Griselda

When I went May 16th it was $500 down and the rest there, but I think they are changing all of the stuff they are doing now, the diet information is not the same as what I was given either.

Lissa, are you on blood pressure meds? I was and I cut down on them while I was doing pre-op and on the blood sugar ones because with the little amount of sodium and all the liquid and not much fat or carbs, they were too strong for my body. If you are on them, check your blood pressure and see if it isn't low. YOU CAN DO IT!

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As I read the forum and see different bits of advice I can't help wondering how on earth many of you can drink and eat some of the stuff that is listed. This isn't a slam, I just really can't figure out how adding torani syrup or crystal light to other stuff that is already mega sweet with artificial sweeteners could make it more palatable. The only way I can tolerate crystal light is by using less than 1/4 of those little packets in my water and even then, I find it sweet and usually can't drink the whole thing. Do you think some people's taste buds are extra sensitive to artificial sweeteners? Don't get me wrong, I love sweet, cotton candy is fabulous and I don't find it too sweet, but if the choice is unsweetened tea or tea with sweetener, I woudl much rather have the unsweetened. Even with the protein powders, if they ask for 6 oz of water or milk, I use about 14 and still find them too sweet. I am having a hard time finding any that are not sweetened at all. My worry is that people build up a tolerance to sweetener and find they can have more and more of it since it is guilt free? Has anyone else found this to the be the case?

That's like me, Autumn. I add quite a bit more liquid because they are so sweet. I can't help thinking it can't be good for you, either my brain is going to think it's sugar and tell my body to deal with it as sugar or something. I wish they would just let us sweeten our own stuff. I do know that spirutein carries one that is unsweetened (you add your own sweetener), I have a small pack but I haven't tried it yet. Even pre-op I thought that artificial sweetener stuff was way too sweet, now it is actually less sweet, but I don't want my body to get used to that.

I'm with you, my underpants slide off too because I have no butt, thighs or hips to 'catch' them. Is there any hope!!! Has anyone who was shaped like this lost and gotten a more proportioned body??

I had pain right after surgery, but by the next morning, I was not in pain, just uncomfortable from having IV, Drain bag, etc. Of course, I was on pain meds too (Toradol). However, I stopped taking them by the 4th day and I felt fine.

When I went through TRISH, I paid a deposit of $500 and since I paid by credit card I got to see 'where' it went and it was for WLS associates or something like that. Then you take the rest of the money in cashier's check and pay it to Dr. Kelly (it is made out to him). Sandy is in competition with Trish, even though she won't admit it. She does have Trish do some things for her because Sandy is not in Mexico. I would go straight through Trish, yes the coordinators get money, Trish gets paid a salary by Dr. Kelly, that doesn't mean that Trish would not help you out when you are there in Mexico, because I believe Sandy gives her something to help her patients out too. Call Trish directly and schedule through her, is my advise, for what it is worth.

Liquids help make sure you do not get dehydrated prior to surgery and also get you ready for doing all liquids for a time after your surgery. You are going to Hospital Angeles, so I assume you are going to Dr. Kelly. I basically did liquids only, protein shakes, clear liquids, juices, water, sugar free jello and green smoothies for more energy. The last three days I did only clear liquids. My BMI was 43 pre surgery. After the first 5 days of all liquids, I was not hungry anymore and had to force myself to 'drink' to make sure I was well hydrated. The first days are killers, the rest is fairly smooth and you will be in good stead for your surgery. The part about meat and protein bars is for those who absolutely cannot go without eating something solid and are having fits of hunger, then they want your choice to at least be something that has protein and some energy type stuff in it (like protein bars). If you can do without, I would do that. Dr. Kelly said my liver was in excellent shape and he could tell I had been doing the diet. (and I have a diagnosed fatty liver, haven't had my levels checked since I got out but they were good in the hospital testing). I also dropped 12 pounds prior to surgery. Good luck!!

I wondered too!! It really makes things easier when you talk to someone on the phone. I was a Dr. Kelly patient, Kelly L and I were there the same day along with another board member and we are all doing great. I did not go through Sandy either, I went directly through Trish. If you want to talk on the phone or ask any questions, pm me and I will give you my number. Once my brother brings over his camera, I can also post you some pictures of the hospital and things.

Has it always been high or was this just diagnosed as you were getting ready for surgery? If it has been high prior to pre-surgical stuff, what were you on before and how much? I was on 2000 mg on metformin and glyburide and victoza, still my sugars were never higher than 200 (even before the meds). Call your doctor and advise him/her that although you are taking the prescribed metformin it isn't coming down much and ask if you can take something else like glyburide? They should be working with you to get those high numbers down, not just as a pre-surgery thing, but because having such high numbers is not good on your body. I went on a liquid diet before my surgery and also stopped all my diabetic meds, I did green smoothies mainly and my blood sugars were normal pre-surgery without any meds, they are still normal now after surgery even though I have been having lots of carbs since most of the things I can get down are carby.

Wow, girl, you are an inspiration. My before pictures were taken in my bathing suit too, I can't wait to do a follow up shot when I am about 3 months out.

Trish had offered the recovery house to me but I opted for the Lucerna at the 22 per day upgrade, however, as Kelly says, it was booked so we wound up at La Hacienda del Rio (baja hotels is the chain name). it was really nice and is around the corner from Dr. Kelly's office. Their restaurant is very nice and there are taxis waiting just outside lobby if you want to go anywhere. I am sure you will be fine with any of the options.

