Suzannesh

Hi, For me it was Oct 2008. When leaving on a Friday morning and going back to San Diego it took about 1 hour. There are many people who live in Mexicali and cross back over into the US to work, so there is a lot more traffic. We sat and talked and watched everything going on around us. The time goes pretty fast. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, I smiled to myself when you said you had been accused of being paid because you praised Dr. Aceves and your care. Me too. And being like you are if you ASK me then I will tell you. I also feel a need to make them aware of the difference of being cared for in a CLINIC and the sending them to a HOTEL to recover vs the care we received in a top of the line FULL hospital. NOT good at all to have the surgery done in a clinic and then go to a hotel--no wonder it costs less. So like you I speak up and speak OUT. I think we had the very best care there is and there is NO getting around it. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi Everyone, Right now we have all been celebrating today because it is the 4th of July. This is a day we honor and Celebrate being able to have our freedom. We are so very lucky that we live in a country where we do have a lot of choices. This form is a form for people who are going to be paying for their own surgery and thinking about going to Mexico. For so many of us our insurance will NOT pay for it so that is why we are paying for it--how ever we can figure out a way to do it. Away I am glad that my insurance did not pay--I know that sounds strange to even type it. I would have never found a great group of people for support and made so many life long friends if I would have not gone down this path. The best thing for me was I found a fabulous and wonderful teams of doctors and nurses when I went to Dr. Aceves and his staff :D in Mexicali, Mexico . I never knew that a hospital and doctors treated you like I was treated--the best I have ever been treated in all my life. I was so used to the minimal amount of care I got in the US hospitals. So enjoy your freedom today and maybe you will find a wonderful doctor like I did while making a choice of who is going to do your WLS. Remember put yourself first and NEVER give up on the fact that this can happen for you too! I wish you all the success in the world with your WLS. Suzanne Sleeved 10/21/2008 Lost a total of 105 pounds

Hi, Dr. Aceves is the doctor that you want for this surgery. He has had the MOST experience in this field of revisions. And he would NEVER let you go home unless he thought you were ready to get on a plane and fly home. They give you more than enough pain meds if you need anything. I did not have a revision, but had a close friend who did and she had no problems at all when it was time to go home. I had the sleeve to start with and honestly I only had one day in the hospital out of the 4 days that I was in the hospital that I didn't feel real good. You will find nothing but GREAT things about Dr. Aceves. He is so very kind, and caring along with being a highly skilled surgeon. If you have any more questions about him, feel free to send me an E-mail. I will try to answer anything you want to know. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, I would never want to do any recovery in a Hotel room. After having major surgery, I would only consider having my surgery done in a full fledged hospital where I have 24 - 7 care from very qualified nurses and doctors. It is also not a time your life to be PRICE SHOPPING. This is serious surgery and you need to stop and think--why are some of these suregons able to charge so much less????? The doctor is able to charge less because he is NOT having you recover in a hospital. Hospitals do cost more. And I know there are times when so many of you have done really well with your recovery in a nice Hotel Room. But, what if you DO have a complications?????? I want someone there 24 - 7 and I don't want to wait until someone comes to check on me in a hotel room. That is my preference and I can only speak about my own experience. I was scared and had a million emotions going on before I had surgery, and I wanted the very best care I could have before and after my surgery. You should want the VERY best you can have too. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, I also used to think the very same thing. I am about as real as they come. I sent you a private message. Please read it. Suzanne

