mandems mom

If you're not a routine vitamin taker, I would recommend making sure that you're informed about the state of your health and get regular blood panels done. I have NEVER been a vitamin taker and when I got my lap band, I became severely deficient in a lot of different areas. When I became pregnant last year, I had to take a lot of different supplements to make sure my baby and myself could handle the stress of the pregnancy. Since I gave birth, I've still had my panels done (and stopped taking the supplements) to make sure I know how low I've gotten. I supplement as needed based on the results I get from my doctor. I'm not advocating that you shouldn't take vitamins, but everyone has their own reasons for not doing so.

Hi Kelly, how far out did you start taking the gummy vitamins? Did you have any problem with the gummy ones getting stuck going down? Thanks!

[Hi Kerry, I went through BeLite with the Tijuana location and felt completely safe. In fact, my husband did lots of walking around the hospital area visiting cafes and convenience stores at will. This cannot be done in Juarez. You are literally kept in the hospital the entire time because of safety reasons. That's not a bad thing, but I, personally, didn't want the stress of worrying about my safety while being driven to and from the airport. BUT if you search all the people that have gone to Juarez, I haven't read about one person who had any type of incident occur during their travel. I just don't think this would be a good option for someone who wants to leave the confines of the hospital for any reason. That being said, from what I understand, the hospital in Juarez is beautiful and much more state of the art than in Tijuana. The hospital they use there is a bit older, but still sufficient. Good luck to you!

WOW!! They released you after 1 day?? How do you feel???

In no way shape or form am I doing damage control for anyone, nor do I have ulterior motives or come to this board to feel attacked for trying to share information. I did not use Sandy when I scheduled my surgery with Dr. Kelly, but went through a very lovely coordinator through another site who has to deal with Sandy because Dr. Kelly is really part of Sandy's main group. I had a relationship with my coordinator and not Sandy and would have preferred having my coordinator give me the bad news directly, but Sandy contacted me when I ended up being told not once, but twice that the owner backed out on allowing Dr. Kelly work there. I, personally, don't know Sandy from Adam, but can say that I'm not comfortable with what I do know. However, I'm entitled to post what I want just as you're entitled to defend your surgeon. I didn't go to a fancy, new hospital to have my surgery with the new doctor, I went to INT which is an older facility but full service. Unfortunately, since my doctor only comes to TJ one week out of the month, he only goes to one hospital so that he's not traveling all over the place to take care of the patients. As far as coordinators not helping you around Mexico, I'm not sure if that's the experience of most, but I was very pleased with my new doctor of choice as they had the US facilitator/owner as well as a US coordinator in the hospital who helped show my husband some great places to eat and ran interference for nurses when they did not understand English. My intent to post here was because I thought it would help to hear what I was told. Never in a million years did I think I would end up on the receiving line of mean posts. In the end, it's up to everyone to make their own decisions, do their own research, and if they want, call the hospitals directly to confirm information that users have posted on this board. That being said, I will be respectful and not post again on this topic.

Hey Griselda, I actually just found this same topic that someone posted last month so they may not answer my original post. Here's the link: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/14950-why-sugar-free/ It sounds like having the full sugar has different effects on people; some can tolerate it and others cannot. I think I might give it a shot because I really don't like this and know I won't get enough liquids/calories in if I continue this way!!

I think it depends on your job. I spoke at length with one of the ladies on here who's a nurse and she said she went back the day after she got home, but did mostly desk work initially. (She spent 2 nights in a hotel after being released from the hospital 2 days after surgery and then flew home)

I think mashed potatoes would be too thick, but maybe thinned out with hot gravy....yum! But I think my first food will be an egg. I can't wait to try a soft, buttery scrambled egg...I'm salivating just thinking about it!

Tiffykins, do you happen to know when the swelling goes away and the stomach has normalized?

holy crap...I was hoping someone would tell me 1 week to be able to lay on my tummy or side again...oy vay! This is going to suck!! I guess the 6 weeks for sex isn't so bad..my husband will just have to pretend like I gave birth again...lol!!!

I have no idea what my boobs will look like at goal weight (150) as I think I was that weight when I was a teenager and barely had anything!! My husband wishes I could have my pregnancy boobs forever and was so sad when they shrunk back down after breastfeeding stopped so I'm scared to see what they'll look like if/when I get to goal. He's all for me having breast implants/surgery, but I don't love surgery so I'm not too keen on the idea. Guess I'll be praying to the boobie gods to keep me where I'm at!!!

