Elisabethsew

I have heard of Dr. McCullough and I'm sure you'll be in good hands with his partner. Hopefully, more surgeons will develop expertise in the DS procedure. Not a lot do this surgery.

Welcome and congratulations on making the decision to get DS. You have lost a phenomenal amount of weight already. What surgeon did you select to do your procedure?

While most people are familiar with lapband surgery and gastric bypass surgery, there are two other surgeries that are "gaining" popularity. One is the vertical sleeve. The other is DS surgery which is the most complex and is usually reserved for the most obese population. Some people have DS surgery in 2 parts (the first being the vertical sleeve) while others have it in one surgery. Some have an open surgery and some have a lap. approach.
So, to those who have had DS surgery and to those who are considering it, let's get this forum up and running!
Liz

While most people are familiar with lapband surgery and gastric bypass surgery, there are two other surgeries that are "gaining" popularity. One is the vertical sleeve. The other is DS surgery which is the most complex and is usually reserved for the most obese population. Some people have DS surgery in 2 parts (the first being the vertical sleeve) while others have it in one surgery. Some have an open surgery and some have a lap. approach.
So, to those who have had DS surgery and to those who are considering it, let's get this forum up and running!
Liz

I've worked as a Registered Nurse for over 2 decades in New York. I worked for 4 university affiliated health care systems and had my band surgery in the U.S. as it was paid for by insurance (after a long fight).

The band failed me and Empire BS/BS would not pay for a revision until I had a 6-9 month "paper trail" of documented problems. I was worried that the months and months of choking up stomach acid was going to cause esophageal cancer and I could no longer tolerate the quality of life I was dealing with. I saw 2 bariatric surgeons in NY and spoke with 2 others. All wanted @ $25,000 out of pocket to revise me to a VSG or bypass or give me another band. I only wanted a VSG but they tried to talk me into other procedures (likely because they were more comfortable doing them). The $25,000 included the surgery and the time spent in the hospital in a semi-private room. Two surgeons send you home the same day and the other 2 send you home the next day.

Since the U.S. was letting me down, I researched Mexico and found a bariatric surgeon who certified by the American College of Surgeons. He operated out of a hospital with ICU capabilities and used an all RN staff. For LESS than half the money, I got:
- Transportation to and from the airport
- All pre-op testing
- A night's stay in a gorgeous resort (with free transportation to and from the hospital)
- The surgery
- Post-op testing
- A private room with a private bath and round the clock nursing care for 3 nights
- A 2 week supply of nexium and pain medications

Any doubts I had about going to Mexico were erased when I walked through the doors of the EXTREMELY clean hospital. U.S. hospital could learn a lot from the way things are done in Mexico. I saw my surgeon three times a day and felt safe and cared for. In the U.S., the surgeon sees you for 5 minutes a day. Would I go back to Mexico? In a heartbeat, yes!

I love the idea of making of list of "thing I want to do" and gardening is something I love. I'll be having two total knee replacements in a few months and really feel I'll have my life back once the rehab is over.

I also think making long and short term goals with rewards is important. We're working to be healthy and rewarding milestones is a good thing. When I get out of the 200's, I am definitely going to take a weekend trip.

For me, head hunger is real. If I want something, I keep thinking about it. I was in the staff lounge in one of the ICUs at work 3 nights ago with two naturally thin RNs. Sitting on the table was 3 boxes of donuts (a GIFT from a family member). I chatted with them sipping coffee as they ate their dinner (brought from home). When they were done, they looked over the contents of all 3 boxes. Each decided on a favorite and cut the one selected in half!

I asked how they determined they would have half and the one answered, "I really want several and if I don't have THIS and deprive myself, I WILL have several later on". Well, I wanted several also. So, I took a knife and cut off a tablespoon size piece of my favorite one. She was right, I continued on with the shift and never thought about those damn donuts again.

I'm going to have to learn more skinny people secrets. LOL.

I've only had my surgery shy of 2 months ago so I'm still dealing with my food addiction and will be for quite some time as I have a lot of weight to lose. I did read that many successful weight loss people develop substitution addictions.
I can easily see myself having to resist becoming a shop-a-holic and will probably have to use a lot of restraint to stop myself from buying too much. Wearing cute clothes in small sizes is something I always wanted to do but never could.
Has anyone suffered from this? Anyone worried about it?

You forgot the acid reflux burning a hold in your chest and the not being able to sleep in bed for fear of waking up choking on acid regurgitation.

For me, head hunger is real. If I want something, I keep thinking about it. I was in the staff lounge in one of the ICUs at work 3 nights ago with two naturally thin RNs. Sitting on the table was 3 boxes of donuts (a GIFT from a family member). I chatted with them sipping coffee as they ate their dinner (brought from home). When they were done, they looked over the contents of all 3 boxes. Each decided on a favorite and cut the one selected in half!

