I noticed a few July folks posting on other threads and thought there might be enough of us to start our own thread (rather than hijacking whatever threads we find with a July surgery in them) - so I invite anyone with a July surgery to post their story here so we can support each other and share our experiences.

I'm C and my surgery is scheduled with Dr. Aceves on 15 July. I'm 29 and married to an Army man - we're currently stationed in Germany. We have two year old boy/girl twins. I'm choosing to self-pay because Tricare does not currently cover VSG and none of the overseas military facilities do the procedure at this time. To complicate matters, our next assignment is (as of right now) in Yerevan, Armenia. Getting this surgery in a remote location like Armenia isn't even a possibility. I'm not willing to wait more than two more years for this surgery.

I started my research in the summer of 2008 when my doctor diagnosed me with Type II (I developed gestational diabetes with my twin pregnancy and it stuck around afterward) and suggested the band. After much research I decided the sleeve best suits my needs.

I'm 5'1" (and some change), 240 pounds and I would be happy with any weight under 160 pounds. I haven't weighed less than that in more than ten years and I have been plus-sized since high school.

Please, hop in and share your own stories so I can share this journey with others instead of doing it alone! If I am successful my mom would like to have the surgery, too, but she's very nervous because she has never had surgery before.

~C

I just looked at the bariatriceating.com website. AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME! I bookmarked it as a favorite as I know I will be going there alot for ideas.

Hi everyone! I am being sleeved July 28th at the U of M hospital in Ann Arbor, MI, four days after my wedding. We are waiting to take the honeymoon until it is cold in Northern Michigan and I am ready to wear a bathing suit without a t-shirt cover up! I will be 30 years old at the end of this month. I gained about 80 lbs in 7 months in high school out of the blue with no real explaination. I was eating the same meals my mother always cooked, played the same sports, etc. Of course in college I gained some weight due to beer drinking and cafeteria food and was diagnosed with adrenal gland problems my senior year of college. The doc put me on a steroid to treat the adrenal issues and I gained another 100 pounds. Since then it has been decided that I was misdiagnosed and did not need the meds. I have been unable to lose the extra 200 lbs on my own and have decided to take control of the issue and have the sleeve. I have been extremely lucky in that I have very low blood pressure, no acid reflux, I am not diabetic at all, no sleep apnea. Really none of the co-morbidity issues so my insurance is approving it all on my BMI. The things I am looking forward to the most:

*Having kids safely and to be able to play with my nieces and little cousins without getting winded.

*Being able to shop for clothes especially professional clothes for work.

*Sitting at a booth in a restaurant without asking my fiancee to move the table toward him.

*Sitting in an airplane without using a seat belt extender.

*Having ENERGY after work.

*Being able to sit cris-cross on the floor.

*Crossing my legs easily.

I could go on and on but that's a good start! Good luck everyone with your journey!

Welcome July Bride! What an exciting time you have ahead of you!!!! I'm glad you are here!

Kathy: Go back to the bariatric website and order their catalog. I really enjoyed reading it. All the help I can get!

I am really excited for all you have coming up JulyBride. What a great year you are going to have!!!

Hi folks... I'm a newbie to the forum but I'll be going in on July 2nd with Dr Alverez. My wife is coming but since she doesn't have a passport she'll have to stay in San Antonio until I get back from Mexico. She'll be on vacation and I'll be...well you know.

I just turned 59, retired at 56 and have been able to do almost nothing like I use to. I'm 6' and had a high of 332. I started my liquid diet on 5/30 about a week early at 320 pounds and have dropped 15 pounds already to 305. Maybe by the time I get there the doctor will look and ask what I'm there for..Ha!

I sometimes wonder if it's the right thing to do, but with type II and heart issues I kinda figure it's now or I might not get another chance.

I just married off my second granddaughter and would like to be around for the third one.

Let's see, things I'd like to do...

Not shop at Big Dog or Casual Mens XL

Hopefully get rid of this CPAP machine

Walk the dogs further then the mailbox

Put on my socks without getting outta breath

Getting a pair of tie sneakers instead of velcro

Sit in a booth at the resturant. Oh yeah, and have doggie bags to take home

Well that's enough for now... Actually, the name is Ron. My Corgi is named Grady and 691 is just an address number.... To much information?

Ron, you're on your way! By making the sleeve a part of your future you will be able to do all those things! Especially watching your 3rd granddaughter get married! Great job on the liquid diet losses... Good luck on your surgery day!

