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I'm only about six months post surgery but I can give you a few insights, at least for me. - My stomach capacity is more than it was right after surgery, but still way smaller than before surgery. Depending on the meal I can eat somewhere between half and all of my Protein entree with a little bit of side dish. - The reduced stomach capacity makes you think more about what you are eating. Since you are eating much less food, it is more important to make each bite count with proper nutrition and food selection. - I had no problem being able to consume alcohol with the sleeve, but it did stop my weight loss in its tracks. I now limit myself to a very rare drink on special occasions. Save it for maintenance. - You will become an expert at how much protein is in everything you like and eat. - Vitamins and Calcium chews have become part of my daily routine. - My motivation to exercise is still as challenging as it was before surgery. Routines are very hard to change.

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum so bare with me. I am in the process of getting ready for surgery for my weight loss. I'm 5' 9" and I weigh 290 lbs. My BMI is over 40 and I have severe obstructive sleep apnea. I am excited and nervous at the same time for the surgery. For some reason I am hesitant to tell people that I'm having the surgery. I feel embarrassed and I'm scared that people will question me and look at me strange when I lose the weight so quickly. Does anyone else feel this way? I now know that I need to do this for my health and quality of life, I'm just really scared of the changes I have to make in my life after the surgery i.e. eating, drinking alcohol etc... Thank you for any info you can pass along! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi Little Dog Lover-(I am one too ) You've been through alot and I'm sorry for your pain. I'm also an alcoholic (sober since 5/25/2000) and I congratulate you for seeking treatment! You can do this-believe in yourself. Please keep us posted. Hugs

Hi, I am just about 5 months post op (November 2nd was my surgery date) and have lost 105 pounds. I feel great and only have about 15 pounds left to lose to reach my goal. I am consuming between 1400 and 1700 calories per day and feel like maybe that is too much. I am very active walking 2-4 miles per day and am still losing about 2 pounds per week. I have never experienced dumping syndrome and am able to eat just about anything. Of course I still stay away from anything too high in sugar and no alcohol. Does the calorie intake seem normal for 5 months post op or is it possible I'm stretching my pouch without knowing it? I try to eat small meals at a setting but find myself hungry sooner between meals than I was a few months ago. Any feedback would be appreciated...

Yeah, The Whitman's uses Splenda too but when you check the ingredients they use lots of maltitol, a sugar alcohol as well. Pisses me off. Maltitol still produces the laxative effect. Not sure if Russell Stover's uses the sugar alcohols. I'll have to check on that.

It is my opinion, that if you don't change... at least some... you won't be successful maintaining the weight loss! I do agree that your core values, your basic personality etc. don't change but morbid obesity has a way of twisting how some of our social interactions are. Maybe a way to look at it is like this... did becoming a parent "change" me? yes. Did my career experiences over the past decades influence the person I am today? yes. Did feeling more physiclly confident, feeling less pain, feeling more attractive after losing weight change me? yes. I like to think that the real me has a better chance at shining through without the fatsuit! There are people who experience some temporary insanity ...ha.. that is a joke... during the transition. Anxiety, hyper mania type behaviors can surface. There is good old addiction transference too. I guess it is a question to the universe - if someone who abused food and used obesity to numb themselves from the world switches to alcohol, shopping, gambling or whatever - did they really change or is it that the underlying concerns are just more obvious? I don't know the answer to that. What I think is that I am alot more honest, about deep things than I ever felt entitled to be before That sounds strange but the happier I am with myself, the less I feel the need to please others? So, yes, i think losing massive weight does change us... at least some.

So yesterday I see that there is some cool sugar-free candy available now. So I bought a bag of Reese's Peanut Butter cups, Hershey's special dark chocolate, York peppermint patties, and a box of sugar free Whitman's. I had one of each over about 3 hour period. Then I was attacked. I had diarrhea the rest of the day. Not a happy camper. It's the stupid sugar alcohols they use. Sugar alcohols produce laxative effects when supposedly eaten in large quantities they product negative gut problems. I seriously doubt that 4 candies eaten over 3 hours constitutes a "large quantity". My anger is justified because there is no reason for sugar alcohols to be included. Sugar alcohols are less sweet than sugar and are not calorie-free. Most just have slightly less calories than sugar but they are absorbed slower in the gut. There's no reason why companies just can't use a zero calorie sweetener. I love Equal and Splenda. I've also kept up with the research and know that almost all of the cancer causing claims are bogus, mostly because they caused bladder cancer in rodents. The problem is that the rodent urinary system is different than ours and these products do not cause cancer in humans. They even removed the cancer warning from Saccharine because of this. I don't plan on eating sugar free candy every day. However, when I do want to endulge I would rather not have to stay within 10 ft of a bathroom just because companies are using sugar alcohols instead of artificial sweeteners.

