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I know activity on this thread is pretty sporadic, but I just wanted to say hello. I am the B in GBLT, presently in a heterosexual relationship. I love all of my GBLT (and straight) brothers and sisters! I am still pre-surgery, but I am glad to have found such a supportive space to share this journey.

I think that Valentine's Day is probably a bigger deal to me than to him--in general, not if I had to choose between celebrating something we could do any day and having the surgery, though--but I could see him giving me a hard time about it (hopefully jokingly). I honestly think he would be more concerned with me missing school and not having enough recovery time, which of course, is also my main concern.

I know you weren't asking me directly, but my b-day is Feb. 12, so that's another reason I wanted to move surgery up to Feb. 15 (or Jan. 18)--would be the best birthday present ever. Even going in March, I'm considering it a belated birthday/Christmas present to myself (because Lord knows I can't afford to buy anything else for myself until then).

Hi All, First of all, sorry for the long message. I'm new here--I've actually been lurking for about a week, but I just decided to join. I've been overweight all my life and I've been considering WLS off and on for years, but I just told my bf and my bff about it this week and they aren't being entirely supportive. My bf is supportive of me having the surgery, but he's against me going to Mexico to have it, although he won't (and can't) stop me from doing it. My bff is the person I asked to travel with me and she's not totally against it, but she is adamant that she won't travel to TJ because she thinks it's too dangerous, so she'll only go with me if I get it done in Cancun or PV, which I'm sure you all know is more expensive (but she also started crying at the thought of me going alone). She also wants me to wait a year and to go on a diet and exercise plan with her (mind you, she's only 30 lbs overweight) to see if I can lose enough weight that I'll change my mind. I'm a grad student, so I don't have a lot of money, so the added expense of going to Cancun or PV is significant. I'm also 37 and I really felt like I dodged a bullet when I was told after my last checkup that I don't have diabetes--diabetes runs on both sides of my family and my mom was diagnosed as diabetic in her 40s, so I feel like a ticking time-bomb. I could actually give a grocery list of all of the obesity-related health issues that run in my family, which is the main reason I don't want to wait anymore. Since I am in school (and spending the winter holidays with loved ones), the earliest that I can get it done is spring break (end of March), which I think is my preference. I have also considered waiting until summer break, just in case I need more than a few days to recuperate, but I would want to do it at the beginning of the summer. If I wait until the end of the summer, I might be able to talk my bff into going with me since that would be a 9-month wait from now, which is sort of close to a year--I am not willing to wait exactly a year because I'll be in the same situation with being in school and unable to go until the end of March. The problem is, even if I wait until the end of summer to get her to go, I will wind up having to pay at least $1500-$2000 more (surgery and airfare) to go to someplace that she feels comfortable. So my dilemma is: do I go in March (to TJ) and hope that I don't have any issues returning to school the following week, do I go in June (to TJ) when I have more time to heal without having my school/work commitments, or do I go in August (to Cancun or PV) when I hope my bff would go with me, although this means a lot more money? I mostly feel okay with going alone until I start to think about what happens if something does go wrong, so any advice and/or words of encouragement would be appreciated.

Thank you so much for the reassurance. I'm really not scared of TJ or the surgery, especially after reading everyone's stories, and I've decided to go alone in March. My main problem now is a lack of patience--I'd do it tomorrow if I could. I will PM you with my questions. In the meantime, I wish you great success!

This is bad--I was seriously just sitting here looking over my school calendar to try to see if I could move my surgery date up by a month. I have been told that some college students do it over a long weekend and I do have one in February, for Presidents Day. To make it happen, though, I would need to leave on Valentine's Day (I'm guessing my bf wouldn't exactly be pleased) and I would miss at least 2 days of school (the Friday before and the Tuesday after). Technically, along this same line of thinking, I could even potentially move it up by 2 months (long weekend in January for MLK Day), but still have the same school issues. The whole point of choosing Spring Break (my actual, sane plan) is that I will have almost a week to recover at home without having to go to school. So this is crazy, right? I know it is, but going 1-2 months sooner--anything to shorten this wait--is so attractive. Patience, sadly, is not one of my virtues

Congrats and thank you for sharing your pics! It's always an inspiration to see others' successes.

Good luck! Wishing you a speedy recovery and much success!

