Karenlrite

One month past surgery, down 50 pounds overall, 35 since surgery.

I brought 3 nightgowns, and was so happy to have a clean fresh nighty to change into.

I had my VGS surgery two weeks ago Tuesday, Jan. 29th in Juarez through BeLight. My coordinator was Teri. Everything went pretty well. We arrived at the ElPasso airport and our driver met us at the baggage claim. There are a number of men who work for this company. I don't know that all of them would meet you at baggage claim, but he did and he was able to figure out who I was, and came over and approached my husband and I. The drive to the hospital was quick and uneventful. We checked in, then there was a doctor who spoke pretty good English that acted as a facilitator who showed me to the radiology department where they took X-rays. From there they drew blood. For both things I could really tell that I was not in the US. It didn't look like the person giving me the X-ray put on the led vest to protect themselves. Then when they went to draw my blood the lady dropped one of the latex gloves on the ground after taking it out of the sterile package. She just picked it up put it on and kept going. I had been drinking tons of Water so it would be easy to draw my blood, but I felt like a pin cushion with all of the misses. They didn't seem too skilled in finding a vein. The lady finally after trying in both arms and the back of both hands without luck went and got a helper who didn't bother to use gloves at all. She found a vein, but they took the top off of the test tubes and just let the blood drip into a test tube. A bit of a bloody mess. The Dr. That was the facilitator came in when he realized they were having trouble finding a vein and said not to worry that the next day they could do the IV in a different way if they needed to. After that he showed me to my room and said that and he told me that I could go out and have a real meal but to make it soft foods like enchiladas. We walked next door to a really nice Mexican food restaurant. I had the cheese enchiladas and could only eat half. I think that after almost a month of being on an almost liquid diet my stomach had started to shrink. Then we went back to the hospital. I thought they were going to come in and give me my EKG that night but they waited till the next morning. Most of the nurses don't speak English, so I had a hard time communicating with them. They brought in a robe and a towel that night, but I always take a shower in the morning so I wore my own nighty and waited till morning for my shower. They came in and put in my IV before bed. The next morning I took my shower, put on the hospital gown, and got ready for surgery. A young man came in the the EKG machine. This is nothing like any EKG machine that I had ever seen. Instead of little stickers with snaps on them they had little metal suction cups, and clamps that looked they should have been in a wood shop. The metal suction cups were placed on my torso, and the clamps were put on my hands and feet. It only stung slightly where the suction cups were placed. Afterwards the spots where the suction cups were there were little hickie spots. They came in and put me on a gurney, took me downstairs to where surgery prep was. There were two orderlies who put on compression socks on me, then I don't remember anything till I was waking up from surgery. I don't believe they put in a catheter, but they may have. The next thin I remember was being in my room, waking up and vomiting violently, I think it was a reaction to the anesthesia. The first day of surgery every time I woke up I was vomiting up bloody froth. They brought in lime Jello, chicken broth, camilile tea, and ice chips. i was able to have a few spoonfulls of chicken broth, a few sips of tea, one teaspoon of lime jello. then it was primarily ice chips till the next day. The next day I was feeling much better, and each day has gotten better and better. I have been traveling since my surgery and have found it difficult to stick strictly to the diet as prescribed. I also have been very hungry. In order to get in my Proteins I had to tranisition to full liquids sooner and started my Protein shakes. After a week and two days out of the hospital now I have started to eat Protein Bars to get in more protien, and have something to eat. I have not been home and don't know what my home scale says, but a gas station scale showed that I was down 15 pounds from the weight I was since leaving home. I head home tomorrow, and am excited to see what my home scale says. Here are a few things that that I have observed... 1. I have had an allergic reaction to the adhesive on the band aids thatbInhave been using to cover my wounds so I stopped them. 2. Bactein has been good to use to disinfect the area. 3. Neosporin has been helpful in the healing process. 4. Get up and walk while you are in the hospital. It helps. 5. GasX strips didn't seem to make a difference. 6. All of the medication they send you home with has.instruction written only in Spanish. The antibiotic that you need to take comes in two bottles. In one bottle is the dry antibiotics in a powder, the other bottle is a suspension liquid for you to mix the powder with. I didn't understand this and took the suspension liquid without any of the antibiotic in it for the first two days. Then I decided to just forgo it altogether. 7. If you have someone coming with you to the hospital you will want to BRING A BLANKET and a pillow for them. There aren't any at the hospital for them to use. Good luck.

