Butterflyhigh

Good Luck!! I am from Cincinnati as well. I have narrowed my Mexico surgeon down to two...Dr. alejandro lopez and Dr. Elias Ortiz. I am very very interested to hear what your experience will be with Dr. Lopez. How long was your flight? Did you fly out of CVG or Dayton?

Hi and thanks for sharing your story! What was the hotel room like....two double beds or one queen bed? How many days were you there total? Was the hotel beach as lovely and as it looks on the website? I'm thinking about combining this surgery trip with a vacation for my children and travel companion. I of course will be relaxing and recovering in the hospital and would love to be able to enjoy the beach and ocean views.

Aww, nuts. If that's true (that the cottage cheese doesn't work) then I'm bummed. For some reason I was really looking forward to doing that a month or so after surgery.

Did any of you try to combine this surgery with a family vacation? I am thinking about taking my ex and our two daughters along for the ride. It could be a two-fold opportunity....surgery for me and a week long vacation for my family. Is there anything in the immediate surrounding areas that would be of great fun/learning/sightseeing opportunity for kids?

I would be taking my children's father along with me. I figured the "vacation" aspect of this would be he and the kids out doing fun things while I have several days to recuperate...alone!...at the hotel. deedadumble....Those pics are beautiful! I haven't run across many posts about Dr. Lopez in Puerta Vallarta. Can you describe your experience with him? Was everything wee coordinated (ground transport, pre-op testing, immediate aftercare)? I am exploring his website and the forums here now.

Hi Under1star- You stated that your possible pulmonary embolism may have been a result of traveling too soon. Can you talk more about that? How many days after surgery did you fly, and how long was your flight? I will be flying from Tijuana to Ohio and am concerned about being in a plane for that long immediately after surgery.

Honestly, I am so worried about my flight home after surgery. What will my neighboring plane passengers think of me if I am constantly lifting one check to do my best Shrek impersonation? I don't want to offend or disgust anyone....or completely embarrass myself. Is this a typical stinky gas? Is it loud? Is there still a lot of gas two-three days after surgery? Does Gas-X totally eliminate gas or just decrease it's amount? I will be flying from Tijuana to Ohio and so will be on two planes nearly all day long.

Thank you for posting your story. I am researching doctors in Mexico and have a few questions: Can you tell me a little about the transportation situation? Did you fly to San Antonio and then drive a rental car from there or did someone from the practice pick you up? What was the hotel accommodations like, what hotel chain did you use? Was there anything interesting in the surrounding Mexico area for my travel companion to check out? Was there any opportunity for the patient to sightsee? Did you have a private room to recover in? Thanks so much and I hope you are doing well in your weight loss journey!!!

I am still pre op and so have no helpful advise for you. However...I have read and saved the information about the Cottage cheese Test which allows you to measure the volume of your sleeve yourself. http://www.bsciresourcecenter.com/proddetail.php?prod=A4 Maybe that can help you determine how large your sleeve is.

Thank you. I am still pre op but those were some of my worries.

1. Can you take normal drinks of Water or is it still sip sip sip? 2. Is it safe to trust a fart? 3. Are there any foods that you ate before surgery that you cannot tolerate now...like eggs? Thanks!

This is how I feel too. I am 5'6" and my doctor has my goal weight as 147. I want to be a size 8. I cannot really imagine anything smaller than an 8, so that's my goal. The smallest I've ever been was a size 10 and I remember thinking that was *just* about perfect for my body frame.

