I am new here to these forums and just wanted to see if anyone else will be in Juarez the week of Sept 25th? I am going through Belite Weight and getting sleeved by Dr. Jose Rodriguez. I am so excited! I am on day 3 of my High Protein/Low Carb Pre-Op Diet!!!

Hello, I am researching Dr.Rod and would like to hear about your experiences both with beliteweight and your experiences in Juarez. I hope that everything is well with you and would very much like to hear of your experiences

I was sleeved by Dr. rod in Juarez on Aug 9th. I also used BeLiteWeight.

The entire experience was a breeze. Here are actually three doctors at the facility. All speak perfect English. All three check on you every day. The staff at Star Medica was excellent, better than what I see in the US.

You are in good hands. Please feel free to ask me anything.

Thanks Mattr2,

I just started the process and I am committed to having the procedure, I just need to get all the ducks in a row so to speak. Do you know or have heard of someone who has not had a positive experience? I just want to see if there is a common issue that can be prevented or avoided if possible. I thank you for your input and I do have a few questions if you wouldn't mind? How long was your pre-op diet? how difficult did you find the liver shrinking diet to adjust to? What kind of discomfort did you experience after your surgery? The reason I ask is I have arthritis in my spine and have been living with chronic pain for years, and just trying to plan for it. How long after the procedure were you able to return to work? What kind of weight loss have you experienced.? And finally, is there anything that you would have done differently knowing what you know now?

Thanks once again for any insites you may be willing you share,

Robb.

Thanks Mattr2' date='

I just started the process and I am committed to having the procedure, I just need to get all the ducks in a row so to speak. Do you know or have heard of someone who has not had a positive experience? I just want to see if there is a common issue that can be prevented or avoided if possible. I thank you for your input and I do have a few questions if you wouldn't mind? How long was your pre-op diet? how difficult did you find the liver shrinking diet to adjust to? What kind of discomfort did you experience after your surgery? The reason I ask is I have arthritis in my spine and have been living with chronic pain for years, and just trying to plan for it. How long after the procedure were you able to return to work? What kind of weight loss have you experienced.? And finally, is there anything that you would have done differently knowing what you know now?

Thanks once again for any insites you may be willing you share,

Robb.[/quote']

I don't know anyone who has had a negative experience unless they post it on the board. I am a low BMI-er so my experience may be a littler different than most.

I researched everyone and could not find any complaints about Dr Rod. I understand he had never had a patient with a leak or with serious complications. The thought of going to Juarez did kinda freak me out but there was nothing to be afraid of. I felt safe the entire time.

I was on a restricted preop diet for just a week. It wasn't too bad! Surgery was pretty easy, just a small amount of discomfort right after. The incision sites were a little tender for a few days. I took a week off work, but felt like I could have returned by Thursday (had surgery on Monday) but I didn't. I worked from home at the computer. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rank it a 4 for the first day and down to a 1 for the rest of the week. I only used a few of the pain pills. I'm not one for taking medications when they are optional.

I am completely happy about my decision to have the procedure and in whom I chose. Dr Rod was great. My only concern was having too much restriction because I only had 50-60 lbs to lose. I asked for a larger sleeve, like a 40 fr. And he kinda laughed it off. He always uses a 32 fr. but said he would not make it tight. I trust him and hope everything adjusts. So far so good. I'm down 34 lbs and just 15 away from my goal in just 2 months.

Thanks Mattr2,

I just started the process and I am committed to having the procedure, I just need to get all the ducks in a row so to speak. Do you know or have heard of someone who has not had a positive experience? I just want to see if there is a common issue that can be prevented or avoided if possible. I thank you for your input and I do have a few questions if you wouldn't mind? How long was your pre-op diet? how difficult did you find the liver shrinking diet to adjust to? What kind of discomfort did you experience after your surgery? The reason I ask is I have arthritis in my spine and have been living with chronic pain for years, and just trying to plan for it. How long after the procedure were you able to return to work? What kind of weight loss have you experienced.? And finally, is there anything that you would have done differently knowing what you know now?

Thanks once again for any insites you may be willing you share,

Robb.

Sorry everyone, I haven't checked this forum as often as I should have. Since coming back I have been swamped by people on facebook asking questions lol here are the answers to your questions you asked Robbdtn...

I have not heard of anyone have a bad or negative experience at anytime down there in Juarez and I have talked to A LOT of people. I even talked to a lady that went their the week after I cam home and talked her through every experience she had. She had lots of pain (more than I had) but we never could figure out why.

The pre-op diet I was on lasted for 2 weeks. I started 3 days early just to give myself a chance to get used to it in case I slipped up. I thought I would totally blow it, but I never did. Come to find out, even if you do mess up on the diet, the Dr. Rod will still go ahead with the surgery. I was told by my facilitator that they have never turned anyone away, pre-op diet or not. The diet is just to help shrink your liver so there is less bleeding, but they are experienced enough to deal with a fatty bleeding liver though. Try to stick to the diet as best as possible though, the pre-op diet is easy peasy anyway, just gotta set your mind to do it. Lots of Water, lots of meat. That's about it lol if you love steak, it's the best diet ever!

After surgery, I got nauseous twice in the hospital but as long as you keep a cottonball soaked in rubbing alcohol nearby to sniff when your mouth waters, you'll be fine. As far as pain goes. It was absolutely manageable with pain medicine. Even if you don't feel pain, if the nurses offer it...take it. Better safe than sorry lol as soon as you can stand up and walk, WALK. They want you to walk twice and hour, but I walked once ever few hours because I liked sleeping more. The breathing treatments hurt at first, but you have to keep blowing that damn tiny tuba until your diaphragm resets itself. But honestly, for me....at no point in time was the pain unbearable. Towards the end, the only pain I really complained about was my headache from sleeping too much.

I am a full time student and don't work, but I returned to class exactly 5 days after surgery (3 days home) and just took it easy and wore loose fitting clothes and kept a small pillow with me for my back.

Today marks 3 weeks after my surgery and I have lost 22 pounds since then. It's not a whole lot, but in the past 3 weeks my double chin is now gone. I have not been doing any exercising other than a few minutes of walking a day. My clothes are more loose and I can see considerable shrinkage all over. Remember, with all the Protein we take in, we are building muscle right now so weight loss might be slow, but we are still losing inches!

The only thing I would do differently is packed lighter and not taken a bus across Texas LOL. All you really need to pack is pajamas, toiletries, cell phone/charger. You can go home in the clothes you came in as long as you don't sweat profusely!

If you need anything else, feel free to message me directly

Lastly, Mattr2...cute profile pic

Thanks for your input, I am really looking forward to getting this started