Hi, Have you been doing what I used to do? I sat on these boards--as a matter of fact 3 different boards and read everything I could read about Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) trying to make up my mind should I or can I just do another diet and exercise more. I called it "lurking." because I never posted anything, Well, WLS was my answer and it was almost 3 years ago and 105 pounds ago. It was the best choice I have ever made in my entire life. If you are sitting there trying to make up your mind and you are a self pay and Mexico is your choice please stop and read a few things and think about a few things. 1. When it comes to WLS you want the best and it is NOT time to PRICE SHOP--you deserve to have the very best. I wanted the very best doctor I could have if I was going to pay for this out of my pocket. Dr. Aceves name kept coming up as being the very best. 2. Are you having your sugery in a "clinic" and then being sent to a hotel room to recover--NOT a good idea. Do you have a "24 hr" nursing staff watching you and taking care of you 24-7? Well, make sure you have the answers before you make the final choice. 3. Dr. Aceves has a complete staff of many superior doctors and nurses in a top of the line Hospital. I saw 2 doctors 3 times a day when I had weight loss surgery and Dr. Aceves's Hospital has less of an infection rate than any US Hospital. They would never let you go home until you are ready and you are well enough to fly back to your home. 4. So please consider all these things when making a choice of who is going to do your WLS. Your health and having successful sleeve surgery are the most important thing you will have once you make your choice. If you have any questions please ask. I wish you all the succes in the world with you WLS. It is the best thing you can do for yourself. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi I also had Dr. Aceves at Almater Hospital in Mexicali, Mexico. NO PROBLEMS or complications at all. I paid $8,750 too. When you want the VERY best doctor who has done more surgeries than they other doctors with NO problems please consider Dr. Aceves. It is NOT a time to price shop around when it comes to your health. When I did my research before having WLS, I wanted a doctor who had the most experience and who had no complication--that is Dr. Aceves. I looked for who's name kept coming up and the quality of the Hospital too. I was NEVER going to go to a clinic to have WLS--I knew it was important to be in a hospital. Please check all those things out before you make a choice and learn about your doctor and the place where they do the surgery--is it just a clinic or is it a hospital--there is a big difference. :rolleyes: I HIGHLY recommend Dr. Aceves and his entire team of talent nurses and doctors. They are amazing. :D

Hi, They may not know about these boards. I promise you, that you will meet them in the Van on your way to Mexicali. Make sure you exchange names, E-mail addresses and phone numbers, so you can stay in contact once you go home. Get together and have someone take a picture of all of you. You always need a picture of "before" you had the surgery. I am so glad I have a picture of "before." I know you are having all kinds of feelings and emotions right about now. This is really normal. If Ernesto is your driver that picks you up in San Diego, tell him that Suzanne said Hi. Also don't panic if he is a little late picking you up, he has to pick quite a few people up in different location at the airport. Ernest will make sure you have a nice drive and he will explain anything you want to know. He has had sleeve surgery too. This is going to be a life change event for you. I loved Dr. Aceves, he is so caring and kind along with being the BEST surgeon you could have. You are going to be taken care of my an amazing team of doctors and nurses. If you want or need ANYTHING just ask me. They take excellent care of you. I went almost 3 years ago. I lost a total of 105 pounds. I am here if you need or want anything before or after your surgery. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, you didn't say what city you are going to. I went to Mexicali and it is VERY safe. You family is uneducated when it comes to this. Remember this is ALL ABOUT YOU AND NOT THEM. You have to do what is best for you. Ernesto is the driver for Dr. Aceves and he would NEVER put you in any danger if you are going to Dr. Aceves. Please relax. You can also go to the web site for the US State Department and they tell you what boarders are safe for you to cross and what cities are safe. If you have any question please just ask. Hugs.

I spoke with my Primary Care Doctor before I went. I was up front and told her what I was doing. She thought is was a great idea and said that she would be happy to do any of my after care when I got home. She had me come in 2 weeks after I was home. I would suggest that you talk with your doctor. If he or she is against you going then you don't want or need that person for your doctor. Find one that will support you. They will bill your insurance and then the insurance pays. They will just be running your blood panel and that really is about all you will need. Tell you Mom this is all about YOU and no one else. I know she is worried, but honestly sometime they worry too much. There really is NOT much after care needed after having a sleeve. Good luck.

