BJean

pnw213 I'm finding it really hard to constantly remind myself that I do not have to try to eat an actual meal! I even forget at restaurants occasionally. I have no business ordering a bowl of Soup. I can't even finish a cup. I hope I eventually feel comfortable enough to tell my friends that I got the sleeve procedure. I'm still feeling very private about it. It's probably because I'm still not totally convinced I can make it work long enough to get me to goal. I was not able to use the band to get there so that was one big failure I hated to own up to.

Did you lose really quickly? I wonder why you became anemic, do you know or have they suggested what caused it? Do you take Biotin? That's what stopped my hair loss after the band surgery. I thought I was going to go bald on top until someone told me to start taking Biotin. After a very short period of time it stopped falling out. Could have been a coincidence, I guess, but it sure SEEMED to work.

These are very good questions. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to file a lawsuit against a doctor or clinic in Mexico if you live in Canada. We have lots of legal difficulties between the USA and Mexico within the confines of the governmental agencies. They seem almost impossible to resolve. One can't help but wonder what it's like for individuals to work within the system to seek redress over a malpractice claim. Which is one of the first things that came to mind when I was trying to choose a doctor. The attraction for getting surgery in Mexico that is advertised to cost thousands less is tempting at first glance. Especially when you hear of so many people who have gone there and had an acceptable outcome. But when you think of how complicated it could become if anything untoward happened while you were in that country, it seems that you're not only taking a chance on the doctors and hospitals but you're also taking a chance that if you do have a problem, bad things can become magnified a hundred times over. And you may think that I am criticizing those who have chosen to go to Mexico for surgery. I am definitely NOT criticizing anyone for making that choice. I'm only speaking for me. I totally understand why people make that choice. Before I had the sleeve, I had the band and I read so many, many stories about patients who came back from Mexico needing follow up care and having trouble finding a stateside doctor who was willing to treat them. Many times they paid more for their fills and post-surgical follow up visits than those people who got their surgery from those same doctors. So it might be interesting to see the actual total costs of surgery and aftercare 5 years post-op for Americans who've opted for surgery in Mexico vs. the total for surgery and medical care for 5 years for those who had both surgery and aftercare in the U.S.

That's great to hear!!!!

By the way, if it is someday proven that the clinic in question has been maligned terribly and that everyone who has posted his or her bad experiences has lied, I will be the first to apologize to the clinic and doctor for having believed the worst. Nothing would make me happier because right now I am scared to death for the people who choose to use them. And if I have used strong language it is because I am so afraid for innocent patients putting themselves in a potentially dangerous situation.

This post was made in response to Katt's above. By the same token, I asked one poster who was saying that he had a successful surgery at that facility with no complications, to give us more information about himself. His story sounded very sketchy and no more information corroborating his story or establishing his credibility was ever posted. I suppose there is enough competition for sleeve business south of the border that a number of people could be employed to discredit one particular clinic, but that seems highly unlikely. I also suppose that since that clinic is offering surgery at an incredibly reduced price, it would motivate the other clinics to hire people to discredit it as well. But that also seems highly unlikely. It seems much more likely that the detailed descriptions that we've read of certain patient's bad experiences there, are not made up. When a business cuts its' prices to thousands below everyone else everywhere, there must be some compromises made somewhere. And compromises in the health care business obviously carry risks. On top of all that, the positive comments that have been posted about that clinic just don't seem to be all that convincing. Sorry I know you would like for everyone to stay real positive about all this - and that was my initial take on the matter. But it's hard to stay positive and give people the benefit of the doubt when the evidence keeps piling up. We all can assess for ourselves whether we believe the posts of those who have been harmed. And we can also assess the credibility of those who have come to the defense of that clinic. We shouldn't criticize anyone for believing anything. We have free will and our own experience and intelligence to rely on. And I do agree that there is value in keeping a civil tongue, rather keyboard, but it's a free country and we're all allowed to voice our opinions whether anyone agrees with us or not.

Yeah, I think the gloves should be off. Because this website can provide the kind of service and information that candidates for sleeve surgery are seeking and that includes any bad stories about any doctor or clinic. There are so many to choose from. Why would anyone put their life in jeapordy with that outfit? It's always been said that you get what you pay for. Well with a blouse, cheaper might do the trick. But with your life? Get real.

