Nichelle

Fantastic, you look great!! You look much younger too. Keep it up, girl!

No stitches. Incisions closed with some kind of glue. Just kept cover with guaze and tape for 10 days. Healed nicely.

I had a fantastic experience in Tijuana, MX. I had surgery with Dr. Ramos Kelly. My experience was very similar to KellyL. Thanks kelly for doing all the hard work and typing it up so nicely. Honestly Dr. Kelly was fantastic the staff was great. The experience was fantastic. The pain in minimal, although I will through in that first out of surgery there is some pain, but it was well managed after that. The experience is what you read it will be like, great! It's hard to believe at times and its okay to be leary. I'm sure we all went through this I know I did. If you've done your research and know this is right for you and now you are just deciding if this is real or not. Go for it!!!

c25k...Couch to 5 k. I'm glad everyone can talk about their up and downs. Including stalls. It is so hard to expect one thing and get another. Good luck!

Way to go!! Life on the sleeve track is goOoOod.

:bananapartyhat:Congratulations!! 50lbs. in 10 weeks is amazing results. Way to go!!

I recently order some celtrixa lotion. It is said to diminish the appreance of scars and stretch marks. Has anyone used this product or used another product that seemed to help remove or hide stretch marks?

Wow, you are very pretty and look fantastic!! Way to go, girl. You are rocking that skirt.

Very inspiring! You look great and wear that bikini proudly. You deserve it. Bring on the fun, sun, and confidence.

That is just so amazing. Congratulations!!

Thanks so much for sharing. Always looking for easy, quick n' tasty meals. This sounds great!! Going grocery shopping tomorrow.

Yes, I am just like this. I do weigh-ins for the week on Tuesdays, but my weight is the same way. I was just telling a friend about how I lose and they agree that it is pretty normal. I lose 3-5 lbs. and then bounce up and down between the weight I hit for a few days usually 4-6 days and then I lose again 3-5lbs. Its very weird and kind of discerning in the beginning. I just try to stay off the scale if I am discouraged at all. Try just taking a whole weekend off and weigh in on Monday and seeing a loss is great I did that over the past weekend and didn't have to watch the scale bounce. It was great! Good Luck!!

Add a scoop of benefiber to your shake or your Water intake. You can buy the clear and tasteless. Adding more water to my diet I can tell I go to the bathroom for the #2 more often. They also make flavored benefiber kind of like crystal light you can add to your water. Hope this helps. Don't forget about whole grains, even if your cutting out or lowering your carb intake. Fresh veggies and all Beans they have a great amount of fiber. Here's a list of other fruit you can try in your shake. A medium banana has 3 grams of fiber. 3 dried Figs have 10.5 grams 1/2 cup Raspberries have 4.6 grams 1 medium Mango has 4.5 grams 1/2 cup Blackberries has 4.4 grams 1 medium Pear has 4 grams Also try slicing up an avocado on salad or make some guacomole and try with whole grain tortilla wrapped chicken quesidillas. I read we should get between 21 to 38 grams of fiber daily. Kick it up a bit and I'm sure you'll meet the bathroom throne soon. 'I really want to poop' LOL

You look fantastic!! I can't thank Dr. Kelly enough. Way to go:shades_smile:

I checked out the gallery too! Very awesom, but no pics here. Two helpings of Pics Please!!

I've contemplated and researched wls for several years now. Especially when lap-band became a big deal. Ktkx as you probably know they advertise Dr. Malley's office Lap Band on regular tv almost every night and it's almost a slap in the face sometimes when you've had a hard day. I knew back in late 2006 that surgery may have been my only way out, but I was willing to give me and healthly living another shot. In 2008, I made a final great attempt at weight loss with Slim4Live. In october, I had at that time reached my all time high of 242lbs. I was shocked! So I started my journey and was going to stick to it. From Oct. '08 to March '09 I had lost 50lbs. and got down to an overweight, and happy stage because it was the only time I had lost that much, but it was actually the only time I needed to lose that much too. As my 21st birthday hit in april my life slowing began to change my long relationship ended, college stress, finding a new place to live, and so did my habits. I began working at my family's bar and working the night shifts. Sleeping all day and eating late 3am after work and going to bed after doing so. My whole lifestyle changed. By Dec. '09 I had gained back almost all of the 50lbs. that I had lost and was gaining I'm sure as at that point of failure I was staying away from my friend the scale. Over the next year I had gained on top of the 50 another 30lbs. I was set and decided at that point to have surgery, but found out that most self pay insurance would not cover it and that I could not afford to have surgery in the states. I had been to many semiars at Dr. Malley's place and loved the idea of the lap band. However, I always knew it wasn't for me because I knew I couldn't keep up with the constant maintance of fills and $$$ afford it at the same time. My close friend and mom had me meet with some ladies that the lap band did not neccessarily work for them. They lost the weight and unfortunatley gained most of it back. I knew I could never go through that pain again. I found Dr. Hoehn in KC through the internet and found vsg. I did some research and watched the whole procedure online. I knew this was my chance. Through time spent roaming I found out I could have surgery in Mexico and that this had been done before and was an affordable option for me. I also found this website and obesityhelp.com which has helped more than I can share. At that point, there was no going back...

