cerenatee

I have EXACTLY 14 days before my surgery, 13 days before I board my flight. I was freaking because I was terrified but now I'm freaking because I'm nervous and excited. I'm researching protein drinks, broths, blenders, compression socks, vitamins, etc. Uggghhh! It's an entire lifestyle change and I have 2 weeks to get ready.

I guess it doesn't bother me because I agree with them. While I don't think it's "easy," I do think it's "easier." It's like signing up for a marathon and biking the 26 miles. I still have to expend a ton of energy and effort to reach the finish line, so it's not easy, but it's a ton eaiser for me than the person on foot. I've had people ask me why the surgery and I tell them it's easier for me to stick to a program when I don't have a choice. As for people who want to get nasty, tell them you'll give up the surgery when they give up their car.

Well, I would say be honest and have faith in the universe (or God if you believe) that things will work out the way they're suppose too. You're already seeing a counselor, so you're working on your issues, and that's 90% of the struggle right there. Being aware of the risks mentally and emotionally and putting resources in place to deal with them. As much as we want to be healthy and thin, there is a risk that this surgery will leave us cross-addicted, depressed, or not able to cope, so the psych eval is a God-send, not a punishment. Just know you'll be able to managed whatever they throw at you. Hugs.

Yes, being sleeved is an easier way out. It helps that 80% of your stomach and 65% of your hunger hormone are being removed. That being said, it still takes work and effort to reach your goals. I guess I'm not as worried about "taking the easy way out" because I do it every day. I drive my car instead of walking. I use my AC instead of faning myself. I bug my groceries instead raising vegetables and killing pigs. I get my oil changed by someone else instead of doing it myself. Every single day I take the easy way out and I have no problem at all with that. I'm sorry others are struggling and they can't do what I'm about to do but that's not my issue. I have the money and I have the time so yes, I'm taking an easier (not easy) way out. If others don't like it, they can talk to me after they sell their cars and start hoofing it for a couple of years.

I would think you would be more along the lines of "Poor guy. Wish he could have the surgery I had. Wish he had a chance." but everyone is different. Society has programmed us to think that eating better is about will power, even when we KNOW it's not. So now, after your sleeve you're eating right so it's easy to overlook the fact that you needed 80% of your stomach and 65% of your hunger hormone removed to do it. You can also get caught up in the self-righteousness because you are extending some effort to eat right but that effort only comes after having major help. If you remember that it took the skills of surgeons, anesthesiologist, nutritionists, psychiatrists, and risking your life to have the "will power" you do now, you'll look on others with more grace and gratitude than judgment and self-righteousness.

You're beautiful so I'm shocked they weren't hitting on you before. It's about time they woke up and notice a diamond amongst the clams.

Here's a link to a company that finances people with bad credit. You only need to have a 580. Of couse the interest is going to be high but the payments can be spread out over 5 years. I know nothing about them so proceed with caution and research. The Company is Patient Source. Someone on another bariatric surgery board is using them. http://www.patientsource.net/ Hope this helps.

I'm having surgery May 8th also at Mi Doctor! Who's your surgeon?

I'm going alone. May 8th with Dr. Lopez in Tijuana. I just spoke to a friend who had her surgery yesterday. She said they are taking excellent care of her and loves the doctors, hospital, and hotel. Hope this helps cause it really helped me.

I don't eve like being in front of my husband in my bra and panties and you're outside. I have MAD RESPECT.

Hi, I just heard from Hope who has her surgery yesterday with Dr. Lopez. She's raving about him, the hospital, and the hotel. She said Dr. Lopez is great. He's been to see her twice since the surgery. She said she had 3 surgeons in the operating room - Dr. Lopez, Dr. Ortiz, and some woman. She said the nurses are great - very friendly and attentive. She said you couldn't get the kind of service she's receiving in the US. Her only concern was the nurses didn't always wear their gloves. She said be sure to remind them. She said Abraham, our coordinator, is wonderful. She went by herself - I'm going by myself also - and she said he stayed with her and kept her company. The day everybody got there he rounded them up and took them sight-seeing and to dinner. It was only broth but it was good. She said some woman was bragging about Dr. Kelly the morning of her surgery and it finally got on her last nerve. Dr. Lopez has never lost a patient and his complication rate is at .025%. He's cautious and he's thorough. Dr. Kelly has lost 2 patients, he's lost his surgery privileges at 3 hospitals, and he's on drugs. Apparently the other lady didn't know about all that and freaked out when she was told. Why people don't do their research I'll never know. I RESEARCH EVERY FREAKIING THING. I checked every license, called every hospital (including the one in Chicago where he interned), checked out every association, read almost every article he wrote - and only after all that did I go by everybody's experience. Experience is great but since the dead can't complain, you need to look at more than experience. Anyway, I hope this helps. Hope was FREAKING THE FREAK OUT before she left. And now she's like, what was the big deal? I was such a drama queen. You can't get a better review than that.

