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Diamondeyed

LAP-BAND Patients
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  1. Like
    Diamondeyed reacted to supbanana in Made it to Tijuana, surgery tomorrow with Dr. Illan at Florence Hospital!   
    http://imgur.com/a/ldVZI#0 (Note: potentially NSFW, incision pics are pics of my bare tummy)
    ^ Some pictures from Tijuana, both the hospital and hotel, and of course some pictures of my incisions!
    Between the two week pre-op diet and the two weeks post-surgery I'm down 28 pounds and LOVING the sleeve so, so much.
    Also, if any of you want to see the part of my stomach that was removed, well...
    http://i.imgur.com/CbipMcy.jpg
  2. Like
    Diamondeyed reacted to supbanana in October 5th with Dr. Illan - anyone else for this date ?   
    If they do set in, be sure to hop on VST and let us support you! I just got back from Tijuana and surgery with Dr. Illan and it was absolutely amazing. I would trust absolutely anybody with him and can't recommend him enough. If you have any questions you're more than welcome to message me! Or, of course, post here. Just want to say that you're in excellent hands and I wish you the best!
  3. Like
  4. Like
    Diamondeyed reacted to supbanana in Made it to Tijuana, surgery tomorrow with Dr. Illan at Florence Hospital!   
    I'm back home, down 9 lbs since surgery, first time I've been under 280 since Christmas! Starting to feel like this surgery might actually work for me.
    Anyway, there's not too much else to say. That Monday Dr. Illan himself came to the hotel room to check on me and we said our goodbyes. I have nothing but excellent things to say about him, he was an amazing surgeon and kind and pleasant. I found out that when I was having such a rough time coming out of anesthesia, my mom had a little emotional meltdown. Dr. Illan hung out with her and reassured her until she felt better. I would recommend him to absolutely anybody with no hesitation.
    Dr. Reyna came to check on me as well shortly after Dr. Illan left. Three doctor's visits in a hotel, of all places, in a single day! I definitely felt well taken care of. The steristrips are still hanging on, I've had absolutely no bruising, no nausea, and only minimal pain at the incision where the stomach was actually removed. I honestly don't feel like I just had surgery at all (the picture they took of my removed stomach is pretty decent proof though, lol)... I feel kind of guilty having a thus-far easy recovery after reading some of the other experiences here, very grateful. I do have to walk around when I drink and kind of bounce a little to 'burp' myself. It reminds me of burping a baby, heh.
    Anyway, one of the coolest parts of the trip was Omar taking us to a couple of places to shop! There was a small group of us that went. I'm the kind of person that is more or less afraid of, well, everything, so I'm so glad for the other people that went along. It was so much fun! We got to see the sights in that section of Tijuana (how stinking cute were the donkeys painted like zebras - zonkies) and we even got to practice haggling! I've never done that before and I wasn't very good at it. I know I could have gotten better deals on a couple of items but I still feel like I got a great deal and it was just a fun experience.
    I was really struck by the little piece of Tijuana culture that I got to witness. Everything was so bold and vibrant, people were kind but not afraid to try to aggressively sell their goods, it was just so different from the rural, isolated area I live in. I'm going to do a vlog eventually on my experience with Tijuana itself, but one thing I found interesting was the lack of junk food. I mean, it could be found, but it wasn't prevalent like in the US. For instance, at the hospital, my mom was hungry so she went looking for a vending machine and there wasn't one. Our local hospitals have vending machines full of chips, soda and ice cream. florence Hospital had an organic buffet set out in their cafeteria, which made sense to me. (Note, definitely make sure your guest brings snacks!) On the way out of town, people were in the streets selling food, phone chargers, etc, trying to get a little money out of people leaving the country. I got a delicious glass of fresh squeezed carrot/orange juice for 2 dollars from a guy with a cart in the middle of the road. Even their bags of potato chips were clearly home made instead of Lays or Ruffles. They were making churros by hand, etc. It was mostly real, fresh food with minimal ingredients. I loved it.
    Anyway, long story short (too late!) I had an amazing experience and would sincerely recommend Dr. Illan to anyone considering this surgery. It was a wonderful, positive experience that I would repeat again without hesitation. Please feel free to ask any questions.
