A_new_sara

Wow... What a transformation over the last 15 years. The upper left hand corner (2002) is me at my heaviest (284).. this was where I was at until I decided to get a lap-band (2010).. lower left is me in June at 230 lbs. March of this year I was up to 242 lbs and started eating a Keto diet. I lost 20 lbs, and then gained 9 back before my surgery.. Right side of that collage and the individual picture is me today at 198. I'm only 4 1/2 weeks out from surgery and already the lightest I've been in several years! I'm so thankful for this journey!

No, i can't afford first class, I just flew economy

I flew from Cabo to Boise Idaho.. 6 hr total flight with 9 hr layover.. aside from being REALLY tired, and my drain site leaking I was totally fine.. I had a wheelchair in the airports, and all the airline staff were so understanding. Make sure you pack comfy clothes, slip on shoes, and gauze bandage dressings..

Wow... What a transformation over the last 15 years. The upper left hand corner (2002) is me at my heaviest (284).. this was where I was at until I decided to get a lap-band (2010).. lower left is me in June at 230 lbs. March of this year I was up to 242 lbs and started eating a Keto diet. I lost 20 lbs, and then gained 9 back before my surgery.. Right side of that collage and the individual picture is me today at 198. I'm only 4 1/2 weeks out from surgery and already the lightest I've been in several years! I'm so thankful for this journey!

Sometimes it’s the only way for others, such as myself and I desired it. I met all the criteria for insurance and waiting a few months was nothing, it was very effortless and it was way cheaper than even going to Mexico to pay for it.

To give a little bit of background on me, I was banded in February 2010, had ok results the first year. By the time the 2nd year came around I was already throwing up most meals, I couldn't eat anything that was not a slider food. So in order to lose weight I had to basically live off Protein Shakes or not eat which isn't sustainable. So my first year I lost 60 lb every year after that I gained and lost the same 40-lb over and over. Started researching a revision surgery to a sleeve could not get any insurance to cover it so this last July I went to Cabo Mexico and had my revision done. When they did the revision they found so much scar tissue that it took 5 hours. It was all over my liver spleen and stomach. It was a rough surgery and a rough recovery but after about 3 weeks I was okay and I started doing amazing. I started going to the gym it was really easy to eat right and put all those pieces of education on nutrition into place that I had learned while I had my lap band.. at about 4 months post-op I started throwing up often. It got to where I was throwing up dried blood, and even sometimes just liquids wouldn't stay down. So I started seeing a couple different doctors, a GI Dr did an endoscopy and discovered that I have two major strictures with stenosis and gastroparesis in between them. He referred me to do an upper GI series and I couldn't complete the test because the barium wouldn't go down. They did another Endoscopy in Boise with my bariatric surgeon's team and tried to dilate them with no luck. So they admitted me and did some IV TPN (nutrition) treatments and fluids and did another revision to a gastric bypass on Monday December 18th. I was in the hospital for 10 days because they had to do an open incision due to all the scar tissue, but honestly at this point I'm feeling really good. I'm able to drink Water and Protein with no issues whatsoever, that's something that I never could do with my sleeve until about a month in. Right now I'm just trying to learn how to navigate through the gastric bypass life because I don't know anything about it. I'm not sure what I can and can't eat ect...Once I'm on solid foods I want to find a way to get some nutrient dense food in me.

My surgery is Monday too.. I'm a revision from sleeve to bypass due to some complications I had from my vsg I in July. I'm scheduled for 7:30 Monday morning. Good luck to you! I hear the recoveries are similar so I can tell you that the first couple of days are kind of hard because you can't drink, and you're in pain from the gas pain in your chest so just take a hot pad and make sure you relax and use your pain medicine

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My surgery is Monday too.. I'm a revision from sleeve to bypass due to some complications I had from my vsg I in July. I'm scheduled for 7:30 Monday morning. Good luck to you! I hear the recoveries are similar so I can tell you that the first couple of days are kind of hard because you can't drink, and you're in pain from the gas pain in your chest so just take a hot pad and make sure you relax and use your pain medicine

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Do not let what you cannot do, interfere with what you can do!

