kemo46

You will stay in their room at the clinic in a cot or a chair. They will make room for you at the recovery house however, if it is full, you might have to sleep on the floor or on a cot. The hotel is nice, I would not call it a 5 star but it is very nice for about 60.00 per night. Talk to your coordinator, she should help you with this. Louise was my coordinator and was a great help.

The recovery house has wifi and a landline you can use to call the states at no cost. If you plan on using your cell phone, change your plan to include Mexico, you can cange it back later. The cost without the Mexico plan are ridiculous. Your laptop with Skype, magic jack or any other VOIP works great.

Noel, that is just awesome, what a great job. Your goal is just right around the corner.

Be careful and talk to your surgeon. You just had major surgery, do not mess it up now. I was instructed by my surgeon that only walking was allowed until after 6 weeks. I followed his instructions because we have come to far to hurt ourselves after what we have been through. I started riding my bike after 6 weeks and started working out at the gym. I go to the gym at least 4 times a week. I started with light weights and the cardio machines such as the stairstepper/ski machine and treadmill. Start slow and try to increase your workout each day. My recovery and weight loss has been great and I feel good. It is human nature to want to rush the process but do not do it. Your success will come.

That is great, we are happy for you. Your new life can begin, you will be amazed by the progress you will be making. I too had my surgery with Dr. Almanza and I have had a perfect recovery. I would say take it slow and follow ALL instructions they gave you, it is for a reason. When you start exercising ( after 6 weeks) besides walking of course, take it slow and gradually increase your workout load, you do not want to hurt yourself, you have come too far for that. I am glad you are having a good recovery, keep us updated.

Good for you, you are doing great. People who have not gone through it do not understand, this is only a tool, it is not an easy way out. If we do not have discipline, it will not work. The restriction alone will not help long term, we have to change our eating habits, not just the portion size. You know how hard you have worked and what it takes to make this a success, it is anything but an easy way out.

Shirts was 4x, now I am now wearing 1x. Pants, I was 52 waist, now I am 44. It has been almost 3 months since my surgery and I am down a little over 60lbs.

That is what is wrong with our country. The insurance companies do have contracts with the hospitals on how much they will pay but that is ridiculous. That is why healthcare and insurance is so high. They can call it what they want but it is FRAUD. I am glad you had your surgery, how are you doing?

I am having my blood work next week and I am very optimistic that my cholesterol numbers will be in the normal range. My blood sugar numbers are already there, I check them daily. I am curious for all of you that had the surgery, what your cholesterol was before the surgery and what it was when you had your blood work after the surgery. How much weight had you lost when you had your blood work done post surgery? I figure eating the right foods and losing all of this weight should have a huge impact on these numbers. My cholesterol was 237 when I had my blood work done about 1 month before my surgery.

I exercise at least 4 times a week. I still only take in about 600 to 700 calories a day, I am just not that hungry. I want to take advantage of that first 6 months of the weight loss. When I exercise, I do cardio and light weights, that is all. The stairstepper/ski machine gives me a tough workout and I gradually increase my time on it. I also use the treadmill on max incline, this I was told really helps with the stomach area. I think the calories are important but watching the carbs and eating the right foods are more important. Sorry for the roundabout answer to your question, My calories have not increased much from once I was able to eat solid foods, I am still between 600 and 700 calories a day, about 30-40 carbs a day and try to still get in at least 80 grams of protein a day.

I would follow your surgeon's instructions, there is a method to their madness. Start walking every day, increase your distance a little each time. Watch your portion size and eat what they tell you. With all of that said, most of us still have stalls, they will pass and yours will too. Read my blog from the beginning at www.kemo46.blogspot.com , this will give you an idea what to expect and show you where my stalls were. You will do great, we are so blessed to have this tool to help us.

I was cleared for light exercise 6 weeks out. I would not risk taking full swings that soon, it is not worth it. You might be fine, might not. I have had a perfect recovery with no issues but I was very careful and followed ALL instructions from my surgeon. I would ask your surgeon and then make your decision on the conservative side.

You will do great. I was nervous at first but I was super calm and comfortable once I got to the clinic. I have had the perfect recovery and so will you. Stay positive and remember why you are doing this. You need to embrace the experience and enjoy the whole journey. I looked at it as a life changing vacation. What helped me get through all of it was I followed some advice I saw on the forum, I wrote down 12 things that I would look forward to after my surgery. It was good to have that list and know you are doing the right thing. We are all behind you, have a great trip.

You will do fine. I was in the same boat, I had never been in the hospital and never had surgery before. Remember, the anesthesiologist gets paid to wake you up, not put you to sleep and they know what they are doing. I am sure you have done your research and feel comfortable with your medical team. It is a life changing event and you will do great.

The main thing right now is get your fluids. Drink, or should I say sip plenty of Water. I was also concerned with getting enough protein but at your stage the most important thing is staying hydrated. If you become dehydrated, you will have issues. The protein will come, it does for everyone. Try to make sure you are getting at least 64oz of liquids. Water and gatorade was my friend when I was at your stage. I did the unjury chicken flavor protein powder in warm water, it tasted very good. The shakes were hard for me at your stage as well.

That is great, I am going for my blood work on 8-29, I hope mine turns out that good. Congratulations to you.

