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YAYAYAY!!! Though the slim fast thing sounds like crap. I hate that stuff lol. Good luck and congrats!

I have been thinking heavily about this issue too! food is such a social thing. I love to go out to eat a good meal with hubby, friends and family. Hell I love to stay home and have a great meal alone! hehe I have just been trying to get it into my head that it will be less about quantity and more about quality. I can still have a few bites of my favorite foods..i just cant stuff myself into oblivion! Eat to live...don't live to eat maybe? Easier said then done though.

Yes, I am 33 and freaked out to tell my mama I am contemplating and pretty much have decided to have surgery in gasp :mexico:. She is an RN and has always been against any sort of surgery that is not a matter of necessity, but she will in the end be the person who will go with me to support me (noone can take care of me like her right? LOL) anyways I am going to tell her because my hubby will be unable to make the trip with me due to work and it will be easier with the children plus with her medical background I feel much more comfortable with her there with me. WISH ME LUCK and any advice is welcome.

Well Immore my BMI is considered obese. I like other people have struggled the last 7 years with my weight. My highest weight was 215 and I am 5' 3.5" I managed to lose about 35 pounds 4 years ago after I stopped taking some medication I was on when I initially gained the weight, but I am still 50 pounds over the weight I was at until I was 25. I also had two pregnancies where I gained around 60-65 with each of them and then lost pretty much every single pound after I gave birth. I was 22 and 24 years old with my pregnancies...just before I turned 26 I started gaining and hit the high point of 215 around the age of 28. I have yo yo dieted now for the last 7 years. I think my metabolism is pretty shot. I have tried every diet and excercise plan under the sun and I manage to lose about 15 pounds before I either stall or like any other person whether they are 270 pounds etc or 185 pounds I get so fed up that I fall off the wagon. It is equally hard for someone who is 50 pounds overweight as it is for someone who is 100 pounds or more over weight to lose it. Why don't people who are a hundred or more so pounds overweight just keep trying to lose...i mean can't they just do it? (being sarcastic Only difference is I would have to stay on the wagon for a shorter time then someone who is heavier. My fear and the fear with others who have a lower BMI is that I know if I wasn't constantly yoyo'ing to lose that 15-20 pounds only to gain it back and I would gain it back plus more. I have been heavier so I know my body is capable of it. If i just said the hell with it I could gain and gain and gain. Instead I torture myself with diets, diet pills etc. Why not be proactive and do it now before I have serious health issues. The sleeve has been shown to be effective for people with a lower starting BMI i think even more so then people with a higher one. I believe the percentage was 85% of excess weight was lost. I have no problem stating that at this point it is not a medical necessity for me and maybe it is cosmetic but people do lipo and breast implants for that reason too so why not do something that will make me feel better...solve the dieting issue and help me focus on me and more then likely stop me from ballooning to a higher weight where I would be even more super miserable. I think I have also stated before...who here that has a higher BMI wouldn't wish that they would have done it before they spent even more years being miserable and unhealthy. So I hope that shed's some light on why someone with a lower BMI would choose to have the surgery and also why the surgery has prooved to be successful and in no way any more harmful to someone of a lower BMI. Edit:: I hope this post doesn't sound too defensive...i really don't mean it to come off as such.

Great inspiration. Congrats on a job well done. I am showing this and several other before and afters to my mother tomorrow along with a video showing the VSG procedure just to give her an idea of what's going down. Thank you again.

Congrats! I had to take a minute and use the comp to convert KG's to pounds but that is impressive! Glad you are doing well and having success! For those of you who need it converted...14.4 kg is 31.75 pounds. YAY

For those who have been sleeved after your initial recovery from the surgery and subsequent weight loss did you start finding you had more energy for exercise or do you think just the motivation from knowing your going to lose finally give you that desire to start moving more. It's not that I am lazy by any means I go go go constantly. I just left my job of four years to help out my grandma (my grandpa died the day after christmas) and I am helping run her errands, my errands, cleaning her house, cleaning my house, doing her yard and doing my yard plus I have a hubby and two children. I just feel at this point like my efforts are futile I never seem to get lower then a certain point before I just say screw it and stop the routine. I can't stand walking on a treamill thinking of the million things I would rather be or should be doing. My doc thinks I am ADD. I think I am just a busy mom lol. So what I am really hoping that it will be like every time a start a new diet that i get that motivation and determination and since I hope to be seeing results it will keep me on the right track? Or am I just wishful thinking and the same work out demons that haunt me will be on my shoulder after surgery...please anyone good or bad let me know how it worked out for you.

