Suzannesh

Hi, I know it takes courage to do this. I just want you to know the sooner you have this done the happier you are going to be. Don't give away one more day of your life being unhealthy and overweight. You deserve to have a happy, and healthy life. Do it now and do it for you no one else. If you are scared, I am here every step of the way for you. I am happy to talk with you on the phone. There is NOTHING scary about a hospital at all--honestly it is the safest place in the world to be. And you will have a TEAM of highly qualified Doctors and Nurses to take care of any needs you will have. I have never received the kind of care in the US that I received for Dr. Aceves and his staff. Surgery is the ONLY thing that is going to help you achieve your goal of not being fat anymore. You know that for a fact because you haven't lost it and kept it off doing what you are doing. Please do not waste or give another day away--life is precious so why not lead your life as a nice thin and healthy person. I really urge you to pick up the phone and call Nina. She is fabulous and she will walk you through all the steps that you need and answer any question that you might have. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, Well, congrats to you. You have made a wonderful choice, and it is going to add 20 years on to your life. This is a life changing event, and one that you will never regret making this choice. Keep me posted to how you are doing. If you have any more questions or just need to talk, I am always right here for you every step of the way. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, You are so right! i do NOT remember a thing other than them saying they were giving me the medication, next thing I know I wake up in my room and my wonderful husband and nurse were talking to me. Everything is just perfect. Thanks for you kind words. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi Everyone, I went in for my annual physical on Jan 4ht- my blood work was excellent. She asked me if I had any problems. I said only one. When I take my medication at night before I go to bed, sometimes it feels like it is stuck. I never have this issues in the morning. It may have something to do with laying down right after I take the meds too. So she refereed me to another specialist. I saw them today and tomorrow I am going to have a Endoscopy (EGD). They do not think it is anything serious, but just want to make sure everything is just fine. So off I go tomorrow to have this done. They said they will put a small camera down my throat and check everything out--now won't this be fun. They will give me some really great drugs to make me "happy" and I will know feel a thing. I may be pretty sleeping tomorrow when I get home. I will check in with all of you and let you know I am doing just fine when I can. I am always proactive when it comes to my health. I make sure I stay on top of everything when it comes to my health. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi Everyone, This is me saying my test turned our "A" OK. Not a thing wrong at all. This test was a walk in the park and I am doing great. Had a nice long nap today because of the medication that they gave me. Thanks for all your good thoughts and kind words. It means a lot to me. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, Thanks, I will let everyone know how things went once I get home and I not too sleepy. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, Looks like you have had a lot of replies. They are right--sounds like you started out on something pretty rich to eat chicken was one of the first thing when it came to eating meat that I tried and it worked great for me. I know a lot of people who can no longer tolerate Mayo, you may be one of those. This is the process of relearning how and what to eat--don't give up that easy. Make some simple things to eat. Maybe start out with some soups. Chew and chew and chew and chew--about 30 times per each bite--until the food feels like liquid in your mouth. Honestly you just get tired of chewing and it takes forever to eat things and than you just push the food away and are full in a short time. NO one ever said it was going to be easy, but it is possible to eat almost all foods. Keep trying,, you just got off to a bad start. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, There are some things I need to ask you. Are you tracking everything you are putting in your mouth? There are some good sites to track this. You need to know just how many carbs you are eating each day. You should NOT have more than 20 to 25 carbs per day. Are you eating about 800 calories each day? Are you doing any kind of exercise--something simple like walking? I went for 9 days without a weight loss, so it is pretty normal to "stall." But what you are or are not eating is really the key too. Keep doing all the right things and it will start up again OK! Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, Ok, I am going to ask. Why are you using a tanning bed? Suzanne

