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Interesting off topic discussion.....So what defines an addiction? I, too, ate whatever I wanted in large quantities my entire life. No problem in HS or my 20's. But then I turned 30 and gained 50 pounds. Then I turned 40 and gained another 50 pounds. I could usually lose 20-40 but then gain it back plus some. And yes, I ate to celebrate, I ate when I was sad, I ate when I was bored. And my brain NEVER said, "that's enough, you're full now". I overate every time I ate. Let's talk about alcohol....Starting in college, I drank to celebrate, I drank when I was depressed, I drank when I was stressed, I drank when I was bored. Nearly every social and recreational event involved alcohol. I drank every single day for a year and a half after my brother died. By every definition out there, that made me an alcoholic. And now for smoking....I'd say I was more of a "social" smoker because I mostly only smoked when out with friends when we were drinking. Occasionally I'd smoke after a stressful day at work or on my way to a board meeting. Probably not more than 1-2 packs/month depending on my social calendar. Then I decided to have WLS and to get healthy. I stopped smoking cold turkey 3 months before surgery and haven't touch a cig since. I quit drinking the day I started my 2 week preop diet, followed my pre and postop diets to a tee and had no cravings for all the bad stuff I used to eat. I no longer drink or eat when I'm stressed or depressed. I don't use food or alcohol to celebrate or make myself feel "better" when I'm down. I have an alcoholic drink maybe 2-3 times a month, (except when I went on vacation) and I never drink after a bad day at work. I stick with a food plan that works for me and have no problem getting "back on the wagon" after eating off plan while on vacation or over the holidays. It's been a little over a year and I did all of this without the help of a nut, a counselor, a therapist, or rehab. I simply decided to do it and I did. So whose to say if I had a food or alcohol addiction.....maybe I just liked the taste of food and liked to be buzzed. Seems to me it would have been harder to stop if it was truly an addiction. Or maybe I'm just in denial ????

There are SO many answers to both of those questions. May I suggest you visit the complications subforum and/or do a search for "leaks" "infection" "complications" "stricture" "GERD" "ER", etc. As for the second question, do a search for "NSV" and you will find several long threads with dozens of examples. As for me, 1) no complications 2) starting a couple weeks out to the present, here are a few of my NSV's....My rings fit (then got too big). Had to buy a new saddle to fit my tiny butt. My horse is happy. Can wear tall boots. Went from size 22 relaxed fit stretch jeans to 5/6 skinny jeans and I can shop in regular stores for clothes. I feel GREAT and haven't taken any pain Meds or NSAIDS since surgery. My BP is normal. I have no nutritional deficiencies. My feet don't hurt, my knees don't hurt, I can can wear skinny leggings (and they look good). First normal PAP in 7 years (healthy diet boosted immune system and cleared my HPV infection), Everything I do is so easy now.....climbing stairs, skiing, snowboarding, hiking, riding bike. I can fit in an airplane seat with room to spare. I can cross my legs and sit Indian style. My true weight is 50 pounds less than what my drivers license says. Shaving my legs (and other parts) takes a lot less time. My grocery bill and restaurant tabs are a fraction of what they used to be.

Ok. Thanks. I didn't know Dr. A Ortiz went through a medical tourism company. I thought it was direct through OCC. Hoping the thread can be brought back because there is so much good info on there and its kind of key to the "OCC community" on here. Saves me from having to type the same stuff over and over. Keep us posted if you can.

I mix unflavored protein powder in everything...soups, broths, mashed potatoes, crab cakes, pancake batter, baked beans, cream of wheat, etc. The flavored protein powders I mix with milk or water, depending on the flavor. I like vanilla, chocolate, banana, cake batter and other "creamy" flavors with milk. I use dairy milk for the added protein. I like the fruit flavors like cherry, lemonade, grape, chai tea, and peach mixed with water.

My surgeon gave me orders of no nuts or seeds for 3 months. Now I eat mixed nuts with craisins mixed in every day.

My parents have a good friend from Canada who has heart health issues. He actually travels to the US to see a cardiologist because the wait in Canada is so long when he has problems. He'd be dead by the time he got in to his regular doctor. But get used to it folks....that's where we are headed with our national healthcare system. And that's just for the procedures the insurance companies will actually approve. If some pencil pushing bureaucrat doesn't think you need an MRI or myelogram CT to diagnose neurologic deficits in your neck or a fecal transplant to cure a C. diff infection or WLS surgery to cure obesity, then you aren't getting them. Unless you pay for everything yourself and prove they were necessary and successful, but then what's the point of insurance? Oh, yea, so the pencil pushing bureaucrat can get a paycheck!

I am single, too, and hate to cook. More often than not I pick up stuff at the local deli. But the best thing I ever did was buy a food saver vacuum sealer. That way I can buy a whole rack of ribs, or pack of brats or pork roast or whatever fish or seafood is on sale. Then I just cut them into my tiny little individual portions, vacuum seal and freeze. I've actually started to cook a little more too, knowing that it won't all go to waste. I can make regular size recipes, divide into individual portions, seal and freeze. One of my favorites is frozen homemade protein pancakes. I make a whole batch, cook em then freeze.....then whenever I want one I just pop them into the microwave and wala! 30 second pancakes.

I was self pay in Mexico but still had to wait 6 months until I could schedule the time off (a whole week!) from work.

I would LOVE that kind of insurance. Prior to 2014 I had a pretty decent policy. But after being forced to switch to a crappy Obamacare policy, my insurance sucks.....$331 monthly premium, $5000 deductible, NO office visit copays and $6500 max OOP. So basically I shell out $8972 every year before insurance kicks in a penny. Affordable my ass! Makes me wish I lived much farther south, so I could take advantage of the REAL affordable health care in Mexico more often.

