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I thought I would post up my entire experience with ALM in Tijuana while the details are still fresh in my mind. This will be a bit of a long read, but hopefully someone who is investigating the possibilities will find some useful information, answers to some questions and some reassurances! Here goes: I was introduced to the idea of bariatric surgery about 6 months ago during a conversation with a friend, who has been struggling for a few years with a significant (100lbs+) weight gain. I, too, had been gaining weight steadily since losing 100lbs four years ago. She said that if she couldn't lose the weight in the next year, she was "gonna get the gastric surgery" and be done of it. Of course, I had heard about gastric bypasses and lap bands, but I always associated it with Hollywood stars (ie, the very wealthy) or people who were much larger than 250lbs. I walked away from that conversation with a seed planted, and over the next few days I began doing some preliminary online research. This was one of the sites I came across at that time. I learned about the different procedures, and researched some of the worst case scenarios associated with each. I researched long term consequences, health outcomes, the effects on women of childbearing age who want to become pregnant, etc. I tried not to get bogged down by only reading positive stories or looking at #vsgbeforeandafter pictures and imagining my weight disappearing effortlessly overnight. I decided that this was something that really piqued my interest. I went to my provincial health authority's website (I live in Nova Scotia) and saw that the wait times here for an insurance covered procedure were more than 5 years, as there is only 1 bariatric surgeon in the province. Dismayed, I googled some bariatric centres close to where my above mentioned friend lives (Houston) and saw the procedures ranged from $12,000 USD up to $20,000 USD. There was simply no way I could afford that, even though I travelled to Houston on a weekly basis for work and could stay with my friend free of charge. I put the idea out of my head. I thought, "this really IS for rich folks, $28,000 (Canadian dollars) isn't feasible for a normal working person." But I kept coming back to pages like this, and others and on one of my google searches a sponsored ad result for ALM popped up at the top of the screen. "Affordable bariatric surgery at a top hospital in Tijuana, Mexico" or something to that effect. Intrigued, I clicked through the ad and read the entire content of the page. All the procedures were available, starting in the low $4000s (about $5500 CAD). I'm not naive (in fact, cynical would be a much more appropriate adjective), so I thought "what's the catch?" I took note of the doctor's names from ALM's website. I checked them on linked in, I read forums like this one, I entered search terms like "Dr So-So Tijuana deaths" and read well beyond the first page of Google results. I read about ALM, again entering morbid search terms, digging through online forums and basically trying to find that one piece of information where I would say "AHA! Gotcha! Of course that's a terrible idea!" I didn't find much. The company seemed legit, plenty of online posts dating back a few years to a few days about people who used their services and had successful operations with the surgeons they work with. This was around June. So I sent an email to a link on their page. I explained my personal experiences with weight loss and gain, my concerns about some members of my family and their onset health problems, and asking if I would be a candidate for the procedure at 5'8", fairly muscular and 250lbs. I don't wear plus sized clothing, but I'm at the point where if I gained another 15-20 lbs I would have to. I clicked send, and wondered if/when I would hear back and went on with my life. To my surprise, I heard back only an hour later. My coordinator, Crystal, answered my questions thoroughly (I was surprised it wasn't a generic "form" email, thank you for contacting us, don't call us - we'll call you blah blah blah). We opened a line of communication back and forth, and I felt pretty confident with the answers I was getting. So now I was getting excited. Possibilities. What seemed unattainable just a few weeks earlier was now suddenly in reach. It was time to discuss my findings with my wife. I chewed this over in my head, how to bring it up, was I ready to answer her questions, should I nerd out with all the info I had learned, or should I nonchalantly just throw it out there? I brought it up, and she was surprised but open minded. I explained all the options I had looked into, and what, exactly, a vertical sleeve gastrecromy is and isn't. She listened to my spiel, and said "Okay. Would I qualify for the procedure?". She is not fat, but has lost and gained 60lbs in the past few years and has an obese parent with diabetes. Her BMI was 32 when we had this conversation, and she wears size 12 jeans. We emailed Crystal with her concerns and questions, and again, she got right back to us. She emailed us forms and questionnaires for the doctor's review and we set to filling them out. We were on holidays for most of July, and when we returned we set a date, Oct 27 and paid our $500 each deposit to hold that date. In early August, it seemed like an eternity but since we both travel for work and work 70 hours a week, we knew the time would surely pass. We talked about little else but how excited we were. How we were going to do everything right, get back to the gym, change our lives and how this would help us when we start our family in a few years. We booked plane tickets. We changed companies in September, which was a welcome distraction from all