JamieLogical

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Every doc is different but I was told no raw veggies until after 4 months. And I love salad!! But been afraid to give it a try. I'm over 6 months.

I was coming on here to ask the same question!! I did not. I purchased aisle seats so I would only ever have one person beside me. Definitely wanted to avoid middle seats. My weight at the time of my flights was 236, which may not seem huge, but I have VERY wide hips. So my main concern was to do with armrests and spilling over into other seats. I did that to a degree and was pretty embarrassed about it, but I did manage to technically fit.

15 pounds in 6 weeks seems pretty reasonable to me. I lost 18.8 pounds in my first 6 weeks, so not much more than you. I don't condone eating off your surgeon/nutritionist's schedule, but what's done is done and all you can do is try to stick to the plan moving forward.

My husband didn't agree with my decision to have surgery either. I wouldn't say he was unsupportive, because he did recognize that it was MY decision and he didn't try to argue with me. He very strongly believed that I could lose the weight on my own, because I have in the past. What he didn't understand is that I could never MAINTAIN the weight loss on my own. I have lost and gained and lost and gained and lost and gained. I was back up to within 10 pounds of my highest weight ever and once again starting to lose weight. But I decided that this time would be the LAST time. If I was going to work hard and lose the weight again, this time it was going to stick. And I figured VSG could help me do that. For me it wasn't weight LOSS surgery, it was weight MAINTENANCE surgery.

The speed wouldn't be the issue, the geoblocking would be. Netflix looks at your IP address and if it sees you are connecting from out of the country, it blocks your service. At least that was my experience the first time I went to Mexico for surgery. There are probably ways around it using proxy services.... When I went to Mexico for my sleeve, I just loaded a bunch of saved shows from my DVR onto my laptop before I left for my trip.

If you were sleeved in June, I assume you HAVE been going to the gym or exercising regularly since then, so your actions and progress should disprove her "You didn't want to go to the gym" and "Easy way out" comments, right?

Mine was on Sept 1. Just had my 6-month follow-up evaluation with the nutritionists last early last week. They scheduled a time to call me on the phone (I'm at work during their normal business hours so I needed a specific time) and corresponded with me a bit via email as well. You will receive surveys via email that you should definitely fill out. If the survey turns up anything unusual, then they will call you to follow-up. The surveys come every week in the beginning, then slow down around the 6 week mark, if I recall correctly. Then you will have a phone call with the nutritionist at 3 months and 6 months to check on your progress and make sure you are doing well with your nutrition and supplements.

As for the discomfort with every sip, I would say that lasted a good 2-3 weeks for me. I didn't really feel "normal" again until I was back to eating solid foods at 40 days post op. At that point I would say I felt like my normal self a good 90% of the time.

Humans are social creatures that form relationships. While I agree that you shouldn't let others' opinions influence YOUR decision to have surgery, I think it is perfectly legitimate to be concerned that your friends and family might not support your decision. WLS is a huge life change and, just like you might want your parents to approve of your choice of spouse or where you go to college, you would want them to approve of this decision as well. If they DON'T approve, that doesn't mean you shouldn't go through with it. But it's perfectly natural to want the ones you love to stand behind your major life decisions.

I don't track fat, but my general rule, when picking out foods, is to just check that it has more protein than fat. The one exception to this rule that I occasionally eat is peanut butter. As long as I get my 100g of protein per day and most of the things I'm eating have more protein than fat, then I'm happy.

I wouldn't bother since I'd have to throw out a lot of the contents. It would be tough to find ones that had enough protein and NOT a lot of starches. So many of them have rice or pasta or potatoes....

I was allowed strained cream soups during my "full liquid" phase. As for eating the "chunks" in soup, I would assume it's whenever you are allowed to eat those items. So whenever you are allowed to eat cooked vegetables, then you could have soup with chunks of veggies. When you are allowed to eat soft meats, you could probably have soup with bits of chicken in it...

