Paulina Green

I am getting sleeved in Mexico with dr Jesus Lopez on August 19th. Have to say a little nervous.

Thank you for sharing your story. Which Dr. Lopez did you go to?

Awww great story!!!

There's this great great SUPPORT GROUP on Facebook.. go in there, it will help a lot, still helping me, and I had my surgery done a couple of months ago...there's a lot of real patients, but it is a really active group, even surgeon answer your questions..it's call Dr Carlos Altamirano Support Group, he's not my doctor, but he also works for bariatricpal, but even though I didn't use him, they left me in.
And here is my experience...
I will like to share my experience after 9 months because now I'm closer to my goal, but first of all because I know I made the best decision ever, it's not just how I look, but how I feel inside, I'm a healthier and happier person now, I have improved my relationship with family and friends. My self esteem was in the ground, therefore I wasn't too friendly, now people like to be close to me, and it's only been 9 months like a I said, Im doing all kinds of outdoor activities, I'm going to the gym, I have a new wonderful wardrobe, I'm dating, I love myself more than ever.... and everything started like this…I tried all kind of diets and diet pills before going to surgery, they helped, but only for a short period of time, and if I dropped 10 pounds, after a couple of months I gained 15, I kept going like this FOR YEARS, I just couldn't keep that weight away FOR GOOD, I went into depression, the worse year of my life, but yet the better, in January of 2014, I wasn't getting out of my house or job, obviously my family was a bit worried, I even went to therapy, I felt petty about myself, then I signed up in forums of people with the same issue I had... OUR WEIGHT, met this girl that was doing the same thing as I'm doing right now...sharing her story and helping people, I had made my own research, I looked up for doctors in Tijuana, and this girl told me about Bariatric Pal, they were so helpful, I started with them from nothing.... and they guided me in every decision I was taking, first, they gave me my options, I visited the doctors they recommend, and I stayed with Dr. Lopez,I felt really comfortable with him, It felt like he knew me, well to make the story short, Bariatric Pal made all the arrangements for me, the day of my surgery, they picked me up in San Diego, they took us (my brother and I) to the clinic, as I hoped, they made me feel so welcome, I signed up, a few papers, they explained to me everything I was signing and they gave me my room, they did all kinds of pre-op tests, EKG, etc.. they gave me a pill to calm me down, since I was really nervous,I had Dr. Lopez visited me before surgery, I liked that, because sometimes you never get to see your surgeon, I think he gave the attention every patient deserves, we deserve to be treated as humans, if it is not too much to ask, well SURGERY went great, no complications, afterwards a Lil bit of dizziness, nauseated, but that's just normal, I stayed two days in there, then Mike from Bariatric pal drove us to the recovery house where my brother stayed while I was at the hospital, they didn't have a room for him, but the guys from BP take great care of him as they did for me the two extra day we decided to stay at their RH, then they drove me back to San Diego the day Dr. Lopez discharges me...I will be in debt with all the staff the rest of my life.
My recuperation, had its ups and downs, but I did a lot of reading, about what I could eat, which is one of the hardest parts of it, I learned my vegetables, my Protein, and I learned to eat, I would cheer myself up every time I felt this was too much to handle, my family and friends helped a lot also, but now I know it was the BEST DECISION EVER, I'm proud of myself, and telling my story because I want people to feel the same way I do, I'm still dropping weight, and I will keep telling my stories, my progress and my humble advice in case you need support.

Some airlines do, but depends on how big you are, I understand your weight and height but can't figure it out how big is that, what I used to do is seat in the emergency exits.

Here I am in Tijuana. Arrived yesterday at florence Hospital via Roberto and San Diego Airport. I am staying at the Sage (hospital hotel). It is located on the 5th floor. I had my EKG and Chest Xray yesterday. I arrived in my room at 4 pm and they brought me chicken broth, bottles of Water, and Jello, two separate times, at about 5 pm and again at about 7 pm. My husband and I walked around the neighborhood a bit, down to the boardwalk, and on the beach. It was nice, especially after coming from hot Fort Worth, which is currently experiencing heavy downpours ! We left just in time !
Dr. Luna (the nutritionist) came by my room yesterday evening at about 9 pm to check on me and introduce himself. He was very polite. Dr. Luna told me that they would be coming to get me around 10 am to transfer to the actual hospital room, where I will be recovering for two nights. Then I will have labwork, and meet with both Dr. Luna and my surgeon, Dr. Zavalza. My surgery is scheduled at 2 pm today.
I will check-in again, possibly tomorrow or Friday with an update on my recovery !
Right now I don't care about food, just wish I could have coffee

Nothing to worry about, you are in excellent hands, I used him and have no regrets, him and all bp team treated me like a queen, I had no complications whatsoever, and Im loving my results, still way to go.