Well then Chris I guess I owe you an apology - I didn't read your post where you said you'd seen SICKO. I only read your comments about Michael Moore and then read the essay that European expert [sarcasm, sorry] wrote. To me, it seemed like you were just drinking the kool-aide. I know Michael Moore exaggerates and cuts and pastes to make his points. But we need him, desperately. There are too many true right wing nut bags who stand up and lie blatantly and because of the funding by extremely wealthy people in this country who get their extremist agenda widely heard by publishing it in the media (which they often own.) We need discourse from both sides and we need to be thorough about listening to both sides, not just the one we feel comfortable with. So that's MY agenda for calling you a sheep. I truly don't know you. You could be a brilliant American who has this country's best interests at heart. I'm afraid you just don't sound like that kind of person sometimes when you post here. And I have a very strong feeling that you wouldn't be willing to buy me a drink. Funny thing is that we might actually be able to have a fun, spirited debate with no blood shed. Who knows...

Gosh you guys, I guess I don't get it. I haven't taken anything but a little Mylanta during the first couple of weeks because when I drank water my esophogus and middle chest area burned and sometimes my stomach did too. But the only time my stomach hurts now is when I eat one bite too many. Am I just lucky or did we have different procedures? I had a band to sleeve revision. And interestingly, I still have a very small hiatal hernia that he couldn't remove. No reflux at night. Only burns when I lie down if I've just had water. Thus the Mylanta. Now I just avoid water before bedtime.

That makes sense, right? Because the government has so much to gain from it. Brilliant. Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you, eh? And I'm willing to guess that Timothy McVeigh was a plant and was doing the government's bidding. And Waco was a government planned attack that had nothing to do with the arsenal that was stockpiled there. And pigeons are robots.

Those people, the birthers, death panelists, 9/11 deniers, cranks and conspiracy nuts ARE the Tea Party movement. How can they and why would they disassociate themselves from the ideas that drive them? Are the 9/11 deniers people who are denying that it happened under Bush? I'm not sure what they claim. And he should have included the Reagan anti-government, no government is good, nut heads. Wonder why he didn't? Because now that the government doesn't pay him, he can endorse that claim.

Chris you say you're unwilling to watch a Michael Moore flick because it's "just silly" but you're willing to allow some foreigner to assess it for you and embrace it enough to post it here. I guess you do this because you agree with her wholeheartedly. Well, how can you? You haven't seen the movie, you've only heard the right wing propaganda. What a sheep. Baaaaaaah.

You ask a right winger to watch Rachel Maddow? They'll explode and self-destruct before they get through one of her broadcasts.

Me neither.

Yes, that must have been a difficult story to tell and I'm sure it took some time for you to get it all down. And I have a feeling that you were trying to stay as clinical as possible with little emotion. I personally am feeling a very strong emotional reaction to your post but I'm going to say what I need to say without using the emotionally charged words I'm feeling. I don't want anyone to think that I'm being unnecessarily critical but I do want to voice my opinion because I do feel very strongly about this issue. When one speaks of acceptable percentage rates for complications with surgery patients, don't forget that every individual making up that 1% to 3% they talk about is one of us! These are people we are talking about. Not just some anonymous, nameless, faceless statistic. And something important to think about is that if one is at risk by the surgery itself and the doctor in charge, we also need to consider how important the pre-surgical tests are and perhaps even more important, the aftercare. I think that at the Jerusalem Clinic, it's a crap shoot at best. There's a good chance that you're going to get adequate care but there's also a good chance that even if you don't have serious complications, you might get inadeqate care that could cause you harm and you could even be put in a life-threatening situation. Save your money, folks. Don't take a chance on the possibility that you will be brought back to the U.S. in a wheelchair or even a pine box. Give yourself the best chance at a good outcome by preferably going to a stateside doctor near your home or at the very least a doctor across the border who has an excellent success rate and top-notch attending staff for surgery and aftercare. You could be lucky but you could also wind up being one of those very ugly statistics. I know we all want to be thin and healthy, that's a given. But at what cost? Money? Your loss of a chance at good overall health? The loss of your life? Thank you so much greenbaygirl for having the courage and taking the time to share your story. Please give your husband our very best wishes for a full and complete recovery. I have a strong feeling that he's one lucky fellow to have you at his side!

