EJStorm

All I can tell you is that having the VSG was one of the best decisions I ever made. It has changed my life in many good ways. Doing it "on your own" is over rated. If this tool is available and will increase your success, why not use it? I don't think it's any different than using other tools in life that are available to us....a tax preparer, a medication for an illness, a mechanic to work on our car....using a hammer instead of trying to push a nail into the wall with your fingers. Less than a year ago, I weighed 320 pounds, wore a 32W or 4X in clothing. I was physically miserable and huffed and puffed my way through each day, coming home with my feet aching. Right now I weigh 186, wear a size 14 misses and breeze through my day. I could not have accomplished this "on my own". I know that for a fact. i have tried and failed too many times in my life to believe otherwise. The sleeve was the difference between success and failure for me, as for many, many others.

The Quest bars taste good, but I have TMJ and by the time I manage to get through half a bar, my jaws are aching. I wish I could find a Protein "bar" that had a texture more like a brownie or soft cookie.

I'm severly hypothyrid and optimized on meds. I've lost 131 pounds so far.

Those feelings should greatly decrease once you have moved to solid foods.

I was sitting outside at the hospital smoking a cigarette and talking to my husband on my cell within 30 minutes of waking up in my hospital room after surgery. The surgery didn't have any effect at all on my desire or ability to smoke. I will be quitting in the spring once I've metm y weight loss goals.

Dr. Aceves

Amen! Kudos! Thumbs up! ....and a standing ovation!!! All of my life, I contributed emotional eating, binge eating, constant thoughts of food, extreme hunger, etc to personality flaws and lack of will power. Funny how, after 46 years, all those things just up and disappeared along with grehlin production. My guess, based on my own experience, is that I and many others with weight issues had a problem with overproduction of grehlin. Scientists and drug companies have been working for many years trying to figure out how to block/slow grehlin production because they know that over production is linked to obesity. In 1982, at only 17, I had my stomach stapled. I lost some weight , but not enough and was still hungry all. the. time. Still had all the same food issues as before surgery. I became bulimic and when I overcame all that, managed to shoot my weight higher than ever. Perhaps because I was still over producing grehlin? Perhaps combined with the fact that my U.S. doctor botched my surgery, using stitches instead of staples, all of which were gone when I went to have my VSG? Oh....and let me also throw in the fact that my Mexican doctor discovered adhesions and scar tissue that actually fused my stomach to my liver and to my abdominal wall (and fixed it for FREE) after having multiple U.S. doctors blow off my complaints of severe abdominal pain, attributing it to muscle spasms.

Hmmm...the hospital I used in Mexico was cleaner than any US hospital I ever set foot in. I got more attentive care and better nurse to patient ratio than any US hospital I've ever been in. I had 3 doctors checking on me multiple times daily. My doctor keeps his patients in the hospital longer than US doctors......and, best of all, my doctor is the one who often teaches US doctors how to perform the surgery, is licensed in both countries and is President of the Board of Bariatric Surgeons of Mexico. My Mexican doctor was better qualified than any doctor I could find in the US. I went to him because of his qualifications/experience. The lower price was simply a bonus. You had a bad experience in Mexico. Others have had bad experiences in the US. It's up to each individual to make the decision (do the research) for themselves.

I want to echo that and also say that having surgery in the U.S. doesn't guarantee anything and there are some wonderful surgeons in Mexico.

BTW, if you don't like the "journey" analogy, consider this one: you have a rocky, clay and weed field back yard. You want a beautiful oasis with lots of green plants and flowers. In order to have that beautiful garden, you have to dig up all the rocks, tear out sod, get all dirty, break your fingernails....and all of that sucks. But, you keep imagining that beautiful garden and how it will look when you are done and at the end of each exhausting day, you know you are one step closer to that goal. The more days you work at it, the easier it gets .You are no longer doing the back breaking grunt work, you are visiting the nursery and picking out plants. It gets easier and easier and you see the garden taking shape and you keep working at it. Before you know it, you are sipping lemonade in your beautiful back yard garden and you reflect back on all the hard work and you know, without a doubt, that all the hard work was worth it. This surgery, recovery, adjustments, weight loss and goal are exactly like turning that lifeless back yard into a beautiful, relaxing sanctuary.

I have never regretted the surgery for even an second. I knew going in that there would be pain and boring, yucky liquid phases and exhaustion and all that other stuff that comes early on. But, during that time, I stayed positive, just saw it as part of the process and looked forward to each healing day and stayed focused on how great things would be down the road. I was excited during those early, physically miserable times because it was proof that I was on my way. My journey had begun. I'm now 6 months out, 124 pounds down. I can go out and eat with friends and family, enjoy my food and never feel deprived. I savor my little bit of food and take as much time and probably enjoy my food more than others at the table eating ten times as much while wolfing it down and hardly tasting anything. I consider my to-go box ( that will make me several more meals) to be like a trophy. I think that a huge part of dealing with the early parts is attitude. This is a journey. The early parts of the journey are rough, but the road gets less rocky and the scenery gets more beautiful as you go along. And, in the end, the trip is well worth any struggles you have along the way. BTW, I suffered from severe IBS for many years. I had diarreah and cramps many times each day and usually had to plan meals around where the nearest bathroom was. I have had zero IBS symptoms since surgery

I was hungry until I started eating thicker foods and solids.

Gax X strps can be your best friend during this time.

I, too, just realized from this post that I've been "topping off" in the evenings. No more of that.

I had mine out over 20 years ago. They didn't give me any dietary guidelines at all and I've always been able to eat anything I wanted. I remember my (then) Father-in-Law talking about how I wouldn't be able to eat this and that, but my very first meal home from the hospital was a big polish sausage with saurkraut, onions and spicy brown mustard.

Pretty much everyone that knows me knows I had surgery, including at least a couple hundred of my clients. Not one person has been negative. But...I didn't tell any family (except hubby). They all live 2000 miles away, in large part because they are never supportive of anything I do, and I just plain felt like it was none of their business, as is most of my life.

My doctor didn't say anything about it and there was always a straw on my tray in the hospital and a straw in my glass every time he came in my room. I rarely drink anything without a straw and never had any gas/air issues.

I'm 5 months and one week post op and I've lost 91 pounds since surgery, plus 24 pounds doing the pre-op for 48 days before surgery.

It's quite common to spill ketones when eating very low calorie, too. It's just a sign that you are burning fat.

Wow, for weeks now I've been thinking that Monday is my 6 month mark. I just realized that it will only be 5 months.

I'm 6 months out and still start every day with a Protein drink (my own conction/blend) that nets me 38 grams of protein. That's partly because I don't eat enough "food" to meet my protein requirements and partly because I still can't handle eating in the morning. That's been a lif elong thing for me.

I went to Dr. Aceves, too. I had explosive diahrrea a couple of hours after drinking the nasty leak test stuff. I took some chewable immodium with me and ate one first thing the morning of flying home and was fine. Also be prepared to probably start your period a couple days after surgery, even if it isn't time. I think the 3 must have things to take to Mexicali are : Gas X strips, sanitary napkins and chewable immodium.

I work on my feet all day, bending and reaching, so I waited 2 weeks. If I worked a desk job, I could have easily gone back in one week.

Not a chance. I love my sleeve.

I use the Hood's Calorie Countdown. It's a little spendy, but it lasts longer in the fridge than regular milk, so you get more mileage out of it. My hubby knows not to use my milk on his cereal.