Just an update, with some key points I forgot to mention. I am now down 45 pounds since the start of my weight loss journey. My surgery was two weeks ago today. I still have some soreness around where the drain tube was, but the rest of my incisions are healing remarkably well. I have had lymphedema for years. In the two weeks since surgery I have noticed a huge decrease in the swelling in my legs. In my previous post I said I was eating Protein bars to get in my protein, I would not recommend pushing what you eat too fast. Try to stick with the liquids as long as possible. Try using the shakes if you aren't getting the protein you need. Remember to drink your Water, and get out and move. Walk lots if you can. I have spoken to many friends and they are a great support group. It is important to see out others in your community who have also had weight loss surgery that you can talk to, and get feedback and info from. These boards are great, but there is no substitution for a one on one conversation. 1. Make sure the person traveling with you gets some pesos. The cafeteria in the hospital doesn't accept US money. 2. There is a shopping mall across the street from the hospital, but be careful crossing the street. It is at least two to three lanes on each side, and always busy. 3. There was a shooting in front of the hospital while I was there, but I always felt safe inside the hospital.

I had my VGS surgery two weeks ago Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013 in Juarez through BeLight. My coordinator was Teri. Everything went pretty well. We arrived at the ElPasso airport and our driver met us at the baggage claim. There are a number of men who work for this company. I don't know that all of them would meet you at baggage claim, but he did and he was able to figure out who I was, and came over and approached my husband and I. The drive to the hospital was quick and uneventful. We checked in, then there was a doctor who spoke pretty good English that acted as a facilitator who showed me to the radiology department where they took X-rays. From there they drew blood. For both things I could really tell that I was not in the US. It didn't look like the person giving me the X-ray put on the led vest to protect themselves. Then when they went to draw my blood the lady dropped one of the latex gloves on the ground after taking it out of the sterile package. She just picked it up put it on and kept going. I had been drinking tons of Water so it would be easy to draw my blood, but I felt like a pin cushion with all of the misses. They didn't seem too skilled in finding a vein. The lady finally after trying in both arms and the back of both hands without luck went and got a helper who didn't bother to use gloves at all. She found a vein, but they took the top off of the test tubes and just let the blood drip into a test tube. A bit of a bloody mess. The Dr. That was the facilitator came in when he realized they were having trouble finding a vein and said not to worry that the next day they could do the IV in a different way if they needed to. After that he showed me to my room and said that and he told me that I could go out and have a real meal but to make it soft foods like enchiladas. We walked next door to a really nice Mexican food restaurant. I had the cheese enchiladas and could only eat half. I think that after almost a month of being on an almost liquid diet my stomach had started to shrink. Then we went back to the hospital. I thought they were going to come in and give me my EKG that night but they waited till the next morning. Most of the nurses don't speak English, so I had a hard time communicating with them. They brought in a robe and a towel that night, but I always take a shower in the morning so I wore my own nighty and waited till morning for my shower. They came in and put in my IV before bed. The next morning I took my shower, put on the hospital gown, and got ready for surgery. A young man came in the the EKG machine. This is nothing like any EKG machine that I had ever seen. Instead of little stickers with snaps on them they had little metal suction cups, and clamps that looked they should have been in a wood shop. The metal suction cups were placed on my torso, and the clamps were put on my hands and feet. It only stung slightly where the suction cups were placed. Afterwards the spots where the suction cups were there were little hickie spots. They came in and put me on a gurney, took me downstairs to where surgery prep was. There were two orderlies who put on compression socks on me, then I don't remember anything till I was waking up from surgery. I don't believe they put in a catheter, but they may have. The next thin I remember was being in my room, waking up and vomiting violently, I think it was a reaction to the anesthesia. The first day of surgery every time I woke up I was vomiting up bloody froth. They brought in lime Jello, chicken broth, camilile tea, and ice chips. i was able to have a few spoonfulls of chicken broth, a few sips of tea, one teaspoon of lime jello. then it was primarily ice chips till the next day. The next day I was feeling much better, and each day has gotten better and better. I have been traveling since my surgery and have found it difficult to stick strictly to the diet as prescribed. I also have been very hungry. In order to get in my Proteins I had to tranisition to full liquids sooner and started my Protein shakes. After a week and two days out of the hospital now I have started to eat Protein Bars to get in more protien, and have something to eat. I have not been home and don't know what my home scale says, but a gas station scale showed that I was down 15 pounds from the weight I was since leaving home. I head home tomorrow, and am excited to see what my home scale says. Here are a few things that that I have observed... 1. I have had an allergic reaction to the adhesive on the band aids thatbInhave been using to cover my wounds so I stopped them. 2. Bactein has been good to use to disinfect the area. 3. Neosporin has been helpful in the healing process. 4. Get up and walk while you are in the hospital. It helps. 5. GasX strips didn't seem to make a difference. 6. All of the medication they send you home with has.instruction written only in Spanish. The antibiotic that you need to take comes in two bottles. In one bottle is the dry antibiotics in a powder, the other bottle is a suspension liquid for you to mix the powder with. I didn't understand this and took the suspension liquid without any of the antibiotic in it for the first two days. Then I decided to just forgo it altogether. 7. If you have someone coming with you to the hospital you will want to BRING A BLANKET and a pillow for them. There aren't any at the hospital for them to use. Good luck.

