Rootman

Me too, I've got an Android tablet and have just given up on the app, I find using a standard browser to the regular site much better, although on a phone it could be a challenge.

I too was camera shy - as most fat people are. I just HATED to see myself, I even avoided looking in mirrors. It seemed better after about a year, we actually went out and had portraits made - a first for me in decades.

Yep the staples are forever, the body will encase them in a bunch of scar tissue and they would be covered up but they will always be visible on an x-ray other other imaging system, And there is not issue with MRI's or anything like that, they are non ferrous, that is not effected by magnets. The tongue coating more than likely it's the result of your body entering ketosis. When you start to burn fat it changes your blood chemistry and causes bad breath, nasty taste and this tongue coating. Think of it like a car burning oil and blowing smoke, it's the "smoke" that's coating your tongue. It's harmless but nasty. get a tongue scraper at the store and use a good mouthwash. It'll pass - but may take a few months or more.

See I toldya, all over the board. If you lost ANYTHING the first week you're ahead.

Our hearts break for you on the loss of your Dad.

Everyone is different, some lose none at all or even can gain while others lose a little to a lot. Comparing yourself to others usually is not good. Me personally I lost about 15 pounds the first week, hardly ate or drank anything and am sure I lost a ton of Water weight.

I had some issues, I think the reduction in calories and protein may play a part. My last checkup things were just fine. Some gum problems are a sign of dehydration, be sure to get enough liquids in.

Wow, that's a hoot! I wish it were really that easy

I kept mine a secret till post surgery. I did not want people trying to talk me out of it. Post surgery I tell anyone and everyone that asks or will listen. One woman here at my work was inspired and has surgery and lost a lot of weight too, two others are in the planning stages. OBESITY KILLS, it's not just about "looking" fat, it's all about having a better, more fit life with less overall health risks and finally enjoying life not chained down by our body weight.

This is asked almost every week. Most will say NO REGRETS, me too. It's the BEST thing I have EVER done health wise for myself.

I went to Hospital Jerusalem in Dec 2010, the place is, well, adequate. It is a store front nestled in amongst a bunch of "big box" type retail stores. It's cramped but seems to be well run and clean. You spend te rest of the day post-op there and perhaps till the next morning and are shuttled to a recovery house, it too is, "adequate". It's a bit run down, small and not built very well. There was an armed robbery there some time last year I think, some patients were robbed at gun point. That is enough to make me hesitant to recommend the place. As far as my surgery, it went well. Little pain a LOT of nausea but that's just me. I left a day earlier and had no real issues post-op except for kidney stones from dehydration as I was not drinking enough Water. I've heard better reports form a few other places in Mexico and would advise looking in to them over Hospital Jerusalem.

Well the above certainly has some truth to it it's not the complete picture. There is SOME difference between carb calories and Protein calories but for the most part calories are calories. I did not totally eliminate carbs from my diet and have lost 170 pounds in 10 months and kept it off. I eat very few carbs but still some. The protein first is touted because it is the most densely packed calories you can get it. The protein adsorbs slower and lasts longer than carbs and benefits you longer than carbs. So while the "protein first" mantra is good to follow it does not totally eliminate carbs. Carbs are like highly flammable fuel, it burns fast, drives your blood sugar up and gets used fast, what's not used gets stored in the fat stores, they're cheap too. Protein is expensive, burns slower, leaves the sugar more stabilized and makes you feel fuller longer - everything that we want in the post-op diet. We need some carbs for immediate energy and protein to build and keep muscle mass. All things in moderation, a few carbs don't hurt. Start munching down exclusively on bread, Pasta and other high carb stuff and YES you will have trouble losing and may actually gain.

Yes, what Forensicchick said, I too have had both and the stones are an order of a magnitude more painful. I really experienced very little pain with the VSG, just felt crappy. However 3 bouts of stones and I NEVER want to experience that again! My doc recommend I drink a few EmergenC Vitamin C drinks a week. I dilute the stuff with twice the Water it says to make it not as acidic on my stomach. The principle is that it acidifies your urine a lot by passing through the kidneys and keeps the stones from forming. I've not had a bout since last year. I drink 3 a week, Mon, Weds, and Fri. Can be bought at any drug store in the USA and most larger department stores.

It certainly can be, everyone's different and some even experience constipation - I did. Be sure to keep up with your Fluid intake as you are losing a LOT of liquids out the other end. You can get dehydrated mighty fast.

