brandynd

Or everybody could come to Omaha in June for the CWS and the biggest party of the year....just sayin' (I'm kidding, I'm kidding, nobody would INTENTIONALLY schedule a meetup in Omaha). I do love those baseball boys..specifically their tight pants. But does anybody have any feelings about the Ozarks/Okoboji? Before you start the "Middle of the country....BORING" thoughts, I will assure you both spots are actually alot of fun! It is in the middle of the country (making it closer for both coasts), and boating, barbeque, and bars (not to mention the kickin' Coach outlet) could be fun. But of everything mentioned, Florida gets this girls vote....I am for snorkel! Also, whenever everyone agrees on a locale let me know! I work for a hotel chain (we're not the Ritz, but our rooms are clean and spacious), so I'm sure I could negotiate a heck of a group discount! Ah, the perks of the tourism industry! I'm just loads of random ideas this evening....probably because I've been stuck inside all day...we're getting our first "real" snow of the winter, and it shut my city down! But, if I need to put my corporate contacts to work to make this happen for everyone, let me know!

My flights are going to be terrible. I'm flying from Omaha, and there is no direct flight into SAN from here, so I have a layover in Denver that's about an hour long. Definitely scared about making it from one gate to another in that time period, as well as being in pain trying to board. I decided not to spring for first class tickets. I really thought about it, but I can't justify an extra $2,000 for a relatively short flight. Don't worry too much about your passport! They've been arriving relatively quickly (at least in the states). I'm sure it'll come on time and everything will work out, but I do get how that could be stressful for you. I'm wondering if maybe I should switch my flight to come home on March 1st instead of the 28th...maybe that extra day of recovery would make a difference. I don't know. It's not like it would cost me anything extra....I work for a hotel chain, so I get free nights, and I'm willing to bet our San Diego property would let me use an extra one out there. Hmm...I'm going to have to find someone who's had the surgery in Mexico and see what they'd recommend.

I've become somewhat of a "youtube stalker" for VSG patients. I swear it's not as creepy as it sounds. I've just found that whenever I'm lacking confidence about my upcoming surgery it helps to watch other people who have been there!" One of my favorites is Maryposa1978. She's been really informative and updates every week as well. I recently started my pre-op blog, but I really feel self conscious because my face looks so fat in my laptops webcam...lol.

Ridiculously nervous, but definitely excited. My mom is 5 years out from her RNY, so she's been really supportive about everything. So excited to get down there and get it done. It sounds ridiculous, but at this point my biggest concern is waking up with a catheter still in! lol... I'm also hoping that my flights are booked correctly. As I understand we'll spend 1 night in the hospital and 2 in the recovery house. I used that as my gauge and booked our flight back home on the 28th. Is that what you did as well?

Awesome! I'm so glad I won't be the only one there! I think I'm flying into SAN on the 24th....mom and I are going to hit the San Diego zoo....kinda like my "last hurrah" before I go under the knife! Are you so excited to get down there??

@Dawn-isn't it crazy? Never thought something like that could happen here. More violence in the news today...shooting at a gas station in the western part of the city just a couple miles from my house. Scary. Police say it wasn't over money either....how nuts that all of this is happening at once here. There go our low violent crime rates.

Just having a sad day today. My city made national news today because of a school shooting. Today it was at my former high school. This is the second time in three years that we've made the news because of very public, very violent occurences. My city is (and I know this point is arguable) the best city in the world. It's usually so safe, and I'd feel comfortable pretty much ANYWHERE here walking by myself at night. Today a kid killed one school administrator and seriously injured another before taking his own life. I'm not sure why I'm so upset, it isn't like I was there, nor did I know the suspect or either of the two victims, but it just makes me so sad to hear about the things that are going on in the world around me. I don't know....just needed to vent a bit I guess. I don't know if any of you are even remotely religious, but if you are, please say a prayer for all of those poor students who had to witness this, as well as the families of the victims and of the shooter. Just a sad, sad day here in the midwest. Nobody ever thought anything like this could happen here, and now it's like Columbine in my own backyard. What in Gods name is happening to the youth of our nation, and in our school systems?

February 25 with Dr. Jose Rodriguez in TJ! Woo hoo!!

