Oregondaisy

Yes, I went on long stalls but then I would drop a bunch all at once It never seemed to make any difference what I did, as far as adding more Water, upping Protein etc. My body had a mind of it's own and would just lose all of a sudden when I gave up and thought I'd be stuck forever. Get someone to go with you for a walk or find a Zumba class. It's really fun. Exercise is always more fun if you can find a work out buddy.

There is a really good Lean Cusine that I love that's chicken with cream spinach. It's pretty low in calories and fat and carbs. I bought a bunch when I found them because who knows if I'll be able to find it again. If I buy those things, I usually just throw away whatever carbs are in them. Healthy Choice is the lowest in sodium.

chicken is hard to eat if it's dry. That doesn't sound like it will be dry.There should be sauce. Just make sure to cut it up small and chew like crazy and you should be able to eat it. I hope you enjoy it and that it does work for you! It sounds delicious. Congratulations! a 5 K is a real accomplishment!

The sample packet you can get from Syntex has all the flavors for really cheap. It's a really good deal. The places to get samples thread is in the food forum. The Carribean Cooler is good and so is the Chocolarte Truffle. A lot of people really like Twisted Cherry too.

I get emails all the time asking for these credentials so I am posting them for anyone to read: According to MSNBC.com last year 240,000 US citizens traveled to Mexico for some type of surgery. Anything from Lasik to joint replacement to Weight Loss Surgery. If that many people are crossing the border for surgery, and if there were that many bad outcomes we would be hearing about it on the news left and right. Instead the media has a tendency to exploit the horrors instead of the positives. We have good doctors and bad doctors in the US but when a bad US doctor does something to harm a patient we do not typically warn people not to go to anyone in the US but for some reason we do seem to do that to Mexico. It isn't right and it isn't fair, but it does appear that we all seem to do this. Documentaries such as 20/20 and 60 Minutes do not get ratings by talking about how Renee Kohlpath went to Mexicali, MX and due to her WLS she lost 138#. It just wouldn't get the ratings. But get some US doctor that lost his license and set up shop in MX unlicensed and he harms more people then it's newsworthy. I think if you look for balance you will see there really is none. If 240,000 people went to MX for surgery last year and if it really is a horror, we'd be hearing about it. Dr. Aceves is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. FACS.org) This means that the American College of Surgeons has done an extensive background check on the doctor. He has to exceed the same standards as a US surgeon. His background is completely verified, his licensing, credentials, certifications, absolutely everything. If he does not maintain his reputation and current standards he cannot maintain his affiliation with the FACS. FACS is a really impressive issue in the world of medicine. Not all US doctors can maintain the background and honesty necessary to be a Fellow of the ACS. But Dr. Aceves can. There is a doctor in MX that claims to have almost 600 VSG procedures completed. He claims to have been doing this procedure for 3.5 years. Yet according to his CV he was just trained in the procedure 2.5 years ago. We know full well he has not done as many VSG procedures as he claims but unless you know what to look for you won't know that his statistics are impossible. This is why going to an FACS surgeon is critical whether you are going to a US or MX surgeon. Surgeons from all over the world (including the US) inflate their stats so they appear more experienced than they are. If they told the truth about their inexperience they wouldn't get any business. So, they are less than honest. Dr. Aceves is the Vice President of the Mexican version of the American Bariatric Assn. This is a position that is voted, so the doctors of MX voted him into this position. They recently voted again and he will be President this year. There is another organization called the International Federation of Surgical Obesity. This is an organization where weight loss surgeons all over the world belong. A few years ago Dr. Aceves holds the position of Secretary for this organization so this means that even the US doctors voted him into this office. Dr. Aceves is a proctor surgeon meaning he trains other doctors in various bariatric procedures. He typically travels to one country a month and either attends lectures to further his own knowledge on the new advances in medicine or he trains other doctors in various surgical procedures. He recently returned from Chile and Argentina training their doctors in the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. He trains US surgeons in the various procedures as well. Mexico has been doing the sleeve longer than US doctors and there are simply very few doctors willing to train other US doctors because then they would have competition. Dr. Aceves believes competition in this procedure is good as patients have more surgeons to choose from. Dr. Aceves has done over 2200 Lap Bands, over 700 Gastric Sleeves, and over 700 Gastric Bypass procedures. This means he has over 900 staple lines, a technique that is critical in a safe surgery for a VSG procedure. When researching surgeons you want someone that has done at least 250 VSG and at least 250 Gastric Bypass procedures. The reason is that the Gastric Bypass procedure has a very difficult staple line. It is an interrupted staple line and quite difficult to do. If a surgeon can do the more difficult Gastric Bypass staple line, he can do the easier VSG staple line. There are only 50 VSG surgeon world-wide that have done at least 500 VSG procedures *and* have excellent stats. Dr. Aceves is the only doctor in Mexico that has done over 700 VSG and never had a major complication. Leaks are a potential problem with this procedure but he has a technique where he over sews the staple line and we believe this one of the many reasons he has never had a leak with a VSG. I think one big issue here to remember is that just because someone is practicing in the US, that does not make them a good or skilled surgeon. Just because someone is in MX does not mean they are not a skilled surgeon or a person without ethics. I had a choice to go to any surgeon I wanted for my own sleeve and the only doctor I wanted to go to was Dr. Aceves. He is the surgeon with the most skill, the best stats, the best reputation, and the safest location. I include US doctors in that assessment as well when it comes to the sleeve procedure. I am a nurse, I've been in his OR many times during surgery and after watching him operate I was quite certain he is the only surgeon I wanted operating on me. Another upside to going to Dr. Aceves. In the US if you have the VSG you will likely spend one night in the hospital. Dr. Aceves does not agree with this. He keeps you in a fully equipped hospital for three nights following surgery. He believes you need to be medically supervised, have a total of three leak tests to be 100% certain you have no leak upon returning home, and he wants someone monitoring your vital signs, drain tube, and he wants someone available to manage your pain should you have any. He does not believe in sending you home before three nights/four days. Keep in mind, we completely and totally depend on reputation for business. We have no insurance companies referring patients, we have to do it by reputation. Dr. Aceves has been operating on US citizens for many years. He wouldn't have the reputation he does if he didn't do the best possible job for each patient. He has a great rep because we all do the job the right way. He has another belief, he only hires educated people around him. I am his patient coordinator and I am an RN. Most in this position (US or MX) are merely patients that have had surgery, they do not necessarily have any medical training. His Office Manager (my boss) is an engineer by trade. Her Office Assistant is a Law student. His OR techs (OR techs are used in the US and typically have 9 months of training) are actually 4 year RNs. His hospital coordinator is a retired teacher that previously taught English in the MX school system. His Aftercare Specialist is a PhD. She is a licensed psychologist in MX and available to all Dr. Aceves patients by phone or email. .

