Wildflower

I have the sleeve and I love it. I am one yr out and 91 lbs down. Mind you I was self pay, cash in Tijuana Mexico and have had no follow up medical care after.. but also have not needed it.There were several people there with me that were having the revision done and from what I learned from them, the sleeve is so very much better. There is an adjustment of course after surgery.. If you eat too much, yes , it will come back up but I personally have not had any issues since about 3 months after. I am able to eat pretty much anything I choose, just very little of it. My evils are pasta and beef..my heaven was grilled cheese - cheese- cottage cheese and protein shakes.. that was basicly what I lived on for 3 months.. and brothy soups when I wanted it. and yes grilled cheese on bread.. I choose multigrain bread, toasted or crunchy. So to me this sleeve is a Miracle.. I can have a bite of anything I want to taste but thanks to my little buddy ( sleeve ) I can not over eat.. I will never over eat again. Just make wise choices as far as gravy, pudding, cheese cake, just because you can eat it, doesnt mean you should.. my new motto. I wish you luck and I hope you love your sleeve as much as i do

I went to Tijuana self pay sleeve with DR Almanza. My niece did go with me, but that said , after it was all said and done I would have gone alone and would go back alone. The person that comes with you really just ends up spending a lot of time waiting and alone themselves. We travel in groups , you have the option of a group home with other patients or the hotel with other patients. It is very clean, very safe and you will never be alone. I had a group of 9 with me and met several others.. everyone was so friendly, we laughed we talked we moaned and groaned all together . I loved having my niece with me but not necessary at all.

Wow..you look fantastic.. definitely do not look like a wls patient

You look fantastic, grats on one year today is my surgerversary as well.. 91lbs down

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I live in Roswell , 10 months post op.. self pay in Mexico and doing great so far. Nice to see this group here

I had the same issues Jenna, I was terrified .. I actually canceled and got my money back once before I finally went through with it.. and I thank God every day that I did. It is different, I am not going to sugar coat it. 10 of us in a van pulling into a strip mall to have major surgery.. I was in a full panic attack.. until I went inside.. there it was a crisp clean medical clinic, very nice people, very friendly, We all 10 had our surgeries that day/night and we all did very well.. I personally had to travel from the hotel to the clinic for check ups.. I would rather stay in a hospital and not do the travel if it was an option .. also there is no delivery of the pain medication.. you only get it in your iv when you drive back to the clinic. Most of us suffered from gas pain more than anything else.. some of the girls looked like they had not even had surgery and felt great.. they were smaller in size if that matters or not im not sure. But all in all, I knew it was cheaper for many reasons and My Doctor did a fantastic job, I have not had any issues what so ever with my surgery and one of the ladies that had surgery with me was checked out in the States when she returned home.. the Doc said " well, he knew what he was doing, that is for certain" . My cost was $4,500 , safe, clean, caring, very nice hotel, popcicles a plenty, free broth from the kitchen.. I would do it over and over and over again.. I do plan to return next year to get the flab removed lol

My niece waited with me in the clinic with her Ipad and iphone.. she slept at my feet in recovery .. next morning we went to the hotel together.. I suggest the hotel if you dont want them waiting with you at the clinic.. now that I have been there done that, I would go back alone but I was scared to death and she never left my side lol it was all so safe and so comforting. Out group got out and walked all over down town by the hotel

I have only seen my regular doctor one time since my surgery in Mexico 10 months ago.. I was / am nervous about that as well but so far so good, she checked my blood levels and ran several tests.. my diabetic issues are gone.. blood pressure normal.. I am low on Vitamin D is all that came back <3 I wish you the same good fortune

Popcorn chips rock for me!!! but I do eat pop corn.. with cut up ( real block kind ) cheddar cheese on the side

I am 9 months after surgery.. as memory serves .. about 2 months after I could have a small portion of just about anything I wanted. I find pasta and steak to be extremely filling though, even to this day.. but that is the magic of the sleeve. A little dab will do ya You can have a bite or 2 of ANYTHING you choose.. but be very careful about those choices and remember what got us here to begin with. I can also eat cheetos.. I can eat a lot of cheetos..lol crunchy things chewed well seem to be easy.. which means bad . I am kind of stuck at the moment, you become so addicted to running to the scale to see how many pounds you lost today.. well I did anyway.. then it was did I loose a pound this week? now.. I am back to my shakes and cottage cheese and not " testing what I can have" I know I do not NEED it and those things are why I had the surgery and the weight problem to start, So good luck, enjoy and remember to make good choices when you can.

