1MP4Life

I just had a panni done on 30 June 11, and it was covered completly by my insurance (military Tricare). The surgery was to remove excess skin in my lower abdomen, there was no lipo and no muscle stitching, just skin removal. Insurance covered it because it was considered medically necessary because of the amount of weight I had lost (122lbs) and because I successfully carried twins full term (11 years ago) and my skin streched because of that. The doctor made a cut in the lower abdomen along the same line as my c-section scar, so it is very low and most panties/bikinis will cover the scar. I also had a lot of excess skin above the belly button so the doctor ask if I wanted to have that skin removed even if it would leave a visible bikini scar. I choose to have that done also since I have never worn a bikini in my life and will not start now and I just wanted the extra skin gone. I am very happy with the results even though I am only two weeks out and still have a lot of swelling and bruising. My belly button was moved and after 12 years of not really having a visible belly button because of the extra fat and skin on my stomach, I am thrilled with how it looks now, even with the frakenstien stiches still visible. I was prepared for a lot of pain because I read a lot of stories about this surgery and have been suprised that this surgery seems to have less pain than the sleeve did and MUCH less pain than my c-section recovery. The surgery took three hours and was done under general anathesia (??spelling??). I had a foley cathader installed when I woke up so I was not able to get up and walk around until that was removed at about 700 pm the night of the surgery. After that I got up and walked around a little, but the anti nausea medicine made me dizzy so I had to rest often. I was given two percecet pills every four hours for pain until I was discharged from the hospital the next day at about 1:00pm. I slept on the couch the first two nights because it was eaiser to get up and down from then my bed, and my husband took off a couple of days work to take care of me so I did not have to cook for my self and he helped me shower and get dressed. I also had two drains placed in the pubic mound that had to be emptied and measured every couple of hours which were removed six days after the surgery. After day three I was able to get around well by my self and stopped taking percecet (I had been taking one every six hours since leaving the hospital). There was minimal pain even getting up and down and bending over and have not needed pain medicine since the third day. There is of course some discomfortable but not a lot of pain and I have been able to sleep on my side since about day seven but of course still can't sleep on my stomach. I have a binder that I have to wear all the time for two weeks except for a half hour a day for showering. After two weeks my surgeon said that I will still need to wear something for 3-4 more weeks, but it can be something like spanks instead of this thick, bulky velcro thing I am wearing now. I had surgery on a Thursday and took the entire next week off of work and returned the next Monday and had no problems at work (I have an office job). Well, sorry about the long post (and spelling errors), I hope that answers some of your questions about what to expect with the Panni surgery. Good luck!

Well done!! On to the next goal!

I have a Monday-Friday office type of job and took one full week off. My surgery was on Saturday the 3rd of July and I went back to work on the 12th, so I had about ten days to recover which for my type of job was more than enough. My boss and coworkers all knew I had surgery so they were really supportive when I needed a break to walk around or rest, and while they usually bring in all types of food, for that month that I could not eat solids, they were very respectful and just kept the food at thier desks instead of leaving it out on the breakroom table. Physically I was able to go back to work after that time, but if my coworkers had not been so supportive I don't know if I would have been emotionally ready to go back to work that soon. Hope that helps you determine how much time off you will need. Good luck with your surgery.

Oh my gosh Christie, those videos you do are great. I have the same issue with my arms, and I also had people walk by me and make a comment about my weight on a day that I thought I was looking good. It was so disheartening. I absolutely related to what you were saying. You are doing really great with your weight loss, keep the positive outlook!

Just wanted to say good luck! Dr Aceves and his staff are great, and the nurses during recovery are very good also. You are in good hands there. Best of luck. Let us know how it went when you have a chance tomorrow...or when ever you feel up to it.

That is awesome that you supporting your mom through this! I will reply with some suggestions when I have more time, but I wanted to tell you now how great it is that you are supporting your mom like this.

Best of luck to all of you having surgery today! Good luck in life Kathy, I know when my first marriage ended it was a very sad time, but there was also a great sense relief. Recovery and post surgery weightloss will be a great time to relearn how to be YOU again (hope that makes sense). Best of luck.

