65-70 lbs to lose

[delawaregal 2]

Hi

I was sleeved on 6/15 so I am very new. Still struggling to get in the Protein and fluids. Protein is a bit easier now that I am on mushies. I have NO desire to eat or drink and must force myself. I hope that improves eventually. I want to get down to about 140 from my pre-op weight of 228

[pnw218 14]

I have been watching the tickers of the people who got sleeved on or around the same time I did. One thing I noticed is that even though we all ave different amounts to loose our tickers move at almost exactly the same rate. that is.... at 2 months we were a little over a quarter of the way... at one month just under. I think somewhere between month 3 and 4 we will all be half way. They are loosing much more weight but we all seem to be loosing the same percentage of our body weight.

Its frustrating though.... especially when I see people posting that it may get even slower than this. YIKES....

Yep! I agree. The percentage lost is a good way to look at it. I am currently at about 2/3 (65%) and most websites say to expect to lose 60-80% of excess weight in a year. I figure that makes me good!

I may not be losing much lately but I did run a quarter mile this morning without stopping and finished strong with a little kick! And made it thru 90% of the plyometrics and ab routines, so I must be getting stronger : )

Edited July 5, 2010 by pnw218

[Heaven 0]

I am 5 days post op and I also teetered the scale before surgery. Now that I have the sleeve, I do not have the cravings to eat like before. I think it was mu nerves that caused me to want to eat my last meal every day. It was difficult for me, my doctor was angry with me and voiced her thoughts about me not losing if I did not change my ways. After 5 days I lost a total of 10 pounds. I have 60 more to go. Good luck you will be fine.

[kalew 0]

Hi ya'll, I have lost 28lbs so far. was sleeved May 17, that includes 12 lbs preop. Things are going so slowwwww... I have started walking and bought a yoga dvd; I have to walk in malls though as it is too hot here to go outside even in the mornings. I have been getting in my Proteins and watching my carbs. I don't have any trouble with any particular food, wish I did. Any suggestions on how to speed up the weight loss?

[Jackie100 0]

I think your weight loss is ok... but I am not a good judge since I have not been sleeved. I will start my preop diet tomorrow, 7/26. I get sleeved on 8/9. I will be sure to update how it is going.

I would love to lose slowly. One thing I did not like about the gastric bypass is how quickly the weight came off.. of course including the malabsorption and the whole bypass issue.. That is why I chose the sleeve..

I would like to lose my 70 lbs in a year.. not in 6 months.. we'll see what happens..

Be encouraged and pls continue to update us.

[kalew 0]

Good luck with everything, the pre-op diet was harder for me than anything post op. It's been pretty easy post op to not over eat. I've had a few cravings but nothing bad. I splurged some for my birthday, but I couldn't be terrible. I could only eat one bite of birthday dessert after dinner. I would of eaten 2-3 times the food before surgery. So it's really great.

[BlackBerryJuice 349]

I think your weight loss is ok... but I am not a good judge since I have not been sleeved. I will start my preop diet tomorrow, 7/26. I get sleeved on 8/9. I will be sure to update how it is going.

I'm also doing mine on the 9th!

No official pre-op diet for me so far - I do need to update the nurse that I probably gained a good 5 lbs since I scheduled my surgery, but hopefully it's not going to change anything. Right now I'm living in residences at this other university with a meal plan that's paid for by my program, so it's hard to go on a liquid or other equally stringent diet - not enough options and nowhere to store perishable food if I were to buy some.

I'm at about 205-210 now - no scale here - hoping to get down to at least 145, but I could see myself making it as low as 135. Last time I weighed 145 was 9 years ago when I was severely bulimic and did 2-3 hours of cardio a day. Sometimes I'd just rewind my cardio tape several times in a row and keep going! Looking forward to being able to maintain a normal weight without killing myself.

[kalew 0]

Hi, just wondering how everyone was doing? I finally have lost over 30lbs. I joined a gym and have been working out. It really kicked me off my plateau. Lost 4 more lbs in 2 weeks. Haven't lost any this week but I took some celebrex and I tend to retain a lot of Water when I do. Just glad the scale is moving again. Finally lost all the weight I gained since I broke my leg 3 yrs ago. Still have about 40 - 60 lbs to loose. Hope to loose 6 more lbs by Oct 1. We'll see!! Wish me luck!

[MlkPas 5]

I'm doing better, finally. I joined the gym, too, and have been working with a trainer twice a week. Closing in on 35 pounds lost and a "normal" BMI. Fitting into my smallest clothes, which is great. I finally feel like you could pass me on the street and not think "fat" as your first impression of me.

Good luck with 6 more by October, kalew!

[saraslimmerin2011 0]

Hello All,

The date is September 8, 2010. I am considering a Lapband revison to a VSG procedure/surgery. I will fly from Travel from the border at San Diego California to TJ Mexico in the next few weeks after i get a date confirmed with Mt. Zion Medical with Dr. Almanza.

Has anyone out there had this exact thing done and how did it go ?

Has anyone out there traveled ALONE ? I am working with melissa and she is saying they pick you up at the airport and take care of everything. You stay at Recovery Homes with other patients and nurses 24hours to 48 hours after your revision/surgery and then they return you to San Diego Airport.

I am so fearful of doing this alone.

