Hi all,

I am set gor April 9th with Dr.Ponce...I have heard good things from ppl who used him, looking for anyone who went within the last year. I am going thru wls4betterlife. Trish is my coordinator and has been great so far. Any info would be appreciated. Also any info on your experience at hospital INT regardless of the doc you used. Thanks everyone and have a great day!

Should have read ... Trish... Not artist. Thanks iPad spell corrector.

Another satisfied customer here.

I was sleeved May 23rd. Gotta say, you've made a great decision. I don't believe there is a better surgeon out their at any price. And I know that Trish is the best coordinator hands down.

I didn't get a shirt

Oh yes. I was sleeved by Dr. Ponce on Nov. 23' date=' 2012. It was a great experience other than the gas pains! Trish was wonderful. She's a woman of great faith. My gas pains were exceptionally bad because I can't burp so the gas just wouldn't come out. At one point I was in tears and she prayed for me out loud it Spanish while rubbing my forehead to comfort me. I was so thankful for her compassion. There's also a female doctor at the hospital that you will see/ meet who was sleeved by Dr. Ponce. Can't remember her name. You will be in great hands!

[/quote']

Thanks for telling me your experience. I am doing the "am I making the right decision" dance. Not about using or going to mexico, just read a few on here and they make it sound terrible. Mostly on what they can eat. Im not a big junk eater but I do love my coffee etc. Its probably just nerves. Did u or anyone else on here experience this?

I didn't get a shirt

Hummm. I wonder if you contacted Trish and asked her, she might send you one...

Thanks for telling me your experience. I am doing the "am I making the right decision" dance. Not about using or going to Mexico, just read a few on here and they make it sound terrible. Mostly on what they can eat. Im not a big junk eater but I do love my coffee etc. Its probably just nerves. Did u or anyone else on here experience this?

I felt the same exact way prior to surgery. And, yes, it's true that for a good little while there will be things you can not eat. Obviously, you will go through the liqiud only and puree foods only weeks just after surgery. During these times you will be able to eat VERY little. I'm talking little two-three spoonfuls and you can literally eat no more. I was concerned about getting all the Protein in needed during this time but, honestly, you just get in what you can. It's a very strange feeling but it is one to take advantage of because you will be dropping weight during this very restricted time. Gradually, you will be able to eat more and more as your new stomach heals. I do remember thinking, "Geeezz, will I ever be able to eat a real meal again?" and "Will I ever even be able to chug a big bottle of Water after a workout?' The answers to these questions are YES. I had my surgery on Nov 23rd so that makes me 3 1/2 months post op. I can eat waaaaaaay more now than I could but still tend to get full after a few bites. For example, I can only eat about 3 nice size bites of a Subway sandwich until I have to stop. Now, if I wanted to, I could wait till that food settled and the take some more bites (even if I wasn't hungry) but that would be defeating the purpose of the sleeve. This is where your behavior modification comes in handy. This is where you need to remember that your sleeve is a tool and you must make good choices, etc. There might be some foods that you will not might able to tolerated the way you did pre-sleeve. For example, I adore Pasta but it seems to make me feel as if I have rocks my stomach when I try to eat it now... even just a few bites. This may or may not go away. You mentioned coffee. I'm not sure about that as I have never been a coffee drinker. Hopefully, someone else on the board can address that. Your sleeve will, in fact, prevent you from overeating because you will feel pain if you overeat. And, yes, sometimes I long for a good old-fashioned favorite food binge but my sleeve makes this impossible. And that's part of what got me to being overweight to begin with. I have realized how I used food for emotional reasons. You will learn so much. It's good you are doing your research and preparing yourself emotionally for these changes that will occur.

I felt the same exact way prior to surgery. And, yes, it's true that for a good little while there will be things you can not eat. Obviously, you will go through the liqiud only and puree foods only weeks just after surgery. During these times you will be able to eat VERY little. I'm talking little two-three spoonfuls and you can literally eat no more. I was concerned about getting all the Protein in needed during this time but, honestly, you just get in what you can. It's a very strange feeling but it is one to take advantage of because you will be dropping weight during this very restricted time. Gradually, you will be able to eat more and more as your new stomach heals. I do remember thinking, "Geeezz, will I ever be able to eat a real meal again?" and "Will I ever even be able to chug a big bottle of Water after a workout?' The answers to these questions are YES. I had my surgery on Nov 23rd so that makes me 3 1/2 months post op. I can eat waaaaaaay more now than I could but still tend to get full after a few bites. For example, I can only eat about 3 nice size bites of a Subway sandwich until I have to stop. Now, if I wanted to, I could wait till that food settled and the take some more bites (even if I wasn't hungry) but that would be defeating the purpose of the sleeve. This is where your behavior modification comes in handy. This is where you need to remember that your sleeve is a tool and you must make good choices, etc. There might be some foods that you will not might able to tolerated the way you did pre-sleeve. For example, I adore Pasta but it seems to make me feel as if I have rocks my stomach when I try to eat it now... even just a few bites. This may or may not go away. You mentioned coffee. I'm not sure about that as I have never been a coffee drinker. Hopefully, someone else on the board can address that. Your sleeve will, in fact, prevent you from overeating because you will feel pain if you overeat. And, yes, sometimes I long for a good old-fashioned favorite food binge but my sleeve makes this impossible. And that's part of what got me to being overweight to begin with. I have realized how I used food for emotional reasons. You will learn so much. It's good you are doing your research and preparing yourself emotionally for these changes that will occur.

Do you have to take Vitamins etc? Also, what did you find to be the better Protein shakes? Im just wondering what type I should buy, I want to have some things in the house for when I get home. I have read ppl doing the protein poweder shakes but is stuff like Jello at first something you can do or is it all just liquid? Im thinking broth shakes,etc. Just not sure if jello would come later in weeks.

Your tastes will totally change too. Don't pre purchase too many things! Isopure is suggested. Some mix it with Gatorade to be more tolerable.

I'm 2 months out and down 45 lbs. at this point, I'm considering becoming vegetarian because meat always makes me ill. Even a bite. I was a huge meat and tatos person...Midwest girl. Kinda weird. But I just go with the flow.

Jello counts as a clear liquid, my first few weeks were mostly broth, I bought some of the Unjury chicken soup broth and the taste isn't bad, you just can't have it really hot. I bought a ton of samples of different protein powders and found most of them way too sweet post surgery, so they sit unused. The only one I take now is the Premier Protein one.

Jello counts as a clear liquid, my first few weeks were mostly broth, I bought some of the unjury chicken soup broth and the taste isn't bad, you just can't have it really hot. I bought a ton of samples of different Protein powders and found most of them way too sweet post surgery, so they sit unused. The only one I take now is the Premier Protein one.

Where did you purchase the broth? I have never heard that name Unjury.....

I bought it from their site: http://www.unjury.com/store/protein/reg/chicken_soup_flavored_protein.shtml

I bought it from their site: http://www.unjury.com/store/protein/reg/chicken_soup_flavored_protein.shtml

Ok I will check them out. Thanks for info!

Ok I will check them out. Thanks for info!

Order the individual packets first. I'd hate to see you waste money on something you won't use.

Don't get me wrong. I like the stuff, but not everybody does.

Order the individual packets first. I'd hate to see you waste money on something you won't use.

Don't get me wrong. I like the stuff' date=' but not everybody does.[/quote']

Good idea! Nothing worse than money wasted!!!

After any of u had surgery, was Vitamins recommended in post op instructions? If so how long afterwards...

Also, I have noticed other doc pre-ops r two weeks...and many already have post-op instructions...did trish send this out before or did u recieve this after surgery?