andersonlj

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Since arriving home I have not had any pain or discomfort. I have been following the diet instructions and today I am 3 weeks post op. I only weight once a week and as of this morning I have lost a total of 28 pounds. i have gone from wearing 2X-3X down to a XL. I have already started to get rid of many of my large clothes. I feel fantastic and my incisions on my stomach are healing well. I did start backto the gym the middle of last week and have been walking mostly on the treadmill. I have not started to do any weight training as heavy lifting is discourage for several weeks after the surgery. I am actually enjoying some of the baby food that I have been eating over the past week. My mother did not think that she feed me baby food when I was a baby so this is a first for me.
I am so excited about my results and people that I have not seen in some time can not believe the change already. Since I am still off work from the surgery I am going to be traveling to Chicago on January 14, 2012 to see Dr Garcia who will be speaking at a seminar at the Marriott Chicago Midway Airport Hotel from 2pm - 5pm. It will be great to see him again and to be able to talk to those who might have interested in having surgery with Dr Garcia. I will keep you all posted on my progress.

I am an actual patient that went to Tijuana, Mexico and had a lapband removal and a gastric sleeve. I work in the medical profession here in the US and I was also a little leary about going to Mexico. I used to live in California and my brother still lives there and had a friend that went and had surgery in Nov 2011. After talking to her and about her experience I had little doubt about going to Mexico. I called and scheduled my surgery with Dr Fernando Garcia and had my surgery at Hospital MI. I went through Alighterme. The cost for me to have the lapband removed which included having a scope to make sure that all was ok and the sleeve was around $6000. I am sure that if you are looking to just have the sleeve and have nothing more done then you can come close to your limit of $5000. I had my surgery on Dec 11, 2011 and I am down 27 pounds already. I have had no problems since my surgery. I am going to travel to Chicago on Jan 14 as Dr Garcia will be in Chicago doing a seminar on weight loss surgery. I am paying my own way and travel expenses as I want to see him again and thank him for giving me a headstart on my new life. I will try and take some pictures when I am there and post when I return. If you have any other questions for me please let me know.

When my insurance turned me down I was very disappointed as you. My brother who lives in California just happened to have a friend that had just returned from having her surgery in Mexico. He gave me her number and I called and spoke to her several times. She told me everything that I asked and told me that she would not hesitate to recommend going to Tijuana for the surgery. I work as a health care professional here in Iowa so I know a little more than the average person and I was still a little nervous about going to Mexico but after talking to Lori all of my fears disappeared. I contacted Alighterme.com and spoke on the phone to Linda who is the coordinator. She was very pleasant and helpful in answering any questions that I had. I told her that I needed to have my lapband removed and was looking to have the sleeve gastrectomy. She told me which doctors were available and told me the cost. Mine was about $1000 more than just the sleeve as they had to do a scope to make sure that everything from the lapband was ok so that they could go ahead and remove it and do the sleeve at the same time. I knew that I had to do something as I have had hypertension and on 2 medications and was borderline diabetic and they were about to start me on medications and also suffered from sleep apnea. At 56 I knew that I would not be around long if I did not change my life. I scheduled my surgery for a Monday and flew to Tijuana on Sunday. The driver picked me up at the airport and took me to the hotel in Tijuana. I spent the night there and the next morning they picked me up and took me to Hospital MI which was about 6-7 blocks from the hotel. I checked in and they started to do the preop testing. The cardiologist actually came in and did my EKG which impressed me. Then I had blood work drawn. Then it was time for me to go for my scope. When I woke up they told me that it was a go and everything look good. About 5:30 on Monday afternoon I headed off to surgery. I do not remember anything until I woke up in recovery. I was taken back to my room and was started on IV antibiotics, something for nausea and a pain med. I can not say that I really had any pain but more discomfort and some slight nausea. On Tuesday morning they told me that I needed to get up and start walking. I thought no way but I did and walked the hall a quite a bit that day. I felt good but tired. On Wednesday they did 3 leak tests to make sure that I had no leaks and when all came back ok I was released Wednesday afternoon and taken back to the hotel. I rested the rest of the day and watched some tv. On Thursday I felt pretty good so I decided to go to the local mall and do a little shopping. They took me to the mall and I walked around for about 2 hours and then began to feel tired so they took me back to the hotel. On Friday morning around 8am they came to the hotel and picked me up and took me to the airport to catch my plane back home to Iowa. I have been doing great and so far have lost 27 pounds. Next week on Friday I am going to Chicago and will get to see Dr Garcia as he is doing a seminar there on Saturday. I am looking forward to seeing him again and to thank him for all of his care and expertise. I will have a few pictures to share when I get back. If you have any other questions please ask. There are several doctors that do surgery there and I am sure they are all good but I did really like Dr Garcia. Any questions please ask as I am sure that I left some things out. best of luck to you and hope that you can possible get your insurance to cover it. I think that the sleeve through Alighterme.com is around $5000. This includes everything except your place ticket.

