SerendipityHappens

I could do three swallows in a row during my first week post op. My sleeve hardly had any inflammation so fluids went down easily. The whole sipping thing is typically because most patients have inflamed sleeves with very little space for even fluids. I'm now 3+ months out and I can chug 8 ounces of water without any issues.

Have you already tried a sublingual B-12 pill? I used a sublingual (dissolve under the tongue) pill just 3 times a week and I was told I could stop using it by my PCP because my B-12 levels were super high now! The one I was using was the B-12 2500 mcg item number 3861 from Puritain's Pride.. it's a US mail order company. www.puritain.com. The cost for THREE bottles of 100 tablets is $16.99 (buy one get two free).. so that's for a total of 300 tablets. You should also be able to get a similar product/dose OTC at any pharmacy.. just make sure to get sublingual since that's how it absorbs best.

Hello, I used The team of Valenzuela/Cabrerra and I have 100% confidence in this team. I could have chosen other more well known doctors for the same price, but I chose THIS team and have no regrets! My Primary care physician has been impressed as well. She said my incisions look fabulous and all of my bloodwork is perfect so I should continue to follow the instructions of my surgeon. I will say there have been recent posts about Mexico Bariatric Center which were not so favorable. (not getting back with people in a timely manner, telling incorrect information etc) These complaints seem to involve new coordinators.. but when I went through them I had CHRISTY as my coordinator and she was AWESOME. So I guess, I'm going to change my recommendation based on new information from other patients.. I still recommend the team of Cabrerra/Valenzuela without reservation BUT I only recommend MBC if you are using CHRISTY as your coordinator as the other coordinators through this company don't seem to be getting good reviews recently. Edited to add: The doctors do a leak test during surgery and then after surgery as well. This team also uses a drain which is what I felt most comfortable with.

WOW, I think this thread is a good lesson... When you're choosing a booking agency and doctor, give the most weight to the more RECENT reviews because a lot can change in a few short months. When I booked back in November, Christy was coordinating for MBC and I could get hold of her any time and she returned emails within hours and never fed me any bullsh!t....and trust me I called at weird times.. like sunday evening or or on THANKSGIVING and I still received quick responses. I also asked tons of questions and always received well researched responses. Sounds like she's no longer there and this staff change has really made a difference and not in a good way. I would feel bad if people go by my older recommendation of MBC since obviously they are no longer offering the same experience as when I was sleeved.

Michigan Chick, I was 360 a few years ago, then I lost down to 330-340ish and plateaued there... then I bounced between 310 and 340 for the next two years. Then in December 2012 in preparation for my surgery I started an 800 calorie VLCD at 335 pounds. and lost down to 297 in three months before I started my two week preop on March 1st.

I was swallowing an antibiotic and acid reducer while in the hospital...I started my multi vitamin which was in capsule form when I got home from the hospital and I started my calcium in tablet form two weeks later (he asked me to wait on these because they are TABLETS and about twice the size of an aspirin. I've NEVER had a problem swallowing pills. At two months out I started taking L-carnitine, Glucosamine and Chondroiton, and Salmon oil which are all HUGE horse pills.. and they all go down easy and I don't feel a thing!

I checked ahead of time with my doctor to make sure of when I could take pills. He said just as soon as I was comfortable so I didn't buy any chewables. I started taking capsules when I was still in the hospital and because the calcium was in tablet form and it was a little larger, the doc suggested waiting two weeks before starting those. Multi vitamin: Bariatric Advantage capsules from Amazon.com 540 capsules for $40.00. .I like these because they don't have Iron so I can take them at the same time as my calcium pills..The dose is six capsules a day but that is for a gastric bypass patient.. since I am a SLEEVE patient I take only four capsules a day, so it works out to less than $10.00 a month for a very good quality Vitamin. I have been taking this four capsule dose and all vitamin levels came back perfect. Calcium: Calcium citrate+D3 miniatures item number 33195 from Puritain's pride (currently out of stock until July). A bottle has 200 tablets with 200mg of calcium citrate and I take 6 tablets a day so a bottle lasts a month. With their buy 1 get 2 free promotion, it works out to less than six dollars a month for calcium citrate. Iron: I take Now Iron... which is the ferrochel forumula (chelated iron) I only take it on days when I don't eat beef. B-12: puritain's pride sublingual b-12... I was taking one pill three times a week but I don't have to take this anymore as my b-12 levels came back super high. probiotic: I take the probiotic 10 from puritain's pride... Other: I also take L - carnitine 500 mg four times a day, Salmon oil four times a day, and glucosamine and chondroton three times a day.. these are all horse pills and they slide through my sleeve easily.