Mine was high before surgery (taking 3 meds for it) and since it has run about 112 over 65. I see my PCP tomorrow to make sure, but I took myself off the meds because after surgery when I took them, I got really dizzy. I was taking three, so I am hoping she will tell me to stay off them all or maybe go down to just one.

I put my story about my experience with Dr. Kelly in my profile. I tried to include a lot of details. Dr. Kelly is smashing!! I highly recommend him and Trish.

Welcome, your name makes me hungry, ha ha. I bet you have a nicer variety of soups in cans there, in the US I find they all taste the same.

Liquids are a lot easier, when I started on soups that were a little bit thicker, I started to feel the fullness. Since it hasn't been that long out, it's possible that you still have some swelling and since you are able to drink a lot, you might have put back some fluids if you had been dehydrated. Still practice on drinking slowly, because you will need that skill. Also, since you lost 22lbs so quickly, your next losses might be slower because you took off such a good amount at first. I wouldn't worry about anything yet, keep drinking slowly. It might also take your body some time to adjust to what feeling 'full' feels like. Since pre-surgery I always ate until I was stuffed, it is odd to not eat to that point, we should be working on eating/drinking to the point that we feel satisfied, not full, which is easier said than done.

Awesome, Jen!!!

TKD, you are a definite keeper!! I'm thrilled to hear she is doing better, God bless you both. You must be an absolute godsend to her. I hope we will be hearing about upcoming nuptials as soon as she is fit and mended!!

Just want to add that I hope Renee is recovering well and that I am sorry that her experience was not great. I too was worried about pain management when I went to Mexico. I had read over and over in posts that the doctors do not use opiates, also that they do or that you could get them. I made it a point to find out exactly which medications would be given to me and for what purpose. I also called and spoke to my doctor personally to ask about pain management because I take tramadol for ankylosing spondylitis on a regular basis and have had toradol (which is what the doctor uses) at times and I was afraid that I would have a tolerance for it also. Dr. Kelly advised me that he would make sure that my pain was controlled. He stated that in his experience, the toradol was very effective at controlling pain, but if for some reason it was not, he would offer alternatives which may include opiates. His reason for not using opiates is because in his experience, they delay healing (one doesn't feel like walking around, too 'woozy' and pain that we should be aware of might not be felt, so he wouldn't know about complications). I also know that my co-sleevie was concerned about this aspect. We both talked at length about taking extra medications that we had in our own stash and also taking extra money to pay for opiates if we needed them (such was our concern). Now, in our case, Dr. Kelly was correct and we did not require any additional doses of medication or alternative pain meds. He might speak to 100's of patients who all feel they need more meds, but he finds that they usually don't. It was nice to know that the option was available and that he listened and was aware of the medicine I was on, and my condition and the very real possibility that I might have too high a tolerance. This may be what happened with Renee, the doctor's may have thought "oh, all the patients say they will need more pain meds", but in Renee's case, she really did and because she did not get them, this was a terrible experience for her. I don't think anyone is saying don't go to Mexico, but be prepared. The next 99 people who go may not require anything in addition to the normal pain regimen, but why chance it? Ask and be sure that there is a pain back up plan, I think this is all that Renee is saying.

It's a genuine fear, about insurance/mexico. It's one of those things that you hope to God doesn't happen, because if your insurance excludes weight loss surgery, it might very well exclude paying for the treatment to repair a leak. I don't think you'd have problems with them paying for dehydration or other things that might be related to the surgery, but could be something else. I knew that was a risk but I weighed it against not having surgery and getting worse in health (which was a definite) and I took the gamble. I felt reassured knowing that Dr. Kelly does leak tests and that he oversews the staple line. He also told me that in his experience, leaks tend to happen in the first few weeks, more than likely the first week. He also said that the area which is more prone to leaks is where the stomach connects to the esophagus and that he goes around this area to make it particularly strong. He said he thought this was something he 'invented' but then when he went to some conferences in the US, he found that there are some US doctors doing the same thing. Nobody can know with any certainty how your surgery will turn out, although the odds of you not having any problems are definitely in your favor. You will be in VERY capable hands.

I don't know if you've tried these, but I found them pretty good. Jay Robb egg Protein chocolate (I put milk and 1/2 frozen banana with it and mix it up, I used almost 2 cups milk, even though it calls for about 6oz, I can't imagine using that little since it is very sweet (to me). It is sweetened with splenda. EAS carb advantage (I have only bought the premixed) they sell this at walmart, I like it because it has a lot of protein for the size (11 oz) and it is very thin and easy to get down. Hemp protein has a sort of nutty taste, but I can only use it when I mix it with a green smoothie of two fruits, 1 veg, like apple, orange and kale. It turns everything green. I like muscle milk although it is higher in carbs than others, but still not too high in fat. I used it a lot. But mainly I made a lot of smoothies with fruits and vegetables and relied on plant Proteins.

I'd love one as well!! Sounds like a great motivator!! You might lose so much you won't be able to keep up with all the paiting!

Wow, sorry you are in pain. The rash does sound like a reaction to something. Were you also put on an antibiotic? If not the codeine stuff, maybe it is that. Either way, I would ask for an alternative for your pain. You shouldn't really be having pain, but it is possible that there is pulling and weight in that area of your incision which is causing your pain. When is your follow up? It's good you can get your water and fluids in. Concentrate on that and remember, you've had major surgery and are running on very few calories, it is normal to not feel up to doing much. I wouldn't worry that you will have some pain forever. It's natural to feel bummed. Try to get some good carbs during these first days and not worry about counting them right now, you need something for your strength.

You should be fine as long as you get back on track and stay there until your surgery. Forgive yourself and go on!!