Officially Not Fatty Matty

I applied for the tsa pre check and got a triple take when she looked at my passport photo. It was nice. (It went through anyway without issue)… way I figure is I have enough before and after collages on my phone that I’d either have to be some ultra tech enabled spy or just a guy who used to be fat. Id like to meet the person who thinks it’s the former, they probably have good stories.

I did self pay. Called a dr in Mexico, had surgery two weeks later. It would have been one week but I just missed the last appointment he had that day.

I’m in Houston and went to Nuevo Laredo just on the other side of the border. Self pay $4400 total out the door which included hotel, transport, and hernia repair in addition to the sleeve surgery. Dr Galileo Villarreal. Outstanding results.

Duplicate post. 

46 year old male here, 13 months post op. BMI was just over 40, now it’s under 25. Starting weight 334, currently 195. Short answer: I wish I did this years ago, it’s been stupid easy for me. 1) It depends. I had no problem drinking water right away. Cold water bothered me for a few weeks but room temp water was fine. I was a chugger and drink in my sleep, I was worried about this but I’ve adjusted. I know exactly how many mini sips I can take (8) in a row and do it instinctively. 2) I’m a year post op and I haven’t thrown up. I’ve been close I think. Twice I ate way too fast without thinking. I said I’d never do it again after the first time…. and the second. Never had nausea or “x food doesn’t agree with me.” I can literally eat anything I used to with no difference in taste, smell or tolerances. Just less. Much much less. 3) I was given a giant antibiotic pill in the hospital right after my surgery. It was an inch long and thicker than a pencil. It caused no issues (took one each day for ten days). I also had no problem taking my regular BP meds, which now I no longer need anyway. 4) possibly. I probably had a two weeks or so after where I felt just tired but very shortly after my energy levels went way way up and I feel like I can work harder and longer each day. I haven’t had this much energy since I was a kid, and my calorie count is still around 1000-1500 a day depending on what I eat. 5) I’ve never dumped and now that I’m trying to find my maintenance calorie levels I’ve been eating high calorie foods (to keep volume minimal) without issue (peanut M&Ms). 6) I never had heartburn in my life. Until after surgery. They put me on… omeprazle or something like that… right in the hospital. It’s a PPI and I stopped taking it after a couple weeks (I’ve never had heartburn, didn’t after surgery so why keep taking it?) I got heartburn!! It sucked, I was scared, omg my first negative side effect!! so I took it again and it went away. When I stopped taking it it came back… so I took it again. Turns out it can have a rebound effect for some people. Once I read about that I just stopped it altogether and the heartburn went away after about five days or so and I haven’t had a single reoccurrence since. Am I unusual because I’ve had a really easy go of this? I don’t know. I know there ARE others out there who have also said it was easy. I do know is this (and I’ve said this before… sorry for repeating to those who have read my previous posts)… this forum is a wonderful resource for people to get info pre op, and to get help post op. That second part is a blessing and a curse. It’s easy to read all these posts where people having issues are trying to find help…. and to get a false impression of how frequently serious problems arise. Not too many people create a new thread to say “hey I’ve had no problems, this was so easy and I’ve been wildly successful beyond my even most optimistic goals… ok carry on.” But we are out there. Most people who fall into this category are probably just out in the wild, living their best life, this forum not anything they think about because they don’t need it. I’m sticking around to make sure people in your situation know that we’re out here. It can be easy, problem free, life changing, exciting, etc. On the flip side my wife also had the sleeve and has had a hell of a time. No problems from the procedure, no gerd or vomiting… just near zero weight loss but you can read my other posts for the specifics. Then there are those who do have medical issues from this, do have problems of all sorts of things. They’re real and I’m so sorry for them, and they do need this forum for advice and comfort and just to vent. I am in no way knocking them for doing what they have to do, but their collective voice is much louder then people like me and it skews perception. No one can tell you where on the spectrum you’ll land. If you take it seriously, know that it’s a just a tool to help you lose weight, make better choices, and are ok with the idea that you may have some ups and downs to cope with, you’re off to a great start. Me? I’d do this 100 times over just to feel the way I do today. I wish you the best. No matter what you decide. From a purely statistical point of view problems from being obese far outweigh problems related to getting sleeved. And unfortunately with statistics there are the outliers. But it isn’t a coin flip.

When I was 340 the Hoka One One Clifton 8s were my go-to. They held up well with the weight and were incredibly soft to walk on. Now that I’m at 195 I switched to basic Nike running sneakers that are light as air and still soft. They probably wouldn’t have survived long at my previous weight though. The hoka were really durable and never seemed to give up cushioning.

I JUST DID MY FIRST PULL-UP OF MY ENTIRE LIFE!!! Wow that brought back bad memories of the presidential physical fitness tests in gym glass. Do they still make kids do that?

