NoEscape21

I have previously had low vitamin d levels. Vitamin D is of utmost importance for your body because its role is to help your body use the Calcium and phosphorus from your food. It also regulates normal cellular differentiation thus preventing cancer and helps insulin secretion. Deficiency of this vitamin is connected to rickets. I believe it can also cause bone issues... but its easy to treat. more sunshine ( your body can produce it from getting sun) and taking a supplement. Certainly seemed to do the trick for me. Good luck!

Thanks! I just gave them a call... seeing if we can do in house financing with about half down, his price for the vsg is 1100 less too and i have seen many more reviews about him too... that would be awesome if you could send me some of the work at home places.

We dont have a 401k unfortunately otherwise that would be a good idea. For now I am working on getting a second job hehe. Dropping off some apps today after work (hoping I can catch the manager when I do). Omar is letting me put money down to hold onto the current surgery prices (I actually decided I want to do the VSG instead of the plication, just because of the results I have seen nearly across the board with that surgery and the whole ghrelin issue being lessened ). So I will be doing that this month then my best friend, me and my husband are going to just start saving up together til we have the money to pay for my surgery. The vsg with Abril will be 7800, so a little more... but more than likely we will be able to have that within 6 months. I used to think that was a long time, but really it is nothing and it will make me appreciate how hard i worked to get the surgery, because determination like that is something i need to keep up after the surgery.

Good idea about preparing and working on the changes i need to make ( i think also the mental changes i need to make to ) . We do have a car we own, but would that be through our local bank that we do that? I'm not sure that it would get us much of a loan, as its a 98 cavalier lol. The financing i was trying to get was through mymedicalloan.com as world med assist had referred me there. I have not yet talked to any of those dr's offices that you mentioned regarding financing, but that would be a good idea to ask and I would be comfortable with all 3 of those drs because of the reviews about them on here. (since seeing the posts about dr huacuz on obesityhelp that a fellow sleeve boardie told me about i had been leaning towards Abril). I will give them a call maybe and see what options if any that they have. We are waiting back on the credit union to see if they will loan my husband 2500 so that I only have to save up the other 3000. With our tax return it would be much easier but we have to replace our AC system with that (we live in fl....and ours is completely shot lol).

Thanks ! The funny thing is we are not really in bad shape financially but they way that our mortgage is set up it makes my debt to income ratio look much bigger than it actually is because at the time I could get approved but my husband couldn't (he had no credit at the time, but we have since been building his up) and I think that is the reason why they didn't approve me (because i have a big ol mortgage all under my name). I should actually be able to save 100 or so from each pay check and I get paid weekly, also I am in the process of getting a second job too, so was funny that you suggested that . I would take whatever I make there (if I get the job) and dump it all into savings. Like they say good things come to those who wait, so I shall be patient.

I remember thinking i was so fat throughout high school... when i thought size 12's were huuuuge. And here i sit in about size 22/24's. Body image distortion is really the hardest thing to deal with. I have found that the previous times I have lost i would think i look great and then boom i would find something to have an issue with. I think even at our current sizes there comes a time where we have to look into the mirror image reflecting back and decide to love ourselves and think we are beautiful...but it's time to take back our health and become our true selves. And by the way you are a gorgeous woman! I wish you much success and a fast recovery in your coming surgery! Good luck on Tuesday!

When I previously lost a good 60 lbs on Medifast (all of it + another 40 or so came back ) I had updated my myspace saying how excited I was that I lost more weight! One of my friends told me "you know...everyone is really happy for you that you are losing weight, but you don't need to put it in our faces like that." I found it a coincidence that comment came at a point when I had gotten to a smaller size than her. Nobody likes to be the fatter friend and they hate it even more when they suddenly become the fatter friend. Her and I are actually not friends anymore...shockingly i know. But i have still been hush hush about getting the GPS because I know a few friends will have LOTS to say about it...or naysay rather

Just curious if anyone has experience with this loan company. I have seen lots of mixed reviews about them online and am currently waiting to hear back on my application. (they had to do a manual review).

hehe awesome. Im still in the process of trying to get everything lined up and get the surgery scheduled. But I am pretty optimistic that it will work out!

i wanna join the club tooo ! lol. Soon.... Totally looking up the book. Higher energy is an awesome side effect hehe.

This is great... Thanks so much for sharing your personal experience and tips. Highly appreciated !

