slimthickens

Not sure why my comment ruffled the feathers that it did. We're all inteligent adults here and I think it would be downright irresponsible not to fairly consider BOTH sides of the coin. Chances are that nothing will happen but that doesn't erase the fact that their is indeed a war going on there nor eliminate the chance that something very well could happen. Anyone wishing to travel abroad would be a fool not to consider the current climate of sentiments towards Americans of wherever their destination of travel may be.

Actually this is a very true statement. There is a huge drug war going on at present and Americans are kidnapped and killed quite often. Just watch the news to verify this for yourself. That being said I think the areas where most people are going to have surgery are relatively safe as the numbers of safe travelers on this forum represent. The risk of anything happening is probably extremely low but I do think that you should be aware of the very real situation going on down there. I have confidence that the Dr's scheduling patients for surgery there have considered all of these things and have probably taken extraordinary care to ensure the safety of their clients. I do think that this forum should accurately represent the fact that there actually is a risk to Mexican travel right now however low it may be.

Oh I'm also an astronaut ballerina with a PhD from the local clown college and when I smoke crack I always let it sit out for awhile and then mix it with egg whites. More Protein less carbs! Dammit I adore these threads.

I am craving hummus soooo badly but am still on full liquids so I'm not supposed to have it but I am thinking about mixing in a teaspoon or so into plain greek yogurt to see if It gives the yogurt that taste.

I just tried the Fage brand yesterday and I about flipped my lid because it was so freakin good!! I mixed half a container of the 0% Fage with a tablespoon of Yoplait fat free lemon and it tasted like the most awesome creme fresh ever made. I really hope I can still tolerate it after surgery on the 12th or I will be very disapointed.

Whew! I was worried there about my guys ...
"Uhhh ... Doctor ... there's something you didn't tell me you were going to do ..."

"Don't trust your farts." Wiser words have never been spoken.

Your bowel movements are normal for post op. I am 2 weeks post op and still have the watery/sawdust like poops. My dr. Said that until I start eating more solid I would have those types of stools. And fair warning don't trust your farts until you get a better idea of the pooping pattern.

Thanks for the input Forensikchic! That really puts my mind at ease. I'll just eat what I can comfortably in that hours time and then call it quits until the next meal. I tend to eat slower because I DO NOT want to ever have to experience sliming or vomitting and so far so good so I guess slower is better in my case. Thanks for the advice and congrats on your awesome success!

Hi guys, I have been stalking vsg websites n blogs for months. I am not the type of person to you you tube, but I did like this site for the info that was out there.
I started my journey last year after my last diet attempt, Weight watchers seemed to work well for others but not me. I have tried my share of cabbage Soup, low Carb, adipex, Chinese herbal tea..did it all..I got tired of the yoyo bandwagon n moved forward with my decision..it wasn't easy..I've opted not to tell many people cause frankly I don't care to here negativity or er horror stories..7 months later I got approved for my surgery 5/10/12 and its been a long time coming ..this site has been great at being the motivation I need to continue forward..I'm ready!

Girl, I'm there with you. I feel like I'm eating all day but how am I supposed to only eat 3 meals a day and one snack minimum???? AND I am not getting enough calories. I'm soooo there with you!
Wait will you still lose weight having that few calories though Forensikchic? Well I guess so, you've done it... I thought I would go into starvation mode and just stay there, holding onto every lb.? Glad to know that's not the case, phew.

I puzzled over this too until my surgeon said stop worrying about it and just eat what i comfortably could. I ate three 2 oz meals and it took me an hour too. I also ate a few Snacks just like you. It worked for me. I was staying around 400-500 calories a day for about 6 months. I did not go into starvation mode but I did have a plateau here and there and thats normal. I am almost 9 months out now and i still only eat about 800 calories a day. It is working for me just fine. I am down to a size 6-8 and have lost 82 pounds. Its slower now but still working. Dont worry, just eat what you can and try to make most of it Protein and drink your fluids!

These are just my opinions:
The lapband has had a ton of complications for a signifigant amount of patients such as band slippage, vomitting, food getting stuck, heartburn/reflux, costly maintenance, permanently restricted foods, and damage to the stomach itself often requiring revision to sleeve surgery anyway. People often think it is best because it is touted as being "Reversible" but there will most likely be scar tissue or damage once it is "Reversed" that can cause you signifigant problems down the line. My surgeon is dropping this procedure all together due to increasing patient problems. When I had my first consult with him and told him that I wanted the sleeve he said he was so relieved that I did not ask for the band.
Gastric Bypass has malabsortive properties that prevent complete absorbtion of much needed nutrients especially when eating so little. It also has the dreaded dumping syndrome which can be painful and upsetting to experience. I've also noticed that bypass patients tend to sometimes have a sickly or drawn appearance to the face and neck that I can only assume comes from depleted nutrients. I have yet to see a sleeve patient with that same appearance.
The sleeve has all the benefits of weight loss surgery without the malabsorbtion, dumping syndrome, maintenance issues, etc. I did tons of research before deciding on the sleeve including talking to both bypass, lap band and sleeve patients and I think the sleeve was the best choice for me.

