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Staying hydrated while recovering is really important! You can't overdo it on the liquids. Make sure you are meeting the daily liquid requirements set out by your doctor and/or nutritionist. You feel begin to feel the restriction when you get to puree and soft foods.

I am now 17 days post op and when I noticed my weight loss slowing down about a week ago, I decided I was not going to step on the scale again until I was 1 month post-op. I know that a weight gain or a stall would feel like crushing defeat, so I'd rather not know. I packed it away and put it on a tall shelf where it would be too much of an effort for me to get down. Don't let the stupid scale tell you how to feel!

No, no no... I thought and did the exact same thing! Your stomach needs the acid reducer for healing, as my surgeon told me -it's not just a comfort thing.

I really think you should get your gallbladder checked. Losing a lot of weight fast often results in gallstones. Your symptoms sound a lot like you have gallstones (especially the fact that you get them after eating fatty foods like pizza).

I am sure that there are people who disagree, but for me personally, I would never have risked having my surgery done in Mexico just because it was cheaper or because I could get it done faster. I would also never encourage a loved one to have their surgery done there either. Sure it put me in debt (being a self-pay patient), but I had a tremendous piece of mind in knowing that I would be under the care of one of the best and most experienced surgeons in the U.S. and have access to the best healthcare should something go wrong. I am a Canadian but I had my surgery just south of the border in the WA (only a 1/2 hr drive for me from home). Even post surgery, it's a tremendous relief for me knowing that my surgeon is only a short distance away and that the center has a lot of experience coordinating post-surgical treatment/interventions (if required), with Canadian hospitals. I am sure that there are people who have had positive experiences in Mexico, but I've read too many testimonies about things that have gone horribly wrong. In the event that something did go wrong, it's just a regret I didn't want to have, and a risk I didn't want to take. If you have the opportunity to get the surgery done in the U.S., and the only barrier is having to go through 6 months of classes, I would go for it.

I have severe PCOS and both my surgeon and my endocrinologist expect my symptoms to get a lot better following the VSG (which I had on Dec. 9th, 2013). The VSG was the best option for me (I would not have qualified for gastric bypass anyways because of my BMI). I realize that I will lose the weight slower than women without PCOS, but I will eventually get there. I personally wouldn't go for the gastric bypass because of the nutrition malabsorption issue and the necessity for frequent check ups. Edit: I thought I should also mention that I have type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, and fatty liver disease. I also used to have NO menstrual cycle without hormone pills. I developed a lot of these problems at a low BMI because of PCOS. Only two weeks post-surgery, my blood sugar levels are completely normal, my blood pressure is slowly sorting itself out, and I no longer need a CPAP machine. My menstrual cycle strangely became regular in the in the months leading up to surgery (without meds), my hormone levels are all normal, and my endocrinologist expects my cycles will be normal from now on, with the weight loss.

Do you have any follow up with your doc or nutritionist? It might be a good idea to mention this to them. Of course, you could be losing inches without losing the lbs! Sometimes when people find themselves in a weight "stall," they still lose inches off their body! Are you meeting your targets when it comes to Fluid intake?

Oh wow, I haven't heard that before. I'm also 2 weeks post op and can barely eat a tsp of mashed potatoes and eating even 1 scrambled egg is torture because of the restriction. Maybe your stomach pouch isn't as swollen and it's allowing more food in before you feel the restriction? My nutritionist said I shouldn't expect to be able to eat more than 1/4 to 1/2 a cup at the most at this stage. Did your nutritionist provide you with any guidelines around that?

My BMI was 32 the day of surgery. I had the surgery because of my health problems: diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, fatty liver disease, sleep apnea and PCOS. I'm 26 years old and was on more medications than my grandparents ever were. Despite all these comorbidities, due to my low BMI, I did not qualify for any type of coverage here (in Canada), and self-paid for the procedure down in the U.S. Weight loss is a nice by-product but my main goal was to reverse my chronic health problems (particularly diabetes).

I had my surgery on 9/12/2013 and also cannot tolerate Protein shakes (of ANY kind - I have tried everything, including unjury unflavored). The only thing that has worked for me is fat-free milk powder. The protein content is not as high but at least it allows me to get some protein in. Thankfully my body has no issue with lactose. I also try to supplement it with meats pureed in my soups.

Use a tongue brush daily to get rid of all that gunk! It's been working for me.

