Popsicle530

I'll catch h**l for this but I'm going to say it anyway. First, I do NOT work for anyone but myself and that is providing cosmetic tattooing services. I have NO association with any doctors or clinics from which i receive ANY benefit. So here it is: Avoid Dr. Almanza at ALL cost, i dont care how attractive his prices are, how endearing his staff, or he seems to be ((i found him quite sleazy but there are those who are 'taken' by him)). He could have killed me, my insides will never be the same. If you would like to read my story just follow the link and read my posts. If not, thats fine. I have such a bad taste for TJ, MX because of Almanza, which i know is not fair.. there are probably some very good doctors there, but he ruined it for me. He has put people in comas, had a man dropped off at the border who was near death because of Almanza. You dont have to take my word for it... look him up. I think the doctors associated with THIS site are reputable. I will tell you the place where I found my sanctuary: the Mexicali Bariatric Center. I originally went to Dr. Aceves, who I fell in LOVE with. Unfortunately he passed in a tragic airplane crash. I had 7 friends from AK (my home) , 1 from TN, 1 from GA, 1 from FL, 2 from CA who, after seeing my wonderful results also went there and there has not been one reported negative result. Anyway,,, again, no i dont work for them, i receive nothing from them, I simply respect and love them for what they have done for me. I would go to ANY of the doctors there, and if I can ever afford skin removal, I will consult with them for a referral. It was suggested on here that I contact you after your post, and it has taken me some time to find you. I hope you will read my story. I dont want to REpost it on your thread because that really seems to piss people off. I dont spend enough time here to be acquainted with the 'rules and protocol' so I've had my butt chewed several times and been accused of being a.. cant recall what i was called, but basically they said i obviously 'worked' for a doctor and was trying to steer business away from Almanza. To that I say 'heck yeah, guilty as charged EXCEPT I work for NO doctor, nor gain any advantage'. I simply hate to see Almanza to maim, destroy, and butcher people. Are there those who would defend him???? Absolutely!!! But would you want to take that chance? Read up on him if he is one you are considering. Dont go by just my word. . This doc on here... Brechter, Brecher... not sure, but his office was incredibly helpful to me during my disaster. Best of Luck to you.

@@Cape Crooner yes, yes and yes. i fell off every wagon in the circle.

My Delightful first VSG turned Nightmare @ "resleeve" by Almanza 7 years ago I had a VSG with the wonderful now deceased Dr. Aceves. He was the most caring gentle sweet man and absolutely brilliant,no scars, he was there with me when I woke. He spent untold time with me personally. I loved him and the surgery was so successful. I lost 105 pounds, came within 3 pounds of my goal weight and was ECSTATIC. A year and a half ago I had to leave my home state and move to rural NorCal to care for my aging parents. My active lifestyle screeched to a halt.. nothing to do here. The move was very difficult as I had lived in AK all my life and developed an amazing network of friends, had a booming business and a home i loved. I went through a terrible depression and a very sedentary lifestyle. Needless to say I began to gain weight. More depression. More weight. More depression, more weight. 40 pounds later I looked for a solution and found Dr. Almanza who proposed a 'resleeve" I did not know because I did not research that any reputable doctor would NEVER do a resleeve... I does not work because the side of the stomach does not expand evenly. With no research and desperation I made appt with ALMANZA. My first impression when I met him was he is terrible narcissistic. He paid NO personal attention to the patients... quick promises and all talk about HIM, his 6 pack abs, his good looks, etc. It was too late for me. I was THERE. I awoke to the most horrible scars... and I have experienced absolutely NO feeling of reduced appetite. I believe in my heart that he opened me up, ran into scar tissue from a previou lipo job and said to heck with this and sewed me back up. A veterinarian would have done a better job at putting me back together. My scars are hideous and I have had NO weight loss. All he did was appear to the 'group once to extol his own virtues and we never saw him again. Now his staff blames my meds which are the SAME meds I with Dr. Aceves during the original surgery. SO if my meds would prevent weight loss....WHY oh why would the even take my money, promise my goal and do an ineffective surgery??? I asked for 1500 dollar back and they wont refund anything. I pegged him as a blowhard narcissist the night and the only time we met him... but it was too late. NEVER buy into the "resleeve"... it isnt "a real thing' done by any reputable doctor, but rather just a RIP off. Almanza is a quack and asshole ripoff in my opinion Almanza is an absolute cocky, self absorbed, swindler, and fraudster. In my opinion and experience. I would advise avoiding him completely. I made a terrible mistake and lost a good of money. I so wish Dr. Aceves were still alive. I just dont know what to do now. WHAT do I do now?

