NoEscape21

I haven't been on VST in awhile (been hanging around on OH a lot more) but my surgery is May 11th, in TJ Mexico with Dr. Rod!

Good Luck! I am sure you will do great!

So I have been looking around at all the different protiens and since I have plenty of time to do so (3 months and 1 week.) been trying to figure out the best protiens for me post op. I have to be on Clear liquids 1 week, then full liquids the second week.

So far I am leaning towards the Nature's Best Isopure clear liquid protiens for my first week.

My concern is that I have issues with dairy. I can have dairy, just sometimes I pay for it...or rather my poor husband does. With all these whey protiens I am worried about gas and uncomfortable bowels etc (many times I get cramps ) usually I have more a reaction to milks and creams...cheese usually doesnt cause major issues.

I suppose I could do soy protiens as I react just fine to soy, but is it going to be an inferior type of protien etc?

Would having a large supply of gas-x on stock keep this issue from occuring? maybe lactaid, if there is a form of it i can take?

Any ideas or suggestions from others with dairy issues would be great.

I think everyone who takes this step is so brave. Im 26 and for the best part of my whole life Ive been on a diet, at a gym, counting my calories, having blood tests, crying on the scales, not looking in the mirror..... Its not a life. I decided in December when I received my referral, I knew I didnt have to use it but I looked in the mirror and was sick of what I saw, and It made me sad because my husband said that this is what he is happy with...but i wasnt... my decision was for me. Dont second guess your self. Map out your future. I sure as sweet want mine to be allot easier than the past has been... good luck with your surgery. And all the best happiness with your future.

Holly.

I totally feel you on the husband part. My husband said he is happy with me... but he is scared of me getting really sick. When I got diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in October I think it really scared him. (my aunt has several complications from diabetes that are really horrible and I think he sees me going that way). I think there definitely is feelings of guilt like maybe we could have done something more. But right now with me things seem to be lining up that need to be for me to do this surgery...so I feel like this is the right decision for me.

Like Tiffy said I think there is A LOT of mental preparation you need to do with this surgery. Don't beat yourself up. I think i saw somewhere that it was like 3% of the overweight population actually succeed with diet and exercise alone... so I don't think you are alone. and I definitely do NOT think this is the easy way out. From what I have seen sleevers still gotta work their booties off to lose. The sleeve is there to help them.

Well..I had my sleep study done, don't have sleep apnea so my insurance will not pay! :-(...I am just going to finance it..I think it is WELL worth it...My surgery is FEB. 21st..I am SO excited!! I start my shakes on the 8th....Anyone have any ideas on how not to drive myself crazy playing the waiting game..What did you guys do to pass the time???

Also wondering how long was the stay at the hospital..

Thanks! :-)

Congratulations! Thats only a few weeks away! I would say just prepping yourself for post op (getting all your protien stuff and Multivitamins etc) should distract you quite a bit! I have been researching the heck out of that stuff and looking into support groups to pass the time. I have about 3 more months to go for my surgery. The time will fly by for both of us I'm sure. I figure this is a small wait to taking a huge step for my health. Best of luck!

Hi! I have 2 -- under my armpits (ugh) -- they do shrink a bit, but not much. My husband has one on his side on his rib cage and he's lost a bunch of weight and it really sticks out now. I've heard you can have them removed, but it's hard (they get intertwined with veins, etc.) I think the best thing, if you are serious about getting rid of them, is to talk to a dr. Or maybe wait until you're done losing weight and then have them excised along with any excess skin.

Ah i have one in my armpit (even when i was much smaller) and i hate it! Glad at least I am not alone with having this stupid thing. Its the main reason i never wear tanks outside the house.

That is so exciting! I love Dr. Rod and Im sure you will too! Here is a thread I posted about advice for Pre-op and Post..

http://www.verticals...surgery-advice/

I'm going to Dr. Rod in May! It still feels so far away lol

I agree with bzbutterfly79.. we come here to not be judged but somehow through peoples posts we are.. all the poster wanted was your expierence not what u think about what other people chose to do and how you feel about it.. its everyone's own decision to handle things the way they do. As for me I only told my husband and good friend I don't believe everyone needs to know my business. And it certainly wasn't a shame thing. It's a mind your won business thing.. so the next time you want to sit here and judge people on why they choose not to tell. Take your own advice and skip over the topic

I totally agree. Just because some of us may not choose to tell everyone what we did doesn't mean we are being liars or being ashamed of what we did. I am pretty private anyways and dont like people knowing my all my personal business. If someone asked if I got surgery, I would probably tell them, especially if it is someone else that is overweight. I actually had a friend that got RNY and was preaching to me that i just need to diet and exercise because thats how she lost all her weight and that sort of bugged me that she did that but she usually always has a holier than thou demeanor anyways.

I wont pretend I found the magical cure all fatness diet but I am not going to make a point to bring it up either. When it comes down to the heart of it its my own personal decision. Just like the fact that I dont normally tell anyone that I am bisexual and in a polyamorous relationship. Some people may be supportive, a lot definitely wont but either way what I do with my life (as long as I am not hurting anyone!!!) is my own damn decision.

I had a few family members and friends that I told that were VERY unsupportive so I decided not to tell them that I am going through with it until asked later and have made it a point not to talk to co-workers etc about it either.

