Andrea8967

Hi Look how much you've lost so far. You're doing so well! I think the problem is your head hasn't realized that you're losing weight yet. In a few more weeks you won't miss the food a bit. I promise you. Keep up the good work.

Hi! You have no idea how lucky you are that you were able to have this surgery at your age. I'm 58 and wasted many years being "fluffy". When you begin to lose weight and drop pant sizes, you won't miss the food at all. It is true that you can't sit and eat large quantities of food like you did post-surgery. However, you will now be eating a lot more frequently - just smaller quantities. You'll also be a lot more selective in what you decide to put in your mouth. Once your friends start to notice your weightloss-and more importantly-guys-you won't miss the food. I promise you. At your age it will literally fall off you. Listen to your stomach and stop eating when you sense you're full. Don't go overboard and you'll be at your goal weight before your 19th birthday. Good luck and keep us posted. We're rooting for you

Hey! I was just looking you up to see how you were doing and discovered you lost all your previous posts. I can't imagine how that could happen. Weird! Anyway, are you all better now? The last I had heard you had a bad infection. Hope everything is ok now and you're reaping the rewards of your surgery. Andrea

That's great news. Congratulations!

Congratulations.

Here's my two cents. Stop into a Weight Watchers meeting and ask the women how long they've been attending, how much weight they've lost and how much they've gained back. Most of these people are "lifers". They've been fooling around losing the same 15-20 lbs for years and paying hundreds of dollars in fees. I have been a WW for over 25 years and I've watched my weight steadily increase from 147 to 230. Nothing worked for me until I was sleeved. Everyone is kinda nervous at the beginning. I was most worried about never being able to eat a normal meal again. But the truth is - I'm eating all the time now that my stomach is smaller. I love it! Don't wait until you're 58 to do this. You have a wonderful opportunity to start over. Get as much info as you can and feel confident with your surgeon. Then you'll be able to make an intelligent decision. Good luck. We'll all be here for you thru the whole thing.

Damanda My husband came with me to the Florence Hospital and couldn't get comfortable in the bed they have for spouses/guests in each patients room. It's like sleeping on a brick. The lounge chair was only slightly better. If your husband has a back problem, I would suggest he stay at the hotel while you're in the hospital so at least he'll be comfortable. Two or three nights in the chair and he'll have to be admitted too!

I'm sorry - but I'd definitely find another surgeon. I have never heard of any other poster asking this question. I'd also be a little scared of having this particular doctor operate on me. He sounds very inexperienced. Just my opinion.

Hello Ladies - Boynton Beach here. I've been eating Nature Valley Oats 'n Honey Granola Bars and just love them. I get them at Costco - they come in a huge box that lasts about a month.

Hi I had my surgery on 1/18/12. About three months later my hair starting falling out. That lasted about a month and just stopped - finally. I'll admit it's quite a shock to see all that hair in the drain. But it does stop. I went to the salon and my hairdresser showed me a bunch of short hairs that were starting to come back. So don't worry. Whatever you lose will come back. And besides - it was worth it right??

Hi, Don't worry if no one says anything about your weight loss. You know how well you're doing - and that's all that matters. Some people mention it to me - and some people don't say a word. Sometimes people are afraid to say anything cause they're afraid they may insult you by even mentioning the word "weight". People aren't interested in you - they're interested in them. That's been my experience. Just keep plugging away. They'll notice soon enough!!

Hi Kat... Did the doctors in the ER here in the US put a name to this infection? Did they give you any indication of how you got it (unsterile instruments, etc) You'd probably be able to help many future self-pay patients by your horrible experience. Dr Garcia gave you two days of IV antibiotics right? I'm just trying to wrap my head around how this couldve happened. Did you see signs of the infection in Mexico before you went home? Sorry for all the questions. You got a raw deal and future patients might be able to learn from this. Dr Kelly gave us his cell phone number even before we arrived in Mexico. I texted him a few times post surgery and he actually initiated a couple of conversations. Maybe it would be a good idea - going forward - for all patients to have access to their doctors cells. I know your coordinator and had a very bad experience with her. I chose to go directly to the doctor without her. She's extremely untrustworthy and from personal experience - She's a liar. If she told you the doctor is aware of your infection - I wouldn't believe her unless you've spoken to the doctor personally. Not thru her. Personally. If you're 100 percent certain dr Garcia is aware of your problem and chose to ignore it you should tell everyone on this forum so future patients are made aware of his incompetence. I'm guessing you've only spoken to his coordinator. I truly mean no disrespect. I applaud your courage. I am just having difficulty understanding how a doctor in Mexico - who relies almost entirely on referrals - would choose to ignore an infection. Especially when you're on a forum with thousands of future patients reading this. I hope you don't think I'm rude or anything. Infections happen but the fact that you weren't taken care of post-surgery is inexcusable.