Hi everyone, I am six days out from surgery with Dr. Aceves in Mexicalli, and finally have a few free minutes so I thought I would tell about my experience for the people that have surgeries coming up. I arrived on Friday in San Diego and was planning to take the van that Dr. Aceves provides, but my husband wanted to visit his daughter in So Cal while I was recovering, so we decided to rent a car. The car rental place required extra insurance for the days the vehicle was in Mexico ($25.00 for 24 hours), or we could park the car at a lot on the California side of the border and either take a cab, walk, or see if the van was available to pick us up. We decided to drive and the hospital was easy to find and had a small parking lot in the back with a security guard. When we arrived at the hospital, I told the front desk clerk I was a patient of Dr. Aceves and they had us wait in a waiting area for a few minutes until Dr. Aceves' nurse arrived. She drew labs, urine sample, ekg, and x-rays within a half hour of us being there and we waited a few more minutes then Dr. Aceves arrived. We (my husband and I) talked with him for about a half hour to forty five minutes where he explained the surgery, and how to be sucessful after surgery. Next the anthestologist came and explained what would happen during the surgery, how long I would be unconsious and about the spinal block. After that, the internist came and talked to us a little more about the surgery. Ms. Yolanda showed up after that and gave us a packet to read through, and she completed the paperwork and took the money order for the surgery. Oh, all of this was in english, so we had no issues understanding anything. After that, she told us to forget about the preop diet that night, and go have a nice dinner. I was scheduled for an early morning (0700) surgery, which they don't usually do, so she ask if we were willing to stay at the hospital that night instead of going to the motel. I was wanting to get the surgery done as soon as possible, so we stayed at the hospital. We ate at an italian resturant a couple of blocks from the hospital, and despite the things you hear about safety in Mexico, we did not feel uncomfortable at all walking to the resturant or sitting and eating the meal. It cost about $35 dollars for the two of us to eat and the food was fantastic. They gave the bill in both pecos and american dollars, so there was no confusion. Back at the hospital, I met Jennifer (momof3girls) from this forum who was walking the hallways after having surgery that day. She was very sweet and was moving around well for having just had surgery that day. At about 9PM, Dr. Aceves arrived at the hospital to check on his patients and his nurse gave me a shot in my stomach which was an anticoagulant (spelling). The next morning, they gave me a pill to take to relax and then rolled me back to the room for surgery. They put an IV in and turned me on my side for the spinal block I was VERY nervous about the spinal, but I barely felt it. After that I don't remember anything until I was back in my room, and my husband was kissing me goodbye so that he could go visit the grandkids while I recovered the next couple of days. The next couple of days was just walking, resting and sipping on Water. To me the worst part was removal of the drain tube. It did not hurt, and only took a few seconds, but it felt VERY strange. I did feel better and had less pain in my side after it was taken out, but it felt wierd when it was pulled out. Anyway, that is about it, it was pretty uneventful (thankfully), the hospital was nice, and very clean. I had a cleaning lady in my room at least two times a day cleaning up. If anyone that is going to Dr. Aceves has any questions about the experience, please let me know. I am very happy with the procedure and the experience at the hospital so I am glad to talk about it. Of course not the hard part is not eating anything for 10 days. This clear liquid thing is tough. I never realized how much I thought about food, or how easy it was for me to go get what ever food I was craving anytime I wanted it. Anyway, sorry about the long post, I just wanted to share my experience and pay forward all the advice I recieved before my surgery. Cheers everyone! Kelly

Wow, NursyGirl, what a scary experience, thank you for sharing it. It is a good thing you spoke the language, I can't imagine trying to explain to the nurses and Docs what was going on with a language barrier. Thankfully you are recovering well now. My mom had a similiar experience after knee surgery at a hospital in the US. It was a scary 48 hours with her, we had no idea about the reaction she would have to anesthesia.

The day after I was released from the hospital I was still pretty sore, but I felt good other than that. My husband and I went to a mall (because it's air conditioned) and walked around alot that day. The walking felt better than sitting around, and other than moving slow because of the soreness, I felt fine. The food court was terrible though because everything looked and smelled sooooo good. Also, the day I was released from the hospital, our flight wasn't until 5PM in the evening, and I was released at 0700 in the morning. There was about a 1.5 hour drive from the hospital to San Diego, and then my husband drove us all over his old stomping grounds in San Diego for about six hours before our flight at 5PM. Looking back, that was a pretty busy day for just being released from the hospital, but other than the soreness I felt fine, and my husband was sensitive to my issues. If I needed to get out of the car and walk we did, and if I needed to sit and rest for a few minutes we did, so I didn't push myself at all, and did well. So, as long as your mom and aunt are sensitive to your needs, you should be fine stopping and visiting.