the VSG this and VSG that. Starting about 3 weeks prior to our travel dates, we started receiving emails from Cindy Rios, an RN who works with (for?) ALM regarding diet, lifestyle changes, phases of the surgery recovery and suggestions for streamlining and making the most of our pending surgeries. We had quit caffeine and carbonated drinks in August, in a bid to make it easier down the road. We went to Costco and loaded up on Premier Protein (like a shopping cart full) because we are on the road with work and didn't want to be short on supplies and maybe tempted to cheat. We didn't do "food funerals" in the same way I wouldn't attend the funeral of a nemesis or adversary who had stolen some of my life and made me unhappy with who I was. We bought enough salad to get us through the work week when we were home each week. The pre-op diet was easy, for the most part. Not wanting to risk enlarging our livers with excess carbs and losing our hard earned money if the surgery couldn't be completed made it easier. We had a supply of Keto-strips from previous ketogenic dieting and made sure we were staying in ketosis throughout the entire time. We flew out of Nova Scotia at 5am on the 26th. We arrived at the San Diego airport before noon (4 hour time difference) after changing planes in Toronto. We had a text message waiting for us when we landed from our driver, asking what our schedule looked like. We told him we were on the ground, and just waiting to deplane and on our way. We received a call immediately saying they would pick us up at the cab stand at Terminal 1 in about an hour. We carried on our luggage (not wanting to risk the airline losing our luggage with multiple connections) so we strolled from Terminal 2 down to Terminal 1. We received a text message with a picture of the driver's license, Rafael and his personal information. When an hour came and went, I sent a text asking where he was and got a call right back. He was stuck in traffic at the border, but wouldn't be much longer. We got a description of the van he was driving so we knew who to watch for. He arrived not much longer, and we picked up 2 other people on the way. We made our introductions and were off on I5 towards Mexico. Rafael informed us that because we had landed quite early, we would head straight to Mi Doctor hospital and do our preoperarion check ups instead of waiting for surgery day. The hospital is literally 5 mins from the border. Rafael took us from place to place in the hospital, and stayed with us the entire time. First we had blood taken for a full work up. Next, we went for an EKG to monitor heart function. I then met with Dr Elias Ortiz in his office, as I was the first surgery of the day the next morning. My wife filled out paperwork upstairs, and after my meeting with Dr Ortiz, I filled out the same paperwork. All the paperwork is in English and Spanish, so you'll sign everything twice. I was the only patient to meet Dr Ortiz that afternoon, as he would meet with the others during the day between surgeries. I asked him to visually inspect my gallbladder, as I have a family history of gall bladder disease and he said he couldn't see if there stones, but the general health would be evident. I asked him about taking Advil (i take a HUGE dose of Advil once a month for period cramps) and he assured me that NSAIDs would not be an issue once the sleeve was healed. I have an alternative medication, but I don't take it because it causes drowsiness and he assured me that it was fine until I can handle NSAIDs again. He was friendly, knowledgable, and overall seemed like a really friendly fellow. I felt like I was in good hands. Rafael was waiting for us when everything was signed, and we piled into the van to head to the hotel. We stayed at the Grand Hotel Tijuana, which was about 10 mins by van from the hospital. Rafael ushered us through the lobby and into the elevators to the 11th floor. He collected our IDs and did the check in process on the medical floor while we lounged and admired the view. Rafael told us what time we would each be picked up the next morning, 5:40am for my wife and I. One by one, we got our rooms and he passed us off the concierges to take us to our rooms. The medical rooms were nice - spacious bathroom and shower, we had a king size bed and several pillows each. ALM provides each patient with 3 room service orders of broth, - sugar free popsicle and a glass of apple juice. We ordered twice and it arrived promptly. I skipped the juice, because I had worked so hard at cutting all the sugar out of my diet and I wasn't going to reindulge the night before the surgery. We were pretty tired from the flying, and even though it was only 6pm in Tijuana, it was 10pm at home and we had been at the airport for 3am. So we enjoyed our broth, watched some Netflix on the iPad and went to sleep. We had to bring our luggage to the hospital the next morning, as we weren't returning to the same room after the procedure and would be staying 2 nights at Mi Doctor. We got up at 4, had a shower and packed up our things. We met Rafael downstairs in the lobby and headed over to the hospital. We were greeted there by a nurse who gave us compression socks and gowns and told us to change into them. We changed, and the nurse came back in to put in the IV. She said it would be a little while before doctors were ready for us, so we puttered around the room and waited. A series of doctors from the surgical team came in, we shook hands, saw pictures of their kids and talked a little about how the day would progress. I was first up, and my wife was second on the lineup. They explained that after surgery, I would be wheeled into a recovery room right beside the OR and would be waking up just as my wife was coming out of her