At the beginning of summer our BeLiteWeight team received a touching update from Gloria who had the Gastric Sleeve surgery by Dr. Rodriguez and his team in September of 2017. She still remembers the "final straw" that led her to surgery and the "wonderful" staff that helped her through the process! Read her letter below for some of her after thoughts on the entire process of medical care in Mexico.
After working out for decades and trying all sorts of meal plans, I'd never been able to achieve my weight loss goals. I'd stopped smoking 9 years prior to surgery, cut out soda for 4 years, adopted healthier recipes and had been competitively been walking 5ks for two years. My weight wasn't increasing but neither was it decreasing. The final straw was when my previous gynecologist said "you need to quit shoving food in your face". He didn't care to know what I was doing nor did he take my health issues, like PCOS, into consideration. The insurance I had access to excluded bariatric coverage. So after consulting with my family doctor, he agreed that my best option was surgery. He said he could do tests to find out why I had trouble losing but surgery would be my best option, if I was comfortable with it. He agreed to follow me, if I choose to go to Mexico. I chose BeliteWeight and Dr. Villarreal-Rodriguez because I was able to find several local people from Indiana who he had also treated. The stay and the staff at the hospital were wonderful. I loved the security of being in a safe hospital setting with immediate access for emergency medical help, although I didn't need it. I'm thankful I had made so many healthy changes prior to surgery. It made post op life easy to adjust to. It was amazing to watch the pounds melt off. My heaviest weight was 298. Preop, I was 275. By nine months after surgery, I had made my original goal of a healthy BMI for my height of 5'7" - 159. I realized that I hadn't dreamed small enough. I made my ultimate goal of mid range healthy BMI by 12/18. I now average 140. (Picture is a size 22 to a size 4.)Instead of needing two blood pressure meds twice a day, I only need one pill once a day. This summer I've signed up for my regular 5ks but now have added a couple 10ks. Being able to squeeze into the back seat as a third person is fun too. The best advice I received with surgery, from a friend, was to not stop working towards your weight loss goals just because others tell you you're getting to small. For me, most people have never seen me at a healthy weight, as the last time was 3rd grade. Some days will be hard, when you routinely hear "you're almost (or are) to small" but don't give up or back off. Seek out positive people, they'll be help strengthen your resolve.
Gloria it is truly amazing how you cut more than 50 percent of your maximum body weight off! We are so proud of your accomplishments.
For more information on Gastric Sleeve and other weight loss surgical questions, please call BeLiteWeight today!