How much are you eating and how much are you drinking? Still sticking with protein first and no cheater foods? The reason I ask is it seems that upping calories, drinking more and eating different things usually ends stalls for folks at your stage. However, you also have a very low BMI. You are already at where a lot of people consider their final goal. You have a lot less to lose so it's going to come off slower.

That sucks. But just goes to show how individual and different we all are and that our bodies are way too complicated to fit in any medical textbook box of rules. (And why doctor's jobs are so hard)

Another thing Dr. Oz says is that Garcinia Cambogia is the "Holy Grail" of weight loss and that it will give you "QUICK and EFFECTIVE results WITHOUT diet and exercise, garcinia cambogia extract will absolutely help you achieve the body you've always wanted!" So why did any of us bother to have WLS?! His other weight loss recommendation is taking HCG drops and eating under 500 calories/day. Seriously, he's a f**king quack getting paid to endorse fad supplements from the highest bidder.

Nada, no symptoms.... No fatigue, weakness, tremors, ticks, bone pain, muscle pain, kidney stones, excess urination, cardiac, cognitive dysfunction, osteoporosis (I had a bone density scan prior to my cervical fusion a couple years ago), and normal BP. In fact, I've never felt better. Any aches and pains I had disappeared when I lost weight. PCP consulted with endocrinologist and with the lack of symptoms, duration and consistency of elevated calcium they both feel it's just my normal.

So the consensus is that my calcium just runs a little high. We even checked out bloodwork I had done in 2008 and 2011 and my calcium has always been between 10.4 and 10.6. (High normal is 10.2). With no symptoms and no changes in over 6 years, apparently this is my "normal". My PCP says hyperparathyroid patients usually present with calcium levels of 13-14. So all is good.

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HW 238 SW 216 CW 137 TPL 101 TGP 88 Lost all the holiday weight. I was really surprised how much I craved sweets after eating them for a week. Took a few days to detox, but as yummy as all the Christmas treats were, I really do feel better eating healthy.

You can try it (soda) and see how it goes. Personally, I can tolerate everything except carbonated beverages. The bubbles just don't sit right. I've even tried pouring it over ice and letting it sit. By the time it was flat enough to tolerate, it didn't taste good. As for alcohol, I have had everything from wine to bloody Mary's, to vodka cocktails to whiskey shots. I don't notice that it affects me any differently, but if I drink more than 1 or 2 at a time or more than 2 days in a row I do get gastritis. And although I used to be a pretty heavy drinker, it just doesn't appeal to me anymore. Not worth the empty calories and tummy ache. (Funny, since I was willing to tolerate wicked hangovers before)

No, just blood serum calcium. Since the level had gone down from July, it wasn't red flagged, but I think I will touch base with my doc tomorrow and see about getting ionized calcium and PTH levels checked. I've gotta go to the hospital for a CT myelogram on Thursday anyways, so what's one more needle poke?

I had my VSG done at OCC. Had a great experience and outstanding results. Good to hear the plastics there are good. Would love to hear about your LBL experience when you have it done. that and a breast lift are the two things I'm kind of considering.

What are you concerns? ....Yes, you will be hungry. Yes, you will probably get wicked headaches. Yes, you will be fatigued. Yes, the head hunger and cravings will be a bitch. Yes, it will be really hard and you may feel like you can't do it. BUT yes, you can do it...we all did. And yes, it is worth it. Those two weeks will soon be a distant memory and you'll wonder what all the fuss was about. In the meantime, do a search for protein drinks on here and/or visit the nutrition subforum for tons of ideas of different shake ideas because you will be drinking a lot of them and you don't wanna get bored ????

@@swimbikerun have you figured out anything with your copper levels? I just got my 12 month labs back and my Iron is back in normal range, but my Calcium is still slightly high. And surprisingly my folate was high, too. PCP isn't concerned. Everything else is spot on. (And I'm officially not menopausal yet .... It's all just "normal" bitchiness ????)

Yes, sugar addiction is crazier than you think. My mom sent me an article that explained what sugar does to our brains and bodies...it's more addicting than cocaine! I really thought I was "over it" since I really haven't had much sugar in over a year. No cravings, no nothing. Something even slightly sweet (like my daily protein shake) is more than satisfying. Then I went home for Christmas and loaded up on my mom's homemade cookies and bars. The taste of childhood, for sure! It was all really yummy, but by the end of the week I was jonesin for sweets big time. I spent the first 3 days back eating nothing but protein and veggies and another two weeks eating super healthy...really minimized carbs. Once I detoxed, getting back on track was easy and I easily lost the 4 pounds I gained during that week. When it comes to sugar, the best thing you can do is go cold turkey to break the "sugar high" cycle. It sucks for just a short time and then it's like, whew....What was I thinking?! Like I said, this is all mostly a head game. It's not necessarily a fun game to play but definitely one worth winning.

Ditto! I used that time to eat only stuff that was good for me. Now that's what I actually want to eat. (Except when I was home for Christmas and all I wanted to eat was my mom's homemade cookies and bars ????)

For me, Eating and drinking was an unwelcome chore for the first 3-4 months. I seriously wished I could get my nutrition IV. But after I was good and healed, the swelling went down, my appetite came back and life was good again. Know that how you feel now is different than how you will feel in a couple months and even that is different than how you'll feel in a year.

That's exactly what I was....Maybe a cigarette before or after a board meeting, but mostly just when out with friends. In a way, I think that's why giving it up wasn't so bad. It was a mental thing, rather than a physical addiction thing. And being successful with WLS long term is all about the mental battles.