SweetTee

I want to ride bikes with my kids, bend down easily to tie my shoes, tuck in my shirt and put on a belt without feeling self conscious. Run, jump and enjoy life to the fullest!

Wow! I completely agree with just about everything everyone else has said! I can't wait for the amusement/water park, seatbelt, hiking, high heels, knee high boots, new positions (and hopefully and increased sex drive all together), clearance clothing (definitely found easier when skinny), pole dancing, dancing period, pilates, vacations, fitting in restaurant booths, not being looked at like I'm a cow when I eat, riding my bike, being more active with the kids, representing my husband as I should at company functions, advancing my professional career ( I agree that weight matters, no matter what anybody says) and the list goes on and on! Oh wait and don't let me forget NEVER EVER shopping at Lane Bryant again!!! That was a good one ladies. And by the way I definitely sweat, and sometimes cry when I try on clothes too.
On a side note, I want to share a funny story about big girl stores: Near my house there is a plaza, and in that plaza there are three shops - Lane Bryant, Ashely Stewart (also a plus-size store) and a Fitness 19 gym. The gym is all windows and it is actually angled so it faces the fat girl stores. Now at first I thought, god how rude, and then I thought well maybe it is to motivate us fat girls to come over and join, then I realized that it was motivation for the people looking out the window while they work out, lol...'I will not be fat, I will not be fat' lol. Sure glad I will never have to go to that plaza again!!!

I so agree with this!!! I recently had a conversation with my boss about promotability as we were having lunch. He very nicely hinted to me that if I want to get promoted that I would have to drop some weight. He did this over lunch, and told me in confidence, so I very much appreciated him having the courage to tell me something that we all know is there. He basically told me that no matter how qualified he felt I was, to get promoted, that he knows for a fact, that the big wigs at corporate discriminate. It's not fair, but it's how the world is. So I agree with you 100%. I know advancing in my professional career is a huge thing that I am looking forward to.
Oh... and the Lane Bryant and Ashley Stewart story facing Fitness 19. That was hilarious!!!! LOL

Go for my yearly checkup without overwhelming fear that I would have crossed over to diabetes or hypertension because of the extra weight.

Kmbrlycool, ok now I'm gonna need you to make up for yesterday, lol

My daughter just checked on the price and until September, it is $4500.00. That includes the 3 nites at the Marriott.

I wish mine would drop some. I've always had a very healthy appetite. Stronger than my husband's lol. In fact 90% of our arguments are about me wanting more "attention". So I'm at 3 months. Hoping for a dip.

I was just sleeved yesterday by Dr. Garcia and what a wonderful experience. The facility is very clean, and they provide a private room with an extra bed for your companion. The nurses go above and beyond as far as making you comfortable and seeing to nausea meds or pain meds. There have been no language problems at all. Dr. Garcia took a long time explaining the procedure to us, and today he came by to tell me about everything that he told my husband. Also to let me know about going to the Marriott tomorrow and all the meds and paperwork they will give me for my doctor at home. Now I would not hesitate to recommend Dr Garcia and his staff to anyone:)

@msvickee we need to plan a celebration because those 8lbs are about to fly off. I'll bring the chicken broth :-)

@sweetea by the time you make it to the Finest Thing in Texas I will probably have the title of The Sexiest in the South. I'll be sure to show up at the awards show and hand you your crown though :-)

Keep you and all your fellow sleevers in prayer. Give all fears and worries to God and leave them there, for it is well done.

Keep you and all your fellow sleevers in prayer. Give all fears and worries to God and leave them there, for it is well done.

Glad to hear surgery went well, I hear the n/v is bad after surgery. That's something I'm not looking forward to. I do hear it gets better. Walk, walk, walk is what everyone says. I hope you start feeling better soon. We will be praying for you. I'm a firm believer that if he brought you to it he will bring you through it. The good thing is you are remaining positive.

Congratulations and good luck! Keep us posted on your recovery.

Congratulations and good luck!

If you can stay at the recovery house, they will be able to better monitor your pain. Those traveling with family/friends were brought to the hotel, which is a nice place. However, when you are released from the hospital and brought to the hotel, you do not receive your pain medicine until later that evening. You are shuttled back to an additional building by the clinic, also owned by Jerusalem hospital, but very very small. You will walk up a very steep narrow flight of stairs and take a seat until they can administer your iv, pain, and nausea meds and shuttled back to the hotel. Here is a tip, ask for a sleeping pill because you may need it and take a nice long walk before you turn in for the evening.. Last night, I walked out of the hotel to the left, left at the corner and at the end of the block there is both a 7-11 and an OXXO. I bought cranberry juice which has been a saving grace bc apple is much to hard on my tummy. I diluted it in about a 3/1 ratio. When I came back to the hotel, I drank some juice and waited until 9ish to take my sleeping pill. I slept like a rock until 4 am. At 4, I woke up in a lot of pain and decided to walk a little bit, and finally gave in and took one of the tiny pain meds that the dr gives us to take home with us. I slept until the morning and I feel so much better today! This morning, I started to drink a dye (they say to drink it in 2 hrs...helps to take a drink of this and then a tiny tiny sip of juice when you are done to cleanse your pallet) and then at 9 they took us for xrays, very close. They also gave us a disgusting clean liquid to gulp down at the imaging place, while you are being xrayed. It is the absolute most disgusting thing I have ever had in my life. When you get out, there are complimentary suckers at reception, a few licks and you can rid your self of the taste. I understand that everyone's experience is different, but this is mine. I hope that it helps you a bit in your journey! I have no regrets! I go home tomorrow <3 Good luck to you all!!!