@@melyssafaye that's a common misconception. Truvia is actually a blend of stevia, sugar alcohols and other ingredients I can't pronounce. I can't say that it's bad for you but it's produced by Coca Cola which makes me suspicious. Though that may just me being paranoid!

You are similar to me. Starting weight. 240 Surgery weight. 210. Oct 27, 16 Current weight. 168. Height 5'3" Goal. 140-145. BMI 25 We are getting close very quickly. It's SURREAL!!! I'm almost to my high school weight and people often don't recognize me. Lessons. CARBS ARE NOT MY FRIEND!!!!!!!! I keep my carbs to 40 daily Calories to 750-800 Walking to 1.5-2 miles I really believe that I will stall, lose my honeymoon phase, and/or regain my hunger if I reintroduce bad carbs. I look forward to maintenance when I can increase to 1200 cal so that I can have veggies. I don't feel like an alcoholic who has to have a little alcohol to live. I feel like a CARB addict who can thoroughly enjoy food as long as it is Protein and veggies. This is not a huge sacrifice bc it is such a BLESSING not to be hungry and to feel normal size for the first time ever. I deal with body dysmorphia which is super common. I felt huge in high school at 150. And at 51, didn't see all the fat in the mirror at 240. Only saw it in pix. We are so blessed. I genuinely don't fear regaining weight as long as I avoid carbs. Any other carb addicts out there????? PS. With all this protein, I definitely have to take Benefiber and a little Miralax daily.

im going on year 7 with my band. Knock wood i have had no problems. But if for some reason i would have to have it removed.... and i have thought long and hard about this... I think i would do the GB. Not that there is anything wrong with Sleeve. I just think i would do better with the GB. My friend and mentor Paula had the band done a year before me and had great success. But she is a heavy soda drinker and smoker (don't know if that had anything to do with it) but developed problems and was sleeved about this time last year. She loves the sleeve. She has had no issues at all that i know of. Her wife Maia had her band done the same day and me by the same dr. and has done great, but is thinking of removing it and getting sleeved also. For me, i hoping that the Band Gods keep smiling on me. Weight loss is still at 85-87lbs... depending on how much alcohol i drink over the weekend... lol.. Couple note: Im never hungry, sometimes is late in the evening and i think... Damn i didn't eat today. Sometimes i do forget and eat too fast and have to uneat food... but, that's my fault. I would have a serious talk with the dr..... discuss why the band and you didn't get along. Im sure he/she will point you in the right direction. Good luck

Debbie, your transformation is amazing. Liz, you nailed it when you promised yourself you won't leave the boards. As you guys know, I stalled for a year (yeah, I know a year is technically not a stall) and then gained a little over ten pounds before I was ready to get my sshit together. I wasn't ready until I was ready. But once I was, miracle of miracles, my band was as reliable as ever. In December I cleaned up my food. I dropped the crap that I knew was causing my weight gain. Dumped the fried everything. Dumped the movie crapcorn. Focused on p rotein instead of bread and p asta. Alcohol was already gone. I tracked the food honestly and even bought a kitchen food scale and used it. I faced the truth about what I was eating. And the truth was that I was regularly eating over 2000 calories a day. No way was this old shot-metabolism, zero-exercise body going to lose weight on that amount of calories per day. Slowly I got my calories down to approximately 1100-1200 per day. I've gone from 204 down to 189 since December. It's been slow but it's coming off. And that "tightened" my band without an additional adjustment. Funny how this contraption works. Feed it lean solid p rotein and no sliders for a couple of weeks and restriction comes back. Don't give up on yourself. I don't know why I stagnated for a year. Furthermore I don't know what emotionally kicked my butt into reenergizing. I have my theories, but today the reasons are less important than the success I am experiencing. It feels good to feel good again. You will too.

My date is March 30th which is 10 days away. I started this journey on Feb 1st but I am self pay. I had to do an upper GI and talk with a dietician over the phone. I am struggling with no alcohol, no cigs and mostly liquids. My doc said to have 2-3 Protein shakes and one light meal per day. The hardest part for me is the mental part. I get mad at myself for allowing myself to get this big and have to resort to removing most of my stomach. I have been grouchy some too. food funerals before my pre-op diet started last Wednesday. I keep going back and forth in my mind but when I see a photo of me or catch myself in the mirror, there is no question about doing the surgery. Again, the psychological part is the hardest and I don't find that much online about it. Anyone else having these feelings?

