SunnyCox

That is amazing. I think it would definitely motivate and help keep a lot of people on track to have those benefits!

I had an hourglass figure when I was 120lbs during high school and college, and I still had an hourglass figure at my pre-op weight of 279lbs. I don't think it will change much as I continue to lose weight. I'll just expect my body to proportionately get smaller. I am 5'1". I told myself I would be happy at 170lbs, but my PCP (who is managing my after surgery needs) said 140lbs. That is a 139lbs loss, so I will lost half my body weight.

Having blurry vision isn't unusual for 2-3 weeks after surgery. It may be caused by Fluid / electrolyte shifts or often from the meds given to you while you were in the hospital. A scolopine patch (which often reduces nausea after anesthesia) is notorious for causing blurred vision, but there are other meds which have the same effect. I would mention it to your surgeon and PCP. IMPORTANT: If your blurry vision is accompanied by a severe headache, vision loss or any kind of neurologic defect (think stroke - weakness, numbness, tingling, slurred speech, you should probably seek emergency medical care.

Watching what you eat probably brought you to the level you need to maintain your weight. While slightly disappointing, not gaining is the first steps to success for many people.

Are you still on clear liquids? I got a real bump in energy when I started drinking shakes.

My worst time was immediately after surgery. I believe my pain was from gas. It felt unbearable, but the floor doctor would not give me pain meds even though the surgeon told me he wrote them PRN (as needed). I think I got one shot of morphine the entire night. I talked to my surgeon about this afterwards, and his assistant told me that the floor doctor was notorious for with holding pain meds. I wish I had known that in advance. My stomach was tender or painful to the touch. The pain was deeper, and there was nothing I could do to get comfortable. When I walked, I was nauseous, and I heaved a few times (which wasn't uncomfortable in my stomach area). This lead me to believe my pain was gas related. At the end of the first day, I rolled over to sleep on my side and stomach and then would start over on my back. The movement seemed to help relieve the pain. When I woke up the next morning, it had pretty much subsided. Haven't had any real pain since. I can honestly say it was the easiest surgery I have been through. I did take pain meds at night for the next few days, but not so much for pain. It was mostly to help me be incredibly comfortable and drowsy so that I slept like a rock.

I can eat a lot more watermelon than I can other foods. It is something that I really enjoy, so I make a small meal out of it on occasion. If I had to pick a slider food, I'm glad it is watermelon and not ice cream. I've never felt guilty.

I agree with Barrett's esophagus. It is common in people with GERD and isn't specific for WLS patients.

If you are only spotting, I think it would be doubtful that you a bladder infection or a yeast infection. Plenty of people have odd cycles right after surgery. Your hormones go through a major flux. I spotted within days after surgery and again about two weeks later. What meds did you take to counteract the yeast infection? Was it an oral Rx? If so, it is probably even less likely you have a yeast infection. Yeast infections often cause itching/burning/soreness in your vaginal area. You will often have a vaginal discharge as well. Did you have a bladder catheter during surgery? If yes, it is more likely you have a bladder infection. If no, it is doubtful that you have one with all the antibiotics you were given during surgery. Bladder infections tend to make you go to the bathroom more often or an urge to go but little comes out, and you often feel a burning sensation when urinating. Your urine may be cloudy.

What I found to be really good was mixing my Muscle Milk ready made shakes into coffee. I mix them half and half instead of using creamer. I usually add a pack or two of sweetener.

I was at 247.6 this morning. So I broke a stall of just over two weeks and am down 4.4lbs in two days. I'm going to stick with liquids for a few more days. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

He probably got his ego hurt a little. He expects you to tell him about your health and important life events, and you didn't. He's been telling you that you need to quit, and then you did it because 'another' doctor told you that you needed to in order to have surgery. He'll get over it. If he doesn't, there are plenty of PCPs.

Ask the surgeon's office to make some calls for you or pick a new doctor who is more likely to have openings.

Ask her, "what is the right way?" Then when she talks about diet and exercise, you can explain how you still need to do all of things. She will probably never understand.

I brew coffee, and I pour in half a ready made Muscle Milk Cookies 'N Cream shake and some sweetner. I usually drink two cups in the morning to give me a full 20g of protein before my first meal.

I may not have the most popular opinion, but I'm going to stick up for your boyfriend a little in thinking that he may be trying to help in his own way. The first time I talked to my SO about the need to diet, he made the same types of comments in an attempt to help. I quickly let them know that it wasn't helpful. It never happened again. Do you speak up in a kind, authoritative manner about his comments? Did you go workout with him? Maybe you should start. For the record, he does sound like a bit of a jerk. Was he being subtle about not liking your weight or was your own self esteem twisting the things he said? Ask him how he feels. Have a good talk about it. Tell him how your weight makes you feel about having sex. If he understands, he may be able to do things that would make you more comfortable. He may not like your weight, but he has stayed with you and still wants to have sex. In my opinion, it obviously doesn't bother him so much that he doesn't want you!

No horror story here either. I had some pretty intense pain the day of surgery. By the next morning (less than 24 hours later), I was fine even though I was a bit tired. I was back at work within a week.

Amazing. You are very handsome!

