JamieLogical

Jeez, I don't even want to think what your surgeon would have to say about me only losing 6 pounds a month!

I know your struggle is real to you, but as someone who has "only" lost 47 pounds in 6 MONTHS, posts like this are pretty upsetting. Really makes me wonder what rate people were expecting to lose weight at. I'd give my whole spiel about how the rate at which you lose is meaningless as long as you eventually get to your goal and how, unlike a diet, you are never "done" with your sleeve, but I just can't even today....

The good news is that you are doing something NOW to turn this all around. You have made a decision to focus on your health and your future. You can't change the past and you can't change where you are right now, but you have the power to change the future and you are doing that!

The hardest part for me was losing some of the respect my husband had for me. He has always seen me as an incredibly strong person and that vision of me was diminished somewhat when I "gave up" on losing weight and maintaining it on my own and turned to surgery. Don't get me wrong, he has been supportive of me through the whole process. But he never fully understood why I felt it was necessary and why, despite being so strong, I was unable to do it "on my own". He'd seen me lose 90+ pounds in the past on my own and he couldn't wrap his head around how/why I was unable to maintain that loss. Mostly because I probably made a lot of excuses about why I regained at the time and he believed them!

Saggy skin won't be resolved with lipo or any of the "non-invasive" treatments you mentioned. Depending on how much of it there is and where it is, you will probably have to look into actual skin removal surgeries. I agree that you should wait until you are at goal and maintaining there for a bit. That way you can get work done based on your "final" results. Unless of course the skin is physically preventing you from working out or interfering with your daily life, in which case you might need to address it sooner in order to keep progressing on your journey. In the mean time, there are a few things you can do that *might* help a little. Stay well hydrated. Take Vitamin C and Beef Gelatin supplements. Moisturize daily. And do strength training/toning in the areas where you have loose skin so that maybe some muscle can fill in where the fat used to be.

I agree with the others in that getting your Protein and Water up, might make you feel better, which in turn might make it easier for you to get your protein and water in. You need to figure out what Proteins you CAN handle. Obviously you are able to eat a fair amount if you are getting in 900 calories. It's just the wrong things you are eating. So try out various forms of protein prepared in various ways and maybe you can find things that you can tolerate that let you get you protein in and cut back on some of the other things you are eating that you shouldn't be. Don't limit yourself to just plain chicken. Get something marinated or with some sort of yummy sauce. My husband makes delicious chicken makhani in our slow cooker, for instance! Or maybe try some pork with chile verde sauce! sauces can have some carbs in them, but it will be less carbs than an english muffin for sure! I have meat for lunch and dinner every day and I never have the same KIND of meat twice in one day. I eat meat loaf, turkey kielbasa, the above mentioned chicken makhani, Jack Daniels pulled chicken, pork with chile verde, flavored poultry sausages my grocery store sells, shrimp, tuna salad, turkey chili..... There really are so many options! You just need to figure out what works for you.

I had and extended tummy tuck with muscle repair back in August 2011, after losing 90 pounds "on my own". I guess I would be one of those "horror stories" you mentioned, as I had complications that kept me out of work for much more than the planned 4 weeks. But, I want to tell you that it was still so worth it. Now, 3.5 years later, all of that is a distant memory, but I still enjoy the results of my tummy tuck every day. Even with no complications, the recovery from a tummy tuck is a lot more brutal than sleeve surgery. You will be in a lot of pain. You won't be able to stand up straight for days. You will likely have drains hanging out of you for a while. Your incision will be HUGE and you will look like someone cut you in half. The incision will take a long time to heal and will leave a considerable scar. I'm not saying all of this to scare you! I just want you to be fully prepared for what to expect. It will be a rough road. Hopefully you have people in your life that can help you with everything immediately post op, as you really won't be able to do anything on your own for a bit. Like, not even able to take a shower on your own. Hang in there and when the going gets rough, think about how great you will look and feel in a few years. It will all be worth it in the long run!

The pre-op diet can be tough, but hang in there! When you have moments of weakness, come here to vent instead of turning to food.

Holy ignorant, Batman! Do a little research before you spout this crap. There are world renowned surgeons in Mexico. My surgeon was one of Newsweek's Top 15 Bariatric Surgeons and is a Fellow in the American College of Surgeons (FACS). Are there shady and terrible doctors in Mexico? Sure! Just like in the US! But to make a blanket statement against all Mexican surgeons is just plain ignorance. As for people "dying there all the time" from surgeries... I would guess that the mortality rate of top tier Mexican surgeons is lower than many/most US surgeons.