The stuff that passes for absolute truth on these boards, although no different from The Huffington Post content, would require more time than I have to debate it. So I usually don't. But throwing out a few well-known, well-substantiated facts -- like too much sugar and too much salt are bad for us -- does not warrant that all other comments and advice uttered thereafter are grounded in anything other than the poster's personal beliefs and experiences. What works best for you and what works best for me don't always coincide. And the presumption that my truth will solve everyone else's problems and become their authentic, legitimate truth really does strengthen cults and other rip-offs, whether it's Scientology's weirdess, Dr. Mercola's supplements business, Joel Osteen's church, or the Arbonne multi-level marketing company. Protip: If your guru wants your money, it's a cult. As with other cults, every dietary cult needs a super-villain. We've all seen rants and articles and cultish advice advising WLS patients to eschew these villains: trans-fats, saturated fats, non-virgin-olive oil, canola oil, beef, chicken, all animal Protein, eggs, milk, corn syrup, gluten, wheat, corn, celery (those evil strings!), raspberries (those devilish seeds!), artificial sweeteners, sugar, all alcoholic drinks, caffeinated teas, coffee, bottled Water, well water, filtered water, chlorinated water, unchlorinated water. Although my truth is no more valid than anyone else's truth, here's mine: Don't smoke (my only "eschew" truth). Eat less sugar. Eat less salt. Eat better fats. Eat slower food. Drink less alcohol. Stand up more. Walk more. Stretch more. Make your bed. Watch less television. Read more. Talk to your family at mealtimes. Take your meds. Have more sex. Smile more (fascinating, persuasive research about that one). Brush your teeth. And some unsolicited advice: Don't start a cult, and don't join one.

@@haleymarie A psychologist isn't a medical doctor and should be advising your about your weight loss and what you can expect. It is pretty unethical in my opinion. A masters degree or a Doctorate of Science does not make you a MD. Next to you see her tell her that, and hopefully find someone else to see. The psychologist is probably using the excess weight chart estimate. http://www.obesitycoverage.com/weight-loss-surgeries/gastric-bypass/how-much-can-i-expect-to-lose Something like that. The thing is, you can lose whatever you want to lose. If you decide you want to keep losing and you make it a serious goal for yourself. You will probably lose 70 or 80lbs just follwing the program in 6 months with little effort, then after that is going to require more work, possibly. You are really young so I think the weight will come off pretty easy, if you can resist alcohol. The next time the psychologist offers you medical advice, tell her you are going to report her ass.

I'm now in Maintenance. I'm using a combination of daily regiments. When I weigh in below my goal weight, I allow GREEN days; where I do my best, but don't log my foods. When I drift above my goal, I snap back to my month 3 diet and log everything (no alcohol). So far this is working well, but mostly due to the sleeve restriction that kicks in regularly on green days. No matter what color my days are, I'm getting in 70,000+ steps a week.

I really feel for you. Things don't always go the way we expected. It's great that you have recognised your battle with alcohol. Not everyone has such in site. Sobriety will give you back so much more,than a normal liver function test. It will give you piece of mind, self belief and improve your health and self esteem. This is a difficult game that we play but it is worth it. First things first, believe you deserve the best and take one day at a time.. The rest will follow. You are worth it.