Hi This is something I wrote before, but I thought it would help you with any questions you might have. When it comes to weight loss surgery, you want the best. It really isn't time to be price shopping. I highly suggest you look at all the great things said about Dr. Aceves. He is the BEST their is. I am happy to answer any of your questions that you might have. It is never too late in life to consider having WLS (Weight Loss Surgery). I am a 63 years old. I never had a weight problem until after having two children. And then I seemed to struggle with being overweight. I now know all the reason why, I became less active, and ate more than I should have. I have tried most of the diets that you have tried, some with success and most no success. But, I would always manage to gain the weight back because I NEVER changed my lifestyle. My top weight was 225 lbs and I am 5’3” tall. My body hurt, my back ached and I had a pain in my leg that felt like I had a hot poker burning me most of the time. So I must have had a high tolerance for pain. I worked with a friend and noticed that she had lost weight, so I started asking her questions. Then she told me about going to Dr. Aceves, MD. She is a nurse and I really trusted what she was telling me. She directed me to his Web Site and then to the Yahoo Support Group site. I researched WLS for about 6 months before I made a choice. I sat and watched the people on the Yahoo Support Group and never said much for quite sometime. Now I have learned that is pretty normal. Then I was sure I want to have WLS and my choice was VGS –referred to as the “Sleeve.” So that is the start of my Weight loss journey. I just didn’t wake up one morning and say “oh in October I am going to have WLS.” I went through a process of getting here. I believe you have to have your “head” in the right place for this to be successful. I knew my head was in the right place, when I put myself ahead of everyone else. So many of us are care takers of everyone else and we come so far down on the list of taking care of ourselves. Be prepared for the opposition that you may face from your own family and friends. I believe that we really need to educate them so that they know exactly what we are doing and how safe it is. But this is about YOU and NO one else. You have to be willing to stand up for yourself; you have earned the right to do this. Believe in yourself enough and want this enough to be successful. I felt awful, I hated my body, and I wanted to be healthy again. About 4 years ago I met and fell in love with the most wonderful man. I had been single for 16 years. He is an amazing man and loved me for just who I was—overweight. He has been very supportive and encouraging every step of they way. I can’t begin to tell you all the beautiful and wonderful comments that he give me. I had the surgery because I wanted to become healthy and wanted the opportunity to spend the rest of my life with Bob. My weight loss journey has been incredible, and I have learned so many things about myself. food is no longer my driving force. I eat to live not live to eat! When I eat, I actually think about putting good and healthy foods into my (new) 63 yr old body! What a thought. I look for the Protein first because I try to make sure I get 70 grams of protein and then my veggies and some fruit each day. I started keeping track on line what I was actually putting in my body so I would have some idea of the number of calories I was eating each day.

Hey Everyone, Just a thought. You may have heard the saying “What I do today is important because I’m trading a day of my life for it.” But have you ever really thought about what is means? It’s probably impossible to plan every 1,440 minutes of the day. But, give it a little thought. What can you do part of that time to make your life happy, healthy and how can you benefit from your choices? Life is short and so make the most of the day that you are trading of your life for. We all stumble and fall along the way, don’t beat yourself up over it. Move on and have a better day the next day.

Hi, I can only speak about my experience, but yes I did have a pre-op diet. My doctor left it up to me but his suggestion was Dr. Atkins Diet--High Protein and low carb diet. You will be eating a lot of protein and low carb with a sleeve, so it was just a way to learn how to start eating. Good luck, Suzanne

Hi Everyone, What is your personal goal by the end of summer? I had many goals. My first goal had to be that I wanted to have Weight Loss Surgery. I had many failures at weigh loss in my lifetime. I knew that I wasn’t lazy, I could lose most of the weight, but I would sabotage myself and I would either give up, or feel like I was a failure. Have you done any of these things? I bet you have. I was also a single Mom for quite a few years and I felt guilty spending the money going with Weight Watchers, or whatever it was that I was going to try. So I basically gave up on myself? I bet you have done this too. It is almost like you could write this posting and it would be about yourself. Then I finally figured out that I was worth having a life and I put myself first. I cared about the quality of my life, and I wanted to be healthy and not feel the emotional and physical pain that I was experiencing. I also met a wonderful man who loved me when I was fat—we ended up getting married because he is so wonderful. I DID NOT have the weight loss surgery because of him. He could have cared less if I did—he loved me for who I was. I did it for ME and NO one else. So if you are sitting there thinking—gosh this is exactly how I feel, I want you to know that you can give yourself permission that you are going to set some goals for yourself and be able to achieve them. NEVER give up on YOUSELF. You do deserve to change your life. Be brave and GO FOR it. Check out your insurance or be a self pay patient. If you have the will there really is a way. I also had to pay for my own WLS, and that was the best money I have EVER spent in my entire life. You know we make car payments and don’t blink an eye at doing that. How about making “Body” payments?????? I had a wonderful experience with my WLS, and I had the best doctor I could have had. We all have fears when it comes to having WLS. That is pretty normal because with any surgery there is a small risk. I would have died faster from doing NOTHING and being fat, than I would have from any WLS. Love yourself enough to do it. Give yourself a chance at life. If you have any questions or just want to talk, please contact me. I know exactly how you are feeling. It has been almost 3 years and I lost 105 pounds and have kept it off. I am so happy and love my life.

