leslie1958

Michellemo - thanks for that - looking forward to carrying less of them around. Are you in MO ? I am - live about an hour from KC (I'm just guessing looking at your user name !)

I'm October 5th - who is your Dr?

I have a picture in my head of what I'm going to wear when I am finally slimmed down. A pair of skinny jeans, knee high boots (this is a winter outfit of course !) a t-shirt and a short fitted leather jacket. What is your dream outfit ??

A tank top is not dumb at all and I don't wear one either because of my arms !! It's a thousand degrees here in the Midwest and I would live to be able to wear it

By the way, I'm going to doctor Illan October 5th - tell me ALL ABOUT IT !!

whoooo hooooo - fantastic !!

No kidding you look SO MUCH younger !! - you didn't look old in your before picture but you look like a kid now - good work !!

Fantastic ! - don't take this the wrong way but the before photo doesn't even look like you now ! - you are the exact same build as me and I'm VERY much looking forward to seeing the skinny me underneath just like you are - well done !!

Hi everyone - Hope this gives you a little laugh, or at least a smirk. First a quick bio - I'm a newbie, hoping to talk my husband into agreeing to my much needed VSG. He's not against the surgery, just the cost as our INS (Aetna) doesn't cover it. We're on a serious "paying down debt" deal right now which is great of course but kind of counter-productive to my evil scheme of persuading DH to part with thousands. But I WILL win !! Anyway, here's what happened yesterday. I was reading our local paper and saw a big ad for a hospital that was beginning a physician assisted weight loss program. My interest was piqued so I called. A young girl (receptionist - sounded skinny !!) answered and I asked her to tell me all about it. She said it's $275.00 initially, then the cost of lab work etc. then the cost of Vitamins, supplements, yada yada yada. So far all I had gotten was costs - no information, so I stopped her and said, tell me exactly what this program is ? she said well the doctor weighs you, determines your BMI, takes your measurements and then calculates the amount of weight you must lose and then he puts together an eating program for you to achieve your ideal weight. I heard myself say to her "And you think I don't already know all that" ? I mean seriously ???? - speaking for myself here, I could author a book on what to eat and what NOT to eat, what exercise I SHOULD be doing and what my goal weight should be. Holy cow, I could be on TV as a world authority (along with several million of my overweight friends) who have tried every diet, fad, exercise craze, pill, powder, potion and "As Seen On TV" wonder. Anyway, that's my vent - hows your day going !!

I'm October 5th with Dr Illan.

OMG - i FINALLY committed to a date. Going with Dr Illan October 5th. Right now (in daylight) I'm excited and cannot wait to start my new life BUT what happens at night ??? all my doubts (and downright terror) sets in and I find myself sitting upright in bed at 3am saying WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING !!!! Would love to meet up with anyone else going around this time !!

Supbanana - just read your posting and thanks so much !! - really makes me feel more relaxed about everything. I have to confess I did have a little laugh at your existential meltdown !! - I wonder if the hospital staff giggles at what people say when they're coming out of anesthesia !! How are you doing now ? would love to hear an update !!

Oh boy, purging my closet sounds like a DREAM !! - I am so sick of fat clothes. I'm scheduled for October 5 with Dr Illan and cannot wait. I gained the bulk of my weight (again) in the last 7 years but I held onto all my cool jeans and tops so I will have a lot of great stuff to wear soon - still seems completely unbelievable to me that I could put any of this on again.

THANK YOU so much, means an awful lot to me to hear that. I will definitely message you as I would like to hear about your experience.

So good to read all these great reviews, I've decided on him as my doctor. Hoping for early October

I'm really looking forward to your next update. Boy do I relate ! - I haven't even committed to a date and I'm having the OMG what on earth am I doing, and I could do this on my own right (wrong) - it's weird because normally I am such a confident person, but I have developed such neurosis over this so this forum helps beyond words as it gives positive reinforcement with all these happy people who are finally feeling better and more able to fully live their lives. Good luck to you wanna - please update !

Well here I am - still stuck in what I can only describe as a mental culdesac of indecision and frustration. I spend maybe 1-2 hours per day on this forum hoping to finally make my mind up. So far I've "decided" on several different surgeons. Except I haven't really "decided" anything - and therein lies the problem. Do you want to know what's been going on in my world of VSG madness ? - okay, first I wanted to go with BeLiteWeight - a little pricier but well reviewed (AND FYI their in house financing is easy peasy) but communication not so super but I can get over that. OH and NO DRAIN - me like that very much. So why haven't I committed with them ? - they tried a little scare tactic on me which I really don't appreciate. Don't try and boost your image by making someone else look smaller, not cool. Contestant number two - Ready4Achange - alma is ALL about communication - that girl gets straight back to you no matter when it is. Again, price is right, no easy finance though so would need to go through a nasty finance place but again, doctor reviews seem good - Alma is still definitely on my list. Contestant number three - Dr. Kelly - this guy is very clearly a rocking doctor but hampered by association with questionable coordinators and their shady tactics. A little on the high side but it isn't and never will be all about price (but lets be honest - it does have to have SOMETHING to do with it - unless you're independently wealthy) - he's still on the list though - can't look a gift doctor in the mouth. Now right about this time, I started getting interested in the "single incision" idea so began researching surgeons performing this. Enter Dr. Diaz - rated highly for this - they promote this as faster recovery and NO DRAIN (again - me like that) and price is actually pretty right - does not seem to have a ton of reviews however but what i could find seemed positive. Still on the list - but then enter contestant number four (Dr Ortiz) - read a lot about him and decided to check him out. Contestant number four - Dr. Ortiz - arguably the cutest doctor (yes, I am that shallow) Luckily he is also a very good doctor with super reviews. BUT does NOT perform single incision surgery because he feels it is "to risky and much bigger risk of bleeding" Here is what I want - safety first and foremost (like all of you, I would quite like to live) - secondly - I would like to not have to bankrupt myself (yes I am fully aware it isn't ALL about money - I get that already) - thirdly - I would quite like to lose weight afterwards and LAST of all - I want ALL of this with as little pain and discomfort as possible - what is so wrong about that ? I'm a chicken - so sue me. Okay I'm done - I'm gonna go have a cup of coffee and regroup and start researching again.

