kellymoon122013

Thanks for the responses. I'm also getting a strange pain when i bend over right above my bellybutton (right around my largest incision). I've never had pain here before. Any ideas on what this could be? Is it possible that this is pain from scar tissue after 7 months? I think I'm going to ask for an ultrasound as well as an upper GI

Hi all, I still have to take a PPI (omeprazole) 7 months after surgery. I have had zero complications to date and have slowly but surely been losing weight. My surgeon is a bit concerned that I still have to take the PPI otherwise I'll get reflux within 1-2 days. For the last week i'm also getting a sharp pain around my largest incision when i bend over. The surgeon asked that I get an upper endoscopy here in Canada (I had surgery in Mexico). Has anyone had to get an endoscopy after the healing period when there were no issues post surgery? Thanks!

I posted a review of Dr Lopez in the Mexico thread. I had my surgery with him on December 12, 2013. I would definitely recommend him. I had a great recovery. Kelly

The room was a standard hotel room. Nothing fancy but had everything we needed. We had 2 queen beds in our room. The grounds, lobby and common areas of the hotel were beautiful. The hotel is right on the each and the pool area was very nice. The lobby was open air so it was so nice to sit in one of the big chairs and feel the breeze and use the WIFI. We released baby turtles into the ocean on our first night there which was really nice as well. I arrived on a Wednesday afternoon and left on Monday afternoon. That's the standard package with Dr Lopez in PV. It's in case you have any issues and have to stay in the hospital more than 1-2 nights. Resting for a few days also made the travel home more bearable. Good Luck!

Wow, a half marathon?? I hope I feel that great on my 1 year surgiversary. So far so good. I want to start exercising in the next 2 weeks or so.

I had the same experience. No epidural. Got there Wednesday, surgery on Thursday, back to hotel on Friday because I was progressing well and flew home on Monday. That length of time worked for me in order to travel 14 hours home

There was a language barrier with some of the nurses, but I didn't have any issues with Dr Lopez or the other doctors.

I had gastric sleeve surgery in Puerto Vallarta on December 12, 2013 with Dr. Lopez and his team. I would highly recommend surgery with Dr. Lopez. Prior to arriving in Mexico I had a patient coordinator who very quickly responded to all my questions. Once I arrived in PV, one of the doctors picked me up and drove me to the hotel. The hotel was very nice and right on the beach. The next morning I met the surgery coordinator, the anesthesiologist, Dr. Lopez and a second surgeon. They answered all my questions. The hospital was the cleanest, most modern hospital I've ever been in. I live in Toronto and have a very high standard of health care. A team of nurses did my pre op tests. There was a little bit of a language barrier but we got through it. Once my tests were okay I was brought into surgery. When I woke up I was in a lot of pain. This is my 4th abdominal surgery and this was the worst time waking up. I was a revision from lap band to sleeve so I'm sure the scar tissue caused some of the pain. That night I had a steady stream of nurses taking care of me. I got up to walk a little at a time that night. The next day I was also in a lot of pain. According to Dr Lopez, Canadians and Americans rely too much on pain meds and not enough on healing through walking. He encouraged walking as much as I could. I did insist on an extra pain shot the second day as the pain really was unbearable. One of the doctors drove me back to the hotel early in the afternoon on the second day. The hotel had a quiet area where I could do my walking, which I tried to do 4 times a day. By the second night I was a different person. I really improved dramatically. The doctors called me regularly and dropped by to check on me in the hotel that night. They said I was doing great and they removed my drainage tube. The next 3 days I spent walking, napping and then repeat. Everyday the pain got better. I had no appetite but was sure to drink water all day. I would recommend bringing some packaged broth and Gatorade with you as there is no broth available and the drinks at the hotel were pricy. My mom ate at a number of the restaurants and enjoyed them if you're bringing a companion. I flew home 5 days after surgery. It took 14 hours and wiped me out but I made it. Definitely wear something comfortable. I wore yoga pants and a sweater. My post op diet was 1 week clear liquids, 1 week full liquids and then 2 weeks soft foods. I'm almost at the end of soft foods. I've had chicken breast, fish, pork tenderloin, well cooked vegetables, beef, eggs and cheese with no issue as long as I chew very well and eat slow. I threw up twice, once I ate while on the phone and ate too fast and once I ate beef that was very spicy. Otherwise I'm doing great. I have no issue getting my water or meds in. I don't have much of an appetite but try to eat a few times a day in order to get my protein in. All in all I had a great experience with Dr Lopez and his team and would recommend them. Please let me know if you have any questions. Kelly

I wish I could relax! It's not in my nature. Weight gain just doesn't make sense with what I'm consuming. I'll keep getting my water and protein in and not weigh for a few days.

Hi everyone, I've been on soft foods for 5 days and I've gained 2.4lbs. Pure panic has set in and surgery regrets and all that fun stuff, but I am a worrier by nature. There's no way I'm eating enough to gain 2 lbs in 5 days but it makes me think I'm doing something wrong. I'm usually getting 2 meals and 1 snack in and I'm having no issue with foods so far. I don't have an appetite but I make sure to get my Protein in. For example, this was what I ate yesterday: Meal 1 - 1.5 oz lean roast, 1 laughing cow wedge, 1 piece of soft beet Snack - babybel Meal 2 - 2 oz baked chicken breast, a few peas and 2 T of tzatziki sauce I could eat about 75% of each meal. I drink a lot of Water. Is this a normal part of recovery or am I doing something wrong?? I fear 2 weeks of liquids has further damaged my metabolism. I'd appreciate any input! Thanks Kelly

Hi all, I'm 9 days post-op and have NO appetite. I drink lots of Water without issue and the little I do eat is high in Protein. I think it's silly to force myself to eat, but I'm not getting many calories in a day. Should I just be glad I have no appetite or should I be trying to eat more? On a completely unrelated and yucky note, there's little drips of clear to brown liquid coming out of my middle incision. It's not a lot, I have no fever and I took my antibiotics for 7 days after surgery. Has this happened to anyone else 9 days post-op? Thanks Kelly

I had my band since July, 2005 and had a lot of scar tissue. My surgeon still removed the band and the scar tissue and sleeved me during the same surgery (December 12). I think it depends on your surgeon. I think most people I see here do have at least some scar tissue. I'm 7 days out and feeling better every day.

Wow 5 hours. I'm sorry to hear that. How are you feeling? I had a lot of scar tissue as well and had a band to sleeve revision. My surgery took 90 minutes, however there were 2 surgeons working on me. Recovery was hard. I stayed in recovery for 4 hours and I remember yelling help me at one point because of the pain. Day 1 and 2 were horrible. After day 2 it turned into a much easier recovery than either of my previous abdominal surgeries. Best of luck to you!

Well I started with a cup of tea to loosen things up. It's been a couple of hours and still a little tight, but I'm glad to hear this is all part of healing. I'm actually fine with water but my taste for water has changed a little since surgery. Yes, Mexico to Canada, a stopover in between and 2 huge customs lines. I'm very glad my mom was with me for support, carrying things, reminding me to drink etc. Thanks for the response.

Hi everyone, It's day 6 post op and I'm feeling pretty good. I travelled home for 14 hours yesterday which was rough, but I'm resting today. I have a question about drinking. I'm a little "tight" in the mornings with liquids. Is this a healing thing or common after I'm completely healed? It reminds me of the band in the mornings, but much less painful and doesn't last until 3pm everyday. It's just a little uncomfortable. Later in the day I don't have the issue and am getting all my liquids in, albeit very slowly. Thanks!!