I have not been sleeved. I believe I will sometime in the future. I am worried about the obvious as I also have an added bonus of not being insured for this procedure which means self pay. So probably then to Mexico I go.

I am not looking for doctor bashing or anything like that. And obviously those of you have suffered greatly or know someone who has, youre in my thoughts and I wish you to be better.

My questions:

1. In the beginning, Did you follow all the recomended precautions like the liquid diets a few weeks ahead and then Clear liquids?
   
2. Did you do pre op and post op test? Did your dr. check over for leaks, if so when?
   
3. Did you follow the reccomended liquid diets after? and the blended solid diet there after?
   
4. Did you pick up heavy things or over do it?
   
5. Who was your Dr.?
   
6. What kind of reaction did you have and how did you know something was wrong?
   

Again not looking for bashing just facts.. Nor am I trying offended anyone.

Thanks in advance.

ps.. i did see the previous post with some listings of what and where they were, I guess I am just looking for more info.. If you are willing to share I would love to hear.

You are asking questions I would like to know the answers too as well. I'm still going through the process and hopefully will have my surgery date very soon. I know people say that you really can't do anything to cause a leak and I believe that to be mostly true but still wonder if we don't follow the Dr's orders, is it possible that WE can cause a leak. I feel so helpless knowing that I may do everything the Dr. tells me but may still get a leak. When they test after surgery and find nothing, I would like to think I could breath a sigh of relief but seems that we really can't do that for 8 months or longer. This complications scares me so much.

My questions:

• In the beginning, Did you follow all the recomended precautions like the liquid diets a few weeks ahead and then clear liquids?
  Yes !! I had to do 2 weeks protien shake and lean green dinner Then 3 days of clears before surgery..
  
• Did you do pre op and post op test? Did your dr. check over for leaks, if so when?
  Pre-op test when I got to Mexico... Post op leak test before they let me leave the hosp.
  
• Did you follow the reccomended liquid diets after? and the blended solid diet there after?
  100% That will help you NOT have any complications!!
  
• Did you pick up heavy things or over do it?
  NO!!
  
• Who was your Dr.?
  Dr. Kelly..Awesome by the way!!
  
• What kind of reaction did you have and how did you know something was wrong?
  
• I have NOt had one complication and most don't with this surgery..... If you pick a skilled DR.
  
• Julie
  

Thanks. I still feel like I am treading on thin ice by asking these questions... I just want to stress I mean no offense nor am I implying that you did anything wrong- and of course your DR. didnt do this intentionally.. Im trying to cover some bases.. I hope you all understand.. Every once and awhile you see someone with the posting, "confessions" or " I gave in" ... and maybe those people hadno complications. Im afraid of bacteria and infections and leak oh my!

I am being sleeved in Mexico on May 7th with Dr. Garcia. I will be more than happy to answer any questions when I return. There are alot of people that can give you good recomendations for surgeons. My choices narrowed down to Dr. Garcia and Dr. Kelly. I chose Garcia simply because I could not get in touch with Dr.Kelly at that moment because he was transitioning to another coordinator. I have heard great things from their patients and I believe either one would be a good choice. The money is comparable too.

I do not believe anyone will get offended or have a problem with this posting simply because you are asking for personal experiences and that is something people cannot dispute. I am excited. happy and am at total peace with my choice.

i actaully was thinking kelly or garcia as well.. please let us all know.. Im thinking of going by myself are you going by yourself or with someone??

i actaully was thinking kelly or garcia as well.. please let us all know.. Im thinking of going by myself are you going by yourself or with someone??

I am going with my husband but there are many women who went alone on this forum. You are well taken care of by the coordinators. You are driven places and escorted wherever you need or want to go. I will definitley let you know what my experience is and will be totally honest with the good and the bad.

plus I can't imagine have to listen to my husbands good awful snoring just out of surgery. Lol. I'm on the couch as we speak I'm so irritated. Lol!

