Bowgirl

I am 6 months out and I no longer regret having the surgery. You get to where you know that if you take one more bite that you will regret it. You can still enjoy most foods but just in smaller portions. I think my taste has changed too. I use to be a dessert food junkie. Now it just doesn't taste as good as it use to. I eat mostly meat & vegetables. I feel like I can't waste my limited space on things like pasta and rice or bread. I Think the "normal" starts when you are able to eat regular food and not just clears, or soft food.

I had Gerd before the surgery. I thought it was because I was "fat". Now after the surgery I still have it. I always keep medication on me just in case. I thought once I lost weight that it would get better but mine has worsened. Nothing I can't handle though.

I made the huge mistake of using Laurie. I sent her $500 for a deposit. She let me know a couple of days before my surgery that she would not be able to accompany me to Mexico because of her estate sale that was going on. She assured me that she would have a driver pick me up from my San Francisco flight and drive me in to Mexico. That is the only thing she did do. My friend and I had to coordinate with the hospital for a ride back to the airport. As we were in the hospital lobby waiting for the driver that the hospital arranged for us we saw Trish with her clients using her personal car to drive them to the airport. Apparently Trish lives in Mexico where as Laurie lives elsewhere. When I got back to the states I contacted Laurie and told her I felt like she needed to at least partially refund me the $500 I gave her. I don't feel like she earned it. She sent me texts telling me the check was in the mail but 6 months later I still have not received anything. These coordinators need to understand that some of us are a little apprehensive about going to a different country for a surgery in the first place and they shouldn't lie or flake out on us. Dr. Ponce and INT hospital were great and 6 months later I don't regret anything other than Laurie.

Tomorrow will be 14 weeks for me. I too have some regrets. I've lost weight and can wear cute clothes but it seems a little superficial to me. I told only a select few what I was having done. Now it seems all anyone comments on is my weight and how much I have lost. It makes me feel like such a hypocrite. It guess its my guilty conscience. I not only miss eating but I miss enjoying eating. My husband tells me there are other things in life to enjoy. Eating now sounds like a good idea at the time but once I start it seems like I am already done. I don't think I have a "sleeve of steel" that some people seem to have.

I had the same worry also. I went to Mexico and other than one of my incisions developing a hematoma I haven't had any complications. I have been to my primary care dr's nurse practitioner. She took the time to research the sleeve and has been a great resource to me. There are medical practitioners out there that will be supportive of your decision. Good luck!

I had mine done in Mexico because my bmi wasn't high enough for insurance to pay. I had the surgery on a Wednesday night and left the hospital Friday at 1 pm in the afternoon. I then stayed in a hotel Friday night and flew home on Saturday. I was worried about post surgical complications since my Dr was located in Mexico. So far my only complication is a hematoma where the largest incision was.

I want to tell complete strangers that I see out in public about it. I am only 19 days post op so I will probably wait a little longer before I start talking about it.

Yes, I feel the same sometimes. I have those periods when I wonder if I will be the "normal" again. By normal I mean will I ever get to eat regular food food again? Not normal portions but at least normal food with out it feeling stuck? I was sleeved march 6. Sometimes I can't believe I did something so drastic.

I was sleeved March 6. I have lost 10 lbs. tomorrow will be day 18. I seem to be losing the weight from the top down. My face looks thinner and I don't have as much back fat. I worry that I will never be able to eat normal again. I don't mean the same amount but now when I eat it seems to get stuck. I am still eating things like yogurt, soups, malt o meal.

I am 7 days out. I had my surgery in Mx with Dr. Ponce. I noticed the incision over the umbilicus which was the largest of the 5 began to get hard. I had scheduled a follow up with my regular Dr that I see before I went to Mexico. Yesterday I went for the appoint and he said I have a hematoma. He said that I should just watch it and if I began having a fever go to the ER. I am now so worried that I will have to have it surgically excised or something. Today it is bigger and has been hurting all day. It is the only source of discomfort at this point. I have already made another appointment for tomorrow (Thursday) because I return to work on Friday. I am a RN and am worried about having to work 3 12 hours shifts. I was just wondering if anyone else had this problem?

