kemo46

It depends on if you have a clotting history. I do not. We actually drove and I stopped and walked around every two hours. I did buy the compression hose just to be safe. Drink a lot of water and move around, even while in your seat. Get up and walk on the plane, if only to the bathroom, that will help. Louise will talk with you about this. Talk specifically about this with her.

Bernie, all good questions but to get the real spectrum of WLS, I think there should be more questions you should be asking. I am sure you will get plenty of answers from the great peope on this forum on your listed questions. I have listed a few below if you want to branch out, just a recommendation. 1. Why so many insurance companies do not cover WLS and our experience with them. 2. Why many people choose to self-pay and go to another country to have the surgery. 3. Why an insurance company will not approve many people that have Diabetes, High Blood Pressure and High BMI, many companies do not consider this medically necessary and would be considered "elective" on your #5 question. 4. Why some view surgery as "an easy way out", which it is not, the surgery is simply a tool. There are many people on the forum and had the surgery for a lot of different reasons. To lose the weight, of course but to change their lives and for medical reasons. Good luck on your paper.

I know what you mean Jenny, I just posted about that on my Blog. The only thing that keeps me going at the gym are the results. I meet people that seem to really like it, I do not think I will ever like working out at the gym. Since my surgery and I have started working out, ( light weights and cardio) I have seen great results. What I had to do so I would not get caught up in all the gym scene is I created my own exercise regimen. I only work out with light weights and do the treadmill and stair stepper/ski machines. I use resistance bands and have started sit ups as well. It seems kind of intimidating when I am working out with 40 to lbs and guys in the gym are lifting lbs or more. I am taking it real slow per my surgeons instructions. I think it is human nature, we are results oriented and we will continue as long as it works. I think ANY exercise is great after our surgeries.

That is funny, I would try Zumba before pole dancing, I do not think the world is ready for that yet. I guess I could start a pole dancing class for 260 lb guys, do you think there would be a demand?

At 3 weeks, you are still swollen. This will get better with time. I think it was after my 4th or 5th week when I did not feel as stuffed. The restriction will always be there but it let's you know when to stop eating. Congrats on the weight loss.

May 25th, two months ago.

I would ask your surgeon about the ointment but we were not allowed to. They did not want us using any petroleum based products on the incisions. I was instructed to use a saline based wound wash 3 times a day and then anti bacterial soap in the shower. My incisions healed nicely with no issues.

1) How long have you been sleeved? 5-25-11, almost 2 months 2) Who was your surgeon? Dr. Mario Almanza 3) What were your experiences with your surgeon? Fantastic, attentive and caring. 4) Would you recommend your surgeon? Yes, for sure. 5) How much weight have you lost since your sleeve date? I have lost 53 lbs total and 34 since the surgery. 6) What type of sleeve do you have? VSG, A 32 BOUGIE SIZE. 7) Would you recommend the type of sleeve you have? It is good for me, everyone is different, you should discuss with your surgeon on what is best for you. 8) Do you find you still have the necessary level of energy to sustain a good workout? I am getting there, it is getting better every day. I never exercised before. 9) Do you find it difficult to keep the weight off once you have lost it? Only been sleeved 2 months, I cannot imagine a problem with the amount of food we eat now. 10) Do you have trouble eating, such as getting �stuck�? I have been very lucky, I have not had any issues, it has been a perfect recovery, just normal restriction. 11) What is the one things about getting the surgery that you regret? That I did not do it years ago. 12) Would you do this surgery again, or would you have made another choice? I did a lot of research and I still feel this was the best choice.

Noel, that is an awesome job. I just noticed something on your ticker. You are only 1.8 away on your BMI and you are no longer obese, that is freaking great. That is the number I have been watching myself. Keep up the great work, the feeling of this weight loss is incredible.

Look at it this way, that first bite of that scambled egg ( when you get to have it) will be like heaven. To this day, or since I was able to get on solid foods, that is the most satisfying food. That was the first non-liquid I was able to have and I was so looking forward to it. The one thing that you will notice are the foods you have been craving since you have been on your liquid diet are just not satisfying anymore. Anything sweet, bread, pasta, pizza or anything heavy, they are just not the same anymore. I did not think I would ever not want pasta. I have eaten more chicken and turkey the last few weeks than I have in my life. Hang in there, your liquid diet is almost over and you will see what I am talking about, your cravings will change. Let us know how that egg is once you can eat.

My drain was removed before I left the hospital. The only thing that I will need is my blood work after 90 days. This is important to make sure you are getting enough vitamins and minerals. Most doctors will give you follow up care, if there are issues, that can be a different story. Who is your surgeon, I had my Surgery in Tijuana with Dr. Almanza.

I was told by my surgeon to use wound wash. It is just a saline based antibacterial spray. It is not expensive and works great. I had no issues with infections.

MINI LABOR DAY GOAL ( STARTING 7-18) SN..............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal KEMO46..... 265.................. 265............235 ............. 30

Well, I have lost my man boobs and a lot of my stomach. I am having a hard time getting rid of my lower belly fat ( below my belly button). What are some good exercises that has worked for you to help reduce this? My stomach area ( above my belly button) is getting greatly reduced but I am not seeing a big reduction in the other. I want to concentrate on the exercise that will work on that area. Please give me your feedback. Thanks.