Fantastic!! You are just glowing in your pictures. They are beautiful and you are too. I love the one with you close to the red flowers. It looks very serene. Congrats on your hard work!

P. S. Wishes best of luck with your supervised diet. I have no idea how hard it must be to go through six months of this as my insurance did not cover my surgery. I had to self pay so jumping through hoops for these doctors must be difficult. Also Kasie good luck and safe wishes your way. I hope you a quick surgery and even faster recovery. You'll be on the loser's bench in no time.

Thanks for all your replies. I just like to say to those of you pre op its just different on the other side. Simply said, I can remember be on here and just waiting to be on the other side. Feelings change on some topics so drastically and compassion instead of angst is replaced. There was no one or anything that could have stood in my way of surgery and getting what I wanted which is to say like 'wishes' rid me of my fat suit. However, there are those natural and I believe very normal feelings of loss. I just really needed to share them and have some agree that this is normal. I don't want to be alone in my feelings. I knew very early on that things that I mentioned above about missing were going to be gone. I knew this! Yet, I should and you should as well be able to grieve them and miss them still. I am a bartendar. I am around beer, alcohol, and fried food all day. I'm not complaining, but some others environment may be easier. It is hard and no one ever said it would be easy. I don't ever want to take this for granted so I'm glad it's not just easy. I just wanted to share the realities of this so others early post op and pre op can be mentally prepared for what is to come. Thanks for listening.

Thank you all so much for your replies. I will definately take into consideration everyone's mutal agreement on this being a good idea. I did have a small revelation over the weekend. I got to enjoy the complany of good friends and family. A big pool party at my aunt's place with all the father's: grandfather, dad, and brother-in-law. It was a great time and I felt great. I participated in the pool volley ball and had a great time and kept up with everyone's pace. I even got picked first for grandpa's team. Feeling better, and looking better. Oh and big nsv, I got into a size 18 pair of shorts I just dug up from the button of the drawer and decided to try on over the weekend. Thanks again!

I am currently about 6 weeks out and just wonder if this was the best decision. I did a lot of preperation mentally for this, but I don't think you can ever be quite ready for what you are in for. I know we are all pretty young on this forum and maybe you can relate. Lately I have had this feeling that I may have done this too early in life. I know that most people on here will say and have said that their only regret is not doing it sooner or they wish it had been avaliable to them at a younger age. However........ I am young. I make mistakes. I still want those silly uncontrollable nights. I want to have a drink or two or three with friends, I want to eat at night when i'm up studing for my final like other college kids, I want to eat pizza and not be a weird person who just pulls toppings off, I want to drink a BEER, I want to order a meal from the menu and eat it because as of now it looks like I just pushed things around with my fork, I want to be able to go to a buffet not to just stuff my face but to enjoy a variety of food, I want to try more than one bite of the few foods on my plate and not be stuffed to my eye balls, did I say I wanted a cold beer yet. I know, I know, I know that all of these things are probably reasons why I am here in the first place, but I was big before I knew I was bigger than those around me. I was big when I was a child and sometimes I feel like I am paying for a mistake that is not neccessarily all my fault. I'm not asking for a pity party. It all just seems so unfair. I now have this weird infatuation with watching other people eat. I still like to see good food being enjoyed, not just sit on my plate and go cold. Its weird, right? Am I the only one notices this. It's not in a weird way that I stare at people eating. Its just more I want others to enjoy their food even if I'm done and full doens't mean they have to be. Ok, I suppose I'm done with my rant. I feel much better now that I got it out. I hope others can relate. I know that I'm not alone in this and I am still very early on in the process. I still in my heart (which is more important to me than what my head thinks) know that this was the BEST decision for myself. I don't think I want, I know I don't want all those things I listed above combinded and multiplied by three more than I want to be THIN which may be oddly unhealthy thinking, but is true. I just hope this to shall pass and be replaced with skinny jeans, summer dresses, & bikinis!!!

I loved this post. Glad I found it. So happy that she was able to stand up and say something. I flew to san diego before my surgery and never thought I was too big to fly, but it was a tight tight squeeze. I knew I was big at 273lbs., but I never thought that the seatbelt on the plane would not fit me as I never really thought I was as big as I was. I see all kinds of people my size how do they fly. The seatbelt was very tight and I barely got it to click, but I did manage it. I could not imagine having to ask the flight attendent for an seat belt extender. I hate to be so full of it, but I would have cried out in pain and distress if it were true. I agree with her and stress the issue of equal rights with a service that is willing to provide not deny. Give us some room please!!

Congratulations, you look great!! I can see it for sure in your face, your waist, and it seems as though you are even standing taller with your shoulders held high. That figure is amazing. Way to go girl. :omg_smile:

Thanks Caitlyn, I'll be sure to share if I ever find and answer to that daunting question.

Congratulations! You look fantastic and happy. I wish you the best of luck on your short term goal for your birthday coming up. I think this will be a great gift to give your self. You are an inspiration. I hope I can do as well as you have. Way to Go Girl!!!