shrinkinggrl

I wanted a "last week of august" date because then I get a "free" extra day off for labor day the following monday. I got 8/30/10...whoo hoo!

Totally normal. I get sleeved 8/30 in Mexico and although I don't have kids, I am scared of dying, too. Funny, when you consider my doc has had no leaks and he operates on people much heavier than I am on a regular basis. But fears aren't necessarily rational. Yet we have them, and we have to honor them and try to let them go. See you on the other side (and I don't mean heaven! LOL)

So you didn't get hacked up or sold into prostitution, eh? LOL.

You should be mobile enough to change the movie in the DVD player. Unless you really have to bend to get to it? But we're supposed to be up walking the same day...so if all you have to do is cross the room, then I would say yes. Not sure about the shower.

You don't think 6 lbs a week in the last month is fast? Then by all means, let me be a slow loser, too! LOL

I just went thru them. I took a $1k loan (because I had scratched up the rest of my Mexico surgery fees elsewhere). they charge $129 service fee and a ridiculous 16.99% rate...but the jokes on them....I'll have the $1k paid off in less than 3 months. Hee hee. You gotta love those months when you get an "extra" paycheck!

I can't find SF Carnation Instant Breakfast anywhere! Everyplace I've tried only has the regular kind.

And does anyone know what other stores (if any) sell Isopure premade Protein drinks besides GNC?

Dansha and I are similar: I'm 5'5" and my heaviest ever was 305. I'm still preop and down to about 291, but I definitely have about 150 lbs that need to go!

You are definitely not alone!

Sooz, you and I could be twins. That is almost exactly where I was...w/ one exception. My ins co was willing to pay for the band...but not the sleeve. But for me, $ is not the big issue. Maintenance of a band, complications of a band, the not knowing if 10, 20, 30 yrs from now it will finally wear out and fail on me.....who knows what position I'll be in at that time? Would I be able to afford surgery? Or would I be (if the complication was erosion into the stomach, or a slip that was cutting off my stomach's blood supply....) putting my life at risk??

Sure, those scenarios are probably more dramatic and less likely to happen than just plain dying of disease or whatever, but once I REALLY started thinking about it, I chickened out of the band and decided VSG was for me. And then found out my ins co wouldn't pay. I could have appealed but after my long journey (my lapband surgery was cancelled TWICE by my surgeon....how's that for KISMET?) but I said "F it!" and opted for Mexico. Now I am waiting impatiently for surgery day to arrive!

I have SOOOOO been there. I had a myomectomy in 2001 (removal of a fibroid tumor from the uterus) and for weeks before the surgery I drove my family nuts fretting. That surgery sucked just because it was my first ever surgery and I had no idea what to expect and I completely lost it in the pre-op staging area. They couldn't shoot me up w/ "Simmer down, now!" fast enough. LOL

Fast forward to today...exactly 3 weeks out from my surgery date. I do think about things going wrong sometimes, and then I remember my doctor has NEVER had a leak. So far as I know, my ticker is fine. So YAY!

Then, out of the blue, it will hit me that I am WILLINGLY subjecting myself to a surgery where someone is going to CUT OUT 85% (or so) of my STOMACH! My brain starts to scream, "I NEED THAT! NO!" And then just seconds later, something else inside me answers back, "This surgery is the 1st step of a DS, which THOUSANDS of people have had and survived." A friend of mine had a DS 5 yrs ago and is healthy as a horse today. No issues at all. So that's when I go back to feeling excellent about surgery.

Realistically, I know I have the odds on my side. I also know I will continue to get hit w/ the "I NEED THAT! NO!" argument over and over and over until suddenly that part of me that I thought I needed is gone and I will realize that HEY! LIFE IS SO MUCH BETTER W/ ABOUT 85% OF MY STOMACH GONE! WHOO HOO! BRING IT ON!

Wow, I am glad you guys had this thread because of the ONE person I told so far, I told her the wrong day! LOL

Thats me too. I arrive on the 27th, surgery the 28th and head home at about 7am on the 31th. Getting sooooo excited. Hope to see you guys there.

Wait. Now I am confused. I thought it was 4 days total....like:

arrive for preop testing 8.29

surgery 8.30

day 3 8.31

day 4 9/1 (go home)

But you say you arrive on 8.27 and don't leave until 8.31? that's 5 days....? 27,28, 29, 30, 31

I agree w/ the previous poster. When you are pre-op and nervous about how things will go, you WANT as much detail as you can get. I've read this post about 8 times since deciding on the sleeve!

I'm booked for 8/30! Maybe we will see each other! LOL

YAY. Did anyone fund part of the surgery thru surgeryloans.com? I'm worried about my application. Their site says answers in 15 minutes and I didn't get an answer. It's stuck on "reviewing credit" (you can check status on their site). I know usually at places where they claim to have instant approvals, when they say "We're still reviewing your credit..." it's code for NO WAY, JOSE!

I only have $1k left to fund but NO other idea how I can get it if they turn me down!

I'm totally straight, so please don't take this in the wrong way, but you remind me of Bettie Page. Gorgeous!

I just realized that is a Saturday. Wow. He books surgery on Saturdays?? That's neat! I am hoping to be there the last week of August. We'll see what Nina has to say.....

Ever since I bought a pair of Avi-Motion shoes (a knockoff of Sketcher's Shape Ups), I have been blissfully pain free! So the good shoes thing is definitely right! I used to wear crappy pairs of sandals and cheapie sneakers from Payless Shoes. Not that Payless is a bad thing....but they shoes I bought there just didn't have enough support!

....Did any of you use the "Care Credit" card by GE Money to finance all or part of your surgery? Just wondering if his office accepts this card. :cursing:

About 245 miles. :confused1:

....for those that went alone, did anyone drive?

I'm still exploring all the options, and I am still not 100% sure it is sleeve (more due to financials than desire!).

I'm scared that no one in my life will support my decision, so I may have to drive myself. Is this possible? I mean, going home? You can't drive w/ narcotic pain meds....and I would never dare even if it wasn't illegal...but are you still on them when you leave Mexico? Or are you on just liquid tylenol type stuff?

Thanks, all, for your information. If my insurance won't cover the sleeve (and I can raise the capital!) I will definitely be going to Mexicali to have Dr. Aceves sleeve me!

I've been poring over everything I can find on these boards and elsewhere on the net and I have yet to see a bad word about him!

:001_tongue:Please don't mind me if I sound ignorant....I honestly don't mean to....but here are some concerns I have:

1) Anyone from AZ go to Mexico lately? I am a bit concerned about even attempting it given the whole sb1070 thing.

2) doesn't eating or drinking anything in mexico make you sick (which wouldn't be good if you have surgery!)

3) are the costs you mention here ALL ALL ALL inclusive? start to finish? like....hotel, surgical, hospital, anesthesia, etc. ALL as in ALL?

4) Do you have to go there alone or can someone come with you (if so, does the hotel cost rise? or can it be like a double occupancy thing? I realize that person's food and such would not be part of the ALL inclusive mentioned in #4 above).

5) If you are TERRIFIED to drive into mexico, and you live in AZ like me and WON'T fly ...what should you do? Where should you go to get transportation across the border if you were going w/ Aceves? Where in AZ would you park your vehicle for overnight (several nights?) I've never been to Mexico and don't know how this works!

I'm just trying to figure out how to have VSG if I can't get approved for it. I've been thru the wringer just trying to get banded, and I haven't had surgery yet and I'm just thinking what if this is all a sign I shouldn't have the band?????

Other than being seriously broke and trying to figure out how to pay for it...well, I'd still like the preliminary info.