I only got the "you can do it without surgery" talk from my husband. My parents and siblings were incredibly supportive immediately. I'd go so far as to say that my parents were HAPPY and EXCITED with my decision to have surgery. I think the difference is that my parents and siblings had seen me struggle with my weight my whole life. They had seen all the ups and downs. They had seen me trying to diet as far back as middle school. Whereas with my husband, I was at my lowest adult weight when I met him, having just lost over 50 pounds. He has seen my weight fluctuate up and down since then and he had seen me at my highest weight back in 2009. But then he saw me lose 90 pounds "on my own" only to regain the weight after my plastic surgery. I always had excuses for my weight regains since I was with him.... knee problems... complications for plastic surgery... more knee problems... broken elbow... And he always bought into my excuses, so he still truly believed I could lose and maintain the weight on my own, had I not run into other physical problems. But I knew the truth. Those were all excuses. And I think it diminished my husband's perception of me when I admitted that I had used those as excuses.

In terms of physical mobility after the surgery, you should be fine. I was up and down out of bed on my own and walking while still in the clinic. You should be able to go shopping for the things you need a couple of days post-op, so I would advise against doing to much "stocking up" in preparation. I bought a lot of things I ended up never using. The one thing that I bought post-op that I found super handy was a pack of little 2-ounce storage containers. They were perfect for measuring my soft/pureed food into and then storing in the fridge. http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Blocks-Freezer-Storage-Containers/dp/B004QZBEFK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1426170350&sr=8-2&keywords=2+oz.+storage

Congratz! I too had a great experience with Dr. Ortiz and OCC. My follow-up has been great as well. I've had many questions for Dr. So and Lucia post-op and they have been quick to respond to all of them!

Was your doctor at all concerned about pneumonia? It can happen after surgery. Did she have you using an incentive spirometer before and after surgery?

I guess it depends on what you define as a "stall". I had one week where I gained 0.2 pounds at 4 months post-op, but other than that, I've lost at least 0.2 pounds every week. I've had a total of 7 weeks where I lost less than 1 pound in the 6 months since I was sleeved. I usually lose 1.0 to 1.6 pounds a week. Slow and steady, but pretty much stall-free.

@@dsdeleon I wasn't strictly low carb with my diet until the pre-op diet kicked in, because I had already been losing weight on my own for a couple of months before I booked my surgery. I was tracking my food and staying within a target calorie range and exercising 5-6 days a week, so I just stuck with that (since it was working) until I had to start my 15 day pre-op diet. I think as long as you cut back on your food intake and start putting "protein first" in your pre-pre-op diet, you should be okay. Just be mindful and don't go crazy with the junk food on your trip. As for going alone, I went alone and it was just fine. Like you, had I brought a companion, I think I would have been worried about keeping them entertained and figuring out what they could/should do and wouldn't have gotten to focus on my own recovery as much. There will be other people having surgery the same day as you and you will spend a fair amount of time with them in the hotel lobby, on the shuttle, and at OCC. So you won't be too lonely.

I will say, that despite my complications in the beginning, now that I am 3.5 years post-plastics, I could not be more thrilled with my results! Especially since I have regained all my pre-plastic weight and am now losing it again post-sleeve. I can't believe how well my tummy tuck held up through the weight fluctuation. The pain and complications are a distant memory and I am still enjoying my flat stomach every single day!

Congrats on choosing your surgeon. You are right that it is a BIG deal and it sounds like you did a lot of research and chose what was right for you. Good luck with your surgery!

Dra. Laura Carmina Cardenas. My experience with her was excellent, but my surgery was 3.5 years ago. I know she is working out of a new clinic and the recovery house has been moved to a new house (believe it's still operated by the same people). If you are considering plastics, you should definitely research her and see if you can find recent reviews about the new facilities.

If using Genepro, I would only count the 15g of protein that are physically in a serving, not the 30g they claim. But I personally steer clear of it entirely, because it seems like a bunch of junk science to me.

If you have a smooth recovery without complications, you should be fine.

I didn't lose any weight with my tummy tuck. I'm sure I lost some fat and the weight of the skin, but that was more than made up for by the swelling. I had my tummy tuck, breast lift with augmentation, and all-over lipo in Mexico. I stayed there for 2 weeks, and weighed exactly the same when I got home as when I'd left.