Kristina J.

I've had GERD (quite severely) for almost 10 years now, since being banded in 2003. Even with my band completely empty now, I still have symptoms that I have to control with a daily PPI. Had the band worked (well, worked without complications), it would be a fair trade. This info makes me feel better about it though! I know it's a toss up whether the sleeve will improve, aggregate or not effect my GERD at all. Hopefully it will actually help, but honestly, even if it got worse, I am in the habit of controlling it with medication and the effect my weight is having on my heart puts me at much higher risk of serious medical issues than GERD ever will. Thanks for posting!

Lol so exciting!!! I'm leaving in 16 days... Not that I'm counting lol I started a "packing list" over a month ago! lol I have to pack my daughters (almost 2 and 3 & 1/2) also, since they're going to stay with my family in San Diego while my husband comes down to Mexico with me. So I have 3 lists, one for the girls things, one for my and my husbands things, and a third for special surgery things (like medicine, heating pad, slippers, etc...). lol I'm just a *tad* excited to get down there and get this lap band out of me forever!! :-)

Everyone needs to do their research and it's wonderful we can share information, but to accuse a surgeon of being on drugs is shocking. I hope there is proof to go with that. Neither of these doctors are my surgeon, so I have no vested interest, but that accusation is a very strong one!

You actually "pay a deposit" when you stay at any hotel on the states, you just may not realize it. I was a manager at Marriott before leaving to have my kids. When you check in on a normal stay, your price may be $100 per night for 2 nights but your credit card is actually authorized for more like $250. It's for "incidentals" so that the hotel knows they have room to charge for any movies or room service ordered and in the case of Marriott, which has been smoke free since 2008, for possible smoking in the room. However, when you check out, the posted charges are only what you've actually spent. That deposit can be taken in cash as well, then refunded when you check out, same as in MX! Hope that helps!!

Yeah, I just ordered my sample pack from BJ's on Friday and it came Monday!! Really fast! I haven't tried them yet, but excited to see if I like them. The variety would be nice!!

Definitely, just PM with your email

Yeah, knowing that I had stomach/pouch dilation, my doc asked me to unfill at least 2 weeks before surgery, even though usually he does revision surgery without an unfill. I did 2 months to be safe, since when this all happened before, my lap band surgeon had me wait 3 months for it to heal before starting fills again. It's been hard without the help, but I actually managed to still lose another 12lbs in the last 6 weeks on my pre-pre-op diet since I can now eat all the healthy foods I had to avoid for so long so I wouldn't get stuck or puke!

I'm in a May 2013 sleeve group on FB! I don't know if it's the same one you're talking about or not, but if you wanna PM me your email, I can try and add you.

How excited I would be if he could use my pre-existing scars!!! Lol I have had way too many abdominal surgeries (lap band, removal, replacement, gallbladder, 2 c-sections and hysterectomy) in the last 10 years. So I have plenty of scars to choose from! Lol looks like a TJ knife fight on my tummy as-is, but would be nice to keep it at what it is, instead of adding more! Lol Oh well, I guess I'll find out in 18 days (not that I'm counting)!

No, I don't believe they do since I think the gallbladder scars are too high.

While I completely get what you're saying and that was even part of my reasoning for being so open about this with my family and friends, I do disagree with some of what you say. I couldn't handle looking at the friends and family I have dieted with for years and imply that I just managed to do it with diet and exercise. I wouldn't want them to feel that I succeeded where they continue to fail. However, these are people I know and have struggled with. I feel no obligation to be that for the world. If people question the weight I've lost (both previously with my band and again after my sleeve) I am honest, but I likely wouldn't bring it up my experience in a conversation with a stranger (fat or thin), unless the conversation was about weight loss surgery. But, I am a very open book an always have been. Hell, when people notice my recent 20lb drop, i tell them its because I'm preparing for surgery lol My sister on the other hand is very private and has told very few people about her lap band and she is far from ashamed or embarrassed about it. It's just the difference in how much we feel comfortable sharing with others about our lives. It's very personal and no one has to be a champion for every fatty out there. The same way every gay celebrity is somehow expected to storm Washington and the talk show circuit for equality. Some people just want to live their lives, privately and quietly. Not me... Lol but plenty of normal people!! Haha

Yeah, it really depends on what they mean by "excluded." For my insurance there is a contractual exclusion for bariatrics that states in no very clear terms that they will not cover bariatrics in any situation. So it's self pay for me! If they say that they could possibly approve it with letters and appeals then perhaps it's not a total exclusion! Good luck!!

Mine is with Dr. Garcia on a Saturday as well (May 11th) and if not for the girl I met here and her friend switching to my day so we could all go together, I would have been his only one too! I think it's a good thing!!

Lol I should have known you were behind this!!! Hahaha I'm not worried about it honestly, I just wasn't 100% sold on switching. I guess that made my choice pretty darn easy though, didn't it?!? lol But I'm sure it'll be just fine

May 11th with Dr. Garcia through Ready 4 A Change.