No there was fuzz on it o let sit in full glass of ice of over a hour then slowly sipped on it I only had maybe a fourth of of it. No beer for me never much of beer drinker . Anne it was gas tried stuff for it today still not helping ..

Who knew my surgeon works on Saturdays?!?!?! I just got my approval letter and my surgeon is booked into August. If someone cancels, they'll call me to see if I can do it sooner. I'm hoping for July.

Thanks everybody! I am super happy, and getting ready for surgery.

I am scheduled with him this Monday June 15th, He has been incredible so far, I have a slightly unique situation as far as my health history goes. So I have had multiple questions that popped up after my Skype session, and he and his team have answered everyone of them quickly and detailed. I actually thought to myself..."I wish it was this easy to get a hold of my pcp here in the states and I am able to understand what they are saying much easier then my doctors here that forget I don't have a medical degree...there is no language barrier , wonder if I could stick with them lol"

Good Luck eortega, I hope everything went great, you are in very good hand, keep us updated!!!

Good Luck eortega, I hope everything went great, you are in very good hand, keep us updated!!!

US is very expensive, first, doctors in Tijuana are very skilled, you just have to do a really good research because there are more than two doctors out there that have not so cool stories, true or not, I preferred to go after those who didn't, second, prices in Tijuana are more affordable plus they include you EVERYTHING, even meds and transportation from and to San Diego, and third but not least... they have coordinators, a nutritionist, an internal med expert, cardiologist, they give a whole team of experts that will take care of you + they make you feel at home.... with all that money you are gonna save.. you can rather spend it later on vacations. Wish you the best, try and do your research on Bariatric pal, I used Dr. J Lopez but they have a group of expert, I've heard Altamirano and Zalvalza are also great.

Wow where do I start...
I was sleeved on march 16th 2015. BariatricPal did it all from A to Z. Picking up, dropping off from the hospital, airports and the recovery house. You're never alone and you have someone taking care of you 24/7.
Walking after your surgery is sooooo important. I have my own personal liaison, Juan! Juan takes you walking everywhere. All over the beautiful city site seeing!! Woohoo!!.. I absolutely loved that. We got to go to the beach and look at some of their amazing shops.
I found Dr. Zavalza through BariatricsPal Deals. Dr. Z was extremely thorough. He Skyped with me several times to answer any questions or concerns and made my transition to the hospital very easy. The morning of my surgery, I met my doctors and their staff.
Dr Luna is my own personal dietitian. He handles all my follow-up post op consultation. The surgery went great. Virtually painless other than feeling a little groggy and some discomfort from my drain tube. Oh of course gas from the surgery ;-( , discomfort level is different for everyone. I must say it was very minimal discomfort. I made sure to walk walk walk I know that helped me a lot!
I was released two days later after I passed all my tests for the all clear. The doctors had several follow up visits. Both of them came out to see me and make sure I was doing well to send me off with all the information I needed. After hugs and pictures off I went to rediscover my new like and new found freedom.
It was truly a blessing to find this group. I went there all by myself but never felt alone. Thank you so much team BariatricPal for all your hard work!!..
UPDATE I'm coming BACK with my cousin!!! Nothing but the best for my family!! ONLY bararticPal!! Thank you for making one of the biggest decision of my life as smooth as possible...

Hi everyone! I am new to the site and just took the first few steps last Friday in what I know will be a long journey.
I met my surgeon Dr. Radecke who I absolutely adore and we are aiming for an early September surgery (VSG). I know I still have some bumps to overcome (meeting my insurance deductible in 3 months would be one of them? can I pull it off?? LOL!! I will be going to every freaking Dr. I can think of between now and then). I told my son on Saturday, he's 10 and I am so incredibly proud of how he responded and is being very supportive. I did also want to say thank you in advance for all the posts I have read so far. Everyone has something to offer and I have learned so much already! That's it for now, I just didn't want to be a post troll.

