Getting Started

[HDubSleevery 25]

Well, I'm not sure where to start. I have been lurking for quite some time and now I am coming out of the shadows. I have known for over a year that I wanted WLS but never thought I would be able to do it. I thought I would be miserable for the rest of my life. I am at my highest lifetime weight and it is seriously impacting my quality of life. I can't walk for more than 5 minutes without my back screaming at me. My knees are constantly aching as is my left hip. I have a 2-year old daughter that I want to play with and take on walks, and I feel like I am only partly in the game.

A dear friend of mine lost her mother earlier this year. After the funeral she sat me down and said that she had all these regrets for what could have been in her life and that I don't need to waste one more minute being unhappy. So I got off my keester and started making things happen.

I am the HR Manager at my company, so I know quite well what is covered and not covered. We use BCBS of GA and our policy does not provide for WLS. I also have Tricare but that will be going away here shortly. I just finalized my divorce. Knowing all this helps a lot, because I decided I will have to do self-pay. There is a bariatric program (Center of Excellence) in my city, but I am not comfortable with it. I have been admitted to the hospital for several different things in the past so I know the level of care to expect. It stinks like hot garbage.

So after a lot of research, I want to go with Dr. Aceves. For a lot of the reasons that have been listed before in the forums and the research I have done online, I feel like this is the place for me. I pressed the "contact me" button on his website and now I'm waiting to start my journey.

I am a bundle of questions and most of them it seems everyone else has already had. I am a single mother but a dear friend has volunteered to stay with my daughter while I am "out of town". She is the only person that I am willing to tell about all this. She supports me regardless. My parents do not. Other people put a lot of fear in me by asking "what about your daughter? you are being reckless because something could happen to you." My thought behind that is that something could happen to me right now. I am already functioning well below capacity so I need to make things better.

I have no intention of telling my job what I am doing. I will tell them that I need time off for "a personal surgery". I am hoping I will be able to go back to work when I return from Mexicali. This has gotten quite long so I will close it out and hope that everything goes well.

[CCinINdiana 9]

Well, I'm not sure where to start. I have been lurking for quite some time and now I am coming out of the shadows. I have known for over a year that I wanted WLS but never thought I would be able to do it. I thought I would be miserable for the rest of my life. I am at my highest lifetime weight and it is seriously impacting my quality of life. I can't walk for more than 5 minutes without my back screaming at me. My knees are constantly aching as is my left hip. I have a 2-year old daughter that I want to play with and take on walks, and I feel like I am only partly in the game.

A dear friend of mine lost her mother earlier this year. After the funeral she sat me down and said that she had all these regrets for what could have been in her life and that I don't need to waste one more minute being unhappy. So I got off my keester and started making things happen.

I am the HR Manager at my company, so I know quite well what is covered and not covered. We use BCBS of GA and our policy does not provide for WLS. I also have Tricare but that will be going away here shortly. I just finalized my divorce. Knowing all this helps a lot, because I decided I will have to do self-pay. There is a bariatric program (Center of Excellence) in my city, but I am not comfortable with it. I have been admitted to the hospital for several different things in the past so I know the level of care to expect. It stinks like hot garbage.

So after a lot of research, I want to go with Dr. Aceves. For a lot of the reasons that have been listed before in the forums and the research I have done online, I feel like this is the place for me. I pressed the "contact me" button on his website and now I'm waiting to start my journey.

I am a bundle of questions and most of them it seems everyone else has already had. I am a single mother but a dear friend has volunteered to stay with my daughter while I am "out of town". She is the only person that I am willing to tell about all this. She supports me regardless. My parents do not. Other people put a lot of fear in me by asking "what about your daughter? you are being reckless because something could happen to you." My thought behind that is that something could happen to me right now. I am already functioning well below capacity so I need to make things better.

I have no intention of telling my job what I am doing. I will tell them that I need time off for "a personal surgery". I am hoping I will be able to go back to work when I return from Mexicali. This has gotten quite long so I will close it out and hope that everything goes well.

