Rootman

Shanna, sounds like your head is screwed on straight and you are doing this for the right reasons. Keep up with the diet, keep examining the issues and if WLS is for you then go through with it. We all wish you the best!

Been there, done that. Wanted to call the airline and change my return flight as soon as I got there. nearly barfed a few times too. I stuck through it, as you will too. I'm now 100+ pounds down in less than 5 months. You can do it too.

Been there done that and am now 113 pounds lighter in about 5 months. Had no big problems. The place is clean and compact and seems nice. It is a little noisy though so take some ear plugs. The staff are nice and professional. The recovery house's finish is a little lacking, they really cut corners on it's construction so it looks pretty cheap. Overall I've had more problems with facilities in the US then I ever had in my single instance at Jerusalem Hospital in Tijuana. I've seen ONE post where someone CLAIMED there had been a few deaths and goofy accusations of "death threats" when liability is brought up. I have yet to see any first hand concrete proof of any such events though and suspect someone is exaggerating to drum up business for their own clinics.

A lot of restaurants Entrees are not only too big, they are like 4 times the size they need to be. A few times the wife and I split an entree, take the other half home and then have a meal each AGAIN off the same entree. One guy I know who both he and his wife had bands would order an entree and a to-go box at the same time. They would split the entree before even starting to eat, box one half and then split the remaining half in half and each have one of the remaining quarters fr a meal. The thought is "out of sight out of mind" and by getting half the food right into a to-go box it eliminates and temptation to eat a bit more.

Congrats! Make sure to have the smelling salts right by the scale!

Carbs are NOT the "enemy", just try and concentrate on Protein MORE than carbs. Almost everything has carbs, it's unavoidable. Carbs are quick energy, the body adsorbs them quickly and if there are too many in one sitting packs the rest away as fat. The body also has a preference of pulling energy from fresh calories rather than body fat, so it will leave the body fat and just use whatever else you stick in your mouth first and leave the at for "emergencies". protein is long lasting energy that takes the body a while to break down. If you are eating the right amount of caloric intake and it is largely of protein the body will take some tie to break it down and use it. Protein has the necessary stuff in it to allow the body to build lean muscle mass too. Fruit and stuff while it does contain carbs is pretty much harmless. Eat all you want. Just make sure that with the limited amount of food that we CAN eat that you get your Proteins in FIRST, then carbs then fats. That way you fill up on proteins first and if any room is left a few carbs. If you're losing weight while eating the right caloric amount then you are doing fine.

I too had a great difference in taste, and at 4.5 months out I still don't enjoy many of the foods I used to. I don't know if its all psychological or if there is a physical aspect of it too. Take advantage of it and ween yourself off all the foods we should no longer eat.

I would bet on the syrup but if it happens again go to the doc. Years ago we had some bright red pain killer syrup, I think it was codeine and something else. Well I ended up like you with bright red stools and panicked before I figured out the source. I stopped taking that crap right away and took the rest to a disposal site to be destroyed. Sure scared me for a few minutes.

Yeah I am definitely hairier too. I am not sure about the follicle theory. I know for sure that my testosterone level shot up more than twice what it was and 7X as much as before I started replacement therapy. The doc said that I now have less body mass to dilute the hormone through and therefore my level rises - which makes me hairier and my facial hair more heavy too.

Yep, got itchy and stubbly for a few weeks afterward.

It's probably ketosis, the body is burning fats and it leaves a coat on the tongue and gives everything a funny flavor, my breath also smells funny - at least to me. It lets up after a few months but 4.5 months a LOT of food still tastes "off" to me.

Wow, that's fast. I'd say just take it easy and if anything bothers you just back off, mushies are always an option.

WOW! What a spectrum of time, from 2 weeks to 5 months! I was told to wait 6 weeks. 2 weeks for liquids, 2 weeks for pureed and 2 weeks for mushy food.

