TheCurvyJones

I will be there! My surgeon is the keynote speaker!

I have PCOS. Was sleeved on 12/21/2012 and achieved goal 20 months later. Then dropped about ten more lbs and now I am hovering. It was tough... really difficult to stay positive but the sleeve DOES work, even for us! The first thing that corrected itself was my cycle. Except for a few blips here and there, in the past two years my cycle has normalized from 60+ days to 29 days. I mean, not that I really ENJOY this regularity now. I'll tell you what really made the difference for me was strength training + cardio. I LOVE Cardio but I saw good drops when I picked up weights.

My surgeon didn't give me a goal until I asked for one and even then it was the standard 'normal BMI range'. I don't think I'll ever get there, honesty. That's probably too small for me anyway. I hit my personal goal over the summer and he is happy with that.

Weight loss surgery is for ONE THING. Weight loss! Everything else is gravy-- diabetes going away, coming off of blood pressure, pain meds, what have you... those are all BENEFITS to WLS but they are side benefits, not intended results. Were you overweight? Did you lose weight? Are you at a healthy BMI? Are you still alive? Congratulations, you're WLS success story. That particular doctor defines success as WLS Solves All Health Problems. If it didn't heal your broken toe, it didn't work and you just 'survived the surgery'. Do us all a favor: drop that doctor and drop that friend that suggested this site does nothing for you. Hundreds of thousands of members completely disagree with her!

I don't save anything that isn't a big hunk of meat. I won't eat it. Then again I live alone. I'm just sick of throwing out containers and baggies of food! What a waste. Most of the time unless it is meat I don't take left overs. I always ask myself if I am or was a certain person's size. That habit started long before surgery when I would use comparison to determine if I was THAT FAT or THAT FAT or NOT THAT FAT. It's crazy, but over time I have stopped doing it.

I ate crackers from day one with surgeon's okay. I held them in my mouth for awhile and then let it slide down. It helped.

It is ODD... I've never been able to NOT swallow something. But as far as it pointing to a psychological syndrome... I think folks become a bit too dramatic. You miss the sensation of chewing food. That's it. WHen you are further out your realize that all those pre-surgery judgements and ideals you once had kind of fly out the window. At almost 2 yrs out I shake my head at myself and the things I had to say about people who did the stuff that I do now.......because I am at the point where I can handle that. I would caution you... do what you need to do but this is your foundation. Try to stay on plan.

Hi! First of all, yes to everything! You'll find that as individual as your journey is, many of us will these idiosyncrasies in common. Our sleeves are an organ just like any else, susceptible to changes in atmosphere, environment, altitude and whatnot. If you've ever known a LapBand patient, you know that sometimes when they fly, the band becomes tight because the stomach swells with altitude. Same for us. The change of the seasons, hot, cold, not feeling good or just general my-sleeve-is-being-a-diva days... my capacity varies. As far as capacity, this will vary. A half cup to a cup is probably the most you'll ever be able to eat, again with variances for those days when you feel like a bottomless sleeve. It's important, though to note that OVER TIME, our capacity changes. Years out your sleeve might naturally expand a bit. That's why it's essential to keep your portions under control. 2 to 4 oz of food at a time. Take your time eating. Focus on your Proteins, those will keep you full longer. These habits will keep your sleeve from growing to a capacity that you're not comfortable with. YOU are in control YOU, not your sleeve decided how much you can eat. Slider foods... I have a few but it will still take me a half hour to chomp down a snack size bag of doritos. I will fill up fast... but then it literally slides right out and ten minutes later HEY I can eat a couple more chips. I believe this is the true definition of a slider... something that will allow you to graze over time because it doesn't KEEP you full for very long, thus enabling you to eat more calories than you would were you eating Protein that sticks around for awhile. I normally can't drink for at least 45 mins after eating. This rule has never been a problem to follow. My sleeve just won't have any kind of liquid before I've digested the food. You may indeed have a smaller sleeve. It depends on how small your stomach was pre-surgery. Some of us had larger sized stomachs so the sleeve will be 'longer' and therefore have more capacity. Though I caution people to not get caught up in how little they can eat. It's all well and good until you pass out and break your nose (happened to a friend of mine). Eventually, your physiology becomes accustomed to the reduced intake and adjusts... our bodies are smart that way. You need calories to exist and we are not made to exist forever on 500 calories. That said... I probably only get in about 1,000 cals a day if that, it depends on what I am eating. I like high calorie protein-- refried Beans, pork, beef, etc. I don't count calories but calories DO count. I think you've found a great balance and if you're happy, ONWARD!

The "lose most of it in the first six months" is kind of a crock. To be real, you have the rest of your life to hit your goal weight. You really, really do. In terms of the best time to lose your excess weight, your first 18 months are what we call the Golden Ticket. That's time you don't want to waste because your sleeve is fresh and your body is shocked. After a certain point, your body has become accustomed to how little you can eat and losing becomes more difficult. Not impossible mind you. Folks thinking you can't lose weight after 6,8,9, 12 months. DOn't believe this lie. I haven't met a person yet that didn't keep losing after the first 6 or 9 months. It is true that your loss will SLOW DOWN... but so long as you're working your tool and working WITH your tool and you have your eye on that prize you will get to where you need to be. WHENEVER you get there.

