Kindle

I lost exactly zero pounds at 11 days postop. I'm now 28 months out and have been 10 pounds below goal for over a year and a half. Do yourself a favor..... quit comparing yourself to others, get in all your protein and water, take your vitamins and STAY OFF THE DAMN SCALE. This is not a race, it's for the REST OF YOUR LIFE.

i was riding my horse at 240. I'm now 140. There are guys i ride with that probably weigh 250. But they have bigger horses...Tennessee walkers, Peruvian draft crosses, andalusians, etc. so it's not an issue. A couple clients of ours are outfitters and they have a few draft horses to accommodate their larger clients, but they still cut it off at 300 pounds. They also stay to fairly level trails, they aren't bushwacking up a mountain side, through thick brush, over deadfall and crossing deep creeks like we often do. And like you said it depends on the breed and build of the horse. A 14 hand Arabian, for example, certainly wouldn't do well carrying a 300 pound rider.

Don't get so caught up in the numbers game. Lose until you are comfortable. My surgeon gave me one number, I picked another one, but in the end my body decided what my new normal is and that's where I work on staying. And like @@VSGAnn2014 it was a pleasant surprise.

I'm headed out on my horse right now to look for shed antlers. The best part....I got to buy a new saddle! I can hop up onto the saddle without having to find a rock or log to climb on. I have closer contact with my horse and can feel her subtle movements. I have much better balance. And as you know, riding is a great Pilates-like and leg workout. To tell you the truth, I had WLS for her as much as for me. Her name is Kindle and I'm sure no one is happier about my weight loss than her. It's 100 pounds less she has to lug up and down the mountain trails.

I don't like artificial sweeteners so I never ate any of the sugar free products. I made my own fudgesickles by freezing chocolate protein shakes. You can make a huge variety of flavors by using different protein powders and Torani syrups.....Cherry, chocolate banana, dreamsicle, Carmel, peanut butter, strawberry, peach, pineapple, etc. , I got Silicone popscicles molds on Amazon.

....

Read labels. Frozen meals are usually LOADED with carbs....especially lean cuisine. Maybe some of the Atkins are doable but you won't be able to eat a whole one of those, either. The best thing I did was get a food Saver vacuum sealer. I am single and go though a minimal amount of food. With the Food Saver, I can make regular meals and portion out individual servings, freeze them, vacuum them and eat them even months later with no freezer burn. Works great for takeout food, too. Without it restaurants would be a huge waste of money.

At 11 days postop I weighed exactly the same as I did on surgery day. By 9 months I was down 98 pounds (10 below goal) and at 28 months I'm still there. Just remember that how much you lose the first few months and ESPECIALLY the first week has absolutely nothing to do with your long term success.

Sounds like her surgeon doesn't have much confidence in his own skills and/or he doesn't have a good educational and support program in place for his patients if weight loss pills are part of his SOP.

If weight loss pills worked we wouldn't need surgery. Successful long term weight loss comes from lifestyle changes, not "quick fix" gimmicks....including pills AND surgery.

I slept flat on my back or either side the first 3 nights in a hotel bed and then finally back in my waterbed ....aaahhhhh. Took 2 weeks before I could sleep on my tummy cause I was just so bloated.

Love syntrax nectar. Cherry, lemonade, peach, orange, and vanilla are my favs but I don't dislike any of them.

Thanks @@gowalking I appreciate your support and sharing your story. You're right and I'm not looking for happiness at this point. In fact, I came to the conclusion a long time ago that I know too much to ever really be happy again. Wasn't life great when we were young and naive? It's just I've felt nothing but grief, guilt and anger for so long and time isn't "healing" anything. I am really just looking for some sort of neutral ground. I'd like to have other thoughts in my head besides the same ones I obsess over every day. Going through the motions of living when I don't want to is so exhausting. I'm sorry for all you've had to endure as well.

New development..... I have low testosterone.... http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/365296-low-testosterone/

Yeah, you may try calling Lori or Carolyn directly. I spoke with Carolyn a half dozen times before surgery and emailed several dozen times with my zillion questions. She was always very accommodating and even forwarded some of my more technical questions to the surgeons. As for risk factors, you sound like a "typical" WLS patient and would expect your fee ypto be more. But Some things that could increase the cost probably can't even be assessed until you get there. The cardiologist examines you before surgery and unless you've had diagnostics ahead of time, something like a hiatal hernia won't even be known until you are actually in surgery. A gal on another forum just had VSG at OCC and based on her symptoms (with no prior testing done) her PCP had told her she had gall bladder problems. Turns out it was actually a hernia which Dr. Ortiz repaired at the same time as her VSG. Another patient there at the same time as me had undiagnosed GERD with severe scarring of her esophagus. She ended up staying a couple extra days and Dr. Ortiz performed a second surgery to clean out the scar tissue. These were both cases of additional costs that couldn't be known ahead of time. Luckily my surgery was flawless and I had an easy, pain free recovery, have had no complications and over two years later am maintaining 10 pounds below goal. Good luck!

