amykins

I had surgery in Mexico for several reasons:

1. My insurance doesn't cover any weight loss surgeries

2. The cheapest surgeon in the Vegas area charges about $12000 for outpatient surgery

3. The surgeon I chose has done more sleeve surgeries than all the WLS surgeons in Las Vegas combined and for several thousands less.

4. Dr Aceves was more expensive than most Mexico surgeons, but after much research, thought and prayer, I knew he was the one for me. I went alone, and wanted to feel safe and secure in my choice of surgeon and hospital. I got that, plus more than I ever expected. They treated all of us like VIPs and I never felt alone or scared. For me, that was worth every extra penny.

Thank you Neese, one thing you mentioned was take the steps the surgeon/insurance companies gives and I do think that is important but for me, I am self pay and going to Mexico for the surgery and there isn't any pre-stuff that prepares and assists with my decision. I wish my insurance covered weight loss surgery so I can stay in the USA.

I know this will be the best thing for me although a scary process to go through out of the country but once I get home and recover I know I will be able to live a much more happier & healthier life. Thanks again!!

I went to Mexico for my surgery and I have no regrets. I had an excellent surgeon and the staff was amazing. I went alone, although I was lucky enough to meet two people who had surgery with Dr Aceves the same day. There were several other people there in various stages of recovery, so I always had someone to talk to.

I'm a newbie in here...Just starting to seriously consider the sleeve as an option for me...and I have a couple questions for those of you that have already had the surgery.

1.) If you could talk to yourself pre-op what would you say? What would you tell the you that was still undecided about having the surgery?

I would ask myself how the last 5-10 years have been and how do I want the next 5-10 to be? How many times have I lost weight & gained it back plus a few more? I've been single for years and avoid relationships because I didn't want anyone (including myself) to see me naked. Do I want to be single forever or have relationships with guys who treat me badly because of my low self-esteem? I look at my parents who are morbidly obese and are just breathing, not living. Do I want to live like that? Do I want to be a lonely old lady living alone with my cats or do I want a fulfilling life with friends and a man who adores me as much as I adore him? Do I want to keep crying when I try on clothes because each time I am a size larger and all the cute clothes I like are too small?

2.) Do you ever regret having the procedure? Even in tiny moments...like dinner out with friends or around the holidays? Do the regrets ever out weight the results?

To follow question #1, there are 99 reasons to lose the weight, and food ain't one. I'm only two months out but I can guarantee that even an in & out burger doesn't taste as good as jumping in front of a camera for the first time in years and POSING with a huge smile instead of hiding behind everyone else. I am truly happy for the first time in years. I feel like I am beginning a whole new chapter in my life and I'm so excited to see what the future holds. I have no regrets at all.

I had a lot of problems with Constipation. I could never find the Smooth Move tea, but I tried Miralax and several other things. When it was so bad I was nauseous I tried a stool softener with laxative. It took the whole 12 hours to work but it was the best feeling ever LOL! I took it a few times as needed but now I drink diet cran-grape (Oceanspray, 5 cals) every day and it seems to be working.

Just had my surgery two days ago, and I'm feeling so nauseous. Can hardly keep anything down. How long before you felt somewhat human again?

Hi,

It will probably be a couple days but it will pass. It takes time for the anesthesia to leave your system and your body to adjust to the changes. if it lasts a week or gets worse, I'd call your your surgeon.

Woohoo! What a great way to start the New Year! It's normal to be nervous. Just keep a list of all the reasons you're doing this. That's what helped me. And of course, coming to the forums to read and reread everyone's posts LOL

Mine said I could use a straw but I find everytime I do I end up with alot of air. I have to pull the liquid up, use my tongue to stop it, then breathe the air out through my mouth. It gets exhausting. I'd rather just drink. I was a straw person before, but not anymore.

I followed Unjury's recipe and I didn't like it at all. They said two scoops, I think it was too much. There was kind of a film on top of the Jello. I could only force myself to eat a couple bites. If I ever made it again, I'd go with one scoop.

