SerendipityHappens

My doctor told me that for the first two weeks he wanted me taking short frequent walks but beyond that he wanted me on the couch resting.. no long shopping trips, no brisk walks for exercise.. After two weeks he said I can walk as much as I want and briskly if I feel comfortable but no jogging (yeah, like THAT'S going to happen anyway) and no gym. He said after 6 weeks I can do equipment/classes at the gym and at 8 weeks I can go in the pool.

I just graduated to being able to eat fish and soft meats.. and this is the first time I've felt restriction.. When I was eating purees, I didn't feel it and I DEFINITELY didn't feel it with fluids. All these people who could only eat a Tablespoon of purees.. and I could down half a cup... I felt like my sleeve was defective or something... but now with "real foods" I can finally feel the restriction.

I had heard the same about Mi but in the case of Mi it is NOT true, I did not see any place where they could treat "all kinds of patients" right now it is strictly bariatric and they have a one bed ICU just in case it's needed. I was actually a bit relieved when I didn't see all kinds of patients at Mi... I mean.. the LAST thing I wanted to be exposed to when I'm having surgery is SICK people!

This is how we roll in Harrisburg..

So since being sleeved three weeks ago today, I have not felt restriction. I could drink fluids freely even in the hospital and can pretty much gulp Water now about half a cup at a time if I want.. When I added yogurts and cottage cheese, I'd measure a half cup and I could just eat the whole thing. On my first day of pureeds I ate a soft scrambled egg and 1/4 cup of refried Beans and yeah, it left me satisfied, but that's way more than most people say they eat at this stage. I started thinking there's something wrong with me!. Today I graduated to soft meats and fish.... I ate a 1.5 ounce piece of hot bologna (it's a weird spicy canned meat) and as I was chewing the last bite, I actually spit it out because I felt FULL. For dinner at had 2 ounces of salmon and again opted to spit out that last carefully chewed bite in order to avoid overstuffing myself. YAY! FINALLY after 21 days I feel like I finally know what it FEELS like to be SLEEVED.. and it feels AWESOME!

I'd totally be chowing down on beans! YUM. Also canned chicken is really soft and delish.. The walmart brand is good. There are also little cans of ham spread that you can get. I've been really enjoying hot pickled bologna.. Not the healthiest thing in the world, but it is convenient and tasty and makes me feel like I'm having a normal snack.. and 90 calories worth has 10 grams of Protein. Bring some shelf stable cheese wedges too.. also what about pickled eggs? Also, if you want to heat stuff up, you can just set up a little pocket stove over some sterno.. Sterno is cheap at the dollar store and you can get the pocket stove for a couple of bucks at any outdoor supply store.. or just rig something up yourself to keep your can above your sterno flame... if you go this route, you'll also be opening yourself up to the possibilities of things like powdered eggs or instant oatmeal.

At Mi I could communicate just fine with the nurses. A few didn't speak much English but most could. I'd say 75% of the nurses there could speak a decent amount of English. I agree that the bed was not very comfortable though.. it wasn't absolute torture, but definitely not a great bed IMHO. ... Traffic noises weren't an issue, I knew Mi was near a noisy street so I brought earplugs. Also, it was very clean and we all had private rooms with private bathrooms with huge showers.

I booked an extra day in the hotel just to be on the safe side. I was two nights in the hospital and then three nights in the hotel. I had absolutely no problems with my San Deigo-Boston flight. I just made sure my carry on was very light and I checked my bag with my clothes in it. Walking around the airport was no problem at all and I didn't have to rush at all since my driver got me there about two hours before my flight. I bought three bottles of Vitamin Water zero's once I was through security and I drank one while waiting for the plane and the other two while I was in flight (yeah, I never had a problem drinking) Really I was DREADING flying both before and after surgery but ESPECIALLY after... it really wasn't bad at all. I was quite comfortable on the plane. The seatbelt goes around the lower abdomen and you don't have any incisions lower than your belly button so the seatbelt was not uncomfortable in the slightest. I got an aisle seat so I could get up and walk a LOT during the flight since I am petrified of developing DVT

I LOVE chia seeds and used them faithfully during the 16 weeks leading up to my surgery. I can't have seeds until 7 weeks post op but look forward to including them again in my diet. The health benefits are TOTALLY worth the calories.. and they taste great in my vegetable juice!

I'm currently searching for a doctor. I was strongly leaning toward dr Alvarez, but the more research I do, the more competent surgeons I find. Right now I'm seriously considering Dr. Ismael Cabrera Garcia in Tijuana, but I'm really struggling with the price... not because it's too high but because it's SO LOW! He charges $4500 and that includes 3nights at the Marriott and 2 nights in the hospital. I feel like he easily stacks up against the local surgeons I have to choose from near me, I can find no negatives about him, I LOVE Christy the TC at MBC... but I keep coming back to the price.... Why is he charging so little? Thoughts?

