Mariah

I once had a very, very small cup of fruity yogurt (a la Pink Berry) about two months post-op (I did a lot of walking and wanted to reward myself). Anyway, about twenty minutes after I ate some of it -- just a few bites -- my heart started to race as if I'd run a marathon. When I went to take a shower, I started to feel light headed, and I FAINTED. In. The. SHOWER. I woke up in very cold Water so I'm not sure how long I was out. I did not put two-and-two together until a month or so later when I had a sip of my boyfriend's milkshake and the same feeling started to come back. I never had any "bathroom issues" but I am not going to mess around with my little tummy dumping all that sugar into my small intestine too fast. Needless to say I have avoided sweet things. I would caution others to be very careful with sugary things after surgery.

Hi there! I don't think Depo is a great option for those who have been on it before. My doctor told me the limit is 2 years for being on Depo because it messes with one's bone density, so it's a temporary BC at best. I loved Depo, although I gained 60lbs on it. Not sayin' that the Depo made me pile on the weight, but it must have made me hungrier! Anyway, my doctor actually recommended Implanon for me (I had my VSG this March, so I'm about 3 months along). She said IUDs or the implant are my best bet, but because I haven't had children she shied away from recommending IUDs. I am going for a consult for Implanon in a few weeks, and I'm hoping it doesn't interfere with my weight loss. Did you have any issues with Implanon prior to the 3yr mark? Obviously, the pill is also an option. My surgeon's coordinator said oral BC pills don't work as well after surgery, so if you do go on the pill you should use a back up method. The pill certainly isn't for me: why the hell would I take a hormonal pill (considering my hormones are already out of whack) when I'll need to use another method? I hope you find the right BC for you. Maybe getting a new Implanon would be an option. You said you want kids within a couple years, and your doctor could implant a new Implanon and remove it after two years or whenever you decide you want kiddies. Good luck!

Can't say much about Mederma, unfortunately; although I have been using BioOil since two weeks post-op (surgery date 031011), and it has really helped my scars fade. You can still see them, of course, but they look like they're getting smaller and are now light pink rather than dark red. I was going to purchase Mederma while on one of my many sojourns to Target, but once I saw the price tag, I decided to go the frugal route and spend $8 on amazon for the BioOil. Besides, I need to save my dinero for non-plus sized clothing in the future Good luck!

Hey again, weightbgone! I've been taking the sub-lingual B-12s from Costco and they've really helped with my energy level. We were sleeved around the same time, so I feel your pain. I think it'll get better though as our bodies figure everything out.

My dr. said ice pops = water intake. I LOVE ice pops! You can even make your own

I cannot comment on the legitimacy of the "starvation mode" theory; however, what I can say for certain is that I have been stalled for two weeks and I have been burning many more calories than I'm consuming. I'm getting in about 700 calories on a good day and burning upwards of 1000 calories/day (biking, walking, elliptical, treadmill). I figure that just seven weeks ago my body went through hell with surgery (although I had a smooth recovery and felt back to normal by day three post-op), so I'm trying to be patient and am going to keep pushing forward. I think eventually these things balance themselves out. So I might not be losing weight now, but I think my body needs time to figure things out and catch up. I've been overweight my entire life; I can't expect my body to adjust to all these changes as quickly as my mind has.

I am about 7 weeks post op and just bought a new bike! I haven't ridden a bike in many, many years. Anyway, I rode my bike about 2 miles today and felt awesome! So I think as long as you remember how to ride a bike and you can pedal on a lower gear, you'll probably be just fine

I am so happy with my choice to have my surgery performed by Dr. Aceves, and in retrospect, I would pay what I paid PLUS more because the quality of care was better than I have ever, ever received in an American hospital; the ratio of patient to nurse is like 1:1 (sometimes, however, it seemed there were more nurses than patients!). I was rarely in any pain, the night nurses were apologetic to ME for MY shitty Spanish skills (I took five years of espanol in school, but unfortunately most of what I learned slipped out of my brain), the hospital was super clean and I roamed that ****-and-span SOB like I owned it. Anyway, I felt like Dr. Aceves' only patient. From my understanding, Dr. Aceves does three surgeries a day and takes days off during the week. He was very calm, informative, and receptive to me and my two sleeve buddies whom I met on the drive to Mexicali! His office still contacts me to see how I'm doing and to see if I have any questions for him. When I was preparing to return home, I received a comprehensive package of x-rays, lab tests, and the like to give to my primary care doctor. Only negative thing was that the blood tests results are in Spanish, so my Kaiser Dr. will have to break out the translator (I live in San Diego so that shouldn't be a problema!) Ultimately, this is YOUR decision. For me, I was happy to pay extra because my life is worth that. However, if price is something that would prevent you from getting the surgery, I think it's just fine to go to another experienced doctor in Mexico as long as you do your research and are comfortable with your decision. Good luck!

