sprocket

My husband went with me and we didn't have to pay anything extra for his night alone at the hotel while I was at OCC. Going alone would not have been a problem. It was nice to have someone help with drying off after showering because my abdomen was sore and twisting was uncomfortable, but it wasn't anything I wouldn't have been able to do by myself (albeit much more slowly than usual). Going alone might even be somewhat nicer all said and done because you don't have to think about anyone else's needs.

My flight back home was at 3:30 pm. Building in time for border crossing is important - it's not always fast, at least in my experience it wasn't. OCC's scale read the same as mine did at home - 249.

Like the others, I paid my deposit with my credit card through PayPal. No fee. The remainder I paid with a cashier's check on the day of. If you want to pay the remainder with a credit card, that's when the fee would be charged. The meds they gave me were fine. Different branding than in US, but same ingredients and pharma companies. I did not use the Vitaleph products. They would like you to, but it is not required. I use vitamins from stores here at home and Premier Protein shakes.

Definitely keep in touch with Lucia. I think the primary thing they are looking for with the pre-op diet, besides increased safety, is that you have the dedication and willingness to stick to a program. They see it as an indicator as to how well you will do post-op. Do you have to lose all the weight they would like in order to have surgery? No. But if they don't see you making a true effort, there's no reason for them to assume you'll do any better post surgery.

It's called telogen effluvium. In most surgical cases, it's acute as opposed to chronic loss - meaning it will grow back. The rate of regrowth though is different for each person - some people grow hair fast, others not so much.

It's not like you'll lose all the weigh overnight. He'll have plenty of "losing weight together" time after your surgery.

Take comfortable clothes - maxi dress, yoga pants, those sorts of things. Stuff that's easy to put on and take off. You won't want a lot of constriction around your waist because of incisions and swelling. Pockets are handy if you have a drain.

Just because your doc said you could, doesn't mean you have to. Add new things in slowly and stick with the softest options at first.

I weigh each morning, but only record my weight weekly. I've found it keeps me focused on my goals for the day. Since I'm only about 7 weeks post-op, my weight has mostly moved downward (yay!), but I don't let it bother me if there's a slight up-tic. I know any "gains" are a temporary thing at this point.

I logged in this morning to update my weight and realized I'm only 3 lbs. from having lost 1/3 of the excess weight I need to lose to meet my goal. I got a little teary-eyed at the magnitude of that accomplishment. I struggled for so long pre-surgery to make any weight loss progress, that this seems like a miracle. I know I still have a long way to go, but I actually have real hope that I will be able to reach my goal this year. It's rather wonderfully overwhelming. ------------------------- @@jjinWA - Your daughter might want to keep trying acid controllers with different active ingredients. Different things work for different people and all that. For me, Prilosec (Omeprazole) and Nexium (Esomeprazole) do next to nothing, but Pepcid (Famotidine) works wonders. Prevacid's active ingredient is Lansoprazole. I'd start going down the list of what's out there and see if she can hit on something that works for her. Many of the brands will send sample packs for free if you go to their web sites. Thankfully, post-op I've only had two acid reflux incidents and I was able to "fix" both with a famotidine tablet. I am still taking the antacid from OCC, as well, each evening.

I agree, I am so thankful that Mexico was an option. The hospital here would have charged me over $17000 for self-pay, which I could not afford. The summary of your experience is beneficial. People need the good with the sometimes not-so-good. Hopefully, OCC corrected the problems, but it's good for people to hear lots of honest experiences (of all kinds) so they can make informed decisions on where they go for care.

I have to second Kindle. My IV never ran out and the nurses used gloves. I also didn't have any problems getting ice or other fluids. The night nurse was wonderful. Very attentive and quick to get my antinausea drugs the one time I needed them that night. I'll love her forever for not letting me get to the point of vomiting. Hopefully they were just understaffed or the nurse was new or something easily fixed. You should provide constructive feedback so they know to address the issues.

