catwoman7

nope - I never got a medic alert bracelet, for the same reasons The Greater Fool listed.

^^^^ what the above person described is what I would consider one of those "horror stories" (read lots of those before my surgery before I made myself stop - because they're very rare, and I was scaring myself about something that was very unlikely to happen). Hair loss (which as others have said is temporary and often not noticeable by others - if you even experience hair loss at all) is temporary) and foamies (which are controllable) are just minor annoyances.

yep - mixed reviews. They seem to work for some but not for others. I've personally never tried them because with my luck, I'd be one of those whom they don't work for.

not all surgeons require a pre-op diet, so consider yourself lucky. Most of us find the pre-op diet the worst part of the whole ordeal, I was relieved the morning that I was rolled in to surgery that the stupid thing was finally OVER!! I think you're worrying needlessly about the surgery. Major complications are very rare - and minor ones, while also not that common, are "fixable". But then again, if you're not mentally ready for it, then there's that... Being nervous before a big surgery is totally normal, though. I've had four surgeries and have freaked out beforehand every time. But as far as my bariatric surgery goes, I'd do it again in a heart beat. I had it at age 55 and should have done it years before.

I don't know how willing you are to travel, but there are two nationally-known ones in California - Dr. Rabkin in San Francisco and Dr. Keshishian in Pasadena. They both do traditional DS.

pre-op diets vary tremendously, and some surgeons don't require them at all. Only your clinic can tell you what their requirements are. Milke (and oatmeal) were not allowed on mine.

it's very common to have a 10-20 lb rebound weight gain after hitting your lowest weight. It's more your body "settling in" to its new set point. Happens to most of us in year 2 or 3. However, beyond that, it's up to you. If you continue to monitor your food intake and keep active, you'll be able to maintain your new weight. If you let old habits slip back in and start eating like you did before surgery, you'll end up gaining most of it back.

they seem to work for some but not for others. I've never tried them because I figured I'd be one of those for whom they wouldn't work. Some clinics seem to be OK with them, others advise against them (probably because they don't work for everyone)

P.S. the other option - staying obese - isn't good for your health, either. In fact, it's probably worse.

not everyone loses hair - and some don't lose enough that others notice (like me). Some do lose more - but it's more like shedding - not big clumps of hair like people on chemo lose. And it grows back. I lost hair from about month 5-9, and again, it was pretty minimal so no one else would have noticed. In the end, it's a small price to pay for what you get from the surgery nausea/foamies - not uncommon in the early weeks out when you're trying to experiment to see what your stomach is going to tolerate (and often things you can't tolerate early on you CAN tolerate later). I really don't deal with that at all anymore would I do this again? HELL YES! In a heart beat. I'd go back and have it done every year if I had to. Totally worth it. One of the best decisions I've every made.

personally, no - but I've run into several who have.

Dr. Laura Carmina Cardenas in Tijuana has done a lot of plastic surgery for massive weight loss patients (in fact, she's a bariatric patient herself and she specializes in plastic surgery for bariatric patients). Dr. Francisco Sauceda in Monterrey also specializes in massive weight loss patients and has done many of us WLS patients. there used to be a nationally-known plastic surgeon in San Antonio who specialized in WLS patients, too, but he retired a year or two ago. there are lots of plastic surgeons in Miami and it's one of the cheaper areas in the country to have it done, but I don't know any names. There are people on here who've had their surgeries done there, though, so they may respond. Just be sure to go with someone who either specializes in massive weight loss patients or, at minimum, has at least done a boatload of them. It's a complicated surgery, so you want someone who's had a lot of experience with it.

Not everyone develops reflux issues after sleeve - it's something like 30%, and for most it can be managed medically (i.e., with PPI's). There are some who have it pretty severely so their only option is revision, although again, for most, it can be managed in other ways. I had reflux before surgery and went with the RNY because I figured I'd end up being one of the 30%, and I didn't want to take the risk. But others take it - and they end up doing fine. It's really kind of a crap shoot. I think a lot of surgeons prefer the sleeve because it's a much simpler surgery, so they're probably more likely to recommend that one. Luckily, mine did recommend RNY for me, although he said he'd be glad to do either. He's also been doing these surgeries for 30+ years, so he's done a ton of RNY's. I think some of the younger ones have most of their experience with sleeve since that's been the popular of the two surgeries for the last 10 years or so.