Hi Everyone Sometimes there are things that you may think you are the only one that this is happening to. So I thought I would write about a few things that happened to me along my journey of losing 105 pounds. My first shock was that about 2 months after having sleeve surgery I notice that when I got out of the shower I would find quite a bit of my hair in the drain screen. I thought to myself I already have thin hair what am I going to do if I keep losing more hair? Well, I did and it was difficult to try to spread my already thin hair all over my head. So I started asked question to people on this board. And guess what there were a lot of people who had lost some of their hair after surgery—not that it made me feel a whole lot better, but I wasn’t alone. I learned that this is pretty normal to loose hair with rapid weight loss or some type of surgery. Then my next question was will it grow back?????—they all assured me it would, but when you have thin hair you don’t really don’t like the bald spots on your head. So, my answer was to get 2 really cute wigs close to my own hair color. Hardly anyone knew I had a wig, because it was close to my own hair style. Lots of people on this site had all kinds of theories about how to stop the hair loss and what to do. For me I found that Nioxin Shampoo and Cream rinse worked well. Most good hair salons sell this shampoo or you can order in on line too. I felt I had a much healthier scalp after using it. I am not saying it stopped my hair loss. I am just saying I felt it gave me a healthy scalp for my hair to return. I also take the supplement Biotin. You can find it with the Vitamins and I still take it. It helps with hair and nails. Both of which I need. I don’t think there is any cure for hair loss, but just time. My hair stopped falling about 6 months after the surgery and then I noticed it started coming back in. For me; my hair had fully returned about a year from the surgery. So I wore my wigs for quite awhile—about 6 months. The most unusual part of my hair coming back in was that it was now very curly—and I had pencil straight hair before. I HATED this curly hair, and I had to learn to deal with it. I am about 19 months from surgery and finally my hair isn’t so curly and it has a lot of nice body to it and I enjoy what I have because it is much easier to manage. It feels thicker now too. So don’t panic or get scared if your hair falls out, this is normal. Not everyone will lose hair, but some of us have. It is now 3years later and I love my natural curly that my hair has--it calmed down a lot! My next challenge was constipation. When you eat Protein you tend to have constipation. I tried different products for this and the one I have found that works best for me is Miralax. I buy the store band at costco because it cost less. It works really well for me, and I just mix it in with my Protein Drink every morning and I have NO problems with constipation anymore. Walking also helps with constipation. I was embarrassed to ask people on the board about constipation. I thought I was the only one who was having this issue then I found out a lot of people were having these issues. I also eat Almonds and that seems to help me too. We have talked a little or a lot about “slimming or flemming” In case you missed it, when you first start eating regular food you have to re-learn how to eat again and chew. With you new stomach you will need to take small tiny bites and chew until the food in your mouth is almost liquid like. This is nothing like what you had been doing your entire life. In the past you eat and talk and put big bite in your mouth along with a few chews and then swallowing—this will NO LONGER WORK FOR YOU. This is a very difficult thing to change. So with you new stomach and just having surgery you may experience slimming or flemming. First you will feel like the food is stuck, then it comes back up in a clear liquid –your saliva. It isn’t vomit, so that is why it is called slimming or flemming. It’s a wake up call to slow down you eating and chew, and chew and chew some more. Just go to the bathroom or have a napkin ready for the slimming or flemming. If you try to overeat—which is bad you may experience this too sometimes. For me it was always about not chewing enough. When I am full I know I am, at first I wasn’t sure, but sometimes I just got tired of all the chewing, so I stopped eating. I now get the hiccups or my noise will start to run when I am full. I know that other people have said they experienced this too. For the new people or people who are thinking of having Weight Loss Surgery, I want you to know that I wouldn’t trade one of these things that happened to me for the wonderful new healthy body I now have and how happy I am. It is ALL worth it. It has made me a much better person. I have been where you are starting and I want you to know that this is the last and final thing that you will ever have to go through. If diet and exercise worked for everyone we wouldn’t consider weight loss surgery. If you want to lose the weight it will happen with good eating habits and some exercise. I will not just melt off of you. This is your new tool to allow you to get where you want to do. You have to put some effort yourself. This site is great for support and questions. So jump in and join us. We are all regular people in different stages of weight loss. Hugs Suzanne Sleeved 10/28/08 Lost 105 pounds

Hi Everyone, I was a self pay and I had Sleeve surgery over 3 years ago. I had Dr. Aceves and he is fabulous. I can't say enough good things about him and his entire staff. I only wished I would have done it 10 years earlier, but at that time I knew very little about WLS. It has changed my entire life. There isn't a thing I would EVER change about paying for it myself. My insurance would NOT pay for any WLS. They told me I was not "fat enough" to have WLS. Give me a break I lost 105 pounds! Don't give away one more day of your life being fat. Go for it and just do it. You are going to die faster from being fat than any problems you THINK you may have from WLS. Hugs, Suzanne

