Hi everyone, my name is Steve. I am 32 years old and live in Michigan. I am having VSG surgery on July 27th, 2009. I want to take this opportunity to introduce myself to the forums and thank everyone for posting here.

I have been overweight all of my adult life. Finally this year I had a talk with my primary doctor and told him I wanted WLS surgery. At that time I talked about the RNY with him because I had no idea about the sleeve surgery until my Education Day with the surgeon and his staff. Once I learned about the sleeve I knew it was the right surgery for me. At least I hope.

I am fortunate that I have no health problems with the exception of sleep apnea. But the apnea scares me because I have a hard time using the CPAP machine. My back and feet get sore from time to time but that is pretty common when you are overweight.

So my primary doctor approved my surgery after I educated myself on the procedure. In February I had my education day and I had my labs and psych test in May.

I started the process weighing 430 pounds. I am 6-3 tall. I now weigh 407 pounds. I hope I can get below 400 pounds before surgery. I have BCBS of Michigan and they will cover my surgery if it is considered a 2 part surgery with a RNY or DS being the second stage. However the good news for me is that there is nothing stating I have to go through with the RNY so my plan is to stick with the sleeve and follow the plan as best I can.

Anyway that is my story so far. Just sitting at work writing this waiting for my shift to end. I am a 911 dispatcher so I am writing this between calls so I hope it all makes sense lol.

Good luck to all of you and I will keep everyone posted with my WLS journey.

Steve

We are hovering around a nice 92-94 here in Florida, with our predictable summer thunderstorms that I love.

Hey Susan I'm near Tallahassee, I didn't realize we were so close. Infact, I flew from JAX to San Diego. It's nice, I have several friends there.

Awesome, I love Jacksonville. My son is starting FSU in Tallahassee next month, so I am sure I will be going up there to visit him frequently. When I do, we will have to meet up for lunch or something.

I am an FSU graduate, class of 1980 LO L Oh well, at least I did graduate.

Steve,

Welcome! I have been overweight since age 5-about 45 years now. I have decided on the sleeve but my insurance won't pay for any WLS so I will be self-pay and am going to Mexicali Mexico when I have the money together-hopefully before the end of the year. I have found this site to be full of supportive people who all seem to understand the trials and tribulations of being fat, obese, "vertically challenged", etc. Please to meet you!

How much does it cost to get it done in Mexico? Who is the doctor and where is the doctor? How much experience does the doctor have doing sleeve gastrectomies? How confident are you that the sanitation and safety precautions are up to U.S. standards?

Thanks for your reply:001_rolleyes:

Dr. Aceves is one the most experienced Drs. of anyone. He has more experience than most doctors in the U. S. The hospital is extremely clean. They are always cleaning. They came in and cleaned my room at least 3x per day.

You should call the number to the side of the screen. Most of us have been sleeved by him and his wonderful staff. We all have

had fantastic experiences there and I have not heard anyone complain about anything.

Go to the forums and read our stories under something like "tell your story'

The hospital standards in Mexicali FAR EXCEED those in the US - Dr. Aceves has performed over 600 (probably over 700 by now) sleeves and has had no leaks - he performs 3 leak tests and you stay in the hospital 3 nights. The response from the nursing staff is unbelievable - you push the button and they are in your room in less than a minute. Given the choice between having my insurance pay 100% of my surgery and self-paying and going to Dr. Aceves, I'd chose Dr. Aceves.

I totally agree with Vangels, it was worth every penny.

How much does it cost to get it done in Mexico? Who is the doctor and where is the doctor? How much experience does the doctor have doing sleeve gastrectomies? How confident are you that the sanitation and safety precautions are up to U.S. standards?

Thanks for your reply:001_rolleyes:

Remember there are several skilled, experienced, wonderful surgeons in MX that do the sleeve. Some are paid advertisers on this board, thus get used more, thus get talked about more. I am not saying they are not great surgeons just that they are not the only surgeons out there.

My sleeve was done just over a year ago and I paid $8600 for everything except airfare to San Diego. My surgeon/surgery was done in Tijuana and although there is increased crime due to drug cartels at no point did I ever feel unsafe in any way while I was down there.

I had much better care with my surgeon/hospital than I ever had in any US hospital. My surgeon saw me at least 3 times each day and my treatment was tailored to my individual needs rather than a "blanket policy/one size fits all" plan. Because I had no problems drinking or even taking my meds right after surgery my surgeon and I collectively decided to allow me to go home on Monday following my Friday surgery. I in fact, had left the hospital on Sunday to recover at the hotel across the street. For me having to stay in a hospital for 3 days when there was no medical necessity would not have worked as well. I liked having the option of doing what was in my best medical interest.

If I recall correctly at the time of my surgery he had performed over 500 sleeves and I don't know that that number might be up to now. I have been in touch with him several times since surgery just not to ask him his current stats.

Folks tend to be passionate about their surgeons as well they should. I would encourage you to do your research both on and off this board and/or the OH board. There are many "experts" on these boards but for me, the best "expert" is someone who has been there/done that with the surgeon you are considering.

I had my surgery just over a year ago, have lost 135 lbs and have had NO problems post op, not even GERD or reflux that many folks discuss experiencing.

Good luck and please research all your options. Good Luck on this amazing journey.