hope4anewstart

Farmgal, thank you for your kind words. The advice you offer is very smart and some things, like notifying my PCP, I hadn't really considered. I am glad to hear that even with all that you went through you still do not regret the surgery. I think there comes a point in time where it just clicks and we know that this is what we need to do. I will definitely keep everyone here posted. It is really nice to have this forum as a support system because everyone here truly understands the process and what brings me here. I wish you luck(and continued health) in your journey, hopefully soon I will be on that same path

Wow, that is quite the ordeal that through! I am glad to hear that they were able to get you all fixed up though. It is scary to think about possible complications. Really they can happen to anyone but we also always think oh that will never happen to me. I look at it this way-35, family history of high blood pressure/heart disease/diabetes/PCOS, 362lbs. The reality is that if I don't do something to lose this weight permanently then it isn't a matter of if I will become sick but when. I see close family members who are even substantially larger than me already battling these issues and I want to cry because nobody ever plans on getting that large, hell no way did I ever believe I would be where I am weight-wise. I want to live, healthfully. I want to break the cycle so that my child will grow up and live life to the fullest, not stay home and eat life away like me.

Farmgal, thank you for your kind words. The advice you offer is very smart and some things, like notifying my PCP, I hadn't really considered. I am glad to hear that even with all that you went through you still do not regret the surgery. I think there comes a point in time where it just clicks and we know that this is what we need to do. I will definitely keep everyone here posted. It is really nice to have this forum as a support system because everyone here truly understands the process and what brings me here. I wish you luck(and continued health) in your journey, hopefully soon I will be on that same path

Wow, that is quite the ordeal that through! I am glad to hear that they were able to get you all fixed up though. It is scary to think about possible complications. Really they can happen to anyone but we also always think oh that will never happen to me. I look at it this way-35, family history of high blood pressure/heart disease/diabetes/PCOS, 362lbs. The reality is that if I don't do something to lose this weight permanently then it isn't a matter of if I will become sick but when. I see close family members who are even substantially larger than me already battling these issues and I want to cry because nobody ever plans on getting that large, hell no way did I ever believe I would be where I am weight-wise. I want to live, healthfully. I want to break the cycle so that my child will grow up and live life to the fullest, not stay home and eat life away like me.

Wow 63lbs in 4 months? Just had to say that is awesome! Great job! I am planning on plication in August of this year. I hope to do as good as you

Wow 63lbs in 4 months? Just had to say that is awesome! Great job! I am planning on plication in August of this year. I hope to do as good as you

@hope4anewstart: You're right, it can happen to anyone. So, be prepared just in case. As you read, I was not prepared, to the point that I didn't/haven't told my doc what I did. Be sure to have a plan of who to go to for care after your surgery. The chances of you having issues are small and like I stated even my surgeon who fixed me was surprised. You are also right that if you don't do something to help yourself now you will have problems down the road. This is a great tool and I'm happy I took the plunge and went ahead. You will feel all the emotions everyone on here talks about: fear and anxiety, etc . One emotion I never felt was regret, even after it all went bad I didn't regret my decision because I was already seeing more weight loss than I had ever imagined. After a couple of weeks you will be so grateful you had the opportunity to make your life so much better, you'll not regret your decision.
Give yourself a good amount of time to heal, take it easy for a couple weeks and before you know it you'll be feeling so much better than you have in years. The desperation you are feeling will soon turn to self confidence. You'll find that you are stronger than you ever thought you were. You can do it, you can break the cycle and turn everything around for you and your child, you just need a little help to get started. I have been where you are right now, I tried every stinking diet on the planet. Now I don't diet, I eat what I want but I make wise choices and eat a whole lot less than I ever thought I could. There is hope. I wish you nothing but the best. Be sure to post what you decide to do and how you are getting on. The folk who are on this forum are all rooting for you and they do care.
My advice would be:
If you are going to Mexico be sure to take someone with you, you will have a long travel day coming home with lots of plane changes. It is stressful, so let someone else handle that.
Contact the doc at the place you decide to go and ask, ask, ask. Get all your questions out there, this will alleviate your fears.
Let your PCP know what you are up to and get his/her support.
Make your decision, whatever it is, and don't look back. Trust yourself, you know you better than anyone else does.
My best to you in whatever you decide to do

