Has anyone had their sleeve done via just the one hole in their belly button?

Haha ... You're pimping you're hubby out to some girl from Nz ... I will take u up on that if I'm alone %100! Lol ... I'm also going to make up some Spanish sayings that will come in handy & print them out lol

Lol he's available to other sleevers for moral support and Jello services only!!! hahaha Really, he's very sweet and caring, it will be nice to have one fully able bodied person to look out for us patients, whether there are two or three of us!! Haha

Haha that would be so nice and we can go on our little hallway walks together!! Lol ... Are u flying via LA? I'm addicted to PiNk and will be stocking up! It costs $45 shipping alone to Nz!! Lol ... I actually wear a bikini now - I have big boobies that I hope draw the eye up and away from my lower half lol but hopefully they'll shrink and ill be able to for VS bikinis in a few months?!?

Oh I wish I had looked into this, I just got a 'look' from an older woman at my belly when I was on my way to the hot tub yesterday after my workout. I don't care what others think, it's a war wound as far as I'm concerned, a wound from my personal battle with weight. I'm just so happy to be in a bikini now I'm not covering up this little bod for anything. But had I known, I would have asked Dr Quinones (my Tijuana surgeon-he teaches many of the other docs over there) about the belly button incision. Good luck with your surgery, you're wise to be asking for this, hopefully they don't ask too much extra for it.

Haha that would be so nice and we can go on our little hallway walks together!! Lol ... Are u flying via LA? I'm addicted to PiNk and will be stocking up! It costs 45 shipping alone to Nz!! Lol ... I actually wear a bikini now - I have big boobies that I hope draw the eye up and away from my lower half lol but hopefully they'll shrink and ill be able to for VS bikinis in a few months?!?

I just live 5 hours away (driving) from San Diego in Phoenix, so we're going to drive over a day or two ahead of time and drop the girls off with my sister or parents, then head down from there.

@Kristina, I'm in Carlsbad about 30 minutes north of downtown...near Legoland :-)

You have had quite a weight loss roller coaster I bet its a relief to find an option that will be more permanent. Maybe i'll schedule surgery around that time and we can hang out. I'm running in the color run on 5/11 and have school the next weekend but might be able to do it on 5/18. LOL

@arthritis_me

Thank you for posting. I'm a size 16 so even though I'm struggling to lose weight permanently I have been wondering if surgery is right for me. As I get older, i just dont want to spend anymore time regretting being overweigh so it was calming to see someone closer to my own situation

@rollargirl

I have been looking online to see if Dr. Garcia has any reviews on the scarless VSG and I don't see anything. I wouldn't want to be his first LOL - where did you see that he performs this? I think it is a better way to go because they don't need to mess with your abdominals which has a longer, harder and more painful recovery. $1000 extra is a lot but might be worth it. I havent even looked into price...what is it approximately for self pays?

@gooddaybetty I was SICK of being over weight, life is too damned short for that. I am also suffering from stage 4 arthritis and infertility, both wrapped up in the weight. I'm doing IVF in April and can't wait. I'm 8 lbs to the 'healthy' weight BMI and feel confident that I can get well below it before IVF comes. With the Ketosis diet I've learned a new way of eating and will never gain this weight back again. I feel it's quite easy to lose now and I'm very motivated to work out / eat well because of the pay off.

Don't let a lower BMI effect your decision, it's how you feel in your skin everyday. There are still health consequences to a higher weight, estrogen dominance which SO few women are aware of until they get breast cancer at 50+. It's because your hormones are locked up in fat, when you're fat you're at WAY more risk of cancer. But overall, do it because you feel this will be a positive step forward and squash the fears of what if-those are self doubt messages that do us no good.

I'm 46 so slowing metabolism etc - I already exercise and eat fairly healthy - just too much I guess LOL I don't eat a lot of processed foods and rarely fast food - cant even remember when the last time was it was so long ago. Okay starbucks...but really...does anyone really count starbucks

What is estrogen dominance? I'll want to avoid that !!!

Is it just lose the fat and lose the estrogen dominance?

In your GP's annual physical you can ask to have your estrogen/progesterone tested. When women stop ovulating they lose progesterone, when we age our estrogen hikes to try to pump out more eggs anyway and with fat it really hikes high and everything gets bogged down. Google Estrogen dominance, it's terrible. There are different signs of it and sometimes there are no signs.