Jennifer - I am a pretty young lookin' granny, huh! :crying: Actually, I have a 16 year old foster daughter that I'm in the process of adopting (should be final by the end of the month - yay!), and she had my sweet grandbaby when she was 14. So, at the ripe old age of 33, I'm a *gulp* grandma.

I bought my plane tickets today, I'm so excited!! Now all I need to do is get my loan finalized for the surgery and I'll be set as far as finances & travel plans. There's a wellness store my mom knows about (she's an oncology nurse, too, like me) and I'll be going there to get my Protein supplements and Vitamins. There's also something she's told me about that you drink twice a day for 5 days before surgery that's supposed to help your body heal more quickly and fight infection, when I find out the name of it I'll post it on here in case anyone wants to research it for themselves. Now, I'm off to go find a nice, comfortable dress to travel in.

Welcome, JulyBride!! It's funny that you're waiting for the honeymoon until it's cold so you can get out of northern Michigan, I think I'd love to go TO northern Michigan for my honeymoon. Get a nice cabin in the woods, get snowed in for a few days...woo hoo! Being an Okie girl, I only get snow in small amounts and would LOVE to actually see something deeper than 2 inches for a change.

i to have a date set for july 26... bad part is i got laid off from my job... and will not have any medical after july 31...cutting it real close...lol... sooo im very unsure of what to do know... if i do the sx i will have my medical a lil bit longer cause i will be on leave ... but when the dr says im fine to go back to work ...i will no longer have medical ... but i can buy cobra...and thats an arm leg and an eye..lol..250.00... per month... sooo im calling to see if maybe they can give me a sooner date... but will we see... cause i sooo wanna do this....crossing my fingers....

Hi, I am July 16 with Dr. Pompa in Tijuana

Add me to the list as well, my date is July 1 with Dr. Rod.

Hi, my name is Dawn and I am scheduled for July 16 in Cancun. My family is convinced I will never be seen again, I however can not wait. Have battled with weight issues so long, I just told my husband, I can't even imagine what I will look like thin. Anyone else nervous about going out of the states? Anyone with experience with Dr Verboonen? I am so excited I found this site, it will be my new best friend!

Hi, my name is Dawn and I am scheduled for July 16 in Cancun. My family is convinced I will never be seen again, I however can not wait. Have battled with weight issues so long, I just told my husband, I can't even imagine what I will look like thin. Anyone else nervous about going out of the states? Anyone with experience with Dr verboonen? I am so excited I found this site, it will be my new best friend!

Hey Dawn, don't worry about traveling to Cancun. I love Cancun! It is a lot safer than the "border" cities, like Juarez where I am having my surgery. I am the one that should be scared about never being seen again.

Where are you going and when? Are you nervous?

Nurse_Ally that is hilarious. Come on up and enjoy the snow whenever you would like, it is almost always here. I love living in Northern Michigan but when it is snowing at the beginning of May going somewhere warm sounds like more fun! That is great about your daughter and grand child. My fiancee and I just found out our foster care license came through today so we are very excited! We started the process due to a specific situation and we may get placement of our friend's child but if not then we are looking forward to the foster care journey and helping other kids. I work with abused and neglected kids every day so I know how important it is to find good homes for kids. I'm jumping off my soap box for now! I keep having these weird connections to OK so I think I'm destined to end up living there some time. I know I'll visit some day. My fiancee gets sent to the postal school in OK when he has to learn a new machine for his job. I couldn't stay with him before because we weren't married but next time I will be able to.

Thank you KathyM and momof3girls for the congrats. It is going to be an exciting year! :001_tt2:

Sawadee krup khun Donnie

I have also lived in Thailand off and on for about 12 years, alternating between Pattaya and Chiang Mai. Right now I am in the States making arrangements to go to Mexico for sleeve surgery. When I saw your post I was surprised. I would never have considered looking in Thailand for it.

I would appreciate any information you can give me regarding your hospital. Will you be at Bangkok-Pattaya or Pattaya International? It has been suggested to me that I find a surgeon with lots of bariatric experience and I doubted I could find such there. How much experience does your doctor have and what is his name?

Thanks

Bob

JulyBride, I also got into the foster care thing in a special situation. I met my daughter in my youth group at church, and through a series of very sad events, she came to live with me. It's not been easy, but I truly believe it's exactly the way it's supposed to be. Good luck on your foster care journey and your weight loss journey. Part of the reason I've chosen the sleeve is so that I'll have more energy to play with my little man, and hopefully children of my own someday.

Welcome, latoya79, BEARKAT, NC Redneck, and sunshinegirl64!! Looks like we're all in this together!