butterfyeffect

Yeah, I wake up with a very dry mouth most mornings. I think even though I'm getting the recommended 64 ounces of Fluid in, it's still not much compared to what I used to drink in a day, which was probably close to 200 ounces. I was literally never without a drink in my hand. Now with the not being able to drink for 30-45 minutes after meals and Snacks, it's a little harder to get that much. I've started keeping a glass of Water on my bedside table and sipping it when I get up to pee, or if I just find myself awake. It's helped a little, I'm nowhere near as dry now in the mornings as I was in the summer. Oh, also there's a lot of water content in some foods, so eating less in general could also be contributing to dehydration.

Hospitals charge insurance companies way more than the actual cost of the procedure, to help subsidize the care that they provide for people who can't or won't pay their bills. I know this because I paid my surgeon $10,500 cash to have my surgery in a US hospital, and that included everything from my pre-op consultation, pre-op blood work and imaging, my surgery itself including anesthesia, two nights in the hospital, post-op blood work and imaging, and post-op visits to my surgeon's office. The only thing I had to pay for outside of that fee was the prescriptions I picked up on the way home from the hospital. And you know if he's offering this deal, he's making a healthy profit on it himself. So that extra $15k that your insurance company paid? Probably paying for someone's 1am ER visit for a sore throat, cough, chronic back pain, or any other ailment that could be taken care of with a routine visit to their doctor, except that they don't have one and know that if they go to the ER, they have to get taken care of for "free". (sorry, ER nurse talking. Can you tell?)

Greek yogurt is good, I used to add a scoop of vanilla Protein powder to plain yogurt to give it flavor, and boost the protein. And you can add unflavored unjury Protein Powder to pretty much any pureed food to make it higher in protein. If your doctor allows them, soft scrambled eggs and refried Beans are good options too. Oh, and cottage cheese. I didn't eat any meat during my pureed stage. I just couldn't face the idea of pureed meat.

@@AR40 You started at a much lower weight than most of us. If you figure it out percentage-wise, you're probably right where you should be!

I lost 50# before anyone noticed, and then still it was only a couple of people. Then, for whatever reason when I hit 60# lost, everyone started commenting on it. Someone actually commented "Wow, you lost that weight so fast!" To which I replied "No, I haven't. Just nobody noticed it until now." So at some point you will reach that point where everyone starts commenting, and you'll wish they'd just shut up about it!

I was sleeved on May 6th. Down 62 pounds total as of yesterday. I am down in sizes from a tight size 16 to a 10/12. I need to do some clothes shopping. I have on a pair of size 14 jeans right now that look downright silly.

I'm doing great. Down 59 pounds, but in a bit of a stall for the past two weeks. But if I don't lose another pound, I'm still thrilled that I did this surgery. I have been running, and am constantly amazed at how much fun it is to be active now that I'm not struggling with all that extra weight! But I would like to lose another 30 pounds or so, if I can. I have a feeling I am going to be a "slow and steady" loser. Even in the beginning, I never had any huge losses after the first two weeks, when weight was coming off at a rate of nearly a pound a day. Since then, its been 1-2 pounds a week, and I feel that now I've maybe slowed down to 1/2 pound a week if that. But it's still going in the right direction, and that's what matters! The other thing that amazes me is how little I think about food now. It's more of a habit, to eat at a mealtime, rather than because I'm hungry. Before surgery, my whole day would revolve around when I was eating next, and what I would eat. My husband and I ate out at least 4 or 5 times in a week. Now I can't remember the last time I actually ate in a restaurant. Probably a month ago. My mother and sister are visiting next week, and I'm actually dreading it a little, just because I know they will want to go out to eat every night! What a change!

Are the TJ's shakes ready to drink? I've checked out their protein powders, but really prefer something more portable. I don't believe I've ever seen ready shakes there though. I'd be willing to look again for 35g protein per serving! As far as things I couldn't live without post-surgery: -cheese sticks-I eat 1-2 every day. I'm not picky about the brand, but prefer reduced fat, cheddar flavors. -Premier Protein shakes. I don't love them, but their by far the best protein:calories:carb ratio I've seen. I drink one daily. -EcoDrink Multivitamin mix for Water. Tastes like Crystal Light, but chock full of vitamins and minerals (you don't see minerals in many drinkable vitamins) Non food and drink categories: -when I was still in recovery mode, for the first week or two, I wore an abdominal binder under my clothes at all times, it really helped with the soreness. -An old-fashioned hot water bottle really helped with the pain while I was in the hospital, and I didn't have to find somewhere to plug it in. -My couch to 5k app really got me back into cardio when I didn't want to.

I don't have a nutritionist, so I don't know what you should ask there, but as far as questions for the surgeon: -What sort of pre-op diet is required? -What is their track record as far as complications, revisions, etc. -How long of a hospital stay will you have? -What sort of restrictions will you have after surgery? -How much excess body weight does their average VSG patient lose? -What sort of follow-up care should you expect?