Susanne Somers used bio identical hormone replacement therapy. If you keep the fat off your estrogen won't hike as high but one of the side effects of estrogen dominance is weight gain I take progesterone cream. Progesterone relaxes your muscles, helps you sleep, helps immune function, balances estrogen etc. I recommend a blood test every few years along with your physical just to keep an eye on it. http://www.ehow.com/how_4423839_increase-progesterone-naturally.html

I never thought i'd have to deal with this at 37.

So Kristina & Rollargirl - are you both getting the spider VSG?

The more I look into it I think that is the way I would wan to go but i cant find anything anywhere that says Dr. Garcia performs this procedure using the spider surgical method.

@arthritis_me - thanks for the info I have a progesterone cream and I'll be sure to start using it since I do have a symptom or two on the list.

So Kristina & Rollargirl - are you both getting the spider VSG?

The more I look into it I think that is the way I would wan to go but i cant find anything anywhere that says Dr. Garcia performs this procedure using the spider surgical method.

@arthritis_me - thanks for the info I have a progesterone cream and I'll be sure to start using it since I do have a symptom or two on the list.

Hi ... I'm active w boxing but the age old saying is now a reality to me "you can't out exercise a bad diet" it's really true loosing weight is %80 eating %20 exercise. I used to do 5/6 classes a week and the scale didn't move ... I heard about the spider technique somewhere and asked alma (coordinator) if he did it. She said he's "done like a hundred" I think $1000 is def worth it. I would of been happy w the scars but If it heals faster and less painful - why wouldn't you!!?

I just live 5 hours away (driving) from San Diego in Phoenix' date=' so we're going to drive over a day or two ahead of time and drop the girls off with my sister or parents, then head down from there.[/quote']

Ok - ill let u know when we're flying into SD and maybe make it early afternoon so we can have a broth by the pool at the Marriott lol .... Oh by the way - MY FRIEND IS COMING!!! She just told me an hour ago!!! So excited and not really panicking like I thought I might - making it seem real... So may 11 - start the official countdown!! Yippee!!!!!

I had the single incision VSG through my belly button on 3/5/13. The first week was terrible with pain, but now, 2 1/2 weeks out, I feel fantastic. My incision is healed and looking at me you'd never know I ever had surgery. I'm very glad that my surgeon recommended this option for me. Best of luck everyone!

@gooddaybetty My best friend lived in Carlsbad for years (just off Poinsettia) until she moved to Denver!!! I grew up in Carmel Mt Ranch, over by Poway! I visit all the time. My parents still live in that same house, and the rest of my family lives pretty much in Clairemont and Santee!! We'll have to meet on one of my visits out there for sure!!

I am not doing the single incision surgery, as much as I would love that lol because I have had 2 lap bands and the 2nd one is still in. So the doc will be dealing with removing that band and the scar tissue. I want things as smooth a possible and I my stomach already looks like I've been in a knife fight, so I'm not worried about a few more scars! Lol

@rollargirl That's AWESOME!! So exciting!!! Can't wait to meet you both!! 50 days till surgery... If I were counting hahaha

I had the single incision VSG through my belly button on 3/5/13. The first week was terrible with pain' date=' but now, 2 1/2 weeks out, I feel fantastic. My incision is healed and looking at me you'd never know I ever had surgery. I'm very glad that my surgeon recommended this option for me. Best of luck everyone![/quote']

Yay! I was going to be happy with the scars but this is even better! Thanks for sharing & I'm glad I asked about it. So excited!

@gooddaybetty My best friend lived in Carlsbad for years (just off Poinsettia) until she moved to Denver!!! I grew up in Carmel Mt Ranch' date=' over by Poway! I visit all the time. My parents still live in that same house, and the rest of my family lives pretty much in Clairemont and Santee!! We'll have to meet on one of my visits out there for sure!!

I am not doing the single incision surgery, as much as I would love that lol because I have had 2 lap bands and the 2nd one is still in. So the doc will be dealing with removing that band and the scar tissue. I want things as smooth a possible and I my stomach already looks like I've been in a knife fight, so I'm not worried about a few more scars! Lol

@rollargirl That's AWESOME!! So exciting!!! Can't wait to meet you both!! 50 days till surgery... If I were counting hahaha[/quote']

Now I'm officially counting too! Maybe u should ask your dr if he can take the band out that way? You don't know till u ask !