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I got surgery there Dec 1, 18 Gastric Sleeve by Dr Rodriguez Scheduling was very efficient and quick, they didn’t contact me much after they gave me all the details and information for the date I set and the preop diet. I made sure to have all my ducks in a row and give them all the info they needed but don’t be afraid to ask as many questions as you need. When I did email or text or call they got me all my answers very quickly. As for the travel, I drove to the border and got picked up before crossing, went by myself and everyone was super nice. They immediately took the tests they needed, blood work, ekg, etc. then went to a very nice hotel the room was amazing. I had complications where my hemoglobins were too low for surgery and I had to go back and get blood transfusions (costed extra obvi not included) and had surgery the following day. I only had major gas pain the first night of surgery but they took care of my pain pretty quick. The nurses were so sweet and helpful, me being by myself they were comforting. Id recommend bringing someone, make sure you have $1000 on a card (unless you have extensive doctor appointments before you leave, you NEVER know what might happen like a hernia repair, or blood. I did not know my hemoglobins were low and would need blood transfusions to get the surgery), bringing your favorite pillow ever, and packing light!! They really do give you all the info in the emails, read every single line and click all the links and read those too.

I do regret how my body is acting now, didn't plan to have a PICC LINE and on Total ParenteI Nutrition 12 hours a day, but that is far from permanent. I am still a lot smaller than I was a year ago, lost somewhere between 50-60 pounds since my RnY 4 months ago, and never will I be ungrateful for the surgery and surgeon that made it som I am so much happier than I was before it happened. I just had a rare complication to it all, but between my 2 surgeons and myself, we are a team to get me better and I believe it will be happening, just a bump on my road to health.

Well, these surgeries all sound scary since you're making pretty significant changes to your anatomy. At the same time, you're making changes to your anatomy if you needed surgery to have your gallbladder removed. Your mom is going to worry about any procedure you have--because that's what mom's do. However, the risk is the same as a gallbladder operation. These procedures are routine. My surgeon did 4 sleeves and two bypasses on the day he did my surgery. The mortality rate is close to zero and the complication rate is really low. Sure, there are some horror stories out there, but they are rare exceptions. I think it's a good idea for your mom to go with you to visit the doctor and ask question. That will hopefully put her mind at ease.

Reflux is a decently common complication of the sleeve. Does your doc have you on a PPI? Many will have people on PPIs for several months after surgery. I'd call your doc and ask if he can prescribe something. Although burping may not be reflux, it just may be your new tum getting used to digesting food.

A lot depends on her reason for concern. With my brother/SIL, I talked to them about the research about the likelihood of someone my weight losing and keeping it off, the mortality rate for someone my weight staying so heavy, the success rate of surgery, and the (low) complication rate of surgery. That helped them feel better.

I still have to go to my 3rd Nut. visit, see the surgeon and then a diet class. The office put me down tentatively for Feb 18. I am still thinking insurance will not approve it since I don't need a CPAP and diagnosed with only "mild apnea", no diabetes and BMI of 36. I am trying to talk hubby into just a cash procedure. A different surgeon said it would be 15k. That's a lot of money but what scares me more is if their is a complication and I am a cash patient that insurance wont cover issues.

When broken down by surgery type, the most common reason for a revisional surgery among those who had banding was band-associated problems, such as migration stenosis or slippage. Among banding patients, nausea and weight-related indications were also common reasons for revision. As for VBG patients, the most common indication for revisional surgery was staple-related disruptions, accounting for 10% of these patients. Nausea due to stenosis and collar migration were also common indications for revision. The most common indications for revisional surgery for gastric bypass patients were reflux-associated and esophagus-associated complications. https://www.medpagetoday.com/endocrinology/obesity/77253 "The dominant reason for corrective revisional surgery was bile reflux (including esophagitis), which occurred only in patients with loop technique GBP," the researchers noted, adding how "this demonstrates the superiority of the Roux-en-Y technique with regard to the need for secondary interventions." Although the small percentage of gastric bypass patients included in the cohort was a limitation, it's still apparent that this surgery accounted for fewer revisionary surgeries. "Among more than 200 Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedures, only five (2.3%) required any reoperation," he said. "Revisional surgery carries a higher complication rate than the primary procedure, but if needed, it should not be denied..."

