KZol

Oh, wannalise, how awful! I can understand just a little because for a long time I had anxiety-related vomiting and it's left me with a weak stomach....smells really get to me. I find that sedatives help....even benadryl will slow down my gagging. You might want to ask your doc for an anti-emetic as well.

I have to agree with seaview--I was totally comforted by how "simple" the surgery is, and how precise and NOT messy at all. No complex detaching and reattaching, just staple, staple, staple, done. COOL.

I am not sleeved yet but I'm an experienced "medical tourist" as I had a breast reduction in Costa Rica a few years ago. I went alone and sent the family to Disneyland. It was a much longer stay--14 days is the minimum--so I had to pack a lot more, BUT I learned a lot. Take your own hand sanitizer and disinfectants, and a body soap called Hibicleanse for before the surgery (it kills the usually necessary bacteria on your skin so there is nothing to enter the incision)--they will give you a little peace of mind if nothing else. You can leave them there afterward for someone else to lighten your return load. I left most of my clothes there, too, to lighten up my bag for the return trip. I had gone to Goodwill and gotten a bunch of zip-front things that were easy for me to manage on my own. My laptop was no good even though the recovery home had wireless service--for some reason I couldn't connect to it. It was dead weight, and I didn't miss it anyway. On the return trip, I didn't check my bag, as I thought I was set with my rolling carry-on--WRONG! We had to go down a flight of steps onto the runway and then up the stairs into the plane. I could lift NOTHING, so I ended up being the last person on the plane, assisted by a disgruntled airline employee who told me I should have brought a "husband or a brother". Take a Spanish phrase book. Not everyone will speak English and you need to be able to communicate what you need. I speak about twelve words of Spanish and I got by, but boy did I wish I had one. Take money to tip the recovery house staff (unless this is not normal in Mexico???) Kaitey

I thought I was set with my rolling carryon on my return trip from having a breast reduction in Costa Rica, then it turned out we had to walk down a flight of outdoor stairs and board the plane on the runway! Obviously I couldn't lift anything so I ended up being the last one to board the plane with an annoyed employee who gave me a speech about how I should have "a husband or a brother" with me. Ergh.

Tiffy, as you know by now, you look fabulous! I worry about getting "sickly" looking myself--some of my husband's relatives have had gastric bypass and while not excessively thin, have than "malnourished" look at times. This is one of the reasons I am going with the sleeve. I expect some parental grumbling....last time I got really thin my Dad saw me and went in and told my Mom "Kaitey looks like she hasn't eaten in months..." Sheesh! I was still fatter than my younger sister, who is a size two or four. My mother will probably be happy, she's been picking at me about my weight since I was 11.

I have had my lovely unibrow lasered....it did NOT feel like rubber bands snapping. It was like intense heat and a jolt of electricity right between the eyes. I only had to have one treatment, and it killed it all for three years before fine hairs started reappearing. But I also had my underarms done once, and while once was not as effective as with the unibrow (you're supposed to go through a course of treatments) it really didn't hurt much at all. This was maybe eight years ago, I'm sure the lasers have improved by now.

Okay, let me start by saying I have boob issues from way back. Was a 34 or 36DDD for a long time, got really skinny and went down to 34D "tube socks", went back up to a 36FF, got a breast reduction, then they grew plus I gained weight so I'm back in a 38DD or DDD. BUT to answer you questions the best bras out there, really, are made by Wacoal. They are wonderful. They are also $60-80 each. However, Marshall's carries them at some pretty awesome discounts. Even the DDD sizes. I was SO excited after years of going to specialty stores and spending major money on bras...

Wait...what? Estrogen stored in fat? Holy CRAP! I am going to be a complete nut case!

Oh, thinoneday, how awful about the IV sites! That sounds really painful. They do have trouble finding a vein on me but nothing like that....except when I had my first child in a teaching hospital and the trainee put the needle all the way THROUGH the vein....I went home with a beautiful baby girl and a big purple lump on one wrist.

