JamieLogical

I've been working up the courage to tell my parents about my decision to get VSG for about a week. Tonight I finally got a hold of them and broke the news. To my complete shock and amazement, they were actually SUPER happy and excited for me! It was so completely the opposite of what I expected, though in retrospect, I don't know why I thought they'd have a negative response. I thought I would get a whole spiel about why I didn't need to resort to surgery, how they knew I could lose the weight "on my own", and possibly some stories about people/celebrities who had bariatric surgery and regained the weight or whatnot. But my parents KNOW me. They've known me my whole life! So of course they have seen me through all of my ups and downs and struggles with my weight. Of course they would know how thoroughly I research things and carefully I make decisions! So of course they would be happy for me making a sound decision that will positively impact my life and my health. Duh! I feel so relieved. Now I just have to tell my sister when she gets back from vacation. Let's hope she'll be as happy for me as my parents are!

I'm hoping to pay my deposit and set my date today! I had some great long talks with my husband about the whole thing this weekend and, while he still seems quite apprehensive, he is supportive. His main concerns are the money and the amount of change to our lives. I really can't blame him for either of those concerns. It really is a lot of money and it means taking on more debt, which we'd been working on paying down. In the grand scheme of things it will be well worth it, obviously, but it's hard not to think about the immediate financial impact. As to the change to our lives, it will obviously be drastic. Just the simple fact that we won't be able to eat the same things for dinner for several months will be a challenge for him. He's the cook in the family and he already struggles to only cook for two. Now he'll be cooking for one for a looong time. Also, he knows how much I love to eat and what a big part of my life it's been. He knows that I turn to food in emotional situations (both happy and sad). And I think he's actually sad for me that I'm going to be losing something that makes me happy, even if it really is something that's bad for me. This is going to be a tough journey for BOTH of us. So I can definitely sympathize with his apprehension. But, I am glad he is willing to support me in whatever I decide.

We just had a really long talk and I think he's on board now. Maybe not 100% understanding, but definitely accepting and supportive.

I am having a tough time convincing my husband that surgery is the right answer for me. He's convinced I can lose the weight "on my own" because I have done it before. I've tried explaining to him that losing the weight isn't the problem (though it is definitely a huge challenge), it's keeping it off that i now KNOW I just can't do. I know it's possible to regain weight after VSG but the information I've research has all shown that while s significant number of patients do gain some weight back, they don't gain nearly ALL of it back. If I lose 100 pounds and ultimately gain 20 of it back, I'm still down 80 pounds! Unlike my past yoyo dieting, where I have invariably gained all the weight back plus some. I'm 35 years old. I don't remember a time since middle school where I haven't been on a diet, failing a diet, planning to diet again, etc. My weight is a constant source of stress and anxiety for me. But my husband doesn't get it. He doesn't struggle with his weight. Early on in our relationship he packed on some pounds because he was content, we were eating out a lot, and my unhealthy habits rubbed off on him. But his doctor told him he needed to lose some weight so he just started exercising three times a week and eating better and viola, he dropped the weight an hasn't put it back on. It was so easy for him, he thinks it should be that easy for me. He's not emotional the way I am. He doesn't come home from work after a bad day and just want to skip his workout and eat a tub of ice cream. So he doesn't know what it's like to constantly be battling himself. Do any of you have any advice on how to make him understand? He is a very good and loving man. I know he'll support me in whatever decision I make. I just wish I could get him more "on board" with really seeing that this is the best decision for me. I don't just want his acceptance. I want his understanding. If that makes any sense?

I've pretty much made up my mind not that I am for sure having this surgery, so this weekend I am going to go into full-on campaign mode to get my husband on board. Are there any specific resources any of you would recommend that might convince him? Info on mortality and complication rates? Personal accounts of the journey that might help him identify with someone who has been through this? Anything you can come up with, I would GREATLY appreciate.

Hi everyone! I'm still working my way through this whole thread (up to page 83!), but I decided to go ahead and post, because I feel like maybe I made a decision today that I really am going to do this and NOW the stress just switched right on! I didn't want my decision to be based on cost, because I wanted to decide whether or not to have the surgery for the RIGHT reasons, but I feel like now that I think I've decided I really am going to do it, I've immediately started to stress about money. OCC is definitely not the cheapest option. When I first started considering gastric sleeve, I contacted my former plastic surgeon in Tijuana (had some plastics done after I lost 90 pounds back in 2011, but I've put the weight back on now) and she recommended a surgeon that offers a package for $5500. In fact, she and her patient coordinator both got sleeved by him in 2012. So it's very tempting to go with him because of the lower price tag and the fact that I put a LOT of faith in my plastic surgeon's opinion. I adore her! But reading this thread and researching the media coverage, credentials, and patient reviews for OCC, it's kind of overwhelmingly evident that I can't go wrong with OCC. Plus the doctor my plastic surgeon recommended doesn't speak English, so I would be HEAVILY reliant on the patient coordinator for translation. So I guess right now I'm leaning toward OCC, despite the $1000 higher price tag. You'd think deciding to have the surgery at all would have been the hard part, but really it's just opened up a whole host of new decisions to be made!

I definitely would NOT do that. But the combination of the good things I've heard about Dr. Q on these boards, along with the $1000 cheaper price tag has to at least make me consider him as an alternative to the doctor my plastic surgeon recommended.

Thanks for the quick reply! It seems like a lot of people on these boards have used and recommend Dr. Q. I will be filling out his Eligibility Questionnaire today. The surgeon I had gotten my $5500 quote from was recommended by Dr. Cardenas, with whom I've had some plastics in the past and I highly value her opinion, so it looks like I may have a hard choice ahead of me.

These prices that people are posting, do they include any hotel stay or just the hospital stay? What about post-op medications? What about travel from the San Diego airport? I was given a quote that's about $1000 higher than these, but it included all of the above, so I am trying to determine if it's a good deal or not.