@@Valentina i dont know how to navigate this site at all, its very clunky for me and I dont know how to find things. how do i find this 'newbie'?

@@Valentina i dont know how to navigate this site at all, its very clunky for me and I dont know how to find things. how do i find this 'newbie'?

@@GSleeve822 yes darlin', its the same guy. I wish i would have RUN AWAY as soon as the hairs on the back of my neck raised. unfortunately, I am still having many bowel problems, but HEY, I'm ALIVE and not in a coma. DAMN HIS EYES!!!! I despise that monster

@@Threetimesacharm @@Valentina Wow, thanks so much for your kindness. yes I agree for the most part the people here seem very decent, I just got on the wrong side of a few I guess. I'm working my stuff out,,, i mean it was SUCH a culture shock moving from a very diverse and progressive city to the mountains of NorCal to tend to my folks. We lost pops this last Dec, but my mom is hanging right in there, turning 89 this month. Still dont have anywhere near the network I had back home and my lifestyle has become quite sedentary... booooo.. bad!! But I'm working on changing that. Been doing a lot of work in the back yard and bought a bike rack and new bike. I was just so spoiled before, open the garage door, hop on the bike and 40 feet away was the trailhead of one of the best bike trails in Anchorage. Here, I have to drive 29 miles to get to a park thats ride-able. Everything is an adjustment when change is involved isnt it??Again, thanks so much for your kind words of support and for believing me.

@ Sue Brat Kee Ashe You are right, I didnt mention my diet. I went for 7 years vegetarian, gluten free and did great. With the move, the depression I did fall off many wagons. I totally understand what i did wrong. it just got SO FAR out of my control that I felt it was insurmountable. I'm climbing up out of that damn hole.

My "railing" is against Almanza. He is a narcissistic A**hole who cares only about money. He is a terrible surgeon as well as a horrible person. I have been accused of all sorts of crap on this message board.. working for another doctor, not following my original lifestyle changes. I dont even care anymore, I certainly do not have to explain myself. I was simply wanting to WARN people about Almanza. I dont have to do that anymore, His name is all over the news, the interned for putting people in comas, dropping off a near dead man at the border. My slow weight gain came 7 years after my wt loss from Mexicali Bariatric Hospital ((((WONDERFUL))) .. oh and NO i dont work for them, LOL. I am self employed living now in NorCal Tending to my ageing mother. My lifestyle really changed when I moved here, not much to do, no bike trails, I didnt know anyone and I became very depressed. It took about a year but I climbed about 40 pounds up the scale. Desperation and insufficient research led me to almanza. I knew there was something very wrong about him within 10 minutes of meeting him. red flags were popping like fireworks. I should have trusted my feeling and FLED. MY BAD. I own that. He cut me and created the worst adhesions, and he ran out of time before doing any resleeve. (all of this is documented at his strip mall "clinic", in spanish of course but I got one of the staff to run a copy of my 'eyes only' notes and its wasnt difficult to have it translated.) So he sloppily sewed me back up NEVER having so much as touched my stomach. I ended up going BACK to Mexicali Bariatric and they had much work to do to cut down and cut out some of large adhesions, one of which had attached to my bowel. They performed a duodinal switch (did i spell that right) and chose not to re-cut my stomach. I wish they would have but I trust their decision making. I am 15 - 20 pounds from my goal, getting a handle on the depression, making friends, finding bike trails and parks, waking in the mornings and all in all things are looking up. So go ahead and speculate, blame, accuse ... there are certainly a few of you on here. For the most part those who i have corresponded with personally from here have been absolutely delightful. And the fact that THIS website will do anything to avoid association with almanza should speak volumes. Best of luck to everyone, even my detractors. I'm pretty much done here, but I wish you all the best. OH i actually WISH i worked from one of the DOCS, haha, I would have some extra skin removed!!!!! baahaaahaa

