Elisabethsew

I could get phone calls in the resort but not dial out. I could text. In the hospital, I got the U.S. tower and made and received calls. What do bring: Handiwipes (no face cloths in the hospital) Blowdryer (none in the hospital) Any medications you need to take Heating pad A good novel or magazines Bathing suit if you want to use the resort pools Less is more. You change into a hospital gown the minute you get to the hospital on the day of surgery and most people stay use the hospital gown the day after surgery as well. Have a safe trip!

Actually, you DO get relief of the gas by farting... it moves the pressure OUT and relieves the pain.

I went from 351 to 275 and I was considered a success with the band. Since I had no restriction and lost the weight through diet alone, woke up choking on acid regurg. nightly, and was still morbidly obese, I fail to see "success" there. The sleeve is what I hoped the band would be. If you're thinking about it, I give it 2 thumbs up!

I'm an RN who also had surgery in Mexico. I showered every AM while in Mexico and washed with soap and water as instructed. I had no problems and have never heard of anyone having any.

Have people who don't know you've had surgery noticed you're losing weight? Do you still look in the mirror and see the same person? A few people where I work commented that they noticed I am losing weight and given me compliments. As a life long fat human being, I'm used to negative comments, looks, and stares. Strangely, I think I'm even more comfortable getting nasty comments. When I was leaving work this AM, I got an unexpected glance of a reflection of myself and was surprised that I did look a little smaller to myself. So, how does everyone else handle comments about their weight loss? Are you adapting easily to your changing body?

Very well said. I am trying to stay away from the scale and concentrate on how my clothes fit (looser) and my eating patterns (finally healthy!) rather than worrying and wondering.

Excellent! When was your surgery? How are you doing post-op?

I would LOVE to give my money for surgery in the U.S. and boost the U.S. economy but my choice was to pay out of pocket $25,000 (same day surgery) or go out of the U.S. and pay less than half. In THIS economy, I can't afford U.S. prices so I did my research and found a Mexican surgeon who taught many of the U.S. surgeons. I don't regret anything and had a great experience.

Don't you love it when you can serve a healthy meal and have everyone enjoy it? I'm glad it worked for you and I'll have to think of more to post.

Alcohol is fattening but i don't know of any reason why you can't have a glass of wine.

Dr. Aceves advises no heavy lifting (>15 pounds) for 6 weeks post-op.

Welcome, Tiff! Insurance companies just don't "get it" and make you jump through hoops to get approval. I had my band paid for by insurance and was a self pay for the VSG in Mexico. Your MD needs to stress all the things that are wrong with you in the hopes of getting approval. Keep us posted on your progress.

Let's face it, the band is on its way out and that means a big loss of $$$$$$$$$$$$$ to the surgeons who have been getting rich doing several a day. All the other weight loss surgeries involve altering the anatomy in some way and that freaks a lot of people out. I see this as the next "big sell" to patients as THE improvement to the band.

I agree with eating "real" foods. I prepare all my meals and control what goes in them. I'm also an excellent baker. I don't use anything but natural ingredients and yes, that means calories. For me, having a taste of the real thing is much better than settling for a substitute made with artificial ingredients.

Your English is wonderful. If you look at my signature, you'll see that I was once 440 pounds and got the sleeve surgery when I was 285 pounds. Any weight loss surgery requires you to make life long changes in order to be successful and requires eating healthier and exercising. As you lose weight, exercising becomes more achievable and as you lose weight, you learn new ways of eating to keep it off. One of our members here runs marathons and is training for a triathalon after losing to goal weight with the sleeve. Do a lot of research, ask a lot of questions, and make the decision that's right for you when you feel ready.

WOW! This is fun. Good luck to all the members!

It would be nice to have the nutritional breakdown of the foods on the menu but I doubt it will happen. One problem is that companies lie. Independent testing spot checking fat content consistently shows higher levels than what the printed information states. Restaurants sell what people want. I rarely see people telling the wait staff NOT to bring the rolls and butter. If soup, salad, and dessert are included in the price of the meal, I rarely see people passing on any part. Some restaurants have a healthy option section on the menu that is very small compared to the rest of the menu. If healthy food was a big seller, I would expect to see this section made larger with more offerings. I do agree with Mac that it IS possible to make healthy choices without having a nutritional breakdown... shrimp cocktail over crabcakes, grilled fish over deep fried fish, fresh fruit over cheesecake. It seems people see eating out as a reason to splurge... and that includes calories. :-(

Your operation will be in the abdominal cavity and the IUD is the pelvic cavity so you have nothing to worry about.

Welcome! You'll do great so just ignore those people who have a defeatist attitude. It's not unusual to have a few PVC's during a stress test. They might decide to give you an anti-arrhythmic but that's not the end of the world. I look forward to following your journey.

It looks like it functions VERY similar to an inflated band... NOT for me! I have no desire to go back to eating an unhealthy diet and dying with heart burn and gastric regurg.

I drink crystal lite lemonade and use sweet n low in my coffee. I cook and bake all my food so I have nothing but all natural ingredients. If the artificial sweetners are going to kill me, so be it. LOL.

Maybe it's time for an esophagram to see what's going on?

You can have pasta on a soft diet and you can also have flaky fish like tilapia or flounder. How about making some 4 cheese lasagna or serving ravioli? You can also have a mushed up meatball so spaghetti and meatballs or baked ziti and meatballs would work. If you like french food, go for a quiche (easy to make).

Sweetened ricotta cheese is what the inside of cannoli desserts are made of. To bump the protein value, you can use ricotta and mix it into tomato soup or tomato sauce.

Put a call into Nina and ask her to have Dr. Campos call you.