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.

I hope to see you there, I will be arriving Thursday morning, I will look for you

Hello everyone,

I am excited, nervous and in a way, down right scared, but my sleeve is being done on Friday the 1st with Dr Aceves. I cant believe its really going to happen, I had to pay for a revision and it really tapped my resources but I really believe that I am worth it. Thank God for this site and for all of you. I am loving life because of you.

Ruthi

Congratulations, you'll do so well with a sleeve. It's easier than banding. You'll see!

Congrats to you!

She knows she could have lost more but she likes to eat french fries.

Oh, FFs. I was at McDonald's today and Mini-Mac and Mr. Mac ordered french fries. I was thinking I'd have ONE. But I couldn't find one that looked right. So I didn't have any.

I think an alien has taken over my body?

That's funny Mac. I haven't really had ffs in over 2 years. I may have had one here or there, but I can't remember that I did. I don't eat out nearly as often as I did pre-band.

Congratulations to the soon to be sleeved ladies. You'll do great and I look forward to hearing your progress.

I can't imagine eating even a small bag of french fries. I go to a regular diet on May 2 but am still working on getting soft foods down. Tuna (2.5 oz) mixed with 2 teaspoons of mayo is becoming a favorite. I get in some decent protein and can nurse the portion slowly until I get to the end. I know that candy and chocolate and icecream go down real easy so I have not brought any of that stuff into the house. I seem to crave healthy foods... a trend I hope never ends. LOL.

Congratulations to the soon to be sleeved ladies. You'll do great and I look forward to hearing your progress.

I can't imagine eating even a small bag of french fries. I go to a regular diet on May 2 but am still working on getting soft foods down. Tuna (2.5 oz) mixed with 2 teaspoons of mayo is becoming a favorite. I get in some decent protein and can nurse the portion slowly until I get to the end. I know that candy and chocolate and icecream go down real easy so I have not brought any of that stuff into the house. I seem to crave healthy foods... a trend I hope never ends. LOL.

I could have advanced to a regular diet, but have stayed with the soft foods longer, just getting used to the feeling of fullness. I still do a protein shake in the am, and have been eating a lot of tuna fish. I plan to advance to regular tommorrow. I think I'm ready. I had some chocolate which I was craving during my cycle, so I bought a hersheys with almonds which I used to love. The first bite was good, the second left a weird taste in my mouth, so I threw it away. Haven't really craved anything sweet since. For the first time in my life, I can go food shopping and not be hypnotized by the bakery or the candy section.

I, too, am craving healthy foods. :smile2:

I could have advanced to a regular diet, but have stayed with the soft foods longer, just getting used to the feeling of fullness. I still do a protein shake in the am, and have been eating a lot of tuna fish. I plan to advance to regular tommorrow. I think I'm ready. I had some chocolate which I was craving during my cycle, so I bought a hersheys with almonds which I used to love. The first bite was good, the second left a weird taste in my mouth, so I threw it away. Haven't really craved anything sweet since. For the first time in my life, I can go food shopping and not be hypnotized by the bakery or the candy section.

I, too, am craving healthy foods. :smile2:

I'm 11 months out from revision and I still crave healthy foods. On another board we were listing what is in our frig/cupboards. I had to laugh, the worst thing I have in there right now is 3/4 jar of Chocolate frosting. It's really time to throw it away, I'm sure it's not good anymore. Everything else is bags and bags of beans, lentils, etc. Soups, a ton of produce and some yogurt. I don't even buy canned veggies anymore. Only fresh.

I'm 11 months out from revision and I still crave healthy foods. On another board we were listing what is in our frig/cupboards. I had to laugh, the worst thing I have in there right now is 3/4 jar of Chocolate frosting. It's really time to throw it away, I'm sure it's not good anymore. Everything else is bags and bags of beans, lentils, etc. Soups, a ton of produce and some yogurt. I don't even buy canned veggies anymore. Only fresh.

I honestly believe that the bad promotes unhealthy eating. When I ate fresh fruits, I had immediate heart burn. The symptoms govern what foods you eat and that's not healthy.

I'm enjoying the soft phase of the diet but am truly amazed at the fact that I don't ever feel hungry and that, when I do eat, just a small amount fills me. THIS is what I expected from the band and never got. It's also a pleasure not to have to worry about heart burn and acid reflux. It's all about choosing whatever healthy food I can have on the soft diet, enjoying it, and stopping when the full feeling hits.

