Before & After

There are currently no before and after photos for this member.

See these instructions if you wish to submit your own Before & After photos.
Goals

No Public Goals Yet.
View The Goals Page
Surgeon Testimonial

Ariel Ortiz Lagardere, MD FACS
Well, all I can say is WOW!

My husband and I both had the VSG surgery on 8/1/2011
From the moment we walked into the center we were greeted and cared for well.

The intake staff took blood, ekg etc then led us into our rooms for the iv insertion. The nurse was one of the best nurses I have ever had in a doctor or hospital setting. I have had several major surgeries in the States and I can only say that this was a breath of fresh air.

Even with the limited English it was easy to communcate. Any time I was not understood, the person would stop what they were doing and go get a doctor or nurse who spoke English well. They were extremely patient with the language barrier.
I did not see Dr. Ortiz but once, I think. It was after surgery while I was quite looped. He asked me and my husband some questions. We were both sitting on the sofa in my husbands room. They let me go into his room anytime I wanted, me being the worry wart that I am. It was one room over.

Dr. Martinez was absolutely superior in every way. He was the surgeon I spoke with before and after the surgery. He was attentive, caring and very pleasant. I could not have asked for a better surgeon for myself and my husband.
We had to return to the clinic daily to have our drains checked and bandage changed. On the first return visit I was having some difficulties, dizzy nausea etc. I know it was the after affects of the aenestisia. I have always had this kind of reaction to certain types so I was familiar with the feeling. Dr. Martinez was very helpful in calming my fears and put be back on the IV fluids which always help. After sleeping it off in the next couple days I was fine.

When it came time to get the drains removed, mine was quite painful. Either that or I'm just one big baby these days. Either way, Dr. Martinez immediately joined the nurse who was removing the drain to assist and ease me through the proceedure. I am grateful for that. I did not expect it to hurt and of course my husband didn't feel a thing. Go figure.

When it was time for my husband to have his drain removed I had an opportunity to speak to Dr. Martinez without having a drug influence. He was very informative and filled me in on some of the latest developements in the WLS world. He seemed pretty impressed with Dr. Ortiz and told me that Dr. Ortiz would be going to Hamburg, Germany to speak with doctors there about the results of the plication process to date. He was quite a pleasure to talk to and a font of knowledge.

Dr. So (spelling?) was also a wonderful asset to the experience. He explained, answered questions and when he felt I needed more info he took the time to go and get Dr. Martinez.

All in all it was refreshing to have doctors around me that were willing to talk to me without making me feel like I was taking up their precious time or exceeding my time allotment which is how I feel EVERY time I have had surgery in the states. The doctors did not set themselves up as elitists.
They answered every one of mine and my husbands questions. Dr. So even took time during his Sunday breakfast ( He saw us at the Marriott and made it a point to stop by our table and say hi and ask us how we were doing!) to answer some additional questions my husband had.

If I was to suggest anything for improvement it would be to have a nurse ready at a designated time to check the drain and bandage. We had to wait between 45 min up to 2 hours each time. I'm not sure of the logistics in doing this but it would be nice.
Also, some reclining chairs in the rooms? Definately not a deal breaker.

I really felt safe the entire time I was in their hands.
I hope to bring my daughter there next year so she can get the proceedure done as well.

Maybe WOW wasn't all I had to say after all. :-)
Latest Surgery Support Comments

  • Comment by Cristina S. on 7/31/11 9:30 am
    Good luck and best wishes on your surgery tommorow!
Click here for the surgery support page
            
Pkrplyr777's Blog
Pkrplyr777's Blog


20 days post surgery
on August 20, 2011 4:32 pm
Well heres an update while I let my stomach digest the single scrambled egg....

We've been pretty busy. But we are doing wonderfully. We just started our soft food stage and it's been a bit of a learning curve. I cant eat more that a few tablespoons at a time. But I'm not hungry so it's all good.

My husband is eating more things than I think he should and it seems like he is just sick of being restricted in what he can eat. He does not eat much of it though. Funny thing though, after telling me to stop worrying because he feels fine, he just came in the bedroom and said he can feel he ate too much just now. That's a good sign. I was worried he would just eat too much and hurt himself somehow. But yeah, the sleeve wins!

I feel that restriction in my chest/stomach after a few bites.

We've been to three cookouts since we've come back and haven't really felt like we were missing anything while everyone else was chowing down. Your just too full after a few bites. Like you've just had the third dessert after Thanksgiving dinner. You just don't want anymore food, no matter what it is.

I wish the nutritionist was more informative about what "soft foods" are and why we have to be on soft foods for two weeks before starting regular foods.
I'm not sure why but we are doing it anyway. Even though my husband takes bites of stuff he shouldn't.

