Hello everyone

My name is Dale, and this is my first posting to sleeve talk. I want to first thank all of you out there for all of the info that was available to me that helped make what I feel is a good decision on going with the VSG. My sleeve date is Jan. 16th 2012 and Dr. Mario Almanza is my doctor.

I like most of you am consumed with reading all the comments I can on this site, and now its time for me to jump in and be part of it.

I'm 52 years old and weigh in at 300 lbs. Iv'e been a big guy most of my adult life, started back when I was in restaurant management I would say. Although I am very active in sports, it just wasn't enough to burn the calories off from the portions of food I would eat. I have tried many diets like most of you, just to see the weight come back. I have a beautiful wife that takes great care of her body, she works out all the time and watches what she eats and she is in great shape. And I feel like a runaway train to fatsville and I need to stop ASAP.

So I'm very excited to start my journey, I'm 3 weeks from sleeve time, so today I am starting to watch what I eat and will get on that treadmill. I think it will be wise of me to go into the surgery as strong as I can be and try to lose some weight before I start my liquid diet.

My wife is very concerned with the decision to go to Mexico to get this done. She has a friend that works in a doctors office that is telling her stories of organ harvesting, and doctors that are not real doctors doing the surgery. I show her a lot of the comments on this site and I feel it has helped but I'm sure that some of you have been in her shoes.

Again thank you all for the info that you put out there, it truly helps.

Love to hear you are joining our Loser's Club! This is truly an honor. Keep your chin up and keep walking forward. Three weeks will be gone before you know it! We have alot of wonderful people giving feedback and I feel lucky to have them. After the surgery I felt somewhat abnormal but after reading topics and feed back, I let the feelings of abnormal go and am embracing the new me. Even though I'm still the old me, I'm letting go of the stigmatism that society has given us. What is normal? It's me and every one else. Merry Christmas!

Congratulation on your decision! Im sure you will be happy with it. As long as you did your homework on your surgeon, Im sure that will be fine too. Keep coming back here, as you can see, there is lots of support and some very good advice too.

Welcome to VST!! It is nerve-wracking for family to watch us go through this, no matter which surgeon we choose. Adding in a doc in Mexico and the alarm bells start ringing, as well they should. There are good and bad doctors everywhere. You just have to research thoroughly and well so that you know you're in good hands.

Lots of people on this board have gone to Mexico for their surgeries and have had amazing results. You'll find many reviews and surgery stories from those folks, and you probably have been reading them. Perhaps it would ease your wife's mind to read those same stories?

Good luck on your journey!!

Welcome!!!

Welcome, Dale. You could have the best surgeon in the U.S., and she'd still worry, because she loves you. My family was convinced that I was going to croak on the table. I'm 2 weeks post-op, and I feel great.

Welcome, we are so glad you found us. It is understandable for your wife to worry, she loves you! I went to Mexicali and had no problems whatsoever. I received the most amazing care there. You will do fine. I am so excited for you and look forward to getting to know you better.

Thank you ladies for the warm welcome. It is so nice to have someone to talk to that knows what I'm getting ready to do. Alot of my questions and concerns have been answered on this wonderful site, but I will make sure I get hold of you if anything comes to mind. Thank you much

I also went to Mexico and had the best care and I believe I made the best decision of my life. Good luck and God Bless

If there is anyone out there that went to Dr. Mario Almanza and the Jerusalem Hosp.

can you tell me if there was some place safe for your personal items, like my passport, credit cards and so on?

Thanks

Hi there KDB!! Welcome to posting on this site! It's people like you who keep chiming in with your experiences that keep this forum alive and kicking!!

Wishing you the best on your surgery! The weeks will fly by - has for pretty much all of us.

Hi all, I am new to the site and not sure where to post anything.. So sorry if this isnt the right forum to post in.. Maybe someone out there can show me the ropes and would like to add me as a friend.. My name is Cheryl and I am from florida.. I have been looking into weightloss surgery for many years now and just havent been comfy with the options until now.. I found out about the gastric sleeve procedure and I think it is a no brainer... It seems to be the safest one out there with little complications to follow... I have been looking into the surgeons in Mexico and found Dr. Aceves.. If things work out for me then I will have my sleeve procedure at the end of january.. That is if my family doesnt get to my mind again.. I have had so many negative thoughts from everyone about having this done but I am so excited about it.. especially after reading all the post here and seeing the end results to the photos.. So thank you for having a site like this for people like me that are on the fence to having it done.. When I leave this site everynight I am so pumped about getting it done..I jjust hope that I can keep this mentality going.. so thanks again for sharing all your wonderful stories and experiences...

If anyone out there has had surgery with Dr. Aceves plz let me know how your experience was and maybe some pointers to what to expect out of the whole process... thanks

Welcome, Sunshine! Lots of great info and support here. I'm almost 3 weeks post-op and feeling great.

Just take your time looking through the forums, you will get the hang of it. Lots of people have had Dr Aceves as a surgeon here too. There is a search function to find spacific posts, and the "view new content" helps you to find the newest posts. You can also access your own content under the menu that pops out when you click on your name in the upper right. Perhaps if your family checked out this site, it would help them understand...?

Hey, thanks Bionic Broad and feedyoureye for the welcome and the info.. I will look around and get familiar with the site some more.. so thanks again..

And for my family understanding.. it isnt my husband that is giving me a hard time it is his family... he is all for the surgery..they are the ones that just dont understand how it feels to live a life of always being fat... his mother is 85lbs and never has been overweight.. so she cant put herself in my shoes.. but I say if I can find something to help me out in life then I should go for it..

thanks again for the help

Welcome KDB and SunshineMom2! I've only been on VST a few months myself but I'd love to help in any way that I can - I just had my surgery on Tues (12/27) and so far so good! I'm having no problems at all and feel really good! Good luck to you both