quints

We'll be here supporting your every move and cheering you on when you need it..

100 pounds!!!!!!!!! Womp Womp

Hope everything turns out okay for you, keep us updated.

Thinking of you

You can find a price list of all the cosmetic surgeries offered in Mexico if anyone wants a ballpark figure here at this website: http://www.successfullyslimmer.com/Cosmetic_Surgeries.html

I know I'm having a tt and maybe a boob job Good luck everyone!

Same here I found out today I'm running low on Iron and Vitamin D even though I take a multi everyday as well as a fruit and a vegetable supplement. So it looks like I will have to drink a glass of 2% milk everyday and I'm not a milk drinker. Today I mixed in a Unjury chocolate Protein mix then added a couple of ice cubes and crushed it all together and it wasn't that bad, not gritty at all, it tasted like a instant Breakfast or slim fast, just a little thicker. If it comes down to me not being able to stomach another thought of drinking one, I'll add just a touch of chocolate Syrup for better flavor. So I'll be buy some more of the unjury. My cholesterol dropped 10 points since my liquids/softees, started them 10 days prior to being sleeved on April 4th in Tijuana. Everything came back good.

Wishing you the very best in your journey

I know I'm new here and post very little, I've been busy reading and researching on here and other forums. I think I'm normal in that I've flip flopped between which Dr. I thought was qualified, which one I'd trust, how much money I will (hopefully!) have to spend and omg am I out of my mind?!?! WHY do I want to put my body through this and WHY can't I just follow what others here eat and NOT have the surgery at all?!

The truth of it is this, I'm fat. Big admission, eh? I have tried every diet out there (had great luck with Atkins and felt wonderful!) and had success and obviously failures. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue syndrome a few years ago and put on medication. These medications not only make it virtually impossible for me to lose weight, but have made me GAIN another 150 pounds on top of my already pudgy body. MEH! *insert foot stomp here*

I have called Drs in the US and Mexico because my ins. doesn't cover anything at all for the VSG, they consider it experimental. I've made my choice in the Dr. that I will be going with, which is Dr. Aceves. It's a personal choice and one that I'm comfortable with and obviously he may not be right for everyones budget or peace of mind. I absolutely don't want to put anyone down or make you feel less intelligent or affluent by making a different choice than the one I chose. I think almost imperceptibly people get little digs in on others, probably not intentionally, for the choices they are making. I don't want to do that and I wouldn't want anyone to feel like they're less of a person or not as intelligent for making a different decision than the one i'm making. What I will say is this, call around, ASK QUESTIONS, read read read! If you are comfortable in the choice you've made, flip off everyone else as you go to your dr and do what's healthy and right for your body.

I'm a bit like Tiffykins, from what I've read of her posts. I want a full service hospital and a staff of people that not only have the knowledge to save my life (if things happen to go from sugar to sh!t) but the equipment on hand to do it with. While I hate hospitals, I feel that I would be better off mentally and emotionally to know that I have a team waiting on me should anything happen.

To everyone here, every single person that has posted and made a difference and helped me on my journey, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I know that I'm making the best decisions possible (FOR ME) based on the information that I have and I feel like I'm better informed now that all of you have taken the time to post, respond and reach out a hand to help others. I thank you.

Renee`

Very Happy For You.. Super Jealous!

Next obstacle -- picking the right location for the right price.

The doctors I am looking at both have GREAT reviews.

Dr. Aceves in Mexicali

OR

Dr. Almanza in Tijuana

I was quoted $9,500 for Dr. Aceves -- "The cost for laparoscopic Gastric Sleeve Surgery here at our center $9,500 USD.* " (p.s. Gastric Sleeve in the town where I live is currently going for $9,900 - so considering the addition of airfare? ... no bargain / same price.

The quote for Dr. Almanza is this -- " We are also offering the Vertical Gastric Sleeve Package for only $4,999!"

Gee -- hard decision.

