i'am planning on having my surgery in april, wonding if anyone else out is going at this time? or would like to talk with someone in the area of cincinnati ohio that can give me and my worried daughter some advise about the whole journey..

I am not from Cinci but I am from Ashland Ohio and I went to Juarez last Dec and had Dr. Rod do my gastric sleeve surgery. he did a fantastic job and as of today I am down 110 lbs and I only needed to lose 100 which I hit at 9 months. You will have ups and downs but its so worth it. Stalling is the biggest frustration after surgery but your body needs it to catch up. The journey to Mexico is easy as is the return to the states although it takes some time due to traffic to get back. I don’t know which location your going to but I can tell you the hospital in Juarez is beautiful and clean and everyone there was amazing and very attentive without being intrusive or overly bothersome to us. My husband went with me and he enjoyed the food as I couldn’t eat any of it. The first few days you will question yourself as to why you did it because the gas pain is pretty intense but the more you walk and move the better you will feel and gas ex dissolvable strips became my best friend. After about a week all my pain was gone and my incisions were a little tender but not painful. You will see the weight loss within a few days of your surgery and it will come off pretty fast and then it will taper off then start again. I lost 20 stalled for 3-4 weeks then would lose another 20 and stall and at around 90 pounds I started stalling longer but have still gotten all the weight I needed off. Don’t be scared they take great care of you while your there and they do everything they can to ensure your safety.

I had seriously considered going for the sleeve in Mexico with Dr. Alvarez. That was before I was put on a second blood pressure medication and then my insurance company decided to go ahead and approve me so I could have the surgery here in Cincinnati. Anyway, I have heard a lot of really good things about the clinic in mexico and Dr. Alvarez . The best thing is to go on you tube and watch some of the people's videos and search for info on the doctor you plan to use . Email the people directly and ask the clinic you will use if they have anyone signed up from the area, former patients, etc, and email them . This is surgery and it is always good to check everything out as much as you can before hand so that you can feel more secure about it.

I see Dr. George Kerlakian at Good Samaritan Hospital. He is with the TriHealth group. I love him because he talks to you like a normal person and doesn't use a lot of big words that no one knows what they are or mean. We also have a group meeting every month to discuss what we are going thru with our journey.