KQH

Hopped on the scale this evening...guess who's now inder 300 pounds? This lady! So stupidly excited! Yayyyyy! Lol

First thing in the morning, as I came out of the womb, after using the bathroom, before any food or Water touches my mouth.

My sweet friend brought me a pair of jeans today. I could tell by looking they would never fit. She wasn't sure what size they were. So after she left I looked & they are a size 4! I just started laughing. How sweet is she to even think I could wear them?!? I am in some 8s but usually 10s. I went ahead & tried them on. And guess what? I could zip them. I probably can't sit down! But they zipped!!! Made my day. I don't remember ever having pants smaller than an 8!

NSV! Well, my dermatologist wouldn't agree!
Got my very first sunburn on my white belly after wearing my first bikini to the pool today!

They had a phone for us to use while in the hospital/clinic. Surgery was with Dr. Quinones

The gym is empty at 4:30am - my favorite time to go!

It's gorgeous! Congratulations

I guess I can't cut and paste here, so I'm attachiing. This is the story of how I came to accept that WLS was no longer an option unless I wanted a shorter life filled with pain. I chose Dr. Felipe Cantu in Reynosa, Mexico and I'm having a great experience.
VSG in Mexico.pdf

318.6 to 234.8 today (haven't changed my ticker yet). I was sleeved 7/1 so 109 days. I eat a ton of veggies, good Protein, and real food. Right now I'm doing Whole30 and love it!

"Wow, you look great! You're so lucky you could have surgery to do the work for you."

::sigh::

Since I went to Mexico for my surgery and wouldn't have a local team providing support, I've done tons of research for myself. I felt very comfortable making my own choices as far as what to eat and when, using what my surgeon suggested as a guideline.

My personal choices were to start pureed and soft foods earlier than recommended, I don't eat 80g of Protein every day, I eat a lot of veggies, I don't use Protein shakes/mixes/bars on a regular basis, and I eat whole foods (clean eating, paleo, whatever... it's real, not processed).

Much to my sadness, I've found that simple carbs like bread and pizza crust don't work for me -- I stopped losing, I actually gained, I felt "heavy", and so I'm leaving them out for now. I don't believe carbs are BAD, just at this point in my journey, they're not my friends.

When I hit 80lbs gone, I began the Whole30 program to eliminate dairy (OMG, no cheese!!!!), gluten, legumes (I miss black beans) and added sugar, including artificial sweeteners, from my diet. An elimination diets of sorts. We'll see how I feel when the 30 days is done and I'll make additions... or not... from there.

I eat over 1,000 calories almost every day (usually closer to 1,200-1,400) and am still losing at a great pace and HEALTHY so whatever works for you!

The one arrested is Fransisco Basil Sauceda and specializes in family medicine in San Antonio, TX. The plastic surgeon in Monterrey, MX is Fransisco Gerardo Sauceda Mireles.

You go Becca!
For all those who pay their own way to WLS in Mexico, you need to ask your insurance why they won't refund you the dollars you save them by getting surgery!
Jerks ...
then again, I just had a chat with my insurance because they denied a medication. Between myself and the docs office, we got it approved. Granted for a lower dose but we got it approved.

I lived in Germany in 2001 and was banded there. I went to a surgeon who was well known and respected globally and had more experience than ANY USA surgeon at the time. When I came home i had a heck of a time finding care and follow up and was treated as though I had done something crazy like having surery in Germany. Germany of all places. Anyway...
I think you should make some calls. Try PSSC in Edmonds. Not sure they can help but maybe they have ideas of who can help. Also, i believe their cash price is less than what your daughter has been quoted in the USA... so worth checking out. They are my surgeons and i think they are wonderful

"I know someone said they had a c-diff infection"
Ok, so I want to make it perfectly clear that I did NOT contract C. diff by having surgery in Mexico. Please do not make this assumption.
I contracted the infection 6 weeks AFTER surgery when a U.S. dentist put me on clindamycin for a tooth root abscess. I am a veterinary technician and am exposed to animals with clostridial diarrhea pretty much every single week (for the last 12 years). There are dozens of different strains of clostridium, but animals do carry the same Clostridium difficile strain that people get sick from. So my exposure is extraordinarily high and I have likely been a carrier for years. Basically, the antibiotic that the dentist gave me killed off all my good intestinal flora and allowed the Clostridium to flourish. I haven't taken antibiotics in probably 10 years, so this was a coincidence that it happened so close after my VSG. Neither my PCP, Gastroenterologist or the Infectious Disease Specialist I saw think my infection was caused by surgery in Mexico. They recognize that my job and the clindamycin were the cause. The infectious disease doc says she sees 10 new C. diff cases every week and overuse/misuse of antibiotics is the culprit. (And clindamycin is one of the worst). The gastroenterologist said many of the cases he sees were never even hospitalized....just given antibiotics. He says he will never take antibiotics unless it's a matter of life or death. I now have a "no antibiotics" order on my medical Bracelet.< /p>
I just wanted to clarify so no one perpetuates the myth that I got a C. diff infection from having surgery in Mexico.

