JamieLogical

Try super cold iced Water. I had a problem post-op where any water that wasn't ICE cold with literally ice cubes floating in it would sit really heavy in my stomach and make me feel uncomfortable. It also often caused a gurgling sensation up the back of my throat. I now drink water from an insulated bottle that keeps ice cold all day long and it has helped tremendously!

coffee is rough on the stomach as it is very acidic. I wasn't allowed coffee until 30 days post-op and then I was to go heavy on the cream to dilute it. I was allowed to gradually decrease the cream and increase my coffee intake as tolerated. I now drink 3 cups a day. I wasn't specifically required to stop drinking coffee as part of my pre-op diet, but I chose to so I could kick my caffeine habit before my surgery, just so I wouldn't have to go through withdrawal while recovering. But I literally COUNTED down the days until I was allowed to drink it again post-op. I love my coffee!

Just hang in there. The first few days can be pretty rough, but it does get better every day. There will likely be moments when you are sad, frustrated, tired, cry for no reason, curse yourself for doing this in the first place, and question whether you will ever feel normal again. I promise that ALL of those feelings pass eventually. You WILL feel normal again. You just have to power through these first few weeks. Focus on the moment at hand, getting your water in, walking, getting your protein in (once you can), eating/drinking on a schedule, weighing out your food. Little by little you will get the hang of it. Treat your stomach like it's a newborn baby's stomach.

I know there are a few vegetarians lurking around these boards. I can't imagine how hard it would be to meet my Protein requirements without meat. But technically vegetarians can eat eggs... just saying. If you are talking about cutting out eggs, would you be going vegan? That would mean cutting out dairy as well.

I had trouble with drinking in my early weeks post-op, but not nearly as far out as you are. You don't have that same sensation with food? Have you experimented with different temperatures of liquid? Is it better or worse with hot drinks, ice cold water, flavored water, etc.?

I have had surgery in Mexico twice. I live in New York State. It can be a little daunting if you don't do your research and aren't well prepared, but if you read the experiences of a lot of other MX patients, you will see that it all goes pretty smoothly. These surgeon's programs are all set up to accommodate international patients and they deal with that every single day. So they have things running like a well oiled machine. It sounds like you would fly into LAX and from there you would probably fly down to San Diego. Whichever surgeon or Medical Tourism company you go with will then have a shuttle waiting for you at the San Diego airport. The shuttle will drive you across the border to your hotel or directly to the clinic/hospital where your surgery will be performed. They will get you all the information you need, get you where you need to be, get you your medication, and take care of you in any way necessary, so there aren't many logistics for you to deal with yourself, beyond getting to San Diego. I didn't use either of the surgeons you are considering, so I can't offer you any personal advice there. Just make sure you thoroughly research the surgeon, the facilities where the surgery will take place, the hotel or recovery house you will be staying in, and ask their offices any and all questions you have ahead of time. Do NOT hesitate to ask questions! All of these surgeons have people on staff whose only job it is to answer your questions, help you with your plans, and make the experience as smooth as possibly for you, so take advantage of that service!

I can sympathize with those who have already had surgery with him and NOT experience complications wanting to defend him. They want to validate their choice and by defending him, they are really defending their decision to have had surgery with him, which is a completely valid instinct. What I can't wrap my head around is the number of people still signing up to have surgery with him at this point when there are so many more reputable, yet reasonably priced options. I don't get the appeal. If you have the option to have surgery with a less controversial and less questionable surgeon for the same price, why would you still choose this one? Even if the majority of the allegations against him are baseless and the whole thing is trumped up way more than it should be, why take that risk? And I definitely agree with you that the number of surgeries he does per day is alarming. My surgeon's office had two surgeons and did six surgeries per day and that was the upper limit I was comfortable with.

@@bikrchkYou're so right, it's definitely on the con list in regards to WLS. But in my opinion the pro list is longer Will try to stay as healthy and proactive as possible and hope/pray for the best! It may be a potential con, but even if you go completely bald and have to wear a wig the rest of your life, being bald won't kill you. Carrying around an extra 100+ pounds of fat the rest of your life very well may kill you.

