Proud2BMe

Omeprazole, as mentioned above. You mind you will need to be on it for life.

Exactly. I smoked for 20 years, anywhere from 1 1/2 packs to 3 packs a day. I quit with e-cigs. I'm sick to death of the fear porn being leveled against e-cigs. It's like people are fanatically obsessed with destroying the one option that can actually save lives by getting people off of cigarettes.

Just a bit of a rant, I keep reading people post over and over again how they can't afford the surgery if they have to pay out of pocket. Let's get real for a second. Such claims are patently false. Thousands of people go to Mexico each year and pay for their own surgery. Countless others do self-pay in the states. Not everyone is wealthy yet the majority of people who are dedicated to the surgery will find a way to pay for it if they must. I managed to raise enough for my surgery in Tijuana without having a steady income. You can do it as well just change your mind set and don't let obstacles stop you. If all your avenues are denied then you can save enough money to have your surgery out of pocket.

I'm skeptical of such claim. Because your liver naturally stores sugar called glycogen that the body uses as fuel FIRST when you start to diet. It takes 3-6 days to use up the store of glycogen before you will even begin to lose fat. So your liver does shrink when the glycogen reserve is used up. Additionally, morbidly obese people suffer from what is called "fatty liver disease", meaning they have actual fat deposits in the liver itself. Nearly 100% of all morbidly obese people suffer this condition. As a result, the liver is humongous compared to a person of normal weight. The pre-op diet will in fact shrink these deposits, which also produces a smaller liver. The liver is such a problem because it is easily damaged. Plus I've seen weight loss surgery documentaries where doctors have turned down patients because their livers were too big and it was usually revealed that the patient did not follow the pre-op diet. Just from my experience in talking with people, patients whose doctors do not require a pre-op diet lose less weight over-all than those who do perform a pre-op diet. Other benefits include being already over their carb/sugar addiction as the patient has gone 2 weeks without them.

First week - all the Water, tea or sugar free drinks you want except no soda, all the broth you want, Protein shakes for Breakfast and lunch, and all the sugar free Jello and popsicles you want. dinner was lean meat on a bed of leafy greens. Second week - All the water, tea or sugar free drinks you want except no soda, all the broth you want, Protein Shakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. All the sugar free jello and popsicles you want. I lost 25 lbs.

Honestly, I don't think we will ever see ourselves as "normal". I think most morbidly obese people suffer from a form of body dysmorphia where we will always see ourselves fat, even when we do lose the weight. I still have not come to terms. I still want to hang on to and wear clothes that are too big for me. I don't feel comfortable in wearing clothes that fit. I still won't look at my body naked and will probably never be at the point where I can walk around without a shirt, let alone walk around naked in front of someone. That's just how it is. I guess counseling may help but you never know.

It's Water weight. To gain one pound requires 3,000+ extra calories. So if you gained 4 lbs overnight or what not then I doubt you consumed an additional 12,000 calories that day. So it's got to be water weight. Just relax. Drink plenty of water.

There's no such thing and especially not when you are morbidly obese like most of us where. You should not be trying to "slow down" because your body will naturally do it. With time your weight loss will naturally slow down and then stop altogether. After it stops if you are not at goal you will have to lose weight by increasing your exercise and activity. So for at least the first year you should be focused on losing as much weight as possible.

It's all head hunger. Did you do the 2 week pre-op diet? If so then that usually clears out much of that as you are no longer eating carbs. After surgery you aren't going to have real hunger from anywhere from 6 months to a year or more after surgery.

Switch to e-cigs. I vaped right before my surgery and then two days later I started again.

I too came here because I thought that you dropped acid before beginning your pre-op diet. lol

The thing is that if you aren't losing weight then you aren't doing the pre-op diet correctly. You also aren't shrinking your liver, which is the whole point of it. The typical pre-op diet is as follows: Week 1 Protein shake (2, Breakfast and lunch) broth - As much as you want Water/Sugar Free Tea/Drinks (excluding soda) - As much as you want sugar free Jello - As much as you want Sugar Free Popsicles - As much as you want dinner is leafy greens and lean mean, such as chicken (non fried and not breaded) Week 2 Protein Shake (3 times a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner) Broth - As much as you want Water/Sugar Free Tea/Drinks (excluding soda) - As much as you want Sugar Free Popsicles - As much as you want The pre-op diet if done correctly causes weight loss and will shrink your liver. Patients who perform the diet correctly get a jump start on their weight loss. I lost 25 lbs on my 2 week pre-op diet but I've heard from people who have lost 35 lbs or more. I would recommend checking with your doctor.

