ajbailey72

I went thru almost the same thing. I found that eating every 2 hours, even if its just a couple bites of cottage cheese, worked best for me. I wasn't eating enough by just doing Protein Shakes. I needed the food, but 6-8 times a day! Also, Vitamins do the same thing to me, but I switched to gummies and I dont get a sick feeling at all!
I also had/have acid reflux really bad. I get it from Peanut Butter and pretty much any kind of meat! I keep tums close at hand, and I take my RX every day. It will eventually help. I dont get it as much anymore, I think it takes a while for the RX to kick in. but I still take tums after almost every meal.
hope something I wrote will help for you!

I don't think for me its so much that I can eat more, rather it's what I'm eating. Anything sugary, carby or snacky I really can eat a lot more of. Almost seems like I don't even have a sleeve. I heart MnMs and salty crunchy Snacks during TOM. And, they are total slider foods.
Let's face it, I ain't craving baked white chicken breasts or white meat fish during my period!!! Ha!

Hindsight is 20/20. We all at one time or another probably never dreamed our weight would climb as high as it did. I know that's true for me. I ABSOLUTELY wish I would have had this done long ago. Of course, I didn't even know about it years ago. I say go for it. You might could lose some weight, but who is to say you won't gain more in the future? You have a chance many of us never did, you can stop it before it gets out of hand. And before your skin gets stretched into oblivion. Maintenance is hard after you lose. A tool like this will help. Good luck to you

Hi all, wondering how you all did after surgery? I am scheduled with Dr. Ponce at INT hospital on Dec. 15!
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I get emails all the time asking for these credentials so I am posting them for anyone to read:
According to MSNBC.com last year 240,000 US citizens traveled to Mexico for some type of surgery. Anything from Lasik to joint replacement to Weight Loss Surgery. If that many people are crossing the border for surgery, and if there were that many bad outcomes we would be hearing about it on the news left and right. Instead the media has a tendency to exploit the horrors instead of the positives. We have good doctors and bad doctors in the US but when a bad US doctor does something to harm a patient we do not typically warn people not to go to anyone in the US but for some reason we do seem to do that to Mexico. It isn't right and it isn't fair, but it does appear that we all seem to do this.
Documentaries such as 20/20 and 60 Minutes do not get ratings by talking about how Renee Kohlpath went to Mexicali, MX and due to her WLS she lost 138#. It just wouldn't get the ratings. But get some US doctor that lost his license and set up shop in MX unlicensed and he harms more people then it's newsworthy. I think if you look for balance you will see there really is none. If 240,000 people went to MX for surgery last year and if it really is a horror, we'd be hearing about it.
Dr. Aceves is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. FACS.org) This means that the American College of Surgeons has done an extensive background check on the doctor. He has to exceed the same standards as a US surgeon. His background is completely verified, his licensing, credentials, certifications, absolutely everything. If he does not maintain his reputation and current standards he cannot maintain his affiliation with the FACS. FACS is a really impressive issue in the world of medicine. Not all US doctors can maintain the background and honesty necessary to be a Fellow of the ACS. But Dr. Aceves can. There is a doctor in MX that claims to have almost 600 VSG procedures completed. He claims to have been doing this procedure for 3.5 years. Yet according to his CV he was just trained in the procedure 2.5 years ago. We know full well he has not done as many VSG procedures as he claims but unless you know what to look for you won't know that his statistics are impossible. This is why going to an FACS surgeon is critical whether you are going to a US or MX surgeon. Surgeons from all over the world (including the US) inflate their stats so they appear more experienced than they are. If they told the truth about their inexperience they wouldn't get any business. So, they are less than honest.
Dr. Aceves is the Vice President of the Mexican version of the American Bariatric Assn. This is a position that is voted, so the doctors of MX voted him into this position. They recently voted again and he will be President this year.
There is another organization called the International Federation of Surgical Obesity. This is an organization where weight loss surgeons all over the world belong. A few years ago Dr. Aceves holds the position of Secretary for this organization so this means that even the US doctors voted him into this office.
Dr. Aceves is a proctor surgeon meaning he trains other doctors in various bariatric procedures. He typically travels to one country a month and either attends lectures to further his own knowledge on the new advances in medicine or he trains other doctors in various surgical procedures. He recently returned from Chile and Argentina training their doctors in the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. He trains US surgeons in the various procedures as well. Mexico has been doing the sleeve longer than US doctors and there are simply very few doctors willing to train other US doctors because then they would have competition. Dr. Aceves believes competition in this procedure is good as patients have more surgeons to choose from.
Dr. Aceves has done over 2200 Lap Bands, over 700 Gastric Sleeves, and over 700 Gastric Bypass procedures. This means he has over 900 staple lines, a technique that is critical in a safe surgery for a VSG procedure. When researching surgeons you want someone that has done at least 250 VSG and at least 250 Gastric Bypass procedures. The reason is that the Gastric Bypass procedure has a very difficult staple line. It is an interrupted staple line and quite difficult to do. If a surgeon can do the more difficult Gastric Bypass staple line, he can do the easier VSG staple line.
There are only 50 VSG surgeon world-wide that have done at least 500 VSG procedures *and* have excellent stats. Dr. Aceves is the only doctor in Mexico that has done over 700 VSG and never had a major complication. Leaks are a potential problem with this procedure but he has a technique where he over sews the staple line and we believe this one of the many reasons he has never had a leak with a VSG.
I think one big issue here to remember is that just because someone is practicing in the US, that does not make them a good or skilled surgeon. Just because someone is in MX does not mean they are not a skilled surgeon or a person without ethics. I had a choice to go to any surgeon I wanted for my own sleeve and the only doctor I wanted to go to was Dr. Aceves. He is the surgeon with the most skill, the best stats, the best reputation, and the safest location. I include US doctors in that assessment as well when it comes to the sleeve procedure. I am a nurse, I've been in his OR many times during surgery and after watching him operate I was quite certain he is the only surgeon I wanted operating on me.
Another upside to going to Dr. Aceves. In the US if you have the VSG you will likely spend one night in the hospital. Dr. Aceves does not agree with this. He keeps you in a fully equipped hospital for three nights following surgery. He believes you need to be medically supervised, have a total of three leak tests to be 100% certain you have no leak upon returning home, and he wants someone monitoring your vital signs, drain tube, and he wants someone available to manage your pain should you have any. He does not believe in sending you home before three nights/four days.
Keep in mind, we completely and totally depend on reputation for business. We have no insurance companies referring patients, we have to do it by reputation. Dr. Aceves has been operating on US citizens for many years. He wouldn't have the reputation he does if he didn't do the best possible job for each patient. He has a great rep because we all do the job the right way. He has another belief, he only hires educated people around him. I am his patient coordinator and I am an RN. Most in this position (US or MX) are merely patients that have had surgery, they do not necessarily have any medical training. His Office Manager (my boss) is an engineer by trade. Her Office Assistant is a Law student. His OR techs (OR techs are used in the US and typically have 9 months of training) are actually 4 year RNs. His hospital coordinator is a retired teacher that previously taught English in the MX school system. His Aftercare Specialist is a PhD. She is a licensed psychologist in MX and available to all Dr. Aceves patients by phone or email.
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