surgery before we were both moved into our room upstairs. After what seemed like eternity (maybe 4 hours, from the time we arrived) a knock came at the door. A nurse sat me in a wheelchair and I was brought upstairs to the OR. My wife was lead shortly after I left to our room upstairs. While in the room, nurses were in and out to hang some signs over our hospital beds and get it ready for us. They moved our luggage in for us, and she waited for her knock on the door. When I was wheeled into the OR, I was given a hairnet and booties and told to untie my gown from the back and hop up on the OR table. I was wearing underwear, but no bra and nothing was said (many people seem to have concerns about this). I was never asked to remove them or asked if I was on my period. The doctors I had met that morning were all there in their scrubs, and we had a grand chat about my work, including lots of questions from them. The anesthesiologist was busy hooking this and that up, and he said I would feel a bit woozy as he injected something into my IV. I felt elated, ecstatic and silly all at the same time. I was still chatting animatedly with all the guys when the anesthesiologist put a mask over my mouth and nose. I do not remember anything after that point. I awoke in the room outside the OR (although I didn't know that at the time) and immediately tried to sit up. I had some pains under my collar bones, and looking down I could see the row of incisions on my belly. I remember asking for wife, was she ok? Yes, they said, she is fine and right beside me. I looked over at her, and then asked "did you do the surgery?" (As if the incisions weren't proof enough) and they said "yes, you did great and your wife too!" Then I went back to sleep. When I was brought out of the OR and still under, my wife was summoned from our room to the OR. She sat with Dr Ortiz who informed her that my surgery had gone just fine, and that I was still in the OR preparing to be moved to recovery. They chatted about what would happen after her surgery, and she was brought into the other OR to be anesthetitized. While laying on the table, the anesethesiologist said "you look nervous, I'm going to give you something to relax and then we'll chat about what comes next." That's the last thing she remembers. I vaguely remember being bumped around off one bed and on to another. This was in our room. It was still light outside, and I immediately went to sleep. I awoke shortly after when they brought my wife to our room, and I was very relieved to see her sleeping soundly in the next bed. We both slept for what I can only assume is a few hours. I awoke suddenly and was incredibly nauseated. I tried to take a deep breath, but my shoulders were hurting and I couldn't breathe deeply. I vomited in my mouth, and threw myself out of bed to the bathroom and spit it in the toilet. It was dark coloured blood, which would have been alarming if I hadn't been so medicated. Feeling better, I went back to bed. A nurse woke us up to check our vitals, and change the IV bags of medication. I asked about the bloody vomit and was told it's completely normal. They gave us an IV shot for nausea and we drifted off to sleep again. This process was repeated every few hours (not the vomiting) until the next day. They brought some warm bags to place on my shoulders, the left of which was developing a very sharp pain. I had some pain in my stomache, like a hunger pain right before your stomache rumbles when it's empty, except it would not rumble. Just a twisting, painful sensation. I didn't have my watch or phone and had no idea what time of the day or night it was. The time difference made it impossible to guess, but I was feeling wide awake. I could sit up in bed, albeit with some pain, and took stock of my surroundings. It was a good sized room, there was some free space to walk around the side of the bed and to foot with a private bathroom and shower in the room. A nurse came in and told us to take a shower, and they would change the dressing on our incisions and we would get dressed in our own clothes. For the rest of that day (day 2), we walked a little inside the hospital, took a few walks outside and wandered around the parking lot (dragging an IV tree) and I tried to walk off the pain in my shoulder. The other shoulder felt fine, but the pain on the left side was making it difficult to draw breaths. We relaxed in our room, played on our phones and chatted. Shoulder pain aside, we were feeling pretty good and mobile. My IV stopped working (unfortunately after they injected a nauseau shot into it, which swelled my hand up a bit). They switched hands for the IV, but my blood kept clotting inside the port and they had to keep cleaning it out to get the IV working. Finally, they asked me if I was feeling ok and just took the IV out, so I was pain med free. The doctor came in to remove the drains the night before we were to be discharged. It was mildly uncomfortable coming out, but my shoulder pain disappeared immediately. We were bandaged up, and told that we would meet at 7:30am the next day to meet for aftercare instructions. We were both brought downstairs for an X-ray leak test with the radiologist, which both showed no leaks. Dr Ortiz came in and told us that our organs looked great and healthy when he did the surgery, and that we had obviously followed the preop diet closely and that he appreciated it, as it makes his job easier. We thanked him and shook hands, and did not see him again. About 20 mins after, I noticed a bloodstain on my inner left arm, but I was wearing a dark coloured t-shirt and could not see that my drain wound had bled through the bandages. A nurse came in right then, and I lifted up my shirt to look for the bleeding. She immediately changed