andersonlj

You would probably have severe pain, vomiting and running a fever. You do not give us much info on how you are feeling. best to call your doctor though

I did not even have steristrips and all of my stiches were internal and dissolvable so I have no idea how many that I had. I did have a little area that was seperated but I did not have any problem and it has healed. You can always take a bandaid and put it across and pull it together before taping down the other side.

Wishing you all the success. I know that you will do just fine and I think that everyone has had thoughts similiar to yours. I will say a little prayer for you.

Most will tell you 4-6 weeks. I based it on the type of work that I do. If you have a desk job that does not require a lot of lifting then I would say a week or 2 but if you have a job that is strenious and you have to do lifting then I would probably say closer to the 6 weeks. I am sure that if you talk to you doctor about what you do at work during the day that he can give you a better idea. It also will depend a lot on how you feel after the surgery and the weeks that follow. I know a lot of people still feel very week and tired a couple of weeks after having surgery.

If you say I am rude then I must be....carry on without me.

She never said she had talked to her doctor about it either.....make yourself clear. I thought that the way she talked that she did not want to do the liquid diet. Sorry for upsetting so many. Oh and I was sleeved 5 weeks ago and before that had a band so I have been through it all without any help of a site to ask questions.

Just a thought.....why not just ask your doctor what he recommends.

I have made mine as a single serving of water with protein as I usually like mine cold and not warm.....but on occassion I have mixed a double and taken it on a long road trip or a couple hours. When I was on a total liquid diet for 8 months I had to make sure that I had at least 5 shakes a day and there were 14 g of protein in each shake and 100 calories. It you mixed it with skim milk instead of water them you ended up with 200 calories per shake so 500 calories per day versus 100 calories. Either way you should lose weight.

I would say yes as I am just 5 weeks out and the only thing that I am doing is walking on the treadmill and doing some light weights with just my arms that do not put pressure on my stomach area.

Just a thought..............If you can not commit to a 2 week liquid diet for your health and safety during surgery.................how are you ever going to make the change needed after you have the surgery?......just a thought

I had no xrays prior to either my lapband or my sleeve and had to be on a liquid diet for 2 weeks for both surgeries with 2 different doctors.

If this surgery is recommended by a weight loss doctor for health reasons then I do not understand how they can say that this is an elective surgery. I would call my insurance company and talk to them each personally. When I had my lapband done my insurance paid 80% and I had to pay 20% plus a $500 deductible. If you call the hospital and speak to their billing department they can give you an idea of what the cost of the specific procedure is going to cost. I can not imagine that you doctors office does not have this info or at least an idea if they have been doing these surgeries.

I attended a post surgery seminar this weekend in Chicago and learned some things that I did not know before. The reason that they put you on the liquid diet before the surgery is to get your live to shrink in size. When eating regular foods your liver enlarges. When having the WLS the doctor wants you liver to be as small as possible so that it is out of the way when they are doing your procedure. There have been surgeries cancelled because of the liver being too large and unsafe to proceed. So it is important to stick with the liquid diet for the 2 weeks as close as you can.

That flavored tuna sounds great but I do not think that we get them here in the US unless it would be a specialty store.....darn wouldn't you know it.

I too had the band to sleeve revision on Dec 11. 2011. I was 30 pounds down at 4 weeks and this past week I must have hit the stall wall as when I got on the scale Monday I had lost nothing in the past. I had also been out of town and my eating pattern had changed and I do not think that I was getting in all of my fluids. But today is the start of a new week and I am going back on liquids for 4-5 days to give my body a little boost start. I know how you feel after being on liquids for so long but start out slow when you start the soft, mushy and pureed foods. It will not take much to make you full.....I was around 2-3 oz of baby food when I first started out. I suggest that if you use the baby food that you try the lasagna and chicken and noodles. You will have to add salt and petter to taste as there are none in the baby food. I would not want to make that my lifetime diet but to start it is a stepup from the pure liquids. I still drink the shakes to get my protein in as you want to make sure you get as close to that as possible.....that and all of your fluids.

Where did you go or what type of doctor or department did this test for you?

