lucill35

i haven't had a period in years (depo-provera) and since being sleeved at the end of january, i have had a week of spotting, a week off and a week spotting again. i think it has to do with the release of estrogen that is stored in fat cells. i've also stopped taking my prozac since surgery so maybe with all the changes, everything is out of whack. i will say though that otherwise i feel great! lost 10 lbs pre-op and 25 lbs since surgery 1/29!

that's awesome! congratulations!

I was sleeved by Dr. Aceves on 1/29 and mine was left open to close on it's own. No problems!

Well, I may have been a little ambitious in my goal setting. Nothing like setting a goal the week of the 3 week stall and a suprise TOM visitor. Well, a loss is still a loss and I will take it.

I had the same fears of both an epidural as well as a catheter. I had my surgery with Dr. Aceves on 1/29 and when I met with the anesthesiologist he said they hadn't been doing the epidural for about 6 months and I didn't have a catheter either. I was also afraid of the IV stick and expressed that and he told me "not to worry. i would get a happy pill 30 minutes before my surgery and i wouldn't even be aware." i was a difficult stick because after the surgery i noticed 3 different spots of bruising on my hand and several on my arm that were not where the IV ended up but I have no recall of any of it Good luck to you!

My birthday was about two weeks after my surgery, yay cream Soup stage! I kept telling myself my sleeve was my gift and imagined how I would Celebrate next year AFTER ALL THE WEIGHT IS GONE!! Sue

YAY for you!!! You are a great inspiration and motivator for all of us newbies!!! Keep up all your great work and THANK YOU!!!

I have been sleeved for 3 weeks today so I am going to be pretty aggressive with my goal setting. I was just thinking this morning that I needed to set some smaller, specific goals for myself rather than one big one so this is a great way to keep me focused. Sue

I make mine with 4 ice cubes and 1/2 cup Water and have very little foam. Hope this helps!

I am a newbie sleeve (just two weeks and a few days out) and I get the whole thing about not drinking carbonated beverages because of the calories but what about diet coke/pepsi? I was a big fan of the large diet coke for $1 from Mcdonald's and was wondering if that will be gone from my life forever? Haven't had one since being sleeved, don't really miss it but I am also out of my element of real life as I went on vacation immediately following my surgery so I haven't been tempted by real life and want to be prepared. Any help would be appreciated! Sue

I too am a difficult stick. I made sure to let the person who was drawing my blood know before they even started, suggested they used the butterfly needle (not really sure what that meant but had a nurse say that before), the nurse looked and looked and got a vein on the first stick. I let the anesthesologist know this the day before also and that I was deathly afraid of the IV stick and that the only other time I had an IV stick, I came real close to passing out. The anesth. said that he would give me a "happy pill" about 30 minutes prior to surgery which seemed to do the trick as I have no recall of the IV. It seemed there was some trouble as I had several bruises on the back of my hand and ultimately had the IV between my wrist and elbow but I have no memory of the whole experience. Good luck to you and don't stress yourself out before your surgery. Just make sure everyone is aware. Sue

Your loss is amazing! You are such an inspiration for us newbies (2 weeks out). Can you give the newbies any tips as to what you ate (Protein amounts/carbs) during the past four months as well as how much exercising you did? That would be most helpful! Great job! Sue

I flew to San Diego on my own and met my mom at the airport so she was in Mexicali with me. Dr. Aceves keeps his patients for 3 nights in the hospital so it was nice to have her there but I think I would have been okay on my own. I flew back to Indiana on my own and it took me two days to get home due to the weather. Once I got home, my car was buried under an inch + of ice. I was home by myself and did fine. Each person heals differently and to my own surprise I have done amazingly well, so I would say keep your people lined up to check on you and then if you are doing okay, you can cancel them as needed. Sue

I have been using Depo-provera for the last 13 years and haven't had a period in this time. I have had some spotting off/on over the years with medication change etc. I had sleeve surgery 11 days ago and today I woke up with spotting. Could this be related to surgery, hormone release, anesthia? It's not painful or otherwise concerning, no fever that would indicate infection, aside from the fact that it is happening. I am on vacation and out of town from my regular doctor. Should I be concerned enough to go to an urgent care or should i keep an eye on things and see how it goes? Othewise I am feeling great since surgery. No problems getting in liquids, have started the thin liquids, no incision problems, no loss of energy etc so this has kind of taken me by surprise. Any direction/advice that can be provided would be greatly appreciated.

As the others have stated, I would look further into your insurance requirements before making any decisions. My insurance only paid for bypass or lapband after a 6 month supervised weight loss program. I have a high deductible insurance so it would have cost me close to $4000 with insurance and I didn't want either of those surgeries. I went with VSG in Mexico with Dr. Aceves and although I have only been sleeved for a week, I feel like that was a better choice for me. I got to have the surgery I wanted, when I wanted and was in control of the process.

