Sweet Pee

Thanks

@Elizabeth21
Check out this video by a bariatric surgeon about why patients regain. Spoiler alert: Despite the video title, it ain't because their stomachs stretch. It's really worth the watch for anyone who is worrying about or struggling with regain.

Great! The couple that sleeves together, loses together! Best wishes to you both!

My hubby is scheduled for next week!!

Find a new doctor who isn't so arrogant and ignorant. The U.S. does not have a monopoly on quality health care. In fact, my Mexico surgeon had more experience, better credentials and a lower complication rate than the 6 U.S. surgeons I looked at.
I had no complications postop and my surgeon's office was available for postop consult and questions 7 days/week. My PCP was fine with doing my followup bloodwork and would have supported me through any problems if they occurred. My OB/Gyn was also totally on board and volunteered to do bloodwork if I needed. She even got the name and contact info for my surgeon to pass on to other patients who's insurance doesn't cover WLS. I saw a gastroenterologist for an unrelated issue 2 months postop and he didn't have a problem with me having had surgery in Mexico, either.
Routine follow up can be done by your PCP, but maybe ask her to check around with other bariatric specialists in case you do have any complications. Make sure you pick a surgeon that is available postop and willing to answer any questions your PCP may have.

Just in case this is the group where the Doctor Maytorena and Ruben is apart of. Would love for you to join as this site gets a little overwhelming. W/Facebook i hv a file system going on of docs that im researching lol
https://www.facebook.com/groups/758719204236937/

Hy are you part of the new Facebook group for Dr Maytorena? The doctor and assistant is there. I havent had surgery as of yet in research mode and a tad nervous

Husband is having surgery with Dr. Maytorena on July 2nd and is looking for anyone else having surgery on that day at Long Term VSG.

Husband is having surgery with Dr. Maytorena on July 2nd and is looking for anyone else having surgery on that day at Long Term VSG.

For anyone on the fence about this surgery and for those who wish to share my journey, I have created some YouTube videos which you can find by searching ChrissyG and I also created a blog which can be found here....I started a blog a few weeks ago about my surgery experience. Please share it with anyone who wants to know how my experience has been and continues to be. This is a journey and I want to share mine with anyone who wants or needs guidance. My blog is https://chrissygallegos.wordpress.com/
I hope that by sharing my journey I can help or guide people.

Oh yeah. I was in compression garments forever it seemed like. The first one I had was so tight, it took two people to get it on me! But no amount of compression was going to do anything about the severe soft-tissue swelling in my back.
@@gowalking Despite my complication, I still think having my plastics was one of the best choices I ever made. I did eventually fully recover and now I have been just enjoying the results for the past 3 years and will be enjoying them for MANY years to come. Even while I was going through my extended recovery, I had no regrets. The results are just so amazing and my flat stomach is now probably my favorite part of my body. I NEVER get tired of feeling it and looking at it. It is amazing being able to put on any pants or dress and have them lie completely flat in front. I would say the one down-side is that it's hard to find pants that are tight enough in the waits for my tiny stomach, but wide enough in the hips/butt. It seems like if they fit my butt, they are too loose in the waist. Not the worst problem in the world to have though.

It is NOT a clinic, it's a surgery suite. All they do there is surgery, so they are highly trained. The care they give and u will recieve is top notch and very individualized. At a hospital, one nurse has 10 patients! The fact that this was a surgery center actually made me feel 100% more comfy with choosing LongTerm, and I work in the medical field, in NY!

It is completely normal to stall out or even gain in the second or third week post-op. It's called the "week 3 stall" and if you do a search for it on these forums, you will see HUNDREDS of posts about it. It happens to almost everyone. Stick to your plan. Get your Protein and Water and do some walking. The scale will start moving in the right direction again soon.

When I was a fat young teen and feeling truly ashamed of myself for the first time, ashamed of being fat, I saw the AYDS boxes in the drug store and was too naive to know that hucksters reign. I did not have much money, but bought the boxes, convinced my problems were over. That "candy" was nasty, but I kept eating it. Did not lose an ounce and eventually put them in the back of my closet, throwing them away years later when I moved out.
We laugh about all these horrible diets, but underneath each is someone who got taken advantage of by greedy people and fake diets. But did that stop us? No -- the diets continued unabated, all the way to WLS -- which really works.

Ok, looking for the dumbest, silliest, craziest weight loss program you ever tried?
Mine was the Arnold Schwarzenegger diet. I saw it in a newspaper one day. Here was the diet -- (at the time Arnold was the President's Exercise Guru) -- Everytime there was a food decision to make, such as carrots or doughnuts, you just thought "What would Arnold do?". Of course, Arnold would have the carrots. I thought this was silly, but started trying it. Sure enough, a week later, down 5 pounds, then 10 the next week. My wife was pretending I was Arnold as well, but that is another story. Finally, after about three weeks, I said to the Arnold question -- "Well, screw Arnold"!! And that was that.

Before vsg

Before plastics



After Panniculectomy: TT w/o muscle repair on June 10

That was 6 days post. The scar looks
Higher on one side but it's now I'm standing in the picture.

