TDELYTE

Hi there everyone! Well I have spent the better half of this month on the BAND board (was going to schedule a surgery date soon) and happened to come across the acronym VSG, VSG, VSG quite a few times on the other band board. I have been looking into banding for months and decided I would self pay and change my life....well as I mentioned I saw VSG and looked into these three magical letters- Low and behold I'M HERE! I am sooo glad I found this board but at the same time I am upset I found this board- WHY? Because I was DEADSET on the BAND and now I am thinking "WHAT WAS I THINKING??"....I have been reading this board from top to bottom and have pretty much learned about the pros/cons. All the reasons I wanted the band to begin with have now turned into all the reasons I DON'T want it...weird, I know :-) So I have read a bunch of 'reviews' post surgery, all the hardships, all the NEW lifestyle changes and am feeling VERY positive about it all..... So to be honest I am now 50/50 between the LAP BAND and VSG....never thought I would ever doubt the band but I am. So my next issue: I am originally from Canada and am NOT living there now. I am living in istanbul, Turkey (yes, it REALLY is the most beautiful historical place on earth!!) and I have been looking into self pay here. I am unaware of the prices in various countries (except I can see its priced really well in Mexico which is not an option at this point). The pricing here is about $8000-$8500 CAD ($7500-$8000 USD) ALL IN- meaning everything which includes 3 nights hospital stay (is that enough time to recover?)....does that sound like an alright price to you all? the surgeon here is very well known in europe and the facilities are all top notch. I guess I am looking for someone to fully push me over to the VSG side....lol any advice? is this price too much? thank you and I cant wait to be apart of all this

So I found a list of possible questions (from Tiffykins- THANK YOU!!) to ask the Dr. I'm looking to book my VSG with here overseas (turkey). So I asked the questions via email and he answered (all in turkish so I need to translate the ones I don't get)- The answers are in RED (that I translated) and I dont really now what is normal and what is not for the surgery so I'm hoping you guys can all tell me if his answers are good or bad? I actually put a bunch of questions but those were general and I understood the answers....these ones are a bit more technical and I don't know if things look good? Any help would be great (200cc stomach? 36f boughie? NO CLUE what this means!!) What size boughie do you use (how big do you make the stomach)? he uses a 36 F boughie---------------------IS THAT GOOD??? Sleeve Gastrectomy i?in 36 F buji kullanıyoruz. Leak and complication statistics (how many leaks have you had in previous surgeries)? He has never had a leak in his 200+ VSG surgeries Sleeve Gastrektomi yapılan hastalarımızda (200+) sızıntı gelişen hastamız yoktur. How many leak tests are performed and what type of contrast Fluid is used? (Barium is a no-no for leak tests.) He said he does a one leak test once the surgery is completed (in the operating room) and uses Methylen blue....WHAT does this mean?? there aren't any post-op tests unless there is something seen during the first leak test Ka?ak testi ameliyatın bitiminde intraoperatif olarak Methylen Blue ile yapılmaktadır.Başka postop test yapılmaz. How many ounces can fit into the new stomach? The stomach is formed into a tube shape (sleeve) and he leaves 200 cc. 's for the stomach to hold- I think his asst. wrote the wrong number here???? 200 cc doesn't look right? Mide bir t?p şekline getiriliyor ve Yaklaşık Hacim 200 cc.civarında kalmaktadır

So I was wondering how long before you started your (sugar free) PRE-OP diet? how many days/weeks before? I was simply told to cut sugar out- eat pretty much an atkins type diet- does that sound right? any suggestions? Is two weeks enough for a pre-op diet? he didn't mention it should be liquid....I'm sooo confused!!

MWAHHHHH TIFFYKINS!! I had a feeling you would be the only one to help me out on these questions....lol You're the BEST!!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! After all the research I have done I think I'm ready to FINALLY put a deposit down...I'm SOOOOOOOOOOO SCARED!!! Lets see how many months that takes?? lol I just converted 200 cc's and it worked out to 6.75 ounces? does that sound like alot or is it just me??

So in my hunt to find a surgeon overseas I came across another one and it seems there are only a handful of surgeons here and most have performed between 30-50 VSG's....mostly doing gastric bypasses and BANDS....ALOT of bypasses and vsg's. Is this a big no-no?

thank you cajun!!!

wow.....I wish I was back home in Canada right about now :-(....what is included with that deal? maybe its worth me taking a trip home to Canada and vacation in mexico....could you let me know whats in that deal?

Thank you for filling me in with that useful info....How much (generally) does he charge for a VSG?