the bandages, but about 5 minutes later it bled through again. This happened 5 times, using a variety of pressure banding and trying to close the drain with bandages before a call was made to a doctor. A doctor in scrubs appeared shortly after, and she lifted off the bandages to check me out. She was surprised that the drain hole was still bleeding and decided to stitch it up. She put in 3 stitches, which immediately stopped the bleeding and bandaged me back up. I told her that I suspected the drain wasn't working properly, since the drain balloon was full of large clots and my IV had been clotting, and told her about the intense pain in my shoulder that had dissipated as soon as the drain was removed. She agreed that it had probably gotten blocked and caused some buildup and pressure, but there was nothing to worry about. We walked, talked, napped through the night and arose at 6:30 for our morning meeting. We showered, had our bandages changed and packed our bags to head downstairs. During the meeting, we all received a little purple reusable shopping bag with some medications, copies of our blood work and leak test paperwork, as well as some ALM goodies, like a tshirt, button, pen and bumper sticker. We were all shuttled over the Grand, and has a debrief while waiting for our new room assignments. It was about 9am, and we had a tour of TJ lined up at noon. We weren't sure if we would go, as the time change was really messing with our sleep schedule and we had been up most of the night. We got to our room, and decided we'd set the alarm for 2 hours and if we felt well, we'd go. Sure enough, a 2 hour solid nap did the trick and we headed out for the tour. Rafael drove the bus with about a dozen patients and friends of patients. We went to a place with tasty ice cream (I was a bit nervous, since ice cream isn't exactly "clear liquids", but I ate a few mouthfuls anyway). I ordered the tiniest child size and couldn't get through half of it. Next they took us to a pharmacy where the pharmacist gave a very entertaining presentation of all the medications they recommend for bariatric patients. B12 shots, pain killers, half a dozen kinds of antibiotics, anti diarreah, medicine for nauseau, and a whole host of others. He wrote prescriptions for whichever medecines you were choosing, so as to not cause problems crossing the border back into the USA. Everyone was filling up baskets, and even getting some of their medications from home unrelated to the surgery like Ritalin, Valium and Viagara. We then went to the "main drag", where lots of tourists buy trinkets, get pictures with brightly coloured backgrounds set up and eat tacos (if they haven't just had surgery, of course). We were supposed to go to a restaurant that serves excellent broth afterwards, but there was a mixup with times and they were closed so we went back to the hotel. We were pretty tired, and basically just lounged around the room and had some broth and went to bed. The next day, we had nothing lined up through ALM so we found our own action. We got dressed, changed our bandages and headed out into the sunshine. There is a restaurant across th street, Fonda Argentine that we had read online serves excellent broth. The door was open, and we stood inside at the maitre'd stand for about 10 minutes. Employees were sitting at a table, looked at us and turned their backs and refused to acknowledge us so we left. All together, we walked about 2 miles around the neighbourhood, checked out the little ice cream stand again, and stopped by a little grocery store on the way to the hotel. We purchased a few of those "3 minute lunch" cups, where you just add water to ramen noodles. We got some spicy beef and chicken ones, and microwaved them at the hotel in the medical floor lobby. We strained the broth out, and it was a welcome and delicious change from the bland chicken broth at the hotel. The next day was our travel day, and we met Jack at 11am in front the Grand. There were 2 others who were there with their daughter heading to San Diego with us. Their flight was at 3pm, ours was at 6pm. It took about an hour and a half to get to the airport, which was much faster than we had expected. We printed our boarding passes for the 3 flights home, and left the airport to take a trolley tour of San Diego. It was about $40 each, and took 2 hours. You could hop on and off at any of the stops, but we were anxious to get back in time in case security was busy. There is an excellent little restaurant past security at terminal 2 called Saffron that sells delicious chicken broth. We got a cup of broth to go each, and boarded our first flight home. LAX had absolutely nothing that could pass as "clear liquids", it was all burger joints and pubs and none even had soup on the menu, so we just walked the entire 2 hour layover. We did stop and have a glass of cranberry juice. We clocked about 3 miles of walking that day, and that included carrying our backpacks everywhere (remember, we carried on our luggage) and we were feeling great. We had the same problem with lack of hot food options in Newark, the only place that serves soup didn't have any soup ready at 7:30am. So we wandered around the tiny terminal, just getting some walking in. On our way home from the airport yesterday, we ran errands in a few stores, stocking up on broths and soups we can strain for the next phase of our diet, starting tomorrow. I was in the kitchen all afternoon making a huge pot of butternut squash soup and a spinach dip with soup like consistency to portion up for work later this week. Tomorrow we are back to our regular schedule! If you're still with me, I hope this will help someone who is thirsty for the details on how this all works! Ask me anything, I'll do my best to answer it!

