msdr1

We're here!!! August 18th is my day!

So, let me first say happy Mother's Day to all of the moms on here. Secondly, I want to let you all know that I'm currently 161 lbs... which is 11 lbs away from my goal weight of 150 lbs.
👍🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 round of applause for that being that this is month 5 for me.
Tjirdky, let's discuss the topic at hand. Anyone who has followed me know that my journey with my husband has been bad . Well , it's reached an all time low. We were asleep 3 nights ago and the phone kept vibrating. I told him to answer and he wouldn't. Well we have 2 kids that are outside of the home right now so I said let me make sure it's not the kids texting him. But my gut told me this is gonna be bad. But I checked anyway. This is what I saw " You left your rubber in my bed and my baby found it""" with lil joking emoticons. OMG... my heart dropped to my toes. I felt he was cheating but didn't know for sure. Let me also put this out there. My husband had not slept with me in 3 1/2 weeks at the time. So I knew something wasn't right. I had been praying to God for a revelation in this marriage be it whatever way, good or bad because my spirit knew I wasn't being treated right and I knew he was messing around. Heck I had just caught him maybe 1 month before that trying to hookup on Facebook. So, needless to say I told him I want a divorce and this was it. No more will I be the hurt wife who is trying to sacrifice herself for her husband, nope. Already have been consulting legal counsel because it's over. Now, he swears he is gonna do right and wants his family. I told him he had 21 years to do right and if he wanted his family his penis oils have stayed in is pants.
Ohhhhhh.... here's the agonizing part for me. This is the same woman he had an affair with on me 13 years ago. Same dirty tramp. I'm like oh no that means this never ended. Which he swears it was only one time. Yep I believe that like I believe in Santa Claus. I cried for 2 days straight. Then I said forget this , on Mother's Day I put on a backless sundress ( in my new size 8 yassss) went out shopping ,had a great time with friends and felt like I was coming into my new, happier peaceful self. I am still very hurt but I thank God for revealing his evil because I don't want an std or aids because he is a hoer.
This surgery has truly changed my life. The old me would have cried and just took him bk and dealt with the pain. But not the new confident, strong Diana that this surgery helped to bring to surface. I posted before that I knew we were gonna divorce , just didn't think it was gonna be like this but it is what it is. There is someone out there who will cherish me and love me for the jewel that I am.
Thsnk you guys for all your support throughout the months. You have truly become my family.😊

@I'm Changing 4 Me
I created a spreadsheet to help me figure out what I wanted. Personally, I contacted each and every one of these companies/doctors. How are you going to know if you like them unless you deal with them directly? I think in reality, you have to go through some kind of coordinator. Do you expect your surgeon to be dealing with email and phone queries all day? (In fact, out of all these doctors, the only one I was in contact with was Dr. Illan - and while he seemed very nice, the wi-fi connection was so bad I have no idea if he actually answered any of my questions). So, while it would be nice to talk to them, it's not always possible. However, in some cases the coordinator will contact the doctor if you have any specific questions.
This is far from a full list, but based on this, and other sites, I felt that these were the most consistently well-regarded companies and surgeons. As I've mentioned in other posts, I think the biggest reason for price differences are the reputation of the doctor, the hospital used, and the hotels used.
Unless otherwise mentioned, all these doctors are in Tijuana, and these are quotes I got for a Gastric Sleeve (prices may vary depending on your personal health conditions):
Bariatric Pal Team MX: Dr. Jalil Illan ($4399)
Endo Bariatric (in Piedras Negras): Dr. Alvarez ($8900)
Mexico Bariatric Center: Dra. Louisiana Valenzuela ($5500) and Dr. Ismael Cabrera ($4995)
Obesity Control Center: Dr. Ariel Ortiz ($6500-$9000)
Pompeii Surgical: Dr. Sergio Quinones ($4500)
Ponce Bariatric: Dr. jaime ponce de leon ($5000)
Tijuana Bariatrics: Dr. Fernando Garcia ($4250)
WLSC: Dr. Ramos Kelly ($4870-$7710)
Another option seems to be Trinity Medical, also promoted by a pretty active member here, but unfortunately I didn't come across that company until after I had made my decision.
In my particular case, I live in Japan so unlike most of you in the US and Canada, I have some pretty long international flights, and my pear-shaped bottom can no longer squeeze into a 17" economy seat. I might have done that one-way, but I definitely did not want to be squeezed in for 14 hours after major abdominal surgery. Knowing that I would have to buy a business class seat on an international flight meant that I couldn't afford the more expensive doctors - so anything over $6000 was out. I did not like the way I was treated with Tijuana Bariatrics - all I got was a form letter "you've been approved - send money" - and all requests to speak to a coordinator or doctor were completely ignored. In the end the surgeons I was most interested in were Dr. Q, Dr. Ponce, and either Dr. Valenzuela or Dr. Cabrera at MBC. What swayed me the most was how well I was treated by the coordinator, and the amount of information they could give me about the operation, hospitals, etc, how many surgeries the doctor does daily (some doctors work out of more than one hospital, so make sure you find out the daily total and not the hospital total), and finally the price. Oh - and whether or not the surgery could be done on a day that was most convenient for me (for some reason it seems like a lot of the doctors will be away or on vacation or are already booked in February).
I know in the beginning it seems overwhelming, but the best thing to do is bookmark the sites you like, fill out the forms, and see what happens from there. I started with 3 different companies, but over time I expanded my search a little. That said, the problem is the paradox of choice: the more options we have, the more difficult it becomes to choose. Keep it small for now as you get your feet wet. Ask questions. Do research (other bariatric forums, Facebook, etc.) It should get better as you go along.
My surgery is less than 6 weeks away, so I can't tell you how it went, but I'm confident enough that I will be treated well. Anyway, I hope this helps.

