mesaucedo

My drain wasn't painful at all -- except when I accidentally pulled on it -- but other than that I never even felt it! When they took it out it felt weird, not bad or painful, just strange.

I am a full financial aid student so I have no extra money. I make about $400 a month at work and spend it very wisely. I buy things like: Yogurt (not always greek) -- $10 for 10 if I chose the store brand Frozen meatballs/chicken patties/chicken breasts etc -- under $10 for about 3 weeks worth Cottage cheese -- bigger cartons are much cheaper! It is easy to buy healthy and cheaply you just have to search around a bit. I also use coupons and shop around for certain items.

We left on a Monday, around 10am and it took us over 2 hours to get over. My driver said the same thing as Mrs. Teacher's -- it can be four or five hours on Sunday.

I am not too worried about my scarring, I have stretch marks all over my tummy anyhow, but was wondering when your incision marks faded a bit. Mine are a raspberry pink color and very bright! Any input?

You should also look into Dr. Ponce de Leon, he was amazing and Trish was super helpful throughout my surgery. Dr. Rodriguez is also another big name out there as well! Good luck and remember RESEARCH!!

For me it wasn't a big deal. I chose my doctor because of experience in addition to cost. Had I found one here in the states that had that much experience and my insurance covered it I would consider it. I have tons of family in Mexico and am very comfortable with their health system so I might have stayed with a Mexican doctor. All the "horror stories" are based in ignorance and racism towards Mexico, their doctors are just as capable as the ones in the states, if not better. Also, most bad surgeries are plastics with an inexperienced surgeon.

I have discovered my sleeve can tolerate pretty much anything I have tried! I am only 1 month out now. I focus on Proteins but eat whatever I like in small doses. My immediate post-op diet was like anyone else's. I didn't eat "real" foods until three weeks out, when my doc said I could start to explore food. So I stuck to sf pudding, popsicles, broths, Soups, cottage cheese, yogurt, soft cheeses, tuna etc.

I am a month out as well and can eat sausages. I got a spicy turkey link, I was craving spice, and it went down just fine. I did chew it thoroughly and it took about an hour but it was ok.

This one is a little hard for me. I am in a long distance relationship and have no control over what my fiance eats. Well it turns out, thanks to Facebook, that he hasn't been low carb-ing it like he said. He has been eating burritos and pizza and cake and chips all the time. It is hard to even start talking about it with him. He gets defensive. But when he went to the doc he told him he has sleep apnea because of his weight, is pre-diabetic and needs to get his diet in order now! Both his parents have diabetes. I am not sure what to do. He isn't that big, he is mostly muscle with a nice layer of fluff on top. But he packs on the weight quickly. :/

I can eat quite a bit, I was worried at first but now I am not. I am 4 weeks out and have not had any pain after eating, I never get the stuck in the throat feeling either. I can eat a whole scrambled egg. I can also eat a whole spicy sausage link. Hamilton (my sleeve) must be a bit big or something!

I too, have crazy self confidence. I have never felt unattractive or like I am "fat" really. I have always been extremely happy with my body. I wear skinnies, I wear heels, I wear whatever and feel good in it! I did this surgery not to become skinny, but to become healthy. I knew that I wasn't going to stop gaining and who knows where it would have ended or how bad I could have gotten. Honestly, I don't plan on getting to a size 4 or even a 6. I would be content with a 10 or 12, I feel great at a 20 already.

Hope you are doing well! Let us know!!

I am about 1 month out and can eat almost 1 egg scrambled. I haven't tried hardboiled yet!

This was my first surgery and it was pretty much painless for me. The only pain I had was from the gas used to pump you up. It went away within a day and I felt great! Once you get up and walking the pain melts away. I didn't take any pain meds after I left the hospital and only felt a little sore for a few days afterward. It kind of felt like I worked my core out a lot and had to be careful sitting down and standing up. But that was it! You look pretty young, I am 20, my doc told me that younger people seem to bounce back faster and feel less pain. Also, less stuff to work around in ourselves if we have had no surgeries, so less poking and stretching.

I noticed why I slouch. I haven't lost much weight yet so I still have my big round tummy and I kind of lean on it or something. I slouch to the point where it supports me! I just noticed that the other day.

I am seriously craving crunchy foods and bread. I am only 3 and 1/2 weeks out and am kind of freaking out! Anyone know of anything to help me fix this?

I totally agree about the fat hatred. I am still big, only 3 weeks out, and I can see the anger that so many people have towards me. It is just terrible. I recently went to get my cards read (I am a supernatural believer) and my reader told me three guys were going to ask me out in a few months, they already knew me but didn't like me yet. I am already mad at them! How shallow can they be?? I wasn't "good enough" when I was larger? Well, if it happens they will get an earful from me!

It is very common, so I have read. Mine grumbles all the time and acts like it is a crazy thunderstorm or something. I just ignore it now. I had a few grapes last night and that got it really going!

I had a drain and mine stayed in for about 2 days. It didn't hurt at all coming out and never hurt while it was in. It was just there. My incision for it healed very quickly, as my others have as well. I am 3 weeks out and all my incisions are completely closed.

This is a direct copy and paste from another post I made recently: My fiance and I hit a rocky patch before the surgery. Granted, our relationship is an odd one. We are 5 hours away and see each other every few months. In the past when he got uber fit, a coworker started going after him and actually sent him nudie pics, he was honest and told me right away (She got an earful, faceful and fired). Now that I will be the "more attractive one" he is afraid the same type of thing will happen with me. We were fighting non-stop about everything and he finally fessed up to how he has been feeling. Once that was out in the open, we were able to move on. I think I will just have to keep reassuring him and letting him know that I only love him. I told him though, that he will have to put in equal work to make me feel just as loved as when we lived together. So I think, it really depends on your relationship. I had a friend who split with her bf after she lost weight and became confident, but he had been abusive for a while before that. It can strengthen a strong relationship or break a weak one.

To back up some of Cherry's post, evolutionarally speaking, a lineage with some sort of famine or hunger adapts later on to hold onto as much fat as possible in order to avoid starvation. Genetically, this would mean that one's body holds on and gains very easily to prevent this from happening. Seeing as most of our ancestors experienced some sort of famine at one point or another, many of us are genetically adapted to gain and hold weight.

I will have to try some of that! I have a serious ice cream craving and SF Popsicles can only do so much!

In addition to all this great info, the sleeve is not as new as people think. It was originally part 1 of a 2 step procedure that was found to work well enough on its own. So you should let her know that as well!

I agree!!! I knew it was a frozen protein shake but it was still so much worse than I expected! It was almost too sweet with artificial flavors and bleck!

How low of weights are we talking? I think it is time I start to tone up a bit. I have never really worked with weights so I don't even know where to begin! Suggestions?