stoongal

when I click on chat above it says the webpage is down, what's with that?

Hi everyone, My name is bali and i am looking to get sleeve done with doctor Almanza buit the price seems too good to be true. I am so scared because my finances are not so great and dr almanza price is really good but some of the comments are kindda scary how people get infection and the way thier recovery centre are like. Can someone put me in a right direction please.

I can't recommend them anymore, their safety record and aftercare is bad especially when things go wrong, Dr Almanza does not go to the recovery house and follow up with people, he is too busy doing surgeries. So if you MUST go, be sure to get out of there if you are having lots of pain, don't wait! Leave and get back to Canada ASAP, and go to emergency and get checked out!

Betancourt is not a real doctor, and the housekeepers give shots and remove drains, so no real medical care after your surgery. Please please check these out:

http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/rolltideroll/

Prissy4115's Profile

Well folks been a bit since I last updated you on Linda's progress. She has been at home now for almost 3 weeks as it looked as tho her leak had finally healed there in the hospital. She is off her PTN line (liquid food)- still has her drain in and homecare visits a few times a week to change her dressings for her abdominal wound. However not all is well, she is leaking again, and they are taking a wait and see stance, so I guess they don't consider it serious unless it gets infectious again. She is Tiny Tummy on this site if anyone wishes to cheer her on! Other than that she is happy to be home and in her own bed! Not a lot of energy or strength yet, but losing weight for sure!

Two more really recent posts that sound familiar are here:

check them out!

RollTideRoll's Profile

and

Prissy4115's Profile

they need our parayers for sure!!!

Nikki, I am so proud of you! What a fantastic job, you have been workin' it girl!

I know what you mean, I too am looking for that 150 number (I am 157) but it is going slowly for me!

I am doing a happy dance here for you too!

Cheers,

Donna

I had my surgery at 59. My surgeon told me that over 50 we need to exercise 1 hour a day to have the metabolism of someone in their 30's that is sedentary.

So it may take a little longer to get to goal. That's ok, let's all enjoy the journey!

That could be why I am losing so slowly, after 8 months out, still only 64 lbs lost since surgery. My hubby is happy with that, says he doesn't want me to lose too quickly. Of course it could be the grazing I sometimes do and the cereals I have been eating as snack food! ahem!!

Anyway, feeling like a spring chicken again as I am probably the most senior here at 72! Feel so much younger than I did when I was 244 lbs. (highest weight) and I am walking, working more, have more energy and loving life once again.

So goal is being pushed farther away but that is OK with me!

Cheers,

Donna:thumbup:

I will if you are still there..

People just need more education on this procedure, they will be supportive afterwards when they see how well you are doing with it. Unlike the band we can eat anything we want, if we leave out excess carbs, we lose - leave some in and we maintain, easy peasy. You will love the freedom of it once you tummy is healed. At 8 months out now am down over 63 lbs and loving life again, everyone now seems supportive as I educate them as I go...

Time will do it my dear,

Cheers,

Donna

What are you taking for the pain? Can your doctor give you a cortisone shot to tide you over until you lose weight? they can last 3 months and longer and give a lot of relief! I didn't hear about this surgery in time so ended up having my knees replaced in the 5th year of my knee problems. But did start getting arthritis in my hip shoulder and one hand shich prompted me to get this surgery as i hated the thought of life with more arthritic pain! Now they are so much better, some soreness now and again but nothing like before! I would make sure to get on Nu-naproxin and get cortisone shots for now! Really really helps!

Good luck with it!

Donna

Hi Katt,

Sorry - was babysitting this afternoon, so didn't get to all this til now.

You asked about my sources. Well, until this is resolved legally in a court where it will all come out, I can't yet name names - however these several sources I can guarantee have all worked in and around and with the Betancout crew and were privvy to his secrets.

I would not post these things if I wasn't assured that they are so!

But anyone with eyes that goes there can tell these are not professionals. On the job experience is all they have and it just isn't enough when things go wrong, yes, they can give injections and try and put in IV lines etc. and remove drains but they are not trained for emergencies and complication detection. So many have been failed in their aftercare as a result with devastating results. A crash cart is just not enough.

Donna

Tinytummy & Greenbay

I feel so bad for all that you have been through, it is just un thinkable to have had such thinks happen. I will continue to keep both of you in my prayers.

Amen to that sentiment,

I think people should know a few facts about the qualifications of the staff there...

Dr. Betencourt's real name is Joey Perez, he has a 7th grade education, and was a used car salesman. He is not a doctor, is not wealthy, rents his facilities only and has lost a condo recently.