I can relate. I live in a rural area...all corn fields, thousands of acres of forest, and long straight roads going to nowhere. I am also introverted by nature and have no family close by (that I can stand anyway, lol). I am a homebody by choice and although I feel most comfortable when alone, I recognize that it is not always emotionally healthy OR good behavior to model for my children. Some days I am active and some days I have a hard time doing anything. But I am deliberate in forcing myself out of my self-imposed isolation. This is what I do... I create outdoor activities for myself such as gardening and keeping chickens. It forces me out of the house and into the fresh air. It gives me some daily exercise and a reason to leave the house. Every single day I have to take care of the chickens. Open the coop in the AM, feed and Water. In the afternoon I will go out with my 3yo daughter and check for eggs. In the evening I need to shut the coop up. Each time I go out to their barn I do little things along the way...scrape snow/ice off the sidewalk, walk to the end of the driveway and get the mail, pick up sticks and throw them in the woods, do little chores associated with the chicken coop. Because of the chicken I also need to go to the feed mill every two weeks or so to stock up on straw and feed. In the warmer weather I have flowerbeds that keeps me busy mulching, weeding, and watering. I do a lot of picnic lunches with my daughter. Big blanket laid in the shade, packed lunch, a story book, and end it with a nice nap right outside. Just those two hobbies, chickens and gardening, give me many daily activities that get me off the couch. And just as important if not more so, it gives me something fun to do with my daughter. Memory making. One more thing. Are you on an anti-depressent? Depression will make it hard to leave the house and be active. Staying in the home and being inactive will lead to depression. It is a cycle that is hard to tell when and where and how it started. An anti-depressent will interrupt the cycle and help you get the strength to get up and move. Consider asking your PCP to prescribe you something. It may be just the added Oompf you need to get outside and find a hobby. You can Do It!! Good Luck!

I think that, while a previous poster was perhaps too harsh in his comment, he did highlight something very serious. The eating disorder you are describing is exactly of the intensity that causes people to "eat themselves to death". I believe that if the hardship in changing your eating habits is so bad that it is rendering your sleeve practically useless....more than just being a part of this WLS community is needed. I 100% commend you for reaching out for help. It is NEVER too late to change the course of your life and learn new ways of coping. However, I also truly believe that there is something lurking beneath the psychological surface that is driving your food addiction. Please please please seek out some professional therapy to get to the ROOT cause of this eating disorder. The binging is only a symptom of a larger problem and until that larger problem is found out and addressed you are likely to remain in this hellish cycle. Love & Hugs to you.

I am not telling anyone in my family. They would be judgmental, critical, gossipy, backstabbing, and the root reason would be because they are jealous of other peoples success. The old adage "misery loves company" could very well be my bio-family's motto. They don't like anyone in the family to succeed because it highlights their crappy decisions. Having the surgery is my lifestyle choice to be healthy and positive. Why would I allow their poisonous negativity into my happy space? I have decided to tell them nothing until they ask, at which time I will say that I've made big eating changes including cutting out the bad stuff and focusing on portion control. It's not a lie. It is just omitting some of the facts. And as others have said...it's nobody's business but my own.

I had a breast lift done several years ago....the full anchor lift which leaves the most amount of scaring. Today you can barely even see them. They appear as very faint thin white lines which you can really only see in full sunlight. In a normal lightbulb light they are practically invisible. By the end of one year your scaring will be 90% less visible.

Hi All, I have a low BMI and no co-morbitities and so will be a self-pay. Originally I went to a local US bariatric surgeon for a consult (even put a deposit down with them) but have eventually decided on going to Mexico because of the $9000 price difference. I recently moved to a new state and have a new PCP, a very nice lady, but I've only met her once. I don't know how to approach this subject with her. I am a low BMI and tall....so with clothes on I seem to carry the extra weight very well even though I have 60 lbs to loose to be in a normal BMI range. Of course I am having all of the fears and second thoughts about this surgery in general but I think the thing that scares me the most is if I have complications after returning home. I have learned that my PCP will be the Dr. to whom I will go to for blood work and if complications arise so she can refer me to hospital for whatever the complication may be. I am afraid that she is going to #1 laugh me out of her office for wanting the surgery, and #2 make me feel stupid for my decision to go to Mexico. How did you all talk to your PCP, in particular if you were a low BMI'er?? How did your doctor react to your desire to have this major surgery done in Mexico?? Thanks everyone. This is my last mental hurdle to committing and scheduling an appointment for the sleeve surgery.

Kegel Exercises. Both of my children were born at home using midwives. A BIG part of giving birth at home is taking preventative steps to avoid complications. One of those steps was doing Kegel exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles.. It is very easy, you can do it anywhere at any time. (I do them at red lights while driving.) There are three major benefits to having a strong pelvic floor... 1. In birth it prevents tearing when baby's head is crowning. 2. When used after birth it tightens the muscles back up which solves the incontinence problem. 3. It makes sex more pleasurable for the man and the woman. Here is a link to the Mayo Clinic which describes the Why's and How's. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/kegel-exercises/WO00119 No need to feel embarrassed about the question. It's just a normal part of the female body.