Different concepts. A site is free if you don’t pay money to access it. If money doesn’t go from your pocket to the people running the site: free. There’s a bunch of marketing and analytics and big data stuff happening in the background that means that members are revenue-generating for the site, but as long as the user doesn’t actively pay $ for access, that’s “free” for the user. I haven’t had any problem just using the mobile/responsive version of the site and going to my laptop for anything more complicated. But basic interactions are fine in the responsive browser.

Using the range if else statement in this case seems to over complicate. As for the store front, when I click to login it takes me to the store, when I the. Login and click account it takes me to the store. When I click the x to close the store banner it takes me to the store. When I have finally done all that I can get rid of the store link. if your a developer, look at the member count, post count and consider the money it takes to operate this site. People literally think this is free, as in free beer. You and I both know better. Starbucks has a Social area, but you wouldn’t call their service free. The hope is goal is always sales. Like the ad for vitamin patches when I logged in. Now if it were ad free, and just a link to the store. Then yes it’s free. If we get email ads, it’s not free. Its a revenue generator. As it should be. To put it another way, BariaticPal pays $99 a year to keep an app on Apple’s App Store. That’s cheap, but it’s not a philanthropy project. Regardless of how sincere they are about their mission. And yeah, uninstalled the app. You can’t ignore people on it and ignored people on the forum aren’t ignored on the app.

Well welcome welcome Lauryn, I am the OP the original poster for this thread, so it is rather my baby after all. You're doing liquid for 3 weeks? Got you beat, I did mine the entire month of August, because I wanted my liver to shrink down as much as possible, and it did. Dr Needleman , my surgeon, said it was lovely, smooth and healthy. So yes it is well worth the trouble, for every week you do your diet, your liver shrinks 2.4%. And yes it can be frustrating. My surgery weight was 319, at 4 months out I am 260-ish, probably today 263 or 4, because I haven't done #2 yet. I had an RnY, and I am one of the complications, I am strictured, and I have healing ulcerations in my small intestine. I have a PICC line, that stands for a catheter inserted in my upper left arm, 12 hours a day I am fed nutrition that way so my GI system can rest and heal. Don't be concerned, in all the people on Bariatric Pal I am the only one, makes me special. Had it since November 29th 2018, got pretty used to it by now, don't know an ending date, but I am in this to win this, so no tears, no frustration, no bemoaning my fate, it is what it is. I will heal, I have two great bariatric surgeons on my team, they say I will end up fine, I believe them And in them. Whether you are a sleeve or bypass, your surgery will be fine.

I’m scheduled for February 11th and am having all the same anxiety. I’m so worried I’m going to regret having the surgery and wish I could go back to “normal”. That said, I have 4 family members who have successfully had WLS with zero complications and tremendous results. Hugs.

I was sleeved October 2018 - about 3 months ago. I was self pay in Mexico, and although the surgery went well, I developed complications about 2 weeks out, and spent the next 2 weeks after that in the hospital. Since then, I've been slowly losing the weight. Haven't stalled yet, and have been able to do so much that I never thought I would have been able to do - things like buy a shirt in the regular section of the store, go to the gym and actually enjoy it, and wrap a towel all the way around my body after a shower. A few people have commented on my weight loss, but I'll be honest, that when I look in the mirror, I don't really see a difference. I'm about half way to my goal weight. Taking these before and after pics really helped me to see the difference, so I wanted to share them!

