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I am getting close to scheduling my surgery through aLighterMe and had decided to first go with Dr. Elias Ortiz, but I'm considering Dr. Jose Curiel Marchena instead since he a has a little bit of a lower price. He appears to have a lot of credentials and experience, but I'm not able to find much about him online - reviews and patient experiences. Has anyone used him before? Did you have any complications or issues? Thanks so much!

That sounds like a great alternative to the real thing...and that has far lower calories. Thanks for sharing.

I'm scheduled for Apr 15 with Dr. Curiel through ALM. So excited, yet nervous too! I start preop in about one week's time. I've been purging food and trying to make sure that I have a clean cupboard and fridge because this is going to be hard at first, but so worth it!

I have my surgery scheduled on April 15th. I start preop diet next week! Yikes. I can't believe it's coming up that soon. So crazy to think about. I originally had the surgery scheduled on April 2nd, but due to finances and scheduling issues, we had to reschedule. It's so surreal, but I'm very excited and nervous all at the same time.

@@kerioki Good luck with your surgery today! I hoe you have a quick and easy recovery. :-)

@@katyh2015 Unfortunately, California doesn't participate in the EDL program right now (this is according to the DMV site) unless anyone else knows otherwise? However, it turns out that it will be a little cheaper for me to go a little later than planned, so I guess that it will work out best that way? I guess we'll see. Thanks for your encouragement, everyone.

I'm so happy for everyone with their scheduled dates! I've had a lot of set backs with the passport office this week - they keep jerking me around telling me one fee, and then another one altogether, so I've had to go back and forth all week from my bank just to sort out the money issue, and it's still not fixed, so this whole ordeal has set me back a whole week, which means I have to reschedule everything since my passport will not arrive in time for my flight or surgery date. UGGGH. Today, I was so mad because I should have had my passport app in on Tuesday - I feel as though I'm beating my head against a brick wall and that the world is building obstacles against me on this, but it is only proving to me that it is every bit worth fighting for. Hopefully the 4th visit will be the charm. *crossing my fingers* I'm so ready to move forward with this!

I haven't scheduled yet, but I have time off from work scheduled and everything lining up for this to go through. I'm expecting it to go through at the end of March. I'm so excited, yet nervous. I'm hoping for March 31st to be my date through ALM. I'm still undecided between Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Curiel through them. Either way, it'll be soon! Eeks.

Rocky1, great points! I will research his credentials a bit more before switching surgeons. Thanks! @ That would be great! Thank you! I'll look on YouTube as well. Sonya Skinner included his information in her first email to me, so I thought that it couldn't hurt to check into it. Good luck and a quick recovery on your surgery!

Goodbye Lane Bryant, hello Forever 21...Charlotte Russe, Bebe, H&M, and so on...

Omgosh! Underwear that rolls down in general, regardless of size. And having to make sure to buy just the right kind so that it is less likely for that to occur?! Just as annoying.

Everything listed here hits the nail on the head. It baffles my mind as to how many of my inner thoughts and pains about being overweight are brought to light here. It has taken me years to decide that this surgery is what I want to do for myself, and all these reasons listed here are compelling reasons for just why I need to do that. My own personal thngs that I will not miss: ~being judged for what I eat or do not eat ~my bra fitting awkwardly and creating bulges under my clothes on my back ~belly rolls, muffin top, the "front butt" as so kindly dubbed by the cast of SNL ~having to run at night so no one will see me jiggle or see how out of breath I am ~not having my legs rub together and getting rashes and torn skin from the friction ~every time I go into the doctor, worrying about what my blood results will say--am I diabetic now? are my liver enzymes higher than last time? ~having sharp pains under my right rib cage being blamed on a fatty liver by doctors ~having to wear clothes that aren't quite my style on the principle that they fit and flatter ~uncomfortable shoes due to having wide and swollen feet. ~embarrassment over not being able to fit a seatbelt in the passenger seat of someone else's car ~no cute or flattering Halloween costumes or summerwear that I feel comfortable in ~avoiding clothes that cling to certain trouble-areas that I don't want want the world to see. That's all I can think of at the moment. But that's a good motivater for me.