BeautyVGSJourney

Finding Myself, I dont doubt Suzanne is nice and means well but to me the post sounds like she is putting all Mexican surgeons (with the exception of Dr. Aceves) down. There are many many things that make someone a great surgeon and I just want to make sure others that read this post take that into account. There are certainly a ton of very scary surgeons and places, and there are most certainly some I would avoid no matter how desperate I was and is wonderful to let people be aware of that. Suzanne I also am in the medical field and have been for quite a while, and hospitals are not a good place because there are many sick people there and thus the nosocomial infection risk. You are right that is the best place to be if you are sick but most people after two days are pretty well. I do understand that given your age and preference having 4 days to recuperate in the hospital was better for you and that is wonderful. If I wanted more time in the hospital my surgeon (Dr. Ponce De Leon) would also acomodate that, but for me personally its not nessesary. I also get a leak test before being released and get a video of that plus a video of my surgery. My surgeon also uses top of the line staples and materials, as well has been a surgeon for over 20 years and has done the sleeve for ~7. He is also a teacher and has taught Many Mexican surgeons and continues to do so, has a matter fact today and until Thursday he is the main speaker of a bariatric conference in Mexico. I know that since Dr. Aceves was your surgeon you are biased towards him and that is understandable and admirable. Do please keep in mind that there are many other wonderful surgeons in Mexico, and of course there are also many that I would not allow near me. Thank you for your good wishes and I hope the same for you :-)

I am doing one, trish will probably also record my surgery! (the outside part) but I might not put it on until I get back to texas the 15.

I agree with Sharon, and most if not all the surgeries here in the USA for VSG you are released within 2 days. So I personally don't see the need of being in a hospital longer than two days. In actuality the longer you are in a hospital the more likely you are to get a nosocomial infection. Research shows that. I agree with you that everyone should do their research and decide for themselves.

Yes you should be there one hour before your flight for national flights and two for international. But that is to make sure you get thru security and all that on time.

I have heard that they always bring you early enough for your flight. The traffic there varies according to the time of day, direction traveled day and such. Call the doctors office they should be able to give you a better stimate

I was going to go with Dr. Kelly but changed to Dr. Ponce De Leon and am very happy with my decision. My surgery is May 10th. You can contact Trish at 661-886-4617 her website is http://www.wls4betterlife.com/index.html Good luck in your journey and please do your research! (oh and I booked my surgery with Dr. Ponce just a couple of weeks ago)

Unfortunately even most of our insurances here would not cover complications from the surgery. Since its an "elective" surgery to my insurance all the cost would still come out of pocket. My surgeon would not leave me stuck, its why I have spent a great deal of time and energy researching where to go. I definitely would not go just anywhere. But that is the same if I went to a surgeon here or in Mexico, I would do my own research and that is what I encourage people to do.

Here in North Texas (I live in Fort Worth), its about $13,000. In Northern states is much higher, its probably why the surgeon you speak off has more experience than most USA surgeons, I know a lot of people come to Texas to get their surgeries. I am going to Mexico, my surgeon is Dr. Ponce De Leon in Tijuana, and like the surgeon you mentioned he is very experienced. He has been doing surgeries for over 20 years and the sleeve for about 7. He actually teaches other surgeons how to do it and he has performed many surgeries in medical staff, surgeons has well as thousands of patients. I am in PA school currently, so I have spent a great deal of time researching doctors, facilities and other things. I found that Most USA doctors have very little experience in the sleeve, and do charge more because living here in the USA cost more. My surgeon charges $5500 for the surgery plus airfare (less than $6000 total), which is half what I would pay here. He has very low complication rates and if I need more medical care when I am mexico I am covered. Yes you do run the risk that if you come here and have a complication you have to go to the ER and pay yourself, but actually I know someone who had surgery not long ago here and had a complication and had to pay everything out of pocket! My PCP will be following my care when I return, ordering labs and such. IF you have any questions feel free to ask.

I am going May 10th to have my surgery with Dr. Ponce De Leon. I will be going alone too, my husband and daugther are not thrilled about that but honestly I will be sleep most of the time or walking, so I understand what you mean! I did invested in an iPad 2 (I had an ipad1 without camera) so I could talk to my family on video. Trish is my coordinator and I have heard nothing but wonderful things about her and how she watches over you, and after talking to her I know she will be there for me even if I am alone. My surgery will be at the INT Hospital which I heard has great nursing staff, I had the option of that one or Florence hospital but I decided on INT because of the nursing staff and I get a video of my surgery plus, the leak test! The hotel is also literally accross the street from the hospital (Lucerna Hotel). Dr. Ponce De Leon is $5500 plus air fare. Good luck in your search!

