I've been considering WLS for years now but lap and bypass didn't seem to be my style. Then I learned about the sleeve and I knew that finally the right tool was finally available for my weightloss toolbox to help give me the most success possible.

This past April I started contacting different drs, Medical Tourism companies, etc. to see what my best options are since I have to foot the bill out of pocket (because of blankety blank insurance). Mexico was attractive from a budget point of view, PLUS there seem to be some extremely qualified and competent surgeons there. But my s/o totally freaked out at the thought of me leaving the country for surgery and so I will be having the sleeve done in the USA...which I'm totally good with.

Currently I have selected a Dr., spoke with him over the phone last night (which I found to be totally cool...never had a surgeon call me before) and am now waiting for the list of tests I need run, talk to my pcp, etc.

Needless to say, I am excited and nervous about the whole process! This dream could become a reality in less than a month!

Congratulations. It goes fast once you start the process - especially when you are self-pay. I have found this forum to be such a valuable tool. (Both for information & keeping me calm.) Plenty of room on the Loser Bench for you. Welcome!

Regardless of here or Mexico make sure you doctor has excellent credentials and has done a lot of sleeves. I don't think anyone can beat Dr. Aceves in terms of experience and care and he is in Mexico. People have the wrong opinion of Mexico. I know a lot of bad doctors here in the US!

Congratulations on the start of your new life! Once you have the clearance you just need a date and you are good to go.

Welcome and good luck in getting your surgery scheduled!! It will be the best thing you have ever done for yourself! Oh BTW I love your name!!

Golly, I sure DO want to be on the loser's bench, lol! Can't wait to start my losing streak. Thanks for the encouragement all. This is probably the biggest thing I've ever considered doing. Elective surgery that is expensive. But I have high blood pressure, horrible back, leg and foot pain, and a family history of diabetes. So I really feel that this is a life saving measure too.

I'm ashamed to admit that I am also a smoker so I have scheduled an appointment to see if I can get a script for Chantix. I know smoking is probably a huge no-no and it definitely needs to be stopped now. Problem is that I have to decide that I want to lose weight more than to keep my horrible nicotine addiction. I'm the person people always look at with a surprised expression and say, "You smoke?". I am as ashamed of my smoking as I am of being morbidly obese. It is not Sophie's Choice but dang it iss a part of my life. sigh

The best part of becoming thinner and healthy is going to be the fact I will once again be able to ride my horses! I am sooooo looking forward to that!

LOL FabBy50...my name is simply a location. Gotta love Kentucky names!

I am with you Possum!! I am stressed out and tired and fed up with being overweight. The person I am is not the one I see in the mirror. I want them to match.

Oh My...this is moving fast. I now have a surgery date...July 16!!!

I'm a bit speechless. Now I'm realizing there is so much to do between now and then. Wow. My son is going to go with me. He likes to travel and dh will stay home and take care of the dogs, cats and horses.

I already had gotten a 9 a.m. appt. with my PCP to get a Chantix prescription, so now I have the packet the dr. sent to show/give him so we can get the tests done. I just ordered the Protein drinks I'll need for the pre-op diet.

Wowzers. My head is spinning!

PCP visit was a breeze. I went in expecting to have to justify my decision to be sleeved but was pleasantly surprised by his support. whew That just made things a little easier. Got the test orders so will complete them later this week.

Now, though, it seems like I'm feeling like a farewell to my favorite foods tour. Had fresh greenbeans w/ham and potatoes, fried corn, Chinese, etc. I'm beginning to see how really attached to food I am mentally. No wonder I'm so large.

Wow, your surgery got scheduled so quick! I've been at this since April also, but the earliest I can hope to have surgery is the end of September.

I'm hoping that BC/BS will pay for it 100%, (except for copays for office visits & nutritionist) so I have to jump thru all the hoops and wait it out .

I noticed you have horses. We used to have two and we did trail riding. I am hoping to get on a horse again. Right now I feel like I'm too top heavy to have good balance on top of a horse.