I need to know if anyone has feelings about Mt. Zion or Dr. Almanza ?

Pleeeeeze let me know,

peace and blessings to all of you,

jl

[mp8btpc 33]

Hello All,

The date is September 8, 2010. I am considering a Lapband revison to a VSG procedure/surgery. I will fly from Travel from the border at San Diego California to TJ Mexico in the next few weeks after i get a date confirmed with Mt. Zion Medical with Dr. Almanza.

Has anyone out there had this exact thing done and how did it go ?

Has anyone out there traveled ALONE ? I am working with melissa and she is saying they pick you up at the airport and take care of everything. You stay at Recovery Homes with other patients and nurses 24hours to 48 hours after your revision/surgery and then they return you to San Diego Airport.

I am so fearful of doing this alone.

I need to know if anyone has feelings about Mt. Zion or Dr. Almanza ?

Pleeeeeze let me know,

peace and blessings to all of you,

jl

Well hold on to your britches girl,,,youll get lots of response on that question.

There are several threads dedicated to just that doctor.

http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1334-dr-mario-alberto-almanza-reyes.html

http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/7618-dr-almanza-tijuana-mexico.html

[christina@MIA 12]

Hello All,

The date is September 8, 2010. I am considering a Lapband revison to a VSG procedure/surgery. I will fly from Travel from the border at San Diego California to TJ Mexico in the next few weeks after i get a date confirmed with Mt. Zion Medical with Dr. Almanza.

Has anyone out there had this exact thing done and how did it go ?

Has anyone out there traveled ALONE ? I am working with melissa and she is saying they pick you up at the airport and take care of everything. You stay at Recovery Homes with other patients and nurses 24hours to 48 hours after your revision/surgery and then they return you to San Diego Airport.

I am so fearful of doing this alone.

I need to know if anyone has feelings about Mt. Zion or Dr. Almanza ?

Pleeeeeze let me know,

peace and blessings to all of you,

jl

Hello Sara, Melissa was my Pt coordinator also. I had the surgery done 3 wks ago on 8/18. I also traveled alone and everything was fine. They pick you up at the airport and bring you to the clinic. The driver takes you to the recovery house and any where you would like to go. At the recovery house they have a phone that you can call anyone free of charge. Bring some movies or a book. It gets warm in the house because no ac, so bring cool clothes. Severo works at the house at night and is very nice and speaks good english. The day shift does not speak english. The house is in a gated community so I did alot of walking up and down the street for gas relief. Dr Almanza speaks enough english to tell you what will be done. He has Dr deborah who explains anything else you need. Lapita is the nurse and is very sweet. Not good at english but knows what you need. Tell her you have pain or gas and she will take care of it. Now for Mt Zion..it is just a small clean clinic and that is it. Not a hospital. The first wk and a half is tuff but it gets better. Good luck with your journey.

[flab2fab 0]

:confused1:I plan on having WLS in a couple of months. I am having a really hard time chosing which surgery to have, band or sleeve. I am 5'4" and weigh 195 BMI 33. I will be private pay. I have noticed that several sleeve patients with BMI's similar to mine have passed their weight loss goal and is below their target weight. This scares me a little because the surgery is not reversible. If this happens with the band Fluid could be taken out. Also, I want to know what is the hardest thing to deal with NOW. Not the first few weeks post op, but once you are on a regular diet.

[saraslimmerin2011 0]

Dear Flab2Fab,

I share in your hesitancy. I am on my way to Mexico tomorrow to have my Lapband removed by original MD who I trust and would recommend.

My reasons for having the Lapband removed are this:

Primarily emotional: I am going through the grief process, my daughter is not emotionally well at this time, I am feeling very unsettled about my life right now.

Secondary: The fills were a hassle. I had to drive too far, the people doing the fills did not have enough experience.

The port of my band has never felt "right" and now they think it may be twisted or have a kink in it.

Well, that is enough reason for me. It has been a period of 2 years. I did lose 30 lbs the first year. But then when I got stressed out my esophagus would tighten and I would start to have a difficult time with keeping the food down.

It could even have been that my body is not anatomically built for a lapband. I was born extremely muscular.....who knows? I just know I want to be Lapband free and continue to follow the research on the VSG (sleeve gastrectomy).

I am going to try getting my life and feelings more settled. I am going to try to lose weight "again".....deal with my depression and my attachment to food as comfort for awhile......if I just cannot stand it within the next year, I think I will certainly be strongly considering the sleeve.

I really want to lose weight and be healthier. But a lot of inner work needs to be done on my part.

Some people have had remarkable success with the Band. Some have not. I know I have probably confused you more and I am sorry for that.

Keep in touch,

Saraslimmer

So

[saraslimmerin2011 0]

Christina,

Thank you for the reply. I have made the decision to wait on the sleeve and return to my original MD rather than Dr. Almanza. No negatives, just that I trusted my original MD and now all he is going to do is remove the lapband.

I will continue to research on the sleeve and maybe in the Spring, return to Mexico and get the sleeve if I have had no luck in losing the weight on my own.

I need to get emotionally ready. Too much grief in my Life right now to undertake the weightloss journey. But I do plan on keeping myself in check by not letting myself GAIN more than 5 lbs, hopefully.

Thanks again for your input,

sara