ready2bskinny

I used Dr. Garcia and it was great. No issues....no problems. I DID have a little nausea the Wednesday and Thursday at the hotel (post surgery) but after that, no issues. I am 7 weeks post surgery and, counting the week prior to surgery where I clear liquided, I am down almost 50 pounds......

You look great;)
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Glad you're doing great, hope your recovery is even better;)
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i was afraid of the same thing. but i have found that we can still have delicious food! my family all likes our new menus better than the old stuff.
check out this sites
http://bariatricfoodie.blogspot.com/
http://gastricsleeve4me.blogspot.com/
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/
http://www.emilybites.com/
they are my go to resources for food recipes.
we especially LOVE the emilybites. check out the line of cupcake meals that she has. i live on cupcakes now, and they are fabulous. my kids beg me to make these recipes, and as an added bonus, my wife that is a nonop has lost 62 pounds by eating these recipes and being my support person.
life is good. good luck on your journey.

For me I started my Pre-op last Sunday and for the first 3-4 days it was easy, until the headaches started. I thought they were hunger headaches, but if I drank more Water they went away. The headaches were in the front (forehead area) really intense, all I wanted to do was close my eyes and go to sleep. My attitude sucked at times, but as the day went on it got better and so did I. By the 4th morning the headaches went away.
My 10-14 day pre-op consists of
3 Protein shakes 15g or more of Protein
Morning, lunch and after dinner
dinner I could eat a salad with lean protein
and of course plenty of Water.< /p>
I bought the crystal light packets to flavor the water and only add enough so that I can taste the flavor. Putting the whole packet in gives me this gross taste in my mouth...Yuck!
Yesterday, I did slip and ate a chicken salad sandwich (2)slices of bread. Felt bad for cheating, but I'm back on track. Not sure what I've lost yet, but my clothes around the waist fit looser and I no longer feel bloated.

I have lost 75 lbs in 3 months and have went from a 48DD to a 42C, and if I don't wear a bra I can always tuck them in my pants, lol

TY guys!!!!!!!!! I've gone thru soo much since my surgery... Cheating husband and much much more, can't even go into details cus it kills to talk about it... But I will say one thing "I'm doing me, it's all about me for once!!!!!!!!!!"

For those still wondering and asking questions about Dr. Garcia and the different coordinators. I went through Ready4Achange and had an excellent experience with them and everyone at the hospital from Melissa, Rosie, all of the dr's ect.
If a lighter me charges more it is because THEY are making more. I had a sleeve sister at the hospital with me, surgery the same day, staying in the same hotel, we both had Dr. Garcia...there was nothing different about our details but she was very disappointed with a lighter me (I am just speaking from the experience I had...please dont jump on me). I received a bag full of necessities, Gatorade, Water, lip balm, cards, tape and gauze, etc. She received NOTHING (literally) because the "coordinator" that she went through did not provide that as part of their service. Rosie brought me even more gauze and tape the day before we left to make sure I didnt have to worry about purchasing any as soon as I got home. I gave some of my supplies to my sleeve sister because again, she got NOTHING!
I paid $300 less than she did and received better customer service. Now, the care we both received AT the hospital from surgeons, nurses, etc was exactly the same....that does not depend on what coordinator you go through. I felt more like I was part of a family....she felt like nobody was there to really answer her questions.
To adorableintx.....I truly feel like (my opinion) that the coordinators that tell you if you go with a "cheaper" doctor you will not get the same care simply want your money! They are trying to convince you, manipulate and use your desire to have surgery and be in the safest, cleanest place to get you to spend more. I say this because Mi Doctor Hospital was extremely CLEAN! It is small, but honestly I could care less about that and I feel like that may be why we are able to pay a little less. It has the necessities, the care, the cleanliness, the greatest Dr's and nurses all for thousands less than some of the others. I am not knocking any surgeons that charge more, but I am saying that I know for a fact I could not have gotten any better care and my experience and outcome would not have been any different, much less BETTER if I had spend thousands more.
My husband is a huge skeptic about everything, he went with me and was VERY impressed my everything I mentioned above. My experience was truly like a mini vacation. The day of surgery.....I was a little tired, out of it, had some minor gas but the rest of it was fantastic. We went shopping on Revolution street, we walked, we sat out by the pool at the Marriott (which we loved by the way) everything was great.
Speaking of the vehicles, the van Samuel used to pick us up in seemed very new, maybe not brand new like months old....but it was a perfectly fine, newer model, clean, dependable van. Samuel was great, very nice and professional....we talked the entire time. Picked us up on time and got us to the airport to leave on time.
I believe sometimes we can be super critical (although I understand because I was there too) of things like "oh, it was an older vehicle, kind of junky, etc" come on guys....LIFE happens. Maybe their company vehicle broke down, maybe they are buying a new one, things happen.....people have bad days. Maybe one patient got a visit or call 1 more time than another one did.....people are human. I think we tend to forget that.
All in all, I would recommend and have Ready4aChange, Dr. Garcia and Mi Doctor hospital to friends and family any day of the week! My experience changed my life forever....it was the beginning of a new life for me. Even since being home (a little over 7 wks) Alma has contacted me just to check on me, see how I am doing and make sure I do not have any post op questions. It continues to be a great experience I dont regret and would not change one single thing!
Good luck to all of you making decisions. I suggest you keep doing research.....be weary of those that KNOCK other docs and hospitals. Honestly, I have had some discussions with Alma about the other coordinators, docs ect and she is VERY careful to only give the facts/truth and not to put down or degrade any of them. There is no "we are better than they are" attitude with Ready4aChange.....they simply want to give you the best care and experience and help change your life.....not drain your pocketbook just because they can!!!
Just sayin.....