This is how you can contact Dr Aceves--Nina is the person who can answer ALL you questions. nina_eguia@yahoo.com This is their phone number also 1-888 344 3916 I highly recomment Dr. Aceves. I know that he charges more--but when it comes to you health--that is NOT a time to price shop. He has done my sleeve's than any of the other doctors have done. You have your surgery in a state of the are hospital and that is where you recovery is too! Do NOT ever have surgery where they send you to recover in a Recovery House. This is ALL about your health and getting the very best you can. If you have anty question PLEASE send me an E-mail: Suzannesh@aol.com Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, They very best thing I can say about the sleeve, is that I am NEVER hungry. Your head plays awful games with you. The head will try tell you to eat and you know that you are full. We were so used to always eating when we had stress, happy or sad. You will make lifestyle changes and that will be eating what you want--but making some healthy food changes. Like eating small amount of protein, veggies, and fresh fruit. I kept my carbs at between 20 to 25 per day and keeping my calories at 800 per day while I was losing weight. I kept track of everythig I put into my body--that was so very helpful to me. I will be thinking about you. 5 days will go sooooooooooo fast. Hugs, Suzanne

Post Date: 1/1/12 10:03 pm Hi Everyone, How do you telling your family you want to go ahead and have weight loss surgery? You have done all your research and you know for sure that you want to have this done. One of the things I have learned is that sometimes telling our family that we are going to have weight loss surgery is disastrous. Here are some things I want you to consider. Have you ever talked to them before now about having weight loss surgery? How educated are they about the kind of WLS that you want? If they know something, this is a time to educate them a little more. Go to some of the WLS Web Sites and print out some of their excellent information they have about the kind of WLS you are going to have. Have they put down for being fat? Do you think they will support you for your choice? If you feel you are not going to get their support and they are just going to put you down or set up road blocks then it might not be wise to tell them. Sometimes after you return home and they see you are healthy, alive and doing well and losing weight, this might be the time to talk to them about what you have done. Ask them for their support. I want you to always remember this: THIS IS ALL ABOUT YOU AND NO ONE ELSE. You do not owe anyone an explanation about what you are doing or why this is your choice. You have earned the right to do what is best for you. For so many years you have not done that. Unless they have had weight problems they will almost never understand why you are having the surgery. For various reasons, people will try to stop you. They are sure you will not be successful and you are throwing away your money. They are fat and want you to be fat just like them. They are scared you may find someone else if it is your husband or wife who is opposed to you doing this. They are jealous that you are doing this and they are not doing anything to help themselves. They are just plain scared and don't know how to communicate their feelings to you. They know very little about WLS, ONLY the BAD things that they have heard through gossip. If it is a money issue and they don't think you can afford to do this. Hey we make car payments and never think twice about it. How about making some body payments? For so many of our family member they are so uneducated about the current methods of WLS-the sleeve being the one I am thinking of. They assume we are having lapband or bypass surgery—neither one of these were my choice. So every chance I have I try to educated anyone who wants to know about the sleeve on how successful this surgery is and just how they do it. So, my suggestion is you know your family better than I do, so consider if it is wise to talk with them or to just keep it to yourself. There is so much support on this board for you if you need anyone to talk to or help. I am always here if you have any questions. Suzanne Sleeved 10/21/2008

Hi, You are a very smart young lady to handle and deal with it this way. Being honest has paid off for you. I am thrilled that you have this kind of support. I wish you luck with submitting your paper work to your insurance company. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, I think this is a very individual thing, and you know your family better than any of us. I also told everyone that I thought I should tell. I had a very bad reaction from my son--the one I thought would be very supportive. After awhile he did come around--he still will never talk with be about it or comment on the fact that I lost 105 pounds. Everyone else was just great. I think having a lot of bad information and gossip are what people get scared of. The lack of of good information and just how much better WLS is now days. I am happy for you. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, I understand what you are saying. I was 63 when I had my VSG--now I am 66. It took me 14 months to lose the weight 105 pounds. I think keeping track everyday of what I was eating, keeping the carbs between 20 and 25 per day and no more than 800 calories for the day allowed to lose the weight in 14 months. I also walked 5 to 6 days a week and I walk between 45 minutes and 1 hour. Like you I wished I would have done it long before age 63, but I love my life now. I told my PCP today I am feeling so great that I plan on living until I am 100--she said why not 110. LOL. So that is what I plan--I am going to live to be over 100. I feel so very good ALL the time now. Congratulations on your success. I think it is fabulous! Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, None of this ever happens as fast as we would like it to. Hang in there it is worth the wait. In the mean time it gives you a chance to ask all kinds of questions. Questions are a great way to educate yourself on what is going to happen. I wish you nothing but success. Hugs, Suzanne