I'm so glad that you brought this up because I am feeling the same way. I am a week out from surgery today and I am getting in 64+ oz of Water in through the day without a problem. Have pretty much been doing that since release from hospital. I am supposed to be on Clear Liquids until Monday but by 7p today had only had 150 calories and couldn't take it any more so i blended a can of chunky baked potato Soup and was able to eat it without a problem. Slowly but the entire can. Although i have incisions on my belly I was starting to think that maybe the doctor didn't really remove anything. I don't want to look for trouble but it would be nice to feel some restriction. I would love to hear from some sleevers who are several months out on their thoughts on this. Sue

I was sleeved by Dr. Aceves and his team, one week ago today. Down 9 lbs in 9 days! I've never had any surgery and had no problems with this surgery at all. Would recommend this doctor to anyone! Sue

Irene, If my sleeve gave me that type of reaction with sweets, chips and ice cream, I would consider the whole surgery a success!! I should only be so lucky! Sue

I just returned from surgery with Dr. Aceves in Mexicali. We were picked up at the San Diego airport and shuttled to/from Mexicali without a problem. I didn't even get my passport in time and was able to go through the border with my driver's license, receipt for passport app and birth certificate. We were driven to the hospital for the pre-op testing and then shuttled to the hotel. I was never nervous or concered for my safety. Never saw any armed guards, security etc. My mom came with me and walked across the street to the pharmacy but didn't venture out to much past that although there were others who did. I would certainly recommend for the cost $8750 it is well worth it. I couldn't have had it done at that price or by someone with the experience Dr. Aceves has. I had some issues with high blood pressure after the surgery and they were on it, to the point that Dr. Aceves and an internist came to see me twice on Sunday to check on my blood pressure. So overall I would recommend it and would do it again!

Okay, I have had my surgery. Got to Mexicali and felt strangely calm about the whole thing. Everyone was so nice and i told them upfront I had a problem with needles and that generally everyone has trouble getting blood from me etc. The girl who drew the blood made me a little nervous as she was tapping around from arm to arm but when she finally stuck me, she was spot on and it didn't even hurt! I had some problems after the surgery with my blood pressure being high (really high) and it seemed that they were quite nervous about that but gave me the blood pressure medication and sent me on my way today. Unfortunately the weather didn't want to cooperate and now I am stuck in san diego, wishing i felt better (more up to exploring) but also thankful for the rest before an 8 hour flight. Just wanted to let anyone who is thinking about having the surgery, do it! I met several people who came as support people for others having the surgery and they had had surgery 1-3 years ago and were very happy with their outcomes. Move over and make a seat for me on the losers bench

As I sit here in the airport waiting to board my flight to San Diego, it all seems kind of surreal. 3 months ago I attended a WLS seminar and decided the bypass and lapband weren't for me. More research led me to VSG and Dr. Aceves and today I am on my way. Up until today I had felt completely comfortable and was not nervous at all with my decision, alot of that due to all the information I have learned on this site. Tiffykins and LilMissDiva have been an unbelievable source of knowledge and their posts have answered so many questions that I have had. I have totally felt okay with my decision and kept telling everyone that I wasn't even nervous. Okay, today I am nervous. I still am confident in my decision, just am anxious about the surgery. I don't do so great with the initial IV, scared sh**tless of a spinal block, kind of wimpy about pain, holy crap, what have I done??? I know it is fear of the unknown and things that are out of my control and I still feel okay about my decision, but wow! Everyone has said to me are you ready for the changes in your life this is giong to require? I know of the changes, have plans as how to handle them but I can't say exactly what I am going to do until I get there. My stomach is gurgling and in knots, I think to prepare me:) and if this is as bad as it gets, I'll be good I also remember reading somewhere on the boards, "never trust a fart." Sort of feeling that today. I also have this fear that when I get there, for whatever reason Dr. Aceves will say, "we're sorry that you have traveled all this way and have had all this anxiety but we won't be able to do your surgery today." Does that happen? Oh, lord, another thing to worry about. Oh my, the flight crew is getting ready to board the plane....passenger boarding will start soon! Is it too late to turn around???? Fat girl tries to escape boarding, runs through airport...I can just see it on the breaking news this morning! Okay, I think that is it for my random musings so far this morning. Maybe more coming from layover in Denver. Thanks for listening!

So now I wait. After what felt like the longest day ever yesterday, arrived in San Diego, Ernesto was waiting, got to the hospital, everyone was wonderful, went to the hotel, not even hungry at that point just thirsty and slept without even taking the ativan that was provided. Of course at that point I had been awake and moving for 18 hours so I was exhausted. Up this morning at 4:30 (i'm still on eastern time and the world is on pacific time here), in the hotel lobby at 7a and shuttled back to the hospital. lovely room, blood thinner shot and now i wait for my happy pill and then i will know it's my time soon! it's seems all my tests were okay, no one is saying there won't be a surgery, my blood pressure seems to be taking all the anxiety i think i am not feeling but no one said that would prevent the surgery. So I will keep you all posted on how the day goes! Edging towards the loser's bench