SexySlim

I finally got a XBox Kinect last week and I'm in love (upgrade from a Wii). I've been doing the Your Shape game every morning before work this week and boy is it intense. So I see that you can connect to XBox Live and compete with friends. Anyone else have this game and want to compete?

I also have Zumba Core and Hip Hop Experience. Love them both!

I am hoping to schedule a VSG in March/May/June 2013. I have read everything that I have been able to find. I am confident with Dr.Kelly and feel better that he has trained in the US. I would love to hear other peoples stories as well as find a sleeve buddy!!! Did you go through Omar? Also, did anyone have a post op diet? and did you have a drain? I've read that at one hospital, Dr.Kelly would use a drain, at another he didn't. When did you go back to work? I have 4 small children and am a student so I have plenty that needs to be done. I am also thinking of traveling without my husband, due to it being very hard to find someone to stay with the kids for that long.. If any of you have done that, how quickly were you able to contact family post op? Did anyone call family for you? I may take a surgery buddy but that is undecided at this point. I will be flying from texas. I can't wait to get started!! Also, how many of you have told friends and family? I have some friends that are genetically gifted and weigh 110 regardless of what they eat. I plan on telling my closest friends but no one else.. I also have family that would have nothing but negative things to say about going to Mexico and how I should just try another diet or excercise more.....Thanks for all advice and answers!!!

Hi there! I was sleeved by Dr. Kelly on 3/28 of this year. I will try to address all of your questions: He was my first choice as well. Even when I started researching other surgeons, I still came back to him. The fact that he called me after I submitted my application to talk to me and answer any questions I had made me feel very comfortable and confident in my choice. Omar wasn't working with him when I went. He was working with Ana. She was a sweetheart. Ana was a nutritionist and gave me a printout of a post-op diet. I didn't have a drain. I only took a week off from work, so I was sleeved on a Wednesday and went back to work that following Wednesday. I'm all the way in MD, so it was a cross-country trip. Honestly, the day after surgery I felt very sluggish. But everyday I felt stronger and stronger. I flew home with no problems. I actually left a day early because my friend had to get back to work and I didn't want either of us traveling back alone. Dr. Kelly just made sure I cleared all the post-op tests (swallow test). I was actually going to go alone, but one of my friends volunteered to come along with me. I took my cell phone over there and hooked it up to the free wifi and was able to Skype and GoogleVoice call my family. I talked to them right after my surgery. I didn't really tell that many people. And to this day my mom thinks I got sleeved here. She would never understand. I told some people I went to Mexico. You will find that a lot of people will just throw negative comments and say you're taking the easy way out. So sharing with people is up to you. But we are losing the weight by dieting and exercise though so whatever.

Definitely a waste of time. Just like I would be wasting my time posting on a cancer support board that five out of five people I know that took chemo died. I guess I could have ordered Dr. Burzynski's documentary on Amazon for $15 plus shipping and then waited for the DVD to get to my house. Or I could go to youtube and watch the same documentary for free. But I'm not a real scientist though and I have money to throw away.

I really don't care what you do for a living. If you would like to PM me a manuscript that your group worked on, I would be interested in reading it on my down time because I have a personal interest in caner. Professionally, oncology is not my area of expertise. But if it makes you sleep better at night to let people know that people die going to get surgery out of the country, then so be it. People should just do everything in the US. We are #1 in everything. Yeah!

Wow. Unfathomable ignorance.

1) if a drug company could come up with a cure for cancer, they would make close to a trillion dollars overnight.

2) there have been some very emotional interviews with CEO's and board members of pharmaceutical companies where they talk about watching their mother, father, wife etc die a slow horrible death from cancer. And they said don't you think we would give our loved ones the cure if we had one? There were board members of pharmaceutical companies who were dying of cancer, and were going through chemo themselves. They said, don't you think we would have given ourselves the cure if we had one?

3) that poision you speak of has saved HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of lives. By the way, what is the profit on the average chemotherapy session? You don't know, do you? It's very little.

4) The insurance industry is way bigger and way more powerful than the pharmaceutical. If insurance thought it was getting taken to the cleaners when there was a cure that could had, they would have eradicated it by now.

Ask Steve Jobs how well the alternative medicine worked. Oh Wait, you cant, he's dead. Before he died he said he wished he did the chemo.

You should be ashamed of yourself and you owe an apology to every person on this forum who has lost a loved one to cancer.

