie.

Hey don't be scared of the diet. Every doctor has his own strategy for helping patients lose weight before the surgery so listen to what he says. Ask him if you can add it to you daily diet, since it's savory and it'll help you to stay on the wagon. I assume eating broth would not really keep the pounds from coming off during the preop, unless he has an issue with the sodium content.

tracey1034, I here in San Francisco... go Bay Area! :-D I have been looking for people around here. Looks like we have a similar story and a similar surgery date. I've got a Jan 9th appt with Dr. Ortiz. My decision to go to OCC was rather quick as well, as my husband thought I was crazy at first. I've def had second thoughts about the surgery in the past few days, probly cause I started the preop diet and I'm a bit frazzled anyway. So I have two things to tell you that will hopefully make you feel better. First, my husband helped me research OCC and Dr.Ortiz online and came up with nearly all positives. Second, my local Lapband doctor has a lot of respect for OCC, and will do aftercare/fills with me even though I'm being banded outside of the US. That in itself is an endorsement. What a fantastic gift to yourself! A little bit of nervousness is good so don't worry about it. If my family and friends knew I was going to have surgery in Mexico they would send the guys in white coats to drag me off. I've done my research so I'm confident that this is a really good step. Financially it makes sense, and Dr.Ortiz has way more lapband experience than any American surgeon.

Yes you might need another fill, but this is also a great opportunity to uncover why you eat. Are you bored, anxious, stressed out by a particular situation? Combination of a few things? Start keeping a journal now of how you're feeling when you eat and you're not hungry right now.