Hello, My name is Andrea from New Jersey. had my VSG done in September of 2012. At my largest, I was 250lbs. In less than a year post op, I went down to 165lbs. I felt that I looked good! I could fit into so many cute outfits without feeling ashamed of how I felt in my body. Health-wise, it was a bit more complicated. Between my “water-nausea”, not being able to drink and eat at the same time, needing to take vitamins everyday, feeling sick after enthusiastically eating my favorite foods, and then, of course getting gall stones and needing my gallbladder removed in 2013, my VSG came with a lot of mixed feelings. Nevertheless, I was happy to feel like I looked good and have the energy that came along with that. Fast forward to February of 2017, I find out I’m pregnant with my first child. At that point, I had been able to maintain a steady 165-170 lbs. At 36 weeks, I went into labor and subsequently had my daughter a month before her due date. On the day I gave birth, I weighed 200lbs. I thought it was normal. The few days following the birth of my baby girl, I actually went down to 180lbs. Not exactly where I wanted to be, but at the time I thought my body would go back to 165-170lbs. ....Boy was I wrong. My daughter was born in September of 2017. In the winter months, specifically January, February and March of 2018 my daughter was diagnosed with RSV, Influenza Type A, and Metapneumovirus, respectively. My husband and I spent many days in the hospital with her.... stressing, worrying, sad, not getting paid time off (in my case), and, of course.....eating. During this time is when I believe my body began to turn on me. Today, I weigh 209lbs. I went from a size 8 to a 14, I feel that I have less energy, and I know that I’m unhealthy. I seem to have regained an almost insatiable hunger fueled by my constant anxiety and stress. Not to say that I didn’t suffer from these things before, but honestly, I don’t know what has changed exactly that doesn’t allow my body to metabolize quicker and keep the pounds off. I need help, but I’m scared of the actual work of exercising and eating better, because even though in theory, it sounds pretty simple, let’s be honest, those things require a great amount of inner strength and discipline. Just trying to figure out if I can actually do that creates a significant amount of anxiety, stress and, thus ultimately makes me want to eat. That’s the way I find comfort, the way I shut up that voice on the inside. Prior to having my baby girl, I could literally eat whatever the eff’ I wanted, and if I made a minuscule change to my diet, I would lose weight immediately. That’s no longer the case. Nowadays, I feel more like I used to pre-op, and that makes me feel very depressed. I don’t fit in like 95% of my old clothes and I’m slowly but surely needing bigger and bigger sizes. A few months ago, I followed up with my bariatric surgeon to see if there was anything that could be done. He prescribed Topiramate, so I wouldn’t get hungry at night. (It doesn’t work). My other doc prescribed Zoloft (for depression), Bupropion (for weight loss and depression), and Klonopin (for anxiety). Nothing’s really changed. I want to have another baby (hopefully) in a year or two, and I have strongly toyed with the idea of a revision immediately after that. For now though, I don’t feel mentally strong enough to change my circumstances, but I pray that side of me will eventually change, along with my circumstances. Blessings to you all in your journey too 😌 Any kind advice and/or your own stories welcome. ❤️

I'm a Crisis Screener in an ER and in the community. I took the full 6 weeks and I am going back to work next week. I actually decided that I'm not returning to the same company as it's high stress and is not healthy given my recent surgery and ongoing self care needed especially in the beginning. I took a position doing the same work but for a different organization, in a different county, with lower demand for the services I provide. Just do what's best for you as this is a life changing surgery. Mine was actually a revision due to complications. I only took off for 2 weeks for the first one and regret that. Your job will survive without you for an extra couple of weeks...take as much as your doctor will give you. YOU are more important than your job! [emoji3] Sent from my LGMS210 using BariatricPal mobile app

I personally rejected the idea of the balloon right away because it is temporary, is very expensive, gives minimal results and can have serious complications. Not worth the risk or expense for the minimal and temporary result. However, I would be much more concerned about a surgeon using black market balloons. If he is qualified, shouldn't he be able to get these things himself? It's hard to tell from your picture because it is just a face shot but you don't look obese, but depending on the amount of weight you need to lose I would recommend the sleeve or bypass, not the band or balloon, those are technically less invasive but people have had tremendous problems with them.

Congratulations to all of you, smooth post-surgeries are a wonderful thing, I do envy you guys the little or no complications.

How about sitting down and talking to him about this rather than a bunch of strangers? I’d tell him why you want to have the surgery and why it is important to you. Then I would hear his concerns and see if they are really as superficial as they may outwardly appear or if there is something else. Don’t listen to the people here that instantly tell everyone to leave their spouse the minute they are unsupportive. You have been with him for 21 years. I think before I threw a relationship like that away I’d sit down and try to work it out first. I’d make sure he knew how he makes you feel when he says unsupportive things and that you’d appreciate support on your journey. Give him a chance to do better and if he has legitimate concerns like complications from surgery then take him to your consults and let him talk to the surgeon and even post a thread on here where he can ask questions using your account. We’d be happy to answer anything he has. But don’t listen to a bunch of people that have nothing invested in your relationship and immediately say leave him. That is ridiculous and they have no skin in the game. Try to work it out. Like adults.

