SerendipityHappens

Up until a month ago I was still wearing clothes from 100 pounds ago.. yeah they were loose but not "falling off" loose. then BAM all of a sudden my 28s were falling off of me and I'm in a 20????? I'm not complaining but it was crazy.. So don't worry.. it will happen!

Iron needs to be taken several hours apart from calcium.. so if your multi has iron in it, don't take it with calcium.. Calcium should not be taken in doses any higher than 500 mg at a time for maximum absorption. Most Vitamins are better when taken with a bit of food.. even if it's just a bit of a Protein shake. I take a portion of my Multivitamin dose and my calcium with D3 with my three main meals.. then just before bed I take my iron. (I don't take the iron daily though since my iron levels are good)

It's not a contest to see who can have the least amount of pain so don't feel like there's something wrong with you for experiencing more than others.. Everyone's pain tolerance is different and everyone's pain is different. I had what I would consider less than the average amount of pain following my sleeve..Actually I didn't even have any pain.. just some discomfort and some stomach spasms that were quite startling. Oh, and I could drink lots and lots straight out of the gate LUCKY ME! Now when I had my gallbladder out years ago it was the WORST pain I ever felt! I had an especially rough surgery due to the fact that my gallbladder had ruptured and the doctor had to spend a lot of time moving stuff around in there to make sure he got out all the infection. For the entire first day I couldn't get out of the bed at all.. My nurse was all "well when I had my surgery I was released the same day." When I asked for more pain medication I was informed that "most people don't need this much" Finally I complained to my surgeon about this and he ripped the nurse a new one. How DARE she compare her surgery to mine.. According to my doctor mine was the WORST gallbladder he'd ever taken out and he was quite certain I would have died had I not had the emergency surgery that day.. no wonder I had so much pain and a several day hospital stay.. Maybe you had unusual anatomy which required a bit more moving around of your organs.. or maybe there wasn't a lot of room for the doctors to work.. maybe your body has a more acute inflammatory response. Don't compare yourself to the lucky ones like me.. just recover on your own schedule. Before you know it you'll be loving your sleeve just as much as those of us who didn't have these early struggles. Happy healing!

Like the other poster says.. go to the main page and scroll way way down to near the bottom.. there's a whole active sub forum of mexico sleevers.. I was sleeved in TJ and my experience was great.

I don't know if it's right or not, but I tipped room service a few dollars each time they brought something even though the meals were included in my package. I tipped housekeeping $5.00 per day of my stay. I tipped my driver to and from the airport $10.00 each way. I did not tip the hotel bus driver because I never really saw him. I didn't tip the hospital staff or my coordinator.

Woo hooooooo! This is WORKING!!!!

Exactly, I chose a multi without iron intentionally so I can take them with my Calcium.. then I just take my iron right before bed. Makes being compliant with the Vitamins soooooo much easier when you can just take the calcium and multi together! As for the original question. My doc said I can take the tablet form of the calcium citrate with D3 two weeks post op. I take six tablets a day (three 2tablet doses) which equals 1200 Mg of calcium.. plus my Multivitamin has some calcium citrate in it as well. Just FYI I did a dissolve test on the calcium tablets to make sure they would dissolve well for those of us with reduced stomach acid.. The "citrical" and the puritiain's priide brand item# 33195 dissolved in plain Water in under six minutes so you know they're not going to just sit in your stomach undigested!

I eat a fruitaire strawberries and milk bar every once in a while and account for the 110 calories in it.. YUM... I also own a horizontal juicer and I can put frozen berries and frozen bananas through it and grinds them down into ice cream texture. Avocado/very ripe banana/mullberries is my absolute favorite right now.. I squeeze a lime on the berries then run everything through the juicer and add some diet gingerale (yep, I drink diet sodas occasionally) and stir it all up DELISH and other than the bit of diet gingerale.. VERY healthy! As for regular old icecream.. Yeah, I'd have a bit but it's crazy with calories and totally a slider food. Half a cup of ben and jerry's has like 300 calories ......in HALF A CUP!!!!

I went to Mexico and had it done then three months later went to my doctor (she was a new doctor for me) and told her I had WLS. She did some blood tests, took my vitals and checked my incision sites.. Then she said all looks great and that I should just keep doing whatever I've been doing. Easy peasy.

I'm here to tell you, I don't miss that unnecessary 80% of my stomach in the slightest!!! Good riddance!

I had a similar struggle when I was choosing between Alvarez and the Cabrera/Valenzuela team. In the end I chose Cabrera/Valenzuela. Even though Cabrera/Valenzuela are not as experienced as Alvarez or Aceves, they are still much more experienced than the doctor in the US I was thinking of going to. For me I felt 100% comfortable with them so why spend twice the price for a different doctor. Now, there is one poster on here (Amanda Rae) who had a cardiac condition so she specifically chose Aceves because she needed that little extra experience and expertise due to her condition.... Makes sense to me... I on the other hand didn't have any health issues and felt really confidant in Cabrera/Valenzuela.

Six hour train ride 2 weeks after surgery with no issues.. would have been much more enjoyable if the train was going to the Keys rather than Harrisburg, PA.

Obesity and diabetes are also risk factors for pancreatic cancer... damned if you do, damned if you don't.

