IowaAndy

I do not think that you will have any problem with your 6 month diet as long as it was supervised and documented by your PCP. I would wait until you get approval from your insurance for your psychologist. Mine made me see a psychiatrist so this may save you a trip and added expense. Also why are you having the blood work? Has you doctor done blood work on you lately? Do you have high cholesterol? When you are approved for your surgery you will have to have a pre-op by your PCP and probably have to see a cardiologist for clearance. These have to be done withing a certain time frame of your surgery. Just trying to save you some time and money and having these test done twice.

I had Dr Garcia and was very happy....just curious as to why you switched and which doctor you are going with? I know there are several good doctors in Tijuana

Interesting.....never heard of that one but keep me posted. I had my band removed and the sleeve done. Happy with the results so far.

I just got jumped on by Captain something or other because I expressed my opinion about having my surgery at a clinic vs at a hospital.....that was my opinion and if you do not like it then tuff.....Just like likesulema I feel the same way. I am staying so get over yourself......Captain

I take the gummy bear multivitamins and take enough to get an adult dosage. I also buy the Citrical Petites at Walmart and have a pill cutter and cut them in half. I take each half with some applesauce. I have been doing this since my surgery and I have not had any problems. I also take Vitamin B12 sublingual tablets. Hope this helps.

I agree....if you need some that bad open it and let it go flat. It is the carbonation that causes problems with the sleeve. I have found that the Diet cranberry juice over ice had taken away my cravings for soda completely. I know that it can be hard but I thinnk that once you drink some diet coke flat that will be the end of your diet coke. Best of luck

It has happened to me before as it seems like you are being ganged up on just because you have an opinion.....do not let it get you down and keep on posting. Your opinion is just as important as others on this board. Just because some think their opinions or words are superior do not let it scare you away......please stay.

Congratulations.......So glad that you choose Dr Garcia. I can not say enough good things about him and his surgical staff. Also the staff at Hospital Mi was excellent and I have to agree with you that it is small but they had everything that I needed in a hospital. I also agree with your comment on the clean, clean, clean. I have worked at several hospitals in my career in the medical field and this beat any of the hospitals that I worked at in the US. I am glad that you are feeling better and agree that the liquid was bad. Especially that last blue stuff that I had to drink. I stayed at Hotel Pueblo Amigo and was also very satisfied. Also the driver to and from the airport was excellent. I look forward to hearing about your progress......best to you.

I am about 6 weeks post op and yesterday I decided that I would get rid of some of my left over Thanksgiving meal. I had some frozen potatoes and I also had soem left over meatloaf that I had made after Thanksgiving. When I unthawed the potatoes I had forgot that I had put some turkey gravy with the potatoes. The meatload that I had made I had used some spicy sausage in it so it had a little more kick than regular meatloaf. I heated it up and had some of the potatoes and gravy and some of the meatload. About an hour after I ate I started to have some severe stomach cramps. This was followed by a couple of trips to the bathroom by some intense diarrhea. This only lasted about an hour and then I was fine. Does this sound like dumping to anyone as I have not had anything like this since my surgery. I know that some people say that they have problems with greasy foods or things that are spicy. Not sure if it was the fat from the gravy or the meatloaf but the rest went into the garbage and I do not want that again

If you like most people who support the Girl Scouts you could always buy the cookies from friends or family and then take them to your local food pantry and donate them. That way you are helping the Girl Scouts, those less fortunate and yourself as they will not be sitting in your kitchen calling our your name in the evenings.

I would call the RedCross of whomever does the collection process in your area. I know that they have specific guidelines and I know that your hemoglobin had to be at a certain level or they will reject you from donations. It would be good to ask them about having the sleeve and their thoughts on donating. Please share your information when you find out.

Sorry to hear that you are having problems and back in the hospital.....but that is the best place for you at this time even though none of us want to go back there. Sorry they had such a rough time getting the IV but that was due to the fact that you were so dehydrated. As you become dehydrated that means less fluid in your blood system and thus a harder time to get an IV in a vein. That is why it is so important for all of us to get our daily fluids especially immediately after surgery. I hope that they can figur womething out for your medication issue. Maybe there is a different med they can try or maybe split your dosage in half and take part in the morning and then again in the evening. I take all my meds with applesauce as I think it helps it progress through the sleeve and helps to expand the sleeve a little as the pills go in. Knock on wood I have not had any trouble with my meds and I am taking less with each pound that I lose. Thought and prayers are with you and hope that you are home soon and feeling much better.

I would take plenty of protein shake mix, a cooler, a mixing container that you can shake to make a shake, a insulated thermos for hot water so that you can have broth. At that point after surgery I was pretty much on liquids. You can always buy the containers of premade jello. You are correct that the places will not have much for you to eat. You can always get water and ice when needed.

I take my vitamin b12 daily. I guess that I will have to call and ask about that as I see some of you are only taking it once a week it seems. Just wondering how much I actually need.

And if you erosion is that bad I am not sure if you could have all of this done in one surgery even in Mexico. I think if I were you I would have this done in 2 procedures unless you do some major research about this type of problem and having the surgery done in one procedure.

