• Name: jennifer favors
• Age: 37
• Surgery: Gastric sleeve
• Surgery date: February 17th, 2012
• Testimonial date: August 16th, 2012
• Surgeon: Dr. Almanza

Let me start by saying that this adventure started because I was researching surgery for my husband; due to him being diabetic and having high blood pressure. My husband decided on the gastric sleeve and had surgery in FL in July 2011. His insurance did not cover it and he had to pull $16,900 out of his retirement account to pay for everything. Before this time I was pre-approved to get the lapband and my insurance required me to have 6 months of diet and see a dietician. After I did all that; I found out that my insurance had a clause in it and would NOT cover any type of bariatric surgery. I was very sad about this and just started eating whatever and stopped working out for awhile.
My husband did very well with his sleeve. He was 325lbs. when he had surgery and he lost 100lbs. in the first 7 months. And today is 190lbs. He no longer has any health issues. So due to this; I decided that I wanted the gastric sleeve but we could not afford to pay another 16,000 so I started to research online and spoke to a girl at my job who had several cosmetic surgeries and the lapband in Mexico. She highly recommended going there.

I decided to go to Jeruselum hospital after joining gastricsleeve.com and emailing people who already had the surgery. I was not scared to go to Mexico and I was ready to get the surgery over with after all this. I scraped up the money to pay and made it into a mini vacation with my husband since we have 4 kids and don't get away much. In January 2012 I weighed 250lbs. My surgery date Feb.17, 2012 I weighed 240lbs. I have no other health issues except I had stomach surgery due to an accident several years ago and was concerned about that. My recovery was slightly different than the other sleeve patients who had surgery at the same time. Due to my previous abdominal surgery; I had a tube down my nose for drainage and I stayed at the surgery center for 2 nights instead of 1 night. But I really believe to this day that the precautions that were taken really helped with my recovery. I never vomited and have not had any gastro issues at all; unlike my husband who threw up daily for the first 4 months. I followed the diet that was given to me except I started on soft foods a little sooner because I was feeling like I was not getting enough to eat. Once I started that, I kept trying new things to eat every few days.

2/17/12 day of surgery I weighed 240lbs. and wore a size 18. Today 8/16/12 I weigh 165lbs. and I just started buying size 10 clothes. I never in my like thought that I would ever ever be in a size 10 again. I am so happy with the outcome of my surgery and my easy recovery that I have recommended the "sleeve" to several people. I feel like I am back to myself before I had kids and gained alot of weight. I plan on never going back and only getting better from here. My outside now matches what I felt like on the inside!!!

* This is an actual testimonial, however, your results may vary. For more information, please read our Testimonial Disclaimer and Risks of Surgery.