Lewser

It has been a long time since Ihave been on this site. I signed up back in 2008 when I had the Lapband and like many of you I failed it. I am back to my pre-op weight and hating myself every day for it. I have decided to get the Gastic Sleeve and since my insurance wont cover it, I am planning on getting the surgery down in Mexico with Dr. Alvarez of Endobariatrics. I am currently scheduled for the surgery 8/29, although I have yet to send the down payment. I have spent the past 4 days researching Dr. Alvarez and I have found literally nothing negative about him. Either he is the best bariatric surgeon EVER or he has one hell of a social media department. My PCP has expressed serious reservations about going down to Mexico for the surgery as has my wife (who is Mexican). My biggest concern is any complications as a result of the surgery. My insurance will not cover any medical expenses that come as a result of the surgery and I am in no place to foot a hospital bill sans-insurance. I also have a concern about whether or not I will fail this surgery as I did the lapband. Anyways, I just wanted to vent and look for some moral support. Thanks for reading.

Hello, I am new here (obviously) and my surgery is set for May 14th. I am a 38 year old married man living in Sherman, Texas My insurance company ( GreatWest ) approved me in only 1 day!! I was fully expecting to wait 4 -6 months for this. It kind of took me by surprise. I currently weigh 435 with a BMI of 54.5 My weight before meeting with with Dr. Aaron Cernero 3 weeks ago: 446lbs. I am currently on day 4 of my liquid diet. I was really tested on Mother's Day. I stubbornly insisted on cooking my wife and her mother steaks! My wife tried to tell me that I didn't have to, but I insisted. I sat there, smelling those steaks cooking and then I had to sit at the table while they ate and I drank my low-sodium tomato Soup. I actually had a dream about biting into a juicy steak that night!! But I perservered. I have two boys ages 2 and 7-months. I want to make sure that I live to see their post-adulthood accomplishments. Anyways, nice to meet everyone here and thanks for joining me on this journey that I am begining in 2 days! Keep the faith everyone.

Thanks Kathy. Right now I am just amazed that my back doesn't hurt if I am standing for more than 5 minutes. I am also happy that my feet and ankles don't pound anymore when I lay down for bed in the evening. I do have one correction to my previous post. New whey Protein bottles only have 25g of protein, not 46g like I said. But it is still only 3.1 oz as compared to 20 oz of Isopure. Thanks to everyone on this board.

Hey Bill, Glad to hear that you came out of the surgery ok. I was the one that got bumped that day, but its ok. Dr. Cernero came in and talked to us (my wife and I) about it and we rescheduled for the following Friday. I had my surgery that day and everything went great. Its great to hear from you. Hope you continue doing so good.

Just wanted to update everyone on how it went. Originally, my lap band wa scheduled for May 14th. I arrive at the hospital at 7:30 am for my surgery that was scheduled for 10:00 am. I am nervous, scared, and excited all at once. Then the wait begins. And continues.... and continues. At 12:30 pm the nurses came in and tell me that the doctor is sick and that he barely made it through his first surgery of the morning. They said that he might not perform my surgery today. Two hours later, the doctor came in and confirmed what the nurses had told me. He was sick and almost passed out a couple of times so he had me rescheduled for the following Friday. Friday rolls around and I arrive at the hospital at 6:00 for my scheduled 7:30 am surgery. This time everything happened so fast. It seemed like I had just gotten comfortable in the room (as comfortable as you can get wearing a robe with no back and an IV stuck into your arm) when they were having me slide on the surgery table. Next thing I knew I was waking up in the recovery room feeling like someone had punched me in the stomach repeatedly. They moved me back to my overnight room (Dr. Cernero keeps all of his patients for overnight observation). I was up and walking around about 2 hours after surgery. There was some discomfort from in my abdomen and in my left shoulder (from the gas). The worst pain I felt in the hospital was when they were tearing the tape (and most of my hair) from my arm to remove the IV when was ready to leave the next day. The first 3 days I had absolutely no appetite whatsoever. I pretty much "ate" because I had to. On a side note: I do not reccomend using Isopure for you protein supplement. It provides 40 grams of protein but it comes in a 20oz bottle. I had some real trouble getting down the whole bottle down in one day. I switched to New Whey protein supplements and they are much better. They provide 46 grams of protein in only 3.1 oz bottles. I am now in my "soft" food portion post-op food plan. I have lost 51lbs since the first time I saw my doctor (2 months ago) and I am loving it. I have already dropped a shirt size and 2 inches from my waist. Every now and then, I catch myself staring longingly (and with a little too much drool coming from my mouth) at fast food commercials. And sometimes I honestly miss my ability to over-eat, as if the food were a long-time lover that I have lost and will never regain. But these times pass quickly as soon as one of my boys wants to play and I can get on the floor with them pain-free. I plan on posting a list of my reasons why the Lap-Band WILL WORK FOR ME. It has to work for me. Bye for now. Thanks for sharing in my story.

Thanks for the welcome folks. It is nice to find people who know exactly what I am going through, both physically and mentally. GayleTX: The doctor is Aaron Cernero. His office is at the Wilson N Jones Medical building, just off of the main hospital. He has been very straightforward and easy to work with so far. He said he had done approximately 30 LB surgeries. That was 3 weeks ago, so I am sure that number is higher now.

Bill, I am also using Dr. Cernero and my surgery is also May 14th. We will probably pass each other in hallways. Good luck.

Hi. I am new here and this is my first post. My surgery is Wednesday. Because my insurance approved so quickly (it only took them one day!) and because I had lost so much weight already (11lbs in 3 weeks) my doctor told me that I could do 6 days of liquid diet pre-op. I am now on day four and it is a little hard to concentrate on work because I am a little light-headed. My thought is that it will be worth it after Wednesday.