MissKay

Alright so I hate having to post about this because other than this one pesky vitamin, I've had no issues. See, I take the vitamin patches. I take the multivitamin with has 1000mcg of B12 already in it. On top of that I take the B12 patch, which has another 1000mcg in it. In July for my year bloodwork, my tests came back to where my B12 was super close to being deficient. I'll post an image of my results below for each test. After those results, my PCP started having me come in to get an additional B12 shot every month. I've had 3 months of that. Then, as you can see, results from the other day come in. While it's gone up a bit, she's still concerned enough that it's on the lower end to have me still come in every 2 months for a shot. Here's my thing... with my supplements, that's 33,334% of the daily value. On top of the foods I eat, and THEN the shot every month. It almost seems like my body isn't absorbing the vitamin. What the crap? I already sent my PCP a message asking clarifying questions and expressing my concern to her wondering if anything else could be contributing to this, so I'll see Monday her response. My question is, has anyone else dealt with an issue with their B12 post-op? I know thyroid issues or anemia can cause/effect it, was this the case for you? Or was it something else? My results:

But that begs the question about my absorption of the other vitamins. I'm definitely not saying that you're wrong because you're right that the patches aren't a FDA approved vitamin. I'd just be super confused as to how I'm deficient in one and not others if they weren't doing something you know? Like I had to stop the biotin patches and switch to a pill because the vitamin a in the biotin patch caused me to have too high of levels.

@Berry78 thank you. I do know Stacy and a few other patients of our surgeons actually tested out the patches for months and they did as they claimed. My multivitamin is the patch one as well. I don't do well with taking pills daily, so the patches have been a saving grace. Aside frim my B12, everything else has been perfect since surgery. I'll definitely take a look at that site. @MarinaGirl I don't understand how that's any different than a pill?

My journey started only about 9-10 months ago when I first learned about the VSG. I approached my doctor, she agreed, and we started the process for insurance. However, by about April of this year I was entirely fed up with the constant hoops they were making me jump through, and the co-pays I was having to pay even just to meet their requirements. I started looking into self-pay with little hope as I don't just have that kind of money lying around. Then I saw Alex's post for the $4399 surgery in Mexico. My brother had suggested looking at Tijuana surgeons, but I had shot it down. I did some digging, educated myself, asked a ton of questions, and within a month I had a down payment, and a surgery date scheduled with the BariatricPalMX team led by Dr. Illan. This all included getting picked up in San Diego, brought to Tijuana, the surgery, 2 nights stay in the hospital, 2 nights in the recovery condos. And then, voila! Time to go home. Being picked up and brought over was non-stressful, easy peasy. Stacy, who works for the BariatricPalMX team, did a great job at easing my mind on the drive over. She was so warm and welcoming! Once arriving at florence Hospital, I had blood drawn, an IV put in, and chest x-rays done. Soon after all the doctors started coming in (sorry, I don't remember all names). Everything was explained to me, every question I might've had was answered. I think the first time something happened that I wasn't expecting was straight out of surgery. I was in the recovery room outside the OR and I was in PAIN. Most people didn't seem to experience much pain, but I did. Whether it was gas pain or actual pain, I don't know. They gave me two doses of morphine, and that didn't do anything other than make me extremely warm and nauseas. After another hour or two, a different pain medicine was administered with some anti-nausea, something for gas, and then eventually something to prevent infection. The rest of that day I was really weak, really uncomfortable, and did some walking and breathing exercising as much as I could. I also will say, don't expect to get some restful sleep, haha. Nurses in and out every hour or two hours. But this is just a testament to how attentive and on top of it the staff was during this time. Which was truly appreciated and made me feel taken care of. The next morning I was taken for my leak test, and once that was passed, I was given some ice chips, Water, gatorade and apple juice. Of course coming off from the liquid diet I went straight for the apple juice. It tasted like heaven, but my new stomach didn't really agree. The sugar content didn't settle well. So I backtracked to the water, took that slow, and had to take a sip of the Gatorade (not G2) every 30 minutes or so to kind of work up to it. By late that night/early that morning, I was able to drink the Gatorade just fine! (btw Gas-X strips will be your best friends!) Wednesday we came here to the recovery condos, I began just been relaxing, sipping away at water and gatorade, working out the new timeline for the medicines that was prescribed. There was a very helpful packet outlining phases and what to have and not have. Luis was wonderful and took us out into TJ and we went to Caesar's where Josh (the boyfriend) had a good looking fish dish and I had the beef broth. It was delicious and I have yet to feel full, but have stopped myself in fear of taking in too much. While we were in the hospital, Roberto was great and always checking in on Josh and getting him food and drinks whenever he needed it. He was well taken care of even though he didn't want to leave my side. Dr. Illan came in and checked on my incisions the day before we moved to the recovery condo and to see how I was doing. Again, everyone was very attentive and caring, and just been great. I couldn't have asked for better attention and being put at ease. I'm so incredibly thankful and am now just easing forward and looking forward to healing and getting my life back on track now. Thank you to everyone! Dr. Illan, Bill, Stacy, Roberto, Luis, Rosa, Jessica, Denise, and every other doctor, nurse, or staff member who's played a hand in this and helped me reach this goal and start a new life.

