ZoobDude

I had my surgery in TJ, MX. It was an amazing experience. I'd sooner do it there than Great Falls.

I live in Longview, WA. I'm 18 mos post-op and am happy to help answer sleeve questions. I remember what it was like looking for reassurance prior to surgery and dealing with the emotions of weeks without weight loss post surgery. Down 140 pounds now and you'd never know I use to weigh 355lbs.

I decided that I would be more comfortable in the hospital, so I switched from Almanza and am going with Lopez (who I believe works with Garcia). Anyone have surgery with him? I haven't seen any reports one way or the other.

Hi all - I had surgery June 13 and the weight flew off. It came off so fast I felt like a rockstar! However, at four weeks my stall began and I haven't lost much of anything since then. I'm back on regular foods and not doing a good job on my Protein drinks (loved them before and holy cow they taste awful now...including the kind that allegedly have no taste). What kinds of foods were you all eating to get you past this terrible hurdle? It's so depressing - I am so hoping for 100 pounds by 4 or 5 months, but at this rate, I definitely won't hit it. Help...

You all will enjoy your experience, I'm sure. I brought my wife with me but didn't have a surgery pal in terms of someone else going through it with me. I had no friends or aquaintances that had done this. But it was a blessing to bring my wife. Your spouses will have a wonderful time. The food in the hotel is delicious from what I understand and really inexpensive. I was not interested in eating, obviously, so I couldn't tell you first hand out it tastes. They brought us over in a group for the surgery the day that I had it. I made quick friends with the other folks going through it and have kept in touch since. We text each other to see if anyone else is having issues and it has been very nice and comforting when I have bad weeks (which I'm going on 3 weeks of stalling...bleh) to hear that others are doing the same thing. For those of you worrying about pain, I had virtually none. My wounds dehis'd as well - but the other people I had surgery with did not experience that. They closed up nicely on their own, but did have a little bacterial infection. I blame myself and not the surgeon for them opening because I was so nervous to change them that I left them alone for too long at times. I work in healthcare, so I know better which is why I'm a terrible patient. Feel free to inbox me if you have any questions. I try to get on here every few days and see what everyone is up to. I currently have another post going in a different forum looking for help with my three week stall. Good luck all, you won't regret doing the surgery. You'll just miss eating and that's something we can learn to live with.

You will love Samuel and his brother. Their Dad is great, too. Bring cash to tip them, they'll earn it and you'll appreciate their help. The hospital that Dr. Lopez works from in TJ is one of the cleanest I've ever been in (and I am in hospitals every week for my job). Good luck. I'm down 54 pounds now.

A Lighter Me said the same thing to me. Having worked with a lot of doctors that have marched that same path, I figured there were too many other doctors without a shady reputation to deal with.

I used alighterme.com

My experience wasn't too bad with Dr. Lopez. I met him in the hallway when I was paying, he shook my hand when Jasmine introduced us, and then I never heard from him again. I was pulled from our group that morning before anyone else (around 7:30a) and told I would be having my surgery second (someone was having some other kind of surgery). They took me back to the pre-op area, gowned me up, put in my IV, etc. While I was waiting there all of the nurses came running in in a panic and started grabbing supplies. After all the commotion died down, a doctor came in and told me that they had done a leak test on someone from the day earlier and discovered one so they had to do an emergency repair. From what I understand, everything turned out alright. I had another doctor who spoke perfect English and the anesthesiologist who spoke great English as well visit me. They gave me a little something to relax until they were ready. The actual surgery went great, no leaks. Nurses were great - but bring your phone and use Google Translator so you can tell them what you need. That worked great for us. The only issue we had with aftercare seemed to be that I was getting too much pain meds. I had no pain so I finally told them to stop so I could wake up a little bit. After that I had no trouble. Moved over to the hotel with no trouble. All in all, not a bad experience. Doing great now. Thanks

Good luck everyone. I'm a week out today. Feeling much better, but I'm struggling with getting protein in. Gotta find a nutritionist and get to work on some ideas. Lots of stuff making me gag.

Thanks missmachine. I actually had my surgery with him on the 13th. We probably crossed paths. I'm struggling with my intake a little now as I get so nauseated by broth and I can't stomach tea.

I actually changed my date. I am on Wednesday, June 13. I changed surgeons from Almanza to Dr. Lopez.

I am slated to have my surgery on June 19th. I am SO dang excited, I can't even describe it (I'm guessing most people here can understand). I've waited two years to do this. My question is this: prior to getting my surgery date, I scheduled to take my kids on a roadtrip from Washington State through Disneyland and off to the Grand Canyon. This will be a lot of driving. Right now I'm scheduled to go about 7 days after I return from Mexico (11 days post-op). My wife will be with me, but I'm worried as to whether the drive will be manageable? I'll rest for most of it and criticize her driving as co-pilot. Is 11 days going to be too soon to take that long of a drive? Also - while I don't plan to ride space mountain, when will I be able to go onto the rides at Disneyland? Should I forgo it this summer, or if I wait a month or so, will I be able to tolerate some of the less extreme rides? Any advice will be great. I know we're all different, but I want to make sure my kids are prepared for what their summer holiday will entail. Thanks!

I'm June 19 with Dr. Almanza in TJ.

Has anyone had any recent experience with Dr. Armanza? I'm trying to get a picture for what I've gotten myself into. The $4,500 fee is very affordable for my family and I want to make sure I've made a good choice. I'd love to hear some stories from other people who have been to Mt. Zion and Dr. Armanza recently. On some boards I saw some awful experiences so I'm trying to decide if I should change docs.

Thank you for all the comments, they make me feel much less nervous. Some people have said some terrible things; however, the vast majority have been super complimentary and I am breathing easier. I am scheduled for June 19. As I sit here, I have a button ready to shoot off of my shirt so both my clothes and my body are ready for this.