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I am looking for opinions on Tijuana and Dr Kelly. I had a consultation today with him and was impressed but was taken back by the cost. I want to have it done at Hospital Angeles.

I am going to Dr. Ortiz so I can't comment on any of the others.

My food funeral will be on a Disney Cruise ship.

Turkey broth will probably be the extent of my Thanksgiving

So jealous!! We are booking our first Disney cruise for spring. It's hard to imagine that I'll be able to fit in the airplane seat by then lol

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Coming out of the shadows :)

Hi - MojoCAMI here..

So I think I am going to be a November Sleever as I had my final decision appointment with my Surgeon yesterday, who gave me the all clear and stated i should hear from her scheduler in 24-48hrs. She also mentioned they usually schedule 1 month out from final decision.

So for those who choose to read more I shall detail my journey thus far (not my whole life, Just the last 10-12 months) :)

After finally making the personal decision to seek surgical support for weight loss, I only knew of 2 types Gastric bypass and that fill tube thingy they put around your stomach. I have seen folks at my job go through full gastric bypass and loose weight and some only lost a quarter of there weight and they are grumpy..

I have read far to many lapband forums (fill tube thingy) that ended in multiple trips to the doctor for more saline or 2nd surgery due to the band slipping off the stomach.. (noooo sir not for me)..

so when I heard about the sleeve, saw some videos, did my research, chatted with actual people in person who had the procedure, i am now on the train to be sleeved.

Why has it taken this long since first seeing my surgeon in October 2014? Well due to may weight at the time being 430lbs+ my insurance did not require the 6x medical weight loss visits, they wanted to fast track me, but i opted instead for the visits before going straight under the knife..Strangely all the staff asked why I wanted to do the visits vs jumping to surgery and my response was, surgery is here to help me, but I first must prove I can help myself.

So once a month for 6 months i saw my wonderful Physician Assistant who threw tons of info at me from types of Protein poweders, to nutritional guides, free classes and most all, shared her struggle and connected with me as a person first, patient 2nd..

After the 6th visit I said I was ready for the surgery, i had gotten my weight down to 389lbs. they gave me all these labs to get drawn, i was feeling great about the decision, i proved I can loose weight on my own...and then about 2months later i came back for follow up on the labs and my weight went from 389lbs to 406 (stopped working the food plan).. Surgeon then stated I need to be at 397 to proceeded..I mentally plummeted, and my weight went from 406 to 412lb.. had a few primary care routine visits, weight went from 412 to 419lbs.. i was able to stop the hemorrhaging at 422lbs, but now I needed to loose at least 23lbs before i could move forward.

Geeze...so i cancelled my next 2-3 visits and i told them i would not be back until I dropped this weight..that was in July 2015. I then started a mission- Breakfast and lunch = Protein shake, then dinner and a shot of vodka :).. by September 1st I got to 410lb and by end of September I was 399.. visited my surgeon's Physician Assistant Sept 24th, and was cleared to proceed.. I got high-fives and way to go from all the staff who thought I would give up due to the weight gain.

so now i sit at 397, waiting for the schedulers phone call to let me know when the 2 week pre-op will start, I am happy and mentally equipped for the days ahead.

now some praise..This site is awesome, i have visited many different sleeve and general gastric bypass forums, but I find this to be the most active, most accurate and tremendous in its support of its member's. i hope to not only rely on some of that support but also give back where I can.

Thanks for reading all that and I am happy to be here.

~MojoCAMI

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Hi Everyone,

I just got my surgery date! I am scheduled for 11/6. I'm excited, nervous and scared all at the same time. I look forward to making some new friends as we all start this journey.

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Coming out of the shadows :)

Hi - MojoCAMI here..

So I think I am going to be a November Sleever as I had my final decision appointment with my Surgeon yesterday, who gave me the all clear and stated i should hear from her scheduler in 24-48hrs. She also mentioned they usually schedule 1 month out from final decision.

