JamieLogical

I agree with @@vincereautmori that talking to your PCP should be your first step. Also, try to find out what your insurance might or might not cover. The reason I chose to go to Mexico for my surgery was that my insurance only covers WLS if you have a documented BMI of 40+ for five years. I had lost 90 pounds "on my own" back in 2010/2011 and gradually re-gained, re-lost, re-gained, and re-lost my way back up to within 10 pounds of my highest weight. But since it took me a while to get all the way back up there, my BMI had been well under 40 for big chunks of the past 5 years. I didn't want to have to stay fat for another 4-5 years just to have my health insurance pay for my WLS, so I opted to self-pay and spend that 4-5 years at a healthy weight instead! PS: OCC is a surgical center.

You should be! That stuff is seriously addictive and hard to kick!

Have you talked to your surgeon? I would guess that would be the first step.

I don't have a full body progress pic from recently, but here is a pic of my husband and me at Niagara Falls this past weekend, versus a picture of us a few years ago with both of us at our heaviest. He's lost about 50 pounds since then, just through diet and exercise and I'm at a little over 100 pounds lost (67 post-sleeve):

I have progress pics in my gallery. I haven't taken a new batch because I'm so close to goal now that I just keep telling myself, "might as well wait until I'm at goal".

That would probably defeat the whole purpose! I'm guessing they are missing the crunch of crackers and the ability to CHEW some food. I know I missed that a lot during MY liquid phases! Fear not! You will at least get to do some chewing when you are on to soft foods. Hang in there! As for crunch, I wasn't allowed anything crunchy until THREE MONTHS post-op. That was brutal.

I had my surgery with Dr. Ariel Ortiz of Obesity Control Center (OCC) in Tijuana and I was happy with my decision, but there are a LOT of great surgeons in Tijuana, so it's best to do your research and find the one that best suits your needs. BariatricPal is actually affiliated with several surgeons in Tijuana, offering a range of prices and services. Definitely think about whether you would prefer to have your surgery in a hospital or in a surgical center. Also think about what your budget range might be. And remember to factor in travel expenses in your budget.

Thank you for the suggestion. I will have to check into this Zero Water. I had no idea this was available. This is the thing I saw at Costco. Don't remember off-hand how much it cost there, but I would imagine it was close to Amazon's price. One thing I though was kind of cool about it was that it included the little water testing meter thingy: http://www.amazon.com/ZeroWater-ZD-018-23-Cup-Dispenser-Filtration/dp/B003QXM3U8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1438890502&sr=8-1&keywords=zerowater+water+filter

@@ssflbelle What about just getting a filter pitcher for your water? My water is filtered through my fridge with a PUR filter, but I've used those pitchers in the past and they seem to do pretty well making tap water palatable. I recently say a commercial for Zero Water (I think?) that's even more filtered than PUR or Brita. Saw one at my Costco and thought about getting it for my parents since their tap water is terrible, but I haven't actually tried it yet.

I was in the exact same boat as you post-op. I wondered if/when I would ever feel "normal" again. It was the main question I asked and sought answers for on these forums. I would say that I started feeling a little better once I was allowed soft foods at 18 days post-op. I was NOT feeling normal yet when I went back to work at 15 days post-op. I felt very fatigued all of the time at that point. By about a month out I was doing a lot better, but still struggling from time to time. Then once I was allowed solid foods, it was quite the learning experience to figure out what and how much I could eat. So it's baby steps back to "normal" or at least a new normal. There will be a lot of adapting and adjusting, both physically and emotionally. Hang in there! Patience is your best friend in these next few months!

I think that once you are healed up from the surgery, carbonation is probably okay if it doesn't cause you gas/discomfort. But like others have said, soda is terrible for you and we all conceivably got WLS to become healthier, so if you can use this opportunity to kick your soda habit, you will be just one step closer to your ultimate health goal.

I had breast lift with augmentation after losing 90 pounds a few years ago and I have zero regrets as well. One of the best things I ever did for myself!

Once your hair starts falling out, there is little you can do to stop it. It's falling out NOW due to things that happened MONTHS ago. It's very common to lose hair post-op. Anesthesia, low protein intake, and rapid weight loss all cause hair loss. As a WLS patient, you've had all three of those, so it's a triple whammy! The good news is, if you were diligent about getting your protein and vitamins in early on post-op, the hair loss should be brief and minimal. Mine lasted about a month and a half.

