My Vsg Surgery In Tijuana

[Pooh5270 9]

Hi, my name is Lauri and this is my first day on this board and I am still trying to figure everything out. I am just a little over 3 weeks post-op and doing fairly well other than I still get nauseated every time after I eat. It kind of takes the joy out of eating altogether, but I guess that can be a positive thing too since it will keep me from eating too much and too often. I started my research back in July after we got a windfall of money and I started looking for a surgeon that I could afford. I was lucky enough to find Ready 4 a Change and talked to alma there. She is a wonderful lady and my first of many great experiences with their company. I originally was looking at having a gastric bypass and they said that a gastric sleeve might be a better option. Hey, it was less money and less invasive so I was all for it!! I have been morbidly obese my entire life and even though I was attending Weight Watchers (and still am) I felt this was the chance of a lifetime to help me finally lose weight and get down to a more normal size and feel what it is like to be a more normal person. I still don't plan on being a runway model or anything like that, but if I get down to around 180, I will be a happy camper! I was disgusted with myself after reaching an all-time high earlier the year before of 422. I never imagined being over 400 pounds and trying to find clothes was becoming a real chore. This was heart-breaking to me because I am a real clothes horse.

I had done some yo-yo'ing weightwise, and had gained weight back after taking a break from WW, but when I made a committed effort to start back, I was at 390 pounds. This is the weight I started at when I started working with Ready 4 a Change. I set things up and we set a surgery date for October 4, 2012. Because of my high BMI, Alma suggested I do the pre-op diet for 3 weeks prior to surgery. This consisted of 2 Protein shakes a day and a salad for dinner with some kind of Protein on it. I managed to lose 13.2 pounds prior to going to Tijuana. I took this as a good sign and was proud of my progress. I was at 376.8 pounds going into surgery.

We had nightmare after nightmare getting ready for the trip. We had problems getting our passports and had to drive to Seattle from Portland the week before we left to get them and then they lost them. We had flight delays and problems with my mom's power wheelchair, but we made it to Tijuana! Everything seemed to be golden once we were there. The staff at Ready 4 A Change was so accommodating and helpful, I can't begin to say enough about them. Samuel, the driver from San Diego to Tijuana is a real sweetheart as well as his father, Samuel. Melissa or Meli, the coordinator along with Rosie was there to answer questions and get us settled into the hotel. The Tijuana Mariott is beautiful! They made sure we were set up for pick-up the next morning at 6:45am.

Surgery date arrived and I was excited! The staff and doctors went over the whole procedure with me and told my mom and myself what would be happening every step of the way. They made sure my mom was taken care of and had food to eat and a bed in my room to sleep in for the 2 nights I was in the hospital. Surgery was quick and easy and I was back in my room in no time flat. I was sleepy, but they reminded me that I needed to be up walking 20 minutes every 2 hours to dispel the gas that was used to fill the abdomen for surgery. I was a stubborn patient--I wanted to sleep, not walk! I begrudgingly did it as little as possible and I paid the price for it by being in more pain. It was nice to have my mom by my side to baby me and take care of little things when I didn't feel like calling a nurse. The staff was wonderful, although the language barrier got in the way from time to time. The doctors spoke pretty good English, but the nurses didn't speak as much. At the end of the day though, we figured it out. My biggest complaint came the morning after surgery when they wanted me to get up and take a shower. I was so weak and didn't know if I could make it, but I did and then they came in and changed my bandages. We repeated this again day 2. Dr. Garcia came in to see me and said that I had done very well with my pre-surgery diet and had the liver of a much smaller person. This made his job much easier. He said my surgery went well and I was free to go back to the hotel for another 2 nights.

We made friends with some of the other patients and arranged to go shopping and tour Tijuana. Things kind of fell apart, but my mom and I took a 3 hour taxi tour of Tijuana and went shopping on Revalution Street and brought home some souveniers. I ate some chicken broth finally and drank some Water and ate a popscicle. Eating was, and still is, a chore. Since surgery, I've gone back to Weight Watchers and the first week back I actually gained weight! I was up 2 pounds, but we figured it was all the fluids and everything they gave me in the hospital. The second week back, I was down 18.4 pounds and last week I was down 3.8 pounds. Altogether, I've lost 20.2 since surgery, but overall I am down over 40 pounds and it feels great! I am hoping for a little more loss this week and I'm going to try to start exercising more. Other than my discomfort with eating, I am thrilled with my surgery. My doctor in Mexico thought I could lose 100 pounds in 3 months, but I am thinking more like 60-75 pounds. I am just going to follow the diet and let my body do what it feels is right. As long as I'm not gaining, I will be happy. Thank you for reading my story and I look forward to being a member here.

[lessofmeismore 1,405]

Welcome to VST

Great story!

[Amber'sJourney 14]

Yay! Congrats on your loss!

[tallysfunny 363]

One step at a time. You will get to your goal in time. I think this whole process before and after surgery is an exercise in patience. And I have none let me tell you. But I'm learning. Keep us updated on your progress.