huberm

I am scheduled for march and complications make me the most nervous. I have been told dr Ortiz has had no complications at all with the sleeve, but how is that even possible! Every surgeon is bound to have some I think, its just a roll of the dice. I'm concerned that if I have a complication when I get home it will bankrupt me or I will have trouble finding a surgeon to help (already having trouble finding a local surgeon willing to arrange aftercare with).

Be careful; I contacted a local bariatric department to see if they would do the aftercare and they told me they would not do it for anyone having surgery abroad. I have since heard that this is common.

I am scheduled for the VSG in march but am considering doing the plication instead

Yes, they fold the stomach and suture it in place, making a sleeve without removing the stomach. It is being touted as safer and as effective, though there have been a few people on here with complications.

Hello, I am 6' 260 with a bmi of 35 and considering VSG. I've heard a lot of different opinions as to whether I have any business even having surgery to lose 75lbs. Early this year I was able to get down to 235 from 275 but most of it is back. I am able to keep my blood sugar and cholesterol at tolerable levels by eating less than 40g carbs per day but if I go off this plan they both go up into bad ranges. What are your thoughts?

It sounds like we are pretty similar. I'm 30, 6' 270lbs. At the beginning of 2013 I weight 275 and decided I was making a life change. I decided I was tired of struggling and wanted to pursue surgery. My doctor and a few relatives changed my mind, and I went on a really intense, miserable Medifast diet that later transitioned into a low carb type diet. I lost 45lbs and felt great! I didn't lose all of the excess weight but it was a good chunk. Then in October I went to Florida. In two weeks time I gained 20lbs. How is that even possible???!? That really made me mad and I have now gained more. I'm back up to my weight when I first started. I put considerable effort into changing my health and failed. I decided this time I'm making the decision for myself and I don't care what others think. I've dealt with it my whole life and I'm the only one that can take action to improve my health. What helped me was to look at the pros and cons. There are huge pros and huge cons, but for me the good will far outweigh the bad if it can help me get healthy again.

I've been concerned about portion sizes too. I've read some women in the forums can only eat 4oz of food at a year or later out. That seems like serious restriction and I wonder if it would be miserable to only be able to eat that much at a time?

Thank you guys for all your input. It sounds like a lot of you are in similar situations as I am. After a lot of thought I decided I will be proceeding with the surgery. After finding my junk CDHP out of pocket costs will end up costing the same as me going to Mexico as a self pay, I decided to book the surgery with Dr. Ortiz in Tijuana and will be heading down there in March.

Thank you everyone for the responses. My wife is on board with the decision but like me sometimes has a floating opinion. I am definitely nervous I might have regrets after the surgery and not be able to change it back.

Hello Everyone, At the beginning of 2013 I began exploring the possibility of weight loss surgery. I am 6' and at the time was 275lbs (BMI 37) with diabetes, gout, low testosterone, and high cholesterol. I went to a seminar, had a consultation with a surgeon, and really had decided that was the path I should take. Needless to say I followed the wisdom of my primary care physician and some family members, who urged me not to do it. Instead I went on a physician supervised weight loss program using Medifast and lost 45 lbs. This was extremely hard work and I had many struggles dropping that weight. Fast forward to now, I have regained almost all of the weight back. I am now at 260 lbs (BMI 35) and back in the same place I was a year ago. I have decided to pursue the vertical sleeve surgery option once again. I have many concerns but mainly I am curious about your life after the VSG. Are you ever able to eat normally again? For example, if I were at a baseball game and wanted to eat a hotdog I would not want to be so restricted that I could not do that. Are you ever able to drink fluids normally again? I have heard it takes forever to consume fluids. How many calories do you consume? I wonder how safe it would be if the procedure was so restrictive that one could only consume 1,000 - 1,200 calories per day. My final pressing concern is dealing with those close to you that may be against surgery. Obviously I care very much about their views and their advice is really what stopped me from doing this the first time. The conflicting viewpoints put doubt in my mind which makes it very difficult to follow through with my decision. I do not have as high of a BMI as some may perceive bariatric patients as having. Did you face this problem and how did you cope?

My policy states for approval you must have a bmi greater than 35 for 5+ years. I have no documentation I can prrovide that proves this. Will that be a problem?

I was in my 20s and just went to an urgent care when I needed to see a dr. Ive since moved and that urgent care is no longer in business :-(