allnewme

The early weeks after surgery can be very tiring. Yo do not have much energy because it is hard to get in your protein and you are not eating much at all. I had to take naps every day and I am not normally like that. It takes awhile for your energy to come back up. I had my surgery on 8/02/12 and I feel much better now energy wise. I still am learning what foods my sleeve likes and what it does not. Hopefully that will work itself out soon. The first weeks are about learning to eat, drinking plenty of liquids, and letting your body heal. Good luck to you

I have never heard of him. Check the Mexico surgeons out here: http://www.mexicobariatricsurgeons.com/ I used Dr. Alvarez for my surgeon...he is wonderful!

I was sleeved on 8/02 and have not liked water since then. I add about 3 oz of flavored Propel water to my 24 oz cup, add ice and filtered water. That is my go to drink. Has a bit of flavor but I can tolerate that so much better than plain water. I only drink Crystal Light if I crave it, it is normally way to sweet for me. Plain water sits in my stomach and gives my sleeve a lot of pressure. I try to drink hot flavored tea but my sleeve does not like it yet either.

I had great faith in God, going in to the thought of having a surgery like this. I know that God led me to the surgeon that did my sleeve, as I did not even know where to begin. I had such peace in my spirit that I never even questioned WHY he wanted me to travel hundreds of miles from home when I could have had surgery in my own back yard. Once I was there, I knew I was in the perfect place for me to have my surgery. I have never regretted it for one minute. I had a great surgery and have healed very well. I am thankful that God knows more about what I need than I do.

You stay at a hotel in San Antonio, Texas after surgery. To get to Dr. Alvarez, they cross the border at eagle Pass, Texas. The hospital is older and small, I believe they do other surgeries there and they deliver babies there. There was one born each day I was in the hospital. It is not a strip mall surgery center at all. You stay in the hospital for two days. He charges under 9,000.00 for everything, surgery, hospital stay, meds, hotels and transportation to and from San Antonio. You pay for the flight there. It is very safe to cross the border there, we had no issues at all.

I recommend him highly. I had a very positive experience wit him and his staff. I know he is more expensive than Dr's in TJ, but I wanted to cross the border into a smaller city in Tx and not have to fly to CA. I can tell you that there are many people on this forum and on Obesity Help that have had the same experience with Dr.Alvarez as I had. PM me if you have more questions.

Dr.Alvarez is just under$9,000. Or he was when I had my surgery. He is an amazing surgeon. I only had to pay for airfare and my husband stayed with me at the hotels and hospital.

Many great surgeons in Mexico do revisions. Check them out, you may be able to self pay to get that band out if your body. I know Dr. Alvarez does them.

nune1974 You may want to do more research about this DR. Several people have posted about health issues after having surgery with him It is your money and your body but at least read everything you can about him, don't just look at the cost of his surgeries. Look at complications and complaints about him. This gal said he has stopped returning her calls and she is in trouble, that alone should make you want to do further research on him.

BeliveinginLisa...are we still planning to meet next weekend? I wanted to invite my niece if the meeting is still on.

If you are going to Dr. Alvarez, he gives you a tummy pillow to take home with you not sure what surgeon you are all using though.

Start weight: 227 Weight today: 198, at last weigh in. What are you eating and how much: I eat most foods, I do not eat fruits yet. I still eat a lot of soft foods, my sleeve likes them better right now. I eat chicken, cheese, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, eggs, a lot of Soups, Beans, and soft cooked veggies. I do not eat meat yet like steak, roast or pork. Daily workout: my husband and I walk in the evening, I get up in the morning and do some light exercise with resistance bands. I have not joined a gym. I prefer to exercise as home. I am going shopping this weekend for a workout DVD. How hungry are you: I would not say that I get truly hungry, I know when I need to eat (I try to focus on eating every 3 hours). I get head hunger when I see commercials but I know that I do not need that type of food now. How do you feel physically: I finally feel like I am back to normal, energy wise. I do not need to nap every day now. I can make it through a full day at work and feel good. I can walk farther than I could even two or three weeks ago. How are you emotionally: I had a sad week a couple of weeks ago but that has passed and most days I feel great. Some days things get on my nerves very quickly, not really sure why. Are you glad you chose the sleeve: YES....there have been tough days but I know that with my sleeve, I will lose weight, get off my medications, be healthier, and I will not be morbidly obese again. I will be able to enjoy life for the rest of my life. This surgery experience has been harder than I imagined. Not the actual surgery, but the days and weeks that followed. I still have hard days, when my sleeve does not like to have real food in it. I have never had nausea or vomiting but I do have issues some days with foods, I still prefer soft foods. The weight has not melted off, as I had hoped it would. It is slow and there are stalls, lots of them. I still struggle to get in all my Protein and Water. I am not sorry though, not at all. I know that my sleeve will eventually get me to my goal weight and I will use it to help me maintain that weight for the rest of my life.

