Garyb_58

I found myself in the same shape with Nexium, my insurance would not pay for it either. I tried a couple of OTC meds and finally was told about Zegerid OTC. I have been using it every since, maybe not as good as Nexium but all the relief I needed. Good Luck,

Sanama, please don't let this scare you away from the surgery. I would do the surgery again in a heartbeat for the benefits of the weight loss.

I was 362 pounds and wore 56" waist pants and did not have to pay for two seats. I did have to get a seat belt extention. You should be fine. Good Luck :scared0: Gary

Starting weight: 362 Surgery weight: 354 on Jan 25, 2010 Today: 234 Total Lost: 128 1st Goal: 215 19 more to first goal and then we will see from there. Love the sleeve. Gary B

Congrats Patti, glad everything went well. Good luck with the weightloss. Gary

In the last three weeks I have been having the same thing happen when I stand up. I learned that my blood pressure is dropping causing this to happen. The doctor took my BP while laying, sitting and while standing. Everytime I stood up it would drop to around 80 over 35. I do not take BP meds so it was not from that. It stopped own it's own but I it does still happen maybe once or twice a week. Hope you feel better soon.

Good luck on your trip and surgery. I went out there on a Sunday too. Dr. Aceves and his staff are great. You'll be in our thoughts and prayers. Gary

They told me to have flight in before 11:AM on the day of arrival and flight out after 2:PM on the day for departure. We waited on another person on the day of arrival for more than an hour so they will work with you. On the day of departure we arrived at the airport before noon and I was able to catch an earlier flight home. But the three hour flight turned into a seven hour flight due to weather problems. Just let them know, they will work with you. Good luck

Had my surgery with Doctor Aceves Jan 25th of this year. I would go back in a heart beat. Really like everything about the care and Hosptial. I too could not find anything bad about Dr. Aceves. Good luck, Gary

I sing in a band and the only thing I have noticed is my mouth getting dry while I am singing, more than prior to surgery. I just make sure I have Water available for a quick drink if I need it. It was real bad the first two months but seems to be getting better now, but I still keep the water near by just in case. Good luck, Gary

Watch out ladies let this big guy join in on this happy dance for ryansgirl. Great job girl. Gary

Great job, keep it up. Congrats.

I have a desk job and had my surgery on Monday and went back to work the next Monday with no problems. Good luck.

Congrats, keep up the good work.

Well, Just a little update, as of today I have lost 100.6 pounds and it feels great. I am getting my life back, doing things I have not done in years and looking forward to doing a lot more. I am getting my Open Water Diver's Cert. renewed next month and plan to spend a lot of time underwater this summer. This is something that I loved to do 15 years ago and lost it to over eating. Friends and family are seeing me crawl under vehicles to do the work myself instead of having to ask my son or nephew to do it. Heck I can even get off the ground without having to grab ahold of something to pull myself up. I'm riding my motorcycle more, life is just great. The vertical sleeve is the best thing I have ever done for myself. Even if I didn't get any help from my insurance company. But you know I feel the best thing coming from this is I feel I will be on this Earth a little longer and get to spend more time with my wonderful kids and grandchild. Once again thanks to all the people on this site for your posts, prayers and friendship. A special thanks to my sleevebuddy Keys Pirate and her husband Rich for their friendship. I hope everyone has a great week and good luck on your weight loss journey. Gary

I fully agree AJW, me starting at 360 plus pounds has everything to do with me dropping the weight so fast. Also being a guy helps, don't know all the medical reasons for that but I know it is easier for a guy even without surgery. I have actually dropped 90 to 100 pounds before just to gain it and more back. With the sleeve that will not be happening this time. I know that if I had only needed to lose 50 or 60 pounds it would not have came off this fast. I started off needing to lose 147 pounds, so I've still have the hard part to go. Thanks again for all the kind words.

Thanks, I stay in the 650 to 700 range and at the first had trouble doing that.

Way to go, keep up the good work. Gary

Congrats on your surgery. Gary

Calva410, Yes it is great to look in a mirror and see that I'm losing weight, even though sometimes I still don't like what I see. I mean I know I'm losing and in four months I've dropped 100 pounds but sometimes I still see the old me in the mirror. Still wanting to lose a lot more weight even though friends and family are telling me they want me to stop after another twenty five to thirty pounds. It makes me happier when I see someone I have not seen since Jan. and they do a double take or tell me I don't look like the same person. When I put XL or XXL shirts and 40 or 42 inch in the waist jeans on instead of 4X or 5X shirts and 54 or 56 inch waist jeans. When I can sit in a booth while eating out etc. Those are the things that give me that great feeling of I'm really losing weight. Don't get me wrong I see it in the mirror and in pictures but my mind doesn't seem to realize what it's looking at in the mirror. I promise I'm not crazy, just have a hard time with mirrors. Good luck on your journey. Gary

Hey Carol, You go girl, 71 lbs is great. Cannot wait to see what our after picture looks like in Sept. My wife is excited about coming, said she will leave the diving up to us but enjoy being on the boat and getting to see the ocean again. Wow 71 lbs that is great. See you guys in Sept.

Way too go AJW, that is great! It is really nice to look at that scale and see 100 lbs gone. I am so happy for you too.

No way, no regrets, just wish I could have had it done sooner. Getting my life back and loving it. Good Luck, Gary

Once again thanks to everyone for you kind words. Gary B