is that jerk STILL in business???? it is almost a year later and I am having to have surgery to remove adhesions that his sloppiness caused which has interfered my colon! I HATE him. RIPPED me off, did NOT 'resleeve' me, lied about it, and now THIS!!! argh... if i could do him physical harm... I would LOVE it. THen when I voiced my displeasure with him on another board, I was nearly beat to death by some members who accused me of 'working' for one of his competitors! ARGHH

watch this: https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?hspart=adk&hsimp=yhs-adk_sbnt&p=team+10+news+dr.+almanzo

and sweetheart I am so glad you had a good experience. I would not wish a bad one on anyone. (well yeah there are actually about 3 people in my life i wouldnt mind seeing gutted) haha. just kidding. i'm so happy for you. enjoy your thinness

oh sweet darling... i just want to scratch the eyes out of that bitch. I dont care WHAT emotional scars she might be burdened with... damn her black heart for making you feel this way. I would hold you in my arms if i could. I'm so so sorry

DONT resleeve!! if you had a successful sleeve... do NOT RE sleeve. the stomach does not stretch symmetrically and a resleeve over a good sleeving is hapless. i know. Almanza totally screwed me with his 'resleeve" Me and my girlfriend. Have the the tests done and then consult with the doc (a reputable one) to determine which bariatric surgery is in your best interest at this time. I believe I need a mini gastric. so do your homework. and dont go to almanza.

OH thank God!!! My experience with Almanza was SO horrific... I'm lost, i dont know what to do. But I'm so glad to see you take his inadequacies serious. I have had the snot slapped out of me on message boards by telling my story about him. I thank you SO MUCH. He really needs to be put OUT of business!

