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People who know me know better than to say sh...t like that. My standard answer would be GFY. I've had nothing but support and anyone who doesn't agree with my decision or wants to say negative things is at least smart enough to do it behind my back. Being a biotch has it's perks! Actually my sister tried this tact with me when I first told her about my surgery but I explained about my yo yo dieting and what I normally eat compared to what I will eat post op. She was truly surprised and realized what I was dealing with. Turns out she's always eaten like I will postop. "I get full on just an appetizer and have to take my entree home". She had no concept of my struggles. She ended up accompanying me to TJ for surgery and has been extremely supportive with my post op process. (So I'm a biotch with a very cool, skinny older sister)

From the 1st day after surgery I find I hiccup if I take too big of a swallow of something. I learned to slow down, but will still hiccup if I drink too much too fast or when my sleeve is full. If I take 1-2 swallows after I hiccup, I can almost feel the overflow and I don't feel so good for awhile. I have a good friend who has a lap band and she said she hiccups when she's "done".

Maybe it actually is a stricture or some other type of narrowing but her surgeon described the issue using the words "dent" and " tube" instead of the proper anatomical and medical terms to make it easier to understand. In any case, Kimberly, keep us posted on how your sister is doing.

Are you still on PPI's or antacids? I am only a month out and am on 40mg Omeprazole daily, but have started feeling hungry during the day. I've read so many posts about acid acting like hunger pains, so I tried taking Maalox when I felt hungry and the hunger pains went away immediately. Don't know if the same rules apply when you are so far out.

Ditto to all these suggestions. Bean soups have tons of protein and you can purée them to fit your "mushy food" phase if you want to. Drink skim milk (1g protein per oz) Have you tried plain Greek Yogurt with SF syrup or water flavor drops? I'm on soft foods and still can't even come close to getting enough protein without my shakes. Maybe get unflavored protein powder and add it to EVERYTHING. I even add mine to my mashed potatoes (but I still eat no more than 1/4 cup/day) But it definitely seems you need to decrease carbs and really up the protein.

Syntrax Matrix powder. It's a blend of different proteins...whey, milk, egg and wheat gluten. Got it on Amazon. Supposed to be "sustained released" I got a 5# bag when I started preop and still have plenty left. I make a shake with it every day. I mix up the flavor by adding PB2 or any number of Mio or Dasani flavor drops. ( the Mio tangerine makes it taste like a dreamsicle). I also started adding plain drinkable yogurt to my matrix shakes for even more protein and probiotics once I was postop. I was 238 the day I started preop and 216 day of surgery. I gained a bunch during surgery (was 221 1 week post op), but have lost that plus 9 more total. (I only weigh once/week so I don't get crazy with the numbers)

I also had concerned with the sutures used for the plication. Not only about popping, but also "cutting" into the tissue. If a lap band (wide, soft piece of material) can erode into the stomach after being in you for years, why wouldn't a thin, sharp piece of "string" do the same thing?

The OCC driver took a bunch of us to the Avenida Revolucion area but we had to all get taxis back to the Marriott. Joel (our driver) told us which taxis to take. Unfortunately I don't remember but if you ask at the Marriott or OCC they can help you. Like everyone else said, daytime is fine, but probably wouldn't venture out at night. (Even though my sis and I were walking back to Marriott after dark one night).

I had lettuce with flavored vinegar as a dressing (found garlic and raspberry) Lots of spinach. Either plain, with Unjury protein cheese sauce or mixed in with beef broth and Unjury unflavored powder for a very yummy "hamburger" soup. I also steamed green beans and mushrooms. I dipped sliced zucchini, red peppers (I know, not a green veggie) and broccoli in the Unjury cheese sauce and had the same veggies steamed in a little chicken broth one day. Take advantage of the veggies you can eat now, because you won't be able to for a long time! I had both the Unjury and Syntrax unflavored powders. They were about equal... The Unjury maybe mixed a little better. Key to mixing is make sure your liquid isn't too hot and I used a blender bottle with a wire whisk ball and never had clumping issues. Available on Amazon. I have an individual smoothie blender, but the blender bottle mixed just as well and easier cleanup. I mixed it with chicken broth, beef broth, Mexican tortilla soup base and Hot and Sour soup base for a break from the shakes. Any of the RTD shakes were too thick and sweet for me. I always added water to thin them up. Also mixed the vanilla protein with 16-20 oz of water instead of 8. I.d have a huge cup of coffee in the morning, consisting of 1 premier protein vanilla shake and 8-12 oz decaf coffee. Oh yeah, and PB2 was great. I mix 1-2 tablespoons with my vanilla Matrix powder and 20 oz of water. Very yummy. Also good mixed with a chocolate RTD shake. Variety was the key for me. I couldn't have just drank vanilla or chocolate shakes everyday. I must have been OK with my preop choices because I lost 22 pounds in 16 days. (I was supposed to lose 12 in 14 days, but was paranoid and excited so I started 2 days early.). Good Luck!

