North_Chicky

I was sleeved in Mexico on Saturday and flew home (5 hours) the next Wednesday. I felt fine. No issues.

I had surgery on July 20th. So far everything has been easy. I didn't have pain or gas after surgery, so that was nice. I'm working on some soft mushies with no issues. I had some loose BM's for the first couple of days post surgery and since then, nothing. I'm not uncomfortable, I'm just worried. I'm taking a stool softener every day, so I hope that when it does occur, it isn't too painful.

Keep walking! It will get better. I'm 1 week, 4 days out and I feel great! When I first rolled onto my side, holding tightly to a pillow seemed to help. Good luck.

I wanted to take the opportunity to share my experience getting sleeved by Dr. Illan. Please forgive any spelling mistakes as I am pecking away at this from Hotel Lucerna in Tijuana, on my ipad. I booked with Susan through mysurgeryoptions. It was a fairly smooth booking process. Emails were prompt. Info on the diets and what to pack for the trip. I arrived in San Diego (from Toronto) around noon on Saturday for same day surgery. As soon as I touched down I sent a text to Omar (Dr. Illan's Tijuana coordinator). He directed me through the airport. The driver picked me up right at the curb. I had been having issues in Canada getting the Gas-X strips, so Omar had arranged for her to take me to a pharmacy in San Diego to pick some up. I chose to pass on that because I heard that the strips were not that helpful. We made it to florence rather quickly. Omar was waiting for me with all the admitting paperwork. Everything was done in no time. There was pr-op testing consisting of a chest x-ray, EKG and bloodwork. The staff at Florence were amazing. There always seems to be issues getting a vein for blood or IV's for me. Not this time. Both nurses took there time and they both got it on the first shot!! I was wheeled into surgery after meeting with Dr. Illan. I explained that I tend to get nauseous easily and vomit at the drop of a dime. He said they would keep an eye on that and do whatever they could to manage my nausea, starting with a double dose of medication during surgery. Before I knew it, I was out of surgery and back in my room bed. I woke with very minimal pain, some discomfort in the tummy area. The nursing staff was amazing. They were in and out through out the first day with meds for pain and nausea. The first day past in a blur of some very restful sleep. I did get up and walk around. To be honest, I didn't have a lot of gas or gas pain. Day 2 more walking, a shower, doctors and nurses in and out. During the night time, they were very considerate and just left the hallway door open for light. Yesterday I checked out of the hospital with Omar. We did the leak test at Angles Hospital. The contrast isn't great tasting, but it is a very small amount. It was cool to see the Fluid processing through my new leak-free sleeve. We stopped by a grocery store and Omar picked me up some Jello, juice, gator aid and Water. We drove along the coast of Tijuana (gorgeous). We stopped for what has to be the best broth in the world!! After that we came to the Lucerna. The Lucerna is a lovely hotel. The rooms are clean, the grounds gorgeous. I spent the remainder of yesterday napping and catching up with things at home. Dr. Illan was by the hotel last night to check things out. He put some steri strips on and we chatted a bit about my recovery. Today I've had a headache so I've opted to stay at the hotel instead of shopping. Omar was by this morning and we chatted by the pool for a bit. He has been a fountain of info of life with the sleeve. Dr. Raina (sp?) was by this am to check out how I was feeling. To sum everything up, I feel really good (beside the headache). I feel almost guilty for having such an easy recovery. This has truly been a great experience. I really can't thank Dr. Illan, Dr. Raina, the Florence nursing staff, Omar and Susan enough! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Team Illan. Please feel free to ask any questions.

I was at the hotel for 2 days. A Doctor came each day to check my incisions and my over all well being. I didn't have a drain that needed removing. I'm sorry that you are experiencing this. I regularly have migraines and I know how difficult they can be. I hope you feel better soon.

I hope you and your daughter have a similar experience. I really do feel great. The pre-op diet was hard, but stick to it. Keep drinking as much as you can fit in. I think the extra fluids helped the nursing staff get good veins. We will be here for you, pre-op and post-op.

I'm heading out on July 20th for same day surgery! July 20/21 florence July 22/23 Lucerna Hotel

I was originally scheduled for August. I'm now looking into July 22 or 23. Thanks for the reminder about the ticker. I'll need to remove that until I firm up another date.

