Rockpaperthinner

Hey all. Just wanted to touch base. I'm closing in on the century club!!! 12 lbs shy of 100 lbs as of last Saturday.
Oh and my heart is staying in rhythm and I broke up with my cpap. I haven't used it for awhile but officially packed it away yesterday!!!!
Adjusting to the sleeved life is a worthwhile adventure! :-D

I didn't want to start a whole new thread, but I just wanted to let everyone know that my surgery went amazingly well. Everything I researched about Dr. Aceves was accurate. He was amazing, the staff at Almater is fantastic. I did a really detailed post on my blog if anyone is interested on how it went. Down 17.2 lbs since last Tuesday, and I know it's kind of early to say but it's easily the smartest decision I've ever made.
Thanks for all your support!

Glad it went well! I arrive there on Monday!

I didn't want to start a whole new thread, but I just wanted to let everyone know that my surgery went amazingly well. Everything I researched about Dr. Aceves was accurate. He was amazing, the staff at Almater is fantastic. I did a really detailed post on my blog if anyone is interested on how it went. Down 17.2 lbs since last Tuesday, and I know it's kind of early to say but it's easily the smartest decision I've ever made.
Thanks for all your support!

Thanks! I've read your experience post over and over. It totally helped me prepare!

Good luck an nice trip

Sounds good to me. Good luck

Good luck on your trip!!

Just an update... Dr Aceves, dr campos, staff, and Almater has been such a good experience. Everything is very well organized, staff is very attentive, and its very clean and modern. I am comforted staying in the hospital for 3 days. I had my surgery on Wednesday. I did get sick from the morphine, but that is expected for me. When I was nauseous or in pain my needs were met immediately. I was able to rest and if you need a sleeping pill just ask. I had my blue dye test yesterday. I had to nap in between drinking. I was mostly afraid of hurting my stomach. Today I had my barium swallow test. It was very cool to see. I took a big gulp and you could see it exiting my stomach. No problems. Hotel lucena was very nice. I was exhausted the first day. i couldnt sleep very well the night before leaving. Try to sleep the night before if you can. It truly will be fine . The van you take to mexicalli is a new Honda minivan. I did have to wait a little at the airport but I just called the number and let them know what I was wearing ect. I did overpack. I have been wearing pjs because I feel more comfortable.
As far as pain it does hurt at time. The gas in your stomach and abs is uncomfortable but you can ask for pain meds and walk. I have been trying to stay on top of the pain.. Again just ask.
I know we all have taken different paths to get to the same results. This is truly the best for me. Sorry for the rambling but ask if you have any questions!
There is a bariatric wing at almater for dr aceves patients. Everyone I talk to has been wonderful and feeling good. It's nice to have this little community to recover with.

Another June 4th-er!

I pay about 100 a year for the p.o box. My family does a lot of online shopping and we are easily saving over 1000 a year just in shipping cost not including the amounts we save on duty. I don't claim what I pick up from my p.o box. I just act like I bought it recently in bellingham. They ask me what I was doing in the states and I tell them grocery and clothing shopping. I declare how much I spent during the day and they let me pass on through. I have been to the states every 2 weeks for the last 2 years buying food, clothing and gas and have only been asked 1 time to pay duty on a product. It was a $600 dyson vacuum on top of the other 400+ in grocery and clothing we spent that day. They only charged me on the dyson and not the other things. I usually spend about 3-400 every 2 weeks and never once had to pay duty. Just dont go to the states and spend thousands of dollars on clothing. Keep it under 500 and you will be fine.

Another June 4th-er!

If you're going to preach perfection, please use the spell check and proofread for grammar. You have no credibility.

