Patsypatrice

I had mine two years ago & have maintained a 75 pound loss, I love it. First time I have ever stayed at Goal. I will be here for you[emoji39]

Dr Ortiz is one of top 15 Bariatric surgeons & he did mine two years ago. I had no complications what ever lost 85 pounds & feel great. I know six others who have done well with him also. I paid $6500 then & it was well worth it. Included 4 nights st Marriott Hotel that had fantastic accomodations

I was a nurse for 35 years mainly Labor & Delivery & single unit L & D, and mother baby. 10 years a Hospital Supervisor . Retired in 2006. Was sleeved 16 months ago & list 85 pounds. Have been at goal since October, feeling great

Are you an RN re your title? I am a retired RN & had my gastric sleeve 2/26/14 in Tijuana with Dr. Ariel Ortiz &. Have never regretted it for one minute. I have lost 80 pounds & I feel great. I did not have any complications & have no trouble eating anything now, just not the quantity. I did not have any pain or nausea & have never thrown up. So congratulations on your decision & good luck on your journey

I'm 70 & just got my surgery date of 5/12/14. I'm glad to read posts by other 70+ sleeve patients. My family is concerned about my age & having this surgery. Hopefully this will make them feel better that others my age have done this. My goal is to get off the CPAP at night & the oxygen 24/7. I have other health issues that should go away also. Just the idea of taking fewer pills each day is a plus.

I am 74 & I was sleeved 2/26/2014 when I was still 73 & I feel great, have lost 65 pounds so far. I am just 6.8 pounds from Goal.

HW: 242.4 SW: 223 CW: 177.6 Goal:165

Sleeve date 2/26/2014

HW: 242.4

SW: 223

CW: 177.6

Goal:165

I go to Weight Watchers every week as I am a Lifetime member tho not at goal but it is much easier to follow & eat the correct portions. I have lost 65.8 pounds since VSG in February & am 6.8 pounds from goal! I love my sleeve.

Hi all, I thought I found this group once before but then could not find it again until just now. I am 74 and a retired nurse after working for 35 years. I did mostly Labor and Delivery in 3 different hospitals, then finished up doing Hospital Nursing Supervisor.

I had my gastric sleeve surgery in February when I was till 73 and all the people I met were a lot younger. I feel great and have lost 61 from my highest weight. I had a very good surgical experience without any complications. I am still experimenting with what I can eat as sometimes I have diarrhea right after eating, salads seem to be one thing that causes it. It still amazes me that I can leave food on my plate or throw it away as I was raised to clean my plate which of course caused a lot of my being overweight most of my life. I really had a problem with Portion Control sweets and bread. Now sweets do not taste good to me at all.

Happy to have found this group again.

Wow that is amazing how much you have lost and now cannot stop! I had my sleeve on 2/26 this year and am down 61 pounds but every day I am afraid I will not keep losing, it is down to about 1-2 pounds a week. I hope you are not having any problems or becoming anorexic. What does your Dr. say? Good luck

Does anyone know how many surgeries Dr. Ortiz has done? Checked his website and even asked Lori, the coordinator, and can't seem to find an answer. Trying to decide between him and another surgeon in TJ.

Dr Ortiz is the best & he has done hundreds if VSG's. He is rated one if top Bariatric surgeons in the US & had been on Dr. Oz, The Doctirs, Night line, Dateline & many other programs. I was sleeved in February & had excellent card & no complications or Pain nausea or vomiting & feel great

Good luck!

I'm a little over 4 weeks out and I mostly have yogurt, brothy Soups, and cottage cheese. Going to brunch tomorrow and I looked at the menu. The only things that seem to be ok for my stage is oatmeal and clam chowder. Would clam chowder be bad to try? Not sure what to do because I can't try it ahead of time at home :/

I had no trouble with clam chowder or eggs at that stage. Good luck

My husband is getting sleeved today. I am 13 lbs from goal and would like some cosmetics myself! I talked to Ora, who is the Ariel Center coordinator for cosmetics. ora@thearielcenter.com She said I just need to send pics and tell what I want to get a price. Or I can have a consult while I am here for a minimal fee. I was going to send the pics weeks ago but I never got around to it! I need more time to save up $$ anyway.

You look great! I never got a picture either with Dr. Ortiz

Good luck to your hubby

Hi I use the Weight Watcher scales that weighs in tents & tells body fat & BMI & how much you lose from last weigh in. Good luck, I love mine

Tenths not tents.LOL! Digital .....

So, I think my bathroom scale has seen better days.. Have had it for 10 years..it shows that I weigh more naked than I do at the surgeons office with clothing!!! What do brand of scales do you guys like? I'm willing to spend $50 max

Hi I use the Weight Watcher Scales that weighs in tents & tells body fat & BMI & how much you lose from last weigh in. Good luck, I love mine

Hey everyone. Hope all is well with you all. I've been working like crazy and am now taking a few weeks off for vacation (yay!!). Doing well and loving my sleeve. I've developed a new horrible horrible habit- going to Ross! OMG- I'm so bad with the clothes shopping. I can't help myself if I see a cute dress- gotta have it. Hi- my name is Tamara and I'm a shopaholic

Good for you! Ross is a great place to shop while we are changing sizes so often. Pat

There is a Facebook group called weight loss surgery-Mexico. Not just OCC but other doctors too. I joined the group. They will understand going to Mexico is awesome!

