SerendipityHappens

Well if that's what you expect then it's good that you are asking questions and making sure that you have found a doctor who will come check on you after you are discharged from the hospital. Personally I've NEVER had a doctor come to my house and check on me after discharge. Mine didn't come see me in the hotel in Mexico nor did I expect them to since I was healing well after two days in the hospital and was discharged without a drain. Do you think that patients who have their surgeries in the USA are discharged from the hospital and the doctor makes housecalls to the patient to check in on them throughout the day? Obviously the OP's doctor would have to go and take out the drain, so there's one visit.. and then go over all instructions the next day... that's two visits. and this is not enough?

It does not matter if she was on a plane, or sick or had an emergency... A patient in a foreign country who just had surgery PAID for a service and expects to be supported. The company should have had someone filling in for her. Thank God everything was OK for this patient, but it was a LOT of blood to her eyes she soaked through bandages and sheets AND a towel. and she was obviously concerned and needed support. There is absolutely nothing "disgusting" about giving her honest opinion and feedback. She has said nothing untrue. I do not doubt that you had a fantastic experience... just as I do not doubt that this particular patient did not receive the support from A Lighter Me that she had expected. Rather than make excuses such as "she was on a plane" the company should be looking for ways to prevent this from happening to someone else.

Great tips.. I'm really loyal to Jay Robb protein powders. They taste good and they're very thin so if you mix with a fruity type drink, you don't even know that you're not drinking kool-aid! As for your stall being protein related.. I've been in a stall for over two weeks and I ALWAYS get 70-80 grams of protein in AND I ALWAYS get in my fluids.. no exceptions. I'm consuming 700-900 calories a day which is still at a big deficit. Sometimes we just have to ride it out! You're right to look to your diet first and you definitely need to be getting your protein up, but this stall may have happened even if you were being perfect with your protein. Stalls are are a good time to assess our diets and make sure that we're following closely, but if you assess and see that you're doing what you're supposed to, then just sit back and relax and wait for it to break.

Well she mentioned Dr Ortiz, so my assumption would be Lopez right? Isn't Ortiz part of the Alejandro Lopez team? Though. I don't think it's just as important since her issue is not with the doctors.. The doctor helped her once he was made aware of the situation and will follow up again to meet with her and give her final instructions... someone dropped the ball at the hospital and didn't change her dressings as they should have prior to discharge.. then ALM dropped the ball and didn't address her concerns in a timely manner... but I didn't see that she has any concerns with her doctor.

YAY! So glad you are over this difficulty! Don't worry about a lighter me.. You told your experience honestly. ALL companies have times when things happen and they are not able to put their best foot forward. Most of the reviews I've read about ALM have been positive, yours was not. It is what it is. Nobody is perfect hopefully this was just a fluke... but reviews don't mean a thing if people who have negative reviews aren't up front about their experience! Hopefully ALM will be able to use your reveiw in order to tweak the way they are operating in order to prevent other patients from going through what you did. I'm SO glad you're feeling great now.

Kendra, The week before my surgery my doctor had a patient who developed complications after he was discharged to the hotel. (It was a complication with his blood sugar due to his diabetes). Although the hospital does have a small ICU, he was brought to a hospital in SanDiego for treatment. The surgeon went with him to the hospital.

Fan-freaking-tastic! Had the best recovery EVER... Have a titanium lined sleeve that LOVES all the food. Drinking all the fluids I want. Tried gently steamed broccoli last night and my tummy loved it.. Ate kofta meatloaf made with beef last night and my tummy loved it.. Started nuts this week.. guess what? tummy loves it. I don't do wheat so I haven't tried bread, but I did try some tortilla chips with my cottage cheese and I found it to be very filling and not a problem at all.. though it's too much calories to do on a regular basis. Unfortunately I also tried some Peanut Butter cups.. and yea, my tummy loved it.. I kind of wish it didn't.. this is where the willpower comes in I guess. I struggle with eating slow because my tummy does not send me any signals that it's not ok to eat fast, so I really have to work hard at eating slow. I'm currently consuming 700-900 calories a day and anticipate I'll be up to around 1000 where I want to stay during most of this process. Weight loss wise I'm stuck in a big stall. I was 276 at two weeks out and I'm currently at 279 at four and a half weeks out.... according to my fancy scale, I have about 7 pounds more Water now than when I was at 276 so that's somewhat comforting. I'm not worried. I'll keep going as I am for another month.. then I'll try ultra-low carbing it for a while.