I went to Dr. Almanza . I wasn't too impressed with facility , staff was amazing Jerusalem is owned by two partnering brothers it was mt Zion before , the coordinators are not on site . Everyone I'm my group that went had great surgery .... I had no leakage problems ( almanza orders 2 test prior to u leaving ) I'm down 85 pounds in 2 months . His staff is amazing . Very organized , just very small hospital it is like a clinic . Almanza also offers a discount for a "mommy makeover " after bariatric surgery .
DR.MEBARAK PhD

The funny thing is see here is, all this equipment that is supposed to be state of the art, is in pretty much every hole in the wall surgical facility in Mexico.
I will not argue, Dr Aceves is without doubt one of the 2 top choices in Mexico, the other being Dr Alvarez @ Endobariatric.
I was personally sleeved by Dr Ponce de leon. From the day I left the int hospital, I haven't had a single medication (excluding stool softeners), haven't had a single complication, or even a moment of regret.
I'm happy to say, the you get what you pay for mindset just doesn't hold true here. If paying 40% more makes you feel like you had a better experience, then I am happy for you. But to suggest that someone that has scrimped & saved to get the money to self pay for a good qualified surgeon (ponce, Kelly, Garcia) should go into debt so they can go to your doctor, is reprehensible.
I personal could have gone to any doctor I wanted to and just written a check for it (yes including the 60K surgery in NJ), and I seriously considered both Almanza & Alvarez, however the more actual research I did the more I found that Kelly's & Ponce's credentials & patient satisfaction rates were equally impressive. The only thing they didn't have was the extra $3250 in their fee.
The deciding factor between Kelly & Ponce, for me was Trish, since Kelly had just recently stopped using coordinators, and Trish was now with Dr Ponce exclusively.
I don't advocate debt, I believe it is a cancer on our society. There is a line somewhere that says "the borrower is slave to the lender". I simply don't see why anyone would sign up to be someone else's slave.
If you have the money, and it makes you feel better to write an 8750dollar check than one for 5500, then I'm happy for you. But don't for a minute believe that just because you spent more money that you got better results.

There are many excellent doctors performing the surgery in Mexico and you can't necessarily determine their value based on price. Do your research and go with the person with whom you feel most comfortable.

Some people seem to think that losing weight is easy, and that all you have to do is diet, and exercise.... My Hubby is one of them. Although, I am so thankful that he agreed to pay for my upcoming procedure, July 27th, I know that he thinks it's insane, and drastic, that I am having SURGERY to lose weight. But, then, I also know that he looks at me differently since having our child, and gaining this weight. I'm a stay at home Mother of a rambunctious two year old. I have no time to exercise. My child is constantly under my feet, or glued to my side. I LOVE my child with all my heart, but, I can't focus on myself since becoming a Mother. I've tried losing weight other ways, and it doesn't work. Anyhow, my point is that I think many of us have partners who aren't as supportive as they could be. I'd love to go into my procedure feeling like he supported me. But, I know that isn't going to happen. I have decided to seek counseling for us to start on after the procedure. I know it will be good for us, and for me. People who aren't overweight don't understand the difficulty we face feeling huge, not wanting to go anywhere , etc... I pray my procedure goes well, and that I'm back to my happy, positive, outgoing person , the person I use to be before gaining all this weight. I know that family and friends are going to criticize and judge me. So, I'm not telling anyone . Good luck with your Husband. Reading these forums, I see that we aren't alone in having less than supportive spouses. Best of luck to all who have had the procedure, and to those who are going to have the procedure! : )

Hang in there. He's worried about a lot of things, I imagine. Will you be okay through the surgery? Will you still want him after you're thin? How will both of you handle the "new you"? Communication is the key. Something along the lines of, "I've noticed that we're having more arguments lately. I wonder if we can talk about what's bothering us." Use "us" and "I" and "me" more than "you" so it doesn't feel accusatory. Maybe giving him the opportunity to express his concerns and fears will help clear the air.
Hugs to you!

Thanks for posting. Interesting info. I'm def gonna take heed!

OMG, I'm so glad to hear that! God is awesome! Good luck on your sleeve journey.

Glad to hear surgery went well, I hear the n/v is bad after surgery. That's something I'm not looking forward to. I do hear it gets better. Walk, walk, walk is what everyone says. I hope you start feeling better soon. We will be praying for you. I'm a firm believer that if he brought you to it he will bring you through it. The good thing is you are remaining positive.