pattimomof3nj

Hi, I had my sleeve done on Oct 15. I am currently down 20 lbs, but have been having constipation issues. I just started mushies, only eating them 1 meal a day. I can eat a half of scrambled egg, and 2 oz of refried low fat Beans. I have a total TMI question, has anyone ever gotten to the point where they are in so much intestinal pain and then all of a sudden all heck breaks loose. On Friday, I was in the bathroom for over an hour non-stop pooping. It was so painful. is this normal??? thanks, Patti

I found this link and thought I would share! The Mouth Dr Patti

I had my surgery with Dr A on 10/15! I couldn't be happier. I had a band, and am so glad to be rid of that thing. On to my experience, From the moment Ernesto pick mom and me up from the airport, it was like heaven. My mom, was super impressed with Ernesto's weight loss! (he showed up pics as soon as we got in the van) Once we got to the hospital, long drive but beautiful scenery. We were asked to pee in a cup, they drew some blood, and we got to chat with Dr A as a group. After we went back to the hospital. My mom could not stop raving about how wonderful Dr A was. Mind you, she was so scared to even accompany me to Mexico, let alone let me have surgery. The hotel that we stayed in was the Crown Plaza Mexicali. totally awesome, beds were comfy, food was awesome, drinks were better than awesome (2 margaritas). After surgery, Dr Campos and Dr A, as well as Yolanda and the entire staff, treated us like queens! the hospital was so clean. the only complaint my mom had was that they didn't have regular black tea, but she said the coffee was so good that it didn't bother her to drink that all day instead of her tea. Yes, the TV stations kind of sucked, but we were able to find some shows that we liked. and we both read our books! so, from my perspective, DR A and his staff are 100%!! would totally go back and do it again! HTH, patti

Thank you so much. Now i can read at work without worrying about who is standing at my door and looking at the ads!!! Patti

Hi, I have the same thing now, had surgery on 10/15. I also had this when i got my lap-band. i think it is because your body is going through Ketosis. You are burning up your fat stores and it makes for some weird things to go on in your body! HTH, Patti

I had surgery on 10/15, loving my sleeve so far. I started full liquids today and seem to be ok with everything. Lots of burping going on here. I have a question though, Dr Aceves gave me the Nexium-mups, but when i take them i get sick, like dizzy, faint, fast heart beat sick. So I went to the store and they had Pepcis AC Chewables and so far they are not making me sick. i emailed with Gaby, and she said NO! When i googled them, they are both PPI, so i'm not sure why i cannot take them. Any advice??? thanks, patti

Haven't had my sleeve yet, but I must agree with Tiffy on most everything she said. I had a band a a few babies so I know the healing part and the pain part and they are both totally worth it in the end. I am going to Dr Aceves next week and can report back on my experience with him then. As for after surgery eating, my friends never thought i was 'normal' with my band, who the heck eats 4 oz of food and is full, not even my super skinny friends! they can put it away like some football players, but have metabolisms of hyper 2 year olds! you have to take everything into perspective. you are in this for the long haul, you do not want a Dr going in there and making your sleeve too big so that in 2 years you are having a hard time keeping the 100+ pounds that you worked so hard to get off, off! KWIM! You want to keep it off FOREVER! Get the small sleeve adjust your eating now, let it relax after the swelling and healing goes down and see how much you can consume after you reach goal. If you feel you need to eat more, than instead of having 3 meals a day have 6. It is easy to adjust your life, not so easy to keep going under the knife. this will be my 2nd WLS in 2 1/2 years because me and my band failed each other. We didn't follow the rules and when life got tough, I didn't see the signs and it slipped really bad. I now see this, but it is too late. Hope this helped a little bit!!! Will update you on my surgery next week. patti

Just looking to see if anyone else was going to Mexicali next Friday the 15th to get a sleeve from Dr Aceves? I will be there with my mom, she will be watching my back! If there are, looking forward to meeting you there! Patti

What the heck is a pain ball? I am going to get my sleeve done next Friday, and I have never heard of a pain ball! Rest up and feel better! Patti

I had my band for 2 1/2 years, had it removed due to slippage in July. My 12 week wait is now up and I am getting my sleeve by dr Aceves in Mexicali next Friday! Make sure that you make the correct decision for you. At the time, i did not really have a choice, it was RNY or band, and I did not want the whole malabsorption thing. So band it was. i will tell you this, if the sleeve was available back then, i probably would have still gone with the band, as the not so invasive of the 2. Hidsight and all, now I have to fork over $$ because of an insurance occlusion of 1 WLS per lifetime and I will not be changing policies anytime soon! so there is my story. I will check back with you in 2 weeks and let you know the pain difference between the 2, but i can tell you that i DID lose weight with my band, just couldn't keep it off or keep the band in me!! Patti

Hi, I haven't had my surgery yet, next Friday is my big day! I cannot wait! there are lots of people on here that have gone to Dr Aceves and have nothing but great things to say about him. right now, my total cost excluding airfare is $8750. Not sure what the cost out of pocket is in LA, but here in NJ is was more than triple that, and since I had already had a band, my insurance would not budge. good luck in your decision, and like you said, you life if worth it. take your time and make peace with it. Patti

I cannot believe that my surgery is in 10 days! i am getting s little freaked out by the whole thing. You would think that I wouldn't be since I had a band and all, but I don't know what is wrong with me. I keep having these fears! Maybe it is because I am going to Mexico, but I feel confident in my choice of Drs, and I feel that Dr Aceves will take awesome care of me. My mom is going with me and I know she will not let anything happen to me. i don't know I'm just freaking out, maybe it is because i have been eating like a normal person again for the past 3 weeks, and LOVIN food so much! Maybe i'm afraid I'm going ot miss it again like I did when I first got my band, but i know i won't cause i'm slowly gaining weight, and I hate myself for letting this happen. PLEASE tell me i'm over reacting!!!! thanks for letting me rant on. Patti

