blackfalls

I am a week into my 3 week diet. My program allows me to take Metamucil. I didn't think I would need to. Mistake! I bought and started taking it a few days ago and it has helped immensely.

I'd like to know the answer to this too.

Um, you don't look older that's crazy. You look way more vibrant and full of energy. You look younger and healthier. Great job! Don't let the family bring you down.

You will be deficient if you don't take any vitamins after surgery. You should be taking it now with the pre-op diet! You're not getting the nutrition you need with the shakes and definitely won't be getting it off the fluids we'll be drinking post-surgery and purees. It's all too calorie deficient plus we're not eating fruits/vegetables. Mexico Bariatric Center gave the outline for vitamins: 1. Chewable Multi Vitamins once per day. 2. Women 100 – 1200 mg of chewable calcium citrate with Vitamin D Suggested vitamin protocol: Breakfast: Multi-vitamin/mineral with calcium Lunch: Multi-vitamin/mineral with calcium Dinner: B12 with calcium Bedtime: iron I think we're good to go off the vitamins after a year when we're eating all our calories and getting in fruits and veg. Although for women it's a good idea to continue with Calcium for life.

Hi all My date is Sept 10. I'm on my fourth day of my pre-op diet (I have to do 3 weeks because of a high BMI but I'm under the cutoff now because I lost 8 lbs before I even started the diet! I'm 12 lbs down now, hopefully I'll lose another 10 before the surgery so there is no doubt my BMI is below 49 (otherwise I have to pay an extra $1000).

Hey there newcocoame! Those are my exact dates too! I get to TJ the 9th, have the surgery the 10th, and leave on the 14th. I will look for you If you want to find me on the 9th at the Marriott I'll probably be at the pool.

Xena, you got all the procedures I think I will need. How much did Dr. Sauceda charge for all of it? And how long did you have to stay there for?

Today is my fourth day of my 3 week pre-op diet. My diet is supposed to consist of a protein shake for breakfast, a protein shake for lunch, a protein food source and salad for dinner, and a third protein shake before bed if needed. It hasn't been too difficult although I have to admit that I have cheated. Here is a list of my sins: 1st day - for dinner I had egg salad which I ate with bell peppers as a scoop. When I ran out of my serving of bell peppers I used a few rice crackers to finish up the egg salad. 2nd day - same as 1st day 3rd day - instead of egg salad for dinner I had cod. Instead of 1 serving/fillet, I had 2. But three-quarters of the way into it I realized it was too much. I ate with my eyes, not my stomach. Overeating because the food is there is something I am working on. When I have the sleeve I will not be able to stuff myself like I used to. One extra bite could mean terrible side-affects. I will really have to listen to my body. Although I called it cheating and "sinning" I don't feel bad about what I have done. This is a practice run for after the surgery and it is hard not to make a mistake after all my years of making mistakes constantly in regards to eating. You can't unlearn habits in 3 days. But I am trying. You better believe it. I know I will be successful with the sleeve. There's no other option. But my degree and speed of success depends on my ability to unlearn ingrained habits. And I WILL unlearn those dastardly ways. Enough is enough. I am worth every step of this journey. I am worth all the struggles ahead and I will come out at the end a healthier me.

Wow, Heather, that's a kick in the pants from other posters if I ever saw one! But I think it's good for us pre-oppers to have other well-travelled sleevers keep us in line. I think that's what will help make us successful down the road. I have too many enablers in my life already, it's good that I won't find that here.

These only have 9g of protein per serving. That's pretty low.

I have some good news. I told my family doctor about the surgery and she was on board! She had never heard of VSG but I was very knowledgeable about everything and explained it to her. She is actually curious to see how it will all turn out! Plus she ordered me a ton of bloodwork and said that if I come back in a few days she will give me a copy to take to Mexico. Also, she will take care of my wounds post-op. I am so happy and relieved and glad I didn't keep this from her.

BarNone, I always hear that it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission so the fact you already had the surgery might be a good thing. Good luck tomorrow!

If it's not business, it's pleasure.

If it's not business, it's pleasure.

Thanks BarNone! How was your experience in Great Falls? How much did it cost?

I am going to get sleeved on September 10th in Mexico. Because I'm self-paying, I have no aftercare/follow-up set in place. I am hoping to find a doctor (in case my family doctor, with whom I only have a couple months history with, doesn't approve of my surgery and refuses to treat me) that has knowledge of bariatric surgeries and will facilitate appropriate follow-up/labwork/nutritionists. I am in Red Deer and willing to drive to Edmonton or Calgary for a great doctor. Anyone have suggestions?

Hi all, I am in Red Deer and going to get sleeved on September 10, 2013 by Dr. Valenzuela in Tijuana, Mexico. I saw there were some Red Deer and Calgary sleevers here. I go to Calgary often so I'm interested in hearing from both cities: who was your follow-up doctor? I'm worried my family doctor will not be on board. :/ Also, are there any support groups you can recommend?

I'm so glad we can claim it through Alberta Health (and that we have evidence via alanah that they actually do pay out!). I wonder how much we will get back on our income tax?

You find a surgeon you want and you set it up. They do want you to do a 2-3 week pre-op diet though to shrink your liver and that's pretty much it. As for cost, it depends on the surgeon. I am going to Dr. Valenzuela in Tijuana. The cost for my surgery is US$4500. I had two colleagues from Saskatchewan who went to Dr. Aceves and Dr. Alvarez. They cost about US$8700. They have had no problems at all, one a 30 year old woman and the other a mid 40s man.

Congrats on finally getting referred! Unfortunately I have no idea what the answer to your question is. I am in Alberta but I'm going to Mexico next month/self-pay.

I work 12 hour hospital shifts and being an RRT, I have no scheduled breaks. I am on my feet for a lot of the time. I am scheduled for surgery on September 10 and have taken 6 shifts of vacation for the recovery period. I am scheduled to work a night shift September 23 but I might call in sick (I did not tell my work about the surgery so my coworkers will be alarmed at me taking a sick day after 2 weeks vacation...). In that case my next shift will be September 29. That's 19 days of recovery. Do you think this is enough time? What kind of work do you do and how soon did you go back to work after your surgery? Did you think you needed more time to recover than you allowed yourself?

I have the same date but I'm not in the Chicago area

Good luck!

Nice! I hope more people join. Come and introduce yourselves. I just did.

I will PM you my name. I think we should create our own because then we can follow up with each other's success stories!