biginjapan

This is a big issue here in Japan, as tourist numbers keep rising. A lot of people have tattoos, and want to experience certain aspects of Japanese culture, like onsens, where tattoos are usually a no-go. The government is suggesting that these places allow tourists with tattoos in, but I don't like this concept since it discriminates against the average Japanese person who does have tattoos and is not yakuza. If you live here, there are other concerns, like using swimming pools. I don't really use either, but after I lose weight, I may want to more, so getting a tattoo will be a big decision as it will impact me a bit living here.

Yes I did, on the 9th. I've been doing great so far. I lost 23 pounds on the pre-op diet (3 weeks) and I've lost 9 since surgery (2 weeks ago today) but the scale is holding steady at the moment. I just started purees and am doing fine. Surgery itself was a non-event for me. Got wheeled into a room where they gave me some medication through the IV -- that's all I remember before waking up in my room. Had no gas pains or nausea post-op, and until recently I was walking 10-20,000 steps a day (I now have a cold, possibly (mild) pneumonia, so I don't want to spend too much time outside where it's pretty cold).

I've been pooping every day since about day 5 post-op. Usually 3 times a day. It's mostly liquidy, but sometimes (maybe once a day) I'll get something a little more substantial. I just started purees, so am not sure how that will affect things. I've started taking extra fibre, because the 'liquids' can be a problem when I cough or sneeze.

The question is not about losing weight - it's about keeping the weight off. I think everyone on this site has had plenty of experience in losing weight, but the fact is, most of us cannot keep the weight off permanently. If you try to lose weight through exercise and diet alone (diet is more effective) you have a less than 5% chance (in some studies it is less than 1% chance) of keeping the weight off permanently, whereas permanent weight loss is much higher (at least 85%) after bariatric surgery. Here are some reasons why bariatric surgery works (in comparison to diet and exercise): VSG/GP - removes the part of your stomach which produces the hunger hormone gherlin. Although some form of hunger will come back eventually for most bariatric patients, not having to deal with real hunger issues as you lose weight is very helpful in the first year after surgery. Also, removing this part of the stomach seems to have an impact on bile production and other hormones, which almost always positively affects other metabolic conditions like diabetes. Diabetes often goes into remission, and people have a reduction in meds for cholesterol or high blood pressure, etc. These improvements are not necessarily due to the weight loss (as first thought), but due to the surgery itself. Your metabolic rate will change as well. Trying to lose weight through diet and exercise alone can actually screw up your metabolism - look at what happened to the "Biggest Loser" contestants that they studied recently - their metabolisms (even for the ones who kept the weight off) were much worse after losing weight than before they started. Your body has a "set-point" that it likes to stay at. Basically, it likes where it is and will fight you tooth and nail to stay where it is. So if you start eating less, your metabolism will slow down so you don't lose weight. If you start exercising more, your metabolism will slow down so you don't lose weight. This is built into our bodies to prevent us from starving when times are lean; unfortunately most of us never really have to worry about not having food available to us 24 hours a day, so we are always well-fed. Weight loss surgery is not a quick fix. Basically, it takes away all the handicaps your body has set against you for losing weight. So you get about 1-2 years where you can diet and exercise AND lose weight AND keep it off without fighting your body every step of the way. But if you want to be successful, you still have to eat well and exercise. If you go back to your old habits, you will gain back the weight. The surgery acts like a 'reprieve', giving you a real chance to lose and keep the weight off. This surgery (especially sleeve) is not any worse than having your appendix or gall bladder removed. All you are doing is decreasing the size of your stomach with additional metabolic effects. I've learned a lot about this from many different resources, both online and in books. Unfortunately I can't find all of the resources online (I may not have bookmarked them all), but here are a few links: Why You Shouldn't Exercise to Lose Weight Why Weight Loss Surgery Works When Diets Don't Bariatric Surgery Misconceptions The Mechanism of Weight Loss After Bariatric Surgery Mechanisms Responsible for Excess Weight Loss After Bariatric Surgery (this link just takes you to the abstract and resources, but the resources are very good, plus you can read the full article if you like) ___________________________________________________________________________________ Walter - when all is said and done, it's up to you. If you are not ready for the surgery, maybe you should wait. In the end, it should be something you do because you want to do it, and because you know it's the best option for you. If you can't say yes to either of those, then maybe you should talk to your doctor about other options.

I had my surgery on February 9th in Tijuana with Dr. C@brera and had no problems whatsoever. No nausea, no gas pain, nothing. I was in the hospital for 2 nights, and in a hotel for one night both pre and post-op, where liquids (SF popsicles, broth, etc) are available to you, plus a driver if you want a little tour of the city. It's almost been two weeks and all of my incisions are healed save one (which held the drain - but it's almost healed). I've had good support both pre- and post-op. Like you, I had no problems other than my high BMI (mine is much higher than yours) but even within a week a week of starting the pre-op diet I started feeling better all around.