Hi,

Welcome, glad you came out of the shadows. I was sleeved by Dr. Aceves July 13th. So far everything has gone great! I read every post and you tube video I could find on him once I had made my decision. By the time I got to Mexico, I truly felt like I knew everyone on his team. He is a really kind and very professional surgeon. I have two little kids, 8 and 9. They were adopted at 3 and 4 and I have tons of anxiety and attachment issues. I was really scared to leave them behind and travel so far without them, and then had thoughts of OMG what if something happened to me. Plus I have a 5 month old grandson I was afraid would never know me. With that said, I thought- I thought I have extreme hypertension, was on 3 meds AND a patch- chances are thats going to kill me quicker then the drug cartel. So I put my faith in my God and took a leap. I am so glad glad I did. I have already lost 21 lbs and blood pressure has been great. The people pn this board were wonderfully supportive. I hope that will be your experience too. If you have any specific questions or need a live voice you are welcome to call me. (502) 802-5992. Cathi

[marymoon 18]

I can totally empathize with you. I had been thinking about having WLS for the past 4 or 5 years but was apprehensive about taking such a 'drastic' step. It wasn't until I gave it one last, full-out effort shot using a NUT & exercising my butt off to realize that I needed more help than I could give myself.

Dr. Aceves created my sleeve 4/15/11 and I couldn't be happier with the results! At first I endured a bit of regret at never again being able to eat the quantities of food that I so enjoyed before, but I got over it & absolutely love the restriction the sleeve provides. I've been very fortunate that the weight has steady been coming off without stalls and my clothing sizes has dropped from a 20W pant/2x shirt to size 12 pant/medium shirt and I'm not even 4 months out yet.

I have 2 young children, 8 and 10, as well as an elderly mother and disabled brother that I assist so I took a huge risk in disrupting the lives of several by having surgery. I knew, however, that I couldn't continue to care for everyone else unless I took care of my health first. I have so much more energy and I have a much better emotional outlook and increased self-esteem now that I look & feel more 'normal.'

Congrats to you on taking that first step! I hope your journey to health progresses easily and quickly!

[HDubSleevery 25]

Cathi, thank you so much for giving me your number. I am sure when the jitters get bad, I will give you a call. Marymoon, thank you as well for sharing your story with me. I am sure that my fears are common for most people. This board is so wonderful and I can not begin to thank everyone for all the posts. I feel like I know a lot of people here just from reading.

How did you get in touch with the doctor? I just hit the button on the website, but I am wondering if I should have called instead?

Thanks again for all you ladies (and fellas) do!

Heather

[marymoon 18]

I loathe talking on the phone to strangers so I communicated with Dr. Aceves' office strictly via email, both before & after surgery. I believe their office closes down for 1 week each month so if you haven't received a quick reply, they may be off. Nina is Dr. Aceves' patient coordinator and I've never had to wait longer than 30 minutes for a reply.

[HDubSleevery 25]

I loathe talking on the phone to strangers so I communicated with Dr. Aceves' office strictly via email, both before & after surgery. I believe their office closes down for 1 week each month so if you haven't received a quick reply, they may be off. Nina is Dr. Aceves' patient coordinator and I've never had to wait longer than 30 minutes for a reply.

Wow! They close one week out of the month? I wish my office did that. :-) I haven't heard anything yet, but I figured it was the weekend so maybe I won't hear from them until Monday?

[marymoon 18]

Dr. Aceves uses that week to proctor, lecture & teach in locations around the world. Dr. Campos, his assistant, practically lives at the hospital when WLS patients are on the floor so I image he needs that week to rest up, recharge & see his own family. Dr. Aceves' team is the most hard-working group of medical professionals I've ever seen & this was my 8th surgery.

[HDubSleevery 25]

That is fantastic! I really should stop reading but I am soaking this all up like a sponge. I end up reading great things and then I run into something that makes me say "uh oh"...like disagreements on pain medication, disagreements on ability to speak English, and who is better Kelly or Aceves.