Thank you so much for posting this. It's awesome.

Kristen, I'm flying out from South Carolina so I'll be there on the 7th and my surgery is the 8th. I can't wait to see everyone from here. I'll be the Black woman with the dreadlocks.

Vixynne, you are so right. I was so scared to go by myself to Mexico but I just spoke to a friend who went by herself and had her surgery yesterday. She's doing awesome. She's being treated very well and everyone is being so nice to her. She said you definitely can't get that level of service in the states. She only had good things to say about the doctor, the hospital, and the hotel. Fears relieved. LOL.

Madeformore, your name says it all. I'm so happy you're giving yourself a fighting chance. You deserve to run, not only for your kids but for you too. You deserve rides at the amusement park, and better health, and cute clothes from more than 1 store, LOL, and everything else this surgery an bring you. We rock, we're loved, and we're going to be ok. So there.

Congrats girl! Welcome to the May Sleevers! Tell us about your surgery - where, with who, length of hospital stay, and anything else you can think of. We nosey.

Thanks for showing up and speaking out everybody. May 2013 is right around the corner and this stuff is real now. Ya'll, after getting some love from my FB group, I'm in a much better place. I got so wrapped up in my fears that I forget I have done my research. I have selected a great surgeon and a great hospital. I am following all my doctor's pre-surgery orders and I'm going to follow all his post-surgery orders as well. My surgeon is very careful and he's very cautious. He places the staples and then he goes back over them with sutures. He leaves the drain in for 4 days after the surgery in case of excessive bleeding. He checks for leaks after the surgery and the next day. He keeps you in the hospital for 2 days and then in a hotel, which he stays at himself so he's close, for another 2 days. On my return, I have solid medical care in case anythng goes wrong. Yes, the care is 4 hours away but that's ok. I can be admitted to the hospital with no problems and the bariatric surgeon has residency there so I'll see him as much as necessary, if needed. Most importantly, I have a God that loves me. I have a God that has brought me out of hell, that has always shown a light in my despair. I have never been deserted or rejected. I have never felt alone during my darkest moments. If God has been saving me from this world since I was a child, I know He's not going to overlook me because I'm in Tijuana. That's my truth. That's what's going to allow me to have this surgery and claim the victory I know is mine, even if I have to walk through trials and tribulations to get to that victory. Now ya'll tell me your truth. What steps have you taking to be ok? How have you ensured that no matter what happens, you've done your part? Because at the end of the day, if we've done our parts, the rest is up to the fundamental goodness and purpose of this universe. Whether you believe in God or not - I use to believe in whatever was keeping the trees alive because the trees didn't work and they didn't move - sometime you just got to let life be life.

A very wise woman once told me "People's reactions to you are never about you; it's always about them. So their reactions don't reflect who you are; it reflects who they are." She made TREMENDOUS sense and has never steered me wrong. Sorry some reacted negatively to your post. The important thing is you are awesome.

Just wanted to mention a lot of people don't believe in drinking liquids with their meals. They say it dilutes the digestive juices, causes digestive problems, and isn't healthy. ---> Now back to your regularly scheduled broadcast.

My advice for you would be the same. After she's on lock down, you may want to go into details about your surgery, but until then, I would only bring it up if I had too. If the woman already finds you physically attractive, which you can assume if she agreed to go out with you, she could care less about your surgery. She'll care more about your intelligence, your personality, your financial stability, your living situation, your morals, and your future life goals. (PS This is my opinion. Some women just want you breathing and that's good enough.)

