Foxbins

I can really relate! One of the reasons I had surgery was I was listening to a college football game and they gave player stats for an Arizona State linebacker and I outweighed him by two pounds. I swore I would not be "football-player size" no matter what it took. Now I'm not!

It's the rapid weight loss that makes gallbladders irritable. Dieting, other WL surgeries, and anorexics all run the risk of gallbladder problems. Fortunately, we who have problems are in the minority, though that's small comfort after you have an attack and surgery. Mine was removed 10 months post-op.

Show off! You worked hard for your weight loss and deserve to look your best.

My BMI was 35 and I was self-pay in Mexico 20 months ago. Reached goal in 10 months but I wanted to lose 82 lbs initially, but kept going until my weight stabilized at 137 or so.

I drank a lot of broth from Vietnamese noodle soup (pho). No noodles, just the broth. It had cilantro and lime and fish sauce and tasted divine.

You must measure your food, and keep measuring until you reach goal. At six weeks post-op, I could eat about 2 oz of yogurt or cottage cheese, half a scrambled egg, 1 oz cheese. Eat a quarter cup and then stop. If you are still hungry, take a 20 minute walk and then come back and eat another tablespoon or two. You will soon learn that you don't need to eat until you're stuffed to feel satisfied. Learning that you can't eat the portions that you used to is really hard--even today at 20 months post-op I find myself putting too much on the plate if I'm not thinking about it. Old habits die hard.

I'm 20 months post-op and from a foot away you can't see them. If you get up close and know where to look they are visible but they have faded to almost my normal skin tone.

I've followed your posts for a while now. I just wanted to say congratulations! Instead of letting the surgery do all the "work" you have seized the reins and made the course changes you wanted. Life is grand, isn't it?

I have no regrets now and never had any. I was so miserable being fat. I knew it was major surgery and I was going to hurt, have a recovery period, maybe not be able to choke down enough fluids or protein...but regret something that was going to change my life? Nope. I vowed to give it a chance. Life is great now!

I think it sounds like an allergy, too. Have you added something new to your diet? Are you taking antibiotics? Fleas, bedbugs, chiggers? chickenpox?

Yes, you can refreeze them, but the quality suffers each time you thaw/refreeze. Next time, take only as many as you need out of the frozen bag. They thaw quickly anyway, and to speed them up you can thaw them in cold water as well.

Triscuits are a slider and a trigger food for me. I know they're whole grain and all, but if they are in the house I can eat a whole box in two days. If I can keep from putting them in the grocery cart, I'm good. I buy them when I have people over and then send the leftover ones home with a guest. That way, I get to have some but they're gone when the party's over.

@Readytolose2012--Slider foods vary from person to person but usually chew down to mush or melt, so you don't feel restriction--like chips or ice cream--so you can eat loads of calories. I'm 19 months post-op and it still happens. I have noticed that tension or anxiety tightens up my stomach, but other times I have no idea why. It seems to balance out, though--a day of only being able to eat a little is often followed by a day or two of eating more, and vice versa.

At 19 months post-op I'm one of those who lost my hunger, so that's a huge advantage to a woman who was never "full" and who had to have dessert after every meal. It's hard to be enthusiastic about food when you're not hungry. What I have done, besides modifying what I eat is that I do not eat until I'm full. I measure my portions and undereat my capacity. The few times I have felt full were those occasions when I couldn't measure and ate more than I realized and it hurt. Finally, I don't know what happens in the brain but for me there was a big change in how I viewed food. Food is fuel for me--it's not love, it's not a tranquilizer, it's not a rush of pleasure, it's not the focus of my day anymore. It is so freeing, not being a slave to food.

I had my surgery in Mexico but had no complications. I told my PCP 4 days before surgery that I was having bariatric surgery in Mexico and she was pretty cool with it. I have Kaiser and they would have treated any complications that arose. There is insurance available to cover complications but the surgeon must be enrolled in the program. Some surgeons in Mexico will treat you at little or no cost if you have a complication; ask them about this--you might have to pay the hospital even if the surgeon doesn't charge you. I also encourage you to select a surgeon about whom you read very few negative comments. Some surgeons seem to have more complications than others and you want someone with a low complication rate and also someone who will discuss their complication rate with you. A good surgeon will. Edited to add: it's BLIS insurance here in the states, you have to find a participating surgeon in the program. For Mexico, there is Sevencorners.com or try Googling "Medical Tourism complication insurance" as there were several companies.

the leak test is not bad at all, the worst part is the bad-tasting stuff you swallow. I slept most of the first two days. Tell the anesthesiologist you get nauseated after surgery and they will give you something to prevent it. Your stomach has no pain nerves so it doesn't hurt. The incisions hurt a little bit but not bad, they felt a little like a bad sunburn to me, but the pain medicine made it go away. Really, you will be fine.

I also went to Dr. Aceves, who gave pain meds through the IV and then gave sublingual Toradol. I had minimal pain, and no nausea or vomiting, which was great because I would hate to vomit after stomach surgery. Mostly I slept the first two days. Before surgery, I never felt full until I was "Thanksgiving full," ate for emotional reasons, and loved sweets. Now, food is fuel and I hardly think about it, there are more interesting things to do with my time now that I am thin. I am hypothyroid so I took my tiny pill right after surgery and it was fine. You might ask your doctor if there is an alternate form of your medication if the pill is bigger than a baby aspirin, or crush it, like the previous poster recommended. We all lacked the "discipline" to lose weight and keep it off just using will power, but after surgery it's much easier to comply with the food guidelines. I don't know how, but something got switched off in my brain so that sweets aren't calling me and I am truly satisfied with a little bit of food. It helps a lot that I don't feel hunger anymore and have to eat by the clock. So different than before surgery!

I'm 19 months post-op and haven't had a milkshake yet. Doesn't fit with my plan.

Although they removed your gallbladder, sometimes there are still stones in the bile duct that they don't remove which continue to cause pain. Your surgeon should have mentioned this possibility when you discussed the surgery with him. I'd call him and tell him you are still having pain.

No, but most new post-ops can't swallow pills.

You're not done at 4 months post-op. I started at 232. In my fourth month I lost a grand total of 4 lbs, but the following month lost 11, which was more than I had lost since month 1. I continued to lose between 6-8 lbs each month until month 10, when I hit my goal of 150, then lost an additional 15 after gallbladder surgery and figuring out maintenance. I am 19 months post-op and can still easily lose if I don't keep an eye on getting adequate calories.

I have lost 96 lbs and have been in maintenance for nine months. I lost 17 lbs my first month and then between 7-9 pounds most months after that. I was at goal in 10 months but then lost more because everyone but me in my family is skinny. Sure enough, my body settled at 136-138 lbs. I'm 5'8".

I had some acid issues post-op, but I took a PPI for seven months and they disappeared over that time. Now I just get a rare case of heartburn like anybody else.

I have Kaiser and was self-pay in Mexico because of a low BMI, too. I told my PCP I was having surgery in Mexico and although she tried to dissuade me a little bit, she also gave me the Kaiser post-op bariatric guidelines, ran labs for me, and hooked me up with their support groups. My understanding was that if I had complications, Kaiser would treat me.

Are you taking an acid reducer? A PPI or something like Pepcid? Acid can feel like something stuck.