Zenoosh reading your posted just got me more excited;)
 
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Zenoosh reading your posted just got me more excited;)
 
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Zenoosh reading your posted just got me more excited;)
 
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No prob, angeleyes...im sxd Oct 27. Ill post as soon as im able to get to my phone...
There have several people who've had surgery w/ Dr Garcia recently. I haven't heard one bad experience with the doc or the hospital. I was a little nervous about the language barrier as one poster mentioned, but I spoke to Alma, and she said there's always an English speaking nurse on the floor, and there are cards/posters with pertinent english/spanish translations in each room. Im not concerned about going to MX. They'll treat us very well, considering they get most of their referrals from word of mouth. I chose MX specifically because they do this type of surgery WAAAY more than any US docs. In fact, I've been researching and scouring the boards for months, and it seems complications are more common with surgeries stateside. It makes sense, when you think of how few surgeries our docs do...the cost here is prohibitive for most patients, and insurance makes us jump thru too many hoops. That will change as more of us request it, but for now, I think MX is the best place fur those of us with crappy or no insurance. Im a healthcare professional, and MX is very popular with nurses and docs from the US. As a matter if fact, Dr Garcia did surgeries in August on a doc and several nurses from here. I am STOKED! Counting the days!! I will totally keep you posted. Good luck :-)

The one thing that is guaranteed to take you life at some point is your weight. It may not be tomorrow, or in a few years, but it WILL steal years off of your life. I was at a seminar this week (went with a family member) and the new STATs on the sleeve are amazing. The surgery itself is safer than having your gallbladder removed. The complication rates are extremely low. The anesthesia risk is there, of course, but it would be if you were getting your wisdom teeth removed or having a c-section, etc.
You are allowed to be scared, of course, everyone is at some point in this process. You have to make sure you are 100% confident in your surgeon, talk the anesthesiologist too (you may have to request that). Follow your pre-op and post op instructions to the letter. This might be considered to be an "elective" surgery, but realistically is is not. You need this to gain control over your life. To be healthy and to remain healthy for your boys.
(((hugs))) You are going to do great!

Lily same here she's great!
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Btw I'm going to Dr Garcia.
 
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I have been comunicating w/ Alma @ ready4 a change she has been great. I feel comfortable with her and honestly I have my phone I can email, fb or call via skype if I want to. My surgeon is Dr Garcia and I spoke to him already I'm happy with my decision. As long as I have no complications w/ my vsg I will be a happy patient.

I know exactly, I just about started to cry and thought what am I doing...........I held it in until I got to the hotel. I am so glad that I did do it, Dr Garcia is phenomenal and I am very happy with my surgery, thank God!

