SerendipityHappens

I take bariatric advantage capsules. It is a 6 capsule dose so I take two capsules at each meal.. the capsules are smaller than the acid reducer I was taking so the size wasn't a problem for me. I ordered from Amazon.com and was under $45.00 for a three month supply.

I drank 80 ounces my first day post op! My IV wasn't working right and I was getting dehydrated so the doctor reluctantly told me I could try rehydrate orally.. though he didn't think I'd be able to drink that much so early on. I had no issues drinking other than some spasms during the first few days if the drinks were too cold.. My first day out of the hospital, I could drink 16 ounces of chicken broth in one sitting and drink a whole bottle of water or gatorade. On day three post op, I was drinking some herbal tea and I accidentally took a three swallow gulp.. and felt nothing..... No pressure, no nothing.... I felt like you, I was happy but also worried because I was different than most people.. It was just because I didn't have inflammation in my sleeve so it was open.. Even when I started on things like yogurts and cottage cheese, I could eat more than most people.. I didn't really feel real restriction until I started eating chicken and meats.

At least your being realistic.. at my heaviest of 360 I kept thinking I'm about a hundred pounds overweight... UH.. I'm only 5'5".. I had 210 pounds to lose but was in denial!!! Getting that number will be very empowering for you because you'll then know EXACTLY where you stand. I'm so happy for you starting this exciting journey.

My goal weight is 210 pounds less than my highest weight. Even now sometimes I feel discouraged.. I've already lost 100 pounds and I'm still heavier than many people who haven't even started yet! But I just try to take it one day at a time and Celebrate every victory.. Two days ago I needed to get something off of a high shelf at work.. I stacked two milk crates on each other and stepped up on them and jumped down. I could never have done that at 360 pounds! That same day I walked into a regular clothing store, and bought a belt.. and it FIT ME! Granted it was a size XL and it fit on the second to largest notch... but there was a time when a size XL would only go half way round me! Small victories. As for the losing weight with "diet and exercise" uh... well you can tell your friends that that's EXACTLY what you will be doing! It's just that the sleeve helps you do that and be less miserable so you can stick with it. I've lost weight before with "diet and exercise" alone and eating small enough portions to lose weight with my full size stomach was MISERABLE. And there was no way I could keep it off because if I lost focus for one second, I was done for.. I could gain 20 pounds in a MONTH! The sleeve just kind of takes the edge off so you CAN exercise the self control that you have.. CLEARLY you have discipline, the sleeve just removes one obstacle from your way so that you can apply your discipline and GET THIS THING DONE!

Most WLS patients will gain back some weight after a while.. My ultimate goal is actually a somewhat chunky 170 pounds but I'm shooting for 150 because of the regain that most people naturally experience.

I was required to do a 2 week preop diet. I CHOSE to do a three and a half month preop diet though and yes I feel like it helped me a LOT. I didn't do all liquids. I did two or three shakes a day and a lean and green meal plus I could have Snacks such as: half of a piece of fruit, an egg, an ounce of nuts.. but I kept my calories to 800. Also often for my "green" portion of my diet I opted to juice some kale and ginger and add it to a Protein shake. I also made sure that I was getting 80 grams of protein in every day. During that three and a half months, I did fall off the wagon TWICE.. but each time was only one incident and I put a stop to it and climbed right back on. Overall I felt very successful and proud of myself. It made me feel like I really do have the self control necessary to make the sleeve work for me over the long term. I lost 45 pounds in the three and a half months prior to surgery and even though I was still a hefty 48 BMI at surgery time, but my surgery was very easy on me. I had no complications and healed quickly with minimal discomfort. I drank 80 ounces of fluids the day after surgery.. I could drink a small dixie cup of Fluid in about five minutes without any problems. My sleeve had very little inflammation. Honestly, I credit my diet with a lot of this.. I shouldn't be eating any wheat anyway due to the fact that it causes an inflammatory response in my body. So when I stopped eating wheat during the preop phase, I think that helped me a LOT. Also including kale and ginger juice which are both highly anti-inflammatory... and of course making sure my body had plenty of protein PRE surgery so that it could be well prepared. I also started taking my Vitamins when I started my preop as well. Yeah, anyway, that was my experience. I would do it again this way in a heartbeat.. In fact, when I go for plastics, I'm absolutely going to make sure that I'm having plenty of protein, green vegetables and ginger during the months preceding my surgery.

