MacMadame

Now that's a lot of problems... My hair loss started at week 1.5! But it started dying down around 6-7 months out and now, at 8 months, it's slowing to a trickle. I had thin hair to start with and it never got to the point where other people noticed. *I* noticed, but they didn't.

My surgeon only charges 17,000 for the sleeve and 23,000 for bypass. That's because the OR time is shorter and you tend to have a shorter hospital stay too. He also finds his sleeve patients lose as much as his bypass patients, but have less trouble with regain.

Ugh, I hate that. There is a very good surgeon here who's coordinator would not answer any questions in my email but wanted me to call and also come to a seminar. Lady, I sent the email so I wouldn't have to waste 2 hours at a seminar of a doctor I had no intension of using once I knew the answers to my questions!! :thumbup:

Hey, that's the day before me! I started a thread for Sept '08 sleevesters in the 2008 section. Come join me. :thumbup: As for weight loss, I am below my original goal and here is how I did it: -religiously track everything I put in my mouth. Then, whenever weight loss slows down or cravings come back, I check it over to see where I can improve -drink a lot of Water - at least 64 oz of Fluid, most of it water, a day, but 80-100 oz, if I can -exercise 4-5x a week for 30 min. at first and then upped it every time my weight loss slowed down. -held myself to under 800 calories, 70-90 g of Protein, under 40 g of carbs, under 30 g of fat for the first 6 months; after that, I gradually upped my protein and eventually my carbs but I was trying to slow down my weight loss at this point I think tracking, high protein, and exercise were really the keys though.

Protein shakes Protein drinks that are more like koolaid Protein hot chocolate FAGE Yogurt (or other Greek Yogurt, but not the stuff with fruit added) Cottage cheese Cheese sticks Protein Bars (but very few are low carb enough) Special "Bariatric" food with added protein such a protein pancakes, protein Soups, etc. These are all things that always go down for me and have at least 12 g of protein per serving, often a lot more.

I just got back from seeing Dr. Awesome and he said I need to add in healthy carbs and also to experiment. I need to see what my threshold is for carbs (i.e., at what point they cause unhealthy cravings). He also said to eat more before a workout rather than relying on doing it before and after because exercise often makes people less hungry.

MOP = Middle of the pack. Usually I'm BOP - back of the pack. Or, as I prefer to think of it FBOP - at the front of the back of the pack. I think that's a glass floor! Hi!

Estrogen is stored in your fat. When you lose weight, it gets released into the blood stream and then (eventually) eliminated. So, yeah, your hormones are going nuts right now!

My surgeon finds his sleeve patients do as well as his RnY patients initially and have less issues with regain. At least they have less issues with regain since they started using the 32 f boughie. When they used the 48 f, regain was a problem. RnY is a very different surgery than VSG so it's not like it's just VSG plus malabsorption.

You shouldn't ask these questions until you have a job offer though.

I have a pair of compression shorts I wear under my gym clothes. I want a compression top too but they didn't have my size in the store.

When your knees hurt after biking, it's a sign your bike isn't adjusted right. You not only have to get the seat height right, but also your position over the pedals.

My surgeon sucks as much of the CO2 out of your belly cavity as possible and I think that helps. I didn't have a big gas problem or much pain from that.

Heh, it's at least a month away. Go for it! I'm doing one in July too. It's at elevation *and* the bike portion has a big uphill to start. Plus it's Olympic distance. So I'm getting nervous too. I wanted to be at 10 workouts a week by now and I'm still 2 short!

As far as I know, they are the same guy. Ditto. That's not what my internet search shows. As for denying Dr. Contreras worked for Betancourt, you are the one who posted this: and this: In my book, that's denial. Particularly as you don't just have one person's word for it. A simple internet search would bring up many accounts of people who used him while he was at Betancourt. It's not some big secret so there is no reason to continue to insist that it's just some unsubstantiated rumor.

Actually there are many, many programs in the US that do not include this sort of follow-up for any price. Many programs have no NUT on staff and some of the ones that do have no counselors. Some programs don't even have monthly support group meetings! It's not US vs. Mexico. It's good programs vs. mediocre vs. bad. You can get all levels of programs in all countries.

No, I don't really worry about it. I was tired of being in my 50s and having a baby face anyway. My face now is a lot more interesting instead of a big old round moon and it's not *that* wrinkled.

There used to be links on Contreras's bariatric web site to his scam cancer clinic (actually, it's his father's clinic) and a link on that web site to his bariatric site. There was also a picture of him on both sites and it was the same guy. It is also well-known that he worked for Betancourt. There are plenty of posts around the web from people who went to him via Betancourt. For you to continue to insist that Contreras didn't work for him or that there is no proof of that suggests to me that you didn't research him at all because these facts are easily found with a very minimal of effort. As for complications, even hack surgeons (like Huacuz) only kill about 1-2% of their patients. Therefore, 98-99% live. The fact that some live doesn't prove a surgeon is not a hack. It's the fact that too many die that proves he is one. The same with complications such as leaks.

When you have a sleeve, you have a normal stomach only smaller. So there really isn't anything you can't eat as long as it agrees with you. I do find that the alcohol affects me faster and then I lose the buzz faster. I don't enjoy drinking it post-op so I tend not to. But I could if I wanted to. Some programs have long lists of foods/drinks you can and can't have at various points or forever. Except for when you are first healing and need to be on liquids and then softs, these restrictions are not based on clinical data and there isn't any scientific reason for them. This would include popcorn, caffeine, gum, drinking through straws, raw veggies, alcohol and a host of others I've seen people be told they can't have. Then we get to the controversal issue of carbonation. Most programs say not to have it and it will stretch the sleeve (or pouch, if you have RnY). That just seems unlikely to me. It seems like you'd burp or fart before your stomach would stretch out. But carbonation makes most people with small stomachs uncomfortable and soda is bad for you in so many ways and the only pther carbonated beverage I like is sparkling cider, so it's not really an issue for me. :001_tt2:

I had more pudge because I wasn't in shape. I was very curvy, which the guys liked, but I saw it as "if I only lost 10 lb., I'd be perfect." I know now I was crazy. What I really needed to do was workout and get some muscle and stay the same weight. :cool0:

My surgeon has found his sleeve patients lose as much as his RnY patients and have less problems with regain.

I completely concur. I could not believe that some insurance companies would consider me qualified for surgery when my BMI dropped below 40. If you are short, the BMI calculation doesn't really work. I had 70% body fat according to my scale! I was over 200 lb. and I couldn't bend over to tie my shoes. It also doesn't work well for tall people. Mr. Mac is tall and his BMI makes him a "lightweight" but he's got all his weight in his stomach and most people thought he was fatter than I was with my 41 BMI.

I remember feeling fat at 110 lb. Granted, I was about 4' 11", but still... I'm 118 now and only 2 inches taller and I am TINY.

Fatty Fights Back: I'm a Mermaid!

And I did! 12 out of 24 in my age group, 204 out of 407 (who finished) overall. Fatty Fights Back: I'm a Mermaid!