You should be fine just have a way to bail and get back home should you feel too tired / sore to continue.. I think I did a mile with all the laps I did in the hospital the day after :)

No I didn’t log anything. I tried it for half a day but I’m not disciplined enough to do anything like that reliably enough. I just kept mental notes and tbh it was really easy when it was two shakes and a cucumber all day. My estimates now are just that but I’m dialing into maintenance fairly easily. I no longer rely on my daily weight as I gain a tiny amount each day until I have my laxative around once a week and use my weight after that’s all settled out to compare. I’m losing about .3lbs a week right now which I’m ok with, it’s better than regain but I want to be careful. I told my half of my family. My wife really doesn’t want her side to know so it’s not out there in the public domain so to speak. I honestly don’t care who knows but am respecting her wishes (she had the procedure too so it’s not just about me). As far as the fat roll I don’t know. I was pretty barrel shaped, skinny legs and arms but not really a roll, just a thick torso. I will say that I was constantly amazed at how much better I thought I looked in the moment, but looking back through those in-progress photos now…. eehhh now it doesn’t look so great. It’s all about perspective I guess. If I stopped losing at 240 (my initial “realistic goal”) I would be saying the same thing, and if I get down to 180 (don’t want to) I’ll probably think I’m too doughy now. I guess I’m just always happy in the now. But I am happy. I said in my one year update that I feel like THIS is the me that I always knew existed.

Sounds very similar to me (I’m in Magnolia btw). The only difference is I was allowed to swallow pills whole from day one. And that started with a monster antibiotic pill right after surgery. I couldn’t walk much because of back pain (unrelated to the surgery), felt like I wasn’t eating enough calories or drinking enough. I’m one year out and I still don’t drink enough, am constipated but I’ve developed a pattern of laxatives to fix it once a week (I eat so little still it rarely bothers me to not go). Really for me once the one month hit things really took off. I was cleared for any food I wanted, with portion size being the main point of concern. I had no food problems other than if I ate too fast just like you. I’ve only done that twice now (you’d think I’d learn after the first time but no). If I ate over 500 cals a day for the first six months I’d be surprised. I just never thought about food much, lived off a couple protein shakes a day and a super small dinner like tomato and mozzarella or just raw cucumber with some salt. Maybe be ready for some weird reactions when you look at yourself now or “before” photos. I don’t really recognize myself in either situation, but I love the new me. I just don’t always have that instinctive “that’s me” reaction in the mirror, and I’m mortified at how fat I was in the before pics even though at the time I really just thought of myself as a big guy. Another strange feeling I’ve never talked about, at 6’4” 330lbs I felt like no one would ever mess with me (not that it’s a realistic worry) like walking to my car or whatever. I’ve definitely lost that sense of security (again, it’s unrealistic to worry about this)… I didn’t expect that psychological effect but it’s there. Strange feelings like that are things I never considered in the early days. None are bad or debilitating or even negative, honestly…. Just present… if that makes sense. Anyway I’m rambling but ask any more questions you can think of and I’ll do my best. Enjoy the ride, it’s really pretty awesome and I hope you have the best results.

I always feel awkward when answering these. Most of the time I type all this out then don’t send it. But I’m having one of those days where I don’t care about giving perfect advice or worry about upsetting someone so here it is. Simple and best answer: follow your plan. Realistic talking to a human answer: yeah you should be fine to have a little nibble. One word of caution, be self aware. That means know yourself enough to know if this little cheat will lead to another. Some people can handle it, some can’t. If you don’t know where you fall on that spectrum I would be very cautious. None of us are perfect but that doesn’t mean don’t try to be perfect with the plan. Me? I didn’t like my plan so I found one that fit what I wanted to eat. I’m not assuming my doctor is the be-all-end-all best doctor in the world and all the other doctors who have different post op plans are idiots. I found one that listed cottage cheese early and said “hell yah I like cottage cheese” and switched. I didn’t die, I was very successful with my weight loss. At four weeks I was told to try anything I wanted and if it didn’t agree with me I’d know it. Keep the portion sizes in check though. I believe that is the most important advice I can give. Love the restriction, don’t abuse it.

It’s been difficult because she knows how well I’m doing and she genuinely is happy for me, but I try not to talk about myself too much because it’s an obvious comparison to her non-results. She’s had a million tests and tried a bunch of different medications that are supposed to help. The worst part is she eats less than me, always has. And has always eaten healthy. She exercises, does everything she is supposed do. She did prior to surgery and a little common sense should have told us surgery wouldn’t work (her calorie count was already low, restriction wasn’t going to change that).

Omg I took topiramate as one of my attempts to reign in back pain (didn’t work) and the side effects were insane. When speaking I would forget simple words or substitute complete nonsensical words. “Hey I’m running to the mirror to pick up groceries do you………ummm…………… need anything?” kind of stuff. It was scary until I figured out what it was. Her doctor suggested she try it and she was “helll no” lol

I’m 6’4” started at 334. At 90 days post op I was down 66.8lbs at 120 days post op I was down 82.