What kind of pre-op tests are you required to do?

Hi,

I am new to this site. I'm not exactly sure how to ask questions so I just tried this. I just had my surgery on June 11 and I am doing okay. I have a question? Why am I not to eat sugar? Having a difficult time with all the sugar free products. Especially right now, I have a bad cold and can't seem to drink anymore aspertame liquids. Help!!

Wow, your surgery got scheduled so quick! I've been at this since April also, but the earliest I can hope to have surgery is the end of September.

I'm hoping that BC/BS will pay for it 100%, (except for copays for office visits & nutritionist) so I have to jump thru all the hoops and wait it out .

I noticed you have horses. We used to have two and we did trail riding. I am hoping to get on a horse again. Right now I feel like I'm too top heavy to have good balance on top of a horse.

What kind of pre-op tests are you required to do?

I'm self pay so guess that is why it's all going so quickly. ..no hoops. I have bc/bs too but my policy states there is no way in Hades they will pay for bariatric surgery so I'm not even trying. Luckily I fell into a bit of "extra" money so I can finally afford to take this step forward in life.

Tests are sleep test, ekg, blood work, I think that's all. There is a psychiatric test form to fill out and fax but will just fax everything all at the same time.

I haven't ridden in quite a long time as I figure it wasn't fair to my horses to sit on their backs. They're currently not minding being out of work but I know they will appreciate the extra attention once I get astride. We have 5 so this is an expensive thing to do and I cannot really justify the expense if all we're going to do is feed and pay vet bills on them. Winston Churchill said "There's something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of man." He was so right! They're part of my personal identity. Just cannot imagine life without them.

Good luck with your insurance. :wink0:We pay enough in premiums that they should have to pay when we need it!

Can't help but think this is "meant to be". I had been dreading telling my dr. and he was enthusiastic. Just got off the phone to tell my mom about the surgery date. She is uber supportive and wants to go with to take care of me. Makes me wonder why I feel such dread telling folks...guess I'm just afraid someone important to me and this journey will be unsupportive and I don't want to hear it?

I feel so much better after telling Mom. I'd rather have her with me than my son (sorry boy) so we'll see how this works out.

I'm having a major cleaning frenzy digging deep into the corners and am sure I'll be exhausted by this evening. But it will be nice to have a spick and span house! All we'll have to do is maintain it for the next couple of weeks so I can come back to a relatively clean house. Yay!

Congratulations on getting your date! I, too, was self pay and the process went very quickly.

I'm now 2 months out and loving my sleeve and feeling so much better already physically from having lost a portion of the weight I have to lose.

I am also a smoker.

I did the Chantix before and it really works but to be quite honest I didn't WANT to quit so I stopped taking the Chantix. I started taking it again a few weeks before surgery as they wanted me to quit at least two weeks. I failed at that. I did cut back a good bit and stayed that way for a week or so after surgery but now I'm back to smoking as usual. My doc isn't real happy about that. He is encouraging me to try again and gave me a list of all the bad things that could happen to me...strictures, etc. but yeah..that didn't give me any motivation to quit.

I'm hoping that once I've lost the weight and can become more active that I'll have a desire to quit then.

Best of luck to you...I think you're going to be pleasantly surprised with your sleeve. I know I am!

So far the Chantix is doing a good job. Yesterday I realized it had been 6 hours since I smoked and didn't really crave...it was just my evil brain telling me I ought to light up. This morning was the first time my routine has actually been altered. Every day I wake up and go outside to puff. This morning I did not...well, I went out eventually but it was like a 45 minute delay...totally unheard of in my world.

I officially start the pre-op diet today. Maybe it is just me but I'm finding that the liquid Protein gives me gas...not a good thing since I work with the public and supervise a couple of hundred of employees.

Beano is on my shopping list today. Hopefully it will do the trick!

Sandyb, I don't know the answer to your question, and it's a good one to ask.

I suggest that you start a new thread so that your question will get noticed.

Go to this page: QandA

and click on the orange "New Thread" button.