I went to DR Almanza in Tijuana and couldn't be happier with the out come 3 months later..never heard of GUillermo though, sorry

I LOVE MY CHEESE!

I would not take them if I were you.. so funny seeing this because I spent a lot of time this evening thinking of what water pills would do to my body with the lack of liquids already. I used to get bad bad muscle cramps when I took them with my blood pressure meds and I had to take potassium. so I could only imagine now that I don't get more than 10- 20 oz of water a day. Try and get more liquids and maybe a gas reliever like mylanta maybe?

Oh ps.. for my sweet cravings I love anything and everything made by Fiber One.

Quaker soy crisps are really good . I wouldn't say they replace the kettle exactly.. I just had the Jalapeno kettle chips myself lol I can eat about 8-1 of them. But it was a rare occasion and by granny I enjoyed them. I like the white cheddar soy crisps and I am gonna try the new special K popcorn chips soon as I go back to the store

1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp 1 cup fresh lime juice 10 plum tomatoes, diced 1 large yellow onion, diced 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced, or to taste Place shrimp in a glass bowl and cover with lime juice to marinate (or 'cook') for about 10 minutes, or until they turn pink and opaque. Meanwhile, place the plum tomatoes, onion and jalapeno (and avocados and celery, if using) in a large, non-reactive (stainless steel, glass or plastic) bowl. Remove shrimp from lime juice, reserving juice. Dice shrimp and add to the bowl of vegetables. Pour in the remaining lime juice marinade. Add cilantro and salt and pepper to taste. Toss gently to mix. I love this on seseme tortilla chips 2 avocados, diced (optional) 2 ribs celery, diced (optional) chopped fresh cilantro to taste salt and pepper to taste

I found I could have most anything as long as I chew chew chew and very small bites.. that said, I didn't like the full feeling I got from my tuna /salmon so at the time it just wasn't worth it to me. I found my saving grace with Kraft simply cottage cheese / Cheddar cheese cut into strips / and Soups mornings some times I would make me a scramble with cheese and scallions ... I think it may have been around 6 weeks when I discovered I could eat whole grain tortilla with cheese too! I would make it in a skillet like a grilled cheese or a quesadilla .. it was awesome.. still is. I do find the Protein shakes make me happy.. period.. I feel better with them daily so I can't stress enough to get you a shake you like and try to get that in you every day. I ran out and I realized I would take more bites through out the day and that in itself made me feel bad ..but my energy level was lower and everything .

@tabby im not really sure why im loosing so much but I sure aint complaining lol 60lbs officially today about 10 weeks? I eat and I drink.. and it just melts off. Im sure that will end soon and probably because I was much higher BMI?

My doctor sent me a letter saying I needed vitamin D, so I got liquid Vitamin D and a Liquid multi - its harsh to drink alone but mixing it works the just same. I just take a shot of it and get it over with incase i dont drink all my smoothie

I was truly terrified of dying during surgery or complications after - plus had my precious 10 yr old daughter telling me she loves my fat to cuddle with lol I was also facing the " Mexico self pay fear " . I canceled and got a refund 2 times before I finally decided to go through with it and I thank God I did. This forum is the only reason I finally did it and felt safe enough to go, it feels real and honest and raw and I met about 30 people in Mexico that all are doing fine and dandy today My nightmares were about being sooo skinny like an anorexic person and there was no way for me to stop the weightloss.. it was quite frightening so I totally feel ya but at the same time, its the best thing I have ever done and I wish you all the luck in the world. I have lost 60 lbs - no high blood pressure meds, no diabetic issues... no cholesterol meds.. but above all mentally.. I am a different person.. the positive thinking and just a simple happiness I dont think I have ever known.. stay in touch

I have heard a lot of people say its about the weight and BMI - people with a lower weight and BMI seem to loose less at the start ? I am 60 lbs lost and had my surgery July 19th. But some of the girls with me have only lost 30 or so but were much smaller than I was

I don't know for sure, but I would assume as long as you chew them good you could have the skins.. I like mine peeled and grats on the new step.. so exciting isnt it. I just enjoyed a bowl of grapes last night.. never has a grape tasted so sweet and juicy and wonderful..lol

I am really sorry you are having these issues.. have you talked to your doctor?