I can not believe that if your erosion is that bad that your insurance can deny you the surgery and if this could become a health issue and require immediate surgery I do not know how they can deny it. I would call the state insurance office and speak to them about this. What if you would have had the surgery under a different insurance company and then changed jobs and had the problems. They can not have a pre-existing clause for this type of problem. Who is your insurance carrier by the way.

What are you eating or drinking to get your protein......and how far out from surgery are you.

I had the lapband 2 years ago and lost a total of about 90 pounds and then it stopped working as I think that I had way too much weight to lose for the band to be totally effective. My insurance would not pay to have the band removed and if I would have had my doctor do it here in the US it would have had to have been done in 2 surgeries. The first surgery to remove the lapband and then to wait 2-3 months before having the sleeve. The total cost of the 2 surgeries for me would have been out of pocket and it would have been over $40,000 total. I could never had been able to afford that. I checked into surgery in Mexico and decided on Dr F Garcia. I had my band removed and the sleeve done in 1 procedure for around $6,000. I did have some erosion after 2 years but it was not bad. I am not sure how much erosion you have so can not speak to whether or not you could have this all done in 1 procedure in Mexico should you decide to go that route. I know how disappointing it can be with insurance here in the US. Are they saying that you want the band removed for cosmetic purposes?????? Do not understand that. I would go and speak to your surgeon and see if he can come up with an acceptable diagnosis for them to have the band removed. If you are having some type of issue I do not know how they can deny you the removal of the band. Now the second questions is whether they will pay for a sleeve once you have the band removed. I know my insurance was not paying for any sleeve procedures as they were still classifying then as experimental. They would have paid for a bypass but that is not what I wanted as I do not really think they are that good for your overall health and have lots of side effects.

Did not have surgery until Dec 11 but when I get to where I can REALLY tell a difference I will post several pictures of my journey. I think that the reason that men do not post is that there seem to be more women here than men. Maybe the men are just shy or maybe it is the fact that many men do not consider this type of surgery as it is more acceptable to be "fat" and male than it is to be a female. I know that it does not make a lot of sense to me and I did it for health reasons but I know that many of you probably have seen this in our society in the past and will happen into the future. Somethings just do not change fast in our society. Just like the acceptance of WLS.

They sound good and I would add lettuce to that list.....but unfortunately most of those are not on my diet for several months in some of the foods. I know that when I get to that point I will be trying them and hopefully they will all settle with me. I have heard that celery is a nasty one for most.

I do find it strange that you doctor did not give you a post op diet. I have never heard of such a thing and wonder where and who did your surgery. My diet was laid out for the next 6 months in the diet that I was given. I am 8 weeks out and just starting to eat some solid foods and have already found some that do not set well. I can not imagine being where you are and eating anything that I want. I would have been sick all day every day. Would be glad to share my diet with you if you want to try going at a slower pace.

I just have to post this regarding weight scales. They are a good thing but can also be your worst enemy. I have read countless post regarding people that get on the scale and do not lose any weight and then get depressed and feel like if they did not lose they might just as well eat. YOUR SCALE IS YOUR WORSE ENEMY AND YOUR BEST FRIEND.....................you just have to know when to use it. For those of you who feel the need to weigh on a daily basis............STOP. When you were gaining weight did you weigh daily..NO......WHY???? because you did not want to know how much you had gained since yesterday. This weight gain may not have even been due to the amount of food or what you ate. Maybe the food you had was full of sodium and your body held on to more fluids and that is where you weight gain came from. It is the same after you have the surgery.......WHY WEIGH DAILY???? You did not put this weight on in a day so why do you think that it is going to come off in a day. Yes some of you will lose weight fast and on a daily basis but this is not true for all of us. My suggestion would be that you pick a day of the week and weigh only on that day. This will keep you from being down on yourself so often as you may not lose weight everyday or even may gain a pound. If you can stay away from weighing daily then take your scale to a friends or the neighbors and go and weigh once a week. You will know when you are losing weight when your clothes are getting lose, your pants do not fit as tight or you are not huffing and puffing so much going up the stairs. The scale is only a measurement and can not be used as the single instrument in your weight loss. Please to those of you who let the scale control your life after WLS get rid of them.

Check with your surgeon...... I take B12 chewables as it is easier to take an extra pill than to bother with shots.

You will do great tomorrow and soon this will all behind you and you will have a new life...........best of luck tomorrow. I had my surgery on Dec 11 and everyone there was fantastic. Keep us posted.

Somewhere along the line you got some bad info that has caused you some distress. I have not vomited once since I had my sleeve done on Dec 11. When I had my lapband before this I was vomiting almost on a daily basis. If you have the sleeve now and you are vomiting frequently I would consult your doctor. It is an adjustment when you start going from one stage of foods to another. You just have to start out slow and see how you feel as you eat. For sure you stomach will tell you when you are done.....and don't think that you should have just one more bite as you will for sure regret it. My stomach tells me now when I am done. I do not say to myself.....oh you have to eat 6 oz of this at this meal. Eat what you can and then stop. Just make sure that is you are not getting enough protein in your diet then supplement with a protein shake. Also make sure that you are getting in all of your fliuds. Take your vitamins, calcium and vit b12 and whatever else that doctor has told you what to take.