JamieLogical

This is just my PCP and I had discussed the surgery prior to traveling to Mexico. In fact, she went ahead and ordered my first round of follow-up bloodwork before I even had the surgery. Your daughters' PCPs won't even order basic bloodwork for them?

I wanted to give everyone a quick update. I had a visit with my PCP today and she gave me the results of all the blood tests I'd had blood drawn for last week. I am normal on everything across the board, except LDL (bad) Cholesterol, which was actually below the low end of the normal range! So yay! I had been a little concerned about my blood pressure and cholesterol since basically all I eat is meat and dairy, but my blood pressure was normal and my total cholesterol was 123! My vitamin B & D were good. My potassium was good. My liver levels were all good (was a little worried about this too with all the protein I've been eating). So everything is great and she just wants to do blood work again in 2 months to make sure it all stays that way! I will say that I am religious about getting my vitamins in. I take my Vitaleph Multivitamin three times a day (with each main meal), Calcium Citrate + D3 twice a day (with snacks), 500 mcg of sub-lingual B12 once a day, probiotic once a day, and then all of my normal supplements (garlic, CoQ10, vitamin C, Omega 3, and beef gelatin). Moral of the story: I'm a little under 2 months post-op and feeling good and all my tests show that I am quite healthy!

I really don't think you can go wrong with Ariel Ortiz. But, as you know, there are several good surgeons and I think you will do well with whichever you choose. I know you've done your research.

@@bobbyswife I first read about Beef Gelatin here: http://www.muscleforlife.com/how-to-get-rid-of-loose-skin-after-weight-loss/ But it looks like his link to the study is broken now. It was there about a month ago when I read it... I believe it said that subjects who took 500 mg of beef gelatin per day saw something like a 9% improvement in skin elasticity.

There's a study showing that Beef Gelatin helps. The study had subjects taking 500 mg per day. I bought some off of Amazon and I started taking it 40 days post op. Obviously not long enough to notice if it makes a difference or not. I've also read that Vitamin C and Omega 3 can help.

Anyone who thinks this is the "easy way" doesn't know anyone who has had bariatric surgery. I'll be two months post-op in about a week and every single day is JUST as much work as every diet I've ever been on. I have to track my food... I have to exercise... I have to be thoughtful about what I eat. Plus there are all the downsides of having to undergo a major surgery, miss work, pay thousands of dollars (I was self-pay in Mexico too), and not being able to eat like a "normal" person when I go out or attend social occasions. And I'm one of the lucky ones who hasn't experienced nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, or excessive gas (past the first couple of weeks). I also haven't had any changes to my senses of smell or taste like some people do. So, take it from someone who has yoyo dieted her entire 35 years of life, there is NOTHING easy about this! But, if I had it to do over again, I would still make the same choice, because I am confident that THIS time when I lose the weight, I won't be gaining it all back in a year.

One night was plenty for me. I was fine on my own back at the hotel after that. However, I know they will keep you extra night(s) at the clinic if necessary. They don't just kick you out of the clinic after one night no matter what condition you are in! No one that had their surgery the same day as me had to stay an extra night, but they did have them stay longer than me. Three of us were released in the morning. One of my friends stayed a little longer, because she was having nausea. And a fifth woman who was there the same day as me stayed a little longer because she had a low-grade fever and severe gas pains. So don't worry. If you aren't fit to go back to the hotel first thing in the morning, they don't kick you out.

I had my surgery Sept. 1, so not long after you, and I'm up to around 950 calories most days as well. I try to have at least 40% be from protein and my NUT wants me to aim for 100 grams of protein every day, with a minimum of 85. So far I've been losing slowly, but steadily. I had been doing at least 60 minutes of "brisk walking" every day for a while, but I hurt my foot on Monday, so I haven't been able to get walking in and since then I've cut down to about 750 calories a day until I can start exercising again.

I've been using some Mederma gel I still had from back when I had plastics three years ago. My plastics scars are quite faded, even though I didn't stick to using the Mederma back then. I stopped using it because it comes in a TINY little tube for an exorbitant amount of money and my tummy tuck scar is something like 38 inches long... Doing the math, it was going to cost me a fortune to keep applying it to the full length of that scar multiple times a day for a couple of months. Plus, that scar is easily covered by my underwear. I'm more concerned about my sleeve scars, because they are right in the middle of my abdomen and much more visible if I were to ever wear a bikini or something. So I started using the Mederma on them... still much too early to tell if it will make a difference.

If you can't afford self-pay, a 2-3 year wait is better than NEVER, which is what I would get from my insurance here in the States. Luckily I was able to afford to self-pay.

I would say the prices range from about $400--$6500 and most do not include airfare, but they do include hospital and hotel. I suppose it depends on where you go whether or not it is safe. I suggest carefully researching the surgeons. I had my sleeve at Obesity Control Center in Tijuana with Dr. Ariel Ortiz and I felt 100% safe the entire time. I stayed one night in the clinic and three nights in the Tijuana Marriott (one pre-op and two post-op). I walked the streets in the are of the hotel to go to a nearby convenience store and felt perfectly safe there. The hotel staff was AMAZING.