I am a long time lurker here, just completed my surgery on Monday with Dr Illan. I had some time to kill this morning before my flight so I started writing about my experience. I have some time to kill in the airport so I am sharing it with you. Hopefully you find this helpful. If you have questions, I will do my best to help. The arrival into San Diego was uneventful. We wanted to be early, so we arrived on Saturday for Monday surgery. Rented a car and checked into our hotel, Holiday Inn Bayside. The hotel was fine and only 5 minutes from the airport. We wanted to make a date weekend out of the experience pre surgery. I booked tickets to a comedy show the week prior, so we went up to La Jolla, and laughed our butts off. There was a two drink minimum for everyone, since I was on liquids only, I enjoyed my 2 $4.50 bottles of Water. After a great evening, we stopped at Vons and picked up some Protein shakes, almond milk, and water. As a show of solidarity, my wife decided to do the liquid pre-op with me. She had the RNY procedure in the states about 9 months earlier. Once back to the room, we unpacked, and my wife whipped up another Protein shake for us with the blender she brought. Crashed for the night and made plans for a busy day for Sunday. I wanted to stay busy to take my mind off being hungry. We love our kitties, and when I found that there was a cat café in San Diego, there was no way to tell the wife no. coffee, and we hung out with all the kitties needing homes. If you like cats, I highly suggest you try it. It was a little different than the ones in Japan, but you got to meet different kitties, and relax with them. After that, there was a small farmers market set up just up the street. The food smell was killing me, it smelled amazing, as pretty much everything will when you are on the liquid diet. We walked through there for a bit, and then headed to our next activity. We wanted to do a tour of San Diego, but didn’t want to go the traditional route. So we settled on Gocars tours. Mexico before. Her phone beeped a few times and it was Bill Yanez, letting her know that some idiot tried running from the US police across the border. I guess he did not know how bad Mexican jail is supposed to be. So instead of a delay free crossing into Mexico, there was a slight 5-10 min delay. Once across the border, it was only 10 minutes or so when we arrived at florence Hospital. I would not describe the hospital like anything I have seen in the states. It appeared like a 3 story large clinic. The entrance part was not the most welcoming, and for a moment I questioned what I was doing, but as soon as we pulled in. Pedro's smiling face greeted us and happily started unloading our bags. Within 5 minutes we were in the room where Bill Yanez greeted me. We chatted for a little bit and I warned everyone that the IV would be the scariest part of the whole procedure for me. The hospital itself is rather small. The floor we were on only had 8 rooms and was not very large, perhaps 50 ft from one end to the other. The hospital was very clean. The room I was in had 2 hospital beds, a day bed, and a recliner. It had the nicest bathroom I have ever seen in a hospital, sporting new tile, and a rain style shower. Bill introduced us formally with Pedro, our personal concierge and guide while at the hospital during the day, and Rosa, the medical team leader from Florence Hospital. Fernando Jr. was our night concierge at the hospital. In only a few minutes more, I was signing paperwork. There were copies of most of the paperwork available in English, but the hospital only would process it on the Spanish paperwork. Rosa was incredibly sweet and caring. We swapped stories of my love of Mexican food. I had no longer finished the paperwork when Rosa handed me a gown and a set of compression stockings, and I was told to get ready. About that time, I got to meet Dr. Illan for the first time. Dr. Illan is very well dressed, extremely caring and understanding. He speaks English very well, and takes his time to understand your questions and make you feel comfortable. He took his time explaining the entire procedure to me and my wife. After our discussion, Rosa reminded me again to get dressed. They don’t waste time there. Once I was dressed, I was wheeled down to Radiology. The equipment seemed a bit dated, but functional. It was not the best decorated room there, in fact, it was in need of a major redecoration. I was only in this room for 2 visits for no more than 10 min each, so I was not that bothered by its appearance. The radiologist, whose name I do not remember, seemed a little short on time, but was friendly. His English was the only one I had a little difficulty with. After the chest xray, it was back up to the room to wait. I cannot remember if the IV was before or after the radiology department, I reminded them that I was terrified of IVs and they were able to combine the blood draws and IV in one operation. It made 2 separate terrifying events into only one to get it over with faster. They were able to stab me in one shot. Once that was over, I was able to relax for a few minutes. It wasn't much longer that they put something in my IV to make me drowsy. I hugged my wife good bye and was wheeled to the operating area. From entering the hospital to rolling to surgery was maybe an hour or so. I remember being wheeled to a wall, that had rollers on it. The wall was the height of the bed, and the rollers made it easier to transfer me through the wall from my transportation gurney to the pre op surgical room gurney. I was pretty dizzy at this point. I could have been there for 10 minutes, or 10 hours. It was probably closer to the former. I remember being wheeled into the surgical theater and seeing three large round lights above me, and being moved onto the operating room table. I remember it not being the most comfortable on my back, but I was completely zonked out at this point. The next think I remember is waking up back in my room. I remember I had an oxygen mask on that was annoying me, and my wife right there as I was waking up. I was not even fully conscious before she was encouraging me to walk. I am pretty sure I was no that pleasant to be around. I was pretty much still in a fog. I remember taking the oxygen mask off and being grumpy. When I was more clear, I was encouraged to walk by everyone. I was in pain from the gas used to inflate you for surgery, but walked little by little. First trip was only one lap around the floor, but after day 2 in the hospital, I was able to do 10 no problem. Walking gets the gas from your stomach and your intestines out. It will be a pain in the butt, but you will need to walk as much as you can. Trust me you will feel better after walking. The rest of day 1 was spent napping, walking, and recovering. Don’t plan on sleeping too much in the hospital since you will have someone coming in every hour or 2, 24hrs a day administering meds, and checking vitals on you. Take it easy, walk, and recover. The 2 days in the hospital will be boring. Pedro took my wife for some yummy Mexican food while I was resting. The hospital has blazingly fast wifi. We were able to easily stay in communication with friends and family back home via email and facebook messenger. I didn't use the wifi too much for entertainment at the hospital, but my wife reports she was able to stream videos easily. I don't really watch tv, so I am not certain what the tv options are in the hospital. There is a tv there, but we never turned it on. Honestly the afternoon after the surgery and the following evening were a blur. I do remember some pain right after surgery, but they were there with meds to help immediately. The next day was spent back and forth with chatting with my wife, resting, and more walking. Did I mention you need to walk a lot? I met Dr Flores, the attending physician that evening. He checked the incisions, and reminded me to keep walking. He was also very attentive and answered all of our questions. Mid-morning the morning after surgery, Dr Illan came to visit. He described how the size of my liver and how the pre surgery diet helped it shrink considerably. If there is anything you can do to help yourself, PLEASE follow the diet exactly. I did not cheat once. It was difficult, but after he told me how much the diet shrank my liver, it was worth it. I wanted as little chance for complications as possible. He said he can always tell when people cheat on the diet, and could tell I was being truthful when I told him how I did. Prior to the surgery I asked him to take any videos and pictures of the procedure he could. He showed me a video of the stapling, he showed me a picture of my stomach after it was removed. It was amazing to see all the blood vessels on it. The videos were funny, because you could hear light mariachi music in the background in the operating room. Dr Illan said the surgery itself only took 34 minutes to complete. After he left, the attending nurses had me take a shower. Once cleaned up, they carefully removed my bandages, sanitized the incisions, and reapplied new bandages. My wife observed so she could do that for me in the next few days. I was wheeled back down to the strange radiology department for a leak test. They had me drink a small amount of a clear liquid and shot xrays of me. Once those were clear, I was taken back to the room. About 10 minutes later, a tray of hot tea, Gatorade, and apple juice was brought in. I was so happy to drink actual liquids again. It is hard to describe the feeling you will feel when you first drink on your new stomach, you are just going to have to experience it yourself. Take your time, small sips, don’t slurp, and do anything you can to avoid gulping air. You will be tempted to take large gulps like you were used to, but those days are over. We brought 1oz cups and poured the liquid in those. About half of one of those cups was the amount of liquid I could swallow at that time. I am up to almost a whole cup now. Your stomach capacity is obviously smaller, but the swelling in your stomach further reduces it. Try to take in too much and you will be sorry. There is no reason to rush. More rest and more walking and sipping made up day 2. At this point, I was pretty sick of the hospital. It served its purpose, but I was ready to be outta there. Dr. Flores, the attending physician came back by Tue evening and cleared me to go home wed AM, as long as there were no further problems overnight. Another night of hourly checks followed, so no real restful sleep. I normally sleep on my side, and with the IV and width of the bed, it was not easy. Before I knew it, 9am was here and was up. I showered again, had the bandages changed again, and my wife had already packed. We were loaded up with 2 others from Bariatric pal and at the recovery house by 10am. Before we left, my wife gave Pedro $40 for his