I have 3 kids and another every other weekend. I could use a break. An iPod a book. Stomach chopped to heck. Sounds divine.

plus I can't imagine have to listen to my husbands good awful snoring just out of surgery. Lol. I'm on the couch as we speak I'm so irritated. Lol!

I have 3 kids and another every other weekend. I could use a break. An iPod a book. Stomach chopped to heck. Sounds divine.

Sounds like the perfect vacation lol. When are you looking to have surgery?

My complications were a blood clot and an infected incision. I followed my doctor's orders to the tee with the exception of taking my Lovenox shots. That's why I got the clot. If I had taken my shots like I was supposed to I wouldn't have gotten it. As for the incision, I did everything I was supposed to. When they removed my bandages, a ton of Fluid leaked out and it's taken about two weeks for the very tiny hole to close. In the meantime it did get infected and I'm on antibiotics to clear that up.

My biggest complaint was the lack of energy after the surgery for the first month or so. I wish someone had warned me about that.

i am not sure as of yet.. Im waiting on some money I expect to come in (back owed CS) and then I will start planning from there.. I need to double check with my study dr. that this is okay. He was so crazy against it before and when i asked about it again he was like what ever you need to do.. I cant get kicked out of the study I am in.. He said they would work around it.. Though i am pretty sure I am gonna get an earful about going to Mexico... I cant wait to come back with the "i told you so" smile when i get skinny.. as of now I am 225-230 and 5'2.. I was 150 and sporty all through hs and looked good.. If i only knew that then I wouldnt have went for the baggy skater punk clothes.. lol

i am not sure as of yet.. Im waiting on some money I expect to come in (back owed CS) and then I will start planning from there.. I need to double check with my study dr. that this is okay. He was so crazy against it before and when i asked about it again he was like what ever you need to do.. I cant get kicked out of the study I am in.. He said they would work around it.. Though i am pretty sure I am gonna get an earful about going to Mexico... I cant wait to come back with the "i told you so" smile when i get skinny.. as of now I am 225-230 and 5'2.. I was 150 and sporty all through hs and looked good.. If i only knew that then I wouldnt have went for the baggy skater punk clothes.. lol

Our stats are almost the same except your so much younger lol. I was 110lbs when I got married 22 years ago. I look back and think why in the hell did I not wear a bikini all the time lol. I have ridden horses my whole life so I was in good shape although my legs are short they were in good shape lol. I want to get to a healthy weight for my size and feel good at 40

We are both October babies too. Mine is the 31st.

• In the beginning, Did you follow all the recomended precautions like the liquid diets a few weeks ahead and then Clear liquids?
  

My dr. had me do a presurgery diet for 3 days prior to surgery. It started with soft foods, then two days of clear liquids. I honestly don't know how I got through it, but I had to ask my husband on was it that bad. Just like childbirth, I forgot how bad it was, lol.

• Did you do pre op and post op test? Did your dr. check over for leaks, if so when?
  

Yes, I did all pre op tests and post op tests. I was checked for leaks several times as I had pneumonia after my original first 3 days in the hospital. Normal length of stay for my dr. in the hospital is 2 days but my temp kept spiking more than the usual small spikes you have after surgery. So they kept me an extra day on antibiotics, "to be sure" that I'd be ok. I remember before discharge on the original surgery (3/5-3/7) I was checked for a leak and was all good. After admission for pneumonia (3/9-3/14) I know I was checked at least once for a leak and nothing was found.

• Did you follow the reccomended liquid diets after? and the blended solid diet there after?
  

I only made it to the progression of liquids after my original discharge. I was on clear liquid for a while then my dr. does a one week "step" up between clear liquids and fulls... where you can add milk Protein shakes and protein powders but not the cream Soups yet. I was readmitted with extreme pain in my left side (come to find out it was a leak/abscess in my diaphragm and that hospital stay was 3/19-3/29).

