Sleevesdropper

Day 4 of preop diet down 8.5lbs. Woohoo. But im still starving. Dill pickles have no calories!

Congratulations on your 3lb loss! It is a lovely start to your journey. I am planning to start my pre-op diet tomorrow...3 weeks out from my surgery on 11/14. Doctor only demands two weeks but I feel three will help me get 'in the zone'. :-) I feel relieved when I see how difficult it is for American 'sleevers' to get insurance cover for their procedure. We have none of those issues here, as such.

I'm going to make an educated guess that every surgeon in TJ has had more than one death. The largest part of the population being sleeved will never sign onto a forum. There is a 1 in 400 death rate for Bariatric surgery. Dr Garcia had 5-8 surgeries per day while I was in florence with Dr Kelly. At that rate, especially being a newer surgeon I bet more than a few have not came back. It's a cold reality that we should not ignore. I knew that going in, and so should you.
I knew I wanted to find a very experienced surgeon, and my research told me to look for someone with not only a lot of VSGs but RNY experience also and to pretty much disregard band experience. Even though he had a very public (on the boards) death on the boards a few years ago, I still chose Dr Kelly for his record and expertise. Not to mention the warmness and caring you just can't fake. All these surgeons are working with some of the highest risk patients you can get. Don't bury your head in the sand, educate yourself......not because you haven't heard any bad on the forum, because the forum is just a small percentage. How long have they been doing this particular surgery? What other surgical training does he have? Does he belong to the American FACS who does keep data on its surgeons? Ect
God bless you all. I was excited for the 399 out of 400 chance I'd be just fine, but was prepared to be that 1 in 400. God willing I'm 4 months post op and down 90lbs.

OK so what are you exactly trying to say? Try to get all the facts before posting here. This forum I think is for helping people not for incendiary afirmations.

Please don't misunderstand, I am not trying to be mean or rude, I just think it would be better not to post things like this if you don't have the details or the name of the surgeon. I am pre-sleeve and have made a confident choice in my surgeon but this kind statement can be upsetting to people who are undecided and nervous about going to Mexico.

America.... Capital A
Sorry I'm a proud American
And to the Mexican coordinators.....
Why fight? And put each other down? All the backstabbing, bickering, stories told.
Don't you know? There are plenty fat Americans
(see capital A) to go around. No need to get greedy..

I think, regardless of what realy happened everybody should get behind this doctor and support him.That goes for all bariatric surgeons in Mexico too. I realy think that this was a tragic accident and I would not like to be in this doctor skin right now. All mexican doctors should learn from each other experiences and help each other as much as they can. That would help their cause much more than bashing each other through different kind of medias. For sure no pacient should be left without an emergency doctor ready to jump in. This is I think how they could help each other eaven if they compete bussines wise. In this field bad news will affect all of them not only the unlucky doctor. They have to understand that as long as the halth care in US and Canada doesn't change and as long as the population in this countries are not going to change the way they eat, there will be plenty of bussines for them. So all Mexico doctors please unite and DO help each other.
People scheduled to have surgery with this doctor , don't wory the probabilty for that happening again is on your side.

I agree with everything you said, however I'm not totally convinced what we are hearing is the true story. As you said, there are many stories floating around from "dependable" sources, with no other information but that. There is also the added layer of coordinators in Mexico that start rumors or twist stories just enough to make rival doctors look bad. You're right.... my personal opinion and experience with Aceves is nothing short of excellent. There are many small details in the various stories that we are placing huge judgement on, and none of us on this board knows the real truth. In my opinion, we stop now. If there really was true negligence by Aceves and his staff, it's up to the family to bring that out legally. Anything else is not our business to speculate at this point, anymore.

I just have to say that no matter where your surgery is, U.S., Mexico, or anywhere in the world, and no matter who your doctor is, or how highly trained they are, one of the risks of surgery is death. We are all told this, and we all make a choice if we are going to take the chance in going through with the surgery. I am so sorry for the family of this woman who passed, but this is the reality of VSG. There are risks, and sometimes the worst case scenario happens, and it happens to all surgeons all over the world.

I think it is a bit premature to be disgusted and angered as we do not have all the facts, just speculation and hearsay at this point, about what happened.
What we do know is this: Rox passed away. Dr. Aceves was her surgeon.
I hope we can all agree that Rox and her loved ones should be in our thoughts and/or prayers.

I dont have any idea of whether or not this happened, but I would like to offer some unsolicited advice. If you are getting your surgery anyway, dont bother looking for any additional information, it will only worry you. I read the complications boards on here and almost gave myself a panic attack leading up to the surgery, and for what? I was going to do what I was going to do. I understand making an informed decision and knowing all the facts but you said that you have already made your decision so at this point Im not sure more information will be a good thing.

I'll be there on Nov. 20. I'll just miss you! Please keep me posted on your experience!