I weighed this morning and for the first time in a very, very, very long time I am below 200lbs. I weighed in this morning at 199.8. Another milestone has passed and on to the next. So if my calculations are right...I have lost 44.2lbs.
Things I can't tolerate are eggs and lettuce and coffee has been a struggle but it is one thing that I honestly don't want to let go of. I gave up smoking and sodas before my surgery, gosh darnit I really want to keep my coffee so it is a work in progress. I am still messing around with my solids and have many other things I am still waiting to try. As a hypothyroid patient, my metabolism is sluggish at best and one issue that I have noticed since introducing solids into my body is nausea in the morning. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that my dinners come late and that is so not a good thing. But with my job, I rarely if ever get home by 8pm. That is changing as I will start working from home after next week and I am hopeful that being able to eat earlier will help with my nausea.

Yes! Apparently all of the surgeons are going to a conference that week or something like that. My sister talked to her boss and 2 people changed their vacation plans to accommodate July 13th! Amazing!!
So we're all set as of 8pm last night. Now the planning has begun - figuring out our new eating (or lack of eating) regime when we get home, using up the foods that will spoil before we can have them again, etc!
How are you doing? Any strange discoveries about what you can and cannot stomach? How much have you lost (if you don't mind me asking)? How are you feeling?

Today after two years of researching and doing my homework, then several setbacks including no one ever bothered to tell me that even though my insurance would cover most of it, there were certain things that are completely out of pocket, I got my EGD last Monday And my final dietician visit Friday, because yesterday was a holiday I got a call after office hours to tell me my surgery is set for June 10th, I thought that at that point I would begin to worry but it was mostly worry over approval of my FMLA and leave monies, etc. tomorrow I start my diet, my wife who is a great supporter of Amy effort I make to prolong my Heath is taking this pretty hard, I did not expect that, she accepted me as I was 8yrs ago and her love has no limits, but she is worried about the surgery, and confused as to why I am not, I have been ready for this for a long time and I'm not going into it blindly, my expectations are humble, they are to not have so much pain, and to prolong my time with my family, my only indulgence is that when I lose enough I want a kayak, looking at a new chapter in my life and a second chance, here we go.......

Here was my packing list from when I went in September:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11I51ulCBco9cimQj882eV1KfMWodyiIO6X4gNaLpDDc/edit?usp=sharing

And what's stopping you? you have a date scheduled? doctor? how can we help?

@@kelley74 @@Paulina Green
Thank you for the recommendations! It's really nice to be apart of such a supportive community, even as an online forum.
We checked out the other surgeons at Long Term and they seem to have incredible surgical backgrounds as well. @@Chrissyg - I think you're absolutely right! They seem very selective of the surgeons at this clinic.
Being from Canada there are a few pros and cons. Of course we have free healthcare which means I could go through the program and have this surgery done free of charge but the downside is that free healthcare = long wait times. In Calgary, it's 3-5 years and I would have to drive 3 hrs to Edmonton to get it done. That's why we've opted to pay for it ourselves and then claim medical expenses on our tax returns to recover some of the cost. With the Canadian dollar doing poorly right now plus the cost of flights and a hotel, we really needed a cost effective option. Long Term is just that and with surgeons who could do sleeves in their sleep and have lovely personalities, I thing we're pretty set on this clinic.
I'm feeling really excited again and hopefully we'll hear from Ruben shortly about which surgeons we'll have!
Some people may not realize it but the simplest post can be the turning point for a total stranger. This is a life-changing decision and knowing that anyone could be the catalyst for another person's journey is a pretty powerful concept!

I made a few purchases over the weekend:
Nutribullet-My Vitamix is too big for single servings.
Bathroom Scale-A new one that is supposed to be VERY accurate.
Kitchen Scale-Haven't had one for years
The last two will be here tomorrow.

Hi Dr
My name is Terence ,I would like to know how can I avoid DVT since I will be flying from South Africa to Mexico ?

[quore name=tpakkies" post="3838226" timestamp="1432302473]Hi Dr
My name is Terence ,I would like to know how can I avoid DVT since I will be flying from South Africa to Mexico ?
The reason they worry about dvt when flying after surgery is due to prolonged sitting. Try and walk as much as possible on the flights! Get up every time you can! Try and get a isle seat and walk up and down the isle every hour 1/2 or so! Also change your seating position rotate crossed legs stretch legs out in the isle or under the seat in front of you etc.... Keep them moving! Good luck! Stay moving and you'll be fine!