Hi, The bad was all the feeling and emotions before you go. The second guessing yourself, And the 1st month after the surgery is the hardest month you will have to do. You start off with 10 days of nothing but Clear liquids, then 10 days of creamy liquids, and the last 10 days of mush foods. Then you start to eat regular foods. That is a BIG challenge. Your brain plays tricks on you and we call "head games". You know you are full, but your old brain says---hey I am used to eating a whole lot more. But, you know you are full. So you learn to figure out do I just "want" to eat or do I really "need" to eat. You no longer ever feel hungry. So you really have to figure this all out. The next thing is that you have to learn not to inhale your food like you used to do. You will never be able to guzzle a bottle of Water again--that is OK I can deal with that. You now have to take tiny small baby bites of your food and chew each bite about 30 times before you swallow it. Your food almost needs to be a liquid in your mouth before you swallow. You get tired of eating and chewing and chewing and just push the food away. You are always the last one to finish eating, and that is OK too. You may have hair loss ( it will grow back and when mine came back in it is now natural curly) I always had very straight hair--so the was a nice thing for me and you will probably suffer from constipation too. So those are some of the bad and ugly. Hope you are smiling still, it is all worth it! Suzanne

Hi, I think you were fair and honest when you compared the band vs the VSG or better known as the Sleeve. So like so many of us the Sleeve was our choice because of all the things you have stated about the problems with you lapband. I hope you find what will work for you and Congratulations on reaching your goal. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, I consider the band at first--and that was only for a short time. After a lot of research and talking with people who had the band--I knew I NEVER wanted to have the band. I had sleeve surgery almost 3 years ago. There are too many problems with the band, and people have ended up having to have it removed and then pay for a revision to a sleeve$$$$. The cost in more for the band in the long run because you are always needing to have it filled and unfilled at the cost of $200 to $300 each time. You have problems eating with the band too and they are on a liquid diet so much of the time--I don't think that is how you want to spend your life. It can slip and cause you a lot of problems. I just read an article that had followed people who had a lapband for 12 years and over 50% of them had to have it removed. So I would NEVER consider having a lapband. Go for the sleeve. If you have more question please ask. Suzanne

I think just breakfast for awhile to make sure you like it. I didn't do a liquid diet at all. I used the Atkins diet for about a month before I had my sleeve surgery. Suzanne

They need to see the REAL color under your nail bed to check on your circulation. It is for your protection and health. It is a really simple thing, you can always get that one nail done after the surgery. When have surgery you want to do everything you can to make sure that the team of doctors and nurses can take the best care they can of you. So take the nail polish off. Suzanne

Hi, I am almost 3 years out from having sleeve surgery. I notice that someone wrote already about using Miralax. I highly recomment using it daily. I just mix mine with my Protein drink every morning. I put a cap full in the blender with my Protein Drink. Miralax is tasteless and I use it sometimes in my hot tea too. It just makes life a whole lot easier. You are eating protein and do not get enough of the Fiber that you need. Miralax is not habit forming either. I use the "Costco" brand, it is the very same thing and cost less. For me the poop is much smaller and looks the same color as always. Suzanne

Hi, Yes, that is a very interesting thought. I wonder about that too. I just read a article in AARP magazine that said the they followed a group of people for 12 years who had a lapband. I found this interesting. More that 50% of them had to have their lapband removed because of complications with the lapband. That just proves to me that is why I NEVER wanted a lapband. I love my sleeve and it is the best you can have. Good luck. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, I knew I was going to die faster from being FAT than I ever was from "sleeve surgery." I also trusted my research in who my Doctor was going to be. Unlike you I was a "slef pay." because my insurance was NOT going to pay. I cared about my health and I wanted to do so many things in my life as a healthy person. I have NEVER had one day of regret. GO for it and just remember this is ALL ABOUT YOU and NO one else.

Hi, I would pick a select few close friends and share with them what you are doing. You may be surprise at the number of people that really are uneducated about WLS. They don't have enough correct information to understand that you are going to be safe and healthy. My suggest is that you wait until AFTER you have the surgery so that they see you are alive and well and becoming healthy. Some people also are a bit jealous that you are losing weight and they are not. So be prepared for this. As you lose weight you might find it the right time to tell people and educate then a little about the kind of weight loss surgery that you had.I always try to take this time to educated people about what "sleeve" surgery really consist of. As I said before soooooooo many people really have a lot of wrong information. Congratulations to you on your choice. You will never regret this choice!

<FONT color=#0000ff size=4 face="Comic Sans MS">Hi Everyone, I have been reading a few articles. I can’t say for sure if these actually work, but they are worth giving them a try. <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'"><FONT color=#0000ff>I have heard sooooooo many people talk about dealing with anxiety. The article suggest that if you have nagging worries have you down, try soaking a washcloth in ice Water and holding it to the back of your neck for 5 minutes. The cold temperature constricts blood vessels and slows down circulation to the head, decreasing activity in the brain’s stress-storing region, so you’re able to squash anxiety.