Shrinking_Lola

@ Judi- 4700.00 You spend 3 nights in the hotel and 2 in the hospital, ALL covered! Even your guest is covered for lodging, however if they want to eat and buy souvenirs they will need to spend their own money, OH and tips for the bell boys and the driver aren't covered so bring about $20 extra cash.

That's not silly at all!! I used to do the same things, so I've got a few cuties waiting for me in the closet :-) it's great goal setting material.

We got a treadmill, and today I had my first session, and it's also my 29th birthday! I burned 451 calories in an hour! I'm so stoked!!! I can't wait to continue working out in the mornings and seeing the inches melt off! Bonus, there is an ipod/mp3 jack and speakers so I can listen to my own music while I'm sweating away!! Makes it a billion times more effective! Lovin life, lovin my sleeve!!

Also paid $4700

I bought thru Southwest.com and only paid $98 each way flying from Salt Lake City to San Diego. I'm pretty sure there isn't any other airport they use, because your driver will pick you up and drive you across the border. Completely safe!!

Congrats on your August date Mantar!!! R4AC is a great company and Dr. Garcia is the best!! Alma is extremely helpful in answering all of your questions so if you have them, don't be afraid to ask her, I know I had a million and I went down there by myself, and had nothing but a wonderful experience!!

That is soooooooooooo awesome!!! Are they going thru the same Dr we had??!?

I was sleeved by Dr. Garcia in Mi Hospital, and I also had a wonderful experience!!! I agree with pp, except Samuel's driving isn't wild, he actually drives a lot better than the cab drivers, lol. It's a crazy experience how they drive in Mexico, so just be prepared for that aspect being different.

I went to Mexico alone, and I had a wonderful experience!!!

Dr Garcia and his team are MARVELOUS!! Best decision of my life!! I also had zero complications, I'm just over 2 months and have lost 42 lbs, that's not including pre op, just the sleeve on it's own. He is a very skilled doctor with wonderful bedside manner!! They really made me feel comfortable and secure in my decision and I would highly recommend anyone looking into the sleeve to go with Dr. Garcia and his ENTIRE team!!

In my honest opinion, it sounds like your husband loves you, so the loose skin is probably not something to worry about. You will definitely have to fight the fat girl mind set, I know I argue with her everyday!!! I don't expect my fit and handsome husband to understand my mental struggles from being over weight, he is supportive and wants me to be happy and healthy. So I leave it at that. When I had the surgery, my youngest daughter turned 3 months old and my oldest turned 15 months old, so I understand about having babies at home. However, and this is just my opinion, but over the years I've found men aren't planners as we are, even when we worry about things in the future, nearly every man I've met takes it as it comes. Not saying they don't worry about things but they are better at compartmentalizing things (like the post office boxes, all neat and in rows for them to put things and close the door on them when they want) where as a woman's mind is like a bowl of spaghetti, and everything is constantly entwined, there is no door shutting with spaghetti!! lol. I know that all my endless blabbering on and on about being sleeved with my husband was getting on his nerves, I talked to him about it for nearly 2 years straight!!! I realized one afternoon that I even tho I had his support, his validation wasn't as important as my wholehearted decision to really do something for myself, which in turn would make me happier and more pleasant to be around, which benefited him and our marriage. He supported me in a silent kind of way, and it wasn't till after I came home from Mexico did he express how worried he was about me but he wasn't going to tell me because he wanted me to feel like I had someone to hold onto when I was freaking out and having second thoughts. He was my rock, and it really helped. It's hard to explain to someone when they don't know the struggles of food, over eating and how exercise is hard when your already over weight. Being sleeved to me isn't a crutch, it's a tool that's forced me to re-evaluate the way I've been living and change my life. It's not a solution, because you still have to fight to change your old behaviors and reteach yourself how to eat, and what to eat and warding off the never ending fat girl sitting on your shoulder taunting you with poor decisions. For as many years as you've abused yourself, it will take you twice as long to repair the mental and emotional damage, even after you've lost weight. I don't mean this in a bad way, because God know's you and I are soooo much alike!! It sounds like a lot of your worry might be your own insecurities and probably without knowing it, your taking them out on your husband. Even if he was fully on board, which he probably is :-) you'd still think all these things and worry those worries. Men aren't perfect and they say things that hurt us without knowing the full extent of their comments, but really hun, it does sound like he loves you. Maybe just don't expect so much from him and he'll support you silently too :-) I should add, I have no family around me either, and I had almost nobody to talk to about my worries and concerns except for a few people I met in these room. Nobody in my family except my husband knows I even had the surgery because they were so negative, and I did feel alone until I met a few good women :-) If you ever want to talk about anything!! Just message me, because my sleeve sisters really eased a lot of my second guessing and fears when it came closer and closer. Plus you know what, nobody can help you out better than someone who's already been there, and I'm sure my friends were a lifesaver on my husband because he's totally lost when it comes to my fat girl struggles. Your worries are normal :-)

Have you looked into how many carbs your consuming?? When I'm in a stall, I cut my carbs down to 20 a day MAX and do that for a week or so, like a reboot!!

I had a couple issues when emailing my coordinator, I had 2 different email addresses from her and at first I was using the company email, than I switched to her personal email somewhere along the lines and she hadn't saved my email info so it was going into a junk file, and we got our communication crossed for about a week due to that little error of mine. I finally called her and asked if she'd been getting my emails and she hadn't been. OOPS! I'm glad you got a hold of her, as for the payment questions, I would just call and talk to her about that on the phone, seems a little more important to hear first hand rather than in an email?? Good luck with everything!! I hope you get it straightened out!