Ditto...used to be 7.5% but they switched it to 10% for 2013 (f......ers). And don't forget your travel expenses....they are deductible, too. I'm counting airfare, mileage, hotels, and meds.

FattoPhat is right, they use sutures, not staples with plication. As for long term, they haven't been doing the procedure long enough to know what happens years or decades down the line. I just had VSG a month ago but researched Lapband, plication and sleeve before deciding on the sleeve. One of my concerns with the plication was exactly that unknown factor. As you all probably know, there has been a lot of long term problems that have come up associated with the Lapband. One of these is erosion of the band into the stomach tissue. Well if a fairly wide, soft band can erode in, why wouldn't a thin, sharp suture do the same thing down the road? This and the possibility of disrupted blood supply, resulting in the necrosis of stomach tissue and eventually a leak, even months or years after surgery were the main reasons I went with the sleeve. Yes, the short term complication rate of the VSG is higher vs plication, but I just wasn't willing to risk the unknown long term complications. Good luck to everyone with your decisions and surgeries. I don't mean to scare anyone, but just thought I'd share my thoughts. I didn't have the plication, so I am by no means an expert and I'd advise everyone to take my post as strictly a single opinion. Only time and experience will tell if my fears were warranted.

Congratulations! Great success story. I'm curious, though, what surgery did you have? You have a post in the sleeve forum and a post in the plication forum, but your profile says Lapband.

Exercise (I don't wanna!) and the whole clean plate club thing....I definitely have to be careful what I put on it because I WILL try and eat it all. (Thanks mom)

Thanks for sharing your research.... I figured you were finding plication complications, rather than sleeve complications with Dr. Ortiz. Honestly, I looked at plication as well, but it didn't take long for me to reconsider. The thing that concerned me about the plication is the lack of long term data and outcomes. (Look at all the long term effects that have arisen with the band) Of course short term complications are much less than VSG, but with plication, serious complications can happen any time...even months or years after surgery. Compressing the gastric tissue by folding it in on itself could lend itself to problems at any point....all it takes is one other factor that increases the pressure on those tissues to compromise the blood supply. If that happened, the tissue can be seriously damaged or even die within a few hours. For me, that constant worry would not have been worth it. I don't mean to scare you off from your surgery. There have obviously been many successful plication procedures, and the complication rate still appears quite low. I'm just letting you know the conclusions I came to during my research process. Good luck with whatever you decide!

My sister and I walked to the Marriott a lot while I was there. It is on a major roadway, so the traffic was the biggest "danger". The Walmart Plaza is about 1/2 mile walk straight up from the Marriott. There is a Starbucks, GNC, and several restaurants. They also had a big kid's play area out front with inflatable water rides and other activities your daughter (and husband) might like. Since we were "frequent flyers", a couple Walmart employees started to recognize us and we had a nice time chatting with them and sharing US vs Mexico stories. The Marriott also has a pool and the staff is very friendly and accommodating.

I was surprised at the puréed food so early, too, but every surgeon is different. You said you are having a hard time getting protein in (which is very common in the beginning). So I would concentrate on fluids and protein first before you start worrying about trying to eat cream of wheat. My nut also strongly recommended yogurt as early as possible to help replace normal GI flora, so I started drinkable yogurt at day 4. But you can progress as slowly as you need to. I was cleared for soft food 2 days ago, but haven't ventured there, yet.

