Search the Community

First of all, I am a Family Nurse Practitioner. I have worked in the medical field since I turned 18 years old. I have struggled with obesity since my early 20's. When I found out my SIHO insurance would not pay for Gastric Sleeve or any other type of obesity surgery, I was very upset. My friend who is an RN started looking at surgery in other countries. I was not sure about trying surgery anywhere except in the US. We both did a lot of research and I finally settled on somewhere I had already visited before. Puerto Vallarta is where I visited on a Cruise. We arrived at the airport on June 8th, 2015, my best friend Sarah the RN and I were met by the cab service that Dr. Hidalgo and Jerald the p.t care coordinator set up. The very nice man took us to our hotel and told us when our driver would meet us the next day to take us to the Hospital. The hotel was beautiful, our room was very nice. The next day when we got to the CMQ Premier hospital I could not believe my eyes. It was so new and modern I was in shock. In the back of my mind I was scared that it would be some type of a sham. Dr. Hidalgo met us down in the lobby and welcomed us. English was never a problem anytime during my visit there. My surgery was excellent. The hospital was so clean and the staff so friendly I would go back there anytime. For you medical professionals. They even did a "time out" in surgery to make sure who I was, the surgery I was there for, reviewed all my medical HX, allergy's, and asked everyone in the surgery suite if they thought there was any reason the surgery should be canceled. After my surgery if I needed anything, my call light was answered in a minute or less and not by someone though and intercom, but my nurse in person. Never seen that in the US hospital. I was up an walking by late afternoon and did so well I was able to be discharged home the next day after I passed my leak test and ate my first liquids. I was back to work in 3 1/2 weeks. I am doing great and have lost weight at a safe pace. 37 lbs. so far. I eat a very small amount and I am full. Not like before when I tried to diet and always felt hungry. I am taking Vitamins as required after surgery and doing better now 2 mts. after surgery getting enough Protein down. My energy level is so much better. I had terrible GERD before surgery and coughed all the time. I blamed most of it on my Asthma. I am coughing about 75% less now and do now wake up in middle of night with acid in my throat. I believe if I had not had this surgery with a BMI of 49 I would of not been able to live a long life, my BMI is now 43 and I feel great. I have not had any problems at all. If you decide to do this, just make sure you read all their before and after surgery information pages. Try to find someone who also has had this surgery so they can be your surgery buddy you can talk to after. This always helps. I can just not say enough about the TEAM of Professionals, that took care of me. Thank you so much and God Bless You All.

I have gout as well and currently take Allopurinol to try to keep it under control but still get the occaisonal horrible attack. I've been told that the high Protein intake during pre-op and for awhile post - op can actually trigger attacks. Especially since you can't really take any meds for a little while. Plus when you are immobile in the hospital and resting afterwards.....easy for crystals to start settling in your joints with inactivity. Walk when you can! I'm not looking forward to that. However, thinking LONG TERM I think it can only get better since you will have less weight affecting joints and eating less. Many food that can trigger gout (beer, soda, rich fatty foods, etc) are very limited as well if not outright forbidden....so that helps too. Hopefully we both get some relief after surgery eh?? Good luck!

Ever since I can remember I was fat. Childhood wasn't the easiest and going into my teens was a nightmare. I remember one of the girls in 8th grade asking me if I could fit through doors. When I got out of high school I didn't think to much of my weight. I would only do things that made me stay out of the spotlight. I got married and then divorced and in many other mentally abusive relationships. In my mind I thought I didn't deserve anything better because I was ashamed of myself. After my mother died in 2008 of congestive heart disease it made me realize that I could die of that. I began the weight loss journey for a few years.I would lose 20-30lbs,exercise,etc. If I didn't see movement on the scales it would discourage me and gained all the weight back and more. My highest weight was 380lbs. Last year I decided to look into gastric bypass surgery and see if my insurance could help me. I was sure I wanted to do this, always knew about it but never confident in myself to go through the process. October of 2015 I took the first step and had everything completed on my end. My surgery was last Tuesday January 12,2016. I do say the pain has sucked but I'm looking forward to this journey ahead of me. ☺

Breastfeeding helps to lose weight, not make it stall. If I were you, I'd go see your nutritionist and find out how many calories you should be consuming while breastfeeding to allow you to properly nourish your baby while losing weight.