The doorman in the hotel had reduced wages like many of the states here in the US, so I always gave them a few dollars every time they came to my room, delivering broth and getting my bags. Dont worry about tipping for service, because they are so awesome, friendly and assertive. As for the walmart baggers, I gave her 5$ because she was so poor and had the worst teeth I've ever seen. I felt horrible for her and thats what I wanted to give, I probably would;ve given more but that was the only cash I had on me.

Advil and Ibuprofen help my cramps, but I don't really get them anymore. Also, I crave carbs like nobody's business before and two days into my period. I have to make myself drink lots of water (with crystal light) to stay "full" so I won't be as tempted to fill up on too much stuff.

If you have Kindle or anything like that, bring it, than you don't have to worry about the mostly Spanish channels :-)

I also had Dr Fernando Garcia, Everything VS-Fat-To-Fit-Girl said is true, except they do a leak test immediately after surgery (while your under) and two other leak tests while your recovering in the hospital. They give you a drink that tastes like liquid aspirin, followed by an immediate Catscan, than before you leave in the morning they have you drink a blue liquid that they look for in your drain bag. So a total of 3 leak tests. Amazing nurses, really caring and attentive, they speak english. My incisions healed up perfectly and quickly, I had them taken out my last day in the hospital before going back to the hotel. OH and also the Hotel has free wifi along with the hospital. I went by myself too, no support person and I was extremely comfortable and very well taken care of. I would recommend Dr. F. Garcia and his team to anyone and everyone!! Wonderful experience!!

I had sex with my hubby the day I got home from Mexico!!! Than he went back to work for a month and when he came home I was 30 lbs lighter and feeling a lot more confident in myself and YEAH!!! It was the best it's been in years!! Not that its been bad, but it went from good to great!! I can't wait for him to come home again!! With every pound I lose a little bit more confidence comes back, and I too can't wait till he can pick me up and try new positions!!!

For starters, I lost out on the 30lbs in 30 days goal... I was kind of bummed about it, but in the end, I'm still happy with my results. GOALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 199 by July 11th, 2013- I'm only 16lbs away from that right now!! 7-11 is my birthday and my husband will be home and I really want to make it as best as I can, even tho I know I'm doing really well on weight loss, I just want to make this goal!! 190 by August 15th, 2013- I'll finally just be OVERWEIGHT and not Obese!!! YAY!! It will put my BMI at 29.8 which is just over the cusp! I can't wait!! 180 or less by the last week of Sept, 2013- We're going down to California to let my grandparents meet their only great grand babies for the first time and I won't have seen them for 4 years, I did not tell them I got sleeved but I'd like my weight loss and size to be surprise for them when they see me, and depending on how that goes, I may or may not tell them about the surgery. 175 or less- I just want to weigh less than my husband!! LOL, I know it sounds cheesy, but I'm really looking forward to it!! 165 by Dec, 2013- I want to get family photos taken for Christmas cards and I would like to feel comfortable about myself in the pictures! 150-155- FINAL GOAL before Valentines day of 2014!!!! I have something special planned for my husband (wink, wink)

I was the last of 3 surgeries too!! My story is very similar to yours!! Except I have my gallbladder :-) I had such a positive experience! I'm glad to hear you did too and your recovering well!!!

For these reasons I didn't tell but 3 people and that doesn't include anyone in my family!! My husband was on board because he's wonderful!! Everyone else wasn't supportive when I was looking into the surgery a year ago and they must have forgot and I wasn't about to remind them. You can't convince people who don't want to see the truth!! For me, Mexico took way better care of me than any experience I've ever had in the states. They were extremely professional and clean. I would highly recommend my surgeon and hospital to ANYWAY considering getting sleeved, but when it comes to telling my family, I just didn't want the negativity and condescending remarks. Good luck with everything and remember, it's your life, and you decide who should know or not. You'll need support afterwards :-) Mexico is safe!!

WOW!! You look amazing!!! That's really fantastic that you have no restrictions on what types of food you can eat!!! I also believe and agree that for Sleeve patients, due to our tiny stomachs that a modified version of Atkins is the best way for us to eat!! I went with Dr. Garcia on April 29th, and I'm doing fantastic on my recovery as well!! A little concerned for hair loss, but I have a lot of hair and it's thick too, so they have to thin it out anyway, I'm sure it won't be that bad. As for the people who think the sleeve is a solution for being overweight, they have a lot to learn!! There will always be restriction in portion but that in no way is going to effect the choices they make. I can eat 3-4 oz at a time and mostly anything I want without complication but am I going to stuff my face with Oreo's?? NO! Absolutely not!! Sleeve is a tool, not a solution. A lot of us have to learn how to eat again, and that includes a high protein diet, and if you don't want to stall for very long or gain weight, common sense, stay away from empty carbs, if you want to poop regularly, eat more fiber!! Hence Atkins, low carb, high protein and high fiber. Sure its not for everyone, but for me it makes sense. Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox. I applaud you for realizing you've been slipping up and adjusting your diet to suit!! That's quite an accomplishment in itself!! Keep up the good work girl! You looking amazing and inspiring us!!