I think it is good to keep in mind that even if you get a complication it will more than likely be just one and not the whole list of possible bad outcomes. And you can deal with it if it happens. I told myself I wouldn't worry about dumping unless it happened to me and then I would figure it out. And your surgeon has dealt with probably all possible complications so there will be a game plan. Just look at any complication as a hurdle. One you can jump with the right tools and support. So if you wind up being prone to dumping you figure out what triggers you and you stay away from it. And most hurdles get smaller as you heal. It gets easier to drink water. You figure out the best way for you to get protein in. Everyone is so different so there will be lots of advice available if you need it.

Hello, Before the surgery my doctor had me on Omerprazole 40 Mg. She said that it look like I was forming a ulcer. I have to take these once a day. That was before and after the sleeve. I haven't had any complications at all since the surgery. My sister in law said that she started out loosing the weight slow. By me only loosing 3 pounds in November I want to know if that was normal. I feel like I lost more in Dec but I havent been to the doctor yet. I dont eat 5 time a day like they say. I still do 2 protien shakes a day. I'm not going to lie I ate for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New years. I eat out of a bowl. So each day I ate 2 time but a very little amount. I have had sweets also more yesterday than other holidays. But im glad the holidays are over and I can get back on track. Sent from my LG-TP450 using BariatricPal mobile app

Wooohooo! Going over to look at your game/challenge in the lounge! I'm back with a vengence!!! I'm looking for @sillykitty's 18:6 today! Then when I do eat, I'm looking to keep solid Atkins Induction. LOL, I LIKE complicating things and making games out of weight loss! My goal? I'm shooting now for Goal #2. Don't know how slow or fast that will go, but I predict I will have a pretty quick 4lb loss within the week from glycogen stores/water loss as I get back into ketosis. I'm super pumped to be "refreshed" from taking a holiday break! Anyone else feel a new resolve to hit the ground running now on January 2?!!! Post like hos!!!!! Oh Jan.2nd update: CW 150.4lbs. I will take that as a Christmas win to only be up from lowest wt by 2lbs and to be "at goal #1 weight" or in the neighborhood...

I had VSG done in Mexicali Mexico and it was the best experience. The hospital was a top notch facility, even better than some north American hospitals. I got such attentive care from both the doctors and nurses. I had a doctor visit every day, sometimes twice a day. I chose this location because its a full fledged and equipped hospital in case there were any complications. Most of the nurses spoke English but I used my cell phone and a translator which worked well and all in all I know I got better care and attention there than if I were in Canada or the USA. They go OUT OF THEIR WAY to provide the best client service. I would highly recommend where I went. They assign a coordinator for you to help you organize everything. You get picked up from the airport in San Diego, you drive to Mexicali and then they drive you back after 3 days. If you have any questions about them feel free to ask. I posted the hospital below. http://www.mexicalibariatric.com/

I should start this out by saying I am not looking for any medical advice, this is mostly just to vent because I am frustrated and scared. I was sleeved on 10/15/18 and have not had any complications except for a kidney stone 1 month post op. For the last 2 weeks however I have been feeling extremely run down, muscle aches all over and daily headaches. I definitely felt like something was wrong with me, but in my head I thought it could be low vitamin levels or just my body adjusting to the weight loss. I am scheduled for my 3 month post op appointment on 1/22 and had my 3 month labs drawn last Friday, mostly expecting them to show low vitamin levels (although I have been compliant with my vitamins) and maybe that my thyroid medication would need to be adjusted (I have hypothyroidism). Well, the lab results that have come back so far have me really worried (lab results get auto released to me on mychart). My labs show that my B12 level and Ferritin level are higher than the normal range. My TSH was low, which i did expect. The most alarming result however is that my ALT, AST and Alkaline phosphate labs are significantly high. I know that those labs have to do with liver function so I am pretty worried. Also, the Vitamin A and zinc labs have not resulted, which is unusual for them to have not been released by now unless they are "critical" results (at least this is what I understand from the way things result to mychart). The only thing I can think that may have caused this is that I was taking additional Vitamin A on top of my bariatric multivitamin as instructed by my NUT, because my Vitamin A labs were under the normal range before surgery. I stopped taking the additional Vitamin A mid Dec. as instructed. I do know that Vitamin A can cause liver problems in high doses so maybe that is what happened... I have only taken a couple of Tylenol and I have not drank post op. Most frustrating is my PCP looked at my labs and said the surgeon "definitely need to review them". The problem with that is my surgeons office has terrible follow through. I called first thing Monday morning and conveyed how worried I was about the labs and I was told I would need to send them the results to review (even though they ordered them and should have gotten the results faxed from the lab). I sent them over and confirmed that they were received but did not hear anything back, and now here we are with them closed on the holiday. I do understand I am not their only patient and they are understaffed currently. I will call again tomorrow afternoon if I haven't heard anything as my surgeon only works M-Wed. Sorry for the long rant, I am just really worried about the potential for any liver damage.

