Rootman

I too paid $4500 with Dr Almanza at Jerusalem Clinic Tijuana MX, I however no longer recommend this facility due to issues that have developed. This site is chock full of recommendations. of other sites. If you can get it in the States for that little I would highly recommend taking advantage of it. Be sure to investigate the site, the doctor and get recommendations.

Wow! Great pics!

Mine are nearly all gone, but being a guy that's the desired effect Whoops! I'm in the wrong group too being an old 50ish fart, sorry

Well after getting a lot of opinions and no real answers I just went back to the wine shop and got a sweet concord wine that didn't taste like sh*t. I can slug done 3ozs before bedtime and it helps me sleep. Hopefully the "other" benefits are there too. At least I'm not having to build up the nerve to drink the swill down

Strange, my PCP said exactly the OPPOSITE. No calcium carbonate (Tums) and YES to citrate. Hmmm, perhaps we'll have a health professional chime in hear and solve this mystery. The lemonade works by making your urine more acidic and flushing out the calcium - which is base. I take EmergenC drink for the same reason. It's got B12 in it too so I kill 2 birds with one stone - hopefully not a kidney stone!

Well, in the past there WAS reason to be concerned. Early bypasses were too severe and too much of the intestine was bypassed and a few people died and many more got very sick from malnutrition. It was invasive and dangerous. Things have improved a lot since the advent of laroscopic surgery and simpler less drastic procedure such as our sleeve. That and many people just feel threatened by it as they are fat too, or have remained thin because they have the will and drive to remain so. I just ignore them. I had a health issue, it was MY fault, but I could NOT over come it without help, more help than a diet center and exercise on my own could fix. We truly live in a blessed age. food is CHEAP and PLENTIFUL and we have a massive infrastructure to support it. And MANY are obese because it is so easy to get so. I had a SIMPLE procedure done to curb my appetite and rein in my portions. It worked. And I'd do it again. Too freakin' bad if you don't like it or think I'm cheating and taking the "easy way out". There ain't NOTHIN' easy about being so fat you can't hardly walk or do much of anything else.

I started about over a year ago. I was taking 1cc of a higher concentrate every 2 weeks. I wasn't getting enough so they upped it to every 10 days and I was at a good level. Between 300 and 600 trough and peak. 200 is the lower limit 900 is the upper. You run a higher risk of prostate cancer with a VERY high level. Then I got sleeved. After a few months, I was feeling pretty enraged all the time, pissed at EVERYTHING, so I went in early for my check. My level went up to 1050! We cut back on the dosage to 1/2 CC. 8 weeks later and a few more pounds off I went back in, the level was 1200! I was like the incredible Hulk! Growling and snapping at everyone and everything. It see-sawed like this for bout 6 more months till I finally got the dosage right at 1/2 CC every 10 days of a half strength stuff. My top level fell to 600. To answer your question; It all depends. My problem is that I hardly produce any naturally. I probably have NOT all my life but until it started to fall off even MORE as I aged I started to feel the effects more pronounced. So in my case I will probably NOT be able to get off it. Your hubby may or may NOT be the same.

Just ignore them, the wife and I get stared at, asked questions and hounded by wait staff all the time. I had surgery and wifey is petite. We buy ONE entree, split it and typically take about half home with us. Some ask if we are doing all right financially, one dude even asked if he could buy us dinner! He must of thought we were poor. I explain that I've had surgery to my stomach and can't eat a whole lot - without going into detail that it is for weight loss. Recently a woman told me that she "hoped I got better" because "You really need to put some weight on" ! That's when I realized it really, really was working!

I'd say whatever you can stomach, yes they are all over the place as far as nutritional value and calories / carbs but if you can't stand to choke them down they don't do you a lick of good. Try several AFTER the surgery, I say after use what tastes good BEFORE my taste hideous afterward - your tastes changes pretty drastically. I drink Boost! because they are smaller in size, have less sugar and I can stand the taste.

Yeah, me too! I was bragging to my wife the other day that I could see something between my legs that I hadn't seen for a few decades, she coyly asked "What?" thinking I was bragging on "something else" and I replied LIGHT! I can see between my knees and my crotch and even stick my hand in between my legs without separating them at the knee or forcing them between fat!

Congrats! BTW, what's your area of expertise? I have always been fascinated by forensics. So tell me, your job and facilities are probably just like they are on TV aren't they? I'm an IT guru so I know what "lies" they tall about professionals! Everyone believes I can hack in to just about anything!