I feel your pain my dear. I'm still trying to kick the habit before surgery in February. Successfully went smoke free for a month and then picked up a pack at a family Christmas party. I actually went and picked up an E-cigarette called New 1's....something to that effect for like $10 at a gas station. It's helped a great deal, and hopefully I'll be able to put that down soon too! Best of luck, and if all else fails try using a cross over addiction. Every time you feel like you need a cigarette you could go for a short little walk or pop a tic tac or something. For me it's not about the nicotine it's the act of smoking itself. I hope this helps!

I've never been too concerned about the number on the scale. I've always been on the heavier side, but I guess I carry my weight well? Throughout college (up until my junior year) I weighed in at around 205 at 5'8" and wore size 11 in juniors with plenty of room to spare. I would, however, like to get down to a size 6/8. I don't know why, but for me this is the magic size. I just want to be able to go in and shop at Francesca's, Cache, and White House Black Market and fit into all of their cute clothes! That sounds so shallow, but I was always a bit of a "fashionista". I'm definitely looking forward to the weight loss process though; I have all of my cute clothes from my sorority days ( I'm only 22 and those clothes are still in style!)hanging up in my closet and just waiting for me! As soon as I can fit both butt cheeks into those size 11 pants I'll be in business! Ahhh!!! A month and a half until my surgery date, and I can hear my hollister denim and silver jeans calling out to me! You ladies make me so antsy...

Woo hoo!! 249 looks good on ya, sir!

I haven't had my surgery yet, but I actually lost a significant amount of weight after having my gallbladder removed. Granted, I cut out all greasy foods, but I lost almost 100 pounds after the removal simply by modifying my diet. Of course I've gained most of that back, but still. I wouldn't sweat it too much, since the surgery just takes out a good portion of your stomach. The gallbladder aids in digestion by housing bile that breaks foods down, and as long as you're following the post-op instructions on what you can and cannot eat, you won't be eating greasy foods or large quantities. Good luck, stop worrying, and we'll compare stories in a few months!

Today is your day! Congrats and check in with us when you're feeling up to it!

While I haven't gotten my sleeve yet, I did have to have my gallbladder removed some years ago due to gallstones. Just like the sleeve, doctors will utilize laprascopic procedures for this type of surgery as well. Here I am, 7 years out from that surgery, and I have ZERO scarring from the surgery. While I get why people would be so excited about having only one incision, I'm willing to bet the scars from having it done laprasopically will heal up just as nicely. Just sayin....for those of you not having the procedure done using the one incision approach, I wouldn't worry too much about scars.

So, it's official. My financing is secured, my plane tickets purchased, and my surgery scheduled for February 25 in Tijuana with Dr. Rodriguez. I'm now terrified. I know that everything is falling into place for a reason, and while I am excited about getting my life back, I'm scared to death. I guess it didn't really feel "real" until now. My mother (the type A nurse who is 5 years post-op from her RNY and looking FABULOUS) is coming down with me and has probably spent more hours researching the surgeon than I have (she's incredibly protective over who will be operating on "her baby"), and she's assured me that I'll be fine; but I still can't shake this fear. I don't even know what it is that I'm afraid of, because I'm not scared about the surgery itself I don't think. I've gone through abdominal surgery before, and came through it just fine. I guess part of it has to do with nerves about being operated on in a foreign country, not to mention the fact that I'm also a nervous flyer, so thinking about the trip out isn't the most comforting thing for me either. Ugh....I'm just frustrated with myself. I believe in wls, because I've seen first hand what a great tool it is to help people get their lives back, but my God I've never been so nervous for anything in my entire life. Sometimes I wish I just had a fast forward button for my life so I could skip ahead and make sure that everything turns out okay. Did anybody else experience some intense anxiety about their surgery? Hopefully feeling this way is normal and I'm not just freaking out..

By now you're sleeved and on your way! Congratulations! I just wanted to stop and wish you luck on a speedy recovery!

Oh thank God I'm not the only one! AutumnLily when are you scheduled and who are you using if you don't mind me asking? I'm really glad there's somebody else going around the time I am...now I have someone to be accountable to! Still terrified, but it's slowly getting better as I talk it out with people.