I love riding as well. I still weigh 257lbs so I went to Wal-mart and bought a saddle seat for my bike. It is a wider seat and feels much better than that stock seat . That old seat was very uncomfortable, felt like a thong, not a good thing for a 257lb guy.

I feel so bad for you and I hope for a speedy recovery. I was surprised to hear you were released so fast to go to the gym or lifting. That was a no no for me until after 6 weeks. I could not do any exercise besides walking until after 6 weeks. You mentioned your job requires heavy lifting, I cannot imagine your doctor releasing you to do any heavy lifting until after 2 months. I would revisit that with your Doctor, it sounds too much too soon. We will be praying for you.

Yes, that is correct. Go to my blog which is in my signature line and start at the beginning, it will tell you a lot about the process. Good luck, you will do great .

Where are all of you at, I would like to see how everyone sleeved in May of 2011 is doing. What is your progress, any complications? Any regrets?

That is great, I know that is a big goal for myself. Keep up the great work.

I had type 2 diabetes. I had the surgery on 5-25-2011 and my blood numbers were back to normal about a week after surgery. Losing the weight pre-op and eating healthier is what I felt achieve this. My doctor wanted to start me on Meds once I was diagnosed but since I was going to have the surgery so soon after diagnoses, we waited to see how the surgery was going to affect the numbers.I was told by my PCP that the RNY is the best surgery for diabetes but it depends on what is causing it. We all know that weight, diet and exercising are all keys to correcting blood sugar and if these can lower your blood sugar, the sleeve will achieve this.. I was told that if you have an issue with the way your body produces or processes insulin, that the surgery, losing weight , diet or exercise might not help. If the pancreas cannot produce enough insulin or your body is having issues processing it, you might still have to be on meads.

I paid 4,500.00 with Dr. Almanza, that included everything on the medical end including meds. The flights will vary depending on where you are coming from. You do not have to have a passport, 2 ladies in our group just had their certified birth certificate and drivers license and had no issues. The driver said he has never had any issues as long as they had those two items. I wish I had known this, I had paid over 400.00 for me and my wife's passports to be expedited

Those are very good questions to ask. I recovered in a recovery house with a nurse there 24/7. My nurse, Servano is an ICU nurse at the hospital right behind the clinic, I cannot rember the name of the hospital. When he is relieved, another nurse comes in, her name is Elsie. She is an RN as well. I think the main difference in costs in Mexico are the same differences as here in the states. It all comes down to the bottom line. The expenses, marketing and the amount of business they generate. Everyone has the monthly revenue number they must meet just to break even before a profit is made. Some surgeons charge more because they do not book enough surgeries. Some charge more because their overhead is a lot more. One of my main questions was why my surgeon charged less than most surgeons in Mexico. It was broken down for me from the number of surgeries they performed a month, their overhead such as recovering at the recovery house instead of a hospital, the clinic being in a strip mall instead of a hospital. My main concern was infection rate, everyone that I had talked to that actually had the surgery there said it was very, very clean and they had great experiences. This is the way the clinic makes a ton of money and also keeps it affordable for their clients. I cannot say for certain but I am pretty good at math, this has to be one of the most profitable weight loss clinics in the world. I did not mind the recovery house or the clinic as long as they did not cut corners on supplies or safety. As far as staples, this was a big concern for me. Dr. Almanza uses titanium staples and this was important for me. I had a friend in the states that her insurance would not pay for titanium staples, the reason they stated was they would last longer than the human life and they were not necessary. They stated that they would pay for standard staples. This was in the states. I thought that was crazy. She went ahead and had the surgery, I am not sure I would have. This is a case where the insurance company dictated the procedure where the doctor would have used titanium staples. As far as black market supplies, I could not imagine a surgeon using them. I am not saying it does not happen but why would a surgeon, especially if they have a cash cow of revenue generation risk complications from black market supplies. This would sink them as a business if they had any issues. I think most surgeons in Mexico would rather cut their expenses using recovery houses or hotels than using black market supplies. With that said, more and more doctors are getting into WLS's and might not be in this for the long haul. They could be out to cut every corner there is by every means. Like Suzanne said, you have to ask many questions to your coordinator and your Doctor. You have to feel comfortable with your decision. You should never make your decision off someones post or something you heard. You need to do your own research, talk to actual patients who used the doctors you are thinking about using. It is your body and this is surgery. Do not think you are being a pain by asking questions. I felt so sorry for my coordinator, I communicated with her about everyday for months. I called the Surgeon as well.

What type of surgery did you have? VSG What was the reason you had the surgery/ Weight/ Diabetes What was your chief complaint that resulted in the surgery? Obese/Health How long were you suffering from the chief complaint? Weight, about 20 years. Was the surgery elective or medically necessary? Insurance will always say elective, I say medically necessary. What treatments or diagnostic tests were done prior to surgery/ Blood work, EKG, Scope, The rest depends on patient history. Were there any preoperative instructions? Yes. Were there any preoperative issues or complaints? No, just different being on liquid diet. What was the outcome of the surgery? Fantastic, 53lbs down 2 months after surgery, that included pre-op diet. Was there a post operative visit? If so, how long post op? No, had my surgery in Mexico. Were there any post operative complications/ None at all. Was there any additional follow-up that has or will take place? I will be seeing my PCP for my 3 month Blood work up.