Tiff

Thanks for sharing Leslie! I am scheduled with Dr. Illan for 3/24- exactly two weeks away! So excited. I have already seen how great the team is, as I was able to skype with Omar and Dr. Illan. I can't wait to be back on here sharing my weight loss success!

Thank you for sharing. I am scheduled on 03/24 and although I pretty much know what to expect, I love hearing every little detail about every one else's experience! Can't wait to meet Dr. Illan and Omar in person and start my new sleeved life.

Thank you for sharing. I am scheduled on 03/24 and although I pretty much know what to expect, I love hearing every little detail about every one else's experience! Can't wait to meet Dr. Illan and Omar in person and start my new sleeved life.

Hello everyone ! It's been awhile since I've been on here, but I wanted to tell you about my wonderful experience with Dr Illan.
February 11th, 2014, I flew alone to San Diego. Dr Illans coordinator (the amazing Omar) called me as soon as I landed and directed me to where I met up with my driver who took me across the border to TJ. Omar was waiting for me and took me directly to Florence Hospital. I had blood work, urine test, chest X-Ray and EKG. ALL my different doctors and surgeons came in to talk with me. The nurses were amazing and I realized then why everyone raves about Dr Illan and his team, you have simply never had such total and competent care taken of you. I was whisked away to surgery and woke hours later feeling sleepy but great !! - During my two nights in the hospital I was under constant care and observation. Then I was discharged and taken to my hotel which was like the most comfortable oasis of quiet. Omar even surprised me with a facial on the second night - it was marvelous !! - I spent the next two days being chauffered all over TJ and out of town to a fantastic beach resort for dinner on Valentines night !! Honestly I felt so great (no painkillers needed EVER !!) I had to keep reminding myself that I just had surgery, I felt more like I was on vacation !
I could go on and on, but you get the idea. I chose the most perfect team.
I got home on the night of Feb 15th, I drove myself home, next morning I cooked Breakfast for my husband, did some laundry, walked the dogs, I felt phenomenal. This past Tuesday was 4 weeks since the start of pre op diet and 3 weeks since surgery and I am down 20.4 pounds so I am thrilled.
Dr Illan and his team are young, skilled and progressive. They operate more by word of mouth and by that alone they are busy. The hospital was clean and sunny and comfortable. I cannot come up with a single negative thing to say. If you have any questions at all, please contact me, i'm delighted to help in anyway !!
Cheers !

Havent scheduled yet, but hoping to schedule surgery with Dr. Garcia in Mid-late March.

Hello all -
I know several of us are hitting our 1 month mark this week. Mine is today.
The body is an incredible thing, truly. It's a healing machine quite frankly.
At one and two weeks out:
-you wonder what you have done to yourself and you are pretty sure you will never feel quite normal again
-you can't imagine yourself ever sleeping anywhere but the living room recliner
-the thought of driving or going back to work seems like an unrealistic commitment you made Way Back Before Surgery
-you can get in so little Water and Protein that it dawns on you that THESE are the weeks that will cause Hair loss several months from now
-you learn what "sliming" is (ewwww)
-MyFitnessPal tells you repeatedly: "You are getting too few calories. If every day were like today, you would be DEAD in 5 weeks."
At three weeks out:
-you feel better but not really there yet
-you need extra naps on the weekend
-getting in your water and protein can be done with the effort of a full time job
-you have a strange painful stitch in your side that you've resigned yourself to bravely live with the rest of your life
-you accidentally sleep all night with the heating pad on your largest incision site on its highest setting
-you walk 20 minutes on the treadmill and then come onto this site and disbelievingly post, "WHEN did they say I should start exercising????"
-your body decides you must be on a grueling episode of Survivor and goes into starvation mode yielding the world's most devastating weight loss stall prompting you to decide that you are a failure and did this all for NOTHING
At four weeks out:
-you sleep in your own bed in whatever position you want
-the fire-hazardous heating pad gets put away
-you walk 2+ miles at lunch and think maybe you could have done more
-you have enough energy to really start cleaning the house again and get totally aggravated at hubby and kids for how little they managed to do for the past month
-you randomly feel happy, mad, silly, sad as hormones and emotions take their toll
-you have to pack up the first set of clothes which are now too big
-you feel healthy....dare I say...normal?
Yep, the first month is kind of amazing.

I'm finally scheduled and flight is booked. Dr. Illan at Baja Bariatrics on March 24th! Cannot wait to meet Dr. Illan and the famous Omar. Ready to do this!!