Hi Everyone, I was sleeved on Jan 18th and have lost 45 lbs so far. I'm taking it very slow so that I don't succumb to any old habits - like eating ice cream or cake etc. I was sleeved in Mexico with Dr Kelly and had a wonderful experience. I still have trouble gauging portion size. I try to stop eating the minute I feel the slightest bit full. It doesn't always work. So when I overdo it - I found that if I drink some hot tea immediately after it helps push the food out and I get relief almost immediately. I never drink liquids while eating because I read a post from another sleever who said he had lost and then regained over 100 lbs and blamed it on that. It expands your sleeve allowing us to pack in too much food. Sorry this is so long. I really only meant to mention the tea and then got carried away. Hope everyone is doing well today. Kat-hope you're better today. I feel so bad for you. Infections can happen anywhere. People in the states get them all the time so dont beat yourself up for going to Mexico. Alot of us had our surgery there and came home without an issue. The thing that most upsets me is the lack of response from your coordinator and the doctor. It's my guess that he wasn't made aware of the situation from the coordinator. Is that possible?

Hi. This may sound a little weird - but I found out the hard way that it works. One day at work I was drinking coffee when I thought it looked slightly frothy. I suddenly realized the coffee cup hadn't been rinsed well enough and there was a tad of dish detergent residue still in it. That sent me into the bathroom for quite some time. And as a result - I lost a pound!! When you're close by your own bathroom - try a tiny dot of dish washing liquid in your coffee. Im only suggesting a teeny dot I swear it'll clean you out. Or - have you tried Activia?? Two containers of that and you'll be smiling again. Please don't think I'm weird suggesting the detergent. I found out purely by accident. The only reason I'm even mentioning it is because your email sounds desperate. ESP since you mentioned going to the ER. GOOD LUCK.

Don't let the negative comments get to you. Mexico is completely safe. You're picked up by a member of the doctors team and driven over the border directly to the hospital. I arrived at 10:30 and had surgery at 3:30 that same day. You're in the hospital for about two more days where you're completely under the doctors supervision. Then you're once again driven, most times by the doctors wife, to a beautiful hotel where you're completely looked after. At no time did I ever feel in danger. The hotel staff were wonderful and extremely accommodating. They make their living by tourists - so they are very friendly. Quick story - I decided to give up caffeine while I was in MX so I switched to tea. I was served a delicious peach tea one day during lunch. I forgot to ask the name of it prior to leaving. After my return to Florida the hotel emailed me a questionnaire regarding our stay. At the bottom was the name of the hotel manager. I emailed him and asked him if he was able to find out the name of the peach tea for me. 15 minutes later I received a response. That's how nice the hotel staff are. On the day of departure you're met by your driver at a predetermined time right in front of your hotel. Then you're driven directly to the airport. What's not safe about that? Some people feel up to walking around downtown a day or two after their surgery. I chose to stay in the hotel and just watch movies on tv. I was so happy to finally get my sleeve that all I wanted to do was rest up and not be uncomfortable on the plane ride home. It turned out to be a very unevenful trip home. All but the food court in the Houston airport. Beware: the food in that airport was awesome. What a selection! Not your typical airport crap. I couldn't eat one thing. But that was ok. I had my G2 Gatorade. So the bottom line is - there's absolutely nothing to worry about in Mexico. Hope this helps.

Ok-that makes complete sense. The real issue I had with using a coordinator was MY coordinator. She was nutty and, in my opinion, unethical. That being said, and knowing what I know now, I think it's just a personal choice that each person traveling to Mexico must decide for herself. I went without one and another girl having surgery the same day as me did use one. We both had the same good experience with Dr Kelly. The coordinator is a "go to" person. There are alot of questions that pop up from patients prior to surgery and if having a coordinator makes the trip easier - then I'm all for using one.