This is one topic that is completely foreign to me.. I still love EVERYTHING about food.. Shopping for it, preparing it, eating it... the vibrant colors of the produce, the interesting textures/colors of bags and bags of legumes and grains, the smell of sweating onions with garlic and ginger..... ZOMG! When I'm not eating food or thinking about what I'm going to cook, I'm watching food porn. If anything I enjoy food EVEN MORE than pre-sleeve because I can eat so little of it, I try to make it more special. Also the little bit of food tends to be a bit more calorie rich. Tonight's two teeny tiny chicken fajitas on homemade 4" round corn tortillas were SMOTHERED in an entire ounce of cheese. So rich and decadent... and completely within my calories! I love that I'm able to focus on the tastes now rather than worrying about how to fill my enormous belly! Yes, I do still eat things like a Protein shake or half a cup of cottage cheese just to get in my protein and I guess I feel "neutral" about these meals but I try to make sure that at least one of my daily meals is something exciting to my palate.

My boyfriend still doesn't fully understand.. He simply can't wrap his head around someone wanting to cut out 3/4 of the stomach. I finally made him understand a bit when I served him a portion of food that was the size that I need to eat in order to create a caloric deficit large enough to lose a significant amount of weight. Of course after eating that he was still hungry (he's skinny but a huge eater) so I explained to him that how he was feeling is how I would have to live every day of my life without the surgery and that WITH the surgery I would be able to be satisfied after eating a small portion. He still maintains that nobody should ever have to eat portions as small as what I do, but he recognizes that without the surgery it would be impossible to eat so little on a consistent basis.. so I guess he's half on board... he's not super supportive, but at least he's not hostile about it. Also I found I don't really NEED his support.. I get plenty from other places.. as long as he's not being negative about it I'm good.

I started the Bariatric advantage capsule multi vitamins right away.. I started tablet form calcium (the generic version of citrical petities) at two weeks out.

I started on my generic version of citrical petites two weeks post op and no problems at all for me but then again, I've been told I have a sleeve of steel. Every sleeve is different and for you it may just be a bit early yet for these. I'd go with chewable wafers ( I know, YUCK!) for month or so and then try the citrical again after your sleeve has had more time to heal.

I had Valenzuela with Christy coordinating and had a fantastic experience. Highly recommend Dr. Valenzuela and the entire team (dr Cabrera will be assisting with Dr Garcia observing and doing much of the follow-up with you.. and I LOVED the anestesiologist. He took time to talk with me before going in for the surgery and he answered all my questions) Honestly though, I don't think you can make a "wrong" choice! Both doctors are well-trained and caring surgeons... and I believe both trained under Dr. Corvala.. I know Dr Valenzuela did and I'm pretty sure Lopez did too.

What I track changes.. ALWAYS protein, carbs and fat.. sometimes I want to track potassium, sometimes, sodium, sometimes another nutrient.. Oh, and I always track fiber because, I like to poop!

My multi is around $10. 00 a month. I take bariatric advantage capsules but I take a smaller dose than bypass patients so the $40.00 bottle lasts me four months. I bought my calcium citrate with d3 online during a buy one get two free special.. works out to around $5.00/month for calcium. B12 sublingual 2500 mcg is 300 tablets for $15.00. I was instructed to take 3 per week so that works out to 62 cents per month for B12. For Iron I buy the more expensive ferrochel chelated iron which is $6.29 for 120 capsules. I take three per week since my blood work is good, so that works out to be about 63 cents per month. So all totaled my Vitamins work out to $16.25 a month Now for supplements, Isopure protein powder was $45.00 bogo 50% off at GNC . So that's $67.50 for 88 scoops (each scoop with 25 grams) I am four months out and use one scoop per day so that's 3 months of protein, actually a bit more because I don't need it every single day. So that's 22.50 per month for the protein powder and each scoop is basically a meal since it provides 33% of my daily protein requirement so for each protein "meal" I'm paying less than a buck.

It doesn't have anything in it that's especially irritating to the stomach... It would just be a matter of if you can handle the size of the tablet. Personally, I could have swallowed one easily just a few weeks after surgery...I started taking my Calcium in tablet form 2 weeks out so a valtrex would have been fine for me... but I can only speak for myself. Also you can call your pharmacist.. or any pharmacist who is open at this hour and ask if valtrex can be crushed.. I believe it can be crushed.. but I don't want to advise you to do so because I'm not 100% sure.

Prior to the sleeve back when I was still eating wheat, I had horrible reflux. But since giving up wheat I don't have it anymore. I was put on a ppi for 28 days following surgery (two 14 day back to back courses) and was told if any symptoms of reflux came back, to do a 14 day course of the ppi. I did the 28 days as instructed and have also done ONE 14 day course due to some "hunger-like" feelings which went away when I did the 14 days of ppi. Stomach acid anywhere outside of the stomach is a very serious concern... it's not just about comfort so even though I don't like to be on medication, I understand that it was necessary to do the 14 day course.

I was cleared all foods at six or seven weeks so I was free to add anything at that point if I was ready. I added salad shortly thereafter.. I started with baby spinach since it's a bit softer.. then i added some leaf lettuces. I was sure to cut my salad up really small.. to almost like eating tabouleh and I didn't have any problems although I found it quite filling.

I had my gallbladder out years ago... it was gangrene and falling apart so I didn't have a choice.... BUT if I had a healthy gallbladder, I'd take my chances by leaving it in.. especially if the odds of needing to have it out are are 1 in 10... The gallbladder is NOT a vestigial organ... if you can keep it then you should.

No problems at all.. I walked to my gate at the airport and took lots of short walks while on the plane.. I flew from SanDiego to Boston so I had a LOOOOOOOONG flight. There was absolutely no pain from turbulence or from the seat belt. The only special help I needed was to have a flight attendant lift my carry on bag into the overhead compartment.