I just got back from the Dr. They put me on antibiotics. When I had the surgery done they gave me rocephin and I became very sick. After that I told them no more. I'm thinking maybe I got a infection since I didn't finish the rocephin. The nurse at the drs office said she had a sleeve done about a year ago and she had a hematoma too. She said it is still tender to touch after a year. I feel much better knowing all this. The last thing i wanted was to end up in the hospital. Thanks for checking on me.

Yes, i have been in my pajamas all day. Now the pain is spreading to the one next to it. 10 am tomorrow can not come soon enough. I am just worried because I HAVE to go to work Friday.

Did yours hurt at all? Mine hurts more so when I move.

I work in a hospital and I didn't tell anyone I was having this done. . I guess I am just worried about having to go to the hospital to have something done and everyone finding out. I had to say I was having a surgical procedure to get the the time off not a elective procedure. Now I'm afraid they will find out I lied. I was really hoping I would heal up with no problems and be able to go back to work with no further questions.

Thanks for all the info. I have a appointment tomorrow morning with my Dr.

I had nausea from the antibiotic they gave me which made the pain probably seem worse. It was the gas pain everyone talks about. They kept telling me to walk and walk but the hospital I was in was so small there wasn't any where to go. I would just get up and walk in my room. I am 5 days post op and I am taking the pain medication 2-3 times a day. It doesn't hurt when I am just sitting or laying. It's hurts when I drink too fast I will get a little gas bubble. Be careful with your tummy and don't let the dogs jump up on you. Good luck with your journey.

I went with Laurie because my friend used her and had no problem. About 1 1/2 weeks before the surgery she was really hounding me about the $500.00 deposit. My friend said she didn't have to send a deposit, just have the total in a cashiers check made out to Dr. Ponce. She called me and told me that she was "planning " on making it but that she has so much going on. She started telling me about how she is a interior designer, her 14 year old son and mothers estate sale as possible reasons why she might not make it. But again she "planned " on being there. She said if she couldn't make it then she would have a Spanish speaking lady who I assumed was Trish meet up with is instead. Again she asked about the deposit and gave me instructions on how to direct deposit it in to her chase bank. I told her I would rather just send it thru the mail because I didn't think we had a Chase in my town. She then sent me a email with her mailing address and I got the deposit sent out. After the check cleared from my bank she called my friend, not me to tell me that she would not be able to make the trip because her son has strep throat. She never mentioned replacing her self with someone else like she did when she spoke to me. Other than arranging a ride from the San Diego airport to the INT hospital she didn't do anything else for us. We had to get with the hospital staff to get a ride from the hospital back to San Diego. I feel like she didn't earn her money and I am feeling very bitter. I understand that things come up and she has a life but she needs to realize that people in this situation are stressed enough. I would have used Trish but my friend didn't have any problems with Laurie. Buyers beware. Dr. Ponce and the staff at the hospital were great but Laurie was very disappointing.

I am now in the Sheraton Hotel close to the airport. My friend and I decided to come back to the states today instead of utilizing the room that I already paid for in Mexico. Our flight was cancelled and we need to be on this side of the border earlier than later. I was kind of worried about getting past the border because all I have is my birth certificate and drivers license. My friend talked to the guard and told him we were medical and if we could just stay in the bus. I pulled up my shirt to show my stomach and he became embarrassed and scolded me for showing him my bandages. I just really wanted to get my point across. He said I could stay In the van but my friend had to walk across. They looked thru some of our luggage then they let us go. He barely looked at my birth certificate but did take my drivers license and brought it back. I am so happy to be In a comfy hotel bed with fluffy pillows. The bed at the hospital was not comfortable and they only gave me one pillow. I used my heating pad a lot !! My meds at the pharmacy were $113.00. It's just around the corner from the hospital. My friend walked over there by herself and got a coffee from the Starbucks. Let me know if you have any questions. I am sipping on low sodium chicken broth and am feeling fine. Thanks for al the support.

