lala2012

I'm 8 weeks post op, 43 lbs lost, and I have definitely noticed a difference. The mound feels less cushiony and outer lips slightly deflated. I was talking to my fiancé about it and he said he liked it better before the weight loss. What?!? Then he followed up with "I do like that I can go deeper now." He's also been losing weight and I told him that between my weight loss and his, it's like he gained a full inch. So I'm not complaining. Lol

Stats Height 5'1" HW 232 (03/06/13) BMI 43.8 SW 216 (05/06/13) BMI 40.8 8 WK 190 (07/01/13) BMI 35.9 GW 125 (Jan 2014) BMI 23.6 Excess weight lost 39% (42/107)

5 weeks post op update. Surgery on 05/06/13 I was in a stall day 11-23 at 205 lbs. since then I've been losing slowly but steady. So those of you in a stall right now, just keep going, you have to start losing eventually. I've been eating 300-500 calories a day and 30-50 oz Water per day. About 50-60g Protein, half the protein is from shakes. I am stuffed from eating about 1 oz of meat and it takes 30 mins to get it down. I know I need to eat and drink more, but I'm never hungry and sometimes the smell of food makes me nauseous. Every once in a while I will crave something, but after a bite I'm satisfied. I've started going to the gym and I'm doing the couch to 5k training and the 30 day squat challenge. I can already see loose skin on my thighs and arms so I'm focusing on working those muscles in particular. Stats Height 5'1" HW 232 (03/06/13) BMI 43.8 SW 216 (05/06/13) BMI 40.8 5 WK 198 (06/10/13) BMI 37.4 GW 125 (Jan 2014) BMI 23.6 Excess weight lost 32% (34 lbs lost divided by 107 lbs overweight) Inches lost since 2 week pre op diet: Waist 3" Hips 3" Thighs 2" each.

Sorry.... Was awesome, but with the amount patients that get seen by my doctor, we all had the same experience. Our entire trip was planned and we had an itinerary of what we would do each day. So it's no surprise that everyone's "journey" is exactly alike when you share the same doctor. For me, that was what helped me make my decision, knowing my doctor does the same thing everyday all day, means he doesn't get a lot of surprises. I couldn't get these same types of reviews for many surgeons here In the US.

Not one person affiliated with my coordinator or doctor ever mentioned giving them referrals, posting reviews or this forum at all. I will say that my experience in Mexico was

I went with Dr Lopez and a lighter me in May also. I had the exact same experience. The hospital staff was great. My BP was also a little high so right before surgery they gave me a little cup of Meds for anxiety, then before I knew it I was awake in recovery. Our driver was Abraham and he was wonderful. My husband traveled with me and Abraham drove him to restaurants to get something to eat and also took him to the winery in TJ before we left. I didn't have any complications and my recovery has been very easy. My coordinator was Janese and she is very easy to work with. The day of surgery I had a problem with my payment going thru and I was freaked out because I had just arrived in San Diego. I just kept thinking that after all my waiting I was going to have to fly home without the surgery, but Janese just reassured me that there were no worries. Of course I would still have my surgery and we would make sure the payment was fine once I was at the hotel. I have doctors here in the states that will not see me until I've paid my 100 copay first. I wanted to cry because of the kindness I received from Janese and everyone else. I definitely recommend them to anyone I talk to about WLS. This was just such a better experience than I've had with any doctor in the states. The care was phenomenal.

Surgery May 6th. I've lost 29 lbs since the beginning of March this year. I've lost 23% of my excess weight in 3 months! Since surgery I had a 2 week stall that just broke, day 11 post op thru day 25, I was stuck at 205. It was extremely frustrating, but my goal is to lose 12 lbs a month and I'm still on track so it's not so bad. I'm eating 300-500 calories each day. I'm only eating about 3 oz of actual food everyday and not enough Water, about 32-40 oz. Height. 5'1" Highest wt 232 PreOp diet wt. 227 Surgery wt. 216 Current wt. 203 Goal wt 125 Thanks everyone for posting your updates. It's exciting to see how well you're all doing. Good luck to everyone on their journey.