Like others have said, it seems very odd that it doesn't have a bad smell. I know when I've had REALLY expired cottage cheese in my fridge that I forgot was in there, it ends up having a yellowish liquid on the top and a really nasty smell. Are you sure it says 2010???

I am certainly not trying to gossip and simply relayed information that I was given. Whether it's fact or fiction, it's very clear that there is something going on. I'm pretty sure my original facilitators wouldn't have risked losing my business if they could have gotten Dr. Kelly to work at any of the facilities that I requested, but they couldn't. For all I know, Beach Bum could be Sandy in disguise trying to turn people off from Dr. Kelly and that wasn't the intent of my post. However, I did speak with doctors at INT when I had my surgery there and they confirmed that he is not ALLOWED to work there. They would not tell me why except to say that it was a decision that the owner made. I won't relay the information that I was given by my new facilitator who claims to know firsthand what happened, as that would seem like gossip to you as well, but it's in line with other "rumors" that I've been told about him. Again, I'm not knocking Dr. Kelly on his surgical expertise as that's what sold me on him in the first place and I can assure you that any of the "rumors" have nothing to do with patients. But I do want a doctor that can play nice with others and will continue to be a part of the medical community in the future should I need assistance. I didn't get the warm fuzzies that I needed to feel confident with that and thus chose to go elsewhere. I doubt very highly that the hospitals will provide information as to why they won't work with a particular doctor, but I'm sure they will give you a yes or no. I also doubt that Dr. Kelly would be honest about being banned from hospitals if that's the case. For me, it all worked out for the best and I had a wonderful experience with my new doctor and don't regret a thing.

Are you taking an acid reducer like prilosec or nexium? I just had my surgery on Sunday, but was given 2 months worth of acid reducer medicine to take after my sleeve. But I can tell you that I also had acid with my lap band which usually occurred at night. Definitely make sure you're using one of these products (can be generic) as it will help. Are you eating certain foods when you get nauseous? I'm assuming you're on full solids now and really have no restrictions based on your date. I have heard people say that spicy or even fried foods will set them off. Everyone is different, but you have to be aware of what you're putting in your body and how your body reacts to know what it will tolerate and what it won't. It may just be that you still need a longer time to heal before you implement those foods that are now making you nauseous. If you're nauseous just drinking "safe" liquids like Water and diluted/reduced sugar juice, then I would definitely consult with your doctor.

Try not to give up on yourself and/or the surgery so early. What side effects are you having? If it's gas, that would happen with ANY laparascopic surgery. If it's pain, same thing. If it's the food restrictions, you would have those (maybe not the same) with any weight loss surgery. i had the lap band before I revised to the sleeve and my post-op diet is almost exactly the same as the sleeve. I'm sure the more radical Gastric bypass and Duodenal Switch would be the same if not more severe. You must have read on here how people feel better soon after having the surgery, but it's probably going to take a good 4-6 weeks for you to establish a good routine with your new tool and diet. Don't beat yourself up so quickly. You obviously did this for a reason, which was most likely that diets just don't work long term. Good luck to you!

The standard of living in Mexicali is higher than Tijuana which is why the hospital, surgeon, etc fees will be higher. When I had my lapband done in 2005, I paid $9500 to have it done in Monterrey (known as Little America) because I wanted an atmosphere that was close to home with a doctor who was uber qualified. Now that the economy has taken a hit, I still wanted the great doctor, but didn't think twice about Tijuana. For me, personally, I wanted a full service hospital which is why I never considered Dr. Almanza. If something were to happen, I didn't want to wait for an ambulance to get to me and transport me to another place. It also made me uneasy with it being located in a strip mall. But I've read about lots of people that didn't mind that and enjoyed their experience. To each his own!

Just had my band out this past Sunday and revision at the same time. There was ALOT of scar tissue to repair, but from what I understand from several doctor consults, if there isn't an erosion, you can have the band and and sleeve revision done in the same surgery. If there is an erosion, and the doctor says he will still do it, I would think twice about that doctor.

I keep having coughing jags and I've tried the old trick of pressing a pillow against your stomach, but it's still sooo painful. My surgery was April 17th. Can I do any damage to the incisions (internal or external) by coughing too hard??