What were you expecting to lose? If you're looking for 30+ lbs the first month, that's pretty rare unless you're the size of someone on "My 600 lb Life". For most of us "average" WLS patients, that much loss the first month is pretty unusual. Most of us lose somewhere in the 15-25 lb range. Plus most people don't lose much the first week because of the "gain" from the IV fluids you get in the hospital (which of course is just water) - and then there's the infamous "three-week stall" that many of us experience, where you can go a couple of weeks (usually 1-3) without any loss, because your body is kind of recalibrating after the surgery - so you may be experiencing that as well. you're not going to lose the weight any faster than if you ate the same thing without surgery. With the extreme calorie deficit we have the first few months out, you'd probably lose about the same regardless if you had surgery or not. The difference is, it's much more easy to sustain that deficit with the surgery. Most people probably could not go for months on end eating something like 800 calories. But with the surgery, you can. Your hunger is suppressed, your stomach is tiny, etc. The most I could ever lose before surgery was about 50-60 lbs. With this, I lost over 200, and have kept it off for eight years. No way could I have done that without the surgery.

hmmmm...from what you described, it doesn't sound like true dumping, but maybe there was more to it then what you put to paper (or...computer screen!) dumping usually involves things like abdominal cramps, sweating or chills, heart palpitations, and severe diarrhea (sometimes vomiting, too - but that's not as common because the "action" is in your intestines). It's basically caused by your intestines going into overdrive to deal with the sugar. I've never dumped in my eight years post-surgery, but from what I've heard from people who do, it can go on for quite awhile. And once people dump, they're not likely to repeat whatever they did to cause it in the first place!

your drinking speed will definitely slow down for awhile, but I think I drink just as quickly now as I did before surgery - and have been for several years (I'm eight years out)

mine lasted 3-4 months (started in month 5 - stopped around month 8 or 9). Although I really didn't lose that much - it wasn't noticeable to anyone but me.

dumping is when you eat too much sugar at one sitting, so taking the pills shouldn't cause that...

no need to wait 30 minutes, unless the medication says to not take it with food (which none of the ones you listed do)

not sure what exactly you're asking. I do occasionally take pills after eating - a swallow of water (enough to get a pill down) isn't going to violate the "wait (x number) of minutes after eating before drinking anything" rule. I take vitamins twice a day - first thing in the morning and late afternoon, usually. About three or four pills at a time. So yes - you can take multiple pills at one sitting.

there was some big blow-out a few years back (I can't even remember why anymore) and several people left and went over to ObesityHelp, but I think only about one or two of them are still there.

I'm eight years out and do 2-3 hour bike rides a few times a week when the weather cooperates. However, I started out really heavy so no way I could have ridden a bike....or exercised that long. The longest I probably exercised for the first year or so was in hour-long water fitness classes. the hydration thing isn't an issue. Water goes right through you surgery or not, so I don't think it makes any difference. I just take a water bottle with me when I'm going biking (or taking some cardio class).

I've been on here for eight years although I sometimes disappear for awhile- but usually just for a few weeks at most. I see other old timers pop in every once in awhile. Most people do seem to leave after a few months or after they hit maintenance, but I find sticking around helps keep my head in the game.

neither one is better than the other - they're both good surgeries and you'll find people on here who've been very successful with both. there are some medical conditions that would make one surgery more appropriate for you than the other (as summerseeker mentioned above, bypass is often recommended for patients who have GERD), but if you don't have any of those conditions, it comes down to personal choice. your surgeon will assess your health status and may recommend one over the other, or he/she may tell you that you're a good candidate for either. In any case, spend some time researching both surgeries - there's lots of information on here and other places on the internet.

don't worry about the issue, just stay on top of it. As I said above, I take a capful of Miralax every morning. Lots of us do - that or stool softeners, fiber (like Benefiber or Metamucil), eat a few prunes every day - whatever it takes to stay on top of it. I rarely have problems with it since I've started the daily Miralax - but if I skip it for a couple of days, yep - the constipation comes back. It's just one of those "features" with WLS - at least for some of us. Taking daily MIralax vs weighing 373 lbs again is a no-brainer for me.