I'm very sorry to hear of your hassles. It sounds as if there was some definite unprofessional behavior happening. I truly hope that was the worst that you will encounter in your journey. Thank You for sharing your story and Thank You for including a picture of your incisions. It was a very informative and helpful post to those of us who are still pre-op. Good Luck to you.

Getting to the root of the problem.... Start by figuring out just when food became emotionally important to you. Usually it is in childhood. As children (and many adults too) we don't have the tools to deal with emotionally hurtful situations. If we don't get the proper nurturing we are left with empty holes inside...emotionally hungry areas....and the easiest thing to do is fill those empty spaces with food. Food stimulates places in our brains that are the pleasure centers...the same areas of the brain that are affected by drug use. The act of eating feels good on an emotional level and also on a physiological level. Couple that with family and societal environments in which food is an important part of having fun and being together (pleasurable experiences) and it is easy to see how feeding ourselves becomes a way of making our selves feel good emotionally. My personal food addiction started because I have a mother who never bonded with me. I never had hugs or kisses or comforting words from her as a child. I was always kept at arms length, literally. When I was seven years old she finally just packed her bags and left. Moved two hours away. I had these empty spaces inside of my emotional self that felt very physically empty. To sit down and stuff those empty spaces with food was the only way I knew of comforting myself. What started as a way of self-soothing and self-nuturing turning into a lifelong addiction. Even now, at 36...I KNOW the reasons why I reach for a bucket of fried chicken when I've had a rough day. I have a very good understanding of my own personal psychology and I STILL can't stop myself at times. It is very frustrating and it keeps the shame cycle going around in circles.

Thank you! I have been slowly working through one little fear at a time. I recognize the fact that giving up the ability to gulp a giant glass of Water is a small adjustment to make in the interest of the bigger health picture. It'll be fine. Good luck to you!

I have yet to have my surgery! I'm tentatively planning for April 11th at OCC. Recently I couldn't stop gaining weight, like a crossed some imaginary line of no return! I think vsg is my Hail Mary play. I'm 37yrs and my BMI is in the high 40s. Sigh. Oh my gosh...me too! OCC either during my children's spring break OR their summer break from school. I am 36 yrs and my BMI is 35. It seems like as soon as I made the decision to move forward with the surgery (several months ago, although some days I still feel on-the-fence) I started having what they refer to as food Funerals. It's like I am saying goodbye to all of the food that is slowly killing me. Makes no sense because I know I will eventually be able to eat the same food just in much smaller healthier portions. I think it is all about my sick brain giving myself permission to eat like a cow. Stay in touch on the forum, I would love to follow your progress. Good Luck in your journey!

Oooh, this is one of my big fears. I LOVE Water. It's all I drink, literally. After working in the yard outside in the heat I crave a giant glass of water, just guzzling it down. Before bed, first thing in the morning, with every meal...a giant glass of cold water. It is one of those things that have kept me from scheduling surgery. I am so afraid that I will always hate the inability to guzzle water down. I did post that very question to the vets one time. Most of the answers I got back were "No" to gigantic gulps and guzzles, but "Yes" to drinking an entire glass of water at one time just in smaller swallows.

Thanks SoCalMomOfFour! I think that presenting my PCP with two US doc's and costs and a Mexico doc and their prices..along with stats of Medical Tourism sounds like the best idea. I see that you are the same height and have the same goal weight as I do. Would you mind telling me your starting BMI and how the weight loss has gone for you so far? Thanks so much!

Very very good post. Laura-ven, I always appreciate the insight that you share with the rest of us. It has been very helpful to me personally. I am still pre-op and haven't yet scheduled my appointment because I realize that all of the above statements are true. It will not be easy. It is not a lifetime guarantee against weight gain. It is ultimately up to me making good choices regardless of the size of my stomach. I have been kicking this idea around for more than two years, and very very seriously for the past eight or so months. I am slowly working through each of my mental stumbling blocks wanting to make 100% sure that this is the right decision/time for me. I am currently at about 98% sure....there are just two remaining little nagging worries I am dealing with. One thing that strikes me as....silly, I guess...is the newbie posts around here about how they are disregarding their surgeons recommendations in favor of their own "common sense" version. I mean, if their personal version of healthy living was accurate they wouldn't have had to resort to WLS, right? I am actually thankful to those people's arrogance opinions because it reminds me of the importance of the MENTAL changes that I need to make in order to have lifelong success with my sleeve.