I asked how they determined they would have half and the one answered, "I really want several and if I don't have THIS and deprive myself, I WILL have several later on". Well, I wanted several also. So, I took a knife and cut off a tablespoon size piece of my favorite one. She was right, I continued on with the shift and never thought about those damn donuts again.

I'm going to have to learn more skinny people secrets. LOL.

I'll start by saying that I am a registered nurse and hold a PhD in education. Given my medical and research background, you can be sure that I did a lot of searching before deciding on who I would allow to operate on me.
Because I was a self-pay for the VSG revision (banding was via insurance), I looked into Mexican surgeons. The three U.S. surgeons I explored wanted $22,000 - $26,000 and that only included the surgery and one night in the hospital.
I wanted a surgeon who was certified in bariatrics, one who had done over 250 revisions, one who operated out of a clean hospital with an intensive care unit in case I needed that level of care, and one who insisted that the people taking care of me post-op were registered nurses. I also looked into complication rates and talked with others who had used the surgeons I was considering. Finally, I wanted to be sure that when I left Mexico, I would be safe to carry on with my life in the U.S. That meant making sure complications were prevented.
Dr. Aceves met my criteria. He did 3 different leak tests to make sure all was fine and kept me in the hospital for 3 nights. I had a chest x-ray, an EKG, a urinalysis, and blood work prior to the surgery and a complete unfill of my band after a barium esophagram. I was seen by Dr. Aceves, his assistant surgeon, the anesthesiologist, and a medical MD all prior to surgery.
My experience was text book and I have no regrets. If you're considering going to Mexico for surgery I highly recommend Dr. Aceves and his team.

Rather than cross posting the same exact thing, you might have taken the time to read through the threads on this board. If you had, you would have seen that several of the members here have had surgery by "your" surgeons and they were welcomed into the community. The actual surgery and surgeon is NOT the focus of this board. Instead, we help one another through all that is involved in making a decision to have WLS and EVERYTHING that follows that decision.
Research is the buzz word here. Because research and evidence based practice dictate standards of care, and because research is an active and dynamic process, the research section of this board is updated continuously. Although this is a board that focuses on VSG, we have members here who have lapbands and other forms of weight loss surgery. One member explored her choices and decided RNY was the WLS for her. Was she tossed off the board because she is not having VSG? No, she is a very valuable and respected member here and she shares the goal of all members; getting to a healthy weight for life. The WLS choices might differ but the journey is something we all travel and share.
I am a moderator/administrator and I hold 2 bachelor degrees, a master degree in health care administration, and a Ph.D. in education. I've been a critical care RN for a huge health care system for over 25 years. WasA is the other moderator/administrator and is also an RN with impressive credentials and diverse healthcare experiences. The members here are all successful, intelligent, caring individuals. They know how to research, share, debate, and support one another and don't need anyone to dictate to them as to what they should or should not do. WasA and I have NO ties to any surgeon and receive no pay. YOU have an agenda and are PAID to get people to come to Mexico and have surgery by your surgeons. If people don't come, YOU don't get paid. YOUR purpose in posting here is financial.
You are biased towards the surgeons you work for. The members here are biased towards the surgeons who operated on them and that's to be expected. The difference is that the members here are not paid to promote their experiences and surgeons, YOU are. If you would like to support members of this board through your experiences as a WLS patient, we welcome that. If you're here to get people to go to your surgeons so you can continue to have a job, I invite you to notify Alex so he can explain the terms and conditions of paid advertising.
Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

waterlily,
i have the same issues ... i usually get on the scale every time i work out (almost daily) and if i am up even a little bit, it ruins my mood. going to try for once a week. so far this week, i've actually been pretty good and havent been on since Monday. but it's been tough!! i am petrified that even thought i've been doing mostly right things, i will be up. TOM refuses to come but i feel the bloat. :cool:

If you click on the green square it says you're on a distinguished road. I have no idea why some are 1 and others are 2 or 3.

JULY 4th Challenge!
Week zero of 11

Name...................Starting…...…..Current….…..Goal…....To Go

losingjusme....................317.25............. ...317.25.............295.............22.25
tann...............................257........... ..........257...............,..232.............25
juliegeraci......................232.............. .......232..................220.............12
Josette..........................340............ .........340............... ..315..............25
Inner_me................... ...306............... .....306..................280..............26
Elisabethsew..................278................ ....278..................255..............23
Waterlily1072................278.....................278..................252..............26
Libra.............................230............ .........230.................205...............25
Lapbandit……………..208……………..208……..…...185……..….23
RidinMyHDDream.........281.....................281..................256..............25
I weighed in and adjusted my info. Good luck to us all!