This is fantastic! You can try a different shake a day for at least a couple of months. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks so much for the inspiration! I cannot wait for sexy bras, shoes, and clothes!

I'm going with Dr. Lopez and my coordinator even said that she'll hook me up with people getting surgery around the same time, but as you say, I have to wait until my date gets closer for them to surface. *Praying for patience*

I think it's great that you feel so open about your decision and I applaud your positive attitude. However, I can only speak for myself, but I don't think that those of us who don't want to tell many people are ashamed. For me, it's just that I don't want the negativity of judgmental people before my surgery. I know it's their issue, not mine, but I have enough on my mind without having to wonder about so-called friends' attitudes. We all have different comfort levels on this issue and we're all deserving of support for our decisions.

Thank you for your encouraging words. Also, congrats on being 100 days away from a new beginning! I know it seems like a long time (I'm 128 days out), but it will be here before you know it. I agree that my friend is being selfish and I'm pretty much over it because this is about me and my health. I am comfortable in my decision to go alone, but I'm also looking for sleeve buddies (I decided to go March 21-26). I've decided to stop worrying about something going wrong because my faith is strong and I believe in the power of positive thinking (I'm sure I'll have last minute jitters, but they won't outweigh this very positive decision). Also, there is so much support and inspiration here that I don't feel alone in this journey. I am really grateful to have found this website and the support network I'm growing--everyone has really helped me to feel okay about putting myself first and ignoring the haters.

You look great! Thanks for posting your pics--they are definitely an inspiration. Like others, I can't wait until I have some to share too! Wishing you continued success!

I pray that all goes well for you. If necessary and if you can afford it, you might consider self-pay in Mexico.

Bait and switch, huh? That is awful. On the brighter side, I feel really good about my decision to go through A Lighter Me. My coordinator (Ronda) is super helpful and she even says that she will match me up with people who are going in for surgery at the same time as me, so that I will have sleeve buddies. I'm still looking for sleeve buddies here now because she doesn't have anyone to match me up with yet since my surgery is still a little over 4 months away. The more the merrier, I say.

Here's his info: http://www.alejandrolopezmd.com/our-surgeons/staff/dr-jesus-elias-ortiz-gomez-curriculum-vitae/

That's understandable. Were you able to ask them why they think he's a bad doctor? Keep in mind that they know that he is still affiliated with other services (and probably more affordably) and their objective is to get you to book through them and not seek him out on your own, so they definitely have an agenda.

I am praying for your speedy recovery and wishing you great success!

I think it is weird that they would say that yet still feature him on their website (3 out of the 5 doctors on their website are affiliated with Dr. Lopez). Perhaps there is more going on there that has nothing to do with his abilities as a surgeon. Anyway, I would suggest going through A Lighter Me. They book for Dr. Lopez--I am traveling from Seattle to get my surgery done with him.

Have you tried looking through the Self-Pay & Mexico Vertical Sleeve Surgery forum? Many of us are or have struggled with the same sort of decision and you can read about that and also reviews of Dr. Aceves there. There are lots of threads in many forums about unsupportive friends/family members. My bf wants me to stay in the States, but I can't afford it financially and I honestly don't feel like I can afford to wait any longer Healthwise, so I'm going to Mexico in March. Good luck on your decision!

I'm 37 also. Will be 38 in February and my surgery is a late birthday present to myself. Here's to our upcoming successes!

I'm not happy that so many people have lost friends over making this very important, life-saving decision, but I am happy to know that I'm not alone. I'm pretty close to going through the same thing. My best friend is trying to make me wait a year to get it done by saying that she won't go with me otherwise (I'm self-pay, getting it done in Mexico) and she wants us to diet and exercise together in the meantime in hopes that I'll lose enough weight that way to change my mind (ha!). She is only 30 lbs overweight and she has no idea what being this overweight is like. I'm not afraid to go alone to get my surgery, so her ultimatum isn't going to work on me and I'm not talking to her anymore about it until after it's done, so I don't know what will happen to our friendship then. As a result of her reaction, I am not telling anyone else until after it's done either (and even then, very selectively).

I am glad that you are going forward with this. You are making the right choice for yourself and your family. I have no doubt that your surgery will be a success, but I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

I try to tell myself that since I've been overweight pretty much all my life (and I'm 37), 4 more months until surgery shouldn't be so bad, but I want it worse than a little kid wants toys for Christmas.