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I feel it's time to tell me story as best I can and hopefully it will give the new comers some hope and take away their worries or anxiety about surgery. Okay I have a very dysfunctional childhood and I think maybe subconsciously I turned to movies and food as a way to cope until alcohol came along but all those things combined made me gain weight massively in my teen years. As a child I was tiny but after my father passed and my stepfather came in the picture; he was a tyrant; life changed dramatically. Anyway fast forward to the end of high school I had reached over 250lbs and by 21 I was 320lbs and my weight fluctuated over the years between 300-320 until I finally found a way to get bariatric surgery.. I always believed surgery was for the rich people and I was never rich... But I found out randomly that health insurance would cover most of surgery and I'd never had health insurance before because here in Australia we have an amazing Medicare system that covers pretty much everything to do with doctors and hospitals except for elective surgery like bariatrics; unless you're like super morbidly obese and even then it can take 3 years and numerous hurdles.... So I researched and researched for months and months and spoke to multiple surgeons offices until I found the perfect surgeon; I needed to get health insurance first then do the waiting period which I used to save up the gap and that gap covered absolutely everything from first meeting until surgery and hospital was covered. I met the surgeon and his doctor and got information and told them I wanted ROUX EN Y BYPASS; and we all agreed that was the best decision as I had bad type 2 diabetes and it would only get worse. I weighed in at 322 there and then and I just wished and hoped the surgery would help me to get down to at least 200 maybe 190; I just wanted to be healthy and happy and of course to look better and feel better in myself. Anyway from first consultation until the surgery day was about 4 months had a few meetings with surgeon and he does a very direct approach no need for all the tests and stuff just my medical history and some blood tests and a big discussion was about it and he was ready to go. I was advised to do at least 2-3 weeks low carbs/protein shake diet before surgery and to try lose at least 10lbs; but I literally woke up one morning 2 months before surgery and decided there and then to kick start my journey and started on protein shakes and I actually found a brand and flavor that I actually loved. It tasted just like chocolate milkshake even though I only used water to mix it up i tried a few different brands but they were either too bland or no taste at all I like flavor and I like a little sweetness in my shakes... And I've been using the same shakes in bulk powder form for months without any issues at all... So I started on shakes and they literally filled me up and I was determined to show the surgeon I meant business. i was amazed how quickly the weight came off because I was ONLY on shakes Max 600cal preop; I dropped so much water weight it was amazing. By surgery day I had already dropped from 322 to 257lbs and the surgeon was so proud. i went into the hospital early without only water that morning so my sugar was actually low so they made me wait a few hours longer and I went in to surgery I think 3pm and next thing I know I was awake in ICU a few hours later and surgery was done but oh boy was it painful for me; I'm not sure why but I was in pain for like 2 days luckily I was given good drugs through the IV and slept most of the 2 days... By the 3rd day I started drinking a small glass of protein shake and was sipping water each day; here in Australia the surgeon is very cautious so I actually spent 6 days in hospital was fine I had my own private room and bathroom and was really well looked after.... By the 3rd day they finally took the drain out and I had a shower for the first time and a BM which was like sticky black green like a baby; oh the shower felt amazing on my poor sore belly; I think I had 5 incisions sites and a very tight bloated belly. Each day I would walk the halls of the hospital and say hello to the nurses and other times I would rest and watch TV but by like the 5th day I was feeling really good and was ready to go home but because I lived over 2hrs from the surgeon and hospital they made sure I was 110% fit and healthy; they checked my blood sugar and blood pressure multiple times a day and they said everything was fine, by the time I left the hospital they had taken me off multiple medications and it felt Great. The ride home in my mates car was a little rough but it felt Great to be home and in my own bed my big bed not the single bed in hospital... It's hard to remember everything I went through its been over 8 months since I left the hospital but I do know I was still a little sore when bending or carrying shopping bags for the first few weeks I had to be careful.... Showering was amazing my bandages on my incisions came off on their own after like 3 weeks.. I was given a guideline diet but Ive always been a strong independent personality so I just chose to do things my way; of course I was glad for the surgery and the surgeons advice but I felt is my body; my life I need to do it my way so maybe I was lucky but I didn't even think about food for months like literally I lived off shakes and yoghurt for months before I really started actual food and of course the weight kept coming off everyday it was amazing. For the first 3 months I think I was on maybe 500cal a day with next to no carbs or sugars... I didn't feel hungry at all... Shakes kept me going... Every couple of months I had to buy new clothes, I couldn't believe how much I changed one month to the next and people who hasn't seen me in a few months were shocked ever time they saw me.... i never kept it secret from anyone; I was proud of my decision to finally change my life and possibly extend my life, I was enjoying the complements and I was lucky I don't think I stalled for more than a week and I never had any complications at all except for diarrhoea BM for a while and sure I threw up a few times when trying different things or eating too quickly... i started drinking regular coffee by 3 months and my surgeon said it was fine as long as I don't get dehydrated.. I was drinking tea as well and by 6 months I actually decided to treat myself here and there with some sugar free energy drinks and it has not impacted me or my weight loss one bit. Now I'm over 8 months out I can eat most things just small portions; I've even had bread a few times just have to take it very slowly... I've had pasta a few times and even had some chocolate over Easter without any issues at all and still continued to lose weight... i will admit recently I've had some treats here and there but that was once I got in to maintenance mode... I've pretty much been in maintenance now over 2 months and pretty much sit around 165lbs but just this week I've seen 163lbs on the scales... i don't log my food much now but I do keep a mental tally of my calories and such and I do still check my weight regularly to make sure I'm doing well.. i had the RNY bypass and it was 120cm and it was amazing; I've had a blast and I've lost pretty much 50% of my original weight. FROM highest of 322 to the lowest 162.8lbs just the other day.... i felt the need to share my story everything has been positive for me. It has totally changed my life and transformed my life and the way I see myself... I'll be 36 in 3 weeks but I feel better than I have in 20 years... i want everyone to read my story and see it is possible to have the BYPASS without any issues and also my 3 months blood tests were perfect so no issues with vitamins either just have to remember to take them everyday.. The one issue I will say was my hair did get thinner and would grow slower but never fell out.... I'm sure in time it will get better I've gone from being the FAT friend to the SKINNY friend... i look and feel amazing and my BMI has gone from 43 to 22. I've dropped 159lbs or 72KGS in 10 months including my preop... From 146KG to 74KG and below every goal I thought I wanted. I don't mind because most people will bounce back 10-20lbs anyway plus when I do start to build muscle that will add a little weight because right now I'm kinda skin and bones LOL feels weird saying that about myself but its pretty good... I'm really hoping I'll meet someone soon and start a family and live a long long life 😁😁😁 So if anybody is curious about RNY BYPASS don't be afraid... Success is possible!!!! A few pics before and after

A lot of things can cause your hair to fall out. And not just loosing weight from wls. If you loose large amounts of weight, it can happen, hence why its common in wls patients. I was shedding tons of hair, and was really freaking out about 8 months ago. I wasn't loosing weight, but I did discover I had a thyroid promblem. Get your blood work done and make sure everything is on par. If it is, your hair probally just has it "cycles" messed up. You see normally we shed hair, but not alot at one time, because our hair folicules are on cycles. When the cycles get messed up you might have 2 or 3 groups on the same cycle...hence lots of hair loss at one time. The good news is...shedding hair this way is not a permanant side effect, and it will grow back. I know how scarey thinking you are going bald is...try not to worry to much. Make sure you are getting enough protien (min 45 grams a day) and are taking your viatamins. My hair thickened back up...I'm sure yours will too. Melissa

Im going to be sleeved in TJ MX in feb/mar, but I has started taking my Vitamins already, Biotin, D3 and 2 multi gummies. I also have started walking a lot, just to get used to the routine. I am excited too, not so much worried about the hair loss, that comes back. More excited to lose the fat that won't.

Hey yall! I've been hovering in the background for a few weeks now. But, today's the day the journey starts, so I figured it was time to post. I've battled with weight issues my entire life, but didn't pack on the pounds until my freshman year in college, where I gained over 100lbs my first year. After that I've been steadily gaining ever since, with my peak weight being a few months ago at 370lbs. My ex Husband passed away suddenly in August, and as terrible as that was, I think it was the wake up call I needed. Since then, I've managed to lose about 15lbs on my own, but have stalled since then. I met with my surgeon this past Friday to start the 6 months supervised weight loss, and am looking at September or October for surgery. Today we start the weight loss program the surgeon suggested. 1200 calories a day. Wow. My concerns are more with excess skin and hair loss. My hair is super thin, so I'm worried about losing all of it after surgery. So, just dropped like $75 on Biotin, Vitamin e with collagen cream, Multivitamins etc. Does anyone have any suggestions on the Protein drinks? There are so many options I don't even know how to pick the right one!!! Any suggestions on preventing hair loss and excess skin? I'd like to be proactive rather than reactive on these issues if possible!

Sleeved 9/17 & so far no hair loss at all. That's not to say I won't wake up tomorrow & it will begin. Don't really know if there is a "safe" period where you can say - ok, don't have to worry about hair loss anymore.... I'm always on the lookout! Glad it doesn't last too long.....

To tell, or not to tell? That is the question on the lips of many WLS patients. Once again, there’s no one-size-fits-most answer to this question. The decision to tell (and how much to tell) or not to tell is unique to each patients’ unique personality and circumstances. IN & OUT OF THE WLS CLOSET I was happy about my decision to have WLS and thrilled when my insurance company finally approved it. I shared this happy news with many friends, acquaintances, family members, and coworkers. I don’t know but I assume that they discussed it amongst themselves to some extent, expressed opinions or concerns, and perhaps worried about my decision, but none of them gave me frankly negative feedback. They might have been thinking it, but they didn’t say it. I very much doubt I would have reversed my decision if someone had said, “That’s too risky/it’s a bad idea/I don’t want you to/you’re crazy/or whatever.” I’m going to assume that you, the reader of this article, are an adult over the age of 18, with the right to vote, the obligation to serve in the military, and (at some point, depending on your location) the right to purchase and use tobacco and liquor. Unless a judge has declared you mentally incompetent (and that’s harder to accomplish than you’d think), you are the one who’s responsible for your body – for its care and nourishment and any medical treatments or procedures that affect it. So if you’re in the early stages of considering WLS, whose input are you going to trust to inform your final decision? A bariatric surgeon, or your dad? Your primary care physician, or your sister? Your therapist, or your hairdresser? And hey, I’m not slamming hairdressers. Mine could do very well indeed as a therapist, but she has a cosmetology license, not a mental health practitioner license. Last summer I was startled to hear a 50-something bandster state that she had gotten her husband’s permission to have plastic surgery. His permission? Huh? Does that mean he’s the only adult in that relationship, or what? I’m not against asking permission, mind you. I ask my boss’s permission to undertake certain tasks or projects at work; I ask the State of Tennessee for permission (i.e., a driving license) to drive a car; if I still lived in a suburban development, I might ask the zoning board for permission to add a room to my house; I ask the government of China for permission (i.e., a visa) to travel in that country. I’m an extremely independent person in many ways, so I have to stop and think carefully about what I might ask my husband permission to do. We have our own separate checking accounts as well as a joint account, so I might ask him for “permission” to spend a chunk of that joint account on a big purchase like a computer or a car. Everything else gets negotiated. I have a lot of experience in negotiation because of my business career. I negotiated things with everyone from my coworkers to my suppliers. But people who do that kind of thing for a living aren’t the only ones who negotiate, and negotiators aren’t necessarily politicians or manipulators trying to advance some evil cause. My own career as a negotiator probably started when I was a child who realized that good behavior often yielded a treat. My negotiations with my mother went something like this: It’s 7:00 o’clock on Thursday morning. Mom is brushing the tangled cobweb of my hair in preparation for braiding it. I am sniveling because the untangling hurts. The negotiation begins. Mom says: “Jeannie, if you stop whining right this minute, you can have Cocoa Puffs for breakfast.” Jeannie sees an opportunity and negotiates this agreement by asking, “Can I have chocolate milk on my Cocoa Puffs?” Mom sighs and yanks at a hank of hair. Jeannie snivels a little bit more. Finally Mom says, “Yes, you can have chocolate milk on your Cocoa Puffs.” Jeannie instantly shuts up. Negotiation over. It’s a win-win situation. Everybody’s happy… for maybe 15 minutes. In 15 minutes, Jeannie’s hair is finally tamed into two narrow braids and it’s time to choose an outfit for school. This time Jeannie begins the negotiation. “Can I wear my pink dress to school?” Mom says: “That dress is brand new. We’re going to save it for church.” Jeannie says: “I promise not to get it dirty.” And so on and so forth. Well, that’s enough time spent traipsing along Memory Lane. My point (and, like Ellen Degeneres, I do have one) is that the “yes or no” WLS decision is yours. Everything else (how to make it work best; what your family can do to help you; how much to tell your nosy coworker) needs to be negotiated with (or modulated by) the people who will be involved in your WLS journey on a daily basis and possibly renegotiated as time goes on and your needs change. The negotiation may be simple (“Will you take the kids to McDonald’s for lunch if I pick up your dry cleaning?”) or complex (“Let’s talk about how we’ll handle Thanksgiving Dinner this year”) or downright messy (“I feel like you’re trying to sabotage my weight loss.”). That’s life, isn’t it? BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR Getting feedback from others is usually a mixed bag experience. It’s wonderful to get the positive stuff and uncomfortable to get the negative stuff. It’s also very frustrating when your announcement elicits no response at all. What if you tell your sister, “I’ve decided to have weight loss surgery,” and all she says is “Oh.” What’s that all about? She’s shared her thoughts about your hairstyle, your boss, your kid’s struggles with math, your parents’ new car, your high blood pressure and now she has nothing to say about something as momentous as weight loss surgery? If you’re like me, your mind gets busy filling in all the empty spaces with scenarios and speculation. My own little mind is always full of running commentary (most of it – well, some of it – never uttered aloud). When I’m exercising, I’m planning what to wear to work that day. When I’m driving to work, I’m considering the best way to write the first or fifth or fifteenth sentence of my next article. When I’m driving home at the end of that day, I’m replaying a conversation I had with a coworker and fiddling with what I could have said better. So when I encounter my complete opposite (someone who has nothing to say on a matter that’s important to me), I cast my fishing net into my teeming mental pond, scoop up a dozen squirming fish, and off I go into Wonderland. “Wonderland” as in the land where I wonder, and wander, on an endless circular track. Around and around Jean goes, and where she stops, nobody knows, least of all Jean. The official term for that is “projection”. You project your own internal drama onto someone else’s blank white movie screen without having the first clue about what’s really going on behind that blank screen. You’ve known your sister all her life, ever since she supplanted you as the baby of the family. That’s what, 35 long years? After 35 years together, you might think you could predict her reaction to almost anything, but it’s also quite possible that you cannot correctly read her mind. Your suspicions about her reaction to your weight loss surgery announcement may be accurate, but you’ll never know that unless you specifically ask her. That’s more or less what happened to me when I first began discussing weight loss surgery with my husband. We had been married for 20 years, so he had two long decades of experience with his wife launching herself into risky situations (be it a new job, an overseas trip, adopting a pet, redecorating a house, taking fen-phen). He had been amazingly patient through all of that, not just because he loves and supports me but also because he knows that hell hath no fury like Jean with an obstacle in her path. So when I said, “Today I made an appointment to go to a bariatric surgery seminar,” and he said nothing in response, a dozen things ran through my mind. He thinks I should be able to lose weight by dieting. He doesn’t want me to lose weight because he likes fat girls. He thinks this is another of Jean’s wild goose chases and if he leaves it alone, she’ll get over it and move on to some other project…and so on and so forth. What was actually going on in his head was probably more like, “I wonder if there’s more rice in that saucepan, but if Jean forgot to buy soy sauce again, I won’t have another helping because I can’t eat rice without soy sauce. If Jean has weight loss surgery, will we ever get to eat rice with soy sauce again? Will we be living on warm water and melba toast? Did I remember to fill the cat’s water dish before I came in the house? We really need to get the cat fixed but I don’t want another argument about whose turn it is to take a critter to the vet. Oh no, Georgie’s puking in the living room again. If I ignore it, can I get Jean to clean it up? I’m going to write SOY SAUCE on the grocery list in big letters so Jean won’t forget to buy it. Maybe if I ignore the weight loss surgery thing, it’ll disappear, like Georgie’s puke”…and so on and so forth. I’m not trying to make my husband’s thought processes sound asinine (for a taste of truly asinine thinking, you really need to listen to a few minutes of my own stream of consciousness). I’m just making the point that our minds are full of stuff that may be worthwhile or interesting to us but doesn’t necessarily have to be shared in detail with everyone around us, and that nobody but the Amazing Kreskin can hear someone else’s thoughts. When my husband finished his dinner (without a second helping of rice) that night without making any response to my bariatric ambitions, I asked him, “So what do you think of the idea of me having weight loss surgery?” And he said, “I’m not crazy about it, but if you really believe it will help you, I’ll do my best to support you.” And what did I say to that? All I said was, “Thank you.” I could have said a lot of other things. I could have said, “Why aren’t you crazy about the idea?” I could have quizzed his knowledge about weight loss and weight loss surgery. I could have asked him if he would still love me and desire me when I was thin. I could have gone on and on for hours, while adding to my own anxiety and creating a host of brand new anxieties in his poor head. But instead I said, “Thank you,” because his promise of support was all I needed to hear at that time, and we had a lifetime of conversations ahead of us. And I said “Thank you” because when I’m in the planning stages of something big that will require a group effort, I try not to invite discussion that will derail the whole project even before its engine starts. You may have a different style, and you may think I was postponing a discussion that should be tackled immediately, but my approach is: one step at a time. I don’t try to build Rome in one day. I pick up one brick, walk it over to where I want the wall, put it down, and go back for another brick. Eventually the wall (or Rome) gets built. IN & OUT OF THE BAND CLOSET My feelings about sharing my WLS journey with other people have changed as time has gone on. For three months before and about 18 months after my band surgery, bariatrics was the #1 subject in my mind at least 75% of the time. I had to exert effort to not talk about it constantly. If I hadn’t discovered online WLS forums, where I could talk about it constantly with other people who talked about it constantly, I think my head may have exploded. I didn’t talk about WLS with every single person in my everyday circle of friends and acquaintances (for example, I decided not to tell my church friends about it, mostly out of laziness), but most of the people who knew me as obese also knew about my surgery. When I had lost my excess weight, the focus of my life began to shift to other things. Yes, bariatric surgery was still important to me, and so fascinating that I wrote a 500+ page book about it, but as my interests and activities grew and changed, I acquired a whole new set of friends, acquaintances, and coworkers who had never known Fat Jean. It didn’t occur to me to tell them I’d had WLS any more that it occurred to me to tell them I’d had a hysterectomy or hemorrhoids. If the subject of weight loss or dieting or exercise came up, I was willing to talk about those topics, but not necessarily in the context of weight loss surgery. I guess you could say I was in the band closet then, though I won’t admit to hiding in there. I still wanted to talk about bariatric topics, but not with the general public. I made two new friends during that time who know about my band surgery. One of them had heard about it from her mother (a former coworker of mine) and the other heard about it from me. Otherwise I was kind of enjoying being perceived as a “normal” woman by people who couldn’t even imagine me as a fat woman. But one day my feelings changed. I opened the door of my band closet and peered out. It was time to get out of there. Here’s what happened. During an exercise class at my fitness studio, another (naturally slender) student began making fun of fat people, and a few more people there chimed in. They just couldn’t imagine how someone could “let themselves go” like that. It sounded to me like these well-meaning people were saying that obesity is a choice – that the fat people had made a conscious decision to overeat, under-exercise, and gain an unhealthy amount of weight. It sounded to me like these well-meaning people were saying that fat people don’t have the willpower or intelligence to maintain a healthy weight. And suddenly I heard myself say out loud, “Those people aren’t proud of their fat. Don’t be making fun of them.” After a minute or two of mumbled objections, those well-meaning people fell silent, and soon the conversation took a new direction. Months later, when I was about to publish Bandwagon Cookery, my friend, instructor and personal trainer, Caroline, suggested holding a book-signing event at the fitness studio. At first I was wary of the idea. It would require me to step out of the band closet and expose my bariatric secret to a community of people who had never known Fat Jean. It would require me to step out of my comfort zone and into the limelight. I’m not afraid of public speaking – I actually enjoy it in most circumstances – and I’ve told my WLS journey story plenty of times, but mostly to bariatric patients and professionals. At Caroline’s loving insistence, we hosted the book signing, which was well-attended by women for whom weight management was an interest but for whom obesity was not an issue. One of them had a sister who was banded, but the rest of the guests were blank slates when it came to bariatrics. I want to share with you what I told this audience after announcing that I had weight loss surgery, something that I felt they needed to hear before I could tell my nitty-gritty obesity story: “I need to talk about the elephants in the room. The elephants are the beliefs that many people have, that obesity is a moral failing and that weight loss surgery is taking the easy way out. Obesity is not a choice, nor is it evidence of inadequate willpower. It’s a chronic and incurable disease caused by a combination of genetics, environment, and behavior. Weight loss surgery is the only effective long term treatment for obesity available in the United States today. And weight loss surgery is by no means the easy way out. Weight loss is hard work with or without the help of surgery. Has my weight loss been easier because I had bariatric surgery? Of course it has. That’s one of the reasons I chose surgery – because without it, my previous weight loss attempts had been so difficult and so ineffective. “I’m glad to have my Lap-Band, but it’s just a little piece of plastic, a tool that reduces my appetite. When I stick my hand in a bag of potato chips, my band doesn’t yank it out again. When my alarm goes off in the morning and I want to roll over and go back to sleep, my band isn’t what gets me out of bed, into workout clothes, and into this fitness studio. When I’m thinking that I need a 2nd helping of mashed potatoes, my band doesn’t shout, “Don’t do it, Jean!” When I’m sad and thinking that buying and eating a gallon of ice cream would make me feel so much better, my band doesn’t hide my car keys on me. “I am the one who makes decisions about what I eat and how I exercise. I am the one who’s responsible for making good food choices and changing my eating and exercise behavior. So I get the credit for my weight loss, and I’m the one who has committed to maintaining that weight loss for the rest of my life.” Looking back, I’m not sure how much of an impact that speech had on any of my listeners, but it had an impact on me. Hearing myself say those words affirmed my important and life-changing decision to have bariatric surgery. Whatever you do as you go forward on your weight loss journey, be proud of what you’re doing. It’s a courageous thing. If no one else congratulates you for the undertaking, you should still pat yourself on the back for it.

