Scorch

I am going to dr Kelly and I went through a lighter me. I have not had any issues with them at all. There are a lot of great surgeons in MX however as Suzannesh said, this is not the time to price shop. Good luck!

I'll be down there on the 3rd as well for the tests with surgery on the 4th. I heard stories of Trish taking patients out to certain shops that she has deals with the owners. I also heard of people feeling safe enough to walk the streets of Tijuana. Not sure I will do that though. (Edit; NINJAed by itscometothis... haha)

Thanks everyone for the support and advice. (I am seeing Dr Kelly in MX) I do feel better now.... still not sure when/how to tell my parents the truth regarding where I am having the surgery, however I have enough confidence to stand behind my decision. It's my life, my body, and this is the path I choose to go down. So, yes... thanks everyone! This would be the point where I call for a group hug, haha. :grouphug:

I will be having the surgery on the 4th with Dr Kelly so I am sure we will run into one another!

I love my dear old conservative thinking parents dearly, however since revealing that I am having the VSG, I have pretty much been receiving ZERO support from them. In fact it has been more of a backlash and it has reached the point where I don't even want to call them or pick up the phone when they give me a jingle. My dad tries and research all of the negative things about the surgery. "It is not reversible!", "You are losing 85% of your stomach so now it looks like a banana!", "You won't be able to eat like a normal person again!", "Why can't you diet and exercise like you did before?" My answers: 1. I know that. 2. And bananas are your favorite food so I don't see the issue. 3. Great! Look where it got me. 4. Because look what happened to me. I try and explain to him that this is a do-or-die moment in my eyes, but he is set in his ways and is 100% against weight loss surgery of any kind. Old school thinking my dad has. My mom... was a tad more supportive in the beginning but now is just as bad as my dad. She takes whatever my dad says to her about the surgery (bad things of course) and freaks out. Plus I constantly get questioned from her especially about whether I am going to Mexico or not. My mom thinks Mexico is full of butcher shops and shady doctors that want to take your money. I admit I panicked when I first told them because of the instant negative response and said the surgery was in San Diego, which of course is not true. Just today my mom made me promise I was not going to Mexico. (*sigh*) At a time when I should be able to relax and focus on myself pre-op, instead I am stressed out and panicking over what they think. Maybe I shouldn't, but I care too much not to. Eventually the truth is going to have to come out before I leave, or right when I land in San Diego, but it has reached a point where when the truth comes out, they might not want to talk with me for a very long time. Heck they might not ever trust me again. And THAT to be honest is what hurts the most. The consequences. I am 28 years old and I feel like I am being treated like a child. Basically I am in a bummed out rut and I don't know what to do. I feel like I backed myself into a corner with no way out. Any feedback or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Thanks for the words of encouragement - and of course you are right. Still what I would give to give that guy a piece of my mind. Maybe someday.

Pardon the slight OT rant here, but I am just really frustrated with my employer. There has been a position open since the end of APRIL for an HR recruiter. Prior to this I have expressed my interest with the recruiting manager several times over the past year and a half about transitioning into HR. He even was nice enough to take time out of his busy schedule to meet with me in his office and talk about this. This was a year ago and at the time he said to keep doing what I was doing and that after the first of the year, he would take me along with him when he went to local venues for career fairs. When that never materialized I reminded him about it and he didn't remember offering that. *Sigh* Never bothered to offer it again, either. But with this I had a lot of transferable skills to this position, so I applied. The recruiting manager made me wait over a month before responding. No chance at an interview, he mentioned that they were "very serious" about having someone with the right background and they were looking at competitors to hire from. Never mind the fact that you might want to PROMOTE FROM WITHIN. *Deeeeeep breath* Anyway, that was back at the beginning of July that happened. I was peeved but responded back civilly that if a position should become available in HR again to let me know. As of today that same position is still posted on the site, but someone has filled it. Someone that works here already. Someone that has not been here as long as I have. Someone that has ZERO HR background. Someone that is also tall, thin, pretty... not fat and round like me. Maybe I am jumping to conclusions but add this to anothe reason of many I hate being fat - being overlooked for EVERYTHING. I really want to chew the recruiting manager out, or at least ask him WHY.... but I know I can't. All I can do is keep my eye on the prize... a new, thinner, more confident me. :first: She is hiding there underneath all the flab. And someday she will get that promotion!

I am trying to go through FMLA at work. I have been working with my current employer close to 2 years, so it should not be a problem. That being said they are giving me a little bit of a hard time about it. I swear to whatever higher power there might be if they drag their feet on this, I will give them a piece of my mind.

:cheer2: Three cheers for being normal! Hip hip horray!

OK I couldn't help but add it to my sig as well... LOL. Look at the banana go! Feel free to add of course. Spread the love. :Banane34:

That's great! You all can support one another and help motivate each other as well. Who is your doctor?

Holy moley! You look like you could pass for the daughter of the woman in the first pic. Amazing! :thumbsup:

Add me to the November list! :grouphug: We need a really cool name.... like the banana Babes or something, lol. (since our stomachs will end up looking like a banana, heh)

I am definitely doing this before Thanksgiving - aiming between the 7th and 10th of Nov. That way I can take that week, the following week, and probably Monday and Tuesday of the third week... come back to work on Wednesday.... and then have the Thanksgiving break to come back the following Tuesday. That way I get my Thanksgiving pay by working that one day.