I had my VGS surgery a week ago Tuesday, Jan. 29th in Juarez through BeLight. My coordinator was Teri. Everything went pretty well. We arrived at the ElPasso airport and our driver met us at the baggage claim. There are a number of men who work for this company. I don't know that all of them would meet you at baggage claim, but he did and he was able to figure out who I was, and came over and approached my husband and I. The drive to the hospital was quick and uneventful. We checked in, then there was a doctor who spoke pretty good English that acted as a facilitator who showed me to the radiology department where they took X-rays. From there they drew blood. For both things I could really tell that I was not in the US. It didn't look like the person giving me the X-ray put on the led vest to protect themselves. Then when they went to draw my blood the lady dropped one of the latex gloves on the ground after taking it out of the sterile package. She just picked it up put it on and kept going. I had been drinking tons of Water so it would be easy to draw my blood, but I felt like a pin cushion with all of the misses. They didn't seem too skilled in finding a vein. The lady finally after trying in both arms and the back of both hands without luck went and got a helper who didn't bother to use gloves at all. She found a vein, but they took the top off of the test tubes and just let the blood drip into a test tube. A bit of a bloody mess. The Dr. That was the facilitator came in when he realized they were having trouble finding a vein and said not to worry that the next day they could do the IV in a different way if they needed to. After that he showed me to my room and said that and he told me that I could go out and have a real meal but to make it soft foods like enchiladas. We walked next door to a really nice Mexican food restaurant. I had the cheese enchiladas and could only eat half. I think that after almost a month of being on an almost liquid diet my stomach had started to shrink. Then we went back to the hospital. I thought they were going to come in and give me my EKG that night but they waited till the next morning. Most of the nurses don't speak English, so I had a hard time communicating with them. They brought in a robe and a towel that night, but I always take a shower in the morning so I wore my own nighty and waited till morning for my shower. They came in and put in my IV before bed. The next morning I took my shower, put on the hospital gown, and got ready for surgery. A young man came in the the EKG machine. This is nothing like any EKG machine that I had ever seen. Instead of little stickers with snaps on them they had little metal suction cups, and clamps that looked they should have been in a wood shop. The metal suction cups were placed on my torso, and the clamps were put on my hands and feet. It only stung slightly where the suction cups were placed. Afterwards the spots where the suction cups were there were little hickie spots. They came in and put me on a gurney, took me downstairs to where surgery prep was. There were two orderlies who put on compression socks on me, then I don't remember anything till I was waking up from surgery. I don't believe they put in a catheter, but they may have. The next thin I remember was being in my room, waking up and vomiting violently, I think it was a reaction to the anesthesia. The first day of surgery every time I woke up I was vomiting up bloody froth. They brought in lime Jello, chicken broth, camilile tea, and ice chips. i was able to have a few spoonfulls of chicken broth, a few sips of tea, one teaspoon of lime jello. then it was primarily ice chips till the next day. The next day I was feeling much better, and each day has gotten better and better. I have been traveling since my surgery and have found it difficult to stick strictly to the diet as prescribed. I also have been very hungry. In order to get in my Proteins I had to tranisition to full liquids sooner and started my Protein shakes. After a week and two days out of the hospital now I have started to eat Protein Bars to get in more protien, and have something to eat. I have not been home and don't know what my home scale says, but a gas station scale showed that I was down 15 pounds from the weight I was since leaving home. I head home tomorrow, and am excited to see what my home scale says. Here are a few things that that I have observed... 1. I have had an allergic reaction to the adhesive on the band aids thatbInhave been using to cover my wounds so I stopped them. 2. Bactein has been good to use to disinfect the area. 3. Neosporin has been helpful in the healing process. 4. Get up and walk while you are in the hospital. It helps. 5. GasX strips didn't seem to make a difference. 6. All of the medication they send you home with has.instruction written only in Spanish. The antibiotic that you need to take comes in two bottles. In one bottle is the dry antibiotics in a powder, the other bottle is a suspension liquid for you to mix the powder with. I didn't understand this and took the suspension liquid without any of the antibiotic in it for the first two days. Then I decided to just forgo it altogether. 7. If you have someone coming with you to the hospital you will want to BRING A BLANKET and a pillow for them. There aren't any at the hospital for them to use. Good luck.