I've had some recent scheduling difficulties, but I am trying to firm up with Dr. Illan for July 22 or 23. I'll post here as soon as I know what I am doing. There has been a few glowing reviews of Dr. Illan on here. I'm hoping to add to them soon. I know that he was Dr. Kelly's second surgeon for a number of years. So even though there isn't a lot about him, he has a significant amount of experience. Good luck with your decision.

I've heard that some doctors will place the drain 100% of the time and other doctors will if they think it is needed. Not sure why that is. I've heard some people say they were grateful for the drain because of the quantity of gunk that came out.

August 22 - Dr. Illan at Florence.

Honestly... I need to congratulate you. You just dropped about 160+ pounds of complete ****** bag. Now on to the more sensitive side of me: I think it takes a lot of strength to look back on yourself and feel love and pride for the person that you were. The person that you are becoming is a much stronger woman than average. It will take a man with emotional strength to be worthy of you. Continue to count your blessings. You've had another one today.

Some of the pre-op diets seem pretty restricitive. Garcia's seems okay. Dr. Illan has a liquid diet for 1 week. With at least 3.5 litres of fluid. It includes Jello, broth and yogurt. Only 1 protein shake a day though. It seems survivable.

That would be great Jesser! Not to sway your decision, but Dr. Illan has a fairly smallish facebook group online. It's great to read about former patients and chat will some of the patients that are awaiting surgery. MsMonique41, we will totally run into one another at Florence. I will look for you in the hallways. It seems most people don't book as far out as we did. Hopefully in the next month or so a few more people will sign up. It would nice to have a little group of us to support one another through the dreaded pre-op diets as well as through surgical experiences and recovery! What is Garcia's pre-op diet like? Dr. Illians isn't too harsh. Lots of liquids (juices too) with 1 protein shake a day. I'm hoping that I won't be overly hungry.

I'm with Dr. Illan on August 22! I fly in on the 22 for same day surgery. Will be at Florence for the nights of August 22/23. I head to Lucerna for Aug 24/25. I think Dr. Garcia's crew goes to the Marriott. I'm travelling on my own. How about you?

I'm planning on keeping it mostly a secret. I am not close with any family so there isn't really anyone to tell theres. My co-workers are an oppinionated bunch that I don't feel like explaining my reasoning too. It also isn't their business. I've told a small circle of girlfriends that are very supportive. My husband also knows. My children are not of an age where I feel that they would understand. I think this is a completely individual decision. If you are not sure, I say keep quiet until you are sure. You can't untell.

Way to go!! That is great progress!

I'm don't believe any surgeons include airfare in their packages. I booked with Dr. Illian through mysurgeryoptions.com. I'm paying $3999.00 us for the surgery, including 2 nights in the hospital, followed by 2 nights in a hotel. I've have transportation from San Diego airport to the hospital in Tijuana and back. My flights were around $700, from Toronto. I haven't had my surgery yet, but you will run across a number of good surgeons (and some likely not so good ones) down in Mexico. I would recommend doing research of any surgeon that you are interested in booking with. They range from $3500-8700us.

So after what seems like an exhausting amount of research. I finally booked my surgery. I booked the special with Dr. Illan at florence Oasis for August 22! I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. There were a number of Doctors that I considered, but felt like I couldn't commit for one reason or another. I really liked Florence over INT or Mi Doctor, but wasn't feeling like some of the other surgeons were a right fit for me. I'm happy to have made it through to the "next step" in this process. I've booked my flights. Now I need to pick up some recovery items and I'll be all set to go!! Feel free to add your experience with Dr. Illan if you have any...

Westcoastlady's husband. I'm sorry that you had a bit too much taken off. I appreciate that you have a sense of humour about it though. I'm sure it's difficult at times.

Very disappointing. I understand that Doctors don't want to over prescribe pain medication. That being said, It seems odd that you would be in such a significant amount of pain so far out. I would think he would be trying to understand why. If you are not healing as well as average, I can't see why he wouldn't give you stronger meds for another week.

I think in this case it is warrented. Florence looks like a wonderful hospital. There were a few surgeons that were on my short list that worked out of INT or Mi Doctor. Neither of these hospitals appealed to me at all. One of the reasons that I decided on Dr. Illan is because he works out of Florence. I think it unlikely that you will receive a refund, but I would certainly ask.

I'm August 22. I didn't mention that. In Mexico. Good Luck Vicki.

What is a re-sleeve? I didn't realize you could have more than 1 vsg surgery.