Mi-Mi

i have not taken the time to read all the replies yet since i'm at work, but i can tell you that i felt the exact same thing as soon as i was fully awake from surgery. it lasted a while... just the permanence of it all freaked me totally out! i never voiced that feeling but i kept saying to myself... here i am 30 years old... and i have made this huge change to my body and i have to live with it the rest of my life! and i kept thinking i wish i could have done it on my own.

now i'm a little over 5 weeks postop and about 37 pounds down... and it feels amazing! those feelings have gone. the worst of the "withdrawals" and anxiety is over and i truly savor and enjoy every bite i obsessively chew and chew and chew. haha!

you will be ok after a while. once you realize that weight is not coming back and that you CAN still have a life WITHOUT all that food (i call it my personal "crack" addiction) these feelings will pass and you have less and less regret as time goes on. i just know you're gonna love it! just be patient.....

hahahah! i dunno but i mentioned that on another post too. my stomach is very vocal! i believe mine has something to do with air in there.

I wonder if stomach acid is the culprit? Have you tried a little Mylanta - just half a teaspoonful helped me when I felt like curling up in a ball because my stomach hurt and I thought it was because I was hungry.

i have been told the gas is what i'm feeling.... but i don't think so because i do eat gas-x quite a bit. i just think i feel empty.... but no pain (unless i eat too fast or too much at a time.) i could be very very wrong though.

i did forget to mention though.... about a week or so post - op, i had a non-medicinally-induced, normal flow, 7-day period! i know that's alot to reveal publicly but it's such a big deal for me... it's been over 10 years since that happened! also, i notice that i'm more relaxed afterward... little things just aren't as big of a deal as they used to be anymore. i swear, this surgery has given my hormones a complete over-haul... and i'm LOVING it!

i am interested in hearing success stories as well. unfortunately once women get 12-18 months post-op, they aren't usually in need of support from a message board. but i hope i'm wrong about that! haha! i've been considering surgery for many years, but my infertility issues were the straw that broke the camel's back and pushed me to finally make this decision. so obviously one of my main goals in losing weight is to eventually try and start a family. i want to be smart about it and wait at least 12 months before "trying" again, so that's pretty far off since i'm only a few days from being 1 month post-op... but i could always use encouragement in the fertility department!

correction: if you can get the hormones to stop turning the peach-fuzz follicles into the kind that produce the black hair follicles, then you can have success at removing the ones you already have with laser treatment.

apprently once hair follicles turn into the black course type, they never go back to the white "peach-fuzz" type. i've researched this as well because i have severe hirsutism on my chin and down my neck and have to shave every day! i read that if you can get the hormones to stop turning the "peach-fuzz" follicles then you can have success with removing the ones you do have by laser treatment. i did have 1 laser treatment a long time ago. it did not prevent me from growing my "beard" but i did notice a difference for a long time in the prevention of razor burn and also it didn't seem to grow out as quickly.

i'm so glad someone asked about this because i know once i reach goal and my hormones get completely straightened out (which i'm already starting to feel a difference) then i will want to have the full 6-8 months of laser treatments. thanks for bringing this to our attention!

i had my surgery on aug. 5th so almost a month ago. i had head-hunger and wanted solid foods really bad before i started eating them but i wasn't *actually* hungry. but about 2 weeks afterward i started having actual empty stomach hunger. i don't know if it is normal or not, and i was under the impression that the fundus, which is the part that gets removed, was where grehlin (sp?) is produced... therefore i thought i would never feel hunger again. but i do! i get that empty feeling usually within 2 hours after i eat a meal (which at this point is usually about 4-10 small bites, depending on what i'm eating.) and something funny... my stomach noises are LOUD now! haha! it's pretty funny... i'm glad i'm not an uptight person who hangs around with uptight people or i would be embarrassed about a hundred times a day! haha!

sorry for the typo there.... i meant " surgeon would send you home if you didn't lose a significant amount of weight"

wow i don't know what to say. first i think it's stupid that they would ask you to lose that much weight in such a short amount of time. it's not even healthy. i mean, i understand, shrink the liver, shrink the liver, shrink the liver. but even a few pounds should help with that... imho anyway.

and to the other person who said the surgeon would send you home if you.... i suggest you remind him that your money doesn't HAVE to be spent with him. i mean some people just don't lose weight unless they starve... and you don't need to be starving. i mean, this is why you're having surgery after all.

