Krista2653

Alish, I was told I had to do 7 days of low carb, high Protein to shrink my liver. You may not have needed to do it if your BMI is low. See you on Thursday at the airport!!! Krista

I also was interested in the band.......until I read story after story of complications after complications! I am also self-pay and going to MX for surgery and don't want to make that trip everytime I need a fill! I also don't like the fact that you can "cheat" with the band....all it takes is a milkshake or something like that to slide easily through and you can eat to max capacity. I was honest with myself and knew that if I could cheat and over-eat, I would and I was also honest with myself that I am not good with "maintenance" and all the fills/un-fills would never get done. I wanted something permanent, so the VSG was right for me. Good luck with your decision and with insurance/financing!!

Weight loss anything was also excluded by my employer.... But! After I look at what other people have been through with insurance, I'm glad it was! The hoops that some jump through only to be denied and the waiting....ugh. I figured that after paying co-pays, deductibles, co-insurance, etc etc etc (especially when it would have been $50 for each visit with a surgeon, psych, nut, etc)....I'm not paying much more then I would have anyway....and it is on MY terms and on MY time. Wouldn't have it any other way!

I also am headed to Mexico (next week!) for surgery and I feel you when it comes to reading the battery of tests that some people go through before surgery in the US and the it seems so minimal with MX surgeries. The thing that I try to remember is that there are THOUSANDS of people who have had surgery in MX and will undergo the same tests as we will and they are healthy and happy with their experience. I am relatively healthy besides being obese and so I'm more comfy with the choice to go to MX. If I had multiple co-morbidities, I may have made different choices. I know that I had to complete a medical questionaire with my physician and have heard of other patients who have had to complete additional tests and send him the results before he would agree to do surgery. If you are overly concerned, go to your PCP and let them know what you are doing and see if they can run some tests that ARE covered under your insurance to put your mind at ease.

OMG - I can't believe it is getting so close! Just think....in about 1 week, we will all be sleeved!! When I booked this surgery on 06-24, I never thought this date would get here. I'm starting my pre-op diet....wish me luck. I suck at diets! It seems that when I am on a "diet", my mind automatically thinks "starving" and I swear I eat more then normal. :sneaky2: I have not really felt the "nervous" feeling yet. I'm sure I will be a blubbering mess in the pre-op room like with my last surgery. There I was, 21 years old crying like a baby and all around me were 60+ year olds were laughing and joking with all the hospital staff. :thumbup1: I'm anxious and just want to get it over with. I want to be a LOSER!!! hee hee....never thought I would say something like that! :lol0: I can't wait to meet all of you!!

Melissa, I am one of those "self-pays" and whereas it would be nice if I didn't have to shell out over 10k for surgery and airfare, I am VERY thankful that I didn't have to jump through any hoops and wait forever to have surgery! I'm doing things on MY terms and MY time...considering co-pays and other charges, I'm not paying much more then if my insurance had covered it without the hassle! Any surgery is scary. My mom had the VBG in 1990 and the doc "nicked" her spleen and she almost died. I'm not saying this to scare you in anyway, but sometimes we get so caught up on results and forget what it takes to get there and the risks involved. (FYI - in my mom's case the doc was later fired from the hospital a month later for drinking before going in the OR...not sure whether this was the case before my mom went in, but even the best surgeons make mistakes.) I think the biggest thing is faith in your surgeon and to hope for the best, but always prepare for the worst. In general, this procedure has a low mortality rate and so long as your surgeon knows what he is doing, you should be just fine! Have you asked for your physician's stats for complications? Best of luck to you!

I have to agree! It determines how restricted you are and that determines the number of calories you can consume at each meal....obviously the more calories you eat, the less you lose! Thanks for the linke to the presentation. It was very informative!

Congrats to you! Hopefully the time you have will fly by quicker then mine did! I scheduled mine for 08-27 in June and I swear, it already feels like it has been a year since I scheduled! I'm almost there! :001_unsure:

I am being honest about it....there are some people who know and I don't want to pick and chose who I tell and who I don't and try to keep up with who is who. I also don't want to be dubbed a "liar" when I make up another excuse and they find out the truth. Besides, there may be someone who can benefit from my choice to have WLS. I did read somewhere where someone would respond with "I eat a lot less" when they were asked how they lost so much. I guess this is technically true!! I personally don't care what others think. If they want to think it is the easy way out, then so be it. They don't have to live with my choice or with my body - I do! I saw where someone had a good response to this reaction: "Well, I certainly hope that if you are at work and find an easier, more effective way to do your job you would go with that route instead of doing things the hard way just to prove something to yourself". If someone looks at me negatively because of my choice to have WLS, they aren't worth a damn in my book. They should be happy for me that I'm going to be happy and healthy - no matter which route I took to get there!

I have a lot of "wants", but my biggest one is to KICK PCOS TO THE CURB, BECOME FERTILE AND START A FAMILY! That is the most important... The next most satisfying one would be to cut up my plus-size clothing store credit card because nothing from there fits anymore! HA!

That is awesome! I'm on my iPhone right now, but will send you a friends request when I get home! I found out yesterday that there were only 2 people scheduled for 8-27 including me and thought the chances of finding the other person was slim! Are you traveling alone or is someone coming with you? My hubby is coming with me. I'm getting so excited!

Wow...I'm starting out where you were. I hope I can be where you are in less than a year!! I honestly wasn't optimistic with as much as I had to loose that I would be there in a year's time, but reading your post has given me new inspiration! :w00t: I'll be sleeved on 08-27 and hope I can do as well as you did!!

Hopefully most of that is "water weight" from all those fluids and will come off quickly once you start moving and feeling better!!