Hey Everyone, Please share with us what your form of exercise is. For me I knew working out in a gym was never going to work. I just hated the thought of “having” to go to a gym and working out. For many others this is just want they need. The have a personal trainer—great thing to do. I know me and that just didn’t appeal to me. For me walking was something that didn’t really require a lot of equipment and was something that most anyone can do. This is what I have learned about walking. “Walk for 45 minutes a day. The reason we’re suggesting 45 minutes instead of the typical 30 is that a Duke University study found that while 30 minutes of daily walking is enough to prevent weight gain in most relatively sedentary people, exercise beyond 30 minutes results in weight and fat loss. Burning an additional 300 calories a day with three miles of brisk walking (45 minutes should do it) could help you lose 30 pounds in a year without even changing how much you’re eating.” I found this information on the Web about walking a long time ago. So I knew I was changing my lifestyle when it came to eating, which means that I could lose a lot more weight if I just walked. It really has worked for me and also relieved stress in my life too. In the winter time, I walk inside a mall. I also swim now and then too. I would love to hear what you do for exercise. Let’s share some ideas, it might just help others. Suzanne Sleeved 10/21/2008 Lost 105 pounds.

Hi, Yes, you are so right! Do just that. One day when you are healthy and very happy with what you have done, you can tell her just how your did it. Until then, just keep doing all the things you are doing right now. Remember the 1st month is the hardest, but it is only 30 days and you can do ANYTHING for 30 days. If you have any questions or need some help with something, I am always here for you. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, You have a great attitude and I promise you that you will be very successful. It is hard the 1st month after surgery, because you are healing and relearning how to eat again. But after that, it just gets a lot easier. WLS is a tool to allow you to become healthy again. It is NOT a miracle cure. You have to work at it by eating healthy--which is pretty easy after a while. You should also try some kind of exercise. I love to walk and that helped me. I am always here if you have any questions or just need to talk. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, Good for you and congratulations to your Mom. If diet and exercise worked for everyone--the whole world would be thin. We have an addiction to food--this is our tool (WLS) to help us overcome this addiction. If someone needed to have surgery to save their life people wouldn't think twice about them having it. Why are they so opposed to this--it is surgery to save our life. We are going to die a whole lot faster from being fat than we ever will from WLS. So these are thing you can tell your family. You can quote me on these.... I am so happy for you that you are getting some support from your family. We can't expect 100% support from them, but some support is really nice. They will come around as you start losing weight and they see it and see how healthy you are becoming. Keep me posted as to how you are doing. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, Sounds like your Mom could use a little help herself. She wants to solve all the problems ALWAYS with food and what a cruel way to be. That is probably one of the reasons you have had a problem with weight. It is time to break that chain, and you are doing all the RIGHT THINGS. You do not need an approval from your MOM--you are an adult now. And SHAME on her if she is every going to try to make you feel bad about doing something that is going to change your life so that you will be healthy. She should be supportive, but it doesn't look like she ever will be. So continue doing all the right things you are doing. I think you are very brave and strong to do this. So when you need a little help or support this is the place to come. I wish you all the success in the world. Keep me posted. Mom's are suppose to love you unconditional and not try to push your guilt buttons. Good for you, for not eating and leaving early. Hugs, and hang in there. Suzanne

Hi, This is just what I was saying. In the end honestly we do not need anyone's approval. This is always ALL ABOUT YOU AND NO ONE ELSE. I am sure that you have no regrets and I know for a fact you did all the right things. You are changing your life for the better. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, Please feel free to share it. I am happy that you liked it. I have shared it on more than one site. Hugs, Suzanne