Yeah! Every doctor I have seen about this has told me not to worry that as soon as my weight loss slowed down, my hair would stop shedding. They were right for sure! After 12 long months of which 9 I shredded about 2/3 to 3/4 of my hair volume. Now, I have short hairs poking up everywhere and the shedding has finally completely stopped. It actually is funny and if I wasn't so happy to see all those beautiful new hairs I would be annoyed because I swear I look like alfalfa from the little rascals! Everyone going through this just really needs to have faith, it will come back!

Great responses so far - agree with all of them. 1. Only weigh yourself once a week - your weight will fluctuate daily and it will be discouraging when you see it temporarily go up. 2. You will have stalls - they are normal. At around 3-4 weeks is when your liver will return to its normal storing of glucose, plus when the liver dumped its stores pre-op it causes dehydration - temporarily looking like more fat loss than really occurred (the pre-op diet shrinks it to help the surgeon) so a stall here is usual. Search "stalls" or "three-week stall" for more posts on this. From what I've read here, stalls will happen occasionally throughout the weight loss process but often the inches will continue to come off. It's the bodies way of taking time to adjust. 3. You didn't mention which surgery you're having. If it's gastric sleeve then initially your sleeve will be swollen so when you start on solid foods it won't hold much at all. But once the swelling goes down it will hold a little more (ounces.) Everyone is different. But don't worry, you didn't stretch your sleeve! That takes "one extra bite at a time over about a year" according to surgeon Dr. Duc Vuong. 4. I started losing right away, and write down everything I eat in a food journal. Don't ever allow fattening, unhealthy foods in again and especially not high calorie drinks - you can override the surgery and regain the weight even eating smaller portions especially if eating every couple of hours. 5. If you haven't discovered him yet, on YouTube I highly recommend watching as many of Dr. Duc Vuong's videos as possible. His breakfast green smoothie is what I've been doing since surgery and plan to continue forever. 6. When your clothes start falling off you avoid spending on new clothes - visit the local Goodwill or thrift store. You'll turn them in for smaller ones the following month after month. It's fun! And costs little. I've found so many nice clothes in good condition available that frankly this will now be the first place I go to shop even when I reach my goal weight. 7. Take your vitamins and get enough protein (and don't forget some healthy fats.) It will help keep you healthy plus temporary hair loss at 3-6 months is frequently talked about here but getting enough protein and the proper vitamins may help either prevent it or make it less than otherwise. They say it grows back - I'm only at two months so haven't reached that point yet. 8. Immediately post-op know that pain meds cause constipation so will keep the gas in causing more pain. By all means if you're in pain and need to take them do so at your surgeon's direction! But be sure to drink enough water/liquids and walk as mentioned by others here. Good luck! Having weight loss surgery was the best thing I've ever done for myself especially for my health. And my knees are no longer aching as well. Whew! Who wants knee surgery?

Hi. I'm trying to do as much research before surgery as I can. I'm prepared for the hair loss/waiting for it to grow back. My question is what did your hair look like when it grew back? Was it the same type/texture as before? I have curly hair (different types of curls on different parts of my head) and am very slowly going grey. So, I really just have a little grey now, and every now and again I notice more (and some are coming in wildly curly - I have one grey hair that looks like a spring in a ball point pen!). No big deal, going grey doesn't bother me. Just wondering if I should expect my curl pattern to change or expect my new growth to be more grey. I think if its more grey, I'll need to do some research on how to take care of grey curls, because they're often a different texture. Again, I'm not worried about it - no matter what happens - just want to think about what I need to start researching. Thank you!

Yup, fibers seem to do the job. Google them and there are a number of companies that offer this as a treatment for hair thinning/loss. It's keratin fibers (which is what hair is made of), they are in a powder (like a dry shampoo), puff them on the thinning bits and they stick to individual hair shafts to bulk them up. It creates the impression of more hair and they don't blow away in wind or rain - they need to be shampooed out. From reading others posts, including Mykeld 2 on this thread, a good haircut can also help... fh61, we are in the same boat, my 22 year old had knee cap stabilisation surgery four days ago and I wish it was me not him going through it... He looked after me so well after my surgery, I am doing the same for him now. He was in such pain this morning that when I was showering and watching my hair disappear, it really didn't seem as important... Jen 35, the fact that you are trying not to fret about things you can't change is a great start. When I was young, i worried about everything, as I have got older, I am more selective about what gets my time and energy - and there's not much... lol!!!

It's funny this should come up again tonight. I swear, I am losing a little bit of hair now! (I am almost three years post-banding, so this has nothing whatsoever to do with my surgery or weight loss.) All I can think is that it's related to the anaesthesia I had in March. I'm not doing anything differently--if anything I'm eating more and greater variety since my unfill, so nutritionally speaking I'm better than ever. The weird thing is that this happened after both my children were born and after my banding surgery. (It's come back each time, no worries.) But childbirth didn't involve general anaesthesia--can epidurals do the same thing? Maybe I'm just the sort of person whose hair falls out at every opportunity. But I'm not worrying about it--someone said once that by the time you notice it, it's growing back. And that has so far seemed to be the case with me.

I was "interviewing" a friend of a friend via email about her experiences with RNY (she and her husband both had it) because I only know one person who's had it who is alive and well (and I hadn't yet discovered these forums). This lady was a very matter-of-fact 50-ish woman who basically said "why on earth are you worried about THAT?" to every question I asked about possible side effects. She and hubby had no side effects. She has very thick hair, and when I said I was worried about hair loss she asked why! I told her it was a common side effect, and she says nope, neither one lost their hair. She didn't even know it could happen. Her guess was it was because they were very adherent to the nutritional requirements. After reading endless accounts of winning and losing the hair loss games, my guess is that they won some genetic lottery.

Wow! what a journey this has been. this all started 8-8-12. six months of classes, 2 psyche evals, 31lbs gone... got this pre-surgery diet. um, high protein, zero starch. ok. I'm a vegetarian going on 6 yrs now. eat salmon or tuna occasionally. not much on pasta, bread, rice, etc. not big on dairy either. you think I would be a stick person. haha. weight loss has been slow (not a gym rat). I'm excited and terrified at the same time. trying to keep up the protein, and worried about losing my hair (heard the horror stories). supplements? protein shakes? juicing? doing them all... any input from all you advancers would be greatly appreciated... thanks.

Congratulations Polly!! Good for you!! Er....what are nsv's? I've been trying to figure out what that means! I'm in the same size uniform pants only they aren't stretched out as much (I think!) I'm still not at my sweet spot yet (damn it!) And I've only gone down a 1/2 lb. in like 2 wks. :thumbup: I've noticed the hair loss too. I don't worry too much about it as I have a ton of hair but when I brush it out or take a hair clip out, there is lots! I still have about 10 Meditrim left but I have a scoop of Whey Protein Isolate in a cup of skim milk and a cup of frozen berries (blueberries, strawberries, whatever's on sale!) and 2 tsp. of Splenda in the morning. I always remember the 'protein first' rule. My list of 'can't have'-s is ever expanding! Tried to have some very thinly sliced chorizo sausage today and nope! Too dry. Up it came. Pork chops, no matter how well done they are, even in a sauce or gravy, are difficult too. Rye bread? Nope. Made a bean Soup and put some left-over boiled potatoes in it - not a good idea. Can't do boiled potatoes very well either. :thumbup: With those kind of limitations, you'd think the scale would move! I am thrilled for you! Keep me in the loop on your progress!!

I'm so worried about hair loss too. I already have thin, baby fine hair. I'm hoping I won't lose a lot.

Hi and welcome! Hair Loss: maybe? We're all different. Getting too thin: Worry about following your surgeon's plan. Good news is most of us already broke the code on how to gain weight. Worry about how to lose down to your personal goal. The rest takes care of itself regardless of starting weight. Loose skin: Probably. Also individual and depends on genetics and age usually. Dehydration: The struggle is real for many. Fluid is KING before and after surgery. If you stay fully hydrated then it's easier to eat normally and remain nausea free and losing weight. I'm 17 months out. At 4 days I was getting my 64oz of liquids in and now I have 100+oz per day every day. Congrats on making the pre-emptive changes. I've got zero regrets. Don't be anxious!

The only starchy carbs I've had so far (so carbs not from veggies, fruit or legumes) has been quinoa (in small amounts) and yesterday at my 5th of July party (the 4th wasn't a holiday here, obviously, so I waited til the weekend) where I had three noodles from a friend's Pasta salad to be polite. It's not that I don't think other people can have bites of cake or bread or whatever and keep it at that, it's that I know I can't. Starch is basically my crack. I need to continue using the honeymoon period to detox and "get sober," so to speak. I'm doing well so far. When there's food around I would normally have wanted, I'm doing much better at controlling myself. So far I've always had some healthy alternative, so that's been good. I'm losing slowly, but it's mostly been steady. I haven't had anything that counts as a real stall, so fingers crossed! Now I just gotta worry about that hair loss that's gonna be creeping up...

This month marks number 3 in the 6 month medically monitored weight loss program that my insurance requires. I have been reading threads, taking notes, journaling, and have a spreadsheet to mark my weekly changes in weight and measurements. #scaleshateme I still struggle with the idea that the surgery will happen. I tend to be a pessimist, so I keep thinking that this is too good to be true. Maybe my insurance will deny it. Maybe something will go wrong. I don’t want to be negative, but here I am. #negativenancy I have changed my eating habits up a bit. I have started eating 4 meals a day and drinking water. I NEVER drank water before. I would drown out fatigue with caffeine all day long. I worry that I will struggle to give that up, but I am down to 2 mugs per day. #win I have read about ‘not trusting a fart,’ not taking an underwire bra to wear home from surgery, the 3 week stall, constipation woes, and hair loss. I recognize that a realistic weight loss expectation is to lose 60% of excess weight, and I know to walk as much as possible to avoid gas pain post op. I also know that loose skin and vanishing boobs are a thing. #youguysrock Just wanted to journal a bit on here. I would love some feedback or tidbits of things to expect that I haven’t found yet. #gettingexcited

Thanks for asking this question, as I was wondering too about hair dye. I haven't had WLS yet but wondered about coloring it. I have it colored every 2 months. I am worried about it falling out though after surgery. I think I will start taking the Biotin (I think that is what some one recommended) that helps with hair loss. I was at Sam's Club recently and saw a bottle of it but didn't buy it. I have an indiv. nutrionist appointment tommorrow and I am going to ask her about it and see if taking the biotin now will help some and in the future!