@@LadyPullings thank you so much. LiZa

OMG what a moron.. I just replied to my own post. Chreezy I need sleep

im sorry, i dont even know where you are

My Delightful first VSG turned Nightmare @ "resleeve" 7 years ago I had a VSG with the wonderful now deceased Dr. Aceves. He was the most caring gentle sweet man and absolutely brilliant,no scars, he was there with me when I woke. He spent untold time with me personally. I loved him and the surgery was so successful. I lost 105 pounds, came within 3 pounds of my goal weight and was ECSTATIC. A year and a half ago I had to leave my home state and move to rural NorCal to care for my aging parents. My active lifestyle screeched to a halt.. nothing to do here. The move was very difficult as I had lived in AK all my life and developed an amazing network of friends, had a booming business and a home i loved. I went through a terrible depression and a very sedentary lifestyle. Needless to say I began to gain weight. More depression. More weight. More depression, more weight. 40 pounds later I looked for a solution and found Dr. Almanza who proposed a 'resleeve" I did not know because I did not research that any reputable doctor would NEVER do a resleeve over a successful sleeve.. I does not work because the side of the stomach does not expand evenly. With no research and desperation I made appt with ALMANZA. My first impression when I met him was he is terrible narcissistic. He paid NO personal attention to the patients... quick promises and all talk about HIM, his 6 pack abs, his good looks, etc. It was too late for me. I was THERE. I awoke to the most horrible scars... and I have experienced absolutely NO feeling of reduced appetite. I believe in my heart that he opened me up, ran into scar tissue from a previou lipo job and said to heck with this and sewed me back up. A veterinarian would have done a better job at putting me back together. My scars are hideous and I have had NO weight loss. All he did was appear to the 'group once to extol his own virtues and we never saw him again. Now his staff blames my meds which are the SAME meds I was on with Dr. Aceves during the original surgery. SO if my meds would prevent weight loss....WHY oh why would the even take my money, promise my goal and do an ineffective surgery??? I asked for 1500 dollar back and they wont refund anything. I pegged him as a blowhard narcissist the night and the only time we met him... but it was too late. NEVER buy into the "resleeve"... it isnt "a real thing' done by any reputable doctor, but rather just a RIP off. Almanza is a quack and ripoff in my opinion. (unless it was a botched sleeve to begin with) Almanza is an absolute cocky, self absorbed, swindler, and fraudster. In my opinion and experience. I would advise avoiding him completely. I made a terrible mistake and lost a good amount of money. I so wish Dr. Aceves were still alive. I just dont know what to do now. WHAT do I do now? I have now done some research and the only reason a 'resleeve' is usually done is to fix an original sleeve that was botched. (not my situation). At this point, someone in my situation needs a Mini Gastric Bypass. It has been suggested to me once that a plication would apply but I dont agree. I have been beat to crap on the message boards ... expressing my feelings and experience... even accused of being a 'ruse' working for another doctor and trying to steer business his way, OMG it breaks my heart to share the awful weight (no pun intended) of being an obese person with others who share the same but are so judgemental and cruel. I must grow thicker skin. so now i am looking for a safe and reputable place (my beloved Dr. Aceves has passed) and his clinic is just too expensive for me... after the $$ I wasted with Almanzo. Ohhhhh my gawd this is just such a dilemma. I was never happier than when people were telling me i was too thin. Superficial?? Maybe ... but the feelings are REAL. and i know there are a few of you who 'get it'. And the others want to bash the crap out of me. yes, my happiness revolves around my weight and size. so kill me.

this from a doctors office here in the US: i'm so sorry about your experience. I'm not sure what Dr. Almanza's idea of a re-sleeve is. We can reduce your pouch size by plicating your sleeve but my understanding is you can't realisitically re-sleeve as there isn't enough tissue left to do that. In basic layman's terms we can kind of hem up the sleeve side, tucking and stitching to give back restriction that you may have lost, but to say they can re-sleeve with a new staple line, I haven't heard of that being a true possibility.

you are just precious but the vicious cycle of depression/ weight gain/ fractured hip... loss of income.... im just too weak. I need surgical help

i think for an original sleeve you are good. just watch the Doctor. I hate Almanza ...its like a cattle call. I loved Doc. Aceves. anyone who is with him is ok with me... or Alanzo out of (south of) TX

also, i apologize for my mis-statement about no reputable docs doing re'sleeves. I was misinformed. so sorry

yes i stand corrected, i have found that doctors do re'sleeves. I apologize for mis-stating. My harm comes only to my wallet, my self esteem, and the awful scars. (my ab looks like i was shot with a shotgun) Those who seem to want to hate me.. I cant stop... All I can do is hope I can find a solution. I appreciate your willingness VSG Anne to change your mind regarding me. and I thank you glitter eyes for your kind reply. I know nothing of message boards, and I've been really given hell about my posting... Hey I'm sorry if I've offended. I'm just VERY sad and upset about what Almanza did or didnt do. I know what i'm supposed to feel like after a vsg and neither me nor my girlfriend who went with me have experienced any appetite reduction. Some may love him... thats fine... I just find him and his staff to not give crap about the unhappy or unsuccessful patient. So burn me at the stake.

thank you, i stand corrected, i have since learned that there are indeed some reputable docs doing resleeves... mainly of original sleeves done poorly. and i agree with you that what i probably well do is a MGB thank you for your kindness and information