amykins

I knew what you meant. I was concerned too. The father of one of my sleeve sisters was so concerned that he actually went to the hospital beforehand to meet Dr Aceves and to see the hospital. He was very impressed. According to her, Dr Aceves gave him the grand tour and even drove her father back to the border where he had left his car. After she told me that, I was 100% confident. Her dad came with her for our surgery too. I was alone, so I called him my surrogate dad for the weekend we were there. He's a retired attorney, so if he said it was okay, I felt it was okay.

You are probably full. It only takes a couple bites. Just in case, try taking itsy bitsy baby bites and put your spoon down in between bites.

LC, I'm not a long-time sleever (8/31) but I'd be happy to talk to you and answer any questions I can. I'll PM you my number.

Am I real? Absolutely! I don't show my pic because I have only told one friend about my surgery (and my hairstylist, of course!). But you can contact me by PM and I will give you my real name, you can see my Facebook profile, and even my cell phone. Why would I keep coming back and sharing my experience, strength & hope if I just wanted to promote a surgeon? I share my story because I know how nervous I was, especially since I went alone, and I want others to feel more comfortable. If it was a bad experience, I'd share that too.

I think I would do as amytug suggested and go through their profiles. If they just show up to make posts raving about their surgeons, be suspect. Mot of us came on before or slightly after and ask questions, share success stories, and try to help each other out.

Amy, I tried sending you a private message but I believe my app is messing up on my phone and it didn't go through. I was going to ask you, have you heard any negative things on Dr. Lopez by any chance? I have really only read some scary reviews on one particular surgeon.

Hi Jesser, nothing comes to mind, but the surgeons I was speaking of knowing personally are Las Vegas surgeons, not from any other city or state.

I've only had ground beef and chicken post-op. I find the ground beef to be much easier on my pouch. I eat meatloaf muffins for lunch almost every day. Chicken has to be very moist, like in Soup. Chicken breast by itself is just too hard to digest for me.

I'm not on one side or the other here, but how many people who have had surgery in Mexico used it as a last resort because insurance is so rediculous to work with or because the cost is SO much higher in the US? I was also considering Mexico, but as a last resort. If my mother had not come to my rescue, this post would be coming from south of the border!!! So, I just wonder if Mexico is chosen because of the quality or merely the cost?!? I personally like that the surgeons in the US are held accountable for their mistakes and it is public knowledge of such issues. That's my #1 reason for staying in the states.

As I shared above, my reasons for choosing Dr Aceves are varied. I have worked in the healthcare field for more than 10 years, 6 of them in the Las Vegas area. I know many surgeons and physicians personally and professionally, including the top WLS surgeons. I don't want to name names, but one of them, I wouldn't allow to operate on a lizard, much less my body.

There are several excelllent RNY surgeons in this area, but the surgeons who have added sleeves have just recently (1-3 years) begun sleeving. And I know for a fact that at least two of them trained with...you guessed it...Surgeons from Mexico, including Dr Aceves. And I learned that from them, not Dr Aceves. Combined, (at least 6 months ago when I met and discussed the surgery with them) they all do not have as much as most of the surgeons in Mexico, including mine.

The cheapest WLS surgeon in my area charges about $12,000 for outpatient surgery. That means he does the surgery in a surgery center and sends them overnight to a hotel. I believe they are followed by a nurse, but I don't think the nurse is 24/7.

I had surgery for 4,000 cheaper, stayed three nights in a clean hospital with nurses who were right outside my door and answered the buzzer almost as quickly as I buzzed. When I had nausea at night, the nurse sat beside me patting my back until the additional nausea meds kicked in. When my sleeve sister and I wanted to go to the paharmacy across the street to get more pantazol (PPI) to take home, one of the nurses insisted on going with us to guide us through the traffic.

My insurance didn't cover WLS in any form. However, even if it did, knowing what I know, I would probably still go to Mexico for my sleeve. With insurance, I would have to take whoever was contracted with the insurance, whether he has done 1 sleeve or 1000. I was able to choose my own surgeon that I felt would give me the best results. That to me was priceless.

i just went to see my PCP and ask for a full panal to get on top of me post op care and she sat there and tried to talk me out of it for an hour. She would come back to it 4 times.

she is like my hands are tied of anyhitng goes wrong and you have complications.

I said great I will just die then. those are my options. Die a slow fat deathor die a little sooner maybe thinner..

Jesus.

I work in the medical field, and there are hundreds of primary care, internal mediicine, and family medicine PCPs in the area. It's your health and your PCP should support it. If not, put yourself first and find someone who will.

BTW, my surgeon did the bloodwork the day before surgery as part of the pre-op and gave me a copy to give to my PCP. My PCP just aasked me to have more done (through him) in 6 months as follow-up labwork. Does your surgeon require you to have pre-op labwork ahead of time?

P.s. He also gave me a humongous xray of my lungs and pics of my tiny tummy. Dr said he didn't have room to store something that big LOL but he did like my tummy pics.