Hello I'm a few days over two months post op like many of you. All my check-ups seem to be normal, text-book healing. I have not exercised yet, and finally went to a gym aka physical therapy center for obese people, last night with my husband. I can't express enough just how out of shape I am! But obviously, this is something I will commit to because I do realize the stalls will hit unless I work out and get fit. I need to get fit, not just for fat loss but for myself. I need to help my body to be strong and happy. Emotional. Something emotional is happening to me right now, and might have nothing to do with the surgery. I have been on this anxiety roller coaster about this surgery for nearly a year, and now it has come and gone. I have all this time open now, where I don't obsess and worry. It's odd, right? I always feel like I need to worry about something. I should get my butt to adoration and prayer, meditate for the secular folks. Refocus my energy and open back up to love and trust. I need a new journey, I was so eagle-eye focused on everything that has already happened. Now, it's time to do more. I still have good days and sleepy days. I'm less concerned now about complications. I'm still worried every time I take a bite, if it's good for my stomach. Anyway. I have been losing, I need to make an update. But I can feel now that I am not, because I have replaced liquids with solids and sometimes I have "carbs" in the form of raw milk in my shakes, or dried Beans I've cooked myself. I have not had any fingernail weakness, in fact they're long and strong. I don't think I've had hair loss, but at two months out I don't know if it starts yet or not? But I clean the house more. Do more. And now I want to do even more, lol.