LOL I'm the ignorant one yet I have a PhD and work for the Agency that regulates all the prescription drugs in this country. Let me try to speak to you on your level:

1) Obviously you do not know the difference between a “treatment” and a “cure.” A treatment is given over a time period to lessen the symptoms of a disease. A “cure” is something that is taken that will rid the body of a disease forever. So do you really think a drug company will make a trillion dollars over night by finding a cure “here take this one pill and be cured of your disease forever.” They are already making a billion dollars annually (that means every year) by selling pills that are taken continuously for a long period of time to “treat” a disease. “Here take these pills once a day for the rest of your life if you want to have less symptoms.” Cha-ching!

2) The last time I checked, CEOs do not have scientific degrees, i.e. PhDs or MDs. They are only interested in what is going to make their company money (see response #1 above).

3) Do you know what the success rate for chemotherapy is? I’m sure you don’t. It’s 3%, yeah 3 out of 100. Did you also know that chemo kills healthy cells along with cancer cells. You probably didn't. So how can someone’s immune system fight cancer if they are being injected with a poison that is killing their immune system at the same time. I’m sure those hundreds of millions of people whose lives were saved were the lucky 3%.

4) BIG PHARMA is the biggest and most powerful influence on our healthcare system. Insurance companies are only out to make money for themselves. As long as BIG PHARMA can keep making drugs that people depend on, they will still be pushing their drugs and remain a billion dollar industry.

Seems to me like you don’t read much, so how about go on over to youtube and check out the documentary “Cancer is Big Business.” Until then, coming at people on message boards with fake facts and telling them why the "probably" did something will make you look stupid.

You guys are seriously funny and entertaining. Coming to a forum entitled “Mexico” and haven’t had your surgery in Mexico. Before you had kids I bet you were all over the parenting forums giving some great parenting advice.

Even though you are "higher income" and you still considered going abroad for your father's care doesn't mean there are better docs in other places. It just means you would have done anything to save your father and you had the means to do it.

Most of us don't have that luxury. Most of us are lucky to have insurance these days.

Yeah I'm sure there are better docs in the states but do you think doctors here are actually curing cancer here? No. And you know why? Because drug companies cannot make any money on a cure. How about read some books about cancer cures then talk to me about the US doctors treating cancer with poison.

Well if you drink half it looks ok.

I've been fat all my life and I'm so happy that I don't have to make a New Years resolution this year to lose X number of pounds! I would like to lose 35 more pounds, but since I'm sleeved I know it's achievable by my new lifestyle and I don't have to make it a resolution by starting another diet. This feels so good!!!

Definitely go! I went to an all inclusive in the Dominican Republic last month. I was able to eat small portions of everything I wanted and I drank alcohol. I couldn't finish a whole drink but it was all inclusive and I was going to eat and drink what I wanted! I actually came back home 2 lbs lighter! Enjoy your vacation!

Nice job! How much have you lost and how much more to go?

Definitely. You want something breathable and comfortable. My mom would never go to the gym because she thought people would be staring at her. Honestly people are too busy doing their workouts to notice you. I've seen people walk on treadmills with jeans on. Whatever makes you comfortable (unless your gym has rules for attire).

Since you will be shrinking I wouldn't invest too much money. Walmart carries danskin brand for a reasonable price. Or just get some sweats from the men's side.

I vacationed in Peurta Vallarta last year and got sleeved in Tijuana this March. You will be totally safe. In PVR we left our gated resort and went shopping downtown (me and another female). We actually were going to take the bus but it was so hot waiting we took a cab. So two single (attractive) females and a male can driver we felt totally safe. The driver even offered us a tour of the city and tequila factories and gave us his card. I had the same pleasant experience in TJ. We actually walked around after we checked into the Lucerna. I had a Gatorade and we hung out at Starbucks. Sorry your family is not supportive. You will find plenty of support here

I don't have that info, but wanted to talk a little about this. I never really thought about it before but it would make sense that taller people have longer stomachs. True?

I asked my surgeon to take a pic of my stomach (I'm weird like that) and I must say it seems pretty long to me. No wonder I could pack that food in!

I'm 5'11" started at 288 size 20W now 224 size 18 regular pants and some 14 dresses. Tops from XL to L. I think I'm a slow loser but so happy I'm losing

I just had my blood work done and my pcp asked me if I had trouble seeing cuz my Vitamin A is low. Idk if vision is correlated with Protein though.

