JamieLogical

You should definitely work on getting more protein in and probably more calories if you are almost 2 months out. You already know you need to increase your activity. I am sure once you do all of that, the scale will be moving again. But even if you do only continue to lose a pound a week, you will eventually get where you are going! I was down to only losing 2 pounds a month the last few months, but I did eventually still reach my goal.

How many calories are you getting per day now, roughly? When I was only getting 400-450 a day, it was really rough. When I got up to 600 it was a lot better. When I got over 800 it was MUCH better. As for the GERD, does your surgeon have you on a PPI? My surgeon gives a two month prescription for omeprazole to all of his patients. That really helped keep my GERD in check, though I was never able to go off of it. I just take it daily with my Vitamins and it's no big deal.

If JUST had surgery, what you are going through is completely normal. I think nearly every single one of us goes through that "OMG! What have I done?!?!?" phase in the first couple of weeks. I promise you it gets so much better! You WILL feel "normal" again. It just takes a little time, healing, and adaptation. It's so hard to establish your new routine, get your Vitamins, Protein, and Water in, and even just stay awake the whole day in the beginning! I really struggled with the fatigue until a I was back on solid foods and was finally able to get enough calories in for minimum body function. Hang in there. Follow your program to the letter. Don't try to push yourself too far too fast. You may be going straight to bed after work the first week or two. That's pretty much what I had to do. But I eventually got to where I could eat enough and was able to make it through the whole day. Now, I'm 14 months post-op and that is all a DISTANT memory. I have a happy, healthy, NORMAL life. I'm maintaining at my goal weight. I feel great! And you will too!

You need to read the post more carefully. The OP is talking about August 2014, not 2015!

I was Sept 1st, 2014, so close enough! High Weight: 270 Surgery Weight: 236 Goal Weight: 165 (reached end of August, 2015) Current Weight: 163

Well, above all, you should listen to YOUR doctor. The main problem that I am aware of with carbonation post-sleeve is gas and discomfort. I definitely would steer clear while you are first healing post-op, since you won't want to do anything to jeopardize the healing process. Once you are all healed up and onto solid foods, you could try to introduce a little carbonation and see how you react. Personally, I haven't had carbonation since my surgery, because I haven't felt a need to. But it sounds like you are much more addicted to it than I ever was. Even before my surgery, I mostly just drank Water and coffee. I had to go 30 days post-op before I was allowed coffee again and I literally counted down the days I missed it so much! Sounds like your relationship with carbonation is more like my relationship with coffee. So I can definitely sympathize there!

Not really sure what's "brave" about it. Thousands upon thousands of people travel to foreign countries by themselves every day. I flew by myself for the first time when I was 14 years old and it was no big deal. Besides, in the case of going to Mexico for surgery, you're never really "alone". A shuttle picks you up from the San Diego airport and takes you across the border to your hotel, clinic, or hospital depending on the scheduling. There are other WLS patients all over the place in your hotel or at the clinic all going through the same thing as you. Many of them have friends or family members with them. When I had my sleeve there were five other people at the clinic having their's the same day as me and we all chatted and got to know each other. Three of them were all together from Canada: a woman, her fiance, and her cousin were all getting sleeved the same day. Then there was a woman there who was Mexican and didn't speak any English, but her grown son had come with her and he spoke English very well, so he translated for us, so she could be in on the chatter. And there was a French woman from Philadelphia there with her husband. It was really cool getting to know them and commiserate with them over the few days were were there together.

Honestly, if you bring a buddy, they will likely just be bored out of their minds. You will be in the clinic/hospital for at least 24 hours and then just sleeping a lot back at your hotel. I didn't bring anyone with me because I would have felt some obligation to keep them entertained and knew I wouldn't be up for that. I didn't see the point in incurring the travel and hotel expenses and putting someone through that ordeal on the chance that it might make me feel *slightly* better to not be alone.

This is in the Mexico sub-forum, so I assume the OP was asking about whether she needs someone to go with her to Mexico. The answer to that is "no". As for transportation to/from the hospital or clinic, the surgeon or Medical Tourism company will handle that with shuttle service. Same with getting across the border to/from the airport.

You don't need a buddy. I've been to Mexico twice for surgery (once for plastics and once for my sleeve) and I went alone both times. When I was sleeved, my husband wasn't really on board with the surgery. He didn't think I needed it. But once I made up my mind to do it, he was supportive and he was very helpful during my recovery. He has been great about my new way of eating and the effect it's had on our life. He hasn't complained once!

The issue I had with those is the very high amounts of sugar alcohol. I can do 1-2 grams of sugar alcohol in a bar without the laxative effect hitting me, but 12 grams is just way too much for me to handle.

I had plastics in Mexico in 2011. I stayed in a recovery house in Tijuana for two full weeks after. They had 24/7 nursing staff, prepared and provided all my meals, had adjustable hospital beds that made it much easier for me to get up and down, raised toilet seats with handles, and walkers to help with getting around since you won't be able to stand upright for a while. The even provided zip-up robes and slippers, so I barely had to bring any clothing with me! I highly recommend this route if you are having plastics in Mexico. I can't IMAGINE being sent bake to a hotel just a day or two post-op and left to fend for myself. I had an extended tummy tuck, breast lift with augmentation, fat grafting to my butt, and all-over lipo. I was completely helpless. I needed the nurses for getting in and out of bed, using the toilet, showering... It is a MUCH MUCH MUCH more major surgery than WLS. You need to understand that when going into it. You will be in pain like you can't imagine. If you have a tummy tuck, you have to understand that there is extensive damage and trauma to your muscles and nerves and all of your lymphatic channels are severed. Those things take months to heal. Nerves take YEARS to heal. I would say it was a good 2+ years before my phantom itching and numbness went away. Now with all of that said, 4+ years out, I am completely THRILLED with my results and so happy I did it. It is rough, but certainly worth it in the end.

