Disney

Don't drink Water too fast!!!! No matter how thirsty you are, or how good it tastes!!!!! I know this, I know this, I know this, but I still drink it too fast sometimes..arrgggg....and I pay for it when it goes down and really makes me queezie for a few......

And what is the deal with NOT drinking from a straw??? I love drinking from a straw and sometimes it is soo much easier...just cuious

The Dr. told my mother (who has the dreaded lap band) not to drink from a straw, at least in the beginning due to the fact that it brings extra air into the pouch.

She does it all the time now, and never really had a problem even early on. I think it is just a personal thing. It may bother you, and it may not. So some Dr's just say not to, just in case.

Do any of you know if they do low BMI's in the US for self-pay? I'm currently BMI 33 and I'm trying to decide if the US or Mexico would be a better option for me.

I'm not sure how low they will go in the States, but Nina with Dr. Aceve's office told me he will perform surgery on anyone with a BMI of 30 or above.

Oh, how I wish I had known about the sleeve several years ago when I WAS a 30 BMI...

WOW! You look fantastic!

Great job

Thanks for sharing, Doug! Love, love, love details!!!

One thing I have never understood, they actually expect that you will be coherent enough to use that morphine pump immediately after surgery?!? and they SPECIFICALLY say that family members cannot push it for you. FORGET that, my mother and my sister were pushing it for me when I was so out of it, but so OBVIOUSLY in pain that my knuckles were white from grabbing the railing on the bed after I had my hysterectomy. Really a silly rule to let you get to the point of hurting so much that you can barely ease the pain again.

I mean, I was pretty much out of it for just about 24 hours after surgery( I get really nauseas and have to take tons of Phenergan, so therefore sleepy time), there is NO way I could have pushed that button. In fact, my sister was watching me, and she would say, it's been long enough, it's ok to push it now, and I would try but I was pressing the side of the thingy, not the button on top.

That is so great! Congratulations!!

I can't wait to join you there

The thing is, whether you tell them you are having surgery (hernia or otherwise), or tell them you're going on vacation, they will figure out you had something done if you start losing weight after your time off. Especially since you will probably be down several pounds after the two weeks.

People are just so nosy aren't they? Actually, there will probably be a little jealously involved when you come back with your fabulous self!

Does anyone know if it is ok to eat celery that has been put through the food processor? I never have liked eating celery as it is, but I like the flavor. I have always processed it and chopped the chicken, added mayo and had a nice chicken salad.

I just wonder if the processed celery would cause the same problem?

It's almost here!! I know you will do great!

My insurance (Tricare) does not cover VSG so I had no choice, but I could wait for them to, I guess. But I'm like you, I am ready NOW, so I am going to self-pay. I have a feeling i'm not gonna mind that monthly payment very much when this weight starts falling off.

From what I have gathered on these site is Aceeves, Ramos-Kelly, & Rodriguez are all equally good. I chose Dr. Rod. because of his experience. He has done more surgeries than the others but my understanding is none of them have had leaks. Dr. Almanaz(sp) not highly recommended and the facilities resemble a back alley surgery. So I would definately stick between the Dr's listed above.

I guess none of us have any way of really knowing, but according to the OH listing of bariatric surgeons, Ramos-Kelly has the most VSG's performed, followed by Aceves and then Rodriguez.

I have not had surgery yet, but I chose Aceves based on reviews here on the sight.

To the OP, Dr. Alvarez has done many, many VSG's also. I have no idea about his sucess rate, though.

SO I finally finish all my requirements after many months of appointments and as the doctor's office is getting ready to submit my paperwork to insurance- they say I may not be approved because I don't have 3 consecutive years proving my weight/BMI. Ok so I have a high BMI documented in 2008, 2010, and 2011. For some odd reason I never went to the doctor in 2009 and therefore do not have my weight recorded for that year- and because of this I may not be approved. I would have to wait a whole year to try again if it is denied for that reason. I had wanted to wait until June/July to have the surgery but due to my endoscopy showing ulcers and hernia the surgeon wanted it rushed and told me I shouldn't wait that long- but now I may have to wait a year. What? AAUUGGHH! I'm going crazy!!!

