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I don't have any direct experience with the Mx docs, but I'm sure others will chime in with their experiences; the only one that comes to mind who has a good following is Dr. Sauceda. My perspective on this is that with plastics it is preferable to keep it local if at all possible. This is not a MX vs. US thing, but rather a travel vs. local thing. Plastics, particularly getting into body lifts and the like, have a much higher chance of minor to moderate complications than your original WLS. Things like incisions that don't heal promptly or open up again, lingering drainage issues, seromas forming, etc. Much of this can be handled via pictures and email but other things are better handled with an office visit. It's usually much better to have the original doc handle these things than trying to find a local third party to do the pickup for him. It's one of the things to consider when weighing the costs of travelling vs. local care.

Isn't he worth the money? I'd recommend him to anyone. No post op complications and highly successful weight loss. Great surgeon!

I spent 2 nights in the hospital, and when I was released we headed straight home. Once you are off IV fluids and they know there are no complications there isn't really a reason to stay an extra night in a hotel. I think you will be fine.

Awh, looks like you already made up your mind! I'm 22, male and low end of the obese BMI range (35). The trouble I've found is that depending on what we do, our lifestyle is pretty sedentary.That mixed with all of the hanging out with mates, restaurants, pubs, etc it's hard to manage a diet at 22. All of my friends are all skinny, slim and eat the same as me but are able to keep it off, and it's becoming so hard now to actually go out with them when they are all so social and energetic and 'normal' sized, and I look like a buffalo next to them. I've thought long and hard about this, and from a health perspective, at 22 my heart, joints, kidneys, liver etc is still young and able to heal pretty well, but under the stress of an extra 30kgs for the next 10-15 years, it will play a massive part on contributing to other health complications. My thoughts anyway, best of luck to your son and you never know, he may prove me completely wrong and be able to lose the weight the ol' fashion way!

What if any complications have you experienced? Thank you for answering..I have just joined this site. Thinking of having the surgery. ann

Well I am new to this but I like the idea of being able to put my thoughts down and either help someone else or get help by someone who reads this. I have not had the lap band surgery yet. I am going on Thursday to the surgery seminar and hoping that a lot of my questions and concerns are answered. I know several people who have had the surgery and have done pretty well with their weigh loss. Of course I am going into this blind as far as a doctor is concerned. I have just recently moved to Colorado and have decided that I would check into the surgery so I am hoping that the doctor is a good one. Surgery of any kind scares me and today a friend of my sister in law passed away due to complications from the gastric bypass surgery. So very sad. So wish me luck because I know I need to do this. I am so over weight and I need to get myself healthy. I have not always been overweight, growing up I was skinny. It wasn't until I stopped smoking and had two children that the cycle began. I am a stress eater and the bigger I get the more down on myself I get. I need to feel good about me again and to start that journey is doing this procedure.

Interesting! I do still get hungry, but right now I get full on much less than I did before, and I stay full longer. Maybe it just took longer for my stomach nerves to regenerate after surgery? I guess I figures at this point I'd be gradually eating more, not less. It will be interesting to see if this is just temporary (this is day 4 of this changed appetite), or if this is my new normal. This is definitely a learning experience, isn't it? Complicated by the fact that people's personal experiences vary a lot. I guess the important thing is learning to listen to what my body's telling me, and focus on getting the best possible nutrition from whatever I do eat.

Mikkey asking this question on a mainly US based site won’t give you true answers. Their health insurance is different and therefore no of nights in hospital would be different. In Aus most Drs will tell you between 3 and 4 nights for RNY. I ended up staying in 5 nights as I had a complication

Here is another thread talking about people with lower BMIs http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/80717-lightweights-in-the-house-any-more-people-with-less-to-loseless-bmis/page__st__300#entry972227 I am starting this journey out with a BMI of 35. My insurance co. requires a six month med supervised diet.. My doctor has submitted my claims asking that they waive this criteria due to lap band complications. Good luck to both of you on your weight loss journey.

Are there seniors and Baby Boomers who have had Gastric Bypass Surgery at this stage of their life? Any age related complications? Or not?

I am 69 years old and had the surgery 5 years ago. No complications but rather just that opposite. I am now off all (5) of my prescription medicines. I also have dramatically improved stamina (the ability to perform physical labor).