Hello everyone so I got my Surgery April 13, everything went good the Doctor said I had a big stomach. So my surgery took 4 hours I stood in the hospital for 2 days I wanted to make sure I didn't have any complications. I started taken my Triumeq the second day of my surgery but cut in 4 pieces. Today Easter Sunday I took the whole pill and it went down good, I been walking alot, drinking Water from a baby cup, sipping on my protien shakes. Everything's been good so far am looking for coward for the upcoming days.

I received my approval for surgery and planned to go to Tijuana in August. Now I am so nervous about having it done and thinking maybe I can try to lose weight without the sleeve one more time. Though, I'm not sure how this time would be any different than every other time I've lost 40 lbs, given away my entire wardrobe, and then regained 50lbs.
Anyone else get cold feet this early in the game? How did you deal?

Please don't be embarrassed or ashamed. Like you say, you came out of depression and am taking control of your life. How exciting is that!?!? I'm proud of you for doing so. We human beings have to "talk" to release those things that want to hinder and bring us down. Let's say no more to those, we are in control! In regards to your medication, I will hope and pray for find clear answers and maybe someone here can answer! Keep us posted. 😊

We're here!!! August 18th is my day!

I went to Dr Illan and have a 2 year old. I went alone for the surgery because i wanted my hubby to stay home with our three girls. Vallets were a BIG help! I didn't experience much pain but I was up and walking the second I could and I walked a bunch! I think that is why. By the time I got home I was able to handle my mommy duties just fine but I did teach my 2 year old to crawl into her car seat with minimal assistance from me before I left as a precaution. You know, just kind of guiding her in. All other mommy duties like the carpool for my older ones, diaper changes, etc were no problem. I was pretty much back to myself when I got home.
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We're here!!! August 18th is my day!

I am a widow/single mom and I traveled by myself and did not tell anyone but my sister and my cousin who had the sleeve 6 months ago. Everything was fine. I paid a $500 deposit and then balance due before surgery.
Down 27 lbs in 6 weeks!

I live in OK, but will be having surgery in Mexico.

There's no way to know. The odds of needing a revision whether it be complications, reflux, etc. is fairly low, but it still does happen. Can't avoid the risks. Just do what you can to mitigate any complications that could be caused by yourself.
I have moderate reflux (GERD) and am going with 3 surgeons' advice to get the VSG done, with a revision option a year down the road (I believe it would be more like 2 or 3 but we'll see) to RNY. I too worry about getting worse reflux and the staging of esophageal damage but generally people can also take PPI's to help mitigate this by default.

Severe acid reflux

My surgeon is adamant that the most important thing you can do for a good outcome is to choose an experienced VSG surgeon and follow his or her instructions to the letter.

My my surgery went well with relatively little pain, so there might be something to it.

A) To your insurance company, you are not an individual. They cater to the least common denominator to make sure everyone has your nutrition knowledge - in their minds, it's better to over-educate you than under-educate someone else. Given some of the questions I've seen on here over the last several months, some people still aren't getting enough education.

To your quote I left above - ever think that's the point? A six month wait is a giant staring contest. If you blink first and quit, they win because they don't have to pay. They hope people are overwhelmed by all the hoops and drop out. This was my surgeon's opinion too, by the way.

Hang in there. You are so close to winning the staring contest a d getting what you want. Sometimes in life, we have to play games we don't want to...

I don't have anything to add, I just wanted to express my appreciation for nurses. You don't get nearly enough recognition for all of the hard work you do!

They don't realize. How hard this decision really is to say yes cut me open and fix me and they are really not supportive and don't know the struggle. I live on a diet for 10 years and. I'm still overweight! There's so much support here in the forum it's like we're family. My date May 8th dr. Cervantes my Dr was switched for some reason? So I'm excited

Lol! If another person say," you don't need to do that! just eat right and exercise" I'm smacking em

We're here!!! August 18th is my day!

I'm in the same boat. Only my mom, fiancé, and best friend know and I don't want to tell anyone else because I don't want to hear their two-cents. Just tell them you're working out and eating better, and that won't be a lie!

Can't wait

Can't wait to be on the losers Bench ready to get this over with so anxious excited nervous and scared having all kinds of Mixed emotions

loved Dr. Illan - my husband and I both used him!

Run!!!!!

He sought you out, and he's flirting - I assume he's hoping to start something. If it was me, I'd back off now before anything has a chance to start.