JamieLogical

My goal was 165. I met that goal right at my 1 year mark. Since then I've continued to lose a little without trying. And I'm down to 158. You may continue to lose even once you "put on the brakes" so to speak like I have. It's actually HARD to eat enough calories to sustain your weight if you are pretty active. I'm training for a half marathon, so I am burning 2200-2400 calories most days, but I have a hard time finding ways to fit in more than 1900 calories of food!

I have a Cinnamon Twist Combat Crunch protein bar every morning for breakfast. On the rare occasions I go out for breakfast, I will have one scrambled egg with some feta cheese melted in and a little breakfast sausage.

It really is a lot easier than you think it will be post-op. I had a VERY brief (like part of one day) period once I was on soft foods where I reached for my water while eating and had to stop myself. The first time I had tuna salad I really did have to take a tiny sip of water, because it was so dry. But since then, I have managed just fine and it's second nature now. The easiest thing to do in the early days while you are learning is just not have any water within reach while you eat.

@@Scott_Phoenix_AZ My comment wasn't directed at you at all. I had already replied to your initial post and I am grateful you shared your experience. My comment was directed at samijoe (see the post I quoted) who was questioning why anyone would ever go to Mexico for surgery and disparaging then entire country's medical community.

I am so inspired by your determination to push forward and pursue surgery even with the obstacles you've faced. I feel like you are trying to make it happen through sheer stubbornness and force of will and I admire that so much! I really really hope it works out for the best and in the mean time, at least you are making some positive changes that you can carry forward, surgery or not. I am rooting for you!

Yay! Glad to hear you are now on the losers' bench and doing well. Hang in there. The next few days might have some challenging moments. But you can get through and it will be so worth it!

Hopefully they can get it sorted out or you can appeal. I'm sorry it's not going smoothly.

Haha! That was a funny visual for all of us at least! One for real issue I've had with doors now that I am smaller is some of the ones you have to push/pull open yourself are hard to get open without as much body weight to throw around. Last week it was windy outside and I was trying to leave the building and between the weight of the door and the wind, I almost couldn't get it open!

You were right! It seemed so impossible at the time, but now it is within reach. Crazy what our bodies can do when we push them! I'm just being super cautious to avoid injury. I always do a proper warm up and cool down. I have an extensive stretching routine I do after each run. And I always elevate and ice my knees for 15-20 minutes after each run. As long as I take care of my knees, they will get me where I need to go.

Ugh! It makes no sense! I really really hate insurance companies. I had to self-pay for my VSG because my insurance company would only approve WLS with a documented BMI over 40 for 5 years. Well I had managed to lose 90 pounds on my own about 4 years prior to pursuing VSG and my BMI had JUST crept back up over 40. So they wouldn't approve me for surgery because I had at least TRIED to lose weight on my own? I felt like the were punishing me for trying to do it without surgery. My options were to stay fat for 5 more years or just pay for it myself.

Congratulations! You'll be joining us on the losers' bench in no time!

I was going to say gallbladder. My sister had hers out and her scars are pretty similar to mine.

One of my long term relationships ended over sexual incompatibility. I agree that he probably should have brought it up much sooner. Sex is a pretty important component of most romantic relationships, so if it's not working and can't be fixed, I think it's perfectly justifiable to move on. I'm sorry you are having a rough time cutting ties with him, though. I can understand that you have probably shared almost everything for 12 years and suddenly not having that person to talk to can be a real challenge. I have been there too. I hope you can work through it and past it with time. You can find other friends and outlets for your emotions. And even if you continue to stay in touch (I do with all of my exes), it can be a more disconnected way that allows you both to freely move on with your separate lives.

While it's true that surgical centers don't have full emergency services, that doesn't necessarily mean they are a bad choice. There are risks associated with choosing a hospital as well, such as higher exposure to infection and illness. You definitely have to weigh the pros and cons of each and decide what your preference is. If you do choose a hospital, I have heard good things about Hospital Angeles. Personally, I chose a state-of-the-art surgical center, because of the more individualized and focused care and the fact that I was only exposed to other bariatric and plastic surgery patients. Definitely do your research and make the decision you can be most comfortable with!

At one month out, that's a hefty goal! Once I was cleared for intense exercise at 3 months post-op, I did Couch to 5k and ran in a 5k race every month last summer. Now I'm kicking off this year's running season with this half marathon, hoping to do some 10k races over the summer, then finish up with another half marathon in September!

