Cheryl Lawler Phillips

We are both well aware of the carb effect on his body. He always feels better when he is low carbing even prior to surgery. It's like he is allergic to sugar. We are keeping refined sugar to a minimum. But basically if he eats any solid meat (I am assuming this is what you mean by dense protein) he experiences pain. He is still getting his Protein in via supplements. I too believe that he is experiencing some acid reflux and indigestion and just doesn't know it. Also, head hunger as well. I am going to make sure that he takes an antacid to keep that at bay. I really believe that his "hunger" problem is attributed to those two things. He is doing much better. Eating cottage cheese, Peanut Butter, Beans, tuna, etc to keep the hunger/cravings away and to help get his protein in. Thank you all for your help and concern. He has a very long road ahead of him and any and all advice and suggestions are welcomed. We don't take offense to strong comments or hard advice. Thanks Again...Cheryl

Thanks everyone for the kind words. I finally just told him to get a little prospective. Since the surgery he has lost over 60 pounds, his sleep apnea is GONE!, and he is virtually pain free. If he didn't lose another ounce, which he has since the original post, the quality of his life has improved so dramatically that the surgery is well worth the stomach issues and money spent x 10!!! He desperately wants people to say "WOW, look at you!!" but when you have 250 or so pounds to lose, 60 pounds doesn't make that much of a difference. I can really see the changes in his body but he doesn't believe me. Anyway, he has scaled back his eating to soft foods again to see if that helps with the pain. I will keep you posted on his progress!
Good luck to y'all!!!
Thanks,
Cheryl

Two-terville! Congrats on your 100lbs lost!!!

Good work, I was 600 on surgery date 3-21-12 now 422. it's now slowing down to 1-2 lbs per week

Hey all!!!! So sorry it toll so long to update! The gas pains were awful yesterday and last night. Way better this morning! Just got dressed and waiting to go over to the hotel :-) ill post a pic of pic of my incisions and drain. And I loved it here! Clean and the staff is so helpful and always nice and never annoyed seeming. I called my poor nurse what seemed like a million times lat might and he was nice every time!

I know Wat you mean I was like that last weekend too my wrist day was Sunday the second ..
Yes they are nice they are always there and its pretty clean.
Hope you feel better..
Oh.@ the hotel ticuan is beautiful I liked the hotel ..

not quitting smoking could be really detrimental to your surgery, so i'd honestly at least try to quit. i've seen some surgeries where people didn't stop smoking & it messes with your healing time, your skin as well as other stuff.. it's not pretty.
"Smoking does two things in terms of the cardiovascular system that anesthesiologists area concerned about. First, smoking increases the amount of carbon monoxide attached to hemoglobin in the blood. This has the effect of decreasing oxygen supply. Carbon monoxide also makes the heart pump more poorly, also decreasing the amount of oxygen that is delivered to the body. Second, nicotine increases the amount of oxygen that the body needs. So, oxygen supply is being compromised at the same time that more oxygen is being utilized.
Smoking obviously also affects the lungs. Among other thigns, smoking causes an increase in the amount of mucus secreted while at the same time decreasing the ability of the lungs to clear these secretions. In addition, smoking causes the small airways in the lungs to be narrowed and more prone to collapse. The end result of these effects are an increased susceptibility to infection, chronic cough and increased chance of pulmonary complications. Lastly, smokers also have increased sensitivity to stimuli and increased bronchial reactivity, increasing the chance for bronchospasm and other life threatening pulmonary processes.
This is not just theory. There have been multiple studies confirming that smoking increases the incidence of pulmonary complications after an anesthetic as much as six times. Smoking has been shown to be an independent risk factor for complications ranging from complications of lung function to wound healing to cardiovascular events such as heart attack."
source: http://anesthesiolog...es/12012003.php
also:
Q: What specifically does smoking do to inhibit healing and recovery from surgery?
A: Nicotine closes the blood vessels responsible for bringing oxygenated blood to the tissues. In addition to its healing power, oxygen also fights infection and helps to keep tissue alive, as well as being instrumental in delivering important medications like antibiotics. Furthermore, smoking clogs the lungs, and thus increases risk of pulmonary infection such as pneumonia.
Q: What are the worst-case scenario consequences of smoking before and after surgery?
A: Smoking significantly increases the risk of severe infections, pneumonia, and tissue death.
Q: Are there specific surgeries that you will refuse to perform on a smoker?
A: Certain procedures which involve a lot of pulling or altering of blood supply would present more risk for a smoker. These procedures include face lifts, tummy tucks, and the use of tissue flaps as in reconstructive surgery.
Q: Aside from quitting entirely, how long do you recommend patients avoid smoking before and after surgery?
A: Ideally, the patient would quit altogether. However, this is obviously not going to happen with a lot of patients. Generally, it is recommended that a patient avoid smoking for at least 3 weeks before and after surgery.
Source: http://plasticsurger.../smoking_PS.htm

Hi, I am not being sleeved on Sept 17th but just got back on Sunday night from Tijuana. My husband was sleeved with Dr. Almanza on 8/23/2012. If you are interested in some insider information, let me know. I will give you the straight poop. Good luck to you.

