tonibugg

Hi All!! I am constantly looking for new friends on here that are going to be new sleevers in the DFW area so I thought I would see how this forum worked! Soooo... Here's the plan =) I would like to see if we can get a "support" group going on here so we can follow each other and be able to keep in touch on and off the board (unless you would only like to be contacted VSG board, just let us know!) I would like to maybe even get together as a group for lunch/dinner or whatever! I think that having a close knit "sleever family" (lol) would be so great to have =) Reply if interested and let's see what we can put together?!? Here is a little info about me!! My name is Toni (girl lol) Married for 24 years (love him <3 ) Have a 21 year old daughter who gave me a beautiful 17 month old grandson Logan I live in Oak Point Texas on 5 acres, LOVE the country although I am definitely not a country girl lol I manage several Physical Therapy clinics in Plano, Frisco and McKinney which allows me to work from home #blessed! 5'4" and 229lbs =( 41 years young! Due to an exclusion in my Aetna policy (grrr!) I will be having surgery in Juarez Mexico with Dr Rodriguez at the Star Medica Hospital on June 29th!!!! so excited! Some of my goals are: 1) sky dive! 2) zip line 3) hiking in North Carolina mountains! 4) Run with my grandson =) Look foward to meeting you all!!!

I actually went through a company called belite weight. The financed me with a down payment and my payments are very small, less than $200 per month. They have surgeons in the US and Mexico but I chose to go to Mexico with Dr Jose Rodriguez. I loved him! I have had no complications and the hospital was awesome. It was right down the street from the US Consulates office. Dr Rodriguez and his staff spoke great English and the hospital was amazing, more of a spa "ish" room than a hospital room. My husband, daughter, mom and her boyfriend all went with me or came to visit and had no problems either. Great experience all around =) Here is the link if you are interested.. http://www.beliteweight.com/ If you have any other questions or want my patient liaison's number just message me! Good luck!!

I was in a stall for almost 2 weeks and got very frustrated... after some research and talking with other sleevers I decided to up my calories. I went from 400-500 to 800-1000 and the stall was over within 2 days =) Evidently when you don't eat enough to cover what your body burns during the day your body goes into starvation mode so up the calories and it should end! hope that helps!!

I used Dr Rodriguez in Juarez at Star Medica. Star medica was a great hospital and they had an amazing staff who spoke English lol, as well. We were treated like royalty =) I had a great surgery and had no recovery problems at all. It was important for me to be able to stay in a hospital since I was in Mexico, just a preference in case any problems came up etc. Right down the street from the US consulate, English speaking staff, and a great surgeon with thousands of surgeries under his belt, it was just a great fit for me. I went through a company called Belight Weight and my co-ordinator was Jessica. I used them because they did in house financing for a little over half of the $6800 surgery fee. There are lots of great surgeons in Mexico so there are lots of choices but this is Jessica's # if you should want to check them out =) 503-539-3023 Good luck with your journey!!!

HI! I actually had ok credit with a few bumps but am self employed so I couldn't seem to get financed for the amount that was needed to do the surgery here in the US. I ended up using Belite Weight and they were able to get me financed with a down payment. They have several locations you can choose from but I actually chose to go to Juarez because of the hospital reviews and because I live in Texas. It saved on airfare etc. I had a great experience and loved the hospital, Dr Rodriguez and his team. My co-ordinator was Jessica and she can get you the info for financing etc if you are interested. Her phone # 503-539-3023. Good luck!

Wow!!! People are so rude on here sometimes!! So sorry RissyRoe that someone responded like that =( I am not on these boards too much any more because of the aggressive posts... I love the support this board brings but some of these aggressive posts make me just stick with my "secret fb page" =) If you're interested in joining it let me know! Don't get discouraged in that post, you will do fine! Like Paige said, focus on other things and sip your Water and eat your popsicles!! This too shall pass!!

WoW!! That is an amazing transformation! You go girl!!

I would check into Cobra and see if you could keep the insurance at least through the surgery. You don't have to purchase the insurance for the whole family, you can keep it just on you if you need to. Worth checking into anyway =)

Just saw it!! and responded!

