andersonlj

I'm game.....but let's make this the 3 month challenge.

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for posting all of those receipes. Some of them sound great. I do not have any trouble with the chocolate or strawberry shakes as I was on a liquid diet of nothing but shakes for 8 months as a diet in years past. But I might just have to buy some vanilla and give some of those a try. Thanks for sharing your information.

Congrats......from your location I assume that you must have had Kaiser Insurance. You are lucky as a lot of insurances are not paying which has left the rest of us out in the cold with selfpay. I am glad that you are doing well and hope you are doing better each and every day.

I had my surgery with Dr Garcia and stayed at Hospital Mi. The best thing that you can do is contact your coordinator and see what the policy is of the hospital that you will be staying at.....if they allow overnight guests. Also my package came with hotel for me. If I would have had someone with me they could have stayed in my room as I had 2 queen beds. I would assume that is the hospital will not let him stay that he would have to make a reservation at the hotel for 2 night for himself and pay for those nights. He could then stay with you once you are released from the hospital. I would call your coordinator asap to find out what you need to do.

If you skin smooths back out you are not significantly dehydrated. Just keep drinking your water and whatever you can keep down. I would however becareful when driving as you could faint if you get that low and have an accident and that would be horrible. Take care of yourself and do the best that you can.

Try this for me and let me know what happens. On your the backside of your hand take your fingers and pinch the skin and let me know if the skin smooths back out flat or it your skin stay in a peak shape. Let me know what happens.

After reading all of the posts so far and reading what you have posted I would say that you are definetly dehydrated. You need some help if you are unable to take broth or the gatorade. You are not getting enough nutrition to sustain yourself and need to call your doctor back and tell him that you are unable to take anything by mouth. You need to either go into the ER and get a couple liters of fluid or the doctor needs to admit you to the hospital for a day or 2 until he can get your stomach settled so that you can take in fluids etc. Call him now.

I am so sorry to hear that you are not feeling well and are having so many problems after your surgery. Please do not give up as this is going to change your life so much that you will look back on these days and think "this was totally worth it". It does sound to me like you are dehydrated. The gatorade is great and if it upsets your stomach try diluting it with a little water so that it is not so strong. Taking small sips is best which I am sure that you already know. You said that the soups are making you sick. Are you able to keep down chicken broth made from the flakes of the cubes. If you are able to do the chicken broth just add more salt to the broth so that it still tastes ok to you. The extra salt will help your body retain more fluid and you will not feel so light headed and dizzy. I was not getting hardly any protein after my surgery which can also make you feel weak and dragging. I went to the GNC store and bought a container of flavored protein. It is more like a soft drink taste than a shake mix taste. I got the very berry blast mix. They will mix different flavors for you fight in the store so that you can try them before you buy. I tried several and did not like the orange at all but the berry blast was my favorite and it has 30g or protein per serving. I really do think that if you can increase your fluid intake and get more protein that you will notice a great change in the way that you feel. I hope this helps and I am so sorry that you are feeling so miserable. Please post again to let us know how you are doing as we really do care about our fellow sleever's. I know I care or I would not be replying to your post. take care and God Bless.

walgreens make a scar cream that I found to work pretty good. They also carry other scar creams that are much more expensive but have never tried them as I am cheap. It is never too late and you may be able to get some softening or fading of the scars. I figure that it is all worth a try......Good luck and congrats on your surgery

I also had trouble sleeping after my surgery. I would go to bed around 10:30 or 11pm and I would be awake at 5-6 am and could not fall back to sleep. I just stayed in bed and rested and sometimes I would fall back to sleep for short periods. I am not sure what the cause is but it does get better. I am now 4 weeks out and I am definetly sleep longer and better.

Glad that your surgery went well and that you are on your way to your new life. I had the nausea also and continured for about 2 weeks but they gave me meds for stomach acid and after that I was fine. I could not eat or drink everything that they brought me after surgery either. Do not worry about it as it will all come in good time. Drink what you can and that is all you can ask of yourself. Glad that you are up doing a little walking also.

