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My sister accompanied me to TJ for my surgery last year. We live in different states, so I've only seen her once since then. I flew in to surprise her for Christmas yesterday and we are having so much fun! She had taken pictures of me in all my preop glory and we were laughing over them last night. She made me pose last night so she could have her own before and after collage. Thought I'd add it to my official "yearbook" thread.... Merry Christmas everybody!

My surgeon (dr. A Ortiz at Obesity Control Center) required a 5% weight loss on my 2 week preop diet. The purpose is to shrink your liver to make for a safer surgery. I easily lost almost twice that. Many Mexico surgeons perform WLS on patients with low BMI's because US surgeons won't even do it if you are self pay with a BMI under 35. And as for comorbidities, I've never heard of any requirements, but you would definitely want to discuss any medical issues up front so they can take whatever precautions necessary for a safe surgery.

My grand-nephews middle name is Orion....Malachi Orion. My nephew, who is a writer, thought it would be cool to mix biblical history with astrology. (He obviously never saw the movie, "Children of the Corn")

Pantoprazole is Protonix in the US and you do need a RX for it. My friend who had bypass 8 years ago still takes it every day. You may try Prilosec (omeprazole) until you can talk to your doctor about a prescription. I had surgery in Mexico, too, and was sent home with a 2 month supply of omeprazole 40mg. The OTC version is only 20mg, but that may be enough. Other people have had good luck with Nexium.

You will be eating all of your favorites again someday soon. Guacamole and Refried beans with salsa and cheese were some of the first pureed meals I had. In the meantime, you can sip on Swanson's Mexican tortilla soup starter base. It was especially good with Un jury's cheese protein powder added.

@ I use my blender bottle every single day. Started with a 12oz to make smoothies and to premix unflavored protein powder with a little bit of warpter before mixing it with my broths and soups. Now I have 2 24oz bottles that are great for making my protein smoothies that I take to work. Maaloxx was also a nice thing to have around. Even on 40mg omeprazole, the maaloxx eased those "hunger pains" that were actually acid.

Everyone's tastes are different, so you should check for samples in your local whole food/health food/body building store. Nashua Nutrition also has dozens of different ones they will send samples of. And you can usually find samplers of Syntrax Nectars and Un jury online. Personally, I like Muscle Milk, Premier, Syntrax Matrix, Syntrax nectar, Spirutein, Garden of Life Raw Fit and Raw Protein, and BSN syntha6. I did NOT like Jay Robb (except piña colada), Isopure, Bariatric fusion or Bariatric Advantage. Optimum Nutrition and Designer whey were OK but not my favs. I like the GNC lean bars but have never tried their drinks or powders. I also use Torani SF syrups to add variety to my protein smoothies.

No, I gotcha. The thread had moved towards the use of NSAIDS and I just wanted to illustrate that they aren't necessarily banned for life. And that steroids are just as potentially damaging. Each case is different and believe me, I would never stray from my doctor's recommendations. When my PCP Rx'd the anti inflammatories, I touched base with my surgeon before taking them. As should everyone else. Ironically, after years of taking them, my PCP had a severe reaction to NSAIDS (like anaphylactic shock....rush to his own ER kind of reaction). He truly, cannot ever take NSAIDS again. I've got another friend that the same thing happened to. His heart actually stopped in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

NSAIDS.... My surgeon actually sent me home with a five day supply of a sublingual NSAID. He said the benefits of decreasing the inflammation caused by surgical trauma outweighs the risk of potential gastric ulceration for such a short time period. He also OK'd me taking NSAIDS and/or steroids for a compressed nerve in my neck as long as I took a PPI at the same time and monitored closely for gastric upset. Steroids (including prednisone) have just as much risk of causing ulcers as NSAIDS. The very physiological action of any drug that blocks prostaglandins (which are the root cause of inflammation) also decreases the prostaglandins that protect our GI tracts. Without further pharmacological advances, you can't have one without the other and it's a matter of weighing benefits and risks in any given situation.

Very cool! I had my sleeve done at OCC last December. Wished I could have had a DVD of the surgery, but when I asked, they said they couldn't record it. That would be a nice perk, though.

I'm surprised they are approved by your doctor. They have more carbs than protein. Sugar and corn syrup solids are 2 of the first 5 ingredients! I read the label and crossed them off my list immediately. There are a lot better choices out there with way more protein and much lower (or no) carbs.

I used Un jury unflavored protein and you can mix it in anything up to 140 degrees. That was warm enough for me. supposedly genepro can be mixed with anything at any temperature. Never tried it. And I rarely cook, much less make soup, so they all came from a can, box or whatever the daily specials were at the local deli or soup/salad bar at the whole food store.