I agree with your post. However, I have been following up on a lot of Dr. Rutledge’s videos. My doctor’s post op was pretty straightforward. It was one week clear liquid diet, 1 full liquid, 1 week mushies/blended, 1 week soft foods then start introducing regular foods slowly, small bites, chewed well. Dr. Ruteledge on one of his videos talks about “you can have just about anything,” small bites, well chewed, and eaten slowly. There were several examples he gave 1st phase where the patients either craved “a bite or two” of something and it gave them satiety. This technique of surgery is very different from other WLS, but to be on the safe side, caution to error, I believe they would like for you to continue at the pace in introducing foods as pretty much all other WLS. Not everyone has the control over their eating habits and may overeat or not follow the “small bites, chew well, eat slowly,” which could cause complications during the healing process. I, myself, will make 1 week post op and I started my full liquid full force a day or two early with protien shakes and blended food. I’m doing great and feeling great. I know my body and have had plenty of surgeries to know when it doesn’t like something. I am very careful if I go off plan from my doctor and follow Dr. Rutledge’s plan. Good luck on your journey and informed decisions.

I did all the research and prepared myself for what might happen. I am a true believer so i also did a lot of praying for the month beforehand to make sure it was the right decision. I did not necessarily have thoughts about complications but i did have thoughts about not making it off the table.. After much prayer and research i felt in my heart this was the right thing to do. The morning i walked into the hospital it was like i was just going to another doctor appt. I had no issues or worries whatsoever! I have also been very lucky since i woke up from surgery. I am one of the ones that had no issues since waking up from anethesia.. Did not use pain pump at all once i woke up and was walking up and down the hallways since the day of surgery.. Now i have struggles, but all my struggles are mind struggles..how to eat, slow down, wait before eating and drinking so you dont make yourself sick. Learning to know when your full.. etc.. My cycle even came and went normally (even through it was late)... All you can do is be prepared so you know how to handle the things that do happen. I think just being prepared will help you eliminate stress because you will be armed with the knowledge on what to do to make it easier and better to get through it... Good luck on your journey!

Hi people- So my date is January 22. My mind is all over the place!! Im scared but hopeful. I have full confidence in my surgeon and the hospital. I feel prepared in terms of researching this to death. I know everyone's experience is vastly different which makes it so hard when you have No idea how you will recover. I have anxiety in general so this is particularly hard for me to go forward thinking everything will be fine. I have watched too many videos where people struggle, have complications, cant seem to drink their water, cant get food down, have dumping...etc but I know in my logical brain that does not necessarily mean I'll have those issues. But my anxiety tells me to prepare for trouble. I hate this kind of self defeating worry cause I REALLY believe in the mind/body connection. I know my feelings going into it can potentially affect the outcome and I need to get my head right! What I'd love to know is if anyone had these worries before surgery such as, what if I struggle, what if I dont lose that much, what if I have a lot of pain, what if I can't manage to get anything down and then DIDN'T have these things happen? I want to go into this being positive! My doctor literally called me a "perfect candidate" and lord knows he's run enough tests that I know I have absolutely no health issues. I have every reason to believe I'll have a good outcome but still...I worry so much! Insights?