907city2farmgrl

How exciting for you! I booked with her as well. I just moved my date up to August 30th! So excited and nervous. I'm starting with BL/BA. I don't heal the fastest so I want to see how I do with the healing and scarring before I move on to the Royal lower body lift. I'm so tempted to start with the RBL, she does such good work!

My quote did include the recovery house with meals, compression garments, post-op medications. My quote for her Royal lower body lift was actually less than $10,500 you saw on her site. Other than those details, I didn't look too closely at that quote since I'm not ready for a tummy tuck just yet. The quotes are only good for 6 months so I'll have to get another from her when I'm ready for that stage.

@coldsleeve How is your recovery coming along? I hope you are happy with your results. I've narrowed down my list to Dr. Carmina Cardenas and Dr. Irving Rodriguez for breast lift with augmentation now and CTT with fat transfer next year. Honestly Dr. Cardenas is probably the #1 contender but she is the highest priced of all the surgeons I consulted so it's making me pause just a bit. Would you still recommend her?

I am this.close to booking my date with Dr. Cardenas for a breast lift. Her quote was by far the highest I received from the Tijuana based surgeons but based on some of the after pics I've seen (yours included!) I think her prices are justified. Thanks for sharing your experience!

My favorites are Syntrax Nectar Sweets chocolate truffle and vanilla bean torte. The chocolate truffle is definitely tastier on its own but I use the vanilla bean as a base for other shakes such as a strawberry chocolate with frozen strawberries and cocoa powder, also some frozen riced cauliflower adds additional sweetness.

Wednesdays meals Breakfast: chicken cauliflower fried rice Lunch: Ham and turkey rolls with light cream cheese and zesty pickle spears Snack 1: Chobani greek yogurt and pink lady apple Snack 2: guacamole 100 calorie pack and beanitos black bean chips. Dinner: Syntrax chocolate truffle shake with collagen, fairlife fat free milk and 1/4 frozen riced cauliflower.

Tuesday meal plan Breakfast: deli ham and turkey rollups with romaine, tomato, light miracle whip and Hormel bacon bits Lunch: romaine lettuce, guacamole 100 cal cup, salsa, moose taco meat Dinner: chobani greek yogurt, planters cocktail peanuts 1 oz snack: Syntrax Nectar chocolate truffle protein shake with fairlife milk, collagen peptides

Monday Menu: Breakfast: Premier Protein Vanilla shake Lunch: moose meat and cauliflower rice with onions, garlic and spices Dinner: Syntrax Nectar chocolate truffle with fairlife milk, collagen peptides, unsweetened cocoa powder and frozen riced cauliflower. snack: ahem... 1 package raisinets

These are the meals I've packed: Breakfast: chicken cauliflower fried rice Lunch: Ham and turkey rolls with light cream cheese and zesty pickle spears Snack 1: Chobani greek yogurt and pink lady apple Snack 2: guacamole 100 calorie pack and beanitos black bean chips. Dinner: Syntrax Chocolate truffle shake with collagen, fairlife fat free milk and 1/4 frozen riced cauliflower

Congrats on your success!

I use zipfizz for my B12, caffeine and vitamin supplementation. It has an insane amount of B12 per tube, I think it's in the 40,000% range. I don't drink coffee anymore so I appreciate the caffeine and energy boost it provides..

I had VSG with Dr. Illan in January. I highly recommend Dr. Illan. There is a Gastric Sleeve Mexico forum. That forum has some reviews and discussions about searching out a reputable doc in Mexico.

Congratulation on your loss. How exciting to be at this point!

I too had wondered about the Ariel Center. I know Dr. Ortiz and the OCC is amazing so I assumed the Ariel Center would also be amazing. Bummer! @coldsleeve Did you have consultations with Dr. Campos or Dr. Cardena? I'm about 20lbs from goal and looking for referrals for implants and lift. Those two are on my list to contact along with Dr. Camacho Melo. I've heard good things about him from other sleevers in my surgeons fb support group.

I've noticed this too. Body composition changes differently with surgery than with typical weight loss methods that's for sure!

I wouldn't say I forgot but I did have a moment at post op week 4 or so when I was making my hubby dinner and I popped a pasta noodle in my mouth to see if it was al dente.. It was more of a mindless habit kind of thing. I was pretty irritated with myself for not being more aware.

