mesaucedo

So I talked with her today to clarify "free" and make sure I understood her correctly. She said the anesthesiologist's fee was free as was the hospital stay. She still paid her surgeon fee which was $2,000. She said she was originally quoted $8,000 for it. I don't know why she had it done at the hospital though, most are done at the Surgeon's own little office/OR room.

I still chug now, no pain at all from it. At first I didn't even try. I was terrified, but then one day I accidentally did and I didn't feel any discomfort. So I chug. Not as much as I used to, it is now more like one very large sip at a time instead of four or five medium sized ones.

My surgeon suggested eating 5 small meals, more like snacks, a day to keep it up. I am not an expert on metabolism. PDX Man and BlackBerryJuice now a lot about the diet/anatomical aspects of the surgery.

I am sure the Shriner burn foundation has some strict rules, but a local hospital in a town of about 20,000 probably not too picky about where the skin comes from.

Well she had it done that way in my hometown. So it must not be an urban legend for everywhere. Cadaver is never the first choice for any procedure, fresher tissue or bone is always preferred. But back to the tummy tuck, she had it done for free for our burn unit about 3 months ago.

I ran into a friend of my mother's the other day, my mum had told her about my sleeve. I found out she has had it done too and lost 195 pounds, she is three yeas out now. She mentioned the saggy skin and said she had her tummy tuck at a local hospital for FREE because she donated her excess skin to the burn unit. Apparently if you have a few pounds of excess skin and donate it (via tons of forms) you can get it for free! Anyone heard of this before??

It is actually really cool, they kind of "shape" a new butt with the fat. They can squish it into any shape. I too, am interested in your consultation!!

I find that the cost for augmentation isn't that much different than here in the states. I have found some excellent surgeons here in California who specialize in augmentations for younger women who want to breastfeed later on and they range from $4,000 to $8,000. So the prices are comparable. Check some US surgeons too.

Why not stock up on canned soups? I did a lot of progresso soups during that phase and blended them for a sec. The more protein -- like a lentil soup -- the longer you will feel satisfied.

I went to Ponce and I had zero pain except for gas pains for the first 12 hours out of surgery. I didn't even take my pain meds after I left the hospital. Feel free to private message me for any more info!

Good luck!! You will do great!

I just had my first coffee a few days ago, at 5 weeks out. I had been sticking to green tea, I love having iced green tea in the morning, but decided to try a tall skinny iced caramel macchiato from Sbux and it went down nicely. I felt super energized though, I guess that is what happens with no caffeine for a few months!

I often take small sips and seem fine. Sometimes I forget and drink quite a bit but have never had a bad reaction to it, like being full or getting sick. I thought it was there to not flush food out.

I am 5 weeks out today and have been eating red meat for about 2 weeks. I couldn't tell a difference in eating it versus chicken/tuna for me. I had some thin tri-tip.

My drain wasn't painful at all -- except when I accidentally pulled on it -- but other than that I never even felt it! When they took it out it felt weird, not bad or painful, just strange.

I am a full financial aid student so I have no extra money. I make about $400 a month at work and spend it very wisely. I buy things like: Yogurt (not always greek) -- $10 for 10 if I chose the store brand Frozen meatballs/chicken patties/chicken breasts etc -- under $10 for about 3 weeks worth Cottage cheese -- bigger cartons are much cheaper! It is easy to buy healthy and cheaply you just have to search around a bit. I also use coupons and shop around for certain items.

We left on a Monday, around 10am and it took us over 2 hours to get over. My driver said the same thing as Mrs. Teacher's -- it can be four or five hours on Sunday.

I am not too worried about my scarring, I have stretch marks all over my tummy anyhow, but was wondering when your incision marks faded a bit. Mine are a raspberry pink color and very bright! Any input?

You should also look into Dr. Ponce de Leon, he was amazing and Trish was super helpful throughout my surgery. Dr. Rodriguez is also another big name out there as well! Good luck and remember RESEARCH!!

For me it wasn't a big deal. I chose my doctor because of experience in addition to cost. Had I found one here in the states that had that much experience and my insurance covered it I would consider it. I have tons of family in Mexico and am very comfortable with their health system so I might have stayed with a Mexican doctor. All the "horror stories" are based in ignorance and racism towards Mexico, their doctors are just as capable as the ones in the states, if not better. Also, most bad surgeries are plastics with an inexperienced surgeon.

I have discovered my sleeve can tolerate pretty much anything I have tried! I am only 1 month out now. I focus on Proteins but eat whatever I like in small doses. My immediate post-op diet was like anyone else's. I didn't eat "real" foods until three weeks out, when my doc said I could start to explore food. So I stuck to sf pudding, popsicles, broths, Soups, cottage cheese, yogurt, soft cheeses, tuna etc.

I am a month out as well and can eat sausages. I got a spicy turkey link, I was craving spice, and it went down just fine. I did chew it thoroughly and it took about an hour but it was ok.

This one is a little hard for me. I am in a long distance relationship and have no control over what my fiance eats. Well it turns out, thanks to Facebook, that he hasn't been low carb-ing it like he said. He has been eating burritos and pizza and cake and chips all the time. It is hard to even start talking about it with him. He gets defensive. But when he went to the doc he told him he has sleep apnea because of his weight, is pre-diabetic and needs to get his diet in order now! Both his parents have diabetes. I am not sure what to do. He isn't that big, he is mostly muscle with a nice layer of fluff on top. But he packs on the weight quickly. :/

I can eat quite a bit, I was worried at first but now I am not. I am 4 weeks out and have not had any pain after eating, I never get the stuck in the throat feeling either. I can eat a whole scrambled egg. I can also eat a whole spicy sausage link. Hamilton (my sleeve) must be a bit big or something!

I too, have crazy self confidence. I have never felt unattractive or like I am "fat" really. I have always been extremely happy with my body. I wear skinnies, I wear heels, I wear whatever and feel good in it! I did this surgery not to become skinny, but to become healthy. I knew that I wasn't going to stop gaining and who knows where it would have ended or how bad I could have gotten. Honestly, I don't plan on getting to a size 4 or even a 6. I would be content with a 10 or 12, I feel great at a 20 already.