BeautyVGSJourney

Thank u nancy! You guys know what's so weird? I just got home and my passport came in.... How ironic? Hope that's god talking to me ????

Loser's bench here I come!
I'm taking a nap then I have to get up and shower then leave for the hospital. My surgery is scheduled for 5:30 in the morning.

Sleeved on May 3rd, got released from the hospital 8pm last night. Feeling better each day-still feel beat up, but better each day. Had a hyadle hernia they had to fix as well so maybe that's making it worse? I have my schedule of 2oz every hour your awake and protien (I'm using Prostat 64so I just drink 2oz at a time-15 grams of Protein in those 2 0z). Doing my breathing exercises and I have to inject myself with lovanox 2x a day for next 2 weeks to reduce risk of blood clots.
I was scared to death b4 surgery, showed my husband where everything was the night b4 ( papers, jewlrey etc) but after meeting with the team of doctors I felt much better on the day of surgery. The anasethiologist group was very nice-asked a million questions and made me feel better. I still had that "oh my god I'm alive reaction" along with what did I just do when I woke up-but I'm sure I made the right decision.
I've been up walking around but I feel better laying down trying to sleep. It's strange, like time moves slowly- I look at the clock and it's 1 and I fall asleep- think ove been sleeping for hours but it's only 1:14. Didn't get any sleep in the hospital between buzzers, beeps, alarms etc- very noisy and the nurses come in for vitals every hour.
Im also on pain meds so I hope this makes a little sense-I'll write more later.
Good luck to evyone and remember you will feel better everyday-

yes the hospital gowns are like the ones in the states but you would think they would have big ones..they kept putting me in Large.. and it just wasnt enough room that's why i put on my undies and my capris . if you bring pajamas.. make sure they are silky ones so you can move around easier in bed. .. we just got back from the beach with Trish she sure is a great person.. makes sure you get to do what you want and get out.. it was alot of fun dipped my toes in the ocean.. that was cold lol. I feel much better tonight than i did this morning..it's because i've been up and walking all around it was nice!! Hope you do well janneth and Krista.. i really liked the nurses sonia and patty they were extra good.. you will want sonia to pull out your drain she was so nice about it!!
Tomorrow trish is bringing a girl to do a pedicure and then we leave at 1 to go catch our flight.. i'm so glad i had the extra day my swelling is going down.. been getting all the Water in good today.

I heard if you just ask they will let them know you just had surgery they will let you board early and will give you a good seat if is available without charge. But it all varies with airlines and how good of a mood the people are that day lol. I am planning on trying it in any case, I might even ask for a wheelchair when I arrive just so they will take me in and that normally gives them the clue. I will be wearing compression stockings and plan to walk as much as possible in the plain, at least every hour. (my flight is 5 hours with one hour layover). Good luck, let us know how it goes if you go before me!

I just walked up to claim my tickets post op and told them that I needed window seats because I just had bariactric surgery and they gave them to me without a problem. They also put me in back of a crash bulkhead which turned out to be awesome due to the extra footroom. My 1st flight was 5 hours ,2nd flight was 1 hour. I had no problems at all with gas. I was more concerned with nausea. It would hit me in spells but I never used the bag.

This is the last video she made
She must be having her surgery now!