I would say, even if you can eat that, don't. No matter what size your stomach, healthy choices will help you avoid regain

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I'm going through that right now and my insurance is covering everything. My Drs are supportive, and suuuuush far I haven't received any judgement. It's just so common now, it's not as frowned upon.

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Sorry to hear that. My doctor did not even tried the barium as I was not able to even pass Water , so they did a GI and with little ballon ,they stretched the stricture. It was done under anesthesia and lasted less than 15 minutes , I felt nothing after it was done and was able able to swallow pretty mug normal right after the procedure . They recommended two more weeks of puréed food and I just started eating normal , since Monday , no more issues Thank God.... Do it worry , it is a simple procedure and you will be fine in no time ...

I am only 5 months out from gastric sleeve. I go on Tuesday for revision to gastric bypass. I'm very nervous. I had surgery in the summer so I didn't have to miss work (I'm a teacher). Unfortunately, with an hourglass stricture and a pouch above it holding my food, I am throwing up undigested food. I'm freaking out about the recovery. I only plan to take a week off of work because I'm still a newer teacher without a lot of leave. The note my doctor gave me to bring in states 2-6 weeks. Ugh! I had no pain after sleeve. They said it should be a similar recovery. It wasn't for you guys? We need our own forum for sleeve to bypass!!!

Cindirelly, thank you for your story! I applaude you for telling the truth! Ive received some ugly messages because I told the truth. Glad you are repaired and best wishes for your future.