Historically, my weight has really jumped around seemingly without much "input" from me....I'd pile on 20 lbs here and keep it for a year and then suddenly drop 20 lbs in a month for NO reason, but the general trend was up a little every year. My eating habits have generally been WORST when I was thinnest....probably because I thought it was "okay". My most severe and most recent weight gain was different, however, because I started taking meds that made me hungry all the time--so yes, still small portions, but LOTS OF THEM. I'm looking forward to the sleeve, got the hubby on board, trying to choose a surgeon, and trying to MANAGE my expectations. If I expect to lose 10 lbs a week I will be let down and make bad choices if it doesn't happen.

Has anybody noticed a correlation between how they ate before surgery and how fast the lost afterward? My stomach is pretty small (on the INSIDE) already--nothing like the sleeve, of course, but I tend to eat small portions. I am expecting slower weight loss and I'm OK with it...as long as it comes OFF!

Yup, this is why I'm going to go with the sleeve--I am a "low" BMI at 36.

I did a juice fast and after about a week passed a lot of apparently stuck-on stuff. Seems simpler...

Thanks Bookleen!

This is a big concern for me, too....but I have the least stretchy skin ever. Pale, Anglo, thin white skin littered with a lot of old and new stretch marks for me. Sad, so sad...

Note on the catheter: I actually asked the surgeon I'm considering if I could have a children's catheter because the adult size is really painful for me, and got the answer that the surgery is so quick they don't even use one. Woohoo!

I had a major breast reduction and lipo to waist, abs, sides of breasts, inner and outer thighs, inner knees in Costa Rica with the Rosenstock Group. I paid $7000 for all of it and got world-class care.

I'm pre-sleeve but had a major breast reduction and extensive lipo about three years ago. Then I gained 50 lbs in a year, and because they sucked out my belly fat, my arms inflated and I have horrific stretch marks. I will have major bat wings when this is over. I actually had my former plastics in Costa Rica with a surgeon who is really famous for WLS "makeovers". It was a wonderful experience and I will certainly be going back there should I ever be able to afford the post-op plastics. Costa Rica is a world center for plastic surgery and the price is right! I asked one of the Mexican docs I'm researching about lipo under my chin during my sleeve surgery and he quoted me an extra $1000 even though I'll already be under anesthesia and in an operating room--in CR that procedure was $600 all-inclusive. If you're interested in plastics in Costa Rica or basically anywhere else, plasticsurgeryjourneys.com is a FANTASTIC research tool. I can't recommend them highly enough.

I am relatively recently obese, and have found that healthcare professionals have a whole different attitude toward me.....it's really sad.

I've had hypothyroid since I was a skinny(ish) little thing. It's just gotten worse with the weight gain. It's a lifetime thing, but nobody was nasty to me about it when I was much thinner.

Ugh. I know you can't get a new doctor while you're uninsured because that first appt is crazy expensive, but you really need to ditch this woman. I just had mine tested and it was a 22, and my doc refused to accept that it might be playing into my weight problem and VERY reluctantly raised my dose slightly. Come ON! Can you actually throw your thyroid off by gaining weight? Is that why there's so much attitude going on? I need a new doc too but I'm in a dinky town and he's the only one...

Prices in Mexico are pretty comparable to our generics--probably somewhat cheaper for thyroid meds. You don't need a script, just go in and give them your dosage. I have done this a dozen times, there are pharmacies everywhere and it's really easy. Nothing to worry about. I had a doctor like that, too....I was temporarily without insurance and I think she thought I was avoiding the blood test....which I might have been because I almost always pass out when they take blood, but she was SUCH a b*tch about it! She knew I didn't have insurance and couldn't afford to see her or pay for the test. What the hell happened to "first do no harm"?

Thanks for the support, AJW. I have talked about it with my husband as well, of course, and he was leery at first but he's coming around. He now understands how much safer it is than gastric bypass....he just doesn't want me to die, which is a good thing!

I'm a little worried about the "Hollow" feeling....I'm MEAN when I'm hungry!

Yes, she can get her thyroid meds in Mexico. I used to drive down there to fill scripts all the time when I didn't have insurance, and I'm hypothyroid too. If you buy a lot, the pharmacy will tell you to hide some of it and only declare a certain amount at the border, so they don't think you're buying more than you need for "personal use".