JamieLogical

A lack of water is probably the culprit here. A liter of fluids a day isn't enough. You should be getting a minimum of 64 ounces. I had a rough time getting my water in early on as well. I found it was easiest for me to drink VERY ice cold water or warm liquids. I didn't do well with room temperature water. So maybe experiment with different temperatures? I found it easier to sip, sip, sip while marching in place. I had a lot of issues with constriction in my esophagus and gurgling/burping with every sip and marching in place seemed to make that a bit better. The good news is, that only lasted about the first two weeks.

It was definitely worse for me the first few days, but the whole thing was really NOT fun. I eventually had to stop exercising in the second week, because I was just so weak and had NO energy. Just hang in there. It's only temporary!

Have you discussed follow-up care with your PCP? Mine was on board with my surgery and had me scheduled for an appointment and bloodwork for one month post-op to make sure I wasn't developing any nutrient deficiencies or having any post-op issues. I had an appointment with her at 1 month, 2 months, 4 months, and next week at 8 months just to check in and make sure everything is going well.

I can completely understand dreading the pain and potential complications, as well as the down time from work and exercise. But, I do want to mention that all of that is only temporary. I am approaching 4 years out from my plastics, so all of that is a VERY distant memory and I am still enjoying the results of plastics every single day. It's sort of like WLS itself. It's VERY rough going in the beginning, but once you are through the hard part and just enjoying your life, it is SO worth it!

@@virgogirl67 @cmhueto Good luck to both of you! Sounds like you have done your research and feel confident in your choices. @@virgogirl67 it's awesome that your PCP is on board and being so supportive. Mine was too. She pre-booked me for an appointment and bloodwork for 1 month post-op and has been great about my follow up care!

I think it's natural to be nervous. If you are confident in your decision to have the surgery and your choice of surgeon, then try to focus on things you can do to prepare for your trip and your pre-op diet. Just try to keep your mind occupied.

My breast implants are Allergan brand and under warranty that is honored here in the US. I am in need of a revision (my drastic weight re-gain and re-loss cause my left implant to become malpositioned) and had a consult with a US doctor who told me that Allergan would replace the implants for free, even though the malpositioning has nothing to do with a defect of any sort! As for my post-op complications, I had swelling of the soft tissue in my lower back. My surgeon and my PCP communicated directly about my treatment. It was my PCP that provided documentation for me to be able to miss additional work, but my surgeon stayed "in the loop" the whole time. I had discussed the surgery with my PCP prior to going to Mexico, so she was prepared to handle any follow-up care. You should definitely do the same. And as for drains, I stayed in Mexico a two full weeks post-op and had my drains removed the morning of my flight home.

I'm surprised you already paid for the surgery in full... most surgeons only charge a deposit prior to surgery. You could contact the Almanza's office and find out if there is any chance of a refund or partial refund. If you put the amount on a credit card, you could talk to your credit card company about disputing the charges. May 28 is still far enough out that you might be able to schedule with a different surgeon that same day and not have to change your flight plans. I'm sure you could work with the people here on BariatricPal and see if any of their surgeons have openings for that date. Or you could contact some of the other reputable surgeon's offices to see if they have availability.

I agree that it is reckless to cut corners with your health by not doing proper research. How anyone makes a decision THIS BIG without researching every aspect of it is beyond me! I did a TON of research when deciding whether to have surgery then a ton MORE research when choosing a surgeon. We are talking about your LIFE here, people! Take the time to get it right!

Am I failing at math here? Wouldn't four laps of 1/4 mile be 1 mile?

Glad to hear everything is working out. It must be scary to have chosen a surgeon and then not have things go according to plan. Hopefully it's all for the best, though, and your surgery and care will go very well!

I don't think it's that BariatricPal doesn't "support" him, just that they haven't partnered up to offer special pricing to BariatricPal members. Not all surgeons are going to pursue those sorts of partnerships.