He did my revision surgery nearly 3 years ago. Everyone here at VST has been reallly happy they chose him too. Good luck! You're going to love him and everyone there.

Even if you can't eat very much at one time, you can always eat something again in a couple of hours. There are people who graze all day long, or if they are like me, have problems in the evening. It's easy to snack and gain weight, with a handful of this , and later on , a handful of that. That's why when you get to maintenance, it's important to know how many calories you eat and burn.

If you're sick of dieting, then don't diet! Eat what you want. No kidding. When I went on stalls, I got so fed up, I stopped counting everything for a week and ate whatever I wanted. I didn't gain anything and the next week, I lost 5 lbs. The whole thing makes no sense, just like Ouroborous and vacation and beer. Try not to stress so much. You're going to lose weight, in your body's time, at it's rate. All you can do is try your best and stop beating yourself up. What is the saying? Believe in the sleeve!

I'm glad you found this thread because I looked for it once and couldn't find it. Dr, Aceves and his staff are all so great!

No, I have not had nausea or vomitting. Most people are thrilled to be sleeved and very happy. That whole blog made me mad because the woman did not know what she was talking about.

It starts around 4 months, slows down at 9 months, and stops at about a year. There is really nothing you can do if it's going to happen. Most of us do lose hair; some more than others. I do have a friend that was sleeved a week after me and really did not lose any hair. She is so lucky!! I lost about half of my hair, between band surgery and sleeve surgery!