No, haven't seen it... are we moving the location and the date or just the location?

I didn't want those things thank goodness but I would dwell on the more important consequence of causing a possible leak!! That was enough motivation for me to steer clear of any cravings I've had through my 5 weeks of post op! Just eat your sf popsicles and sip on your water and it should calm your new tummy down... sorry I can't give any better advice! The first 2 weeks for me were the absolute hardest!! Not being able to eat, the head hunger, the rumbly tummy AHHHH! So much more than what I anticipated! It gets soo much better when you can add some texture and consistency to your food choices. Good luck!!

Wow!! What an amazing story! Congratulations on the weight loss! Here's to our sleeves and the amazing journey they take us on =)

I had mine removed about 5 years ago and so glad I didn't have to deal with that post surgery... It's hard enough without that craziness! I had gallbladder attacks so bad I thought I was literally having a heart attack!! they hurt soooo bad!! Hope you can just get it removed and move on with your life =)

I just bought one and thought you could but I haven't figured it out. Mine will pick up the extra activity on my little flower and calories but I really don't think you can get the workout only unless you only use it during the workout... I love mine though!

The premier shakes from costco are good but only the chocolate IMHO =) However, if you have a Smoothie King around you can get the strawberry or vanilla Gladiator protein powder and it is amazing. Plus it has 45 grams of protein, 1 carb and 180 calories!! In the beginning of post op this was my protein savior. It is so hard to get in your protein during those 2 weeks after surgery..

I have not lost even an ounce since last Tuesday =( I know everyone says it will be ok, you'll lose but it is so frustrating!! I didn't pay all the money (self pay) and go through the emotional rollercoaster to stall for this long!! I know I will probably look back 6 months from now and laugh at myself for fussing but right now, at this moment in time, I am frustrated... Am I allowed that at least?

My incisions were dermabonded and stitched from the inside with the exception of where the drain was. I just kept band aids on them until they completely healed =) Hope that helps!

If they remove the staples your food would float around in there! LOL

? there are no staples to remove

I love the "easy way out" speech lol Oh if they only knew!! the preop and the first 2 weeks after surgery are anything but easy!!! We still have to diet and make the lifestyle changes that will lose the weight. BUT! The way I got my husband, daughter, mom and dad on board was to take them to a free seminar Dr Nicholson in Dallas was holding to discuss the pros & cons and the complications vs the benefits. He talked about the health problems associated with staying obese and how that was riskier than the surgery (especially the sleeve) ever thought about being. It was very eye opening for my whole family and they encouraged me from that day on! As a matter of fact, my mother is now scheduled for her sleeve surgery this winter! YAY!! What was that quote from "My Big Greek Wedding"? something like.. "He may be the head of this family but I'm the neck and can make the head turn whatever way I want!" LOL! Work your magic girl =) good luck!!

within 2 days.. didn't have a problem until 3 weeks post op when I started on mushies.. then NADA! lol My doc told me to take colace and within 2 hours my problem was solved =) It didn't make me cramp or anything, just got things moving smoothly! I take them every other day now to help things along!

No, I actually did not exercise during my preop. I had so much to do during the 2 week pre op with getting ready for surgery, taking care of family stuff, and taking care of business stuff, I simply had a hard time fitting it in.

I gained 4 lbs in the 3 days I was in the hospital and lost it the first week home..

I had surgery 6/29 and I did the Atkins diet for 2 weeks for my pre op diet (liver shrinking diet). I lost 19 lbs in that short amount of time! I couldn't believe it! You got this girl!

The pre-op diet, as hard as it seems, is so much easier than the 2 weeks after surgery!! At least you can eat normal portions lol The 2 weeks after surgery is such a mental game. You want to eat, you know you need to eat but YOU CAN'T!! Enjoy the pre op diet, don't fret over it too much, your life is about to change so much that when you look back at the pre op diet, is seems so much of a smaller problem than we all thought it was when we were going through it!!! Congratulations and good luck on your sleeve journey! It is a ride and I wouldn't change a thing =)