notgonnabelikemymom

I keep getting a cramp on my left side. It starts near my bra line and goes down my side to my gut. It feels possibly intestinal? Has anyone had this type of pain? It has happened while eating but also while not eating. It's so bad that I have to stop walking and wait for it to end. Thankfully it only lasts for a moment and then I'm perfectly fine again.

Thanks everyone! Mine has gotten better, it doesn't happen as often and I'm currently only 8 days post.

I have to buy a medical tourism insurance policy for my trip to Mexico. Should I add the evacuation plan for myself and my husband? I'm considering it due to the non-life threatening medical emergency that still requires hospitalization portion of it. However it adds quite a bit to the premium. Anyone have experience with this? Anyone needed it?

So I put some Water in a glass and added a sample pouch of powder. Then I stirred that up a bit and added more water. Then I stirred and stirred....and stirred....and stirred. And still had lumps. I have a Blender Bottle and a blender (though that seems excessive). Would the blender bottle do a better job? How do you mix your Syntrax nectar powder (and any and all other Protein drinks as well)?

Isopure is a brand of protein drink. They offer Ready-To-Drink (RTD) protein drinks that are considered to be 'clear' liquids due to their texture and consistency. They also offer protein powder that is flavored or unflavored that you can add to milk or milk substitutes to create a protein drink. I haven't seen any other brand with as much protein in a serving. I bought the apple flavor (I can't remember the actual name of the flavor) green clear RTD and it has 40 grams of protein in one bottle.

pyra28az, I sent a friend request on FB! I would love to join the secret group.

I've been gathering Vitamins and even bought some Isopure (the clear RTD) for the Protein shakes I'll need before surgery. I'm afraid that my tastes will change afterwards so I don't want to buy anything for that yet. I did get a sample set of Syntrax nectar and a small bag of Isopure Unflavored powder. I've booked my flights (I'm going to Mexico) and made hotel reservations as well. I don't want my in-laws to know about the surgery but I need them to watch my daughter while my husband and I are gone. It's been hard to me to lie to them. We've said for several years now that we want to go on vacation for Thanksgiving rather than have any big family meals (they've gone horribly wrong the past several years). So we have just said that we are going on vacation and don't know where we are going yet. Now I must think of a good vacation spot that's not too much of a lie.

Do you have a job that includes federal holidays? Or basically has some sort of time off already built in to the schedule? It takes about four nights to have surgery in Mexico and depending on your job you could head back to work fairly quickly. And like someone else said, there are finance options with some of the brokers that offer all-in-one deals to Mexico. Just something to think about.

Caveat: I will be asking my surgeon exactly what Vitamins I will need to take and will follow his advice directly. No need to tell me to ask him. However....if the goal is to eat 60+ grams of Protein a day....shouldn't we be getting enough Iron that way? I've read where RnY patients need iron due to the malabsorption issues of re-routing the small intestine, yet sleeve patients don't have a true malabsorption after surgery. Just looking for opinions on the issue of a Multivitamin with iron or a multivitamin without iron and then whether or not it's necessary to take extra iron pills as well.

I could tell my PCP didn't support the decision. He said "You'll disappear." Implying that I don't need to lose weight. Yet I am at least 70 pounds overweight. At least he'll help me watch my nutrition. He wants to do a metabolic panel three weeks before the surgery to have a baseline for after.

Any recommendations on Water bottles for after surgery? I currently enjoy the ones with straws, but I've heard that's a bad idea after surgery.

I had pancreatitis in 2005 due to gall stones and it lead to a low potassium level which was affecting my heart rate. I had to have potassium in an IV and it burned horribly! Eventually it blew my vein and we had to switch to the other arm. It was not a good experience. Here's hoping that I don't go through it again! (I doubt it.)