All in all, it's been great. I'm down 36 pounds since we started and my husband is down about 45 pounds. Based on the amount we can eat, which is very small but satisfying, I expect a 3 to 6 pound loss a week.

I started at a lesser weight than he did AND I am menopausal so I burn WAY fewer calories than he does so I expect he will lose much faster than me, which is ok by me. I'm healthy, no medical conditions but he has high blood pressure, etc that is getting better since he's losing weight.

The coolest thing of all?????
My stomach has not growled at all since the surgery! AND I think I am getting to know what being "hungry" really feels like. I think I was hungry yesterday at noon....lol. I'll keep you posted.

Donna
Be the first to leave a comment.

3 days to go till "v" day
on July 29, 2011 2:07 am
Well, in three days I go under the knife. This is a journey for both myself and my husband. I don't think I would have done this if Bob didn't need it so badly. I weighed in at 233 at my highest. I guess I just thought I could get a handle on my weight gain if I just got some stress free time in my life where I could stop stressing and start concentrating on me.
After reading up on surgeries for my husband it became apparent that I had all the same thoughts and symptoms of the average obese person." Funny how Obese" and "Average" can be put into the same sentence comfortably, right? Anyway,  I just hadn't got to the part where I felt hopeless. You have to try something to get to the hopeless part.

I recently hit menopause and put on about 10 lbs in the blink of an eye. That kinda sent off some alarms. Then at a recent doctors visit, I was told that menopausal women had to do and hour of cardio a day for six days a week just to maintain their weight! Hello?! Who's got an hour a day? And I didn't want to maintain 230 lbs! I want to REDUCE! I would have to quit my job and live on love because obviously food and work were out.

Shortly after that Bob and I went on a trip to Napa, Ca. I'm a big wine fan and love the tastings. We met a guy who had the surgery done. We had hit it off during the wine train ride and bumped into him and his group again in China town. We all decided to go to a Chinese restaurant for lunch. When we noticed he wasn't eating nearly as much as the rest of us, comfortably so I might add, he shared his story with us. Bob was so interested that he decided he wanted this too.
I was thrilled! Bob had been adamant that all he had to do was go vegetarian and he would lose the weight....that has not happened. He weighed in at about 340 with a lot of associated medical issues. Lately he had back aches when walking short distances and distressing side affects from the meds he was on. I was worried.

We went to an informational session at a local hospital on the sleeve surgery. We filled out the forms, called our insurance carrier etc. We began to realize that while his surgery would probably be covered because of his BMI and medical conditions, sadly mine would not. Not a single medical condition...yet. We also realized that there would be several months of medical tests, most of which Bob has had done before but the insurance company would not accept them unless they were within the last 6 months. Bob travels quite a bit for work so it would be a challenge. I was doing some Internet research on-line when I ran across some websites for Mexico surgery. The cost out of pocket was do-able for us, the timing soooooo much easier, the doctors had great reviews. Hmmmmm...... a no brainer for us! So off to Tijuana we go!

It's kinda funny how after putting down the deposit and getting the flights we just jumped right into the pre-op diet. For a month we've been attacking the diet. We've done it together so it's been easier for both of us. Bob had to give up bread and I had to give up wine. We sympathize with each other and support each other.
We started out with just  protein shakes, lean meats and salads and/or green beans or spinach for a week or two then moved into the "liquid" phase. At first we thought it was just protein shakes. Very daunting. Then after reading the instructions again we found that a salad or a bowl of low cal-low fat soup could be added. At this point Bob was down 30+ lbs and I was down 20 so it looks like we are doing ok. I def wanted to keep the weight coming off because of the whole "big, unhealthy liver in the way of the stomach during surgery" thing. Didn't sound like something I wanted to mess around with. So for the days leading up to the cut off, the 2 days before surgery that we have to be on liquids only, we will add some salad or soup. 

Everything seems to be going well. All things for the OCD control freak are in order and all peoples know their roll.

AAAHHHHHH! That's about the time I realized that I would be going under the knife! OMG! Gotta keep my cool. I've had soooo many surgeries in my life. From a very major accident at age 17 to an emergency surgery for a tube pregnancy and the several minor surgeries in the following 30 years. I have issues. I know, very sad. But it's in the works so off I go.

I know the real issue with the surgery is the anesthesia. The surgery itself seems to be well done for some time. I just hate being under anesthesia. Sigh......

I'm also worried about Bob. He has never had surgery. Never been put under. He is also thick headed, but lovingly so. I hope he drinks the water he supposed to. He is scheduled to travel for work the third week out of surgery. I'll be a wreck till he gets home.

Well, for now I'll just try to keep us on track and healthy. I've taken the time to do measurements on my body and I'm going to do this for Bob too. Think I'll take some before pictures as well.

Guess I'll start packing.....See you all on the flip side of this thing.

Donna
Be the first to leave a comment.



Archive

Tags