My husband said the cafe at OCC was good. He also really enjoyed the hotel brunch. I had the free broth and Popsicles, but the brunch looked and smelled amazing.

I'm three weeks out tomorrow and fluids are something I have to work on ALL day. My doc said to get in at least 32oz and work up to 64oz as my stomach allows, and then work up from there. At least with 32oz you won't need hospitalization for dehydration, though it's obviously not optimal in the long term. I'm getting up to about 45-50oz pretty consistently this week. It's really an effort though and I usually run out of time before bed for much more. Slowly but surely though I'm getting there and am able to take a little bigger sip, a little faster as I heal. I think patience and staying focused are the keys. I sorta envy the people who say they could get in over 64oz the day after surgery.

Question for OCC post-op'ers. I'm a little over two weeks out from surgery and I've been receiving the routine follow up doctor calls, and then weekly follow up health/progress surveys. Awesome. My question is: in the survey emails, there is a paragraph that references "The online seminar will only be accessible to those who complete the questionnaire. You will certainly enjoy the wealth of knowledge it provides especially since it will be timed and delivered according to the milestone you are about to achieve." I have no idea what this "online seminar" is or how to access it. The follow up email after I submit my survey response is just a basic thanks and says nothing about a seminar. I've looked on the OCC web site and through the video library, but can't find anything. Am I missing something or is this maybe a language/word choice issue? Were any of you able to access a seminar? I'd hate to be missing helpful information for the stages we go through. Thanks!

I went back to work 10 days after surgery and was fine. I have a desk job, but am up and down a lot. I didn't have any trouble, but I did go to bed early each night.

I'd had a two week vacation scheduled for several months and so after my insurance denied my appeal (due to lack of comorbidities despite a BMI over 40), I scheduled my self-pay VSG for during the middle of my vacation. I went to work 10 days later with none of my coworkers the wiser. I have no plans to tell my coworkers, though I don't keep it a secret from family and friends. I have discussed that I was seeing a dietitian over the past year (insurance requirement) with several of them, so they know I've been trying to lose weight. I'm hoping that's enough to keep them from being overly interested as I drop weight.

Ditto that you need anti-nausea meds. My doc prescribed anti-nausea meds that I was instructed to take for two weeks after surgery. Vomiting after surgery was a big fear of mine, and luckily I didn't, but others at the hospital having surgery on the same day as me did vomit. They said it didn't hurt anywhere near what they feared. Don't know how comforting that is. ???? Being dehydrated can also cause nausea, I think, so be sure to sip something regularly. I've had a rough time with plain Water, so Vitaminwater has been a lifesaver. I find I'm also more prone to nausea if I wait a long time between drinks, so I also keep one by my bed at night and sip whenever I wake up to roll over.

No, thanks, I'm stuffed works for me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This "test" only works with a normal weight person. Not sure how reliable it is even then, but it definitely doesn't work with overweight people because your measuring you're fat layer, as opposed to just your bone structure.

I've yet to be hungry, but since I know how important it is to get my fluids and protein in, I drink throughout the day. I start with a Premier Protein shake (11 oz. of fluid; 30g protein), then I drink a 20 oz. Vitaminwater (I'm still having a hard time with pure water), then I drink another Premier Protein shake. After that I fill in with more Vitaminwater or some soup. I usually run out of time for much more though. My goal is to get to 64 ozs, but right now it's difficult.

Lots of cream soups are kinda gross since I don't think they're really intended to be eaten alone. I've found the best tasting soups are cream based ones that I have to strain things out of (potato, bacon, chicken, etc.). They have a lot more flavor. I'm so over being on full liquids, but I have until 11/30 before I get to move to pureed foods.

Same here - surgery in Mexico. Pure water has been the only thing that I would say has given me any trouble so far. I can drink it, but it causes a whole lot of rumbling and gurgling so I've been sticking with vitaminwater for now.