Christopher

I have been using Mederma on my scars. It is a bit pricy, but it is something you can buy over the counter. It is great stuff. I would recommend it.

They recommend lots of walking. Nothing much else for 3 weeks. Then you can get into weight lifting, eliptical machine, things like that. BUT, NO ABDOMINAL exercises for 3 months. I have had my band for a month and a half, and there really is nothing I can't do. I have not tried abs, and am not going to until the 3 month mark.

I am sure the broth is fine. You will need to compare the calories in the slimfast. You need to check your diet information and make sure the slimfast will meet those requirements. Good luck to you.

My insurance company pays for the lapband, but there were so many hurdles to overcome that it was not possible to actually get them all completed. So I made the decision to go to OCC. I asked them for a receipt I could submit to my insurance company and they had it ready for me as I was leaving the day after my surgery. I faxed it to my insurance company along with a claim form and expected it to be denies, but it was wortha shot. I did not hear anything from them and I tracked my claim online and it was not there. 20 days later, I faxed it in again. In about 5 days, I could see it was entered and showing up online. It was showing that they needed more information about the claim. I went to the OCC to get my first fill and and asked them for a copy of my medical records for the insurance comapny. They had it waiting for me when I got there. I was all ready to fax them in and when I got home, there was a check in the mail. I was so excited. Granted, they got me on my deductible and out of network charges, but I still ended up with half of what I paid for the surgery. Thank you Cigna. Thought I would share with you all.

The Lean Cuisines are a great low calorie food. You can have a shake for breakfast, a shake for lunch and for dinner, you can have a Lean Cuisine. There really are some good ones out there. My personal fovorites are Salsbury Steak w Mac & Cheese,Sweedish Meatballs and Noodles, and in Lean Pockets, I love the Soft bake Philly Cheesesteak. I never thought I would be recommending Lean Cuisines, but they are really good. Hang in there. You have already lost a lot of weight and that is just awesome. Let me know how things are going.

That one by itself, no you will be alright. You can do this.

You have got to stick with the diet. I know it is hard, I had the same cravings. I had to fight myself and tell myself that if I could not control myself now, what would happen if I did that with the band on. You just have to think through it and remember that even though it may be tough, the payoff is incredible. Make sure you eat little bites and chew each bite 30 times. This is a good time to begin preparing for what eating is going to be like with the band. It also fills you up more. Just thought I would throw this in there. My favorite Lean Cuisines are the salsbury steak and mac-n-cheese as well as the swedish meatballs. I was really surprised at how well they actually taste. Hang in there. It is tough, but keep thinking of what you are trying to accomplish and where you want to be.

Don't worry about the liquid only diet afterwards. You will not want to eat anything. Truly, you are not going to feel any hunger pains at all. I ate (drank) chicken broth and really that was enough. It really filled me up. I actually got used to eating it. It is not that bad. You can do it!!

What I did for my pre-op diet was to do a protein shake for breakfast and a protein shake for lunch, then I did lean cuisine for dinner. I did that for two weeks. Make sure that you do purchase the fiber pills and take one when you are hungry. It really did help me. I travel a lot and I would eat at McDonalds or soemthing equivilant 2 out of 3 meals a day and nothing much healthier for dinner. When I was at home, I rarely cooked and when I did, most of the time it included something fried and mac and cheese. I love mac and cheese. Anyway, I was not making the best of choices. When I began my pre-op diet, I was not sure I was going to be able to do it. The first day or two was kinda rough, but I gotta tell you, the lean cuisine ws the best tasting thing I had ever eaten after two shakes during the day. You would ahve thought I struck it rich. After a few days, I really did not even feel any hunger pains. It was kinda neat. I lost almost 20 pounds in 2 weeks on the pre-op diet. Mostly becuase I was not eating all that crap I was eating before. Made me really think about it all. Pick the best options for you. I chose the 2 week diet in case I screwed up once or twice, I would have time to make corrections. BUT, I never missed a beat. It was pretty cool. Good luck to you. You are going to have a great experience.

I just got my AT&T Cell Phone bill from last month when I went to get my surgery done. The phone said I had a signal and I assumed I was getting it from San Diego. Guess I was wrong. I was charged 79cents per minute to call from my cell phone. Text messages in Mexico to the states cost me 50cents each. When you are in the hospital, there are phones in every room and you can make unlimited calls to the US for free from your hospital room. You are only in there for less than 24 hours, but take advantage of it while you have it. With that being said, I would never have changed the entire experience. It was great. I have already lost 30 pounds since I began my diet & had the surgery and I am looking and feeling great. I just wanted to let those of you who are heading that way to know about the cell charges so you are not surprised. Maybe some of the other carriers do not charge you????

WOW!!! Congratulations to you. You look absolutely fantastic. I was banded 3 weeks ago and I hope when I am all done I look as good as you do. Way to go!!!

Congratulations. I think that you look great. I am going in for my surgery in 2 weeks. I hope I can get the results you have. I think you look fantastic. Way to go!!!

I called all those companies as well. Surgeryloans.com actually "bids out the loan" to other banks and comes back with several offers. All the offers were very consistent. I had one come in at 14.9% and everyone else was at 19.90%, They said the rates were so high becuase it is an unsecured loan and they have nothing to come and get if you do not pay it. Now, when surgeryloans.com called me back and told me what my offers were, they had the 14.90% & the rest were 19.90%. I asked if they had any offers like 6 months no interest or somethign like that. They had a program, 6 months same as cash and I think there was a also a year version of that. So, that would save you a lot of money in the long run. In the end, I spoke with my credit card company and they gave me 1 year at 4.99%, and then I would move to the normal rate of 10.99%. This worked out better for me. Hope this helps. Good luck to you.

I am scheduled for December 14 and am very excited. I will begin my pre-op diet tomorrow. Spent a couple hours today shopping. I am ready to start my new life. I am so excited I just can't stand it. I know we will all be glad when it is over and we can embark on our new journey.

Thank you so much for the reply. It makes me feel better knowing that people are not going to be staring and wondering what happened to me.