assistance. Either Pedro, or Fernando Jr was available 24 hrs a day. They sat in a waiting area just outside the hospital hall waiting to get us anything we wanted, or take my wife anywhere. It was very reassuring having them there. We arrived and it looked like a typical Mexican villa. They are U-shaped block of 6 apartments surrounding an atrium. The entrance is guarded by gates and cameras for security. Bariatric Pal owns all but 2 of them currently. The other two are owned by a small dress shop, and a musician who is never there. We weren’t certain exactly what to expect. We were given the choice of the holiday inn or the recovery house. Since I travel for a living and have already spent over 20 nights this year in Holiday Inns, we chose the recovery house. When we got to the house, we were pleasantly surprised. We were introduced to Juanito (aka Johnnie) who would be our daytime guide, more about Johnnie later. We were given the choice of apartment 5 or apartment 6, our ride mates got the other one. They were both very nice. They had a leather sofa, a leather recliner, dining table, full refrigerator, microwave, stove, 2 bedrooms, each with its own air conditioner and heater. The houses were recently rebuilt after flooding destroyed the old ones. There is a market just up the street that has coffee, Snacks, etc, as well as a great stand for pozole which Johnnie kept me from visiting. He said something about ruining my new stomach or something The recovery houses were furnished with satellite tv in each bedroom, very high speed internet, a local phone, and a Vonage phone you can use to call the USA for as much as you wanted for free. Your friends and family can call you on it too. It has a California number so it won't cost them more than calling CA. Next to the phones there is a list with everyone's contact number so you will never feel alone. We promptly called family and let them know that we were doing great. I was pretty tired, but also hungry at this point. We rested for a few minutes, then Johnnie was at the door to take us to lunch. The walk was maybe 4-5 blocks. He took up to the seafood restaurant, Cabanna. They had an awesome shrimp broth that had the flavor and the warmth to make my new stomach relax. My wife had a Jicama shrimp taco, and Johnnie had Jicama and apples. While getting to know Johnnie, he explained, like everyone else, that walking is good to get out the residual gas, and the shrimp broth helps more. He said just let any burps fly, holding it in to be polite is bad, he said he is used to it. He also offered sound words of wisdom. "As you recover, don't ever trust a fart". Wiser words have never been spoken. Johnnie grew up in the neighborhood, it is evident, everywhere you go with him, people are waving. You can tell he really loves what he does. He had us laughing at every moment. He is a true character, you will love him. We stopped by the grocery store on the way back from the restaurant to pick up liquids for me and food for my wife. Remember to always keep sipping liquids. Dehydration is not something I wanted to deal with. For once, I was not the one carrying the groceries, I had a medical excuse! Johnnie asked if we got our medicine package from the hospital. We had no idea what he was talking about. He was on the phone instantly, and before we got outside the grocery store, he had it arranged to meet us at the house. We got back to the recovery house, and I was finally ready for an uninterrupted rest. About 10 minutes after arriving, Bill comes by to welcome us to our new home for the next few days, we chat a bit, and then I finally get to crash into that comfortable bed that was calling my name. A good 4 hrs later I was much more refreshed and energetic. My energy levels doubled by the day. Paola, the nutritionist was there to meet with us to discuss diet following surgery. She detailed what I could and could not eat, and laid out a plan for me to follow in the next few weeks. We discussed the progression from Clear Liquids, to shakes, to purees, to soft foods to normal foods. She stressed that I needed to take our time and not try to jump ahead. She stressed that processed carbs are not our friends. I was provided with an information sheet that detailed the first stage of the diet, full liquids, with the assurance that detailed information about the second stage, purees, would be emailed to me. Once Paola left, Johnnie introduced us to Fernando, our evening guide. Fernando is a bit more soft spoken than Johnnie, but was also very friendly and helpful. When we went for our evening broth run, it was almost like playing frogger getting across traffic, but Fernando was out there in front of the traffic blocking it for us. I don’t know how to describe broth as amazing, but it tasted amazing. Little did I know, there was even better broth to come. Later that evening I was talking to Fernando who does pretty much everything around the apartments from remodeling a new recovery apartment, to cutting the grass to maintenance, to guiding us around the area. I was chatting with him and found out that he is a very talented artist. He shared some of his illustrations with me and my wife and we discussed his love of skateboarding. Fernando is Fernando Jr's dad. I crashed early while the wife watched TV. The next day, Johnnie was taking us to do some sightseeing. Had someone mentioned sightseeing 2 days prior, there was no way I would have gone. By this point, I was feeling energetic and ready to do something. He set up a minivan for a taxi and we went with our BPal neighbors in the next recovery house. We left about noon, and headed for Las Playas del Tijuana. I wasn't sure what to expect. As we neared the sea, the temperature dropped, and the fog started rolling in. We drove along the border fence, I was cool to see it from this side. We enjoyed the fog and the cool sea breeze. I liked watching the tough seagulls battle the ratty squirrels over pieces of day old donuts thrown to them near the dolphin statue. I watched one cholo squirrel snag a piece, and cross the border to keep a seagull from stealing it from him. We went down to the boardwalk, and enjoyed more of the sea breeze, and ocean spray. It was peaceful down there. When everyone was ready, we went back to the taxi, and went to Avenida Revolucion. I had been there a few years prior, and it was miserable. The vendors were pushy, rude, and some were downright mean. Johnnie entertained us with stories about how he nearly got into fights with some of them that were harassing his patients. No matter what you wanted to buy, from sombreros, magnets, fake purses, clothing, Cuban cigars, etc, Johnnie knew exactly where to go, and what you should pay. Johnnie really loves his town and his job, and it shows. He had his head on a swivel constantly watching us and keeping us close. I called him mama duck, since he reminded me of a mother duck leading her ducklings and keeping them safe. He told us to not buy any alcohol or pharmaceuticals on Revolucion since it was a tourist area and overpriced. We were fairly hungry at this time, so he suggested Caesar's hotel and restaurant. This is actually where the Caesar salad was invented. Obviously we had to get those, well, everyone but the patients did. They made it table side. I couldn't eat any, but tasted a tiny bit of the dressing, and whoa, was it ever good. My wife got grilled shrimp on hers, and our BP friends got bone marrow which looked delicious. After lunch, we stopped by his Johnnie's friend's store, which sells the same stuff as every other store there, and got us all set up with goodies at fair prices. He let us know what a good price was to pay for everything, and everyone came out with good deals. His friend that owns the shop, looks like the dad from Pawn Stars. All of the nonsurgical patients were offered free mezcal at the store too. There was a really cool store just outside his friend's store that sold coins that were hand cut into jewelry. They were very well done and gorgeous. After that excursion, the next stop was the farmacia. This is where you need to buy your Omeprazole. It was 240 capsules for about $17. I bought some more of the sub-lingual pain tablets that the hospital provided, as well as some ointment that required a doctor's visit in the states. After all the fun of the day, we headed back to the recovery house I was worn out at this point and took a short nap. Once up, Johnnie told me to get ready for the best broth ever. He had to go, but ordered it for us. He made a quick phone call, and about 15 min later a guy on a scooter brought a bowl of broth for me, a bowl of the normal chicken Soup for my wife, and a quesadilla we got for Fernando. The smell of the quesadilla made my knees weak, but the broth was wonderful too. My wife thoroughly enjoyed her soup, large chunks of chicken, and veggies looked delicious. This broth was by far the best of all the broths I had on my trip. The best part was that they brought it to you, and that the entire meal delivered was less than $10 US! Before Johnnie left, I gave him $40 and thanked him for all of his hospitality and assistance. I gave Fernando $15 and bought him dinner. The broth was so good that I ordered it the next day for lunch. That pretty much summarizes the trip, I wrote this while killing a few hours prior to departing for the airport. You can have surgery in Mexico from anyone, but the experience of Bariatric Pal was well worth the small amount extra it cost. Their constant supervision of everything, making sure we were comfortable, entertained, happy, and healthy was greatly appreciated. We made several friends on this trip. It is an experience I would strongly recommend to anyone. Everyone bent over backward to ensure that we were treated extremely well. A year ago, I would have never dreamed of having surgery in Mexico, with Bariatric Pal, I am not sure why I would want to go any other way. Thank you, Dr Illan, Bill Yanez, Stacy Eckel, Johnnie, Fernando, Pedro, Fernando Jr, and Paola for making this difficult decision one that I will look back upon fondly. As my mom put it, you guys went to Mexico for surgery, and ended up making friends and finding a party. One last minute addition, at the airport, for you that are in want of clear liquids, there is a Thai restaurant called Saffron that will sell you a cup of chicken broth for $3. It is not on the menu, you have to ask for it. It was the only place in the airport we could find broth. It wasn't nearly as good as what was in Mexico, but when its the only option, and you are hungry, you can't be too picky. Thank you for sticking with me to this point, hopefully this will ease any fears you may have. Post a message up with any questions and I will help as best as I can. If this helped to make your decision, contact Bill Yanez to set things up, and let him know I referred you. John S. Tampa, FL.