You should be able to call the insurance company and ask exactly what they need.

All of my records (blood work, ECG, OR report, postop notes, and fluoroscopy results) were sent via email by my surgeon in Mexico. And they were written English. This is common practice for most reputable Mexican surgeons. Many also send along X-Rays and even a DVD of the surgical procedure (wished mine would have done that....very cool!). So no, the record keeping issue is not a valid excuse for refusing patients. Since my surgery in Mexico, I have seen my PCP, OBGyn, and a gastroenterologist. Not one of them had a problem with caring for me, so this is obviously not an across the board insurance/liability thing. Luckily for me my physicians chose to do their jobs....which is caring for and ensuring the health of patients. The doctors that refuse to help are more afraid of litigation and care more about their bottom line than they do about helping people. They are small minded, arrogant and racist.

Just so that everyone is clear. Anytime you sign a consent form, that constitutes elective surgery - which would include open heart surgery, hemmorhoids, dental surgery, and yes WLS. It matters not, they are all elective.
There is a stigma, it is unfair, and is driven by money, not liability. Doctors have and will continue to have to provide care for patients who have surgeries by other physicians. That's just the way it is. They either wise up or their not-so-smart attitude will continue to increase the burden on the health care system.
If a patient can not get a bariatric surgeon to accept them after WLS in MX, guess what happens? Straight to the emergency room people go, and ERs don't have a choice, they have to treat you no matter what the problem is or whether you have insurance or not. The EGD, ultrasound, CT, labs......whatever is necessary based on your symptoms will get done, no matter where you had surgery. Bariatric surgeons in the States who turn their noses up at MX are not worried about liability, they're worried about their pockets. They would gladly accept a patient who had surgery in New York or any other U.S. city / state. It's ridiculous.

I wonder what happens to any person who has had surgery in another location, say overseas or in another state, and is relocated do to a job change, etc. does that mean they have to return to the surgeon wherever it was performed? That is ridiculous assumption. If a dentist made dentures for a patient and there needed to be an adjustment, would another dentist refuse to work on the dentures because he would not want to be responsible or liable for the ill fitting dentures? If a woman delivered her baby by another doctor because she was out of town and the baby came early, would her OBGYN tell her that he can no longer be her doctor because he didn't deliver the baby? I agree with Bittersweet. We are a very global society and people move about all the time. The excuse about liability is lame. I did not ask my surgeon (dr. Houseworth) to be liable for the surgery performed by another surgeon. Why would I even expect that? I simply wanted him to do the follow up such as bloodwork and eventually the 6 month barium swallow if deemed necessary. How in heavens does that put him in a risky position?
Here is my reasoning why he declined. There is no real money in it for him. The surgery is where the big bucks are. He is much to busy to bother with the small stuff. He was more then happy to take my daughter's money while we were going through all the pretesting because he thought the final event would be the ultimate expensive surgery. Well, since that is not going to happen, we can just p... Off!
We will continue with the planned surgery in Mexico and we will do the followup bloodwork etc with a PCP in the area. As noted in this thread, we will not explain where the surgery was performed but will simply ask for the orders to be placed for the required bloodwork. Any immediate complications, if they arise, will be addressed via urgent care or ER. If not urgent we will head back to Mexico and revisit Dr. Ortiz. The flight is cheaper then the dr visit here in the US!
Greed is the name that comes to mind here... And prejudice. But it is what it is.

Yes! I had PCOS and thought I was pre-menopausal before surgery. My surgery was July 1st, started my period July 22nd, and have been like clockwork ever since. I'm not sure if I'm thrilled or want to cry!

don't knock it just yet.....could be a hot new look......

I once lost 130 pounds at age 28 over two years and had minimal loose skin. This year I've lost 100 so far at age 53 and am saggy and baggy and flappy and floppy and turkey-necked and bat-winged and panni-pudged and slappy-thighed.
So my advice is to be 28.
No regrets by the way.

You forgot....."youth"

318.6 to 234.8 today (haven't changed my ticker yet). I was sleeved 7/1 so 109 days. I eat a ton of veggies, good Protein, and real food. Right now I'm doing Whole30 and love it!

318.6 to 234.8 today (haven't changed my ticker yet). I was sleeved 7/1 so 109 days. I eat a ton of veggies, good Protein, and real food. Right now I'm doing Whole30 and love it!