You'll still have food. It is never going to go away. Within a week post-op, I was sad about cooking spaghetti for my family. I kept thinking that I would never be able to eat a big plate of spaghetti again. Then, it hit me. I will be able to eat spaghetti again. I'll have a child's size portion one day, and I'll be satisfied like I was never satisfied before. I won't be eating two huge helpings, four pieces of garlic bread and two cokes in one setting. I feel good about what I eat. I am not gorging myself on huge restaurant portions. It is kind of nice being the person at the table that eats the petite portion. I like to secretly think that the other women are jealous of me because I eat so little (because I used to feel a twinge of jealousy that all my thin cousins would eat half as much as I did at a meal!) I no longer feel as though I am wasting food when I can't eat an entire portion. I don't have the desire to finish off every last little bit. I also don't need dessert. My tastes are already changing. I'm not stopping for fast food. I'm searching out fresher, tastier foods that I didn't appreciate as much pre-op. I have become a food explorer. I've been trying new fruits and vegetables from the frou frou grocery store with all the fancy food! I'm cooking Thai food at my house - something that I've never done before. I want to play with spices and fresh herbs. Don't be afraid, a whole new food adventure is coming!

I've kept up with your story. I usually skip the posts about Dr. Garcia since I went with Dr. Kelly,so I actually heard about your story while I was in Mexico. After surgery, I came to the boards to read your experience. I am so glad you are doing well. I hope things only continue to get better.

This is something I read on the forum before I had surgery, and I used it with my partner when he had reservations about the surgery after our discussion: I have already decided to have the surgery. Whether you agree or disagree with me, what I need from you is your support. If you can't give me your support, please don't say anything that will dishearten me. He wasn't completely against the surgery, but he thought it was too drastic and was scared. He wanted to talk to me about dieting and exercising. (This was coming from someone who has never weighed more than 170lbs and has a single digit body fat percentage.) I told him that I've tried so many diets, and he told me that I could try harder. When he met the surgeon, Dr. Kelly in Mexico, he even asked Dr. Kelly if he could leave more of my stomach than just a sleeve. Dr. Kelly told him that taking out half of the stomach wouldn't provide me with the same benefit. Luckily, Dr. Kelly is more available than many US physicians for his patients. The night before surgery, I was already checked into the hospital, but my partner, Dr. Kelly, his assistant, and two family members of other patients went to dinner. I think my partner got the opportunity to talk to Dr. Kelly about all his fears and have all his questions answered. Since surgery, some of his fears have subsided. He is much more supportive and understanding. I hope the same happens with your family, so they can Celebrate your successes with you!

I really feel for you. Maybe I should mention that I do not have a large amount of hair. It seems like a lot for me. I pluck about 20-50 darker or course hair each day. It may be why the spironolactone didn't do much for me. It has worked for others. I would definitely give it a try if I were you. Like SleeveMeUp said, give it at least three months to see if it works for you. You are a skin type VI from the picture. Look for a clinic that has a Nd: YAG 1064nm Laser. When you call the clinic, ask "Do you use the YAG 1064 nano meter laser for an African American with a skin type 6?" Someone who has the experience should be able to do laser hair removal for you, but they need to have the right laser. The best clinics will have both an Alexandrite and a YAG laser to be able to treat a full range of skin types. A minimum of 6 treatments are usually needed to see a great reduction in hair. It could take 10-12 treatments that to see the results you want. When you have laser hair removal or electrolysis, do not tweezer your hair in between session, but you can shave.. About 7-14 days after your laser treatment, the hair will start to shed (fall out). You may need to use a loofah and really scrub in the shower. Not all of it will fall out, but the majority should shed by three weeks. If it doesn't shed, call the clinic and let them know that three weeks has passed and your hair has not shed. They may need to adjust the settings on the laser. If the hair did not fall out, then it didn't die. They will appear to continue to grow for the first 1-2 weeks. They will get longer and push out of your skin so don't be alarmed. How long did you go for electrolysis? It can take up to a year to see results as well. You'll know it is working if you are able to space your sessions out farther apart. You might start off with once a week. Then, you'll notice that you only need to go once every other week. The skill of the technician is important for electrolysis. Find someone who has been doing it for a while or someone that is booked regularly.

One of the reasons I decided to go with Dr. Kelly was the Hotel Lucerna. I didn't want to recover in a group situation either, but I found that I enjoyed the company of the other girls who were sleeved the same day and their companions more than I ever believed I would. The Hotel Lucerna is very beautiful and comfortable. Omar and Dr. Kelly will come to the hotel to check on you. My suggestion is to find someone else who is going at the same time. You might be able to find someone on the forum. For Dr. Kelly, I am sure if you called Omar, he could put you in contact with someone else who is coming alone and could use a buddy.

I used spironolactone too. It helped with my acne, but it did not reduce the hair growth. I've also tried laser hair removal. I was told that if my hair growth was due to a hormone imbalance that laser hair removal wouldn't be as effective. I had my entire body done. I have very little dark hair on my legs, genital area or under arms, but it did very little for my face. If you do decide to go with laser hair removal, look for specials on Groupon. Be careful to chose a place that uses good lasers as they are not all created equally. Ask the clinic if they use YAG (darker skin) and/or Alexandrite (light / medium skin). The skill of the technician can make a difference too.

That pill is probably aldactone (spironolactone). It is a diuretic. I was on it for acne and facial hair. It helped clear up the acne, but I still have the facial hair. I stopped taking it prior to surgery, and I never restarted.