I was a healthy weight until about 19 or 20 years old. Then my (at the time undiagnosed) PCOS symptoms kicked in. I started gaining weight like crazy, and the bouts of depression I slipped into were terrible. I was also going through a huge change of moving away from all my friends and family and being very isolated. I was also very poor growing up, so all the junk food and fast food and eating out I couldn't afford started to become affordable. I definitely took comfort in food. After a couple years when I started trying to lose the weight and change my habits, because of the hormonal imbalance, nothing helped keep it off. And then I'd gain everything back, and then some. It's only been 7 years that I was that big, but now as I'm getting smaller and fitting into clothes again and doing things I never could, I actually find it hard to remember that I once could do those things and just... didn't. So it's definitely something that helps me remember that I lost my health once before, and I'm trying to stay on track to never do that again.

I'm 9 months out and haven't had much of an issue with heartburn. I get it if I'm eating/drinking too many acidic things, but it's not often. I take a Prilosec and then i'm perfectly fine. On the actual topic, I had Dr. Illan and it was the best experience I've had with a doctor. I was terrified going. I wasn't a revision patient, but it's nerve wracking either way. Specifically BECAUSE there is no guarantee. There is a risk no matter who the surgeon is or where it takes place. As long as you've mitigated the biggest part by finding a good surgeon, you significantly lower that risk. And you have! Dr. Illan is amazing.

I've lost 100lbs in 9 months with my VSG, and this is including 4-5 different stalls, one being 2 months long. Which is possible, but not typical from what I've seen. So you can lose more weight over a shorter time, just depending on the body, the diet, and the exercise. Every one is different, no person loses the exact same. But it can be done, you just may have to adjust things over time to accomplish that.

I went through IMG and only had a 7 day policy for like $20 that covered me while in Mexico. http://www.imglobal.com/en/index.aspx

Okay so after having maybe 2 light periods a year for the last 7 years thanks to the weight gain and PCOS, I have had a period the last 3 months. First month was pretty 'normal', last month was SUPER heavy, and this month has been pretty heavy as well. I've noticed last month and this month that I'm very, VERY drained and tired, and very spacey. I feel very out of it, and like I'm a walking zombie. My blood tests have all been normal since surgery (the last were done 5 months ago, though, so I ordered new ones). I'm fearing that I'm now experiencing iron-deficiency anemia due to these heavy periods. While yes I'm going to speak with my doctor about it and have the blood tests done, I want to know if anyone else has experienced this? If so, other than supplements (I will happily add the Iron patch vitamin if I need to), what have you found to help in the moment when you're feeling super sluggish because of it? I know even when I had a regular period as a teenager (I didn't start showing signs of PCOS/lose my period until I was 20, and I'll be 27 soon), that I was never this rundown and tired. This feels like something is wrong. That's the only reason I started questioning it and researching.

Okay thanks to those that posted!! Blood work came back. Iron levels are perfect. It's my vitamin D that's low and I'm on the lower end of the spectrum (but still normal) of B12. So apparently with those two things happening, it's causing exhaustion, and I'm going to bet that the heaviness of my first real period in years just took its toll on me. So now I'm just working on getting my vitamin D back up. I'm almost positive it's because our winter here has been one for the history books where there was no sun, lots of snow, and we were stuck inside a lot. Which isn't normal for around here. So I'm going to do what I can food wise, and see how it improves with more exposure to sun and whatnot as Spring kicks into gear.

Any of the Power Crunch bars. But since I don't like chocolate/peanut butter flavored ones, it limits me to this one: You can get them at Trader Joe's, GNC, or I even bought a box off Amazon cause it was cheaper. They taste like a wafer cookie.

I believe most surgeons (but check with yours for sure) say to wait at LEAST 6 months. That's how long I waited. Alcohol is harsh on the stomach and empty calories. Trust me, I still have a beer or spirit every so often. So I'm not saying ever again. But again, check with your surgeon/NUT. How fast you get drunk is dependent on each person. With the sleeve, your stomach empties of liquids much quicker, so the alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream faster. You will feel it much faster than you did before. Pre-op, it'd take 6-9 shots of Patron Silver for me to even feel a buzz. Now it takes 1 on an empty stomach, 2 if i'd had anything to eat in the last hour or two. Pace yourself. Do not take shot after shot or drink after drink.

I only ever eat the 6" Turkey breast with lots of veggies and I don't eat the bread of it. So it's basically a mini salad for $2-3 cheaper than their actual salads and is the perfect size.