So hi everyone.  I am truly sorry that I have been slow at giving y'all an update on my surgery, but I had an issue to deal with work and I ended up having to go in for 2 days to get things settled.  Okay so on to my Mexico surgery with Dr. Maytorena.< /p>
 
Ruben was waiting for me when I got to TJ on Wednesday morning, went directly to get my labs and then went straight to the clinic because my surgery was for the same day.  The clinic was small and quaint and I was greeted by nurses smiling and welcoming me.  It was clean with super comfy beds.  While waiting for the cardiologist to come in, I was able to just relax and rest which I actually enjoyed.  Once the cardiologist came in and did his thing (took maybe 10 minutes or so), the Anesthesiologist came in and was very reassuring.  He said that he had done many of these surgeries and was very experienced and that I had nothing to worry about that he was going to take great care of me.  Then shortly thereafter Dr. Maytorena came in and let me just say that he is probably one of the nicest people that I have ever met.  He told me directly that this surgery was part of the solution but the other part would be determined by what I put into it.  He was realistic and honest.  I appreciated that.  Shortly after I was taken into surgery.  Next thing I know I was back in my recovery area and feeling fine.  I rested for the rest of the evening and night and when I woke up on Thursday, I was up and walking and talking and hanging out with the nurses.  I felt fine.  I had very little pain medication and was given my antibiotics right on time.  My nurses were super awesome and I loved each of the the employees there.  The lady that did the cleaning was just wonderful and every single one of them checked on me regularly.  I had a leak test which was just fine on Thursday and again on Friday before I went home.  I was also given a video of my surgery and not let me forget that my resident doctor was awesome as well.  I was released on Friday and taken back to the border and drove home.  
 
The surgery center is JL Prado and the owners are Ismael and Juan Luis.  Both of them are so very nice.  They checked in on me every single day more than once and made sure that I was 100% comfortable.  I loved it and there are no short cuts when it comes to care.  The center is small but they are expanding and it is going to be huge.  
 
Highest weight-----263 Surgery weight-------244 Current Weight----------236.3

Hey guys, going in later today for surgery!!! I'll let you know how it goes.

I remember my boobs were only skin and nipples. Yuck!
I love them now.
Only a artistic surgeon could work with the tiny breast tissue I had left, and make them beautiful and symetrical without implants.
All of the other plastic surgeons told me I HAD to have implants.
I really love my boobs now!

I am a Louisiana - Texas girl. I travel between the two states daily.
I really do not know how old I am. I have to guess everytime someone asks me. I am either 44 or 45. My husband still tells every one I am 42 - and I do not correct him. Makes me feel young. I guess I should try to remember, but after the age of 35, I stopped keeping up. B'days just come around too fast now.
Second marriage - 10 wonderful years.
I have 2 sets of 2 children. First marriage — Ages 24 and 22; Second marriage — Ages 7 and 5. My baby - I finally had a boy and he looks like me too!
I love my family.
I love to exercise!
I love to eat organic vegetarian foods.
I love my job.
I make most household items my family uses regularly such as bread, toothpaste, Vitamins and laundry detergent.
I love it here on these boards.
I am more of a reader than a poster. It helps me to stay focused, knowing I am not alone in my goals to stay healthy and beautiful.

I am a Louisiana - Texas girl. I travel between the two states daily.
I really do not know how old I am. I have to guess everytime someone asks me. I am either 44 or 45. My husband still tells every one I am 42 - and I do not correct him. Makes me feel young. I guess I should try to remember, but after the age of 35, I stopped keeping up. B'days just come around too fast now.
Second marriage - 10 wonderful years.
I have 2 sets of 2 children. First marriage — Ages 24 and 22; Second marriage — Ages 7 and 5. My baby - I finally had a boy and he looks like me too!
I love my family.
I love to exercise!
I love to eat organic vegetarian foods.
I love my job.
I make most household items my family uses regularly such as bread, toothpaste, Vitamins and laundry detergent.
I love it here on these boards.
I am more of a reader than a poster. It helps me to stay focused, knowing I am not alone in my goals to stay healthy and beautiful.

I had so many consultations in the States before I chose my current plastic surgeon. At the time, they told me they could do a Tummy Tuck and a breast lift at the same time.
However, those are just the surgeons I interviewed. I guess it is going to depend on the surgeon. Some have two surgeons working together, which speeds up the process and they can do more surgical work in a shorter amount of time. Others work alone.
In child birth, when I had to have a C-section , I was fully awake and remember every moment. I felt the doctor tugging and felt it when she pulled my precious baby out. I also felt when I was being sewn up, and had a nice long conversation with my doctor when she was working. I wish I could have witnessed it my self instead of that big blue sheet covering up everything :-).
With Twilight, I only remember bits and pieces and was asleep for the most part, (I Think:). It was nice waking up knowing everything was going ok with the surgery, then falling back to sleep again.

Twilight sedation is the best!
Last year during my thigh and arm lift surgery, I woke up a few times talking to my anesthesiologist and taping my finger with the 'red thingy' on it to the beat. Yes, the doctor had some really good music playing.
I remember asking the anesthesiologist if he would take some pictures of me. I brought my camera into the operating room. He took several pictures. Very nice memories.
I saw the doctor working, but I did not want to disturb him;
he looked busy :-) :-)
Next thing I know, the surgery is over, and I feel refreshed and well rested.

Just because some people choose not to share does not mean they are ashamed.
Some people are surrounded by toxic, unloving, selfish, mean people. They have already been bullied and belittled for being fat for a long time, and they know this treatment of abuse will continue if they tell about their decision to have weight loss surgery.
Each person circumstances are different and must be respected.
For me, my decision not to tell anyone has nothing to do with being ashamed of my surgery.
It has everything to do with the fact that I am a extremely shy person and I can not to talk to very many people, and do not like too many people talking to me.
Although I am very shy, I have made a lot of improvements through out my life, and continue to try to be more out going.
I just want everyone to know, just because some people choose not to share does not necessarily mean that they are ashamed, but it could be for a number of reasons.
At least we had the surgery. That is the most important thing. Taking control of our lives now — today, so we can have a better future tomorrow.