Hello everyone. I've been lurking around this forum for awhile now and figured I'd introduce myself!

I am scheduled for surgery on 6.10 with Dr. Almanza in Tijuana. I originally requested and paid for a Lap Band, but after learning more about the VSG procedure, I decided this would be a better option for me. I was beginning to feel aprehensive about the band after learning more about the complications and extensive aftercare/maintenance.

I honestly didn't know anything about VSG going in; all I knew about was the band and gastric bypass. I'm espcially glad I found this forum; it has been such a wealth of information for me!

I am self-pay, obviously. My insurance does cover WLS, but I do not meet the required BMI to be considered. I am currently a 31; with my insurance, you have to be 35+ with co-morbidities. I am insulin resistant, type II diabetic and have PCOS. I feel like crud nearly every day and look forward to the day I can not always feel tired, run down and sick. I am 30 years old, but feel 90 most of the time!

I decided to go the Mexico route due to the huge difference in price. My in-laws gave me the money for this, but I'd never have been able to afford surgery stateside, with or without help from family.

My current weight is ~201 at 5'7" tall. I hope to get to 145-150, right in the middle of my healthy range.

Hope to be on the losers' bench with the rest of you soon! :thumbup:

Congrats on your surgery date! I too have a lower BMI and though my insurance covers the procedure I am not medically needy enough to get approved.

Welcome to the forum.

Welcome and gratz on getting a date. Sounds like you have a good support system with your family. That is great. Best wishes with your procedure. Keep us posted.

Hello,

I am new here also, just found this site a few days ago. I am also self pay, having the surgery done in S. California at a well know medical center.

https://lomalindahealth.org/medical-center/our-services/metabolic-and-bariatric-surgery/index.html

This is a new program, will be a year old in August. Because it is new, it does not have a Center of Excellance rating until they meet all of the qualifications. Medicare will not pay for the surgery unless it is done at a Center of Excellence, and I did not want to wait another 9-12 months, so that is why I am self pay. My surgeon has a lot of experience,at other locations before being named director of the program, but that cannot be included in the number of completed procedures.

I am the caregiver for my husband who has a rare brain disease, and I need to keep this as simple as possible. That is one of the reason I eliminated the Lap Band....I do not have time to be going for fills, and other maintence on the band. The sleeve will be perfect for me. I have osteopenia in my left hip, so not having malabsorption is important to me.

I would have had to travel a distance to another location that does the sleeve. Some of the local centers will not operate on anyone over 60-65, and I am having the surgery nine days before my 70th Birthday, my birthday gift to me this year :001_tt2:

I am excited, and looking forward to my new life much smaller. I recently finished the 12 weeks of classses, and during that time lowered my BMI from 40.3 to 38 with some pounds lost. I am not required to do a pre surgery diet of only liquids, which I have found really varies from surgeon to surgeon.

:party4:Doing the happy dance!

Just call me Birthday Girl!

Hi Riley

We're buddies! lol - I'm on the same day but here in Spain, and am also a self pay. We're around the same BMi as well I think - although I need to weigh in Thursday before I start my pre op, but I am 164cm tall so a little shorter than you.

Good luck with your pre op - how long do you have to do?

Kathy

I went to Dr. Almanza and Jersulem Hospital fully expecting to be banded. I was so sure that was the right option for me, too!

Then, after hearing about Dr. Betancourt's trouble with bands and the fact he's had a Gastric Bypass, I chose the less risky option about 4-5 hours before surgery and let them give me the run down on the sleeve.

I'm 100% glad I switched. Already I'm home and feeling great. I had surgery on the 27th of May (what is that...5 days ago?) and at home and doing well. I'm going back to work tomorrow (le sigh...) and don't anticipate any problems!

Here are a few words of advice for you:

1) whoever is picking you up from the airport - have them bring a squishy pillow - it will protect your tummy from the seat belt and give just enough cushioning.

2) ask to pre-board the plane and explain why. I did this and I'm so so SO glad I did. I also asked for a seat belt extender. I was 315 when I started my pre-op diet and already felt like I needed the extender. Add in a swollen tummy and tender incisions and you'll definitely want it.

