TijuanaPlication

Are you getting in much protein? I know that upping that helps.

I used a credit card that offered a 12 month interest free period which ends this Autumn and I'm on target to pay it off. I used student loans for things other than student loan type things, as I went to college close to home and traveled in, so I was OK financially. You sound level headed and I hope everything works out for you!

Flight socks are like the compression stockings you get in hospital, but I found the stockings really painful - if I got a slight crease in them they'd cut off the blood and that part would remain sore and red!! Kinda the opposite of what they're meant to be doing. Examples of flight socks are here http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=flight+socks&x=0&y=0 Dr Lopez prescribed me the anti-coagulants. I spent something like $300 on the Nexium (antacid), anti-coagulant injections and Supradol painkillers. I wasn't expecting it to be that much so maybe you can get it from your PCP before you go. Dr Lopez prescribed me about a month's worth of everything.

I didn't have wheelchair assistance but I was flying with someone. If you're traveling alone then, wheelchair assistance is a good idea as they can help with your bags, which I didn't have to deal with. I was OK with walking as they really do recommend you walk as much as you can post op. I actually got blisters in Vegas from walking so much - I wasn't wearing new shoes or anything like that, it was just down to the amount you walk in Vegas.

I flew from San Diego to Las Vegas 3 days after surgery (might as well recover somewhere interesting), then a week after that, so 10 days after my op, I flew from Las Vegas back to London - a 9 hour flight. I flew club so I got plenty of room in the 9 hour flight although the 45 mins from San Diego to Las Vegas was economy. I wore flight socks every day for 2 weeks post op and I had anti-coagulant injections for 4 weeks after surgery. Maybe you need to have the injections I did. I have many ops and this is the only one I've had to use anti-coagulants after being discharged, but this is also the only op I flew so close to being discharged.

You're experiencing Telogen Effluvium. Wikipedia says the following on it: "Emotional or physiological stressful events may result in an alteration of the normal hair cycle. It may be due to a variety of causes, eating disorders, fever, childbirth,chronic illness, major surgery, anemia, severe emotional disorders, crash diets, hypothyroidism, and drugs." These links may be of interest, the first is from MassageGoddessAmelia, a lovely youtube RNYer (watch it and you'll see what I mean): http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/11433-hair-is-seriously-shedding/

OK, I've done some more digging. This link I found http://drsimpson.net/07_surgery_stories%20(ss)/7_ss_02/duodenal%20switch/duodenal_switch.htm says "unlike the gastric bypass, patients with the DS can eat and drink at the same time". I've also read elsewhere DSers saying they eat and drink at the same time and VSG is half way to DS (minus intestinal re-routing of course). When I was first looking into GPS surgeons were saying it was OK to eat and drink at the same time, but then this advice was revised and they recommended not eating and drinking together. Personally I'll only have a small sip at most while eating, as I prefer to try and not eat and drink from my food combining days. I think this one's like the straw debate - some surgeons are OK with it and others aren't. Ultimately you have to do what works for you.

I've seen chewing gum recommended for WLS patients to help them stop drinking in the 30 mins after eating. I think the whole chewing gum debate is like the straw one, ie some surgeons are totally against it while other patients are given straws while in hospital (like me).

Wowzers, that's a lot of bruising. Mine was about a 10th of that.

This youtube clip shows a great demo It's a short clip (under 4 minutes).Food combining also has a no food and drink rule. Apparently t waters down your digestive juices.

Aww... sending ((hugs)) and positive thoughts your. I hope you can work something out.

BTW if you post the pain thing as a new thread more people will see it and you'll probably get more input. Anywho, I hope you feel better soon.

Hi Anne, I had occasional pain in my stomach until nearly 5 weeks out. It wasn't near any incisions and I'm not really aware of anything in particular that caused it. Somebody suggested that the pain I was having was due to referred pain elsewhere. That explanation sounded a good one to me and the pain eventually disappeared. Maybe this could be the case for you. The whole area is still probably quite tender considering you had the band removed and a hernia repair. I didn't have either of those so I had less to recover from. As always, ring your doc to check if you're concerned.

No probs!

BTW VSG is part of the Duodenal Switch (DS) not the Bypass (RNY). With RNY you have a pouch whereas with DS you have a sleeve.

Hi Wheetsin, I'm so sorry to hear you're going through all this. I hope you get your revision soon and that it all goes smoothly for you.

I tried it a couple of years ago and didn't enjoy it. You're changing equipment too often so I never got the weight heavy enough for my liking and found it too easy and a waste of time. I prefer circuit training (in a gym setting, not with exercise machines) and kettlebell workouts.

I doubt you'd pop a stitch from drinking a fizzy drink. The main reason that carbonated drinks are frowned upon is because they can stretch your new stomach. My surgeon said that if I vomited in the first 3 weeks that could pop stitches. Ring your surgeon's office to check and get back on the wagon - no more fizzy drinks!!

BTW one down side to the Garmin is that it doesn't calculate calories based on your heart rate... what kind of heart rate monitor is that!! Below is a copy and paste I got from product.support@garmin.com "The forerunner 305 calculates calories burned based on time, speed and distance. It DOES NOT USE THE HEART RATE TO CALCULATE CALORIES, this is why such a low calorie count has been calculated" This was in response to my email asking "apparently only burnt 198 calories in 90 minutes when average heart rate was 150" When you link it up to the software it provides for your PC you get a funny graph plotting where you've traveled. I was doing Step aerobics and it just looks like a doodle and you're just forwards, backwards and side to side. I guess I need to get the footpod that Amanda131 talks about in her post. Shame that Garmin didn't think to mention that in their email to me.

Are you using birth control? I'm using Depo which is meant to make you get more hungry so I'm going to change what I use in a couple of months when my last course wears out. The pill can also make you hungry so that's another one to watch for.

LilMissDiva had it. See her post here for details http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/13238-h-pylori/

Sounds like you're suffering from the dreaded week 3 stall in week 4! Search this forum for week 3 stall and you'll find lots of posts on it.

We didn't talk to anyone at the Tijuana barrier as our driver dealt with that. Aftercare at Angeles Health is hopeless. I realized they'd not given me the slide of my post op barium swallow the same day I left the hospital. I phoned up and they said no problem and that they'd email me a copy of it. I then rang them every couple of days until I was 2 weeks out from surgery at which time I was told that they throw away all information like that 2 weeks post op!! Were they joking... I'd been repeatedly been told that they were emailing it but they clearly lied. I didn't need to contact them about anything else and I certainly wouldn't bother given the treatment. BTW there was no misunderstanding as I speak Spanish and I was told on numerous occasions that they'd be emailing me my scans. I knew not to expect much in the way of aftercare but I wasn't expecting out right repeated lies!!

$8,000 for surgery and $3,500 for flights, $200 hotel for my husband and $200 for prescriptions (anti-coagulants, Nexium and Supradol analgesics).

Dr Lopez Corvala must have done ~200 plications by now as he was on 150 when I went to Mexico back in November of last year. Dr Lopez did Zanthina's plication.