I just got to San Diego. My surgery is scheduled today with Dr ponce. I keep thinking I am going to change my mind. We are driving to Mexico with our driver Israel. Our coordinator is not with us. She couldn't make it last minute. So far no problems. My worry is that I will get to the hospital too late to have my surgery done today. Of course I don't want a surgeon who has been doing surgeries all day. We will see.

Today is much better. I think the reason I was so sick yesterday was because I am allergic to the antibiotic Rocephin that they gave me. Every time they would start to pushing it in I would immediately get sick and start throwing up. The staff fas been good about medicating me with nausea medicine and pain medicine. I just have to keep asking what it is before they stick it in. They generally won't tell you unless you ask. I finally met Dr. Ponce today. He seems very nice but we had to talk thru a interpreter and his cell phone rang and he answered it. So I just directed my questions to the interpreter. I'm not having hardly any pain at this time. My nausea was good till they brought me a cup of blue dye to drink. I drank it very slow and still kept trying to throw up. I thought it would be sweet but it wasn't, it tasted like dirty bitter water. Now I am just waiting to do the leak test, have my drained removed and go to the hotel. When you come make sure you bring ear plugs and a eye mask. It's very loud here and there have been parties going on across the street from where this hospital is. Even though dr. Ponce has only come one time I have been checked on by Dr.s other than him. They have all been English speaking so I ask them whatever I need to know. The nurses other than one male nurse don't speak any English. Last night the male nurse started a new IV bag then added some potassium to the bag. Being a nurse I know how dangerous potassium can be if not diluted correctly. After he left I shook the bag to get it distributed. About 10 minutes later another nurse came in and started to inject something in to my bag and I asked her what it was. She said something that might have sounded like calcium. I told her the other nurse has just injected potassium and that made her stop. I'm not sure if I was about to get double dosed with potassium but I'm glad I asked. Make sure you always ask what they are giving you. All in all this hasn't been as bad but I sure wish I spoke Spanish. Being a nurse myself I ant to know exactly what you are giving me and why. I'll let you guys know how the leak test comes along. Thanks for the support.

So far this has not been a good experience. Some people have said didn't have any pain but I sure am. They finally took me from my from around 7:45 at night. I went back to the Or holding area For quite a while. My friend said got back to my room around 11:30. I have yet to see the dr. They put me to sleep before he got there and it is already the next day late afternoon and I haven't seen him. I can't stop dry heaving and I am constantly nauseated. I have been up to walk but this hospital is very small. The nurses don't speak any English. I keep asking them what they are putting in my IV and I can't get a straight answer. I wish I knew Spanish. I am waiting for a antiemetic ( nausea medicine ). I called quite a while ago. My stomach feels really tight. And thank goodness I brought my own washcloths. They have brought me a few large towels but no little ones.

It is 7:15 here in Mexico. I am patiently waiting for my surgery to begin. I am a little freaked out that they still span on doing my surgery so late but I guess it is not usual here. I am gowned, IV started, EKG done, and lab drawn. They drew a CBC,cmp and HIV. They gave me rocephin IV push and I almost immediately vomited. I don't have a allergy to it but I guess since it was pushed instead of piggy backed I got sick. I am not just waiting for them to come get me. I am extremely tired and getting hungry from being npo all day. I'm so glad my friend who is also a RN is here with me. They do things a little differently here but nothing too alarming. I sure wish they would let me wear some underwear.

Today is my surgery date. I'm very nervous and Having second thoughts. I know this is going to be a emotional day. In Mexico they usually get you right in to surgery so that you will have more post recovery time before you come back to the states. I think it is going to be very overwhelming and give me little time to ponder. I will let everyone know how it goes.