3) find high Protein Clear Liquids before you go. I'm having a hard time getting enough protein in. You shouldn't have Protein drinks until about 10 days after surgery. You can have skim milk. Mine is fat free and has 8 grams of protein in 1 cup. I can drink anywhere between 1/4 - 1/3 cup at a time. And it takes about 5 minutes to do so.

4) It's going to suck, but stick to the clear liquid diet as long as possible! I'm at the point where I want to lick everything in sight - just to taste the flavor. The longer you can go on clear liquids the better your new stomach can heal.

5) Buy some otter pops! They'll have some at the recovery house and really wish you had some of those when you return home.

Other than that, I am so excited for you! I had an amazing experience and met some fabulously strong women.

There were 2 girls in my group who haven't had it as easy, but when it comes down to it, everyone reacts differently. Our bodies are so unique and tailored to us that you might be one who throws up or you might wake up the next day and feel wonderful (with soreness, of course).

Feel free to message me with any questions. I'm happy to share my observations.

And best of luck!

Thanks for all the encouragement and advice! My date has actually been changed to June 9th! I am so nervous and excited I cannot stand it!

I started a full liquid diet one week prior to my surgery date--my diabetes is poorly controlled (insulin does nothing for me and I cannot tolerate metformin) and it is important for me to lower my blood sugar levels in any way possible. I'm ready to chew my own hand off, but I'm in this for better or worse.

My insulin resistance causes me to always be starving. I should be twice the weight I am; I can really eat an unbelievable amount of food in a day. I don't gain a pound from eating so much, but I can't lose a pound either. In the few days I've been doing liquids, I've cut my blood sugar levels in half, which feels amazing. Despite how hard it is to not stuff my face, I'm finally able to sleep a full night without having to wake up and pee two or three times. It's nice to be feeling better before even having this surgery. I've even managed to shed a few pounds!

I know what you mean about the Metformin! It took my digestive system 2 weeks to get used to it and not camp near a toilet! I stopped taking meds about 2 days before surgery and haven't taken any since. I'm probably going to start taking metformin again as soon as I'm on the soft foods stage of my post op.

good luck with your pre-op!

I'd like to say post-op is easier, but it's ALMOST just as bad. My eyes want everything in sight but I have 4 spoonfuls of soup/pudding/whatever and I'm FULL. Which is a great feeling. I only lost 5 lbs on the pre-op diet but I've lost 18 more since surgery. It's worth EVERY penny.

Good luck! Think skinny thoughts!

I know what you mean about the Metformin! It took my digestive system 2 weeks to get used to it and not camp near a toilet! I stopped taking meds about 2 days before surgery and haven't taken any since. I'm probably going to start taking metformin again as soon as I'm on the soft foods stage of my post op.

good luck with your pre-op!

I'd like to say post-op is easier, but it's ALMOST just as bad. My eyes want everything in sight but I have 4 spoonfuls of soup/pudding/whatever and I'm FULL. Which is a great feeling. I only lost 5 lbs on the pre-op diet but I've lost 18 more since surgery. It's worth EVERY penny.

Good luck! Think skinny thoughts!

Chelsea:

The weird thing with Metformin, for me, was that I had no digestive trouble with it until after about 2-3 weeks! After that, I was just in constant pain from the side effects. It did very little to lower my blood suger levels, so I quit taking it. More recently, I was on Lantus insulin and Glipizide. My blood sugar improved, but my doctor didn't think it was good enough. He took me off the Glipizide and increased my dosage of insulin. Needless to say, once I was off the Glipizide, my sugars skyrocketed. I am among that elusive 0.001% that insulin doesn't work on, apparently.

Unfortunately, doctors have been trained to push the insulin since it does work well for most people. When I tried to explain that it doesn't work for me, the doctor blew me off as some kind of moron. Needless to say, I walked out of his office and never looked back. I'm not risking my health just to feed some doctor's ego. That was the day I decided to do whatever it took to finance this surgery; if losing weight is the biggest key to alleviating my health problems, I need this kind of help to accomplish it.