You aren't supposed to take Calcium and Iron at the same time anyway, because they fight for absorption. I've been on a bariatric Multivitamin since my pre-op diet (now 14 months post-op) and have always had to take separate calcium at a different time of day. So if people are already supposed to be taking their multi-Vitamin and calcium separately, I don't see why what you are saying would exclude them from using the patch in place of the multi-vitamin and continuing to take calcium in some sort of pill or chewable form. I can't speak to iron. I've never had to take iron supplements or had any issues with anemia. I get plenty of iron from my food since pretty much all I eat is meat.

Hmm.... that sounds perfect for my occasional "cakey chocolate" cravings. Sometimes I get a hard core chocolate craving, but not for like a piece of chocolate or a candy bar. It has to be cake or a brownie or a Little Debbie or something along those lines.

Most surgeons or Medical Tourism agencies (depending on which you choose) will pick you up from the San Diego airport the day before your surgery and drive you across the border to your hotel/clinic/hospital. You need a passport to cross the border. Once you have done your research and chosen a surgeon, then you can work out the specific logistics for your stay.

That's interesting because my nutritionist is the one who insisted I start taking probiotics daily on my pre-op diet and continue them forever. Once again, just goes to show how different everyone's program is and how you eventually have to figure out what works for you.

I have had surgery in Mexico twice. Once for plastics and once for WLS. Both of my experiences were extremely positive. I received excellent care. My recommendation is to do your research. Decide which criteria are most important to you and then narrow the possible surgeons down based on that criteria. Then talk to past patients of those surgeons and only then make the choice that you are most confident and comfortable with.

I don't know what your starting weight was, but 15 pounds in a week is massive. I lost less than 15 pounds my first MONTH post-op. The others are all correct that it gets so much easier as you progress through the food stages. Time moves in slow motion in those first few weeks when you are tired and miserable and hurting. Just take it one sip at a time. Sip, sip, sip. Get all your Water in. Get as much Protein in as you possibly can. Walk frequently, even if it's only short distances at a time. I did a lot of marching in place in my early weeks and that seemed to help whenever I was having trouble getting my water in or experiencing gas pain. Now I'm 14 months post op and I eat lots of "normal" foods. I always put my protein first, of course. I don't get to have many side dishes anymore. But I can eat a huge variety of foods. Nothing makes me sick, so it takes some discipline to stay away from the unhealthy stuff, but I've been doing great! Reached goal right around my one year mark and I've been maintaining for two months. There is light at the end of the tunnel. It get's better day by day. And you WILL feel "normal" again, I promise.

If you don't want to have your period monthly, there are many birth control options that can make I less frequent or eliminate it altogether. I've been on Seasonale for over 10 years. With it I only get my period once every three months and they are very light.

You should have received exercise restrictions from your surgical team. Just like every other part of the post-op plan, every surgeon is different, so you should listen to yours. I was supposed to start "brisk walking" for up to 90 minutes a day immediately post-op. I wasn't supposed to do more intense cardio or heavy lifting until 60 days post-op.

You will have a real challenge in that you likely won't even be on solid foods before Christmas. Once you are on solid foods, it will be much easier to eat out or to eat at other people's houses, because you just eat the protein from whatever option is available. Until then, you have to hope for a soup or soft food option, which isn't always easily available. Worst case, you can plan ahead and bring your own protein shake.

I have the exact opposite problem. For me, Protein drinks go down super easy and quick (like any drink) and don't keep me full-feeling at all. Actually EATING a bar and having it sit in my stomach for a while makes me feel full much longer.

I was eating Quest Bars until they recently changed from isomalto-oligosaccharide to soluble corn Fiber in their chocolate chip cookie dough bars. The soluble corn fiber gave me TERRIBLE flatulence. It was not good. I have since switched to Combat Crunch, which still use isomalto-oligosaccharide. They have 210 calories, 20g protein, 7g fat, and 12g net carbs (25g carbs, 12g fiber, 5g sugar, 1g sugar alchohol). More net carbs than I was getting with the Quest Bars, but I haven't been tracking carbs anyway. I found that getting all my protein didn't leave much room for carbs, so I've kept my carbs pretty low just by default.

My nutritionist wanted me down to one bar/shake a day and the rest of my protein through real food, but it hasn't happened. I usually eat at least two protein bars a day, sometimes three. While the processed nature of protein bars probably isn't great for me, my weight loss and maintenance has been fine, so it's at least not adversely effecting my weight. I've been in maintenance for two months now.

No. There's a patch?? I'm pretty shocked none of your doctors told you about this option when you weren't able to keep your Vitamins down! My doctor says it doesn't have the appropriate levels for a bariatric patient. However, she only does bands, RNY, and band/sleeve-to-RNY revisions, so perhaps that advice was specific to RNY. I dont have any problems with tolerating taste or texture in my vitamins. At this point in my journey, I'm able to tolerate small capsules. The only vitamins I have to take that have any taste are my chewable calcium and chocolate chewable Iron. That may be true, but the person I was responding to couldn't keep down vitamins AT ALL. Surely, in the search for a solution, her doctors could have recommended a patch so that she could at least get SOME vitamins in.