Sarah,

Call other PCPs to see if they will see WLS patients. I found mine through my ex-bf who had had surgery. He see lots of WLS patients although I'm his first sleever so he has lots of questions. I've been going to him for 5 years. The last 2 years I've had to pay cash Worth every penny for the time and positive energy he provides. He's younger than me and I told him I plan to grow old with him. As a patient of course!

I hope the original poster doesn't mind me rabbit trailing a little bit. I am wondering, if any of you only had $6000 to spend toward your surgery, would you go with Dr. Garcia or Ponce de leon if you could not afford Aceves or Almanza? Or would you wait an entire year more!?

I have heard excellent things about both of those doctors, but they are not as well recognized as Aceves or Almanza. I am the worrying type, As much as I try not to.

Speaking for myself, I personally waited and saved for Dr Aceves. I am a worry-wart and a bit of a pain-baby. I travelled alone. I liked that Dr Aceves used a shot for pain control for the first 24 hours. The drain didn't bother me at all. I didn't even notice it like the one when I had gall bladder surgery. It's not a bulb like that,I don't think. I wanted to know I had a nurse hovering outside my door if I buzzed. They were there in seconds. I had nausea the first two nights so bad I was heaving into a trash can. The night nurse sat beside me and patted my back until the increased meds kicked in. I loved my hospital bed so much I would have taken it home if I could. To me, all those things were worth waiting for.

As I glanced past this, I thought it said, "pack a light lunch." LOL

LOL a very light light lunch!

I had heard yes & no about it too, but was really glad I did. The guard inspected our passports carefully and asked us questions about our names and why we were travelling in Mexico. I'm sure it would have been fine, but since he pulled us for further review over because of a passport question, I was glad we all had passports. I wouldn't have wanted to miss my plane because I didn't have it.

Those were my top two choices. One of the top factors for choosing Aceves was mainly due to the closeness to me. It was a one-hour flight to San Diego as compated to flying to Texas. Honestly though, I really went with my gut. I prayed and wrote pros & cons about my top 5, top 3, and finally top 2. Woke up one morning knowing Dr Aceves was the one for me and have had no second thoughts. It was the cleanest hospital I've ever been in and the staff was amazing. No complications and follow-up has been prompt and helpful.

Whoever you choose in the end will be the right one for you. Go with your gut.

What all the above said and I suggest checking the post in this thread "What do you need for your surgery" for more helpful suggestions. Pack light, you won't need much.

Oops! Just realized I said I had RNY 9 weeks ago. I'm happily sleeved! I fixed it in the original post.

I've been in her shoes. My ex-bf had RNY and had an extensive WLS world that I was lucky enough to be part of. I will say that the side effects he had as a result made me think giving up food food wasn't worth all that. He had stinky poop from partially digested food, dumping if he ate something with sugar, and bathroom issues galore. After hearing similar stories from other RNY people, I did decide food was better than that.

Fast forward five years, and I'm 9 weeks out from VSG and I know it was the best thing for me. But that's paritally because I was 25 pounds heavier after so many yo-yo diets I lost track.

Your carpool buddy may get to that point. It may take a number on the scale, tired of crying when trying on clothes, or seeing their parents and realizing that will be her. Honestly, I hope it doesn't. I hope she will be able to get control of her food issues and be healthy and happy without surgery. I wasn't able to do that.

All I can suggest to you is to be a shining example of the VSG. Don't push your weight loss in her face. Don't brag about how much you've lost in such a short time. If she is interested, she will ask questions. Then you can brag away! I think that's what real friends do, regardless of how they lost the weight.

Funny, I can eat scrambled eggs and omelets no problem, but gag when I try a hard boiled egg. Used to love them:)

Me too! I have to force myself to eat the egg white. I eat a scrambled egg almost every day :-)

Woohoo! Happy New and Exciting Year!

I'm 9 weeks and it's like that for me too. I just take it easy those days and have mushier stuff like Soup and yogurt.

Yep, me too. Mine let us have a "last big meal" and then just liquids.Nothing after midnight, You can brush your teeth in the morning though.

I have been taking a PPI (antacid) since surgery. I'm miserable without it. Most people post-surgery need some type of PPI. My stomach feels like it's boiling sometimes even with the PPI so I have to take tums or maalox too.

I just went to my regualar PCP. He has no problem with my surgery. I'm his first sleeve so he asks lots of questions.

I'm a lower BMI and am probably a slow loser too. 8# in October. But I'm still a loser! And for the first time in my life, I believe I will keep it off. Slow, fast, it doesn't matter. It will happen!

I agree with OTR. I too narrowed it down, and came to the same selections of surgeons. I went with DrAceves because I did want my hand held. I travelled alone and really wanted to feel that I was safe and secure. Not to say that the others aren't safe, I just felt Dr Aceves was the best for me. Also, sine I live in Vegas, Dr Aceves was a one-hour flight compared to Dr Alvarez, who is closer to the Texas border.

I didn't go to TJ, but I am very happy with Dr Aceves in Mexicali. There are many great surgeons in Mexico. Just do your research and go with the one that is best for you. I went with my gut and have had no regrets.