andersonlj

One thing that I did after I got back from Mexico was scheduled an appt with my PCP and took her all of the records, labs, test that I had done in Mexico. I kept the orginal in case I need to head to an ER anytime. She did a complete blood workup on me and said that if I had any problems to call immediately. one thing I like about my surgeon is that I had to pass 3 different leak tests before I was released from the hospital to the hotel in Mexico. I had them at different times after the surgery and the last one was done just before they pulled the drain. I was very happy that they checked for leaks so many times postop.

Well said.....we are here to help each other and not to drag doctors down or push our doctors. Granted we have all had good experiences but then I am sure there are some that are not as happy as others. And I assume that those on this board are not being paid by any doctor to promote their practices. I for one would recommend my doctor as I am sure the rest of you would. You will find tons of information on this site and you have to take the good with the bad but if we all talk about our positive experiences it helps those who will follow us on this journey.

If I went to my shrink and he told me that WLS does not work I would dump him just like I "did" dump my primary care doctor. I understand that just the surgery is not going to get you to where you want to be but the surgery is also a tool that will help get you there. If I would not have had the surgery I would have continued to yo-yo diet for the rest of my life and been miserable. It is untimately up to her if she continues to see this person but I would expect a little more support from my shrink of therapist.

As there is probably no way to find out a doctors death rate either.

If he is a new shrink I would be looking for a different one. He is there to help you and support you through your decisions......not to pass judgement. WLS does work but you also have to be onboard with your decision and make some changes in your lifestyle. I would dump him like a bad habit and look elsewhere.

I am not sure where you got your info on Dr Almanza.....I have 2 friends that had Dr Almanza and they never had any problems or infections. I would have probably used him but I could not book with him at the time that I was looking at having my surgery. I did check out Dr Garcia and I can say that I am so very happy that I went with him, his surgical team and Hospital Mi. I do not like it when people post in the boards things about doctors such as leaks, infections and deaths....yes I said deaths. If someone asks me in private what my research turns up I will be very specific what I have learned about a specific doctor but I do not spread that information to everyone on a board. I think that all of these doctors have special attributes and they all have faults.....just my personal opinion not to drag them through the gutter in public.

Capt Derel......you lost me with your post. Also what does the (null) in the post stand for?

Thanks for the sharing of your info on your research......Oh and yes to the higher heating bill as I just got up and turned up the thermostat....plus that blanket.

I have just finished reading a couple of posts regarding how much they are able to eat at certain stages post op. Both of the people that posted talked about the size of their sleeves......one was a 32 and one was a 34fr. I had never heard of a sleeve size before and I do not think that it was anything that my doctor discussed with me. I am wondering if he creates the same size for all of his patients and if so what that size might be. I have sent my surgical coordinator an email regarding my sleeve and see if she could speak to Dr Garcia to find out what is the size my sleeve. I will be waiting to hear as this now has me very intrigued. How many out there know the size of their sleeves? Did you surgeon talk to you about this before your surgery?

Congratulations on your weight loss. You have much to be proud of and I have heard especially women talking about clothing and trying to keep up with the change in sizes. You may see if there is a second hand store close that you might shop at to find some nice used clothing as it seem silly to have to buy all new to only not be able to wear them in a month as they are now too big. Keep up the excellent work.

I have no idea what a 32 sleeve is.....I assume that it refers to the size but my doctor never said anything to me about the size of my sleeve. Just wondering if anyone else out there was told any information about this by their surgeon. I just wonder if you are chewing your food good enough. I know that if I am not paying attention I can get an uncomfortable feeling. Being that you are not that far out from surgery it is easy to slip and chew a couple of times and swallow. I know I have caught myself doing this and I am on week 6 post op. Just a thought. If you do not see any improvement I would talk to the surgeon.

if you were faily new post op I would guess that it might be from the air that they pump into your stomach during surgery. but if you are out a ways and had pain that bad there most be something else going on. Do you have a primary care doctor or an internist??? I would definitely go see someone.

