Rootman

There is no pat answer to this question, everyone's caloric needs are different depending on their base metabolic rate and their activity during the day. I personally eat about 2500 calories a day, but I am a 6 foot male and exercise a lot too. The weight loss down to goal may range from very, very slow to impossible. Remember that you are also probably carrying around 5 or so pounds of excess skin and some subdermal fat that is just hard to get rid of. So relax, stick with it, you may NEVER get to "gaol" weight but are close enough that if you can keep it and maintain it you are there!

I too have done the same, in fact more than a few times I've hopped in my van, pressed the seat memory button and wondered why the seat doesn't move forward, only to realize I never moved it back when I got out the last time - it was already forward and I didn't NEED it all the way back to get out.

Yes, it may be a stitch, or the internal nerves firing off again after being severed or could be the start of a herniated incision. Please check with your doc if the pain persists or gets worse.

The weight loss excuse sounds pretty hokey to me, I never had it as a direct result of weight loss. Sounds like kidney pain, I did have THAT and it is typically caused by the formation of kidney stones, excessive Calcium and dehydration are the cause amongst other things. I had 3 bouts of them, the last caused me to urinate so much blood I went to the ER, my urine was bright red, surprisingly I had little pain that time. Start drinking a LOT more Water, maybe DOUBLE what you're drinking now. PLEASE see the doc to make sure, he may take a urine sample to check for UTI and prescribe antibiotics.

I was off 3 days and flew back home from San Diego during that time - definitely NOT recommended, I can't imagine doing and international flight that long post-op that soon. Perhaps you can make an excuse that you are having "lady parts" surgery? This quite often enough, especially in some mid-eastern, eastern European cultures to stop the questions.

Weird, leave it to animals to detect what we humans cannot. BTW, I suspect they taped your eyelids shut to keep your eyes from drying out, probably got bruised when they removed the tape. I wouldn't think they'd tape them for such a quick surgery but who knows.

Yes, take the stool softeners but don't keep taking them and get reliant on them, you could end up really messing yourself up. I've taken the Mirilax for years, it works OK but I too have started taking chia seeds and the results are much, much better, a little bit more gassy but more regular.

Yes it is a common problem post-op, Mirilax helps but only AFTER you take it and it runs through your system. I would try the enema, you obviously need to get some moisture down inthat area to get things moving. I would also recommend the KY-Jelly suggestion too, you should use it on the enema nozzle but pack some in after you take the enema to eas things out, else it may furhter tear you up. It's going to be icky and messy but iy should releive the immediate issue quicky. I've had issues with it all my adult life, Mirilax works well but I recently started to eat chia seeds, 2 teaspoons in a yogurt or chocolate pudding twice a day and I have had woderfully regular movements ever since. Id does make be fart a bit more than Mirilax but seems to work me better. Available at any healthfood store.

Well, seems like no one actually answered your question, so here goes. The pre-op diet is not mandatory, some surgeons request it, others do not. I would HIGHLY recommend you do one. The pre-op diet just starts your caloric restriction before the operation and also limits you to a liquid or very soft food diet. The thinking here is manifold. For one, it will potentially reduce the size and fattiness of your liver, this makes the operation safer as it physically shrinks the size of your liver so the surgeon has more room to work and therefore lessens the chances that they may nick it during surgery. The liver is just PACKED full of blood vessels and it can bleed profusely from the slightest cut or tear. The second benefit is that it will lighten the load in your intestines post-op. MANY people become constipated post-op due to the shock of surgery and anesthesia, and believe you me, it is mighty uncomfortable to have to bear down to move your bowels post-op. Thirdly, it jump starts your weight loss. All of us can keep on a diet for a few days or weeks, especially with the specter of surgery looming over us. Starting a "crash" diet can help you start off by shedding a few pounds pre-op. I'm sure there are many other benefits but these are the ones I am most familiar with.

I agree with the rest of the guys, it's more than likely post-op trauma then low T. I was diagnosed with low T prior to surgery and started on T shots. Post-op I had to cut my dosage in half, extend time between shots then cut the dosage in half again by getting a lower strength scrip. My T levels went through the roof as my weight dropped. I still don't produce enough naturally so I still have to take shots only far less than pre-op. As stated above, wait a few months for your system to stabilize then bring it up with your doc.

This is the single biggest reason I don't use it. I check in enough that I can see any answers to posts I make, I don't need an email every time to see it. Luckily I use a 10.1" Android pad so I can just use the web page instead.

Congrats! Now that is a tangible NSV! I look forward to seeing your post when you finally donate the chair to a charity because you no longer need it

Well I for one always saw myself as fat, I WAS fat, a fatty if you will, now I am not. The stuff that was around my belly and hanging down off my arms and legs was FAT. Sorry if it's not politically correct but it's none the less TRUE and accurate. Simply put HE WAS RIGHT. One could argue that he may not of been WISE but you can't say that he wasn't RIGHT. It may not of been PROFESSIONAL but he was still RIGHT. It may of even been CRUDE but it was still right. Why do we fight and take exception against stuff like this?