I got down to 187lbs but now I fluctuate between 214-216lbs. I'm not happy at all about the weight gain so I am trying to get back down to the 187lbs Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Has anybody gained weight from the time they completed 6 months supervised weight loss to time to get clearances done? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Wow that's awesome right on!! So the whole weight gain thing totally normal amen lol....congrats! If I may ask, what does hw? Stand for ....I know starting weight and current weight but don't know the H... Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

What's causing the weight gain? If you ever lost weight before you had surgery, you know how to do it. Are you able to focus on what you really want -- to lose weight, that is -- while you seek a solution regarding your band? Keep in mind that the amount of Fluid in a band means nothing. What matters is that the amount, whatever it is, gives the desired result. You may need more fluid to get the band back in the saddle.

I am just about 8 months out. During a weigh in I have never had a perceived weight gain but I also have never weighed myself other than at the doctors office. I know I was freak myself out weighing all of the time. Some of us just need so show resistant in weighing ourselves all of the time. Sent from my SM-G935P using the BariatricPal App

don't worry it's not real fat or weight gain! to gain 1 pound you would have to eat 3,500 cals more than you need a day! which at five weeks out i've doubt you done. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I am 5 weeks post op and I understand there are stalls in losing weight but is it normal to gain? I was down 40 pounds 2 weeks ago and I have slowly gained back 5 pounds, I am trying not to panic but when I see the scale moving up instead of down it's kind of scary. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I had my sleeve surgery Jan 14, compared to others only lost 100lbs so already felt like a failure, now in the last 8 mths have put on 20lbs and just don't know where to start to head back in the right direction. I feel so alone and depressed but know I don't want to go back to my pre surgery weight. Is this my fault - absolutely it is.. Although I still have great restriction I sometimes don't eat the right foods and thus weight gain.. Any advise on a good starting point to get back on track would be most appreciated.. Many thanks