First off, you are beautiful! Second, don't be scared. This surgery is very safe as far as surgeries go. It has a lower mortality rate than knee replacement. Would you hesitate to have a knee replacement if you needed one? If it's life after surgery you are afraid of, there is some reason to be a bit scared. The first few days and weeks can ROUGH. But it is only temporary and you are making this choice to better the rest of your entire life. So a few weeks of suffering is a small price to pay. You will also have to adapt to your new relationship with food, which can be a real challenge. But if you stay committed and focused and follow the plan, you can be incredibly successful. Finally, you can't let others get you down. There is such a strong societal stigma against WLS. It's so unfortunate. But once you have the surgery, your brother and father will see how hard you are working and how much success you are having. They will see first-hand that it is NOT "easy", but is merely a tool that allows you to be your best version of you.

I had a lot of difficulty drinking the first couple of weeks because of the swelling. Once the swelling went down, maybe 2-3 weeks post-op, it got a little easier. I didn't REALLY get to where I could drink completely normally again until I started drinking iced water our of an insulated bottle. Turns out I have a much easier time with VERY COLD water than with luke-warm or room temp water. So if you are still having trouble in another couple of weeks, try experimenting with different temperatures. I've read on here that some people can't do cold water, some people can only do hot beverages, etc. So try various temperatures and see if that helps.

Awesome progress so far. Keep it up!

There are three major contributing factors to hair loss post-WLS. First is anesthesia, which is know to cause Telogen Effluvium (a large number of hair follicles simultaneously switch from the anagen (growing) phase into the telogen (resting) phase). Second is vitamin/mineral deficiency. Obviously, in the first few weeks (even months) post-op, we aren't getting all of the nutrients we need because of our extremely restricted diets. Getting as much Protein as possible and taking your Vitamins can help stave this off a bit. Finally, rapid weight loss. Hair loss is often associated with rapid weight loss, no matter how the weight loss is achieved, be it through surgery or some sort of diet/exercise plan. I think the reasons my hair loss was relatively minor was that I did very well meeting my protein and Vitamin goals right out of the gate and I lost weight pretty slowly (compared to a lot of people on this site at least). So the main perpetrator in my hair loss was the anesthesia and telogen effluvium. That's why it began to regrow almost immediately.

Welcome! This site is so great for getting answers to all of your questions and sharing your concerns. You will get support, advise, and sometimes tough love here! As to your decision between sleeve and bypass, that is a choice that only you can make. Both options can be incredibly successful, but both are just tools. If you do not use those tools properly and make a lifetime commitment to doing so, then you will struggle like the others you mentioned. It is great that you are already working on some lifestyle changes that will help you post-op. Eating on a schedule is especially critical in the early weeks/months post-op, when you cannot rely on your body giving your proper "hunger" signals. It is not uncommon for people to forget to eat or not want to eat at all because they don't feel "hungry". That is obviously dangerous and detrimental, so eating on a schedule is essential to make sure you are getting the nutrition you need, especially Protein. A couple of other things you might want to start working on pre-op are not eating and drinking at the same time, chewing VERY thoroughly, eating slowly, and always eating the protein portion of your meal first. All of those habits will help you out a lot post-op, once you are back on soft foods. Here are my reasons for choosing sleeve over bypass, but everyone has their own priorities and criteria: Didn't feel that I needed such a major surgery as bypass, since my BMI was exactly at 40 and I only wanted to lose about 80 pounds. Was very concerned about the increased risk of complications with RNY. More staple lines means more chances for leaks! Hated the idea of the detached, unused portion of my stomach being left inside my body where it could develop ulcers, cancer, etc. and not be accessible through a simple endoscopy. Concerned about the long-term malabsorption. Sure, malabsorption is great when you want to absorb fewer calories and lose weight. Not so great years later when you are trying to maintain your weight and aren't getting all the Vitamins and minerals you need! (Side note: Now that I am at my goal and maintaining with my sleeve, it is a true struggle to get enough calories to not keep losing weight, just because of my restriction. I cannot IMAGINE trying to get in enough calories with restriction AND malabsorption.) Didn't like the idea of losing the use of my pyloric valve. And I was really weirded out by the idea that my pyloric valve would still be attached to my old stomach inside me and might be over there getting signals to open and close all the time when there was no actual food or liquid in that old stomach to pass through. Dumping syndrome. On the one hand, it seems like it might be a great way to cut out the sweets forever through what is essentially aversion therapy. On the other hand, I still wanted to be able to indulge in the occasional treat years down the road once I was maintaining. Plus, there's no guarantee that you WILL experience dumping, so relying on it for aversion therapy might not actually work.

