I had my band placed on in April, 2006. The first year was a breeze and I lost a ton of weight. In month 13 of my journey, I was overfilled and slipped my band. Since then, I seemed to have developed an intolerance for my band. I have slipped it twice, constantly choke on my food, and have been miserable.

On April 2nd, I will be revising from the lapband to the gastric sleeve. Dr. Aceves will be doing the revision in Mexico. I have decided to chronicle my experience here, so others that have band issues and decide to convert can have an idea of what to expect.

I spoke with Nina, the patient coordinator yesterday and we now have everything scheduled. I am excited and nervous all at the same time. I will leave here on April 1st, have my surgery on the 2nd and return home on the 5th. My mother will be accompanying me on the trip.

Nina advised me that Dr. Aceves is concerned about swelling due to the problems I have had with my band. Therefore, I am going this week for a complete unfill. Then, seven days before my surgery, I have to go on a complete liquid diet. This should alleviate any swelling issues and the chances of having to have the band removed and then go back at a later date for the sleeve. It is very important to me that I get this all done at the same time.

I am looking forward to this, and feel like I have been given a new opportunity at life. To those who have helped me to be able to get the sleeve, thank you. Because of you, I now am looking forward to enjoying life again, instead of living in misery.

I will update as I go through this journey.

About three of the doctors there are more experienced than a majority of US surgeons. Their experience is greater, their stats are better, they keep you in the hospital for 3 nights following surgery instead of outpatient or one night in the hospital in the US, and they are about half the price.

That's the only place I wanted to go for my revision. We just don't have great revision surgeons in my state so for me, MX was a better option.

I think Susan's thinking is similar but I'm sure she'll correct me if I am wrong.

When it comes to a revision you can't just go to anyone. Leak risks triple with a revision instead of a straight sleeve so you really have to go to someone mega experienced.

The doctor she is going to, (Dr Aceves) is one of the best there is at revisions. He has had no leaks. Most of his practice for bariatric surgery, (he does other types of surgery too), consists of American and Canadian patients. He does a very good job of accommodating English speaking patients; most of the staff who worked with me spoke English. I am an ICU nurse in the states and I can tell you, this doctor has gotten everything down to a science, he's that good.

The real measure of how good he is is how smooth others who have used him have come through this surgery. If you go to Obesity help and read on the VSG or complications board, you will never see his name. My post op course has been text book. I am 15 days post op. My incisions are healed. I have no pain. I have lost 17# Of course, I follow his post op instructions to a tee. No doctor can give you a guarantee, and things can happen even with the best doctors. But Dr Aceves comes pretty close, his stats speak for themselves.

WASa and serious did a pretty good job summing up my reason for going to Dr. Aceves in Mexico. He is the best and most experienced, especially when it comes to doing revisions. This is serious business, and I don't want to take any chances with my health.

On another note, I did notice last night that every commercial is about food! I can't wait until next week when I have my sleeve so I won't be so hungry.

Good morning everyone,

I am actually not doing bad on my liquid diet. No headaches or anything, just the occasional tummy growl. I started it Thursday morning and weighed myself then. I decided Thursday would be my "new" weigh-in day. But, this morning, I thought, what the heck, and jumped on the scale. Unbelievable, I have lost 6 pounds already!! I am not complaining, but I sure wouldn't want to do this by living on liquids forever either.

The time is getting close. I have no nerves at all right now, just excitement about finally not living every day of my life wondering if I am going to be able to eat or not, or if I am going to embarrass myself if I am in a situation where I am eating in front of coworkers or friends.

I'm getting excited just watching you! :thumbup:

Good morning everyone,

I am actually not doing bad on my liquid diet. No headaches or anything, just the occasional tummy growl. I started it Thursday morning and weighed myself then. I decided Thursday would be my "new" weigh-in day. But, this morning, I thought, what the heck, and jumped on the scale. Unbelievable, I have lost 6 pounds already!! I am not complaining, but I sure wouldn't want to do this by living on liquids forever either.

The time is getting close. I have no nerves at all right now, just excitement about finally not living every day of my life wondering if I am going to be able to eat or not, or if I am going to embarrass myself if I am in a situation where I am eating in front of coworkers or friends.

Congratulations on the loss! I'm doing the 30 carb/day diet and am down 4 pounds. I miss fruits and veggies. LOL. Everything has soooooooo many carbs... 3 days to go for me and 4 for you before we begin a new life... band complication free!