How long are you staying in TJ postop? I had surgery on a Friday and returned home on Monday. I totally could have driven. In fact, after my return flight I DID drive myself home .....5 hours on icy roads. I had no pain postop and wasn't taking any pain meds so I could have driven just 2 hours that Saturday or Sunday. But without a medical pass, and depending on your timing, your wait at the border alone could be several hours, so take that into consideration with your expected drive time. Depending on what surgeon you are using and how their service works, you may drive to the San Diego airport, leave your car there and then use their shuttle service into and out if TJ like any other patient that's flying in. That would save you the border hassles, especially if they provide a medical pass. There were two girls from LA that were at OCC same time as me and they had driven there and kept their car at the TJ Marriott where we stayed as part of the surgery package. But they had been to TJ several times before and were very familiar with the city as well as the "tricks" of easy, speedy border crossing.

I went to my PCP at 3 months, 6 months, 12 months and 24 months to get the recommended bloodwork. That's the only aftercare I've needed. I will continue to do this annually for life. My surgeon and his staff in Mexico have always been available for any questions I've had....even on Sundays. They are always prompt to reply to my phone calls and emails. They also have a nutritionist available for consult free of charge but I have never utilized that service.

Surgery on a Friday. Back to work Thursday. I have a very physical job, on my feet all day, bending, squatting, lifting, but still managed to do it. If I had a desk job I could have gone back on Monday. Luckily I had no complications, no pain, no nausea and was meeting Fluid and Protein goals by day 5. I was on liquids for 18 days so just made sure I had plenty of Protein shakes and other liquids to sip in between appointments. I was optimistically hoping for two weeks but we got busy so I went back after just 6 days. I only got that long because days 4 and 5 were Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I own my own business so no such thing as paid time off, including FMLA. I was definitely tired when the day was done, but I had no choice but to go back. If I don't work, business is closed and no work = no pay. As a matter of fact, this surgery was the first "sick time " I had taken in over 5 years! Sure I've been sick, but that's no excuse not to work . I only missed a whopping 1 day when I had my gall bladder removed last Thanksgiving. (I always schedule my surgeries to take advantage of holiday time off).

That is an impossible claim. Anything has the possibility of leaking. It may reduce the chances but nothing can be guaranteed 100%.

iPhone, iPad, chargers, a hat (so I didn't have to brush my hair for going home), toothbrush, toothpaste. Wore the same clothes home that I came in. I normally wear contacts, but I just wore my glasses there. My stay was less than 24 hours so there wasn't anything else I needed that they didn't provide.

1300-1500 calories seems like a lot to try and lose on. We are the same height and thats about what I maintain with. There are a lot of people (me included) that have to be in the 1000-1200 range to lose. You didn't mention fluids, but I'm assuming you are at 64oz or above. I typically get 80+. What I've found that helps when I gain a few pounds here and there or when I find my willpower to stay on plan waivering, is to go back to basics. I will spend at least a week eating just Protein and veggies. Clearing out those carbs really helps my head and my body reset. In desperate times (like before a vacation or holiday) when I KNOW I will be eating WAY off plan, I do a preemptive strike. I do the traditional "preop diet" of Protein shakes only for a few days and that usually drops me to the bottom of my range. That way, even if I gain 5 pounds being "bad", I'm still in my maintenance range. These are all tricks I use to maintain and stop any little regains, but they may help kickstart your losing again. BTW, welcome back! Nice to hear from you after all this time.

@@determinedtolive let us know how the Paleo goes. Since dairy, legumes and peanuts are off the list, there's no way I could do it. Greek yogurt, cheese, milk, whey-based protein shakes, peanut butter, tofu and soy are just too much of a staple for getting in my protein. The dairy was especially important in the early days. Not to mention they are all the things I love.

The tax deduction actually comes from the contribution end of the HSA. If you contribute, say $2000 to your HSA you get to deduct $2000 from your gross income whether you use any of it or not. However, if your employer contributes to your HSA, you don't get to take the deduction, your employer does. So the actual distribution of HSA funds for qualified medical expenses doesn't really affect the deduction you get to take. The shitty part is the HSA deduction is capped pretty low....$3350 for a single person last year. So even though I had over $6000 in medical expenses last year, only $3350 of it was deductible through my HSA. Any accountants, please correct me me I'm wrong.

I lived on tramadol and ibuprofen due to my foot, ankle and knee pain. I am now totally pain free. A friend had bypass and although it helped with a lot of her aches and pains, there was already too much damage done to her knees and she had replacement surgery once she was down to goal weight. At least her recovery was a lot easier not having to lug all that extra weight around.

Yeah, people are stupid. I weigh exactly the same now as I did in October 2014. I STILL have people coming up to me telling me to "stop losing weight" and "You're so skinny, when are you going to stop?". I wear a size 6 for shits sake I'm not THAT skinny and I haven't changed in over a year and a half. Get a clue people! BTW, @@her1981 congrats on your amazing progress.