Alina.....thanks for your nice letter. I really like Dr Garcia and all of the staff at Hospital Mi and the Hotel Amigo Pueblo. I felt very safe and I did go out to the shopping center and did so a little shopping. I did not buy any clothes for obvious reasons. I have not had a lot of problems with skin so far and that all depends on your skin type, how fast you lose, if you exercise and other factors. The hotel is nice and there is a casion on the main floor. the room that I had had 2 queen beds a desk sofa and a very nice bath with tub and shower. The hotel furnishes bottled water for you to drink. They also work very had to get you anything you need....ice etc. I did not go out much except the day after I was released from the hospital to do the shopping. I had been to Mexico several times before and bought some things on my other trips. As for the lapband I had too much weight to lose for it to take me to my goal. I am much happier with the sleeve as with the band I had a problem with vomiting if I ate something that would not go through the opening. I do not miss that at all and have not vomited once since I have had the sleeve. I am actually leaving Friday for Chicago and I will be meeting Dr Garcia again as he is doing a seminar there and I want to thank him for giving me my life back and to meet his family who will be there with him. Judy one of the coordinators will also be there. My coordinator was Linda and she is also very nice and helpful. Oh one thing that I would suggest is that you take some chicken broth cubes of crystals with you as the broth they have for you at the hotel is BAD!!!!!!! I also took some crystal light and I also bought some gatorade while there so if you have some room in your bag I could pack a bottle or 2. You do not drink much very fast after the surgery but you need to stay hydrated or you will get lightheaded. I always added a little extra to my chicken broth as the salt holds the fluid in your system longer. If you would like to talk on the phone please let me know. I can call you or your can call me as I have free long distance. I am glad to answer any questions. Larry

Greetings to all: My name is Larry and I decided to start a post about surgery in Mexico. There are many people here that would love to have the surgery but their US insurance will not approve or pay for the surgery. There are also many of you who might have thought about Mexico but fear going there for many reasons. I am hoping that this post and other that will follow will help to answer some of your questions, calm some of your fears and give you first hand stories from some of us that have gone to Mexico for this life changing surgery. First a little about me. I had lapband surgery about 2 years ago here in Iowa. I lost 90 pounds before I hit the wall and could not lose anymore. My band was at the maximum fill so I asked my doctor about the gastric sleeve. He told me that I should have probably have gone for the sleeve initially as I had amost 200 total pounds that I needed to lose. When I applied through my insurance they declined my sleeve surgery even thought my BMI was high enough and I had hypertension, pre-diabetes and sleep apnea. Needless to say I was very disappointed and down in the dumps. I was talking to my brother who lives in California and he told me that a close friend of his had returned from Mexico about 2 weeks ago and had the surgery there and was very happy. I called and spole to her on the phone several times and she helped me to calm my fears of going to Mexico for surgery. I also did a lot of other research on the doctors and the hospitals. I also was in contact with several others that had gone to Mexico. On Dec 10, 2011 I boarded the plane to San Diego. I was picked up at the airport by Hector who took me to Tijuana and checked me into my hotel. He was very nice and easy to talk to and had a wealth of knowledge. I spent that night in the hotel and the next morning Hector came and picked me up and took me to Hospital Mi which was about 8 blocks from the hotel. The facility was newer and I was totally impressed with the staff in admissions. What struck me most was how clean everything was. It was cleaner than any hospital that I have been in as a patient here in the US. I was taken to my room and given a gown and asked to change and that the nurse would be in. I layed down on the bed and soon Anna appeared. She was very pleasant and said that she needed to start my IV and get some blood. She was very professional and followed all clean procedures. I work in the healthcare field so I was watching everything as I still had a few doubts. She got my IV started and drew the blood and I was settled into bed. i had a private room, private bathroom, tv and seperate heating and cooling for each room. A short time later Anna returned with a gentleman who introduced himself as the cardiologist. He himself performed the EKG and read it for me. Since I take medicatio for my blood pressure which slows my pulse a great deal he had several questions for me. To have the cardiologist do your EKG amazed me and never happens in the US. Before my surgery since I still had my lapband they wanted to make sure that I had no damage from the band so I was taken to a suite where they performed a scope. I do not remember anything until after the scope was done. The doctor came in and showed me pictures and said that everything looked great and the surgery was a go. About 5pm they came in and took me to the surgery suite. It was very clean and all of the equipment looked new and state of the art. I have had a few surgeries in the past and have worked in a hospital. I moved over to the surgery table and they put both of my arms out on supports to have access to my stomach. I remember meeting the anesthesiologist before the surgery in my room and he told me that he would take good care of me. I do not remember anything after that until I woke up in recovery. They told me that my surgery went as expected and I was taken back to my room. During the night they were constantly monitoring my vitals, making sure that my pain was under control and giving me meds for some nausea and antibiotics through my IV. The doctors came in and went. The morning after my surgery I had very little pain but did have some nausea. Later in the day I had the first 2 leak test for my sleeve. Both were negative for any eaks. On Wednesday morning before I could be released to the hotel I had to pass on final leak test. When I passed the last one i was told that I would be going to the htel after lunch. My surgery was on Monday afternoon and on Wednesday afternoon Hector came to pick me up and took me to Hotel Amigo. My room had 2 queen beds, internet, tv and was very large and clean. I rested in my room the rest of the day but I did get up and walk the halls for some exercise. The hotel was very nice and secure and I found all of the staff more than willing to help me with anything. There was a casino on the main floor and the next day I did go down and play the slots for a while. On Thursday I was taken to the shopping mall where I did some window shopping and just sat out in the plaze soaking up some sun and people watching. I went back to the hotel that afternoon and watched some tv. The hotel staff were more than helpful in getting me anything I needed including going out to the pharmacy and getting me some zofran as I was having some nausea due to the high dosage of antibiotics that I was on. This helped a great deal and the next morning I got up and was picked up by Hector again and taken to the San Diego airport to come home. My flight was uneventful and I have not had any problems since I have returned home. today makes 4 weeks post op for me and I am down 29 pounds and feeling great. i am sticking with my diet that was given to me by Dr F Garcia. If anyone would like to post their experience in Mexico whether it was in Tijuana or anywhere else I think it will be a great help to many considering surgery in Mexico. I would also be willing to speak to anyone either via private emails for I would be willing to send my phone number so that we can talk one on one in person. I do not work for any doctor or any service that schedules surgeries in Mexico so my opinions are mine and hopefully others that post here will be the same.