I originally wanted gastric sleeve. My Mayo primary care Dr. Suggested I have gastric by-pass. I had consultation with bariatric Dr. & he also suggested by-pass. My first nutritional class at Mayo was excellent. She went in detail all the options. Gastric by-pass is the most successful, you lose approximately 70% of your body went. Studies show after 5 years the average weight gain is 20% of weight lost. So if you lost 100 lbs most gained back was 20lbs. That's manageable to lose. Suffice to say I chose by-pass, surgery Nov 28. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Happy Halloween! And now, to the important part: candy! More specifically, how are you going to avoid it this year? It can be staring you in the face at home as you get ready for trick-or-treaters, and at work as your coworkers bring in their leftovers. How are you going to pass up the sweet stuff this year? Are thoughts of weight gain, dumping syndrome, and guilty feelings enough to keep you away? Or do you need some more tangible strategies? Maybe you hand out a type of candy that you do not like, or arm yourself with a stash of frozen grapes to satisfy your sweet tooth during the evening. What are your plans this Halloween, and how are you going to “be good?” And, just for fun…what did a typical Halloween look like before WLS?

I had my first dietician appointment 2 weeks ago and my first psych appointment yesterday. I see both of them again in 2 weeks and they both want me to have made a lot of the dietary changes that I'll need to make post-op by then. I was doing pretty well with weighing out portions, not drinking for 30 minutes after meals, eating foods in the correct order, chewing each bite thoroughly, setting my fork down between bites, etc. for the first week after seeing the dietician. But I didn't lose a single pound that week and it just seemed pointless. So then I had a week-long food funeral, and it was pretty bad. Part of the problem is that I accidentally lost 4 pounds in the week between getting my paperwork in and seeing the surgeon and dietician for the first time. It pisses me off because I wanted to go in at my heaviest and not have my BMI barely be high enough. And now I'm supposed to lose about 10 pounds in the next couple of weeks and it seems impossible. It is more likely that I'll gain that 4 pounds back again, and my surgeon said absolutely no weight gain is allowed. I'm just feeling discouraged right now. I decided to go back to Protein smoothies today instead of trying to allow myself reasonable amounts of real food. Does anyone else feel like they can do a really restrictive diet without too much trouble, but really struggle with trying to eat normally but moderately? I feel like if I have any sweets or anything made with white flour, I simply can't stop eating it. Sent from my Nexus 5X using the BariatricPal App

I have RA as well, and years of prednisone and the inability to move caused huge weight gain. Research and anecdotal evidence showed RA pts who had bypass showed signs of remission. So, I had it and have been symptom free since March 23!! Good job!!! I'm down from 283 to 160, almost to goal! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Ugh. Stretch marks, wrinkles, saggy skin.... All part and parcel of the weight gain and surgery. Mederma, bio corneum, melaquin, hydroquinone, ammonium lactate.... There are a zillion out there. Stretch marks fade... As do the angry scars from the surgery. But we feel like we need to DO something, so let us do just that. And? As women, so much of this world is tied up in our appearance---think of the sheer volume of makeup products and anti wrinkle creams out there--- and you'll get it. Not saying it is right, but there it is. For me? I'll fight aging tooth and nail, and what ever little benefit I see in 30 years, well, I'll take it. For the saggy tummy skin and boobs---that's what plastics are for. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

@@skeewee You should be worried - dehydration is dangerous. If it is impacting your kidneys - then it's critical that you increase your fluids. The weight gain is not unusual - but it's not what you should be concerned about.

I'm 6 weeks post op and have lost 30 pounds. However, today I gained back 3!! The doctor says it's dehydration and my GP said my kidneys aren't functioning at full capacity and to increase my Water intake. Should I be worried? Sent from my SM-G900V using the BariatricPal App

Why is it that I gained weight after surgery while I was in the hospital recovering? Is it because of all the ice and the IV and lack of urinating? Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

A BMI of 47.5 more than qualifies you for surgery and it is much better to deal with obesity now before you get a lot of obesity related health issues. You don't want to do like I did and wait until I had almost uncontrollable high blood pressure, excruciating joint and spine pain and greatly reduced mobility. I doubt your family would want those things for you either. At the end of the day, this is a personal decision between you and your surgeon. While I had my surgery in the states since my insurance would cover it, from what I've read on here the program that bariatric pal helps coordinate in Mexico is quite good and there are a lot of people on here who have used it. I do agree it would be best to have someone travel with you - not because it is mexico but just in general traveling a distance for surgery by yourself would be hard but not undoable. I've very surprised your primary doc says surgery is unnecessary at your BMI. But why does your family say that? Have you discussed with them the impact of obesity on your life? As well as the impact of years of yo-yoing weight loss and weight gain? And lastly - you are not alone - everyone here understands and supports you.