On my first date with my now bf he noticed I hardly ate. I told him I wasn't that hungry and I had a big lunch. That always seems to work. He knows about my lifestyle and surgery now. At first he would forget and tell me to finish my food. He's used to it now I'm a very cheap date. We split meals a lot.

I had success with HIIT as part of the Body for Life program when I was in grad school. I just recently started doing HIIT again to boost my fat loss (and I would prefer a short 20 minute intense workout over an hour long moderate workout any day). Here's my program on the elliptical:

3 minutes warm up

1 minute high speed

2 minute medium speed

Repeat 3 minute cycle 4 times (total of 15 minutes)

Cool down 2 minutes.

My heart rate gets as high as 170 and in the 140s during my medium speed. I love doing this.

So what program are you guys doing and have had success with?

It is good to know that at least some CHOSE to go to Mexico and didn't HAVE to go to Mexico. The very first surgeon I met with is just a butcher! Had a friend's husband use this doc and ended up in ICU for over a week' date=' very,very sick. I wouldn't let that man operate on my SIL and Lord knows how I can't stand that woman!! This doc ended up moving to Houston and only takes cash patients because he has no contract with any insurance carrier. Scary, scary!!! I guess it just kind of bums me out that the procedure is SO much more expensive in the states. My surgery was 12.5K, which was 3 grand cheaper than in Houston. Turns out, 8,100 is just for the hospital!!! No possible way 23 hours equates 8 grand! That to me is absurd!!![/quote']

That's why I was told Mexico is cheaper. The hospital stay doesn't drive the bill up. I also read on here that the US hospital bill is really up to $80k but they negotiate with the insurance company to get it down to like $20 k. Insane!

OH I forgot about cancer. My father in law and brother in law were cured (have been in remission over 20 years) with a combination treatment of laitril (sp?) and celation (sp?) which they did in Mexico because it was not legal in the US (don't know the status now). My FIL is a retired teacher...middle income I'd say and BIL was upper income (he married well) <img src='http://www.bariatricpal.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

PS' date=' the docs at Johns Hopkins were in general....not enjoyable to spend time with LOL But they were great docs. <img src='http://www.bariatricpal.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />[/quote']

That's awesome to hear about your family! I didn't do all of my research until it was too late. I love to hear stories like this

I'm not on one side or the other here' date=' but how many people who have had surgery in Mexico used it as a last resort because insurance is so rediculous to work with or because the cost is SO much higher in the US? I was also considering Mexico, but as a last resort. If my mother had not come to my rescue, this post would be coming from south of the border!!! So, I just wonder if Mexico is chosen because of the quality or merely the cost?!? I personally like that the surgeons in the US are held accountable for their mistakes and it is public knowledge of such issues. That's my #1 reason for staying in the states.[/quote']

I can only answer for myself. I didn't even learn of the sleeve until 2010 and my pcp told me I qualify if I want to get it. A year after trying to lose weight on my own I told him start the process. I'm with Kaiser (leaving though open season starts next week). So my BMI was 39 and I had high cholesterol. My pcp said that counts as a comorbidity, the nutritionist said it doesn't. Long story short they gave me the run around on getting an approval. I didn't learn about Medical Tourism until I joined these boards. I did my research and in the mean time while being jerked around by kaiser I was like I would rather have my procedure by a surgeon who has done thousands of sleeves and where I could be in a hospital for 3 nights. And I had the money and the time off at work. I was going to go alone but my friend who has a band went with me. I have never had surgery prior to that and never stayed in a US hospital so I can't compare it to anything. But I was beyond pleased with the care I received and with Dr. Kelly as a surgeon with wonderful bedside manner. I would do it 1,000 times over.

I spent three months in Johns Hopkins hospital with my son a few years back. He had hospital room mates from Mexico and the Middle East. These were both wealthy families who chose to have their children's care at this facility because Mexico does not have that same level of care and training for the specialty we were in for. So to answer your question' date=' Mexican and other international families often come here for care they can't get in their countries. We had similar experiences in Cincinnati and Houston (we did a lot of hospital time the first few years). Each time an international family was there it was at their own costs, and in general they were very high or extreme wealth in their own countries.

To be fair to Fishy, she's pointing out that docs in Mex "can be" lower trained than what we require here and the reporting requirements for complications in surgery are basically nil. This is a fair concern because you can't point to the same type of reports that you can here in the US to determine unbiased levels of care from one doc to the next. To be fair to the others, not all US docs are great I had serious complications here in the US as a self pay. I am upper income and chose the doc that was supposed to be the best available in my area (there are several). But my complication is on his record, as it wouldn't be in Mex. Not in a bad way, but just because here those things have to be reported.

