MyNext30Years

The more I think about it, I think no since I can't have pulp.

Will do thanks. Hopefully they're quick on the weekend too!

Ok, so I'm 10 days post op and have started the creamy soups. Unfortunately, someone (rotating between the 4 of us) has either been puking or running for the past 4 days in my house. Tack on fever to that for me today = NOT FUN! So my question is, can we have applesauce on the liquid stage. I think it would be comforting to my recovering and SICK stomach! Thanks!

We ended up going to Rosarita and on Revolution Ave. in TJ the day after surgery - my best day. I probably over did it a little. My mom and I had a great time though. The next day was kind of a bust because they wanted like $150 to drive us to San Diego and back, so we just went to the mall in TJ and didn't see anything worth the trip - except for my gatorade. Well, I PAID for it the next morning, woke up at 3am sick and ended up throwing up as we were getting ready for the airport. Other than that I've been fine. I'm barely even still sore.

I think I met you the morning of your surgery. The driver took you back to the Lucerna to pick up your stuff and then took me back to the Marriott. I remember you saying your husband wasn't supportive - although mine is being fairly supportive - he still made the off hand comment that once I dropped the weight, I would drop him. I know he was only joking but I'm sure it's in the back of his head for him to say it. My point is, maybe your husband has the same fear. I'm on day 9 and added creamy soups yesterday and protein shakes a couple of days ago. I just couldn't take it anymore! I think the worst for me was the day we came home and all the food places/smells at the airport! BTW, I emailed Dr. Miranda yesterday and she cleared me for all liquids - just NO chunks and since you're only a day behind me, you should be now too.

Thank you! I definitely took advantage of the free calls while I was there. FYI, pingo.com worked pretty well - the only complaint is that there was a slight delay but overall it definitely served the purpose and I only paid like $5 for almost 300 minutes. I would definitely recommend it!

Congrats! You look great!

By the way, how are you feeling? Better, I hope! I've been doing ok except for yesterday - the day we left. I woke up nauseous and threw up - I think it might have been a combo of not eating/drinking enough broth the day before and chugging too quickly. Starting to feel hungry tonight.

Hi there! I was banded a couple of days after you were - we almost did dinner together the day after your surgery, but you weren't feeling up to it! What day are you starting the creamy soups? The paperwork says 7-10 days (I think) but Dr. Miranda circled the 10 days. Just curious.

I've also been trying to add pictures to my gallery with no luck. I'm pretty sure it's NOT a picnic (problem in chair, not in computer) as I'm pretty computer literate!

FYI, you're not the only one. I just had my surgery on 2/24 and ended up with a gain of 4 lbs. (Actually it was about 8, but I lost down to the 4.) I was lucky because Dr. Ortiz said my insides looked very healthy. I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone!

I have the same problem and I use both IE 7 and Mozilla Firefox. It cleared up for about a day or two - about a week ago and then the problem came back. I can email a print screen if it would be helpful.

Ok, so I'm being banded in 11 days and of course I now have a sinus and ear infection. I went to a local Prompt Care and told the nurse pract. about my upcoming surgery and how I needed to be well. Her daughter actually had the band done too but in a close by city. Anyway, she was full of questions but not in a bad way. Her only concern was if I travel all that way to get the procedure done and my pre-op tests show anemia or something, what happens? Would I have to come back and pay for another flight, etc.? She said their office actually does a lot of pre-ops for eye drs., etc. Would it be wise to get some type of blood testing done BEFORE I go? I've read a lot of these threads (definitely not all) but I've never seen any where someone was turned away or had to come back.

Sabrina, I haven't been banded yet, but I have already bought some chewable multivitamins. They are the Flintstones Vitamins and also contain iron. My mom was with me when I bought them, chew calcium, & chew gas-x and she told me to try to get the vitamins w/ iron. You might want to try something like that. I think I bought all my stuff at Sams Club, but I was also in Target recently (looking for the fiber gummies - thanks Angie!) and they have a HUGH selection of gummy and chewable pills.

My cell is with NTelos which I'm guessing is what you're calling a regional provider. Although I have a nationwide plan, it's home base is very limited to VA and maybe the borders of a couple of other states. They told me that they (Mexico I guess) use a different type of signal than we do and that it wouldn't work at all. I don't know. I'm afraid to even have it turned on for fear of picking up on a tower and getting charged. I think I read where the motel charged someone a fee of like $10 or something to use an 800 number to call home for a couple of minutes, so that's not really an option either. Maybe we'll just do some sight seeing in San Diego on Friday and make the call then. Ok, on a different note. I have another question for you ladies. My husband just rolled his eyes at me when I asked him. I bought some of those glove inserts call Warm Hands or something like that. Skiiers, hunters, etc. use them to keep warm. At lot of people have said they used a heating pad, so I bought them for the plane ride home. They are supposed to last for 10 hours and a 6 pk was only $2. Am I crazy? Are you rolling your eyes too? Heck they might not pass through security! LOL

I'm having my surgery in 2.5 weeks (YIPPEE) and am trying to figure out the best way to call home to my family during my stay. I know it's free from the OCC, but from what I can tell, I'm only going to be there less than 24 hrs. My mom and I are staying an extra day for sight seeing and my kids are small, so I'm going to need to be able talk to them on a semi-regular basis (at least daily.) In my quick google research, I found www.pingo.com where you can purchase inexpensive calling cards to call to and from multiple countries. They have a local 800 for Mexico to use. Has anyone tried this? Anything else? My cell provider says it won't work and even if it did they don't have an international plan, so I don't want that bill!!