Also, Airfare to Mexicali is around $650 round trip, whereas round trip to San Diego looks like it is around $450

SO.... Looks like it is Dr. Almanza in Tijuana.< /span>

Do you agree?

Hi, I had the sleeve in Tijuana by Dr. Almanza and I had a wonderful experience. I was there with 4 other ladies and we all came out okay. I had a follow up with my primary 10 days after and they removed my stitches for me. I had no infections or complications. Your coordinator can get you the lowest price if you ask them. Successfullyslimmer has all the prices listed, but I used Nina as my coordinator I can't say enough nice things about her. She owns her own home in Tijuana that she just bought and moved into so she could have her patients stay with her and the live in nurse. Her home sits above the city of Tijuana and is a beautiful 5 bedroom single home. They will take you out shopping on Revoloution dr or whrever you want to go or you can just sit out back on the patio and listen to the fountain relax and enjoy the view. She is with you every step of the way as soon as you come out of the clinic, which I can't say the same about other coordinators. It's your decision. http://www.bariatricinmexico.com/p-sleeve.php I wish you all the luck for a fast recovery.

l

Quints, I have a question that might sound silly. I have read about issues with the Water in Tijuana or in Mexico in general for that fact. Tell me about your experience about drinking Water in Mexico pre-op and post op. What about showering post up and the incisions, any issues? Do they tell you anything about the water? Did you remove your own stitches after the 10 days while you were at home or did you go to your local doctor? How did Dr. Almanza seal the stomach, staples, glue and sutures? Did he just use sutures on the incisions from the surgery, is there 5 total?

Anyone else have any input about the water in Tijuana for drinking and showering after surgery? I would hate to have a successful surgery and then get sick from the water.

Thank you.

I personally didn't drink the water unless it came out of a bottle, I spit out after rinsing my mouth. But then again, they do give you ice chips after surgery and from what I understand, when they perform the staple they fill your stomach up with water for a leak test and I didnt have any problems from that water. I also chose not to shower with open wounds, yes I had 5 of them, all stiched except for the one where they removed the port after 2 days, that was still open and covered with a guaze pad. Maybe I was being a paranoid dirt ball (( lol)) but I'd rather be safe than sorry, so I can't speak for anyone who did shower. According to Nina, I was told Dr. Almanaz uses all 3 methods for closure: staples, surtures and glue, it was 2 weeks since my sleeve yesterday, and I have not had any problems or infections. My primary took out my stitches 10 days later for me and I feel good, just a little tired, but I've been back to work for a week and still recooperating... Or maybe it's the lack of food making me feel tired! lol..who knows. All I know is I had a very good experience with Dr. Almanza, Jerusalem Clininc, and Nina my cooridenator and I would do it again as well as reccomend them to others. Like Viola said, it is a big decission and you have to do what you think is best for you. Nobody knows your body like you do and what you can and cannot handle. When you feel comfortable with your choice, you'll know. Good Luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Hi and welcome. I had my surgery with Dr. Almanz on April 4th. I had no problems at all. The staff were very friendly and the place was clean. You will be picked up at Jetblue terminal around 8 o'clock am. along with other people having surgery at Jerusalem clinic. Then when you arrive the nurse will draw blood, and you will then be taken upstairs and checked in, then changed into a gown and given an ekg and wait to be called downstairs for your surgery. I was in OR for about 55 minutes, so it goes pretty quick. The clinic is very small, more like a surgery center here, but well staffed, equiped and clean. You will spend the night there as well. I was up and out in the tv room where my daughter slept on a leather sofa. Some of the patients had gas pains so bring some DISSOLVING Gas-x Strips just in case.The next day we went to our recovery houses, where you can pretty much do as you please. They are staffed with a nurse and a housekeeper. I stayed at Nina's house, which she owns, and it was one of the nicest recovery house and had beautiful view from up the hill looking over the city. I highly recommend her not only because she cares about her patients, but because she also had the sleeve done as well as some cosmetic's, so she is well aware of your needs and diet. Here is her link. Please contact her with your questions by email or phone. She is very helpful. Good luck!