Hi Tara,

I had about the same amount to lose as you. I've lost count of how many times I've lost and gained weight, always more each time. I couldlose weight, I just couldn't keep it off. In the last year, I I went on at least two serious low-carb diets and would struggle and feel like I was starving, and the scale would barely move. I felt like I had busted my metabolism.

I can't make the decision for you, but I went alone and had no problems. I was only alone at the hotel, and it was a nice one in a safe area. Otherwise, you are driven everywhere so I don't feel there is much to worry about.

I only told one person about my surgery before I went. I didn't want to take a chance of negative feedback, either from someone telling me I didn't need to lose that much weight or about going to Mexico. I have no regrets about the surgery or going to Mexico. Honestly, I live in Las Vegas and my surgeon had more sleeve experience than all the WLS surgeons in the area, for about 1/3 of the price of the cheapest outpatient surgery here.

Woohoo! What a great feeling! Were you dancing in costco?

Hi Sarahr,

Welcome to the forum! I had my surgery in Mexico. You have chosen an excellent surgeon. As you know, there's lots of support here.

Hmm, I'll try this. I've been stuck at 166 for about a week now. I'll go for the 150 but I'm averaging 2.5# week so that may be ambitious.

Surgery weight 193

Challenge start weight 166 (10/19)

Todays weight 162.5 (10/31)

12.5# to Thanksgiving goal of 150

Looking good! Love your cheekbones!

I've had a couple of these lean cuisines post-op. They're not bad. They are a little carby, but since I can only eat half, and eat the Protein first, I'm not worried.

http://www.leancuisine.com/Products/Sublines/CulinaryCollection.aspx

I didn't use Dr Alvarez but he would have been my second choice after my surgeon, Dr Aceves. ( Mine was closer to where I live so shorter travel time). I know several people who had surgery with him over the last few months and all are doing amazingly well! From what I hear, he is worth every penny.

The paying #3,000 up front is a weird loan IMO. I haven't heard of one like that. And I'll bet the interest is pretty high? Just throwing this out there, have you tried credit unions? They are more likely to loan than traditional banks. Another choice may be to cut costs like crazy over the next few months (cable, cut cell minutes, etc...) and give yourself the surgery for your birthday. That's what I did. I saved for more than 9 months and paid cash. I was even able to have it two months earlier than I had planned.

Whetever you decide, you are worth it!

Jesser, not yet. I'll be two months tomorrow so it still could happen. I do take Biotin every other day and all the other stuff they recommend. But if it does, it's just hair. It will grow back.

I went through the same feelings until the day of surgery. It's normal. I made a list of the pros and cons, and believe them there were a lot more pros than cons. I pulled it out when I would get the jitters, or read success stories on the various boards.

In the end, I just did it step by step. I told myself I just had to get on the plane. Then I just had to go check out the hospital. If it felt even a little off, I was outta there. Great staff, super-clean hospital, okay. That night I ate my last meal, meditated a little, prayed alot, and just felt really calm.

It's okay to be nervous. It's life-changing surgery. Your life will never be the same. It will be better! for example, two months out, I am smiling and posing for pictures. I have hidden from cameras for so many years. Now I'm jumping in them!

Since I'll be going to Mexico on my own, I'm thinking that the hospital may be almost as important as the surgeon!

It would be really helpful if some of you who have had surgery in Mexico would share your thoughts about the equipment and staffing at the hospital where you had your surgery. How was your IV solution monitored - was it an electronic machine that beeped or did you have to keep an eye on it yourself? How often did they take your vitals? How often did you see a nurse? Was the language barrier a problem for you? In pre-op, did a nurse or the anesthesiologist insert the IV line, and how did it go? In recovery, what was the level of care? And, in general, how was your hospital experience different from what you expected?

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences!

I had my surgery with Dr Aceves almost 2 months ago. I went alone and had a great experience. The first thing I tell people is that I work in hospitals for a living, so the fact that this hospital was immaculate is saying something. I've never seen an American hospital that someone cleans your room twice a day, including mopping. They were cleaning night & day. When I went to walk mylaps, I usually had to go around a cleaning cart.

