mommy2six

I'm trying to set up a surgery for my brother with Dr. Fernando Garcia. Anyone have ideas on who to contact? The person who did mine is no longer in business.

I feel your pain! My mom & I had the surgery together & having been steadily losing weight but until we both reached about 60lbs lost no one said anything (except my BFF) about how we looked. People are just really into their own lives & one day they will just look at you and be like--"WOW! How did you get so skinny all of a sudden?" Trust me that's how it worked for both me and my mother. Now I try and notice things about others around me (just in case they are losing weight & need some encouragement) because I think I would of been the same way if someone else were in my situation (not really noticing), not that I don't care just involved in my own busy life.

Yesterday's weight--208---haven't posted in awhile because of some family stuff going on but have been writing it on my calandar every Saturday

OH MY WORD TALK ABOUT BURN!!! Does anyone out there have suggestions on what to do about heartburn? I have it so bad that sometimes I just start puking up the acid (I know gross). I get it no matter what I eat. I seriously always have to have a bottle of tums with me & sometimes the tums don't work either. I will be 8 weeks out on the 24th of December. Does this get better or will I always have this problem? I have never in my life really had experienced heartburn before this. Any help would be appriciated!

Ok I am in too...weighed myself yesterday...230. Never thought I would lose over Thanksgiving & now I am hoping to losing over Christmas as well. Weighing everyday is a problem for me...so I hope this helps with stressing over every pound.

Thanks so much! I have an appointment with my Doctor this week & I will ask her for a perscription.

I am 7 weeks post op & I rarely feel "hungry" in the old sense before my surgery. I do, however, get a low blood sugar sensation and this helps me know that I need something. It is getting better and I am not getting the low blood sugar feeling as much but it was a great tool in helping me understand my body & when I need to eat. I eat like 5 small meals a day and it has helped me keep my energy up and I don't really fight with the "head hunger" as descriped before. I think one of my biggest problems before this surgery was the "head hunger" and not truely listening to my body. Everyone is different and we all need to take a minute or two and really ask ourselves, "Is this something I need or do I just want this?"

Hi! This is my experience with Dr. Garcia. I decided to share because I couldn't find a lot of information about him on this forum before I had my surgery. I was sleeved on Oct 24, 2011. I had a great experience! I really was impressed with the nurses, Dr. Garcia & the hospital. I have to say that I was a little nervous before because I had so many people telling me that it was a HUGE mistake to go to Mexico. I mean people are pretty opininated about this, which actually surprised me a little. I guess we think America has such higher standards and we don't expect the same from other countries. We (my parents came with me so my hubby could stay with our kids) got to our hotel on Sunday Oct 23rd & stayed the night. Then the next morning Oct 24th we were taken to the hospital at 8 am. Then from there it went very fast. The hospital (Mi Hospital) was just as nice as any in the US, well maybe not as fancy as some newer US hospitals but very clean & modern. I went in and immediately got dressed in my hospital gown & the nurses were there to take my blood and start IV. I was impressed, anytime I have ever been to the hospital in the US I have had to wait for ever for everything to be done. Everything was done very quickly and for the first time in my life they only had to poke me twice--I have been poked up to six times trying to get an IV started. That to me was impressive. The nurses didn't speak a lot of english but understood everything I said--my dad spoke a little spanish so a couple of times he had to tell me what the nurse was trying to say (really only twice my whole stay that is how well we communicated). Dr. Garcia came and introduced himself & we spoke for a minute. Then anestisia guy came and talked to me for a little bit and explained how I was going to be put under and he spoke great English--really I could of been in a US hospital (at least that is how I felt). The next thing I know is they wheel me down the hall to the surgery room and I climb on the table look up at the lights & boom I was out. I woke up in recovery & was in and out of sleep for a few hours. Woke up next in my room & I have to be honest the pain was HORRIBLE. It is the worst pain I have ever felt--even having six kids. Of course I knew going into this that I had a low pain tolerence & told my parents to expect this. The nurses were great that first 24 hrs. Really they checked on me all the time & kept asking if I needed anything to help me be more comfortable. They were my best friends as they brought me pain meds! I pretty much was a baby that 24 hrs--I think at one point I begged my Dad to take it back that I didn't want this surgery...he answered in his normal farm boy self & said, "Too bad--you can't take it back--you better suck it up!" I finally was able to relax and make it through the night after I put my ipod on and listened to some of my childrens church songs. After the 24 hrs things were great! Really I quit puking--oh yeah I was puking too. Things were just way more comfortable and better. My dad finally told me how the surgery went...well apparently I had a really large stomach. Dr Garcia said it was one of the largest he had ever seen (I thought this was amazing considering the amount of surgeries of this type he does). He actually called my dad in to look at it because it was so large & round. He told my dad that its no wonder I had been having such a hard time losing weight because I must of felt hungery all the time (which is true). I just thought this was interesting. I don't remember if I did the dye test on Wed or Tues evening but they wheeled me to the x-ray room and that actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I thought it would be terrible because of things I have read on the forums. The last dye test was later & that did taste bad but Dr. Garcia came to talk to me and saw I had half of it down & told me I didn't have to drink anymore--I was also feeling very stuffed. We talked awhile about the surgery and my stomach. He thinks I will do very well on this because of my stomach size before. After two days in the hospital we went back to the Lucerna Hotel (which was very nice) & stayed in the hotel for two more nights. I started walking with my dad around TJ & that really helped me feel better. Too much lying around isnt good for me--makes me feel depressed I guess. Anyway Dr Romero came and saw me on Thursday & he answered any of our questions. We talked to him for awhile--we didn't feel rushed or anything. Then on Friday our driver took us to a hotel in San Diego (our flight wasn't until the next morning) & that was pretty much it. I would recommend Dr Garcia to my family & friends if they chose to have this surgery done. (Oh, if my ticker doesn't work or show how much I have lost so far...I can't seem to figure it out...I have lost 27 lbs since the two week pre op diet)