I am a newbie here and have been researching Dr Almanza and I was all gung ho to use him. I contacted another person that stated they had proof of deletions from this website and well this sort of disturbed me as I do not see how so many could have the same type of complications. Even though I have read this I still do not know if I have totally counted him off of my list. It is disturbing that I can't get the whole quality truth of information. I just want to know the truth and if people are so damn afraid to tell their horror stories then what good does that do all of us (if they really happened). I will say that Dr. B's liscense has me a bit freaked out and so do these stories. I have spoken with Melissa my coordinator for Dr Almanza and well she has made me feel better. Right now my doctor of choice is up in the air. I have the money to use Dr Aceves but from what I understand I will be paying for all of the extra's that I do no need. Such as luxury. I feel that if I do not need it then why pay for it. However I do want to make the best choice possible and well I am still torn between these two doctors. Dr Aceves has an excellent record and reputation but so many people seem to have gotten an infection from this facility that Dr Almanza works at. From what I understand on all of these posts that most of these people said teh aftercare sucked. I for one do not know but I had to post these. I do expect to get some heated pm's and possibly replies but you know what I don't care. I just hope that this will bring some of these people out of the closet so we can hear from the horses mouth instead of this he said she said stuff. Like I said I am confused on which doctor to use becaue honestly I could use that extra money for a vacation for my family before my hubby deploys again. So here goes this is what I got from Midwestern Girl. As I said I am a newbie just dong research! here are some, not all: Sandy Johnston (Betancourt coordinator) claims Board Certification is just something you can get if you pay a fee. this is misleading to patients: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-3.html#post12764 You posted that Dr. Almanza has only been doing surgery for a year. That is incorrect. Just as it is incorrect that Dr. Aceves, while having been doing surgery for several years, does not have "decades" of bariatric experience. The Mexican site you keep quoting regarding “board certification for surgery” is just one of the many sites that any licensed surgeon can join…if they pay their fee. These statements are just not accurate. You did make a personal attack when you called other posters "minions". ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another coordinator, Shirley, who was posing as merely being a patient (was exposed as working for Betancourt later) misleads patients as well: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-2.html#post12726 Why does a surgeon have to BUY something that says he is Certified or FACS? So in order to be a good surgeon, one must purchase these titles, and therefore be on the good list? I have gone to the places you check their credentials, and each requires a fee to make their list. I do not see how that makes them a good or bad Dr. I have looked at the list, and though it is hearsay, I see several Dr's who I would not want my dog to go to. Please explain these certifications. I am not sure why they means so much. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Patients are told Almanza is board certified in three areas, he is not board certified in Surgery. I do not know about the others as claimed. The two coordinators posting in this thread do not care to correct the misinformation: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-5.html#post13617 From what I can gather, it is a surgical hospital, they do knee replacement surgeries, hips and shoulders too. They have caridologists on staff, and do all kinds of plastic surgery, dental work etc as well. Dr Almanza has been their chief bariatric surgeon since early 2007 - done thousands of procedures of which 400 - 500 are gastric sleeves. He has certification in general surgery, bariatric surgery and trauma care. And reams of experience in his residence years with Mexico's top surgeon. I am sure they have all they need for all those procedures. In the event someone has a heart attack they give immediate emergency care but will transfer someone like that to the trauma center in San Diego - minutes away - for longer term treatment. With this procedure - which is done laporascoptically, is relatively minor compared to knee replacement surgery. I underwent two of those last year. No complications whatsoever. I don't anticipate any problems they are not equipped to deal with at their surgical facility. I did my homework. I checked out all his credentials, talked at length with Melanie from here who was there earlier this yr and their US coordinator. (Not Sandy, but Shirley) Checked the boards thoroughly, noted wryly all the controversy the two warring factions were having, (tempest in a teapot) and kept my reserved spot there. I am more than satisfied. Happy too that I am saving a ton of money ( had to borrow it) as I am a pensioner with only $1100 a month only to live on. I am an intelligent woman and would not have made this decision without weighing all the factors, could not find anyone who had been there that were unhappy with him, or the facilities, staff, anesthesiologist etc. only from the Mexicali patients who are obviously happy with their choice. Please, then, allow us to be equally happy with ours. This innuendo of this place being substandard or inferior just should not go on. What is the point of it anyway? Respectfully, Donna ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~ Coordinator claims the clinic is certified as a hospital with ICU capabilities. Can a MX ICU not have a blood bank? http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-6.html#post13674 Dr. Almanza does NOT perform the DS, so you will not want to waste any time researching him as one of your choices. However, I will say that in Mexico the hospital is certified as a hospital. It does have ICU capabilities, but no blood bank on site. There is access to blood that can be received within minutes if necessary. I have been marketing for over a year for this doctor (off hand, I think it's been about 14 months). Anyone can view his credentials and certification on the website which will answer how long he has been practicing and how long he has been certified (showing lasted certifications) on each procedure. I sure hope you don't eventually need another procedure. Any surgery is no fun! Best of luck to you! MacMadame, I'm not going to even respond to you! You are a broken record. Sandy Johnston Patient Care Coordinator 877-765-THIN (8446) aLighterMe.com MexicoWeightLossSurgery.com Sandy@alighterme.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Coordinators tell prospective patients on the phone that Almanza has never had a complication, not even a typical surgical complication that is out of the control of any surgeon, I'm assuming this person had a PE? http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-6.html#post13725 HOPE4U with the post you mention above something like that did happen to me i had a 15 hour flight. i indeed had some probs when i got home form having surgery. but we all know with any surgery lungs, and all will suffer. it was a ruff start for me. but even in the er when the wls doctor on staff did a ct or whatever of stomach said the surgery it self was fine. i was just one of those people that had probs. but even though i thought i was dying i have not suffer a leak and for that i am thrill. good thing my insurance coverd it all. if you had some health probs.then i would not go. But i do know if they don't feel comfortable doing the surgery on you they will decline too so. i'm on week 4 now and i'm doing well pain free and i'm down 30 pounds.:thumbup: only a 142 more to go :tongue_smilie: nikki ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Patient complains about the OR not being clean and a hair in her incision. Maids doing wound care: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-7.html#post14415 Hello, I just wanted to let you know that I used Dr. Reyes for a Lapband on Sept 14. To be honest, the facilities and surgical procedure is not like here in the US. While, the "medical" facility was clean, the operating room and the procedure was by no means "sterile", as surgeries here in the US are Sterile procedures, they are not down there. I walked from my "room" to the operating room and walked out of the operating room back to my "room". There is no prepping for a sterile procedure. I spent about an hour or two after surgery in the room, then a driver came and took me back to the recovery house, which is an apartment. Post operative care is nonexistent. There is a maid who dressed another patient's surgical site after she took a shower. I found cotton balls and alcohol in the apt. and cleaned mine and left them open to air. If I had known, I would have brought ABT spray, sterile swabs and hydrogen perioxide to care for the incisions. Needless to say when I returned back to the apt after surgery, I found a long hair, in my incision which I pulled out. And basically I stayed at the apt by myself for the next two nights. On the day I was leaving, 3 days post operative, Dr. Betancourt had one of the employees take me to his apt across the street where he gave me post op instructions and med instructions/dosages for the meds he gave me three days eariler after surgery. Am I glad I had the surgery? yes...Would I return to the same place? that i'd have to think about, although Dr. Reyes didn't do any bodily harm in placing the band and is probably more than qualified. I tried to research before I went but couldn't really find a site that gives credential info like the Boards here in the US. Hope that helps. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Coordinator (still posing as "just a patient") attempts to discredit the above patient complaint by implying she was not really there for her surgery: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-7.html#post14436 Unless you have been there, why make comments that you know nothing about??? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Patient complains about aftercare at the clinic, states the only "doctor" she saw after surgery was "Doctor" Betancourt, she believes he is an MD: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-8.html#post14445 OK, this may be unpopular, but here goes.......... I had VSG with Dr Almanza in mid July. I paid the fabulous price of $5000 which for me was alot. I did alot of research and although it was clear that there were people who didn't think much of him, I could find NOTHING negative as to his skills as a surgeon. My entire experience however is a mixed bag. Unlike some of the others who rave about the aftercare, mine was terrible. I met Dr. Almanza for about 5 minutes before my surgery and NEVER saw him again. I had surgery on a Thursday and on Saturday Dr Betencourt came to the house to see me. My vitals had not been taken for 16 hours and I found that lacking at best. I did find the nurses basically qualified (I am not a nurse, but an EMT) but their inability to really speak english became a problem when I refused a shot with pain medication. The nurse was very upset with me and when I explained that I had NO pain, she couldn't understand a word. Am I glad I had the surgery? Yes! Complications of any kind? NO Would I do it again at Emanuel Medical? Probably not. That is not to say someone else shouldn't. I just felt that there were some basic things missing from the aftercare. Not seeing any doctor until 48 hours after my surgery to me was unacceptable, albeit perhaps questionably unsafe as I had other issues that brought me to this surgery in the first place. Each of us must decide if this place is right for us, and with a budget like I and others undoubtedly have, it was the best decision I could make at the time. I have lost 30 pound in the 10 weeks since and the sleeve is the best thing I've done for myself in a long time. Good luck to each of you! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Coordinator claims clinic is inspected by a MX health department monthly in an attempt to refute the complaints of an RN-Patient: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-8.html#post14448 No War here, I just know that the sterilization takes place after every surgery. The OR is also checked by the Health Department once a month. It is swabbed down, and if anything comes back, it is locked up until it has come back clean, and sterile. There is an actual small crew that does that job. That is why I questioned you about why you thought it was not sterile. Your statement inply's alot. I want to make it clear. I also want to know why you felt it was not sterile? Maybe someone was lacking in their job. Maybe it needs to be looked into. That is why I wanted to know. I do know the 3 people at the guest house, and they are very happy. This is their 2nd surgery. They had their bands removed, a the sleeve done. No infection, no complications. Again, No war. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Patients feel dog-piled if they dare to mention a negative experience with Betancourt's clinic: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-8.html#post14481 "that Ryansgirl talks about so favorably" Norm, please don't even put my name in to this dumb crap ok. don't even i'm really at a point where i just going to stop posting because every time you say something nobody agrees with they are all on you like you did something wrong. did i say i had a stress free surgery no i did not so please don't even. every since i've be researching this place all i heard was this and that. do you here me call anybody a lie here.......um no everybody entitle to thier opinion. am i'm pushing a doctor no! i'm a 24 yr old average student with a six year old son to raise. i got better things to do and i agree with some of the aftercare is not the best and not to what i'm use to but i'm one of those peple who also knows you get what you pay for so. i mention shirely once so don't even. so unreal...............that is why i never went into deep about my experince because i'm not trying to get attack for my opinion. What next i work for them huh? huh? or madly in love or some other bulls*** whatever ya people accuse people of????????????????????? no i'm a social worker working on her masters ok just don't..................:mad: i really think ya don't want anyones opinion if it not to code with ya. (yes i said ya i'm southern) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another patient refers to "Doctor" Betancourt: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-12.html#post16466 Hello all, I was sleeved Oct 6 by Dr. Alamanza and I must say I had a great experience. The entire staff at the hospital and guest house were phenomenal. 2 days post op, the doctor, escorts, another patient, my hubby and I all headed to Ensenada, where we had a blast. Im still here, my flight leaves tonight, but I just wanted to brag about my experience. Once I'm home this weekend, I will post pics and more info!! I would do it all over with him and Dr. Bentacourt, and will recommend to everyone! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Patient complains about a coordinator being dishonest with her about a serious complication of another patient named Medina (misdiagnosed bowel perf) http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-16.html#post19732 rere50, phone call from Tj to Sacramento or san diego or texas did not do Medina any good. Do not be flip with your Good Gravy comments. You are implying you could have done something that the Doctors on scene could not. Medina was making phone calls. After I got home, I personally called Shirley and was told Medina was with her parents. That was false, She was in the hospital in Calgary and still is. I still had a great experience with Dr. Alamanza. Please re-read my notes. It was only Medina that was so sick and could not get anyone to recognise she was in serious trouble until Monday the 4th day post surgery. So, please no more flip comments. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Patient with an infection (Gingin33) http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-17.html#post22408 Dont be scared. Dr. Almanza is very skilled and you will have an uneventful surgery. I had surgery with him 2 weeks ago and everything went perfect. I came home with an infection in one of my incisions but it's since cleared up and I'm doing great. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Patients are told that Betancourt buys staples for half the price of others and resells to others: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-17.html#post23203 You are most welcome. As an RN, in your experience, does a few instances of antibiotic resistant bacterial infections mean that the doctors or hospital are negligent in any way or that it is a bad (not recommended) place to go? I saw a Dr Oz show not too long ago where even the cleanest kitchens were tested for dangerous bacterial problems and they were shocked as to how many lurked in each. Does it not behoove us to be as cautious as possible with the care of incisions wherever we go and to strengthen our own immune systems as much as possible these days? I am going back to Mexico in a month's time with my daughter and sister and we will be dilligent with washing of hands, sanitizers and incision maintenance while there, but in no way do we think that Dr Almanza is not a fine skilled surgeon or that safe sterile procedures are not performed, in spite of people reading into any of that that it isn't. Their low prices do not reflect any inferior practices whatsoever, rather that the owner, Dr Betancourt, is able to purchace the VERY expensive staples for less than half of what the others pay for them. So the term you get what you pay for when slammed against this facility is meaningless, the titanium staples are exactly the same as other Mexican surgeons use, but Dr. Betancourt buys in extremely large quantities and resells them to hospitals everywhere there. He will explain all that while you are down there. He is also very passionate about making this life-changing procedure more available to the average person and I commend him for that. Next month there will be the new Jerusalem hospital that will be used instead of Emmanuel Medical and it will be more modern and patient friendly. I am excited that it will likely be ready when we go! By the way, I am not paid to promote this place or doctor at all, just feel that the negatives here have been quite unfairly interpreted. I hope my experiences there help the average person in their research of affordable wieght loss. Cheers, Donna:001_cool: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Patient complaining that posts are being deleted (Message board owner is also a Betancourt Coordinator) http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-18.html#post23236 I saw that post on OH and she is also a member here njsleever is her member name. It saddens me to see all of these posts recently, and to hear of the one lady who had a perforated bowel (not found by Almanza's staff or whoever does his post-op care) from Canada that is supposedly still recovering after being sent home. The post on here was edited to remove all that information and that is why I've started quoting all the complications regardless of who the doctor/facility is. I think it's important that all the information gets out to potential future patients for any of the surgeons. This is the original post she is complaining about that was first edited and then finally deleted: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-15.html#post19539 Donna,(Stoongal) I know you went alone and many do. It is just from my personal experience having my Husband there to speak for me and the girl in the bed next to me HELPED. It did not help her eventually. She was sent home with a punctured bowel. She tried to get Dr. B to listen to her, but she was not coherent enough. She was in extreme pain and vomiting everything she tried to swallow. Dr. B did send her back to the hospital but no one looked at her Xrays to see the damage. The fact of a perforated bowel being a posiblity of surgery is acceptable. The fact that the Dr.s did not catch it and do something about it on Sat is unacceptable. On monday when we were going home is when they noticed something wrong. She would not accept their help at that point. She got on the plane to Calgary and is still in the hospital there to this day. The airline had an ambulance waiting she was rushed to surgery. She may live. I believe if she had someone with her they would have raised a huge stink until a Dr. came in and reviewed her xrays. I saw her Xray on Monday when we were leaving and I could see something was really wrong and I am NOT medical at all. We compaired Xrays and it was really scarey. My husband would not have allowed them to leave me in that much pain and vomiting constantly for even 2 days much less 4. That is why I think you should have someone with you that knows you, you are not a whiny baby, or, cannot take any pain. They will know when to insist on further medical help. I I know you did not have any trouble. Neither did I. Probably neither will many more that go. It is the one case that I happened to witness that makes me write about caution. I have nothing bad to say about Dr. Almanza, and the surgery he performs. The Dr's are looking for leaks. not perforated bowles. I am not saying they did anything wrong in surgery. I am saying they did not listen and snap too that something extrodinary was wrong. That poor girl almost died and is not out of the woods yet. I could not speak clearly/concisly the day after surgery and even the second day after I was not funtioning back on par, so I do not know if I would have been able to tell Dr. B that something was reallly wrong. If he would have listened. I do not know how she slipped through the cracks but she did. I believe if she would have had an advocate there, that would not have happened. I was/am very thankful I had my husband with me. I am really glad to know you are going with your daughter and sister in Jan when they go. You know what to expect. You know your people, and you will know if something is wrong. It is just the odd case where if something goes wrong. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Patient complains about board owner/aka Betancourt coordinator deleting/editing posts that show complications at Betancourt's Clinic: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-18.html#post23252 i've been keeping this in since i have had my surgery. And i really didn't wanna say anything cause i'm glad that they did a pretty good job with my surgery and i'm loseing weight, and i'm still alive and the people at emanuel medical have been so nice to me i really didn't wanna say too much but... It's not fair to keep certain things a secret. Because i would have wanted to know all these things before i went. I got there on 10/27 and had my surgery 10/29. from all the people that's had surgery those two dates i know of about 4 or 5 infections (some very serious some not so serious)and a LEAK! Now that's all the people that i know of. Their are still some people no one has been able to talk to them since. But 5 people is over half of the people that was in my group. And the lady with the leak it seems like no one in my group really knew what was going on with her and later on in the week i thought she went home. I ended up seeing her in the airport and she told me she was in the hospital the whole time with a leak and she had to do a second surgery. Me and two other patients drove to the airport in the same truck, but they drove her alone ( i think so the other patients wouldn't find out what happened). And i understand infections are apart of the risks of surgeries and it happens, but i think it happens waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much at emanuel medical. they're nice friendly people but i would be scared to go back knowing so many people have so many infections and complication and sometimes leaks cause of emanuel medical. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Infection: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-19.html#post23482 I had my surgery on Nov 19th and I was dropped off at the airport with an infection. I asked that it be looked at before I left the recovery house because it was red and painful and I was assured it was fine. As I was at the airport waiting for my plane to depart, it broke open and pus was running down my shirt. It was not any fault of my own. My infection happened quickly, while I was still in the recovery house. I think Dr. Almanza is a wonderful surgeon. I am very happy with his work, but I do wonder about the after care, a lot. I know the nurses that did our aftercare rarely wore gloves. I know they have some issues to address there and I hope they are getting it dealt with because I really would like to recommend them to others but at this point dont really feel that I can. I gave Shirley my feedback and told her where I think they need to make some changes and she said she was going to pass on my message and that of others as well so maybe they will fix whatever it is. She said they think it was a bad shipment of stitches and they have been returned and they are using a different company now. I hope that fixes their problem but I still think handwashing and glove wearing is a big issue that they need to take seriously. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Infection, possible leak, Betancourt staff ask patients not to tell others of infections and complications, a 16 year old girl is doing wound care: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/tell-your-story/2613-major-complications-emmanuel-medical-center.html#post23702 I posted before about my infections and wanted to provide an update. DOS Thanksgiving 09 stayed 2 days @ Facility and 2 days @ recovery house. I dont want to interject emotion but rather present the facts that have occurred to me thus far. The last time I posted I mentioned that I was disappointed that none reached out to me and surprise - the day after a posting here - i got a call from both Shirley and ISIS - but only spoke to ISIS. ISIS was sweet but made it clear that an infection is a risk of surgery. I agree HOWEVER the fact that there have been consistent infections coming out of that facility leads me to belive that there is either a procedure or instrument that is allowing contamination, That they had a responsibility to address that. I reminded ISIS that Shirley did not want me spread it but that she said that Dr. Betancourt felt that there was probably a package os stiches was "compromised" and they were throwing them away. No patient knew about that! I was hospitalized December 3rd and I AM STILL HERE. I am being transferred to a larger facility. 1) Post surgery I NEVER WAS WITHOUT A FEVER 2) The largest incision was the first to get infected but afterwards, FOUR out of FIVE became infected 3) I was immediately placed on hi doses on the strongest antibiotics. Some of which included ampicillen, vankomicin, jeez i have so many if you want i am happy to list as i am getting a copy of everything before the transfer. 