TJ Marriott is VERY nice. It is comparable to what you would find at the Marriott in any major US city. Extremely safe place.. great staff... I paid extra for an extra night at the Marriott because I didn't know how recovery would be and I was flying all the way to Boston. Turns out I didn't "need" the extra night.. But I sure didn't mind it either! As for the MiDoctor hospital, I think you hit it right on the head. I have no complaints about the care I received there... but definitely not a "high end" hospital!

My journey was different. I knew I wasn't covered so I jumped right in to finding the best self-pay option for me.. The Bariatric program here would have cost $20,000... not an option.. I researched and researched and decided on a doctor in Mexico.. $4,500 including everything but airfare. (I had two nights in the hospital plus three hotel nights for recovery) If you hit a wall with insurance, don't give up. There are low cost options in the USA (Las vegas, Lousiana, texas) for around 10K... and even lower cost options in Mexico.. for under 5K. Where there is a will there is a way!

It took me one week to lose my surgery fluids... then the next week I lost 14 pounds so everything averages out. You don't have to "work" at losing the fluids.. it will just happen for some more quickly and for some more slowly.

I'm exactly three weeks out today... I'm up 2 pounds from what I weighed last week. All I can do is keep doing what I'm doing and ride it out. I'm getting in my protein and water and eating my target calories... Stalls are part of the process.

I wonder that too.. My package with Cabrera/valenzuela at MiDoctor included two nights in the hospital and three nights at Marriott. The hospital was adequate but lacked some of the amenities that could have made it more comfortable. (nurse call buttons on the beds, iv's that beeped when they were not working, modern EKG machine that didn't leave hickeys.. these things come to mind) But to ME, these things would not be worth the extra money. Also I'm sure that some of it IS the doctor's fee...Aceves has an excellent reputation that he has worked years to achieve and maintain so of course he can command a higher fee. Many other doctors are also very skilled and have good reputations but not as much experience as Aceves... but even if aceves is commanding a higher fee per surgery, I'd still be willing to bet that a significant difference in cost is going to the hospital fees.

I see that this thread has been revived. Just to update, I have been sleeved and had a great experience with Dr's Cabrera and Valenzuela at MiDoctor hospital in Tijuana, Mexico.. For me no need to pay more for the more expensive doctors when I was perfectly comfortable with the team I selected. Best $4500 I ever spent.

I started BEFORE I even had the surgery.. I think maybe for me it's a side effect of rapid weight loss. I lost quite a bit prior to surgery and my body isn't acclimated yet.

I'm sitting here in sweats, socks, hoodie.. my boyfriend is in a tank and tighty-whities. I'm FROZEN. Last summer was soooo hot here in the city, I maybe this year won't feel so unbearable.

Our van was full of people and I was the only one with a passport. One of the women was taken away for about an hour and finger printed and they ran a full check on her and we were held up for several hours... Typically when traveling, I'm the one who holds people up due to some "questionable" visas in my passport (Lebanon and Pakistan)... but coming back from Mexico, I sailed right through on my passport but the others in the van were subjected to much more scrutiny and were the reason for holding us up... It only took them a few minutes to search our van.. but it took a few hours to clear all the passengers.

I just did my first before and "during" pic comparison.. 60 pounds down. 46 preop and 14 since my surgery three weeks ago.

I like to add just a pinch of salt and stevia to mine.. Like TEEENY pinch.. Then I like to eat it with "banana ice cream" that I make by running a frozen banana through my auger style juicer with the blank plate on (you could also make the banana ice cream by putting a frozen banana in a vitamix with a few splashes of milk) OMG.. it's heaven! I've seen some people using PB2 to make Protein bars.. (like with oats, milk protein powder and pb2) Once I'm at that stage I'll give it a try.

We had about a dozen or so 2 ounce babyfoods expire at the store.. I emptied them and washed them out and have been using the jars.. PERFECT for my little 1/4 cup of puree... I eat about a half cup of food, but I like having the 1/4 up size jars since I like to do a variety.

I'm numb from the largest incision where they pulled my stomach out of all the way to my navel.. about 5"x4".. Same thing happened when I had my gallbladder out too... but I started slowly getting the feeling back after 6 months or so.

Really any whey protein isolate powder will work as long as it's sugar free. If you have a GNC gold card, you can get a decent price on the GNC brand ones during the first week of the month.. Also Walmart has powders.. I mixed my powders with all kinds of stuff... Milk, water, crystal light, coffee.. just to change the taste.. My favorite is Jay Robb, but I ordered it online and you don't have time for that. Also, if you can find any unflavored, you should get some, I mix it with jello after adding the cold water and it's pretty good... also adding a bit to broths is nice too so you don't get so burned out on sweet.

I just posted my before and during picture to my profile here for anyone who is interested... The pic difference represents 59 pounds lost from when I first booked my surgery date. For the month of March I've lost 21 pounds. 7 pounds during the two weeks preop and 14 since my surgery on March 13th. I'm THRILLED with my March loss even though I know that there are some who lose much more.. but I've been on 800 calories a day since the beginning of December so I didn't expect super dramatic results! I'm pretty sure I'm entering a stall now. My weight loss pattern historically always includes 2-3 week stalls followed by big losses so I'll just have to ride it out!