I am a 50 year old wife, mother of 3 beautiful adult daughters, and Grammy to 2 small children (a boy and a girl) all of whom I love dearly. All of whom will miss me if this surgery doesn't work, because I am dying. I am an insuln dependent diabetic with uncontrolled numbers for over 5 years now. I have severe COPD from 35 years of smoking (I have quit in the last year) I have high blood pressure, cholesterol, and Gastroparesis (paralasis of the stomach) from my diabetes. In Sept. 2010 I had a stent put in my heart and in March 2011, I had a heart attack anyway. At 285 lbs the hardest thing to take is that I have done this to myself. If I don't take control of my life, my beautiful Grandchildren will not remember me, and I will not see them grow up. I wish I had taken these steps sooner but to be honest, after 7 years of research, I couldn't afford to pay the amount not covered by my insurance. I was referred to Dr. Nazarian by a friend, and he was the first one willing to work with me. I have had all of my counseling, testing, authorizations from my many Doctors, and I have 1 appt. left before we schedule surgery. I expect to have the actual surgery by the end of Oct. early Nov. I am now working on the lifestyle changes I need to make to be successful in my journey. I am chewing longer and slower, I am drinking alot of water, I am stopping my meal when I am full, and I am keeping a daily food diary and calorie count. The one thing I am worried about is the exercise regimen which I am not able to perform because of my COPD. I get out of breath just walking across the house. But I keep trying. Some days are better than others. At this point, I just want to make it through the band surgery with no complications. I just want another chance to become healthy again and I am committed to doing whatever it takes. I am scared but hopeful, and I would appreciate any tips and support anyone has to offer. I know I will need this Forum in the months and years ahead. My ultimate goal will be to achieve good health and be able to pay it forward to someone else in the future.

Thank you for ALL the advice!!! Today was a MUCH better - I have been on soft food since Sunday as per my meal plan from my doc. Foods on my acceptable list are : eggs, chicken, baked fish, crab, melon, pear, banana, yogurt, steamed veggies. (I had to be on pureed foods for 3 days before that and "full" liquid for 3 before that - and clear liquid for three before that. I have been VERY blessed to have very few complications and only felt that I have had "too much" restriction once when I didnt chew well enough before I swollowed. I was feeling hungry because I have reactive hypoglicemia because of my p.c.o.s. -but today I took Betsy's advice - and toughened up!!! I moved my meal times back later in the day and stuck with a skim milk with sugar free carnation this afternoon and NO cheating!!! Yeah!!! One good day down and many more to come. (My morning weigh in was a huge wake up call - only lost 3 ounces since Sunday!!) THANK YOU SOOO much to my new lap band friends - this has been a HUGE help and encouragement and look forwaed to many more pounds lost together!!!:thumbup:

When I had my surgery I was slow to the draw. I also had complications. But I stayed at the same weight for almost a month!!! During that time I was eating nothing. No shakes either. My body was rejecting everything. So how could I not eat for 4 wks and survive and not lose weight? Iv fluids first of all and second my body was in starvation mode. Eventually I lost weight about 6-10 lbs a week depending on my participation in exercise. Now almost a year later I am down 129 lbs. You will get there! Each journey is different.

My dr. Put me on a low sodium low carb diet and i dont feel that im shrinking my liver enough so i put myself on a liquid diet during the day and only having tuna salmon or chicken for dinner and still am not dropping as much weight as i would like. I think im overthinking this whole pre op thing because my liver was enormously enlarged and caused me a lot of complications with my gall bladder removal... i get banded december 12th and i cant wait. How are u all doing with ur pre op diet? CONGRATS TO ALL GOOD LUCK

We'll I only got a couple more days to go before it's time for me to walk the plank for VSG surgery next week...Im currently on my 2 week high Protein,zero starch diet and it's going pretty good after making it out of the first day with headaches...Tomorrow I will be completing my final labs and am scheduled on 09/13/2011 with my final surgeon interview...I completed the Kaiser Options program back in 02/2011 and turned down a fast moving surgery date process since I wanted to make a little more extra money at work. I will be going with Dr.Suh from www.suhbariatric.com and will be having my VSG surgery at Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar,CA on 09/16/2011...I was really nervous at first but im pretty much just going with the flow now and just following all my doctor's instructions before surgery so that way no complications will arise during surgery (hopefully). Im 5'9 and weight about 285 and have been overweight most of my life without any medical problems and have also tried and failed with all the popular fad diets throughout the years...Hopefully this decision is the best one I ever make and I would of preferred to of lost the weight with diet and excersice but unfortunately im one of the few that it hasn't worked on. Let the journey begin