I was still not sure I wanted to change to Florence after being scheduled for Mi Doctor, but after speaking to Alma at R4AC it seems like Mi Doctor isn't an option anymore anyway. I was told "all surgeries have been moved to Florence." And then was told to fill out a new consent form with Florence Hospital indicated instead of Mi Doctor like my original. I think for the most part it's kinda a toss up. They both seem to have some pros and cons. So I guess Florence it is for me now too! lol

So many May 20th surgeries!! I keep seeing that date and it sticks out since it's my daughters second birthday! lol congrats to all of you!!!

I can't say enough how much I love the Light & Fit Greek by Dannon since my NUT turned me onto it! (People are going to start thinking I must have stock in the company lol) My only complaint is that they don't have a huge variety of flavors, but I like to get the vanilla and add some Mio, Dasani Drops (pineapple coconut is amazing in the vanilla) or Crystal light to it to get a bigger variety of flavors. Comparing labels, it has so much less sugar than the other Greeks and we all know yogurt is a secret source of a ton of sugar. But it also has less carbs and calories, with the same protein!! I'm attaching the two label comparisons I put up in my FB groups. It's quite a difference!

1st, just wanted to address that when the OP said she could possibly be at goal and maintaining in 8 months, she meant that she could have surgery now in Mexico and with that, be at goal in 8 months when the VA would finally get her scheduled. Not that she could do it on her own. That's how I read it anyway and I'm sure how she meant it. But I get the confusion Anyway, I'm with everyone else. I would definitely go with the VA. I'm going to MX but if I found out my ins would cover it at all, even with a 6-8 month wait, I would wait in a heartbeat. I think it would be best for you based on a couple of the big things that you mentioned yourself, like how you could finish school without the added stress and changes, and also that you worry about your savings and you're responsible for maintaining it. Can you justify spending $5k for something you could do for free less than a year from now? My insurance won't cover any bariatric but I scheduled my surgery 3 months out in MX so that I could have time to adjust to some new eating habits and try and get some weight off beforehand to be as prepared and safe as possible. Having been through WLS before, I know that the emotional/mental prep with food can be as important to success as the post op procedures. 3 months has now whittled down to 3 weeks. It's flown by. So will your time, especially since it sounds like you'll be pretty darn busy And I second another poster (sorry, on my phone so I can't check your name lol) about the cost of aftercare if something happened. I am gambling that things will go well. If not, I could end up with hundreds of thousands in hospital bills if I end up needing treatment for a complication. It's a calculated risk as I NEED to get healthy (currently have a BMI of 47) and my insurance won't even consider this surgery. But why take that risk if you can avoid it. Especially when you're already worrying about your savings and your husband's willingness to spend it (those roles are reversed in my house btw lol)? You're going to obviously need to go with what feels right, but I hear your post begging us to talk some sense into you!!! Good luck. Either way, you are on your way to a new healthier you!!!

And here I come in the 9th inning to throw my opinion in long past anyone's desire to hear it OP, even though I think you were unsubscribing, I am so sorry that you had a rough experience. And in some ways, probably a tougher experience in this thread! Lol I think people sharing a negative experience is important for all of us. Others sharing their experience, positive and negative, is the way that many of us (including me months ago) start deciding on a surgeon and coordinating company. I'm sorry for the negative reaction, it was not appropriate and unfair. But I also think its unfair for us to "attack the attacker" the way she was after her post as well. Did she go too far with the "shame on you" part of her comment? Totally, but she also acknowledged that later in the thread. It was a bit presumptuous to say that she knew why the OP wasn't called back, but I can at least understand why she did, IF she really believed that was what happened, and that it would help the OP to at least understand why she wasn't called back by that particular person. I am NOT defending what/how she said it. But, I think we all get a little defensive of Medical Tourism in general, and the company we are so happy with especially, so I do understand her motivation. I see the thought behind thinking she may be, but I don't believe she is an employee. I think she is defensive and reacted emotionally without realizing how it would be taken. Instead of having a civil conversation (like I think Amanda and Laura tried to do) with her, she was attacked right back, causing her to lash out as the thread went on instead of resolving the issues with her post and just comparing experiences, which would have actually been productive! We are all defensive of our experiences. Good or bad. They are our own and we want to share them and defend them. I remember a controversial thread started by Rollargirl (the troublemaker ) about medical tourism in India. As a patient of Indian medical tourism, I got very defensive when others bashed it without hesitation or experience. I was passionate about my positive experience and probably took it a little too far. Not THIS far lol but I at least understand the feeling. The OP was fair in how she shared her experience, the "attack poster" wasn't, but later acknowledged the worst part of her post, but the attacks to her continued. This is a great forum. Many people talk about the overwhelming bickering/negativity. I tend to disagree with that. Is there bickering? Yes. Are posts sometimes met with more negativity than needed? Sure. But I think it's a product of everyone being so passionate about this process. And for that, I am actually thankful. I know I'm dealing with people who care deeply about the topic at hand. And given time, 80% of those threads tend to find peace... It just may be 10 pages in