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Very cool! We do East and West Coast swings too, well the country versions : ) I was in great shape when I was dancing 3 times or so a week. Hopefully I will get back to that!

Tiffany is still doing great! In fact, she is making me look bad. LOL I slept most of my first day in the recovery house. She slept for awhile and now has been up for 3 or 4 hours, downstairs, watching movies and chatting. Fab, I don't know if Dr. Brenda is a surgeon. She has been here a couple of times today and I think will be back this evening. I will try to ask her. It has been very interesting to watch the process from the other side. And I was mistaken earlier. The clinic I was at in February is their main clinic. They have been doing some remodeling so have been using the Vida Hospital. Tony is picking me up early in the morning to go to the airport. My flight is at 11am. Tiffany goes home on Friday. She will get to drink the nummy purple liquid tomorrow for her leak test. I figured I would leave town before that. LOL

Great job Wannalise!! Glad you are grounded and doing well : ) I am terrible about the liquids; figured my body is used to it tho cause I didn't drink enough before surgery either. lol I do miss Wendy's alot. They have the best fries. Hope you continue to do great!

What kind of dance lessons are you taking? My husband and I met country dancing ... back in the early 90's when country and Garth Brooks were cool. We are supposed to meet some friends on Friday night. I hope we still remember how! I would love to learn salsa!

Congrats Sassie and Goodlife! It will be exciting for you! I am so glad I had it done! Sorry about the pre-op diet tho. That would have been very hard!

I haven't lost any yet - and hoping not to. I really love my long thick hair :sad0:. I am taking prenatals. Don't know if it will help but the extra Vitamins I figured were good. My PP is going to do labs at 3 months.

If you read back, Alex has stated that he has removed people using multiple screen names and were posting unsubstantiated stories. Shirley, a former coordinator, was fired recently. She apparently used to post on here as a happy Almanza patient and since being fired has been berating the clinic. The vendetta is easy, and to me, obvious. It is all about money. We see it with mainstream businesses every day. Someone comes in, charges less and then everyone else hates them. I know people who refuse to shop at Walmart because many of their products supposedly come from sweat shops. BJean - I am not calling you a liar. You believe what your surgeon told you. If he has truly never had any complications whatsoever, to any degree - then I would be curious to know how many surgeries he has done. If his surgery numbers are low - then based on percentages, his complications could be low. 1% of 100 = 1, 1% of 200 = 2, and so on. I also love my cosmetic surgeon in the US. He does many surgeries every week. Even tho I had a great experience with him - I would never even expect him to have a perfect record. It just does not seem realistic to me at all. Unfortunately, no one will ever truly be able to tell who is truthful, who is lying, who is mostly telling the truth but bending it just a bit. Perception of an experience is going to vary by each person, just as each person is very passionate about what they believe; it is true in their mind whether it is true "in the real world" or not. In the long run, I hope people do lots of research, try to talk personally (like not over the internet but a real voice) to people who have been thru surgery with the clinic or doctor they are checking out, use alot of common sense and not over react to sensationalism.

No, I do not think that is the situation at all. It is more likely those who are purposefully posting negative posts who are either fired, disgruntled employees or are associated with other clinics. I do believe complications happen everywhere. I spoke to a coordinator earlier today who confirmed the above instance of the sister having problems. There are some details that may be questionable - and that is my opinion after hearing the other version of the situation. There also seems to be alot of people who jump on the band wagon when they don't have first hand knowledge or are extremely passionate about "their" doctor being the best and only choice. I think I would have been happy with any doctors or clinics; however I chose the one I did and am very satisfied with my care. But then, most of this is all old news. And the haters for the sake of hating will continue.

AMEN. But don't waste your breath - or your fingers. I am down in TJ for the second time in two months and have been to both of the locations they use. The Jerusalem Clinic and the Vida Hospital. I was a patient during my first visit and this time I am the companion, so I have seen it from both sides. These are very talented, kind hearted people. I do not believe in any way that this Dr and clinic have any higher percentage of complications than any where else. For those who continue to say that any doctor has a perfect record - I hope that one day you will realize just how narrowminded and unrealistic that truly is. I highly doubt that anyone on this board has first hand knowledge of any surgeon's complete record and that every single patient has even checked back in with their doctor once they returned home. While down here, I have asked specific questions to a variety of people - patients, coordinators and staff. It is pretty interesting to hear "the rest of the story". I do understand that there are two sides and I am not in any way saying that either side is 100% correct. I do believe that there are some aspects being omitted or swung in a particular direction by both sides. And on both of my trips down here - Dr. Almanza has either postponed or refused to perform a surgery on a prospective patient. The first had cancer that had not been previously disclosed; and was required to have exams by other drs/surgeons before surgery could be done. I did not speak to that patient personally, however they were at the clinic when I was there. The second patient is here now and I have spoken to her and her husband. She had a stroke three weeks ago, this was not disclosed to the dr ahead of time, and he is sending her home without surgery. It is unfortunate that there is such a vendetta against this dr and clinic. Hopefully for those who want to use this clinic and doctor, they will feel comfortable to do so. Surgical complications can happen anytime, anyplace and anywhere, in the US or abroad. I truly do not feel this location is any different than anyone else.

I haven't gone to Salmon Days forever! I need to put that on my calendar! Ouroborous: As far as it raining in Seattle ~ like that is a big surprise!! LOL It would feel odd to come home to anything else!!