http://www.bariatricinmexico.com/

Unfortunately I don't think it is that simple. Carbs like ice cream cake, Cookies, etc. slide right down through our sleeve rapidly and easily, leaving you hungry for more, and it will require work bot the lose enough of your excess weight and to maintain your weight loss if you do meet your goal.The fact they dissolve into liquid is the problem! The sleeve is not going to automatically guarantee that you lose weight and keep it off, unfortunately. My doctor, who has done the sleeve for nine years, says there is a window of from 18 months to 2 years for losing weight and that the people who are most likely to meet goal are those who count carbs strictly and keep their calorie intake low during that window of time. After that you have to be vigilant for the rest of your life because it is too easy to eat around the sleeve and gain weight again. Most of us have eating patterns involving emotions as as well as addiction to food and the people who know to really work the sleeve and learn how to deal with those emotions and addictions replacing them with healthy things are the ones who will maintain their weight for life. To me- and I am saying this because I care about you and everyone here- it is a warning sign to be anticipating the foods that may have helped you get to the point of needing to have drastic surgery such as the VSG. For me- I have to stay away from my trigger foods or I will soon be down the wrong path again. The sleeve is not a magic bullet that will take the wieght off because of your small stomach. Would that it was so easy!!!

I agree with most of what you say. I think as long as I am on liquids or soft foods only for now, and since I'm not drinking milk shakes with Protein added, or able to eat bread, Pasta, rice, carbs etc, or meat, I am getting very few calories in and loosing weight, I'm not going to feel guilty for eating a little ice cream. There's going to come a time when I am able to eat real food like meat, along with salads, fresh fruits and vegetables to get in my Proteins as well as a balanced diet which will fill me up. But for now I'm still on bland soft foods and hungry every hour and a half. So I will be eating my 1/4 cup of ice cream a day and not feel guilty, and neither should anybody else who thinks they cheated because they ate a few crackers. This is going to be a lifelong way of eating and food is not meant to be a reward or punishment. Good luck with your surgery and your weight loss.

I too cheated. I ate a Protein Bar, which was very soft, last week and I'll be 2 weeks out since surgery tomorrow. I am not drinking Protein Shakes or using the powder at all, I don't like the grit. So I too am eating ice cream. Mabye 1/4 cup a day. And I don't feel guilty one bit, plus it taste good. I also ate a butter cookie that was also very soft and dissolved before I swallowed. I am also still on soft food, Soup broths, yogurt, and twice a day I eat 2 tablespoons of mashed potatoes with about 2 teaspoons of chicken broth added to thin them out as well as give them some flavor. I look at it this way - I went a drastic route and had most of my stomach removed. It will never grow back. That means I will be on a diet for the rest of my life whether I want to be or not. I am looking forward to sitting down to a meal that I will actually have to chew. I can't wait till I am able to eat a steak, bbq ribs, or even a cheesburger, knowing that since I had this drastic surgery for a reason, I probably won't be able to finish anything and I'll be loosing weight anyway. Of course It will come to an end, and if I still want to loose more weight, I will diet to do so. But for now, I will eat soft foods or foods that will digest easily, then moving on to soft/solids, then solids, and eventually a real lifestyle. So don't beat yourself up over a cracker or two, especially since they dissolved into a liquid anyway. Good luck to us.

This is my standard reply when this question pops up every couple of days. I won't try to sway anyone one way or another, but I'll give you my reasons for choosing VSG over RNY for my revision from the band. You can also check out the revision, failure, and food issue forums on here to get an idea of some long term RNY patients. For me, it was never an option. The cons outweighed the pros.

The VSG was my 2nd, and final WLS. I could have easily had RNY, but I fought to have VSG as my revision from the band. Some factors I considered in deciding on VSG. The pouch that RNY offers is similar to the pouch with the band. Least to say, a pouch sucks, I love having a normal tummy, just less capacity and still fully functioning.

1) No blind stomach left behind that can be difficult to scope yet can still get ulcers and cancer.