  5. Like
    Diamondeyed reacted to 1sunnuri in Love Love Love Dr. Illan   
    I just got back from tj and Dr. Illan was my surgeon as well. It was an easy experience and both I and my daughter fell in love with Omar. I couldn't have asked for better treatment. Im doing great with no pain just the gas issues..lol
  6. Like
    Diamondeyed reacted to supbanana in Love Love Love Dr. Illan   
    Absolutely! I can't imagine how the experience could have been any better. Omar was wonderful and attentive (to ALL his patients, at the SAME time, is he superman??), Dr. Illan is just amazing, after the surgery he took the time to hang out with my mom and help her through an emotional patch, the nurses and other doctors were on top of everything and so helpful. Shoot, my mom asked what she thought was a nurse for towels and he promptly brought her some, turns out he was a doctor!
    I'm so glad you and your daughter had a good experience too. Plus it was great meeting you guys!
    I would recommend Dr. Illan and his team to anybody in a heartbeat. Everything was smooth and perfect and it was just a wonderful, positive experience.
  7. Like
    Diamondeyed got a reaction from North_Chicky in Love Love Love Dr. Illan   
    Very great experience!!!! Dr. Illan is top notch! Lucerna is gorgeous!!!!!
  8. Like
    Diamondeyed reacted to supbanana in Taking dollars to TJ Mexico   
    Oh hi! You were my hero, I was very impressed. I've got to learn how to say no for sure, that's one of my biggest flaws. Still, we got some cool stuff!
  9. Like
    Diamondeyed got a reaction from North_Chicky in Love Love Love Dr. Illan   
    Very great experience!!!! Dr. Illan is top notch! Lucerna is gorgeous!!!!!
  10. Like
    Diamondeyed reacted to Jesser in Love Love Love Dr. Illan   
    I would love to hear more about your experience I will be looking forward to it!
  11. Like
    Diamondeyed reacted to Luv2bslim in Love Love Love Dr. Illan   
    I agree. Dr. Illan and Omar are wonderful and I wouldn't change one thing about my experience.
  12. Like
    Diamondeyed got a reaction from AmandaRaeLeo in Love Love Love Dr. Illan   
    My daughter had surgery..i had it six months ago with Dr. Garcia. But will give more details later in length. But just know Absolutely Awesome!!!!!!!!!
  13. Like
    Diamondeyed got a reaction from supbanana in Taking dollars to TJ Mexico   
  14. Like
    Diamondeyed reacted to supbanana in Made it to Tijuana, surgery tomorrow with Dr. Illan at Florence Hospital!   
    Short story: I'm officially sleeved as of ~4pm yesterday! Still pretty out of it but feeling good.
    Long story: Dr. Illan was incredibly pleasant and his English was perfect (only mentioning this because I see this asked frequently). He introduced me to a doctor that I think was being trained who was also very polite. After I passed the EKG (with another professional, informative doc), nurses loaded me into the OR. I remember them wrapping my legs in those things that inflate and deflate (I think to help with circulation?) over my compression stockings. Then of course came the anesthesia and I was out.
    Speaking of anesthesia, I got to talk to the anesthesiologist prior to surgery and admitted I was afraid of dying from the anesthesia, heh. She took the time to explain to me how it's calculated and why I wouldn't be dying from it, lol. She was also very kind, professional and really put me at ease.
    I was having the loveliest dream, and then woke up A) needing to vomit and with no concept of an indoor voice, whoops. I kind of blurted out/screamed "OH GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE IM GOING TO DIE I NEED TO VOMIT." (This is how I usually react to coming out of anesthesia, having existential crises). I was told it was okay to puke, so I went ahead and deafened everyone on the floor, "NO I DON'T WANT A LEAK!!1!" Dr. Illan was very kind and patiently explained that a leak is not possible. He says that he staples it, sews it, and then does on more thing to the seal. I'll have to ask him more about his technique later but that put me at ease. I was able to vomit and burp up some of the gas.
