Summary
Tanya, a 47-year-old from South Carolina, shares her positive experience with Elias Ortiz & Company (EOC), a weight loss surgery company. She initially traveled to Mexico as a companion for a friend who was having the surgery, and despite being skeptical, she was intrigued by the process. After much consideration and research, Tanya decided to undergo the gastric sleeve surgery performed by Dr. Ortiz on December 19th, 2022. Her advice to those considering weight loss surgery is to do it for themselves, not for others, and to give themselves time to adjust to the lifestyle changes. Tanya emphasizes the importance of using the surgery as a tool and preparing for success. She highlights feeling safe and supported during both her visits to Mexico, mentioning the helpful staff and beautiful surroundings. Tanya expresses how weight loss surgery has drastically improved her life, allowing her to feel better both physically and mentally. She shares her delight in buying smaller clothes and enjoying activities without discomfort. Tanya has lost a total of 97 pounds in just over eight months and is grateful for the positive changes the surgery has brought to her life. She concludes by saying she will never go back to her previous weight, despite initial doubts about her ability to lose weight due to a hypothyroid problem.
Transcript
My name is Tanya. I’m 47 years old and I’m from Greenville, South Carolina. I actually had the opportunity to venture to Mexico as a companion a year before. The girl that I went with is a dear friend of mine and she did not want to go alone. I did go alone. She did not want to and I just jokingly said one day I’ll go with you and she’s like okay. So I got to meet Dr. Ortiz. I got to see the hospital, the hotel, the drivers, the staff. From start to finish I saw how the process went and I still kind of came home saying I’m not going to do this. I’ve joked for years that I would if I could but I never took the leap and when I got home I just couldn’t get my head off of it. I just thought about it all the time and talked about it with my husband and worked really really hard for it and I knew that because I had seen the process I felt completely 100% confident going back to EOC. EOC was introduced to me through the friend that I traveled down with as a companion. She had done all the research. She had found EOC on TikTok and sent me all the videos, put me in the group, was doing all the things and she learned all about it. Again I didn’t go into it being like it was going to be for me but then I watched her journey and I watched her excitement and it just kind of grew inside of me and so I stayed in the group and I asked some questions and I took the time from the time I booked it to the time I went to kind of get my head wrapped around being able to be prepared to use the tool properly to be the most successful I could for myself. Dr. Ortiz was my doctor, was my surgeon and I had the gastric sleeve surgery and my surgery date was December 19th of 2022. My piece of advice for anybody that’s considering weight loss surgery is simply this, do it for you. Don’t do it for your husband, don’t do it for your kids, don’t do it for your family. Don’t listen to all of them either unless they’re a positive support to you because a lot of people have negative things to say about this but it is definitely a tool and you have to learn how to use the tool and you have to prepare to use the tool. So give yourself time to kind of mourn some of your former lifestyle and prepare yourself to know that the strength lies within you to make this tool be very successful. So give yourself grace and be kind to yourself. Have fun along the way because it’s not like I’m not missing anything from my former lifestyle at all. So just go into it and allow yourself to enjoy the ride. My experience in Mexico, I’m not quite sure I can sum up either visit in one minute. The first time around I’ve always felt safe first and foremost. I never ever questioned whether I was safe. I walked around the area the first time when I was a companion. I took an uber and got a tattoo while I was there. Don’t always recommend that but I did. It was an experience but I went by myself as a patient and I never had any qualms about traveling alone. It was very relaxing. I always knew that if I needed help it was just a phone call away or a walk down to the office. The staff by far they were my friends but I thought it was a beautiful area. I mean obviously there’s lots of areas around there that you see that aren’t but where we were I never ever ever ever ever once felt unsafe ever. So I tell people all the time weight loss surgery definitely has changed my life for the better. I didn’t realize how bad I felt until I felt better. I have thankfully not dealt with the body dysmorphia issue. I can see the changes and I can be proud of the changes and I can feel good in the changes. I am shocked at how well it is working but I also know that I’m working it and you know I’m thankful to go into the store tonight and buy a medium dress and feel good in it and look at my husband and say where are we going to dinner because I couldn’t put this thing back on the rack. I just feel better. I wish I wouldn’t have waited as long as I did because I’ve lived a lot of my life being very uncomfortable in my own body and that is no longer going to be the case. So I am down a total of 97 pounds in just over eight months. I cross stitch in my tattoo that I got on day one of free up is a an homage to cross my heart. It’s got like my hearts cross stitched with the needle and in the center of the heart are roman numerals that represent my high weight. The high weight I could find in my medical charts I feel like I probably was higher than this at some point but as of today from this weight I am down 97 pounds. Never in a million years. I have a hypothyroid problem and my doctor always told me that losing weight would be like beating my head against the wall. It is very difficult. I am not going back to that weight. Cross my heart.
