Surgery is something I have casually thought about before, but was so sure I could lose weight on my own. 10 years later, it hasn't happened and I am finding myself with more medical issues: depression, sleep apnea and back problems. I met someone recently who had the sleeve surgery in Mexico about a year ago and she has lost well over 100 lbs. I didn't even realize surgery in Mx was an option. I have insurance but it wouldn't cover this specific surgery, I don't meet the guidelines, etc etc.

I became a grandmother this past fall to a beautiful little girl and I really want to watch her grow. I want to have the energy to play with her and take her to wonderful places.

My husband and I discussed this option and decided to go for it! We will be paying OOP which I think is still less than if I had the surgery locally by the time I paid my deductible, 20%, etc.

My surgery is scheduled for Thursday, February 18th at Hospital Jerusalem in Tijuana, Mexico with Dr. Almanza. Melissa is my coordinator. Except for a select few, we have decided not to tell anyone else until afterwards.

The 18th is also my 49th birthday. I plan to be 50 and fabulous in a year!

My stats: 5' 4" tall, highest weight 199, current weight 192, goal weight 130.

Here we go!

wish you the best of luck!!!

God Bless:thumbup1:

The staff here has been great for the most part. They kept us quite amused before the actual surgery. The first night was ok. Slept in 2-4 hour stints. Bkind and I are sharing a room. I am so glad we met up on the board ahead of time! She is the sweetest gal. We even shared a hotel room the night before.

We are excited to get ice cubes today! LOL

Thanks for your positive thoughts and prayers!

YAY!!!!

:thumbup1::thumbup::thumbup1::001_smile::thumbup:

At the airport and a happy camper! I was even able to switch airlines and get an earlier flight so will be home before my original flight was supposed to take off.

The excitement sure outweighs any post-op blues.

I will say tho, that the nasty purple liquid that you have to drink before your "leak" xray is nasty!!!! That took as much mind over matter than anything else!

Getting home will be so nice. I was able to walk thru the airport on my own and didn't get a wheelchair. I just took it slow and my rolling carryon was very light.

The variety of smells tho at the airport is taking a little bit to get used to : )

Will write a full review later.

Sooooooooo glad to hear that you are doing well, and on your way home.

Take care, sip, walk, rest and repeat.

At the airport and a happy camper! I was even able to switch airlines and get an earlier flight so will be home before my original flight was supposed to take off.

The excitement sure outweighs any post-op blues.

I will say tho, that the nasty purple liquid that you have to drink before your "leak" xray is nasty!!!! That took as much mind over matter than anything else!

Getting home will be so nice. I was able to walk thru the airport on my own and didn't get a wheelchair. I just took it slow and my rolling carryon was very light.

The variety of smells tho at the airport is taking a little bit to get used to : )

Will write a full review later.

I totally agree!! I was soooo super hyper sensitive to smells.

I had to walk around the clinic with my hand over my face.

I couldnt handle the scent of the cleaning solution that they used over there.

so happy that you are on your way home!!:001_tongue:

8 days later . . .

OMG! The discomfort I felt in my stomach the past two days was certainly lifted this morning when I stepped on the scale - I was down another 2 pounds!! Can this really be true? It is too easy!

I am wearing a pair of pants today that I bought for work last July. They were snug but such comfy material, I bought them anyways. Actually, I bought two pair! I just knew I would get on track, lose some weight, and wear these all winter. Didn't happen.

This morning, while going thru clothes in my closet, I ran into these. They fit wonderfully, in fact, maybe a little too loose in the waist - which is actually good for being a week post-surg. It sure made the yucky feelings from yesterday disappear quickly.

I will tell my co-workers during our sales meeting this morning and will tell my oldest daughter when I meet her for "lunch". I am nervous but excited and so glad to have success to report.

To anyone considering this surgery - go for it!! It is truly amazing!

I am so happy for you. You are doing great!

Very Happy for you PNW!!! It is the most amazing feeling when you jump on that scale and it has 1-2 lbs less...I always get off then back on to make sure it wasn't wrong! hahahahaha!!! I'm 2 weeks post and have lost 15 lbs so far....i'm so eager to keep losing and to start exercising hard core!

Take care! you're doing great!

Sury

at the 2 week mark . . . I have to say, it feels much longer than only 2 weeks ago : )

That initial loss of weight seems to have leveled off. I am usually down about .5 a day and I am happy with that. I have not added any serious walking yet, so that may encourage a little more losing. Our weather isn't great yet for being outside - good excuse, I know. lol We brought our treadmill to the office so I will probably start that next week.

food wise, I am doing great as far as tolerating items. Still feeling weak, especially in the mornings when I wake up. My routine has been to immediately grab an Atkins shake or a Nutrilite Meal Replacement Shake. I used those before surgery and they are a comfort food for me. They are about 11 oz so I sip on them for a couple of hours and take my morning meds. lunch has usually been Soup or cooked veggies. dinner varies: canned beef stew, cottage cheese, mashed potatoes with cheese, hard boiled egg. I do sneak in bites of family food but am chewing it well and avoiding anything crunchy that can't be reduced to mush. It keeps me sane : ) Snacks are fruit cups, ritz pb bits 100 calorie bags, a couple bites of banana bread or yogurt.

