kemo46

Congrats, it will be life changing. I was sleeved by Dr. Almanza on 5-25-2011 and things could not be better. My weight loss has been great but the way you will feel is fantastic. They will take good care of you and it will be over before you know it. I cannot believe it has been 7 weeks since my surgery, it seems like only a couple. The time will fly by for you. Enjoy the journey.

I agree. I think it has got out of hand a little.Like I said, I apoligize if I offended anyone. I think the most important thing is that we all have had our surgery and I hope everyone continues to do well.

Not a problem at all. I respect your opinion. I appreciate all your honesty. I am just glad we are all doing well.

I agree, just because he does a lot of surgeries does not automatically make him a great surgeon. I chose him for many reasons and one is communication. Him and his staff takes time to answer ALL of your questions and makes sure you understand everything. It is very hard to compare surgeries in the U.S. to surgeries in Mexico, regardless of who the surgeon is. Self-pay opposed to insurance hoops has a lot to do with the number of surgeries performed. It is always a great thing that we have the freedom to choose who we want to do our surgeries. It is sad but there will be a lot of people scared to go to Dr. Kelly now since he had a death. Anytime you have ANY surgery, there is risk and things can happen. That does not make him a bad surgeon. There are a lot of people on this forum that has used Dr. Almanza and is very happy with the procedure including me. I tell people to do their research and make their decision based on that. When people bash Doctors on forums not knowing the facts, that is just irresponsible, this is done a lot on here. I appreciate your post, you simply stated that you are not comfortable with someone that does that many surgeries every day and would not go to them. There are many reasons people choose to use or not use a surgeon. It is their body so all we can do is hope they did their research. Have a great day

I apoligize if I offended anyone but I do deal in facts and not hearsay. If you would ask your coordinator, Dr. Kelly's coordinator ( Trish) and any other coordinator, they WILL tell you that this DOES go on. Saying that Dr. Almanza has more experience is not bashing any other surgeon in any way. You can look back at my posts from day 1, I have never said anything negative about ANY other surgeon. There is a reason for that, there is no way we could know the facts if we are not there. You say that doing 5 to 6 surgeries a day is clearly not safe, what is a safe number according to you and how did you arrive at this number? We all feel our surgeons are qualified and competent or we would not have used them. Why would you bash a surgeon you have not met or know the facts about? I hope everyone does their research and chooses their surgeon based on facts and not what someone on a forum says about them.

Like I said, ask your surgeon how many SLEEVES he has done and then do the math. Dr. Almanza has done many more sleeves than Dr. Aceves and he will tell you that. These surgeries take about one hour to complete and he works 6 days a week, not 5. If you do not believe he does 145 a month, I ask all the people on the forum that has had surgery there to post how many people had their surgery the same day as them. The math is not that hard. I hate to break this to you but Dr. Aceves was not doing sleeves in 1986. I talked to your surgeon along with several others and yes, experience is important to me. I would not call it an assembly line, I would call it being efficient and making money. As far as how I know about the coordinators, it was simple, I asked. I talked to 3 coordinators from different surgeons and was told the same thing. There are people on this forum that will tell you the same thing. The competition for these surgeries has been tough and they get paid by the number of surgeries they book. Like I have said in all of my posts, I do not bash any surgeons because we do not know all the facts.

Ask your surgeon, all have different rules. I was to start walking immediately and increase my distance. I was told not to lift anything or any other exercise for 6 weeks. I just started my exercise this week.

That is why everyone should do their own research. There are stories about all Doctors. Dr. Kelly who I feel is a great Surgeon just had someone die a couple of weeks ago, do you think that makes him a bad surgeon? Things happen and it is usually the patient not following directions. The next time you talk to your surgeon, ask him how many he has done, I know how many your surgeon has done. I elected to go with someone with more experience( Almanza does 145 WLS a month) . One of the main reasons I did not consider your surgeon is I could of had the surgery in the States for 2,500.00 more than what Aceves Charges, that makes no sense to me to pay that much in Mexico and go to a Surgeon that has less experience. It is MY OPINION that Dr. Almanza is a great surgeon and the care was fantastic. I feel that there are a lot of great ones out there including your surgeon. Just a heads up, the majority of the so called horror stories you read on these forums are generated by coordinators working for other Doctors. I think the bottom line is everyone has to do their research and choose the Surgeon who they feel the best about, that is what I did and would not do it any differently today. Again, I AM NOT knocking any surgeon and it is the persons responsibility to do research and choose their surgeon wisely. There are great surgeons out there, I feel I had a great one with a lot of experience and could not be happier. Remember, just because you pay more for something does not mean it is better.

I did my research. Dr. Almanza does an average of 145 of the sleeves a month. When I asked all other surgeons that I was considering, not a one of them was close to that number. I believe there is no substitute for experience. I am not sure if there are surgeons that have performed more, I just could not find one. The actual Surgeon that taught him the procedure and did his personal sleeve is a great surgeon but he has not done near the number as Dr. Almanza.

You will be fine, they will take care of you. I stressed out before I went and it was for no reason. Like others have said, it is small and cramped at times but you will be well cared for.

Just because you over pay for something does not make it better. I do not know the Doctor you are referring to but I used Dr. Almanza and he was not 6 or 8 thousand and I am not sure you can find a better surgeon. I know you will not find one with more experience. I do agree with one thing you said, everyone should do their research.

Correct, big difference in weather in Mexicali. I would require A/C in those temps too.