Yeah, I've been trying to be good with the Vitamins too. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Calcium chewables I'm taking are causing the constipation (hope that's not too much info) so I'm beginning to slack on that. I've increased my food intake a little and am finding that I dislike the feeling afterwards. This morning I had 2 poached eggs and half a piece of toast. Too much! It doesn't hurt but it's just not comfortable. I seem to keep forgetting that I can have something as often as I want it. I don't have to confine my meals to 3 a day with no Snacks. This is sure going to take some time getting myself retrained! How are you doing in that department?

So has everybody started losing hair at about 3 months after surgery? I've been wondering about this. I thought I started losing hair quicker than that with the band. Like at about 6 weeks. I am so dreading it! Does anybody get away without losing hair in super noticable amounts?

You know when this thread started a couple of months ago (?) there were a couple of people who were scheduled to go to that particular doctor and clinic. They said they'd let us know how they were doing when they got back which was supposed to be about a month ago, but I've only read one or two posts from one of them and she was having problems. Any updates on that front?

My goodness it's good to hear from you!! We've all been thinking of you and wishing you well. We were shocked to hear what happened and were holding our breath until we got some news. So it means a lot that you've shared an update to your story. Thank goodness you're home! We'll keep our fingers crossed that everything from here on out gets easier every day. Please know that we're all thinking of you and wishing for a full and complete recovery!

I'm not sure what you're getting at. Can you be a little more specific about your thoughts?

Wow this guy is impressive. He's got all the propaganda and buzz words memorized as well as a fundamentalilst can quote the Bible. Sounds great. But it's a little too light on content to take serously.

And you're my hero. You give me strength and you give me hope. As does Leigha who is obviously someone who has a brain. And I love phil and tsl1f (?) and Phil and others! The two that confound me to distraction are patty and aricus whom I love to refer to as airbus. I just get a better visual with airbus.

The thing that makes me the sickest is the fact that they refuse to work with the progressive thinkers in any way, shape or fashion. All they do is block every attempt to move this country forward. They argue with every idea or suggestion, without any substantive suggestions for alternatives. They're obstructionists with a passion for discrimination. They discrminate against anyone with beliefs or opinions that are different from their own. They do this because they are afraid and they are ignorant. And it's a dangerous place, this country. They're causing it to bloom into a very volatile environment and a dangerous place for progressive free thinkers to live.

It's so simple it is ridiculous and the right wing nut jobs still rail against the government - their fear of the government - their fear that the government rules their lives - their fear that all of their income will go to lazy good for nothings who don't work because they just don't want to. It's too simple for angry, fearful, selfish people to understand. And why you ask? Because they've been brainwashed and propagandized their whole lives and are in constant fear of the devil and hell and the condemnation of people like saint ronnie to throw down their shackles and think outside the box that their Bible has put them in. I'm not saying give up your Bible. I'm saying that people will never improve the government, never improve their country and never improve themselves as long as they just hold their Bible in one hand and rail against the world with the other. The right thing to do is to use the Bible as inspiration not as a shackle. Improve your life, don't stay mired in the muck of hate and distrust. Improve your country instead of trying to re-write history or live in the past. We are the government. We are America. It is bigger than us but it is us. We're in control and what we need to do is figure out solutions, not rail against everything everyday. President Obama is not the second coming. He's not the Messiah. He is simply a man who is well-educated, intelligent and who has a lot of experience being a man who is praised and a man who has been discrminated against. So he brings a whole lot to the table. He wants to improve not only the country but he wants to improve us as people. He's accomplished more in this first year than most presidents have in their entire tenure in office. Criticize him if you disagree. That's good, we want that. But don't write him off as a bad and ineffective president because that's the furthest thing from who he is.

Perfectly illlustrated, Cleo's. And remember pg is only one who believes in this fashion. There are millions of others - many of whom think that the tea party agenda is legitimate. They're sheep to slaughter.