A lot has to do with economics... What can you afford to do?! I found I skipped sizes..like I went from 18-12 boom. Not much in between. I managed to live in the 18's for a while, but since exercise was my main focus, I did spend money on yoga pants and jogging pants that fit regularly. I also purchased some really cute skirts -not cheap- with fabric that had some stretch-- and would go down with me. It was certainly worth it to have 4 or 5 skirts to wear that were pretty, flattering, and fit well. I'm not a second hand clothing shopper, but others are and have done well. I would suggest purchasing some cute tops you can pair with a couple pairs of different pants, and don't be afraid to try a size or two lower than you think fits. How you shed weight now may be different than in the past. For me, weight gain was always in my legs when I was younger if I put on 10 pounds or so and always the last to go. This time, it was really pretty evenly spread, but the legs went faster. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I saw too many people talking about complications and weight gain many years later after the bypass so I made sure to choose the sleeve instead. I only had 60-65 impossible to lose pounds to drop and I don't regret my decision. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

@@Wayward Traveler Hello, thanks for the response! I've read just about all of your journey. Glad that things are going so well for you. As for my issue, I definitely understand that the Orbera is an aid to weight loss and requires a lifestyle change, and is not a magic pill, which is why I think it would work well for me. I have made several lifestyle changes that have helped me to minimize weight gain now , but the weight is already here. I just need to do something that will help me to get a good start so that I can put into practice the things that I know work for me. Regarding a tummy tuck/lipo, since most of my weight is hips, butt, and thighs, and a little around the middle, I figured a tummy tuck and/or lipo would at least get rid of the little pouch and make me feel a whole lot better. As for the bottom half, I walk and work out so firming up those areas are the least of my worries right now. Overall, I do need to lose weight, but with me being tall, I carry it pretty decently. I know that these two things are very different, but financially, I need to decide which investment is most beneficial to me. My main concern was whether a tool like Orbera was worth the cost versus just going ahead and getting it cut off. Lol! I'm thinking that things like Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig and all the other diet plans are much cheaper as tools to weight loss. I am not saying that Orbera is the same, by any means, but, a flatter tummy and less love handles is the end result that I would like to achieve and I could be on my way to that with either option. Back to Orbera...one thing that gives me reserve about is the fear of the side effects. The nurse compared it to morning sickness, which I had very badly during my last pregnancy. I can handle that. But I'm a nurse so I'm concerned with the recovery period and how I might handle that when I go back to work. It would be hard to care for patients with weakness and nausea. How did you feel when you returned to work?

Just had an EGD done today and the results show that i have mild dilation of the esophagus, mild gastritis and also a hiatal hernia..my surgeon did the doplar test to measure the acid levels in the stomach and now i have to carry this device around my neck for 96 hrs to monitor my acid levels when i eat/drink, sit for prolonged times and also while i sleep.. i was sleeved in May 2015. The initial reason for the surgeon to to the EGD was because my weight has been fluctuating up and down. Now that the results came in I can sorta pin point into the reasons as to why the weight has been the way it is. Has anyone else experience these same symptoms? And also what are the solutions to these problems especially the hiatal hernia. I know some hernia's do not need surgery and some do need it.. also with the dilation is that something of concern when it comes to weight gain.. surgeon did say that the overall anatomy of the sleeve is good and no leaks noted. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I do find that snacking leads to stalls and or weight gain for me. I have to be very careful because I also get reactive hypoglycemia so i pretty much eat very small meals all day long. That is a slippery slope and can feel much like grazing which is the worst thing i can do. Early on while in weight loss mode my nut had me drink milk for a snack. it gives you added Protein, turns to a solid keeping you full for quite a while. And.....best of all you can add different types of tea to it. My favorite all time snack especially in the winter is chocolate chai tea. I use the loose tea version from teavanna and steep it for 3 minutes. It is especially delicious, hits the spot with NO added sugar other than what is in the milk. I use lactaid because i still have a lactose intolerance. If i dont have that, i will eat full fat cheese, pepperoni, shrimp, almonds and sometimes bariatric pal hot chocolate or bariatric pal vanilla capacciono.