I definitely like the wheelchair request idea - that would help a lot actually. *notes!* I am 99.9% sure I need two seats + seatbelt extender. The last time I flew I was 100 lbs lighter than I am right now. The seatbelt was fine but we were packed like sardines in coach. I can't even begin to imagine the trauma being the weight I am now. I might just splurge on first class flying back - I deserve some comfort in my life dammit. LOL.

I am set on Dr. Kelly as a surgeon.... just need to get over the pre-surgey jitters, finalizing financing, and pick a date, I was actually thinking somewhere between the 1st and 8th, so hey, if I get my butt in gear... we can all be sleeve sisters. LOL

OMG I can relate to just about all of this. Here are a few more things: 1. Increase difficulty wiping yourself - LOL 2. Acquiring cankles from excess weight 3. Not feeling comfortable getting a pedicure 4. Not being able to take a normal stroll to another part of the building I work in without my back hurting, shortness of breath, face on fire, sweating, etc 5. Difficulty tying my shoes with them on my feet 6. Even heavier and irregular periods 7. Not being able to date because you are fat 8. No one that has ever been obese/fat seems to understand what you are going through (Well stop eating fatty is not encouraging and hurts) 9. Being passed up for job promotions because you are fat (even though they won't admit it) 10. Fat/overweight (esp women) being typecasted or practically outlawed in Hollywood - why can't we have an honest mix of people of all different shapes, sizes, background, etc.? 11. Sympathy for an aneroxic person but hate for a fat one 12. Impossible to paint (and sometimes clip) my toenails 13. Stretch marks and flab galore wrecking havoc on my body. 14. Feeling that surgery is my only option at this point to get the help I need. :Cry:

I am doing mad research and preliminary planning - and one of the things I am considered has to do with flying. Once upon a time this was not an issue but today it is. I am going to be flying from Tampa to San Diego more than likely, and wanted to know what your own experience was like if you had to fly to get to your surgery destination. Ddi you splurge and fly first class? Did you buy two seats in coach? Just wanted to get a feel for what airlines might be the best to choose from since I KNOW I will not fit into a single coach seat. Thanks!

I was thinking about you the other day, wondering and hoping your surgery was a success. Sounds like it was! So happy to hear that it's been smooth sailing for the most part! Did you upgrade hotels?

Oh wow.... in a lot of ways, this post feels like something that *I* would write. I have been antagonizing about doing this for awhile now, am currently looking at Dr. Kelly, know my parents would go ape-sh*t if they found out, and always fear the worse of what could happen. But you are SO close now - and Dr Kelly sounds like a good doctor to go to - so hang in there! It's normal to go through the feelings and thoughts that you are, however I believe once you do it and reflect on it later down the line, the reaction will cause nothing but a big silly grin on your now much slimmer face and a worthwhile chuckle. :welldoneclap:

I am still strongly considering him. It's more a matter of making sure I can afford it first before proceeding!

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with using it? Thanks!

I have been doing some research and came across this Mexico doctor. However I have not found a lot of information/personal experiences here with him. If anyone can share any with me, I would be much obliged. :thumbup: (Yes I know about the whole thread for researching a Mexican doctor... read it and the like!)

Thank you to everyone that's responded - and to those that sent PM's, I will respond tomorrow to them. (too tired tonight!) The insurance with my employer is Aetna. I don't know if there is a WLS exclusion or not. If I could do it without the six month supervised diet they want, I would go through insurance. However I feel like I can't wait six months plus whatever additional time they need for the paperwork.

Hi there. I seriously been considering VSG - but I am totally scared! Especially since it is kind of not reversible. I also have ZERO support from my family. (I have no friends because I'm fat and shy) I once lost around 80 lbs and was looking GOOD, but then I fell back into my old habits and over the course of 2 years, I gained all the weight back and then some. I am soooo miserable. I really am desperate at this point. Work is terrible as well because no one wants to have lunch or make friends with the "fat" chick. ***sigh*** I have a meeting tomorrow with someone from HR because I am going to see if it would be at all possible to get unpaid time in the next couple of months to maybe get this procedure done. I know about FLMA, but I have only been there since February. Hopefully they will allow it - I was looking at early Summer. Wish me luck there! Some questions..... 1. How is the recovery time? I work a desk job and am on the phone a lot, so I sit. Do you think it is feasible to go back to work after one week from the surgery? (Of course I would love longer, but this would be unpaid time, and a week might be PUSHING it to ask off for someone that hasn't been with my employer for a year) 2. Since I don't have several thousand dollars lying around, does anyone know of someone that will do a medical or personal loan at an acceptable interest rate for LONGER than 60 months? That is the longest amount of time I have seen so far... and I was hoping for 72 or 80 months. I have good credit (high 600's to low 700's range) but don't see much in terms of flexibility. 3. I suffer from a condition known as Trichotillomania. To be more specific, I pull the hair from my head. I am not so bad at it to the point where I have bald spots like some people, however my hair is kind of ... damaged, and I am ashamed of it. I have heard numerous times that hair loss is an inevitible side effect, and I am wondering how bad the hair loss is? (If anyone else happens to suffer from Trich and has VSG, please respond especially here!) Of course I am thinking of Mexico for this. I really like what I see from Dr. Alvarez, and I have considered Dr. Almanza because of the price, but... I don't know. :lol0: Thanks everyone!