Kindle

Just keep asking. Or even call. Who are you communicating with? For me it was Carolyn other than one time she was out of town and I got a response from Lori. I emailed dozens of questions and always got answers. Good luck to you! You will be amazed at how awesome this surgery is.

I was pretty tired and hit the couch when I got home, but certainly doable. I really don't remember having major energy issues that affected my work. I just had to make sure and have plenty of protein drinks and fluids along for the day since I was on liquids for 18 days. I had to stop at the convenience store for milk or vitamin water a few times when I didn't plan ahead.

Just follow your surgeon's plan. He's the one doing your surgery, not all those other guys you've heard about. Ask if you can replace the sweet shakes with unflavored Protein powder mixed in broths. My surgeon allowed that because it's essentially the same thing. chicken broth, beef broth, hot and sour soup base, tortilla soup base, strained wonton soup, etc were all staples of mine both pre and postop. I, too thought the shakes were too sweet, especially postop. Some I found to be less sweet are Garden of Life Raw Fit and Spirutein banana. I also found that diluting the premier RTD 1/2 and 1/2 with milk and mixing the protein powders with twice as much Water as they call for makes them much less sweet and tolerable.

1) I returned to a physical job (walking, standing, bending, lifting, squatting) after 1 week, but had to limit my lifting to less than 20 pounds for 3 weeks. 2) ask your coordinator. My room only had my bed in it, so don't know where another person would sleep.

I was a DD and now am an A. And most of the cup is just stuffed with all my extra skin.. Without the saggy skin I would probably be in a training bra because there's really no substance to them...just skin. And to tell you the truth I don't miss them AT ALL. I've never enjoyed trying to support the sisters my whole life. If I were to have plastics, I would get the skin removed and definitely not get augmentation. GOODBYE sisters, HELLO brothers!

Hire a stripper! And invite me.

I still love all my old favorites, but I do find myself seeking out healthy foods I never really bothered with before. I do indulge in pizza, baked goods, chocolate, deserts and alcohol on occasion but I don't really crave any of them. The biggest addiction I've developed is for mixed nuts and Peanut Butter. Gotta have a bit everyday or I start "jonesin" I wouldn't worry about your tastes changing. If you don't like pizza postop then you won't miss it. I'm actually excited about all the new foods I've discovered and prefer to eat over the chips and candy and fried junk I used to eat (and love) everyday.

I have seen different clients everyday as I've lost weight. I've gotten comments and questions about my weight loss every single day for the last 6 months, at least. Most people I tell about my surgery and I get a lot of congrats and you look great and wow! reactions. Some clients I don't tell, basically because I don't like them and prefer to keep my relationship strictly professional. I just say thanks for the complement and change the subject. All of my friends and family know about my surgery and are super happy for me. As for acquaintances or some friends I haven't seen for awhile, I've had a lot of people not recognize me and then are shocked when they realize it's me. Again, we talk briefly about my surgery and move on. As for how people relate to me and my sense of self, I really haven't noticed any dramatic changes. I'm still me and still act the same. Everyone else still acts the same towards me. (Except a few friends that call me skinny bitch....the bitch part is normal, it's the skinny part that's new! ). So I guess really the only extra attention I've gotten has been all positive and kind of a conversation starter in some cases because so many people are interested in the whole "going to Mexico and having most of my stomach removed" thing.

I just find it really sad that you all have so many judgmental, negative people in your lives. Between friends, family and clients, well over a hundred people know about my surgery and I've had 2 people say something negative. And for those two, there were a room full of people that chastised them for their ignorance. I never had to say a word. I've never had to defend my choice and I've never felt like my surgery was a dirty little secret I had to keep. I'm not saying to publish it on social network or anything, but I just feel it's a shame that so many people feel the need to hide their WLS. It's something we should be proud of and society's opinion is never going to change if we keep the truth about the struggles of obesity to ourselves. Can you imagine if breast cancer or ALS or diabetes, etc were all kept "secret"?

Just Google hemp Protein, soy protein, pea protein, egg protein, vegan Protein powder, etc. there are dozens of non- dairy Protein drinks out there. Ones I've found and use are Garden of Life Raw Fit and Raw Protein and Spirutein. Didn't like the Jay Robb egg (too "eggy"). But seriously, you will be overwhelmed with the choices. And you can always mix them with soy milk for even more protein....don't bother with almond milk, it has almost no protein. As for the ready made part, I have never seen Non-dairy RTD shakes out there. Maybe post on the vegetarian subforum to see if anyone else has.

HW 238 SW 216 CW 143 TPL 95 TGP 88 Third week of no loss. Just another stall or am I finally done? Still too soon to go on a shopping spree. Stay tuned....

Exactly...other things are whole grains, chia seeds, and hemp seeds. Besides adding Fiber supplements to my Protein shakes, once I was close to goal I added a lot more whole grains and fruit to my diet. And I switched my Protein Bars to whole grain bars and my stools have gotten a lot better. A really good Cereal I found is Kashi Go Lean (the one that has "fiber twigs, soy protein Graham's and honey puffs). It's got 13g protein and 10g insoluble fiber. Win-win. I mix it in plain Greek yogurt or regular milk for even more protein.

So here is a link that explains the difference between soluble and insoluble fiber.... http://www.healthcastle.com/fiber-solubleinsoluble.shtml Benefiber, Metamucil, and so many of the fiber chews are soluble fiber, which actually SLOWS your GI transit time, possibly making constipation or delayed BM's worse. It's INSOLUBLE fiber that helps with constipation. supplements with insoluble are a little harder to find, but they are out there. Just read the labels. Two decent ones I've found are Garden of Life Raw Fiber (5g insoluble/4g soluble) and Renew Life Triple Fiber (3G insoluble/1g soluble).