Thanks for asking : ) She is doing great! Had a decent night. Got right up this am, took a shower, had her dressings changed. We have been at the recovery house since about 10am. She is sleeping ... I am socializing! LOL After lunch tho I intend to take a nap. There is a new doctor here, Dr. Brenda. She speaks fluent English. She was in the hospital last night to check on Tiffany and then at the recovery house about mid-morning to check the patients here. Met a gal from Texas who is here with her husband. She had surgery 2 days ago. She was so excited to get broth after her leak test today! She was up and around soon after surgery, and is doing very well now too. Typical post-op soreness but nothing big. I guess that is about it for now. The sun went away, so much for a little tanning time! lol

What a totally awesome way to Celebrate your birthday!! That is a great achievement! I can hardly believe 100 lbs in 5 months .... amazing!! Congrats!!

Hi DeeDee ~ I love the PNW! I have lived here most of my life - except for 6 years when my dad was stationed in Illinois and Bermuda while in the Air Force. I have traveled alot, have been to all but 2 continents, and still wouldn't live anywhere else full time. OK. Maybe Costa Rica, Barbados or Belgium. LOL The grandkids are a big issue! We were blessed with our very first last fall and she is a precious little girl. My son is currently in flight school at Ft. Rucker so we have been missing her alot! They will be back in June. I live south of Seattle and actually don't venture north too often. The traffic is just too crazy! Thanks for saying hello : )

I have been passing on your messages : ) We had a real conversation about an hour ago. She is in good spirits. Just had her first GasX strip - they are such a treat! LOL And the nurse brought her an ice pack. Her discomfort is about where the top incision sits. I am hearing her describe everything I felt and said on my surgery day and afterwards. I wonder if we are all broken records??? : ) On a side note ~ today was a beautiful day in Tijuana. The sun was out and it was warm, but there was still a refreshing breeze in the air. Early this evening, it looked a little cloudy out there tho. At least we had one nice day! I know she may feel worse before she feels better, but so far she is on the right track!

Hope your surgery and recovery go smoothly! You will be so happy you did it .... in about a week : ) Good Luck!!

Yep. I think the whole point of lo carb is going into ketosis. When I first tried Atkins, a 100 years ago, I even followed the book's directions and bought the stix to test my urine to see if I was in ketosis yet. I haven't done it for years, in fact forgot all about it! : )

Congrats on your surgery date! I wish I would have brought my refillable ice pack. My chest was very sore after surgery and having ice on it was wonderful. The staff did provide me with ice but MY ice pack would have been perfect : ) I was very glad that I had my heating pad and blankie (a small airplane type). My body temperature was all over the place. Often I just wrapped up in the blanket as a comfort. Sounds like I am 5. LOL Good luck! Hope it all goes smoothly!

My first month was very similar to yours. Everything I have tried has settled just fine. My tummy still gurgles like crazy when I eat something new tho! I am only uncomfortable if I eat too much or too fast. The only Pasta I have had was in a lean cuisine meal but didn't have any issues. Glad you are doing so well!! Keep it up!!

I loved the "farewell tour"!! I laughed and cried thru mine. Couldn't believe that I was really crying over food tho. You might feel yucky the first day or two, but once you start getting on the scale and see lower numbers - your optimism will surge! Good Luck with your surgery!

I am sorry to hear about your situation! It must be very frustrating. I don't know if all insurance is the same - I pay a percentage of allowable charges. Just not sure at the moment if it is before or after the insurance payment is deducted?? Probably the safest route is to call and talk to customer service for your insurance. Not sure if the new insurance can give you much info yet tho??

Surgery is over! She did great : ) She is back in her room and talking just a little. It is interesting to see it from "the other side". It always seems that time goes by so quickly when you are sedated - and that was her first comment: It's over already?? I am staying at the hospital tonite with her. Tomorrow she will probably go to the recovery house. I know she will appreciate the good wishes!

I am sorry you are going thru this! Since you mentioned the "school girl crush stuff" .... it made me think of my 15 yr old daughter. She was having a "thing" (apparently what they call it before you are an actual couple these days??) with a guy at her high school. It was probably the longest close friendship she has had with a boy so far - about a month. Then he all of sudden quit texting or talking to her. She was really strong on the outside, I hope she was on the inside also. I am glad that she felt comfortable talking to myself and her dad. So after a week of being ignored .... She comes into my room tonite to tell me all about the "new" guy! She is all happy and bubbly again! Citygal ~ I have to believe this will happen to you also. A better guy will come along. And hopefully, when you get closer to your goal, you will run into this guy somewhere and he will be so sad that he passed up the chance to be "the one". Believe in yourself. It is his loss!

You will be just fine! As was said above - your new tummy is not gonna let you over eat. While there are things I wished I would have cut back on before surgery (diet pop!), the recovery period will help you adjust. You won't have an option! I am fortunate that I didn't have a pre-op diet because I was absolutely in see-food diet mode:sad0:. I really admire those who make it thru a pre-op diet - especially the two week or longer ones!!

Anyone been there, done that??? yikes!!! Another procedure that I had no idea existed! A friend called to ask me if I had ever heard of it. Someone told her about it and said it was great. My friend didn't want to look it up on her work computer so asked me to do it for her. LOL I have to say that I was shocked and embarrassed when I read about it! It seems like it may have some benefits. If there truly is "old matter stuck in there", it would be nice to get it out. I don't see where they sedate you tho and not sure I would want to be awake. I have had a flex sig (mini colonoscopy) and was awake, however they don't go exploring very far. I was also quite surprised to see several youtube videos posted. Haven't been brave enough to watch one yet tho! The article below starts out: Colonic irrigation using colon hydrotherapy involves the safe, gentle infusion of Water into the colon via the rectum. No chemicals or drugs are involved and the entire therapy is both relaxing and effective. Relaxing??? :sad0: What happens during and after a typical colonic irrigation using colon hydrotherapy?