Surgery is in two days. I am very excited! I am down and getting very excited! Just finishing the last minute packing and then heading ot the airport. Check into the hospital tomorrow, and surgery on Tuesday. Healthier me!!! Here I come.

I am in the process of getting an implant and it will cost me about $10,000 start to finish. I need a couple. Sounds like it would be cheaper to go to Mexico for that as well, even with airfair. Do you know where he had it done, or how it went?

Congratulations! That is a great amount. You are an inspiration.

I will be in the hospital 3 days, then will be taking off a week after. I hope that is enough time. I am a bit concerned about my energy levels.

I am on the pre-diet and am allowed 40-50 net carbs a day.

Perhaps if you are walking for an hour a day you can sustain the 1200-1500 calories a day. Otherwise, it is probably too much. If you are stalling you might try shaving down your calorie count till you start to lose again. As far as only being able to walk for 20 minutes at a time, I have found when I first start to walk that after 20 minutes my hips and back hurt as well. When I sit down for a few minutes and take a rest, then get up and walk more it seems to help. I have found the best bet is for me to walk on a trail that is 2 miles long with a number of benches and stumps I can stop at and rest for a few minutes before I continue on. Because the trail goes through the woods it really helps me force myself to keep going. You can't get out of the woods to go home till you walk out. Try going for a walk outside so when you walk 20 minutes and get tired you can rest then walk back home. You will find that you will build stamina, and can gain more ability. Good luck, and keep us posted. I haven't started walking yet, but I need to. My surgery is 10 days away. The snow is deep outside, but I think that I will head over to the field house where they have a track you can walk indoors on. Living in Alaska in the winter poses some of it's own challenges for walking outside in the winter. Most importantly have some understanding friends or family walk with you. Their support will count for measures.

I'm so glad I found this thread. I am also scheduled with Dr. Rod in Juarez on Jan 29th, 2013. I have been a little worried about how things will go. I am set to arrive on the 28th, and have my labs done then surgery on the 28th. I am going through BeLite and my coordinator is also Teri. She has been friendly and informative for the most part. I am a little aprehensive about not being able to talk to the Dr. directly before surgery, but I guess the Dr. is busy in surgery. I have hear from quite a few people that they have happy with him and his work. Good luck. Please keep us posted on how things go. I will be waiting to hear.

I have tried the Bariatric Advantage, it is O.K., I prefer it for my pre-op shake as it has fewer carbs. I prefer the taste of Chike, but am trying to cut those out till after surgery. One of the secrets for a shake that mixes well is the shaker bottle with the little wisk ball in it. Otherwise you end up with big nasty chunks of shake mix. The first 4 times I tried the Bariatric Advantage I thought it was the worst tasting stuff in the world. Now I can handel it O.K. Get used to drinking the shakes now, so you'll have an easier time post surgery. By the way I am experiencing great support from my husband and mother, but my sister who is almost as large as I am keeps asking if I'm "sure you still want to do this." I asked her to not ask me that anymore. She acted all hurt and said "fine then I just won't bring it up anymore. It seems like I just can't say anything right about it." I told her thank you, and to not bring it up anymore.

January 29 in Juarez, Mexico. Nervous about liquid diet for two weeks. Have been trying to do lean and green, but find myself caving. Any tricks to sticking to it? It has been a rough week, all I want to do is eat!