Saverro, who speaks great English - everyone assumes he is a nurse. In reality, he is a trained massage therapist. Period.

Claudia, a teenaged (16 or 17 yr old) high school student, is the daughter of Sylvia, the housekeeper, and yet works in the OR and gives needles etc acting as a nurse.

Dr Almanza's wife - his surgical assistant, is only a hairdresser.

Dr. Lopez wife, also on the surgical team, is only a nail esthetitian.

As I have stated before, NO ONE there is qualified to care for you!

AVOID this outfit like the plague! It is a disaster waiting for a chance to happen! And it could be happening to you or another one of us if you still chance it!

I was taken in by the lure of the price and was lucky, I championed them as I believed all they said. Betancourt can charm anyone to believing he is being wronged and maligned and he should be believed and trusted. Too many people with complications are still too sick and in the hospital to write about their experiences. Time will tell. They will be shut down eventually!

Disillusioned and saddened,

Donna

Highest weight: 244

Surgery day weight: 221

Current weight: 159

Feeling good!:sad0:

For those of you who have been praying for my sister Linda and our families, I would like to thank you ever so much! Your prayers have been answered as Linda sent me a brief email yesterday and I will enclose it below!

For those who don't know, my sister suffered horrible complications at the new Jerusalem facility (Almanza/Betancourt) in TJ Mexico back in January, and has been hospitalized ever since (still there). She was the 6th sleeve Almanza did that day, her surgery started after 10 pm! She had a leak that went undetected while there and the resulting infection sent her into septic shock, with a collapsed lung, severe dehydration and renal failure, she had about 6 emergency surgeries in the weeks that followed to flush out the pus accumulating in her body cavity and the infection went ballistic, causing all kinds of problems with porousity thrughout her esophagus. We were not sure she would make it in those first weeks.But she did, thank God, and now the end is in sight! It has been a nightmare mostly ever since, and she still has not had any food or drink by mouth (other than for leak tests)

Here is her email!

Donna,

I drank a glass of cranberry juice and it didn't leak out of the stomach today! Yesterday I went through the hell of a CT scan after drinking more of the dreaded contrast Fluid (threw up 3 times) but it was worth the torture. My surgeon today told me the results were all healed tissue she was looking at and that if I pass the juice test today I can probably go home in a couple of weeks, this time without the home care IV bags to feed me. I'm supposed to start liquids and mush, etc. soon.

There is a God! (As David Jones likes to say)

I will still have to have plastic surgery for the skin grafting of my now healed stomach wound and also hernia surgery. One time at a time, slowly but surely.

LLJ

pnw218 said If you read back, Alex has stated that he has removed people using multiple screen names and were posting unsubstantiated stories.

Shirley, a former coordinator, was fired recently. She apparently used to post on here as a happy Almanza patient and since being fired has been berating the clinic.

This is hearsay isn't it? You have gone to J/E but you are not working for them right you just spend your own money to check out that everything is just roses there.

Do you think the people here at this forum are that gullible?

My two cents on the Shirley issue, she was a band to sleeve revision and had her sleeve done by Dr Pompa long before she was the main US coordinator for Betancourt/Dr.Almanza. Also she was definitely NOT fired. She QUIT! This is NOT hearsay from my part for sure!

Aw honey,

I am sure every woman on this site can relate to your emotions right now, been there, done that sort of thing.

Maybe he will do a double take if he meets you in 6 months, if not him, others will! and before long after that you may have to beat them off with a stick! LOL!! And you will be the one doing the picking!

Just know you aare doing the best you know how right now, and you are

pretty vulnerable and obviously, he is not ready for you at this stage in his life.

Someone special will connect with you down the road, and you are not too old! I am 72 and I know the older guys' eyes follow me while they sit on the benches at the mall as I walk by, because I have a new confidence and it shows in my body language.

In the meantime, think positive thoughts and get out walking for fitness and you will begin to feel better with every pound you shed! You will LOVE your sleeve! and yourself and that special someone who will appreciate you in the future! Believe it!

Donna

We had a chart that shows the various benefits of weight loss surgery, and the number given for sleep apnea was 74-98% RESOLVED - (meaning it's GONE)

So I would be very optimistic if I were you!

Great news, Stacey! I know you will have a very postitive experience with your new sleeve. We all love ours. I have been eating more than I should for a while due to emotional issues with my sister Linda and all, but have lost over 55 lbs so far - and hoping for at least another 20, 25lbs. Have slowed down quite a bit lately but still happy that I am a more normal size (no more plus sizes for me - EVER!) You are not too heavy and certainly young enough it will make a huge difference in your life! You will be a slim beauty for sure! Will be watching your progress with interest, now that I am back on the boards! Feel so relieved to have finally told everyone about my sister.as people were still choosing Jerusalem due to my old posts and I felt so bad.