No time - well yes and no to the IV thing - I have heard (in fact i also read it somewhere on this website) that some doctors can and do knock you out via your arm instead of hand. But you make a good point and I will definitely make sure to ask prior to surgery if anything can be done to lessen this problem. Thanks !

Lia - analysis paralysis (LOVE it) - yes, that is what I have for sure. First thanks to all for your responses and they all make huge sense of course. HAVE to explain I was joking a little about the pain comment - that was more my "ideal world" scenario and just being cheeky really. BUT if I'm being downright honest here - my biggest problem with surgery is the iv insertion due to my past problems with surgeries. They have a dickens of a time getting that sucker in and it HURTS. I had two surgeries within a week of each other a few years ago and both times that iv was a biatch to get in, they finally gave me a shot for pain and plugged it in okay. SO - here is my burning question to you - are there any surgeons that you know of that will do the iv AFTER you're out ? or at least dope you up with pain meds before they commence digging around for a vein ? (sorry but I must reiterate - the problem was not with the doctors and nurses - it truly is my stupid small veins)

Incredibly interesting post and thank you so much for all that information. I have to say, the sooner Dr. Kelly extricates himself from any association with MBC the better. AND whilst on my little rant, they are using his name in their website. I'm no attorney but I believe it would serve him well to get one who can take his name back.

Oh boy, I know how you feel. I am now a full time procrastinator. It's almost all I think about but I just don't seem to be able to make the commitment to schedule a surgery. One minute I'm all jazzed (usually after being on the forums and reading everyone's great stories) then I wake in the middle of the night in a panic because I am actually considering having half my stomach removed !! I mean, what if I have this done and then wish i hadn't ? it is not reversible and that terrifies me. I could be living with this mistake for the rest of my life ? and right after that I think - it could be the best thing you ever did and just imagine being slim again like you used to be. Please someone, HELP ME MAKE A COMMITMENT HERE !!

Well I'm not sleeved yet but I'm in Ray County - about 45 minutes NE of KC so I will definitely be interested in meeting up a little closer to home too !! - I don't mind driving into KC now and then but yes, it can be a bit of a schlep.

Okay so I'm still in planning stages for my VSG. When I first decided I was going to do this the next thought was, who do I tell about this ? or do I not say a word, hop a plane to Mexico, get it done and come home then tell everyone that I'm having "fabulous" results with Weight Watchers. But I REALLY want to share this with people as I'm so excited that my new life will start soon. But as soon as i think about it the reality hits that truthfully not all my friends and family are going to see it quite like I do. Here's what I face. I have a few friends that will smile and say "oh wow" and "how exciting" and offer no resistance. Then they go home and say to their husbands - holy ****, she's losing her mind, Mexico ?? surgery ?? really ?? Then there's the friends that I call the "researchers" - they seem to spend hours trolling the internet looking for all the things that can kill you. These are the ones you dread the most. Their mouths drop open in horror and they immediately start spewing out endless facts, horror stories and statistics. It goes like this "I don't want to frighten you, but are you aware that dozens of women are abducted at gunpoint in Mexico and are never seen again" and it goes on and on. Then there's my lovely mother - now in her 80's. She would say "you don't need to do something that drastic, you've got a lovely face, can't you just stop eating chocolate" ? But if you're lucky, you'll find one little gem of a friend that gets it. That totally understands that I HATE looking in the mirror and i HATE being invited to gatherings because nothing fits or looks right and I HATE ending each day feeling like a failure because I ate badly and didn't take proper care of myself (again) and she knows what it means to me to have this done. But the nice thing is - even if you aren't lucky enough to have that one great friend, we do at least have this forum where EVERYONE gets it, everyone knows what it's like.

Thanks for posting that Karen ! - it really helps to read a first hand account. I have to make a choice soon and definitely leaning toward Dr Diaz now.

No - not scheduled yet. I also contacted Mexico Bariatric Center - they told me August 8 was only availability right now. i guess he's not there all the time. I was actually looking for Doctor Kelly when I happened upon the single incision deal (I like that there is no drain with that too as a lot of people do experience most pain from their drain) I hope to be able to read a few more reviews about him. By the way, they quoted me $5200 for Dr Diaz - does that sound about right ? (our insurance won't cover me)