I think that is the problem mostly...boredom. I was a high school athlete and played sports year round and loved it but of course playing a game and practicing is much more interteresting then standing and running on a treadmill or the eliptical. I come from an active outdoor type family. I love to be outside I just dont want to be indoors reading a meter on a machine. They had a Zumba presentation last year at a health fair through my job. It looked like fun. I actually think I would really like it. That is a great suggestion and I will give that hip hop abs video a try. I just bought the brazillian butt lift workout set from an infomercial and I gave it to my sister lol (that workout will kill a person . I am going to call and find out the Zumba info at the gym. I am also hoping that if a drop a few pounds it wont feel like I am pulling a trailer behind me while i try to run! LOL Thanks again!

I was reading a couple of threads about how the nurses don't wear sterile gloves while handling I'V's, wounds etc. Is that standard practice in Mexico?:smile:

Your welcome Pammy! I am glad it was a help. That is exactly how this whole forum has been to me so far...a good sound stepping stone.

Girldep your grandma sounds like a dish! I like her already Immore your correct I had hoped I was right about her. I guess I should trust my gut when it comes to my mom by this point in my life lol

UPDATE!!!!:::: My mom informed me today that she would accompany me to Mexico for my surgery! When I text my hubby and told him the good news all he said was...uhh i knew she would end up going lol. Today when i asked her if she found my birth certificate yet for my passport she said she hadn't looked yet and I teasingly asked her if she was dragging her feet on purpose and that I needed to get it asap (i asked her for it on Tuesday) so I can start the process for passport, that it would take 3-4 weeks. So she said how are you going to get there and I told her drive and she said how are you going to get back...i said uhh drive myself. She then said so if someone goes with you they will need a passport too right and I said .. ya? so she basically said she better look for her birth certificate while she was at it. YAY! She just said it was my deal and she would go there as support both emotional and physical! So we discussed how the process works with a chaperone coming to pick us up in San Diego and getting us to right place and yada yada. A weight has been lifted thanks for everyones support! Now to decide on a doctor.

Thank you all for your support and suggestions. I did tell her my plans on Tuesday ....while i was in her kitchen making jelly lol. I thought the atmosphere was nice and loose and it was time to go for it. Well, she put up the stone front almost immediately and said she would not be going with me or supporting the idea but she did say she knew I was an adult and able to make my own decisions and she wasn't going to be mad at me but she just couldn't give me her approval. I explained that medical tourism is done every day and that it wasn't like I was going to someone's kitchen table in TJ. That I had not chosen a doctor but I would be making sure it was a qualified individual and facility. I told her I was tired of dieting and losing the same 15-20 pounds over and over and that I can never get under 170 (sorry if that number seems like an acceptable weight to some people it just kills me) I am 5'3.5" and I weigh currently 184. My mother on the other hand is 5'8" and weighs 135 ...she runs full marathons at the age of 55. She said i need to stop dieting and make my habits a life change and I told her it isn't that easy that unless it is forced calorie restriction it is almost impossible for me to last by cutting my calories it is so mental when your hungry! I told her it would be the same for someone trying to stop smoking, if they could give them something that would take most of the desire for nicotine away more people could stop but the medicines just aren't that effective. it is the same for dieting. I could tell that the pain in my voice and the heartache I expressed about being self conscious of my weight and it ruling my life a lot of time really explained to her why I was considering it. I also broke down crying telling her I was a thin person for 25 years of my life...that I don't see myself in this body and I want out. So in the end I asked her to just pray about it and to consider it. I would like her to go with me but I will go alone. So she agreed to do that. I am going to gather some info from some of your suggestions and print it out. I am also going to explain about the chaperone they provide across the border etc. She is a good woman I know even if she can't justify it she wont hold it against me.

Exactly, my mother is an RN and when i hade surgery a couple of years ago she came over to do my dressing changes and she always put gloves on first.

I have been using this site along with lapbandtalk.com to help me research and try to decide who to go to in Mexico along with trying to decide...band or sleeve. I thought i should stop just reading all the posts and at least introduce myself so I can report my journey as objectively as possible when the time comes. I have about 7k to devote to surgery but would love to stay around 6-6.5k if possible. I just want as safe of a procedure as possible. I do not need bells and whistles or a staff of people at my beck-and-call. I just want a clean surgical environment and a surgeon who isn't going for the gold by packing in 10-20 surgeries a day. I have been under for surgery twice and feel quite comfortable with being able to handle it. My BMI is around 32.5 and I will be honest I am probably as healthy as a horse (I tend to eat like one too). I just can't seem to lose more then 15 pounds and I can't keep it off. I know if I was to let loose of the dieting hardcore for those 15 pounds each time they come and go that I would just get bigger and bigger. So here I am just nosing around and appreciate all the time and opinions expressed here. It is a good start.

Hi there I haven't had surgery yet so I am really no help but I did want to say congrats on a safe surgery and wish you much success!

