Chezaraeh

You can always go through BeLite Weight, but their surgeries are scheduled in Mexico. Thousands of people have done it and if you are self pay, its about $7800 total, or if you just finance through them its $3500 down and $200 a month for 24 months. I had my surgery last month with them and everything was great!

Good luck! If you are strong enough to quit smoking after all that time, then you are strong enough to tough out the liquid diet. The only advice I can give you is check out Special K Protein Packets. You can dump 1 into a bottle of water and its 5g of protein. The Pink Lemondade is the best with a lil packet of Stevia to go with it!

PdxMan, lol that is funny what you said about watching people. I constantly think people are watching me when I am at a buffet with my husband. I think they are more shocked that my husband goes back 4-5 times and I can't even finish what is all on my 1st plate...and this was BEFORE my surgery! My husband is a toothpick with a high metabolism...so jealous since I love chinese food.

Here is exactly what I took: Pajamas A pair of socks (to go home in) A pair of undies (to go home in) Toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, wet wipes: all trial size) Cell Phone and Charger A Book I was going by bus and I didn't want a lot of luggage so I shoved everything into my backpack. You really don't need anything else than what I listed and you really don't need a book lol You can go home in what you wear to the hospital as long as you don't sweat a lot and take it easy. Unless you plan on sight seeing when you get there, don't bother. Once you are in the hospital, you will most likely spend the whole time in a hospital gown or your pajamas.

Congratulations!

I feel sad for people, but not guilty. Everyone makes their own choices in life and you can't save the world. We can however feel empathetic for others like us and attempt to help them, but in the end, they will have to want to help themselves as much as we did and we can't let that sadness hold us back. Although sadness totally went out the window this afternoon and was replaced with anger. Extreme raging anger when I was at my doctors office getting a check up and this obese woman came in and plopped down beside me and her obese daughter, a 4 year old that looked to be about 150lbs sat beside her. The woman pulled a Dairy Queen sack out of her purse and gave it to the little girl who reached in and started pulling out french fries and cramming them into her face! I was absolutely LIVID! I had ask the nurse at the desk for a cup of ice Water and to sit in the back waiting room.

Sorry everyone, I haven't checked this forum as often as I should have. Since coming back I have been swamped by people on facebook asking questions lol here are the answers to your questions you asked Robbdtn... I have not heard of anyone have a bad or negative experience at anytime down there in Juarez and I have talked to A LOT of people. I even talked to a lady that went their the week after I cam home and talked her through every experience she had. She had lots of pain (more than I had) but we never could figure out why. The pre-op diet I was on lasted for 2 weeks. I started 3 days early just to give myself a chance to get used to it in case I slipped up. I thought I would totally blow it, but I never did. Come to find out, even if you do mess up on the diet, the Dr. Rod will still go ahead with the surgery. I was told by my facilitator that they have never turned anyone away, pre-op diet or not. The diet is just to help shrink your liver so there is less bleeding, but they are experienced enough to deal with a fatty bleeding liver though. Try to stick to the diet as best as possible though, the pre-op diet is easy peasy anyway, just gotta set your mind to do it. Lots of Water, lots of meat. That's about it lol if you love steak, it's the best diet ever! After surgery, I got nauseous twice in the hospital but as long as you keep a cottonball soaked in rubbing alcohol nearby to sniff when your mouth waters, you'll be fine. As far as pain goes. It was absolutely manageable with pain medicine. Even if you don't feel pain, if the nurses offer it...take it. Better safe than sorry lol as soon as you can stand up and walk, WALK. They want you to walk twice and hour, but I walked once ever few hours because I liked sleeping more. The breathing treatments hurt at first, but you have to keep blowing that damn tiny tuba until your diaphragm resets itself. But honestly, for me....at no point in time was the pain unbearable. Towards the end, the only pain I really complained about was my headache from sleeping too much. I am a full time student and don't work, but I returned to class exactly 5 days after surgery (3 days home) and just took it easy and wore loose fitting clothes and kept a small pillow with me for my back. Today marks 3 weeks after my surgery and I have lost 22 pounds since then. It's not a whole lot, but in the past 3 weeks my double chin is now gone. I have not been doing any exercising other than a few minutes of walking a day. My clothes are more loose and I can see considerable shrinkage all over. Remember, with all the Protein we take in, we are building muscle right now so weight loss might be slow, but we are still losing inches! The only thing I would do differently is packed lighter and not taken a bus across Texas LOL. All you really need to pack is pajamas, toiletries, cell phone/charger. You can go home in the clothes you came in as long as you don't sweat profusely! If you need anything else, feel free to message me directly Lastly, Mattr2...cute profile pic

I wish I could have shopped there, but they never carried my size. Now that I will be able to wear those sizes soon, I figure why bother buying anything that expensive when a few weeks later it will just be too baggy lol Torrid is where I still plan to shop though, kinda affordable and still trendy!

It does suck, I was complaining earlier about having to be on clear liquids for just 3 more days lol I feel your pain. Luckily there is a lot of support here for you...and me too! Just stay focused on what you have to do and remember the benefit of sticking to it when you get to feeling anxious and want to cheat

thank you everyone so much for the advice. My problem with broth is not that it won't stay down, the problem is I gag at the taste and smell of it. I will try that Knorr Homestyle starters though since I cook with them on occasion. Maybe it is just because my mother in law bought cheap off brand stock lol I tried a little bit of canned tuna for dinner tonight and only got about 2 tablespoons in me before I stopped. It didn't hurt and I chewed to pureed consistency, but I know I am not ready to give up on the liquids yet. I am gonna go hunting tomorrow for some different products and do everything in my power to keep trying. If anything, going to cream soups a few days ahead won't kill me as long as I strain it, but definitely not ready to quit and go straight to pureed. Thanks again everyone for the support!

I just got sleeved Sept 25th and made it home 2 days ago. I am on a clear liquid diet and the only thing I can tolerate is nectar Protein powders, Water, and sugar free Popsicles. All broths make me nauseous. I could eat it before surgery, but the day after I couldn't anymore. I know I should follow the surgeons strict guidelines for eating over the next few weeks, but I am worried that I am not going to get enough protein this first week. My willpower is getting pretty shaky and if I could just make it to Tuesday, then I can have cream Soups, milk, and yogurt. I guess the question I am asking is honestly, how soon can I start that next phase? Do I really need to wait a full week? I haven't had a problem so far with getting water and the Nectar down. I sip slowly and my medicines are staying down too. I just hate the thought of 4 more days of just that since I can't tolerate the broth. Did anyone else start the full liquid diet a few days early and without hindering weight loss?

I am so excited I can't wait and I am not sure if I am going to be able to sleep tonight. I am going alone, and that is how I want it. Just peace and quiet and recovery! Anyone else going to be in Juarez this week?

I am using my financial aid money from school. I went back to school this semester and took advantage of every loan/grant they would give me. Total of $7600. After class fees and books, that let me with $5600. So I took $3500 and am using it as my down payment to have surgery through Belite Weight. I leave this Sunday!

Thank you everyone, I really appreciate it