DanityChai

Hmmm, well right now I am only 2 weeks out. But if one of my friends were to ask me if they should have WLS I would say yes!
I think it is a great tool to lose weight, if you use it correctly.

Guys you may be healthy now but it WILL get you in one way or the other. BP, blood sugar, sleep apnea, you name it - being obese or MORBIDLY obese you are headed down that path - GUARANTEED. Stuff didn't really hit me till I was almost 50 years old, then I started to fall apart. So why not nip it in the bud? After almost a year and a half ALL my issues are resolved. BP is down, sugar is stable. Last months labs were stellar (second lab in a row that way) cholesterol is 133 triglycerides is 64.
Why wait till your older and feeling crappy and having major issues? If your obese and qualify and can get it done than my advice is DON'T WAIT till you HAVE to do something, preempt it and do something NOW.
Also, it may be true that there isn't a decades long record for this EXACT surgery what the other posters mentioned is still valid, MANY people for the last few decades, even a century have lived, thrived and survived by having a large portion of their stomachs removed. The stomach was one organ that even surgeons in the 1800's knew we could live without and many had it sectioned or completely removed due to injury, cancer or major ulcer issues.
It's the least invasive of the bariatric surgeries - and I count the band here too as in MY book sticking a plastic gizmo in your gut is VERY invasive.- and it simply works.
Please come to terms with this BEFORE you make the decision. I encourage you to do SOMETHING before your health deteriorates and you are faced with dire circumstances.

Hang in there and just keep remembering why you did it in the first place. Keep all the "want tos" fresh in your mind and before you know it you will be doing them. I had the surgery 10 days ago and I refuse to be negative one minute because I want to ride my bike without my butt going numb, fit in the Super Man ride at Six Flags, buy a nice pair of pants that makes my butt look cute, go dancing.....and this is just what I have to do to get there. Write down some goals, read them when you feel discouraged and keep looking to the successful completion of some non-scale victories!

Tomorrow is my day!

Thank you to everyone for listening to me last night. That was really tough. Today was a new day and I feel great. The 5 lbs are gone and I walked two miles around the marina here. One day at a time, one day at a time.

Oh yeah. The price difference is super crazy! And they have been doing the sleeve longer and have more experience than USA surgeons

Ditto from me for the other replies. I too gained 5 pounds after surgery. I was advised I would and it was normal. I did lose the 5 and many more very quickly for the first month. You will be amazed. I too thought I would be the only one this ddn't work for. I still find myself thinking that sometimes, but in my heart I know that is wrong because I am losing weight and I am feeling better than I have in years. You will too, try to find the positive attitude you need to get you through and you will be updating your weight loss before you know it. Good Luck, and drink lots of water, slowly.

This is actually more common than you think. Everyone's body reacts differently initially to the surgery, so don't be disheartened. Another thing to look forward to is a stall, which I'm sure you've already read about from other members. You get so use to a drop in weight and the that stall kicks in. It will happen, so don't be discouraged when it comes. You need to stay positive and focused on your goals. Positive energy only!!!

Also, the emotions are totally valid. Between the shock to your system, the pain meds and the travel -- it happens to the best of us. It too will go away after the first week or so

It's water weight from the IVs you had in the hospital and your emotions are on a roller-coaster after surgery anyway. It happens to most everyone. Go to bed, drink your clears for the next week, and weigh yourself in 7 days. You will do fine.

Whoah, take a deep breath! Yes, this happens to almost everyone and the doctor should have told you. I came home 8 pounds heavier. It from all the fluids they pump in through your IV. It will retain for a few days, but if you keep sipping fluids and walk around it should go away quickly then you'll start seeing the REAL weight loss magically happen.
Best of luck! Relaxation is key, this is a long journey :-)

Good luck! I'm headed there on May 21 and can't wait. Keep us posted!

You are in the very best hands! Dr Aceves and staff will give you the very best care. Cleanest hospital I have ever been in! I am a healthcare professional! The nurses are top notch they know what they are doing (some don't speak english all that well) make sure you walk up to the border from the hospital. Keep logging on here!
Dee

Good luck! Praying for you & looking forward to your posts about recovery.

Awesome! The best of luck to you! keep us posted!

Good luck! Please update us when you can.

Good luck with your next step. I have my initial meeting with my doctor and his team on the 17th. of May. That's when I'm going to bring up the vertical sleeve question. As of now, Medicare/Aetna doesn't have the procedure on their list, but I'm hoping that will change soon. Remember, when you go to Mexico, don't drink the water! LOL

Tomorrow morning I fly into San Diego and then headed to Mexicali. Wish me luck.

Tomorrow morning I fly into San Diego and then headed to Mexicali. Wish me luck.