Besides protein shakes (which I still have everyday). I diluted, strained and added unflavored protein powder to every broth and cream soup I could find.... Chicken, hot and sour, wonton, cream of asparagus, cream of shrimp, broccoli cheese, French onion, lobster bisque, butternut squash, potato leek, tomato, tortilla soup, etc. I couldn't tolerate plain water or artificial sweeteners for 4 months, so I also drank milk, decaf herbal tea, diluted fruit juice, diluted pedialyte, and diluted Vitamin water. I had to start sipping when I woke up in the morning and didn't stop until I went to bed. It was a PIA, but I got 64oz in starting day 5. (Except between weeks 6-10 when I was on a medication that made me extremely nauseous and ended up needing IV fluids 3 times...you don't want to go there!). Keep trying different things and Make getting fluids in your full time job.

I've gotten lots of Christmas goodies from clients and vendors. My clients all know about my surgery, but since I'm so "normal" to them, they think the usual holiday sweets are great to give. I mostly just turned around and sent all the sweets with a friend for her to take into the large clinic she works for.....Lots of employees willing to scarf down the yummy stuff. One client gave me a huge box of oranges, grapefruit and tangerines. I shared some, but ended up peeling the oranges and freezing the individual segments. They will be a nice refreshing treat all through the winter. And here's my favorite regift....a vendor sent a 2 pound tub of chocolate covered peanuts. After eating a handful ???? I put a 1/2 cup in little cellophane gift bags, sealed them with my food saver and gave them away to clients.

The first few months I only weighed at the doctor's office. (Like 5 and 11 days out, 6 weeks, 10 weeks then around 3 months). Since then I've weighed weekly on the dog scale at work....fully clothed, with boots and usually in the afternoon. I don't own a scale, so I really have no idea what my actual "naked, first thing in the morning after I pee" weight is. My sister made me take before during and after pics to send to her. Probably one every couple months. Glad she did....it's been a great motivator to look back at how huge I really was!

I was on liquids postop all through Christmas and New Years last year. Made festive flavored protein shakes....vanilla pumpkin pie spice, cake batter gingerbread, vanilla eggnog, etc. Also had "rich" indulgent cream soups like lobster bisque and butternut squash with added unflavored protein powder.

I'm a veterinary technician. Very active job, on my feet all day, lifting, bending, stretching, squatting, etc. I went back after 1 week. Just made sure I had plenty of protein shakes and fluids to sip on all day in between appointments.

Not sure what you expected, but Thats kind of the whole point of the surgery... If I could eat normal portions I would consider it a failed VSG. But is you are interested in temporary restriction, you may check out the obalon balloon.

Drove myself home from the airport day 3. Never took any pain Meds. And other than my normal physically active job (which I went back to after 7 days) and daily activities on the ranch, I don't exercise.

You're probably not doing anything wrong. Took me 3 months to lose 30 pounds and I was thrilled. Relax and enjoy the journey. Protein, veggies, water and vitamins...that's all you need to concentrate on right now. Stay off the scale and measure your success with NSV's.

You need to shift your priorities if you want to remain happy and healthy through this journey. You need to concentrate on getting in all your fluids. You need to get in at least 60g Protein. You need to figure out what to eat or what supplements to take for healthy BM's. You do NOT need to worry about how much you weigh right now. Stay off the f**king scale for at least another month or you will really freak out when you completely stop losing in about 1-2 weeks when you hit your first (of many) stalls. Like others pointed out, you've lost a pound a day! What are you complaining about? I was utterly thrilled with my 17 pound loss at 7 weeks out. Work on the important things (Water, protein, Vitamins, BM's) and the weight loss will take care of itself.

I've got a friend who lives in Florida, works for NOAA and has great federal government insurance. She's never paid a penny for all of her Lapband stuff, including emergency removal when it slipped, replacement and dozens of fills and unfills. When they made gay marriage legal in Florida we joked about getting married so I could get on her insurance. That was Plan C...glad my Plan B (Mexico) worked out!

My insurance is like yours...no WLS no way no how. And the state I live in did not have any individual policies available from ANY company that covered WLS. (My state opted out of the Obamacare WLS requirement) So short of moving to another state or selling my business and getting a new job with a company who's insurance did cover WLS, I was on my own. So I turned to researching options in Mexico. I found a surgical team at an International Center of Excellence in Tijuana with more experience and better credentials than any of the bariatric surgeons within 200 miles of me. I used the money I was saving for a down payment on a new truck, scheduled my surgery and bypassed all the insurance BS. I had a painless, complication-free recovery, I've lost 100 pounds and and I am easily maintaining 10 pounds below my personal goal. Yesterday was my 1 year surgiversary and I'm actually glad insurance did not cover my surgery....who knows how long I would have had to wait for a surgery date. And I couldn't be happier driving around in my 15 year old truck!

How stressful! I'm sure she's fine and just sleeping. Where is she having surgery? I was at OCC and my parents and sister were given their direct line as well as the on call doctor's number. Is there anyway you can contact the facility just to check on her? Or if she went through a medical tourism company, can you contact the coordinator?

Thanks! I'm also a veterinary technician, so not all those animals are mine! ????????????????????????????