Beautifully transformed!! As Brandnew Brandy said, I also hope to follow in your footsteps! I'm scheduled with Dr. Illan also, 34 more days!!!

Hi Everyone,
sorry its taken me a while to update.
We now have a definite cause of death. It was not labeled a "direct" result of the surgery, but it is related to her condition afterwards, for which she was offered little to no care until it was too late. I am not sure her husband will do anything legally, its all just so much for him right now.
Last Friday we went and picked her headstone out, and ordered it. That was hard. We should have done it sooner, but we all just needed time, and I'm still not sure we're ready to see it "written in stone" but I want something marking her grave so her children and mine can have it for the future.
I am trying to move on. I went two weekends ago and had her heartbeats and the words "let her go" tattoo'd on my left rib cage right under my bra line. It was an awesome experience, and seeing that each day lets me know she is always by my side. I am trying to get back to myself. I am now down to 145.5 pounds, wearing a loose size eight. I think soon I will move into the 6's. I am trying to get back into the swing of life, get back to myself and the way I do things. I made my house menu, did my grocery shopping for a full two weeks (I used to have a strict menu and shopping list, but since she died, we've just been throwing something together for dinner each night and its killing our budget) so, I got back to my normal way I run the house. I broke the plateau I was at (I had been stuck at 147-148 for a month) and I am trying to stay on top of work, family life, and trying to heal all at the same time. It's still hard. Harder than anything I've ever done. Ever. But- each day I wake up and I am thankful for the chance to live, the chance to kiss my kids, to tell them I love them, and to be with my family. If this has done nothing else, it has brought our family so much closer. Her husband and I are so close, and I pray we stay that way. Lord knows I need him. Her kids are my precious treasures. I just love them so much. So, thats where I'm putting my energy, into the family for now.
I'll try to keep you all updated.
Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

Well I got one more test to do then it's game on 2/25/14. Both excited and a little nervous for it all but can't wait to have it all done and start moving forward.

I am having my Sleeve surgery next Friday the 21st. I am excited but have so much to do before I go, I am hoping it is going to be the great experience all of Dr. Illan patients say it is.

Just set my date for March 15, 2014! Omar has been great about communicating.

You will be so happy with your choice Tiff. I am almost 3 weeks out and had a fantastic experience! The doctors and omar are amazing! I havent felt ANY pain at all since surgery, except the gas pain for the first two days. Best of all Im not hungry and Im down 23lbs already. Best choice ive ever made for myself.

I was sleeved August 12th 2013, HW 242 SW 229 and CW 164. I am 5 foot tall and type II diabetic. With in two weeks of surgery my Doctor had taken me off all my meds. This surgery and Dr. Illan saved my life. I was sceptical at first like everyone else but talked to former patients of his who gave him glowing references. Dr. Illan and his staff do go above and beyond..my experience was everything they say it is. I just returned with my neice a couple of weeks ago who had the surgery as well. She is doing fantastic. I would not have taken her or recommended her go to him if I didnt feel confident in his skill as a surgeon or the care she received.

Rredruby, 23 pounds, thats great! Thanks for sharing your experience, it gives me alot to look forward to!
Brandnewbrandy, im having surgery the 24th but arriving the day before. I cant fly all those hours without something to drink. I hope to see you there!

Rredruby, 23 pounds, thats great! Thanks for sharing your experience, it gives me alot to look forward to!
Brandnewbrandy, im having surgery the 24th but arriving the day before. I cant fly all those hours without something to drink. I hope to see you there!

I originally scheduled with another popular mexican surgeon but have since switched to have my surgery with Dr. Illan and Baja Bariatrics. The fact that Dr. Illan is also an ER trauma surgeon made me feel like I will be in good hands should any complication arise. I was also able to skype with the coordinator Omar and Dr. Illan to address questions I had about scar tissue and his stapling procedure (triple titanium staple line as well as sutures and bio glue) and I felt very comfortable with his answers. I can't wait to have my surgery in March!!!

I was shopping at a local boutique this morning and decided to try a few dresses for some upcoming parties & showers.
I pointed to one "that's cute."
The woman grabbed me a small.
"Um, size what?? For who?? Me??"
"I'll get you a medium, but you are definitely a small."
....Yeah lady, you're on crack ..... And I fit and bought the size small dress. Holy s#*t!

I originally scheduled with another popular mexican surgeon but have since switched to have my surgery with Dr. Illan and Baja Bariatrics. The fact that Dr. Illan is also an ER trauma surgeon made me feel like I will be in good hands should any complication arise. I was also able to skype with the coordinator Omar and Dr. Illan to address questions I had about scar tissue and his stapling procedure (triple titanium staple line as well as sutures and bio glue) and I felt very comfortable with his answers. I can't wait to have my surgery in March!!!

