lovelyme

My highest weight - 248. Pre surgery weight: 232. Present weight: 178. So, 70 lib down from highest, and 54 since september last year. Funny, I used to exercise way more before surgery - I did a 10 k race the week before surgery. I haven't run much since last year surgery at all. I'd like to get back to focussing on improving my loss and getting back to exercise, but I had a few setbacks including a broken arm. Being a single mom and a Type A overachiever at work means I don't focus on weight loss more, but of course, thats nothing new. Im thrilled with my sleeve. Ive had to learn to throw away food - even just having a few bites and being ok with throwing the rest out (especially at restaurants). That is a change of mindset - just because its on your plate doesn't mean you have to eat it. I feel good, I look good (size 18 down to 10-12) and I wish I had known about it earlier.

I had a good experience with Dr. Ortiz and ALM in late September 2014. I had a minor 'complication' after surgery in that one of my incision sites did not stop bleeding as the other sites did. I called Eduardo about it, and they picked me up and took me back to the hospital asap to have Dr. Ortiz check it out. It was not that big a deal, but worth having it looked at. The bleeding stopped and all was fine. I thought ALM provided a good service. I've had no difficulties post-op and Im so glad I got this procedure done. I was so DONE with all of the endless diets and exercise that only brought short term and hard fought success. This surgery has made a real difference to me. Im in a size 12 now very comfortably which has not been the case for me since the 1990's. I'd like to lose another 25 lbs - am down about 50 now.

I can talk to you. I live in BC. PM me if you want my number. I used Elias Ortiz and was very happy.

This news story ran in BC, Canada earlier this week. A lady came back to Canada after VGS surgery in Mexico, with a leak and a sliced spleen. The story does not specifically name the surgeon she had, but they show the receipt she got from the clinic she used, which was "Bariaticenter" in Tijuana. You can figure out who the surgeon was from there. http://globalnews.ca/video/1569692/mexico-surgery-warning The lady sounds a bit nutsy, but even so, she didn't pay for this. I am still going to Mexico next week for my VGS surgery, but not to this clinic. This video is a bit of fear mongering I think, but obviously, this lady had a very bad experience. Research, research, research!

Is anyone else experiencing hair loss? Im now at 4.5 months out, and this is suddenly becoming a problem. I have (had) thick long hair, and now its very thin. Im also having a big plateau right now - no weight loss for close to a month. Im looking forward to getting outside more as the weather improves. rachel

I paid $4600 for Dr. Elias Ortiz (plus flight). Most everything is included with this cost - hotel, food, hospital, meds etc. His price just went up when I had booked him.

Ill add this: As for things to bring, I would suggest bringing: your own pillow and light blanket for the hospital; polysporin for wound care after discharge; maxipads (for the flight home in case of diarrhea problems); Imodium (also for the flight home for diarrhea prevention) There are lots of other suggestions elsewhere on this forum.

