kbl

just wanted to pipe in.... i struggled with infertility for 13 years. exhausting every medical procedure in hopes of a child. my infertility was not weight related... but no mater the reason the hurt and longing is the same. in the end i was unable to carry a pregnancy. this year at the age of 43 my beautiful daughter was born via the help of a gestational carrier. she is the most wonderful aspect of my life. we have a new baby to be born this coming august. so all i can say for all of you that long for a child is to hold tight to the dream. i will be your biggest cheerleader. kelly

good luck and keep us updated on your journey. kelly

wonderful update. though i have not had my surgery yet... my mom is about 6 weeks out and i see in her "the down in the dumps" though she is always positive when i ask. the spark is alittle dim. though what i have read is that does get better. congrats on the weight loss. that has to be exciting. i love the thought of lossing 22 lbs. kelly

glad that it worked out for you and caysen to stay with your brother. hopefully in time things will be better. kelly

congratulations!!!!

tiff.. so sorry. i am one of those blessed with a wonderful mother and now am a mother to a beautiful daughter. so sorry that you have hurts from that relationship. cyber hugs. i pray that God will meet you and minister to you and your mom. that some day your relationship will have a testimony of God's grace and healing. in the mean time let those that love you and cherish you hold you up. thanks for all your kind words on this forum. you surely are a ray of sunshine to many of us. we love you!!!

i can only answer about the drain... i have not had the surgery but i have been an rn for the past 21 years. not all doctors will use the drain so it may not apply to you. it is called a JP drain. it is a small tube that they will place in in abdomen to drain any of the fluid they use for irrigation and also so that if you have any post op bleeding it will drain. the staff will monitor the drainage for color and volume. the drain is very small and is attached to a bulb to serve as a collection system. when empty to bulb is squeezed. this give the bulb some suction so the the fluid will drain. as the bulb fills there is less suction. the drain is attached to the out side with a suture and when it is time to pull out the sutures are removed and the drain is pulled. usually an RN will remove but some of the surgeons remove as well. the removal is not really painful but maybe a little uncomfortable but happens very quickly. usually the drain is removed a couple of days post op. hope this helps, good luck. kelly

hi so the answer is NO!!!! my mom just had the sleeve 2/2 /10 she is 62 years old has RA and HTN with a weight higher then 250. even though you do not know her... she still would no want her weight on this board. she is doing great. she did have to stop some of her RA drugs about one week pre op and was able to continue about 3 weeks post op so that her sleeve would heal. i also have RA and hope to do the surgery in august. so hope this helps. kelly

love the picture... i did not know they had magnetic paint... how fun. kelly

thanks for all your support. i so look forward to the journey. i spend so much time on this forum and looking at before and after photos. i have even dreamed of issues related to the sleeve. so my mind is thinking even when i am sleeping. regarding my baby's birth. i have had infertility issues for the past 13 years. not weight related but related to an autoimmune disease. in the end after years of trying every thing and having multiple miscarries we sought our a gestational carrier for our children. my daughter is now 5 1/2 months old and our new baby will be born the end of august. i am totally in love. when i think about my children i just do not want them to witness my struggle with obesity. i know food will always have to be monitored but my relationship with food will be more normal i think with the sleeve. as for timing. i hope to have the sleeve the first week of august. if all works out i will have surgery about two to three weeks before our new baby arrives and hope to be feeling better by that point. i will then continue my recovery from surgery as i am also on maternity leave from my work. with having surgery i will also be able to use up my big bank of sick time and not use my vacation time on my maternity leave. so i think that is a great plan. at this time i am planning on going to dr aceves for my surgery since i have a bmi of 31.8 and will be self pay. i am a nurse and never thought i would consider mexico. i did talk to a doctor in tucson and he said i would not even qualify for his program. point blank. so for surgery in tucson i would need to wait for several years and more weight gain and more comorbidities..... that just seems crazy!!! i have 70-75 lbs to loose. and i have been on some kind of diet it seems my whole life.... well at least planning some sort of diet. the more i read of dr aceves and his program in mexicalli i get more convinced he is the doctor for me. i love that he has so many patients on this board that highly recommend him and from what i can find on my own research a great reputation and wonderful surgical stats. so that is that. thanks again for your support. kelly

i know that is a wonderful feeling

that is true regarding the FMLA requirements. for the new grad of nursing... have you started your job yet? it not, have you considered having your surgery and then starting your position? with acute care, especially adult acute care, you will need to be off at least 5 weeks to 6 weeks depending on your specific area of specialty. the hospital where i work requires that you be able to lift 50 lbs to be eligible to work in any of the acute care units. there may be different requirements at other facilities. good luck. kelly