Wow, don't you just mis having the armrest dig into your hip? In my minivan I used to use the PASSENGER arm rest instead of my own, I hung over the seat so far it wasn't really a stretch for me to plunk my fat arm down on the OTHER seats armrest. Now I forget it's there or reach up to lower it and discover it's already down. Ain't it great

My advice is similar to kyllfalcon above, I started out considering the band and could not overcome the dread of having a plastic gizmo in my gut that would eventually have to be removed - and that's the untold secret of the band - it's temporary and WILL have to be removed at some point. Maybe 5 years, maybe 10 or 20 but it WILL have to come out. Erosion happens, slippage happens, bladder failure happens. Cost and frequency of fills also threw me off. I actually set up plication at first thinking that I really didn't want 3/4 of my stomach cut away. Little info was around about it at that time (almost 2 years ago now) but I just saw potential problems. The afore mentioned circulation and tissue death was one of them, how can you fold up and sew something and not have at least part of it shrivel up and die? I was also concerned about food / etc getting caught in the folds and spoiling and causing infection. Also what keep the points at which the stomach is pierced from eventually leaking? Granted it's pretty stable but what if you over indulge a few times, would that be enough to move the suture and cause the suture hole to stretch and leak stomach contents into the abdomen? And what if the sutures break? Too many question and no good answers. I took a deep breath and decided it was the sleeve or nothing. You can see the results below in my signature.

Congrats! We all wish you well. P.S. About the "not eating past midnight" thing, it's a little late in the day now but I'd advise fasting for the rest of the day. It shouldn't be an issue operation wise but if you're like me and a host of others you have a tendency to get constipated after anesthesia, and take my word for it, it is NOT pleasant to bear down and push hard to go after abdominal surgery.

Sorry, a guy chiming in here. Pipula is on the right track - simply ASK your wife what SHE thinks, if she objects and you value your relationship then STOP, if she has no objects than proceed with caution, remember fire is a good thing but can lead to some pretty severe burns too

This question is asked almost weekly and the answer is resoundingly the same - NO REGRETS. For MOST people the operation is very successful and no major issues come up. For a few some minor issues come up - I for instance had 3 or 4 bouts of kidney stones due to getting dehydrated and excess Calcium uptake. For a very, very few others like PeaceQueen above there are major issues and for a tiny few worse issues yet, even an occasional death. No bones about it, this is MAJOR surgery and carries all the risk of any major surgery with it. You have to weigh the risks and determine if it's for you. I took the risk and even added the extra risk of going self-pay and having the procedure done in Mexico. It is the singly BEST thing that I have done for my health EVER.

Most all obese people have a fatty liver, that is one of the principal reasons for the pre-op diet to attempt to shrink the liver so that the surgeon has more room to work and lesson the chance of nicking or pinching the liver during the operation. If your liver is overly fatty then YES the surgeon can decline to do the operation, typically a few days of near fast can reduce the size enough to lesson any issues. #SpiritFire - great find on the pic, thanks for posting it.

TPN: total parenteral nutrition https://en.wikipedia...teral_nutrition Folks as a general rule of thumb please don't throw out acronyms unless they are in common usage, e.g. VSG, NSV etc. BTW: TinaMarie, I did a double and triple take on your avatar, couldn't figure out just what part of the body it was showing

Yes, as NewFoundLove points out it most certainly IS a Pain In The Butt, there seems to be little that is more miserable as being constipated. When I hit puberty going on 45 some odd years ago I started to get constipated, this despite the fact that I ate a LOT of fiber stuff (love veggies) and drink a LOT of Water. I tried a few OTC things and most of them worked poorly or worked too well, and none could not be taken for an extended period. When Mirilax went OTC I started on it and it's been tolerable for the most part. I take 1/2 cap daily. I drink a whole lot of water and of course my intake of food is fairly low so going maybe once every 3 or 4 days was "normal" for me, even on Mirilax. It usually just made it more comfortable to go. Then I heard of Chia seeds. Someone else on the forum recommended them because they swell up and adsorb a lot of water and are not really easily digested. They work like Mirilax does but for me seem to work better than Mirilax. I put two teaspoons in a chocolate pudding for lunch and 2 teaspoons in a yogurt for supper and things have moved along better than they have since I was a kid. I'm still on the 1/2 cap of Mirilax but once I'm out of it I asked my wife to NOT get any more and we'll see how I do while off it. It does seem to fill you up fairly well too so it may keep you from eating as much but the "secondary" effects are what do it for me. WARNING: They DO have a tendency to make me a little more gassy, so you've been warned

Congrats! Keep up the good work. it IS wonderful as you discover new things you can do again and how great you feel.

Herballife is just like so many products before it like Shaklee and any other pyramid scheme, excuse me "multi level marketing". The stuff is overpriced and you make maybe a little money selling it but not enough to warrant the time and effort you must invest. Where the real money is upstream, the people who got you and others to sell FOR them, they all get a cut of your sales and a cut of anyone who YOU snooker into selling under YOU. It's all a get rich quick scheme and I personally have never known ANYONE who got rich - quick or otherwise. I guess the stuff is OK but as Dorrie pointed out - available at any health food store, discount store or online for considerably less.

I had a BMI of 50 with a few co-morbidities. I was NOT willing to go through the crap that the insurance company had put others through in my company. ONE of them made it and had the surgery, two others I heard of gave up or were disallowed because they lost enough weight to drop below a BMI of 40 and there the surgery was no longer "medically necessary". I was sick, getting sicker and could see that I was slowly killing myself - or perhaps not even slowly as I was having breathing problems and feeling strain on my heart. I do not endorse going self pay in Mexico even though I did it myself, there is a much greater risk of issues doing it that way. But if you are in the same boat I am in then all I can say is GO FOR IT. The operation was the single best thing that I have done for myself health wise in my entire life.

I to am sorry to hear it. All I have to say i that what he told you is just a lie, and excuse to cover his actions. I for one am an adamant supporter of every story having two sides but his story just plain stinks. When you need him the most he ups and fools around on you. Only you can make the decision of what you want out of it, to heal or not. Otherwise just dump his sorry ass and move on. Sorry to be blunt but I just really, really hate people who play games and lie. I've been married 30 years and there has been a LOT of times it would of been easy to stray, opportunities have presented themselves or I could of MADE an opportunity. I have NOT strayed as I value my marriage, my wife and the solidity that it gives both of us.