MarinaGirl

I only told 1 person, a friend, that I was considering going to Mexico for surgery. She's been out of town for a few weeks so I'll see her for the first time later this week. It was nice to have "me" time in TJ and just rest, relax, and recover. I have a low BMI so didn't want to hear that I'm too skinny for surgery or for people to go on and on about Mexico. The good news is a couple of my co-morbidities have already improved.

I bought some appetizer silverware at Crate & Barrel which is helping with smaller portion sizes, and they look nice.

I was nervous before surgery too. But I did my research and selected a great surgeon and I followed all pre-op dietary recommendations to the "tee." Regarding whether to have surgery or not? The percentage of people that regain weight after dieting is 95% so the chance of you finally losing and maintaining weight loss on your own is very slim.

I agree, doesn't look right. I had surgery 15 days ago and my incisions are all closed and healing fine. Good luck!

I'm doing better with getting my fluids in this week. And this morning I ate half an egg, scrambled, for breakfast. It was yummy and didn't cause any issues. Yeah for me!

I had MGB surgery on 4/10/17 and am doing pretty good. Right when I woke up in recovery I was in a lot of pain but they gave me good meds for it. I didn't really have any gas pain so I was lucky there. I did better with getting fluids in at first but last week was a challenge. I think I'm doing better this week but I don't have much of an appetite so I have to remind myself to eat, which is mainly puréed soup and yogurt. I'm so glad I had this surgery. All my worry beforehand was for naught. Good luck my fellow April surgical compadres!

How did your appointments go last week? With your esophagus issues I don't think you should consider a revision to another sleeve, which can cause GERD in people that never had it before surgery and it doesn't typically result in as much weight loss as the DS or RNY. My prayers are with you that you'll get your health back soon. All the best.

The research I've read says that RNY is more effective than VSG for the surgical treatment of Type 2 Diabetes. And long term weight loss results are better with RNY over VSG (EWL 80% vs 60%). But more importantly for the OP, VSG is not indicated for people with GERD. As well, some people who don't have GERD prior to VSG surgery develop it afterwards.

4 months before surgery I gave up the following: 1. Alcohol 2. Carbonated beverages 3. Sweets/desserts 4. Coffee (caf & decaf) and caffeinated drinks 5. Artificial sweeteners, which don't help you lose weight, just the opposite in fact I focused on high quality protein and vegetables. I did not have any "food funerals" as I've eaten lots of yummy things throughout my life so I haven't been deprived. And in the future I may be able to eat some of those things again in much smaller portion sizes, assuming they don't cause me to binge or get off track. I lost 30 lbs pre-op and 8 lbs since surgery on 4/10/17. I'm so happy I did this as it has curbed cravings and I had no withdrawal headaches after surgery. Good luck!

After I filled out Dr. Ramos Kelly's detailed medical history and talked to him a couple of times plus emails, I was able to pick my surgical date which was confirmed once I paid a $500 deposit. Then I had surgery 3-4 weeks later. Great experience and even greater surgeon!

I've been having a queasy stomach off/on this week so I've taken some Pepto-Bismol for relief. I swear it's causing smelly loose stools. I've noticed this happening a few times this week - rank smell on the days I take Pepto and minimal smell on days I don't take it.

I had MGB surgery on 4/10/17. I'm not feeling great today. Still on a liquid diet and haven't cheated yet. I don't think I've been getting enough fluids the last couple of days. Perhaps that's why my stomach is gurgling and feeling a little queasy.

I lost 30 lbs pre-surgery. I gave up sweets, alcohol, carbonated beverages, and coffee 3+ months before surgery, and focused on healthy eating (protein & veggies). This helped with withdrawal headaches, fatigue, and cravings after surgery. It also helped me to begin training myself to the WLS lifestyle.

Info per various Exercise Science Experts/Professors: Exercise is great for so many reasons; anti-aging, help with depression, lower the risk for heart disease and cancer, reduce risk and complications of diabetes, and you can even grow new brain cells. What it can't do is cause you to lose weight. The data simply does not support the use of exercise as a primary tool for getting thin. People don't understand that it is very difficult to exercise enough to lose weight. If that's why you're doing it, you're going to fail. Why? You don't burn enough calories unless you're Michael Phelps (for example). Fact is, you only burn 300 calories a half hour, if that. As well, mounting evidence suggests that exercise makes us hungry and that we wind up eating more extra calories in response to that hunger than we burn up doing the exercise that makes us hungry in the first place. While exercise by itself is fairly useless for losing weight, it appears to be critical to keeping the weight off once you've lost it.

I had surgery with Dr. Ramos Kelly a few days ago. So far no complications or concerns. I'm very happy with the surgeon I chose and the top hospital where surgery took place - Hospital Angeles.

Dr. Ramos Kelly on 4/10/17. Surgery was at Angeles Hospital in Tijuana and after a few days, recovery at Lucerna Hotel. My first in person consultation was the day before surgery. Prior to then, I spoke to the surgeon a couple of times and swapped multiple emails with him and his staff. Key thing is to fill out your surgeon's medical questionnaire with accurate and complete details so he/she can recommend the right procedure for you.

Non-surgical triggers for acid reflux: Alcohol Carbonated Beverages Chocolate Citrus Coffee & Caffeinated Drinks Fatty Foods Tomatoes

My Mexican surgeon (Dr. Kelly) no longer does the RNY; he prefers the OAGBP as it is reversible or revisable. That's not the case with the VSG, which is permanent.

I had an MGB (aka OAGBP) on Mon 4/10/17 with Dr. Ramos Kelly in TJ. He's great and says the surgery should resolve my existing GERD. All the research I've done on the OAGBP says the same. I'm very happy I chose this surgeon and this procedure.

Zinc supplementation can help with hair regrowth.

Good luck!

I've used a Cabulance service before to get a ride home after surgery. My doctor's office recommended it when I had plastic surgery and I didn't want to involve family or friends. Google that word and your city to see if there's one available. Or you could call a local plastic surgery office and see what company/service they recommend for a patient who wants to be discrete about their procedure.

I'm a low BMI patient and lost a bit of weight in the 3 months prior to surgery, which was 2 days ago on April 10. My doctor had me do the same 2 week pre-op diet as his other patients and I think it helped me transition to my new lifestyle. A few months ago, I gave up sugar, carbonated beverages, alcohol, & caffeine, and focused on quality protein and fresh fruits & vegetables. And so far since surgery I've not had any nausea or vomiting and no shoulder pain. I also didn't do any food funerals. I've enjoyed lots of great food in my life so enough is enough; now it's time to stop yo-to dieting for good and get back to and maintain a healthy/normal weight. I'm excited for my future!

Drinking water does not make you more thirsty, that's a sign of dehydration. Trust thirst, drink water.

My surgeon told me that Gas-X doesn't help after laparoscopic surgery because they're meant to help gas in your stomach not in the abdominal cavity where CO2 is injected to provide your surgeon with a better view of your organs. Then the CO2 may irritate the diaphragmatic nerves and that pain is referred upwards and eventually landing in (and aggravating) the shoulder.