Congrats on successfully quitting! I don't think I could have a pack just sitting in my house....I don't trust myself. I am sad to say that Christmas week was a BAD week for this girl. I definitely smoked a cigarette on Christmas Eve, and I had half of a cigarette on Christmas, followed by two the day after . Feeling pretty guilty, but I'm not going to beat myself up about. Just going to hop back on the wagon and quit again!

So, I'm under 2 months from my scheduled surgery date and I opted to quit smoking. I want to scream at EVERYONE. Looking for a mentor who's been through this and lived to tell the tale....I feel like I'm losing it. Definitely turning into a withdrawal monster. Please help...not getting much support from friends at home. Brandy

February 25, in Tijuana with Dr. Rodriguez. So nervous!

So, long story short I was approved for in house financing through beliteweight. I contacted my coordinator after faxing in all of the documents they wanted (and they wanted EVERYTHING) to see if everything was in order, as I had faxed them in over a week prior and heard nothing from them. She sent me an email back saying that they got everything, and that everything was in order, but I needed to call this Jamie person in the finance department prior to booking my flight. This was last Friday morning, and I have called to reach this Jamie person several times a day since then and my calls have been unanswered/unreturned. Not only this, but today the phone only rings twice and goes to voicemail, which sounds like a cell phone voicemail(The person you are trying to reach is not available, please leave a message after the tone). Also, the number is not a 1-800, and I guess I'm just starting to worry since I've already given these people $500 of my money. I'm just hoping somebody has dealt with these people before and can give me some kind of an idea when to hear back from them, or if anybody has another number I can call. I'm incredibly frustrated and I don't want to blow up on my coordinator.

I'm doing it!!!! Almost a month since my last cigarette and I'm actually LOSING weight? What??? Had to bump my surgery date back to February 25, but you know what? Right now I could care less, because I am ROCKING my pre-surgery lifestyle changes! Thanks for all the support, love you ladies!

Hey everyone.... So, I made it through the night without any smokes...which is a big deal for me since one of my girl friends insisted I go out for a couple of drinks after I got off work at 11; and we ALL know that smoking goes so well with drinks! But, I managed to not smoke, even though by the time I was a few beers in I REALLY REALLY wanted to. Anyways, what else? Oh....woke up this morning (and please stop reading now if you're at all easily grossed out) had that gross mucusy cough crap. God I hope that goes away soon. I hate the....I wouldn't call it difficulty breathing, but definitely a weird feeling in my lung area whenever I breathe deeply. I'm hoping that both of those will subside within a couple of weeks, or if nothing else, at least improve. This journey has already been just such a rough one for me, but my little theory that I'm working right now is that if I can quit smoking and do it successfully, then I can do anything. I can work my sleeve if I can quit smoking...because I know this is the toughest thing I will ever do FOR myself. I'm not sure if that makes sense or if it just sounds like drivel. Still tired, didn't sleep well last night because of the super fun nicotene withdrawal. On the bright side, I'm actually starting to crave crappy food less. Not sure if that's due to the nicotene starting to clear out of my system or if I'm just starting to subconsciously prepare for the surgery. But, in any case, I lost 4 pounds this week which is AWESOME! Not too bad for a holiday week if you ask me... Anyways, if there's anybody else who's trying to/has quit, please feel free to message me or text/whatever... I'd love to talk with you. So....there's my day 3 update. Overall a rouch one, but pretty productive as well. I finished crocheting another scarf. Feel like I'm getting carpal tunnel. The end. <3, B.

47 hours in and I would kill for a cigarette...quit cold turkey and in the past 2 days I've crocheted 3 scarves in an attempt to keep myslef busy. I crochert at work; at home, on the stationary bike, everywhere....all its doing is making me hate to crochet even more. Feel like I'm 22 going on 70. All of my friends are telling me I can't do it, and are totally against the surgery and ibthink I might lose it.

Hey everyone....tentatively scheduled for January 21 with Dr. Rodriguez in TJ. As long as I can come up with the last $3500 I need I'm in business! Getting really nervous and excited and terrified! Most of my friends haven't been too supportive of my decision, so as the time gets nearer I'm finding myself without anybody to talk to about things. Hopefully we can all help each other out as we get ready to embark on this journey together! I guess I'm mostly worried about the protien diet for the last 2 weeks before surgery....I'm not much of a protien girl and I do LOVE my carbs....but I'm so ready to let them go at the same time if that makes sense...