Thank you to everyone for their support.

I took a 6 hour flight to CA on 3/31 and arrived in San Diego at 11:30 "their time". The driver, Ernesto, was waiting for me at the baggage area and put my luggage in the van and drove me, and another passenger, to Mexacali. This drive was about 2 hours long.

I was taken directly to the hospital where they were waiting for me and had blood work, urinalysis, EKG, chest x-ray, and then an esophagram to evaluate and completely unfil my band. The last stop was meeting with the coordinator to get pre and post-op instructions and to pay the balance for the surgery.

I was told I could have anything I wanted to eat (was on a 30 gram/day carb diet for the week prior to surgery) and driven to the Lucerna Resort which is beautiful. As I worked the night before, I elected to have the sandwich and protein bar I brought with me, showered, and fell asleep. I took the antibiotic they gave me before I went to sleep but did not take the ativan.

At 7 AM on 4/1, I was picked up and taken to my room in the hospital. I was seen by a medical internist who reviewed my tests (all good), an assistant surgeon (who was sleeved the day after me), an anesthesiologist, and finally, by the surgeon, Dr. Aceves. All questions were answered and I was the second sleeve of the day.

I got dramamine and versed to take 30 minutes prior to the OR and that knocked me out. LOL. My IV was inserted in the OR and I had spinal and general anesthesia. The spinal dramatically decreases the amount of general needed. Since I don't do well with general (severe nausea), I elected for the spinal too and had NO problems in the recovery room.

All I remember about the recovery room was being asked if I had pain... nope, and being told I was going back to my room. I got some IV pain medication at @ 4 AM and then had sublingual (under the tongue) toradol @ 1 PM. For me, this surgery was a lot less painful than the band.

At noon, I had to drink small sips of water. An hour after that I drank apple juice with a blue dye in it. This is the second test (first done in OR) for leaks. I have a drain near where the port was and the hope is that no blue color comes through to the bag. I passed. After that, I was brought hot tea, tang OJ, and apple juice. My IV was taken out this evening.

Tomorrow morning, I go for the last leak test and will have to drink a radiograffin substance. If I pass that test (and I have no doubt I will), the drain gets removed at noon. I will leave the hospital at 5:45 AM on Saturday to make my flight in San Diego for home. I have nothing but positive things to say about this experience. As a registered nurse I was very watchful and am impressed with the care, cleanliness, and professionalism I observed.

first, i want to thank everyone for sharing their experience, i have learned alot about the sleeve from you.

after an entire day spent commuting and waiting to see the surgeon, i was met by an intern whom i did not care for but actually spent more time w/me. i have to attend a workshop, meet w/a psychologist and nutritionist. the surgeon and i decided that the band must be removed and that the sleeve would be the best option for me if ins covers. when i spoke w/the customer service dept i was informed that bariatric surgery is a covered service per contract IF medically neccessary. Also to have the dr submit all correct coding. that was absolutely all i could get out of her. she was distant, cool and did not want to talk to me. she just kept saying to submit all documents for determination of medical neccessity. no small wonder patients are self pay or leave the country to get what they need. i am in the proccess of completing a packet of materials and questionaires. severe esophagitis, gastritis, GERD endoscopy results and a failed lapband, all documented of course is not enough.....so in my third month of drinking maalox on ice, wondering how long i can hang in.

first, i want to thank everyone for sharing their experience, i have learned alot about the sleeve from you.

after an entire day spent commuting and waiting to see the surgeon, i was met by an intern whom i did not care for but actually spent more time w/me. i have to attend a workshop, meet w/a psychologist and nutritionist. the surgeon and i decided that the band must be removed and that the sleeve would be the best option for me if ins covers. when i spoke w/the customer service dept i was informed that bariatric surgery is a covered service per contract IF medically neccessary. Also to have the dr submit all correct coding. that was absolutely all i could get out of her. she was distant, cool and did not want to talk to me. she just kept saying to submit all documents for determination of medical neccessity. no small wonder patients are self pay or leave the country to get what they need. i am in the proccess of completing a packet of materials and questionaires. severe esophagitis, gastritis, GERD endoscopy results and a failed lapband, all documented of course is not enough.....so in my third month of drinking maalox on ice, wondering how long i can hang in.

Call your insurance company and ask to speak with your case worker. If you don't ask for this person, you get one of those know nothing people who give scripted responses.

You need to kill them with paperwork. Get all the lab resultss, test reports, notes from the MD, etc. to support your position and keep checking with the case worker (who is usually an RN) to find out "what else" you need.

thanks Elisabeth. i will try that approach. however, i do not have pcp notes as i am self pay, banded and filled in mx (work for an airline) so the only thing i have are test results, and vitals taken recently at the cleveland clinic to go with. plus the twelve yr documented physicians records that indicate a 50 lb yoyo w/the diet, meds and excersize program prior to the banding. i am 5'7" 232lbs bmi 36. hey anyone hear from Daisy?

thanks Elisabeth. i will try that approach. however, i do not have pcp notes as i am self pay, banded and filled in mx (work for an airline) so the only thing i have are test results, and vitals taken recently at the cleveland clinic to go with. plus the twelve yr documented physicians records that indicate a 50 lb yoyo w/the diet, meds and excersize program prior to the banding. i am 5'7" 232lbs bmi 36. hey anyone hear from Daisy?

