VSGAnn2014

P.S. Just saw you are moving on and have some great plans for your life. Congratulations again. I think you're going to be very successful.

That's abusive behavior. And it's obviously a violation of the medical code of ethics. I would audio-record him saying things like this. And then play it for a lawyer. Seriously!

I don't *know* what's involved in your situation, but I have this thought: If you're exercising 3 times a day, you are surely still building muscle like crazy. There's that old nutritional adage I remember from forever ago that one pound of fat converts to 7 pounds of muscle. So could that explain your slow weight loss despite your very good control of food intake and calorie "out-go"?

I'm with those here supporting you who say: 1. YOU are doing great. Congratulations! 2. Yes, the NUT got into your head -- now GET HER OUT by not spending the rest of your life wondering "what she really meant." 3. On your next visit you can raise the issue (politely) of how her comment affected you and ask her to explain what she meant by her comment -- and then be prepared for her to either a. apologize / explain what she really meant / behave like an effective consultant or b. be defensive, explain yet again how she's cool and you're not, and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that she's not fit to be your consultant. 4. If she chooses Option b, you should report her to your surgeon and ask for a different NUT to be your consultant. 5. Then get on with your journey, knowing that no one is perfect (including you), but that you do deserve the best support team you can organize for yourself.

Where in HELL do you find a pet hedgehog? And what kind of relationship can you have with one?!

Would you please PM me a link for this information? I am collecting data to turn over to the proper authorities in Mexico and this would help a great deal. I am not good at researching legal issues. Thanks! http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCOURTS-caed-1_06-cr-00352

You're, what, two months post-op? Sure, go ahead. Drink a Coke. See what happens.

I've posted this on another thread (I think), but get this ... A few weeks ago I went to see my PCP with what, after several days of increasing pain in right abdomen, I was certain was appendicitis. Nope. Severe constipation. Weird, because I don't suffer usually from constipation. Know what caused it? According to my doc, it was my new habit (started 4-5 months ago) of taking Advil PM (which has Benadryl in it) every night to help me sleep. He explained that Benadryl slows down your colonic movements, leading to chronic constipation. A number of drugs do the same thing: https://www.cmecorner.com/constipation/e-impacct_patient_guide.pdf Who knew!? (I didn't.)

I honestly did not go into the surgery planning to tell the world. Maybe it was the dilauded?? Who knows. I wrote that post at 1am on night of surgery after my third or so walk across to the nurses station. LOL! Even though I'm natively "the other way," I sure can relate to that.

Just goes to show ... everyone is not the same. I sure don't have any problem with Jersrose doing it the way she did it. It's just not my way.

This is SUCH a great thread. Thanks to all who are contributing.

For just a small, small taste of why some people choose not to publicize their WLS decision, please see this thread started today: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/314469-please-mind-your-business/

In real life (not here -- where I am speaking anonymously), I am a private person about private things. And WLS for me has multiple medical, psychological, behavioral and spiritual issues. I simply don't wish to discuss it with many people I associate with regularly. Nor do I wish to invite others' opinions and evaluations about WLS. I already know that the majority of my familial and work colleagues have a very negative opinion about WLS. Therefore, I don't wish to make myself a target of their negativity. If you're someone who feels differently and whose life is an open book for all to read, inspect and review, then more power to you. I'm not built that way. This is one of life's great challenges -- to appreciate that everyone else isn't just like you.

Good grief, Cowgirl! That's a lot on your plate right now. Because I'm older than you, I'll share a few things I've learned in times of great familial stress, especially where others' healthcare is involved: 1. When healthcare decisions must be made, no decision or solution will be perfect. We can only do our best to choose or recommend the best option from among all the other imperfect solutions. 2. If the decision to be made is not ours, we should not try to take the decision out of the hands of those who are required to make it. 3. If those who are making decisions are not making the "right ones" (the decisions we would make), we should still let them make their own decisions. 4. I can't (and you can't) change anyone else or their opinions. I can only change myself and my opinions. And that's hard enough. 5. The burdens I have taken on (because I didn't like how others were handling things) are burdens I eventually bitched about having to carry all by myself. 6. Almost always, people are doing the very best they can do at the moment. In the future, they might be able to do better.

I'm so, so sorry. I understand your frustration and feeling of betrayal. There are two kinds of people in this world: 1. Those who will keep your secrets. There are probably only one or two people in your life who can do this. 2. Everybody else will promise to keep your secret but, for a variety of reasons, simply can't and won't. These people always have "good reasons" for violating your trust that all boil down to this: Your secret will burn a hole in their soul until they can share it with someone else. The burden of it unleashes feelings of rampant curiosity, anxiety, titillation, fear, or other emotions they try to alleviate by talking about it to someone else. Your mom is in this second group. Her need to relieve her anxiety about you was greater than her ability to keep your secret. It doesn't make her a bad person, but it does mean she's not a good secret-keeper. And in my experience, if you don't want ALL of your family to know something, don't tell ANYONE in your family.

When you say you're staying on your schedule, what do you mean by that?

Thanks, Madam. I forgot that. (I'm not FB friends with Omar.)

skullcandy ... do you mean that until early 2014 Omar was fine in terms of his legal status? Or something different? And, out of curiosity, does anyone actually know if Omar is married with children - or not? Some of Dr. Illan's patients think he's married, others don't.

uscitizen, you don't understand cyberstalking laws. And you have no appreciation for the bounds of what is socially acceptable. This is the kind of behavior exhibited by people with bad judgment and very poor impulse control. I urge you to think long and hard about how much you really want to associate yourself and your reputation with this behavior. Yes, there are repercussions from behavior like this. To borrow your words -- yes, we do reap what we sow. But the bitter harvest can come from unexpected directions. Please don't think this is a threat -- it is not. It is just extraordinarily good advice.

WHOA! Why in the world would ANYONE have anything to do with any of you Omar fangirl nutjobs? Why would ANYONE join your Illan / Omar Facebook fan group? Why would ANYONE maintain ANY kind of relationship with Whitney (her full name and family members' pictures and names are on Facebook for all to see!)? Why would ANYONE employ a person like Whitney -- who would behave this way on social media? You folks may or may not be certifiably crazy. But you are all certified white trash.

Most definitely. Check in the Veterans Forum.

Whoa! These are grounds for criminal charges. Under Texas law, this is a felony. See http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/PE/htm/PE.33.htm#33.07 Save / record every aspect of the fake Facebook account and the communications sent out from it. This is batshit. It's also unbelievably stupid. There's no fool like one who thinks s/he is smarter than everyone else.

Would you be willing to count (silently) between bites? Say, to 30? I feel like I'm admitting I'm OCD - I'm not - but that actually did the trick for me. BTW, I'm not still counting. It was just a means to habituate myself differently.

I just take anything people are willing to offer on this thread as information. No one who volunteers information has to submit to a deposition.

You sound like me. Months ago I started cutting down on the amount of food I eat, coffee, NSAIDs, carbonated drinks, alcohol, sugar, etc. And I started chewing much more slowly, not drinking liquids with my meals, walking more, drinking 8 glasses of Water daily, journaling my food and exercise, using My Fitness Pal and a Fitbit, and seeing a shrink. My surgery will be scheduled in August. My only challenge now is to keep my BMI above the level where my surgeon will still perform VSG surgery. So why not just lose the weight by myself? Because I feel strongly that I need the additional tool of a sleeved stomach. I have a lifelong history of enthusiastic weight loss followed by steady weight regain. I'm now in my late sixties and looking for way to enjoy an active retirement -- and I don't think yo-yo dieting is going to be the way to achieve it. Best wishes to us all.