My first interaction with BariatricPal Team MX was with Bill. He was very helpful and prompt in his replies. I originally wanted Single Incision Gastric Sleeve but Dr. Illan advised against it after reviewing my health questionnaire. I had consulted with, and been approved for Single Incision Sleeve with the two other surgeons, both of whom had the same information Dr. Illan had. I felt compelled to go with the doctor who took my health and recovery into consideration even if it meant booking me for a less expensive procedure. Decision made, I booked my surgery and was on my way to Tijuana less than 2 weeks later! Day 1. Stacy (also the nutritionist) picked us up at the San Diego airport the day of surgery and took us directly to the Oasis Hospital. After some quick introductions, my sleeve sister and I immediately began our admittance paperwork and testing. We were brought to our spacious private rooms where our bags were already waiting. The hospital staff and doctors came in and introduced themselves, and answered any questions I had. After all testing was complete, my husband and I passed the time until my surgery watching NFL playoffs on our iPad using the hospital supplied wifi. Yay for wifi! Surgery was quick and recovery for the most part was painless. The pains from the gas were a little uncomfortable but the staff has you walking as soon as you are able which helps to alleviate that discomfort. The nurses were very professional, attentive, and thorough in their care. The valets took great care of my husband and myself. They made sure he had food to eat and was comfortable. One even brought in a bag of coffee grounds so he could make my hubby the plain old black coffee he had requested in the middle of the night, seriously the valets are awesome. Day 2. The leak test was performed onsite which was a pleasant surprise as the other TJ surgeon I was considering took his patients to an alternate location to have that test performed. Stacy brought me a care package containing the Big Book on the Gastric Sleeve, the meal plan, and all the goodies needed for successful eating while at the hotel. Such a relief to not have to worry about what I should be eating or where to get it, although the valets would have made sure I had what I needed. Day 3. I was discharged from the hospital with all the necessary medications and transported to the Pueblo Amigo Hotel and Casino. The hotel suites are very nice and roomy, nicer and roomier than some of the boutique hotels I’ve stayed at in the states. There is a spa on site if you are interested in scheduling a facial or other spa services. The hotel staff is very customer oriented, we had a problem with our room that was QUICKLY handled by hotel maintenance. About an hour after checking in we met up with our valet for the day and another sleever for an afternoon of walking and shopping. We visited Revolution Avenue then caught a taxi to lunch, since we were both feeling pretty good we walked the 1.5 miles back to the hotel from the restaurant. It felt good to be out and about. We opted to leave a day earlier than planned. Bill was amazingly helpful working to change our transportation so we could return to San Diego immediately after the Doctor had visited me at the hotel and cleared me to go home. Henry was waiting to take us to the airport. I'm two weeks post-op and down 13 lbs. Dr. Illan, Bill, and Stacy have all been wonderfully responsive to the questions I’ve had regarding diet, aftercare, and medications. The private facebook groups have proven to be extremely helpful and a quick way to get questions answered and connect with other patients of Dr. Illan. I’m very happy I chose Dr. Illan and BariatricPal Team MX for my gastric sleeve surgery. Dr. Illan is a caring, competent surgeon with a great team who are there to support you at every step of your weight loss journey!

Feel free to message me. I would be happy to answer your questions.

Congrats on your surgery! I had surgery with Dr. Illan last month. My incisions are all in a row below my rib cage. I don't know if everyone's incisions are different but my highest incision is about 4-5 inches below the band of my bra.

My PCP was willing to do follow up care and blood work. My insurance wouldn't cover my WLS but they would cover any blood work or emergency needs that may arise.

I've been following the forum for several months now but only recently decided to take the plunge and contact some doctors. My research and these forums have led me to Dr. Ariel Ortiz, Dr. Fernando Garcia and Dr. Jalil Illan. I'm hoping to have single incision Gastric Sleeve this month. Has anyone opted for the single incision gastric sleeve?

@@Bill Yanez I submitted a request for more information from BariatricPal Team MX as well as the health questionnaire. I will give you a call later. I'm hoping to make a decision and get something scheduled soonish. Thank you!

Thank you for the replies! @@MrsPenguin I posed the question because I hadn't read or watched a single testimonial from anyone who had single incision gastric sleeve. I was starting to wonder if there was a reason some avoided it. My BMI is also 34, I'm hoping I'm a good candidate for this procedure.