I only REALLY concentrated on Protein and tried to keep my carbs around 30 Net (carb count - dietary Fiber = net carbs). My carbs were not bread, rice or Pasta or sugar... remember there are carbs in vegetables and sugar in fruit! Gotta count it all. Most surgeons want patients to get in a minimum of 60 grams of protein a day. I hovered around 65 most of the time unless I had more than one shake.

You might find that dropping the shakes and bars will help. Bars especially do NOTHING for me. If I wanted to maintain forever I'd eat nothing but bars.

First week post op was Water and watered down white grape juice and Isopure. 2nd week same but I added Protein shakes and soups that I didn't have to chew. chicken Soup and what not. Soft/puree- tuna with a LOT of mayo to soften it up, refriend Beans and cheese, chili with cheese and sour cream to thin it a bit, broccoli cheese soup sent through a blender, ham and bean soup blended, beef stew blended (this is to remove any big chunks), mashed potatoes. Then I graduated to meats, fish was less dense than beef, chicken or pork but everything went down fine. At the office we would order fajitas and I'd get a couple shreds of chicken, beef and pork, some refried beans and cheese and mix them up. A few spoonfuls of that and I was good and full for awhile. I'll also take the insides of a taco or burrito and mix it with beans and have that. I am nearly two years post op and my menu isn't that varied. I focus on protein and produce. If it's a protein source and it grows, it's in my 'Box of food I eat'. I do try to steer away from starchy veggies and I don't eat a ton of fruit because it makes me crave. It IS high in Fiber tho so every once in awhile I have some.

I would drop shakes and bars and try to get your Protein from real food and also try to get in some Fiber... a supplement or some veggies or fruit or both. Bloating typically means not enough hydration so increase your Fluid intake as well and flush flush flush You could also try some non meat sources of protein if you feel like your body doesn't respond well to animal protein. Beans, for example are high in fiber and protein. I would not recommend stopping protein.

Nope you should be fine. My doc asks us not to stack pills like that but your stomach acid should make short order of them relatively quickly!

I think they're gross. /unpopular opinion

I know there are docs in Vegas who do the surgery for !11Kish A friend of mine had her VSG there but she lives in Vegas so she got to recover at home.

Increase your Fiber. Try flax or chia in your Protein shakes or whatever you're drinking. I take Colace a few times a month as I suffer the same fate from time to time.

Nope. No eating or drinking at the same time.

So... what were your expectations? Because... more than 2lbs a week is a pretty good loss. You're on a good track already, losing 3x's as much a week as someone on a lowfat diet alone would lose ALSO, take note of non scale victories, like your pants falling off and your shirts getting big and your feet flopping around in your shoes. You'll see TONS more of those than you'll see on the scale. The sleeve works. Your body is burning fat. Might not show on the scale yet, but keep pushing and have faith in the process. Also make sure you are...GOING... ... and that you're getting in lots of water! It might shake out that you lose slowly.....but the loss will be steady. It took me six months to lose 50 lbs, but I never lost50lbs before. And I never lost 75 lbs before. And now I"m at over 100lbs down. It didn't all fall off but the VSG has provided a steady, consistent loss over time. it's not designed to be skinny tomorrow. It's designed to help you keep losing long past when you would have given up with dieting alone.

Push thru. You know it's not fat, you haven't eaten 3lbs of calories worth. Suck down some Water and push thru!

I have a friend who had plication and she has done wonderfully, from 297 to 160, size 24 to 2. SHe is a workout FIEND though.

You can do it!!!

And see, when I was discharged from the hospital I received my surgeons office telephone number and an email address that he only gives to his patients. As well, he's very social media savvy so I could speak to him on Twitter or Facebook when ever I needed to. One of my friends had her surgery under insurance and she has seen her surgeon twice since deciding to have weight-loss surgery… Once during the pre-surgery process and once post surgery.

I had my surgery with Dr. Guillermo Alvarez with Endobaratric in Mexico. I felt like I was in expert hands and I wouldn't have had it any other way. I wish Dr. Alvarez was my primary care physician. From everyone that I've talked to that had their surgery covered by insurance, Aftercare typically comes with the cost of the surgery, meaning they don't get paid to provide aftercare for a surgery they didn't perform. Also keeping in mind that surgeons tend to be a little bit behind the eight ball… Think about it, some of the surgeons are still handing out RNY guidelines to VSG patients. Bariatric surgeons can't even come to a agreement on post surgery routines, let alone come behind another surgeon and provide support care for some other doctors work. He's already missing out on nearly $30,000 of income from a surgery he's not performed. Many surgeons just feel that the work done in Mexico is subpar and they don't want to be responsible for any complications. That said, there are innumerable doctors in the Seattle area. It should be relatively easy to find a weight-loss surgery friendly doctor to provide after care for your daughter.