After doing my research I never really considered the other options. If I couldn't have had the sleeve I would not have had weight loss surgery. To me, the sleeve is the best mix of benefit-risk. For most, less complications and malnutrition than RNY, and no risk of anything slipping or eroding like with the band. The only real leap you have to make with the sleeve is that it's not reversible because a large chunk of your stomach is gone forever. But I don't think anyone would ever go back to normal upon reversing the other surgeries. Good luck with your decision.

I was origanaly gonna get the band but after speaking with my doctor, I chose the sleeve. Yes there could be complications, but all surgeries do, but at the same time the sleeve has a very low risk of complications. I wanted to lose weight at a decent pace and the band was too slow of weight change. After research I know the sleeve is right for me!

I take five psychiatric meds a day. I have been seriously considering the Lap Band procedure, but I'm afraid it will affect how my meds are absorbed. I take some at Breakfast, some at lunch, some at dinner, so it's not just once a day. Does anyone have experience with this type of situation? Doesn't have to be psych meds, any kind of meds would be affected. This is one of my biggest reasons to hesitate making the appointment with the bariatric surgeon, that and potential for weight regain later despite best efforts. I don't want to end up on liquid only, or something like 1000 calories day. That seems too low to me. Thanks for any help you can give with this. Looking forward to meeting you all.

Why would you think that there is a high chance of having future issues that would result in additional surgeries? Yes, there is a chance, but it isn't high. Unless you know you are bad about following instructions and don't think you can follow the recommended way of eating (and cutting out the things your doctor says to, like mine did with carbonated beverages). Double check with your insurance company. While many won't cover the surgery itself, they often cover complications from it. I am self pay and I decided that if something does happen, I will deal with it then. But for now, I'm taking control of my weight and the $15k I spent is a worthwhile investment in myself. Good luck with your decisions.

Funny, You list your highest weight, but what was your pre-op weight? I know you haven't lost 60 lbs in 3 weeks.

Good luck! My surgery is June-22. I'm nervous and excited at the same time. I know it's for the best and I'll lose this weight.

I've lost 23 lbs 44 total. Your body still adjust don't worry about the weight. When you work out it will stop dropping Sent from my LG-H901 using the BariatricPal App

Yes~ Body-for-LIFE. I forgot to put it in. Anyone wanting to learn about weights and definition would benefit from it tremendously.

Aloha Jano I got my band on the 11th. of July and was in the gym on the 16th. for 35 min. on the thread mill and have gone everyday except on Sunday (had to go to church). I was told to go 5-6 days aweek, will be starting my weight training on Monday the 30th. Nothing heavy for a few more weeks just trying to get a head start and tone up. One thing that is really helping me is my dear sweet wife will be getting her band on the 29th. of Aug. So the support is there and going to the gym and taking walks with her is the best ever. Well good luck and go for it Aloha BWD

I have a realize band and it supposedly holds 11cc but I'm at somewhere around 12cc because my doctor said they can all hold more than they say they can hold. We're not sure exactly how much is in the band because when she tries to take all of the Fluid out she said it's impossible because some is always left in the tubing so I could be between 11 and 12cc. She said she has filled others to the max also because patient didn't feel any restriction. I had .25 taken out in October and haven't lost any weight in 4 months eventhough I go to a very rigorous bootcamp 4-5 days a week and eat my small meals, prob 3 is all I can manage. I'm going to doc tomorrow to see if I need more out because I still get a lot of reflux and sometimes food gets stuck. The band is a tricky thing. You should prob get a small fill if you are still hungry after meals.

I have skin tags everywhere my skin rubs together. As this weight comes off, I'd like to get these removed. Is this something you can do yourself, or is it a procedure?