I ordered the multi-vitamin and probiotoc, but not the shakes. I had emailed the nutritionist for specifications about what I should look for in a protein shake of my own and she gave this info: Alternative protein shakes should meet the following criteria per serving: Minimum of 20 grams of protein per serving Less than 8 grams of carbs with less than 2 grams of sugar,and a minimum of 3 grams of fiber Less than 3 grams of fat Less than 200 calories per serving, best at 150 Whey protein is preferable Oh! She also said that I should mix protein powders with 4 oz. water and 4 oz. unsweetened almond milk.

I had a range they wanted me to lose in. The range equated to 5-10% of my starting weight. The low end was 13 pounds and the upper end was 27. I lost over 13, but nowhere near 27. When you get close to your surgery date, the NUT will email asking for an update on your weight. Be honest with her then.

Good luck to those of you who have upcoming surgeries at OCC! I hope your experience is as positive as mine has been!

Did you contact your surgeon's office about filling it out for you? I had no issues with my surgeon completing mine.

Yeah, I don't know why Mexico has such a bad rap. I've been to Tijuana twice for surgery (separate surgeons and separate clinics) and both times I was treated incredibly well and received excellent care. I had no concerns for my safety at any point and enjoyed walking around (though I didn't get to do enough either time, since i was recovering from surgery). But for some reason, it does seem to fill loved ones with dread when they hear you're going to Mexico for surgery, like they expect you're going to be murdered or have your organs stolen or something.

I don't recall single-incision being mentioned as an option on any of the questionnaires or in any of the info I received, but that doesn't mean he doesn't do it. You can always ask! As for cost, we aren't allowed to say. We all had to sign an agreement saying we wouldn't share our costs with anyone. But if you fill out the contact form on the OCC website, you will immediate receive an auto-reply with pricing info in it. Don't worry about giving them your email address. The won't spam you at all. You'll get the auto-reply and then a couple of emails later in the day from one of the patient coordinators with some PDFs about VSG and they won't contact you again until YOU contact them with any follow-up questions. Here's the link to the form: http://www.obesitycontrolcenter.com/contact/

Kindle already mentioned it, but according to my surgical report, Ariel Ortiz sutured over my staple line.

It's common to experience hair loss 3-5 months post-op. It's most likely due to the trauma of the surgery and a lack of protein immediately following surgery. Hair loss now is the result of evens 3 months ago, so there is not much action you can take now that will have any immediate effect. If you've been good about protein intake post-op, it should taper off on its own fairly quickly.

While those calculators are convenient for getting a rough idea of weight loss and rate, they are no indicator of how YOU as an individual will do. Some people who have RNY don't lose much weight at all. Some people who have VSG lose over 100% of their excess weight. Either option is a tool that is still completely dependent upon the patient to utilize. In general RNY is a better option for people with a higher BMI. It can also be better for people with diabetes. But it is a much more extensive surgery, requiring the rerouting of your intestines and leading to malabsorption for the rest of your life. It it worth that just because, on average, someone with your starting stats might lose a few more pounds or lose a little more quickly? Those are questions only you can answer for yourself. I was right at a BMI of 40 when I started looking into WLS, so for me, I felt RNY was "too extreme". But everyone has their own journey and has their own issues to factor in. Had I been at a BMI of 50 or more, I might have considered RNY much more seriously.

I didn't start getting a significant amount of protein in until 7 days post-op, when I was allowed to start drinking protein shakes again. I was only allowed broth and jello the first four days, then drinkable yogurt at 5 days, but that only has about 4-5g of protein per serving, and I wasn't able to handle much more than a serving per day at that point. But on Day 7 I started protein shakes and was able to get in 40-60 grams a day that way until I was allowed to start my pureed stage. Once I was able to have scrambled eggs, soft cheese, and shredded meats, I was finally able to start getting up into the 85-100 range my nutritionist wanted me in.

Congratulations! Sounds like you are doing great and have adjusted well to the sleeve!

I wasn't freaked out at all, but I had had surgery before. The clinic staff still insisted on giving me Xanax prior to the surgery, as they apparently do for all of their patients.

There's probably not a whole lot you can do about hair loss at this point, other than keep up your protein intake. Your hair loss is most likely due to not getting enough protein right after surgery, as well as the trauma to your body from the surgery. It just takes about 3-5 months for those things that happened around your surgery to effect hair growth. As long as you started getting enough protein shortly after surgery and have kept it up, your hair loss should taper off on its own.

Yeah, this is the problem with getting health insurance through your employer. By the time your obesity leads to other serious health issues, chances are you won't be working anymore and will need to rely on Disability and Medicare/Medicaid. They are banking on the fact that your failing health will force you to quit/lose your job, then they won't have to cover your costs anymore.