Bladkberryjuice: Just to let you know, I was Dr. Aceves' last surgery on the 6th of July, then all of his staff was taking the rest of the week off, I think the next surgery from him is not scheduled until next monday, so that is probably why you are having difficulty reaching anyone. As for safety, I was just there earlier this week and my husband and I are both military police officers (I'm retired he is still active) from the Army. Neither one of us felt the least bit uneasy or unsafe while walking around the blocks of the hospital in Mexicali, and believe me, we both know what uneasy and unsafe feels like in a foreign city. It is like any other city in the WORLD, there are neighborhoods that are okay, and there are neighborhoods you do not want to be in, and the Almater Hospital (as of earlier this week) does not seem to be a terribly dangerous place. That being said, I would not make my self vulerable by walking around alone, or with flashy expensive jewelry on, or even too late at night, but I woundn't do any of those things in my nice safe U.S., Washington state city either. Mexicali is not on the U.S. State Departments travel advisory states, but because my husband is active duty he had to get special permission to cross the border. His antiterrorism officer was not at all worried about Mexicali, but told him most other large border towns would be off limits to him. Just throwing in my opionion about safety, I won't even comment on the politics of illegals in the country because it has absolutly no bearing on VSG surgery. Good luck with your surgery Blackberryjuice, please feel free to ask me any questions about my experience with Dr. Aceves and his staff.

Hi, I just wanted to throw my .02 in. I can speak from the other side of the experience. I knew a lady from my work, that I did not see regularly and did not know very well, but we were on friendly terms. I had noticed for the past few weeks that she had lost quite a bit of weight, but I did not want to say anything in case the weight loss was not the result of her effort, but rather because of an illness. If I knew her better or known that she working at losing weight, I would have said something as soon as I noticed, but I didn't want to offend her, or drudge up a painful experience like cancer or other illness that causes weightloss. Since I wasn't sure why/how she was losing the weight, I didn't say anything about the weightloss, even though it was noticable. When the conversation of me taking a week of work off came up, I mentioned that I was going to try to start a new weight loss program that week (I didn't tell most people about surgery), and she mentioned that she had been going to weight watchers for the last six months. That was the point where I felt comfortable mentioning her weight loss. I don't know if that is why those ladies didn't say anything to you, but it is a possibility. Anyway, congratulations on losing 40lbs, it is signifigant regarless of who notices.

Jennifer - I am in Mexicali now, just down the hall from your room. I ask about you when they were doing my preop and said that you were just going into surgery so I will see if I can find you tomorrow and introduce myself. Good luck and many blessings. I have surgery at 0700 tomorrow morning, it was supposed to be at 1000 but they ask if I was willing to move the time up, and of course I said yes. The sooner the better. The only down side is that we will not be staying in the motel tonight, since Dr. Aceves staff & driver are not in that early on Saturday so we are staying in the hospital. My husband is only staying tonight and then he is going back to San Diego to spend the holiday with his grandkids, so he is being a good sport although I know he is not entirely comfortable with this surgery. I can't believe I am having surgery tomorrow!!! I am soooo nervous!!!

Hi Aimee, welcome to the forum. I am pretty new too, so I look forward to getting to know everyone on this forum. I had my thyroid removed in 2000 because of thyroid cancer and have been on synthroid since then. What a roller coaster that has been, I gained weight on synthroid also, even though I was told it would help me lose. I am very thankful for that medication though because when I first had the thyroid removed and they were still trying to find the right dosage, I had a couple months where it took me 45 minutes to crawl to the shower take a 30 second shower and crawl (I do mean literally crawl) back to bed and I was done for the day. I was sooooo tired all the time before they found the right dosage. I am scheduled for surgery tomorrow and my endo doctor told me that the surgery itself will have no effect on my thyroid (or the lack there of), but as the weight comes of quickly, my dose of synthroid will need to be adjusted. He wants me to come in at least every other month just like when I first started on the meds for a blood draw and medication adjustments, he also said it will be okay not to take the synthroid for a few days right after the surgery, but I will not want to miss more that a week. Thank goodness the pills are small. Anyway, that is what my endocrinologist told me about the surgery, and also he was very supportive because a healthy body weight decreases the risk of the cancer returning. Good luck with your journey. Kelly I forgot to add that the endocrinologist said that the surgery will work regardless of the thyroid because of the simple calorie intake vs. energy expended rule. I was also concerned that because of my thyroid cancer that I would not lose weight with the sleeve, but that is not the case according to my doctor. But, because I have no thyroid, I will have to be on synthroid for the rest of my life regardless of how much weight I lose because my body does not have an organ anymore (thyroid) to produce those hormones, I'll just have a smaller dose.

Hi Momof3, I will see you down there, I am having my surgery the day after you, so I am sure we will run into each other there. My name is Kelly, so be on the lookout for me. Good luck with your surgery, see you there! Kelly

Wow, that is a scary story, but I am glad to hear you are okay now. I have had no second thoughts or fears about the surgery I am scheduled for on the 3rd of July...until now. I am scheduled with Dr. Aceves and he has a great record, but you just never know. If the doctors are having a bad day, it could have a bad outcome for the patient. Scary. Well good luck with your weightloss on your own, this might be the incentive you need to stick with a diet.

