AudricIan

I had my surgery on December 6th. My BMI was 31 on the day of my surgery. I agree that after gastric bypass people are more likely to regain weight. With the band, it is adjustable so when food starts to go down too easy you can have it "tightened" up. Also as you lose weight, there is less fat around the band and the band will loosen up and you will be able to eat more. Then you get a fill. With bypass, you cannot adjust your pouch. AS you lose weight and there is less pressure on your pouch, you can't have your pouch adjusted to compinsate. I have lost about 7 lbs since my surgery, alot of that has to do with the fact that I have to be on liquids and "creamy soups" until the 25th of December. I am ready for a fill though, I am starving, I have never felt hunger pains like these.

Well, I did it. I drove down yesterday and was banded by 3 pm. It was no big deal just as I thought. Everything about Dr. Ortiz' clinic is true. Very clean, state of the art, wonderful staff. I came down alone and everyone thought that I was crazy. I am completely comfortable being her alone. The post op pain is mild, more like a soreness. It was a little hard to sleep because of the gas pains. One of the nurses came in and gave me a massage on my back and it helped so much. Other than that, I don't feel any different than yestrerday. I have been roaming the halls with my paper underwear and gown, just taking it easy. I can't feel that there is an object in my stomach. I am having no prblems with water, juice and broth. Anyone who is nervous about Dr. Ortiz or his clinic, don't worry a bit. You are in great hands. BTW, Dr. Ortiz is HOT and he knows it too.

It is almost here, the big day! I will be in TJ tomorrow morning (12/6) and by the evening I will be banded. I am nervous and excited all at once. I am not too sure how to feel about the whole thing. I went through second thoughts lastnight. That is when I got on LBT to look at all of the before and after pictures. I have my doubts, maybe I will be the one of the unlucky ones who does not lose any weight. What if I fail? Then I slap myself and say I can do this, I have lost a lot of weight before....then I was starving and had to eat again, LOL! Hopefully this is it for me. I do not battle with head hunger like a lot of others do, I am just hungry from not eating all day until 3 pm. I know I am going to have to change my ways to make this work for me. To all of the other December bandsters, good luck and Merry Christmas to us!

My surgery is scheduled for December 6th. I will be driving down to San Diego the same day. I am soooo nervous. Can't wait to just get it done and start the recovery process.

When I spoke with the representative at the finance company, she said you can write off the entire amount. I am not too sure how that works. I will definately talk to our tax specialist, I am sure there is a way it can be done. All of the money is paid to the doctor at the time of the surgery so you can probably get a "paid in full" receipt. I guess the goverment doesn't have to know how it was paid in full????? Last year we wrote off the entire balance for my son's hospital stay. The insurance left us with about 9k. We wrote it all off before we paid it and we just made our last payment on it in October 07. Our tax man didn't think it would raise any "red flags" so we did it. I will do it again this year too.

You look fabulous, own that new bodyinside and out! You have worked hard for it =D>

THANK YOU for replying. I was beginning to think I was the only low BMI out here! Our stories are about the same. I have told my hubby that I am starting a new diet of fasting and liquids only. I hope I can pull this one off, at least for a few months...after I have lost a noticeable amount of weight. I was on another forum and there is a thread dedicated to low BMI bandsters. Maybe we should start one here as I think a lot more of Dr. Ortiz's patients are on this forum. I am not nervous at all about chosing Dr. Ortiz, I have read nothing but good about him. I was contemplating lipo or tummy tuck, I think that it is a waste of money for someone who has 40-50 pounds to lose. I was so worried about my BMI when I get to TJ. I have been so nervous that I am not eating and I have lost a few lbs, I would hate to get there and not be able to get the surgery done. Then I read on another forum that a young lady with a BMI of 27 had the sx done....scary. Are you still on liquids or have you started solids? My hubby is going to be so confused when we go out and i order soup and only drink the broth... :-? Again, thanks for replying, keep me and any other low BMI'er who is contemplating the band posted on your progress. My sx is now 10 days away and counting, I am so nervous, scared, excited, wired, worried and happy!

I have not been banded yet, my surgery is on 12/6. However, when looking into finance options, I found out that the surgery can be a tax write off for medical. There is a form 512 you can fill out. One place I found the form was on a surgical financing company website. www.citerrafinancial.com. Check it out. I know 2 years ago when my son was born we had about 8k out of pocket due to a lengthy hospital stay and we wrote it off. We got 90% of the money back at tax time. It is worth a try for all of us with no help from the insurance companies.

Hello to all, I have been reading the forums for a while now. I have been debating whether to go ahead with the surgery or not. Up until today, I had not told anyone that I was even considering being banded, let alone being banded in Mexico. I told my mom today and she said schedule the surgery! My BMI is only 30 which is not too high, however, I am a wonderful apple shape and I carry the weight in all of the wrong places. I have not always been overweight or obese, the last 5 years it has been a struggle and I am losing. I am 29 now and I am thinking about what life will be like from here on out. I have read so many forums and the writer says " I wish I would have done it sooner" or "I wish I would have done it at 185 rather than 225" I don't want to be that person. I want to look and feel great at 30 and for the rest of my life! Reading all of the posts has helped me so much, we all have a little bit different story and that is great. What is even better is the fact that we all have one goal and there are hundreds of us to support eachother. My husband is totally against any kind of surgery, let alone weight loss surgeries. He doesn't even go to the doctor. He is the tall skinny guy who can eat whatever he wants. He tells me I just need to exercise more and it will come off. He loves me how I am and would never tell me that I am fat. I am graetful for his devotion to me through thick and thicker, however, I am not happy with the way I look and feel now. I love him so much and we have 2 lovely little boys 4yrs and 1 yr, our family is picture perfect, as long as I am not in the picture, LOL. Not being honest with my hubby has been the hardest part of my journey thus far. I travel a lot with my company and we live close to the border so I am just going to go have the surgery done and come home in a few days. I must be crazy! He hasn't seen me without a shirt on in a long time so he will not see the incisions. I jokingly tell him that one day I am going to go get banded and we laugh about how it. One day when I am down about 30 pounds and he is noticing the slimmer woman that I once was returning, I am going to lift my shirt and tell him what I did. My mother who is my best friend, lives about 3000 miles from me so I will not have her here for me. When I told her my plan this morning she was so worried because I am going to Mexico to have it done. Then I sent her the links to this forum and to Dr. Ortiz's clinic. She called me 4 hours later after reading everything and she gave me her blessing. I figure someone has to know what is going on just in case. My surgery is scheduled for December 6th, I will be getting to the border super early and doing all of my preop same day as the surgery. Luckily I don't have to do the pre op diet so my hubby will not be suspicious. I have dropped a few hints that I am going to start a pre new years resolution to be healthy and start watching what I eat. I pray that I can pull this one off! Enough rambling for me, I will be reading and posting....I am so glad for all of you bandsters here, you are all so lovely! >