Malaika

LOL ... too funny ... I love edamame!

Chancie - THAT IS WONDERFUL NEWS! CONGRATULATIONS!!!! :thumbup: I know how frustrating it can be to hover so close to onderland - I've been doing it for 2 weeks - so I can only imagine (based on how I know I'm gonna feel) how excited you were to see that "1" on your scale this morning ... and it's not even your "official" weigh in date ... tomorrow may be less than 198. Thank you for sharing your news with us and all your posts I love reading about your progress, it helps me to know that I can do it too! Big hugs, VegasAngel

KitR - welcome to VST - we are happy to have you join our family. Congrats on having your surgery scheduled with Dr. Aceves - you will love, love, love him and his staff- they are awesome. If you have any specific questions about the process with Dr. A, feel free to PM me and I will be happy to answer them for you. I had my surgery on 6/12 and my fiance had his on 7/11 -- both with Dr. Aceves.

Joon - I think you need to do whatever makes you comfortable. As you say, everyone is different. However, I would think that if everyone can notice that you are losing, you have probably lost more weight than you think you have. Why not try every 2 weeks and if you like the results, shoot for once a week. I know all the 'experts' say not to weight more than once a week...except the doctor's who developed the carb addicts diet - they say to weigh every day and take the average of the 7 day weight to determine the true loss/gain for the week. I might get on the scale more than once a week; however, I use Monday as my official weigh in date. We'll be looking forward to seeing your loss when you're ready to step on the scales and share your victory with us!

smart woman:thumbup:

Sure - kills two birds with one stone?

Cool Beans - there will be a guest room waiting for you two!

Lan - I have an idea -- have you ever considered hypnotism? There are licensed hypnotherapist around, a friend of ours is one, but he's in Nevada. One may be able to help you get over your repulsion with food - its something in your subconcious and that is where hypnotherapy focuses ... it's just a thought and I hope you don't take it offensively, I'm really, truly concerned about you and your health - you can't get what you need from only eating cream of wheat. If you need help locating one, let me know and I'll check with our friend and see if he can help.

wondering how long it will take the men to even notice ... where have they all gone too anyway????

Thanks for the updates Rosebud, glad everything went well with your sis and Its Time - we're going to have to have another meet-up after the holidays. Think we should start planning it now since the last one took us 6 months?

Tracy - if you were able to borrow the avitar - and then post it here - you can post pictures! If you need help, PM me.

Jolanda - try freezing small portions - then the "sell by" date won't matter. I also have a seal-a-meal thingy and I use it ALOT - keeps everything fresh and keeps it from spoiling as quick; plus keeps freezer burn off if you freeze items.

Dang Tracey you've really been through the wringer - and every time I read a story like your's I am so thankful I found out about the sleeve before having band surgery. I will keep you in my prayers that there has not been enough damage to prevent Dr. A from removing the band and performing the sleeve surgery. The 14th will be here in the blink of an eye and I will be anxious to hear from you on your surgery.

Let me know Tracey because Dr. A did my surgery - and as I said - we were given straws with every meal for the apple juice and some nasty orange stuff and, of course, the blue dye drink. Oh - and you won't GULP (at least not more than once or twice) following your sleeve surgery ... I'm almost 6 months out and although I can take bigger swallows than before, I definitely can't GULP (without pain that is)

I confirm what Cajun said. Thankfully, I am only 1 hour away from San Diego by plane or 6 hours from Mexicali by car, so travel to see Dr. Aceves is not too cost-prohibitive. I wish he was in Las Vegas, too - he'd be my doctor of choice that is for sure!

I don't know why - we were given straws in the hospital to drink the "blue" juice and other juices with every meal, so I'm no help with the "no straws" rationale.

Yeah Tracy - quite a visual I was starting to get there ... :lol0::thumbup::lol0:

Great post Shontel - thank you for sharing - Dr. Aceves tells everyone to put your fork down in between each bite - I am pretty good at doing that - it generallly takes me about 45 minutes to eat about 4 oz. I have learned to listen to my body and haven't had any problems in quite some time. Hopefully your suggestions will help newbies and those who are still have issues with eating further out from their surgeries. Congrats on your revision and your weight loss. I look forward to following your progress!