I remember one night during my pneumonia stay I added Protein drinks because I told my dr. I felt hungry a lot. He said I could try to add some protein, and I took 3 oz with protein and was very full that night in the hospital. I didn't want to touch it again after that so I made sure I only got my 4 oz an hour - and only 1 oz every 15 mins. I was very strict on this, until I got to the milk protein phase. I did 4 to 5 oz.s in an hour of Premier Protein vanilla shakes. Now I haven't been able to drink them yet because I saw what came out of my abscess and that color looked very familiar...

• Did you pick up heavy things or over do it?
  

NO, NO, NO again I say NO. Believe me, my dog missed me holding her.

• Who was your Dr.?
  

Dr. Harry Meyers in Dallas and Plano TX

• What kind of reaction did you have and how did you know something was wrong?
  

Well I've detailed my reactions I think and I knew something was wrong whenever I had a shooting pain in my left side (where the bra line is on the left of my back/kinda my side) and about 3 am I could NO LONGER sleep. I went to the recliner, trying to get comfortable .... about 845 am I had to page my dr. and told him I was in so much pain... he said go to the hospital NOW, I'm calling them. So 3/19 I was admitted to the hospital that afternoon, after doing ANOTHER barium swallow, then a CAT scan that found the abscess (thank you to that radiologist) and whammy, they saw the leak.

Just to add, most of what I've read on leaks are not caused by anything. Honest. It's not the dr., it's not their skill (or lack thereof)... it's freak'n "luck." For me, it was come to find out, my stomach line (the new sutured one) necroted away from the suture line and that exposed everything going into my belly. Wasn't anything but "luck" (yeah I have a choice f work for this and it's not "fun"). But then again I understand now that most ppl that had what I did spend 3 to 4 months in the hospital where I spent almost 1. So I guess it's better for all of this to happened to me than someone else.... but I still am thinking of that f word and it ain't "fun." I do not believe it to be anything my dr. did wrong.

Mind you ... these sort of complications only occur to 1% of the population. Or so I've read!

One additonal question that I think is important for anyone considering this journey:

Do I regret my surgery?

No, not anymore but for a while, yes I did. But I have to remember why I did this and it is not for vanity. I did this to hopefully beat cancer, heart disease and diabetes that runs in my family and has killed my mom at 56, my paternal g'ma at 50 and my father at 63. I want to live longer for my son, I want to be around as long as I can be for him and his family (or so I hope). I've lost 52 lbs (mostly due to all of these complications) and I hope to continue to my goal weight, at least 40 more lbs down the line..... and hope that I increase my life expectancy and "beat" my genetic predispositions. (sorry this was so long!)

I am not 100% sure. But the pre op diet only being 3 days seems really short. I've seen some that were 1-3 weeks pre op. I don't know though I am still naive to this. The dr. Stitched your stomach and not stapled ? Or did you mean the stitches on the outside skin.

I hope u are better now and continue a great road to health. Do what you can to break the family curse of health and get a healthy heart. Best of luck.

I am not 100% sure. But the pre op diet only being 3 days seems really short. I've seen some that were 1-3 weeks pre op. I don't know though I am still naive to this. The dr. Stitched your stomach and not stapled ? Or did you mean the stitches on the outside skin.

I hope u are better now and continue a great road to health. Do what you can to break the family curse of health and get a healthy heart. Best of luck.

My preop diet is 2 weeks long. The last 3 days are clear liquids.

Well, from what I understand, it's all up to your dr. on how long the preop diet is. My dr. asked that we all lost 25 lbs prior to surgery and I did that in 14 days 4 weeks prior to surgery, thanks to new hypothyroid pill dosage. But from what I know, that's his 'standard' diet. All of these diets are done to shrink your liver, which is done through weight loss. Not sure if he asks all patients to lose weight earlier on .... but since he's had the surgery himself, maybe he didn't want all of his patients to suffer. I'll ask him next time I see him.

And he did use staples. He even told me a more clinical version of the reason that the leak occurred (and the staples name) but if I had that good of a memory, I'd be on jeopardy! (dang it, i need ginko biloba!)