Hey, Cielle we are neighbors. I am going to Mexico to get my sleeve because of a clause in my insurance that I am only allowed 1 WLS per lifetime and that was my band even though it slipped. they considered the revision a 2nd surgery. So anyway, I'm getting my surgery next Friday ACK!!! Good luck on your journey, maybe we will meet at a suppory group or something! Patti

My mom let it slip to my brother and SIL that I am headed to Mexico on the 14th for surgery on the 15th, and of course all the are you crazy comments started! They are trying to talk me out of this, and I am beside myself. I was called so many names from selfish to spoiled. My brother was just told that he may (probably) has prostate cancer, and now i'm torn! He was the biggest speaker, with why can't you just lose the weight yourself, that band didn't work what makes you think this will. what if you die, who will take care of your kids, are you crazy, you are a selfish bitch, you are not my sister. not sure what to do or think anymore!

so, i'm all booked and ready to go. Sent for my passport, expedited it so it is here on time. Booked my flights, paid my deposit, now i'm a nervous wreck!!! i wan't this scared when i got my band, what is up with me? is it because i'm going out of the country? must be. But i see all of you others going and coming back with no issues so i should be FINE right? right!!! UGH!! patti

Thanks all! I will try to post a play by play like everyone else is doing! only 19 days left, i'm getting so nervous! Starting to get stuff together to bring with me, like my shampoos in travel size and stuff like that.

Tiffy, That makes what we are all doing so worth it! That is why I got that damn band and that is why I am going to Mexico in 2 weeks to get my sleeve, so I can be a PART of my kids lives not just watch it happen! You are a great inspiration to us all! Patti

Hi Becca, My band was great in the beginning. Then i found my sweet spot so to say, and my son was struck with cancer suddenly and like that i could not keep anything down, throwing up every bite of food i ingested. they say stress causes the band to tighten, that is the TRUTH. So, with that, and not really paying much attention to me at the time and taking care of my 8 year old who was going through hell, my band slipped. I do not feel that I failed my band, but that my band failed me. I lost over 50 pounds with my band, and that damn thing rebelled when i needed it most. so, now it is gone, and I am getting sleeved on 10/15. I have since gained back 30 pounds, but holding steady, 19 days to go! Oh, and I am not telling anyone that I am getting sleeved, just the few most important people in my life, mom, hubby, dad, and kids. Work thinks I won a trip to Mexico for a long weekend. That is in case I need a few extra days off, I can use Montezuma's revenge when i get back! Family thinks, I'm taking mom away for a girls weekend of R and R! So you see others do not even need to know you are changing things up. Good luck with your decision! Patti

Wow that is so awesome! I'm getting my sleeve on 10/15. my band has been out since 7/8, so my tummy will be all nice and squishy for Dr Aceves. I hope to be like you and have 0 complications. When I had my band removed, I woke up and felt great, but had a horrible pain for a few weeks where the port was adhered to my stomach muscle. that is all better now! Glad to see you are doing great!

Ok I'm now officially a Dr Aceves patient so count me in!!! my date is 10/15! I'm so excited!!

I applied for mine yesterday, the guy at the post office scared shit out of my mom so she made me expedite ours! $200 more. We are leaving for Mexico on the 14th of October! Mom wouldn't trust that the receipt and the other documents would get us back in the country and my husband kept saying that if we got stuck he would leave our asses there! LOL, i said that is ok we have the money you keep the kids! Oh well, as long as I have it now, I will be ok and mom has on less thing to worry about!

Hey diva, glad to see you are doing so great! So you had your band removed and sleeve done all at the same time? WOW! I had my band out July 8th and will be getting my sleeve on Oct 15th (YAY I got a date!). I was just wondering if the surgery was much different than when you first got the band, in terms of pain, healing, and such? I'm curious because we are going into this kind of knowing what to expect, having had a band, is it somewhat easier when you woke up? I had my band 2 1/2 years ago! Thanks, Patti

Deb, I like your idea, I may just print out my own sticker! Patti

And then there are allllllll the supplements! I feel like a geriatric with all the pills I have to take! Ugh! What do you mean all the supplements? I thought we just needed a multi-vitamin? Aren't we getting the rest from the food we are eating? Ok maybe I am wrong, but when I had my band I ate pretty much the same amount and got all of my nutrition from my food. Please help before I do this, I hate taking PILLS!!!!! Patti

Hi girls, i just wanted to point something out to you. 48 pounds in 3 months is 16 pounds a month or 4 pounds a week. that is freaking awesome. I had a lapband for over 2 years and didn't lose nearly that much (and worked it) before it slipped and i gained some back! You are doing GREAT! you have to remember that you are HUMAN. you are not a machine and your body is taking in what it needs at times, sometimes it needs a little more salt than others. Give yourself a break, you had your pity party, now get back on the wagon and start fresh! I am gearing up to get a sleeve now that my band has been out for 3 months and my tummy is all healed up nice, just have to find me a good Dr in Mexico since my insurance will not cover more than 1 surgery in the US and the $ is 25K. I am so hoping to be where you are after 3 months, that would put me back to where I was after having my band for 2 years! If you feel like you are eating too much, take a step back and go to the basics, measure your meals, no drinking for 30 minutes, take in all of your Water, and Protein. Sometimes it is the simple things that we forget that matter most! I think that is most important! Hope this helps a little! Patti