PhatKat

I am so excited. I thought my PCP would drop me as a patient if I told her about having WLS (nevermind having it in Mexico). She was so supportive and promised to do my aftercare. She was up on what the sleeve is and what I should expect from it. She was more than happy to give me a referral to a Nutritionist and to a therapist for my food addiction. Things are starting to fall into place. I am 90% sure of my surgeon choice (Illan). As far as money goes, I have been unexpectedly been offered overtime at my job. While the overtime is very short term, It will pay for 1/4 of my surgery cost and my tax return should cover the rest. I have also discussed it with my adult children and spouse, my daughter still living at home, my parents and my grandmother. I am shocked that they are supportive. Particularly that I am going to Mexico. Of course, no one is willing to go with me (to be fair each has a newborn and my parents and grandmother are elderly) but at least they are supportive. It is starting to happen and I feel good about it. Last year when I was considering it, I had recurring nightmares about it. I guess now is the time. I am almost ready! As mentioned above, I am going alone. I would love to meet someone who is going on 4/14/14 or around that time.

Congratulations SoCal. I am still deciding on a surgeon. I have the date but no doctor.

I am pretty sure I am going with Dr Illan. Do you know that Jerusalem Hospital is not really a hospital but a clinic in a strip mall. If you have any complications you would be sent via ambulance to a real hospital. If you are comfortable with that I am cool with that. I just thought I would tell you I case you didn't know. Also you should check into where you go to recover.

I am tentatively planning on 4/14/14. Sounds like a good date. Not sure on my surgeon. How about you? Who are you giving your stomach to? Well, half your stomach anyway.

I am hoping for 4/14. Who is your surgeon? When are you going? Which hotel? Which hospital? I am going to go by myself. I would love to have a buddy.

I am really excited for you. You seem really prepared. It is better to have too much stuff than not enough. If you hate something you don't want to have to order other stuff.

This really helped. Thanks. My friend who is getting sleeved with me really, really didn't want to fly. I just think it is a hassle that I try to avoid. We are driving then. Vegasneon, who is doing your aftercare?

I should clarify..the flight ordeal is the same time as driving. The hour flight is the least of the time and hassle. I used to love flying but it Issachar pain in the butt now. The airport is huge now. To get from long term parking to the gat is more than an hour. I don't like strangers touching my body. And I certainly don't want to be seen nekkid. I hate being squished like a sausage in the plane. I am a BMI 40 and my companion is a BMI 50. The attitude of the flight attendants is not so great when you are phat. I really would rather drive. I just wanted to be sure I wasn't doing something stupid.

I had depression after I had a hysterectomy. Both surgeries mess with hormones, granted it is more intense with a hyster. Depression is a chemical imbalance. It isn't just the blues. Get medication before it gets worse. I let it go too long. I was trying to pull myself out of it. There is no reason to suffer. It is common to get depressed after surgery. It is harder to dig out when you go deeper. Nip it in the bud. Sending a prayer up right now for you.

I live in Las Vegas. It takes about the same time to fly to San Diego as it does to drive. I hate the hassle of flying and my sleeve buddy is afraid to fly. How hard would it be to drive home after surgery? We could take turns. It is about 5.5 hrs. Am I crazy to consider it?

I am Having my surgery mid month August. I am going to go to Mexico because my copayment is astronomical. Three times what it will cost in Mexico. No hassle too. I am getting more nervous now that decision time is here. Anyone else going to Mexico?

I would reconsider seeing him. You are not married to him. I would clear him out to make room for a supportive man that deserves you. I am so angry on your behalf.

I will talk to my PCP about getting a sleep study. Thanks for the info. I have been avoiding this topic for a while. It seems this journey is requiring my big girl panties more than I originally thought. "The easy way out" yeah right!

I thought I should introduce myself. I am a 47 DWF who is 5'5" and 247 lbs. I am a single working mama with an adult child and a 12 year old DD still at home. My daughter is active and outdoorsy. I would like to start being able to do the things she enjoys doing. I was just diagnosed with diabetes in November. Since then I have been ravenously hungry. This happened to my aunt when she was diagnosed and she just blew up. I am already 247 and I can ill afford to get fatter. I have been doing a ton of research, thinking and praying about this decision and have finally decided to do it. I chose Dr. Garcia because of the lack of drama surrounding him and the testimonials of all of you. I submitted the paperwork to alma for Dr. Garcia's review. I am shooting for August. There is a lot of personal work that I need to do ahead of time, most of which involves getting my head on straight. I need to deal with my addiction to both food and caffeine. I need to work out what is going on psychologically that is causing me to eat myself to death. I have to work on self discipline issues as well. If I have learned one thing from all of you is that the path I am choosing is not the easy road. I need to muster the wherewithal to be successful this time. Two people at work are going to get sleeved too. I think that support system will be great for all of us. I am so thankful to all of you who have shared the good, the bad and the ugly so that I may make an informed decision. Since I am making the decisions and the arrangements, I want to do the right thing. I am meeting with my Aunt Tuesday night to talk to her about financing my operation. We are really close because we have the same body, similar mind sets and we are more alike than my mom and I. I am hoping that since I am her sole beneficiary of her moderate estate that she will be willing to advance me the money for the surgery. She was childless due to PCOS so I am like her daughter. Super scared she will not want to put money towards something that has a chance of death and is taking place in a country with a scary reputation in her mind. I really thought my insurance would cover my surgery with its usual $200 deductible for surgery. I was shocked when they said my portion is $12K!!! Since I recently bought a house I am totally not prepared for more of an expense than a modest copayment. Would you please pray for me to have the right words to say to my Aunt so she will be willing to give me the money. I worry that she will not want to do it because if anything goes wrong she will feel responsible. That makes sense she will feel thy way given her personality. I have considered just being general about why I need the money. I am all over the place. Sigh. If I can get the financing and my head together then I am good to go. And they say this is the easy way!?!

Does knowing you have sleep apnea before you have surgery important? Can I check it out when the dust settles?

That is awesome information! Thanks!

I am early into this. I don't intend on telling anyone. I come from a nosy opinionated family (ahem that includes me). I have told my assistant at work. He is my right hand. I need him to be prepared for more work for a while. I know my family will be against it and judge. I am not strong enough for that yet. I am going to take a "vacation with my friend" which is actually true. She is going to get sleeved at the same time. I have two adult children and one child at home. I am going to send my youngest daughter to my parents. I plan on taking two weeks off from work. I hope I don't need more because I really can't be away from my job longer than that.

I have never been diagnosed with sleep apnea but I snore really loud and I wake up tired every day so I may have it. I cannot possibly wear a mask. I am not kidding about that. It is a nonnegotiable. I panicked even looking at the pictures. What is the purpose of getting diagnosed with sleep apnea? Doesn't losing weight cure sleep apnea? I know I must be missing something important. I am pretty early to my research so bear with me. Thanks...