mmhutch

I weaned myself off coffee two weeks prior to surgery. Coffee is acidic and not good for your stomach as it is healing. I began having a coffee a couple times a week recently. I am almost 4 months post op. At the advisement of my dr, I do not consume carbonated beverages. Carbonation stretches your stomach. Pointless to have the surgery if we are going to stretch our stomachs back out. The thought of it scares me. I do miss my beer. I will occasionally have a small glass of white wine. But I waited at least 2 months post op before drinking. Drs orders were to wait at least 6 weeks. I feel that my weight loss success has been from strictly adhering to my doctors recommendations post op. I have never had a "stall." I have consistently lost at least 1-3 lbs per week. I only have 60 total to lose, so I don't drop 20 lbs/month like a lot of folks on here. Good luck to you.

My doctor told me to take Prilosec/Omeprazole 20mg 2 x per day for at least 4 months. I promise if you take it, you will feel a whole lot better. I purchased 4 months worth in Mexico before coming home from surgery. I have never felt heart burn post op. I do feel "hunger" when I forget to take it. My best to you! Hope this helps.

I disagree with this. I dislike Unjury, Biochem, Syntrax, but I like Premier Protein Chocolate RTD. I have wasted too much money on protein powders I didn't like.

Woke up with a sharp pain going up to my left shoulder, which was caused by the CO2 used to inflate the abdomen during surgery. Not everyone experiences this discomfort. My pain lasted about two days. I had no pain from surgical site though. I had an IV and drainage tube and bandages over incisions. No Foley catheter. I never felt nausea either. The hospital nurses were diligent about giving me meds for pain, nausea, and antibiotic every few hours. I never asked for meds.

Don't get discouraged. A liquid only diet is extremely difficult. My surgeon requested two weeks of 2-3 protein shakes/day and one meal of salad with 4 oz lean protein and low fat dressing. Three days prior to surgery I had to take an overnight laxative and only take in clear liquids until being NPO the day of surgery. It wasn't easy, but it was much more tolerable than 2 weeks of liquids only. Most importantly, be sure and do liquids only for the last three days; this is to be sure your digestive track is cleaned out. Again, don't give up! You can do this. You will be so happy once you are on the other side.

15/30 for me.

I wore gel polish on my fingernails and they put compression stockings on my legs that covered my polished toes. My surgery was in Tijuana, MX.

I weaned myself off coffee prior to pre op diet. As stated in a previous post, coffee dehydrates you. Coffee is also acidic which is not good for our stomachs.

I think Debbie did not notice the first name of your dr. She and I had the same surgeon 1 day apart. Our surgeon was Dr Elias Ortiz, not the OCC Dr Ariel Ortiz.

My doctor told me to take Prilosec/Omeprozole 20mg x2/day for four months post op. I am 8 weeks out and never have heartburn.

Hello Deb. It's Melissa from TN. I met you in TJ on the shopping trip with A Lighter Me. Dr Ortiz performed my surgery the day before yours. I'm so glad you are sharing your experience on here. I'm also happy to hear that you are now doing well and losing weight.

I noticed that since surgery I feel cold almost all the time. I'm 7.5 weeks out.

That is way too much protein for ANY sleeve patient. 60-80 g is the max you should have. Too much protein is hard on your kidneys and sleeve patients cannot get in enough water to protect the kidneys from damage. This information is from my surgeon.

I am planning to have VSG and am researching surgeons at this time. I am interested in which surgeons in Tijuana, Mexico perform single incision VSG and if there is an increased fee?

I drink Premier Protein chocolate drinks. They can be purchased at Walmart and Sam's Club. I pay $16.?? For a 12 pack at Sam's. They are $7.82 for a 4-pack at Walmart. I'm 7 weeks out. Just tried the Premier Protein choc fudge bar (30 g) from Walmart. It was good. Only $1.18 each bar.

Yes, this happened to me once about 4-5 weeks out. I ate too much, too fast. I will never do that again! Major discomfort.

I'm 5.5 weeks out and only weigh once a week. I have lost weight every week. I think it is too easy to get upset by weight fluctuations when weighing daily.