Hi Everyone,
I wanted to jump on here and share with you all the last six months for our family. My name is Lyndsey. I am a 28 year old mother of two, and married to my prince charming. For me, weight has been a struggle my entire life. I remember vividly being told at just 5 years old by a doctor that I was "obese" and from that point forward my journey really began. I had a pretty normal life, but fought weigth my whole life. I met my wonderful husband at work after loosing 60 pounds all on my own. Needless to say, marriage and getting comfortable- well, and having two children gave me all of that, plus more back. Before the surgery I was 255 with a BMI of 41.9. I had my surgery (VSG) May 8th, 2013 and just over 6 months later I am weighing in at 159.5. Since surgery I have had it pretty easy. I healed well, but did get pancreatitis right after the surgery and had to be hospitalized again for a few days. They were never sure if it was related to the surgery or not. Since the surgery I have tried really hard to make healthy choices with food, but to be completely honest I am a mom, and occasionally we do still eat McDonalds! (gasp!) I do not count calories, carbs, or anything for that matter. My doctor never told me I needed to. I DO drink diet coke... (terrible, I know!) I live a normal life now. I go out with my family, friends, and I am not constantly on some fad diet that wont work. I eat what my family eats, but I do try to focus on eating the Protein first, and follow that with the veggies, then the yummy sides if there is room (which there almost never is!). My goal is to be somewhere in the 130's. I really dont care if its 139.9 but I want to be in the 130's. I hope to reach that goal by the one year anniversary of my surgery.
I would also like to tell you about my big sister, my only sibling. Sherrie was a 34 year old mother of three, and also married to her high school sweetheart. They have been married almost 17 years. Sherrie had her surgery April 24th (2 weeks before me) and there were complications following the surgery. We didn't see it as much at first, or I probably wouldn't have gone through with it myself. But as I healed and started getting back to normal, my sister got sicker and sicker. Her stomach had a stricture at the top. The surgon put in a stent to try to expand it. They stent bacame embedded into her stomach wall and they had to dig it out. After that, the middle of her stomach healed closed so tightly that she couldn't eat or drink anything and keep it down. She had eaten almost nothing for 6 months. She was in and out of the hospital, and the surgon made it very difficult for her to get anyone to help her. Finally when they found the problem we were able to schedule her with a new surgon to hopefully get the problem fixed. She was hospitalized twice in October for dehydration and malnutrition. The second time they put in a PIC line, and bagan IV nutrition (TPN). She was finally feeling better. They sent her home with the PIC line and instructions on how to give herself the IV nutrition and we were told to continue this until her appointment with the new surgon. She came home from the hospital Monday afternoon. Tuesday I talked to her, and she sounded better than she had in months. She was optimistic that we could get her better and even shared with me that before they started the IV nutrition she was scared she was going to die, but now she felt like she has a chance. Wednesday morning (October 30th, 2013) we got the call that broke our family. My beautiful big sister had died at home, alone in her bed. She had asked her husband to not sleep in their bed as she was scared he would pull out her PIC line, so he was in another room. He came into their room that morning to check on her and get ready for work and found her. It was just too late. She had been gone for several hours. We were in shock. We had just got a glimpse of hope with the IV nutrition, and in the blink of an eye, she was gone. I went to the funeral home to dress my big sister, do her hair, do her makeup, and spend some time with her before we had to say goodbye. We burried her the following Monday. A huge piece of my heart is missing now. I want to share her story too because there are so many who have all these wonderful stories, but she doesn't have a voice anymore to share hers. People need to know that you CAN die from this surgery. When I had the surgery I honestly felt like the only people that die from this were the "huge" ones... and thats just not true. My sister was my size. she wasn't some crazy 500 or 800 pound person. She was in a size 18 pants JUST like I was. She died. It can happen. It does happen. I did happen to us. I am not trying to scare anyone, but I want to be her voice too. Do you research, make sure this is the right choice for you and your family. We are left now with three children that now have no mother, and my amazing brother in law (who loved my sister more than I've ever seen anyone love someone) is widowed. His heart is broken, and so is ours. A vital part of our family is missing. Below is a picture of my big sister before the surgery. She was beautiful.
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I found this site and have enjoyed reading everyone's stories, questions, etc. But after what happened to me I felt I should share my journey.
My surgery was on August 16, 2013 at OCC w/ Dr. Ortiz as self pay. This was not a quick decision for me, rather I scoured the internet for months. I finally decided on Plication because I was uncomfortable removing even part of a healthy organ, RNY/bypass was scary to me and everything I read talked about the practically non-existent post surgical problems with Plication. And everyone raved about Dr. Ortiz and the staff. To be honest, I never felt the love the rest others did, but that could be partially me. Once I made my decision it was a freight train.
Surgery went well, no real problems. When we left Mexico 3 days later I had a full day of flight to get home. It was exhausting but again, no real problems. Fast forward 3 months to the day. I have great restriction, am eating wisely and have lost about 45 lbs! I'm a happy woman! But then...
2 weeks ago today I'm having an "off" day, just not feeling quite right, i couldn't sleep and was having mild stomach pain. About 2:00 a.m I had horrible pain in my stomach/upper abdomen. I decided to try sleeping, went to bed and as soon as I lay down I had searing pain in my left arm, jumped out of bed, broke out in a cold sweat, got nauseous and was freezing cold- classic heart attack symptoms! Got my hub up and had him drive me to emergency which was about 1 hour from home.
To spare you the details of that night/morning, I had blown one stitch, my abdominal cavity was filling with air and the stomach contents had leaked into my abdominal cavity. Emergency surgery about 5 hours later saved my life. Once contents spill into the abdominal cavity there's a short time frame before your other organs go septic.So, 5 days in the hospital and 10 days recouping at home now I just wanted to let people considering this surgery know that even though the chances of problems from what I read are less than 1%, they do happen and with dire consequences!
I was nauseated every morning right after surgery for about 2 weeks, even with the Rx. One morning I felt a sharp pain while retching. I think that may be when it happened, but 3 months to finally blow? IDK, but I have a follow up with the surgeon in 3 days and will ask his opinion.
The up-side is that the hospital I went to was smart enough to not touch me and called in an experienced Bariatric Surgeon, who has agreed to be my doc form here forward even though his clinic doesn't do Gastric Plication.
I live in the middle of nowhere on a family farm and felt so confident that I would have no problems because of statistics this surgery had. Less than 1%- maybe I should go buy a lottery ticket Anyhoo...if you are considering WLS, this is my warning to not be as naive as I, thinking that'll never happen to me. Consider that it could happen to you and at the very least, have a Dr. in your area who will see you and a back-up plan!
Wishing you all the best on your individual journey

