Foxbins

How big are the pills? Immediately after surgery I could take my thyroid med, but it is a tiny cylinder. You will not be able to take anything the size of a multi-vitamin for a while, partly because your stomach will be tender and swollen and partly because you won't initially be able to take a big enough swallow of water to get a big pill down. Some meds come in liquid form (ask your doc or pharmacist) but you will most likely end up crushing the bigger ones.

Are you using your incentive spirometer? Any cough? As others have mentioned, shortness of breath is nothing to kid around with. You are apparently worried enough to mention it here; I'd call your surgeon's office in the morning and tell them as well.

I am 13 months post-vsg and I get all my Protein from food. However, I still have the occasional Protein Drink because 1) I like them 2) As I am running out the door they are easy to drink in the car. I don't have one everyday, maybe once a week. Don't worry--you will be able to eat like a normal person. The one thing you must do the rest of your life is take a multi-Vitamin, because it's easy to become deficient with the small amounts that we consume. You will have an easy time in Mexicali==Dr. Aceves and the staff will take good care of you.

Mine started at 3 months and ended at 10 months.

I haven't posted any pictures and I'm not likely to unless I can somehow remain anonymous. I had thought about putting a black strip across my eyes to disguise me but I can't figure out how to edit the photos. (I didn't have my eyes done so not seeing them wouldn't make a difference other than hiding my identity.) If anyone has any suggestions I'd be happy to try; I know I looked at a lot of before and after pictures before my surgery and they helped, but those people who posted are far braver than I am.

I am 13 months out and had a facelift in January. I lost 94 lbs and the last 20 really made my face look haggard and drawn as I lost the fat pads in my cheeks and everything just drooped. I am also 57, so I had been thinking about one even before VSG. As far as bodywork, my boobs are still pointing forward and I am a C-D cup depending on the bra. My stomach looks okay but my thighs and butt are really really wrinkled. I am thinking about a butt lift but I will wait and see if weightlifting helps fill them out.

The statistics I have seen say that about 1/3 of patients who have rapid weight loss eventually need gallbladder removal. I had mine removed 10 months post-op after I developed acute pancreatitis from a stone lodged in the pancreatic duct. Lap surgery was done and I was up and about my daily routine a week later. If you haven't had gallbladder problems I guess I would just see what happens. It's really not a big deal.

I didn't have heartburn before VSG and didn't have it afterward because I was prescribed Nexium starting right after surgery. I took the Nexium for three months and then stopped, had acid reflux at night about a week after I'd stopped the Nexium. I started taking generic omeprazole again and took it until month 7, when I tapered it off. Over the past six months, I've had acid problems at night twice, usually when I eat something too close to bedtime. My doc prescribes Nexium because the acid in a small volume stomach can rise up into the esophagus and irritate it, so he prescribes an acid reducer during the healing period and beyond. To tell the truth,I don't really know what happens in there that I don't need to take it anymore--maybe the body knows that I don't need a full-size stomach's worth of acid sloshing around anymore.

How long is the flight? I drank apple juice and water but my flight was only 2.5 hours. If you have a stopover you can always tank up then.

How many have you tried? I had to try at least 10 before I found some I could stomach--most are quite vile but I found chocolate Premier Protein ready-to-drink at Costco and I can get them down. Chike makes really good-tasting ones, too, and they have a sampler pack so that you can try the flavors. Nectar makes fruit-flavored ones that some people like.

Congratulations on your weight loss! You've done great!

Fiber helps to keep you from getting constipated by moving things along the digestive tract. Fiber (like in oatmeal) can also help with reducing cholesterol levels, but the kind of fiber found in gummies doesn't do that. If you are exercising, drinking enough Water, and eating high-fiber vegetables like broccoli or snow peas you shouldn't need extra fiber. We are eating Protein because if we don't eat enough our bodies will break down muscle tissue to get at the amino acids in them. Since cardiac tissue is muscle, you don't want that used. Also, by keeping the muscle we have, metabolism stays higher and burns more calories.

There are people who will never understand that the obese have a different relationship to food and probably a different metabolism. I think your nutritionist was one of them. It's my own personal opinion that nutritionists become nutritionists because they have food issues themselves, but I have no idea if that's true or not. I will say that I don't think their personal opinions about weight loss surgery should color their assessment or recommendations.