Here is my review of Dr. Elias Ortiz and A Lighter Me. I was picked up at the airport after a short wait by Abraham and Remy who were quite delightful and funny. They took me and one other patient directly to the hospital for bloodwork. While some people get their EKG's the day before surgery, I had mine the next day right before surgery. They communicated with me by text ahead of time about my pick up time and location. The first night at the hotel (Marriott) was good. The hotel is lovely. The staff are over-eager to help you. My bellhop offered to order me some broth and popsicles to my room, which was good. I spent some time lying by the pool in the afternoon. At 6 pm Ronda, (the aftercare co- ordinator) called me down to meet others with the lighter me group in the hotel lobby. I was really excited to meet this group. There was about 8 patients there, 6 of whom had already had the surgery the days before, and me and another who was having surgery the next day like me. The post-op patients were all up and about, and every single one had good things to say about the hospital and Dr. Elias Ortiz. This was a great relief for me, as I was still apprehensive. After the meeting, a post-op patient and I walked together to the "hipodrome" mall (Walmart Mall) and browsed around and even went into the casino for a bit. Its about a 10-15 minute walk there, with a slight hill going up. There is also a very nice movie theatre there that shows movies in English with spanish subtitles - i didn't go, but spoke to others who did (cost about $7). The next day was surgery day. I found all of the doctors including the anesthesiologist to be kind and helpful. The process was efficient. The staff kept the mood light. I was the first of 5 surgeries that day, with my surgery happening at about 130pm. The doctor at the hospital discussed the results of all my tests with me before surgery. I woke up in my hospital room, which was average, but certainly clean and functional. There were TVs in each room and wireless Internet. Although there were safes in each room, I didn't feel any need to use it. My only complaint about the hospital was that on Saturday night, there was blaring music from a bar directly next door (right beneath my 4th floor window) which did not let up until after 3 am. This did not recur on Sunday night, so there is one thing to consider when picking surgery dates - maybe avoid Saturdays. I found the nurses kind and helpful, and they spoke sufficient English. The floor was a bit small, with about 6 or 7 double rooms or so. The blankets and pillows are not great, consider bringing your own. Important to note that "A Lighter Me" hires EXTRA nurses to help their clients at the hospital. There were always at least two nurses available all the time including at night. The Lighter-Me nurses are required to check you regularly, and they make a point of telling you that they are Lighter-me employees. The second day included a visit to radiology for a leak test. You get a copy of that video recorded test to take home with you, along with your blood test results. I saw my EKG results at the hospital and discussed them with the doctor, but I didn't get them in my take-home package, so I think that was an oversight. On discharge day, I had a bit of a problem in that my drain site continued to bleed well after I returned to the hotel. I called Eduardo about it, and he came to return me to the hospital right away, to have it checked. I saw Dr. Morales almost immediately, and he put in an extra stitch to close up the site a little better. Both Ronda and Janese learned of my short return visit to the hospital and checked up with me afterwards. I guess this was very unusual. I spoke with Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Morales a few times over the course of my 2 day hospital stay. There was a final group meeting with Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Morales on the day we were leaving to fly home. Both are very friendly and kind. On my discharge day, and after returning to the hotel I attended a second 6pm meeting group with Ronda, since I felt it couldn't hurt. The group meetings were very helpful. I should also point out that the after care program is good. Ronda emails informational material out every few days, depending on your stage of pre-op or post-op. She has replied to my emails quickly. I don't think other companies have any sort of follow up program like that at all. I should also add that in my group, there were TWO former patients who had returned to Tijuana to accompany their family members to their surgery. So, it was a great chance to speak to longer-term post-op patients about their experience (and obviously, it was quite an endorsement that they were recommending Dr. Ortiz to their own family members). Another thing that impressed me is that you can 'friend' the lighter me staff and Dr. Ortiz directly on Facebook, and see for yourself what is happening with whatever group is there now. You will see people shopping, visiting the beach, having meetings with the doctors - it's just a level of transparency that offers increased confidence to anyone thinking of using A Lighter Me and Dr. Ortiz. Personally, I did not get the chance to go shopping and do tourist type things with Abraham, because of my extra trip to the hospital described above, but I think everyone else did. Because Abraham knew I'd missed the excursion, he brought me a "to-go" cup of delicious beef broth to my hospital room later on, which was a nice surprise. I had occasion to text or telephone all of Remy, Eduardo and Abraham for different reasons during my stay, and I always got prompt responses. You are discharged from the hospital with your medical records (the leak test video and blood work), medications for pain and antibiotics, some milk of magnesia, a t-shirt, and some other 'swag'. Eduardo spends some time with you discussing the take-home medications before you go. So, overall the experience was a very good one. I think the Lighter Me team is a team that appears to work well together, genuinely cares about you, provides a quality service, and is interested in making sure your experience is safe and positive. My criticisms are few. I didn't like the noisy bar beside the hospital (a problem apparently limited to weekends) and I had one nurse who took my blood work who had to 'dig' around for a vein far too long and ultimately, had to get a senior nurse to do the job. I didn't meet Dr. Ortiz for the first time until after surgery, and it should have been before (although I did meet him several times later on). Oh also, they did have me sign some authorization forms that were written completely in Spanish, which i felt uncomfortable doing. However, overall, these were minor things that would not have changed my decision to use A Lighter Me. I am only 5 days post surgery at this point, but am doing well. I really feel much better after a nice solid sleep in my own bed at home. My incisions are closed up and much of the bloating and swelling is gone. Anyone can feel free to email me with questions.