BTW, I personally stuck to one "sound bite": "My doctors have told me that I will die within a year if I don't get some of this weight off of me NOW." It was pretty effective about shutting up even the most determined nay-sayer.

sorry that you are having such a hard time with your eating. I know that before surgery my life revolved a lot around food and social activities. i know that I have cut back on going out to eat as much but I still go out with friends and they still eat some of my favorities that are not on my menu at the present time nor may some of them ever be again. I usually check out the menu at the restuarant before I go so that I have an idea of what I will be ordering. I enjoy what I have as much as possible and try to focus more on the people that I am with and enjoying their company.
I too hope that one day as I am only a little more than a month post op that I can enjoy some of the old food and enjoy my life as a person. Please do not give up on yourself as you are the most important. Hoping that things get better soon.

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.

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.< /p>
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.

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.

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.

yes according to the diet that I was given that you can eat vegetable and salads after a certain period of time. I also miss lettuce salads but they are at least 4-6 months post op for me according to my diet. It is possible with the sleeve and I too had the lapband before I had my sleeve. I certainly do not miss the vomiting.

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.

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.

To the person who has accused me of being paid to endorse a specific doctor in Mexico I can assure that I have no financial agreement with any doctor or group of doctors. I was just trying to tell you to make sure that you had done the research on your doctor before you went ahead with your doctor. I merely suggested that you speak with the doctor or his representative and ask some very important questions.
1) How many surgeries does the doctor perform in a single day? How many sleeve or lapband surgeries will the doctor perform in a single day. Whether it be 5 or 12 I know that I want a doctor that is not tired and at his best when performing my surgery. Also some surgeries are more complex such as the bypass and I do not want the doctor to be doing 5-6 of those in a day and me to be the last one.
2) How many surgeries has the doctor performed over his career of WLS? This is important for several reasons. The more that the doctor has hopefully performed the more skilled that doctor is at his trade. Also I would like to know if the doctor is working with a particular hospital or several different hospitals at the same time and possibly using more than one booking service with different prices.
3) Also what is the doctors success rate for the surgery that you are looking at having performed. Also has the doctor had any deaths in the performance of his surgeries. I want to know this before I put my life in a doctor's hands.
If you think that just because I want to know all I can about the doctor that is going to take my life into his or her hands.....well then just call me concerned.
I am very happy with the doctor that did my surgery and would recommend him to anyone as many people are on here. I am just trying to get people to take some responsibility for their actions and stop putting the blame on others with false claims.
If you do not wish to speak to me then do not send me a message. I too am entitled to my opinion as are you.

To the person who has accused me of being paid to endorse a specific doctor in Mexico I can assure that I have no financial agreement with any doctor or group of doctors. I was just trying to tell you to make sure that you had done the research on your doctor before you went ahead with your doctor. I merely suggested that you speak with the doctor or his representative and ask some very important questions.
1) How many surgeries does the doctor perform in a single day? How many sleeve or lapband surgeries will the doctor perform in a single day. Whether it be 5 or 12 I know that I want a doctor that is not tired and at his best when performing my surgery. Also some surgeries are more complex such as the bypass and I do not want the doctor to be doing 5-6 of those in a day and me to be the last one.
2) How many surgeries has the doctor performed over his career of WLS? This is important for several reasons. The more that the doctor has hopefully performed the more skilled that doctor is at his trade. Also I would like to know if the doctor is working with a particular hospital or several different hospitals at the same time and possibly using more than one booking service with different prices.
3) Also what is the doctors success rate for the surgery that you are looking at having performed. Also has the doctor had any deaths in the performance of his surgeries. I want to know this before I put my life in a doctor's hands.
If you think that just because I want to know all I can about the doctor that is going to take my life into his or her hands.....well then just call me concerned.
I am very happy with the doctor that did my surgery and would recommend him to anyone as many people are on here. I am just trying to get people to take some responsibility for their actions and stop putting the blame on others with false claims.
If you do not wish to speak to me then do not send me a message. I too am entitled to my opinion as are you.