Hello Kristie, I would follow your surgeons instructions all the way. I had a perfect recovery, I had no pain or naseua after I left the recovery house. I was instructed to do no lifting or exercise ( except walking) until after 6 weeks. I followed his directions because I was so scared I would mess something up. I just recently started riding my bike and light weight lifting and I was very sore. I keep thinking, I hope I do not stress my stomach. I called and Dr. Almanza told me that I am good to go and the stomach staple line is healed by now ( it was 6 weeks when I called) and I should gradually increase my exercise, not jump in over my head. As far as your question about energy, it took me about a month to get my energy back to normal levels. It did not have as much to do with the surgery as it did with not being able to get enough protein and calories in. I think I took a nap every day for about 3 weeks. The weight loss has been awesome but getting enough protein and calories have been my struggles. Good luck with the kids, I think a 2 and 5 year old would wear me out years after surgery recovery.

I used Dr. Almanza for my surgery in May of 2011. I am very satisfied with the whole experience. It is a clinic, not a hospital. It was very clean and we were well taken care of. You go to a staffed recovery house, not a hotel for recovery. I felt the care was excellent there as well. There are a lot of great surgeons in Mexico as well as here in the states. I do think price is part of the equation but not he deciding factor. You just have to do your research and choose a surgeon you feel comfortable with. I will tell you this, you are NOT receiving sub-par care just because you pay less with Dr. Almanza, as you can tell by the posts, he has many very happy and successful patients on the forums. The main factor for me was the communication with the Doctor and the coordinator, they were there to answer many questions before the surgery and even now. Who is your coordinator?

That is just awesome. What did you do early on as far as exercise and what are you doing now? Keep it up.

That is awesome, it is a great feeling. Have you run into any foods that are not tolerable? The only thing that really makes me feel uncomfortable is bread, it seems so heavy. I know you mentioned you have been eating a lot of fish, PM me some of the ways you have been preparing it, I have baked and grilled it and having a hard time aquiring a taste for fish. Keep it up Noel.

Congrats, it will be life changing. I was sleeved by Dr. Almanza on 5-25-2011 and things could not be better. My weight loss has been great but the way you will feel is fantastic. They will take good care of you and it will be over before you know it. I cannot believe it has been 7 weeks since my surgery, it seems like only a couple. The time will fly by for you. Enjoy the journey.

I agree. I think it has got out of hand a little.Like I said, I apoligize if I offended anyone. I think the most important thing is that we all have had our surgery and I hope everyone continues to do well.

Not a problem at all. I respect your opinion. I appreciate all your honesty. I am just glad we are all doing well.

I agree, just because he does a lot of surgeries does not automatically make him a great surgeon. I chose him for many reasons and one is communication. Him and his staff takes time to answer ALL of your questions and makes sure you understand everything. It is very hard to compare surgeries in the U.S. to surgeries in Mexico, regardless of who the surgeon is. Self-pay opposed to insurance hoops has a lot to do with the number of surgeries performed. It is always a great thing that we have the freedom to choose who we want to do our surgeries. It is sad but there will be a lot of people scared to go to Dr. Kelly now since he had a death. Anytime you have ANY surgery, there is risk and things can happen. That does not make him a bad surgeon. There are a lot of people on this forum that has used Dr. Almanza and is very happy with the procedure including me. I tell people to do their research and make their decision based on that. When people bash Doctors on forums not knowing the facts, that is just irresponsible, this is done a lot on here. I appreciate your post, you simply stated that you are not comfortable with someone that does that many surgeries every day and would not go to them. There are many reasons people choose to use or not use a surgeon. It is their body so all we can do is hope they did their research. Have a great day

I apoligize if I offended anyone but I do deal in facts and not hearsay. If you would ask your coordinator, Dr. Kelly's coordinator ( Trish) and any other coordinator, they WILL tell you that this DOES go on. Saying that Dr. Almanza has more experience is not bashing any other surgeon in any way. You can look back at my posts from day 1, I have never said anything negative about ANY other surgeon. There is a reason for that, there is no way we could know the facts if we are not there. You say that doing 5 to 6 surgeries a day is clearly not safe, what is a safe number according to you and how did you arrive at this number? We all feel our surgeons are qualified and competent or we would not have used them. Why would you bash a surgeon you have not met or know the facts about? I hope everyone does their research and chooses their surgeon based on facts and not what someone on a forum says about them.

Like I said, ask your surgeon how many SLEEVES he has done and then do the math. Dr. Almanza has done many more sleeves than Dr. Aceves and he will tell you that. These surgeries take about one hour to complete and he works 6 days a week, not 5. If you do not believe he does 145 a month, I ask all the people on the forum that has had surgery there to post how many people had their surgery the same day as them. The math is not that hard. I hate to break this to you but Dr. Aceves was not doing sleeves in 1986. I talked to your surgeon along with several others and yes, experience is important to me. I would not call it an assembly line, I would call it being efficient and making money. As far as how I know about the coordinators, it was simple, I asked. I talked to 3 coordinators from different surgeons and was told the same thing. There are people on this forum that will tell you the same thing. The competition for these surgeries has been tough and they get paid by the number of surgeries they book. Like I have said in all of my posts, I do not bash any surgeons because we do not know all the facts.