I'd say I got the greatest "sticker shock" from seeing the number of calories in a salad from Panera, I can't remember which one, it was years ago. But the kicker was, if you read the fine print, the "serving size" was supposedly half the salad. Which meant whatever the calories/fat/etc it listed (it was 600 or so calories) you could go ahead and double it if you were planning on eating the whole thing (and I already had). Fortunately for me, these days I can't even finish a half salad from Panera. I got a half of a BBQ chicken salad from there a couple of weeks ago, and ended up mostly just eating the chicken. Like Kindle and Marfar I don't track calories anymore, I just keep a mental tally of Protein grams and Water.

I knew I didn't want to jump through hoops for my insurance company, and didn't really want to go to Mexico, so early on in my research I started looking into US-based surgeons who negotiate prices for their self-pay patients that are much lower than what your insurance company pays. I actually found my surgeon while I was still living in NY and thought about contacting him, but the logistics of it seemed overwhelming. Then as fate would have it, I ended up moving to Florida, only three hours from where he is so a couple of months after I moved, I called and made my first appointment. 9 months later, here I am 60 pounds lighter!

I've never posted a picture, so I hope this shows up! Only halfway to goal, but already seeing a little definition!

I should have added that although I noticed my hair loss when brushing and washing my hair, no one else, including my hairdresser has been able to see it. And I can't really tell when I look at my hair, it was just horrifying to see that much fall out every time I touched it. But, like I said it's gotten much better over the past two weeks.

@iamblessed1225 I've lost almost 60 pounds.

I live in Florida, but it's a three hour drive to get to where my surgeon is. I have made the drive a total of five times, including an initial consultation, pre-op testing, the surgery itself, and two post-op visits. I know he has had people come from as far away as NY to have him operate on them though, so he must have a plan in place for that, where you would do your initial consult via Skype, or something, and then have your pre and post-op care via someone local for you.

Where are you? You can find self pay for way less than $25k without going to Mexico. I paid for mine, it was $10.5k in Florida. Mexico is even less, I think around $8k. I think there are some lower-cost self pay options in Texas and Arizona as well. Sorry, I know this wasn't really the purpose of your posting, but you should try and shop around before you pay that much out of pocket. As far as insurance paying for complications (fingers crossed that you won't have any anyway), it isn't a "pre-existing" condition, it's just something they wouldn't pay for, so I don't think it will be a problem.

I am 5'3" and initially my goal was to be in a size 8-10. I have never in my adult life been able to fit into a single digit size, so I thought I was dreaming with the 8's. But today I put on a size 10 dress! And it zipped! I am sure this was due to vanity sizing, because last time I weighed in the 170's (about 8 years ago) I was squeezing into 12's. But I'm starting to think that maybe at goal I really will be into single digits. Dare I dream about a 6? Or even a 4?

I also cheated on my pre op diet. It was two weeks long, and I was supposed to consume nothing but Protein shakes, but for the first week, I cheated by eating a small, low carb meal once a day (something like hard boiled eggs, or some cheese and nuts). But then one night about five days before surgery I had an all-out carb fest... I ate pizza, rice and bread, and drank wine. Then I felt guilty, and did Clear liquids only for the last two days before surgery. Anyway, the outcome of all of this was that when my surgeon went out to the waiting room to tell my husband how I did in surgery he told him that my liver was "tiny". And that's the whole point of the pre-op diet, to shrink your liver so it's not in the way while they are operating. So I guess my carb-fest didn't hurt anything!

My doctor allowed string cheese while I was on the pureed phase. I get cheddar ones (I can't remember the brand name) and eat one or two almost every day still. They're a quick snack that I can sneak in anywhere, and they add 7-14 grams of Protein to my day.

I'm down about 60 pounds as of today, and haven't noticed much loose skin at all. I do moisturize a lot. I was using Nivea firming lotion but since I ran out of it a couple of weeks ago I've just been using regular moisturizer and haven't really noticed any difference, so I'm thinking about not shelling out the $12 for another bottle of it. Maybe if I see it on sale or something. Other than the moisturizing, I take a Biotin supplement every day called hair, Skin, and Nails. In addition to biotin, it contains collagen, and hyaluronic acid, both of which are good for the elasticity of the skin. And I've been weight lifting with heavy weights since I was cleared to by my surgeon. I just do free weights at home, I only really use three sets-10's, 15's, and 25's. So it's not a huge investment to get set-up to lift at home. And it's not a huge investment of time either, it takes me 20-30 minutes two or three times a week. @@browneyedgirl1981 message me if you're interested in knowing more about my training plan.