I'm glad we have the option of going to the soft diet after 7 days because it won't be such a struggle to get the protein in. I don't like creamed cereals so I'm sticking with the soy slender drink for breakfast. When I was banded, ricotta cheese was a savior. Four ounces of the skim milk version gave me a good protein source for lunch and kept me satisfied.

I was making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich yesterday for a friend (no meat on Good Friday) and the peanut butter did not smell "right" to me. It was a brand new jar and my friend thought I was nuts because it tasted and smelled "normal" to him. I am finding this very strange but the only part that effects me is the coffee. I'm drinking tea to get fluids in but I'm not much of a fan and I LOVE coffee. It still smells awful. Sigh!

The post-op instructions say to stay on soft diet for as long as you need to and not to attempt solids until 30 days have passed. You're wise to listen to your body and do what feels right. Congratulations on making it to the one month point! You must be feeling great.

Hey there, can someone send me or point me to a link that has the post op diet instructions for Dr. A? Elizabeth, thanks for posting your experience. I have the band and will be getting the sleeve next month!

Hello All,

I was invited here by MacMadame, (thx again) i have a band placed in mx 3 yrs ago on my dime bc my ins would not approve band but would rny. recently diagnosed w/esophagitis, and gastritis i am living on ice cream to put out the fire while drinking iced maalox all day. when i was still eating real food i would wake up choking on burning undigested food hours after the meal. the band is coming out. i have to make a decision on what's next. the dr who did my endoscopy recommended the sleeve. many of you seem to really like your sleeve. ALSO, since my initial surgery took place in mx i'm not sure my ins - anthem bcbs of Louisville will cover a revision. does anyone have this ins or same situation? i've read pages of posts and haven't seen anyone sharing about this ins w/mx band and us dr doing the revision. thx for any and all comments/suggestions.

Hello All,

I was invited here by MacMadame, (thx again) i have a band placed in mx 3 yrs ago on my dime bc my ins would not approve band but would rny. recently diagnosed w/esophagitis, and gastritis i am living on ice cream to put out the fire while drinking iced maalox all day. when i was still eating real food i would wake up choking on burning undigested food hours after the meal. the band is coming out. i have to make a decision on what's next. the dr who did my endoscopy recommended the sleeve. many of you seem to really like your sleeve. ALSO, since my initial surgery took place in mx i'm not sure my ins - anthem bcbs of Louisville will cover a revision. does anyone have this ins or same situation? i've read pages of posts and haven't seen anyone sharing about this ins w/mx band and us dr doing the revision. thx for any and all comments/suggestions.

Having had a band in MX means nothing regarding insurance today. It's all a matter of if your insurance covers WLS, revisions, and sleeves.

The only thing that does matter is that some of the really bad doctors have pretty horrible reputations with US doctors and they won't take on their patients. But it's not because it's MX, it's because of the doctors that did their surgery. Same holds true for really bad US doctors, nobody wants to take over their cases either.

Hey there, can someone send me or point me to a link that has the post op diet instructions for Dr. A? Elizabeth, thanks for posting your experience. I have the band and will be getting the sleeve next month!

I sent it to you via email.

Have you found your insurance company's bariatric policy yet? It should list what their criteria is for revisions. Some policies are kind of buttheads about it -- won't pay if your weight is below 35 BMI, for example. But most of them will pay if the revision is medically necessary. With your band problems, you should easily qualify on that score.

Oh and I forgot to introduce everyone... Susan and Elizabeth are moderators here who just got their bands taken out and revised to a sleeve at the beginning of the month. OregonDaisy is a moderator who is getting revised to a sleeve next month. Wasa is a long-time LBT member who was revised months ago... it's coming up on a year for you, isn't it, Wasa?

I never had a band. I went right to a sleeve and mostly because of Susan's experience with slippage. For some reason her story really brought me up short and made me realize that even rule followers have trouble with the band. Then I started looking for an alternative and found the sleeve.

one can really get lost on this website....very nice to meet everyone, looking forward to sharing. have dr's appt again tomorrow. have not located policy but hoping to speak w/a rep from anthem regarding coverage. i really have to do something and soon i simply cannot function. missing work, unable to sleep, barf everything but liquid. i did lose 53 lbs but gained most of it back and i am just so sick of everything that you ladies are all very familiar with. i am not sure the band is good for anyone. i got it thinking it was going to be a lifetime friend. expensive joke it was!!