Just a little over a year ago, I wrote about what I thought 2012 would be like for me. I was experiencing a lot of stress at the time thinking how drastically my life would transform by having weight loss surgery, adopting a baby and potentially changing my job; three major life changes. The weight loss journey has been a unique ride into a bizarre world where I am valued and found to be attractive by people around me. While it was difficult physically, it was not any harder than what I had expected. Mentally and emotionally, the journey has been surreal. I’m still not sure what to make of everything and I’m still trying to get used to this new life. I was very anxious about my surgery. I was worried about having medical complications and I was concerned about the impact the surgery would have on my life. Fortunately, I had nothing to worry about. The surgery and recovery went smoothly. I was worried about standing out in a crowd or drawing attention to myself because of my dietary needs. My anxiety was unfounded as I have discovered that I am no different than anyone else except that I eat less food. I don’t mind telling waiters and fellow diners that I’ve had surgery and therefore am not able to eat large quantities of food. I am not ashamed of my surgery in the least. I know I could not have lost this weight without the surgery. Last year, I had a lot of new experiences with food and people. My goal this year will be to take what I learned last year and apply it. I still have 60 pounds I want to lose. I need to focus on my recovery and weight loss once again like I did a year ago. It is necessary for me to use what I learned about protein shakes, eating slowly, and making better food choices to take my journey to the next level. I bought bicycles last year but did not use them very much. After losing weight I was more active than I had ever been before. I went on several walks and then there was that infamous kayaking trip. It is very easy for me to revert back to my old sedentary habits; therefore, I need to make a conscious effort to continue to stay active in 2013. Finally, this year I need to learn to become more comfortable in my own skin. I need to learn the social skills required to make new friends and confidently talk to strangers. I think this has more to do with my self-esteem and confidence than anything else. I don’t believe in making concrete New Year’s resolutions, but I think some lifestyle and behavioral changes are always a positive thing. In a push to grow as an individual, I will make an effort to be more active; more social; and practice healthy eating behaviors. As it is getting late, I will discuss the adoption and career at another time.

You know when you have a vacation booked and u can't wait for the time to arrive but it's also bitter sweet because as soon as it comes is as soon as it ends? Well I like to compare this to the vacation that won't come to an end... And the count down to march 7th seems like foreverrrrr away Since I have entered my 26th year (and heaviest) of my life I have experienced constant anxiety especially hypochondria, sleep apnea, and the most unhealthy relationship with food thus far. I have complete faith that this is all going to subside as soon as I am healthy mind, body, and soul. I have since gotten over the anesthesia fear and the complication fear.. I've moved into the POSTIVE thoughts phase of this crazy rollercoaster ride that we all have in common. But really .. March 7th....... Hurry the F up

Welcome to the forum! I had a flipped port too and had revision surgery about 6 months post-op of my original surgery. I agree, despite having a complication, and any other minor complications I've faced, the band has been the best thing I ever did for myself.

YAY!! I got a date!! I will be w/ Dr Garcia in september getting my sleeve! Anyone else out there getting theirs in September??!!! AHHH im stoked! Those of you that have gone to Garcia already how you all doing now? any complications?

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My doc left 4 cc's in my band at surgery. I got my first fill at 7 weeks, which brought me to 6.2. I felt NOTHING, but as my doc has an open-door fill policy, I went back a week later. They took me to 7.6. Still nothing. So I went back a week later (depressed and thinking I might have a complication) and they filled me WHILE I was drinking Water. Now I'm at 10.0 and it's PERFECT. Probably still a tiny bit loose, but my hunger is under control, my quantities only slightly larger than the recommended portion, I have to eat slowly, liquids go down very easily, and I don't PB at all. The fill nurse said I had a petite stomach, which made me smile. At least something is petite! I've known people who were at their sweet spot with 5 cc's all the way to 14 cc's. It's too mig of a swing to say where yours will be without a little trial and error. My advice is don't worry so much about specifically getting an "aggressive" fill, but be very diligent about going back until your fill level is right. There is only one good fill level -- the right one. Good luck!

I was wondering the people who was revised from the lapband to gastric sleeve did you still have to do the 6 month weight lost management to be approved? I'm having sooooo many complications with my lapband and I'm hoping I don't have to wait 6 months. I need this band out asap.

Though my complications weren't anywhere near as bad as yours, I had a tough time and my dr has been doing this for years and he told me I was his first to have complications like I did. I was so angry because it seemed everyone else sailed through with no problems and I was so sick. Why did I have the rotten luck? Or what did I do wrong that I screwed this up? Of course before all surgeries we are told the risks. All kinds or horrible things, including death. And I was scared of complications. Everyone said no matter what they went through, they never regretted it. Well I did. I regretted it for a while. Buuuht... Now I have almost fully recovered, my diabetes is in check, my weight is going down, my energy level is going up. I feel better, the only real problem I'm having now is I'm having trouble keeping food down sometimes. But even that isn't too bad. When I was going through the worst health problem of my life, I couldn't find anyone who had been through what I had been. Well maybe we can help others who have issues with their surgeries. I'm sorry for what happened to you. It sounds like you have a lot to deal with but thank goodness it wasn't the alternative.

I took of 3 weeks. I'm working from home doing Telehealth. I am 5 days out and exhausted. No major complications (no major pain, no nausea, no vomitting, no reflux, incisions healing) but I am fatigued, my tongue is coated white patches and some brown colors that mostly scrape off) from my chocolate protein shakes, chewing multivitamins, etc.. I assume. If it doesn't clear I probably call doc in a few days. I shouldn't be dehydrated because I'm drinking fluids all day (64oz). Maybe I should do 64 water plus the liquid meals. I walk around the house and get dizzy. Make sure to take enough time off because I am thinking I should have taken 6 weeks.