I wish I hadn't seen this forum....

[AmyInOrlando 348]

NurseGrace, I've been a RN for 38 years. I am not going into this procedure "ignorant" of the risks. I've done research on the procedure, the Dr. and I'm well aware of the complications that can occur, and believe the benefits more then outweigh the risks. After reading hundreds of posts and watching youtube videos that were mostly positive, I came across this thread specifically addressing serious complications. It just showed the other side (one after the other). It just made me think "holy crap, this happens more then I thought". The reason I'm going to Mexico, is because my insurance company denied me because I haven't been employed with the hospital for 24 consecutive months. (I worked there for 10 years, left for 4 and came back). I didn't want to wait another year for the surgey, and if I lost 20 pounds I would no longer meet the BMI criteria they require.

Phantompouch: Dr. Guillermo Alvarez is the Surgeon I chose.

[stephanie1678 80]

AmyInOrlando, you chose one of the best surgeons you could have chosen. Better than most US doctors IMHO. You will do fine! ♥

[serenity1959 67]

Amy, sounds like you made a great choice for your surgeon. I will be having my surgery with Dr. Aceves, but I also strongly considered Dr. Alvarez. They are both wonderful doctors.

[stephanie1678 80]

Amy, sounds like you made a great choice for your surgeon. I will be having my surgery with Dr. Aceves, but I also strongly considered Dr. Alvarez. They are both wonderful doctors.

When will you be having yours? Oh, August 5th I see. I will be having mine July 25th.

[mattuti86 23]

@amazon13 I'm not trying to pick a fight but I take offense to your comment. I followed every single guideline to a "t" and I still got a leak. I almost died because of it and you're saying we're just complainers that don't follow guidelines? I guess you didn't have any complications cos if you did you would think completely different. Yes complications are rare but they happen and after all the crap we go through we should be allowed to "complain" without being judged. I haven't had a life for months now, I haven't eaten anything for 3 months, I have a cough that won't go away, I have to carry around a bag that is feeding me tpn 16 hours a day (I started at 24 hours), I spent almost 6 weeks in the hospital, I have a jp drain on my back that pulls everytime I cough, my back is in do much pain because of all the coughing I do, I walk around with a cup because I'm constantly spitting up really nasty phlegm, and many other things and I have no idea when this is all gonna end. So next time you make such a bad generalizations think about people you may be hurting.

[mattuti86 23]

@amyinorlando good luck, don't let this scare you, unfortuanely it happens but it is rare. even though I have a leak I've lost 80 lbs and don't regret it cos I know I'll get better and will continue my journey.

[stephanie1678 80]

I dare say a forum with complications related to obesity would have FAR more entries.

[Ms.AntiBand 2,984]

If you are more comfortable going into a major operation ignorant of what could happen to you realistically you are just the sort of person who should not be having this type of surgery. It's also why I CONTINUE to question the idea of people flying out of country for this type of thing, you have no history with that doctor, he doesn't know what you know and hasn't spent any significant amount of time doing any patient education. Not good.

Luckly, the majority of people that fly out for this type of thing do just fine because they have taken initiative to learn and read but then every once in a while you get someone who doesn't have a clue, and they are taking your money and slicing and dicing regardless.

Why do you say this? Just how much history do the US surgeon have with you? Sure you meet them prior to your surgery, but so do the MX drs. They have our medical history also. If you're talking about psych eval.. Well, majority of the the regrets because a patient wasnt prepped for this psychologically ... Are from the US surgeon. As for the slice and dice.. That happens regardless of where you have your surgery. Fact if you were to statistically look at it I bet there are more leaks per US surgeons then MX simply because US surgeon lack the experience. I prefer experience over anything

[NurseGrace 509]

Nursegrace, flying out of the country is not the problem. There are many excellent surgeons in other countries. In fact, I chose Dr Aceves because I trust him more than any other surgeon here in the U.S. With a budget of $20K I could have chosen anyone, but the technique of some surgeons in the US had me running scared.

Do your homework, and don't look for a bargain or assume just because a surgeon is expensive that he is good. For Mexican and American doctors alike, do your research and make sure he is experienced and has a great track record (as close to 0% leak rate as you can get, etc). The more sleeves he has done, the fewer complications are likely to result from the surgery.

It's not about flying out of the country, its about the lack of history. Most people who have this surgery with someone outside of their country of origin have never seen this doctor before, and will likely never see them again. I have no doubt that most people who do it that way could have gone anywhere like yourself, and if its worked out for you that is fantastic, but I hate how people get crucified here for pointing out some obvious issues you may run into if you go that route.

[stephanie1678 80]

Nursegrace, many people have to fly to go to US doctors too. Or drive for hours on end. How is that any different?

[NurseGrace 509]

Why do you say this? Just how much history do the US surgeon have with you? Sure you meet them prior to your surgery, but so do the MX drs. They have our medical history also. If you're talking about psych eval.. Well, majority of the the regrets because a patient wasnt prepped for this psychologically ... Are from the US surgeon. As for the slice and dice.. That happens regardless of where you have your surgery. Fact if you were to statistically look at it I bet there are more leaks per US surgeons then MX simply because US surgeon lack the experience. I prefer experience over anything

Maybe I am the exception to the rule, but I 'interviewed' 5 surgeons (yes, it took forever because I booked appointments with all of them) and once I picked out who I wanted I saw them no less than 6-9 times for various things and "just because" to discuss things before I allowed myself to be written into the schedule. That is how I believe it should be done.

[NurseGrace 509]

Nursegrace, many people have to fly to go to US doctors too. Or drive for hours on end. How is that any different?

It isn't, I'm not partial to doctors in the US in any way, I don't really believe they are better than anyone else. People seem to think that was an anti-mexico tirade, when what I really was trying to get at is that I believe you should choose a doctor with good qualifications as near to your physical location as you can allow for so that follow up (the most important thing) is possible.

[Molly Sleeved 36]

My thoughts going into this were that I'd rather deal with complications from this surgery rather than a heart surgery 10 years from now.

[glostaff 40]

I know exactly how you feel. If I had joined this forum before my sleeve, I doubt I would have done it. However, I didn't join this forum until 2 days after my surgery. It was a big help to me then. It helped me to realize that what I thought was a complication was really just very normal and the advice I got from fellow sleevers helped me more than my nutritionist did! It is scary, but hang in there. It will be okay! I pray for all future and fellow sleevers to be able to live a healthy and happy life with no major complications. And I pray for those who are suffering from complications that time will heal their issues and they can move forward to that dream life we all want! Good luck to you and God Bless!!

[Michellemo 161]

I've had no problems. Can you emagine what people would be saying if we had all posted about our problems when we were heavy? A typical post would be-high blood pressure-feet hurt-back is killing me-sugar to high-knees hurt and on and on! Now that most of us have lost weight our complaints are mostly gone. I was actually pretty healthy when I was heavy but my god loosing 145 pounds makes me feel like a million bucks!