Thanks for your reply as I thought that maybe I was the only one that felt like it was an assembly line. It seemed that I had a lot of frequent followup visits and since it cost me $40 each time it was adding up. They would weight me and say all looks fine and come back in 3 months. Well if that is all they want is my weight and to know if I am having a problem I could call them. Just seemed to be a money making thing. I only saw Dr Eibes the last time as I specifically made an appt with him and not the PA. I have nothing against the PA but if all they want is weight and to know if I am having problems then why not just a nurse visit. Oh and after I called to have them get my records ready for me, weeks later the office called and wanted to know why I had not called to make a followup appt with Joel. I told them that I had just seen Dr Eibes and since they had dropped me as a patient that maybe they should pass the information along so that everyone knew and that they would not bother calling me again. I agree now that they are growing things are becoming less personal than when I first went. I had not thought of the WLS in Newton and I may give them a call to see if they would follow me. Thanks for the suggestions

I got approval for my lapband through BCBS back in 2009. I had the surgery and lost about 90 pounds. Dr Eibes did my surgrery. In 2011 I stalled and was not able to lose any more weight and did not gain any either. My band was at max fill so I was stuck. I went to see Dr Eibes about having the lapband removed and have the sleeve done. They told me that my insurance would not pay for the surgery and that I would need to have 2 surgeries. The first would be to remove the lapband and then wait 2 month before they would do the sleeve. The cost of this surgery private pay would have beeb over $40,000. Obviously there are not many of us out there that have an extra $40,000 laying around to spend on surgery. So I began my search for a surgery that I could afford. I found my answer with Dr F Garcia in Tijuana, Mexico. I initially had my reservations about going to Mexico as you hear alot of stories about Mexico in general.....dirty, dangerous etc. I did my research and actually spoke on the phone to a couple of patients of Dr Garcia's and they were very happy with the surgery and had no complaints about having the surgery done in Mexico. I had my surgery on Dec 11, 2011 in Tijuana at Hospital MI with Dr Garcia. I could not have been happier with everyone that was involved with my surgery, pre and post care and the hospital. I also spend a couple of days in Tijuana after my surgery and was also please with the hotel accomodations and all that they did for me during my stay to make sure that I was comfortable and well taken care of. When I got back from my surgery I called Dr Eibes office to see if they would follow me. I had heard that if you have surgery out of the country they will not. I thought that since Dr Eibes had done my lapband and that I had been a patient and compliant that they might keep me on. Well when I call I found out different. They dropped me like a rock and gave me no other options. Now I followup with my primary care doctor who checks my blood work on a regular basis and has been very supportive. If I do have any other problems that would require any hospitalizations and possible surgery I would go to Mercy as I would not want Dr Eibes or LaMasters working on me as an emergency patient as they would not keep me as a patient after my surgery. If you do decide to go out of the country be prepared to be dropped by your doctor here. I would suggest checking before you have your surgery so that you have a plan when you return.

Which Kaiser are you having your surgert......San Francisco on Geary or South San Francisco (Daly City)?????????????

On dec 11, 2011 I had my lapband removed and the gastric sleeve performed by Dr F Garcia at Hospital Mi in Tijuana. I had researched Dr Garcia, had spoken to his coordinator, Linda and had also spoken to a patient that had previously had surgery with Dr Garcia. After doing a lot of research I decided that Dr Garcia and Mexico was the best option for me. Dr Garcia and his entire surgical team were very knowledgable and I felt at complete ease once I arrived at the hospital. The nursing staff were also great. Hospital Mi is a small newer facility that has about 10 rooms and an intensive care unit that comes complete with everything that one would need to have in an intensive care unit. I have worked in the medical field for over 33 years and in many different capacities. The hospital was very clean which impressed me compared to some of the hospitals that I have been inside in the US. The equipment was state of the art and the surgical suite was very modern with all of the equipment that is needed for a safe surgery and experience. There xray department was also very nice and the staff was very friendly. I had a private room and since the hospital is not that large when i rang for the nurse she was there within a minute or 2....not the 15 to 20 that we are accustomed to here in most of our hospitals. If you have any questions for me please feel free to ask. Also I have pictures of the Hotel Pueblo Amigo on my picture page.

You could always check with the hospital as they usually have a list of the hotels close for families and also the costs. i know that we did when I worked at California Pacific Medical Center. So happy that Kaiser is paying for WLS.

There are several out west of the hospital on Geary but I would have to look them up to see what is there. I am not sure how cheap they are but they would be the closest and the safest area near Kaiser on Geary.

Would love to help....just wondering how many pounds that you want or need to lose before I weigh in.

Think you are a little early for meats of any kind. At your stage I was eating babyfood.....the lasagna and the chicken and noodle are not bad if you add some salt and pepper. I was eating half a jar at a meal which is about 3 ox and felt very full. Did you get a diet sheet from your surgeon after surgery. Mine is specific as what I can add each week post op. I am 5 weeks out and I am just eating slivered ham, turkey and chicken. I have not tried any hamburger as of yet. I have put the meat into my chopper and mixed it with northern beans out of a can and also with some peas and carrots. I am taking it easy as the other food will come in good time.

Hey I have BCBS and it is through my employer and it would not pay for the sleeve either so I went to Mexico.