Thank you everyone. I am trying not to get my hopes up so im not disappointed in case it doesn't happen. But I want this so badly. I need this. My BMI is 42 i think. Im 5'6", 300lbs and im 43 years old. I am the result of too many starvation diets with weight loss and weight regain, with a little more weight gain each time. Im an emotional eater and im Very emotional apparently! I wasn't always overweight. I was 118lbs when I graduated high school at 18. But i was into drugs and alcohol back then. Nothing major as far as drugs but i was more into partying than eating. Then i quit partying- quit smoking, drinking and doing any kind of drugs. I went from one addiction to another... I found out that I liked food! Gained about 70lbs the first year. And on n on from there. Then every time i lost weight , which i was only able to get as low as 145-150, i got pregnant every time. Anyway, here i am. People treat you so different when you're overweight! I went from being able to have any guy I wanted to being completely invisible. Ive been on dating sites but of course i only use head shots for photos, never ever full body pictures. And i get an unbelievable amount if response however, it only makes it that much harder when I meet someone who seems decent through conversation but then when I finally arrange to meet in person, i never hear from them again. One guy actually made efforts to overlook my weight but finally he said "your butt is just too big!" Lol. I do have a huge butt but... so now im in a strange relationship with this guy i met in a dating site. We really got along via texting and when we met in person he didn't seem too concerned with my size however, he made it known that we were just friends. That if it developed into anything then fine. But in the meantime he was still going to remain on the dating sites because he wanted more 'friends'. Well we then became fwb. But he maintained that he still wanted more friends ( he moved to my area from 2 hours away and just got out of a 25yr marriage). Anyway, we have spent every single day together and we do everything together from grocery shopping to going to concerts ect. Here it is over a year later, he treats me like he lives me, very affectionate and always wants me around but verbally he still says that we are best friends with benefits. ( the benefits aren't that great either considering my size) but he's still on the dating sites and i just feel like ive wasted all this time on someone who doesn't love me and probably never will. He says he doesn't want a relationship now, which I understand, and he says that im not as financially stable as him and i have kids who are still at home so im mot the kind if woman he would want bc i am mot able to travel and just up and go places. I felt like we have become very close over time and i cry about this all the time and even though he says its not, I feel like it's mostly my weight that is the problem. Its definitely a problem for me. But he says weight is nothing, that weight can be list and he encourages me to exercise all the time. But I constantly feel like im not good enough and im constantly emotionally hurting. I am pursuing the wls for my self, bc its what i need! But whether or not to bring him on this journey with me, that is the question. He is really my only support right now. I dont have a very good mother or father and i have very few real friends. I feel like i need him but on the inside I feel im just being used by him, i am the only one he knows in this area and as long as i am around he isn't going to pursue dating so, not sure what to do. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi all, I'm new to this forum so here's a brief introduction...I'm a female, 5-9", current weight 210, 43 years old. I'm interested in losing about 35 pounds total. I carry most of my weight in my hips and thighs, with some back fat and a slight hang to my stomach fat. My BMI is 31. I had a consult for the Orbera yesterday and I'm seriously considering doing this after the holidays (mainly because of time off concerns). I have read a lot of this forum and the information provided by the doctor. I think this is the jump start that I need to get me going. I can maintain weight loss pretty well, but I haven't been disciplined enough to do what it takes to take the weight off and keep it off. I've lost the same 10 pounds multiple times. Lol! I had been tall and skinny until the children came and they are now 22, 12, and 10 years old, so I can no longer blame them for the weight gain. I have considered vaso-lipo and tummy tuck to get rid of this middle fat. That being gone will make me feel a ton better. But I also want overall weight reduction. For the price of the Orbera, I could get a tummy tuck in my area. So i'm weighing whether or not the Orbera is worth the cost, especially as a weight loss tool. Has anyone else considering cosmetic surgery? If so, what made you opt for the Orbera?