OKCPirate

@@MomOf4OhMy - why a little splenda? I think stevia does a better job of sweetening. Zero calories and plant based. The liquid version mixes very well with iced drinks as well as hot.

What meds? And feel free to message me if you don't want to post if on public board.

I was sleeved there using this company. Great deal, excellent facility. I might have been able to get it done for $800 less, but the facility they use far exceeded post-op surgical infection control standards according to INICC. It was lower than any in the US I found, believe it or not. That was very important to me. Email me if you have any questions.

You are one of the most helpful people here. Well, thank you, that is a really nice compliment.

@@1Cor2:9 - good insights, thanks for sharing. If you do the work, and discover the wounds, the healing can follow, but old scripts can still come into your mind and heart, so it really is one day at a time and realize this is a process. I have found it is the most thoughtful and feeling people who can freak themselves out the most. So you are in good company. I have found most of my struggle was a misplaced sense of entitlement. I deserve a reward, have a cookie. Part of that stems from lack of affirmation growing up. I now change the affirmation to "I deserve to go run." It makes a difference.

@@readyforchange1974 - I wish you the best of luck. Congratulations on your success so far. I would suggest poking around in the single's forum: http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/1180-singles-forum/ Many good ideas, support, warnings and horror stories (most are told with wit and humor).

The short answer is HELL YES IT IS NORMAL

Congrats, that is quite the accomplishment in itself. You now have options. I would pick based on the pre and post opp support that works for you. I felt I could do my own research, preferred to work with my own nutritionists and counselor, so I had mine done in Mexico by a great surgeon. I don't know what your support team looks like, but I liken it to purchasing a car: Only buy new if you don't have a good mechanic If you have to buy new, purchase at the dealership with the best service department You could be done in two weeks (standard pre-opp diet to shrink the liver to make the surgery easier/safer takes two weeks). But other than that, if you have everything else in place, there isn't any reason for delay. If a provider puts you through the "normal" process (which appears to have been set up by insurance companies to get people to drop out) then go to another. You are self pay and don't deserve all that crud. Some things to consider: Emotional: I recommend working through: http://goo.gl/wd1ECr and see a counselor before the hormone dump that seems to accompany rapid weight loss starts. Nutritional: Do you have solid nutritional support from someone who does WLS patients? Legal/Estate planning?: I'm a single dad, and while this surgery is safer than many procedures, it's still surgery. Follow up blood work, complication medical support? Exercise? I'm a big believer in getting into the best shape you can going in and using this to spring board into the next phase one month following surgery. Family support? The food in the house will have to change. I gave my kids their own pantry for things I no longer want to have in my body. It's 20 feet away from mine. This should be discussed in advance IMHO. Get a vision: Read http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/195065-you-know-you-lost-weight-when/ so you can remember why you want this And then go for it and enjoy the ride. This is the single best investment I have ever made in myself.

It is almost embarrassing how cheap dates have gotten. My girlfriend doesn't eat much, and I sure don't. We have gotten into the habit of splitting a plate. I don't drink when I eat, and she just has Water sans ice. I was thinking about starting a thread on this theme but you beat me to it. Think about it...if I go out by myself, I take home my left overs and get 2 additional meals out of it. So if I spend $30 on average for dinner...Before surgery, three days = $90. But post surgery, 3 days is $30, saving me $120 a week, or $6240 a year. I think this should pay off my surgery in a year in food savings. As I do my taxes, I'll see if that math holds true, but for me that is pretty dang close.

@@Connie Stapleton PhD - Thanks for the clarification. I understand the warnings and advice to abstain to maximize success. The tone just comes across like this scene from Mean Girls: The term toxin is loaded, pejorative and a bit misleading. Tylenol is toxic. Vitamin D is too. Both can be hard on the liver and fatal in high doses. But these are acceptable risks in moderation. Alcohol is rough on the liver in high doses. It can be fatal in the most extreme cases. There are risks in sex, driving, and even walking on a treadmill, so I heed the cautions. And to be clear, when I discuss this subject with fellow WLS people, I do share my cautions based upon my experience, research and warn of possible red flags and dangers signs to watch for. It is a danger area. Alcohol may have put me in a stall, but that's why I am abstaining for a season to test this out. In short, I don't disagree with your message, just the words (rhetoric in the classic sense of the word). Thanks for what you do, and I do have a great deal of respect for those of you who work with people in recovery from substance abuse. It is a tough job, where you know most are not going to succeed and it is often heart breaking work, so take care of yourself too (this is a major part of my sister's work, and I always remind her "there is a reason why the airline tells you to put on your own oxygen mask before you put one on those around you, and don't forget it.").

@@MzStockton - Very impressive, be sure to reward yourself with a pedicure or equivalent. The world won't give them to you, you need to be good to yourself.