Hey! Congratulations. Please give my regards to Dr Kelly. I was there jan 18th. And loved the entire experience. Good luck and keep us posted on your recovery.

Funny you should ask that. I was just tying to remember. It was Sandy. I'm just going to throw one more thing out there and then I'm gonna shut up about this. In my opinion - the "coordinators" job is to secure patients for the doctor , collect funds and answer questions Based on what I've seen on this and two other websites, these coordinators do not have medical backgrounds. They run websites. They are there to attract and schedule patients for doctors in Mexico. Like I mentioned earlier - I don't think they even live there. When Dr Kelly was trying to end his relationship with Sandy she sent me emails of him begging her to let him have his name back so he wouldn't be tied to her for the rest of his life. If you google Ramos Kelly - you get a lighter me website. That's sandy - not him. People who have used Dr Garcia really like him. I'm sure he's very competent. People love dr Almanza too. I just personally thought he performed too many surgeries in one day and I wanted a hospital.

I was travelling yesterday and didn't see your question until just now. Sorry. When I first scheduled my surgery with dr Kelly's coordinator I was quoted 5700.00 too. She asked me to make out two checks. One for her and one for the doctor. After he severed his relationship with her Dr Kelly still charged me about the same. I can't believe he was performing this surgery all along for only 2500.00. Can you imagine? So now I guess he gets to keep it all. As it should be.

Hi. I just re-read my post and I agree- it does seem a tad harsh. Sorry. But here's why I said what I said. I had booked my surgery thru A LIGHTER ME with one of Dr Kelly's coordinators. I forgot her name. She asked me to bring two checks with me to Mexico. 2500 made out to her company and 2700.00 to the doctor. About a week before my surgery she called me and tried to get me to switch to Dr Garcia - who I hadn't heard of at that point. She went into some long story about how she didn't feel comfortable referring people to Kelly any more. Turns out they had severed their relationship so she wanted me to use her new Dr. The main reason I didn't feel I needed a coordinator is this: the coordinator lives in Califormia and doesn't come to the hospital to visit you. She only phones you At least mine didn't. Dr Kelly used a girl named Trish a while back and she did live in mexico. But she was the only one I saw when I was there. Bottom line is- you should use who you feel comfortable with. If your coordinator is answering all your questions in a timely manner and is doing her job then that's all that counts. So I apologize if I came across as harsh. I didn't mean to. Having been to Mexico myself and having dealt with a couple of coordinators from Dr Almanza and Dr Kelly I came to the conclusion that although they were nice and friendly - its the doctor who matters. I was only interested in what his previous patients had to say about him. I know dr Kelly and his wife take his patients out to dinner sometimes after the surgery. I think that's very nice of them. I do. But all I wanted was an uneventful surgery. I still text my doctor from time to time when I have a question. And he responds almost immediately. Imagine doing that with a surgeon in the US?

I was sleeved by Dr Kelly on Jan 18th and didn't use a coordinator. Personally, I don't understand why one is necessary. You can ask Dr Kelly any questions you have directly by texting him. He responds in a matter of minutes. You're going to Mexico to have surgery, not sight-see. Some coordinators take the patients around nearby shopping areas to pick up souvenirs. Really? You can't live without that for two days? The coordinators take roughly half of the doctors fee. That's insane. No wonder Dr Kelly didn't need one anymore. He was a very caring, qualified surgeon. I'm very happy I chose him.

Personally - I don't see anything wrong with this child having the surgery. Look how it's improved the quality of our lives. Look how long most of us have suffered as fat teens and obese adults. Wouldn't you have been a much happier person if you were able to live your entire youth as a thin, healthy person? I wasted years and years trying to diet. My marriage suffered and so did I. My husband just loves the new me- and so do I. I love getting dressed in the morning and wearing beautiful clothes instead of the "clown" pants I used to wear. Why should this child suffer in a fat body when this surgery is a lifesaver? I just don't think it's as drastic as some people do. How would your life have changed had you been able to have this life changing surgery in your twenties instead of your forties or fifties? I say good luck to her and I applaud her courage.

We were just kidding you. Hope you're not mad.

" I don't mean to poke fun when you are in a fragile state, but you have to get some bonus points for the most creative spelling of diarrhea EVAH! " I was just thinking the same thing.

I was able to drive two days after my surgery. I went back to work one week later. I had no problems at all.