Call your insurance and ask. I read my book and knew my wls was not covered but asked anyways. They confirmed, then I asked if I had general medical testing done to see if I were a candidate for surgery if that would be covered and they said yes. So my blood work, gallbladder ultrasound, and psyc eval were all covered and I just had to pay my co-pay on them.
Now traveling and such it may be out Of network so I would also ask about that.

Not always the case. My doctor sent me home with a folder full of information to give my doctor in the US. It included my pre-op test results, and the surgeon's description and notes of my surgery. Everything that was done to me, and it was all in English. My US doctor actually commented on how thorough it was.

MJ,
I haven't posted my experience yet and currently tapping out letter by letter this post on iPad. Verrrry slow. I had/have the most severe case of pcos that my drs had seen. This surgery gave me my life back. No more blood sugar issues due to insulin resistance bc even my IR is gone! All gone. Off all meds. Hormones stable for the first time since it all started 10 years ago. The weight just drops off. Having the energy to walk or ride bikes is amazing. Like many other before me who said the facial hair issue didn't reverse... Mine didn't either but I will gladly take it. I don't follow the weight loss that most do on here... The weight loss although awesome was never my primary reason for the surgery. I only weigh at the dr office. I barely get a few weeks in "new" jeans/capris before it's time to drop another size down. Gone from 20 and am knocking on 12, only 4 months out. No more hot flashes or sitting under a fan at work.my nails aren't like paper anymore.. Strong and beautiful! My hair Changed too... Healthier! Let me know if you have any questions. This surgery affects each of us differently... Good luck.

I was on it for PCOS. As soon as I decided to go ahead with the surgery, I stopped taking it. I wanted to see what my body would do naturally. So, about 2 months before I went from 1700mg a day to nothing.
As it transpires and despite being on a contraceptive pill which prevents periods (mine were horrendous), I am 3 weeks out and spontaneously had a period -despite the pill!
Although I've only* lost 20lbs since surgery (3.5 weeks), I can already identify a difference. Maybe it's the pill, maybe it isn't. Either way.. There is a definite improvement!
*I expected an improvement when I'd lost more weight - not at such an early stage!
My energy levels are a bit low though.. That, I put down to the limited nutrition though...

my husband was on it and was off it within 2-3 DAYS (not weeks as i first posted) post-surgery. I was on 150 levo, and 2.5 months later, I'm on 100 now. Many, many people come off metformin post surgery. Many but not all people seem to reduce levo doses.
If you have metabolic syndrome, the surgery is the best thing for you. My husband is off BP meds, off metformin, off cholesterol meds, trigylcerides for both of us are normal, and since we don't eat carbs, insulin resistance is under control. You are going to LOVE it.

Hi.
I am on Metformin for my PCOS and metabolic syndrome. I'd really like to get off that and my very low dose of Levothyroxine after surgery.
Was wondering if anyone out there was on either of these meds prior to surgery, then went off. I'd like to get down to zero prescriptions if possible.
Thanks!

To iegal....the original post was about other people's experience with Dr. Aceves. If you didnt have your surgery with Dr. Aceves, you honestly cannot contribute feedback whether it be good or bad. You had your reasons for choosing your surgeon and we had ours.

Ditto to everything BBJ stated. My life and health are worth the extra money. Dr. Aceves was the only doctor where I could not find anything negative about his abilities or performance. That was key for me.

I've never had surgery before, so I can't compare my experience with him to anything else, but I was pleased overall - no complaints at all. He fit the bill in several ways:
1) I wanted someone who's had a LOT of reviews on this board. Surgery is easy until something goes wrong, so if you've only seen 3 or 4 positive reviews about a surgeon, it doesn't give you that much information.
2) I wanted someone who didn't have a SINGLE negative review (I searched like 2 years back on the forum)
3) I wanted someone who ONLY does bariatrics
4) I wanted someone who's had North American training and credentials
5) I wanted to be operated on in a hospital, not a clinic, in case something went terribly wrong
6) I didn't want an assembly line surgeon who operates on 6+ people a day
A big selling point for me was that one of his staffers (Dr. Campos) had the VSG from Dr. Aceves - that shows that someone who's intimately familiar with the man himself and his work trusts him enough to operate on themselves.

I have also been a bit concerned abot the opinions of my social group about this course of action to reduce my weight and have come to the conclusion that the l;ess said the better...especially with non-significant people in my life. I think that people who have not had to make such a decision have really no idea the courage and despperation it takes to make such a decision. If we recall ourselves....it takes much time and research to come to the decision ourselves. How can we expect others to understand the reality of when they have no real connection to the situation.What does everybody else think on this????

Today is my 2nd day of pre-op diet. So far its not that bad. And believe me I was going crazy over thinking how this was going to go. I am very hungry, its not so much head hunger rather than real deal hunger. I only have 3 Protein Drinks a day to drink and thats it. So imagine that! All of you who are going through it soon you will be fine. try not to over think it like I did, we only make it harder on ourselves. Remember the big prize!!! Im so ready for this part to be over and to get the ball rolling.