The great thing is that there are WAY more good reviews than bad. I have had 3 surgeries and was in the ICU for meningitis for a week. I tend to have either really good luck or completely bad luck. One thing I do know is that it comes down to how you are cared for when luck deals you a hand. I had complications with a surgery and was treated wonderfully. I had a "text book" surgery and was treated terribly. I almost died in childbirth because they had the monitors on me and the baby incorrectly! Needless to say I don't want to go to the local hospitals because of what has happened in the past.

[HDubSleevery 25]

YAY!!! I just got an email from Nina. I sent her approx 10 questions that I need to get answered before I proceed, but I am over the moon! This is really happening!

Heather

[marymoon 18]

Glad you heard back from Nina so quickly!

Everyone's pain threshold is different, and though the first 24 hours were rough, it wasn't intolerable. The pains I had from the gas they inflate the chest cavity with hurt much more than any incision pain and every day I saw great improvement. I was up walking a few hours after surgery and took my mom out shopping just 4 days out. I only had slight nausea the first post operative day and none since.

They will tell you up front that most of the shift nurses speak no to little English and naturally, all signage is in Spanish. You will be given a sheet with common Eng to Spa phrases to help you communicate but I needed assistance from the nurses so little I mostly winged it. Dr. Aceves & his staff all speak fluent English, just heavily accented, of course, so there was absolutely no problem communicating with them at all.

[trizzy35 50]

YAY!!! I just got an email from Nina. I sent her approx 10 questions that I need to get answered before I proceed, but I am over the moon! This is really happening!

Heather

I am scheduled for surgery Aug. 5th with Dr. Aceves and have been contacting Nina for months!! She is wonderful, and I swear, has her computer taped to her hip!!! I e-mail her, and get a response back SO quickly that I told her I sometimes feel bad--she must never get a chance to get away!! Even at night!! Anyway, I think you are making a good choice, WLS is a huge decision, and you want to be confident in the surgeon you choose! Good luck to you!!!!

[Ricky 6]

Dr Aceves did my revision from band to sleeve 9wks ago...I am an RN in a hospital here in the US..There are minor things I would change about how things were done. But, overall, it was the BEST decision I've made and couldn't be happier!!! I didn't have much pain..thought the Lapband hurt 100x more..at least, that's my experience. I felt great and was up walking within a couple of hours of waking up. I used to be a labor and delivery nurse and I would always tell my patients that the best mamas are the ones that take care of themselves!!

Best wishes to you and thank you for sharing w/us!! Please keep us updated....most of us have been there!!!

Erika

[HDubSleevery 25]

Dr Aceves did my revision from band to sleeve 9wks ago...I am an RN in a hospital here in the US..There are minor things I would change about how things were done. But, overall, it was the BEST decision I've made and couldn't be happier!!! I didn't have much pain..thought the Lapband hurt 100x more..at least, that's my experience. I felt great and was up walking within a couple of hours of waking up. I used to be a labor and delivery nurse and I would always tell my patients that the best mamas are the ones that take care of themselves!!

Best wishes to you and thank you for sharing w/us!! Please keep us updated....most of us have been there!!!

Erika

Thank you so much. I have to keep reminding myself that if I am not healthy, I can't take care of my little one. I have always been ridiculously independent, so voluntarily relinquishing control is difficult for me. I am excited but anxious all at the same time. Of course, there are the little goblins in my head saying "are you SURE you want to do this?" It is strange because I am not so much worried about the eating plan but more about the actual procedure.

I did read your post and I am going to be looking for the things you mentioned. I also asked Nina specifically about the staples that they are using in me. (Boy that sounds weird!) She assured me that they are from Johnson & Johnson and that they are titanium. She answered a bunch of other questions for me too.

I guess once I hear back whether or not they think I am a good candidate, I will start looking into the financing aspect and get scheduled. I have to do the pre-op diet for a week because I am over a 40 BMI. I should probably start weaning myself off the caffeine now. :-(

I know there will be a ton of questions I have at each phase. Thank you all so much!

Heather

[kekerene 35]

I had a revision from band to sleeve on 06/23/11 by Dr. Aceves. I am doing and feeling great. Dr. Aceves and his team are all wonderful and the hospital is super clean. I returned to work 6 days after surgery. No worries, you will be in great hands