If my insurance had covered it I probably would not had looked at Mexico but would had put has much effort as I have in finding the right surgeon in the USA. That being said, after all of my research I am very happy to have looked at Mexico as an option, and I would not change my surgeon now even if my insurance was to cover it. My surgeon is more experienced than most surgeons in the USA and him and his staff have expend a great deal of time talking to me, which is something you don't really get here in the states. My surgery is May 10th with Dr. Ponce De Leon in Tijuana Mexico and I cannot wait!

Oh I highly recommend that whatever heating pad you use make sure it has an auto shot off! Specially when you are hurting or taking medications many times you fall asleep on it and it can burn you! Mines all have a two hour auto shot off because of this.

I have one of those too, they sell them at walgreens, cvs, and other places too, they are probably more expensive than amazon. I love my heating pad because I suffer from chronic backpain and now since I am no longer taking motrin its what is keeping me from going insane! You will definitely use it, many people use it for menstrual cramps, muscle stiffness and such.

I hate the wait! I wish the day was here already! You got to tell me all about it Holly.

Congratulations! I hope all goes well!

No Holly I enjoyed your video, I just had not looked at this forum! Keep up the good work

I know several people who are going with Dr. Almanza in the next few days. I have not heard what you mentioned but the reason he was not one of my chooses was the location of his surgery and were you recover. That worries me. I think he is a good surgeon but I personally need a hospital to recover in. I chose to go with Dr. Ponce De Leon who trained Dr. Almanza, Dr. Kelly and many other surgeons on the sleeve. He is a little more expensive $5500 than Dr. Almanza but for me it's worth it. I would do what cissiesue suggested and call his office and ask them. Good luck!

I am sorry to hear about your experience. Are you otherwise ok? If you want to email me on my other account I will be happy to send you the diet a local nutritionist sent me that is very good. Unfortunately Dr. Lopes sounds like some of my local surgeons. It's a shame. I hope you are otherwise well and will start loosing weight soon!

Sorry you are going thru all of this, I am glad you were able to figure something out and I hope your birth certificate will be in on time. Crossing my fingers for you! Just think its almost your day!

Dr. Ponce De Leon in Tijuana Mexico. It's $5,500 plus the flight to San Diego California. He has been a surgeon and teacher of many surgeons for over 20 years. I would more than happy to talk to your friend and give her/you more info. You might also want to watch my video on YouTube. Feel free to ask me any questions.

Thanks for the blog! I am one of the new swimmers (I might sink at first but I am ready for whatever comes my way!) Unfortunately many of us cannot afford $10,000 even if we wanted to. You are definitely correct we are paying more and more on food, medical bills and all of that. There are many other options that people should look at, for example after much research I decided to go to Mexico to a wonderful surgeon who has more experience than most surgeons here in the USA. (please people do your homework, don't go to just anyone because of the money!) so there are options out there we just have to be willing to look.

on MFP make sure you add your drink as a meal, but then also count it as fluids (on the bottom where the water cup is). It definitely counts as both. I will email you a really good document a local nutritionist that specializes in bariatric surgery patients sent me, it has some recipes in it. You are in my prayers!

I am sorry to hear about your dad Holly. I am very happy for you for doing whatever it takes to take care of yourself regardless of what others might think. Unfortunatelly there are many people like him out there, that never had to worry about their weight (and even those who do, still refuse to see how this is good for us). I am glad you have the support of your husband, I know I could not do it without mine (I could but it would be very very hard). Good for you for standing up for yourself and what you believe in!

Its unusual (I think) for the surgeon to give you a choice on how tight you want your stomach to be, but that is pretty cool. The recommended buggie sizes are 32-40 french, you might want to ask your surgeon what size he normally uses because if he uses a 40 then it would be a great idea to get one slightly smaller. Different surgeons use different sizes and there is nothing wrong about that, when they started doing this surgery they used to use bigger than 60! My surgeon used 36, he told me that after his many years of experience he has found those to cause the least amount of constrictions as well as allowed for optimal weight loss. The truth is that those things are only a guide and if someone uses a 40 but staples an inch away from it, it turns out to be bigger than that. On the other hand if they use a 40 and staple right next to it is smaller. So it all depends on the surgeon and what they feel comfortable with.

I understand, its hard to know what caused it, but if you feel more at ease by changing then do. I would suggest you find out more about the cooper IUD, here is something I found from the FDA "In the 2 largest clinical trials with ParaGard® (see ADVERSE REACTIONS, Table 2), menstrual changes were the most common medical reason for discontinuation of ParaGard®. Discontinuation rates for pain and bleeding combined are highest in the first year of use and diminish thereafter. The percentage of women who discontinued ParaGard® because of bleeding problems or pain during these studies ranged from 11.9% in the first year to 2.2 % in year 9. Women complaining of heavy vaginal bleeding should be evaluated and treated, and may need to discontinue ParaGard®. (See ADVERSE REACTIONS.)". For me 12% chance of heavy vaginal bleeding is too much, since I LOVE not having a period! but maybe for you is not, just compare them well before changing.

oh and Mirena used a form of progesterone which is associated with less blood clots than estrogen