I had plication with Dr. Ortiz in August of last year. I am currently down 75 lbs. with about 30 more to go. I never vomited but was close a couple times. They do send you home with anti-nausea meds.
They do get busy so if you have a date in mind you should set it soon. As far as the financing part , I just saw on BP that they are offering great deals through the website on surgery in Mexico. Looking at the costs, it would save you about$3,000.00 but you have to choose another surgeon at Jerusalem Hospital. He is top-rated though, so check that out before you commit to Ortiz. I personally was not impressed with him or the staff (Ortiz), but I didn't receive horrible care either. However, I did have complications at 2 months out. (Read my other posts if you are interested)
I have no idea about the financing part.
As far as your job goes, I needed about a month to be 100 percent, but went back to work at 2 weeks and had no problems, other than desperately needing a nap when I got home!
It was so worth it for me, I know I would have been at my highest weight or even higher right now had I not had the procedure done.
Good luck with your decision!

I had plication with Dr Ortiz in the first part of this month. I only had one or two episodes the second day with almost vomiting. It hurt like hell but it was only twice. So far, I have not had any nausea or vomiting since. They give you an anti nausea medication that you take for 2 weeks after. I am almost done with that medication. They also give you Prilosec (the Mexican version) that you will have to take for 2 months. They instruct you to open the capsule and swallow the little beads. I had my surgery on a Tuesday and flew home Wednesday night which was definitely a mistake. I should have taken the extra day and rested there but I was really antsy to go home so I moved up my flight. The episodes of nausea/vomiting were that day while in the airport so that may have been the cause of my issues. I went back to work the following Monday and was a little tired. I have a desk job so I was able to return quickly. I have 3 kids and have gone pretty much full force back into household duties. My husband is a big help when it comes to that though. I have not told my children about the procedure because I did not tell anyone other than a few close friends. I have just told them I am dieting and left it at that. Well that about sums up what I can answer for your post. Good luck. I had some pretty bad regrets the first week but now I am feeling much better about the whole thing. It is not the easiest thing to do but as of today, I feel like it is worth it.