@@sumbrown and @@CzechPleez Hang in there! It really does get a little better every day. And I am sure you are asking yourself the same question I asked 10 million times in those early days/weeks post-op, "will I ever feel normal again?!?!" The answer is YES! Just be patient and take it one day, even one hour at a time. Focus on your Water, your walking, and your Protein once you are able. Nap often. Take care of yourself. Be kind to yourself. And be patient!

If you check my signature, you can see how my weight loss slowed before I reached my goal weight of 165. I was down to about 2 pounds a month towards the end there. You just have to keep plugging away. Even at two pounds per month, you will eventually get to your goal like I did.

I had plastics in Mexico in 2011. I used Dra. Laura Carmina Cardenas, who I would definitely use again. Like you, I had my sleeve at OCC, but I would NEVER use them for plastics. The day after my sleeve, I was waiting for my shuttle back to the hotel once I was discharged and met a woman who was there for a tummy tuck, breast lift with augmentation, AND a face lift all at one time. The very next day, I was back at OCC to have my barium swallow test and that same woman rode back to the hotel on the shuttle with me. I could NOT BELIEVE they were discharging her to the hotel just one day post-op to fend for herself! When I had my tummy tuck, breast lift with augmentation, all-over lipo, and fat grafting done all at once, I spent TWO FULL WEEKS in the recovery house with 24/7 nursing care. I literally could not even get up and go to the bathroom by myself. I cannot IMAGINE being discharged to a hotel with flat beds (recovery house had adjustable hospital beds), regular toilets (recovery house had raised seats with arm rests), and NO ONE to help me, and only room service for food! It is completely insane to even think about. Seriously, no matter which surgeon you use, make sure you will have the aftercare you need in the days immediately post-op. Tummy tuck is MAJOR MAJOR surgery. For the first several days I needed help going to the bathroom, showering, getting my compression garments on and off, etc. It was frustrating to be so reliant on other people, since I am usually very self-sufficient, but it was necessary.

I only lost hair from about 3.5 months post-op to 5 months post-op and it immediately started growing back. I am almost 17 months post-op now and the new growth is about 4 inches long.

Thanks!

You will definitely have a lifting restriction for the first couple weeks at least, because of the incisions.

The social stigma against WLS is very strong. For whatever reason, people think of it as the "easy way out", even though there is nothing EASY about it. I think it all just stems from the stereotype that fat=lazy. The statistics don't lie. Even if you do manage to lose the weight on your own (which many can't do), your chances of keeping it off long term are slim to none. Even my own husband, who has seen me struggle with my weight for the entire 15+ years he's known me and seen me lose hundreds of pounds over the years only to gain them back was opposed to my surgery. He STILL thought I could do it "on my own". But once I had the surgery and he saw how it changed my life and how I have managed to actually keep the weight off once I was at goal, he finally got it. He now agrees that it was one of the best decisions I ever made.

With so many other reputable surgeons in Mexico, I still can't fathom why ANYONE ends up going to Almanza at this point....

These are some of the critical success factors for me: Eating slowly and chewing thoroughly. Eating protein first. Focusing on reaching or exceeding my protein and water targets every day. Taking my Vitamins and supplements. And, exercising. Amen to every single one of those! I do occasionally eat too fast, but I always make my protein and water goals, work out at least 3 times a week, takeall my vitamins daily, never eat and drink at the same time, and never graze.

The official BMI for underweight is under 18.4 and your BMI is 18.2 so you are technically underweight but by only a smidgeon. You can easily correct that by adding stuff like nuts to your diet. Nuts and cheese were a big part of my solution to stopping weight loss as well. I do two ounces of cheese and an ounce of nuts for lunch every day. It's only 3 ounces of food, so it doesn't make me over-full, but it's over 400 calories at once!

I don't think much has changed for me between 8 months and almost 17 months out. It depends a lot on WHAT I'm eating. If it's chicken, I can eat about 5 oz. now. If it's something wet or saucy I can eat 6-7 oz. I almost never sit down and eat until I'm full though. I almost always have something pre-portioned out. So I rarely come up against the possibility of eating too much. Though eating too fast can still be a problem.

Just go in with the attitude that your mind is made up and you are just looking for his support, rather than his permission. That's kind of how I handled it with my PCP. I told her I am having VSG with this surgeon on this date. I didn't leave a lot of room for her to try to dissuade me, not that I really thought she would anyway. But I was clear my mind was made up and then the visit was just more about letting her know and finding out what she wanted to do about follow-up.