Jiggly Puff

I feel for ya! I went through this on 08/13 and I missed a day of work because of it. My surgery date was 07/16 and I believe this also caused me to stall for 2 weeks. I wasn't even on solid foods yet. I was still in the pureed stage and drinking my protein shakes. This is the ONE and ONLY complication I've had regarding the sleeve. I really wish I had known about this beforehand. I don't recall ever seeing any topics about the constipation until after I was going through it. I now take chewable fiber tablets twice a day. So far so good. I also stocked up on MOM and other laxatives just in case this ever happens again. Good luck with that and drink lots of water!

I am currently eating about one ounce of food every 2 hrs. I don't EVER want to risk stretching my stomach out again so I'll probably eat like this forever. Who knows? But fear keeps me in check. I don't like getting bored with my food either, so I try to eat a variety of things throughout the day. Like 1/4 of a veggie burger, 1 oz of cottage cheese, protein shake, 1 oz of sea food (imitation crab, or real crab or scallops, salmon, etc), yogurt, frozen yogurt, chocolate pudding, stuff like that. Little tiny portions that taste good about 5 or 6 times a day. Yummy!

Congrats! I also had my surgery on 07/16/13! And I've also lost 40 #'s! In total, not just from the surgery. That part has been kind of slow for me. Great pictures, keep up the good work!

First of all, I am so sorry this happened to you! That would be such a nightmare! And secondly, this is the funniest post I have ever read on here!!! OMG!!!! Thank you for the laugh, and I'm so happy to hear you're ok. Take care girl.

Wow! I thought it was just me! I normally do not have any pain issues. UNTIL I've been walking around, out and about for hours. Then I get these dull, deep pains in my hips and legs. My 72 year old mother, on oxygen can out shop me for hours!!! And she has a cane! LOL I'm in my 30's and that should not be happening! I've never had these pains before and I never tired out this quickly either. It makes sense though since we're eating fewer calories and our bodies are trying to adjust to carrying around less weight too. Thank you for sharing everyone. I always learn something new here.

I've lost a total of 39 #'s since Feb 2013, because I was on the Dukan diet. But since surgery on 07/16/13, I've only lost 17 #'s. I just got out of a two week stall! It was beyond awful because my body was still trying to adjust to this new life. As a woman, my cycle is out of whack and so is the "regular" part of my digestion if you know what I mean. I actually lost a day of work over it. I have vowed that will never happen to me again. I've never been so sick in my life like that. Since water and fiber are fighting the protein for space in my belly, it has really disturbed operations. I now have Fiber Choice sugar free chewable tablets, Fiber & Calcium Gummy Vitamins, Flintstones chewable complete vitamins and B12 that dissolves under your tongue. Everything seems to be back to normal now and I'm feeling stronger by the day. As for what I'm eating now, it really hasn't changed much since from before. I was never a junk food junkie. Just a volume eater. So now I still eat healthy, just one ounce at a time about 5 or 6 times a day. It also helps that I am a borderline vegetarian. I don't eat beef or milk at all. I do love seafood, eggs and yogurt. I try not to eat cheese, because it's just binding. I love veggie burgers, black bean burgers, egg beaters and Almond Silk for my protein shakes. I cooked a 2lb butternut squash and froze little servings of it. Let one serving thaw out in the fridge for dinner time, sprinkle some pure cinnamon on it and it's so yummy. Eat it warm or cold. I just bought some fresh crab. Put that in little servings and freeze it. For special yummy treats, I love a frozen banana half, with a little bit of Silk and peanut butter. Blend it for a "frozen ice cream" treat. SF Choc pudding is good too! I will also make some frozen shake pops, which I love! Most people on here seem to complain about their shakes, but I love them. I have no problem with my whey shakes what so ever. And they are not fancy or expensive or organic. Just some cheapy brand I picked up at Walmart. So that's my update! Good luck to everyone out there! And don't get down about the stalls! You'll make it through!

Good job!!! I also can't wait to be a size 10. You look great too, congrats!