Hello, gladiators, It has been a while, sorry, life just got busy. But I think of you often and wonder how you are all doing. I am at 154lbs. Gained two pounds. I have read that it is pretty common for that to happen. To reach a low and then clim up to a more realistic weight. Of course any weight gain brings on the stress of thinking, I am going to gain it all back. It is very scary, I must say. I can eat a lot more then I should. At times I am astonished. I think the pouch opening streaches and the food keeps pushing out. Also, if you take a little break during your meal, 10 minutes later I find I can eat some more. I never felt the full feeling. I always went from hungry to sick. It's still hard for me to tell. The only thing that works is to have a plate with a reasonable helping and not have seconds. I can't do alcohol. I go from fine to roaring drunk to fast asleep in 5 minutes. I am exaggerating but it sure feels like it. My biggest problem is snacking. I can't seem to stop the munchies. Every hour I feel like I need to have a little something. Sometimes a little something is a lot of something. I had a restaurant size salad (big) for lunch then of course I could only eat about 1/3. I had leftovers, an hour later I had another 1/3 and finished it off another hour later. Wow! It's like I completely bypassed the physical limitations of my surgery. Not doing that again. However, if I do get a proper meal 3 times per day and a couple Snacks, I am fine. Why, why is it so hard to just do that? It's like I am ADD about eating. I can't focus on it. Other then that, everything is great. I feel great and my hair is coming back. I am at about 17 months past surgery and my new hair is like 2 inches long. I can see there is lot of hair that length throughout. It's coming in nice and strong. My energy level is great and I feel positively great.