Sorry this is so long, I feel real "philosophical" today Same here or so it seems. Being a Christian I am dread to believe in something apart from God's will but it sure does seem like my "luck" sucks big time in most cases. My bro gave me 20 scratch off lottery tickets for my birthday. Now typically out of 20 you'd have at least a few $1 winners or even better. I had NONE. Just goes to show how my "luck" is. But sad story that it is if you make a good well informed decision it will usually work out for the better, my VSG certainly has. I've had like NO problems, well I did have some kidney stones from not hydrating enough and popping too many Tums (learned I need Calcium CITRATE not calcium CARBONATE). But at least nothing life threatening. Here I am at 4.5 months out and have lost 110 pounds. I have starved myself a few times and lost a bit of weight only to have it boomerang and I pack it back on PLUS some. The VSG is different not JUST a diet, and truth be told it IS the diet apart from the sleeve that causes you to lose weight, the sleeve just gives you the ability to keep to it. I too was worried it would not work and I would just blow all that money and mutilate myself for no good reason. I now have a LOT better eating habits and at 4.5 months I still don't really even WANT to eat, I have to make myself. Not force myself exactly but I have to sit down and make myself eat. Prior to this I would take ANY opportunity to stuff WHATEVER I could get in my mouth. I would gorge on MASSIVE amounts of everything. A lot of my favorites don't even taste good to me any more. I wonder if they ever really did, was I just shoveling it in, barely chewing it and not really tasting it and just getting high from the endorphins that having a full belly coursed though my system? I'm not sure, all I know is if I don't like it I DON'T eat it whereas before I probably still would have. If you're like most of us you are doing it too. If all the sleeve did is make us really appreciate the TASTE of food then it would be well worth it. I was worried about the same things. I really preferred quality food to average food. I would NOT eat a McDonalds hamburger but sure would wolf down a Royal Red Robin burger in a heartbeat. I would not eat at Olive Garden with their "fake" Italian food but would scarf down a plate of our "real" Italiana Restaurante Spaghetti any time. I think the sleeve changes your appetite AND your palate, I know it certainly has for me and while I DO miss it somewhat It's just a fond memory and little else. I do not long for the food I used to eat. I tell people it's like getting a divorce from food, you are no longer lovers but just good friends and see each other only when you have to. Most of us went through the same thing and some of us really wigged out when it came down to the time. Study the options, examine the realities, seek the consul of others you trust and if of that bent - pray about it. Only YOU can determine what is the right decision for YOU to make. We all wish you the best no matter what direction you take.

Well mine certainly haven't gotten much smaller - and being a GUY that's pretty bad . Technically I guess their moobs and not boobs. @Free2b - my rump went from a huge squared off thing that smashed up in the middle to a nice round "sexy butt" (my wife's words - HONEST!) . I am not sure how further weight loss will change it, I might just end up like Hank Hill . I know it hurts when I sit very long and it didn't used to.

WooHoo! Hot chick warning ahead! Arf!

Hurray! Good for you! Keep up the good work. Look slike you are closing in on your ultimate goal.

Dr. Almanza is fine. Had a VSG 6th of December for $5000, had NO problems and NO complications. The place is clean, cozy but a bit noisy, so take a pair of ear plugs to sleep better. Price is not the only thing to consider but the level of care seems to be as good as anything I've experienced in the states.

Find yourself a good support group locally, it doesn't have to be a surgical group a group like Weight Watchers or something will do. And get an accountability partner you can trust and confide in. And lastly, force yourself to record EVERY morsel that goes into your mouth. You can use a written journal using a calorie counter book or an online one. I use http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ , it's easy to keep up and I can do it from any computer. If you still cannot control your appetite then see if a mental health professional will help. It may be expensive but it may be worth it if you genuinely have food issues. Good luck and God bless.

NO, throw it out! The expiration date is on it for a reason and it's long since expired if it says 2010.

Some of it is the way clothes are cut, I know my "boys" are more snug now because my underwear and pants now fit and are not just loose baggy blobs all stretched out and cut too large to allow the fat to squish around. Let's face it, fat people in tight clothes usually look disgusting (I certainly did). Slim (or getting slim) people in a nice right fitting set of clothes look sharp and neat. I've had a LOT of compliments on the way my clothes fit me now, especially from ladies .

Like many others I too dieted and failed. It's too easy to slip into old habits and snack / graze all the time. What's the harm in ONE glazed donut? Well TWO can't be THAT bad for me can it? The physical restriction does it for me.

Super Congrats! This is way cool. Both BP meds and diabetes contribute to eye sight issues! Some presbyopia ( https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Presbyopia ) might play a part too but such a marked change in so short a time has to be the sleeve / diet / meds.

Had surgery in Tijuana in December of '10. I use this site as my support group. Being a working stiff I probably couldn't make many meetings anyway. If I felt the need I could always try to find a group locally but things seem to be OK so far.

Feel free to use it.