CandyPants81

Hi and welcome. I am not traveling alone, but I've heard that a lot of people do and they do just fine. Depends on your personal situation and how comfortable you are with traveling alone, medical procedures, etc. One thing to consider is getting a surgery buddy. If you know your date and/or surgeon, you could always post in the forum to see if there's anyone else that will be having surgery around that time in the same place. That way you won't feel completely alone. Also, some of the agencies that schedule for patients have coordinators that will either travel with you (you have to buy their plane ticket) or will meet you at the hospital/clinic. So there are some options for you. C.

July 22nd here. Seems like time has slowed to a standstill ever since I got my surgery date. Practicing sipping Water, trying different Protein shakes, and OD'ing on Bariatric Pal posts and YouTube videos in the meantime. C.

I told my husband, who has watched me struggle with my weight for years. He has been so supportive. I also told my two best friends who were also extremely supportive (one is worried half to death, but still supportive). I told my mother when I first started planning this, but she had a mini panic attack so I haven't told her that I have a date set. I won't tell her that until the day before I go. She's been as supportive as she can be considering she doesn't think I'm heavy enough to have surgery. "Maybe you could try diet and exercise", she says. (Right, mom. Why didn't I think of that during these past 15 years that I've been severely obese?) Besides that, I don't plan on telling anyone else until I get back home. I think there is such a stigma attached to Medical Tourism, and I just don't need the negativity. On my leave request for work, I just put "medical travel/procedure". I don't plan on telling my coworkers anything until I get back. I don't mind if people know...I just don't want to hear the "OMG Mexico?!?! WHAT??? ARE YOU CRAZY???" speech twelve times before I even get on the plane. C.

@@Sassypants92201 Wow! I didn't realize it was coming up so soon! Good luck. Everything will be great! Can't wait to hear all about it when you feel up to posting! Candy

Since I have 48 days until surgery (but who's counting), and I feel that time has pretty much slowed to a crawl, I thought maybe I could use this time to prepare myself for some of the lifestyle changes that will occur when I am sleeved. Some ideas I have are: 1. Getting more Protein in. 2. Trying out different shakes and powders to see which one are gross and which ones I like. I've heard my tastes may change after surgery, but I don't want to use that time to experiment when I could be doing it now. 3. Practice sipping Water all day instead of waiting until I'm parched and CHUGGING an entire bottle. 4. Practice cutting food into really small pieces and chewing for a really long time. 5. Start exercising. Walking a several times a week and weights tossed in somewhere. 6. Continue yoga. We have yoga at work once a week. I hate yoga, but I've only been twice, so maybe I'll keep it up at least until surgery. Who knows. Maybe it will grow on me. 7. Cutting out soda. 8. Cutting out the wine. Mostly. Ok, I'll cut BACK for sure. Do any of you who are waiting for surgery have any things you're working on? What about those of you who are already sleeved? Were there things you did in the months prior to your pre-op diet phase to prepare? Looking back, are there things you wish you'd done to prepare that would make your recovery and lifestyle adjustments easier or better? C

From what I understand, we should be sipping almost constantly, making sure to stop sipping 30 mins before meals and not starting again until 30 mins after meals. I think the focus is on staying hydrated and paying attention to the swallow amount. The only way to stay hydrated post surgery (with a tiny new tummy) is to take small sips all day. Another thing I thought of is weaning myself off of coffee. I usually have about 1-2 cups per day, and when I start my pre op diet I can't have caffeine. So maybe I'll start subbing with decaf.

I ordered my sample pack from unjury last night. I will wait until after surgery to try those, so that I know which ones I like. As far as the pre-op diet, I have already tried Pure Protein's chocolate shakes (my husband had them for completely unrelated reasons, but didn't like them so I tried them). I like those, but they are very sweet. Next I'm going to try the Slim Fast high Protein in vanilla. I had my husband to write out an exercise plan for me that includes some resistance work as well as cardio. Nothing too heavy (my knees won't let me), but something to get me in the habit of being active again. Looking at my bottle of Water now. This sipping all day thing is going to really take some practice. Candy

July 22nd...so close and yet so far. Hehe

Hey, y'all. I'm 5'5" and my starting weight is 241 (as of a few days ago). I'm scheduled for surgery July 22nd in Tijuana with Dr. Quinones. Just over 6 weeks left! C.

Good for you! Congrats! What's your date?