Clearly anyone who is still using Dr. Almanza at this point hasn't done a single minute of research into surgeons, so they probably won't see this post. There are dozens of reports about complications and deaths. This site ended it's affiliation with Almanza months ago and there are many multi-page threads about why. My fear is, this information clearly isn't making it into the hands of his potential patients, because he preys upon those who do little to no research.

It's normal to question your decision this close to surgery. Especially when going through the torture of the pre-op diet. You have to hang in there and remember that you made this decision when you were being reasonable and rational. Now you are being emotional and that is NOT a good time to change your mind. As for travel post-op, there is no reason you shouldn't be able to fly or travel even 2-3 days post-op. I had my surgery in Mexico and flew home 4 days post-op. The main challenge with travel soon after surgery isn't physical, it's planning your food and hydration. As long as you have access to the types of food you will need for whichever food stage you are in, there should be no problem.

As @@FrankiesGirl said, hormones are stored in fat. As you begin to rapidly lose weight in the early weeks post-op, those hormones are released back into your blood stream and can cause mood swings, irritability, depression, etc. The can even cause increased fertility, which is why it's recommended that women use backup birth control the first couple of months.

Fortunately my work can be pretty flexible with paid time off. So if I initially put in for 3 weeks and I'm not ready to come back, I can take longer or do half days or whatever is needed. After my tummy tuck, I had an issue with terrible soft tissue swelling in my lower back that made it hard for me to sit more than a couple hours at a time, so I did half days for another month after my initial 3 weeks off. I am also scheduled for a week of vacation at the end of October, so even if I do come back at 3 weeks, I'm only back for two weeks then on vacation. I'll have to check the calendar to confirm that. But if I did half days for those two weeks then was off another week, it would really be 6 weeks before I was back full time. I still have 59 days of "catastrophic leave" in my lifetime bank so I could really be out for like 3 months if I absolutely HAD to.

Well, I pulled the trigger and scheduled a date for my spiral thigh lift! September 27. I know that's a long way off still (over six months) but my surgeon's calendar is filling up fast and she was already down to a limited number of days in August or September, which was the time frame I was aiming for. Originally I planned on late August/early September, but I was looking at the local running calendar and there is a half marathon here on September 18. I am doing my first half marathon April 24th to kick off my running season and had been contemplating the possibility of doing another to finish out my running season at the end of the summer. Well, I think I want to at least leave myself the opportunity to do the September race. So, if I did that race on the 18th, I would have 9 days to recover from the race before my surgery on the 27th. Hopefully that's enough time for my body to bounce back before the trauma of the surgery. I feel super excited to have picked a date! Very excited to be going back to Mexico for my surgery and seeing my surgeon again and some other familiar faces. Now to just finish these half marathons....

It really depends. If I had to do it over again, I think lower body first, because it's so major and it might be better to get out of the way first. But on the other hand, it might be so bad that you hesitate to ever go back and do upper body. I don't think there's any "right" answer there. I guess you should go with whichever is highest priority to you just in case you don't ever go back for a second round for whatever reason. As for the short hospital stay, it all sounds insane to me! When I had my extended tummy tuck, breast lift with implants, and all over lipo in Mexico, I stayed in a recovery house with 24/7 nursing care for two full weeks after! Certainly for the first 4 days or so, I really couldn't do anything for myself. The idea of being sent home and fending for myself 23 hours after surgery seems crazy! Plus I saw my surgeon every day post-op not just like a week later for a check-up.

I agree with @@Inner Surfer Girl if you are going to get all the sugar from a cutie, you might as well eat the part that's actually GOOD for you too!

I wouldn't double up on vitamins if you miss one. As you learned, that can be unpleasant and you won't get full absorption that way anyway. All you can do now is get back on the wagon. It sucks that you cheated withcarbs, because now you'll have to enter ketosis all over again. Not fun!

I had my surgery in Mexico with Dr. Ariel Ortiz at Obesity Control Center. My advice for choosing a surgeon in Mexico is to research, research, research. Figure out what your priorities are in terms of cost, credentials, surgical center vs. hospital, etc. Then find the surgeons that meet those criteria. Then comb these forums and other sites for personal experiences from patients. If the sites allow, send private messages to past patients and ask then about their experiences as well.

It's completely normal to be nervous, but you can do it!