Have you tried to heat your protein drinks? When I was on pre op that is what saved me. I heated them like a "hot chocolate" and made sure they were mixed really well. It helped a lot & is helping me get them down post op.

I was scheduled to have my VSG with Dr. Kelly on October 24 but my coordinator just called and said he has meetings that week & will be unable to do it. I have already purchased my plane tickets & made arrangements for my kids--so the coordinator gave me the option of using Dr. Garcia. Does anyone know anything about this Dr? I did a lot of research before I choose Dr. Kelly but so far I cannot find many with experience with Dr. Garcia. I am just trying to decided if I stick with Dr. Kelly (what I am leaning toward right now) and change my ticket no matter the cost or go with Dr. Garcia? Any comments would help. Thanks!!

Phatgurl80--Congrats! SO glad to hear you are doing good & had a good experience. Thanks for keeping us updated! In little less than a month I will be having my surgery too--so EXCITED!! Also I am going through Christi--hope all is going good for you!

Thanks--GOOD LUCK!! I hope all goes well & I am looking forward to hearing from you.

I actually decided before reading your experience--it just felt right. Thanks for the well wishes!

Thanks so much for the comments! Thank you RGW! After much thought and prayer I decided to go with Dr. Garcia. Having six kids in various grades in school I just couldn't reschedule without some major problems. I feel good about my decision & so I am going with it. My Mom & I are doing the surgery together & my father is coming with us. My Mom feels good about what we decided as well. KellyL-- my coordinator is Christi & she has been very apologetic & more than willing to help re-schedule with Dr. Kelly if I had decided to go that way, also offering me a medical reason for the change in plane ticket. Apparently the hospital has a calandar when Dr.'s are on & when they are gone. There was some sort of mix up with that. Once again thanks for the comments!

Thanks! That is what I needed to know! Price is kind of a consideration for me but more importantly is the Dr. --so far Dr. Kelly is the cheapest (with the most creditials). Thanks for your response. I have been researching Dr's since May of this year.

Thank you so much for telling it all. I am researching different doctors in order to have the VSG surgery and you have helped me a lot. I was wondering about Dr. Kelly--he does has the cheapest rate out there and I was wondering what the "catch" was. Do you have his website? And most importantly if you had to do it all over again would you choose to go back to Dr. Kelly? It is hard trying to decide what Dr. to go with. Also what kind of post-op care do you need when you get home? Can this be done by my PCP? Thanks!