New Progress Pics!! Well, here I am. Back to post what's going on with me at a little over four months post-op. At this point, I sort of have a love-hate relationship with my sleeve. I love my sleeve when people make comments to me such as yesterday, when one of my co-workers said to me: "Kourtney, you are going to blow away, you're getting so skinny!" I'm really not that skinny; I weighed 174.2 at my last weigh-in. But it was still nice to hear, and put a smile on my face. I have finally gotten to the point where people are really starting to notice the weight loss, which is interesting, because I've probably only lost 8-10 pounds since my last post, but literally only one person at work had commented on my weight loss at that time. Now it's like the flood gates have opened... One person commented that I've lost the weight so fast, to which I was able to accurately answer: "No, actually I haven't, just nobody noticed for a really long time!" But it must seem like it, because just in the last two weeks, I have probably had five or six people ask me if I had lost weight, how much, and how. This is where I have been fibbing. I kept my surgery a secret at work. I was working as a contractor, so had the luxury of just taking a month off between contracts with no explanation. So that's what I did. I took the month of May off, and didn't tell anyone what I was doing. Partly because I didn't want to go through the hassle of having to get cleared to come back to work by the Employee Health department due to the lifting restriction. But also partly because I work with someone who is very open about having had Gastric Bypass surgery, and people are not-so-nice about it behind her back, and even make comments to her like "Should you be eating that?" I didn't want that. So I've been telling people that I've lost 30 pounds (I've actually lost closer to 60). I've been telling them that I've been focusing on eating smaller portions, increasing protein, and that I've started running. All true. But at the same time I feel a little ashamed for lying. Worse still, I saw a friend a couple of weeks ago that I haven't seen since I moved to Florida. She was, of course wowed by my weight loss. And she is someone who has also struggled with her weight, someone who I vowed that I would tell about it when the time came. But then I chickened out! What's wrong with me??? I've actually thought about emailing her and telling her the truth, because the guilt is getting to me. So I sort of hate that my sleeve has made me into a liar. On the other hand, I love my sleeve when I get to go shopping in my closet! I love pulling out all of the clothes that haven't fit me in years, and wearing them! It's like getting brand new clothes. I also have a new obsession with Poshmark. It's a virtual consignment store. I've been selling all of my old size 16's that don't fit me anymore, and I've been buying size 10's. They don't quite fit yet, but they're close. Diet-wise there are still things I can't eat. Grilled fish, for example. I tried again the other night, and it just does not stay down. I ate it with some red-curry noodles (because tuna-noodle casserole had stayed down beautifully, so I thought there may be something to the fish-sauce-noodle combo) and then was really uncomfortable for about 30 minutes before it finally came back up. Interestingly, I tried the rice noodles the next day with chicken (because my husband had heated them up, and they smelled so good) and they came up again. So it very well may have been the very glutenous noodles. But I'm playing it safe, and avoiding all fish (except tuna-noodle casserole). So I hate that my sleeve has taken away some things that I used to really enjoy. But at the same time, I love that it has given me the control to just have a little bit of the things that I can tolerate, and that I still love. Self control is something I was severely lacking pre-sleeve, so I'm thrilled to have it. Overall, getting my sleeve is still the best $10,000 dollars I have ever spent.

Medically speaking, a gall bladder surgery, or a hernia repair would jive with the recovery time and scars from VSG. If you still have your gall bladder, I would go with the hernia repair though... it could be embarrassing to explain if you do in fact need to have it taken out down the road (lots of WLS patients do). For that matter, you could just say it was an exploratory laparotomy to investigate some random stomach pains that you had been having, but they didn't find anything.

I had my surgery on May 6th, so similar timing to yours. I did have hair loss, starting right at the three month mark. Every time I washed or brushed my hair, I would end up with handfuls of it... I'm now about 4 1/2 months out, and it seems to have be slowing down. I've been taking Biotin since a couple of months before surgery. I also started using a thickening treatment that Pantene makes (part of their age defy line). I don't know if it really does anything, but I started using it daily about four weeks ago, and just in the last two weeks have really noticed that the hair loss seems to be slowing. It may be a coincidence, but I'm still planning on buying another bottle of it when the first one runs out! If you're four months out already, and haven't noticed any hair loss, you may be one of the lucky ones who doesn't experience it. My mother had gastric bypass five years ago, and never had any hair loss!

My butt is definitely getting flat! I am doing lots of squats and lunges to try and combat it. My boobs, on the other hand are not going anywhere. I was wearing a 42DD prior to surgery, now I am most comfortable in 38DD. So I've lost two band sizes, but no volume! I was trying on bathing suits the other day, and the size 10 tops fit just fine around, but I was spilling out of the cups! Too bad, I've always wanted to be one of those women who could just walk around braless, or wear one of those strappy tops without worrying about my bra showing!

Okay, a few more: -Your husband tell you that your work pants look like "clown pants" on you. -When you get carded buying wine (a small victory in itself) the clerk does a double take between you and your license picture. -You look forward to exercising, because it's so much easier, and more fun to be active with a body that's 50+ pounds lighter! -You can go "shopping" in your own closet, because there are so many things in there that haven't fit in so long that it seems like getting new clothes!