I hope you feel better soon.

Agreed, she's just a blogger on a crusade against WLS, protestants, and abortion. She thinks pulling information from the internet makes her a "medical researcher." Lol. A doctor (Terry L. Simpson) who signed up for Sue's yahoo group list found and reported the following: "Do these folks all have something in common? I asked. They did—most of them did not comply with their surgeon’s instructions. Most didn’t take vitamins or learn to eat well, or they didn’t follow up with appropriate medical care."

Thanks for the warning! I hope your healing goes better from now on

I am 10 days post op and haven't been out and about yet but in my experiences with periods of successful weight loss in the past, people ALWAYS think I'm sick! Granted, there was a time when I was very sick and lost a lot of weight, but I'm always confused when I'm energetic and happy, but people think I must be ill. Just smile and say you've never felt better.

Contact your doctor immediately! My guess is that you are dehydrated. If you can't keep fluids down (make sure you are meeting your targets -just drinking is not enough, you need to drink the correct amount), you need to be in the hospital getting your fluids through an IV. I see a noticeable difference in energy when I don't get enough fluids in (I am 10 days post op).

Don't feel guilty -your body needs nutrients (through foods), and especially liquids, to heal! Starving yourself is not healthy -not only will you heal slower, you could stall your weight loss.

That's very strange. She shouldn't have been "testing" you. It sounds like her personal opinion of bariatric surgery was getting in the way of her ability to do her job properly. Talking you out of the surgery is NOT the purpose of the psych evaluation.

Welcome fellow December Sleever and all the best with your surgery

Thank you so much for sharing this! I am just over a week post-op, and started puree foods for the first time yesterday. I was SHOCKED when I realized (and found out the hard way), that I could only eat about a teaspoon comfortably.

Thank you for sharing that! I've been doing so well post-op, my stomach is digesting things well, I'm not in any pain, etc. that I was thinking about talking to my surgeon about going a little faster through the post-op diet phases, but now I won't even bring it up! I don't want to put the idea in his head. I'll just keep cooking for my family

The reason is to prevent drug interactions between your supplements and drugs administered during surgery. For previous, unrelated surgeries, I was instructed to stop my multivitamin 2 weeks before, however, I was not told to stop my multivitamin for the sleeve. I took my multivitamin up until the day before surgery. If you have been instructed to stop it but were a little late in stopping it, just call your surgeon's office and let them know. Most likely it won't be an issue because the last vitamin you took will probably be out of your system by the 18th.

At the end of the day, no matter what we strangers here on the forum say, the decision to go through with the surgery is still yours! If you are truly feeling uncertain (not nervous -nervousness is normal!), but seriously uncertain... then it's important to give yourself the time to come to an informed decision. Ask all the questions you need to ask, weigh the risks vs. the benefits, and ask yourself if you are willing to commit to everything you need to do to ensure a safe and smooth recovery. Is it possible to postpone the surgery? That way, you are not committing to having the surgery or cancelling the surgery entirely. For me personally, I chose to have the surgery not because of my weight, but because of all the health problems attributed to my weight or exacerbated by my weight. I'm in my 20s and have PCOS, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, fatty liver disease, an inflamed gallbladder, diabetes, and sleep apnea. I was taking more medications than my grandparents ever did. My gynecologist said I would almost certainly develop uterine or ovarian cancer in the next 10-15 years. And all of this was at a BMI of 32.7. For me the risk of going through the surgery, and giving up the ability to consume large quantities of food, was well-worth the trade off of a healthy, happy life. I am only 1 week post op and my blood pressure, blood sugar and oxygen levels are normal. What I'm trying to say is, only you can look at your own situation and decide if WLS is the best choice for you, and if so, which type would be best for you (if something reversible would make you feel more comfortable, maybe you could look into the lapband). I wish you all the best, whatever you decide!

Everyone's body is different! Your body is doing just fine and losing at a rate that it feels is safe and healthy for it to do so. I lost 11 lbs pre-op on a 2-week low carb diet. I was pretty surprised because I had a low starting BMI (32.7), and expected to lose very little. However, there are people who did not lose any weight at all (doesn't mean something is wrong, that's just their body protecting itself when it feels its not getting the same amount of nutrients).

Just some food for thought from personal experience... when you decide who to tell, make sure you think about who they might tell and if you don't want them to tell anyone -say so!