made2beme

Great job....I am down 11 lbs and yes ready for Sat for me! Yes, I know Keller....I lived in Ft Worth for 4 yrs and worked there for 3 while living in Midlothian! How funny, we are not REAL close but didnt realize we were so close. I can not believe you guys DROVE.....oh my, how long was that?

ok, yea.....I think I remember. Didnt I talk to you one time shortly after you had your first drink of apple juice and after the leak test the day after your surgery. I feel like such a dork, Im sorry!!!! My husband remembers too :-) I cant really see your face in your pic since so small. Was this when you were at goal after the lapband? I didnt know you were in Tx. though, we are in East Tx about 70 miles SE of Dallas.....remind me again where you are?

How funny...I was sleeved on 8/3 by Dr Garcia....guess I just didnt see ya. I was up walking the halls pretty frequently and thought I had met everyone, sorry I missed you! Glad you had a great experience sounds like mine...I would love to go back! By the way, I live in Tx also....where are you?

I didnt have staples, but mine are still really itchy. It is a sign of healing......so thats a good thing although annoying!

I am only 9 days post op but I can say just from the plethora of information here and other research I have done your food deprivation is only temporary. You will have to most likely do a pre-op diet which will be the toughest part because you will still be hungry. But, after surgery you wont be able to eat much for a while....but you wont really want to either. Once you pass the stages and get to solid food (somewhere about a month or so out...different for everyone) you will be able to add back in some of the foods you love. Of course, if you go back to eating ice cream and pizza every meal you will not be very successful. But, having the sleeve does not mean you can never enjoy some of your favorites occasionally. There are also many things we can eat when on solids that are just like everyone else, just smaller portions. So, if you already dont eat A LOT but just love the taste of food....you should be able to do that even after being sleeved when your sleeve is ready! Its more about portion size and eating Protein first, low carb (but still some) and living healthy. NOT deprivation! Good luck in your search and I hope you have peace about your decision whatever is best for you!

Yes and VERY clean! It is smaller than US hospital, but everything is clean....hospital is only 2 yrs old.

There are just a few, I wanted to take more....but I was a little distracted with surgery lol. But, there are some pics of the hotel and hospital room/bathroom and some of the scenery, just for those that may want to see an actual photo of the hospital. I know they helped me. Just check my profile

And just a side note, if you do get a letter from your doctor make sure you show the security people BEFORE you go through the line so they wont make a big deal about your Protein drinks. Just from experience on the way home from Mexico, in San Diego we had a HUGE issue just trying to get 2 bottles of Water through. The security lady wanted to argue with me and ended up throwing my full/unopened bottles of water in the trash. It turned into a big fiasco because my husband got pretty upset. I showed them paperwork from the hospital and she still pretty much said she didnt care.....then another guy came over and got my water out of the trash (it was on top) and said he was sorry. Anyway, it was not fun.....if I had to do it again I would have my documentation out and show it to whoever would look at it before going through just to avoid issues. Good luck to you!

Maybe you could pack just the powder and Blender Bottle and all you need is Water to add. Or even unflavored Protein Powder (can find at most health food stores if you dont have time to order online) and add it to anything you eat that you can? Just some ideas....hope others can add more suggestions,

I am still on liquids right now (9 days post op) but check out http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/ Shellys site is very inspirational with TONS of recipes that are WLS friendly and lots of ideas on how to mix it up and not get bored. Im a bit of a planner, so I have a binder full of printed recipes from this site and a couple of others separated into phases and then what type of food it is, ie breakfast, dinner, snack, etc. I know what you mean though, it does help to be prepared...it is just another tool to use in our battle if we know what we are doing. Hope this helps some...

No help here, just wanted to say Im sorry you are going through this. I have the exact opposite issue....although I am not eating "real" food yet, everything I take in comes straight out within an hour or so...uuuggh. I cant wait until there are some solids going in.

Wow.....thats a little judgmental there, I wasnt aware that we were in a competition. There is not a lot you could do to make the Marriott look like the super 8. In all honesty, this is about your surgeon and surgery....comparing two wonderful hotels is not the issue. Really disappointed in the competition on this site sometimes.

Hi Aloadoff, I did not use Dr. Lopez, but did use Dr. Garcia which also operates out of Mi Doctor Hospital (whichis where SkyJACK1) had surgery. I just returned home this past Tues and my experience is pretty much exactly like SkyJACKS. My husband and I arrived in Tj on 8/2, stayed in the Marriott. Morning of 8/3 was taken by Marriott shuttle to Mi Doctor, had surgery that afternoon and stayed 2 nights there. The best care I have received in a long time here in the states. My hubby was very pleased and even felt comfortable leaving for an hour here and there to go out walking, get a burrito, etc. with no issues. Day 3 after 3 leak tests have been performed you go back to the Marriott to finish recovery. By this time, I am not taking pain meds any longer and just like SkyJACK said you literally are relaxing poolside. I felt like at this point, we were on vacation. The day before we left, we took a taxi downtown to the open market and shopped for a few hours with some great friends we made there (wife was sleeved same day as myself). No problems, I was a bit tired...but no pain at all. Just sipped and walked, sipped and walked. As for the hospital, it is a "Hospital" not a clinic. Yes, it is small but VERY clean and only 2 yrs old. There is an ICU and a Cardiology unit there. As a matter of fact, there was a cardiologist in the operating room as part of the surgical team during my surgery and the Anesthesiologist which is great was trained some here in the states. Recovery is 2 nights in hospital and 2 nights in Marriott where you have full access to any doctor or coordinator at the hospital, I was told 24/7. When I left I received cell and email of everyone I had been seen by....nice to know they are not trying to perform surgery and just let you go. Here is an article I found actually AFTER I got home, but I thought it was great and it feels good to know that Mi Doctor hosptial is really state of the art. This was just written last month, http://www.equities.com/news/news-headline-story?dt=2012-07-03&val=237043&d=1&cat=headline I would assume that all is the same, since using the same hospital and hotel just different surgeon. I paid $4,700 (special for Aug) plus $550 for airfare for my husband and I and this does include the stay at the Marriott all 3 nights. Hope this helps!