My mother is always fond of quoting George Bernard Shaw who once said something like Never wrestle with a pig, you'll just get dirty and besides, the PIG likes it. I do disagree with NativeTexan, I also do believe that her bringing up Mexico was an attempt to discredit my opinion and the opinion of my doctor, but I don't think that makes her a bigot.... maybe a little narrow minded. I'd say the majority of Americans.. even Latino-Americans would feel apprehensive about receiving medical care in Mexico. I know I did until I actually researched it and decided to go there myself!

My Grandmother moved from Illinois to Massachusetts when she was a young woman ... All the Lithuanian ladies on their street referred to their family as "the foreigners"... My gran was like WTF? I'm in the freaking DAR and I'm a Mayflower descendent .... and I'M the foreigner??? Took her a while to realize that to them a foreigner was anyone not from the BLOCK and not Lithuanian.

I used to drink several glasses of Water when eating. The waitress at my favorite restaurant always knew to just leave the pitcher for me! Learning not to drink while eating took some practice. The absolute best thing that helped me was just to make sure I drank plenty PRIOR to eating. One trick when out at a restaurant with friends is to drink your water and visit while everyone else is having appetizers. Then when the meal arrives you're all hydrated and you haven't already filled up your little belly on appetizers! As far as Snacks go, yeah I follow the same not eating and drinking rule too... sometimes I will have to put off my snack for a little while so I can drink first but it definitely makes the snack more enjoyable when I'm not thirsty!

I guess my point is that for those of us who are allowed soda under our plans, it's no different for us than drinking other sugar free beverages. It's ALLOWED for us during the weight loss phase, we're not looking to "get around" the rules.. these ARE our rules. Common sense certainly does NOT dictate that an occasional diet soda will be my undoing! If soda was a "trigger food" for someone then yeah, it should be avoided at least until they are really ready to do all the mental work required to actually learn moderation with trigger foods, which I believe CAN be done, but it's harder sometimes than just avoiding the food alltogether. But if it's allowed on your plan, it's not a trigger food, and you enjoy a few a month, i really don't see the big deal... I don't see drinking 8 ounces of diet gingerale as any different than drinking 8 ounces of crystal light... both should be regarded as occasional treats, not sources of hydration.

Around the time I had my surgery, a forum member here passed away due to complications of DVT.. That's serious stuff.. There are several forum members who suffered serious complications, there are some who regret having the sleeve for emotional reasons. Personally, I'm thrilled with my sleeve and I would do it again in a heartbeat but I definitely felt the fears that you're having going into it. When I weighed the pros and cons and how obesity was impacting my life physically, it was a no brainer.

I was very happy with the surgical team of Cabrerra and Valenzuela. I booked with Christy at Mexico Bariatric center and had surgery at MiDoctor Hospital. I'm thrilled with my sleeve so far and my surgery experience was great. After researching pretty much ALL the doctors listed in this thread, I would have been very comfortable going with any of them. Choosing my doctor was a difficult decision because there were SO many competent and capable doctors to choose from... That's a pretty good position to be in!

Rox, I was sleeved in Mexico and I received a full post op diet and information package for reference, I also had plenty of face to face time with the doctors for all the questions I had. Additionally, most Mexico surgery packages will include phone visits with a nutritionist. I can't guarantee your experience will be the same, but this was mine.

No, no, no, she's quite right. My doctor IS a foreigner. It says it right in my signature that I was sleeved by Dr's Cabrerra/Valenzuela in Tijuana Mexico.. Though technically, since I traveled to THEIR country to get the procedure, I was the foreigner!

OMG, the thought of this actually made my mouth Water.. Sounds ALMOST as good as a buffalo wing cupcake! I'm going to go watch some food porn now.. I need a little Diner's Drive-ins and Dives to take the edge off while I drink my chia seeds and eat my 3 ounces of chicken

*sigh* it is SODA dang it.. unless you are over the age of 45 in which case you may call it TONIC. My patience is wearing thin with you people today.. Get it straight! Especially YOU AmandaRae, quit being such a little troublemaker.