What time did your nut say to start ? I've been putting banana in my smoothie but I want to eat like a full fruit too I miss oranges and apples too. My diet plan states to refrain from the membranes of Citrus Fruits until after three months. Same with dried fruits, red meat, untoasted bread, biscuits or Pasta, nuts, popcorn, coconut, and potato skins.

I already had my surgery with Dr Elias Ortiz. I actually had surgery on a Friday afternoon. I flew in the same day and was his only surgical case that day. I was at Mi Doctor hospital and had a great experience. I spent the weekend in the hospital and everything there was fine. Good luck to you next Saturday! You will be so happy you had the surgery. Melissa

I am considering having my surgery on a Saturday with Dr Garcia because it works best with my work schedule. Please share your good and bad experiences with Saturday surgery. I'm concerned that the hospital care may not be as good on the weekend.

Hey allycatt98, Yes, my friend went through a coordinator named Cathy. My friend will not recommend her surgeon to anyone now. She saw everything I received as a patient from A Lighter Me and recommends them and Dr Ortiz to her friends. By the way, the owner of the hospital is an Internist named Dr Sammy Tepperman. He does not do the surgeries himself. But when he has a patient that needs it, he refers them to Dr Ortiz out of all the drs that perform bariatric surgery there. Dr Ortiz operated on one of Dr Teppermans's patients while I was there. I learned a lot while there about things other surgeons have done to rip patients off. I met the patients. That is why I'm thankful for Dr Ortiz and his group. $250/nt for a nurse at the hotel seems unnecessary. I stayed in the hotel 2 nights after 2 nights in the hospital. I definitely did not need a nurse. I changed my own bandages that were provided by A Lighter Me. They gave me bandages, tape, pain meds with directions written in them (non narcotic, Toradol) which I didn't need because I had no pain, antibiotics with directions and a bottle of mylanta to take prior to abx. They were in a goodie bag of items for hospital stay. My driver also took me to a pharmacy where I purchased a supply of Omeprezole that I need to take for a few months. I bought 4 months worth for $60. Much cheaper than Prilosec OTC in Walmart. The lack of follow through my friend experienced would only be related to the split in that Dr Lopez left A Lighter Me, where they actually take care of their patients. He now contracts with a different group.

They had bandages at the hospital. You come out of surgery bandaged up. But when you go to the hotel, you need to change them. A Lighter Me provided bandages and tape for me. But not all groups provide these things for patients.

I just came back from TJ and had surgery with Dr Elias Ortiz. He may cost a couple hundred more than the Drs you are looking at but it is well worth it. My friend used Dr Osuna and received NO POST OP information. She kept asking and they kept putting her off. She had no idea what to follow in terms of food/liquid/protein intake! A Lighter Me is the company that contracts with Dr Ortiz. They are extremely thorough and do not leave you after the surgery. I have a nutritionist that I can call anytime. And my nutritionist sends me a weekly update to my diet according to my surgery date and includes ideas, recipes, tips. I had all my post op care and diet information from her 10 days BEFORE my surgery. Further, when I shared my friends dilemma with my NUT, she asked for my friends email so that she could send her everything she sends me! My total cost with airfare and shuttle to and from airport at home was under $5000. Also, A Lighter Me hires a private nurse to take care of their patients only during third shift. That nurse is in addition to the hospital staffed nurses. I received better care in TJ than the USA. By the way, I work in healthcare for a surgical group. Whatever you decide, my best to you. Feel free to message me if I can answer any other questions for you.

I am always hesitant to pay a lot of money up front for surgery due to the deductible. For example, my daughter is having knee surgery today and the hospital said we would owe $1300 remainder of her deductible. I told them that I would pay $75 today because the Anesthesiology group are always first to bill and I know we will owe them at least $1000. And I don't want to have to wait 6 weeks to be refunded by the hospital for my overpayment. They said OK and took my $75 payment.

I'm at puréed stage too. I drink two premier protein shakes per day to be sure to get my 60 G protein in. ( mid morning and mid-afternoon) This soon after surgery, I am unable to take in enough food at a meal to get enough protein within my meals. I purchased Unjury unflavored protein powder and I hate it. It has a smell that I can't get past.