I'm scheduled for November 25th! I will begin a pre-op diet consisting of one Protein shake for Breakfast and two low-carb meals for lunch and dinner on November 11th. The last three days before surgery will be clear liquid only. I've been so busy with other things that I haven't really thought much about it recently. That's odd because for several weeks I thought about only WLS constantly! I'm traveling to Mexico for my surgery and right now I'm waiting on my passport before booking flights and hotel.

Hello! I am Cathryn and I live in Georgia! I am a 'Lightweight' with less than 100 lbs to lose. This post deals with my reasons for VSG. In my opinion my weight problems are genetically predisposed, although lifestyle can and does change that outcome. In my family we ate when celebrating anything family related (birthdays, holidays, promotions, graduations, everything). I think it's on me that I eat when I'm bored or stressed. My mother was overweight and had gestational diabetes while pregnant with me (I'm the youngest and she had me in her early 30's). Later, she was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and began Synthroid pills. In her 40's she was diagnosed with full blown type II diabetes and began taking one insulin shot a day. Then she progressed to taking two insulin shots per day. By the time I was in my first year of college, she had her first TIA stroke. It caused her to slur her speech a bit but that improved with speech therapy. She had a major stroke in 2007 that created stiffness on her right side and short term memory delays. She had another stroke in 2009 and she was diagnosed with Parkinson's with Dementia. She hadn't remembered who I was since sometime in 2012. This entire time, my father was doing everything he could to take care of her. He still worked full-time and used Medicaid/Medicare plus his work insurance to cover things for her. He also smoked since he was 14. He went to the emergency room in March of 2015 with possible pneumonia and was diagnosed with lung cancer that had spread to every bone in his body and also to his liver. He was given weeks to live. My mother and father moved in with me on my birthday at the end of March. My father was on Hospice and my mother came because there was no other options and I wanted to keep them together if my dad only had weeks to live. My father passed away at home at the end of April. I took care of my mother for the next month and a half but she eventually contracted aspiration pneumonia due to the severe swallowing problems she had. She went to the hospital for almost two weeks before going to a nursing home using Medicare. I visited and continued taking care of the paperwork and phone calls. My brothers and I discussed the option of using a feeding tube to support her nutritionally but we decided against the operation. Mom lasted until the beginning of August 2015. I am 29 years old. Earlier this year, my doctor prescribed Synthroid for a sub-clinical case of hypothyroidism (I think that's the one). I have tried calorie reduction, weight watchers, atkins, and general low carb to no avail. My BMI is 34. I am considered pre-diabetic and also have high cholesterol. I also take anti-depressants since the birth of my daughter. But my daughter will not have to go through these horrible situations or make terrible decisions for my wellbeing. Ever. And my number one best option for losing the weight is having a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. So I am a self-pay patient as my insurance is Obama-care and doesn't cover weight loss surgery. I am going to use Dr. Ramos Kelly in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. I am currently in the process of scheduling a date but I am hopeful for Thanksgiving or before. My husband is still nervous about my decision but understands that I've done the research and am making an informed decision. So that's it. My reasons. I will not put my daughter through the emotional turmoil that I have had to endure. This includes not only losing weight to be healthy but also setting up legal documents so that she won't have to make decisions without knowing what I or my husband wants. I've recommended to all of my friends that the third best gift they can give their children is not putting them through the agony of making healthcare or financial decisions without any guidance. The first is the gift of being alive and there, the second is the gift of reading, and the third is the gift of confidence in a bad situation.

Would it help you to feel better to do some legal stuff before surgery to protect your family in case of the unthinkable? Legalzoom is what I'm using to create a will and living trust. I am not affiliated with that website.

I'm official for November 25th! Excited and impatient!

It's official! On November 25th I will be having vertical sleeve gastrectomy surgery in Tijuana, Mexico with Dr. Ramos Kelly! I'm super excited and impatient for the time to pass! There's a lot to set up in between though because I need to finish up some legal documents and have another vacation planned. I think I'm also going to go ahead and have some dental stuff done before then to just get it out of the way.