Welcome Tiffany.......I had the lapband 2 years ago and I had about 170 pouds to lose. i lost around 90 with the band and then I hit a wall that would not move and my band was at full fill. I wanted to have the sleeve but my insurance said no so I went to Mexico and on Dec 11 I have the band removed and a sleeve done. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I have lost 29 pounds in 4 weeks and I am on cloud 9. My first question for you is how much weight do you need to lose? The band is fine and reversable but you still have problems as you do with the sleeve. I wish that I had done the sleeve in the first place 2 years ago and I would have been where I want to be a long time ago. I would be glad to chat anytime and answer any more questions that you have.

You can make it just keep yourself busy. If you feel like you are about to slip get up and go into the bathroom and take a nice bath or shower. You will feel better when you are finished. just remember the reward is worth the sacrifice.

Sounds good but I think that I would add some shredded chicken to get the protein value up a little. I need to get my protein first and then I look at other things and I do not want most of my protein from shakes.

Did not get any type of info on this after my surgery. I think it depends alot of what your weight is, how much food you take in and what types, if you exercise and other factors. Everyone is different and no 2 people lose at the same rate.

I made a quick meal tonight with tuna. 1 can tuna drained. 1 handful of uncooked noodles 1/2 can cream mushroom soup 1/2 package of frozen peas/carrots 1/4 skim milk Cook noodles until tender. Add tuna, soup, milk and veggies that I had thawed. Let simmer for about 15 minutes. I then put this in my small food chopper and made it a little smoother. Mades enough for several meals so I froze some.

I had surgery with Dr Garcia on Dec 11 and I have not one single complaint. In fact he is doing a seminar in Chicago this weekend and I am going to attend as I want to see him again and thank him for all that he has done for me in giving me a new life. If you have any questions and want to talk I would gladly call you or give you my phone number. I had my surgery at Hospital Mi in Tijuana

Not a big fan of hummus but I love to have some cheese on a couple of crackers

The cheapest that I have heard of on this board is about 10 - 11,000

How do you feel different........

I do not understand why everyone fears Tijuana. It is not like you are slumming in the backwoods. I was picked up at the airport and taken to the hotel. From the hotel I was taken to the Hospital. From the hospital I was taken back to the hotel. From the hotel I was taken back to the airport. It was not like I was there to sightsee or walk the backstreets. I was there to have surgery and get healthy. What is so dangerous about that.

I agree with the scale and I keep it in the bathroom that I do not use so I do not see it every day. Since I had my surgery on a Monday I only go in and weigh on Monday's. I for one get down when I get on the scale and I have not lost or even gained a pound or 2. Think you are a smart woman.

I had my surgery in Mexico......just what were you so afraid of if I may ask.