Good luck!! Im excited for you :-) I'll say a little prayer and keep my fingers crossed for a speedy recovery....Just think of the end result :-)

Tiffykins you READ MY MIND!! I had JUST finished those threads up and had already sent them a PM- hopefully they answer. THANK YOU for taking the time to find all those threads, there was some good info in there so still helpful There was someone who got their band in Turkey and I had contacted them a week ago regarding their surgery here- I guess I won't be going that route anymore (Thank Goodness you all convinced me!!) I guess I'll continue to follow this board on a daily basis (my husband thinks I am OBSESSED NOW!! Just when he thought I was done with the BAND I now found this site- lucky for him!!) Thanks again everyone, I can't wait to follow everybodies progress on here and *hopefully* be a part of it all :-) I look forward to seeing more motivational stories- they really put a smile on my face and make me feel like there is hope and this does really work (IF WE MAKE IT WORK OF COURSE) xo

OMG I am SOOOOOO GLAD I joined this site!! I am soooooo appreciative for all of your advice and honesty. Well I have been on various sites for hours and following this board and I am 100% I AM NOT getting the BAND!!!! After all the horror stories I just can't do it! There is NO way I am going to put myself through a 50/50 chance of a going through all the issues listed by many of you. I am extremely glad I came on here and I feel pretty confident that NOT getting the band is the best choice- THANK YOU ALL. I am actually pretty upset at this point.....why you ask? I CANNOT UNDERSTAND HOW THE BAND IS STILL LEGAL with all of these ISSUES/PROBLEMS? I don't understand how they could allow such a procedure to continue to be performed and be this popular? WELL I called my brother in Canada and was discussing these procedures (I never told him I am STRONGLY considering it) and we talked about various surgeries. I told him what I have been reading and he basically said it falls into what profits the government and the insurance companies- ITS all MATHEMATICS (classic line from my brother). He said it makes complete sense how the BAND is so readily approved by insurance companies- there are problems post surgery (check), fills (check), unfills (check), more dr visits (check) ALL OF THIS MEANS BIG BUCKS for insurance companies and whoever gets kick backs.....I guess you all get the idea....Its really a shame that this BAND is allowed and encouraged- its as if people are guinea pigs- sad really :-( Whatever I end up doing (my ONLY choice at this point is the VSG) I am very glad I came on here and was able to hear some amazing stories and read amazing advice! Thank you all-------I will be frequenting this board quite often from this point on as my Quest continues- now I just have to make sure the surgeon has done more than 300 sergeries (thanks Tiffykins) Anything I should be looking for? I think I might continue to look around Turkey to see if there are a few more surgeons (there are more but they charge a few thousand more- but I guess its worth it if it means they are more experienced) xoxo and the quest continues...:-)

Thank you Girls!! its funny I PUSHED the band idea on my husband and he has been doing his research and was very iffy about me having "silicone things" in my body....lol Ever since we started looking at VSG he is very supportive but again we were just wondering about cost and how the healing process goes- I have a 7 month old baby so I'll be home with her until my 1 year mat leave is done (then its back to work).... I appreciate your advice and look forward to reading/hearing more experiences! VSG is looking pretty good...:-)

Hi Katie, I sent you an email, hopefully you got this one :-) Hope to hear from you soon!

Do you still have the info on the nurse that does fills in toronto? i'd love if you could pass his/her info to me cndeducation@hotmail.com thank you sooo much! youre helping quite a few ppl here :-)

Hi there!! Congrats on your amazing progress (I read your stats!!!!)....So first off, I sent you an email through this system but I guess you never got it? It was detailed as to what info I have already found in turkey and was hoping you could share your experiences with me...pretty please :-) I am THRILLED that there is someone else in Turkey that has done this :-) I am currently in Turkey and will be staying here for atleast a year....so I am seriously looking into this. So far I found (researching now) three places that do this procedure (2 in istanbul and 1 in izmir).....what was your dr.s name in istanbul? Dr. Halil something? I saw a few things about him....? Do you mind if I ask how much the WHOLE procedure cost you? I have clueless in regards to pricing here in TR. Hoping you can tell me how things are going for you and if you're feeling like a million bucks!! I'm sooo glad I found you on here!! If you have some free time Id love to hear your details....and if you recommend the procedure here in TR? Hope to speak soon :-) *I'm in the middle of turkey- konya :-) Where are you?

I'm also looking for more info on lap banding in Turkey.....anyone with INFO please respond :-) I'm trying to get info but am having a hard time as many sites are in Turkish......any experiences in Turkey? love to hear back