mina

thank you so much for the reminder. i guess the dieter in me just want the scale to go down, if i'm doing what the doctor tell me to do. I'm feeling more at ease now. i'm also concentrating more now on increasing my Protein intake.

lol, I tell myself to take a chill pill. i prepared myself for the 3 week stall. when i saw how much i was losing, it blew my mind and then boom nothing for the past week. but i know it will come off.

I didn't do a supervised diet before my surgery. I too, was self pay because my insurance denied my claim. I can't honestly tell if a 3 or 6 month supervise diet would help mentally. Anyone who is obese have some sort of eating issue but you know if your relationship with food is serious enough to get help. Before the surgery I did a lot of reading about people's experiences after their surgery and what cause some people to fail their weight loss surgery to see if I was at risk also. It would never hurt to talk to a counselor before the surgery just as a precaution.

I would recommend bring your own foods, as long as you are following the diet regimen you don't have to eat the hospital's food.

It is possible to find a doctor that will respect your wishes on not wanting to know your weight. I have patients who come in all the time who turn their head so they wouldn't see the scale. your husband could fill out the paperwork you (he would have to know your weight) for the insurance company and such. good luck to you.

i had my surgery with dr aceves in mexicali front of the hospital almater, the hospital was very modern and clean (i work in hospitals and didn't find anything to complain about.) this was my room another view of the room

you look phenomenal! congrats on the weight loss. I can't weight till i start taking my post op pics in a few months. It gives me hope.

So, I'm 10 days post op and has been doing well. The pain (from the gas) got progessively better. I only have occasional discomfort now and again and I can't tell if it's hunger, most of my irritation comes from my incisions (i'm trying not to pick at them like a little kid). I went to work yesterday and didn't get home til after 6 pm (so much for my half days, lol). my energy level has been holding up. My coworkers ate lunch in front of me and it did not even phase me, I notice the food but didn't feel like attacking them to get it . I am now able to take at least 50 oz of fluid which seems like a miracle to me. I have not been concentrating on vitamins or protein intake, I didn't want to overwhelm myself by trying to do too many things at once and i knew i would be fine for a couple of weeks. Today is my last day of clear liquids, I am so happy but also scared (i don't want to get sick by eating the wrong thing or doing it too fast, I haven't vomit at all after surgery). My goal is to increase my protein intake and start on some vitamins. I have lost 14 pounds so far as of yesterday, which is amazing to me. I went to my gym today (no major exercise for me for a while) to get my measurements and fitness level and my total fitness score is fair, I cant wait till I m in excellent fitness. So hang in there, everyday gets better.

i believe different surgeons use different amount of incisions. there's different size camera use to see the inside and that makes a difference in the size of the incision. also the patient makes a difference: size, prior surgeries. i have 4 incisions (one bellybutton, one on the right abdomen, two on the left abd). my bellybutton incision is probably 1 centimeter and the one for the drain 2 centimeters.

to learn how to swim. while i was big i didn't want to have someone trying to teach my fat self in a bathing suit how to swim (a whale comes to mind, which is stupid)

i had my surgery last week and none of my family know and only a couple of friends and coworkers know. i saw people's reaction when i jokingly mention weight loss surgery and didn't want to deal with their insecurities. now that i've had the surgery i will start telling people, probably never my parents. it help that my family is not near, i only see them a couple times a year. i told them i was dieting so they won't be shock to see me for thanksgiving, lol. i hate lying to people but i had to think of me: my health and peace of mind.

that's crazy, why would a hospital require someone be in the waiting room? people have to work and their presence there won't change the outcome of the surgery. as long as you get there to have surgery and someone to pick you up that's all that should matters.