OUTSTANDING! The time will fly by, good luck

Thanks! I am sure it will I am going to take these 3 months before it to start making the changes i need to make to prepare myself for the surgery

Yay! I have my date set! May 11th I will be getting the VSG with Dr. Rod in TJ Mexico!

Does happy dance!

I'm 25, was sleeved back in august lost 40 lbs for pre op and down 80 lbs since surgery.

Congrats! That is some great progress

Update btw... GOT APPROVED with belite's financing!

It is looking like possibly Mid may I am going

Hey there I am 26. I am currently waiting on approval of my medical questionnaire, then booking for May 11th So excited!

Well I just got all my labs done last week and the results are in. Everything is perfectly fine but I am Vitamin D deficient. My surgeon won't allow be to have surgery until my Vitamin D is in normal range. Does anyone know why. I just don't understand why vitamin D would affect surgery...

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!

My surgeon has an in house finance through Belitemexico. Dr. Rod has some good reviews. Also, if you have a home phone I know a couple of work from home places hiring. I am going to supplement my main job with my work from home job. Its part-time inbound customer service (they have FT) but that extra $225 a week (900/mo) will have the rest of my surgery paid off my the end of the summer (year at the most). PM if you are interested.

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 took a loan out against my husbands 401k for me to have the surgery, we also have poor credit and his employer provides this loan program so we took advantage of that, maybe you or your husband have something like that with your employers and just don't know it. Ask and see? Good luck.

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.

Sorry about the financing. I wonder if u go thru Dr. Ortiz's, Corvala's or Abril's office if it's easier to get approved with financing. It might be something to look at. If u have a car that u own then u can get a pretty low interest rate loan against the car. Even if u do have to wait that'll give u time to prepare urself for ur new lifestyle - start chewing food really well,setting ur fork down between bites, don't drink when eating, etc.

I hope it works out for u soon!

genepha

Approved for band removal with insurance with self pay plication.

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).

being in a financial hemmorhage really sucks. . .but if it's to be it will happen for you! just hang in there and be patient. . . maybe a second job could help pay for it? just a thought. . .good luck

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.

So financing did not happen. I was offered to do the No patient left behind program but i have only heard bad things about it....

My mother's credit isn't good otherwise she would cosign for me. I am probably going to ask my aunt (who has good credit) but she is so flip floppy that I am not holding my breath (she had previously offered to pay for me to get weight loss surgery a year ago, but now is telling me i should just diet and exercise and quit making excuses).

*facepalm*

We may try and see if my husband would qualify for a credit card on his own that could cover a portion of the surgery and My best friend is offering to help me save up money for the surgery as she doesnt have many bills and will be moving with us in a couple months (and paying rent) so if all else fails I should be able to have the money within 6-8 months.

It feels like forever but I know it isn't. In the mean time I will work to save my money, lose some weight, and get back on track with working out. I definitely will stick around here as I would like to see everyone's progess with the plication procedure.

So yeah, I am a bit bummed, but not completely defeated.

Oh my gosh! That is funny, stupid and such a silly thing to say all at the same time!

She really didn't know how to make much sense of her feelings and thoughts very well did she?

I think you need to make a card for her with a giant head collaged onto a skinny body...then write on it:

"After beautiful Coops lost her amazing amount of weight, she got a REALLY big head bout it. From then on, no one that saw her would dare and lose an ounce for fear of developing massive head syndrome"

Send it on over to her for a laugh.

I'm sorry, I'm just as silly as her, bur Really!

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

You're in!! The more support, the better.

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!

Deal! We can be support buddies on this journey. I am on my way to the bookstore to pick up "The Zone", I talked to a patient of Doctor Corvala's who is not a member of this board but he put me in touch with and she had her surgery done in June and she uses "the Zone" diet and is down an incredible amount and says she has never felt so well in her life.

i wanna join the club tooo ! lol. Soon....

Totally looking up the book. Higher energy is an awesome side effect hehe.

I just had my plication done yesterday in Mexicali by Dr. Abril. His patient coordinator is Omar Dipp and I NEVER felt like I was being sold this surgery. I have recieved the best of care. This hospital is privately owned by Omar's family, his mother runs the hospital and his uncle is the gastrointestinal Dr. here. The whole package was 5500$ this includes four nights in Mexicali, two in the hospital and two in a hotel, the best hotel. The staff is the most gentle and caring nurses, some speak a little english some not at all and some very well. I never had a problem with communicaton though. Omar is the Director of Tourism for Mexicali and his family has been here forever. Dr Abril and his team are young, in their mid thirties, and they are fresh and well educated. I was a severe worry wort. They call me the FBI patient because I dug and dug and asked all kinds of crazy questions and challenged them all the way to the operating room. I feel so silly for all of that now. I was teasing my doctor tonite that he didn't even do the surgery because I have to pain, only mild discomfort and some vomiting due to the aneshesia, but only right after surgery, NOT any more. Please dig like and FBI agent. Most of all go with who ever makes you feel the most comfortable. I did not like feeling like I was being pushed or "sold" the surgery. I found that with Dr. Rod. Nice, but pushy. Take care and good luck.

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.

Dr. Rod's plication is $5700. I was going with that until I chose to get the sleeve

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

Please Please Please! Do more research on Dr. Huacuz. Jean tried to push him on me but after reading horror stories here, on the Lapband board, and Obesity Help I would never go to him, but you may feel okay with him. I just want you to be informed and not "sold." Price is a factor, I think with World Med Dr. Corvala was about $500 more.

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.