PEvette

I got sleeved 9 days before my birthday....

I'm on the pill and my doctor never said that the pill has been proven ineffective....

I'm in Houston as well.....SOuthwest Houston, near Missouri City....we have a meetup page on www.meetup.com its called Houston WLS Active Buddies.....join us, its free!

I teach 5th grade Science....I'll be 13 months post-op July 11th.....if you have any question let me know....glad to be of help!

I'm a revisioner...had the lapband for 8 years, then revised to the sleeve in JUne 2012...Dr. Sherman Yu did my revision, I would recommend him..

No, they are not....when I asked my doctor before surgery, he laughed and said, uh, no...

My Doctor recommends the Kashi Cerals....I like the Go Lean Crunch....I like crunchy stuff

Great and true advice. How are you enjoying the sleeve ?

I'm ok...my weightloss has slowed down ALOT since the beginning, so I have to really pay attention to what I eat and how much I exercise....but other than that, no regrets

I was told to not do the protien shots by mt NUT.....my doctor prefers that I eat my protien, and if I must have 1 bar or 1 shake a day to help....but to eat as normal as possible....as he said this isnt a diet...this is a lifestyle change, the way you are eating (healthy) you will eat healthy hopefully the rest of your life...

I'm 13 months post op and I still have a sensation from the incision where he pulled my stomach out....I told him about it at 6 months post op and he told me to try to remember to massage the area and it will help with the sensitivity of the area....so every couple of hours or so I massage the area, it helps somewhat

I was self pay for my revision....so my price was more than the typical VSG.....but Dr. Yu has self pay packages as well, his office is very helpful in telling you up front what you will be responsible for before surgery....

Yes, I was sleeved in JUne 2012 from Dr. Sherman Yu

I would call the doctor...with this surgery and our stomachs are smaller now....you may become dehydrated from the diarrhea....plus throwing up in the first six months isnt a good thing....

check with your doctor

you should look at it as more of a lifestyle change then a "plan" most of us have been dieting most of our life, and probably could stay on a diet or a "plan" with our eyes closed....I dont see anything wrong with a chip here or a Hershey kiss there, as long as you journal and hold yourself accountable..

I was pre-diabetic at first, and my doctor wasnt concerned with me watching my carbs or anything, he just wanted me to eat what I could tolerate and during the purreed stage I ate refried Beans, eggs, grits, and cream of wheat

I definitely would like to see mine! I bet that sucker is huge! Lol

lol, my doctor took pictures of my insides during my surgery....removing the lapband, cutting my stomach, etc....and gave them to my aunt, since she was there waiting for me to wake up....she was so fascinated with them she refuse to give them to me.....I've only seen them once, lol

I'm in Houston as well, welcome! I'll be 13 months post op on the 11th....

You have to remember the surgery is a tool....and a tool is only as good as its user.....or the tool could not be right for the job, thus the reason why I had revision from lapband to sleeve...

I lost 15 pounds before surgery....I only did the liquid diet required by my doctor

fish was considered a soft food for my doctor's office...pureed means that it needs to go through a blender or be mashed until its mushy.....soft and pureed are 2 totally different foods...check with your doctor

I wasnt allowed to eat anything raw until month 3.....check with your doctors office

my favorite during this stage was grits and eggs....loved it!

Hey everyone,

I'm new to the forum and was excited to see there was a thread for African Americans. I had my appt yesterday and my surgery is scheduled for Oct 21. Going into the appt I had my mind set on the lap band but my doctor recommends the sleeve. I did not give the sleeve much thought because it involved more cutting and figured the band would be less invasive. But after doing some research and hearing people's stories I'm rethinking the band. But as an African American woman I have sooo many questions. Hopefully you guys are able to help me out.

Hi let me see if I can answer your questions...

1. After the surgery, were you able to eat small portions of "soul food" ie Mac and cheese, string Beans, fried chicken, jerk chicken, ox tails things of that nature? Yes, but some people taste buds change after surgery, like mine.....after surgery if I eat something extremely fatty like fried meats, I get sick...doesnt matter, fried chicken, fried fish, it makes me sick, so I have to eat baked or grilled..