dalyco.... just to let you know.... i only did a partial liquid diet before surgery. i did Protein Shakes, Decaf coffee, Soups, etc. during the day and at night i ATE....anything i wanted. admittedly this is not a good idea. but if you NEED something i'm thinking it won't hurt you. i lost NOT 1 POUND before surgery and i was fine. now, i'm not suggesting that's the ideal or best way to do this process... not at all. i'm just saying, don't get discouraged!!!

hey guys & dolls,

i'm 4 days post op. i feel fantastic. a little sore but SO GLAD to be past the 1st couple days in the hospital! i just keep telling myself that there WILL be a time when i can have my cocktail shrimp again. there WILL be a time when i won't feel gas bubbles every time i sip Water or broth or Protein shots. there WILL be a time VERY SOON when i will feel like a normal person again, after about 10 years of not feeling very "normal" at all.

i'm emotional today. not because i'm sad. but because while watching a movie at home with my husband, i actually WANTED to get up off the couch and move around. so i did. i stood up, i stretched a little (not too much for my incisions) i moved to left and the right, i moved my neck around. it was WONDERFUL!!!

also... i saw the veins in my feet for the first time yesterday in a long time. i was so shocked and it felt so GOOD! i know that every time i get discouraged, God is going to give me a little something like that to help boost me a little along the way.

thanks for so much support! i never knew strangers could help me so much! you're all very special people!

oh... almost forgot... for me pregnancy is a big issue since that's sort of what caused me to finally make the decision to have surgery. if you ever want to have kids, you might ask how the smaller stomach will affect the surgery. and do they have anyone who might be open to you emailing them and asking them about their specific experience with the surgeon or the whole experience in general.

i posted a similar thread and got no responses to it... so i'm determined to not leave you hanging on this! some things i wanted to know were:

how many of this particular procedure has he/she done?

what is the complication rate and what specific complications have they seen?

how many deaths have they had as a practice and also for the individual surgeon?

when can you get to a gym afterward?

a list of things to get that you'll need after surgery, i.e. Vitamins, Protein shakes, etc.

if i think of any more i'll get back to you.

omg you guys.... my surgery is tomorrow.... and i'm FREAKING OUT!!!! i'm not scared of the anesthesia and i fully trust my surgeon. what i'm saying is, it's not the actual surgery that i'm all in a tizzy about.... it's the permanence. they're cutting off my stomach. i'm not going to be able to indulge in my wonderful world of food anymore. going out to eat with my friends will never be the same. oh, and did i mention..... THEY ARE CUTTING OFF MY STOMACH!!!!! *breaths slowly*

honey you just said everything i've been feeling and haven't been able to put into words, because it was still buried inside me and i just couldn't articulate it. i'm happy someone was able to just put it all out there and i was able to benefit from all the responses as much as you!

on top of the obsession with food though... i also have this weird thing that i don't like to leave anything on my plate. when i go out to eat (or even sitting at home or a friend's for a meal) i don't stop eating until i've eaten everything. i don't usually get 2nds of anything, but i just don't stop until my plateful is gone. i don't know why. my parents never said "clean your plate." and sometimes, in my mind, i'm sitting there about halfway through telling myself to stop, and i can box it up and take it home and enjoy it later... but then i keep eating. i don't know why. i can't explain it. i don't feel like it's out of my control because i KNOW i could make myself stop. but somehow, i rarely ever do.

is anyone else like that? how has it changed after the surgery? i'm scared if i do that after surgery i might injure myself....

awwwwww... good hubby!!!!!

my main concern is the same as your main concern, only i'm not in california, i'm across the country!

when i mentioned to the rep that i was concerned because surgeons don't want to touch another surgeon's work, and if something goes wrong and i need immediate treatment i'm sure i won't be able to hop on a plane and fly back to doc aceves, she pointed out to me that if there's an emergency, someone in my local area would pretty much have to treat me. they can't just let me lay there and die because they're afraid to touch another surgeon's work (supposedly.)

i'm still concerned about it.... BUT with aceves' track record i don't think it's enough of an obstacle to keep me from going to him. i have ALWAYS done very well both in surgeries and in recovery. i haven't committed fully to it yet, but i will have to commit to something whole-heartedly by tomorrow. i've even went so far as to send in my money, so i'll have to cancel those checks or something if i decide to go the other way. so time is critical.