But if you are going to talk about alcohol, you have to include the best political speech of all time and the best on the subject: Read it here: http://www.rdrop.com/users/jimka/whisky.html John Grisham reads it for you here:

I keep thinking about a quote from a minister when the temperance movement began in the US in the 19th Century: "very little good comes from the absolute shall." I've always taken the approach of explaining the pluses and minuses of recreational drugs. Why the positives? Because people are getting something out of it if they are using it, and to ignore that would be less than honest with my kids. It's in the honest cost/benefit analysis that helps guide them so they can make the positive decisions that I do hope they will make. Alcohol has been an on again, off again struggle with me (before and after WLS). Some WLS patients have a sip of wine and feel intoxicated, and I have a tough time feeling it at all unless I drink a great deal. So to change and relearn my relationship with alcohol, I used some techniques from this site: https://hamsnetwork.wordpress.com/. I also found me keeping my eye focused on bigger goals makes it much easier to say "not now" than scare tactics. But everyone is different. Some need hard fast rules, others need general guidelines. Personally I agree with Dee Hock: "Simple, clear purpose and principles give rise to complex intelligent behavior. Rules and regulations give rise to simple stupid behavior." Understanding addiction, substance use and abuse is incredibly complex. It has never been aided by alarmist media treatment. There are no simple solutions. I am always amazed at the dismal success rate of "rehab." I am also amazed that the vast majority of drug/alcohol users go through life with scant few problems. I have felt that my kids stayed out of trouble because there was always clear communication, acceptance, tolerance, encouragement and lack of judgement in the family. "Absolute Shall's" just don't work for me.

It worked wonders for me. My doc referred to it as the "happy/horny" drug. For me it did both. For my ex, it gave her symptoms of having a stroke. She lost strength on one side of her body and gave her full blown panic attacks. I think it is because she couldn't take the happiness (might be some lingering bitterness, but I'm about to send my second to the last alimony check, so I'm not that bitter). I only mention the side effects so if you see them, you know where its coming from. Eliminating the drug will be cheaper than neurological work ups. It does take some ramp up time, so don't expect to have it take effect immediately. Best resource I know for figuring out psychotropic drugs is crazymeds.com. (It's the bariatricpal for the pharmaceutical set).

Sounds like the hormones stored in fat are dumping out quickly. That can happen. I had moments where I was craving chick flicks one moment and wanted to pound something the next. It was an odd roller coaster, akin to adolescence. It is actually normal. Hang on and don't make any life changing decisions

I'm surprised you are able to walk with nothing in the tank. Look up Isopure (clear liquid protein). Kept me energized.

It could be significant, don't say "yes to the dress" until 3 weeks before

I was always the "huskey" kid until middle school, then I became the really fat one. Close to 300 5'6" until my soph year and I decided to lose weight. At that moment I grew four inches and lost 100 pounds. Still big, but 46" waist dropped to 36" in 8 months. I stayed about that size for over a decade. But after marriage and kids, started gaining again, Phen-fen helped me get back to 230, but that was banned and in a few years, I was creeping back up and then the stress of a failing marriage and divorce, and boom I was back to 300. Now I was successfully dating, and was active and successful in business, and I didn't really feel "fat" until I saw this picture: I had tried to lose weight, run etc. and kept hurting myself. I was really getting discouraged. That is when I found out about WLS. I looked at my calendar to set a date and realized I only had one period of time where I would not be traveling for the month, and that was November 2014. Now to get to your question - the loss was dramatic. Even within six weeks people really noticed a difference a big difference. But the big thing to me was the change in energy. Suddenly I was empowered and on fire for positive change. I completed my first 5K, became a gym rat, and started taking my health seriously. My dating prospects improved dramatically. Now I still feel fat from time to time (esp. with the loose skin). But when I seriously look back, it is a major change for the good.

I'm only 1-1/2 years out. I'm considered a success because I'm 80%+ of weight loss. I self sabotaged with alcohol and that has created a big stall though no weight gain. Why did I do Sleeve over other procedures? The Mayo Clinic was in year four of a five year follow study, and the results were nearly identical to the bi-pass with fewer complications. I also had a fear of dumping. Despite the stall, I could not be happier with the results, I climb mountains, run 5K's and have enjoyed the best sex of my life. I did recommit to breaking the stall, quit drinking and I joined the Memorial Day challenge. Let's see if I can get to goal by my 53rd birthday.

Umm, the coffee being a diuretic, is a myth. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19774754 The acid it produces in the stomach slows healing of the incision though. However since I was taking meds to minimize stomach acid, it didn't effect me. Now getting diet Mountain Dew out of my system was really hard.

Well it is tough being a pioneer, they get all the arrows. I have some people in my life who tried to talk me out of this who are now going to Mexico to get this done because they see my results. So that is a possible outcome. But even if she doesn't, you have to live your life. Our friends and family don't have to carry the extra weight and all the consequences there of, you do, so do what is right for you. If you have not invested in this important book, I suggest you work through it. It was very helpful to me: http://goo.gl/Ndng2U Good luck.

I'm going to try one of these. I've never done it, but I've been stuck 20 pounds above my goal for over a year, and Memorial Day is my birthday weekend, so I think a good gift to myself would be to push myself to finally get rid of these last twenty pounds. Question for those who have tried this: Have you found it beneficial to do a "reset" liquid diet before beginning like the one suggested below?