Hmmm, it's kind of unusual to have to take a bowel prep for a VSG but what the hay, cleaner is always better and what you DON'T want is to have a colon packed full of stuff post op and have to bear down to go - VERY uncomfortable. You results can range from barely anything to explosive diarrhea. I tend to have hardly any issues, my wife just looks at the bottle and runs to the can. You can get through it - THIS TOO SHALL PASS

Yup what Lila said. The stomach is made out of stretchy membranous stuff and has a remarkable ability to expand and contract. Think of it this way, you USED to have a weather balloon for a stomach, able to expand to incredible proportions, now you have a small party balloon for a stomach, still able to expand but not nearly as much. You cannot possibly put that much continuous pressure on it to expand it back to previous proportions. Now as to WHEN, seems like at about 6 months you start to notice and increase in capacity and at about 1 year you will be able to eat a good portion of food. It is important at these times to NOT fall back to old bad habits or create new bad ones. If you constantly graze high fat high caloric food then you WILL have issues with NOT losing or even gaining weight. The sleeve is a tool, a tool that gives us remarkable control over what WAS uncontrollable: our appetites. Another organ can betray us and trick us into the same old bad eating habits: OUR BRAIN. You not only have to keep your diet in order but have to keep your mind right as well. If there is sufficient WILL, or better put insufficient WILL POWER then there is always the possibility of bypassing the benefits of the sleeve. Like I said the sleeve gives us a distinct advantage we never had but ;leave it to us as a species to STILL screw it up if we take advantage of it. Sticking with a diet is MUCH easier with the sleeve, most of the hunger pangs are gone and you have much more control.

And the deepest darkest nastiest truth; not being able to wipe properly after going to the toilet. Or being able to wash properly.

Disgusting subject but once I hit puberty constipation and I became intimate friends. The docs never had an explanation, just that it appeared my colon was too efficient and soaked up too much Water and made me, um, stuck. I've tried a few things, most have no effect or make me cramp really badly, have to go unexpectedly urgently and I was always afraid of getting hooked on OTC meds and making things worse. Someone, can't remember who but god bless you whoever you are, suggested chia seeds as a way to keep from getting hungry. I started taking them, 2 teaspoons in a SF chocolate pudding at lunch and 2 teaspoons in a yogurt after dinner. And things have been moving better than they have since I was a kid. I do get a bit more gassy but the movements are firm yet soft enough to not hurt and I am regular like clock work. I am still taking 1/2 cap of Mirilax a day till I finish it , it has never really worked well for me and I hope when I stop it the chia seeds will still do their stuff. The chia seeds a hygroscopic, meaning they adsorb a lot of water and swell up a lot. They are a little harder to digest so they tend to pass all the way or most of the way through the gut and a lot come out in the stools. This is what the Mirilax is supposed to do too but never really has for me. It's cheaper than Mirilax and seems to work better for me. Give it a try. Get 'em at any health food stores or many well stocked grocery stores.

Not me, but then again hardly anything does, even laxatives. The effect my wife though, something awful at times. Look around and see if another type might have less explosive results, I know a few people who did not like art. sweeteners use Stevia, which is a natural leaf extract.

At least wait till you're out of the recovery room As others have said, "when you're ready". If it hurts then STOP. Find a position where it feels better or stop altogether and wait a day or two. If your partner absolutely needs attention then perhaps you would be willing to accommodate their relief in a "different" way then intercourse. I'll leave the details up to you.

There is no pat answer to this question, everyone's caloric needs are different depending on their base metabolic rate and their activity during the day. I personally eat about 2500 calories a day, but I am a 6 foot male and exercise a lot too. The weight loss down to goal may range from very, very slow to impossible. Remember that you are also probably carrying around 5 or so pounds of excess skin and some subdermal fat that is just hard to get rid of. So relax, stick with it, you may NEVER get to "gaol" weight but are close enough that if you can keep it and maintain it you are there!

I too have done the same, in fact more than a few times I've hopped in my van, pressed the seat memory button and wondered why the seat doesn't move forward, only to realize I never moved it back when I got out the last time - it was already forward and I didn't NEED it all the way back to get out.

Yes, it may be a stitch, or the internal nerves firing off again after being severed or could be the start of a herniated incision. Please check with your doc if the pain persists or gets worse.

The weight loss excuse sounds pretty hokey to me, I never had it as a direct result of weight loss. Sounds like kidney pain, I did have THAT and it is typically caused by the formation of kidney stones, excessive Calcium and dehydration are the cause amongst other things. I had 3 bouts of them, the last caused me to urinate so much blood I went to the ER, my urine was bright red, surprisingly I had little pain that time. Start drinking a LOT more Water, maybe DOUBLE what you're drinking now. PLEASE see the doc to make sure, he may take a urine sample to check for UTI and prescribe antibiotics.

I was off 3 days and flew back home from San Diego during that time - definitely NOT recommended, I can't imagine doing and international flight that long post-op that soon. Perhaps you can make an excuse that you are having "lady parts" surgery? This quite often enough, especially in some mid-eastern, eastern European cultures to stop the questions.