4)in the battle of fighting the infection - my fevers never relented! with last night being 103. My White blood counts have been as high as 18000 and are currently 15,000 5) i have had FOUR CT Scans where they see the stomach enflammed, pancreas enflamed and liquid in my lungs. The reason for this is one of 2 reasons - side effect to mega doses os antibiotics or 2 there is a leak or problem with the sleeve itslef. OMG I am scared I am angry. I have 2 autistic children at home and one asked me yesterday crying if i was going to die. Yes I wanted to be thin YES i asked the right questions about leak rates, suturing vs stapling i felt i did my research, I AM NOT ALONE. I ave PM's that the facility has asked patients not to post about their infections. IF THATS TRUE SHAME ON THEM. I am willing to provide personal details to anyone who feels they need it. I LOVED DR BETANCOURT, SHIRLEY, DR ALONZO AND DR HUGO. The FACILIY WAS JOLLY and you felt cared for. The residence house was not as plesant because we had no heat on (just my luck a 65 degree night) Shirley took care of that right away! There was not 24 hour care because the 16 year old nurse was not in our house. We fenned for ourself for the most part - but no matter what she was a SWEETIE. I am sooooo HURT and disappointed but mostly ABANDONED and SCARED. I SWEAR I HAVE NO MOTIVE AND LIKELY HAVE NO RECOURSE - I SAY THIS SO THAT ALL CAN CONSIDER THIS INFORMATION, EVEN IF I aM one in a million - i would have wanted to know. MARIA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A non-Almanza patient who is an RN for a surgery center in the US refutes Betancourt's claims that all their recent infections are a result of a bad batch of sutures: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/tell-your-story/2613-major-complications-emmanuel-medical-center.html#post23779 Maria, I am so very sorry that you are going through this. My thoughts and prayers are with you. I do want to address the part about the possible suture contamination. It has been mentioned in several posts about this facility. I have access to recalls/alerts/warnings on all types of medical supplies, equipment. This list is distributed worldwide. It lists alerts from the FDA, all governmental regulatory agencies worldwide, and is available to all medical facilities. In the recent past few months (I went back 6 months), there have been no recalls on any sutures, etc that may have been used during your surgery. In addition, the distributor who sends the supplies to the facilities will notify the facility that there has been a recall of what ever the item is that there may be issues with. The item may be pulled from the facility and returned for a refund/replacement. If there are indeed problems with the suture, Emmanuel Medical Center should have reported it. Sorry to say, I think they are just "blowing smoke up your skirt." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have been informed in private messages on www.obesityhelp.com that Betancourt staff is telling people concerned about all the infections that I am posing as these supposedly fake patients during phone calls. OH and VST are welcome to do an IP check to verify I have not posted on that forum in many months. It is easy enough to verify if an IP is fake or legit. I welcome them to confirm this info. http://verticalsleevetalk.com/tell-your-story/2613-major-complications-emmanuel-medical-center-3.html#post23990 Point taken and thanks for your truthful response. As I said, I will be going there myself in two weeks and I dont take anyone's testimony about infections lightly. Thank you for what you said and I go there with eyes wide open. The main reason I know the Maria's story is fake is that I showed it to my coordinator IMMEDIATELY and she looked at the details with the Emmanuel team and there was never a patient who had that surgery as claimed on the date Maria stated. What else seemed so strange to me is that the patient name on OH was similar and the location and the dates as well as details we similar with little differences! It came from a mentally ill poster with borderline personality disorder that is known to despise Dr. A and has been banned from several sites, yet keeps coming back as someone else. What is in it for her is that she is attempting to get people to go to her Dr. and then she gets to be right. The reason I cared was 1)I would hate it if someone was making up things about me as a professional 2) I wouldn't subject myself intentionally to a bad situation.3) Really wanted to know the truth and then to share that truth.... I just got in from a 4 month nursing assignment in Gallup. Last night my BF took the car and it was stolen so I am dealing with that now. Plus moving into a new place and surgery on 12/30.Needless to say I have alot going on. I wanted to respond to you and say that if you PM me I will gladly tell you or anyone my phone number and we can really talk at length...No one can get any details from "Marie S." or "Maria"....because she doesnt really exist. I intend to post my own account of surgery when I get back. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another infection: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/VSG/4078557/I-never-expected-this/ i had my surgery on nov 26th. I followed all doc orders in terms of how long i stayed - where - meds.....everything. from fay three i complained of fever and sure enough i started with low grade fevers. when i returned - i saw my doc in nyc asap and was told my main incision was infected. I called emmanuel medical and was told another patient had the same infection. the stiches were opened and i was subjected to painful draining and packing of the wound. in the meantime, the fever remained. Once i hist q02 at 6 days post op - i went to er - FOUR OUT OF FIVE INCISIONS infected - iv antibiotics, cultures, draining and packing. i was placed in isolation. I was tols cultures found an organizsm that is very resistant to antibiotics. i am still hospitaliz3ed since last thursday. ny fever as of a few hours ago was 103. I called facility (nocalls from them) and a third patient also had infection at main wound site. I was told i am most sever. no other outreaches to me. once i become fever free for 24 hours i will have to go with a pic line and do 2 to 4 weeks of iv antibiotics from home. i am supposed to stay away from work to minimize risk of infection and not to aggravate site. I will have thousands in copyas for er, docs, and meds. visiting nurses will need o come to help me with the IVs. I am a mess and so alon! i am missing my sons bday - i havent been with my kids - i havent been able to hug my husband. i am so regretful. i feel abandoned. please be careful. In fairness - the CT scaan shows the surgery itself as done well. SSo i still beleive in DR almana - but the post op care was not appropriate and included dressing changes by a 16 year old girl, no heat in the residence. they are all sweet but they will need to refocuse on sterile protocals. when i mentioned the sterility issue the coordinator indicated that dressung changes dont require it. That may be so but it would have been a small price to pay to avoid this pain and trauma. and thw 16 yo performed my drain removal and dressing changes. please be aware and careful. thank you for listening. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Same thread, different post/Infection: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/VSG/4078557/I-never-expected-this/ I really feel for you and I'm so sorry this happened. I had surgery with the same surgeon on Oct. 29 and I too came home with an infection that had to be drained in the ER then packed twice a day for 5 1/2 weeks. Mine was nowhere near as bad as it sounds like yours is, but I too will have thousands of dollars in medical bills from this complication. You are about the fifth person I've read posts from or talked to who came back from Emmanuel with a bad infection (just since I was there). I was told it was a contaminated batch of sutures (or something similar), but it really sounds like that is NOT the case since our surgeries were about a month apart. Do you know what the infection was called? I hope others who are considering going to Emmanuel will REALLY do their research before they make any plans. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Same thread, different post/Infection of this person and one other person having surgery the same day: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/VSG/4078557/I-never-expected-this/ While I was there there was one person running a fever with infection and then myself and at least one other person had incision infections (minor...but we were lucky) where we needed strong oral antibiotic upon our return home. Dr Almanza did a good job on my surgery, as well. I just really am seriously wondering about their sterility protocols. No gloves are used, infections of one sort or another are happening far too frequently. Good luck. I'm very sorry you're going thru this. S.xo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another infection: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/post-operation-vertical-sleeve-gastric-surgery-vsg-questions-answers/2278-trouble-stitch-infected.html#post20971 I have one suture site that won't heal up. I thought I had caused it because of wearing an underwire bra. It was all pussy and I would drain clean it with alcohol each morning and night. then I got to going around braless~not pretty at this stage~ anyway, got the infection cleared up and in cleaning the site yesterday it is still open! 5 weeks post op. Well, looking in I think I see a blue thread. I tried to get it up to the surface with tweesers, but no luck. I guess I will go to the Dr. on Monday? Has anyone else had this happen? What did you do? Of course I had to discover this on the weekend. Is there anything that will disolve the stitch? All my other wounds are healing nicely. Just the one under the left boobie is a problem. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another Infection: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/VSG/4057265/Stitches-Leaking-Alot/ Hi, I woke up this morning to find that one of my lap sites was oozing. I cleaned the area {I'm a Registered Nurse} and proceded to squeeze out a large amount of funky Fluid out of the wound. The area had been painful to touch yesterday {Now I know why}. Has anyone else experienced this type of issue? What did you do? I'm avoiding my physician and the hospital because H1N1 is running rampant in our area. I have no fever and still have some post-op {6 days} antibiotics to take {2 days}. Suggestions are welcome? Thanks. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Band removal 9 days post op: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/1196669-post21.html Dr. Mark Pleatman is a life saver!...Here's my story. My name is Stephanie Rhoades I am 26 yrs old and was 226 lbs when I had my lap-band? put in on March 25th 2009 in Mexico by Dr. Beauncourt. I was 24 when I decided to have the band put in, I was a size 13 before I had my son and gain 55 lbs do to bedrest the last 3 months of pregnancy for high blood pressure. I was so down on myself for the weight I had gained. I was divorced last june and alot had happened. And like everyone else I tried EVERYthing BUT NEVER STUCK WITH IT. So I wentthrough ( who I thought was a great company) Worldmed.com and found the chop-shop that Dr. Beauncourt runs in TJ Mexico. At the time I saw nothing wrong and went and had it done since it was $5500.00 and I am self pay. Okay so a week after I was told I could start eating applsauce and sf Jello. Yeah right I would have on bite and my throat was tight and and was ALWAY nauseated! Horrible I remember I was calling Dr. eauncourts staff 24/7 crying telling them that I cant eat and it was bad that somethings wrong, they would tell me that was normal and to calm down. I was a mess. I was 9 days out and crying all the time I KNEW something was not right. I was a huge mess I cant stress that enough. Finally 8 days post opt- I wanted it OUT. I know I know people must think I am nuts but I was not okay 1 baby spoonfull of apple sauce made me sick. I was calling around ( in Wa) to have it out, everyone just kept telling me to wait wait and at this point I was DONE) I looked up on here and found Dr. Pleatman on here and called his office. I spoke with Debbi is office staff and she was WONDErFUL. Here is a woman who calls the office crying and Debbi talked with me for about 20 mins about everything. She told me to call anytime even though I wasent a patient and she calmed me down. The next day I called saying the same thing i want it out! Next thing I knew I was taLking to Dr Pleatman himself, not staff, not anyone else him. I told him what was going on and he said that the band could have slipped and or it was to tight. This was a Friday . I was so releived to actually speak with a Dr who didnt think I was crazy and understood that I was serious. He set everything up for me. My mom and i flew into MI, on Monday and his staff andhimself were in contact with me 100% of the time! I went into surgery tuesday morning and I was so dehydrated that it took 8 stick to get an I.V into me and 4 tries on a Blooddrawl. I was so dehydrated I couldnt even get tears out even though I would drink bottles of Water and gatoraide all day. DR PLEATMAN, is a GOD-SENT! He was wonderful I had NO-GAS after waking up. I went for a follow up the next day and found out the band that was put in by Dr Beaucournt was held on by 1 stich ( not right) and it was tight and small. Dr.Pleatman is wonderful, he is very good at what he does and I will always recommend him for anyone who will consider him for surgery. If anyone has any questions or anything please feel free to write. I just cant stress enough how wonderful Dr. Pleatman is and his staff is wonderful also! I will always be grateful to them! Stephanie from Seattle WA Another infection: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/tell-your-story/2613-major-complications-emmanuel-medical-center-3.html#post24138 Okay everyone.... brand new here - (so.... HI!!) :biggrin0: - well, I've been "stalking" the site for a while now but seeing this post today has prompted me to go ahead and register so I could respond. Let me apologize right away for the excessively lengthy post, but I got started and just couldn't stop!! :001_tt2: My name is Libby. :001_wub: From all my reading, I feel like I "know" a few of you already! :001_smile: I had my sleeve surgery on November 21st, 2009 at Dr. Andres Betancourt's Emmanuel Medical Center with Dr. Almanza... and yes, I too, ended up with a pretty nasty staph infection. Now, admittedly, my experience was one of rushed plans, lacking in any type of research whatsoever with this hospital / doctor, in particular... I had fully researched and prepped for the mini gastric bypass surgery with Dr. Rutledge in Nevada a year prior but when funding fell through, was left to start over from scratch. Having come into a little money suddenly on November 19th, I half-heartedly did a few internet searches to take a peek into what the self pay procedures were costing these days - - and stumbled upon a coordinator for Dr. Almanza offering an amazingly alluring fee for the gastric sleeve. I made the call.... checked a few resources.... and my coordinator, Rita - says, "What are you doing on the 21st?".............. TWO DAYS LATER, she meant......... wow!! So it was a bit of a wild ride from there, but I flew out the next day to San Diego - stayed over at the Holiday Inn Bayside - and met the hospital transport back at the airport the following morning, who took us into Mexico and to the hospital. The experience (while my family was CERTAIN that I would touch down in the middle of a warzone and awake from surgery having had my organs harvested for the black market!!) :lol0: was quite a pleasant one, for the most part. Very warm and welcoming, the doctors and staff were quite accommodating every step of the way. The hospital, while simple, was cleaner than some US hospitals I've seen. The language barrier was something I wish I'd considered a bit more - - but really caused no major issues.... I had what I needed, when I needed it and never felt the least bit "unaccounted for". The ONLY "issue" I had while in the hospital (which really did seem like a pretty big issue to me) was that the nurses did not wear gloves when working on my IV. They had a very difficult time due to my small "uncooperative" veins, and there were at least four attempts by different staff before the anesthesiologist finally stated that he would put the IV in himself once I was in the operating room. Moments before I went in, another nurse made a SUCCESSFUL attempt to get the IV in. *thank GOD!!* (OUCH!!) :eek: But, through all the sticks - - all the blood, trying to get the IV in place.... I noticed that none of them had worn gloves.... *note, that I bled quite a bit!* I mentioned to my "surgery mate" of my concerns.... and she seemed to shrug it off and have no matching concerns of her own..... by then, I was swooshed off to the operating room and when it was over, was too concerned with my recovery too rehash the thought in my mind, I guess. Two days in the hospital and then on to the recovery house. I actually stayed at Dr. Bettancourt's private home (a couple doors down from the recovery house) because they were quite full over there and Doc Andres felt I would be more comfortable at his home with his staff. I agreed. Every aspect of my care was attended to and despite the normal post op pain and discomfort, I enjoyed a very peaceful stay. I felt that my recovery was going very well, but since I had made the trip alone, had begun missing my family and requested to go home a day early. All seemed well and arrangements were made for me to go home the next morning. I have to say, that once I left the hospital - there were no longer "vitals checks", etc. - which I suppose is the norm - - - but had there been a couple of those throughout my recovery stay, it might have been brought to our attention that I was harboring a low grade fever, even the night before I left Mexico. :frown1: I noticed that there was some redness around the largest of my incisions... but Doc Andres had checked prior to my going home - and I wasn't really having anything more than what I thought was "expected post op pain" - so... my drainage tube was removed - (MAJORRRR PAINNNNN!!!) :svengo: *probably due to the abscess that was already beginning to build* - - - and off I went. Medical transport across the border (and me with no passport!!) and back to the San Diego airport for my flight home to Fort Worth. I arrived home around 5pm that evening... (my 4th day out) and was EXHAUSTED, in pain, and light headed........ of course, I was sure that I just overdid it with the flight, walking through the airport, etc. (even though I had to summon a wheel chair transport to get through the airport to my parked vehicle). Got through the night with my pain meds, cold sponge baths and as much sleep as I could get. The next morning.... more of the same..... but the pain was worsening... my belly was bloating.... redness around the incision was broadening .... I could keep NOTHING down, vomiting and dry heaving.... and in one terrifying moment later that afternoon, my largest incision site burst open, literally FLOWING with an outpour of infectious pus!! :cursing: Of course, with no private health insurance - I was another self pay headed to the closest urgent care center for evaluation... By that time, I had an increase in the fever and the pain was so unbearable, I could barely stand for more than a few seconds at a time. Seems I was suffering a grapefruit sized abscess at my incision site (which had filled by then, into another of my sites which had also begun to seep)... The doctor listened to my sleeve experience and surprisingly enough, without judgement, did her best to not only provide excellent care, but to do so while keeping my self pay status in mind. A culture was done and I received an injection and three prescriptions (after I couldn't tolerate one in particular) to treat staph infection and was warned that I should be hospitalized - and that if ANYTHING worsened or there was not an immediate positive response to the antibiotics, that I would have no choice but to be admitted. I was receiving the highest and most potent treatment available in an outpatient situation. THANKFULLY...... after three weeks of what I thought must be what hell is like - - I think I am finally on the mend. While in the urgent care clinic, I did contact one of the coordinators whom I'd never spoken to, but for some reason, had the number for... Shirley..... because the doctor needed to know what antibiotic I had been sent home from Mexico on. She was cordial.... helpful.... and pleasant. Yet, I never heard from her again. Yet another coordinator, Michele, (for Patti Lissberger) finally contacted me on 12/10 with a simple "how are you" email.... stating that Patti Lissberger prides herself on her after care contacts and "connections".... I responded via email to Michele.... (cut and pasted the very email address she had provided).... and received, several days later, a response stating that I must have typed the wrong email address and that I should contact someone directly from the ISA Bariatric website. ::weird:: Again I responded - to three other email addresses, including Patti Lissberger's.... and after a couple more days, received a very generic phone message from Michele. I didn't bother trying to call her back. I am making my way...... recovering slowly........ having some issues with tolerating different things.... and I'm sure will have a billion questions throughout the journey.... But for now.... I just wanted to post MY experience and say that while I do believe there are a few things here and there that the Emmanuel Medical Center and staff could improve upon, I can't honestly say that I regret the experience... I may even go back again! (but I will definitely be more aware, more aggressive to state my concerns in the moments that I have them and better versed on what to expect.) ~ Just my 2 cents.... :thumbup: Nice to "meet" you all!!! :001_wub: ~ Libby ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ Complaints about aftercare issues: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/tell-your-story/2613-major-complications-emmanuel-medical-center-3.html#post24142 Hi Libby. I remember meeting you there. I can't remember if it was you or your roommate that stated they had the lapband that had tore a 4 inch hole in their stomach and they were getting the sleeve done. The day you all came to the clinic was the day I was checking out to go to the recovery house. I only met you both for a few minutes. I had surgery the same day as Mitzi. Kristina, Tasha and Jesus all had surgery on the 20th. Mitzi also had problems later with a small infection. I haven't heard from any of the others except Jesus and he apparantly didn't have any problems but he had the RNY done. I also noticed the glove thing and I also mentioned it to my roommate. I also agree about them not checking vitals once you go to the recovery house. I think at the very least they need to check them before they send you home. I spent one night at Dr. Betancourts house. I enjoyed my stay for the most part aside from being cold most of the time and Dr. Batancourt's spare bed was hard as a rock. I feel everyone treated me good and I have no complaints about that. I worry about the infections going on at the time. That's all I was ever trying to say. I hope they can take care of the problem and people can go home on the mend. Not dealing with more problems, making a bargain surgery cost a lot more in the end. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Future patients are told that those with infections are fake, they never did the surgery. It should be noted that on another board this patient posted emails, an OR report, pre/post op orders, and a detailed description of the hospital and what was in the food pantry: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/tell-your-story/2613-major-complications-emmanuel-medical-center-2.html#post23941 Hi Bill Sounds like we will be at Emmanuel with Dr. Almanza at the same time. I'm a patient...vsg...What are you having. For one thing, this story is totally fake as there was no such surgery done on that date... I have forwarded the info to Dr. A, his staff, and the site admin. Another fake story was posted on ObesityHelp by a Maria S she altered the details, but mostly the same...total BS! These posts are part of a smear campaign by a poster who gets kickbacks from the mx dr she supports. She attemptst to instill fear in anyone who uses Dr. Almanza. I think it was removed as it could in no way be substantiated. Go back and read NJSleever's posts----doesnt ring true....I am a nurse (17 years ICU) and what she said DID NOT ADD UP whatsoever. If you ask njsleever her for info she cannot, will not provide it. If you'd like to talk please PM me and we can exchange phone numbers. I cannot give all details publicly as this serious case of slander/libel is under investigation. As a man in business, you can certainly understand that all a man or woman has is his or her good name. Bill, I hope to hear from you and it sounds as if we will be meeting in a few weeks. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Patient feels she must prove she is telling the truth to another Almanza patient having surgery in 2 days: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/amos/4083549/MAJOR-COMPLICATIONS-EMMANUEL-MEDICAL-CENTER-DR-ALMANZA/ Holly - I knew that there would be a reply like this soon. Please find my email correspondence confirming my deposit payment for surgery. I am not doing this for any reason but to HELP PEOPLE FROM SUFFERING WHAT I AM SUFFERING. Imagine how I feel to read this while I sit here in a hospital still facing the unknown. There have been successes at Emmanuel and I pray you are one! I do! PM me and I can forward you the post op report they gave me and all my emails. If you were lied to by your coordinator - you may want to challenge her with this information in hand. Below I removed the coordinator and my last names and email addresses as a privacy issue. I also removed my address from the PayPal receipt. Good Luck and God Bless! ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Shirley To: 'Marie ' Sent: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:24:13 +0000 (UTC) Subject: RE: Receipt for Your Payment to JERUSALEM HOSPITAL Got it!!! RESPECTFULLY, Shirley EMMANUEL MEDICAL CENTER JERUSALEM HOSPITAL PATIENT COORDINATOR www.emmanuelmedical.com www.hospitaljerusalem.com.mx From: Marie Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 9:05 AM To: shirleyr Subject: Fwd: Receipt for Your Payment to JERUSALEM HOSPITAL Marie S ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: service@paypal.com To: Marie Sent: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:03:52 +0000 (UTC) Subject: Receipt for Your Payment to JERUSALEM HOSPITAL Nov. 17, 2009 09:03:51 PSTHello Marie You sent a payment of $1,000.00 USD to JERUSALEM HOSPITAL (andres@betancourtmedical.com) It may take a few moments for this transaction to appear in your account. Merchant JERUSALEM HOSPITAL andres@betancourtmedical.comInstructions to merchant You haven't entered any instructions.Shipping address - Marie United StatesShipping details The seller hasn’t provided any shipping details yet.DescriptionUnit priceQtyAmountSurgery$1,000.00 USD1$1,000.00 USDSubtotal$1,000.00 USDTotal$1,000.00 USDPayment$1,000.00 USDCharge will appear on your credit card statement as "PAYPAL *BETANCOURTM" Payment sent to andres@betancourtmedical.com And: Hello Everyone. I was asked to post more proof that I am a patient on some coordinator trying to discredit Emanuel Medical Center, Dr Betancourt an Dr Almanza.When I returned on November 30th, I called and asked for my post op rport to provide my NYC Doctor who would be doing my follow up. I was provided the following. This is a GENERIC report that the Center provide. THEY DO NOT PROVIDE A PERSONALIZED REPORT as I requested it and was told that "They dont do that down there. My surgery was done on Thanksgiving Day. i was the second case because I was more comlicated - a revision. The first case was Mike who is married to a lovely Chinese woman. When they left the recovery house she forgot her translator and Shirley called and asked us to look around for it. Claudia, the 16 year old nurse found it in the end and it was going to be shipped to Shirley for return to mike and his wife. The third case that was scheduled flight was delayed and her surgery was held over to the next day. Since she didnt have surgery on Thanksgiving he was invited to Dr. Betancourts Thanksgiving dinner at his home but said she ate very li8ghtly. She was an African American woman who had braids and did well. her husband stayed at the residence and enjoyed Tijauna with the transporters that work for Dr. Betancourt. They were from Atlanta. I stayed in the room directly accross Dr. Betancourts Home. It was a beautiful room! Mike stayed in the room next to mine but it didnt have its own bathroom and the other upstairs bedroom was vacant the entire time, The husband (or partner) of the woman from atlanta stayed in the downstairs bedroom. The house is impeccably clean. They have a phone downstairs witha 727 area code that is free but they have a note to limit calls to 30 minutes in case another client wants to use it. Inside the cabinet, they have cambell and knorr Soups along with teas, and condiments. In the freezer are the long type icees that kids drink and the jello was a spanish brand in four flavors. blue red orange and another i cant recall. I am not a coordinator - I AM TRYING TO SAVE YOU FROM MY MISERY. But I have to tell you this is getting old - you will need to make your own decisions and I TRULY WISH YOU WELL!!! I dont think they mean it and I think they are shaken enough to be making changes - I PRAY THEY ARE. ANYWAY - Good NEWS!! (well kinda) They found a leak BUT it appears that it has already been healing since i am fever free now three days YAY. So I AM SCHEDULED TO BE RELEASED TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOO HOO. However, I had to remove my old PIC line and then do another in the other arm. I will need to be NPO 5 days on something called TPN. I am told that is a thick white mixture that will provide me all my nutrients. I will need to take this nightly via my PIC line and then after the 5 days I will have more testing to verify resolution of the LEAK. After that, they will determine if I need antibitics, (Remember I still have two open incisions that need daily cleaning and packing. Although they look very good at this point - but Gosh the big is slow to heal. I had a total of FOUR incisions infected and the other two are completed clean and healed (WOO HOO AGAIN) SO YOUR PRAYERS, my PRAYERS, My FAMILY AND FRIENDS PRAYERS AND MY PRIEST BLESSINGS ALL WORKED. THANK YOU!!!! HUGS BAG TO ALL OF YOU AND GOOD LUCK TO THOSE STILL RESEARCHING. I need to recover and will do my best to keep up. I get to see my babies after soooo many days.......You have no idea how good that feels. Again GOD BLESS! ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Shirley To: 'Marie ' Sent: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 15:48:51 +0000 (UTC) Subject: Gastric Sleeve OP Report PATIENT: Marie PRESURGERY INDICATIONS 1. Take VS by nurse. 2. Place IV Hartman solution of 1000cc for permeable vein 3. Administrate the following medication (ask for allergy) i. Ranitidina 1 amp I.V. ii. Ceftriaxona 1gr I.V. (in case of allergy change to gentamicina 80mg) iii. Ondansetron 4mg I.V. iv. Dexametasona 4mg I.V. 4. Place antiemboli socks 5. In case that is necessary take EKG 6. Pass to OR after the anesthesiology visit. SURGERY NOTE : GASTRIC SLEEVE [font=Times New Roman]RESECTED PIECE[/font] SLEEVE Placing the patient in dorsal decubitus, general anesthesia is administrated, intubation is done, antiseptic wash in abdomen is done too, surgery initiates by placing the trocars through the abdominal wall, inspecting the cavity the stomach is localized and by introducing a catheter to the stomach, we delimit the capacity of the sleeve done by a staple, the sleeve has a virtual capacity approx. 15cc. Resection of the big curvature piece is done and in the sleeve there’s no bleeding or leaking. A drainage is left to measure any exudated. Closure of surgical wounds is done by none dissolving stitches. Count of surgical material: Complete Bleeding: Minimum Complications: None [font=Times New Roman]POST SURGICAL INDICATIONS[/font] 1. Strict uniformed nutritional (only ice chips are allowed). 2. Solutions Mixed: 1000cc I.V. the first 8hrs and continue with 1000cc + 20mEq of KCL for 8hrs 3. Medications: a. Ranitidina I.V. 1 amp every/12 hrs b. Metoclopramida I.V. 1 amp every/8 hrs c. Ceftriaxona I.V. 1 gr every 12 hrs or in case of allergy place Gentamicina 80mg e/12hrs d. Ketorolaco 30mg I.V. e/8hrs e. Ondansetron 4mg I.V. e/8hrs Only in case necessary f. Dipirona 1amp I.V. e/6hrs Only in case necessary 4. Place abdominal bandage in case of open surgery. 5. Place oxygen mask at 100% , 10lts per min. for 3hrs and then change to nasal point for 1 hr. 6. Take VS and general nurse care by turn. a. Inspiratory exercise every 4 hr for 10 min. b. Nebulize w/Combivent 2cc+ 3cc Saline solution every turn followed by back palmpercution. c. Urine count each shift d. Drainage vigilant and count by shift e. Remove Foley, shower and change of gauze before 7am by night shift. f. Early walk. Please note the "standard OR report, copy/paste with each patients name on it. Another infection: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/tell-your-story/2613-major-complications-emmanuel-medical-center-4.html#post24156 Hey you! I thought you looked familiar! Yes, that was the other girl, Michelle - from Washington - that came in the same day as I did..... she had a nasty infection with the band and it had been removed several months prior to her sleeve surgery that day. Hope you're feeling a little more "normal" these days and that the worst for both of us has passed! :001_smile: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ A patient has to enforce a lack of bacteria precautions: Topic: I'm very alive and well...!!!! Hello Everyone....!!!! I've had my surgery and it was AMAZING....!!!! I LOVE DR. Almanza....Oh, my, gosh....what a sweetheart of a person...!!! And may I add, what a Hottie, too...!!!!!!! I had a wonderful experience...I met peanutfreemom, islandguy, and annieinthesky, and others that are not on this site...What a wonderful group of people...The recovery house was a wonderful place to stay...The atmosphere was lively and fun, fun, fun...If you like being around people and like to meet others, you will love it there... There is a lot to tell, but I want get into it all right now...If you are planning on going, don't be afraid...the only thing I will tell you, is to be sure you take your gloves, germ-x, to have the nurses to put on...They are not all concerned enough about the germs for me...The nurses are very sweet and are there for you, but I did make sure they used the gloves and germ-x...One nurse you didn't have to remind...other than that, I don't have any bad thing to say about the care... My daughter and I are staying in The Sheraton in San Diego, because of the Holiday season, and because I am doing so well...It's all paid for by the Dr. Betancourt. All in all...I had a great experience, but it did have a couple of quirks...I guess everything can't be all roses...Just make sure you take the gloves, the germ-x and to tell the nurses to use them... I did get sick right after surgery, but that only lasted for about 6 hours..I always get sick from the anesthesia.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Almanza patient complaining about how they are treated and discredited after having problems and everyone in her "group" had infections: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-21.html#post24737 OMG! seriously, here's MY problem. The shady shinanigans, the deflection, the minipulation, the lies. It's aweful! It's bad enough shirly is on these boards 1/2 the time trying to pass herself off to some of the newer more nieve members as a Dr. Almanza paient (who isn't getting paid by E.M.) then when someone say anything about their not so perfect experience. Then that person has an alterior motive, they're lying,they're being dramatic, it's their fault, they must have eaten the wrong thing, Anything to not be accountable. The infections is one thing, but when some of your patients are already going through something terrible.You turn against them, and autmatically try to discredit everything they say. lord knows what's happening to homegirl from Jersey. NiKKi almost died ( and shirly lied on her and then browbeat her into practically posting all her problems were her fault) And alot of the people that was in my group in Tijuana got infected and - and i'm not even including myself.oh yeah and the one leak was ALMOST succesfully covered up(i don't even know what happened to that poor canadian girl) Are you gonna tell me that's he said/she said, sandy...really? because you and shirly know all that stuff happened. What you all need to do is stop deflecting everything on to your former patients, other doctors, and everyone else but yourselves Take some accuntability and get your sh*t together overthere. So guys wouldn't have to make so many lame excuses all the time -MAMIE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The above patient continues: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-21.html#post24754 AND ANOTHER THING!!! this thread isn't called dr. Aceves, Dr. Ortiz, dr.pompa, or DR. freakin Kevorkian! this thread is about everything E.M. so when someone mentions something that happens with emmanuel medical, I'm tired of the same old "All doctors do it" come back... "All doctors get leaks" "All doctors get infection" "people write about All doctors" WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THEM! If all the doctors were jumping off of roofs would that make everything okay?hell no! YOU ARE NOT CHILDREN!!! multiple Infections, leaks, death,lying, etc.. IS WRONG! it's not any more right cause everyone else is doing it... what are we 12? :svengo: Come on! yall got to do better sandy! and the more you deflect and point the finger, the more people like me get pissed off and want to throw you guys under the bus without feeling any remorse! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Post op patient at the Betancourt clinic has no access to a phone or pain/nausea meds and relies upon fellow OH posters to assist: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/VSG/4098263/Please-Help-me/ OH friends, Can someone get in touch with Shirley. My purse and phone is locked away and the nurse here cant speak any english. I really want to call my family. I am sooo sad. He doesnt understand us, and I am in alot of pain.I keep throwing up and he wont give me anything... Can some one PLEASE help us. We cant even use the phone to call 911. The guy nurse here says that he dosnt have a number to call any body till 7am. Its only 10pm here. PLEASE, I cant take it anymore Infection: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f78/do-not-go-betencourt-medical-33409/#post444258 Hi. My name is Leeann and My husband went to Betencourt Medical and had his LAP-BAND? put in. His surgeon was Dr. Lopez. He has suffered every since the surgery with an open oozzing wound and much pain due to a bacterial infection called MRSA :sick- go to webmd.com to check it out. It took a long time to find a LAP-BAND? doctor to treat him (because not only do Dr.'s not like to fix other doctors problems due to complications and law suites) this one particularly did not want to fool with yet another bautched Mexican surgery. he had delt with a few). Unfortunatly we have no Medical coverage and therefor all surgeries and follow up have been out of pocket cost (eveb if you do have health insurance they do not want to cover treatment resulting from a surgery out of the states). Dr. Brad Ray is an awsome Dr. in Bloomington, Indiana. He felt so bad for Wayne and all he had already been through with trips to the Hospital, the wound care center, and first health that he knew Wayne needed help and someone had to do it. He first tried simply antibiotics which were not helpful, then he tried to take out just the port where the infection seemed to be rooting from in hopes of getting rid of the infection and later on putting in a new port but the infection is one that is very very hard to get rid of and eventually the band had to come out. Although he had the band removed he is still suffering with infection. He is on three sets of antibiotics and is in much pain still. He is now seeing and diease specialist and we are going from there. My sister went to the same place (which is where we found out about Betencourt Medical/Molding Clinic ) and she had great results. However the 3 other people we have met who had surgery there did not have as good luck. It is truely a gambel. And all they are conserened with is the money. That is why in Mexico you first sign your rights away and their responsiblities away and then hand over the check as you go into surgery. I am perfectly aware infections happen anywhere but if the same thing were to happen here in the U.S they would have to fix the problem or be sued. You have no repercutions in another country. :angry Make sure you check out the good and bad before you have the surgery. Save your money and have it done in the U.S. Dr. Brad Ray says the price is going down dramatically in the states. It is becoming more known about, and more popular. Many doctors are doing the surgery therefor to be competitive they must reduce prices. Hang in there, wait , save, learn all you can before having the surgery. (I too am heavy set and was going to go down this year to have mine done but I will save my money and have it done here in the U.S. (If we can get Wayne well first). When wayne came out of surgery ther was a gentleman who went into surgery after him. When he came out he said they tried to lay him on a bloody table and he had to get them to clean it up. Then and there I would have said HAULT! Not sure how he is doing). Leeann ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Infection: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f78/do-not-go-betencourt-medical-33409/#post445464 I have posted in complications already, and my story happened 2 yrs. ago and I still hear horror stories of Betancourt, but don,t forget that the Dr."s that leave Betancourt also start their own hospitals.. "Haucuz." It is not only Andreas... It is his physicians.. (rather what they want to call Physicians).. I was on life support and had a infection , I had to get my ribs removed.. I would have died... It is so hard to find other Doctors in the U.S. to have anything to do with you after complications from Mexico.. I had one Doctor ask me to leave his office give me my money back and respound "This is just the beginning of your problems." All I can tell you guys to do is keep searching for the right Doc. and Pray... Some wonderful Doctor will help you and do the right thing. I had to keep my infection for a while and they kept giving me antibiotics and they call it "packing" the wound.. No help.. They finally had to go in and remove my ribs... I hope this helped some .. If you have anyother questions. Please ask I will do the best I can to answer.. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Infection of husband/wife: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f78/do-not-go-betencourt-medical-33409/#post452045 Hi LeeAnne! It's Lyndsey, I just now found your post! Thanks for sharing your story! Wayne and I had surgery w/in 24 hrs of each other at Betancourt and have had similar complications. He was diagnosed w/ MRSA, and I was diagnosed w/ pseudomonas. I couldn't agree more about saving your money to have the surgery in the states. Through this website, I've heard of wonderful American dr's performing the surgery for $11K which includes a year follow up. If only I had known that beforehand! As for the Betancourt group, I've talked to several people w/ horrible complications due to their unsanitary practices. Does anyone know of an agency that we can complain to? Another patient mentioned trying to put together a class action law suit, but I doubt that would hold any ground, esp since it's a foreign country. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Infection, another husband & wife: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f78/complications-18965/index9.html#post334241 I am Very Sorry This happend to you, Was this done at betancourt medical or the moulding clinic? We, my wife and I also had a horrible excerience at the moulding clinic! I think we should tell as many people as possible! Now to add insult to injury the cinic is using our pictures on there web site, A friend of ours saw the pictures on the site went to mexico had this operation at betancourt medical clinic and his port line is sticking out of his stomach ...Unbelievable.,., Johnny ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More details of the above post: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/dr-huacuz-andres-tj-11279/ Subject.. Dr. Huacuz and Andres in Tj at the molding clinic...When my husband and I decided to get banded We called Andres at the molding clinic...I talked with a lady named Violet she said she was from New York and told us about the molding clinic...We then talked to Andres we did a little looking around and did not hear anything bad about the clinic...well anyway we arrived there and we were rushed around to have tests done etc. Then Andres took us out for drinks at his favorite bar...we were not told what we could eat etc. except to stop at 12:00 midnight...we were taken to a hotel and picked up in the morning Dr. Huacuz and Dr. Ramero and Andres and Violet were there the doctors were giving some instructions to us about the surgery etc.i went first, well anyway the operation was good i woke up fine and went to the other room 10 min after surgery to give my husband a kiss before his surgery...they took him in and i walked around a little bit ...my husband came out of surgery fine and he took a couple of hours for him to get up....: )...three hours after the operation we were taken to the hotel and left there with some juice ,jello ,water...a very few antibotics i don't think there were any pain pills or anything for nausia ...we had not tried to take anything by mouth yet ...but here we were left alone at this hotel...well my husband took sips of water and crushed the antibiotics and took it down very well...i tryed to just take a sip not even a sip and my chest felt like someone had hit me with a hammer like i was having a heart attack not like i have ever had a heart attack ...but it hurt bad...i could not take any antibiotics or mt ,thyroid medicine, all i did was feel pain in my chest and vomit for four and a half days it was horrible ...i would have rather had a baby...instead of this ,,,,the doctor stoped by the hospital with Andres and Violet...he told me i would be okay and to stay out of the bathroom like i could help it...Hi....I did not want to feel this way ...I thought something was really wrong...basically ..Andres came to the hotel and gave me a couple of shots that did nothing ...We would try and call for help ..remember we could not speak spanish and we were abanonded at this hotel ...i went on like this for four and a half days ...i was never taken to a hospital back to the clinic...the moulding clinic...I was severly dehydrated and i had to call and beg for an iv or something , they brought a iv and hung it on a lamp post at the hotel...how ghetto was this...my husband wanted to take me to the hospital in San diego...i was very hot and dehydrated and was having a hard time breathing and i could not stop throwing up and the pain in my chest was horrible...i had to beg andres to come to the hotel ...maybe three times...well anyway i went on like this and finally andres came to the hotel 4 1/2 days later and took me to the moulding clinic where i had to have emergency surgery and i had to pay for it...wow!! $5500.00 more dollars i had to do it i thought i was going to die in mexico...i had to pay for the extra days at the hotel...etc etc. i really wanted this band to work...i was very dissapointed in Dr. huacus dr. Romero, and in Andres the paitent cordinatior ...they just abonded my husband and myself...frankly we were very scared , we had to call our son and have him fly out he was very upset to see a iv hanging from a lamp in the hotel...may i also ad tat my son works at a hospital in reno nv.We would not wish this experence on anyone when it all cmae down to it Andres and Dr. huacuz only wanted one thing money ...and they got it...i do want to be rebanded all of this happened in may of 2005 ..my husband had tryed to post what happened...and i wrote some posts also .everyone asked who was the doctor now after reading the other ladys experience i am not asshamed to say who they were any more...please be very careful,,,when choosing a doctor ...thankyou for reading this Sheri ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Shirley Rohr admits Betancourt is not a doctor, yet she tells current patients he is: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f11/any-one-use-dr-daniel-huacuz-tijuana-8481/#post97476 He did my surgery also on 4/15/05, and I am down 106 pounds. I love the man, he was great,kind and very understanding, also a great surgeon. I was told that a patient had filed a complaint with the band company and they will not sell the band to him. This happened several weeks ago. You also said you had gall bladder surgery, that is not a band. His license to practice to my knowledge is still intact, except for applying the band. He could be doing the french band, not Inamed. I am not out to hurt him by any means, I told you what I was told. I was in Tijuana last weekend, where this was the topic of discussion. I am not sure why you think Andres is anything more than what he is.He is a very intelligent business man in the medical field. I do not think you have to be a Doctor to know about this subject since he is also a banded patient. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Band placed inappropriately: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f11/any-one-use-dr-daniel-huacuz-tijuana-8481/index5.html#post106282 Whether or not he can place the US band or not, please do not use him. I was his patient on 12/10/2004. He placed my band wrong and when I called him from the states, he would not return calls or try to help me. I lost 6,000.00 plus. If you want to spend your money, please use a qualified surgeron like Ortiz. Please don't be another victim of Huacuz or Andres Betancourt!!!! This is not rumors or assumptions, this is the absolute truth! Shannon C. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brand of band issue: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f11/any-one-use-dr-daniel-huacuz-tijuana-8481/index5.html#post111998 Please, Please ask for the number of your inamed band before you spend the money and go down. I was to have the inamed band placed by Dr. Huacuz at the molding clinic. I flew from the Northeast to TJ and was to have my surgery. When I arrived they told me there were no inamed bands , I waited two days and they still had no bands. They told me I would have to go home and they would fly me back at a later date. I had already paid a hefty deposit and could not get additional time off from work for six to eight months. They offered the J & J band which I felt strong armed into agreeing to and went in for surgery around 8:30 pm. The nurse who was on duty was as sick as a dog and coughed all night long. I didn't want her anywhere around me as she was visibly ill. The next morning, very early they took me back to the airport and I boarded my plane for home. Andres Betancourt was the patient coordinator and I feel flimflammed (sp). I have requested my surgery records in English several times and have not received them. I had a very hard time getting a stateside doctor to do the fills as the J & J band is not approved here in the US. Please do your homework. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brand of band issue and removal 5 days post op: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f11/any-one-use-dr-daniel-huacuz-tijuana-8481/index5.html#post112008 leelee, They tried to do the same thing to us at the Molding clinic. Execpt, he slipped up on the phone call and said that the price he quoted was for a J&J and not the inamed. I argued with him and explained that he specifically told me inamed and we would have no other. There were three of us going at the same time. Finally, he gave in and the inamed band was placed. I know this because 5 days later it had to be removed and a doctor in the US confirmed it was inamed. I am sorry for your troubles. I try to tell everyone to beware of Dr. Haucuz and Andres, but some people will not listen. It is a hard lesson to learn on your own. For me, it wasn't only hard, it was also costly. A previous Betancourt coordinator speaks out: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/VSG/4144569/Really-freaked-out-Thoughts-re-Dr-Amanza/#33866779 PeanutFreeMom Canada Mario Alberto Almanza-Reyes VSG (04/07/09) Member Since: 03/27/09 [Latest Posts]Post Date: 3/25/10 12:32 pm Hello Emerald, You may not know me. I used to post on OH frequently, but since I had my TT and BA in January, I really haven't been posting very much. To be completely honest, I've been avoiding the boards, because I'm embarrassed by my naivet?. I don't want to be publically trashing the clinic, this is not at all my intention. I still believe Dr. Almanza is an excellent surgeon. I had my surgery with Dr. Almanza last April and I had an absolutely wonderful experience. So much so, that this fall I started my own company and began to refer people to his clinic. Up until January, I had a very high opinion of the clinic. My brother, a doctor, even flew down with me and his best friend had the surgery, which he was able to watch. Everything was good, very clean, very professional - but the surgery took place at the Hospital Vida, not at the new Jerusalem Hospital. Of the people I sent there, almost half wound up with incision infections - mostly minor. At first, I believed the clinic that they were doing everything they could to find out why and to stop the infections. But, it actually got worse. Three people I know and met in person in January (one was one of my referrals, one was a woman who attends our support groups's sister, and one was a man I met when I was there in Jan) are all still on feeding tubes from the leaks they had after surgery. One of them almost died and was on life-support for over a month. Thankfully she is recovering, although she is still in the hospital and cannot walk on her own. I spoke to her sister yesterday and she is doing well and is in good spirits, but her sister said that she still does not know that she was the 6th sleeve surgery that day. One of my referrals (a nurse) got an infection so bad, that she needed to go to the hospital every day and get her wound packed for two months. I actually went with her every morning to be with her as it was very painful and I felt responsible. I eventually learned how to clean and pack her wound, and started doing it for her at her home. We jokingly referred to it as our little "dates". I had lunch with her yesterday, and she is doing great now, btw. Another referral (also a nurse) had a severe infection that took two months to fully heal. He did post on OH, as did another woman who had her surgery also posted about her infection at the same time (she was accussed of being a paid poster, and she was not, btw). Most of the infections wound up being minor. A higher infection rate among obese patients is normal. But that rate should still be under 3-5%. I got really scared when they continued, and I even called several of my clients before they went and told them about the infections and told them that I thought the clinic had fixed the problem (which I had believed), but if they wanted to cancel they could. Another patient in December had a leak, which they fixed and she suffered no ill-effects (other than an incision infection) you can read her posts on her blog on OH (ezimmer). She was the first leak, and at first I thought she was the 1% who will get one. But as you know, it is higher than 1%. If I personally know 4 people with leaks in just 2 months, then something is really, really wrong. To be fair, one of the leaks wasn't Dr. Almanza's fault as that patient was a revision and the leak was from the scar tissue. I stopped sending people there after I was there in January because they were doing too many surgeries. One of my referrals came home and told me that she overheard Dr. B say, "Stack em & rack 'em - get 'em in!". My last patient who ever went there, told me after that she had no blood work done before her surgery, no cardiogram and was just rushed into the OR late in the day. She was fine, thank god (small infection in the main incision, but it cleared up right away) but she was the 7th surgery that day. 7?!!! They had promised me no more than 3 sleeves and 2 lapbands in a day. How can you clean and prep an OR in that short of a time? How is there time to clean the equipement between surgeries? People were sleeping on the floor. Staff were goining without sleep. It's just dangerous. This was not what things were like when I had my surgery. I had excellent care. And I wanted excellent care for my people. I run a small company. We refer people for weight loss surgery. We have a support group, we have a clothing exchange, we work with 2 psychologists, and we stay in constant touch with all our people. I started doing this because I care about people and I just wanted to help others. In fact, I took a large pay cut to do this and gave up an upper-level management position. Because I had such a good experience there last year - the last thing I ever expected was this. Also, on a personal note - I had my plastics there, and I was (and am) very, very happy with the work Dr. Lara did. But he was told, and then told me that my stiches were all dissolving stitches. Well, some of them didn't dissolve. I emailed him directly (and sent him pictures) to ask him if I should keep waiting, or if I should see my doctor. He emailed back right away, and told me to get in to see my doctor asap and have them taken out. Turns out that the stitches were put in the way you would for dissolving, so you couldn't just snip them off, they were tied in internally. I actually had to have a second surgery at home to get them out and now I have extra scars. Not that's the end of the world that it happened to me... I'm still happy with the outcome. But I couldn't imagine letting anyone I knew go through that. There are safer places to go. Sooo, basically, that's why I no longer recommend that clinic. I think they are nice people, and I think - like me - lots of us have had a wonderful experience there. But I think they are now doing so many surgeries it's become dangerous. I have heard of others experiences - people who have posted on OH,but I haven't spoken to them personally, so I just want to stick with what I personally experienced. I miss being on the boards and I miss all you guys! I don't want to be a part of the 'surgeon wars' but I don't want to see anyone get hurt either I know some people will be upset that I have posted this, some won't believe me, and some will be upset that I haven't posted my opinion earlier. And I agree, I should have posted something ealier. But come what may, I need to - at the very least - be honest about my experience. Hope that answers your question. xo Mel ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another infection: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/VSG/4144569/Really-freaked-out-Thoughts-re-Dr-Amanza/#33866779 Laurie D. pembroke pines, fl Mario Alberto Almanza-Reyes VSG (03/03/10) Member Since: 10/17/02 [Latest Posts]Post Date: 3/25/10 3:13 pm I had my surgery on March 3. I had incision infections. When I went to my own doctor to have the stiches removed he did not like the way they looked. I went a week later and they were still infected. My doctor said that he sometimes sees an incistion that has infection, but not all of the incisions with infection. He seemed to think it had to do with hygene in the operating room. Again that is his opinion and I respect it. I am still treating the infection but it is much better. Other then that I am fine and was treated very well in the recovery house. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Doing surgery until 3AM... Almanza too tired to operate: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/VSG/4144569/Really-freaked-out-Thoughts-re-Dr-Amanza/#33874981 Mandyness .. Metro Atlanta, GA Mario Alberto Almanza-Reyes VSG (03/06/10) Member Since: 09/26/09 [Latest Posts]Post Date: 3/25/10 6:50 pm It is true about the number of surgeries they do a day. They were working until 3 am on the day I was scheduled to have surgery (Friday), and LUCKILY I got bumped to Saturday which made me the first and only surgery that day. I had a good experience other than the overscheduling. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another infection: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/amos/4083549/MAJOR-COMPLICATIONS-EMMANUEL-MEDICAL-CENTER-DR-ALMANZA/page,3/#33878213 ezimmer Canada Mario Alberto Almanza-Reyes VSG (11/10/09) Member Since: 10/20/09 [Latest Posts]Post Date: 3/27/10 1:49 pm I've been lurking on some of these threads too and thought I had to add my voice to Mel's here. I also live in Saskatoon, in fact, I was one of the patients that Mel has mentioned who went for my surgery with Dr. Almanza (in November, not December but close enough) and had a leak. I personally know of one other person on these forums who has blogged about her experience with Dr. Almanza and about her leak in November as well, so I know I'm not the only one in that month alone. I will say this - Dr. Almanza is a sweet man, he appeared very thorough to me. The clinic was clean to the best of my knowledge, but it certainly did get crowded. And I had to wait a day and a half before they fixed my leak - in fact, I wasn't even told that I had one and was going to be sent back into the OR, Mel had to call me from Canada to tell me. She had kept track of my progress and touched base with the staff there the entire time I was down. I'm glad they caught it before I left, but I was upset that nothing as communicated to me by the staff at the clinic. They sent me home the following day with nothing - no pain pills, no antibiotics. It was straight from the xray to the airport and though it was great to be out of the clinic and on my way home, I was a little put out that I hadn't even gotten to see Dr. Almanza or Mr. B before I left. I guess it happens when you're in such a busy clinic! I think it was the culmination of all of these experiences that she's seen first hand that has caused Mel to stop advocating for Dr. Almanza and the clinics that he works for but I do know that she is not out to bash them or ruin their business and is definitely not criticizing those who have chosen Dr. Almanza as their surgeon - because frankly he was hers, and mine but I can definitely see that, in light of all this new information she just wants to make sure that everyone is FULLY informed before they make their decision going forward. You can't fault her for that. As for me, I also acquired a severe infection once I got home from the clinic, like I've heard many others talk about. Not just one or two of my incisions but ALL of them were oozing, 2 split back open and I could just touch the area around them and get gobs of puss from them. I am a meticulous person and I followed sanitary instructions to the letter, so I know that it had nothing to do with the products that I was using or the way I was doing it, infection happens to a lot of us and we just have to deal with it as it arises, lung infections were also not uncommon. Luckily enough, Mel was available to take me to a great walk-in clinic doctor here and he cleaned everything, put me on antibiotics and had me on my way. Things have healed up nicely now but I can definitely vouch for some of the things people have said on here with regards to the clinic. I love my sleeve. I do not ever regret having it and my experience wasn't nightmarish or anything, but it wasn't ideal. If I had any inkling of the number of leaks and infections coming out of that clinic, I would have simply chosen another one. There are so many great surgeons to choose from and even though everyone is going to throw their two cents in on who's the best, I just have to say that the decision is ultimately yours and yours alone. Do as much research as you can, weigh the pros and cons, take everyone's advice and criticisms with a grain of salt and ultimately, go with your gut (or at least...20% of it *lol*). I can only hope that everyone gives some of these people with complaints or concerns a bit of leeway because really what they're doing is challenging us and trying to understand what's best for them and looking for some sort of support...in an online support forum - how novel?! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Overbooking surgery/Almanza working long hours: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/VSG/4144569/Really-freaked-out-Thoughts-re-Dr-Amanza/ Mandyness .. Metro Atlanta, GA Mario Alberto Almanza-Reyes VSG (03/06/10) Member Since: 09/26/09 [Latest Posts]Post Date: 3/25/10 6:50 pm It is true about the number of surgeries they do a day. They were working until 3 am on the day I was scheduled to have surgery (Friday), and LUCKILY I got bumped to Saturday which made me the first and only surgery that day. I had a good experience other than the over-scheduling. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Doctor" Betancourt treats patients: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/VSG/4145934/COUNTERFEIT-LICENSE-FOR-DR-ANDRES-BETANCOURT/ PeanutFreeMom Canada Mario Alberto Almanza-Reyes VSG (04/07/09) Member Since: 03/27/09 [Latest Posts]Post Date: 3/27/10 4:13 pm Interesting. The story he told me was that he used to be a bariatric surgeon and performed open RNY procedures in the 1980s/90s but that he realized he wasn't a very good surgeon and he didn't enjoy it, so he decided to employ other more talented surgeons instead. He said he wasn't trained or licensed to perform laproscopic surgery anyway. He did give me a needle in my arm with some sort of narcotic in it when I was there after my tummy tuck. It made me feel woosy, and disoriented. I didn't like it all at, so I just lied and said I wasn't in any pain after that, as I didn't want any more medication. He does treat and give advice to patients while posing as a doctor. Dr. Almanza is the surgeon, but "Dr." Betancourt certainly presents himself as a phyician, not simply as a business owner of a surgical clinic. This is why I feel morally obligated to say something. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Betancourt poses as licensed MD: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/VSG/4145934/COUNTERFEIT-LICENSE-FOR-DR-ANDRES-BETANCOURT/ Heather D. Austin, TX Mario Alberto Almanza-Reyes VSG (10/29/09) Member Since: 08/09/09 [Latest Posts]Post Date: 3/27/10 3:46 pm The story I received was that he had a stroke and could no longer do surgery because of that. This copy of his "license" is much better than the one I saw from MWG. Still, it's shocking. Especially when I think back to the medical advice he gave just while I was there. Like how he told me to "just take whatever" when I asked about something for a sinus infection I developed while at the recovery house (smog + open windows = ugggh). He told two of the four patients who had surgery on the day I did that they could eat whatever they wanted the day before surgery. He said, "Why exercise when you can have plastic surgery?" Lots of things like that. Thanks for posting this, Mel, and backing up what MWG has been saying for quite awhile now. It's so crazy. I'm just glad I made it out of there with as few problems as I did. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another infection: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/VSG/4144041/This-is-WAY-over-the-top/page,2/ suziemart Canada VSG (10/23/09) Member Since: 05/28/09 [Latest Posts]Post Date: 3/24/10 2:58 pm Dr. Almanza is a fine and experienced (although quite young) VSG surgeon. The clinic, the recovery house and overall experience is iffy at best. I was surgery #6 on my day of surgery - plus there was some kind of emergency revision that came in and delayed the whole day. I didn't even go into the OR until almost 7pm. With each passing hour I became more and more nervous that doctor fatigue would in some way harm me - or worse. I had my surgery there October 22, 2009. On March 9th, 2010 my PCP advised that my surgical wounds are (FINALLY) healed. 4 1/2 months for my surgical incisions to heal!! My incisions were badly infected -- presumably by the sutures that were used by Emmanual that day (my PCPs assumption). Later, with the high # of infection incidents being reported, Dr. Betancourt did, in fact, advise (via Shirley) that it was all caused by a bad batch of sutures. Why some who went there during that time period had very serious infections and others (like me!) were lucky to just have local site infections, I'll never know. But I do know that I had to be given two more rounds of strong antibiotic and was packing wounds up until about two weeks ago. My complaints: 1) Too many surgeries in 1 day - unsafe by any standards. 3) Nurses didn't use gloves. 4) Recovery house had very low beds, hard to get in an out of post-op. 5) Recovery house had visiting dogs that urinated and pooped everywhere. They were cute and I love dogs. I just didn't think it was appropriate considering all the new, raw post-ops residing there. Overall the people are very nice. And the price was right. And VSG is a relatively easy procedure for an experienced surgeon, which Dr. Almanza is. HOWEVER I would ask myself a few important questions before booking with this outfit: 1) Why are there not similar posts about Joya, Aceveses, Pompa, Alvarez, etc....? Or not to the extent. It seems that most all the controversy revolves around one particular clinic. 2) Is any complication worth the extra $1-2K it would cost to go to a clinic/hospital where there doesn't seem to be the level of controversy? I hope this helps. Oh...and don't EVEN THINK about getting collagen via this clinic. I have been living with a big disaster since 10/22! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dogs pooping in the recovery house: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/VSG/4144041/This-is-WAY-over-the-top/page,2/ Dr. Almanza is a fine and experienced (although quite young) VSG surgeon. The clinic, the recovery house and overall experience is iffy at best. I was surgery #6 on my day of surgery - plus there was some kind of emergency revision that came in and delayed the whole day. I didn't even go into the OR until almost 7pm. With each passing hour I became more and more nervous that doctor fatigue would in some way harm me - or worse. I had my surgery there October 22, 2009. On March 9th, 2010 my PCP advised that my surgical wounds are (FINALLY) healed. 4 1/2 months for my surgical incisions to heal!! My incisions were badly infected -- presumably by the sutures that were used by Emmanual that day (my PCPs assumption). Later, with the high # of infection incidents being reported, Dr. Betancourt did, in fact, advise (via Shirley) that it was all caused by a bad batch of sutures. Why some who went there during that time period had very serious infections and others (like me!) were lucky to just have local site infections, I'll never know. But I do know that I had to be given two more rounds of strong antibiotic and was packing wounds up until about two weeks ago. My complaints: 1) Too many surgeries in 1 day - unsafe by any standards. 3) Nurses didn't use gloves. 4) Recovery house had very low beds, hard to get in an out of post-op. 5) Recovery house had visiting dogs that urinated and pooped everywhere. They were cute and I love dogs. I just didn't think it was appropriate considering all the new, raw post-ops residing there. Overall the people are very nice. And the price was right. And VSG is a relatively easy procedure for an experienced surgeon, which Dr. Almanza is. HOWEVER I would ask myself a few important questions before booking with this outfit: 1) Why are there not similar posts about Joya, Aceveses, Pompa, Alvarez, etc....? Or not to the extent. It seems that most all the controversy revolves around one particular clinic. 2) Is any complication worth the extra $1-2K it would cost to go to a clinic/hospital where there doesn't seem to be the level of controversy? I hope this helps. Oh...and don't EVEN THINK about getting collagen via this clinic. I have been living with a big disaster since 10/22! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another infection: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/mexico/4147137/OT-Complications/ carlsongang Clackamas, OR Mario Alberto Almanza-Reyes Lap Band (01/27/10) Member Since: 01/14/10 [Latest Posts]Post Date: 3/30/10 10:01 am I have been doing really well with my weight loss. I am down 39 pounds in 9 weeks. I have lost a total of 2.5 inches. I went for a fill but because I can only hold 2-3 ounces in my stomach, I did not need one. (I have a 10cc band.) I have had some complications with everything. When I got home from Mexico, I got my first infection. It was a small staph infection at my port site. Antibiotics cleared it up. Two weeks later another staph infection, it started at the port site and spread to underneath my breasts. Again, antibiotics and steroids this time and it cleared up. At the beginning of March another infection, this time it started on the right side of my abdomen and spread to the port site, more antibiotics and steroids to clear it up. Sunday another infection started at the port site, spread from under my breasts, down my abdomen, in my belly button, and then down to my groin area. Again more antibiotics, steroids, pain meds (it is extremely painful), and drainage tubes to help drain the infection. If the antibiotics do not work, I will have to go in for IV antibiotics. I constantly cry because of the pain and smell that comes from the infection. I have missed a lot of work and have fallen behind in school (working on my Bachelor’s Degree) and to be honest have become very depressed. I have had one doctor tell me my body is rejecting the band. Another has told me it was something that happened during surgery, and another one says I need more Vitamins. I am only eating what does not upset my stomach. I am taking daily vitamins, cut back on my sugar, have been tested for diabetes, eat yogurt, and still I get these damn infections. I have called the doctor in Mexico and he says just to come back and have the band removed. I am at my wits end here. Oh and to add the cherry to my cake, when I tried to register my band with Lap-Band?, they said my number does not exist. Any thoughts on any of this…….. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another leak/infection where Betancourt was playing doctor; http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/mexico/4144777/Important-Post-re-Dr-Almanza-on-VSG-board/ jbkb0412 Zeeland, MI Mario Alberto Almanza-Reyes VGB (01/12/10) Member Since: 12/25/09 [Latest Posts] Post Date: 3/26/10 4:47 pm my husband and I had our surgeries in Jan. with Dr. Almanza, as I had posted back then John did have a leak that developed sometime the day we left, we flew back home and John had emergency surgery to repair the leak. We met PnutFreemom there and had talked to her, the decision to post this had to have been very hard for her and I feel her decision to post this was wise. John and I struggled with how to post the problems that he had and decided to just post the facts, our surgeon here said that the surgery was done correctly but an abcess developed after the leak test was done and that when the drainage tube was pulled that allowed all stomach content to leave his body. John's drainage tube was taken out right before we left at that time there was still alot of drainage (which turns out to be his gatorade coming out his stomach in to the ball) Dr. B didn't seem concerned and we were in a hurry to catch our flight so we left. We were taken care of very well and things were very clean, as far as infections went we don't think we had any, but our incisions did take a long time to heal completely. I did feel that the clinic was to busy with to many people there some even spent there second night in a hotel because the recovery house and Dr B's house were full. WE are doing great and at this point do not regret our decision to have surgery, we are losing weight and feeling great but it was a very long road of recovery for John and a very scary time for both of us. John and Kari Bush ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A leak and infection: http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/ezimmer/blog/2009/11/28/back-in-the-land-of-the-living/ When I finally got home to Saskatoon it was almost midnight and I powered through customs and security in my wheelchair (it seems silly to do but definitely take advantage of it, your body is so tired and has been though so much, it definitely is worthwhile). My husband was there to meet me and so was Mel and Caralee, the WeightLoss Forever ladies. At midnight!? They came to visit and make sure I was okay - thought I looked much better than they expected. And despite such a long day, I wasn't ready for bed, so we had everyone over to my house for tea (er..hot water and sweetner *lol*) and talked about my experience, my travels and how I was feeling. I was sore, and found that there was still pain in my back but compared to the pain I went through earlier in the week with the leak...I can suck up anything *lol* A few days later...I found infection in my incisions. They weren't only weeping, I had a mini Niagara falls in my largest incision, so I was off to a walk-in clinic to get antibiotics. At this point I was just drinking water (Fiji water of course...everything else feels like a brick in my stomach) Gatorade and lots and lots of popsicles! Cleaning my wounds everyday, I started to notice that as my ab muscle pain decreased, I found more pain in my back and especially when I took deep breaths, tried to yawn, snore...anything, I couldn't put pressure on it, lying down to sleep was impossible - so now it was time to go to ER and see what they had to say about it all. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A patient debates facts with Sandy Johnston: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-25.html#post41153 12-22-2009, 01:21 PM mnb Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 81 Gender: Female City: newark State: new jersey Member's Picture Albums Re: Dr. Mario Alberto Almanza Reyes Quote: Originally Posted by zsflower "This doctor has been behind almost all of the infections"? That's quite a claim..and very inaccurate. "The boards" are the most unreliable source of information around! Mainly due to all the hearsay and opinions that are stated as facts. "He said/she said, I heard", if you look carefully, you will see that much of the information posted (not all) is posted by people without any first hand experience! There is plenty posted about ALL the doctors. It just depends on which board you read. OMG! seriously, here's MY problem. The shady shinanigans, the deflection, the minipulation, the lies. It's aweful! It's bad enough shirly is on these boards 1/2 the time trying to pass herself off to some of the newer more nieve members as a Dr. Almanza paient (who isn't getting paid by E.M.) then when someone say anything about their not so perfect experience. Then that person has an alterior motive, they're lying,they're being dramatic, it's their fault, they must have eaten the wrong thing, Anything to not be accountable. The infections is one thing, but when some of your patients are already going through something terrible.You turn against them, and autmatically try to discredit everything they say. lord knows what's happening to homegirl from Jersey. NiKKi almost died ( and shirly lied on her and then browbeat her into practically posting all her problems were her fault) And alot of the people that was in my group in tijuana got infected and - and i'm not even including myself.oh yeah and the one leak was ALMOST succesfully covered up(i don't even know what happened to that poor canadian girl) Are you gonna tell me that's he said/she said, sandy...really? because you and shirly know all that stuff happened. What you all need to do is stop deflecting everything on to your former patients, other doctors, and everyone else but yourselves Take some accuntability and get your sh*t together overthere. So guys wouldn't have to make so many lame excuses all the time ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Patient speaks out: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-25.html#post41153 Re: Dr. Mario Alberto Almanza Reyes 12-10-2009, 05:01 PM mnb Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 81 Gender: Female City: newark State: new jersey Member's Picture Albums Re: Dr. Mario Alberto Almanza Reyes i've been keeping this in since i have had my surgery. And i really didn't wanna say anything cause i'm glad that they did a pretty good job with my surgery and i'm loseing weight, and i'm still alive and the people at emanuel medical have been so nice to me i really didn't wanna say too much but... It's not fair to keep certain things a secret. Because i would have wanted to know all these things before i went. I got there on 10/27 and had my surgery 10/29. from all the people that's had surgery those two dates i know of about 4 or 5 infections (some very serious some not so serious)and a LEAK! Now that's all the people that i know of. Their are still some people no one has been able to talk to them since. But 5 people is over half of the people that was in my group. And the lady with the leak it seems like no one in my group really knew what was going on with her and later on in the week i thought she went home. I ended up seeing her in the airport and she told me she was in the hospital the whole time with a leak and she had to do a second surgery. Me and two other patients drove to the airport in the same truck, but they drove her alone ( i think so the other patients wouldn't find out what happened). And i understand infections are apart of the risks of surgeries and it happens, but i think it happens waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much at emanuel medical. they're nice friendly people but i would be scared to go back knowing so many people have so many infections and complication and sometimes leaks cause of emanuel medical. __________________ surgery date: October 29, 2009 Dr. almanaza reyes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Clinic not equipped with heat/AC http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes-25.html#post39931 Hi Stacey!! OK I had my surgery at the end of Jan and froze at the guest house. My roomie had surgery directly before me and was accompanied by her sister who had had surgery the previous summer. I am not sure which month though... She said she was miserable hot. I dont think the houses are equipped with central heat and air. June isnt that bad though heat wise so I think you may be ok?? Beginning of June or?? __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pt not doing well post op/high WBC and Anemia http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/amos/4151630/Not-doing-well-help/ Portland_Phil Mario Alberto Almanza-Reyes VSG (03/23/10) Member Since: 03/31/10 [Latest Posts]Post Date: 4/6/10 6:49 pm Thank you all for your previous help and patience. I keep waiting for my weakness to pass, but it's just not happening. Monday, my local doc drew blood and said my white cells were very high (probably infection) and I was anemic (easily attributable to the surgery). My intake if pretty good and today I especially made sure I had some flaky baked fish for lunch, took my vitamins (like I've done every day), and had a nice banana, Protein power smoothie for dinner. Water, fruit juice, cottage cheese and yogurt in between. But I still feel like I have the flu. My work is really suffering and my huge client is beginning to show signs of frustration. Any suggestions, please? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` Sorry for such the long post but I had to post this because I want the truth. I have spoken with several of Dr Almanza's patients and most of them recommend him and his facility, th other few that I spoke with did not because of the medical liscense issue of Dr B. Those of you that had a positive experience if you could please pm me and I woudl appreciate it, and those of you that didn't please pm me. Thanks and once again sorryfor the length. Joanie