Another patient on here had reflux preop for over a year. Her only symptom was coughing and her doctor never diagnosed the GERD. it was discovered during her VSG (scarring in her esophagus). If you aren't already on a PPI I would ask your surgeon about it. Mine REQUIRED Omeprazole 40mg daily for two months, since reflux is the number one postop complication of VSG.

Ok, so let me first explain the two circumstances that came together that day to create the "Litter Box Incident".... 1) when I had C. diff, my BM's consisted of a severe, painful cramp, followed by projectile, watery diarrhea approximately 5-10 seconds later. This occurred 15-20 times a day at the height of my infection. No way to either predict or prevent the chain of events. 2) I am a vet tech/partner in a mobile veterinary practice. It's just me and the vet. Our mobile unit is basically like a 25 foot RV. We took the toilet out years ago in order to convert the tiny "bathroom" into a storage closet. Despite my preference to camp out in my own bathroom for the day, I ended up having to work. My vet had just had a hysterectomy and was laid up on her couch. One of our clients called to say she was out of pain meds for her dog that was recovering at home with a broken pelvis. I had no choice but to venture out. I made the 20 minute drive to her house without incident (whew!). But as I was getting up her pain meds, I was consumed with the tell-tale cramp. Knowing I had about 5 seconds before you know what, I grabbed a litter box out of the cupboard, dropped my drawers and squatted. I'm just glad the client didn't come in! And who said pooping can't be fun?

Heck, I discuss my BM's freely in the beauty salon when I'm getting my hair cut. Tales of my C diff infection, pooping in a litter box at work and my fecal transplant were all big hits!

So do you mind sharing the name of her surgeon? I think it would be important for others that are researching Mexico options to know.

I was so nervous about not losing my preop weight, too. So much so I started my preop diet 2 days early. I ended up losing 22 pounds instead of the 12 they wanted me to! Just stick on the plan and you will do fine. BTW... www.Hoosierfatty.wordpress.com

Routine bloodwork should alert you to any issues both pre and post op. I was taking a multi, B12, Calcium, D3 and Iron. My 6 month labs showed high calcium and iron so I've discontinued those. I also cut my D3 and B12 to 3 days a week. I will recheck bloodwork , which includes full vitamin/mineral assays, at 1 year post and go from there.... I never took anything specifically for hair like Biotin. There were such mixed reviews whether it actually helped. Protein, however is very important, and I always made sure I got at least 60g every day. At almost 9 months out I've had no hair loss. In fact, my hair and nails grow faster now than preop.....just better overall nutrition I guess. For skin, again, I think it's overall nutrition. I live in a super dry climate, so I,ve always used body lotions. Postop I switched to a DMAE and collagen lotion to help with firming. The loose skin on my neck, face, arms and tummy have tightened up very well. (My boobs and butt are another story )

Depends on the flavor....chocolate, vanilla, banana, cake batter and Cookies and cream flavors I mix with milk. The fruitier Syntrax Nectars like cherry, lemonade, apple and peach I mix with Water. I never worried about or kept track of fat, but you can use skim milk if you are concerned. Some people use almond milk because of the lower carbs, but I consider it empty calories because there's almost no Protein in almond milk. You're better off with the real thing or even soy milk. Pèrsonally I never worry about carbs if they are coming from dairy, fruits or veggies.

So sorry to hear about your mother's complications. I know she's been having a hard time ever since coming home. Could I ask who her surgeon was? Is the hospital you are at seeing the same type of complications from the same surgeon? I had a friend who had lap band surgery in Idaho Falls, ID and the surgeon nicked her intestine (so much for a less invasive procedure). She ended up being life flighted to Salt Lake City within days when she became septic. She was in and out of the hospital for months. Her experience is what sent me to Mexico to a surgeon with more experience and no major complications.

Sorry about that Miss Mac. Hope you are. OK. I ended up getting IV fluids 3 times when I had diarrhea from my C. diff infection between weeks 6 and 14. My BP would crash and my HR would skyrocket. And this would happen within 24 hours of breaking with diarrhea (of course it was non-stop, running to the toilet every 15 minutes diarrhea)

I got super dehydrated during months 2 and 3 because I had diarrhea and still couldn't keep up with drinking. But I could finally take pretty normal swallows without feeling uncomfortable at about 4 months out. I still cant chug a whole glass, though.

I actually scheduled my surgery on a Friday on purpose because I knew there would be no other surgeries to occupy the doctors and staff for the next two days. And not only was it a Friday, it was right before Christmas so OCC was actually closed for the entire week. The five of us that had surgery on the 12/20 pretty much had the place to ourselves after surgery. We all went to the Marriott on Saturday, back to OCC for a bandage change on Sunday, after which Joel, the driver, took us shopping. Then back to OCC on Monday for our barium flouroscopy and drain removal. Dr. So, who is the primary followup doctor, and a couple nurses took very good care of us. Dr. Ortiz left on vacation but Dr. Martinez was available if there had been any issues...which there weren't. The office manager even came in on Monday to make sure all of our travel plans were squared away and she made us all chicken broth and have us bottled water to sip on the way to the airport.

Guess I never tried to find out. Like Jen, I've tried (and liked) a lot of new foods, but never tried the stuff I know I don't like. I still like the things I always did, so I assume I'll still dislike the other stuff.