Check with your insurance people to find out if they will revise to VSG with a BMI < 40. Many consider it the first step in DS surgery which usually requires a BMI of 50 or >.

I consulted 2 surgeons. One wanted to try a new band or reposition the one I had. The second wanted to do RNY gastric bypass despite me telling him from the start that I did not want a malabsorptive procedure. When both told me I would need to start an insurance "paper trail" for 6-9 months to get the surgery paid for, I decided I could not live the way I had been for another 9 months and opted for self pay with Dr. Aceves... no regrets!

6-9 months for the sleeve or rny? or bc you did not go w/their recommendations?

Because insurance requires a lot of documentation of your problems before they'll pay for a revision...

6-9 months for the sleeve or rny? or bc you did not go w/their recommendations?

Mac is correct. I did not have a slip or an erosion so I had to start a paper trail of MD visits, failed medications, band related acid reflux leading to inabilty to sleep in bed, etc.

How long did you suffer w/reflux Elisabeth? What meds did/didn't work for you? Did you wake up at 5am with your throat on fire? and that is sparing everyone gross details. Dr. Rumbaut did repair a 5cm hiatal hernia before placing my band. i feel banding was a mistake. i don't do fast food, mostly for hygenic reasons, but i will grill my own burger and eat it all w/o the bun and i have a 3.9 fill. sweets are my deal, i've never been a volumn eater but don't wave a cream stick, cheesecake, or chocolate anything. i love my green salads tho and i really miss fruit-the acid is a killer. The only fruit i've had in three years has been in yogurt. Thanks again for sharing.

How long did you suffer w/reflux Elisabeth? What meds did/didn't work for you? Did you wake up at 5am with your throat on fire? and that is sparing everyone gross details. Dr. Rumbaut did repair a 5cm hiatal hernia before placing my band. i feel banding was a mistake. i don't do fast food, mostly for hygenic reasons, but i will grill my own burger and eat it all w/o the bun and i have a 3.9 fill. sweets are my deal, i've never been a volumn eater but don't wave a cream stick, cheesecake, or chocolate anything. i love my green salads tho and i really miss fruit-the acid is a killer. The only fruit i've had in three years has been in yogurt. Thanks again for sharing.

The reflux began about 10 months after I was banded and I was started in Nexium 20 mg once a day. That got increased to 2 times a day after I landed in the ER with what I thought was chest pain. It turned out to be GI related and the CT scan showed increased scarring at the band site.

The last year of being banded (I had it for 3 years and 1 day) I had nothing but increasing problems. I work nights and would bring my AM pills and vitamins to work with me and take them at 3 AM. After that, I took no food or drink and went to bed at noon or 1 PM. An hour into sleep (if I was lucky to get the hour) I woke up gagging and in pain with the horrible burning in my esophagus.

I then bought one of those wedge pillows and added OTC tagamet and tums to the nexium twice a day. That failed. I added pillows to the wedge and that sometimes worked but often did not. I retreated and ended up sleeping in a chair.

For me, the acid reflux and inability to sleep was really having a negative effect on my life. The band was like a parasite in my body and I'm very happy that I am revised to a sleeve.

Prior to the band, I ate healthy... just too much. I ate out of boredom and ate too much because I could. Now, I crave healthy foods, sleep in bed on my back with one pillow, have no reflux, and can eat anything on the soft diet menu in small quantities. It seems like the sleeve IS doing what the band was SUPPOSED to do but never did.

It seems like the sleeve IS doing what the band was SUPPOSED to do but never did.

See what I mean now? The sleeve is like a band that actually works without all the risks and complications.

It's one of those things (like restriction) that you have to experience before you can really understand.

See what I mean now? The sleeve is like a band that actually works without all the risks and complications.

It's one of those things (like restriction) that you have to experience before you can really understand.

After truly believing that I HAD to be doing something wrong as far as the band was concerned, I now realize the band was wrong for me. The more I read about people finding a "sweet spot" and not being able to eat more than "x" amount, the more I wondered what I was doing wrong.

The minute I was allowed to drink after the VSG revision, I KNEW I finally had the surgery I should have had.

I had my surgery one month ago today and have lost 18 pounds. Tomorrow, I advance to a regular diet. I'm not hungry, I feel restriction, and I feel great.

that is absolutely fantabulous! over half a pound daily, you must feel great. no more reflux, energy returning. that is wonderful. are you sore anywhere from the surgery or is all that completely gone too?

that is absolutely fantabulous! over half a pound daily, you must feel great. no more reflux, energy returning. that is wonderful. are you sore anywhere from the surgery or is all that completely gone too?

I do feel great. I was worried about not losing well but I was severely dehydrated post-op and that continued for several days after I got home. Now that I'm back in balance, I hope to see regular losses.

As far as the soreness goes, I was out planting flowers one week after surgery. I felt some twinges where the port was removed at the 2 week post-op point but it was nothing. All the incisions are healed nicely and I'm back to exercising.

I feel great. I wish I could go travel around a little bit and see more of Mexicali . It's so boring in this hosptial. Everyone in the hospital and outside are wearing masks, so I don't think it's a great idea for me to go exploring on my own.

I think people think I am a little nuts walking around outside in my housecoat. Dr. A told me to walk to the fence and that's where the border is and my phone would work. I had to cross a busy street. Maybe the people in the cars are used to seeing crazy Americans walking around the hospital neighborhoods in their bathrobes. Acutally, I could have gotten dressed, but I decided that was a hassle.