I have to say that I really appreciate the honesty and caring I have come to find on the message boards here in the past couple days since I had joined. Maybe there was no bullet to dodge and I would have been fine sticking with my first choice of a surgeon, however I rather not take any unnecessary chances. I am hoping to hear something today regarding financing but i feel like this is going to happen even if financing doesnt right now. I think after looking into it and hopefully after speaking with them more I am going with Dr Abril. There are a lot of things that I have seen just from their web and first contact alone that makes me feel like there is transparency and caring with them. Nothing is hidden and I am not feeling pulled in one direction or the other. I still hope financing works out so i can do this sooner though hehe. But if not I have faith that I will find the opportunity to go and have the plication done. It wont be the fix all end all of my problems, but it will be a new beginning and a powerful tool in helping me attain my goals and become healthy. Jenn

I think after reviewing Dr. Abril's site (which has lots of info on it) as well as seeing your review about the surgery, if I hear back something positive from financing tomorrow I may go ahead and give them a call. At the very least it is def worth checking out. Thanks, really for your input. Im a huge worrier too, so i think even if Dr huacuz does great plications, the fact that other surgeries of his didn't well makes me very uncomfortable and scared about surgery there. I havent contacted dr rod yet but I def get turned off from doing something when i feel pushed. Tonight went from feeling really sad to feeling like i definitely will have other options though and I really am glad I found this board. I look forward to hearing about your whole journey as you lose.

Hi there, My name is Jenn. I just got approved for Gastric Sleeve Plication by the doctor I am planning to go with, Dr. Huacuz in Tijuana Mexico. I am working with World Med Assist. So far I have seen a lot of good stuff about them and the surgery in general sounds like a good option. I have quite a bit to lose. I am 5'0 and currently around 262 lbs and 26 years old. Also I was recently diagnosed with type 2 (though not on any meds.... I couldn't deal with metformin. it actually made me feel much worse). I am hoping to at least get myself down 100 lbs and sustain that loss. Just thought I would say hello. I am currently waiting to hear back about financing. If I dont get approved for the financing though I am waiting til tax time in 2012 and using my tax return. Hoping that I don't have to wait that long though. Anyone else work with World Med Assist ? They are going to be doing it for $5200 plus my airfare to san diego (about 300). That's a pic of me at my current size (im in the purple, the other girl is my best friend I look smaller in that pic thanks to my bodice for ren fair squeezing my chub hehe. I am feeling quite happy since my husband and I decided I should do this. Just hoping financing works out

wow okay that isnt so bad of an increase for more peace of mind. After i read some of the stuff on obesity help i was nearly in tears. I know Corvala while he has glowing reviews is a couple thousand more and I am not sure i can get financed for that much. i really appreciate your help and advice. I will look up more on dr rod

So i did more poking around and I have to admit i am feeling a lot less comfortable... thinking I may want to reconsider with some of the dr's i have heard rave reviews about on here. Thanks for saying something though. honestly.... i don't want to put my health at risk over this and some of the stories about his surgeries are scary.

Thanks for the heads up. I had been researching him and had not found anything alarming. I think out of the several upon several good reviews i found, there was one that was not happy. I will poke around the boards here and the other places you were telling me though.

Hope things work out with getting the surgery paid by insurance! Best of luck!

So glad to hear things went well! Sounds like you are on your way to a good recovery and a whole new you

Since recieving an email from my worldmedassist patient coordinator yesterday evening that I am approved for surgery I have been on something like a natural high. I am excited but trying to keep it in and not say too much about it. I am always afraid of jinxing myself lol. I wont do a total freak out until I get the thumbs up on medical financing. I am very hopeful though and glad i didnt just get an auto decline. I recieved the message that they are going to manually review my application for financing and i think while i was declined previously in the past, the fact that this surgery will cost a lot less is probably working in my favor. That and the fact we are going to be putting 20-40% as a down payment as well. Still though I am nervous about it all so I dont want to get overly excited about surgery just yet. Anyways..just rambling... and hoping hehe.

*hugs* it will happen and the scale will start moving once more! I just joined yesterday but the people here seem really great and supportive. I am sure everybody including myself is rooting for you weight loss can be such a long and rough journey.

definitely interested to hear how it all goes! Best of luck in a quick recovery, congratulations on starting a new life!