I liken it to playing Russian roulette - why gamble with those odds.

Gotta put this story out there I guess, to try & prevent more horrible outcomes. I went to Emmanuel clinic when it was not very busy. I found it to be an easy surgery for me to recover from & I am now 72 (this was last September BEFORE all the flurry of infections came out.) I trusted and believed everything my coordinator told me and I especially trusted Betancourt. I have since found out he in very mu*****ontrol of everything down there, and a lot of it is coverup and lies. Yes he is charming but charm is not what you are paying for. I even argued FOR them and posted to the nth degree refuting everyone who had negative things to say about them (the whole experience) I even talked my daughter and sister to go down and have their surgeries done, that is how confident I was.

Fast forward to middle of January, I went with my family and for a few days had a very nice time. Dismayed at the size of the new clinic, and I was even more dismayed that Dr Almanza was so over-booked! My sister Linda went in for her sleeve after 10 pm at night, the 6th of the day! I was worried about that as it was so overcrowded in the clinic and so little room for anyone to maneuver, but held my tongue as we expected the best outcome.

To make a long story short, my sister became very ill while there at the recovery house, Betancourt said it was gas pains and continued to give her pain control shots. She was in no shape to fly home on the Friday as booked, they caught the fact she had a collapsed lung and severe dehydration and she went back in for intravenous saline and oxygen, but they assumed there was no leak because of their tests.

BUT THERE WAS, a centimeter nick out of the stomach high up near the esophagus, and when the housekeeper took out the drain, fluids gushed out of Linda's body. the housekeeper just cleaned it up and said nothing, so we assumed things were OK, no leaks. She was in rough shape when I flew home with her on Saturday. She had to go to the hospital in Edmonton shortly after she got home as she went into septic shock, had a collapsed lung again, severe dehydration and kidney failure because of it. They operated on her for four hours, and ended up with flushing out her body cavity - over a liter of pus!. She was near death and was for well over a week! We were devastated to say the least..

Slowly things have improved since those first weeks passed, but she was in critical care for about 6 weeks until she could breathe on her own and not need a ventilator to help with that. The infection spread and caused all kinds of porosity in her stomach and esophagus.

To date she is STILL in the hospital in Edmonton, still being fed intravenously and with a feeding tube directly to her gut, while waiting for the last hole to heal in her esophagus, they did insert a stent but haven't tested it for leaks so far. She had a large hole in her abdomen due to all the 5 ensuing body cavity flushes they had to do every other day in the beginning weeks. It is healing and she will need two further operations, a skin graft and a hernia repair on the incision site. We do expect a full recovery but only after they test her stomach out with real food, which can be weeks away yet. She has lost her job, her income of course and a good chunk of her life due to this facility's operation. Safety should be your main concern, Betancourt and Almanza's "stacke'em and rack'em" policy is not doing anyone any favors. Dr Almanza, as nice as a man he is, is now a partner and profits are what it is all about now it seems.

There have been many (20 I heard), complication tales from there since December, most were too sick to tell them themselves but are known to many of the coordinators. They all distance themselves from those, chalking it up to normal rate of complications. They have to do damage control, it is their JOB, and Betancourt controls them! Doing so many surgeries a day in my opinion is SO NOT SAFE! Do NOT believe the other Drs listed in the PR for their new website are actually doing surgeries there yet, as Dr Almanza wants the extra surgeries for himself mainly.

Spend the extra now and go to a safe hospital down there, spend the $4000 more to save yourself from becoming another Linda, with hospital costs being what they are in the US I would think that would be more important than the up front extra now to save months of hospital and surgery bills as well as your lost income from your job should things go wrong.

Check out my photo albums for a picture of me visiting Linda in the hospital in Edmonton last month when I was there. Sorry Linda, I had waited for you to tell your story but you can't sit up long enough to type it out on the computer and people really need to hear this!

All of this is true and I am so sorry I doubted everyone that had problems there, even John who's wife wrote of his experience was pretty sick the day we drove to the airport with them and he ended up with infection and in the hospital. It was extremely busy the day of his surgery too. I am not saying that you won't have a good experience, but why risk it if you don't absolutely have to, is all I am saying, there are WAY too many stories like Linda's from that facility to ignore!

my lentil Soup recipe (over-cooked) is a nice change, I suppose you could strain it, but I didn't and I lived on it for practically a week. Then I made my homemade chicken veg soup and stayed with it for a while too. (counts as a mushie I believe) both recipes ore on the recipe section here.