Congrats on finally getting a surgery date! I am going to Dr. Aceves in a couple of days, so I will also let you know what to expect. As far as family goes, my husband and sister are the only two that know. My mom and her husband and my dad and his wife all know that I am considering wls, but none of them think it's a good idea. I am sure they would go crazy if I told them I was going to Mexico for surgery. So, I decided not to tell them until after, and even then it will only be the next time I see them and they notice the weight loss, I live a distance away from them so I probably will not see them for several months. I won't lie to them about having the surgery, but I am not going to give them reason to worry and time to try to talk me out of this. Anyway, congratulations on the surgery date!:thumbup: Kelly

I missed this thread until now. I am scheduled for surgery on July 3rd with Dr. Aceves in Mexicali! I fly in to San Diego on July 2nd and leave on the 6th. I am so excited I can hardly stand it, and I feel the same way most everyone else here does, at peace with my decision and not nervous at all. I have an 11 year old daughter and 10 year old twin boys, and I look forward to being able to play a game of soccor with them, instead of just watching.

Hello everyone. I have been lurking around on this site for a few weeks now and your stories are very inspirational. I decided to have WLS a couple of months ago and met with the surgeon at Madigan Army Medical Center (I am retired Army & my husband is still active duty), and to have the sleeve done there I would need to enter a program and it would be a six to twelve month wait. I did a twelve month program through the VA and I do not want to wait another year, so I am going to self pay for this surgery. My husband is very supportive of me having the surgery and paying for it out of pocket instead of using insurance, but when I told him I was seriously considering going to Dr. Aceves in Mexico he went nuts. I explained to him about all the people on this and other boards that went to Mexico for surgery with good experiences and all he could say was that I am a naive fool and that all those people on those boards are fake and paid to post those stories. Now, I know that I can be a little too trusting sometimes, but I have also researched a lot about this surgery and the hospital in Mexico and find it hard to believe that all the people with a long history on the forums telling their stories about surgery in Mexico would be fake. So, my question is, did anyone else have issues with their spouse/family not wanting them to go to Mexico for surgery, and how did you convince them this is the right choice. I have made up my mind that I am going through with this surgery in Mexico, I just would like to get my husband on board with me.

Hello everyone, I just wanted to let everyone know that after a little education, some sweet talk, and the preverbial slap in the face, my husband is on board with my going to Dr. Aceves in Mexico for my surgery. After I showed him all the statistics for Dr. Aceves and he was able to talk to Nina (patient coordinator) he felt a little bit better about it. However, the final nudge that he needed came from an unexpected source. He was telling a highly respected (and trusted) coworker of his about my "crazy idea to have wls in Mexico". It turns out that his coworker's spouse and mother have had the sleeve done by Dr. Aceves in Mexico. That was the last bit of convincing he needed to jump on board and be supportive of my decision. Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know that while my husband can be stubborn, he is not completly unreasonable.

I was just wondering if anyone else will be having surgery by Dr. Aveves on the 4th of July weekend? I have finally convinced my husband it is safe to go there and have scheduled the vsg surgery.:thumbup: I arrive on the 2nd of July and leave on the 6th, and am wondering if I will be seeing anyone else from this board there.

Well, I will definately see you both there. I just bought the plane tickets and sent the $500 deposit to Dr. Aceves to reserve my surgery date. I can't believe I'm really going to have this surgery!!! I am soooo excited, I hope June zips by.

That's great, I'm glad to know other people from this forum will be there at the same time. I'm sure I will see you and your wife there.:ohmy:

Cool, I will probably see you there then. On an unrelated topic, I'm a mom of three also, but they're not all girls.

Thanks everyone for all your great responses, I love the amount of knowledge and support available on this forum. Oregondaisy- Thank you for posting your information about the doctor. That really helped sway my husband in a more postive direction. PNW218- I think talking with someone that had the surgery in Mexico would be a great help with my husband. I will PM you with my phone number so we could make arrangements. Thank you! I have scheduled my surgery for the 3rd of July which means we will fly into to San Diego on the 2nd and leave on the 6th. The timing seemed to help my husband also because he has a daughter in the Navy stationed down in San Diego and I told him after the surgery he would be bored at the hospital with me so he should go spend the 4th of July with the grandkids in San Diego. That helped a little too, so he is slowing coming around. Thanks again everyone.