Do they really think I had a high weight/BMI in 2008 but lost a ton of weight in 2009 and not have a high BMI and then have a high weight/BMI again in 2010. Come on- really?

Anybody have a similar situation or any advice???

No, they don't think that, they just go through your application for surgery with a fine-toothed comb to find ANYTHING they can to deny you. It is just WRONG, but it's what they do.

Thanks for posting these beautiful pictures Tiff. They are truly an inspiration to me. I completely agree that you were still beautiful even in the before pics, but even more so now. You have a very nice looking family, too.

Thanks again for the pics and thanks for all the well-researched advice you give to all of us, especially the newbies like me. I can't wait to join you on the "other side"

To each his own....I think he's good looking. Then again, I have always had a weakness for 'bad boys'.

Here's a pic for those who asked...

I'm with lasajata!!!! defo gonna cry!!! been a long time coming.

Then, once the tears have dried ...!!

I am going to see Take That June 16th and I am hoping to be goal or very near goal by then... I have a mental idea of my outfit to see my fab five - Robbie in particular - a size 12 pair of Bench jeans and a 'fitted' tee-shirt saying 'Coops loves Robbie' ...lol x

Ohhh, Coops! I love Robbie, too!!! Since I will probably never get across the pond to see him, please tell him hello for me, ok? Really, isn't he just a living doll?!?

I know you will look fab when you go to the concert!

As far as after I lose the weight, I will just enjoy getting down in the floor playing with my daughter and running after her without completely giving out of breath! Just the simple things, you know?

Hey y'all, the bariatric surgeon in my city accepts Tricare Prime. He does the big three, bypass, band and vsg. He knows I'm holding out for VSG and tricare prime to cover it, but he also knows I am saving $ as fast as I can to be a self pay. So,,, whichever comes first. I wish it would be tricare approving, but I am like Tiff, I am NOT holding my breath!

If I do have to self pay, I won't be using him as a surgeon because his price is $4000 more than Dr. Aceves and I am MORE than confindent with using Dr. Aceves so it is a no-brainer. I only worry about any complications afterwards and not being near my surgeon.

I really feel bad for you that you feel you have to 'hide' your weight loss from him. It should be such a happy thing and he is making you feel like you can't even enjoy it because you are dreading seeing him ever so often.

I understand you didn't tell him initially because he would have been negative about it, but he really is being negative anyway and he doesn't even know what happened. So in my opinion, you might as well tell him. He might blow up one big time, but that would probably be it ( I mean, you can't exactly go back in time and change what you did. Nor would you want to.) and at least then you won't have to dread visits with him.

Yay! Congrats!

BTW, love your ID.

Okay, here are my 2 cents, why would you tell your girlfriends and not tell your sister? You don't want them to visit be clear and say that you would prefer them to see you when you get home and that you appreciate their support. As for me my husband is the ONLY one who knows, because frankly he has to watch my kids while I was in the hospital and also in case something happened to me the man gets everything so I felt like he was entitled to know, last I felt like I should be able to trust this man after being together as long as we have and giving birth to our kids. Having said that I am 4 weeks out and long before surgery I made up my mind that it was nobody's business that I was having 85% of my stomach cut out. Sometimes people feel a need to tell others because they want to share their fears, they want support, and some people I am not saying all by any means really like the attention. Well I don't and so I didn't feel like I had to explain to people why and how and when etc. I am happy with my decision because I have no stress no family member at my neck all the time and it belongs to me. This is not like trying to hide you are pregnant or that you are getting a liver transplant at least not to me. When I look thinner and people ask I will simply say that I eat less, I don't pig out on sugars and fats and I am exercising simple as that. I hope you can find a solution I cannot tell you how to avoid picking up the kids unless you claim a mental breakdown which is an unnecessary lie. If I were you since you have told your girlfriends and your dad I would just go ahead and open up to the family. Your father might get worried enough about you that he tells your sister or someone else in the family, parents can go overboard with stuff like this. Then how will you explain to your sister why you left her out?

She said she told her husband and girflfriends, not her dad, and she also explained that she has mentioned it to her family in the past and they were negative about it. I can understand her wanting to stay away from negativity. Who needs it?

Thank you for such a detailed account of your experience. Since I am self-pay, I have decided on Dr. Aceves and this is exactly what I wanted to hear!