Bariatric Advantage sells chewable citrate tablets that are like flavored chalk and I was unable to get down more than one. BUT they also sell calcium citrate soft chews, in chocolate, lemon, caramel, and raspberry that are great-tasting, and it's a good thing, too, because they are only 250 mg. each, so I have to have 5 a day. I ordered them on the monthly delivery plan and save the postage charge. I think they are about $13.50/month that way. And yes, calcium citrate is more absorbable in the lower acid environment we have than calcium carbonate.

I didn't have any co-morbidities before surgery--I was just fat, and saw myself becoming fatter and fatter unless I did something to totally change my life. So glad I picked VSG.

I lost lots starting in month 3 but it stopped at month 9. It never got so bad that people noticed but I noticed. Don't worry--if it's going to happen it will happen and it will grow back. Biotin won't stop it but I got great nails and my regrowth looks really healthy.

I hit a normal BMI of 25 at under 8 months and my personal goal of 150 at 10 months. I did not try to lose any more but continued to drop about a pound a week through November and December 2011 and part of January 2012. I must say I had two surgeries 4 weeks apart and didn't feel much like eating for a couple of weeks. I think I have stopped losing as I have remained at 138-139 for the past 4-5 weeks.

I can only tell you my experience and why I did what I did. I did the low-carb, 600-800 calorie, journal the Protein, calories, and Water bit for 8 months BECAUSE I told myself this would be the last diet I would ever do, and I knew I did not have the patience to let it come off slowly. I gritted my teeth and stuck to it until I got to a normal BMI, then I added in stuff like fruit (Oh, glorious cherry season!) and dairy. I still kept losing. I added in dessert on special occasions--and still kept losing. I ate candy over Christmas--and kept losing. My body finally settled at 12 lbs under goal at 138 lbs. I am 5'8" so I am slim, but I am also 57 years old and I never dreamed I'd look and feel as good as this. I want to say that I don't eat everything, nor everything my little heart desires. Part of making it to goal for me was also realizing that there is a tradeoff. I can eat anything I want and gain or I can prioritize what I want--skinny jeans or cake? Right now I'm picking the jeans. I cannot tell you what's best for you but I encourage you to decide what your priorities are--goal or something else?

Yup, multi-vitamin forever. We can't eat enough food in a day to get all the nutrients we need in the quantities we need. I try to eat enough variety so that I am still getting micronutrients that might be missing from vitamins--stuff like mushrooms, blueberries, kale.

Stash Tea Company makes a wonderful Lemon-Ginger herbal tea that I buy at the grocery store. Maybe try that?

Your experience mirrored mine 13 months ago except I took Nexium as a PPI and had no nausea whatsoever. It was my first surgery and I went alone so I was scared and excited but the entire staff made the experience easy. Thanks for writing in detail about your trip, I am sure you have helped loads of people who are curious about specifics.

I stopped at 7 months. I had tried to stop at three but reflux came back so I took it three more months. The last month I skipped a day for a week, then skipped two days for a week, then three, and the last week I went without. Tapering it off seemed to work better than just quitting abruptly the way I had the 3rd month. I did not have reflux issues before surgery. Since then (six more months) I have had 2 nights that acid has woken me from sleep. I just take a Pepcid and in 30 minutes I can go back to bed.

I cut out all the sweets after surgery and I didn't eat fruit until the six-month mark. For breakfast, I would have 2 oz of ground turkey with taco seasoning and a tablespoon of greek yogurt. For lunch, 3 large shrimp. For dinner, 2 oz of fish and one or two broccoli florets. For snacks, I had 10 almonds. Fruit, dairy, pudding, candy--I waited for these until the majority of my weight was gone. I am not saying that my way is the only way, but I knew that I needed to get to goal as fast as possible and I was willing to stick to a really strict regimen to do it.

Yes, you have too much acid. Are you on a PPI? Or as the previous poster said, take Tagamet or Pepcid before bed.

Have you tried www.psjourneys.com? The forums are not too active these days but there is info on out-of-country plastic surgeons.