The rooms are private. He only does 4 surgeries per day. The great thing about Dr. Illan being partnered with BP is that Alex is on top of providing that kind of information to be as transparent as possible. You can find most of his credentials right here: https://teammx.bariatricpal.com/pages/dr-jalil-illan-surgeon-oasis-hospital

Yeah if you gulp soon post-op, the pain and discomfort will condition you not to. I'm a chugger, so it was insanely hard for me to sip, but I think about 2-3 months out I was able to once again. Just not as much at one time.

Empty calories. High sugar content. Empty carbs. High fructose corn syrup. The list goes on and on. The biggest thing is once post-op, a lot of people can't tolerate the carbonation. I'm lucky that I can, but I stay far away from soda because there is no health benefit to it at all.

Ahhh okay, so that's good at least. So it just sounds like she's super skeptical, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. There ARE horror stories, but as long as you do your research, and know the surgeon you're working with, you should be just fine. I know mine actually sent me home with a lot of medical info and scans of everything to give to my PCP so they could see results and everything. As long as she's willing to still treat you after, you can have that satisfaction of getting it done and showing her that she was wrong. The one thing I've learned is that some doctors think they know everything, but the reality is they don't. I've heard of some docs ending up just really impressed with the work from the surgeons in Mexico. Good luck!

I don't judge nor fault you for not wanting to wait. I started the process in December of 2015, I met the BMI requirement, but I didn't have any co-morbidities aside from possible undiagnosed sleep apnea (my bf would tell me about certain things that led me and my PCP to believe this). So they referred me to a sleep center to do the test. It took two months for the referral and appointment to get situated. It was scheduled for February. Then something came up that caused them to have to re-schedule, and it was another month out. Right before a trip I had had planned for months prior. I got fed up with it and just cancelled and started looking into Mexico. I went with Dr. Illan, and I have absolutely no regrets about doing so. His team is fantastic, he's so nice and caring. I also just loved that he was partnered with BP themselves, and Alex being a long standing person in the Bariatric community backing him as well just spoke volumes in my eyes. So I said to hell with proving the sleep apnea. Because even after that, then I had to do the 6 month weigh ins, psych eval, etc. etc. My weight gain was a culmination of my PCOS, bad eating habits, and severe depression from the PCOS. I could lose 30-40lbs, but I couldn't keep it off or get under that. I got fed up and booked with Dr. Illan the moment I got back from my trip. Now I'm 9 months post-op, 48lbs away from goal, and life is fantastic. Some don't have the means to take the self-pay option, and technically I didn't either (I took out money against my car, and my bf of 9 years took money from stocks he had and paid a portion of it too). But I'll say, it was the best $4400 I ever spent, and I wish I had done it sooner. To think that if I hadn't I would just NOW be getting my surgery? The thought makes me cringe and so happy that my impatience did me a favor for once. I did get lucky, my PCP had 2 other patients who'd gone to Mexico to get the VSG and had done great, and so that even eased my mind. She wasn't a stranger to it, and that was even better. She's been very supportive. If yours won't get on board, I'd definitely think about changing to a new one.

You should be okay, perhaps tweaked a muscle or nerve, but I'd highly recommend calling your surgeon's office just to be on the safe side. They may want to make sure/know of anything like that.

I didn't allow myself rice or much pasta until I was 6 months out. Even then, I don't eat much of it now. When I have anything with rice, I usually only use about a tablespoon of cooked rice to mix in with the dish or so. Otherwise, it fills me up way too fast. I've had pasta twice in the last few weeks, but again, very small amounts. I'm now almost 9 months out. I don't eat or drink very many other carbs, so I allow myself pasta or rice every now and then. But it's usually alongside lots of veggies and meat (which I eat first).

Maybe it's just me... but with the update, I can't seem to find the option to hide the city part of the location. Previously in my public profile and mini profile it only showed my state, which I preferred. Now it shows my city as well?

I'd recommend talking to them about letting you try the patches and seeing how your blood work looks. I've been using them for 6 months and all is good. I admit, I only switched to them after someone else seeing my surgeon was a 'guinea pig' and tried them for a few months and did regular blood work as well. So they do seem to work, and I love that I don't have to chew anything, and it prevents me from having take them with food to prevent an upset stomach.

For pre-op, I'd recommend a general multi-vitamin, and biotin. Biotin will help delay and lessen post-op hair loss. I use the patches, but since you're pre-op, oral vitamins should work just as well.

This is normal, unfortunately! Especially since you're only 1.5 months out. Give it time, it can subside and get better. The acid in those items can cause the influx, and I know some people suffer worse from it. Thankfully they didn't with me. You could still have them, but would probably need to take some form of omeprazole beforehand. I do that with anything super high in acid now just to keep it down and prevent any painful symptoms. But with time your toleration for it can definitely improve.

Totally normal! The first two months mine made so much noise, it was weird. Now it mostly only does it when I eat something that I haven't eaten with my sleeve yet, or it's just digesting oddly.