Dora

I think it's great to have a local support group in addition to this wonderful website. I'm looking for anyone in Arkansas who has been/will be/has questions about being sleeved.

Once my BFF & I decided on the Sleeve, we were told we were the last two surgeries scheduled for the day(or actually evening at this point). I have to say, when you have several hours to sit & talk...you really begin to say "What the hell am I doing?" LOL Needless to say, we had our surgeries & there were no problems. I did have a rough night afterwards. I was soooo sick. I would wake up & vomit. They'd give me a pain & nausea shot, and I was out again! :thumbup: This continued through the night/morning. The doctor said it was probably due to the dye used in surgery to test for leaking. By noon the next day, I was MUCH improved and we moved to the Recovery House. Let me just say once again how great everyone was at the hospital - from the drivers to the nurses to the doctors to the administrators! That same kind of personal care was continued at the House. We had a 24 hour nurse who monitored, medicated & cooked for all the house patients/guests. It was a beautiful house - with thoughtful amenities provided: a laptop with internet access, English-speaking television stations, and a free-use phone to call home. I really can't tell you much about the surrounding area just because I chose to say medicated & sleep. I needed rest & couldn't eat anyway! LOL The day we were to fly home, we had to go for our final x-rays & swallow test. Our driver picked us up & voila! away we went. We got to see a little of the city of Tijuana. (I was already beginning to think of returning for another visit.) The laboratory took us in quickly & we were cleared for travel. We then did a little shopping! :lol0: We caught a plane that afternoon. We weren't able to eat anything available in the airport. We prayed for help (lol) and thankfully we found chicken soup in the Denver airport. It was absolutely delicious!! That being said, important tip for anyone planning a trip - you need to pack some chicken/beef bouillon granules in a ziploc baggie in your purse/carry-on! Hot water is readily available everywhere.

It's been a very interesting journey with my eating since having the VSG surgery. To be honest, a large part of choosing the VSG over the band had to do with eating. I just didn't want to give up some foods. I just wanted the tool to help me with the quantity that I could eat. In the first couple of weeks, I got sick A LOT! I know it was because of eating too fast, drinking at the same time and just plain over-eating. At this stage (8 weeks), I'm much better now. I'm figuring out what's best for me & my body. I can't eat much (a 4 oz. stomach doesn't hold much lol), but I do need to eat often. I try to have something (cocoa almonds, pita bites, etc) every couple of hours. By eating more frequently it helps me not to be starving and just "inhale" my food and then be sick! I still struggle with eating slowly & chewing. It's soooo hard to change such an ingrained habit! I have been out to eat several times. I don't stress eating out at all. I have a plastic card requesting that I be allowed to order from the children's menu because of WLS - if I want to use it. I have only once so far. Other times, the places we've gone, (primarily Mexican...which I totally LOVE!!!) I just order the Side Items or share with my friend or hubby. I've been reading some on this site as well as ObesityHelp.com and have learned that there are terms for VSG actions. I just learned about the term "Sliming"...at least the name of what has happened to me. I must say its a relief to know I'm typical. LOL I beginning to not stress food/eating. What a relief! That's what is so empowering to me...I now can take a bite or two of something and be done. Now don't get me wrong, its still a struggle sometimes: it tastes so good, it's a shame to 'waste' this much food, I know I can eat some more, etc. However, I LOVE the feeling of knowing that I WILL/AM succeeding at weightloss!

My BFF and I had VSG done by Dr. Almanza on June 10th. We flew from Little Rock, AR to San Diego. We had a truly memorable & positive experience. Everything went smoothly. :thumbup:The hospital & guest house staff were exceptional. I'd love to talk with anyone who has questions. Please feel free to message me.

I got to thinking, I don't think in my Blog I ever mentioned my doctor so let me be proud to report: I was sleeved by Dr. Almanza at Jerusalem Hospital on June 10! They are wonderful people!

(sorry...hit Enter/Post button accidently) ...it didn't happen EVERY time I ate, but initially it happened several times ONCE I began solid foods. It happened when I ate TOO FAST or TOO MUCH. The hardest things are to take it slow and figure out just how much you can eat. It's a learning process. Don't get scared or discouraged. You're going do great!!

Congrats on choosing an excellent doctor & facility! As for being a fast eater, yes, that will be the challenge. I have such a hard time with that especially when I'm hungry & haven't eaten in several hours. My husband even coaches me, "Eat slow, chew!" LOL Don't be worried about busting your staple line. Once the surgery is over, you can't have anything but liquids anyway. You will hear different opinions on how long to be on liquids after surgery. Personally, I continued on liquids for only 1 more week. I then added in Soft Foods (mashed pots, refried beans, fresh soft fruits, soups with soft pasta, veggies). As for getting sick with eating, it didn't happen EVERY

Hello! I really don't know how this works as this is a first for me. I don't expect anyone to care about reading this so I'm gonna think of this as a diary. I have been very lax about journaling my weight loss journey so far. I'm a little ashamed of that! Today marks me at 8 weeks post-op VSG. I'm not one to weigh myself (hardly EVER) but upon scheduling my surgery date, I weighed in at 215. I then did a 10 day Pre-Op Diet and lost 7 lbs! My surgery day weight was officially 208 lbs. I now weigh 183!! That's 25 lbs in 8 weeks! Sometimes upon reading other people's posts of HUGE amounts of weightloss in only a month's time, I feel depressed. BUT, I've averaged 3 lbs. a week and if I continue at that rate, that's 150 lbs in a year! I do want to share about my decision on having weight loss surgery. My BFF and I have struggled with our weight for years, trying every kind of diet out there. A woman we work for mentioned that her neighbor(an RN) had went to Mexico & had the LapBand done because it was soooo much cheaper than in the States. This started my intensive research. I quickly found out through the internet & an awesome book that the States are WAY behind in medical procedures. I have no insurance and would have to Self-pay so Mexico was the ONLY option for me if I truly wanted to change my life. I have no doubt that every step of this journey has been a God-thing. I found a Patient Coordinator who took care of everything and had my BFF & I booked for surgery quickly. Before we knew it, our 10 day liquid diet was over (BEWARE: day 2 was a KILLER!) and we were flying to San Diego.

The day of the surgery, we were picked up at the airport and taken just across the border into Tijuana to the hospital. The hospital was small & different than I expected, but the people were very professional, clean & so generous. From the moment we stepped inside, we were TOTALLY taken care of. Now, my BFF & I had done all our research on the LapBand and was scheduled for that morning. However, upon speaking with the OWNER of the hospital & his recommendation, we both chose to have the Sleeve instead. The doctor explained the differences & complications/maintenance of each. We both felt that the Sleeve was the right thing for us. I KNOW that was God's hand yet again!