SerendipityHappens

I'm at mi doctor right now and was just sleeved by Cabrera and Valenzuela yesterday. So far it's been great. Yes, I've had some pain but that's going to happen when you cut out 80% of one of your organs! The doctors are very caring. They've been back a few times to check on me and there are other doctors here that check on you too. I'm told I'll be relased tomorrow at 10 to go back to the marriott. I'm not at ALL hungry, I just want to drink drink drink!

I was sleeved 3/13 also. Yes I have very bad nausea especially when I moved around It got better once I was able to take fluid. Also I was having super painful contractions in my stomach... apparently stomach was not as thrilled with the operation as I was. I'm feeling sooo much better now though. I've drank over 40 ounces of fluid so far and it's going down nicely with just a little burping.

My flight arrived at San Diego Airport 20 minutes early and Victor was already there to meet me. I just went to baggage claim and called him. He told me to go outside and read the location sign letter so he could find me. When we were on the way, the told me he was not taking me to the Marriott and instead he was taking me straight to the hospital. They told me at the hospital I was scheduled for 6AM surgery so I should get all my testing done that night and be ready to go in for surgery early. The phlebotomist was able to get my blood drawn very easily and then I had my ekg. I met with the internist for the hospital and he took my health history again and reviewed my testing with me. He told me I was in very good health for surgery and had the same risks as a non obese person so that made me feel very comfortable. Early in the morning a nurse entered my room and told me it was time for my IV. He had a very difficult time finding my vein and had to get help... the other nurse also had a difficult time but finally was successful. Then the anesthesiologist came in to talk to me and answer any questions.. he made me feel completely at ease. Dr Valenzuela came in next and introduced herself and assured me that she got a good night sleep and had a good cup of coffee already. I also asked her if I needed a catheter and she said no.. because the surgery is so fast that she doesn't use one. Halleluiah! I was wheeled down to surgery room and they put some compression socks on me and the anesthesiologist put something in my IV that "might make me a little sleepy" The next thing I remember was waking up in a LOT of pain and confusion. I remember Lotti, a fellow VST member was in the bed beside me and she smiled at me but I was still very confused and apparently I was moaning and groaning a lot. Once they got be back to my room I was already feeling a bit better. I was up and walking right away in order to help with the shoulder pains. The first day was ok. much better than expected- No pain but a LOT of nausea especially when I would walk. That night, I started having contractions in my stomach. It felt like food poisoning. When there was no contraction I was fine, but when the contractions came it sent me through the ceiling. These pains lasted through the night and into the next morning. Also I kept having problems with my IV. They changed positions of it a few times but finally they took it out after my leak test when I was cleared to drink. Throughout all of this I had many doctors and nurses checking in on me. Both of my surgeons, and the hospital internist and another doctor too. The doctors all assured me that the surgery went perfectly and that I would be feeling better very soon. The hospital is very small and they are doing some construction or something because there is a lot of banging.. fortunately I brought ear plugs. The hospital is very clean. and there's a private shower in each room and you are allowed to shower daily which is fabulous. I can say that this experience has not been easy, I'm definitely having some pain in my stomach in the form of contractions... but it's going to be soooo worth it. I feel so much better from just this morning now that I'm drinking and I expect each day to just get better and better. Overall I'm really happy with my experience here. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Mexico Bariatric, MiDoctor Hospital, or Doctors Cabrera and Valenzuela. If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask.

everythuin wentn fine. tooo tired and nauseated to write now. tanks everyon

Jeni, It's 3:30 AM local time and I'm WIDE awake! I hope my doctors are sleeping better than I am!

Thanks Kat!!! I am SOOOOO ready to be past this. Not afraid, but VERY anxious as you can see, I'm wide awake at 3:30 AM local time!

YAY!!!!! I'm with you in spirit. I was admitted last night for early morning surgery today.. OMG.. did I just say TODAY??? WOW!!!!! I've barely slept a wink!

skin sagging is related to how fat you are, how long you've been fat, how old you are and your genetic predisposition. For me.. coming from a long line of chicken necks and swinging pani(is that the plural of panus?)and being over 40 and having been fat for my entire life AND coming from 360 pounds.... um yeah, I'm already researching plastic surgeons. I'm pretty sure I'll need a full body lift. I've lost 70 pounds so far pre surgery and my skin on my belly is already wrinkly..... and it's still really fat!

YAY!!! so glad to hear you are doing well!

Hey Lotti, I'm here at the hospital already... getting sleeved at 6AM so they're keeping me in the hospital tonight so I'll be here for the early surgery.

My instructions say limit caffenated coffe/tea to two cups per day.

My surgery is on Wednesday and I had to be under a 49 BMI in order to avoid the $1,000 charge for high BMI. I started at 335 in December and this morning I weighed in at 291.2! My personal goal was to make it down to 290 and I still have a two days to go so I think I'll make it, but I'm just happy to be under the doctor's cut off which for me is 294.5... 44 pounds gone in 3.5 months doing an 800 calorie VLCD.