I personally would be highly unlikely to go to any country aside from Europe for medical care, but thats just me. It's unfair to say that all US docs spend less time with their patients (I had his phone number and saw my doc often, as I did with my new doc and still do). I also had sufficient hospital care with my second surgery as all of this docs patients do. There are good apples and bad apples everywhere.

The thing that many don't get about Mexico and about anything that those with lower income experience is that paying 20 grand as I did isn't an option for many. I've worked in low income housing for years and have heard more ridiculous statements than anyone can imagine about someone with income lower than theirs. Why don't poor inner city mom's feed their children more vegies and fruit? Because the corner store does not offer anything but mac and cheese or boxed/canned items. Fruit is beyond their budget. Why don't they go to another store? Because they can't afford the bus ride and can't take their kids across the country to get an apple, hence the mac and cheese. Do people get this? No, because they haven't experienced it.

Can everyone pay twenty grand without hurting? No absolutely not. So the Mex option (for many medical procedures) is an option that some take because to not take it means they couldn't have the care. I have a friend going there for dental care next month. It's cheaper for her to fly from alaska to get care there than to have it done in her State. Thats ridiculous of course, but it's reality. She can't afford doing it at home, which logically anyone would prefer to do if they could. America needs to wake up and do something about this!

I've heard horror stories from Mexico. I've experienced one here in the US. They happen. Do they happen more or less? We don't know because we can't track them due to lower reporting standards. That concerns me too, but I also fully understand why someone goes there and support their option. I also recommend they research their docs carefully AND GET SUPPLEMENTAL INSURANCE. After care for a complication cost me 500,000 plus here. It wouldn't be any different for a person who returned from Mex and had a complication so you have to consider that. But any self pay person is in danger of their insurance not covering complications from an elective surgery (which any non-covered surgery...in the US or elsewhere is).

The great thing about this forum is that there are horror stories and success stories here that one can learn from. I read daily about positive experiences from good docs in Mexico and I've read about the bad ones as well. Anyone going down there should do their research and if they don't...well just like here, that's their mistake. Mistakes in this arena of life can be deadly. So just look before you leap.

[/quote']

I agree with some of what you are saying. I grew up in Durham, NC the city of medicine and there were always wealthy people from other countries coming to Duke. On the flip side, where I had my surgery in Mexico was also a cancer hospital. The lady across the hall from me came from Russia. I read a book about a boy who went there to work from the US. He beat his cancer after being treated in Canada. There are oncologists in other countries actually curing cancer and not just pushing pills and poison (chemo). I actually got some literature from the hospital because I was going to bring my father there for treatment. Unfortunately his was too aggressive and he died 3 weeks later. So my family is also in the "higher income" and I went to Mexico and looked into taking my father to Mexico, Canada, and Italy. Also to add my father never wanted to be treated at Duke. The doctors and surgeons are known to be great but they are not known to be personable. They are a research hospital and are all about the numbers. But like us all, we have our personal choices and that was his.

To the OP do your research and take as long as you feel comfortable. You will find a lot of open people on these and other boards that will share their experiences, good and bad. You need to find a surgeon you can trust with your life. My surgeon had one death due to pulmonary embolism. Well guess what, anyone that has any type of surgery can die of PE. There were also a lot of rumors and drama flying around about my surgeon around the time I had my surgery. He called me and we talked for 20 minutes and I was confident in my choice. I went with his CREDENTIALS. You will also find a lot of people trying to use scare tactics just because they know someone who knew someone that allegedly died from surgery in Mexico. I'm sure you've had people that told you you don't even need surgery and you can just lose the weight the right way with diet and exercise. Same concept. It's your body, your life, your decision. Trying to find a surgeon with 0 complications, 0 deaths, 0 pain, 0 nausea will be impossible. Surgery is an art not a science. Good luck with whomever you choose.

Dr. Kelly uses staples and sutures.

People please do your research. The surgeon that invented the lapband practices in Mexico and so does a surgeon that was named one if the top 25 bariatric surgeons in the WORLD. So just thinking US surgeons are the gold standard is hog wash.

It's much cheaper in Mexico. I am self pay and it cost me 17' date='500.00. I wish I had the courage to go to Mexico because I am going to be paying for this for a long time. How much is it in Mexico?[/quote']

I paid $5500 with Dr. Kelly. The range is $4000-$8500 I believe depending on the surgeon.