2. How did your families deal with you having the surgery? Were they supportive? I currently have not told my family and they don't believe in surgeries. I'm unsure if I will tell them but it will be hard to keep from them because I live with them lol. But my friends and their families are very supportive of me. My family was extremely supportive once they understood what I was having done, you are going to find that you will have to educate them on the surgery, show them pictures, not the gross surgery ones but the model pics of the sleeve....my aunt, who is like a mom to me, wanted to meet my doctor so I took her to a office visit with me to meet him, once she met him, she has been my #1 cheerleader....the day of surgery my family from all over sent me bible scriptures and positive quotes while I was in the hospital....it was great...

3. Has anyone noticed a difference in their skin and hair? Good or bad differences. I have natural hair and its thick, I made a point to get my Protein in daily so I would not experience alot of Hair loss, as far as your skin, VSG patients do not get that "bypass look"....if you ever met someone who has had bypass you know what I'm talking about...people actually say the opposite about my skin, they notice how clear and smooth it looks, I tell them, drink plenty of Water and yours will do the same...lol

4. What did people do about excess skin? Did working out help or did people have additional surgery to remove the skin? I am 28 and I'm hoping by working out I will not have too much saggy skin and I'm also praying that I have good genetics :-) Working out has helped with my skin issues (thank God) I plan to hire a trainer to help me tone better once I'm under 200 pounds...I think it has to do more with age and the number of kids you've had prior to surgery than genes....I've met a few black WLS patients who has had plastics done and they all had children before having the procedure done, so there's hope!

5. How long did people wait before drinking and going to restaurants? Also what did people eat as a soft food? My doctor keeps telling me foods that I don't even eat now so I'm concerned I won't have much to eat during this stage. Please PLease PLease go through all of your eating stages your doctor has for you, DO NOT SKIP, unless you want to run the risk of a complication....I ate out 3 weeks after my surgery....it was baked potato Soup, minus the extra cheese, bacon and stuff....I was on mushies and it was mushy...I ate a spoonful, waited for a few min to see if I would have a negative reaction....then ate my 1/2 cup.....just go slow, follow your stages and dont rush the healing process....and if you get bored with your food selections, you can always come on here or join MFP and look at other people journals and ask questions about what they ate during your stage...honestly I didnt desire to eat any food until week 3...then I was able to eat mushies and soft eggs....my favorite was grits with eggs, I could only finish half of it but I loved it....

I apologize if I have so many questions, I'm just curious. Thanks in advance :-)

The first 3 months I couldn't tolerate anything sweet but sugar free popsciles, and I wasnt allowed fruit until 4 months out.....even now at 13 months post op, I have to eat regular food before I eat anything sweet or I will get VERY sick...like laying down on a table please get this crap out of me sick....

I would be very careful eating anything off plan at 4 weeks out....its only my opinion

I'm Askbelieverecieve on MFP...I'm alittle over 1 year post op, in Houston, TX add me

I was so excited for my surgery and I've pretty much told everyone in my life including co-workers about it. My family has been great, but some of my co-workers have been shady. I've even had a few try to tell me that WLS is cosmetic! As if. Now I am not one who cares too much about what others think. But it's super annoying. half of the reason I shared is because 75% of the women I work with are overweight themselves and perhaps hearing my story would inspire them. Instead they hate. Well they will really hate me a year from now when I'm a size 8. Ha.

highest weight = 228 DOS = 219 CW = 203 DOS was May 7th 2013

Well, being big or being small, you are going to have haters....I didnt tell but 3...yes 3 people at work and swore them not to tell, and I can say that they didnt, they let me tell me when I was ready....when some of my co-workers found out most were supportive, some were supportive but threw their jabs in comments every now and then....my response to them is I laugh, I dont get annoyed by them, because if the tables were turned I probably be alittle "j" too....

But I tell everyone who has a negative or "hater" comment about my WLS....if you can go through what I went through at 339 pounds, and be successful then I will listen to you, until then what you say doesnt matter to me.....