That is also what concerns me too is the long term effectiveness and safeness of the sleeve. Plus the band is removable so if something isn't jiving I could have it whipped out! Thanks for those insights.

I have noticed a lot of people sleeve after banding has failed or been compromised. Anyone band after having sleeve or would that even be possible. Sleeving freaks me out honestly but I can see why the band would be harder to get used too. Anyone have some insight on these one vs the other. The lack of needing fills sounds appealing but the stomach leakage sounds more plausible after sleeving. Help? :smile:

Im sorry i meant gloves in general...clean or sterile. I understand the use of them. I mean wouldnt they want to protect themselves from me as much as I want to be protected from them? To me it just seems it gives the impression that they dont really care about protecting themselves so why would precautions be taken to protect me? That is disconcerting.

Anyone use him in TJ, Mexico? I did a post search but couldn't find anything. I am really wanting to stay close to border (just-in-case) but have pretty much ruled one clinic and wanted to see if this Dr. came a little more highly recommended then other.

Nobody has any info?

I was so glad to find this post and a group of low BMI folks. I joined the site a few days ago and posted in the intro section "to Mexico or not to Mexico that is the question". I am just starting my research and I will more then likely be going to Mexico to have the surgery..only not sure where yet. I am hoping in June. Though I wanted to try to get it done before my kids are out of school for the summer. I already feel the stigma of having a lower BMI and going to the ::GASP:: extreme of having surgery, when I want to say frankly I know the insurance companies that do cover it consider it because of the medical need but let's be honest who doesn't want to be thin? It is as hard for me to diet and keep weight off as it for someone who weighs 50+ more pounds then I do, only instead of having to go on a calorie restricting diet for 8 months they may have to do it for a year and a half or more. It is hard either way and almost impossible to maintain. I am not a nurse or doctor but perhaps the surgery is less risky because I do not have all the medical issues ...YET.? Congrats to those who have their dates and for those like myself who are gearing up to set theirs. Please keep us posted on the success. I have noticed so many people on this site that come on make 4 posts that they are having surgery (especially in mexico) and never come back to tell us how it went. It concerns me that it may be a promoter or something. :thumbup:

I am new to this site. I have been contemplating having lapband surgery for over a year now. I never thought I would be able to have the surgery because my BMI is 31-32 depending on how hard I have been dieting. It is a constant struggle for me to maintain that BMI. I was 35 pounds heavier at one time so i know unless I am constantly struggling I could gain that plus more. I watched an episode of Big Medicine where the doctor's sister had lap band done by when her BMI was relatively low. They commented that even they were startled at what a small person she was after she lost weight as they had always viewed her as just naturally fluffier. I believe she weighed about 175 or so at surgery time and was down to around 130. I started thinking if I had the money would a doctor be willing to do the surgery? Well now I have around 7k to devote to surgery and realize I still can't afford it in the USA but am TOTALLY freaked out by having it in Mexico because of the stigma of the health care there. I have been reading everyone's posts and realize that I could actually and probably would have a great experience there, but fear is holding me back. I had some plastic surgery done at UCLA about 3 years ago and I remember how anxious I was the day I went in and they are a top rated hospital, I think my anxiety level once in Mexico would be horrific! I am going to keep researching so I can make an informed decision about Mexico or maybe hold off and put some more aside for having it in USA.

I was just looking up some doctors in USA during my research and I hit one of the links at the top of this forum for Dr. Owens at CCO. Here is a quote from the site "Dr. Owens is one of the most experienced Bariatric Surgeons in California having performed over 7,000 weight loss surgeries. He performs all surgeries using laparoscopic technique including patients with BMI's over 60. Over 500 lap bands placed.Patients with BMI's of 30-35 now considered." Of course that would be self pay option only. From what I am reading there is a slightly higher rate of slippage but is certainly not any more dangerous for someone of a lower BMI. I guess if I stopped the yo yo dieting and just said the heck with it I could be at a more desirable lap band weight? Wouldn't others wish they had done this long before they had higher BMI's and wasted the time probably being miserable and possibly added health issues on top of it? Just a thought. I was thin for 25 years of my life and the last 7 have been one diet after another and I hate being this weight and I feel like it could only get worse and probably will. It sucks to be the fat one in a family of thin women. I may not be "that big" but my BMI does have the word obese in it lol. Catherine55 you look great btw!

I used that link for the fill centers of USA. It looks like their are two within a couple hours of me. But i would also call them first to make sure they would indeed fill the band at the ones listed on that website. Also I am only 5 hours from Tijuana and I have no issues looking for a reason to hang out in San Diego/ Sea World etc hehe :smile::thumbup: Elcee your BMI looks like it started around same area as mine. Congrats on your success.