Right there with you!! Yaaaay ill arrive 10/9 )
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I wanted to share my experience as well , I am recently new here! (Sorry this is long)
 
I just came back home from my surgery with Dr.Garcia in Tijuana, I was also in between those 2 companies , but finally decided to go with Ready 4 a Change because of Alma, she is one of the coordinators for that company. I felt safe talking about the process of going into Tijuana for surgery, everything that she explained to me and my expectations were 100% meet.
 
First day that I arrive to the airport- I received a phone call from Samuel when i was barely getting out of the airplane, He told me that once i was out side he was going to be there in a white van waiting for me, and he did. Immediately after I got in the van I felt safe, all of my worries just went away since he seemed as a very trust able person. ( And he was) He took me to the marriott in tijuana, and went with me to check me into the hotel , and he told me that Rosie(Patient coordinator) was coming to meet me in my room . FYI the marriott was absolutely comfortable! Rosie was there on time and she answered all of my questions and told me at what time i needed to be ready for my surgery next morning. At this time I was surprise by the customer service I was getting . not even back home, so all of my worries went away. I new i had made the right decision for me.
 
Day of surgery.- I was taken to Mi Doctor Hospital in the morning by the hotel Shuttle, very professional and clean! I was escorted to the 3rd floor by Melissa ( Patient coordinator) and explained the different paperwork that I needed to fill up to enter the hospital floor. After that she explained what was happening during that day , all of the doctors that were going to be in my room to check on me before surgery and that ease my mind. she stood with me until I had no more questions and i was more relax. I meet with a lot of doctors like melissa told me, dr.velasco, dr.garfia, dr.cabrera and dr.garccia sorry if i mis spelled your names! they were all just great! even the nurses, they all took really good care of me, since I was coming by my self. I meet other patients that were also getting sleeved by Dr.Garcia.
 
After surgery- I was still nauseated but feeling a lot better that the night before, and like one of the coordinators told me , it only gets better, and it was true. I followed my instructions of walking ALOT and it help with the pain and the nausea. Dr's were there to check me through my stay. and of course i did a lot of sleeping that day.lol
 
Discharge- Dr.velasco came in the morning to check on me, and discharged me out of the hospital, she went over the diet with me, explained how to take my medicine, and gave me a goody bags as they call it , with my medicine , gatorades and Water along with a copy of all of my medical records. Melissa then took my to the 1st floor to wait for our shuttle (me and other patients) and explained to us that anything that we needed to call her or Rosie, and she put her business cards in the bag as well as a phone list of all of the doctors. That ease my mind once again because I felt that I could get in touch with any of them if I needed them. she took a picture of us. and we were taken back to the Marriott.
 
Marriott- I check in with out any trouble, order my chicken broth ( on the house) and stayed at my room , Rosie called me to check on me and told me she was going to visit me at my room , she got there and we just talked for about an hour about my experience, and how amazed I was with the customer service I was receiving from the company. She left, and Melissa called me later that day to check on me. At no point I felt like they left me all by myself I even needed some medicine for one of my family members back home and they were kind enough to take me to buy it.
 
Next day- yeiii, Samuel pick me up at the marriott to take me to the airport. I arrived home feeling like I didnt have any surgery.
Overall - I can recommend enough READY 4A CHANGE company to anyone getting it done in Tijuana, it was a fantastic experience! from Alma, to the dr's and coordinators , to Samuel (Transportation). You feel like you are in a family environment.
 
So sorry if this is too long! but It would probably help those who are nervous like I was.

That's awesome!! I get more and more excited after every great story I hear best wishes on your journey!
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Octosleevers unite! Best of luck to everyone & yay for us!!!
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You made a great decison w/ Dr. Garcia...his coordinators are wonderful and you will be treated like royalty. The hospital is very modern and clean and has an ICU. The "walking the halls" though is very short...I think there is just 10 rooms. My husband and I drove from TX to TJ and back again...week took about two weeks for the whole trip, so if I can survive that long long drive w/ no complications...that's pretty good. If you have more questions, I'd be happy to answer them....just message me!

Thank you for replying..its difficult to make that choice I have two little ones I'd hate to have complications of course lol
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Beautiful!! Great job!

patience young grasshopper.. lol jk
i do wish you the best of luck. lol if i could afford the trip, i'd fly out there with ya & keep you company & make sure they didn't take anything or leave anything they weren't supposed to. lol