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This is a long post, but it details my gastric sleeve experience in Mexico, and I feel like it's important to share it. I'm sure there are great results from this clinic and others in Mexico, but here are some of the pitfalls:
I had a sleeve gastrectomy in April in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, with Dr. Juan Francisco Hidalgo (Weight Loss Team), and I have had extreme complications since then. I had to undergo a revision surgery to a full gastric bypass because the multiple strictures in my stomach were so bad that surgeons at the mayo Clinic (arguably one of the best groups of bariatric surgeons in the world), after five procedures, couldn't fix them. They say it was most likely Dr. Hidalgo's technique that created the stricture - he uses a much smaller bougie (tube to shape the stomach) than is typically used in the United States, and it is more likely to create complications. I know loads of people have a good outcome from Mexico surgeries, but I share my experience because I owe it to anyone contemplating this.
I did a lot of research before going there and thought I had chosen well. The website of Dr. Hidalgo is very sophisticated, and there are no language issues when asking questions in advance because of the English-speaking administrator, Gerald. The website gives reams of information in perfect English -- all very comforting. Plus, as I was considering the surgery, they offered me access to the support group on Facebook for patients of Dr. Hidalgo -- something that seemed so authentic and convincing since I could read posts from all kinds of real people. However, after they recently found out about my complications, Gerald, the administrator, removed me from the group even though I was not all over it bashing Hidalgo but had just posted a couple of times about my situation. I suddenly felt so duped -- I believed all the great testimonials and was too gullible to understand that only people with positive outcomes were allowed to be in that community.
So since I can't share it with people allowed to join that private group, I feel it is my responsibility to share my experience here:
My experience in the Puerto Vallarta hospital was very hairy - I woke up after surgery in some kind of lounge with no one around me and in extreme pain - sobbing and begging for help, and after that at one point my blood pressure was so dangerously low that they wouldn't let me lay down anymore - forcing me into a sitting position, and I think it was possibly because the nurses gave me pain medicine twice at one point. Dr. Hidalgo was summoned to the room, and actually suggested perhaps my condition was because I hadn't taken my Wellbutrin for a couple of days. Um, what? I sincerely thought for a little while that I might die.
Promises that the medical staff would check in on me at my hotel regularly after discharge from the hospital didn't materialize, and a bellboy had to track down Dr. Hidalgo to remove my staples because I was due to fly home.
And then when I required intervention a couple of weeks later because I couldn't eat or drink anything due to the stricture, I was told by Dr. Hidalgo that I just needed a shot of cortisone (Seriously? Where?), and when they sent my "surgery report" to share with the U.S. doctor, it was actually just a generic report with my name at the top - not my report. It didn't even include my actual surgical information because it talked about the port they had installed, which I never had. When I asked for full records, including the swallow study/leak test done with X-Ray at the hospital before discharge, I was told that Dr. Hidalgo didn't have any of the records, and that it could be three or four months before he got it from the hospital.
My diagnosis was that I had a severe stricture in my gastric sleeve in several places, and the five additional surgeries were to try to stretch and stent the stomach open, but nothing worked and I had to have a complete revision to a roux en Y gastric bypass because my stomach was unsavable. The Mayo surgeon's professional opinion based on my situation and the generic "surgery report" Hidalgo's team sent is that this stricture was caused by Dr. Hidalgo because he uses a bougie that is far too narrow. This is the tool used to size your new sleeve stomach, and Hidalgo uses size 18, while the medical standard in the U.S. is more like 28.
Though I asked several times, Dr. Hidalgo would never provide my actual medical records or X-Rays from after the surgery, but the Mayo doctors believe the X-Ray immediately following the surgery shows the stricture, which left just a 1/4 inch opening and was slowly killing me. I didn't eat a solid piece of food for 140 days, I was anemic and malnourished and needing Fluid IVs just to stay hydrated because I couldn't even force enough Water down the narrow stricture. Half of my hair has fallen out, I was confused and exhausted for months due to malnutrition, and I could hardly function. I lost 75 pounds in four months, but I only had 100 pounds total to lose so that was a dangerous pace for someone my size . Yes, I lost weight, but this was not a safe way to do it and I was desperately sick the whole time. Besides, my procedures to fix my $4,200 gastric sleeve from Mexico cost more than $125,000 - thank GOD I have good health insurance because just the co-pays alone have caused me significant hardship.
I'm sorry to share such a terrible story. I understand how hopeful it feels to finally have the opportunity to lose weight because I was desperate to do so. But I made bad choices, it seems, based on a fake Facebook "support group," and English-speaking staff, and a charming doctor. My advice is to choose slowly and well and to comb forums looking for posts from people who may not have had the best experiences with the clinic you choose. I have a network now of a couple of other people with an experience similar to mine from surgeries with Hidalgo's Weight Loss Team, and none of us ever saw anything negative ahead of our visits. People with complications need to share them for the benefit of people in the future.
I would also recommend that you ask a surgeon for the technical aspects of their procedure and then compare them to the vast volumes of research available from doctors who practice in the U.S. The bougie size is a big deal, and so are the exact kind of staples used. And above all else, DO NOT leave Mexico without a copy of every medical record generated about your care, from the films of the leak test to hospital logs. Even in Spanish, they can be invaluable later to a team of doctors trying to help you if you have complications.
I have learned these things the hard way, and it's been a rough road. If I could do it over, I would still have the gastric sleeve, maybe, but I would have been much more cautious in the process. I wish you all the best.

i wanted to update you all! with the good news! my surgeon was able to cut the scar tissue. I can now eat and drink again, after of struggling for over a year. PLEASE message me if you have difficulty eating with youre band. I am happy to be of support

NSV: so i randomly went jean shopping and the size 4 actually fit, and really fit. I thought i was going to have to squeeze into them for dear life lol. I've been fat my whole life so this is new to me. The fact that i'm actually a small still blows my mind, but yet the scale still says im overweight smh. I'm still going to view this as a victory.