so first of all i want to stress how different everyone's surgery experience can be, if you read the testimonies on this forum you will see that. Due to financial issues and time constraint I made the decision to travel to Mexico to have my surgery with dr aceves. I went by myself and flew down 6/10 and had my surgery saturday 6/11. I had this surreal feeling about me which started the day before. I've never had any surgery, though i do perform surgery, so maybe that helped me not freaked out. The day of the surgery I met a series of people: or nurses, internal medicine doctor, anesthesiologist, co-surgeon and finally the surgeon. you had time to ask all your questions and everyone was very pleasant. you didn't feel like an object. with the anesthesiologist i learned that they put the iv after you are sedated (yay!) and because i was lower bmi and healthy he wanted to put a spinal, also after i was sedated. they gave me a sleeping pill and i remembered being wheeled to the OR and I felt the IV stick, but all in a distance, then i was out. I remembered waking up in a lot of pain. I was speaking in english and spanish, mind you i don't speak spanish but i knew dolor. they got me comfortable. i wanted to turn on my right side but could not move (later on i realized it was due to the spinal). I think i was in recovery room for 2-3 hours. after i got to my room again i was comfortable, no pain. later on that night i started having severe dry heaving every time i tried to move. no vomiting. once that was control i started walking in the hallway then the gas pain hit. It was horrible. I wasn't burping or passing gas. i wasn't feeling much pain from the incision sites. i walked and walked without relief, their pain medication did not help (it was the equivalent of motrin). i was praying to god for him to let me burp, lol. everyone was very nice, dr compos checked up on me several times. sunday, the day after the surgery, they gave us clears (yuk) the thought of food was nauseating to me. i didn't want to put anything in my mouth feeling the way i did. i did finally drink a little bit but i had to force myself since they stopped the iv fluids. i had no interest in food, i just wanted to pass gas. i kept thinking i did this to myself, i had no one to blame but me. monday morning i had barium swallow test (the most awful tasting thing ever) to check for leak. i didn't have any leak and the dr saw the numerous pocket of gas bubbles i had in my intestines and he told me the barium would also help push the gas down and cause me to have diarrhea... uhm that did not happen (mind you the other 2 people who had surgery with me did have bowel movements). they gave chicken broth, that was welcome after the multiple apple juices and gatorade but i couldnt have too much of it. i did not touch my dinner tray. they took out the pinrose drain later on that day, i was still having bad gas pain. i still wasn't passing it and i burped twice (little tiny ones). dr aceves offered to keep me an extra day without extra cost, i was scheduled to leave in the morning, but i just wanted to go home. I knew with time i will start feeling better. Monday is when it started to hit me the enormous decision i just made to have more than half of my stomach remove. there was no going back, they was no changing my mind. I WENT TO MEXICO BY MYSELF WITHOUT TELLING MY FAMILY AND HAD MAJOR LIFE CHANGING SURGERY. Remember this was the first time i've ever had surgery. I started feeling the urge to pass gas on the flight home, thank god it didn't stink cause i would have been really embarrased but OMG i started feeling human again. I had decent sleep last night (first time in 4 days). I am post op day #4, still having gas pain but feeling a lot better. i am going to start concentrating on drinking my fluids, i don't want to end up in the ER for dehydration. I do not regret my choice to have this surgery. I am very thankful I had no serious complications. I will keep you guys posted.

you are in good hands. i've never had surgery before and had to go to a foreign country to have major surgery ALONE. I still can't believe i had the courage to do that. the only thing i felt was little different from U.S hospital was how little narcotic pain medication is use, however most of my pain was from gas. if you tend to require strong pain medication now, make sure you bring your medications with you or let him know about it. the last time i took something for pain was tues morning before i left for the airport, they gave me toradol (which is equivalent to motrin). one of the key things now is to keep yourself occupied mentally and physically to help keep your mind of the surgery. good luck! you'll do great!

i weigh myself today and saw that i dropped 10 lb in 7 days! so that's giving me the motivation i need.

everywhere i turn there's food: tv, movies, magazines, books. yummy recipes. i saw on tv a hamburger and i was salivating! i don't even like hamburgers. i'm 6 days post op and is on clear liquids. i went grocery shopping yesterday for more soup and it was agony everything look so good, even the seaweeds for the sushis lol. meanwhile i can't make myself it the jello in my fridge. i've never been so aware of food before, even when i've dieted before. i put a piece of cooked chicken in mouth yesterday and suck the juices out of it, that is so pitiful. i have 4 more days of clears. God give me strength

lol i can't wait to feel that way.

i had my surgery with dr aceves also. for some reason, despite all the research i did before the surgery, it never hit on me it would be 30 days before i could eat "regular" food.

i love chewing gum. the doctor advise against it for two reasons: one, he said when you chew you get the gastric juices going (that made sense to me,so immediate post op is not good idea) and two, he said he don't want us swallowing the gum which would cause problems with the staple line (uh i think i did that once in my lifetime in high school so the teacher wouldn't catch me).

in addition to asking how many of these surgery he/she has done. find out about complication rates (have to do it open versus laparoscopy, leaks, hospital readmission). find out if he puts a drain in or do leak test.

good luck to you. i had the same problem you did with the not so high bmi, mine was 39.9 i wish i knew about the ankles weights and stuff. i tried to fail my glucose tolerance test and lipid profile test so i can have the qualification for the insurance company by eating a big bacon egg and cheese breakfast and a chocolate bar, with no luck. i guess i should be happy about that

i knew it was time to do something when i started hating going home to see my family. i dreaded the airplane seats. hated going on vacation. hated having my picture taken. then my dad got diagnose with diabetes and i saw what was waiting for me at the end of the road.. i am not a fan of needles lol. i wanted to do it while i was young enough and without the comorbidities. people was saying to me when i told them i wanted the surgery "but you are not that fat" eventhough i was 5'6 and weighs close to 250. now i'm 6 days post surgery and i don't regret my decision. good luck with you.

you'll be fine. i just had my surgery in mexico with dr aceves last saturday. he told us the day before the surgery to eat and drink anything we want but nothing to eat/drink after 10 pm (some people would say midnight). i had tortillas/beef/margarita the night before my surgery. so don't beat yourself up about it. but i'm not saying not to follow your surgeons instructions, lol

congrats!!! and keep doing the dance.

i'm so sorry you had to experience that. i understand how you feel. i had my surgery done in mexico 6 days ago and my family and good friends has no idea i left the country, let alone have major surgery. my 3 coworkers knew and 1 good friend. i can't even anticipate people's reactions. i'm waiting till i'm a few weeks out before i say anything. remember you did this to better yourself by getting healthy, don't let people's ignorance take away the pride you should feel for making such a brave decision. some people would rather sit around moaning about how miserable they are but we chose to act and do something about it. chin up!!