@#58 SCARS ARE not issue with most men but are issues with this man. hence the issue. we area all individual. what brings me to your website? scars! you have weight loss surgery, you will have scars from skin removal due to excessive weight loss. Most men, in my experiences, have HUGE issue with scars. Scars = no sex. however small, hence the post to what to expect. Men want perfect women, slim, NO wrinkles, white straight teeth, blemish free completion, long legs, slim waist. You do not have it? FORGET SEX. again, my humble experience, had it all except small scar and it s over now. I accept. What!??!?! Don't tell that to my husband! He's had sex with me at 165 pounds and at 270 pounds. He's had sex with me 2 weeks post skin removal surgery while I was literally still wearing my full body compression garment! He's had sex with me when I've been sick with a head cold and had snot practically pouring out of my nose. He's had sex with me when I've been in sexy lingerie. He's had sex with me when I've been wearing a ratty t-shirt and sweatpants. He had sex with me when I was 22 and he has sex with me now that I'm almost 36. He's had sex with me with short hair and with long hair. He's had sex with me when I had a cast on my arm from a broken elbow. He's had sex with me when I've been sore and tired from a work out and I've literally said "I want to have sex, but I can't move. Will you do all the work?" If your man wants a perfect woman, he can keep dreaming! Marriage is the long haul. Sickness and health. If your husband can't love you and be attracted to you through your whole life, then why bother with him? I need sex in my life. Barring some sort of illness or injury that would physically prevent my husband from having sex with me, I would not settle for anything less.

I just had my 6 month evaluation with my nutritionist yesterday and she seems perfectly happy with my progress. Her goal for me was to be below 30% body fat by 6 months and as of yesterday I was at 29.2%. She doesn't actually care about weight, just body fat percentage. Her only criticisms of me were that I was only taking 2 Multivitamins a day, instead of 3 and that I was using Protein bars for supplementation instead of the brand of Protein shakes they push. Oh, and I was taking sublingual B12... she wants me on liquid B12.

I'm a slow loser. I've "only" lost 47 pounds since I was sleeved on Sept.1 (6 months ago yesterday). Past the first month, I've only lost an average of 6 pounds per month. But I still just keep doing what I'm doing, because the scale IS moving... down, down, down. I work out 5 days a week doing both cardio and strength training. I get my 100 grams of Protein in and well over 64 ounces of Water. I take all my Vitamins religiously. I don't track calories regularly, but do "spot checks" from time to time where I track my calories for a day and I am right around 1050 per day now. I came to terms with my slow loss a few months ago when I realized that there really is no rush to get to goal. If it takes 6 months or 16 months, I will still get there eventually. And 10 years from now, it won't matter how FAST I got there. I will just be enjoying my happy, healthy life. It is hard to get past the diet mentality where you think of your goal weight as the finish line and after that you'll be "done" with the diet. I will never be "done" with my sleeve, so what's the rush?

I have had drains for surgery twice before. I didn't have any issues the first time (had two drains then), but this time around, for the sleeve, my drain seemed to be the cause of this menstrual cramp-type pain. The cramps went away as soon as the drain was removed. As for pain when they remove it, there isn't any at all. It feels a littler weird, but not painful. Also, they tape up the area where the drain comes out of your skin really well, so it's not like you have it just hanging out of you, pulling on your skin or anything.

You can only absorb so much protein at one time, so it would be better to space it out and not do more than 30g at once.

Very normal!

LOTS and LOTS of us have had surgery in Tijuana. There is a whole sub-forum dedicated to surgery in Mexico here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/486-self-pay-mexico-gastric-sleeve-surgery/ You can get a lot of great info and feedback on various surgeons and patients' experiences.

You posted this same message on another thread and a couple of us posted some follow-up questions. It's not completely clear which surgery you had, since you mention Gastric Bypass in your first sentence, but then you later mention having your lap-band removed and revised to sleeve? When you say you can eat 2-3 cups per meal, what kinds of food are you eating and how long is it actually taking you to consume that much?

The first 2-3 days are the hardest, but I'm not gonna lie, the whole thing is HARD. Hang in there!