I got mine on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/EatSmart-Precision-Digital-Bathroom-Technology/dp/B001KXZ808/ref=zg_bs_hpc_28 Right now it's on sale for $28.95 (normally $49.99 but who knows how accurate that price is) plus you'll get free shipping. I've had mine for about 1.5yrs and it is super accurate. I had gone through three scales in a couple of years prior to purchasing this one. I like the blue-lit display and the numbers are easy to read, but it's accurate which is what matters most to me Good luck with your scale search!

I wasn't sure what kinds of vitamins I should be taking post-op, but another sleever recommended Celebrate-Bariatric Advantage vitamins, so I ordered a sample from their website. (http://www.celebratevitamins.com/component/chronocontact/?chronoformname=sample) So I got the sample today and it's a huge package of tons of different flavors/combos of vitamins that are SPECIFIC to sleeve gastrectomy patients, which is pretty nifty. The sample bag comes with a pamphlet on which vitamins to take and when to take them. I just tried the pineapple-strawberry chewable and it was muy bueno They even emailed me to ensure I received my samples! Very cool. So I'll probably be ordering vitamins from their site once I finish the samples and figure out which one tastes the best. Costco gummy vitamins have also been very yummy and digestible for me (and cheap, to boot!).

You're gorgeous! And just look at those collar bones -- oh my! You're such an inspiration to us newly sleeved sisters. Thanks for posting this!

Has anyone heard of using Implanon (birth control implant) after WLS? Or does anyone have Implanon? It's a small, plastic matchstick-size rod that a doctor implants into the arm, AND it's good for three years! I know birth control pills are out of the question as it isn't properly absorbed after surgery (until 1-2yrs post-op, I hear), and IUDs like Mirena are off limits for those of us who haven't had kids, so I want to know if this is a viable option. Does it have the same issue with absorption as BCPs? I found a WLS forum that briefly talked about it, but I still don't know if it is appropriate for recent WLS patients: http://www.thinnertimesforum.com/topic/38453-implanon-the-implant-birth-control/ All input is welcome! Thanks ladies

Thanks for your input, everyone. I'm trying to get feedback from others on this so I can decide if I want to approach my doc about it. She's no expert with WLS patients, so I want to be informed before I go to her

I hate to rehash what others have said, but YOU LOOK FABULOUS, chica! And younger, to boot. Great job!

I haven't had those dreams, so I can't help in that dept. But I can say that since I was sleeved 21 days ago, I have been having some crazy vivid dreams that I have never had before. Totally off-the-wall, random dreams - and I never really had vivid dreams before (not ones that I could remember after waking up, that is). We just went through a major change, so I'm sure your brain + body are trying to sort things out. Best to do it while you dream, I suppose

Hey Sarah! Just wanted to let you know that you can probably have Jamba Juice soon! I am 19 days post op today and had a 16oz (small) pomegranate paradise smoothie last week without issue. Normally I could drink a large in ~15mins but the 16oz actually lasted me days: I just popped it in the fridge. Good luck with your weight loss and fingers crossed you get into the grad program you want I am graduating with my BA this May; I'm still thinking about going to grad school. It's just too damn expensive -- that and the GRE scares me!

Awesome! Rock your sleeve! I got on the WiiFit a week after surgery and it yelled at me. Said I made my goal BUT the deadline had already past so I'd need to set a new goal; tsk tsk on me. Then I got on it a week later and it told me I am losing weight too fast which is dangerous. Then I learned it asks other users in the household (namely the boyfriend) how my sleeping habits are ("Is she getting too much sleep? Too little sleep?"). The WiiFit is a backstabber! I won't let it take away from my successes Glad you're doing so well with it, though.

I live in San Diego, and I can tell you that any nice hotel (Marriott, Hard Rock, Hilton, Solamar, the W) near downtown or near Lindbergh Field airport will be expensive. But there are plenty of cheap-er hotels around (like your Motel 8s and such). I would suggest visiting Balboa Park (it's right next to the San Diego Zoo) as well as the Zoo. SeaWorld is fun, too (I have an annual pass!) and, if you can get to it, I'd highly recommend visiting the Gaslamp (near downtown). Great, totally San Diego atmosphere. Point Loma or La Jolla are beautiful places to visit (the beach), and if you love dogs, you can visit DOG BEACH! My favorite place. Tons of dogs running off-leash on the beach and in the ocean. We have a pretty good public transit system here in SD (the trolley) and you can get pretty much anywhere using the trolley. It generally runs every 15 minutes during the day and it's an experience in and of itself

Anyone ever seen that movie Spaceballs? I feel like the guy who feels a little nauseous in the restaurant, and an alien bursts out of his stomach singing "Hello My Baby" and dancing on the bar counter wearing a top hat? Kind of random, but my stomach is gurgling so much that I half expect that to happen (I'm 4 days post-op)! Too bad Gas-X hasn't helped.

Woo hoo! Great NSV!