Here in the US my doctor wanted to do 2 seperate surgeries.....one to removed the band and then wait months and then go back and do the sleeve. This also would have cost me over $40,000 out of pocket. When I could not afford that and my insurance said no I started checking into Mexico. Most doctors there do it all in one procedure if you do not have a lot of damage from the band. I had my band for 2 years and before they did my surgery in Mexico they did a scope to look at my stomach lining around the band to make sure there were no major erosions or other complications. My was fine so they took it out and did the sleeve at the same time which most have done. I did not really have any pain with the band removal and sleeve performed. It was more of a discomfort. I did have more pain after the band but then I came home the same day where as with the sleeve I was in the hospital for a couple of days and they were giving me some pain meds. I had surgery on a Monday and was released on Wednesday. They gave me pain pills to take when I was released but I never took any of them. I am sure that everyone has a different pain threshold but if you take it easy you should be fine. I had a lot of discomfort in my left shoulder area but they say that is more from the air that is left in your stomach after the surgery and this does go away and is helped by walking.

Barb....where are you having your surgery?? I doubt that any of this is covered by insurance so would be interested in the cost of each seperate procedure if you are willing to share.

It could be from the air that they pump into your stomach for the surgery but if you are still there with your surgeon I would have him check it out.

I stand corrected...........to get a 1 pound loss you have to burn an excess 3500 calories

I believe that your body has to burn 2000 calories more than your body is taking in order for you to lose 1 pound of weight on the scale. When I did my liquid fast diet for 8 months they had a table that would tell you how many calories you body would burn each day depending on your weight. Then you would add how many calories you took in and subtracted how many calories you burned by exercise. This would give you and idea as to how much weight you should lose by weighing on the scale. I will see if I can get this info again and post it.

If I knew then what I would now I would have pushed for surgery many years ago instead of listening to the doctors tell me "Oh you can do this yourself by dieting and exercising". Well I did that and wasted so many years of my life on yo=yo dieting and being miserable with myself and my life. Today I feel that I have been given a NEW LIFE and wish that I was younger but I intend to live the rest of my days with a new appreciate for things that some take for granted.

I agree with 5DogMa......this is nothing a caveman could do. I do believe that the more surgeries that a doctor does the most advanced his technique becomes. I too went to Dr Garcia and I know that I was nervous but I place my faith in Dr Garcia after doing my research and talking with Dr Garcia and asking questions that were important. Every surgery has risks but this was one risk that I was more than willing to take........and for me it was well worth that risk. I went alone so had nobody to talk to about how I was feeling or doing when in Mexico except the staff. They understood and treated me like gold. I will always be grateful to Dr Garcia and his entire staff at Hospital MI. 5DogMa....you will do great and are in good hands. Best of luck and I will be thinking of you and please tell them all that I said hello from me.

I also have a lot of protein shake supplement in Chocolate and strawberry. I also have some powdered chicken and tomato soups. I did buy about 10 jars of baby food along with some gatorade etc. before surgery as I live alone and did not want to be a bother to anyone if I should need something once I got home for the first week or 2. This week I had a stall so for the next 5 days I have gone back to the diet of protein shakes. I am hoping that this will jump start my weight loss again. I do not mind the shakes and usually use them once every day for a meal replacement so that I can have some things that may be a little higher in calories at another meal or special occassion. I did have to toss a couple jars of baby food as it was so bad that even salt and pepper would not make it edible. I would suggest that before you have surgery that you buy a jar of what might appeal to you and try it before buying several jars. The Lasagna and chicken and noodles were edible when doctored up. Also I like to have the packaged soups for times when I might be going on the road and want something quick that has protein and is good for me.

One thing to remember with time release medications is that they can not be taken out of the capsule or the tablet can not be cut as they will no longer work as directed. If you are having trouble taking these sometimes large pills talk to you doctor about an alternative and possible change in the medication.

It happend to me in week 5.....which was last week. This week I have gone back on total liquid shakes to see if I can not get the motor turned back on and start losing some more weight. I will keep you posted to see how I do next week at my weigh in. I am one that does not believe in daily weigh ins and only weigh myself on Monday mornings.

I too have been cold since my surgery. I have always been a hot person running around the house in shorts and a tee shirt. Now when I sit and watch tv at night I have a blanket that I cover up with and snuggle in. I know that is has to do with the changes that are going on in our bodies. I hope that this cool thing continues into the summer as some days I suffer from the heat and humidity. Maybe that was due to the fact that I was overweight.....here hoping to a cooler summer for me.

I am sure that there are hotels out by SSF as they are near the San Francisco Internations Airport. I would ask the Kaiser SSF as I know they must have a list for families that stay close to the hospital if they have a family member there. Oh and sorry that I did not know Kaiser Geary did not do the surgery. I hated Kaiser when I lived there. I am surprised that they will even pay for this surgery.!!

I took 2 teaspoons this morning with my shake. It says that you can take it more than once a day. Anyone else out there that is taking it and if so how many times a day...