I am so sorry for your loss and for your struggles and challenges. As you are being treated for alcoholism then you know the first step is accepting that you need help. I am glad you recognize that. I agree that you should make an appointment with a surgeon, a NUT, and even a psychologist first thing to talk about your stays and goals. If you haven't had blood work in a while they will definitely need to check your Vitamin levels etcetera. See if the bariatric program has a support group. If so, attend. You may also want to find a 12-step group like OA (OA.org). A good therapist will be critical for helping you recover and move forward in a positive way. It is never too late to be successful and create a life that you deserve. Sending hugs.

Very odd behaviour for your surgeon to try and use scare tactics. Most surgeons will explain why you should adopt good long term eating habits. I had a dentist once who to me that if I didn't have the treatment he recommended that all my teeth would fall out. Needless to say I found a new dentist. Back to your original question about whether people have a last food binge, I am not on my pre op diet for another week and am going out on Saturday with a group of friends who don't know about my surgery and I will eat as I normally would. My stomach hasn't yet been reduced in size so I am viewing it as my last supper before my new life. When I was banded I lost and maintained all excess weight for 5 years and had no problem with going to restaurants and eating on plan. I stopped drinking alcohol and carbonated drinks back and have never regained that habit. Post surgery, tastes alter and the things I missed were things like cherry tomatoes, grapes and various other fruit and veg. I did not miss carbs. My surgical team for my bypass have emphasised, healthy eating, long term, small portions, Protein first, then veggies and very little refined carbs. Good luck to you x Sent from my SM-G920F using the BariatricPal App