Yep, my doc gave me a few of these cards when I left the hospital. I need to put one in my purse, but thought it was cool for any time at any restaurant. Although since my hubby had RNY 3 yrs ago most likely we will order one entree and just share it. But, at times when he is not with me it will be nice to order smaller portions. Have fun at Disney....that is on my 40 to 40 list (40 things to do before I am 40, 4.5 yrs to go)

Hi ladies, Just curious if anyone takes or has taken Sam-e for depression? I am currently on HRT (hysterectomy), Synthroid (hypothyroidism) and Effexor (depression/anxiety/hormone balance). I made a goal for myself after surgery that I would start slowly getting off of these synthetic drugs and if I had to take anything at all for these conditions it was going to be natural. I have done research on Sam-e for a while now, but I am still not sure if I want to try it. I have weaned myself down over the last month on my Effexor to 1/2 of my prescribed dose but I know I can not go without anything yet. How do I know? Well, the morning of surgery I could not take my meds and did not the next day either because I still was not able to drink anything (until leak test results were back). So, by the time the 3rd day rolled around I was about to crawl out of my skin. I literally could not sit still, I was getting up every 2 min and walking, I could not lay in the bed and I was extremely emotional. Once I realized I hadnt taken either my HRT or Effexor I knew what it was and immediately found the doc to ask if I could take it (they are both very small pills). I was allowed and within a couple of hours felt completely different. This was scary as I found out how dependent my body still is on these. So, long story short....thought I would come here to ask if anyone has experience with Sam-e or any other natural supplement used for depression/anxiety?

ok, I thought I had this stuff down while I was pre-op but now that I am ready to prepare for the different phases I have read so many different things. I have the instructions from my doc on how long on each phase and what they are, but confused on what foods qualify for what. While grocery shopping yesterday I got some greek yogurt and SF pudding and was so looking forward to trying it on my "Full Liquid" phase, but now I am thinking we shouldnt have this until mushies or soft foods? I know I will be able to do strained creamy Soups and Protein drinks with milk, etc. but after that I am LOST! I also know there are tons of posts on here about it, but reading more and more is just going to get me that much more confused. Any help!?

ok laides....the top incision maybe not for all but some is right in between your boobs. I keep getting it to scab over and dry up pretty well, over night but then the next day when I am up and either wearing a bra or not it gets moist again because there is no way possible to keep my boobs off of it. It is not infected, but by the end of the day its moist again and I do the same thing all over again. If I keep a bandage on it, it is staying moist and not drying out. Doc said I should leave bandages off once they scab over real well... Just wonder, what you all did to keep it scabbed over and heal?

Yes Ma'am....me too, but itching is GOOD its a sign of healing

Yes, you can pay with a CC with no problems but be aware there is a 3% fee (to cover theirs) added to the total. But, $150 extra may be worth it to not take out loans

Ive had 2 c-sections and an open hysterectomy....I can not say that any of those were extremely painful because thank God I have a very high pain tolerance....but there was some pain and I definitely used the pain pump in the hospital and meds for a while after getting home. I was sleeved 6 days ago and I can tell you for me, I had ZERO pain with the exception of a little gas pain in my shoulder the very first night. My actual incisions and stomach has not been painful at all, was up walking 1 hour after surgery and had no issues. Is it a litter tender, yes. Can I go out and run a marathon.....of course not, I am sure I would be sore. But there has been no "pain" to speak of for me....

Abby - did your surgeon give you a post-op diet?? First thing is that you should not already be drinking Protein drinks and carnation breakfast. I know all plans are different, but most usually consist of a full week of Clear liquids (broth, Water, gatorade, popcicles, jello) but not FULL liquids like Protein Drinks and carnation, etc. Just saying this may be part of the issue as your sleeve is very delicate at this point and not ready for full liquids. I am on day 6 post op and will not have my first full liquid until Saturday. Please check with your doc to see if this is what he recommends you to be having at this point.

From what I have researched the procedure that is most covered for "medical reasons" (but not by all ins co's of course) is called a panniculectomy and is most likely what was on the referenced post of it being covered. A panniculectomy is just removing the excess skin if it is causing medical issues, but does NOT include any type of muscle tightening which is the actual Tummy Tuck. So, most likely Tummy Tucks which remove and tighten ab muscles is not covered by many ins co's because that part is considered "cosmetic" not medically necessary.

Also know that you may not use 1/2 of what you think you will (at least I didnt). By the time we left last week, my husband and I were able to put everything for both of us needed in 2 large backpacks. We had things stashed in every pocket (and there were lots) but we packed so light and I had everything I needed and more even still.

Is the almond/coconut milk in the refrigerated section? I have cold almond milk all of the time, but have never seen it mixed with coconut....wondered if it is in a can or container not cold at the store?