I want to fall in love again. Maybe get married again someday. I want to wear clothes that I like, not a size 2x. I would love to ride rides at an amusement park again or go to Water World. I want to wear high heels and boots that fit over my fat calf. I want this "food monkey" off of my back! I want to conquer my shyness and get more confident about myself. And just think how much money we're going to save by not being fat anymore! Being skinny is not as expensive as being fat.

I got massive heartburn like you would not believe. I thought I was going to die. I've been taking Prilosec now for almost 2 wks and that should cure it for awhile. Yes, I agree with others. Never trust a fart. And I do get hiccups after I eat. But they go away quickly. Lately, I've been getting nauseous almost every day for the past couple of days and I don't know why. One of my wounds came unglued and it scabbed worse than the others, but thankfully no infections at all. I'm still very tender in my gut. It's still too tender to wear tight jeans or tight fitting waistbands. I seem to be very constipated more so than not. I take a stool softener twice a day and still only have one BM a week if that. Other than that, I don't have much to complain about at all. Awesome thread! I've learned a lot about how well I've had it! Thanks everyone for contributing! Good luck to everyone!

Agreed! I'm not doing bad carbs anymore. I have a brand new expensive belly that I had to pay out of pocket, I'm not going to put garbage in it.

(I know you shouldn't do this, but I was desperate!) My dad has to take that prescription strength Prilosec too and he gave me a handful of his pills to get me through until I can see my doc or get to the store and buy my own OTC Prilosec. And they worked immediately! I haven't had to reach for the Tums all day. Such a relief! But I'm going to look into that Pepcid too since it was mentioned for smaller stomach's.

LOL, that's funny. I wouldn't want a co-worker seeing any part of me naked either! (unless he was hot and we were consensually naked together). Thanks for the giggle.

You need to make sure most of your meal is protein and then healthy, non starchy veggies and fruit. For example, finely ground tuna, chicken or egg salad (no onion or celery and low fat mayo), shrimp, scallops, and white fish. You can have well cooked veggies, but not pureed. That stage is for about 2 wks. Hope that helps a little. Good luck to you!

Thank you so much for posting that fantastic, inspirational pic of yourself! I can tell you've been working very hard to look that good. Keep up the great work!!!

Good luck to you all with upcoming surgeries! Believe me, even after 2 weeks, it is still surreal! I still can't believe it's finally done and over with. Now the real battle begins, right? I hope you all have easy recoveries and remember to walk, walk, walk (right after surgery!)

I'm also 2 wks post op and I'm still on a full liquid diet until tomorrow. I've also been experiencing terrible heartburn for the past couple of days (with no actual food intake as well) and last night was the worst! It actually woke me up from an Ambien induced sleep. I thought I was dying, I didn't know what was wrong. My instinct just told me to eat Tums and it worked. I'm also eating those like candy. From other forums on this website I found that we should probably talk to our doctors about that. It sounds normal from what I can tell from a lot of other posters on this website. At the top, I searched for "heartburn" and found more info. One person said we're getting acid reflux from our stomach's being empty. So I've been trying to eat a small spoonful of yogurt throughout the day. I'm going to start taking an OTC med for it too. Another person said his eventually went away after a month. So in the meantime, I'm going to continue to eat my Tums until I see my doc. Good luck to you!

Hi hjtj112! You look amazing! To me, you already look like you're at goal. Keep up the great work, you're doing so good!

That drain was disgusting! That's the only part that bummed me out about the whole thing. Bring soap to the Mi Doctor for your shower! They didn't have any for some reason. And they didn't give us any washcloths either. Maybe bring a shower puff or something. I wish I had taken hard soled slippers. And since I had more of an issue with my drain than the other patients, I wish I had brought a whole pack of sterile gauze with me and medical tape. Thank goodness I brought what I did, but I needed more. What really helped me pass the time in the hotel was my Kindle Fire HD and audiobooks. And games, music, etc. The TV in Tijuana was aggravating. Bring a light weight robe too. I think I did very well with just my carry on luggage and I didn't need to fuss with baggage claim. So that was a blessing too. I brought my own chicken bouillon cubes and tea which was nice to have something hot at night without calling room service and having to tip each time. Even though their chicken broth was awesome! Eat that in the dining room or during the day when you feel like dealing with other people. Oh! One more thing. Abraham will most likely take you to get the best ice cream in the world. Don't get the "fruit"! Get mango or lime instead. They don't have chunks and you'll be able to enjoy it better. If I think of anything else I'll let you know. Good luck!