Good morning everyone,

I am actually not doing bad on my liquid diet. No headaches or anything, just the occasional tummy growl. I started it Thursday morning and weighed myself then. I decided Thursday would be my "new" weigh-in day. But, this morning, I thought, what the heck, and jumped on the scale. Unbelievable, I have lost 6 pounds already!! I am not complaining, but I sure wouldn't want to do this by living on liquids forever either.

The time is getting close. I have no nerves at all right now, just excitement about finally not living every day of my life wondering if I am going to be able to eat or not, or if I am going to embarrass myself if I am in a situation where I am eating in front of coworkers or friends.

That's great Susan,

You will probably lose well on the liquid post op diet too. Your statement about being embarassed in front of coworkers hit a nerve: I did a contract in Indiana over the holidays to pay for my sleeve surgery. I developed very good relationships with the nurses. On my last night, they threw a big surprise party for me. One nurse even made me barbeque. There was a ton of food. Unfortunately, it was a bad band day, and I could eat very little. I absolutely could not eat the barbeque. I felt bad because they had gone to so much trouble. Glad those band days are behind me.

That's great Susan,

You will probably lose well on the liquid post op diet too. Your statement about being embarassed in front of coworkers hit a nerve: I did a contract in Indiana over the holidays to pay for my sleeve surgery. I developed very good relationships with the nurses. On my last night, they threw a big surprise party for me. One nurse even made me barbeque. There was a ton of food. Unfortunately, it was a bad band day, and I could eat very little. I absolutely could not eat the barbeque. I felt bad because they had gone to so much trouble. Glad those band days are behind me.

I remember a bandster lunch we had once. We used to do it every month, just local banded people. I had been paying for one of the guys for his lunch because he was having a hard time financially. He finally was able to get ahead a bit and as a thank you for the previous lunches he paid for my lunch that day.

First bite I took got stuck. I spent the entire lunch running to the bathroom sliming. It was embarrassing. One bite of food that he paid for. Thankfully he was banded so he totally understood. There were new people at that lunch and I really wanted to get to know them. No such luck that day. I finally left early.

All things considered, I am going to start a new thread for band to sleeve people.

Susan: Glad you're not starving. I have contacted Dr. Aceves office. Not sure if I'll use him or my doc, but I'm going to be watching your journey carefully. I'm very excited for you. Wishing you the best.

Karey, I am definitely surprised that I am not physically hungry. No headaches or anything. Now, the head hunger is another thing. It is tough fighting that desire to want to chew something. But, I am able to because I know this is going to be so worth it!

I will definitely let you know how things go with Dr. Aceves. I am expecting everything to go wonderfully.

Karey, I am definitely surprised that I am not physically hungry. No headaches or anything. Now, the head hunger is another thing. It is tough fighting that desire to want to chew something. But, I am able to because I know this is going to be so worth it!

I will definitely let you know how things go with Dr. Aceves. I am expecting everything to go wonderfully.

Remember, S/F Jello is considered a liquid too! ;o) I know, it's not full of flavor and crunch but at least you can chew it!

Susan: What kind of protien powder are you using. My nausea is getting worse. I don't think I'm going to be able to wait another month to see if my lap band is back into position. I'm going to have to make a decision soon. I am really leaning towars getting the sleeve vs going solo.

Remember, S/F Jello is considered a liquid too! ;o) I know, it's not full of flavor and crunch but at least you can chew it!

Ohhhh, I forgot about that! Thank you!

Karey, I honestly can't remember the name of it right now. I will try and remember to check when I get home tonight and post it for you.

Oh my gosh, tomorrow is the day, I will be "leaving on a jet plane". Sorry, I am actually getting a little giddy here. Stupid me though, I thought I knew exactly where my birth certificate is, but when I went to get it, it was gone. I tore my house up looking for it and cannot find it anywhere. I need it to get back into the states with!! So, I am going to call the office of vital statistics today and get them to overnight it to the hospital in Mexacali for me.

Can you go out of country with just a birth certificate? I thought you had to have a passport now?

Can you go out of country with just a birth certificate? I thought you had to have a passport now?

Nope, you don't need a passport until June. There is an alternative to a passport after June but I can't remember what it is called. It's for travel to MX and Canada.

Thinking about you Susan! I am so excited for you!!!