I understand that soon after the surgery the body is fatigued while still healing. My question is about several months later. Could I see an upswing in energy levels throughout the day? I've always had a hard time with napping and my doctor did some blood tests and prescribed a low dose of Synthroid for a subclinical case of hypothyroidism. I would really enjoy having more energy to play with my daughter more often!

I'm 90% certain that my surgery date will be Nov. 25th! I think it's a fitting date seeing as it's the day before Thanksgiving. Partly because it's the day before millions of people will be gorging themselves on traditional dishes and partly because I have a history of having terrible Thanksgivings.

Hello all! I figured I ought to check in and post a bit of an update. I've spoken with Dr. Kelly's patient coordinator and I was told that it shouldn't be a problem to have surgery the week of Thanksgiving. But I'm still waiting for a confirmation from the doctor himself. I've been doing a lot more research and ordered the Kindle version of The Big Book on the Gastric Sleeve. It's been great to learn more and I'm still sure that this is the right decision for me. My husband and I spoke more in depth and he asked the number one question that I think people wonder about. Why can't you just eat less and exercise more to lose weight? I asked him, if he thought I could do that then why haven't I already done it? I told him it's not that I physically can't do it. It's not physical, it's all mental. It's a little easier mentally when you have a very very good reason to follow the 'rules'. Like the possibility of hurting yourself. I still haven't weighed myself. Mostly because I really don't want to see that number. I'm sure I'll post again either when I get an official date or if I determine that it's been too long since the last! Thanks for reading!

Hello! I am Cathryn and I live in Georgia, USA! I've lived here all my life. I am married (for 7 years now!) and we have a five year old daughter who just started kindergarten this year! I am a 29 year old stay-at-home-mom currently (though that may change) and we have three pets: Magic (cat), Pixie (cat), and Tien Tien Chen (dog). Tien Tien is a Shi T'zu. I love to sew and have made several dresses for my daughter. It's harder to sew for myself because of pattern alterations needed and I guess I'm just much more picky than she is! I also love to read and I'm tickled to death that my girl is SO CLOSE to reading on her own! It's the second greatest gift I can give her (can anyone guess the first?). Thanks for reading about me!

I have decided to use Dr. Ramos Kelly in Tijuana, Mexico for my VSG. I am self-pay and the cost savings are enormous! A local hospital is having a 'deal' and charging $15,000 total for the VSG. Granted, this is using the Da Vinci robot. Dr. Ramos Kelly offers two options based on which hospital you would like to use and I am going with the more expensive option and using Hospital Angeles in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The total will be around $7,800. That's a difference of $7,200. That total does not include air fair. My original want was a date in October, but I have a five year old daughter and I really have no childcare available for her unless my husband stayed back with her and there's no way in heck that's happening. So we were looking at bringing her with us for the trip. However, my husband has a bad feeling about that and doesn't want to do it. Let's just say that he knows that I have my heart set on this and have made my decision, but he's kinda just along for the ride right now. So...if we don't want to take my daughter, the only people available to watch her are only available during the week. Her grandparents work on weekends, which has made lots of things suck. They've never been to a birthday party because those have to be on the weekend for most people except them. Oh...and they are not to know that I am doing this. They will be told that this is just a vacation to Mexico and only that because we are sure to call from the hotel and it will show up as coming from Mexico. Okay, so...back to the kid...she's in school during the week. And her school is strict about only allowing 10 days unattended before having to report to the school's truancy officer. But the grandparents don't live near enough to take her to school. So we need to find a time where she's already out of school and won't miss a bunch of days. Hello Thanksgiving! I don't know if this will even be possible but I emailed Dr. Kelly's coordinator (who I've already spoken to over the phone) about whether or not I could schedule the surgery on November 24th. If so, then I'm ready to get rolling with flights and what to pack. If not, then I'm still trying to figure out scheduling. I would love to be added to the Facebook group if there is still room, but I will message my email.