I had the same concern. Kind of an odd feeling that you know something should be happening, but it's not. I'm just over a week out and I haven't had any movements since I left the hotel in Mexico. And that was only because of the 2 popsicles I had. They went right through me. But now that I'm only drinking shakes and water, I got nothin'. lol,

Yes, I have also been worried about that same concern even though I'm living off of protein shakes and water. I'm only one week out but peeing has been an issue for some reason. My doctor says I am fine and I've had an ultrasound of my liver and spleen and all that good stuff and nothing is wrong. It just seems to be more difficult that it used to be and I don't know why. I'm glad I'm not the only one going through that. Best of luck to you!

This is not rumor or "hearsay" and this forum has solicited my opinion and that's what I have provided. I was there and witnessed this woman being turned down. Yes, I was also confused as to why she was even there to begin with. She didn't look like she needed surgery at all. However, that doesn't excuse the fact of how she was approved and then denied once she got there. How did she get approved to begin with? Everyone getting surgery that day witnessed this and none of us could believe how that happened. And I don't know this lady's vital's and I'm not sure why I would. I only know her age because she volunteered it to me. The only thing we could figure out as to how that might have happened is that she lost a lot of weight on the pre-surgery diet maybe? And I never said she didn't get a refund, I said she was out her deposit of $750.00, plus she had to pay for her Hotel stay after all and not to mention the airfare. If that had been me, I would've lost my mind. And by the way, I also was set to be one of Valenzuela's patients and I have all of the paperwork as well, so I know what it says. As I said before, this forum asked for my opinion between the two and I gave it plus my reasons. Just because somebody else has a less than steller experience than you, doesn't mean you have to take it personally. Every situation and person is different. And also to Dr. Valenzuela's credit, I believe she did the right thing when she denied that woman the surgery instead of going through with it. That would've been crazy.

Was 215 on 02/04/13. Pre-op diet I was 193 #'s. Sleeved on 07/16/13, post-op with all of the fluids being pumped into my body I shot back up to 204.5#'s! Now today 07/23/13, one week later, I weigh 187#'s. Woo-hoo! I can already see it in my face! I have cheekbones!

Dr. Lopez and Janese via www.alighterme.com is by far the better choice. I originally had my surgery scheduled with Christy at the MBC with Dr. Valenzuela. To make a long story short, that I think I've already posted about before, it did not go very well. I did not have a good experience with that group at all and I felt very wronged by them. So I contacted Alighterme the very same night and had my surgery set up for the following week. I met Janese and our driver, Abraham, at the airport and she was like a long lost friend I had known for years. (I originally was working with Ronda, but I got to work with both ladies). I had a fantastic journey that couldn't have gone more textbook and it's now been 7 days since my surgery. Also, I need to mention that when I was at the hospital I met a 65 yr old lady who was there to have her surgery done by Valenzuela and paid upfront for it, plus her airfare. She went through all of that just to be turned down when she got to Mexico because of her low BMI. How did this go unnoticed? How did that doctor and coordinator Christy over look this little detail and put this poor woman through all that unnecessary travel, spent money (she's out her down payment of $750.00, plus airfare and hotel stay) and stress? We were all in shock about that. I can't believe this woman was ever over weight enough to be told that she was accepted for surgery and that she should pay them money, get on a plane from the states and get all bruised up from the pre-op blood work for nothing. That blows my mind! Very, very sloppy, shameful and unprofessional way of doing business. So that's two big reasons I have from personal experience as to why I would never recommend anyone to go with the MBC. They are just shady in my opinion.

congrats! And welcome to the sleeved side! It's amazing how quickly your body will start to heal itself. The first 4 days are a little rough, but they fly by quickly. Good luck on your recovery!

Good question. I was also worried about the return flight. Thank you everyone for the peace of mind.