Doesn't ALM have a coordinator in Mexico that should be checking on you? Eduardo I think is who they use. I used a different company, but I had Christy checking on my by phone from the States, and Daniel was my coordinator in Mexico who checked on me daily and made sure I got everywhere I needed to be. But I haven't read where you have made mention of a coordinator right there in Mexico taking care of you. OP, please check in with us and let us know how you are doing. I've been thinking about you all night. ALSO, for everyone asking about sutures/wound care. My coordinator told me ahead of time to expect to care for my own wounds while in the hotel and to bring or purchase in Mexico some bandaids/bandages/tape/peroxide. While at MiDoctor the nurses and doctors cared for my wounds and upon discharge, the doctor explained how to care for my wounds. I was told to only keep the wound where he just pulled the drain from covered for a few days until it stopped oozing. I was also instructed NOT to cover the other incisions after my shower the next morning (that would be the third day) and just wear a loose clean cotton shirt while at the hotel. I was instructed to simply take a warm shower daily and wash all my wounds with soap and Water and make sure they all dry well after the shower and to use a clean towel each day. I was told I can put a dab of peroxide if I wanted but that it wasn't really necessary. I was told specifically NOT to use antibiotic ointment because they wanted the wounds to be dry and the ointment would be wet. My guess is that it all depends on what stage of healing and how they closed the incisions. I was an extremely fast healer and my incisions (except where he pulled out the drain of course) were all healed by the time I left the hospital.. perhaps if they were not yet healed, he would have given me different instructions though. I did not have staples, I had dissolvable internal sutures and then the outside was glued. A few of the dissolvable sutures poked out and I tugged gently and just pulled them out. I didn't feel any popping.. though when it poked though I felt a little pricking sensation.

Two cups every morning with half a scoop of Protein powder. Been drinking coffee since two days after surgery. I was told just not to go overboard on the coffee. Also, I count it as Fluid.. American coffee has so much liquid in it that the amount of fluid in it far outweighs any miniscule diuretic effect that the coffee may have.. meaning you're taking in WAY more fluid by drinking the coffee than the coffee would actually flush out of your system... Now if I was drinking Arabic or Cuban coffee I wouldn't count it as fluid.

Stick around the forums and follow those who have surgery and then report back on their experience.. you will see the majority are complication free... HOWEVER, you should also visit the complications sub forum here because of course they do happen and when they do happen the results can be devastating.

I'm sorry to hear this! I didn't go through ALM but I was at MiDoctor and stayed at the Marriott and I had my drain out before leaving the hospital! My doctor took out the drainage tube and changed the dressings a final time before I was discharged. You shouldn't have to go through this. Can you call the doctor directly? When I was discharged I was given direct contact information for the doctors that treated me. Is their number on anything? Maybe on the prescription they gave you?

I am one month out and it has helped me.. others report that it does not help them or they report that they are hungry more frequently. For me, I still get hunger but it's not overpowering like it used to be. It's similar to how I felt when I was doing a ketogenic diet. The hunger is decreased, which makes it more manageable, but I haven't forgotten to eat due to complete lack of hunger... it just doesn't run my life.

I stayed two days but one day would have been enough for me.. I was told strictly NO lifting and NO bending, NO twisting, NO stretching and reaching for the first week.. and after that no lifting anything over 15 pounds until 6 weeks.

I was on clear liquids with no protein for the first full week. Then for my second week I was told to introduce protein powders and milks but to start with the protein powders in sugar free juices or water or almond milk as milk based shakes can set really heavy. My surgeon did advise for the first week when I'm on clears to drink some drinks that are lightly sugared.. and aim for about 150 calories a day from very lightly sugared drinks.

Some doctors use a drain some don't. Some doctors use a foley, some don't. My doctor only uses a foley if she thinks the surgery will be extra long. She always uses a drain. The use of drain and foley are two questions I asked when finding surgeons.. I wanted one that didn't use the foley but did use a drain.

NORMAL! I never had actual regret, but I did have some freakout over the fact that the majority of my stomach was rotting in a Mexican bio-dump somewhere. Also when you're not eating for so long, you start to feel like it's never going to end and you can't face another sickening sweet Protein shake.... food is a VERY emotional thing for a lot of us. When someone interferes with my ability to have it, I get extremely emotional.. I cried on more than one occasion during my PRE-OP because I couldn't have what I wanted. I felt so stupid, but this is reality. Also remember that your body has been through a huge physical trauma. Take it easy and cut yourself some slack. You are completely normal and this will pass and you'll be rocking your sleeve in no time.

My doctor practically did cartwheels down the hall when he counted my cups and determined that I drank over 80 ounces my first day after surgery. I could drink about 2-3 ounces every few minutes with no issues. I'm now four weeks out and I can down a 16 ounce bottle of Water in four drinks spaced out over about an hour. (each drink is about four or five consecutive swallows) This is my normal water drinking pace even before being sleeved so I don't feel any desire to be any faster than this and it allows for excellent hydration even when sweating. We are sooooo fortunate that drinking came easy to us. I saw patients in the hospital struggling to drink even a tablespoon of fluid... I felt almost guilty to be pounding back the fluids soo greedily.