I only want my ticker to show my BMI, but ever since the update, it only ever shows my weight. I've deleted and remade it many times and it continues to do so.

@Owl Party: I too do not need to take sips of water. Ever since I started drinking liquids I haven't had any problems. I don't "swig" but often drink probably more than I should. I feel a little restriction at times, but it passes quickly enough. However, now that I am on full liquids, I find it harder to get everything in and I am slowing down and drinking less at a time, because the feeling of fullness afterwards is not that comfortable.

Yes I did. I'm now 12 days post-op and have lost 6kg/13lb since then. I've felt really good since surgery, including the day of, with no gas pains, no nausea, and little restriction with liquids. And since about day 4 or 5, 3 BMs a day (a little TMI, but a lot of people suffer from constipation post-op). However, I was the only one on my floor like that - everyone else had one or more of the common issues. However, I do find that I am having more restrictions with liquids now, so I have to spread out my drinking and "meals" (still liquids) to be smaller but more constant throughout the day.

I wanted to go with Dr. Valenzuela but she wasn't available for the dates I needed, so I went with Dr. Cabrera instead. He was very nice, as were the staff and nurses at Mi hospital. Others who were there with me had Dr. V. The hospital is small, so you end up doing a lot of laps of the same small hallways, but it was okay. Most of the rooms have a second bed that the companion can sleep in, and if not, a comfortable recliner. I went alone so had what was probably the worst room - a very small room right behind the nurses station with nothing extra in it. But it was okay. I was kind of in the center of all the action and got to know a lot of the patients and nurses there. The hotel you stay at pre- and post-op is very nice - it has a fridge and a kitchenette (with microwave), not that you can use it for anything much. The hotel has chicken broth, popsicles, and Jello available for you. I used the stove in my room to heat up the broth because depending when you get it, it might be warm or cool. I also loaded up on jellos (you can get 3 a day) and kept them in the fridge. If you like herbal tea, you might want to bring some with you, as it is soothing for the stomach and something different than broth, Water, and sugar-free stuff that they give you. The hotel is near a large shopping center/cinema, which provides something to do for you and/or your companion. There is a driver that takes you to and from the hospital (Art), but I didn't like him much. He's kind of arrogant and touched me way too many times to be appropriate. He also failed to show up to give us a tour of the city as promised. So if that's something you are interested in post-op, I would organise it yourself.

I was told to start taking vitamins in the 2nd week post-op. There's no requirements about gummies or not, but I bought a whole bunch in anticipation of not being able to take larger pills post op. In actual fact I can take most pills, but I'm going to start with the gummies since they won't last that long here in Japan in the summer heat - so I might as well finish them now while it's cool.

Me too! (They're actually something that needed to be done before surgery, so they are first on my list regardless of whatever else I need).

I never heard of it before so looked it up. It looks gorgeous, but I could never do it - I suffer from serious vertigo, so anything that has me at a high place with a lot of drops around me is not safe for me.

Like others, I will be putting away money now for the next 1.5-2 years to get plastics done. However, I don't see that as a gift to myself, it's just the second part of the weight loss journey. I would also like to get a tattoo, but I would wait until after plastics are finished. So, for hitting goal, I'd like to do something that I would never have been able to do at my current or highest weight, like climb Kilimanjaro, or hike to Everest base camp, or see the gorillas in Uganda/Rwanda (forgetting the fact that the hours+ hike through a humid jungle would have been a killer, apparently the silverback gorillas feel threatened by "large" (i.e. obese) humans and will sometimes show displays of aggression towards them). Or there are some great walks that I would like to do, such as the Camino de Santiago in France/Spain or the Machu Picchu trek in Peru. I'll probably need to keep a separate savings account for any of those trips as well.

OK, so I'm 10 days post-op (give or take, due to the time difference) and I have to say that my biggest problem so far is the tape that I use to keep the gauze in place that cover my incision sites. Out of the five, 2 are almost healed (one is where they took the stomach out), but the drain wound and two others are slowly making their way there. However, my skin cannot handle the tape. I have red welts all over my abdomen, and they hurt more than the wounds! They itch if I keep the bandages on too long. And today the blistering started. I have weeping bumps and blisters from medical tape! I keep going wider and wider to avoid putting tape on an existing welt, but I'm running out of space. I've tried 5 different kinds of tape and the result is always the same. I took an anti-histamine today and covered the welts/blisters in non-itch cream, and that seems to have helped, but right now the only thing covering my incisions are bandaids, which is good enough for home, but not for going out and about in the real world. Anyway, just curious if others have had similar issues and what they did to resolve the problem. (I'll try to post pictures later).