I bought chewable calcium citrate at Vitacost, I got sublingual b-12 from puritain's pride, and my multivitiman is bariatric advantage. My doctor told me I can switch to pill form just as soon as I feel ready so got the BA capsules for multi vitamin and will just take a flintstone vitamin for a little bit after surgery until I am ready for the pills. Also for the calcium, The most cost effective way for me to go is with the puritain's pride calcium+d3 petities.. they are just like the citrical petities, but they worked out to be only $6.00 a month if I bought two bottles I got three bottles free and I had a 10% off coupon so it was a good buy. Some people on here were saying that their nutritionists said that they should not take the citrical petities because they would not dissolve and would just sit in their tummies like little stones. I wondered about this since my doctor said it was ok... so I did a straight water dissolve test where I put a citrical and a puritain's pride petite calcium pill in a glass of water. Both pills dissolved in 6 minutes which is very fast. I also bought a probiotic bead from Puritain's Pride that was about half the price of CVS/Rite Aid

I would not buy such a fine piece of equipment simply to get you through a few weeks/months post op... BUT if you're interested in using it over the long haul then a Vitamix can't be beat. I want one in the worst way. My grandmother had one for over 20 years and it was AWESOME!!!!!! It is way WAY more powerful than a regular blender and can be an extremely valuable tool for a healthier lifestyle. If use a regular blender frequently and find yourself wishing it would do a better job, then go with the vitamix.

Fiber is a good thing and I want more of it in my belly. I subtract fiber and count total carbs minus fiber. I don't subtract sugar alcohols though.

We are on many different plans. My doctor has me on 2-3 protein drinks a day plus a "lean and green" meal.. meaning a meal of lean protein such as a chicken breast or poached fish and a salad of dark leafy greens or some steamed/boiled leafy greens. no extra oils/sauces no root vegetables and no fruit

I'm heading to Tijuana Mexico on Tuesday for my surgery. I paid $4,500. Covers ground transportation, two nights in the hospital, surgery, bloodwork, three nights in the hotel and also nutritionist consultations via telephone. there is an extra $1,000 charge for BMI over 49 and also they charge $500.00-$1,000 extra if they have to do an extensive hiatal hernia repair.

AWESOME!!!!! It's a huge accomplishment and it DEFINITELY sounds like a big deal to me! Everything is relative to where you start from! I felt like throwing a party when I made it under 300 and was just regular "morbidly obese" instead of "SUPER-Obese".. I mean WHO is happy about being "just" morbidly obese? MEEEEEEEEEE that's who! Celebrate your accomplishment!

Xavier girl, I'm also going alone. Don't worry. I've been to Tijuana before and it's not that different from the USA. PLUS, your driver will be taking you everywhere you need to go so you don't have to concern yourself with getting lost or anything! Also the places you'll be staying (marriott/midoctor) are used to catering to Americans! I'm taking packing light and taking: gasx strips colace stimulant laxative (JUST IN CASE) Anti diarrhea medication (JUST in case) Vitamins acid reducer Protein powder sugar free drink powder mixes bandages peroxide ear plugs computer phone passport comfy clothes(a few pairs of sweats, enough undies some t shirts.. I'll travel in something comfortable but semi-nice and just wear the same outfit coming and going) all the normal personal hygene products slippers there is also a pharmacy very close to the hotel and you can get anything you've forgotten there. Please don't be nervous about Tijuana, it's quite safe and we're going to be in a good part of the city. There ARE areas there you won't want to go to...just like there are areas in every American city that should be avoided. It's not really so different.

BEST POST EVER!!! THANK YOU!!!!! and thank your man too! I know I am already damaged goods metabolically speaking and this surgery is not going to help any.. but I am a firm believe that metabolic slow down is temporary and can be fixed by this very method you ountlined if you are patient and meticulous about your diet. THANKYOU for showing us that it can work in practice! Edited to add: and I KNOW I'll never be able to get up to a normal metabolic rate because I have other issues that are affecting my metabolism, but I am confident that I can reverse whatever metabolic slow down that I get from eating so low calories.

I started with a 55 BMI. I did three months of an 800 calorie low carb/high Protein VLCD and then three weeks of a preop that is 3 Protein drinks and a lean and green meal (lean and green = lean protein source plus a salad or serving of greens/no oil. My BMI is now under 49 and my surgery is in four days! I am so happy to have had a very long time to prepare mentally and physically for this huge change. Yes I had a few slip ups.. but I learned from them and for the most part I stuck to my eating plan very closely. I can now go into surgery confident that I CAN stick with the post-op diet and I'm NOT a slave to food. I also know that I have prepared my body well and will have an easier surgery because of it... So my advice is don't lament that you have a long preop, embrace it as a very positive thing! You can do it and you'll feel so great that you did!

I'm March 13th with cabrera/valenzuela at Mi Doctor. Staying at the Marriott.

I don't ordinarily do a lot of sugar free stuff, but with my preop, because I'm so limited on what I can have, I've been eating more artificial sweeteners than I ordinarily would. If I consume more than a few servings of aspartame a day I get a wicked headache. Of course Jell-o is an AWESOME treat on the pre-op but it's also loaded with aspartame so if I eat jell-o, I have to make sure that my drinks and Protein powders are sweetened with something else. So I found a Protein powder sweetened with stevia and I'm drinking mostly Water for my drinks. Just a thought... if you don't usually do a lot of sugar free stuff, that the aspartame could be causing headaches. Also some people report flu-like symptoms during the first few days of preop or any low carb VLCD.. Although it's unpleasant, it is completely normal. By day 6 you'll be feeling AWESOME! Cheating and eating a bunch of carbs will only prolong the process your body is going through and you'll be feeling yucky for longer. Good luck to you on your preop. I'm on the last day of mine.. then three days of nothing but clears.. NOT looking forward to that part, but this too shall pass!

I am not at this point yet, but I have been researching and QUEST seems like a VERY good option. Price but low in net carbs and around 160-200 calories and 20G protein. They have several nutrition labels right on their main page http://www.questproteinbar.com/

YAY!!!! I'm so happy that you two are together. Don't have TOO much fun now, but just remember, what happens in Tijuana, stays in Tijuana