The IV was electronic. I didn't do anything. The nurses were right outside the door and it seemed I barely pushed the call button and they were there. I don't speak Spanish but most spoke at least a little English. I was given a "cheat sheet" of English to Spanish phrases for the few times we had a communication problem.

I believe a nurse inserted the needle for the IV line, but the Anesthesiologist administered the actual drugs into the line. We were talking about Las Vegas (where I live) and that's all I remember until I woke up. No pain at all. Just felt like I did 1000 sit-ups. Dr Aceves uses an epidual that provides 24 hours of pain meds.

As for recovery, I felt like a VIP. They were always there to help as needed, and left me alone when I wanted to rest. I had nausea the first two nights and the nurse sat with me while I dry-heaved into the trash can until the additional meds kicked in. There were meds in my IV already, but for some reason I would get so nauseous at night.

There were several other Americans there. Two had surgery same day as me, the others earlier in the week. So even though I was alone, I was never lonely. I met the medical staff the day before surgery and they all stopped by every day to check on me at least once.

I had heard how well the staff treats you and how clean the hospital is, but it was truly better than I had expected. In my mind, I was comparing it to my hospital stays here in Vagas, and Almater was so much better than the local hospitals I have been a patient in as well as work in.

I hope this helps. I know how scary it can be to go alone, but it was not a problem for me at all. In a way it was better because I didn't feel like i had to entertain anybody. I slept when I wanted to and visited with the other patients when I wanted to. Feel free to PM me if I can answer any other questions.

I went alone but there were two other people having surgery the same day and several other people who had already had surgery. I had no problems. I travelled as light as possible, asked people to put my rolling suitcase on the security check belt and above on the plane, and used a stuffed animal between myself & seatbealt. No problems.

I used another surgeon, but have heard good things about both of the surgeons you are considering.

I used mine in Mexico and I was so grateful for it! I put it on my chest and lower back to help get rid of the gas build-up. At home my back would get sore from lying down so much and it helped a lot.

Wow, thank you so much for explaining that to me. I think I just fed a troll. Jumping out of this one. Won't touch one of your posts ever again.

I don't understand. Those are two completely different sugical procedures. One would have the VSG and if it didn't work, after a period of time revison surgery could be done. One example is the DS. You only have one stomach. How could someone have both, at the same time?

Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG) Revision Surgery

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Although Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG) is effective for many patients, some do not lose adequate weight, therefore revision weight loss surgery may be needed to cause additional weight loss. Failure after Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy may be caused by a couple of different factors.

• If a stomach has been stretched, re-sleeving of the stomach may be a sufficient revision procedure.
  
• Other individuals may require the addition of metabolic and malabsorptive aspects to compliment Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. Procedures such as the Duodenal Switch and Ileal Transposition may be appropriate.
  

Most revision operations are higher risk than the first time a weight loss surgery procedure is performed. Revision of Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy to Duodenal Switch actually carries with it less risk than performing the Duodenal Switch in a single operation for the first time. This is possible due to the fact that Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy is one portion of the Duodenal Switch procedure. When converting to Duodenal Switch from Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, a significant piece of the operation has already been performed. This results in a smaller surgical procedure than performing the Duodenal Switch all at once.

I understand what you're telling me. You apparently aren't understand what I'm asking for.

This is the Self pay & Mexico VS Surgery forum.

Common sense tells me that if one had a sleeve procedure that didn't work out, and then later had DS surgery, they would be on a DS site.

If this is how you join a board, all I have to say is good luck to you. I hope you find the info you're looking for. I doubt you will find it here, on verticalsleevetalk, especially in this small Mexico forum.

In my opinion, it's like women after they've had a baby. They love to share their stories about childbirth and the first couple of months afterward. I think it's best to just reply politely with comments like "sorry you had that experience" and change the subject. If you don't feed the fire, it will eventually die out.

Diana327, I don't understand why you are being rude to hazelsmrf. As she pointed out, this is a VSG board therefore anyone on this site would have had VSG not DS.

It is a self-pay for Mexico sub-forum, but for those who are having VSG.