I posted this on another thread...
I had band to sleeve revision on 3/13. Here is what can tell you:
food always got stuck on my band even when it was all the way open and even after I would chew, chew, chew. I would throw up at least 3 times per week from the feeling of food getting stuck. Since revised, I've only thrown up once and not because food got stuck, but because I took Vitamins that did not sit well with me. I've never had a stuck feeling since the revision and in fact can eat anything now, just very small amounts. The reason people throw up with a sleeve is from eating too much and/or too fast in one sitting, drink when they eat or too soon after they eat and/or something didn't sit well with their new tummy. Your tastes definitely change. If you just listen to your body and follow the Protein guidelines and liquid rules you will lose the weight pretty easily. I'm rarely hungry and actually struggle to get all of my calories in. Way different than the band when I always still felt hungry. My weight loss would be much higher if I could eat more each day (35lbs to date).
For the actual surgery, I took off two weeks from work and should have gone 1/2 days on the 3rd. After the 1st week I had no pain, but the extreme weakness I felt week 2 made me feel as though I might had made a big mistake getting the surgery. I was worried it was going to last forever. It carried over into the 3rd week, though not as bad. It gradually improved every week and today I feel better than I have in a long time (prior to surgery even).
One more thing to add...I wish I had chosen the sleeve over the band in 2009 because today I would be sitting at goal. I feel it works much better than the band.
No complications and soooooo happy I had it done. I feel great!

1. Having to hang out in the handicapped stall at work pacing and praying that whatever I have just eaten will just go down or come up already.
2. #1 plus going back to my desk after ridding myself of whatever got stuck and then having to run back 3 minutes later because I apparently was on a roll
3. Eating steak one day, throwing up a Protein shake the next....
Anyone care to add?

Hi,
I read your post and you might find this helpful. I have posted it before. I went to Dr. Aceves in 2008 and had a sleeve. I lost 105 pounds and have kept it off. So, I have been down this read ahead of you. I am always here to help you or answer any questions that you might have.
******************************************************************
When some of these things started to happen to me, I thought WOW am I the only one that this is going on with. Well, let me tell you NO, I wasn't. So I made this list and try to post it at least once a month for the new people who have just had surgery, about to have WLS,or someone who is just sitting quietly out there reading these posts, trying make up their mind if they want to do this or not.

You have just had surgery and for a lot of you, you have read all the things everyone has posted on Dr. Aceves Web Site. They are helpful and encouraging. I
spent some time with a lovely lady yesterday on the phone because she was sure I would have some of the answers for her. I hope I did and I think these are
things that all of you can hear and use if you have just had weight loss surgery. So I will post this from time to time for all the NEWBIES.


I am sure you have heard me and others say MANY times over "the 1st month is the
most difficult month you will do." You have also heard me say that your brain will work extremely hard at play tricks on you. You read it and think oh sure,
I can deal with that—and some of you are sure that this will never happen to you. It will happen to so many of us and we aren't even aware it is happening.
This person was absolutely positive that she was just starving and was really hungry. She told me what she had been eating. She also said she was weak. I
asked if she had been drinking her Water and her answer was just like mine was that 1st month. "Well, I can't begin to drink all that water"—remember your new stomach will only hold about 2 oz. when you are try
into drink all this water.
And like me she was having a difficult time getting in the amount of protein she should be having 70 grams—no wonder she was feeling weak. After your stomach has healed most new stomachs will hold 6 to 8 oz. of food or water. That is what we wanted permanent restrictions so we can lose weight.

So I will say this again, you MUST SIP on your water all day long when you are awake and the same goes for the protein that you are using—drink what you can and then sip the rest until you get it down. This is like having a job—you have to work at it OK.
You need the protein to help your body recover. Your new stomach has experienced surgery and is swollen and will only hold liquids about the size of your thumb. This is our relearning time, and for most of us we have developed some extremely bad eating habits. Our OLD thinking brain tells us that we need to be eating more food, and we are not used to Clear Liquids for 10 day and creamy liquids for 10 days and then mushy foods
the last 10 days. I want you to tell yourself this is only for 30 days and you can do anything for 30 days. It gets better as time goes one, I promise you.

If you think you are hungry and you are positive that you are having physical symptoms of hunger this is YOUR OLD thinking brain playing those tricks we have
talked about. You now have to start learning to educate this OLD brain into being your NEW thinking brain. Ask yourself do you just "want to eat" or do you
really "need to eat" because it has been 3 or 4 hours since you have eaten anything. It is amazing what our brains can and will do to sabotage our old eating habits. You may be challenged by this OLD brains way of thinking for many years. For me I just have to have some self-talks with myself. We have an addiction and ours happens to beFOOD. There is no way around avoiding food, so we need to find the set of skills that will allow us to change our lifestyle. I eat to live, I NO LONGER live to eat! Food is not my main focus in life.

