tesser85

I just got back from TJ on Monday, and I can honestly say that I would not have minded at all if my surgeon showed up at my hotel room to "check my stitches" or anything else. My husband might have objected, though...

I like to mix the fruity flavors in water and the dessert flavors in milk. If you blend the dessert flavors with ice and milk in the blender, it tastes pretty darn close to a milkshake. Yum!

I'm tesser85 on MFP too. Feel free to add me!

I'm not gonna lie - I thought the pre-op diet from Dr. Ortiz sucked big time. It did get a little easier after the first five days or so, but still - it was a struggle for me. I was afraid I wouldn't lose the weight they wanted me to lose in time, so I started my pre-op diet 5 days before I had to. I ended up losing 22 pounds during the 19 days I was on the pre-op diet, so it definitely works if you stick to it, but it is HARD. The best advice I could give you is just to concentrate on making it through one day at a time and know that YOU CAN DO IT!! When you start to feel like you want to cheat, come to VST instead. I spent A LOT of time here during my pre-op diet days...kinda like a junkie calling her sponsor! We are here for you.

I was sleeved by Dr. Ortiz on Friday, June 21. Like the others who have posted, I had a great experience. The staff at OCC took great care of me. They really walk you through everything well and explain everything before you go in. I have had a little pain and no nausea following the surgery. My flight home was only 2.5 hours, and I did make sure to select an aisle seat so I could get up and walk a bit and use the restroom. The worst part for me has been the gas. Even with the Gas-X strips, the gas is annoying and painful. My only regret - and I'm not even sure if regret is the right word - is that I don't remember Dr. Ortiz coming to my room and talking to my husband and me after the procedure. My husband assured me that I had a conversation with Dr. Ortiz, but I don't remember it at all, and I was REALLY looking forward to meeting him since he is so darn cute! Even my husband agrees that Dr. Ortiz is a fine looking man, and that is saying a lot!!! Good luck, and feel free to PM me if you want any more info.

Leaving on Thursday for TJ and just wondering if anyone had any problems using US dollars while there? Not really wanting to deal with money exchange and the required fees if it's not necessary. Thanks in advance.

Holy crap! That sounds awful!!! I am so sorry to hear that this happened to you! While I'm sure this was not at all funny when it happened, I love how you kept your sense of humor in the post.

I ordered the variety pack of samples from https://www.bjsbariatrics.com/ so I could try multiple flavors. So far, I have tried Twisted Cherry, Crystal Sky, Pink Grapefruit, Cappuccino, and Double Stuffed Cookie, and I have enjoyed them all! I use 10 oz of Water when I mix it because the flavors are strong and the fruity kinds are too fruity for me with 8 oz. Some of the fruity flavors smell like the liquid penicillin I remember taking as a kid, but they don't taste like it, so I am not bothered by the smell. I've read some others posts here from people who said that the smell was a deal breaker.

Your loss is really obvious in your new profile pic! Congratulations.

Thank you so much for posting this. It made me cry, which is a good thing. Living in the states, I hadn't heard of this book or of this letter. Just like the author, I have a 3 year old daughter. I am the fat daughter of a fat mother, so I also learned from an early age that fat is bad and I hated myself because of it. I am going to share this link with my own family and with all my friends who are mothers of daughters so they can also see this powerful message and maybe they will think a bit more about how their own body image may be hurting their girls.

I am keeping coffee in pre-op since it is on my list of approved clear liquid beverages. And honestly, since the rest of my pre-op diet is so restrictive (Protein shakes, green veggies, and clear-non-carbonated beverages only for three weeks!) I think I would lose my mind if I had to go without my coffee. BUT - I have cut back to just one 8 oz. cup and I am also following the old WW rule of adding an additional 8 oz of Water to my Fluid intake to help compensate for the coffee. Post-op, I'm not sure. I don't have the post-op instructions from my surgeon's office yet, but I'm guessing I will have to give it up. Bummer.

Good point. Thanks!

Thanks for this detailed info! Do you know if you can pay with credit card?

My ugly head is rearing for sure! My pre-op diet is just protein shakes, green vegetables, sf jello, and sf popsicles. Oh, and I can have a 1/2 cup of vegetable soup IF I'm hungry. Um...really? IF I'm hungry?

Hi Zoey - my surgery is June 21 with Dr. Ortiz at OCC. I arrive on June 20 and am staying at the Marriott. I am traveling with my husband, but I would be happy to be your buddy if you are at the Marriott?

I started my liquid pre-op diet on Monday, and the first two days were BRUTAL. I tried a few protein shakes, but didn't like any of them. Really struggled to get them down and was starving! Then I saw a recipe on here for a "creamsicle" shake, tried it, and have actually enjoyed it (that's right - ENJOYED it!) for the past three days. Just mix a 1/2 packet of orange-flavor crystal light with 8 oz water, then add a scoop of vanilla protein powder. Shake or blend well to get rid of all the lumps, and seriously - pretty darn good. I am planning to try this with some other crystal light flavors to see if I like them too.

I am scheduled for my sleeve on June 21 with Dr. Ortiz at OCC. What I am most nervous about at this point is flying home. I live in Denver, CO and the flight from San Diego is about 2.5 hours... I'd appreciate hearing "flight stories" from anyone who is willing to share. Did you feel sick/nauseous? How was the seat belt? Did it irritate your incisions at all? How about sitting on the plane and/or in the airport for that long? What medications did you take or were you allowed to take before flying home?

Your post really hit home with me too. I think all of us with kids, especially younger kids, have similar moments. Mine was a few weeks ago when my daughter (she's 3) asked me for a piggyback ride and then said "It doesn't work. You're too big!" when her legs didn't fit around me like they do when her daddy gives the ride. Ouch! But definitely affirmed my decision to move forward with my surgery. Now, I am excited and looking forward to the day when I can give her that piggyback ride properly!

Hello from Denver, Colorado! I am 40 years old, married, mother of one three-year-old daughter. I have been fat my entire life, but my weight has gotten out of hand as I've gotten older. Earlier this year, I tore the meniscus in my knee - not fun. About three weeks later, I had to go to a conference for work and I had to use a mobility cart while at that conference. Seeing myself on that cart was a HUGE wake up call; I realized that if I didn't make a change, I would end up needing a similar cart a few years down the road...I called to schedule my initial seminar locally the day I got home from the conference. My surgery is not covered by my health insurance, so I am going to Mexico where I can get sleeved for less than half of what the local surgeons/hospitals charge. My surgery is scheduled for June 21 with Dr. Ariel Ortiz.