I was happy with Elias Ortiz. I am going to post a detailed review of my trip - look for it!

Here is another story on Global News about another woman from BC complaining of a leak after gastric sleeve surgery with Dr. Almanza. http://globalnews.ca/news/1581936/north-van-woman-still-recovering-after-gastric-sleeve-surgery-in-mexico/ If there wasn't a 3.5 year wait list to get the surgery in BC on the public health care system, people wouldn't be paying to have it done elsewhere.

I'm off to Mexico tomorrow. This pre op diet worked magic for me - I'm down almost 11 lbs already. Today is going to be hard for the all clear liquid diet - I'm going to work armed with massive amounts of jello! Surgery is on Saturday!

I think the most important thing is that if your Doctor denies any complications from leaks for his patients when you know thats not true - that ought to be the real red flag. All surgeons will have patients encounter complications from time to time, but the surgeons that lie about it are the ones that you ought to be wary of the most.

Cody's mom: I am so pleased to hear that you are doing well. Abraham posts photos of Dr. Ortiz's guests when he takes them to the beach or shopping. I added Dr. Ortiz as a FB friend and you can see the posts there - maybe you are in some of them! There was a CTV News clip last week about someone who came home from sleeve surgery from Mexico with a leak and a cut spleen - of course it was a panic piece about the horrors of medical tourism to Mexico. This renewed my efforts on research and I am more confident than ever that Dr. Ortiz is highly competent and I feel good about my decision. I leave on Friday morning for surgery on Saturday. If you have any tips, be sure to share!

I think the surgeon was Dr. Almanza Reyes. The reason I think so is because they display her receipt briefly, and the clinic name (Bariatriclinic) and the address for that clinic is the same as Dr. Almanza. As I said, I myself am going for VGS surgery in Mexico next week. I thought I should post this story only because I think that people should have all the information, including the bad, about their surgeon. If this surgeon were to deny ever having had complications like this for example, then that ought to raise red flags for them.

Very relieved to hear you are OK Codysmom. Several of us who are going to see Dr. Ortiz in the next few weeks are eager to hear the details of your surgery experience.

Good luck with your surgery tomorrow Cody's Mom! I look forward to hearing all about it.

I am very thankful for these posts - they really help to set my mind at ease. I am following this group with great interest! My surgery is Sept 27th with Dr. Elias. I am to start my pre-op diet in a few days. I am nervous about this because I think I eat too often without even thinking about it. My friends and family think I am crazy but I am feeling more and more confident that this is the right thing for me. good luck to those with upcoming surgery dates.

I did a similar type program. it was GREAT and super easy. I remember being able to run for 15 or 18 minutes nonstop and being completely shocked. Now I run 10k almost every week and have competed in several organized running events. The app I used was called "Ease into 5k" which is similar.

Im not being facetious when I say this - I'm serious. Im considering getting the sleeve, and Im having a hard time imagining how eating will be afterwards. For instance, is it that you just don't think about food? you don't even feel hungry most of the day? How do you deal with big family meals (like christmas or thanksgiving)? What about restaurant eating? Are your favourite foods still favourites or is that all different? Help me understand what to expect! Rachel

Cody's mom, what can you tell me about this aftercare specialist? I am a bit foggy on what sort of aftercare is offered with ALM. R

HI Csomyers, Im going to see Dr. Ortiz on Sept 27! see you there. You are the first I've heard of going there the same time as me.

Same thing for me. the decision and the surgery is all happening in the space of about 6 weeks. I feel like if I don't commit to it right away, I won't do it.

Who is your surgeon BlessedOne83?