Anyone working on this right now? I just started week 5. This is actually my third time doing C25k. I first did it back in 2011 during one of my many attempts to lose weight "on my own", but of course, I eventually fell of the wagon and stopped eating right and exercising and regained all the weight. I did it again in the summer of 2013, but ultimately the same result. This will be my third time getting all the way through it, but I am hoping that this time I will keep up with the running. I want to run several 5k races this spring/summer. Planning to do at least one per month starting in May.

I never crushed my meds. I was allowed to swallow my tiny pills (birth control and PPI) immediately and resume my whole larger pills (multivitamin, calcium, etc) at 7 days post-op.

I had my surgery 3.5 years ago, so prices may have changed somewhat since then, but I had all my work done, plus a two week stay in the Beauty Care Recovery House (24/7 nurses and all meals prepared) for about $10,500.

Ha! That was so me after I lost my initial weight if you look back at those August, 2011 photos I posted. That padded bra is the only thing saving me at that point! Now that I have my implants, I can't imagine that I ever lived without them. I see old pics of myself (I have some nude pre-op pics as well) and I want to cry that my breasts were ever that pathetic!

I used Dra. Laura Carmina Cardenas from Beauty Enhance in Tijuana. The pain was bad. Not gonna lie. She does an incredibly tight muscle repair with her tummy tucks, so it was a while before I could walk without a walker. Then I had a complication where I had swelling in my lower back. My PCP called it a "lipoma"... an area of soft tissue where Fluid was collecting. The incision for my extended tummy tuck is almost circumferential... there is about a 3-4" gap in it above my butt crack. Since all the lymphatic channels are severed during a tummy tuck, that little space was the only area where fluid could move between the upper and lower halves of my body. Then with the fat grafting to the upper part of my butt, I think that may have "blocked" some of the fluid as well. So everything collected at the base of my spine and I had a lot of swelling and pain there for months and months until new lymphatic channels were established. Now though, that's all a distant memory and I am THRILLED with my results. I'm especially thrilled that they held up through my weight re-gain and re-loss. It's kind of like WLS... it's rough going in the beginning, but the long term results are so worth it! Edit: It occurred to me that you might have been asking just about the pain of the fat grafting. If there was any specific to the fat grafting, it didn't even register compared to the pain of my muscle repair. General pain and bruising from the lipo, of course, but it was minimal.

For any sort of impact or plyometric exercise, the decreased weight makes a HUGE difference. Running now is SO MUCH easier on my knees than it was when I was 240+ pounds!

Yeah, I was only allowed juice in the early stages because it's so hard to get ANY calories in the clear liquid phase, but told to stop juices and any caloric beverages (G2 for example) once I was onto full liquids.

@@bayougirlmrsc With fat grafting, they take the fat that is liposuctioned from other parts of your body and inject it into areas that are less "plump". My particular surgeon is a specialist in this when it comes to butts. Of course, you have to have fat left in other areas to lipo from in the first place, so it might not work for someone who is all the way down to goal and doesn't have any/much stored fat anywhere else on their body. Then you would have to resort to implants or gels and that seems a bit more scary to me!

I wasn't aware that there was any official relationship between BariatricPal and Dr. Almanza, but I am glad of this change. I know there are many patients of Dr. Almanza on these forums who have had good experiences and been very successful with their surgeries, but the percentages of complications and negative stories have been concerning.

YAY!!!!

That sounds like SO MUCH FUN!!!

You can get the recipe, along with MANY other great recipes here: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html

My tummy tuck held up AMAZINGLY well and, so far, the fat grafting to my butt seems pretty well intact. I haven't been losing the fat there on my way back down. The main issue I've had is that my left breast implant has become malpositioned with the weight gain and re-loss. Like as I gained the weight, the real fat tissue expanded and pushed the implant out of position and now that I am losing that fat again, the malpositioning is obvious. I will have to have a revision to fix it. I've had a consult with a local surgeon and I've had some talks with my original surgeon back in Mexico. I haven't completely decided what and when I am going to do about it. I've decided to sort of take a "wait and see" approach, since I still want to lose about 25 more pounds. I think I'd rather wait until I'm at goal and maintaining for a bit before addressing it.