Hi guys. I see a lot of you are struggling and worried pre-op about the pre-op diet. It is a HUGE challenge, but for me, it was an important one.
Exactly 1 year ago, I was in the middle of a 2 week liquid pre-op diet because my BMI was 55+ and I was self-pay in Mexico. Traveling from Canada meant that a reschedule would be A LOT of extra expense if my surgeon had to stop due to an enlarged liver mid-surgery. I had NO CHOICE but to follow the diet.
It also meant that cheating would increase the chance of complications and a longer recovery (or worse), all because I could not follow a 2 WEEK diet. Really? Here I was, about to take a seriously radical, life-changing step and get 85% of my stomach cut out permanently. But I can't follow a 2 week diet? That's crazy.
Post-op was going to be difficult for MONTHS, not days. So if I couldn't get my head in the game for the pre-op diet, then maybe I wasn't ready for what was going to follow post-op. I was terrified!
So I started the liquid diet. And I was STARVING. I was dreaming of all the foods I thought were leaving my life forever. Suddenly I didn't care that I had spent my life morbidly obese, I wanted my comfort back. I wanted to fill myself to bursting at every meal, like it was my last meal forever.
But I didn't break my diet.
Because for once, I wasn't going to cheat myself. It was time to grow up (I'm 43....) and take responsibility for my health, my future and my choices. A lifetime of justification, gluttony and excuses brought me to that operating room. Now it was time to face the music and get on with owning my future.
The first 3 days were HELL. That is when your body is detoxing from the carbs. You are using up the glycogen in your liver (to help "shrink" it) and it's screaming for replacement carbs to fill it back up. You can get through it. After 3 days it gets MUCH better. After a week you start to feel normal and more healthy than you have felt in years. You may be hungry, but you don't have the carb cravings anymore.
Most importantly, you feel IN CONTROL; and mentally and emotionally strong for battling your demons and winning. This is the first tangible proof in an unsure future that you CAN get through the post-op recovery and that you CAN succeed in losing the weight this time, FOR LIFE.
Whatever weight you lose during your pre-op diet is really inconsequential. What is important is what you gain:
- Confidence
- Emotional and physical self-control
- The desire to succeed and overcome "impossible" obstacles
- The knowledge that you are a WINNER as long as you do your best
Please don't look at the pre-op diet as a "condition" that your surgeon imposes on you (and some surgeons don't require it!). It is an OPPORTUNITY for you to test yourself, to help build your will, character and emotional toughness BEFORE you have the surgery.
It's like training for a marathon.....you put the blood sweat and tears in before the race to help you finish the race on game day. Without training and preparation, you will likely fail and you can get hurt really badly along the way!
Use your pre-op diet to work through your demons, build up your confidence and prove to yourself you can do it. If you "fall off the wagon" one day, the next day is a fresh start.
Aim for excellence. You owe it to yourself.

Like Leslie01 I too - the OP - am withdrawing from this thread because of the amount of negativity being spewed. Perhaps I was wrong in believing this forum was designed for people to do real research on the companies in whom we are entrusting our health and our lives. I thought the purpose of the forum was to show the unbiased truth. If I only wanted rainbows and gumdrops, I would have simply visited the Medical Tourism websites. My post is entitled MY Poor Experience...not YOUR Experience, not EVERYBODY'S Experience. MY experience. It was nothing more than an honest retelling of what happened to ME. To attack me for airing my honest story, which was intended to help people get a first hand view of what could happen to them, is irrational. I wasn't the only person who posted a less than stellar account. I did not feel a need to disparage those people - or the people with positive experiences - simply because their experiences were different. Rational people read an experience that differs from theirs and if they feel the need to respond to it, it's in the vein of "I had a very different and positive experience" not the vitriolic and nonsensical attacks that were posted here (suggesting this happened because I wasn't personable; suggesting that being upset because I couldn't immediately reach the coordinator and, therefore, the doctor after having drained through bandages, clothes, and a folded hand towel was making a mountain out of a molehill). You chose to overlook the real issue, which was this: I had just had major surgery in a foreign country, I was draining excessively, I NEEDED to contact the doctor for medical guidance, I was at the mercy of the coordinator in order to get in contact with the doctor, and the coordinator was unavailable for a number of hours, during which time I was left with no option other than sit and wait (and drain, perhaps get an infection, die in Mexico, etc.). I never disparaged the company personally. Hell, I agree that Janese is a very nice person. and Abraham is awesome. But being nice, personable, and generally awesome does not change what happened to me any more than your great experience equates to everyone having a great experience. I'm glad that folks wrote back to say my experience differed from theirs, as people researching this surgery should get a global view - the good, the bad, and the ugly. But there is no need to attack me or my account. It doesn't negate what happened.
Now on to the reason for this particular post: thank you to those of you who were concerned for my welfare. I made it back to Atlanta late last night. I'm still draining but not excessively. I feel great and I'm still happy with my decision. I'm pleased to report that I got a message from the owner of ALM and I plan to follow up with her shortly.
Good luck to all who are still researching the surgery. I hope you take my post as only one element in your decision making. If you've read this entire thread, I'm sure you know by know that you can't rely solely on this forum. As my son would say, some of these people are "7:30 cuckoo crazy". Make the decision that's best for you. I read some other not so pleasant posts about ALM but I weighed my options and still chose to use them.
The proverbial fat lady has sung. Please, let this be the last word.

My aunt agreed to loan/gift me the money for my surgery! Now it's all about filling out the paper work and making the plans!
I've been waiting four years for this surgery and all of a sudden it's here...I don't really know how to feel lol so I keep bursting into tears at random inopportune times! Lol
My only fear is that I'll have it done and I won't even lose any weight....

Welcome! I hope your experience with Dr. Aceves is as excellent as mine was. Keep us posted!! :-)

That's fantastic! I'll have to come visit you on the 6th when I come for preop testing!!

I'm scheduled with Dr. Aceves June 4th!