I used MBC with Christy for surgery with Drs. Cabrerra/Valenzuela and had a very good experience with all parties. I'm sorry to learn that this experience was less than fantastic for you and your wife. I'm so glad you took the time to give such a detailed and helpful review.... And I'm glad to hear your wife is doing great!

I don't exercise to lose weight I exercise to gain health. You can lose weight without exercising, but just half hour a day of aerobic exercise will give you TONS of health benefits.

I was once called fat by a four year old and I wasn't offended at all... He was sitting on my lap.. and he looked at me and said "wow! Your stomach is really fat... and it feeeeeeeelllllssss just like JELLY!, Then he hugged me and sighed and said in the sweetest voice ever "yeah, JUST LIKE JELLY!" He didn't think fat was bad, he was simply amazed at how nice and squishy it felt. A few weeks ago I was called a "fat, white, b!tch" by a 16 year old child who when I refused to sell him cigarettes on his mother's food stamp card. As for kids who are health conscious. I have a five year old nephew who is that way to the extreme. He won't touch a meal unless there are vegetables on the plate and he'll always ask "which thing on here is the healthiest?" and then he eats that thing first. He won't drink soda, and tries to use his influence to deter others from drinking it either.... And don't even get me started on his oral hygiene routine.which is about 10 minutes of brushing, flossing, tongue scraping and rinsing.... and If he falls asleep without brushing his teeth, he'll get up in the middle of the night to do it.... and my sister is NOT a health nut.. it was just casual mentions of "don't eat to much of that it's not good for you" or "eat your vegetables, they'll make you strong and smart" stuff you tell all kids... But he takes it to the extreme. Poor kid is being treated for anxiety at just 5 years old which I'm sure is in some way related to his being overly concerned with his health.

Luna bars taste yummy but a bit carby and low in protein for my needs. I'm a huge fan of Quest protein bars. Most varieties of the quest have around four to six net carbs (carbs-fiber) 18 grams of fiber and 20 grams of protein. Calories range from 160-200 depending on flavor and they're delicious... Coconut cashew is my favorite flavor.

Mine was a week on clears! The doc said no Protein powders added to anything, just focus on getting down the liquid.. I could drink any sugar free drinks and he told me to drink a little bit of juice cut with Water just to get a little bit of sugar into my system. I could also have any homemade clear broths... he was very specific to tell me homemade broths, though I'm sure that canned ones would have been fine.... I could also have sugar free jell-o. and popcicles.. oddly, I could also have coffee which I know is a no-no on many programs but I was allowed two cups a day... The only clear drink I wasn't supposed to have was anything with citrus as it is irritating to a new sleeve. Once I got off of clears my diet progressed quickly.. I was only one week at each stage.. one week on full liquids, one week on purees, one week on mushies etc.

I know, I like them too and I felt the same way when I learned about the difference in Protein ..... Now I'm just waiting for someone to tell me that my beloved Quest Protein Bars are bad for me.. Every time I eat one, I think "OMG, these are so delicious... how can they POSSIBLY have so much protein and Fiber?-What's the catch?"

Talk to your doctor/nut and ask him/her if soda is allowed or not.. and if not, you can ask why it's not allowed. Personally, I like to know exactly WHY I'm doing something. As for if I've tried it.. yes I have.. and it felt just the same on my sleeve as it did on my full size stomach. My post-op diet instructions said no soda for six weeks and then after that it said it's fine as long as well tolerated. It's not something I drink every day or even every week... but I enjoy a serving on occasion as a treat.