Can you tell us a little more about your unfill at the OCC? Did you know right away or have to make a trip back? I live across the country and although I am pretty much decided to go back for my fills, I worry about needing an unfill.

Unfortunately, all of that sounds right to me. Although I'm not a CPA, I do have a BS in accounting and look at tax returns almost everyday for my work. I also understand enough about my tax returns that I know about the Schedule A and being able to deduct only the difference of total expenses and 7.5% of AGI (adjusted gross income) - believe me, I have a chronic sinusitis problem that will reap hefty medical bills some years. I know that when we rented, we didn't have enough $$ itemized to use a schedule A because the standard deduction was far above our total from "A" and also because of the stipulation of the medical expenses w/ the difference of the 7.5% makes it really hard to claim that way. Fortunately, I stumbled across this life changing event right before our open enrollment period at work and was able to contribute into my Flex Spending Account (FSA) for part of the surgery and I will hopefully be able to use my husband's Health Savings Account (HSA) for the difference (FSA max contribution is $5,000.) Although my FSA administrator said that the flights, hotel stays, etc. were not covered since this procedure is available in the US - I disagree since I wouldn't qualify if I went to a Dr. here even though I'm obese. I didn't fight it because it didn't matter due to being maxed out anyway, but it might be a battle I fight w/ my husband's HSA administrators. We'll see how that goes when the time comes. It will be a while before we'll have enough $$ built up in that to pull out the difference from the cost of surgery vs. my $5k FSA account. Overall, w/ just the OCC bill, I should save approx. $2K. I'm such a tight wad, if I would have found out about the OCC on Jan. 1 - I probably would have made myself wait an entire year so I could use the FSA! Oh, and the FSA did require a letter from my Dr. here saying that it was a medical necessity and said they would not accept one from Dr. Ortiz. Luckily my doc did it for me, but since I was signing up for all this during open enrollment and if you contribute and don't use it, you lose it, it was a little stressful because I didn't think she would do it. I hope I made sense!

Thanks Lindsay! I'll do that. I've been trying to research it to see if it really does work and it's hard to know what's the truth!

No where does it say you HAVE to do the shakes and a lean cuisine and that is not going to be my life style after surgery. And no where did I say I plan to do my normal diet before surgery. I'm checking into some options that might be a little different than what they suggest (they have 3 different diet suggestions), but overall, I know that I won't be eating my normal foods come Monday. I know the broth is going to hard, I've been mentally preparing for that for months; however, I also know that I will have my tool (band) at that point that should help me through it. What fits one person, does not fit all and I don't appreciate a lecture about it if I'm a little different because I choose diet option 3 or something else. I'm sorry if this is comes across as harsh, but it struck a nerve with me. I have a lot of other stresses at home right now too, so that could be why - maybe I'm overreacting.

Basically HCG drops are made (synthetically I guess) of the pregnancy hormone (very low variation). It's supposed to control your appetite while you follow a strict 500 calorie a day diet. I know anyone who would follow a 500 calorie a day diet is going to lose weight; however, this is supposed to control your hunger AND pull the fat from stored areas instead of other less desirable areas. I don't know too much obviously. Here is some info from one of the websites. Please excuse my typing because I can't see it!!!! What Is HCG And How Can It Help Me? HCG is a natural hormone/protein substance that helps burn off unneeded excess fat on your thighs, hips, belly, and upper arms and changes the way you eat. Our HCG drops are homeopathic, so they are safe and have virtually no side effects. HCG has been around for over 50 years, so HCG information is abundant and documented. HCG modifies the way you eat and changes your appetite by resetting your hypothalamus, so you can easily maintain the low-calorie diet we recommend through our VLCD program. You'll get all the nutrients your body needs, feel full, and develop the healthy eating habits you've always wanted! HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) is a natural hormone that is found in the body. Taken in very small doses, hCG aids the body in burning its abnormal fat, which is usually found in excess in our stomach, back, butt, hips, thighs, and underside of arms. By employing our proprietary hCG Drops Diet system, the body will consume its own abnormal fat reserves. Taking the hCG drops will cause your hypothalamus (which controls many of the bodies functions such as hunger, metabolism, etc.) to work at reseting your metabolism, so that when you complete the diet, the weight will stay off.

Good morning all! On Mon. 2/1, I will be starting my pre-op diet! YAY - it's almost band time! My question is, does it matter how you lose the weight as long as you lose it? I'm thinking about doing something like HCG drops for a couple of weeks to help get the weight off. I've got my 5% (9 lbs.) to lose plus about 3 lbs. extra that I've put on since decision date (was 8 - lost 5 already). If I can't do the HCG drops, I'll probably do the intro to Atkins that they recommend because I don't think I can do the shakes and lean cuisine. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks so much!

From the results it definitely looks like the people who go to the OCC have fewer fill - but not that many people have voted! I have a question for those of you who have used the OCC. Has anybody ever had to have an unfill? I guess what I'm thinking is, if I decide to go to the OCC for my fills, I'm wondering if they have a better/lower % of unfills than other places since I live across the country.