Proud2BMe

@@yungshi Sweet potatoes eaten at Thanksgiving usually have a syrup with them and are topped with marshmallows or even a chocolate glaze! (Someone made that for our Thanksgiving). So it's going to be even worse than a normal sweet potato. Remember, starches/carbs are the last thing one needs to be eating. Focus on the Protein first and then vegetables. Starches/carbs should come last if eaten at all.

Good post, Kindle. I will add that your realistic expectations should be about 50-60% of the excess weight. That is the average weight lost with the sleeve. If you need to lose more then you will have to increase your exercise and physical activity as well as decrease your caloric intake. Also, the overwhelming majority of sleeved people will indeed gain some weight back. When you first have the sleeve don't confuse the size of your stomach in the first 3-6 months after surgery. It's actually going to be bigger than you expected and in time you will be able to eat far more than you first did. This can lead to stretching if you aren't careful.

@@JerseyJules Oh, okay. I thought that was your BMI. Good luck to you.

Are you going out of the states? Because in the U.S. you are supposedly only able to get bariatric surgery if you over 40 BMI or if you have health complaints related to obesity, such as high blood pressure, sleep apnea, diabetes, etc.' Edit: Oops, forgot self-pay. So I guess you are paying for this out of pocket?

@@landerr This is the reason why our health care system needs a massive overhaul. This is an absurd joke. There is absolutely no reason why a hospital would charge that much and especially give less care, i.e. just one night hospital stay.

@@Jersrose43 I didn't miss the nuances. I know how to read and you clearly wrote that you had good insurance. One of my online friends had insurance and was sleeved in NY but most likely not NYC. The price was $37,0000. Just so you know, there are doctors who do purposefully overcharge insurance companies. This is one of the reasons why insurance rates went through the roof pre-Obamacare.

@@scstxrn You are far braver than me. I don't think I could go by myself. Luckily my father agreed to go with me but even he is worried because he has had bad experiences in Mexico before but I think that was in Juarez and not Tijuana. Try to document your experiences, either journaling or even recording on your phone or such. I love hearing people's experiences. Best of luck! Hope you become a "loser"!

Quote Jersrose43, on 26 Nov 2014 - 08:37, said: Sweetheart I don't know where you live but it's clearly not a major metropolitan city like la, nyc etc. Because you would keel over from a heart attack if you saw the charges around here. I am in north jersey Nyc is notorious for large charges It costs money to get sick The average price of a VSG in NY is $23,000. And I've found a post on another board from a woman who claimed her VSG in NYC cost $30,000. The average price for VSG in California is $17,000. I've found posts from people on other boards who claimed they paid $20-$30,000 for their VSG in LA. Having a VSG in a major metropolitan city only slightly raises the price. You are the first person that I've ever come across who claimed it cost them nearly a 100 grand for their VSG. VSG is not a difficult surgery and an experienced surgeon can accomplish it in 30-45 minutes. In some place, especially in Mexico, they have VSG mills where they churn out large numbers of patients a day because the surgery is rather easy. To see the average rate per state, click on the link below and then click on the image. http://obesitycoverage.com/insurance-and-costs/how-much/average-cost-of-gastric-sleeve-surgery

1. To be able to wear normal, fashionable clothes. 2. To be able to run and move fast as I once did. 3. To be able to ride roller coasters and other rides. 4. To be able to go swimming without being self-conscious about my weight. 5. To be viewed as sexually desirable again. 6. To be able to go out and socialize, parties, clubs, bars, etc. 7. To have my outsides match the person I've always known myself to be internally. 8. To become healthy. (I've already quit smoking.) 9. To hopefully lengthen my life span. 10. To be able to fly comfortably and not be self-conscious about my weight or worry if I'm offending people sitting near me. 11. To further my career. 12. To be able to travel. 13. To not have to be buried in a piano box. What's yours?

I read this the other day on a site and was intrigued by the results. To find out what size your body frame is wrap your thumb and first finger around a wrist. If the fingers overlap = you have a small body frame If the fingers touch at the tips = you have a medium body frame If the fingers do not touch = you have a large body frame I'm currently a 350lb man who will be having his sleeve hopefully next year. I was shocked to learn that my body frame is medium. I always assumed I had a large body frame.

@@Dreamingofhealth Good luck! Makes sure to keep us posted on how it went.

@@ridingrae I.V. is no problem. It's just like getting blood drawn except they leave it in. The only pain will be the initial prick but it's nothing. If you have good veins they will do it in your arm. If you are so obese that they can't get to them they will insert it in your hand. Anesthesia is a bit more tricky but there's nothing to worry about. Anesthesia comes with an anti-anxiety medication plus a drug that causes amnesia. This way you are relaxed and will not remember anything that happens. The only real risk is a heart attack or stroke. It is possible for blood pressure to rise considerably during anesthesia. For most people this is not a problem to experience very high blood pressure for 45 minutes to an hour or so. However, a certain percentage will have a heart attack or stroke. The good news is that if you die during anesthesia you will not be aware of it. You will be unconscious so you won't feel any pain. Again, death from anesthesia is rare. One way to cut your risk is to make sure that if you have high blood pressure that it is fully controlled before getting surgery. The only real major post-op complication, as in life-threatening, is a leak. Leaks are rare but do happen. About 1-3% of people will develop a leak, normally in the first three months after surgery. Symptoms of a leak include fever, abdominal pain, nausea and rapid heart beat. It's important that if you experience these symptoms that you seek medical attention quickly. If left untreated you can develop peritonitis and die. Again, this is rare. Around 97-99% of people never develop a leak. The higher your BMI the greater your chance of developing a leak and having other complications. One way to lessen your chance of developing a leak is to make absolutely sure that you follow the diet to a "T". Many people make the mistake of thinking that since they feel back to normal that they can go ahead and eat normally. Big mistake! It takes the stomach about 6-8 weeks to heal from the surgery. Too much pressure in the stomach before it is sufficiently healed can produce a leak. I personally don't think there's anything to worry about. I plan on having the surgery in 2015. I've decided that it's worth the minimal risk in order to make sure I lead a normal life and am relatively healthy.

You got scammed. There's no way in the word that a VSG would cost that much and especially since you only spent one day in the hospital. In my state it's about $16,000, self pay. The average seems to be $25-$30,000.

I'll be going to Tijuana as well but I haven't settled on a doctor. I'm hoping to have mine toward the end of 2015, or as soon as I can save up enough. I want to fly first class and have enough spending money in case they charge you for some things that you may not be aware of. For example, some doctors include the meds in the price and others do not. Plus many coordinators take the patients shopping there and I want to buy stuff as I may be the last time I got to Mexico. Good luck! Will you be staying in the Marriott? I would love to but the coordinators I've communicated with use other hotels.

Just so you know, there is an entire sub forum dedicated to self-pay and Mexico. You will get more responses if you post in that sub forum.

I quit smoking a year and a half ago using e-cigarettes. I know that many doctors won't perform the surgery if you smoke but what about e-cigarettes? The reason why I ask is that they don't have any of the horrible chemicals and tar that cigarettes have. They still have nicotine but nicotine is about as bad as caffeine. I was really thinking about just telling the doctor that I don't smoke, which is technically true, and then sneaking in a small e-cig with me.

Did anyone have the surgery and chose not to do aftercare? The reason why I ask is that I currently do not have insurance but would really like to have the surgery in Mexico. I was wondering if anybody has had the surgery without the need for follow up care with a local doctor?

Do you mind me asking who did your procedure and where at?

I'm thinking about booking with Dr. Sergio Verboonen. Has anyone had any experiences with them?