I am only 5 weeks out, and I have lost 34 pounds since surgery, 45 lbs total,.. and it's effortless!! I am losing way faster and way easier with the sleeve so I don't know why the surgeons think that is the true statistic.. I wonder if it's more common among those who have only had their bands a few years and their body is still in the shock mode of WLS in general? For me, I think I'll actually easily surpass my goal of 160 because I'm only 5 weeks out and 37 pounds away from that goal . Good luck to you!!

Generally you feel like you can handle more soft foods because when you're first sleeved your stomach still is healing, nerves included so you might not feel the irritation, but it's vital to let your stomach heal. If you must chew, try gum.. I know you're not supposed to, but you're not supposed to eat food either so I'd say choose the lesser of the two evils

I'm really getting frustrated reading all these comments from these "expert" sleeve patients saying dumping syndrome doesn't happen unless you have a bypass. Don't assume that because it doesn't happen to EVERYONE, that it doesn't happen at all. It's VERY real, and happens to quite a few. I am one of them. It happened to me first in my puree stage, my Dr advised mashed potatoes and gravy.. I had about three teaspoons and the wave hit me. I had no idea what happened or why I was sick, or even ever heard of dumping. It happened again once with potato Soup, and once with fat free frozen yogurt. Please stop assuming that it only happens to bypass patients. It's insulting to those of us who do experience it to be told it doesn't exist.
Per the mayo Clinic:
"Dumping syndrome is a condition that can develop after surgery to remove all or part of your stomach or after surgery to bypass your stomach to help you lose weight. Also called rapid gastric emptying, dumping syndrome occurs when food, especially sugar, moves from your stomach into your small bowel too quickly."

Wow... What a transformation over the last 15 years. The upper left hand corner (2002) is me at my heaviest (284).. this was where I was at until I decided to get a lap-band (2010).. lower left is me in June at 230 lbs. March of this year I was up to 242 lbs and started eating a Keto diet. I lost 20 lbs, and then gained 9 back before my surgery.. Right side of that collage and the individual picture is me today at 198. I'm only 4 1/2 weeks out from surgery and already the lightest I've been in several years! I'm so thankful for this journey!

Wow... What a transformation over the last 15 years. The upper left hand corner (2002) is me at my heaviest (284).. this was where I was at until I decided to get a lap-band (2010).. lower left is me in June at 230 lbs. March of this year I was up to 242 lbs and started eating a Keto diet. I lost 20 lbs, and then gained 9 back before my surgery.. Right side of that collage and the individual picture is me today at 198. I'm only 4 1/2 weeks out from surgery and already the lightest I've been in several years! I'm so thankful for this journey!

Wow... What a transformation over the last 15 years. The upper left hand corner (2002) is me at my heaviest (284).. this was where I was at until I decided to get a lap-band (2010).. lower left is me in June at 230 lbs. March of this year I was up to 242 lbs and started eating a Keto diet. I lost 20 lbs, and then gained 9 back before my surgery.. Right side of that collage and the individual picture is me today at 198. I'm only 4 1/2 weeks out from surgery and already the lightest I've been in several years! I'm so thankful for this journey!

People have no idea I've had it. Why? Because months before my surgery I started the Keto diet, and working out. I was losing weight like crazy! I haven't changed one thing since my surgery, including my portions. Everyone assumes it's just the keto diet. (which is it, along with portion control). I've lost 65 lbs total and I go to the gym 6 days a week. It's obvious that I'm working my ass off to lose weight. So, no, people don't just "know"

Wow... What a transformation over the last 15 years. The upper left hand corner (2002) is me at my heaviest (284).. this was where I was at until I decided to get a lap-band (2010).. lower left is me in June at 230 lbs. March of this year I was up to 242 lbs and started eating a Keto diet. I lost 20 lbs, and then gained 9 back before my surgery.. Right side of that collage and the individual picture is me today at 198. I'm only 4 1/2 weeks out from surgery and already the lightest I've been in several years! I'm so thankful for this journey!