I completely forgot about the 30 minutes between food/liquids thing. Thank you. I actually have a My Fitness Pal account that has been lying dormant for some time. Time to crank it back up, I guess. As far as weighing food...just grab a scale from amazon, I guess? I've never had a food scale before. Thank you so much! C

After months of research and months of thinking, talking to various patients, and questioning the hell out of patient coordinators, I am happy to say that I FINALLY settled on Dr. Quinones to perform my sleeve surgery! I paid the deposit today and will have my surgery on July 22. Bill, Dr. Q's patient coordinator, has been so kind and helpful up to now, even with me emailing him in the middle of the night, and calling him before daybreak in the morning. He has been very patient, and has never made me feel like I'm bothering him, or like I'm asking too many questions. I felt a little nervous today after I paid the deposit. Just a little flurry of nervous energy, but nothing too bad. I'm confident in my choice, and mostly I'm just ready to get the show on the road. C.

Congrats on your anniversary. I LOVE Disney World. We went last year with the kids. This year we will be traveling to Universal Studios (Hellooooo Harry Potter!!!) to celebrate 10 years. It will be after surgery when we go...so that will be a whole different kind of challenge.

Thanks for posting this topic. I am now thinking maybe I should have a couple of tests as well. One girl on another forum states that an ulcer was found (which delayed her surgery) during an endoscopy, so it's probably a good idea to have some of these tests before I head in for surgery next month. Good point about the insurance too. Bariatric surgery is an exclusion in my insurance policy, so I'm not sure how that would go as far as Humana covering the tests. I will speak to my doctor about it. C.

@@Sassypants92201 June 9th is coming up quick! So excited for you. It feels like time has slowed to a CRAWL since I scheduled. The months of research I did before I decided on a surgeon FLEW past, and now I feel like July 22nd will never get here. C.

Hi Rose. Dr. Q's VSG price is $4500. C.

Perhaps a good way to address it with the surgeon is to ask BEFORE you make the trip/decision. Like "Hey Dr. Such&Such, I notice in your video you didn't have your nose covered. I'm curious as to why as in the US we are used to surgeons with nose and mouth covered." I have a slightly unreasonable fear (regardless of surgeon-US or abroad) that something (gauze, clamp, scissors) will be "forgotten" inside me. I watch too much tv. I'm sure it's a crazy fear but I fully intend to let my surgeon know that is my fear and ask him to double check that everything that should be out is out before they close me up.

I will be there after you on the 22nd with Dr. Quinones.

@@RoseFlorish I will be in Tijuana with Dr. Quinones on July 22nd. Best of luck to you!

@@camper-girl That is awesome! Please post back as soon as you feel up to it after surgery! I'm excited for you!

When I spoke to the coordinator for Dr. Garcia she told me "there days when he has 1 and days when he has five or six, but on average he only does about 3-4 per day". This information was from Michelle Medkoff at Tijuana Bariatrics. She was really nice about answering questions.

@@KQH Bill is great! Such a genuine and sincere person, it seems. I love my interactions with him so far! July 1st is coming up quick! Congrats! So exciting. @@DarbiMolly Right! I was cool as a cucumber until I scheduled and put it on my desk calendar. Then suddenly it was like "This is REALLY happening". I'm definitely excited, but certainly nervous as well. @@zmdh39 I feel so good about my choice to go with Dr. Quinones. I went back and forth between a few surgeons, but when I researched Dr. Q everything just "clicked". That gut feeling everyone talks about? I felt it when I decided on Dr. Quinones for sure. c.

@Travelmego Great! I'll be right here!

Hey, y'all. Forgive me if this has been covered before but do any of you frequent travelers/fliers have any travel tips you care to share? I haven't flown as an adult and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with everything. There's the possibility of having to buy two seats for myself on the plane because I'm heavy (had no idea that was really a thing they make people do). Then there's the cost of tickets (round trip Georgia to San Diego for myself and my husband is looking like $800+...YIKES). Also worried about how to make sure that we are seated together on the plane (I thought this was a guarantee if you purchase together, but apparently it is not). On top of that, we still have to get the passport process started. Haven't scheduled a date for surgery just yet, but I'm aiming for the last week of July/first week of August. Any and all tips, tricks, or knowledge anyone would like to share is very much appreciated. I've Googled the holy heck out of all this stuff, but I'd like to hear from the forum. Ah, and if it helps or matters, I am just barely 5'5" and 240-245 lbs depending on the day and my husband is 6'2" and pretty lean. Thanks, all. C.