Overall doing well. Wish I would have pigged out on a few more favorites before surgery; I think the mental has been harder than the physical for me.

Have been slowly telling people and have received positive feedback. Apparently my face is already showing the loss of weight. I know my wedding ring is getting quite loose. I am back in size 14 jeans and they are comfortable. My main reason for telling others is that I personally would feel guilty telling some friends that I did it with smaller portions and exercise only. I know how frustrated I was with myself that I couldn't lose on my own and I don't want others who are struggling to think I am any better than them.

Happy that I did it. Still fine tuning but it is a "successful" work in progress!

At the 5 week mark today. It continues to be amazingly easy. Hard to believe I have lost 25 pounds already. If I didn't know better, I would say that someone was messing with my scale! However, my clothes are getting looser and and I am down almost 2 sizes in jeans.

If anyone is considering this surgery but isn't sure, I personally wouldn't hesitate to do it again. I just wish I would have known the surgery existed sooner. The mental is still the hardest for me, altho yesterday was the first time I wasn't able to get full, no matter what combination of items I ate. I did space out my "feedings" and finally just went to bed.

I am eating most anything I want; still staying away from spicy and crunchy, like nuts. We went out to lunch yesterday at Applebee's and I had one wonton taco from my husband's plate. I had a little bit of the salad type garnish that was inside but most of it fell out and I left it on the plate. It was a little spicy but settled just fine. I was sensitive to spicy before surgery tho a spicy rating of 10 to me is likely a 2 to anyone else : ) My newest fav's are veggie chips and pb toast.

I still have not done any formal exercising. I do park a little further in the parking lot when I go to the store, little things like that. I do have many restrictions in movement (no bending, lifting more than 5-10 lbs or twisting) due to 4 herniated disks in my lower back. I am also getting used to my new cpap machine. Hopefully I will have more energy to do things when I am sleeping better.

I am so excited to be in the 160's! I really didn't expect it this soon. I think the last time I was in this range was in mid 2006. My husband has been very supportive and his comments like "hey, your butt looks smaller!" are nice to hear.

Most everyone I have told has been supportive. My oldest daughter, 24, has probably been the most negative but then she knows it all. LOL She is a nursing student afterall and can't believe I would 1) have this type of surgery and 2) go to Mexico for the surgery! Of course, she is also tall and slender, and has never researched surgery alternatives.

So, the journey continues. I think my son will be very surprised to see me when I go to his graduation from flight school in June.

Edited March 25, 201016 yr by pnw218

Woo Hoo!!!

You are doing FANTASTIC!!!

Good Job!!!:thumbup1:

I want out of the 170's so badly!!

Thanks ishary! It is such an amazing tool. I certainly hope there aren't any long term issues that no one knows about yet : ) Hopefully the sleeve surgery will become a universally accepted WLS and many more people will be able to benefit from it! I have definitely decided to be more open with the people I come in contact with and tell them about the surgery. I decided after the first couple of weeks that it was worth risking them lecturing me about what I had done. LOL I figure that if I had never heard about it, there are many more out there who probably haven't either.

PNW

Great job on your weight loss!! You are doing fab!! Don't worry about your daughter, she will come around. My daughter is also 24 and made the comment that she would never have most of her stomach cut out. Then she saw me and was totally surprised!! (we live 2 1/2 hours apart) I don't know if she would ever consider it, I really wish she would.

Keep up the good work!

I DID IT!!! I have lost over the 30 lb mark!!!!

Ok. The last couple of weeks, the scale has moved so slowly. I tried eating more, I did shakes twice a day instead of meals .... nothing seemed to work.

I guess traveling was the answer! LOL I am a travel freak so that is truly just an excuse to travel more :thumbup:.

I hadn't weighed myself since Monday morning - I didn't want to use the scales in Tijuana since all scales are different it seems. So, I "patiently" waited until this morning. I felt like I had lost tho because my jeans were looser.

And sure enough! 161.6!! I can hardly beleive that I will be back in the 150's soon! It has been at least 5 years and probably longer since I weighed that much. I may have to hit a thrift store this weekend for jeans, unless I can dig up an old pair ....

The sleeve is a wonderful tool. I am so glad that I stumbled across it when I was sure I was going to do the lapband.

If anyone is considering it and isn't sure if it will work for them, I would highly suggest it - even if you have to pay out of pocket. I was addicted to food as much as probably anyone else. Starting out at what is usually referred to as a "lightweight", I was hoping to reach near my goal in about 6 months or so, but really didn't now if that was realistic. It certainly seems that I will get close now! I know the weight loss slows down, but slow and steady progress is fine.

The main down fall at this time ... the new anniversary ring my husband recently bought me is almost falling off my finger : ( It will have to be sized soon :001_tongue:. "bummer" lol

yahoo!!!!

Edited April 23, 201016 yr by pnw218