Hi, I'm Cheryl. My husband was sleeved on August 23rd. I plan on getting sleeved as soon as we can come up with another $4500. And I plan on getting sleeved at Dr. Almanza's clinic.
Let me preface the information on the clinic with this...Hospital Jeruselum is probably the cleanest place you will ever find. They have a staff of about 5 that absolutely never stop cleaning. It is not a "clean it at 7:00 and not again till the next shift" kind of clean. I mean they have a routine, they go from room to room cleaning everything from floor to walls, then come back and do it again, 24 hours a day. They do an average of 10-14 surgeries per day, 6 days a week, every week, Their rate of infection is less than 1% and that is saying something. Much better than the hospitals in the United States.
Now, Hospital Jeruselum is a clinic, not a hospital. By that, I mean that this clinic is literally located in a strip center. Along with a mattress store, commercial cleaning supply store, a paint store, and a lingerie store. Next door is an Office Depot and behind the strip center is a Home Depot and a costco. A LOT of people were shocked to see that it is located in a strip center. Do not let this put you off. They are professional and like I said, it is clean. I am only telling you this so that you are prepared.
There were no hidden fees or charges. Not once did they come to ask us for additional money for anything. The price we were quoted is the price we paid.
My husband is hypoglycemic so I asked if he could be one of the first ones to be sleeved that day because I didn't believe he could sit around until 2:00 or more without eating anything since midnight the previous night. They accommodated us so that when we were to arrive in San Diego at 3:00 last Wednesday we were going to be picked up at the airport and taken directly to the clinic to have the pre-op testing done so he could have his surgery first thing Thursday morning. We missed our flight so we didn't get into San Diego until 8:00. The van was there to pick us up and we went directly to the clinic where he got his pre-op testing done. I would have never thought in a million years that they would have bent over backwards to do that for him. They even had to call the cardiologist in just to give him his EKG. If we were in the U.S., there would have been no way that a cardiologist would have made a special trip just to accommodate my husband. And if they did, the charges would have been astronomical. Anyway, after the pre-op testing they took us to the Hotel Ticuan (I will tell you about that in a minute). By the way, my husband's best friend lives in San Diego and I asked them if he could accompany us. They allowed him to ride the transport van and to do everything I was allowed to do as his spouse.
Thursday morning, they came to pick us up at the hotel at 6:00am. We went to the clinic and they prepped my husband for surgery. They gave him a hospital gown, a bag to put his clothes in, and then inserted the IV catheter. They hung a bag of saline and muscle relaxer and had my husband sit in a waiting area with a TV and started his IV fluids. He was feeling mighty good when I made it up to see him. There was one other lady that was to have surgery before him. She had some other stomach issues that Dr. Almanza was taking care of so he did her surgery first. My husband went in at 9:30 after a consultation with Dr. Almanza. Dr. Almanza has had the VSG. His english is not perfect but he is very engaging and will explain every detail to you and they have a translator there to help the language barrier. The surgery takes approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours to perform. They do not allow you to sit in recovery too long. They wake you up because they want you up and moving around as soon as possible. They fill your stomach cavity with air because of the laparoscopic surgery procedure. You have to move to get rid of the gas. Most people just give a "blanket" excuse me and then burp, belch, or otherwise release gas without worry. When my husband woke up from the anesthesia, he was in a world of pain. He was convinced that he was having a heart attack because the pressure of the gas was so severe. Please know that the first two days after surgery are a complete and total miserable experience. (at least for my husband they were) In fact, on day two when they were going to the clinic for testing and IV fluids, not one person said they were happy they did the surgery. They all said it is not worth the pain and discomfort you go through. Remember, that is day two! Day three is a completely different story. Every one is bouncing around and wanting to do it again.
Also, there is a drain attached to the inside of your stomach. It is a tube the is attached to a little bottle that actually fills up with stomach fluids. (A little gross, I gotta tell you, but everyone has them)
Some of the tricks that we used to help him are GasX strips (which I gave him even though they told me no) and Riopan. I bought this at a pharmacy in Tijuana. It is similar to Pepcid, but a gel pouch. It's only like a tablespoon or so worth of medicine but it really helped my husband with the indigestion he experienced. The physical pain from the surgical wounds was nil compared to the gas and indigestion pain he experienced. I didn't give him the Riopan in the hospital but in the hotel after he was released. They give you pain meds and antacids and nausea medicine via the IV port in the hospital and the hotel. They also give you something to make you sleep. Thursday night my husband stayed at the hospital. They would not allow anyone other than patients stay in the hospital overnight. Don't even try, they won't let anyone stay no matter what. As soon as you are able you need to walk. I cannot stress this enough. WALK, WALK, WALK! Most of the men that were feeling pretty good were up walking the women looked like zombies because they wouldn't get up and walk.
We stayed at Hotel Ticuan in downtown Tijuana. All I can say about that hotel is 4 or 5 star hotel, no doubt. Very, very, very nice. food was awesome, even though you aren't going to eat it. And there is a nurse on staff 24/7.
All in all it was a good experience. We definitely agree that when I get my sleeve done with will do it the same way. I can endure a couple of days of misery to have guaranteed Portion Control for the rest of my life.
Please let me know if I left anything out. I will be glad to answer any questions you have. By the way, my husband has lost 30.4 pounds since last Monday. So, I would say it's worth it. And I asked him yesterday if he still regretted doing the surgery, his response?... Oh HEEEELLLL NOOOO!
Good Luck,
Cheryl