I use Myfitnesspal to track my calories and Protein anyway. I add my recipe. Don't forget the spices.. a pinch of oregano might not matter, but a few tablespoons of chili powder adds quite a few calories and glorious fiber! Also, I sometime ALSO enter the recipe into nutritiondata.com also.. I like the way nutritiondata.com breaks down and analyzes the meal for protein completeness and it will tell you ALL the Vitamins in it as well as inflammation factor... which I like to know since I try hard to keep my diet as anti-inflammatory as possible. Also Nutritiondata.com seems more accurate since it doesn't have a bunch of member added stuff which you have to be careful of.. If you already use MFP for tracking calories then I'd suggest you use that database and enter from there just to make it easier, but if you don't like to use MFP, then Nutritiondata.com is definitely superior when it comes to analyzing recipes. Also as with anything the first few times will take FOREVER for you to enter the ingredients in, but once you get used to how the database works and how to enter your amounts, it becomes quite easy and quick.

yes you will continue to lose weight even if you don't get your protein in.. Unfortunately if you continue to skimp on the protein you'll also lose muscle mass.. and hair... and you'll heal slower. Do your best. Don't expect to be perfect. Some people find that the "fruity" thin protein drinks go down better than the heavy milk based ones. I like to mix jay robb tropical dreamcicle flavor with a diet drink like vitamin water and it doesn't give you that heavy feeling. other people say the isopure alpine punch tastes good when mixed with water.. like drinking Hawaiian punch.. but I haven't tried that one.

That sounds like a very long time in the hospital. My BMI was 48. I was sleeved by Dr's Cabrera and Valenzuela at Mi Doctor hospital, Cabrera and Valenzuela are among the many great doctors who were trained by Corvala by the way... I was in the hospital for two nights.. and honestly, I probably didn't even need that second night. I've never heard of a routine 5 day hospital stay for VSG.. I think the Duodenal switch may have a five day stay in some cases, but I've never seen anyone who stayed that long unless they had complications.

I am not celiac but I am wheat intolerant. (it causes painful inflammation of my joints and reflux) To my knowledge it's not the gluten that's causing my problem, but the actual wheat.. so I suppose I could still eat barley and other gluten containing grains.. but I never do. Unlike celiacs who react to even a tiny amount of gluten, I seem to be ok with trace amounts of wheat that might sneak in here and there.. but if I eat something with concentrated amounts like say, even a small piece of bread or few bites of cake, I'm up all night with reflux.. if I eat a slice of bread every day for a few days, I'll feel my joints start to stiffen and inflame and I'll get terribly bloated.

I haven't even been to my PCP yet. I was told to have bloodwork done at 6 months out to check my Vitamin levels.. and to see my PCP if I had any concerns with incisions. I'm sure if I had co-morbidities to manage such as diabetes, high blood pressure or cholesterol issues, then I'd have to go sooner in order to make sure the medication levels are right but thankfully this is not something I have to worry about.

I specifically asked my doctor this same question. I can juice fresh vegetable juices and have citrus after six weeks. I'm a huge fan of juicing and prior to surgery enjoyed at least one green juice just about every day. I can have fresh apple or other fruit juices except citrus or pineapple at any time, but I don't believe in straight fruit juice since it's a LOT of sugar so I'm not having any fruit juices and I'm just waiting until I can start with my regular green juices again. BTW, I used about an inch of ginger in my daily juices preop and I had a fabulous recovery and virtually no inflammation in my sleeve. Could just be good luck, or could be that I had drenched my body in ginger and other anti-inflammatory juices for many months prior to surgery. Lastly, I wouldn't rely on juice as a complete substitute for Protein shakes, although you can get a lot of protein from certain vegetables it is HARD to get enough to replace a shake. Even when I did a 30 day juice fast I was only getting around 60 grams of protein a day.. and I was drinking a LOT of juice. Maybe you could make a juice and add half a scoop of Protein powder?

Just over four weeks out here.. Having 1/2 scoop of Protein powder in my morning coffee then eating three meals and two Snacks. Sample meals: Meal 1: 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese, 1/2 cup spinach 2T tomato sauce, 1T Parmesan cheese 1/2 ounce low fat mozzarella. Meal 2: 1/4 cup diced chicken, 1/4 cup curried lentils, 1/5 of an avocado. Meal 3: 3 ounces of roast beef 1/2 ounce muenster cheese, 1/5 of an avocado Snack: 1/2 banana and 1/4 cup of PB2 (90calories, 10g protein and 4g fiber) Snack: 1 piece millers spicy hot bologna and I'm disappointed to say that I ate a package of Peanut Butter cups today. Grrr... the sleeve helps, but I'm still a work in progress when it comes to willpower! My total calorie/macro totals for today: 897 calories, 60 carbs, 42 fat, 82 protein. I'm eating between 700-900 calories per day.

It has nothing to do with the sleeve, She's watching her carb intake in order to stay in ketosis. She's taking a ketogenic approach for weight loss.. (think Atkins)