Lissa

I am sending one of my best friends to Mexico. She has BCBS, but her company has a specific exclusion for weight loss and she can't afford $12k, which is what I paid self-pay here in FL. I suggested that she research doctors in Mexico and she is scheduled for March 21 in TJ. I feel totally comfortable suggesting Mexico for her and she has done enough research to feel comfortable with her choice. From reading here at VST, I recommended three doctors that had great reviews and she chose one of them. Good luck with whatever your choice ends up being.

During pre-op and post-op restricted diets, I counted all liquids that I drank. Now, over 18 months post-op, I do not count liquid food (soup) as part of my water intake. I have more capacity, so I count decaf liquids (tea and coffee) and water as water intake only, but I add water if I drink something with caffeine, which I do occasionally when I dine out. I have also raised my protein goal from 70 to 80 daily because I had a heart catherization that found some weakness in my heart muscle. I am adding the protein to give my body building blocks for the muscle when I'm cleared to start exercise again this week. This IS on the advice of my physician.

It would definitely be worth a visit with your doctor to find out if that's possible. It seems like it could happen.

That depends on your individual situation. How far out from surgery are you? What pre-op injuries do you have? I personally have a difficult time with squats and lunges and running because of old knee injuries. Others will have problems because of back injuries or abdominal hernias, etc. The best bet is to talk to your physician about any restrictions s/he wants you to observe. The good news, though, is that you'll be more able to move and exercise as the weight comes off your body. I'm actually looking forward to returning to the gym on Tuesday after a months-long break due to massive gallbladder pain. I have no doubt that I will be weaker than when I was working out before, but I'm determined to get back up to my full weights routine and half hour plus of cardio per day. You will also be amazed at how quickly your fitness level improves!

Thanks! I'm hoping to spend a little more time here now that things have calmed down some. I am amazed at the cessation of pain! I realize now that I've been in pain from this gallbladder for more than 20 years. I thought I had an injury from repetitive motion at the keyboard down the long muscle on the right side of my back, but even THAT pain is gone. Wow!!!

All I can say about this topic is that my boyfriend is 36, non-sleever, but he's amazed at my stamina. Ha! I wear HIM out! LOL

I was scheduled to have my gallbladder removed (finally!) on December 18, 2012. I went into the OR for surgery around 2:30 pm... and woke up around 3pm gagging, feeling like I'd been run over by a train, convinced I was dying! Apparently, during intubation my heart rate galloped up to 180, dropped down to 40, ramped back up to 190, then plummeted back down to 60. At that point, my wonderful surgeon called off the gallbladder operation. Instead of a smooth GB removal as an outpatient, I spent 4 days and 3 nights in the hospital. Wednesday, a heart specialist came in to tell me that my toponin (sp?) enzyme levels were fairly high for heart attack indicators. Scared the holy schmolly out of me! I had a heart catherization on Thursday to see what the extent of my heart damage from my heart attack would be. The cath shows that my arteries are clear and that I did not have a heart attack, but that my heart muscle is somewhat weak. The debate rages on among the specialists about whether that is because of my rapid weight loss or if it is a congenital weakness. The current diagnosis is that I had a possible allergic reaction to the anesthetic OR my vagas nerve was touched during intubation OR I was super stressed at the time of surgery and just reacted badly all the way around. I've also been told that I can have my gallbladder out as soon as my surgeon and I want to reschedule it. I am still in severe pain from the GB, but I think I'll be waiting a couple of weeks until I can wrap my head around going in for more surgery.

Go get your gallbladder checked. Your pain sounds JUST like my current gallbladder pain.. and it won't get better without intervention.

I'm never angry at someone for "hijacking" a thread. I think I'm the world's worst about doing it! I hope that my story can help someone else recognize a gallbladder attack, simply because it took someone else's post for me to recognize what was going on with me! My status as of now is this: I am scheduled to have my gallbladder out on January 25, 2013. My surgeon says that my risk of having similar problems again is nil. :::deep sigh::: I trust him, but I'm still scared. Between the follow-up appointments to make sure my heart is okay, work, and daily stress, I'm taking a break from a lot of things right now. I hope that no one is upset with me. I'm just trying to concentrate on my own health and welfare for a little while.

Yes, Butter, I did have a test that indicated my heart was in great shape about 3 months ago. I'm waiting for my follow up appt to discuss that with the surgeon. But, I definitely need to have this gallbladder removed. It's got me on pain meds again today.

Spatters, That makes me feel somewhat better, I think.

Benadryl makes a cream that may help with the itching. I'm allergic to latex and have similar symptoms whenever I have a bandaid or latex tape on my skin. I don't like taking oral benadryl because it makes me sleepy, so I use the cream. Good luck!!

Don't stress your clothes size. I didn't drop my first size until I was about 50 pounds down, and the sizes have been dropping quickly ever since! It's great in one way, but a PITA in the other, because clothes are not cheap to buy!

I don't worry about my "diet" on holidays. I eat whatever I want, which means that I'll go around the table and put a small spoon of anything that looks good on my plate and I eat what I want/can. I'm very open about my surgery, but, if you're not and someone asks about your small servings, just smile and tell them that you're dieting. At 8 months out, your weight loss should be very visible to everyone around you, so they'll believe you.

You're very normal. If you didn't have the doubts and questions, I'd think you weren't ready. VSG saved my life and I knew I didn't have a choice except to have the surgery, but I still went through weeks of "should I?" and "shouldn't I?" questions. You'll have (or are having) an approval process and lots of medical tests to do before hand, so you've got time to think things through. If I had known how much of a positive difference WLS would make in my life, I'd have done it 10 years earlier!

According to my doctor, I'm post-menopausal, but I can't help thinking that my body has a big surprise in store for me. I'm still tracking it because I went over 9 months before, then woke up to a murder scene. I'll believe it when it's been more than a year without TOM.

"Better Dig Two" by The Band Perry

Joyful noise, Thanksgiving wasn't too tough for me last year. I ate a few bites of whatever I wanted, from turkey to stuffing to pie. I didn't stick to protein first, but went with whatever I wanted to eat. I do that three times a year. My new "normal" is that on Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, I can eat whatever I want to eat. Every other day, it's 70 grams of protein and 64 oz of water. It's working for me. But, I promise you there won't be a single protein bar or protein shake on my menu on the actual holiday day.

I make sure I eat regularly and that I take my B-12 EVERY SINGLE DAY. If I don't take my B-12, I have no energy and I feel like I'm in a cloudy haze all day. It might be "all in my head", but it works for me.

I spent my early post-op time watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. For some reason, that made it easier for me to deal with the shakes and broth during the liquids to mushies stages. Now, you couldn't pay me to eat most of the food featured on that show. The portion sizes are still outrageous in my mind!

As you get further out from surgery and the sleeve heals, you are able to eat more food than you could early post-op. To stop losing, you increase the amount of food you eat daily.