Hi everyone sorry for the late update just didn't feel like doing much but sleeping and walking in the hospital. I stayed at the INT hospital and loved it. all the nurses made me feel at home they all very kind. The facility was really clean and cozy. It is one floor you stay on.. i was in room 309 for those of you going. Got here at 7 and was in for surgery at 9pm I met with Dr. Leal the cardiologist and he did an ekg which checked out fine. They ran blood test to make sure everything was fine on that end too. Women be prepared to be have a breast out when getting this done.. it's quick and easy and dr. leal is very professional.. he asked me alot of questions about my age..how much i smoke, drink, when i first started doing any of those things. They then had to put my IV in.. i will tell you straight up anyone who has to put an iv in me always has a hard time my veins move and they don't stand out.. i did have to get poked twice. Dr. Ponce came in with trish and he explained everything to me .. was very nice and reasurring.. Once i talked to him i knew i was in good hands, he is very professional and caring.
then the next day they had to move the iv over to my wrist are of my right hand. That was much better. When you are here make sure you bring a lite robe you will want it especially if you don't have anyone with your otherwise you can see everything from the back of your gown :-) (thanks to my hubby for always tying it up so no one saw anything.. i also wore my underwear and my yoga capris.. very comfy.
They wheeled me over to surgery in a wheel chair.. you do have to be all undressed for this.. i only remember laying on the bed and the anestheseologist told me you will be fine holly you are in good hands and i was.. out.. i don't even remember being wheeled back into the room my hubby told me i was asleep but they checked to make sure i was still okay.. i was up at 2am...went for a short walk..got naseauted and told the nurse she gave me more medicine and i went back to bed. I didn't have too bad of pain.. it wasn't in my chest or my shoulders thank fully.. mostly in my belly but it was very uncomfortable.. I knew i needed to walk but i resisted it for awhile because i just wanted to sleep..
then the next day they had to move the iv over to my wrist are of my right hand. That was much better. When you are here make sure you bring a lite robe you will want it especially if you don't have anyone with your otherwise you can see everything from the back of your gown :-) (thanks to my hubby for always tying it up so no one saw anything.. i also wore my underwear and my yoga capris.. very comfy. i was up and walking all the time. last night i startred to feel much better..and then i woke up again around 1am. i felt really good walked for about 30 minutes and went back to bed. This morning they ran the leak tests.. the blue stuff is really gross but you have to drink it all ... then i had to go down to the machine and get the test that they watch the liquid go down the screen.. it is as gross as everyone says but you just do it.. thankfully i had tea waiting for me up in my room :-)
Hector the nutrisionalist came and talked to me awile about the diet and gave me a schedule to follow for the next forty days.. not too bad he was very nice and for someone like me that doesn' t speak spanish he was the one i could understand easily besides TRISH who was totally amazing. Trish brought my husband tacos the last two nights and took him to the convineince store to get some Snacks.. this is where i'm totally happy i went with trish she took care of my hubby and me.. she does so many things that is not really included in her job.. love her
So they took out my drain today before coming to the hotel lucerna.. i was nevous that was going to really hurt..but the nurse i had was gentle and had me take a deep breath then she pulled it slowly out.. my husband watched her do it then told me it was about a foot long that she pulled out.. just felt like worm of pressure nothing too bad. I was glad to have the drain as they did empty it about four times.
Now i am at the hotel lucerna and what a beautiful place out my balcony i have a view of the pool and palm tree's..trish ordered me some broth up.. and boy oh boy did that taste sooooooooo good.. i was amazed and could tell how much was enought to sip at a time.. i took half the spoon and sipped half of that for one bite.. also they sent me home with medine and a cute tshirt that trish has made that says i left my stomach in Mexico..lol.. i fell so good today i fixed my hair and put on my makeup.. just finishing up this review so i can go for a walk around the pool we have the balcony open and it's very relaxing. Hope you enjoyed my review i will add pictures of everything when i get back i forgot my usb cord lol. Dr. Ponce checked me out this morning and was very thourough with me on taking my time with the sipping and wished me good luck.. I loved my experince and woudl do it again in a hearbeat..can't wait to see how my life changes now... ...
Thanks for reading this sorry it was so long but i wanted to write it while it was all still fresh in my mind
Holly

I'll be right behind you on the 23rd with Dr Ponce. I can't wait to meet Trish she has been great .

I actually have this situation - insurance coverage and I'm still going to Mexico. I originally was told insurance wouldn't cover me. So I did a TON of research on VSG in Mexico and settled on Dr. Aceves. Three weeks before my surgery date I found out that my insurance WILL cover VSG through the bariatric surgery center in my town. This meant I could save the $8500 it was going to cost me in Mexico (though US surgery would probably cost me about $2000). After much thought, I decided to proceed with self-paying and going to Mexico. Why? Three primary reasons:
1) I don't want to wait the six months my insurance requires (six visits to a dietician)
2) The local surgeon had WAY less experience that Dr. Aceves. Now, I could have continued to research US doctors that had more experience - but that would take more time (see point one
3) The surgeons in my area seem to be more inclined to use a larger bougie size due to some literature that indicates lower complication rates (when using a bougie over 40-Fr) - but I believe the weight loss is more with the smaller size, even if the complication rate is higher (though it's still at under 3% according to several studies). That's not to say that I couldn't find a surgeon near me that uses a smaller size - but that goes back to time
Perhaps it's merely impatience - but I'm so excited about my choice of Dr. Aceves that even the chance of saving $6500 by waiting six months wasn't enough to sway me!

Hi everybody, my surgery is scheduled for May 23rd., in Houston, TX by Dr. Yu. I was originally set for April 11th. but after I arrived and got prepped for surgery I found out I had a UTI that I had no symptoms of so I had to go home, take antibiotics, and reschedule. At the time I was devasted and felt like maybe it wasn't meant to happen, but now I'm ready to go again. I get the pleasure of doing the 2 week liquid pre-op diet all over again... YAY! The first 4-5 days were the worst but after that it was pretty easy. Good luck to everybody else and update!