I'm not clear on which surgery you had. Sounds like band revised to sleeve? But you mention bypass as well.... Anyway, when you say 2-3 cups of food at a meal, what kind of food and how long does it take for you to eat it?

The recommended time off seems to be about 2 weeks. Some people feel great very quickly post-op and I have heard stories of people having their surgery on say a Wednesday or Thursday and returning to work the following Monday. To me that seems pretty insane, but some people just have it easier than others. I personally was off work for two full weeks. I had my surgery on Monday, Sept. 1 and went back to work on Tuesday Sept. 16. It was rough. I was not in pain, but I was very fatigued. I just have a desk job and by the end of the day I was exhausted and all I could do was collapse on the couch when I got home. I think part of the difference might be diet. My nutritionist still had me on full liquids until 18 days post op. It's hard to get a lot of calories and nutrients on full liquids and I definitely noticed a marked improvement in my energy level once I was allowed soft foods and purees. That's not to say it was easy then either, but it was EASIER. It was a long while before I was able to get enough calories in to truly sustain me.

Welcome! If you poke around these forums, you are bound to come across lots of stories, advice, and answers to questions. Do you have any specific questions right now? I can tell you a little bit about my experience so far. I was sleeved on Sept. 1 (6 months ago yesterday!). I have turned out to be a "slow loser", which I was initially very frustrated about, but have come to embrace. I realized that this is diet or a race. I will never be "done" with my sleeve. So if it takes me 6 months or 16 months to get to goal, what does it matter? 10 years from now, if I am happy and healthy and maintaining my weight, will it really matter what date I hit goal? That is the number one lesson I would like to pass along to all new sleevers. PATIENCE! It is soooo hard to be patient, but it's what is required. Leading up to your sleeve, you are so anxious to just have it done, and it's tough to be patient. Then once you are sleeved, the first few weeks are so rough and you are so miserable and wondering if you will ever feel normal again. Those weeks require some SERIOUS patience! Then you have the weight loss itself... it might come off fast in the beginning, but you will hit stalls or just see it slow way down, even though you are working SO HARD and doing everything right. That's where the patience really comes in, because it gets easier and easier to go off track.... skip some exercise here... eat a cookie instead of your Protein there.... You think, "if being perfect isn't working, then why bother?" But it IS working... it's just not working as quickly as you might want. Be patient!

16 oz is simply not enough. You are probably going to become very dehydrated. Try marching in place while sipping. That helped me some. It was INCREDIBLY uncomfortable to sip for the first couple of weeks for me, but I just pushed through it, because I knew how bad it would be if I got dehydrated.

As of this morning, I weight 189.8 pounds. I cannot tell you how much joy I felt over seeing this number. For me this was bigger than getting under 200, because I've actually managed to get below 200 several times in the past 5 years or so, but this is only the second time I've gotten under 190! The moment was especially sweet because at last week's weigh-in (I "officially" weigh on Mondays) I was at 191.8 and all week I had actually gone up, seeing 192.2 and 192.4 every morning, so I was expecting to maintain this week, at best. But, nope! There it was this morning! 189.8. I even did my trick where I re-weigh myself holding a bunch of heavy stuff, then weigh myself again without the heavy stuff to make sure it's accurate. And it was! The last time I was in the 180's was just after my plastic surgery back in August, 2011. I had lost 90 pounds "on my own" in 2010/2011 and had plastic surgery in August of 2011 to remove my excess skin. I had a tummy tuck with muscle repair and breast lift with augmentation. At the time of my surgery, I weighed 180. Unfortunately, I had some post-op complications (Fluid build-up in my lower back) that drastically limited my mobility. I started regaining weight fairly quickly and while I've gained and lost and gained and lost since then, I had never gotten back under 190. I am so excited to be back here!

@ You get out of this surgery what you put into it. It's great that you are being more active, but you will eventually have to deal with your food addiction as well. Just eating less won't be enough to be successful. You need to be eating the RIGHT things as well. Not 100% of the time, but a good majority of the time.

But I think one thing it makes pretty clear is that the differences in bougie size are pretty minuscule. The difference between a 32 and a 40 is so small that it's unlikely to make much of a difference in the long run. It does seem that there is greater risk of stricture with the smaller sizes, so that's one thing to consider as well.