I'm 4 months out and losing hair faster than pounds. I'm ok with my weight loss so far, down 64 lbs overall. But, I was worried about Hair loss and now I'm seeing it. I have about medium thick hair, so hopefully it won't be too noticeable. I did have a lapse in taking my vitamins and don't always get all my protein in. I can't stomach supplements so I have to rely on what I get from food. I'm so relieved to read that it tapers off and starts regrowing. I kinda like my hair ☺ my hair has always been one of my best features. Lol

I meant to post this last month....but during the holidays, time disappears. I’m posting this because before and just after surgery I was ravenous for information. I don’t come to this forum much anymore, as life has adjusted. But I’m hoping this will help anyone like me who wanted to know as much as possible, and from as many people as possible. Please remember....everyone’s journey is different. This is just some notes about mine. 6 month lessons Yup, it’s a long post. Settle in. Lol. So, I just had my 6 month appt. I know all of our experiences are so unique, but I wanted to share mine as a reference of what you may expect. A bit about me. I had gastric sleeve in Las Vegas with Dr Atkinson. In august of last year I had just begun this process and wouldn’t have surgery until April. My HW: was August 2016 at 345, SW: April 2017 was 343, CW: is 240.5, that’s a 103lb loss. Yay me! (Side note, my insurance didn’t require any pre surgery weight loss....and I had almost zero loss. The only rule was I couldn’t gain). My dr was amazing. If you’re near vegas, I completely recommend him. Surgery went perfectly, recovery was difficult (this crap is hard), but I had very minimal incision pain. There was no 2 week pre-op fast, the leak test was performed during surgery so I had liquid/ice chips right away (liquid was no good, but ice chips are perfect after surgery).....I had super glue stuff on my incisions so no pain and no dressing issues.....he’s one of the highest ranked and most experienced gastric surgeons in the country. I could go on....but I think you get it. His skill and his post surgery protocols are awesome. I had zero problems. I’ve looked many times on here for how many calories at 7 weeks....how many carbs at 3 months. I couldn’t find anything and now I know why. My surgeon and nutritionist really only care about protein until 6 months. Unless, of course, there is a specific problem or deficiency. It’s nice to now have some specific nutrient goals, but the focus is still on protein. And even at 6 months, I still struggle to get 90g daily. It’s super important to keep trying!! Get all the protein you can. Let’s talk hair. Yup, it’s falling out in chunks. Chunks. It’s more than a little heartbreaking. But, I knew it was coming. Doesn’t help, but it is expected. It started at 4 months. As of now, still going strong. I also know it will stop. But while you’re in the falling out phase....it’s stressful. Which just makes more fall out. So try to keep positive. And take your vitamins. I swore I’d never fall off of that, but I have periodically. It happens. Just get back on track. Biotin supplements and the hair treatment Nioxin has helped too. (Update...at 7 months this has slowed dramatically. Still losing a bit, but nothing like before. I see the light at the end of the tunnel [emoji4]) Skin. Saggy saggy skin. Another thing I knew was coming, but it’s been difficult. I didn’t start working out as early as I wish I had. Now I feel a bit like I’m fighting a losing battle. But....this is a problem with a fix. When I reach goal I will worry about the cosmetic stuff. But trust me when I say....get working out as soon as possible. Weights. Lift some weights. Sweets. Stay away for as long as you can. I went 4.5 months without. Then I had some chocolate and it was easy. Not like trying to eat meat. Meat you have to chew to death and if it’s dry, it’s still hard to get down. I can only eat (at most) 2 oz of meat at a time. But chocolate, that went down easy. I had an entire bar in one day. Now, before surgery I’d have 4 bars in a day. But 1 bar is still a lot. So I locked that down and now only allow myself 1 square a day. Now, you might find that that’s too much for you. Again, we’re all different. But if I deny myself entirely....I’ll go nuts and eat until I get sick. Keeping myself honest, and savoring only a small piece is something I can maintain. And maintaining is my ultimate goal. Emotions. Hear me.....get a therapist!! You are going to go through so many changes you’re head will spin without you even understanding that is what’s happening. Addiction transference is very very real. I really struggled with this and for a time, behaved completely out of character. You absolutely must deal with your issues. It’s the same as getting protein or taking small bites. In my opinion, it’s a must. Emotions part 2. I had a hard time with the expected things. Hair loss, fatigue, heartburn...check check and check. These are struggles I knew about. But there are others that blindsided me. Like how hard it is at 6 months to still be able to only eat 2-2.5 ounces at a time. Frustrating!!!!!!! You have a craving, you make a meal that fits the bill, you take that first wonderful bite....and 2 bites later you’re full. I struggled hard with this. I know....that’s the entire point of surgery. But the actual experience was so much more frustrating and unsatisfying than I imagined. For a brief time, I tried to force the issue. Eating more than I could hold. That hurt. And it scared me, as the very last thing I want to do is stretch my new tiny tummy (not all fears are rational). My advice...be patient with yourself. Let yourself be frustrated or even angry, but keep working on getting adjusted. I still have moments of “can’t I just eat a fricken chicken breast already?!?!?” Lol. But listen to your belly and take it slow. Weird side note, for me....I know I can’t eat another bite when I get hiccups. Happens each meal. I eat slow, plan out the portion. But if I get the hiccups....I stop even if there’s some left. This has helped cut WAY down on feeling sick after eating. Everyone has their own signal....mine is hiccups. Finally, once again this procedure is different for everyone. Don’t set too many rules on yourself. Example: I’m hungry roughly every 3 hours. My dr is big on only 3 meals a day. That doesn’t work for me. I still can’t eat enough at any one time to fill me for 4-5 hours. So, I adjusted. I eat a small (1.5-2oz) meal every 3 hours. Mostly really small portions of meat, cheese, sunflower seeds, etc. This works for me. Keep adjusting until you find what works for you. I’d like to end with what I think are the most helpful things I’ve learned (in no particular order). Good luck on your journey!! It’s hard, really hard, but the good WAY outweighs the bad [emoji4] See you at 1 year!! I’m hoping I’ll have good news to share. 1. Drink your fluids 2. Take your vitamins 3. Be patient 4. Expect to be emotionally unsatisfied (if food is emotional for you) 5. Workout 6. Log your food 7. Avoid sweets as long as possible, then adjust until you find the “sweet” spot of what you can handle. And if that’s zero...so be it. You be you. 8. Talk to someone about what’s happening to you. 9. Take something for heartburn. Not only is it uncomfortable, it mimics hunger and will make you miserable. 10. Stick to the no liquid 30 minutes after a meal. It’s a golden rule.

I did the Atkin's diet years ago and lost 60lbs. I worked/strived to get into ketosis. That was the whole point, as far as I was concerned, about the diet. I had a metallic taste in my mouth, but no pain, when I was in ketosis. I tried to keep my carbs under 30g a day. Besides the taste in my mouth, the only bad side effect I noticed was some hair loss, not too bad, but I remember worrying about it. I eventually stopped the diet, due to boredom. From what I read, it was ok to be in ketosis for periods of time, but not for long periods, as it was too much stress on kidneys and liver.

Hey, Ive only been banded for 2 1/2 weeks and Im worried about hair loss. My hair has thinned out on top a lot and dont really want to lose any more. Can I hear from those NOT losing hair and what theyve done?