6 months after Total Gastric Vertical Plication Sleeve Surgery advice

mellifrits · January 24, 2011

Hey everyone! So it has been a little over six months now since my wls. I use to post a lot on here but for some reason when the site changed I stopped getting updates sent to my emails and it was hard to keep up with where I had posted and who I had or hadn’t written. I finally found what the issue was so I should be able to keep up with all the threads now. I got my Sleeve Plication on July 12, 2010 at The Hospital Star Medica with Dr. Jose Rodriguez. I have gone from my highest weight of 210 and highest jean size of 20 NOW my weight is 132 and my jean size is 4/6.

PRE-OP

I am an open book for you and any questions you have. I was lucky with the money side of it since I charged it to a credit card that was interest free for a year and now I have been working on paying it off. So I can’t give you any advice in that area.I booked with BeLiteWeight and they took care of everything for me. As for a SCAM I had the same worries but everything turned out fine. I even missed my flight that morning and just called where they told me to call and it was no problem at all. The guy was there to pick me up just like he said he would be. We had to stop at the Mexican line and explain why we were going to Mexico. I didn't know I would have to explain in detail so just be ready to say what hospital and what Doctor you are going to see. They will ask how to plan to pay since they don’t like the idea of you taking large amounts of money with you. Since I had a money order there were no issues. Once I got into Mexico I did have some fear since as we all know Mexico is nothing like the USA. They had just had some flooding so it was pretty dirty looking. BUT the hospital was amazing. I have worked in a couple hospitals and this hospital was more like a resort. It was SO BEAUTIFUL!! It was clean, nice, and everyone was so nice to me. There was a few times at night when someone didn't speak English but I just used my paper they gave me and pointed at what I want. There were no problems at all.

POST-OP

On the pain side of the things your pain will come from gas more than anything. You won’t feel like walking but do it anyways. The more you walk the better you will feel. Gas-X is your best friend!! I used them as a pain pill. I was wake up and almost be puking gas so I would use one and it helped a ton. Also a heating pad is amazing too! My heating pad helped a ton when it came to sleeping. But again the main thing is to get off your butt and walk! If you don’t, the pain will be much worse than it has to be.

On the flight home it will be a little hard since you will be weak but not impossible. When you get to your flight ask to board first. You don’t want anyone rushing or pushing you. Make sure to take a pain pill before you get on your flight and bring Gas-X too. If you have the time in between your flights then walk since it will help with pain BUT if you are short on time don’t try to rush. Ask someone to drive you. I just explain that I had just had surgery and everyone was very kind to me.

My sister was with me when I was in Mexico but honestly you should be fine on your own. It was nice to have her since she would wake me up every few hours to make me walk but as long as you are able to make yourself do that on your own you should be fine. Make sure to only pack one bag (you won’t even need that much anyways) that has wheels. I promise you won’t feel like carrying anything.

AFTER CARE

On after care I haven't had any yet since I don’t have insurance but I plan to get my yearly done next month. I did have an issue where I didn't know we can’t eat fresh vegetables and was very constipated; to the point that I had a temp and was in a ton of pain. The good thing was they got a hold of my Dr. in Mexico and he let me know what was going on and how to deal with it. So your Dr. in Mexico is on hand if you need him for any reason.

It has now been six months since my wls and I feel great. I don’t try to lose weight anymore but it still seems to come off. Most people are scared of the Total Gastric Vertical Plication Sleeve Surgery (aka Super Sleeve) since they think they will still be hungry. It isn’t what you think at all. I thought it would be where I am still hungry but I can’t eat anymore due to my stomach size. But I’m here to tell you it is not like that at all. I don’t not have to eat to my limit to be full, most of the time I am full before I get to my limit. I do get hungry at times but it is not the same kind of hungry. I honestly don’t know how to explain it and if anyone else can give some input that would be awesome. But the main answer I have is yes when your stomach is full you are full. And no I don’t really get hungry for Snacks. Honestly now I have to tell myself okay it is time to eat, you should eat. My body doesn’t always tell me. That is the best way I can explain it.

Besides the fresh vegetables I haven’t had any problems with what I can or can’t eat. You have to understand though I was working a 12 hour shift and I ate a half bag of carrots in the 12 hours. That is why I had so many problems... BUT notice in a spanned of 12 hours of snacking I ONLY ATE half a band of small carrots; before that would have been normal for one snack. When I go out to eat I always look at the kids meals first. If I don’t get a kid’s meal I ask for a box and I put 2/3 of my food in the box before I even start. Sometimes I don’t even finish that 1/3 of my food. My biggest advice to people is to eat slow, take small bits and chew a lot. If you take my advice most people won’t even notice how little you eat (there are only a hand full of people that know about my wls). Be VERY careful of someone talking to you while you are chewing and trying to swallow fast so you can reply. That can cause some pain if you swallow a large un-chewed amount at once.

If you have any more questions I would love to answer them and if you have any more advice PLEASE PLEASE add it!

Here is a link about the Super Sleeve:

http://www.promedica.com.gr/erevna_en.htm