Oh sweetie...I know this is scary, but it's also such a blessing! Talk to your OBGYN as he/she will likely do a blood panel to see what you may be deficient in. A good Multivitamin or even one that's strictly for prenatal is really all you would need to take unless you require additional supplementation for deficiencies. As far as stretching out your sleeve, I can't answer that since I didn't do the plication and just had my sleeve done this past Sunday. I would check with Dr. Rodriguez on the likelihood of stretching it out and see what he recommends to maintain yours and the baby's health. I had the lap band when I was pregnant this past summer and the most important thing was making sure that I was getting enough calories to sustain me and the baby. There were many times when I couldn't eat good, healthy solid food because of the band so I opted for pure calories in the form of anything that would go down (not a good idea). Your baby needs to live off your body so you have to be very careful about not depriving it too much...but you also shouldn't be put into a position where you would expand the sleeve. Again, start with your surgeon for that question and your OB/GYN regarding any supplementation you might need. Congratulations and best of luck to you!!!

So, on the way to Tijuana this past Sunday, I saw an ad in the Skymall magazine for this company Protica and they had a ton of different protein shots (3oz) and meal replacement shots. Has anyone tried any of their products? They seem really pricey, but honestly, I wouldn't mind paying if I don't have to try sucking down a huge portion of protein. Thanks for any feedback!

I'm not here to bash anyone and I can't comment on Beach Bum's experience with Trish or the care package, but I can confirm that Dr. Kelly has been trying to have people go directly through his assistant rather than the US coordinators so that he can get a bigger portion of the surgery dollars. There's not necessarily anything wrong with that, but it's causing contention with his US coordinators because he and Trish are not being upfront about it. I can also confirm the part about Dr. Kelly not being allowed to work out of various hospitals due to strained relationships with hospital owners, etc. I don't know the specifics of what he's done, but having done a lot of professional work in Mexico, I do know that something as simple as a personality conflict can put you on someone's "do not work with" list. If you look at my previous posts, I was scheduled to have surgery with Dr. Kelly on April 26 but was unable to do so because of him not being allowed to work at a new hospital that was scheduled to open April 15. At this point, I'm waiting on a refund of my deposit. I got all of this information straight from Sandy as well as my coordinator. My husband refused to let me have surgery at florence Hospital based on the reviews and a conversation I had with a local nurse who went there (ampsgirl) who said it was fine, but straight out the 80s. If we were going to Mexico my husband needed to know that I would be comfortable and that it was truly a full service hospital; not one that didn't have a radiology department to do the leak test which therefore meant you were transported to another hospital. Those were more his demands than mine, but I had to respect that. Please understand that I do not at all question Dr. Kelly's skills as a surgeon however, from what I was told he has burned a lot of bridges with the Tijuana medical community which is why he is no longer allowed at INT, Hospital MI Doctor (the new one) or Excel. After receiving the final word from Sandy last Wednesday that the new hospital's owner absolutely refused to allow Dr. Kelly to work there, I did not want to deal with whatever drama may be going on with him and chose to frantically reschedule my surgery this past Thursday for Sunday, April 17th with Dr. Rodriguez.. I'm now back home doing wonderfully and learned additional information as to why Dr. Kelly isn't allowed to practice at INT where I went. With all that going on, I was concerned that he wouldn't be welcome in Tijuana long term and chose to use a doctor that I had researched just as thoroughly, but has wonderful relations within the medical community. Sandy and my coordinator gave me the option of going with 2 other doctors that Sandy represents who are allowed to work at the new hospital, however, I felt too rushed to do adequate research and they primarily worked with the Mexican community so it was very difficult to find any feedback from US patients. Dr. Rodriguez is only in Tijuana for 1 week per month and it happened to be this week, hence the rushed timeframe. Again, my intent to write this is not to bash Dr. Kelly's skills as a surgeon as I have heard nothing buy wonderful things from his patients. I just wanted to feel comfortable with the whole experience and couldn't in good faith do that given the information I was provided.

Okay, so I've changed my surgery from Dr. Kelly to Dr. Rodriguez in Tijuana and am scheduled for April 17th....in 2 days!!! ack!!

It's sounds like you may have a leak rather than an erosion. You might want to see if you can have an endoscopy done before you go so that you know what you're getting into. That would confirm an erosion. Good luck!