Please move my post if I am not in the right place. I had gastric bypass in 8/2012. I fasted to a weight of 275 and in the next three months I dropped to 246. I lost my health insurance at that time and couldn't go to the doc anymore. I never lost anymore after the 246. I stayed there until the weight started quickly come back on. I never felt like I had restriction and I ate like I didn't. I ate a lot of slider foods. (My Father also died the same year and I was in another state isolated from my family. I should also tell you that I hurt my back in 2009 and I had trouble walking - one of the reasons I had the surgery) There's so much to believe that there was something wrong with my surgery (I was hungry when I woke from surgery and ate the whole Clear liquids platter and I never felt much restriction at all.) I feel so much shame about what I keep thinking as my failure to adhere to the "rules." On top of that I started having trouble with alcohol in 2013 and I am an alcoholic now, currently seeking treatment. I don't like to regret things but I always think that I would have done better with the sleeve but if the problem is really psychological with me, it wouldn't have mattered. Now I finally have insurance and I can seek an opinion on the surgery and meet with a dietician. I will not be pursuing a revision or other procedure unless I have at least a year of sobriety. Thank you for reading.

My nutritionist wants me to stay away from alcohol for 1 year, but I was on vacation and I made that exception. I was also told to stay away from soda, so I didn't have any cocktails that have soda in them. I'm almost 5 months post-op and stuck to Blue Hawaiians. I did have a mimosa before breakfast one morning and the bubbles felt weird/uncomfortable in my stomach, so I stopped drinking them.

I, personally, would suggest another place. That atmosphere tempts me too much. Post bariatric surgery you have an uber low tolerance for alcohol. I'd be afraid I'd be tempted to have "just one" or even a sip and feel it too much.

I don't drink on dates, largely because I like to make sure I actually like someone and booze tends to cloud the judgement. I also really don't like drinking that much AND I am super careful about not drinking and driving. There have been times where I have ordered a drink, taken a few sips every once in a while, and that was it, however now, I just order a diet coke and an appetizer that I don't eat (if you're only doing drinks and not dinner) and if he doesn't like it, too damn bad. If someone doesn't like that I don't drink, it never would have worked anyway. Also, it has nothing to do with my stomach, so that is something I would never even consider bringing up. As a note, I was on the opposite side of this once. Way back when I was like 22-ish there was a hot guy in my class and I said, hey you want to grab a drink after class? His response..."I don't drink." My response...um ok. Lol, we actually ended up dating, but asking someone out for a drink is just a casual way of asking them to do something and them not actually wanting to drink anything alcoholic doesn't matter much. I would have been fine getting coffee, I just figured I had a hard enough time asking him to go out...want to grab a drink was fewer words than want to get some coffee, lol.

P.S. I guess if you're really self-conscious about it, you could just say you have GERD or something and alcohol is hard on your stomach. Or like me, you could just tell him you're not much of a drinker. P.S. I guess if you're really self-conscious about it, you could just say you have GERD or something and alcohol is hard on your stomach. Or like me, you could just tell him you're not much of a drinker.