Look at your teeny tiny hands and gorgeous rings!!!! So awesome. Congrats. I can't wait to do mine Sleeve Date: March 28, 2013 Weight on surgery date: 281 First Goal 50lbs: July 13, 2013 (231)

I started getting consults in August 2010, had a total of 5 consults and had the actual surgery on December 22, 2010. As long as you're w/n 20 pounds of your goal weight I say go for it - start calling and scheduling your consults.

:sad:Help!!!! Well I found out why I was hungry all the time I went for a fill yesterday after not having one for over a year and the Dr said ooops we have a problem you have esophageal dilation and I will have to remove fluid so it will hopefully undialate. He said to go on a liquid and soft foods diet. He mentioned I may have to have the band removed I went thru heck with the insurance co to get this band I don't want to have it removed I am very scared has anyone ever had this happen and after removing fluid from the band did the pouch go back to normal size? I am going back to see him in 3 weeks. And if you had to have the band removed and replaced with something else will the insurance pay my company has stopped paying for weight loss surgery since last year on our insurance???? I am very worried!!! Any Help Please!

I am not at my goal yet, but have a ton of loose skin. I will definitely need surgery and am working hard to get to goal so I can get it off! I have worked out steadily for 4 years now...cardio and lifting. Of course, with as much weight as I have to lose, it is not surprising that I have loose skin.

i'm not at goal yet. I was lapbanded 12/20/07 & have lost 75 pounds. I do the treadmill 5 days a week, mall walk 1 day/week, and do weight machines 3x/week. Just this past week I noticed a little more "wrinkly" skin. Prior to that, it didn't look much different than usual- since having a baby I always carried the skin weight around the lower middle. I also went into this thinking I don't want to do plastic surgery- it would be fine, it wouldn't look much different than I've always looked. But, now I'm starting to reconsider. Even with the weight lifting I haven't noticed much shaping. I read an article yesterday that said you need to focus on an area 60-90 minutes at a time to "shape it". I know me- I'm not lifting weights 60-90 minutes to tone the arms. To sum up, there looks like there is some bounce back but not all- I'm 39.

Please remember, the wonderful thing about the band is that it can be forever and it can also be adjusted or removed depending on life circumstances, illness (God forbid), or problems down the road. I still have all of my insides and i have some control over the band. That is not true for either the sleeve or GB. The sleeve is still pretty new, but many doctors dont like the idea of removing half of your stomach and I dont like the thought either. The band does not work for everybody, but it is a tool and if you use your tool you can be very sucessful. I love my band and I have lost to my goal weight. Went from a 20 to an 8..(and some 6's)...I had to exercise, eat right and all of that, but the band helps you along that path. The wonderful thing I beleive about the band is, if I start gaining my weight back, I can go get a fill! yeah! Forever! Yeah...not the case with GB or the sleeve. And i know several folks who had GB, lost great fast...but now gaining it back. They have nothing to fall back on...I always do (although I hope not to have too)...Its your choice, but I love my band!

@@ameme IMO its good that now you aren't craving this yummy food you don't want to eat that "nasty" heavenly food not wanting to eat stuff helps being around all that food i do understand it might be frustrating to see all that food around the table it is hard being around people that are eating and eating and eating more you are the one that is adapting to a new life with less food etc they don't need to change, you can't expect them to buttttt... they could be more considerate!! you "sound" like a youngun take your own portion, don't let mom over stuff your plate other people are good at that try and keep your head up gently remind people about your situation some might care - others might say yeah your point take care hun try and keep your spirits up while your weight goes down good luck bud kathy

I am at the end of the spectrum (29) but I have 3 consults scheduled for abdominoplasty, lipo in my chest, neck lift and maybe the arms. I feel if you are more than 100lbs over your goal weight you will need PS. Good luck.

hi , thank you!! Ok first 2 months are hard because all your body needs to get use of the new you in n out its a huge change tho after 6 months I was able to eat alittle bit more after a year my weight went from 208 to 118 and this 2nd year I could say that I can eat everything wich is allitle scary cuz that means that not many things are allowed right? But all I can say its Im so happy with my surgery hope yours goes well too!!! Sent from my SM-G930T using the BariatricPal App

No you will show your tummy to the surgeon when you get your Goal weight. That is a personal appt Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App