Want to know what no one else will tell you about life with the band?


The NITTY GRITTY of WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY
Nobody can predict the course or outcome of your weight loss surgery, but I’m going to try anyway, starting with a simile that most of us can understand.
WLS is like a marriage, with your band as your lifetime partner. At times you’ll thank your lucky stars you found each other. At other times you’ll wish you’d never met, never mind married. You’ll never walk alone again, but you alone will be captain of your ship. You will lose weight and gain a new lifestyle, but some of your losses and gains will be bittersweet. You’ll wonder what on earth you got yourself into, as well as why on earth you didn’t do this a long time ago.
Most of all, you’ll scratch your head and say, “Why didn’t anyone tell me how much work this would take?”
I’m not telling you all this to scare you. A little fear is fine if it makes you a compliant patient, but I don’t want fear to rule you. I just want to remind you that like every other human endeavor, the WLS journey has ups and downs. I believe that my band surgery saved my life and I’ve never regretted my decision to do it, but I can’t claim that every moment of my journey has been sunny and carefree. If you don’t want to hear about the tough stuff, that’s fine. You have my permission to move on to another article (preferably one by me). But if you want to hear about some of the things I wish I’d known at the start of my journey, read on. Knowing these things in advance wouldn’t have changed my WLS decision, but it sure would have helped me stick it out more easily when my weight goal seemed a million miles away.
1. The band is not magic. There is nothing in it that – hey, presto! - will make you lose weight. Changing your eating behavior and lifestyle, plus dozens of other factors that vary from one person to the next, will make you lose weight.
2. Your band won’t do all of the work. If you don’t (metaphorically) grab hold of it and use it as a tool, it will be about as useful as a cordless drill without a battery.
3. For most people, the band doesn’t start working right away. As a new post-op, surgical swelling and/or a small “primer” fill may or may not kill your appetite (desire to eat) and physical hunger (physical need to eat), but most bandsters need several fills to get the weight loss going, and more fills after that to keep it going.
4. If you don’t eat carefully, will you will suffer temporary, extremely uncomfortable side effects that can, if ignored, turn into permanent, expensive, and unhappy complications.
5. Once you achieve an optimal fill and restriction level (which will last for 30 seconds, 30 minutes, 30 hours, but probably not for 30 years), your restriction is very likely going to vary, for reasons too numerous to explain here. In this area you must remember that the human body is alive and always changing, whereas the adjustable gastric band is inert and changes only with the addition or subtraction of fluid. One day you can hardly eat, the next day you can eat anything and everything, and the day after that, you can eat just the right amount (remember Goldilocks and the Three Bears?).
6. Restriction may also vary according to the time of day (or time of month, if you’re of the female persuasion). Morning “tightness” is very common, and it may limit your morning food choices. That is not, however, a good excuse for skipping breakfast and thereby depriving your body of the fuel it needs, and doing so can set you up for a monster binge when hunger suddenly hits you at 11:38 a.m. So you will have to be willing to stay flexible, try new foods, and practice patience (which is something I have to practice every day in every way anyway).
7. You will have to deal with restriction even when you wish you had none at all, when you’re at a party or on vacation or sitting down to Thanksgiving Dinner at Mom’s overloaded dining table. At times you will want to go on eating because the food tastes so good, but you’ll have to stop because you physically can’t eat more, and because eating more would cause uncomfortable and undesirable side effects (to say nothing of weight loss plateaus or regain). That experience of food “deprivation” has been very frustrating for me. Not every day, not at every meal, but often enough to remind me again and again that my upper GI tract is no longer the free and easy party girl it once was. That reminder is often a good thing, but sometimes it makes me want to put my fingers in my ears and chant, “I can’t hear you, Stomach!”
8. This next piece of WLS Nitty Gritty is such a big, important one that I left it for last so that it will (I hope) stay burned into your brain a good, long time. NO WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY OF ANY DESCRIPTION WILL KILL THE EATING DEMONS IN YOUR HEAD. Vanquishing, subduing or managing those demons is something you’ll have to do yourself, possibly with the help of a counselor or support group, with daily practice for the rest of your life. But that’s OK, because you are worth all that effort.