You can add the unflavored to oatmeal, grits, mashed potatoes when you are on the soft foods phase. I can eat real food but I still use Unjury daily to get my protein in. It does make whatever you add it to thinner, so you have to adjust your liquids at the beginning to make things the correct consistency. I have to laugh when I read that people say it is sweet, the Unjury are much less sweet than most proteins.

Best of luck to you ! I have friends that had RNY and you lose fast but you have to keep up with vitamins for all of your life. You will do great!

I ate Panera French Onion Soup the night before we flew to MX for my surgery. It was so yummy I drank lots of egg drop soup and wonton soup broth during my all clear phase too. You need different tastes to keep you sane during the clear diet!

I am so sorry to read your post. I believe that we had chatted some about you going to Dr. A. He is a truly wonderful surgeon and he would not ever take the chance of harming you in any way. I know it has to be heartbreaking for you to go through that. You are alive and it sounds as though that lap band needed to get out of your body before it took your life. I will pray for you to have peace in the situation. Hugs to you!

I shopped after my surgery in August. You do not want to lie in bed, it feels better to get out and move around. You may not want to count on her being out for long periods of time but 2 to 3 hours at a time, with places to sit and time to drink some fluids, she should be OK. I had a very easy recovery, was sleeved in MX and flew home 3 days after surgery. Once I got home I felt much more weak and tired than right after surgery.

Thanks for the tip, I will check those out when we go out shopping this week.

The first few weeks are very tough. We are healing from having most of out stomach removed. Sometimes things are painful. I had surgery on 8/02 and there have been times when I did not think I would ever get better but I can tell you that things do get better each day. There is always something that comes up that we have not experienced before but it usually passes very quickly. For the past 3 days after eating, I get really bad heartburn, have never had this yet. I hope it passes quickly! Hang in there, your belly will hurt for a couple of weeks and then it will only hurt when you move a certain way. You may not be able to pick up your little guy and carry him for a while but he can sit with you and let you love him. Soon you will feel much better !

I think the lighter you pack, the better. Comfy clothes to wear to hospital and to the hotel. Pj's that are not binding at your waist, comfy bra and panties. Slippers or flip flops for walking in the hospital. Lip balm and minty breath spray. I only took one gas x strip during my hospital stay. I took a clamshell eyeglass case to keep my lip balm and breath spray in. I kept those things close at hand for the first 24 hours. The mouth dryness is awful. My surgeon provided iPads for us. It is easier to pack lightly and not have a ton of bags to lug around. I did take some bottled water for the flight home. We purchased it at Walmart by our hotel after surgery. You can always buy something to drink because you really won't be getting much in the first few days anyway. Take some Crystal light packets, the milder the flavor, the better. I washed my hair at the hospital but only used my blow dryer and straightener the day we left for the hotel. I should have just pulled it back into a band and not worried over taking hair items. If I were doing it again, I would take only what I absolutely needed, I packed way too much for the trip.

I was sleeved on 8/02 in Piedras Negras by Dr. Alvarez. I had a wonderful surgery experience there. He is an awesome surgeon and I never felt at any time that we were in any danger. My husband traveled with me and we stayed in the same room at the hospital. I do not regret going to Mexico for surgery at all.

I am 54 years old and had my sleeve surgery in Mexico by Dr. Alvarez on 8/02/12. I had no complications and a very easy surgery experience. Any surgery has risks and this one is no exception. Choose your surgeon carefully! You will feel so much better once you heal and get to eat normal foods again. I did have some tough times during the beginning but I am really thankful that I did this!

I am 9 weeks out and mine is crazy noisy, usually only after I eat or drink warm or hot things. Cold water, drinks and food keep it quiet

I was also sleeved in Mexico on 8/02. My Dr does not use a drain and I had a perfect recovery. I asked about a drain and he said the normal procedure is no drain unless he is doing a revision. Drains are another way to introduce bacteria into your abdominal cavity. I personally did not want one, so I am thankful he does not use them unless it is needed. I did much research and chose Dr. Alvarez and he is an amazing surgeon. He costs more $ but I was willing to pay it and I have never been sorry.