Hey I grew up in Chicago! I know it's normal to worry, but you'll find that we all really love being sleeved. You'll be happy you did this! Complications are rare so as long as you follow your doctors post op diet, the chances of anything going wrong are very slim. Try not to worry and keep in contact with everyone on this board and you'll do fine. You're going to love being thin and you'll be much healhier for you and your son!

I am almost 3 years out and I still prefer room temp or warm. Cold stuff just does not feel good in my tummy. It doesn't cause spasms, but warm and room temp just goes down way easier.

Just go at it slowly. It took me a long time to learn to eat solids. I had to stick with Protein drinks and mushies for awhile while introducing solids slowly. You'll want moister meats. Cooking in a crock pot is good cause things are moist and tender. There should be some recipes in the food forum also.

Read the band to sleeve revision forum here. There is a good reason there are so many of us who started wtih the band and ended up having to have it taken out. Living with the band is a complete nightmare! Also, read the complications fourm at lapbandtalk.com . I personally think that the lap band should be removed from the market. Some doctors are now refusing to put them in anymore. Unfortunately, too many doctors are making a fortune from all the fills, unfills and complications, so they don't want to stop in spite of all the damage it does to the stomach and esophagus.

I agree that the Syntrex nectar products are really good. They are way better than Isopure. Go to the food secion under Protein powders and look for the thread on where to order samples. You can get samples of all the flavors for a really good price. I also agree that if you have a costco, the Premeire are really good. They are not thick, so they are easy to drink. They have 30 grams of protein. It's aroudn $22 for a case of 18.

Can you buy Protein powder online? There are several good ones that can be bought online. See if you can get the samples sent to India. There is also a list of places to get samples in the food section under the Protein Powder section.

I hope soon you'll be able to stop regret having this surgery. This should bring a huge change to your life, and hopefully, it will bring you much happiness!

Go to the food forum under protein shakes and there is a huge list of recipes to make your protein drinks taste really good! There are all sorts of things you can put in there!

I am sure you fear the unknown. We all did when we had bands and nothing to compare that to I still go to the WLS support group at the clinic where my band surgeon practices. He is now doing sleeves, but at the time I had my revision he wasn't doing them. I remember a girl who came to support group who was really freaked out because he had to remove her band in an emergency surgery and she was sleeved. She agreed to be sleeved but knew nothing about it and was so afraid of what she had done. I asured her she was going to be really happy she did it. She came back a few times and talked over and over about how much she loved it. She could eat small amounts of anything she wanted and she never threw up or had food stuck. There is no way you will be able to eat a cup and a half of food for a very long time. I can now at almost 3 years eat a cup and a half of salad, or anything mushie. There is no way I could eat that much solid food. I can eat a piece of steak or chicken about the size of my palm and a few bites of veggies. I recovered very easily from this revision surgery. After the first 24 hours, I really could not even tell I had surgery.

I still have to take a PPI. I did have horrible reflux problems wtih the band that would wake me up at night. I tried to wean myself off the PPI but it did not work. I have cut down the doseage though and I have no problems with reflux now. Feel free to ask me anything. You will love the sleeve. It's nothing like the band!

There are plenty of us band to sleeve revisions who got to goal and have been able to maintain. The difference between a 34 and a 38 is only about a tablespoon so I really don't think you have anything to worry about. I had my revision all at once. I was just like you . I had gained some back from band problems but I lost it all during the post op diet. I am very happy with the sleeve. It has stretched a normal amount over the past almost 3 years. I am sure it will not stretch anymore and I am very happy with the amount I am able to eat. I eat small portions of anything I want. My weightloss has been fairly easy to maintain, as long as I don't' eat a bunch of candy!

Will they know then if the leak has healed? I pray that it is!

I see a lot of people posting that they haven't gained any weight back who are less than 2 years out. I didn't have any trouble what so ever during the first 2 years. It's just been this last year now that I am close to 3 years out that it seems like it's really easy to gain if I eat one thing wrong. Before, if I had a bad day, it came right off the next day. This just doesn't happen now, so I must watch every single bite I put in my mouth cause it's very difficult to take off even 2 lbs if I have a bad eating day. I wish I could go back to how it was the first two years

I really didn't have any recovery with the band to sleeve revision. I had surgery on a Wed and went back to work on Monday . I really could not even tell I had surgery, after the first 24 hours.