I think the 36 oversewn to a 34 is what I was told by Monica - either way, the difference between a 32 and a 34 is insignificant I read somewhere that each size up is the difference of a few millimeters...some docs use a 40 and people still have good restriction. I know some docs try to do a 34 to reduce the chance of the stomach twisting or "sticture" I think they call it.

I'm also self pay. I have saved, called in for advances on future birthday, Christmas, etc gifts from family and the rest is coming from a 401k loan. LOL. I get to pay MYSELF back interest at 4.25%!! Beg, borrow and steal!....well, not really the stealing part.....but plenty of the 1st 2! Good luck to you!

Dr. Alvarez is somewhere near Eagle's Pass....although I'm not sure where that is, I know that when I was considering him, I would have to fly into San Antonio. I ultimately went with another doc who was a little cheaper and I was more comfy with, but I would have gone to him if the other doc didn't work out for some reason. He has a good reputation and good experience with the VSG. There is a lot about him on the OH forum. I believe when I spoke with his office in June he was about $9500. Here is his site: Dr. Guillermo Alvarez: Gastric Sleeve (VSG) & Lap-Band® Good luck to you!

We also need to give props for the recent poll Dr. Aceves' office did that showed that 96% of his patients have lost 100% of their excess body weight in 12 months!! That is incredible seeing as though the results for the sleeve in general are only at a total of 60% of excess body weight after 3-5 years! Whatever Dr. Aceves is doing, it's working! I hope to be that sucessful! I have about 175lbs that I want to lose and I surely hope that I'm in that 96%. Sounds like my odds are pretty damn good! Krista Scheduled for 08-27-10 - It can't come soon enough!!!

I'm paying $8750 with Dr. Aceves in Mexicali, MX. This includes pre-op tests, all surgery costs, transportation to and from the San Diego airport, post-op support via email/phone (and he has his own forum on Yahoo with previous patients which is GREAT), a hotel the night before surgery, 3 leak tests after surgery and 3 nights in the hospital. The only other costs are the flight, your dinner the night before, tipping if you want and any meals if you bring a companion (they can stay in your hospital room for free).

That is exactly what it means!!! No supervised diets, no back and forth, no fear of rejection after you have jumped through hoop after hoop and then dealing with appeals.... In my case....even if WLS WAS covered under my health insurance, I would have only saved about 2-3k in co-pays, deductable, etc etc. (and probably came out better then with insurance if I would have gone with the cheaper docs in MX.) The only diet you will do is the pre-op diet to get you ready for surgery (mine is high Protein, low carb for 10 days prior). I'm kinda glad I'm self-pay. I call the shots! I do things on MY terms and on MY time and because the money is coming out of my own pocket....it is just more motivation to not waste all that $$. I'm scheduled with Dr. Aceves for 08-27-10 and I pay $8750 plus airfare - that's covers everything! Good luck to you!

I'm scheduled for 08-27 with Dr. Aceves and I'm paying $8750. There are cheaper in TJ, but BEWARE!!! Remember that saying "you get what you pay for"??? Check the stats...some of the TJ physicians have had a lot of leaks and infections. Some of them cram in 6 surgeries a day to make up for the $$ they lost on only charging $5200. I personally didn't want to be a part of a "mill" or surgical assembly line. I did have the financial means to schedule within the US, but after researching Dr. Aceves, I figured I could save more $$ AND get the BEST!! With Dr. Aceves, you recover in a hospital (not a hotel or clubhouse), you get 3 leak tests as opposed to 1 and Mexicali is a much safer city (from what I've seen) then TJ.....I read somewhere that the hospital you are in is only 1 block from the border....so are you REALLY in Mexico??!! Maybe the hubby wouldn't even notice!! LOL Every surgeon does it different and stats talk! Like someone mentioned earlier - 96% of Dr Aceves' patients have lost 100% of thir excess body weight in 12 months! That is incredible considering the stats of the sleeve out there is only a 60% reduction of excess weight. :confused1:

Tamboo, I'm from the Orlando area - about dead even between Orlando and Daytona, so we aren't too far from eachother! I chose Dr. Aceves in Mexicali, MX and have surgery scheduled for 08-27. I know what you mean about being totally obsessed with researching everything! I originally was looking at Dr. Alamanza and dr. Ponce de leon, but was more comfortable with Dr. Aceves when it was all said and done. I scheduled in June with Dr. Aceves and this last month has been the slowest month in my entire life and I'm so glad it is finally August! I don't have to flip ahead on my calender anymore to see the date! I can see it right there! I'm totally obsessed with being on here and the obesity help forum! I've organized my closet in order of size (I knew I was toting all of my smaller sizes around for a reason - and here it comes!).....I have Protein shakes, Protein powder (chocolate and unflavored so far!), plenty of SoBe Water, chicken broth and other "clear liquids" for that stage. I even bought baby food to start with the mushies stage! I have gas-x strips, chapstick, chewable Vitamins and other essentials already in my carry-on bag!! Tell me THAT'S not obsessed!! I even bought a membership to BJ's Wholesale ONLY so that i could buy all the protein shakes/powers in bulk! I applied for my passport on 07-06 and got it on 07-19 - not too bad (and that was without the rush fee). I'll add you to my friends list - it is always nice to have someone you can chat with who is close to home! Krista

My hubby will be there with me. He isn't a "sit-still" type of guy and I'm worried that he is going to be bored out of his mind!

Sam, Thanks for the tip....I just may need to go that route! I'm even okay with a little pain even if the alternative isn't as effective just to avoid that epidural! Thanks again! Krista