I cut out caffeine during my pre-op diet, because I knew I wouldn't be allowed to have any for 30 days post-op, so I wanted to not be dealing with caffeine withdrawal at the same time I was recovering from the surgery. I obviously haven't drank any soda post-op, but I was literally counting down the days until I was allowed my coffee again on day 30!

I had breast lift with augmentation after losing 90 pounds "on my own" back in 2011. My breasts were tiny little, sad, empty sacks at that point. My insurance doesn't cover any skin removal or plastic surgery after weight loss.

@@ssflbelle I didn't have an incision above my belly button. I had one right below my sternum, one about 2 inches to the right of my belly button, one about two inches to the left of my belly button and a little lower and then one about three inches to the left of that and a little higher.

Below my belly button and above my pubic area, I can visibly see that my belly looks "swollen" when I am bloated and the skin feels stretched tight over that area. It doesn't *hurt*, but it's a little uncomfortable and it makes me feel a little self-conscious. I don't know how visible it is to other people, but I can definitely tell.

This came up in another thread and I've been meaning to post about it. Wasn't really sure where to post it, but here seemed as good as anywhere. So, I'm pretty skinny now. I had a Tummy Tuck a few years back, but I'm lighter than I was then, plus by the time the swelling from the surgery had gone down, I had packed on more pounds. So this is definitely the skinniest I've been with a flat stomach. I have visible bloating in my lower abdomen from time-to-time now and it's something I've never had to deal with before. I assume I probably did get bloated when I was fat, but I was so big, it wasn't visible. Now I feel like it's an issue I probably need to address and come up with some remedies for. Any recommendations?

@@evett I would hold off on the exercise until you can get your water intake up. You don't want to end up in the hospital with dehydration! I had a rough time getting my water in early on too. The swelling in my stomach and esophagus made even the tiniest sip an ordeal. The good news is that it improved drastically once the swelling went down a couple of weeks post-op. Try experimenting with different temperatures of water too. I have a lot easier time drinking ICE COLD water or hot beverages (tea and coffee). I can't drink room temperature or luke warm water, even 11 months post-op. Some people are just the opposite and an ONLY drink room temp water. So experiment and see what works best for you!

It sounds like you are in a really good place mentally and emotionally and that is a HUGE part of weight loss success, no matter how you lose the weight. So, once again, awesome job! I do want to point out that, as far as surgeries go, WLS actually has one of the lowest mortality rates. It is lower than knee replacement. But, you are definitely right that there are risks associated with every surgery, so those should definitely be factored into any decision that a person makes pertaining to their weight loss.

@@MissRobin Glad you didn't let this thread deter you. Obviously WLS is not all sunshine and roses and it's good for you to know the good, the bad, and the ugly before undergoing surgery, but the misleading "facts" in the OP should NOT influence your decision. Glad you read through the replies and I hope they helped put things in better perspective for you.

@@sdocforce My gut feeling is that is a lot. I did a similar amount by having breast lift with augmentation, extended tummy tuck with muscle repair, fat grafting to my butt, and all over body sculpting with lipo at one time. So I didn't have the brachioplasty you're looking for, but I had fat grafting. And I didn't have a full lower body lift, but I did have an extended tummy tuck where my incision is almost fully circumferential (maybe like a two inch gap at my butt crack). It was definitely a LOT to handle at once and I was down for the count. I had some complications with swelling in my lower back that caused my recovery to take longer than planned and caused me to be out of work and working half days for MONTHS. Also, my total surgery took well over 8 hours and I ended up needing a blood transfusion afterward (not while in surgery, but just to help me bounce back shortly afterward). I would have a serious talk with your surgeon prior and see how much they are comfortable doing in one op. They know their limits. And remember, not only does your body need to be able to undergo anesthesia for that long and endure that much trauma at once, your surgeon has to have the stamina to be operating for that long!

@@mmyers1962 Well, if you get bored of baby food, this site has some great, easy recipes and ideas for the pureed stage. It made my pureed stage pretty tolerable! http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html

Ick! Glad my post-op plan didn't include baby food! But glad you are doing well and moving onto your next phase. Stick to your plan and you will be eating two to three bites of solid food in no time!

I didn't have heartburn, but I had very painful contractions of my esophagus, as well as a lot of burping. It took a couple of weeks to go away, as I think it was related to the swelling. Once the swelling went down, it was much better. Are you on a proton pump inhibitor, like Prilosec or Nexium? My surgeon prescribes one for the first two months for ALL of his patients.