Surgery on may 6th, so 8 days post op. Down 7.7 lbs so far. The worst pain I had was from the drain, that was removed on the 9th. I was given 8 pain pills post op and I just took the last one last night, they helped at night since I toss and turn a lot. I'm on 2 weeks full liquids, getting about 50g protein a day. I was making very thin potato soup the other day and it went down fine, but then I forgot about my limitations and had a slice of the soft potato. I thought I was going to die, it hurt so much to get it down. So for now I'm happy sticking with liquids. My incisions seem to be healing fine, they just itch a little bit from the scabbing process. The only other issue I had was starting my period early even though I'm on birth control, the first day was horrible cramps, but it feels like normal now.

I had surgery on the 6th, getting ready to leave the hospital now. My surgery was 8pm so I wasn't awake until 11pm Monday night. I had a lot of gas pain in my upper abdomen so I spent the majority of the night walking. I didn't ask for a lot of pain Meds because it burned when it went into my IV and the pain wasn't too bad. I was really dehydrated by the time they were getting the IV set up so it took a few tries, not too many bruises though. Tuesday morning I had a bit of nausea and was dry heaving so the nurse gave me Meds for it. I've had a slight cough, but its not so bad. The drain site hurts the most, it's pretty constant, but not bad enough that I would take Meds. My abs are really sore and hurts the most when I get up and lay down. I've been slacking on liquids so I'm working on that, just sticking to water for now. They gave me Gatorade, but after a sip or two I get instant diarrhea, not fun. When I get to the hotel I'll try some chicken broth. Im glad I came to Mexico, is way I ha 2 nights stay at the hospital and I'll see the surgeon again on Thursday night before flying home. My US surgeon was going to release me same day, I can't imagine having to go thru the first 2 days on my own. Good luck to everyone having their surgery soon, and I hope everyone else is having a smooth recovery.

My survey's tomorrow afternoon. I feel like I'm going crazy, I hate waiting. I'm only halfway packed, I'll be in Mexico until Friday. I can't wait to eat something, today is day 3 of clear liquids. Best of luck to all the 6ers!! We're almost there.

I am interested in any info people might have to share about Dr Lopez. Good or bad, it would be great to read other's stories. Whether you like the coordinator or not doesn't matter much, since that person isn't going to be providing any medical care. I understand some of you are very defensive of Dr Kelly, but this post was for Dr Lopez. If anyone has stats and success/failure rates, it would be great if you could share where you got the info. Thanks for everyone's input.

I'm with Dr Lopez on May 6th. Starting preop, 2-3 protein shakes and a salad, on the Monday the 22nd then 3 days clear liquids on May 3rd. I've been using MFP to monitor what I need and slowly getting prepared for the new diet, 2.5 weeks and I lost 2.7 lbs. I'm taking at least 2 weeks off work. I had surgery on my nose last year and could barely eat for a week, I lived on protein shakes. It was 10 days before I had enough energy to be up and about for 6 hours. So the pain wasn't an issue, it was more the toll that surgery had on me and my energy from lack of eating. You might be able to handle school if you just have to sit there and not do much. Good luck!

Best wishes for a smooth recovery from here. I'm preop and I greatly appreciate you sharing your story. This will help me and others fully understand how serious surgery is. Thank you so much. Was it the leak that was the beginning of all your troubles and then just not treated properly or caught in time? I'm having surgery in Mexico and will have 3 leak tests done before leaving, but I still fear having complications later. Again, thank you very much for your insight. Stay strong for you and your husband. And take care.

Lalaesco

Arghh! This is so frustrating! It feels like you're damned if you do, damned if you don't. Too much protein = kidney problems, not enough proteins and the weight loss will slow. I'll have to talk to my doc about the cranberry pills after sleeve, I love juice also but it is a lot of sugar. I guess in the end the weight loss will have to be more important for better overall health. Both my parents have diabetes and I don't want to go down that road, so I'm trying to take control while I can. I hope that the long term benefits of weight loss help your diabetes, more than the pain from the kidney infections you're dealing with right now. Drink lots of fluid to help keep the infections at bay.