I had surgery on Dec 11 and I am not a paid person for the doctor that did my surgery. I went with Dr F Garcia and I could not be happier with my results with the surgery. I did not feel the least bit scared when I was in Tijuana. I was picked up at the airport by Hector and taken to the Hotel Pueblo Amigo where I spend Sunday night. On Monday morning Hector picked me up at the hotel and took me to Hospital MI. I had my preop and a scope to make sure that all was right with my lapband that was coming out and to have the sleeve. I had surgery Monday afternoon and all of the staff....nurses, doctors, anesthesiologist, cardiologist were wonderful. I can not say a bad thing about my experience.When I was discharged back to the hotel Hector took me from the hospital back to the hotel and got me checked back in. Then 2 days later he picked me up from the hotel and took me back to San Diego to the airport and I flew home.
The day after I was released I also went out to the shopping mall that is new and did not feel the least bit nervous because I was in Tijuana, Mexico.
My surgery cost a little more as I had to have the band removed and some extra testing but I still paid under $6000 compared to the $40,000 they wanted here in the US.

To the person who has accused me of being paid to endorse a specific doctor in Mexico I can assure that I have no financial agreement with any doctor or group of doctors. I was just trying to tell you to make sure that you had done the research on your doctor before you went ahead with your doctor. I merely suggested that you speak with the doctor or his representative and ask some very important questions.
1) How many surgeries does the doctor perform in a single day? How many sleeve or lapband surgeries will the doctor perform in a single day. Whether it be 5 or 12 I know that I want a doctor that is not tired and at his best when performing my surgery. Also some surgeries are more complex such as the bypass and I do not want the doctor to be doing 5-6 of those in a day and me to be the last one.
2) How many surgeries has the doctor performed over his career of WLS? This is important for several reasons. The more that the doctor has hopefully performed the more skilled that doctor is at his trade. Also I would like to know if the doctor is working with a particular hospital or several different hospitals at the same time and possibly using more than one booking service with different prices.
3) Also what is the doctors success rate for the surgery that you are looking at having performed. Also has the doctor had any deaths in the performance of his surgeries. I want to know this before I put my life in a doctor's hands.
If you think that just because I want to know all I can about the doctor that is going to take my life into his or her hands.....well then just call me concerned.
I am very happy with the doctor that did my surgery and would recommend him to anyone as many people are on here. I am just trying to get people to take some responsibility for their actions and stop putting the blame on others with false claims.
If you do not wish to speak to me then do not send me a message. I too am entitled to my opinion as are you.

That is amazing.....you deserve to enjoy this moment as you are the one that has worked so hard to achieve this. Nobody can take this away from you if you stay with it and decide that this is your new life.

I had the lapband first and I do not miss it at all. The constant vomiting when things would not go through was not fun as I hate to vomit.
Now for the decicion of the sleeve vs RNY. First I never even considered the RNY. I knew several people that had the surgery and the weight loss is so much faster that you have a greater chance of having excess skin everywhere as you body does not have time to compensate for this as you are losing at a rapid rate. Also I was not really happy after readying about the dumping syndrome. I do not eat a lot of sugars anyway. I did know a couple of people that had this surgery and they had increased the amount of food that they were eating that they actually started to gain weight again. Also I did not like all the restrictions regarding medications that you are unable to take but also to the number of supplements, Vitamins etc that you have to take for the rest of your life as this can become costly.
I chose the sleeve as it will allow you eventually to eat most of your favorite food even though the amount that you will be eating will be much less.The weight loss is a little slower allow your skin to react in a more positive way. Not saying that you will not have any sagging skin but not as much as with the bypass. Also I only have to take a Multivitamin, Vit B 12 and my calcuim as far as supplements. This is nice as I do not like to take any more pills than I have to. If you have the sleeve you will be more than happy with the results and the recovery time. It is less time in the hospital. I am 4 weeks post op and have lost 30 pounds. I follow my diet from the doctor and do not cheat and stop when I am full. I want all those staples that created my new stomach to heal well as I do not want any problems that land me back in the hospital. In fact this morning I am still having a chocolate Protein shake for Breakfast.
I hope that you get some other good responses to your post but I for one would go with the sleeve. just my opinion but it was the best choice for me.....one that I will never regret as it has given me a new life.

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