mswendy

I sent it two different posts on the infection on three different occassions and none of them went through. Just putting it out there.

I had my VSG on April 16th of this year. I'm down 80 lbs. and feel much better. Dr. Aceves was great, Dr. Campos was great. Nina and Gaby - wonderful. His staff is really top notch. One of the after affects was that I still, to this day, have discomfort on the sides of my hips that I can only pinpoint to the epideral given. I never had pain or discomfort there before and I suspect it's sciatic nerve related. I actually have an appointment this afternoon to further investigate this. It's hard to sleep on my sides, I wake up several times in the night, sometimes it's uncomfortable to walk as I get up from a sitting postion. Also, I had a small infection brewing in my incisions and my primary care doctor put me on a high dose of anti-biotic to combat it. Dr. Aceves and Dr. Campos were contacted by me and were both very concerned. I didn't get a personal email, but I believe Gaby spoke to them and was relaying the information. The only oddity is that when I posted this information (twice) on the yahoo group for Dr. Aceves, whomever was the moderator or administrator must have not allowed it through. I found it very concerning that that type of information would be censored. Several patients asked honest questions and I responded. Unfortunately, my information wasn't posted. I'm not sure who moderates the site, but I'm certain it's not the doctors. Finally, when I was in the hospital in Mexicali, there was one particular nurse who rarely gloved up and I had to ask her to when I saw her chewing on her fingers before she went to change my dressing. Yes, this happened. She is hospital staff, not Aceves, and when I told Gaby about it they were horrified and said they would take care of it. One other thing I would share with new patients - There's also a former patient of his who can be really overwhelming and in your face about information regarding Dr. Aceves. I can't recall her name, but she's around here too. I don't know if Aceves knows she's doing him a disservice by the tone she takes with new patients inquiring about information. And out of fairness, I've not taken the time to discuss this with their office. I am a mom of three small kids, I work full time, I coach two soccer teams, run my kids to swim meets, birthday parties, all that mom stuff. I don't have time to fight every battle. So, that being said, yes - without hesitation, I would recommend Dr. Aceves. I am so glad that I chose him and do not regret my surgery at all. I'm happy to share honest information with people who are looking for honest answers.

That is funny. Where are you from? I'm six weeks out today. I had two stalls in weight loss - maybe at week two (was stuck at 20lbs for a week) and just recently I GAINED three pounds. I've been seeing my PCP regularly and for me, I think it has to do with unmanaged sugar levels. I was hoping to not have to continue taking my meds, but if it means it's going to stall my weight loss...it's not an option. So, I'm back on it. I think the biggest surprise for me was that the restriction is real. haha. I don't know what I was thinking, maybe because I've really struggled these last seven years to get the weight off and nothing was working, but maybe I thought it wasn't going to work for me or something. But, the restriction is as real as it gets. In the beginning, it was a little tough the first week. My stomach was swollen from the ssurgery and was about the size of a pencil because of it. Hardly could swollow even Water, the tiniest tiniest bit. I literally had to suck it in through my teeth and let it drop down bit by bit. You'll feel it. At six weeks out, I'm still not eating 'regularly'. I have very little food that will go down and stay down right now. I'm sort of still on mushies - yogurt, cottage cheese, Soups, Protein drinks - lots of sugar free popsicles. Stock up those popsicles. I heard from enough people and it see those are soothing for everyone, not just me. I can eat a bunch of them at one sitting and it helps with my thirst. They're 10 calories a pop so it's hardly a diet breaker. Have fun at the Brewers game and let me know how your surgery goes. You said you're having it in Dallas. I had mine in Mexicali, Mexico.

Hi - coming in on this thread almost six months later. I'm from Milwaukee and had my surgery April 17th.

I have insulin resistence and do not use insulin. Typically, I've used 1500 mg of Metformin per day, prior to surgery. After surgery, 5.5 weeks ago, my sugar levels stabilized and my doctor said to only take the Met if needed. However, I have encountered my second weight loss stall - of more than a week - in less than 6 weeks. My doctor checked my sugar levels againg today and said to go back on the Metformin, that the elevated sugar levels could be contributing to my body fighting the weight loss. It sucks, that's all I know.

I just found this thread, so here's mine. :001_cool: My name is Wendy and I confess that....I crave soda all day, every day, and am concerned that I will never be able to handle carbonation again. I want a tall, ice cold Sprite Zero with ice. That, or a cold, crisp MGD 64. I also confess that I'm concerned I'll never be able to eat normal again. Not normal like I had been eating, but normal like I should - with the variety, with the increased amount. And, what is that going to do to my body nutritionally? I'm 32 days out from surgery and down 28.5 lbs. Haven't updated my ticker yet because my numbers have been yo-yoing for the past week. I actually even gained 7 lbs last week and have finally lost that amount. The rollercoaster weight loss/gain/stall again is insane. lol...I SWEAR I'M NOT WEIGHING IN BUT ONCE A WEEK. (well, maybe twice...)

Hi Tracy It's me, Wendy, one of the people in Ernesto's van when he picked us up from Lucerna the morning of our surgeries. I met your stepmom in the hospital hall. How are things going? Sounds like you're doing well - 30 lbs post surgery. Great!!! I remember you telling us you had lost 10 and that was one week after surgery. Good for you

Not sure what you will get for 6 or 6.5K, but I know that it is important to have an attentive staff and doctor team after your surgery. Don't dismiss that portion of it. The sleeve is considered major surgery - most of your stomach is being removed and pullled through a little incision in your abdomen. There are lots of risks. Also, unless you have some co-morbidities to go along with your lower BMI, there may be surgeons who won't recommend surgery as a solution. Regardless, good luck with your decisions and whatever you choose to do.

I don't remember anything about the spinal block. I must have been out in lala land already. I barely remember anything about the OR. I had a spinal block prior to my c-section 7 years ago and it didn't take, so I end up going under general and had loads of problems coming out. Needless to say, I had some anxiety about going under with Garcia. He was really professional and calming about it. When I told him my pregnancy spinal block didn't take, he very confidently said 'well, we'll do it right." Then we laughed.

I know - I want to ask my friend who came with me about some details. The Verset they give does act as an amnesia agent. The last thing I remember was the ladies wrapping my legs in that gauze.