Welcome to the VST Family. I believe the reason for the follow ups is to be sure that everything is progressing as it shoud and to give the surgeons more knowledge on how people deal with the sleeve 1-5 years out following surgery. This is still a relatively new surgery and they are trying to gather information - at least that is what I believe. I had my surgery with Dr. Aceves and he is awesome. He recommends a barium swallow at 3 months and lab work to be sure that all your levels - Iron, Calcium, cholesterol, etc. are in healthy levels - he does blood work before your surgery so you have a comparison at 3 months. He also asks that we follow-up with him (via email) once a week for the first 6 months. His fee includes a lifetime of follow-up and nutritional guidance. I didn't go to see him for my 3 month - I went to my PCP here in Las Vegas. I had discussed the fact that I was having sleeve surgery before doing so - and I told him where I was having it - and he told me he thought the surgery was a good idea and he had no objection whatsoever to treating me after having my surgery in Mexico. (Now, this could be because he is from India and is not biased about doctors in other countries). Regardless, I saw him at 3 months and he said my labs were all great and he couldn't be happier with my progress. I keep in touch with Dr. Aceves' office and if there are ever any questions, I have a response within 24 hours, generally sooner. The $12,500 price for staying in the US is a good price IF it includes everything - all pre-op tests, the surgery, the hospital stay (I was in for 4 days/3 nights) and the anesthesiologist. Also, be sure that if there are other issues that need to be fixed while the doctor is doing your surgery, there are no extra charges. Example: I had to have a hiatal hernia repaired and Dr. Aceves did it at no extra charge; someone else had an inflammed appendix so he removed it, at no extra charge. If your $12,500 covers EVERYTHING then I'd say go for it. Dr. Aceves' charges $9500 and that includes everything, including one night at a great resort prior to your surgery; however, it does not include the cost of travel to San Diego (where his driver will pick you up and take you to Mexicali). If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me and I'll answer them the best I am able.

Tracy - sounds yummy. I love acorn squash, so may try your buttercup squash recipe too. Thanks for sharing. BTW is ICBINB - I can't believe it's not butter?

Josephine - If you're not losing weight are you losing inches? If you're working out as much as you are, it's possible that you're building muscle and muscle weighs more than fat so that could be the reason that the scale isn't moving at the rate you think it should; however, I bet you are losing inches everywhere and that your clothes are ready to fall off. Take your measurements and when the scale doesn't move, take the measurements again - I bet you see a loss. I know we all like to see the loss on the scale; however, if I can see a loss in inches if not on the scale, at least I know I'm still accomplishing my goal and that eventually the scale will start moving again.

Barbara - sorry that your insurance won't pay - it still amazes me that they find the sleeve so "experimental" or that employers (mine included) would opt to exempt WLS surgery. Maybe that trend will change one day (soon). If you are looking to have your surgery in Mexico, I would highly recommend Dr. Aceves - he has performed surgery on several of us here on VST and my first hand, personal experience was absolutely awesome. He also performed my fiance's surgery 1 month later and the experience was just as excellent. There are others on here who have also had surgery in Mexico with other surgeons and am sure they could offer you their experiences. Regardless of who says what the most important thing is that you do your own research and then research even more and that you are comfortable with your decision. If you have any questions about Dr. Aceves, feel free to PM me and I will answer them for you.

Molly - welcome to VST. Thank you for sharing your personal knowledge of Dr. Umbach. It is good to have someone on the forum who has had personal experiences with individual surgeons and can share those experiences. I don't think that the negativity on VST is against US surgeons insomuch as the cost of surgery in the US vs. Mexico if you don't have insurance to help cover the costs. We are happy to have you as a member and hope that you will continue to post your progress. Congrats on your surgery and on the weight loss thus far. There is a small group of VSGers in the Las Vegas area - would you be interested in getting together with us for lunch sometime? I think we have about 7 of us right now!

Wow Ange - I am so sorry you are having such a hard go of it with your pregnancy. I would say if you are losing weight, eat whatever the heck you are able to eat and get to stay down - the cheese is good protein; and I'm sure if we look hard enough, we can find something beneficial in the chocolate (hmmm .... is it at least dark chocolate?) Nuts are good protein too. I hope as your pregnancy continues your stomach is able to handle more of a variety of foods; however, if not, stock up on cheese, nuts and chocolate!

Mutti - 8 inches is a tremendous loss. That is the great thing about the sleeve - even if the scale isn't moving (and yes it is VERY frustrating) the inches seem to be melting off. Take your measurements, if you haven't already and when the scale doesn't move, take your measurements again and you'll see a loss. Also, if you are weighing every day - STOP - you'll drive yourself crazy as your weight can fluctuate 3-5 lbs just due to Water weight or other factors. Just weigh once a week - of if you have to weigh every day - pick 1 day as your "official" weigh in day and only pay attention to what the weight is that day. Hang in there - stalls are normal, and they happen to everyone (except MacMadame) but they don't last forever. Promise!