2) 2 years max on calorie/carb/sugar malabsorption, but a lifetime of vitamin/nutrient malabsorption. This process is called adaptation, and it happens with intestinal bypass surgeries.

3) I had a pouch with the band, and it sucked. I'm pretty fond of my pyloric valve and the sleeve let me keep it. I love having a normal functioning stomach, just smaller in capacity.

4) Regain stats and #of RNY patients seeking revision truly scared the poop out of me

5) I have too many friends in real life that struggle with Vitamin deficiencies post-RNY, and most of them either never got to goal, or have gained back a significant amount of their weight.

6) The long term complications with RNY were too numerous for my comfort level. Pouch or stoma dilation, strictures, vitamin/nutrient deficiencies, ulcers,

7) I researched gastrectomies that had been performed for stomach cancer and ulcer patients, and found comfort in the long term results and minimal complications of patients that had lost most or all of their stomachs had dealt with over several years.

8) I was a volume eater, and knew a restrictive only procedure would work for me. That was my thought process when I got the band, and I thought I could beat the odds on complications. Sadly, the band only lasted 8 months before I had to revise.

9) I did not want to have food or medication restrictions. I chose WLS to have a "normal" life, and I think it's normal to eat a couple of Cookies. With RNY, I wasn't willing to go through the possibility of dumping if I wanted to have a couple of Cookies, or a slice of cake on occasion. The big scare for me is medication restrictions for life. NSAIDS and steroids are a NO GO for life with a RNY pouch. I realize that I may never be diagnosed with a condition or disease that requires steroid use, but it is possible. I want the best long term results with the least amount of complications. Malabsorption is not anything to play with in my mind, and I was not willing to take that risk.

I lost all my weight in my ticker with the exception of 7lbs with the sleeve, and I did it in 10.5 months. The 115lbs fell off the first 6.5 months, and then the rest I lost as I was getting into maintenance over another 4 months.. It's been a fabulous journey, and I'm easily maintaining with zero issues for nearly a year at this point. I want to add that every WLS regardless of your choice will require discipline. Only a percentage of RNY patients dump on sugar/fat, pouches and stomas stretch, then you have the medication restrictions. I'm not trying to convince you, but these were my concerns when I knew I had to revise from the band. I started at 263 the day of my revision and today I weigh 127lbs. I bounce on the scale 125-130lbs any given week, and I couldn't be more ecstatic!

Best wishes in your research!

THANKS TIFFYKINS FOR THE GOOD INFO.

Hi There. Just wanted to give an update one week out from this post. After starting a prescribed mild diuretic I have dropped all of the excess weight...almost 16 lbs worth in 5 days! That is crazy and the Dr is unsure why my body was choosing to hold onto all of that Water. This process was definitely a reminder of how complex our bodies actually are...as if having 3 babies in five years didn't?! lol ...... I'm very relieved and I am anxious to see how much "real" weight I had been loosing while packing on that Water weight. I'm guessing I'll see the scale continue to go down a few lbs more over the next few days...but if I don't I will be ok with that too because at least I am heading in that right direction...yay!..... Thanks for all of your support during my little freak out!

SO GLAD YOU'RE OKAY

LKING GD

I think you are making the right choice. I did a lot of research and the sleeve seemed like by far the best choice for me. It seemed that not only was the lap band something you could eat around between fills, but there were too many stories of erosions and slippage- and many people have a revision to the sleeve anyway later. I did not want my intestines re routed plus the dumping for both lap band and bypass scared me. I honestly think the sleeve will become the most popular surgery very soon.

I think you will find you are the envy of the two who opt for the lap band.

Good luck to you on this wonderful journey!

I agree with Meggiep. Plus with the lapband you have to keep going back for adjustments for life! Good luck to you and your decission.

Well I ate a couple of the Kellogs Special K chocolate Peanut Butter flavored ones already! So after reading everyone's posts I guess I will wait a while longer before eating them again also, but it was rather chewy and not very hard too. I thought that it was okay also......oops!