I was that way. Two bites is a little hard to quantify though. Two pre op bites for me could have been a whole burger :) whereas now two bits is 1/4th of a burger and I’m too full. But I guess even burger is subjective. Eggs is a good measure if you can/want to eat those. For about six months my capacity was one cooked egg, scrambled fried boiled didn’t matter. If I REALLY push it I can fit two now but I’m hurting after. 1.5 is my happy place one year out.

My wife tried metformin with zero luck but her insulin and a1c levels are normal to begin with, but Dr have it a shot anyway. She also did Saxenda and ozempic which are the appetite suppressants, also no change. again her calorie count says that wouldn’t work but it goes back to likely not being believed by the doctor, which I get. I’m sure a lot of people say “I don’t eat much” and it’s not true either intentionally or from lack of self awareness (I said it too and really believed it).

My wife is in the same situation. One year out, 20lbs down. She eats like a bird. Healthy and incredibly low calorie count. She did prior to surgery too. I personally don’t think she needed it, but she felt like she did. She’s pretty muscular so I think a lot of her weight just isn’t meant to come off. She has had multiple tests and specialists and other than severe anemia (a dozen Iron infusions so far and it’s barely crawling up) nothing seems to be wrong. It sucks, I know. The worst part is when doctors and people assume she isn’t following the plan, isn’t exercising enough etc…. (How many of you reading this are making the same assumption?) We should have known because her calorie count was sub 1000 prior to surgery, did a daily personal trainer thing for several months etc and never lost. Smaller stomach hasn’t changed much for her to be honest. One doctor told her if there was a famine she would be one of the survivors. :/ I guess the two of you could hang out if that happens. Edit: I forgot to add that she has tried several medications that supposedly help with weight loss.  Since a lot of these work by suppressing appetite they clearly won’t work in her case, but that seems to be all they can figure out to try.  

No fatigue at all. I’ve been hyper energetic since surgery and really only feel a little “blah” now that I’m eating more.

6’4” here. I was 400-500 for the first several months, lost really fast. I’m one year post op, below the arbitrary goal by quite a bit and having a hard time finding a maintenance calorie count I can manage. I’m up to 1800-2000 by using food I never thought I would eat again to keep volume low but calories high and finally seem to be stabilizing. It’s the first week I haven’t lost but I also haven’t pooped in five days (this has been typical for me for the past year). I seem to be in a cycle of not going, using epsom salt to vacate the inner tubes and then weighing and using that as my weekly gauge to see where I really am. But to answer your question 2000 and if I’m maintaining it’s very close.

I was cleared for whatever I wanted at four weeks, started with ground chicken, didn’t bother me at all so I tried other meats and had no issues whatsoever.

I’m 6’4” and always believed the “you’re just a big guy” comments. I was. But I was a big fat guy, and looking at pictures of myself “before” I’m horrified at what I see. . I was 334lbs at surgery and laughed at BMI charts that said 199 was healthy (at the top end of the spectrum). I set a realistic goal of 240, and a “no way in hell” goal of 220. 240 flew by without a thought. When I hit 220 I still felt like I had more to lose so I thought “it’d be cool to hit 199 just to say I did it” but wasn’t sure if it was possible. I’m just shy of a year post op and I’m 194 and trying to enter maintenance without luck. I’m still losing about 0.8lbs per week, sometimes more sometimes less. I feel like I’m done and where I want to be… despite setting numbers in my head as a “goal” my honest approach was “I’ll know it when I get there” and I feel that way now. I’m trying to up calories without increasing portion size. My restriction is still very strong and I still have zero hunger. I won’t say what I’m eating because I don’t want to trigger cravings but let’s just say my wife is buying stuff for me that I needed to sneak before, all in an attempt to maintain. It’s an interesting problem to have, but I do think I COULD do another 15-20lbs and still look healthy.

One year post op and I had no problems whatsoever. Nothing has bothered me, things don’t taste any different, restriction is real and I’m still never hungry. For reference one egg fills me up but I can do two if I push it. Way below goal at this point. Forums like this definitely highlight the problems some people have. It’s not bad it’s just people trying to get advice /vent. There aren’t a lot of people who post “this was stupid easy” even though we’re out there so the perception isn’t exactly representative of reality.

I have had no luck with the gentle stuff. I opt for epsom salt. It’s….. VERY effective. Just don’t plan on going anywhere for 12 hours or so until you get used to it. I’m typically cleaned out top to bottom in under an hour, but really, do your research on it because once it starts you’re in it for the duration. That being said, I feel amazing when it’s done.

I was taking giant (an inch long and thicker than a pencil) antibiotics in the hospital right after surgery without issue. As far as my regular meds it was suggested I do them one at a time until I felt more comfortable taking them all at once (bonus I was able to stop taking my bp meds anyway). But yeah, the usual “ask your doc” answer is right, but I can’t imagine all the doctors who say it’s fine are doing anything different in surgery vs those who say no pills for x weeks (“hey I installed a special pill duct in your sleeve!”)

I’ve flown a few times since surgery and had no issues with either the walk through magnetometer or the back scatter “phone booth” thing.