Other than the first week of liquids, there appears to be no limits on liquid intake. Purees and real food are another matter entirely. That said, a "sitting" lasts quite a while - at least an hour or more to finish the liquid. But since we are supposed to get 2 litres of liquids in a day, it certainly helps. However, over the last two days, for whatever reason, I can't consume as much - 1/2 to 1 cup is about the most I can handle at one time. And I'm going to stick with that, because I think you're right - even if I can consume more, I probably shouldn't. But even the day after surgery when we could start to drink again, I had no problem whatsoever drinking what they gave me in a short amount of time. I really wish I had more restriction at times. I really have to focus more on staying within limits as my body/sleeve is not really providing the limits for me (at this time anyway).

I've been walking at least 10,000 steps a day (sometimes over 20,000) since being released from the hospital. The first few days I found myself getting quite fatigued early on - I would walk 100 steps and then need to take a break for a minute, before continuing on. Walking uphill was a particular struggle. But, after I pushed through that, I found I could walk non-stop without the fatigue and I had energy all day. This was consistent for about 3 days but now I don't feel that fatigue anymore when I first start out. That said, now that I'm back home and not doing touristy things in San Diego, I'll probably space out my walking over several times a day. I was not given any guidance as to how much walking to do, I just did a lot because I could, and because I wanted to minimise the risk of blood clots on my 15 hour plane ride back to Japan. I don't think a particular number matters, just that you do as much as you can, when you can. Every person is different. Day 1 post-op I was walking all over the hospital - I probably walked more over 2 days there that all the other patients combined (even the nurses and doctors commented on it). I had so much energy. I could only stay in bed for a couple of hours before wanting to get up and move again. However, other people on my floor really struggled with gas pain and general fatigue. You could see in their eyes and posture - doing one small lap was more than enough for them and then they'd be right back in bed again. Anyway...as long as you are moving on a somewhat regular basis, you should be doing ok. Hopefully you'll see more progress day by day.

Yeah, I wonder how it'll be for me here in Japan. Japanese are surprisingly honest with each other (friends/family) about perceived fatness and other medical issues, but at the same time don't want to embarrass you when you fully own up to your fatness (oh no - you look good! - says the 100lb girl who wants to lose more weight). I know I'll probably get some comments, but I imagine most won't push too hard about the details. The other foreigners I work with, on the other hand....we'll see.

I'm on full liquids this week - started a few days early because I've felt fine ever since surgery. I feel like I could probably move ahead to purees because I have no problem getting anything in - I drink 64-90 ounces of liquids a day, can handle 2 cups of Soup at a sitting, etc. And I don't feel any hunger. BUT. Even though I feel good, I don't want to push ahead too quickly. I'm doing fine on liquids (hit protein goals twice this week - it's been hard to find what I need when travelling) so will stick to them until it's time to move ahead. That said, everyone is different. Have you talked to your doctor or NUT about this? They may be fine with it. After all, eggs are an approved food for the next stage, it's not like you went and had something you really shouldn't have, like pizza.

I have but that would be a lot of wrapping! If things don't get better I will probably have to do it. Apparently this type of irritant contact dermatitis isn't that common...

I'd say great, but it's clear that I am in the beginning stages of a cold (dry cough, sniffles, general fatigue) - and all on my first day back in Japan too! But I'm down almost 30 pounds since starting my pre-op diet on Jan 16th, although most of that was pre-surgery (only 5 pounds down since surgery). I can definitely see it in my face, and my hands and feet oddly enough, but not really anywhere else so far. I just realised that I lost in 1 month what took 3 years to gain. I feel like I'm travelling back in time - "the last time I was this weight was in _____." If anything, that will help me figure out what clothes to go fishing for as I lose weight. I wonder how noticeable it will be when I go back to work and/or when people will feel the need to say something to me about it.

I'm just over a week post-op and I haven't told anyone. It's not that I'm ashamed of the surgery, I'm just a very private person and don't generally overshare with anyone. That said, there are some very negative people I do not want to share this with, so if and when I do tell people it will be a select few.

Lots of people chew and swallow gum! (surprisingly) - I'm one of them, which is why I almost never chew gum. I think the problem with chewing gum is it can let in a lot of air and give you a gassy feeling in your gut. It's a definite no-no on my post-op plan, not that I was planning on chewing any (see above).

Me too,

I've read a lot on this topic too, including a few of the studies mentioned in the article, and I totally agree with it.

Me too!