I am not looking forward to these post-op liquids, but it is what it is, right? The benefits are worth it to me!

I know what you mean! And yes, the surgery is worth every penny. I just texted that exact phrase to someone today when I stepped on the scale and was down 23 lbs. Pretty darn incredible.

I was on metformin for insulin resistance. I don't have a diagnosis of diabetes but my husband and I have been trying to conceive for 3 years now.

Surgery was/is the solution for everything. It should help us start a family and if I continue losing weight at the speed I am, my body will *hopefully* straighten itself out and I can get prego in the next 12-24 mos (we're not going to start trying until I'm a year post-op or I've lost the majority of my excess weight).

There was a girl in my group who had an insulin pump (she's type 2) and switched from Lap-Band to sleeve the morning of the surgery (4 of 5 of us did) because she was told that a lot of VSG patients who ARE type 2 can typically get rid of their pumps after 2-3 months.

I hope all goes well with you! It gets easier, I promise. The first couple days after you're going to think, 'why in the world did I do this to myself' but then when you hit a week post-op you'll start to feel SO much better. I went to work 5 days post-op and didn't have any problems.

I am going to Almanza June 11th, I will look for you once I am in TJ!

So glad so many changed from lapband to sleeve! Even if it was at the last minute! LOL I changed about a week after I scheduled my surgery .... so glad that I did!

I knew nothing about the sleeve surgery. Started reading about band issues and those who did sleeve instead on another website - thank goodness!

cg ~ are you flying thru Charlotte on the 10th?? I will be there briefly on the 8th and 10th, but probably too late in the day to run into you at the airport.

cg and rebel: Hope your surgeries go smoothly! I am getting very close to a shopping trip in San Diego! Juanito's bf works at the Michael Kors store there .... he promised to dress me when I was done losing weight! Juanito is the English speaking sweet guy who will review your paperwork and interpret for Dr. A. He is truly a sweetheart! If you need anything or have any questions, he is great about getting answers and making sure you are taken care of : ) If you tell him that you are really nervous before surgery, he will also tell the dr so you can have valium in your iv!

Hey all, I'm back from surgery as of yesterday. I'm doing okay, not fantastic, but no actual pain. I'm still very sore and have gas pains from time to time.

I could not believe the way some of the others in my group were just hopping around the next day! It wasn't like that for me at all and still isn't--I feel like an old lady. I get that ouchy pulling pain when I get up or sit/lay down, cough, etc. so I've been taking it waaay easy.

I'm having a hell of a time getting in any Protein (or calories, for that matter, since I try and watch my sugar intake) on this clear liquid portion of my post-op diet. I have the Special K packets and am heading out to GNC in a bit to get some unflavored Protein powder and the clear Isopuke. I'll be happy to progress to full liquids--can't believe I'm actually looking forward to those darn low-carb Slim Fasts! I also ordered a sampler packet of the different flavors of Chike, which I heard is pretty delish. We'll see next week when I start full liquids; I'll certainly order up some more if I like it.

I also started a blog in an attempt to avoid clogging up the boards with my rambling. Feel free to check it out, though I'm sure I'll still be around here with hundreds of questions!

Losing to win! (or some other cliche)

Hi Riley

Glad to hear it all went well for you. I also felt like an old lady... very unsteady on my feet although that has eased every day, and with muscular back pains from not walking upright enough....but I figured I'll do as much as my body tells me it'll allow.

I'm on the Optifast drinks post op, and broth, and have managed to get some Protein in but not enough!

I'll check out your blog tho - and congrats on being sleeved!!

Kathy

Hey Riley!

congratulations! I got the sample packet of chike and really love the chocolate ones. As far as Isopure, I couldn't really stomach any of them except Grape Frost - and I figured out it's only because it's the one that tastes closest to a gatorade.

hang in there, it gets easier. I'm just over 2 weeks post op and have lost 30 lbs. It's worth the pain and frustration of the first week or so post-op. Just take it as easy as you can.

You can do it. I am on full liquids and purees and I really tend to stick to more liquids than anything else - but I sure as hell crave everything else!