I nibbled on lowfat Babybel cheese until they were mush and liquidy in my mouth, and that was very satisfying too. I did Protein Drinks and shakes too.

I was self pay so only had to have my regular Dr's okay, and since I had just had 2 knee replacements the previous year and sailed thru them, he had no problem with saying I was fit for the surgery. Compared to the knee replacements, this is an easy surgery - so glad you are considering the sleeve, it really works well and once you are losing, & you can get rid of the too-big clothes knowing you won't ever need them again. I am amazed at how we at this age can do this and know that some of our health problems will be alleviated - I no longer have stress incontinence, or high blood pressure and am off my Lipitor for good! And I am still considered obese at 175 lbs. but I do believe we will have lengthened our life span by losing this weight! So good on you for taking this step, any questions, just ask away!

Cheers,

Donna

Tiffy, I am looking so forward to displacing enough Water I can float in the tub! Wow, so great!

But tonight in prep for my trip back to MX with my family, I soaked in the bathtub, something I haven't been able to do for a very long time, due to being so very heavy and with 2 knee replacements in 08. But I was able to get in and out gracefully, even knelt on the one knee that was done first to get out and it wasn't so bad as I thought it would be! Not a biggie for an NSV, but I almost cried with relief that I can bathe again and not just shower all the time!

The frosted grape is the Isopure with 33 g of Carbs...the Alpine Punch has Zero...

My frosted grape is the low carb version, 0 carbs and 60 calories..Walmart usually carries both versions.

its an individual thing, the idea of chewing well is to help the new tummy staple line to not have to over work and to give you time to fill it without overfilling it. You will find out about that soon enough! I eat much faster now with softer foods and still try to chew meats slower than before as they really fill you up and I don't want to eat too much and suffer for an hour afterwards! LOL, as I said it is an individual thing and you will have to learn what is right for you at the time!

For those of you Post Opers, I'm curious to know what you bought, ate the most of, found it easiest to eat, appealing etc.. after surgery. I'm having my procedure on 1/8 and want to go ahead and buy what I need to have at home before hand. Any ideas to share?

Thanks!!

Kimberly

I got a 6 pk of Isopure Protein drink and have bought them at least 3 more times, drink them even now..I didn't use any of my pkgs of SF Jello, but did stock up on homemade chicken broth - ate the chicken from it later as I chopped the meat up fine and added them to the diet as i progressed. Yogurt and fatfree cottage cheese worked well for me, poached eggs after a couple of weeks, and, like Tiffy, loved the babybel lowfat cheeses (could nibble them to mush slowly early on) I bought way too much Protein powders, and have most of them still sitting here 3 months later, so go slow on those, wait til afterwards. Canned broths or Soups you can strain out the solids for week 2 are great. Crystal lite - banana strawberry orange is my fav, as we all seem not to enjoy plain Water for quite a while, but do dilute well as they will be too sweet at first. Grape juice and unsweetened applesauce are good at first too! Hope this list is a help!

Mica,

there are a lot of us here in Saskatoon that have had the sleeve! Come to the support meeting at the Cosmo Civic center this coming Wednesday (6th) and learn all about us and where we all went (several places in MX) and see what you think!

We meet in one of the meeting rooms upstairs (up the long ramp!) and will start around 6:30 - should be a good sized group as so many of us are pretty new at the operation, pretty much all of us within the last 8 months! some really recently! So you can get a good idea of how it could be for you! Hope to see you there,

Donna

Just recently I started having this sort of "side stitch" pain. It is not super painful, I don't have a fever etc. But when I sit up, bend over, or use my tummy muscles, it hurts, almost like an internal bruise.

It kind of reminds me of a side stitch you would get when you run?

Has anyone experienced this, is it something to be alarmed about? Or is this normal internal healing?

It is on my right hand side literally between my front and back, and just doesn't seem to go away. It is a new pain, or at least since I have been healing I have noticed it more in the last few days.

Let me know if anyone else has experienced anything like this, this far out from surgery.

Thanks!

R

I have a lower side pain too, few a few weeks now, but have had it yrs before so I know what it is, diverticuli - outpouching in my bowel somewhere, and it acts up now and then, hurts to take a deep breath and when i press on it it seems to help. At first I thought a hernia, but after a lot of thought realized that it was this old pain from years ago.

Seems the older I get the more aches and pains manifest themselves. Shoulders every morning are bad, had that before the surgery though, arthritis no doubt. ~sigh~ getting old is NOT for sissies, I always say!