I take EmergenC Vitamin C drink which is also chock full of B12: http://www.emergenc.com/index.php/products/original/super-orange. I think the dissolved powder is easier to adsorb. The reason I take it is the ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in the drink acidifies the urine and helps prevent Calcium based kidney stones - which I got a month after surgery - not fun. Last blood panel the doc took I was fine in all Vitamins and minerals. I take it 3 times a week and DOUBLE the Water I mix it in - 12 oz instead of 6 so that it isn't so concentrated and upset my little stomach.

Beaglemama just posted that she is 2 years out: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/24557-time-flies/page__pid__208100#entry208100

I don't know but one thing I am sure of, the people they have modeling the stuff sure as hell don't NEED it. Sorry, just had to vent

So does she call you Lumpy now?

I don't think that riding the bike will hurt just as soon as you feel up to it - HOWEVER - you ARE still healing and should you take a tumble it MAY produce MORE injuries than it would otherwise. I'd wait a month or two at least. JMHO I waited about 4 months to ride mine, we have a Goldwing and the weather had more to do with it than anything.

Had surgery 12/6/2010. My surgery was a complete success, I had NO problems other than pretty bad nausea on and off for a few months. It's just how my body reacted and probably has nothing to do with the facility or doctor. I did not know about the stories of the increased complication rates and the recovery house robbery had not taken place yet. They WOULD have swayed me away from the place. The main facility is in a strip mall, it is very small and noisy. It seemed clean to me but other have complained about ants in the operating room, etc. The recovery house is small and somewhat run down. It IS in a gated community in a pretty nice area, they should of taken extra precaution by now and this could of happened anywhere in Tijuana. Because of the complaints and robbery I will now NOT advise others to go here. You be the judge, there are other Mexican facilities that have a smaller complication rate and seemingly NO security issues.

Yes, what others just said, the muscles are not "cut" per se but the incision goes along the muscle tissue, so "separated" would be a more proper term. There is one larger incision that will leave a visible scar, the other smaller ones may heal over and not even be visible, at 9+ months I can't even find my small ones anymore. The larger incision is where most of the instruments are pushed though and the removed part of the stomach pulled back out. All incisions heal very quickly with minimal pain. There is too much stuff between your skin and the stomach to feel the staples. If you COULD feel the the staples you would have to be pretty damn skinny and not have much abdominal muscle at all. There is also a newer technique where ONE incision is made and a rubber donut like thingy pushed in and everything enters and is removed though it, sometimes the incision is made just above the navel so it is concealed fairly well. It is called single incision laproscopy and may go by other names like "star".

Most importantly the sleeve gave me my LIFE back. ~160 pounds gone and I can do so much more than I have in decades! BPis down, my sugar is stable, I'm off ALL pain killers for aches and pains and reduced amounts of the one remaining medication. It was the best thing I have EVER done.

Very, very slowly. As I stated, it WILL get better. Just keep sipping and sipping, the protein is NOT all that important right now, the water IS. I don't hold to the "drink so many ounces per day" camp, I recommend that you drink enough so your are passing urine regularly and that it is clear to slightly tinted, not orange or (god forbid) brown.

What the others said - BUT I honestly think that swelling is the real culprit, as the stomach starts resuming it's "normal" activity the swelling makes what little gas is produced feel like a whole lot. I think the answer is just to wait it out, take whatever relives the immediate discomfort but it will just take time. We all wish you the best and much success as you start your new adventure!

Great story! Love the chair incident! And congrats! I too ALMOST look forward to flying again, if it wasn't for the hassle of security etc. it would actually be fun again.

Had a funny moment this noon. Went out to my van and absent mindedly sat in the drivers seat and poked the seat memory button and the seat wouldn't budge. I fussed with it a few times before I realized it WAS already in the right position. The 6+ inches from the wheel to my belly was with the seat already pulled forward. I had just never noticed it before and actually got out of the drivers seat WITHOUT putting the seat full back and down. God, I love this sleeve.

Odd, I had the same NSV. I don't know why I've done it but I've done just that since I was a kid, just sit there and wrap my fingers around my wrist and see how far I could touch. I was able to just rub the tips of my thumb and middle finger together a few months ago, now I can just about reach the base of my thumbnail. Funny, I don't know anyone else that does this too.

Nope, not really. 9+ months out and here are SOME things I regret or don't like: I had a LOT of good quality, fairly expensive nice clothes I had to get rid of when I lost weight. It occurred to me today, It's really hard to shave now, my face used to be round and the razor slid around, I now have a lot of sharp angles that I have to really concentrate on or suffer with scratchy peach fuzz all day. Putting my wife through few decades of living with a fatty, she never complained but I looked terrible and it really kept me from doing a lot of things with her. That I waited so long to do it.