The weather in Tijuana/San Diego is great, no need for an A/C. I love my A/C but high temps in the 70's, that is fantastic. I live in Texas and I would love that right now. If I had surgery here in Texas and they did not have A/C, I would have cancelled in a minute. It is a different experience at the clinic but I would not trade it for anything. The care was fantastic and there is no substitute for experience.

That is fantastic Noel, it is a great feeling. I have a question, the only exercise I have been able to do is walking. Did you seem to lose more after you started doing more exercise, I have to wait until after my 6th week to do anything other than walk. I have been very lucky, I have not tried any food that I have not been able to tolerate. I am staying away from carbs and sugar but I did sneak in a couple of buffalo wings today, love that spicy food. Keep up the good work.

Hey Diva, it gets much better. Get up and walk those halls of the clinic, I was there 1 month ago. You feel much better after you get the gas out of your system. I knew you would like Dr. Almanza, they are great. They will take good care of you at the recovery house as well. Ask to see before pictures of Servano and Elsie, they both had the surgery, you will not believe it. WALK, WALK, WALK AND SIP, SIP AND SIP.. It sounds silly but that is what is going to make you feel better. When you get to the recovery house, stay on the meds, they will give them to you every 8 hours and it does help with the nausea We are happy for you.

You will just need to show your driver's license and birth certificate when coming back to the U.S. We had two in our group that did not even apply for a passport and they had no issues. I wish I had known that before and I could have saved on my expedited fee.

I understand where you are coming from. Go to my blog ( listed in signature below), I explain how I was diagnosed with diabetes and when. My A1C rest was 10.2, that scared me to death. My blood sugar numbers are normal now and my surgery was 5-25-2011. My next A1C test is in August, I really hope that number improves greatly. I think Doctors are too eager to prescibe medication when I believe most can be controlled with diet and exercise. The surgery, weight loss, diet and exercise has really got my numbers under control and I feel so much better. I was self-pay and had my surgery with Dr. Almanza in Mexico, it was a great experience. Cost was a factor but not the deciding factor for my surgery in Mexico, I did not want to wait 6 months and jump through the hoops, I would have been put on diabetic medication if my surgery was not so soon ( 22 days) after my diagnoses of diabetes. I felt with the help from my sleeve, diet and exercise, I could beat this without medication. My Dr. said we could wait and see and we are both very happy with the results so far. You are on the right track, since your insurance will not pay for your procedure, I would have the surgery sooner than later. I have lost about 43lbs total ( including pre-op diet) and that has made a huge difference. I am sure staying away from carbs and sugar has something to do with that. The sleeve has restricted my food intake and helped the weight loss but the lack of carbs and sugar is what has got my blood numbers in order. Good luck on your decision.

I wanted to let you know if your mom decided to go, they did not require a passport at the border, either direction. Two of the people that had surgery the same day I did just supplied their driver's license and birth certificate coming back into the states. I did not know they would accept this but the driver told us that they have never had an issue. I wish I would have know this , I would have saved the expedited fee on my passport. I just wanted you to know in case your mother decided to go. Dr. Almanza and the staff will take good care of you either way, My spouse went with me and they treated her very well. They cook for them at the recovery house and the food was outstanding, that is what everyone said, I was on liquids of course. They would take your Mom shopping and stay with her, they would only take her to a safe area of town. Sylvester will take her if she wanted to get out. My wife never felt uncomfortable the time we were there. I have some pictures on my blog ( in my signature below) , it will give you an idea of what to expect with Dr. Almanza and the process. You will be in good hands, he is a great surgeon and there are many on this forum that have used him. Have a great trip.

Great job, You do look like a different person.

I think the best comeback if you choose to tell them is that you did this for your health and so you can be around to be with your family. There are always going to be some negative people, I choose not to be around them. You did this for you, not to please anyone else. I had my surgery one month ago and I feel great, it was one of the best decisions I ever made. You cannot please everyone, make yourself happy.

I had stitches and my wife took them out after 10 days. It was real easy, a simple clip and then pull through. No pain or issues. You can go on youtube and watch a couple of videos.

I had my surgery with Dr. Almanza on 5-25-2011. It was a great experience and would recommend him in a minute. The surgery is done in a clinic, not a hospital but that is how they keep the costs down. It is very clean and there is no substitute for experience. He does about 145 of these surgeries a month and that made me feel very comfortable. It is not fancy but they treat you very well. The recovery house is a little loud and crowded but again, they take good care of you and you get your meds when you need them. They had a special for 4,500.00 total for everything. If you are interested, PM me and I will send you my coordinator's information. The coordinator is very important in this process, they are the ones that answers all of our silly questions before and well after surgery ( surgeon will also). Good communication is the key and I feel I have the best coordinator, she has been great. I still bug her with questions. Good luck on your decision.

Where are you having your surgery in Mexico? I had mine with Dr. Almanza and there were several people that came alone. I personally was glad my wife was there. She had me up walking after surgery and that is very important. They take good care of you but it is nice if you have someone there with you. The group that was having surgery the same day as myself that went alone did great and had no issues, we keep in touch every week. Good luck.

I know this will not sound very importamt to a lot of you but it is big for me. I can now fit in a booth at restaurants and do not have to sit at a table. I hated always asking for a table because I could not fit in a booth. I have specifically asked for a booth for the last two weeks when we go out and it is fantastic. I will never sit at a table again if I have a choice.