DH is somewhat worried about going to Mexico with all the cartel violence, etc. I explained to him that Mexicali is not in the same area as some of the cities having so much trouble. He is still iffy about it, but will go with me anyway, he knows I want this more than anything at this point. I am sure he will change his mind once we arrive. (However far away that might be)

So glad you had a good experience and I hope you have a continued successful recovery and weight loss.

Hey that is great! I can't wait till I can make a post like yours! Will be very interested to hear your story afterwards.

I know I will cry when I leave my 3 year old girl, too!!!

Guess what, tomorrow may be your lucky day in more ways than one. Tomorrow is 1-11-11

Yeah, hubbies have to say stuff like that, but it's true, you look absolutely great and you did before as well.

The one with you and DH hugging, you look so pretty.

Congrats on your weight loss and keep up the great work!!

Not really all that strict at all....fruit, cottage cheese, yogurt, lean meat, Protein shakes and unlimited radishes, cucumbers, celery, pickles, SF pop cycles, and caffeine free drinks.

The carbs are the hard things to stay away from. It's like they rule my life. I also don't fill full on such little, simple food.

So what...will they get in there and see that my liver sucks and close me up?

Actually, I have a relative that went in to have lapband surgery and did NOT follow the pre-op diet and they DID close her back up. You can imagine her surprise when she woke up. Her DR was extremely pissed that she did not follow the diet and told her she would have to wait a few more months and exhibit weight loss so that he would know for sure her liver had shrunk. He said it makes the surgery much harder to maneuver around in there, not to mention dangerous for the patient when the liver is so large. She did follow the rules the next time and had a successful surgery.

So, yeah, a competent surgeon will close you back up if your liver is still large.

I have not had VSG surgery (YET!!!) but have had several surgeries and also as a nurse, I can tell you this: pain will elevate your BP as well as stress (both mental and physical) from surgery. I would keep a close eye on it now that you will be starting a new BP med, because if it WAS related to surgery/pain, and regulates itself, you don't want the meds to bottom your BP out! Your PSP will advise you best, but I think this too shall pass!!

There are facilities doing the sleeve, that's where I am getting mine done on the 15th, I was very concerned about doing it in a military facility but the hospitals in the local area have much worse reputation where I live except for one who ranks top 5% in the country. I know that surgeons in the military are usually young and are getting their hands on experience with "us". But one thing I have learned in my life is to trust and to ask when in doubt, I also believe that military surgical teams are meticulous as is the nature of being held to robotic expectations such as in the military so I will let you know how it goes for me. But I will say one of the most important people is the anesthesia team:) so you might want to ask about them, they have a lot more power than the surgeon over your life during surgery it takes <5 seconds to make a fatal mistake. The lapband is a complete turn off for me and so is the gastric bypass(too many reasons to list) I see the sleeve as me getting a child like stomach that allows me to stop. Good luck to you in whatever you decide.

Thanks for the reply butterfly! I have indeed called MANY mtf's and none would take me from so far away. There are none near me. Soooo..............

I am set to get the sleeve at Portsmouth Naval Hospital but I live in DC. The DC area program was full and not accepting any patients so they were referring people out in town. Since VSG isn't covered that way I started calling other MTFs to find one that would accept me. NMCP is out of state for me and about 4 hours away....

Who told you they wouldn't accept out of state patients? Was it the general surgeon office or program coordinator?

It was the head nurse and she told me the surgeon is the one that decided that they wouldn't accept people from too far away. Maybe I said it wrong earlier, she said they wouldn't see anyone from more than 2.5 hours away. Which, that is out of state for a lot of people cause Texas is BIG..lol...Ok that was San Antonio.

Then I called West Point, they said they wouldn't either. She kept saying, you are out of our area, over and over. I told her I was willing to travel and even stay there several weeks after surgery and definitley come back for follow ups, but she say N-O.

The one in San Antonio said I had to be available for at least 3 months after surgery and then asked if I had any relatives or friends in the area I could stay with, so they dont really require you to live there, they just want you close by afterwards. But, sadly I do not know anyone around there.

I wonder if NMCP would take me? Did you get all your bloodwork, tests, etc done there or at home?