So for those who choose to read more I shall detail my journey thus far (not my whole life, Just the last 10-12 months) :)

After finally making the personal decision to seek surgical support for weight loss, I only knew of 2 types Gastric bypass and that fill tube thingy they put around your stomach. I have seen folks at my job go through full gastric bypass and loose weight and some only lost a quarter of there weight and they are grumpy..

I have read far to many lapband forums (fill tube thingy) that ended in multiple trips to the doctor for more saline or 2nd surgery due to the band slipping off the stomach.. (noooo sir not for me)..

so when I heard about the sleeve, saw some videos, did my research, chatted with actual people in person who had the procedure, i am now on the train to be sleeved.

Why has it taken this long since first seeing my surgeon in October 2014? Well due to may weight at the time being 430lbs+ my insurance did not require the 6x medical weight loss visits, they wanted to fast track me, but i opted instead for the visits before going straight under the knife..Strangely all the staff asked why I wanted to do the visits vs jumping to surgery and my response was, surgery is here to help me, but I first must prove I can help myself.

So once a month for 6 months i saw my wonderful Physician Assistant who threw tons of info at me from types of Protein poweders, to nutritional guides, free classes and most all, shared her struggle and connected with me as a person first, patient 2nd..

After the 6th visit I said I was ready for the surgery, i had gotten my weight down to 389lbs. they gave me all these labs to get drawn, i was feeling great about the decision, i proved I can loose weight on my own...and then about 2months later i came back for follow up on the labs and my weight went from 389lbs to 406 (stopped working the food plan).. Surgeon then stated I need to be at 397 to proceeded..I mentally plummeted, and my weight went from 406 to 412lb.. had a few primary care routine visits, weight went from 412 to 419lbs.. i was able to stop the hemorrhaging at 422lbs, but now I needed to loose at least 23lbs before i could move forward.

Geeze...so i cancelled my next 2-3 visits and i told them i would not be back until I dropped this weight..that was in July 2015. I then started a mission- Breakfast and lunch = Protein shake, then dinner and a shot of vodka :).. by September 1st I got to 410lb and by end of September I was 399.. visited my surgeon's Physician Assistant Sept 24th, and was cleared to proceed.. I got high-fives and way to go from all the staff who thought I would give up due to the weight gain.

so now i sit at 397, waiting for the schedulers phone call to let me know when the 2 week pre-op will start, I am happy and mentally equipped for the days ahead.

now some praise..This site is awesome, i have visited many different sleeve and general gastric bypass forums, but I find this to be the most active, most accurate and tremendous in its support of its member's. i hope to not only rely on some of that support but also give back where I can.

Thanks for reading all that and I am happy to be here.

~MojoCAMI

Wow, what a ride! But there is no longer a 4 in front of your number!

And we are all in the same boat- waiting for that 1st number to change to a "1!!"

Congrats on how far you've come!

Hi Everyone,

I just got my surgery date! I am scheduled for 11/6. I'm excited, nervous and scared all at the same time. I look forward to making some new friends as we all start this journey.

Congrats!! It's coming soon for us all!

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Hi - I just got my date! November 10th - super excited and I can't wait to start the next phase of my life.

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There are a lot with date of Nov 10, me too, where are we all from, I am in Lafayette LA

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Dallas,TX for me.

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I'm in Manchester, NH.

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Hello Everyone my surgery date is Nov 20th I see the surgeon on Nov 5th that should be when I start my pre-op liquid diet. I live in Delaware.

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I'm in Southern Illinois and my date is Nov 3! My pre-op diet starts on the 21st. I canNOT wait, super excited!???? ????

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I would like to share age and stats which might help is relate to each others situations to those who are comfortable to share

I am 54, 4 ft 11 inches, yes I am a shortie , weight 200, have has weight issues since college days and need extra help to loose and maintain, health issues are creeping up which helped me make up my mind, I will also be having correction of a hiatal hernia during surgery. I ejoy reading and hearing from others. Thanks if you choose to share.

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Thank you!! I am looking forward to the process to come high's and low's

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