There also is a closed group on Facebook called Sassy Sleevers but you have to be invited to join but lots of good WLS stories & pictures

Thinking about sneaking a small glass of wine in tonight on date night. I was given the okay and I'm not really a habitual drinker. I'm a little reluctant to ask if anyone has had a little alcohol since surgery just because every forum I've read with the same topic is filled with indignation and it's really annoying to read. This has been been a great group so far so I just wanted to run by you guys what you thought? I figured I'd have a few sips to Celebrate tonight ..thoughts?

Most of what I have read about alcohol is that it is empty calories & will not help you lose weight but I don't think a few sips on Date night is going to hurt you. I have had a few sips myself but is not a regular thing. Enjoy!

Hi, I am six weeks out and have not noticed any Hair loss but I see it a lot on these Forums. I see most people replying that they take Biotin so try that.

I'm so overwhelmed right now. I started this Journey in Feb and I have a date scheduled for the 23rd. I am supposed to be on my 2 week liquid diet and I keep cheating. Granted i'm not cheating with anything bad, I am eating Protein (egg white, chick peas) but none the less, I am not sure if I should tell my dr. i'm cheating or not. If I can't do this, how can I manage post-op??? I know I have to do this, I just know I can't do 2 weeks of no food and straight Protein Shakes (which make me gag soo bad). What do I do??? I know some dr's do the 2 week some don't, I asked my dr. and he said they do recommend it but "do as you wish" which basically is telling me, your a grown up suck it up. I"m confused, sad, alone and just friggin disappointed.

You will get through this!!! It will be easier after the surgery as you won't be hungry & liquids will be all you can manage then graduate to full liquids, soft then regular diet, I get full very quickly & I will not do anything that will make me throw up or feel uncomfortable. I am almost 7 weeks out & it has been easy much to surprise of my hubby as he has seen how much I used to eat. Hang in there & good luck!

Good luck to all of you. I was sleeved with Dr. Ortiz 2/26 & everything went smoothly. Care was excellent & staff at Marriott were wonderful too, 4 of us who had same surgery same day are staying in touch with each other. From Arizona, Oklahoma, Iowa & Toronto Canada. A great place to go

Greetings everyone, I am so overwhelmed of the thought of another surgery. How will I know the sleeve will work for me? How will by body look after I lose the weight? I am extremely afraid of the pain and not being able to make it through the first three days? Can I really make it through? Is the pain really that bad? Some of those YouTube videos are horrific!! Can I really do this? My thoughts are over taking everything in my life right now and it's all centered around the sleeve surgery. Maybe I am placing too much thought into it, but sometimes fear grips my heart and I cannot image how life would be afterwards. HELP!!

I had my sleeve on 2/26 & it was a very good experience! Minimal aim, no nausea or gas pain & only one night on hospital. First three days were a breeze. Good luck!

Can anyone tell me "approximately" what size their abdominal dressing was? 5x9 or 8x10? I thinking about bringing my own especially for the last day and for the day of travel. Thank

I don't know where you are having your surgery but mine was at OCC in Mexico. It was done by Laparoscopy. So I had 4 incisions & one had the drain. Dressing was about 4x6 & came off on the second day. The drain came out the day we went home so there was no need for anything to cover. I had surgery on Wednesday, one night in hospital, home on Saturday. Good luck, mine went well, minimal pain & no nausea or gas.

My friend just had her VSG done here in the states, at a hospital SHE works at! The nurses treated her like she was an annoyance! They had her so doped up on pain meds it was insane. She asked them to pull back her meds and they rolled their eyes. Eventually she turned off the pain pumps herself! They didn't bother to have her move for close to 36 HOURS! I'm pretty sure had she not walked around herself, they wouldn't have done anything about it. I'm having my surgery at OCC with Dr O on Friday and I can't wait to see the difference! It's almost laughable how arrogant we Americans can be in regards to what we think is the superiority of our hospitals. I really believe the haters are just speaking from fear and ignorance! I went through all of the paperwork my friend was given for her surgery and just don't see anything that makes it superior. It's all pretty much the same information! I'm actually happy my insurance won't cover VSG... otherwise I'd never have found Dr O and all of the team at OCC!

I can't imagine why the friend that had her surgery in the states was so sedated & why she was there for 36 hours???? I had my VSG in Mexico with Dr. Ortiz along with three other surgery "partners" we were only in the hospital one night & not sedated except for a light narcotic under the tongue which did not make me sedated. I did not have much pain & was up walking within hours. OCC was fantastic, care was excellent, staff friendly & efficient. The Marriott Hotel was also fabulous , staff friendly & very accommodating. A Van picked us up at San Diego airport & we breezed through the border both coming & going.

Hi! I am just a little over a month out and I am not losing weight! I am following the dr instructions and I am staying in the same spot and even went up a pound!! I am so upset and starting to regret even having the surgery. Has this happened to anyone else? Thanks!

Don't give up, it will be worth it in time! Are you drinking enough Water? I find I lose more when I get all my water in. Also the more Protein the better. Good luck