I originally scheduled with another popular mexican surgeon but have since switched to have my surgery with Dr. Illan and Baja Bariatrics. The fact that Dr. Illan is also an ER trauma surgeon made me feel like I will be in good hands should any complication arise. I was also able to skype with the coordinator Omar and Dr. Illan to address questions I had about scar tissue and his stapling procedure (triple titanium staple line as well as sutures and bio glue) and I felt very comfortable with his answers. I can't wait to have my surgery in March!!!

I also used Baja & Dr. Illan & my expectations were also exceeded. I am a researcher & was going to spend twice as much on one of the "famed" /veteran Mexican surgeons if my research didn't lead me to feeling my safety & success wouldn't be as good or better with Dr. Illan. The whole team is very detail oriented & professional & they are determined that you come away happy about your experience, your choice of surgeon & Mexico in general. I was low BMI & have lost approximately 75% of my excess weight in 2.5 months (and all but 5lbs of that has been fat). My cholesterol has gone from 215-ish to 150 and I can't manage to get anything but a normal blood pressure reading no matter how many times I try.
One side note: I would definitely deem Dr. Illan the surgeon to use if you have a loved one who is spooked about your going to Mexico... the practice unofficially specializes in skyping & communicating with prospective patients & their loved ones before scheduling and they ALSO seem to have a sort of mission statement to flood each patient & his/her family member(s) with amazing personal attention & care once there.

Illan with Baja Bariatrics? YES Would I go back to Mexico to be sleeved? YES! Am I happy with my decision? YES!
Dr. Illan is a very talented surgeon and his WHOLE team is amazing! I took a family member back in January to be sleeved and would recommend his team to anyone. While in Tijuana I met other patients from different doctors and noticed they didn't have someone there checking in to make sure their spouse/friend/family member had eaten or was ok. When out shopping with Omar I ran into the same people who had to take a cab and had no idea what to do or where to shop. The Baja Bariatric team goes OVER & BEYOND anything you can even think of during your stay. I've lost 101 lbs thus far and am beyond thrilled with my surgery and support I have received from Baja Bariatrics

check out Dr. Illan at bajabariatrics.com. I have not been sleeved yet but all of his patients rave about the care they received not only from the medical staff but from Omar the coordinator as well. I have scheduled with him and feel at peace about it. Also, very affordable. They even have a Facebook page Team Illan where all former and future patients gather for support. I live in Florida also

I was stunned to read your post, I am so, so sorry for your loss. There are no words I have to make any real difference other than to say I am sending you love and hugs. You sound strong but please be kind to yourself and take care in the days ahead.
I hope you don't mind me sharing this, but there is a line by a WW1 poet that has always resonated with me:
"Some say God caught them before they fell"
It's an image that gives me comfort....

I have been a pretty frequent poster here since last March, except for the past few weeks. Almost 3 weeks ago, my husband was killed in a tragic fire at his brother's house. I am still reeling from the shock & trying desperately to find my way through this awful new reality into which I have been thrown. I miss him so much, at times I almost can't catch my breath. I am incredibly fortunate to have a strong & loving support network of amazing friends & family. Eventually, I will be OK. But at the moment, I am struggling to eat enough, I started smoking again, and I am having a drink each night to help me sleep. At some point, with the help of the many wonderful people who love me, I will find my way back to a healthy and happy path. I believe that in my head, even if I can't yet feel it in my heart. I am thankful that my improved physical condition will help me be better prepared to take care of myself now than I would have been six months ago.
But here's the thing I want to say to you. Sometimes, life is going to suck. Surgery is not a magic cure-all for the problems we deal with. Life is going to throw us curve balls & challenging situations. Sometimes we can prepare ourselves for those challenges, but sometimes there is simply nothing that will prepare us to face what we must. So, when life rises up & punches you in the face, remember these guidelines:
Spend more of your time focusing on your achievements rather than your shortcomings.
Devote more energy to expressing your love to others rather than tallying up the things that piss you off.
Understand that we are all far more than a number on a scale. If you are waiting to try new things until you lose weight, STOP WAITING. Your life is happening now, here, today....don't let it pass you by because of fear, insecurity, or doubt.
If you pray, send me a prayer. If you don't pray, then send me good vibes & healing thoughts. I appreciate all the good & supportive thoughts I can get right now.