The protein in pork rinds does not count toward your protein goals because it's from collagen which is not really absorbable by humans. I've had times where I've REALLY wanted some chips but didn't want to throw myself out of ketosis so I've used porkrinds (I used them to scoop up yogurt cheese so at least I was getting some good quality protein with it) NOT a good snack choice though because a lot of calories with no nutritional value and not filling. For me porkrinds are a "sometimes treat".... like MAYBE once in a month.... and watch the portion size.. a small bag as like three servings!

YAY!!!! The weight won't continue to drop daily... but it WILL continue to drop! I stalled for an entire MONTH.. but the weight still drops.. Keep moving forward. GO YOU!

I don't know why people assume that people are always attracted to people who have a similar appearance to themselves.. My exhusband was very muscular and a marathon runner (OMG and a full-on Mediterranean HOTTIE).. we met and married when I was around 315 pounds. My current boyfriend is 145 pounds. I've never dated a fat man. What's the big deal. I also tend go for olive skinned or "brown" men and I'm WHITE as a ghost... Been fat all my life and never had trouble finding relationships where there is a mutual attraction... though I'm a bit concerned about physical attraction when it comes to my future with my current boyfriend.. he is happy I'm losing weight for my health, but he's very worried about me going under 200 pounds as he thinks that's too "skinny"..... Meh, maybe some nice perky breast implants would appease him :-P

When I was researching, the cheapest I could find stateside was $9,800 in Lousiana, Nevada and Texas. I wound up going to Mexico instead for $4500.. I figured if I was going to have to travel to get the surgery I'd miss out on the follow-up care/group meetings etc anyway, so why not just go a mile over the border and save 5K. If I stayed local in PA, it was $20,000.

I had one drain and it was removed just prior to my discharge from the hospital which was two days after surgery. Getting it removed didn't hurt at all.. He just had me take a deep breath and exhale as hard as I could and the drain was out before I even knew it.

My doctor's instructions were no sodas for six weeks, then I was free to try adding diet soda if I wished and if it was comfortable for me to drink them. I'm three months out and I've had a few diet sodas since my surgery and it felt absolutely no different on my sleeved tummy than it did prior to surgery. Personally, I don't believe that sodas are something that is good for ANYONE, sleeved or not, to drink on a daily basis, but I do enjoy it on occasion. Other reasons why people avoid diet soda: Their doctor/nut told them to. It is uncomfortable on their sleeves. They've turned over a healthy new leaf and soda no longer fits into their new lifestyle. They avoid artificial sweeteners. They believe that the carbonation WILL stretch their sleeves. They see soda as a "slippery slope" and a gateway to other foods. They see themselves as "soda addicts" and do not feel they can ever consume it in moderation so they feel it's best to avoid it all together.

A little refried Beans with puree-d chicken and a bit of cheese on it was pretty good! Also, there's no rule that says you HAVE to eat the puree'd meats.. if you absolutely can't handle it, then eat refried beans or cottage cheese and get the rest of your Protein from shakes... you'll be on softs before you know it anyway.

DON'T DO IT.... I've licked babyspoons while feeding babies.. NO THANKS.... A bit of chicken pureed with some chicken broth is not bad.. but babyfood is NASTY, I can't believe we actually feed that to little humans.

No doubt... I live in Harrisburg, PA... I felt WAY safer in the area of TJ where the hospital/hotel is than I do in parts of Harrisburg!

There has been no update to the US department of state website.. The advisory to Northern Baja California (mexicali/Tijuana) Is to exercise caution especially at night, but it does not advise against travel there. I would think that updating their website would be easier than posting signs in SanDiego... My guess would be that, the signs were posted by a private party who feels Tijuana is unsafe.

Yes, my gag reflex was quite strong for the first month or so after surgery. I'm three months post op and it's much better now though. Still not to pre-surgery level but MUCH better and improving all the time.