I don't understand why she would tell them at all but especially at 2 or 3 weeks out. Usually that's the casual, "what kind of music do you like to listen to" or "can you have an intelligent conversation about music" phase. When did it turn into the "here's my entire medical history" phase? I've only been with my hubby about 2 years so I know I'm not that out of the loop yet. Or maybe I am. Either way, I've never discussed my dieting..or my shopping...or my home grown pedicures...or my moustache waxes or anything else in that category with guys that were not already in love with me and on lock down. As far as dating guys were concerned, God just magically stopped my toenails from growing and I woke up every morning with pretty colors on them. Even with a committed guys, I only said things in passing, if necessary, and I still didn't really bring up diets. Reason one, I could never stick to one, and reason two, most guy just don't care. They're always, "yeah baby, you can do it" and then back to the ballgame. I only got my husband to pay attention when I mentioned this surgery. He could still care less about pedicures or bikini waxes or anything else that proves I'm human. He just wants the results, not the process. LOL. I would suggest your friend forgo her desire to blab. I know she's excited but she needs to join VST where she can gush all day and night. If she has tons of loose skin or surgical scars that need to be explained, then yes, she might want to mention them but again, in passing. Something like "I use to be a little bigger so now I have loose skin." We know "a little bigger" and "loose skin" doesn't go together but it gives a guy an out to say "okay" and move on in his mind. This is generally enough for the guys I know. Most guys are straight-forward and they keep it simple. No need for long drawn out discussions. To this day, my husband can't stand "I have something I want to talk to you about." LOL. He always looks up like Homeland Security is at the front door. It's pure fright and too funny. So if she tries to have an in-depth discussion about her girly parts, loose skin, or anything else in the first weeks of dating, a lot of guys may think she's too intense, which translates into too much work, and bail. In summary, she needs to not bring it up unless necessary, and then present it as "a little bigger and I lost some weight." Then move on with the conversation.

From what I read on here, your loss is solid. I think 5 lbs a week is nothing to sneer at, unless you're like 400 lbs then I understand a little. Higher BMIs tend to lose a lot of weight real quick. I think you're beautiful and you're definitely on your way to a healthier you.

I kn I know right? I'm freaking out but I'm still in, for the moment anyway. I know others have been through what I'm going through and it'll be ok. I think. Girl I'm scared, lol. But I keep forgetting you're going to be there too. That does make me feel 1000 times better. Have you signed up for the Facebook support group yet? I tried to sign up for the May 2013 one but she never added me. Which is sad cause we're going to go through the same things around the same time so it would be great to be on FB together. However, the general FB people are awesome and they have shown all kinds of love. If you haven't checked it out, the link to the VST post is below. You just have to request to join and she'll approve you within a day. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/70990-facebook-support-group-page/

Ya'll I'm scared. Like real scared. Like don't know what to do, crying scared. I don't like being fat but I really don't have too many health problems yet. Just high cholesterol, I snore, I get tired easily, and my legs fall asleep a lot. I know other health problems are coming but they're not here just yet. Vanity is definitely a part of why I want this surgery but so is peace of mind. I'm tired of worrying about my health. Today it's high cholesterol but tomorrow it may be cancer. I lost my sister, my mother, and my grandmother to cancer within a 7 year period so cancer is consistently on my mind. My mom and sister were relatively healthy and thin and they still died so I know it's only a matter of time before my bad weight and bad genetics meet up. It's like a ticking time bomb and I'm always looking for it to go off. But the complications of this surgery, when they happen, are pretty horrible. And I don't think a lot of us make peace with that really. We just assume they're not going to happen to us. At least that's what I was doing. I can only speak for me. Now I'm really thinking about what I could be putting myself though and I just don't know. What if I'm the leak, the abscess, the stricture, the pneumonia, the excessive swelling, the blood clots, the 1001 things that could go wrong. By God's grace people like Iggy are here to tell us their stories, they have overcome, and they're way better but they went through hell and none of them think the surgery was worth the benefit. No one ever says if they're overall health is better but I'm guessing it's not since they're still being treated for the complications. Then some people don't even get those benefits. They're losing 20 lbs in 3 months, they're still hungry, they don't have a lot of restriction, etc, etc. WTF?!! All that money, time, and pain and you don't get the benefits? I know most people do but some don't and that's another negative I have to weigh. What if I go through all this for nothing? That would be so freaking awful. But the only alternative is to call off the surgery and try to lose the weight on my own, again, like I've tried 100s of times before. But even that's scary. What if I call off the surgery and I'm still in the same place next year, and the year after that, and the year after that, until I look up and 10 or 20 years have passed, but now my health is awful and I'm 100 lbs heavier and I'm living in regret for what could have been if I had just had the gastric sleeve performed back in May 2013. It's so much to think about and so much to consider and my fear vs my wants are blocking my prayers. I just don't know what to do. I'm sorry if this doesn't make sense but I just had ot get it out of my head. I'm hoping someone else has been crazy like this, or is currently freaking out themselves, and understands what I'm going through. Hugs.

I wonder if it has to do with your staples. Have you called your doctor to asked what kind you have?