    My original gung-ho plan was to start walking as soon as possible, strutting out of the OR itself if I was feeling up to it. That got shut down fast, I was completely out of it until 10pm, then incredibly sick and goofy until around 8am this morning. I knew I needed to walk so I kept moving my legs in bed in lieu of the actual thing (made sense in my confused brain). I was able to get up and shower and then as soon as I did the nurses gave me nausea meds. That got everything under control and I was finally able to do a few laps around the hallway.
    I'm already feeling at around 80%, and the staff have just been amazing. They've been very attentive, patient and are on top of meds and the beeping iv. Last night one even discovered that the IV in my left hand wasn't working anymore, so she immediately put a new one in my right hand, I was impressed by this because the same thing happened to me during a hospital visit in the states and the nurses ignored me; my hand swelled up like an orange.
    Anyway, VERY impressed with everyone and everything here. Omar and a doctor even gave us an apology letter for the staff being loud the other night, which was totally unexpected but I thought very nice.
    I first starting researching weight loss surgery 8 years ago and I'm so glad I waited to have it now with Dr. Illan, his team, Omar, and everyone here at florence. Feels good to finally have this over with, can't wait to see what is in store for a thinner, healthier me!
  15. Like
    Diamondeyed reacted to supbanana in Taking dollars to TJ Mexico   
    I'm the one that said cereal was 40, but that was in pesos! Everyone so far has taken US dollars gladly. Don't do what I do and bring a 100 bill, whoops. I've found food is similar to prices in the US, but a group of us just hit sort of a flea market tourist kind of thing and the prices were very impressive! Especially if you're not afraid to haggle and say no (I'm afraid to haggle and say no and freely admit I allowed myself to be overcharged and still feel like I got a great deal!).
    ETA: also, there hasn't been any tax. The two dollar sculpture is purely two dollars.
  16. Like
    Diamondeyed got a reaction from DonRodolfo in Thanking the lord for this amazing change!   
    Great job....give Him Glory!
  17. Like
    Diamondeyed got a reaction from DonRodolfo in Thanking the lord for this amazing change!   
    Great job....give Him Glory!
  18. Like
    Diamondeyed reacted to chris54 in Thanking the lord for this amazing change!   
    I agree with thankfully he deserves the praise and thankfulness yahooo victory to us all
  19. Like
    Diamondeyed reacted to Beach Lover in Thanking the lord for this amazing change!   
    Congratulation on your success!! Yes God is awesome and I give him all the glory!
  20. Like
    Diamondeyed reacted to thankfully in Thanking the lord for this amazing change!   
    Im so grateful to have been able to have some great success with this surgery...my highest weight was 370 in October of 2012 i had surgery April 15th 2013 and today August 8th 2013 i stand 6'3 235lbs with no complications God is awesome and im letting anyone know that making this decision is a start at a new life!!!! :-)
  21. Like
    Diamondeyed got a reaction from supbanana in Made it to Tijuana, surgery tomorrow with Dr. Illan at Florence Hospital!   
    All will be well
  22. Like
    Diamondeyed reacted to Disneymomma4 in Not doing the liquid diet   
    Every doc is different. Mine doesn't do the 2 week preop. Just the day before on Clear Liquids. I'm in going to be okay. I go August 9th for my surgery. My BMI is like 51.
  23. Like
    Diamondeyed reacted to jennifer suonvieri in August sleevers?   
    Good for you :-) you made a great choice going with Dr. Illan! Best wishes to you!
  24. Like
    Diamondeyed reacted to Luv2bslim in Where's the best place for broth in Tj?   
    Casa de Mole by Hotel Lucerna. It's a must and they accept either currency.
  25. Like
    Diamondeyed reacted to SanDiegoSunshine in Self pay sleevers: BMI of 30 or close   
    I was sleeved March 8th. I was 195 pounds now I am 145 pounds. My goal is 135. I cant remember what my BMI was. Im 5'5. I think everyone who does the surgery should do it cause they want to no matter what the magic Bmi number is. I have been judged by people since my surgery people saying I didnt need it BUT it was my money my body my time. So who cares what people think. I feel amazing and I am more happier then ever!

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