anyone else have any thoughts? anyone who's been to aceves already? positive stories are welcome as well as any warnings. feel free, you won't be attacked! :~)

thank you so much oregon daisy! this was quite helpful...

hey to all! i did a new post inquiring about doc aceves because i'm also considering backing out of my surgery that's already scheduled here locally and going to him.

i notice a spinal block was mentioned.... any particular reason why they do that instead of using the kind of anesthesia we use here? i'm not sure how i feel about it. i haven't heard anything about it from my surgeon here. that makes me nervous all over again! LOL!

ok, my surgery is scheduled for july 19th with a local surgeon here. BUT i've been doing a ton of research and inquiring about dr. aceves in mexicali. so far i can only find excellent reviews on him! i know there are a LOT of people on this site who have went to him. i'm seriously considering canceling with my current surgeon and going to aceves. he has done many MANY more surgeries than my surgeon AND he's about half the price, and since i'm self-pay, that bottom line is calling to me! haha!

so as i said, i've heard all the positive things about him and almater hospital.... i'm trying to find out if there are any words of warning out there. is he too good to be true, or is this one of those rare instances in life where i've found the real deal? any and all comments are welcome PLEASE.... good or bad....

LOL. No he hasn't ever encouraged me to post. In fact, I haven't really talked to him since he did my wifes surgery. I guess, I wasn't looking for a long term relationship...LOL.

It is GOOD to be skeptical. There is nothing wrong with that at all, but I guess I'm one of the few who has been there and is going back....most people just don't have a reason to go down there twice, with me, it was once for my wife and once for me to have my revision.

Ok and I'll admit, my daughter is already planning on going to him, when she can afford it. Repeat business in this field isn't all that common, but my family is full of fatties.

i see that you're in las vegas.... any particular reason you're NOT using dr. thomas umbach? i know he hasn't done as many surgeries but his prices are still reasonable and he's closer, plus he is certified as a bariatric center of excellence. just curious.....

ok the quotes aren't working right or something.... you get the point though. thanks again!

but dr. aceves does sound wonderful and i can't find ANYthing on the net that suggests anything to the contrary. i'm a cynic though, so if something sounds too good to be true, in my mind, it probably is. let's think about this.... he's done about 1000 VSG surgeries according to the coordinator i spoke to, only 1 death and that was from bowel complications for a bypass patient, no leaks from VSG, and a hospital that is apparently equipped with the most state of the art equipment and staffed with the best nurses you can find. and all this for.... just under $9000, which is supposedly ALL inclusive, from pre-op tests to surgery time, to hospital stay, to meds, to your own personal transportation to and from the airport. hmmmmm.....

i know it sounds like i'm criticizing but i'm really not. i just think it's odd that you can't find ANY negative feedback about dr. aceves. it makes me wonder if he tells his patients to come back and flood the net with good reviews! haha!

but all kidding aside... i will keep researching. by monday if i can't find anything negative or anything that tells me he's too good to be true... i think i'm going with doc aceves and almater hospital.

and i do wish ALL of you the best of luck! maybe i'll see you there, who knows!!!

I thought many of the same things as you, do loads of homework until you are absolutely comfortable with the decision you make, I had my surgery there and it seemed kooky to my family but I had done enough research to know that for me it was the right choice. I was incredibly well taken care of. Dr. Aceves found a hernia in me during surgery and fixed it w/no extra cost to me. I also had horrible nausea and he kept me an extra night again w/no extra cost.

I have also been pleased post op. I have had questions or needed copies of some of my documentation, and was provided with support always within 24 hours. I think the thing to consider is that for a surgeon to be successful at further business outside of the country is to get excellent word of mouth, and they take great care of you.

Ultimately do your homework and you will find the choice that is best for you. There are a lot of good options out there, I know that for me I would have very willingly paid a lot more for the experience Dr. Aceves gave me, and was grateful I didn't have to!

Good luck,

Anna

thank you.... i'm glad i'm not alone in my apprehension. i've never been one to jump on a bandwagon and bariatric surgery is DEFINITELY not going to be the instance when i say "eh, to heck with it, i'm just gonna do what everyone else did!" HA HA!

also... can you tell me, would i need to get a passport? i've never travelled out of the country except to niagara falls once, so it might seem like a stupid question but i just don't know much about this really.