You're right, it may glob up the consistency, but not destroy the protein. It's like cooking an egg....the consistency changes but the protein is still there.

Yep, I didn't weigh myself till a week out and I was 5 pounds up. I've netted a total loss of 6 pounds at 3 weeks post op. Not a big deal. We are healing and the weight WILL come off. Just be patient, this isn't a race. I didn't start puréed food until 18 days out and could barely eat 1-2 tablespoons of anything even that far out.

Try different flavors of protein shakes. I used Mio and Dasani water flavor drops to change up the vanilla shakes. PB2 is great to add to chocolate and vanilla shakes. I also used a lot of Unjury unflavored protein powder mixed with various broths and diluted, strained cream soups which was a great savory change from all the sweet shakes. In general, I found all RTD shakes too sweet and thick, so I dilute them with water or skim milk (which gives you even more protein). A lot of people also like the isopure protein water which gives you a whole different texture and flavor selection from shakes. (I only tried grape and fruit punch and only liked grape.)

I had my sleeve done at OCC a month ago and I am doing great. My PCP is available for followup, but I haven't needed any. I've actually had really good postop communication with OCC with questions I've had with meds. I feel they are probably my best "first line of defense" since it's what they do and they know way more about the procedure and aftercare than my PCP. Actually, my OB/Gyn is on board as well and she will be doing my 3 month followup bloodwork since that's about the same time as my annual PAP. I am also really curious as to what complication cases you are finding with Dr. Ortiz. I researched for 6 months before surgery and couldn't find anything serious. (Leaks, strictures, infections, etc.) Of course, I was researching gastric sleeve, not plication, so what you're finding may be different. Different surgery with different set of complications. PM me if you'd like.

I made Huevos rancheros for breakfast this morning. FF refried beans, ff cottage cheese, egg whites and green chili sauce. (I'm only 1 month out, so no tortilla)

I actually can't believe Optifast is even recommended as a protein/ weight loss drink. 20g carbs?! The first ingredient (besides water) is sugar. And if that's not enough, they add corn syrup solids! There are much better RTD shakes out there with more protein and way less carbs. For example, Premier Protein chocolate has 30g protein and only 5g carbs- of which 3g is fiber. Definitely talk to your nut. Or check the labels of options next time you go shopping.

The exact thing happened to me when I transitioned at 18 days out. I was so full all the time. What I ended up doing was having a little "token" puréed food - no more than 1-2 tablespoons once a day and then just doing the normal liquids and shake thing from the previous stage. I was slowly able to have 1-2 tbls 2 times a day and now I can do a puréed "meal" 3 times/day. I still get most of my Protein from shakes. I was cleared to go to soft foods yesterday but I'm gonna stick with puréed a few more days. Don't push yourself past the point of feeling full. Just take it slow. And yes, getting all your fluids in is a full time job at this point.

I'm one stage ahead of you and feel exactly the same way. It was uncomfortable going from liquid to puréed at first. I got really full and had a hard time getting liquids in because it would take hours to make room even after just 1-2 tbls of puréed. But I persevered and am now doing great. I'm fine with my food choices and getting all my protein and liquid. I still do 1-2 shakes/day and really do like my soups. I was cleared for soft foods yesterday but haven't ventured there yet. I guess it will happen one of these days. Good luck and just take it slow if that's what you want to do.

My mom has had fibro for years. She can't take any of the traditional meds for it because if there's a side effect...she gets it. She finally went to a fibro specialty clinic down in southern Arizona. They did a ton of testing to see exactly what things cause systemic inflammation and flare up her fibro. She's always known she was gluten and lactose intolerant, but only considered it an "inconvenience" that irritated her GI Tract. Well it was confirmed that the dairy and gluten and a TON of other food exacerbate her fibro. Ironically, the soy and almond milk she had been drinking all these years were near the top of her list. So she has a huge list of foods to completely cut out for now as well as being on a natural cortisol to help reduce inflammation in her body. The food restrictions have been very tough, but she has noticed a difference and is finally feeling better than she has in years. So maybe finding someone to approach your fibro from another angle could help with your pain levels. Chronic pain is extremely debilitating even without your other issues. (I know, preaching to the choir)