I know were starving right..

I like Protein bars also and always looking for a good one low in carbs. I'm 5 months now but at two weeks I was allowed to eat a egg, deli turkey and even wendys chili. Maybe your doctor allows this and at least it would be a change.

It's 2 weeks for me on Monday. I don't like the Protein dinks at all, so I can't wait to eat something with substance. I was thinking about tuna, and may a light fish like talipa next week, as well as my spoonful of Peanut Butter and soft foods. Deli turkey sounds good also, thanks!

The Protein Bar I ate was soooo good. It was more of a soft chocloate cookie with marshmellows. It was low in carbs and fat witheither 13 or 15 grams protein.. but it was yummy protein

Btw, how r u doing so far?

I'm doing wonderful, better then expected. I've always been pretty healthy, but averaging 25 lbs extra weight and a (chain) smoker. Then a few years ago I quit smoking and gained 50+ lbs. I have been yo-yoing ever since. I finally decided to do the sleeve but had to find a place I could afford since I'm self pay, unfortunately the states is out of reach with the malpractice insurance being so high, so I had to find an alternative. That's when I found Nina and Mexico. I am thrilled with my decision and when I go back for some cosmetic in a year or two, I will be going to Nina's again. I'm surprised at some of the sleevers on here who ate a big meal the night before their surgery? I was on a low fat, carb free diet for 10 days prior to mine along with the last 2 days of just Water, clear broth (chicken boullion), tea, and yogurt, and I didn't have any gas pains after surgery at all. I bought along some DISSOLVING gas-x strips with me just in case, but I ended up giving them to the other patients since I didn't need them. You might want to bring some along just in case. I lost about 6 lbs prior to surgery and I'm down another 10 so far. My goal is to loose 65 lbs, but I'll take a 100 if my body lets me. I'm glad your sister is going with you. My daughter came with me and we went out a day early so we could see San Diego for a whole day, so we spent 2 nights at the Hampton inn. It's a nice place, but there is a train right behind the hotel that sounds a horn every 10 minutes.. For the same price you could check out the Marriott on the bay, they run specials all the time. Ask for a high floor. Check out expedia for your flights now and buy early so you get a cheaper rate, also get two aisle seats across from your sister instead of together. Easier to get in and out for bathroom breaks and to walk around. Buy compression socks to wear home. I have to go..talk later.

Thanks everyone. I'll wait another 4 weeks.

p.s It was a soft one and I felt okay, but, I know I have to wait

I have emailed with Nina, looking at possibly may 14th! Holy cow! I have gone from not sure when I would be able to do this, to wow look at my tax return, I'm going next month!

WoW I'm excited for you! I'm so glad you got in touch with Nina. I think the recovery house is just as important as the hospital/clinic if not more so. We only stay overnight at the actual clinic - the rest of the time we are at a recovery house, so the nicer the better, and Nina's house is by far the nicest. I also liked the fact that she lives there so she is with you every step of the way!

Just make sure you have your passport or card to cross back into the U.S. also give yourself at least 4 hours to cross the border in all the bumper to bumper traffic to make your flight home, that way you'll have plenty of time to check in and go through security at the airport and maybe grab a cup of tea and relax a bit. Tell Nina quints say's hello and please keep me posted on your big day.

Congrats!

Thanks you too!

I'm 2 weeks out from vsg and doing great. I have started on mashed potatoes mixed with some chicken broth to thin them out and it taste delicious! better then butter. I also started eating 1 scrambled egg a day. The rest of the meals are pureed Soups, yogurts and fruit smoothies. Once in a while I'll eat a teaspoon of smooth Peanut Butter. It's been 6 weeks since I've had a solid meal, so I bought a low carb, lowfat, 15g Protein Bar and ate it. It was so good to eat something. Now I only hope I don't have any problems from doing that. When is the right time to eat Protein Bars? I really can't stand the Protein Drinks, has anyone else did this so soon and if so did you have any trouble? Thanks