Anyone can get a drain, it depends on the surgeon. Some see an added benefit on having a drain, some don't agree. It's more a surgeons preference.

I made mine about a month ago, Krista about two weeks? For Dr. Ponce since he is also a teacher, sometimes he is presenting at conferences and such, and has a lot of patients but they normally work with you to give you the day that you want. He also does not do more than 4 (I believe,have to double check that) bariatric surgeries on one day.

I just wanted to add my personal experience with the Tijuana, MX sleeve surgery.
I had my sleeve done in Sept 2011 and had such a wonderful experience that I took my husband down to have it done in January 2012. Since then I just got back from taking my sister to have the surgery.
Everyone of the experiences has been great.
We stayed at Mi Doctor Hospital and Dr Garcia did the surgery. From the time of the coordinator, which was alma with Ready 4 a Change til the time we got home we had no problems at all.
Samuel will pick you up at the San Diego airport and transfer you to the hotel (5 star Marriott was ours) for one night. You are then shuttled to the hospital the next morning for a 2 night stay. Hospital is very clean and everyone efficient. You then will be transported back to the hotel for a 2 night stay. Samuel will then take you to the airport for your flight home.
Never met a group of nicer and more efficient people.
The hospital room had two beds so I may rest also while travelling with my husband and sister.
For $5000 total you can't beat the price and the care was outstanding. No red tape like up here in the states.
Since I have been down there 3 times I have seen quite a lot. Hope this helps some of you that needs the surgery but is a little hesitant with Mexico. Never felt unsafe at all and they will do all they can to make you happy. Wonderful group of people and very skillful.
Janet

Okay this is it.. gotta finish getting packed put on my makeup, fix my hair and head out the door.. made a yourtube video real quick this morning.. here it is.. good luck to anyone else having surgery today. and this week.. I love that my ticker says surgery today!!!!!!!!!
haha i even did this video without makeup and without my hair fixed.. yikes LOL
Holly

I was telling my husband that the last time I lost any significant amount of weight was in 2005. I didn't keep it off for more than a year or so (I lost about 45 lbs). At the time, I had a few people ask me if I had cancer or something. For pete's sake people, I was 140 lbs and I'm only 5'2 and still needed to lose another 15 lbs (or 10 at the very least). I was really, really insulted when people asked me that...
So we were talking about it again, and I told him my concerns about how, if the sleeve is really successful for me, that I will likely get the same questions again. People can be very rude.
Some people may not find this funny and some may find it insulting, but it did sort of make me smile, and I think some of you will understand.
But he said, "Hey, if people are gonna be all weird towards you, and ask you stupid questions like *do you have cancer?* then tell them you had a tumor in your stomach, had it removed and now you are super healthy and lost a lot of weight and it's been the best thing that ever happened to you."
Hehe. That just might be my standard answer to anybody who is rude to me, just to shut them up. (and in no way do I mean it as an insult or dismissal of seriousness for anyone who DOES have stomach cancer)

Sleeved yesterday! Minimal pain, some nausea but easily treated with the good stuff I will be going home tomorrow. It felt good to know I'd lost 30 lbs on my own and no telling what I'll be when I get home. It has been an awesome experience. Sitting in my hospital bed right now and counting down until discharge tomorrow! Woop Woop!

Good luck Holly and Nicki! Please keep us posted! Many prayers your way!

Thanks for sharing your photo's and experience.... can't wait to get there.. and have mine!!

I found the hospital and the whole experience amazing. Very little pain , mostly from the gas and walking around helped. I posted some pictures here if you anyone wants to see them...www.photobucket.com/wlstijuana... some from the hotel and shopping as well. My sister who came with me loved the food and took pictures of it too... lol...

Good luck on Thursday! I think you will be pleasantly suprised at how nice TJ is. INT and the Lucerna are in a very nice part of town. You will have a beautiful little balcony off your hotel room, either overlooking the fountain out front or the gorgeous pool area. Its a very nice place to recover. Trish will pray with you, make you laugh and just put you totally at ease

I have my surgery with Dr. Ponce on Thursday and will also report back. I agree the top priority is the doctor in any decision you make.. but once you've decided who that may be to you.. .then the next thing i look at is how everything else will go as far as getting there safely and back since i have no idea what is safe vs not safe in mexico. It helps when people come back and let us know how their experience was for sure!!

I understand Suz mine is May 10 and it feels like I am waiting a year!

I cannot wait until they ask me if I have cancer! Now they just look at me like I eat a whole cow for Breakfast lunch and dinner I am looking forward to becoming a looser!

It is $458 to fly from Tulsa to San Diego.. I'm still debating on this surgery.. I'm about 90% sure but just reading all I can.. All you guys help a lot ~