It does take some time to retain yourself in eating and I know that first month it is such a process just trying to get all the food in that you need to get in because of your new restrictions. In time it does get a lot easier. Some people mourn the loss of food, because you will NEVER EAT the quantity of food that we used to eat---YEAH that is how we are going to lose the fat and maintain that goal weight that we want to have for the rest of our lives.

These are the things that you will deal with in that FIRST MONTH and I am trying to be fair and honest about them.
Hugs
Suzanne

Hi Everyone,
Spring is here and summer is just around the corner. If you are sitting out there trying to make up your mind about having weight loss surgery, this is the time to make that commitment. This is the time of year that I “use” to go on that famous diet that was going to make be fabulous for summer--LOL. I fought that battle for more years than I care to tell you. I could lose most of the weight, but would always gain it back. You know that vicious cycle of lose it gain it back. I bet you are sitting there shaking your head right now because you know exactly what I am saying. Do not give another day of your life away being fat please do something to change your life. You can be very successful at weight loss and keep it off forever. I have maintained my weight loss of 105 pound now for over 3 years—something I would have NEVER done before.

I would like to share a little with you about my experience that I started in 2008. I knew that I had to do something that was seriously going to change my life forever. I had a friend who had lost a lot of weight and had weight loss surgery. I started to ask a million question like who & where & was she happy with having weight loss surgery. She made me do some of my own research. I did, & knew this was what I wanted.

I can ONLY speak about my experience and about the doctor I went to. I knew how extremely qualified Dr. Aceves is and he also has an excellent reputation for performing the VSG aka “the sleeve.” This was the surgery I wanted and I had educated myself all I could about this type of surgery. I went on 3 different boards for weight loss and surgery where I kept asking questions. My choice was Dr. Aceves in Mexicali in Oct 2008. There a so many ways to describe my experience. I have never received this kind of care from any doctor in the USA or any hospital in the USA. He takes all the time you need to address all your fears and questions. He works with Dr. Compos—who is just as wonderful. They are amazing surgeons who genuinely care about your before and after you have had the surgery. They are kind, personable, caring, friendly, honest, forthcoming, informative, explanatory, and have a sense of humor too. They will take excellent care of you. The entire staff is just as caring and kind. They are there to meet all your needs, they would never send you home until you are ready and have passed all the leak tests and other tests that you will be doing before you go home.

I have been asked many times what I think or know about some of the other doctors in Mexico. I honestly can’t tell you much about them. Take the time and read all you can about these doctors. Talk to others who are on the boards and used these other doctors. Trust your gut feelings. Make sure it is safe to cross the boarders—some boarders are NOT safe—Mexicali is a very safe boarder to cross.

Make sure you are having surgery in a fully equipped hospital and NOT a CLINIC. You never want to have this kind of surgery in a CLINIC. Find out where you will be receiving the care AFTER the surgery—it should always be a HOSPITAL NOT a RECOVERY HOUSE OR A HOTEL. Be smart when it comes to your health—it has to last you a life time. Make sure that the Doctors are using quality materials for your surgery. Ask what kind of staples they use. There honestly is a reason why some of them charge less. They are cutting corners some place and you don’t want it to be you that they are cutting corners on.

Take care,
Suzanne

Hey everyone...I weighed in today and for the first time my lovely Wii told me I am overweight! hehe. When I started this journey I was morbidly obese....and felt like death was chasing me. Now I am just overweight and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel...and it isnt death...lol
So happy to just be overweight now! cant wait till I am normal weight!

All of us do. I even had them as I was losing, because I felt like I might never reach goal or that I'd be the first absolute failure at this surgery.
It's normal. You will lose weight. Put aside any expectations on being a certain size or losing a certain number of pounds by a certain date and you'll find that it's easy. You're going to struggle for a short while on the post op diet because it's challenging but what you're doing now by following your surgeon's plan is going to set you up for success later.
Once you're sleeved it really takes a lot of weight loss to see the difference. Our heads and eyes still see us as big people. Heck, even now I sometimes don't realize what I actually look like until I see a photo. Honestly, it would be nearly impossible for you not to lose weight. Take heart that it's a rough journey for most of us and involves a lot of learning about what made us this way, how to eat properly, how to be nice to ourselves and forgive ourselves for being human...it's worth it, though.
Congrats on making this choice for yourself. I know you'll succeed with this surgery if you do the right things and stick with it even when you have those bad days.
~Cheri