So this is the beginning..... I am starting this weight loss journey again. As most of you can relate, I have lost and regained several times in my life. The ending result is that I have reached a new highest weight. I do fall in line with a lower BMI, but I wonder if I do not do something now, will I just continue to reach new heights as the years go by? So I have decided to seriously contemplate the sleeve procedure. Even the prospect of the sleeve excites me. It does feel like for once in my life I can see a light at the end of the tunnel of obesity. That the sleeve is a tool that you never loose may just be the answer I have been searching for. Through the years I have been sucked in to the infomercials for weight loss... now I have a bin in my office of old promises that did not last. So here is to a new journey.... thanks for all the people who have shared their journey on this forum. You are all an inspiration to me. So to introduce my self. My name is Kelly. I am married and the mother of one wonderful little girl with a second child due in august via the help of a gestational carrier. We have three fur babies as well. I have been a nurse for the past 21 years working in the ICU. In so many ways my life is blessed. So why do I struggle with my weight???? Well maybe this is not an answer i can give. But I do hope to find hope for an answer... and that seems to be the sleeve. My mom just recently had the sleeve. She is doing wonderful. So I will have my biggest cheerleader and support person to help me along the way. So wish me luck. And if God ever lays me on your heart please pray for me and my family as we embark on this journey. kelly]

sorry i do not know why it copied twice.

just so you know surgery does fall under the FMLA guidelines. it is a federal law which allows you to have a leave of absence for up to a 12 week peroid of time per rolling year. you just need to talk with you HR department and fill out the proper paperwork. you will also have to have the doctor fill out a portion. i am sure the coordinators in mexico can work with you on the paper work..... all of this info is void it you are your own boss.... but if you work for someone else, just know that you can legally take off for medical issues and have your job back. at least check into it. there may be a criteria in regards to how big you work force is. i work in a hospital so it does apply to me..... good luck kelly

just so you know surgery does fall under the FMLA guidelines. it is a federal law which allows you to have a leave of absence for up to a 12 week peroid of time per rolling year. you just need to talk with you HR department and fill out the proper paperwork. you will also have to have the doctor fill out a portion. i am sure the coordinators in mexico can work with you on the paper work..... all of this info is void it you are your own boss.... but if you work for someone else, just know that you can legally take off for medical issues and have your job back. at least check into it. there may be a criteria in regards to how big you work force is. i work in a hospital so it does apply to me..... good luck kelly

keys... though i have not had the sleeve yet... i take aleve as part of my RA medications. i was directed to the sleeve because it was the WLS that i cound have and take my required medications. the only issue immediated pre and post op is the increase in bleeding. so since you are 6 weeks out, you should be able to take it. kelly

wonderful....thanks for letting us celebrate with you. kelly

sweatinitout....ust so you know i did the same recently. by the next day i was to impatient to wait for their call and called the 1-888 number. i spoke to monica one of the coordinators. she said that their normal price is 9500. but they are currently having a special and if you book in feb for a march surgical date the cost is 8750. good luck. i am still deciding and will not go until august if that is my decision. hope this helps. kelly

WELL i think you should go or it! i also have cloths from skinny to fat. and would like to buy a new skinny dress for motivation! but unlike you all i have not even had the sleeve. i am just seriously considering it. reading all of your post makes me want it tomorrow though. if i am able to do this, i will have to wait till august. so i will just dream about the possibilities! i sure need to learn how to 1)place a picture of me 2)learn how to create a signature with a ticker. you are all inspirational to me. kelly

thanks ladies for the responses... i feel sure that if and when i have the vsg i will go to dr aceves. i still need to gather more information and determine if the sleeve is the option for me due to my medical condition. i would really love to proceed. i have a bmi of 31.8 so to low for insurance coverage and will be self pay. i do have chronic medical conditions as well. i love that so many have had surgery with dr aceses and rave about his care and the care they received in mexico. as an icu rn for the past 21 years i originally did not think i would consider mexico. the more i read the more i am certain that he would be my choice. if this is to happen, i really have a specific time frame to work with. i need to have the surgery the first week of august. i am blessed with a 4 month old daughter born via a gestational carrier due to infertility problems.... thus i have recently been off of work. we also have a second child due the end of august via a gestational carrier..... so i will need to have the surgery.....give my self two full weeks to recover somewhat.... then be on baby watch. with early leave for surgery and then leave for a new baby i will be off work for about 7 weeks. then will go back to work 1 12 night shift per week for a couple of months. well so that is how my mind is thinking now. if this is how it works out it gives me several months to research and settle in my heart that this is the right decision for me. some may think that at a lower bmi that i should just diet. well that has not worked for me .... at least in the long term. i do not want my children to grow up seeing me struggle with weight. what i lose i gain back. now i need to lose 70 lbs and that seems monumental. i just do not want to fight my weight and grow bigger and bigger every decade. my mom just had the vsg in tucson the first of feb and is doing fabulous. so proud of her!!! so i have a great support system and buddy all in one. i work with several people who have also had the procedure. i guess my medical conditions are my only concern. i wonder if dr aceves will exclude me. time will tell. i guess my first thing to do is wait for the coordinator to contact me and she can answer some of my questions regarding timing, pricing, and criteria. i hope all goes well. love reading and learning from all of you on your journey. thanks for letting me share your experiences. hope hear great reports from all of you. kelly

3636milie.... i see that you are in az as i am. you said that you worked in many teaching facilities. are you a nurse? i am and was wondering if you are, how long did you wait before going back to patient care? thanks kelly

thanks for this post... i have the same questions. thanks for those who have posted and will post kelly

lee i also have RA, i am still in the thinking i want surgery phase.... what medications do you take for your RA post sleeve? did the doctor have any concerns with you and your drug regimen? thanks kelly

stuck... i see that you are from washington. is that washington state or washington dc? we have a summer house in washington state is why i am asking