It has to be Water weight. One pound equals over 3,000 calories and I strongly doubt that you ate over 15,000 calories the night before. Also, if you weighed yourself at a different time of the day than usual that could explain it.

Technically, your goal weight can be any weight that you deem is acceptable for you. However, in practice one's goal weight should be the weight that puts one under the 25 BMI category for what is considered a normal weight. I know I've seen several people on this board make posts about being in Onderland and that they've reached goal and then you check their BMI and they are still overweight, but to each their own, I guess.

It's normal. The real restriction comes when eating.

1. Complications - I experienced none. By the way, "dumping syndrome" is not a complication. It's a desirable aspect of the surgery that will stop you from eating sugary foods and beverages. It's not so much associated with gastric sleeve but patients can have it at the beginning. When you return from the surgery you should already have a doctor lined up to have follow ups through. You can also go the ER if any emergency develops. 2. Clean and Safe? - Yes. Hospitals and clinics in Mexico are clean and safe. Someone once compared it to being in the hospital in the U.S in the 1990s. So if you were cool with going to the doctor or hospital back in the 1990s then you should be cool with it as well. 3. How did you convince your family? - I didn't. They saw after my results that I made the right choice. My family was against it and told me I was going to die. They were ignorant. I wasn't and had done my research. I suggest you do your research as well. 4. General Experience - All good. There was no real pain in the surgery. It just felt like I was punched in the stomach or had done a couple hundred crunches to where my muscles ached. No gas pain. The worst aspects of the surgery was waking up from anesthesia. I hate having to struggle to gain consciousness. The very worst aspect was when they removed the drain. That actually hurt. It caused my whole abdomen to cramp up and it was painful but only for a few seconds. Then it immediately subsided after the drain was out. Recovery was a breeze. The flight home was a bit of a struggle because I was only able to drink not even half of a bottle of Gatorade the entire day. So I had to walk very slow and was scared I was going to miss my connecting flight. I survived and made it home okay

I'm surprised your doctor gave an okay for the sleeve. You normally have to meet certain requirements. However, if you do get the sleeve you will lose weight slower than other people who are far heavier.

I also drink diet soda, mainly diet dr. pepper, diet coke and coke zero. Popcorn is a huge temptation. The last time I went to the movies I ate half of a large bag of popcorn. Then I was upset with myself so I told myself to throw it away and not take it home. I took it home and devoured the remaining half a couple hours later. I had a very small glass of egg nog last night. I also ate one white chocolate and macadamia nut cookie. I drink alcohol far more frequently now than I did before the surgery. My metabolism has changed after surgery and I can tolerate it better now.

I know it's winter but most snow cone places also offer sugar free varieties. I like the sugar free wedding cake one.

I would avoid fruit altogether. Too much sugar and you can get all the Vitamins you need from non-starchy veggies. Every now and then is okay. If you are going to eat fruit stick to fruit with high Water content like melons.

Follow the diet. Make sure your are eating mostly Protein. Limit the carbs drastically. Exercise. That's about all you have to do.

Okay, I suggest that people who have doctors who don't require it to ask their doctors if they can do it anyway. It gives you a boost in losing weight and it will boost your self esteem as well.

If you gained weight then you didn't follow the pre-op diet correctly and thus did not shrink your liver. Log everything you ingest. If you followed it to a "T" then you will lose weight and shrink your liver. I lost 25 lbs in 2 weeks on the pre-op diet. Most pre-op diets are the same: Week 1 Water, sugar free tea - as much as you want broth - as much as you want sugar free Jello - as much as you want sugar free popsicles - as much as you want Protein shake - About 2 a day, Breakfast and lunch dinner is leafy greens and lean meat like chicken (not fried and no breading) Week 2 Protein Shake - 3 a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner broth - as much as you want sugar free jello - as much as you want sugar free popsicles - as much as you want water/sugar free tea - as much as you want

If it's denied. Appeal it. If your appeal is denied then research going to Mexico. I had mine done in Tijuana and it was wonderful. No pain and no complications. Plus I didn't have to jump through all the hoops of the insurance companies. Only cost $4,500 plus air fare.