Personally, I think it's smart to count the weight you lose if you do a preop.. If you do a preop diet, you will loose less weight post op than if you don't do a preop diet... so if I include two weeks preop I lost 38 pounds in three months.... I coincidentally ALSO lost exactly 38 pounds in the three months prior to the start of my actual preop... Makes sense because during those three months I was eating at a pretty strict 800 calories a day, which is similar to what you eat post sleeve! The sleeve doesn't make you lose weight faster, it simply allows you to eat at a big enough deficit so that you'll lose weight.. You could do it without the sleeve.. but who wants to eat 800 calories a day with a full sized stomach? That's crazy talk! My weight loss is slower than most people and I knew it would be coming into this. THAT'S WHY I HAD THE SLEEVE IN THE FIRST PLACE, because I struggled with losing weight even at a caloric deficit so I needed a tool that would make eating at a caloric deficit more comfortable so I could stick with it over the long haul.

Fantastic post! I enjoyed an 800 calorie a day preop diet for THREE AND A HALF MONTHS prior to surgery and it's the BEST thing I could have done for myself. After completing that I KNEW I had what it takes to have a successful sleeved life! I won't ever tell anyone that the preop diet is easy, but it was definitely very rewarding!

I think we all have different definitions of what is going to help us on the road to better health.. Personally, for me my big demon to overcome was WHEAT not soda.. I had to give up wheat and all my beloved concoctions that are made from it. This was a HUGE thing for me, but I HAD to do it and I am militant about it now.. I don't have even a "taste" not EVER... but my two or three a MONTH soda "habit" is pretty far down the list of things I need to change... Honestly, as time goes on, I'd like to eliminate all artificial sweeteners from my diet but I don't see this happening until I reach maintenance and I can increase my carbs and have some FRUIT again. I'd GLADLY trade all the soda and sugar free Jello in the world for half a cup of Thompson grapes!

I was watching doctor 90210 and one of the surgeons Dr. Li had a formerly obese young patient and the doctor recommended removing the excess skin now but NOT tightening the underlying muscle until after childbearing.

I asked preop and was told six weeks before soda could be tried. Instructions in my packet also said no soda for six weeks... There are many doctors who do not prohibit soda. Because YOUR seminar so clearly stated that you can never ever ever have soda again, I think it is quite presumptive of you to assume that this is the case for everyone. I think it is quite narrow minded to say that people who don't follow YOUR doctors instructions or the information that YOU received in YOUR seminar are stupid. We simply didn't have the same doctor that you did. BTW, I don't "cheat" I log my calories, I exercise AND I enjoy an occasional soda because it's allowed on my plan and it's something I enjoy. No it's not the healthiest thing, but I enjoy it in moderation (maybe once in a week or two) I also enjoy an occasional sugar free jello.. I don't think it's a healthy option either since they use aspartame, but it's sure tasty when I'm craving something sweet!

Not even sure how to respond to that.. Yes.. I did. i clearly put it in my signature but thank you for pointing it out for anyone who may not have noticed. Are you somehow implying that my doctor is incorrect because he was 3 miles south of the border? Doctors disagree on the carbonation issue.. Many doctors both in the USA and Mexico agree that carbonated beverages are not harmful to the sleeve.. Other doctors both in the USA and Mexico advise against carbonation for life. I fail to see what going to Mexico has to do with anything... unless you were using my doctor's geographic location in an attempt to discredit him simply because he harbors views that differ from YOUR doctor?

Why wouldn't it be a serious question. Many of us drink soda occasionally and do so with the blessing of our doctors, I knew ahead of time that drinking soda was not allowed during the first six weeks and that after that it was just an issue of my comfort if I wanted to have some or not. I only know because I ASKED for clarification prior to surgery.. Some people may not ask prior to surgery because they have more important things on their minds to ask their doctors. You're right soda has no nutritional value, but I do enjoy an occasional diet soda. I don't drink crystal light either as it has no nutritional value and artificial sweetener either.. but occasionally I indulge. Giving up soda is great if that's what you want to do.. but for MANY of us our doctors do not believe that carbonation will stretch your sleeve and as long as it doesn't make us gassy, we are allowed it.

you need to check with your own doctor's instructions. Some people say no, some say only decaf and others say regular coffee is fine. I drank coffee before and after.. My instructions just said to try to limit caffeinated coffee to 2 cups a day.