JamieLogical

Well, I'm obviously a little biased, but I would recommend Dr. Ariel Ortiz just based on my personal experience. I went alone and had no issues. I had all the support I needed from the staff at OCC.

I was really tired after going back to work 15 days post-op. There's a big difference between just hanging out around the house with the occasional errand and going to work 8+ hours a day. I'd say my first two weeks back were pretty rough.

I had lost 90 pounds "on my own" back in 2010/11 and had plastics in August of 2011. I had a tummy tuck, liposuction, and breast lift w/ augmentation. I had GREAT results and I was very happy with the experience. Unfortunately I eventually regained 80 pounds of the 90 I'd lost, thus my decision to have VSG this September. Despite the huge amount of weight regain, my tummy tuck held up very well (liposuctioned areas, not so much). You can take a look at my gallery to see some pics of me before my VSG and then the ones I just had taken yesterday. As of yesterday, I was down to only 17 pounds above the weight I was at when I had my plastics.

I eat two QuestBars every day instead of shakes (I got SOOOOOO sick of shakes after pre-op and a couple months post-op!). I have tried the chips, but I didn't really like them and I didn't really see how I could fit them into my day.

Well, eventually you will be able to "eat things you're not supposed to" with sleeve, so it is possible to fail. You won't, however, be able to eat massive quantities of things you're not supposed to. For instance, you might be able to eat a piece or two of pizza, but not the whole thing. Now, is a piece or two of pizza once in a while going to derail your whole weight loss journey? No. But if you are eating pizza every day instead of high-Protein, healthy options, then yes, you can stop losing and even gain weight. The sleeve is just a tool to help you eat less. But if you don't fix other aspects of your eating, then it won't be fully effective for you. No one is perfect and everyone will eat some "bad" stuff from time to time. But it's important to reflect on why you are eating things you shouldn't and try to address those behaviors as well.

@@swtnss I agree with BLERDgirl that you should consult your nutritionist. My strategy when I eat out is to always get something small like a cup of chili, an appetizer, or an a la carte item and ask for a to go container right off the bat for my leftovers or just ask for the whole thing to be brought in a to go container to begin with. As for breakfast, I've never had any problem asking a restaurant to just bring me a scrambled egg with a little cheese mixed in. I am fortunate that my surgeon only requires me to stop drinking five minutes before eating, so I can also order a cup of coffee and so long as I finish it before the food is brought out and I don't get any refills, I don't have any problems. You just have to get a bit creative with your menu options and ALWAYS put Protein first. I will order chicken or shrimp appetizers or a cup of chili when I'm out for lunch or dinner. If something comes with sides, I will just ask that they not be brought at all or I will order something my husband will eat and give it to him.

Don't worry, I am sure you will be well taken care of. I've been to Mexico alone twice for surgery (once for plastics and once for VSG) and both were very positive experiences. I received all of the support I needed from the staff there and everyone was very friendly and helpful.

It gets so much easier, I promise. At 2.5 weeks, I was miserable and tired and had so much trouble even just drinking my water. I wondered if I would ever feel "normal" again. I was feeling pretty normal by maybe 1.5 months post op. Now I'm almost 5 months post-op and definitely back to normal. Hang in there!

I continued taking my birth control and my prescribed medication immediately after my surgery with no issues. I was allowed to start taking my supplements again at 7 days post-op and didn't have any trouble with any of those either. I never had to switch to chewables, liquid, or sublingual for any of my meds or supplements.

I'm was in the opposite situation. My husband was opposed to the surgery whereas my parents were very supportive. Ultimately, it didn't really matter to me what anyone else thought. This was my decision to make and I made it for myself. You can't make important life decisions like this to please other people. It's YOUR life and you have to live it. Be sympathetic to your mom's concerns and try to reassure her. But, once you have the surgery, I hope she will be supportive, since at that point it will be done and there will be no going back.

Are you feeling okay after eating pop-corn so soon after surgery? I was told very specifically not to eat popcorn until very far out because the kernels and little shells can be hard on your sleeve. As for the amount you ate, I wouldn't be alarmed. Popcorn has such low density that what seems like a cup would really compress down to a very small amount once it's chewed and in your stomach.

I'm approaching 5 months out (sleeved Sept. 1) and I have had nachos and chicken tenders several times! I don't see how a whole plate of either of those would be physically possible, but I definitely wouldn't judge someone for not eating "healthy" 100% of the time. I can't finish 2 normal-sized chicken tenders, much less with any sides (though I do use sauce). And the two times I've tried nachos, I've eaten maybe 6 chips with cheese sauce? Maybe? I'm going to eat crappy foods some of the time. That's just a simple truth. If I was capable of eating healthy foods 100% of the time, then I wouldn't have needed WLS in the first place. But now, instead of an entire pizza in one sitting once a week, I might eat one piece of thin crust and maybe even the meat and cheese off the top of a second piece once a month? I've had Doritos, chocolate, Cookies, pie, cake, chips, nachos, pizza, fries, and probably a whole list of other bad things since my surgery, but the quantities of those things that I eat over the course of a month now are probably like 1/100th of what I used to eat!

You are asking the wrong people. You should be asking your surgeon or nutritionist or referring to the diet plan they gave you.

Do you need a chewable? Because I think any chewable is going to have calories. I take the store brand of Citracal Maximum that my grocery store sells. It's 630mg of calcium citrate and 500iu of vitamin D for two capsules. I take two capsules twice a day for a total of 1260mg of calcium and 1000iu of vitamin D. I've had two bloodworks done since my surgery in September (one at 2 months and one at 4 months) and both came back in normal ranges for everything, including calcium and vitamin D.

I had fairly consistent obesity induced heartburn when I was at my heaviest weights. I knew from past experiences with diet and weightloss that my heartburn went away when I was lighter. So I was hoping that would be the case for me post-sleeve. However, I have experienced heartburn and reflux even though I'm now at a weight where, in the past, it would have gone away. My surgeon had me on a prescription of 40mg of Prilosec for two months post-op. I was then supposed to stop taking it, but as soon as I did, I had serious heartburn and reflux problems. Now I am on the over-the-counter dosage of 20mg and that seems to do a good job of keeping the reflux at bay. I have a feeling that this will be a life-long thing for me now, but honestly, it seems like a small price to pay. I've already committed to a lifetime of vitamins and supplements with this surgery, so what's one more pill to take daily?

Is it sad that I don't even remember what my first "solid" food was and it was only a few months ago? I do remember counting the days until I was allowed ground meats and legumes, because I planned to stop at Wendy's and get a chili. That's exactly what I did and it was delicious, but I was pretty shocked I couldn't even manage to eat half a small chili without feeling like I would burst.

I was allowed "solid" foods by 6.5 weeks, so I think you should be fine.