Lapband is not as effective as the other two surgeries. Lapbanders generally don't keep the weight off.
To that effect, sleeve and bypass keep it off if you use the tool as it's intended. But there is nothing foreign stuck inside my body (as is the case with lapband), there is no open port (as is lapband) and there is not upkeep at a dr's office x amount of time to get a fill (yes we have general health follow ups, but IDK that seems better to me). Lapband you are sticking a foreign object into your body and it can slip, erode, scar the tummy, have issues. Just wasn't for me.
I will say for sleeve, it's scary as your tummy is split in half (or less rather) and then shut up and can come undone. But I liked that idea better than having my guts rearranged and I don't have to worry on malabsorption (as RNY, aka bypass). Dumping syndrome scares me to be honest, which is more likely to occur with RNY as you have less area to travel through your body if you eat that sugar filled snack. I understand that you can still encounter it with sleeve, but sleeve just seemed less hard on the body in my opinion. (then there is my experience but..... I did this to accompany my workouts, I did those daily previously so I view the sleeve as a tool to help me overcome my issues with food - it MAKES me eat less and so far, it's working - too well - I'm still going through the food progressions to solids but I'm not eating enough which is stalling my weight loss)
I had crappy insurance too btw, so any of the procedures was an out of pocket expense for me. I've had complications, possibly having another one now, but you know what? I'm 50+ lbs down and I don't regret it. I'm excited to go to the gym and now I have to make myself DO LESS in there. Who knew? Now if I can get my head hunger/emotional eating and triggers figured out, this lil mama will be more and more of a loser. Yeah! I love being a loser!
Good luck on your decision!

These are just my opinions:
The lapband has had a ton of complications for a signifigant amount of patients such as band slippage, vomitting, food getting stuck, heartburn/reflux, costly maintenance, permanently restricted foods, and damage to the stomach itself often requiring revision to sleeve surgery anyway. People often think it is best because it is touted as being "Reversible" but there will most likely be scar tissue or damage once it is "Reversed" that can cause you signifigant problems down the line. My surgeon is dropping this procedure all together due to increasing patient problems. When I had my first consult with him and told him that I wanted the sleeve he said he was so relieved that I did not ask for the band.
Gastric Bypass has malabsortive properties that prevent complete absorbtion of much needed nutrients especially when eating so little. It also has the dreaded dumping syndrome which can be painful and upsetting to experience. I've also noticed that bypass patients tend to sometimes have a sickly or drawn appearance to the face and neck that I can only assume comes from depleted nutrients. I have yet to see a sleeve patient with that same appearance.
The sleeve has all the benefits of weight loss surgery without the malabsorbtion, dumping syndrome, maintenance issues, etc. I did tons of research before deciding on the sleeve including talking to both bypass, lap band and sleeve patients and I think the sleeve was the best choice for me.

Be sure to walk no matter what time of night it is. I was up wallking every 2 hours all through the night. My nurse even laughed as he took off my compression socks and told me that I didn't have to wear them anymore because they were really only for people who wouldn't get up and walk...lol

Walk as much as you can. For me the gas was trapped right under my breast bone and in the top area of my back. The only thing that helped was walking and laying down alternately. By the 4th day it was pretty much gone.

I think that surgeons who discharge their patients without prescribing or insisting on an acid reducer are irresponsible! The research plainly shows that the acid MUST be reduced to avoid pain and reflux since the stomach will be relatively empty most of the time and the acid will be just sitting in there boiling your stomach and esophogus.

omg!! omg!! dashes for KITCHEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've notices a trend of people trying to advance their diet against their surgeons advice and it seems like they are the ones having extreme naseau and vomitting along with pain. Now that is certainly not the case with everyone who is having these problems but there are a few that I have notices mainly from other fourms. I saw where one guy was trying to eat chicken and tuna in the first week and was barfing everything up and he was surprised! Until week 21/2 there is nothing holding your stomach together but staples and sutures so putting that kind of stress on your tummy is insane. For the record I am almost 3 weeks out and I've not had one bout of nausea or vomitting and I've followed the diet to a T. Hope this helps.

The sleeve IS everything the band was supposed to be and then some!
The only time I have puked (and it has gotten better as I have gotten further along with my sleeve) is when I MAKE THE CONSCIOUS CHOICE TO TAKE THAT ONE LAST BITE THAT I KNOW DAMN GOOD AND WELL THAT I SHOULDNT! My husband can even tell when i am full now! LOL We dont have to sit next to bathrooms anymore when we go out to eat either!
I love my sleevie! The band should be banned from being a WLS if you ask me!
Keep Rockin' that sleeve!!!

It's hard to believe that I had major surgery just a little over a week ago. My incisions are completley healed and I have no more pain or discomfort of any kind. I am getting in my Water and Protein and I am almost never really hungry. I have had a couple of bouts of head hunger but nothing I couldn't get through by simply changing my thoughts to something else. The only real difficulty has been getting through the phases of diet progression. I really want something solid to eat like crackers or cheese in my belly...lol The other thing I've noticed is that the thought of sweets turns my stomach! I want savory things instead. I think it has to do with the fact that everything I'm eating now has a sweet flavor-puddings, yogurts etc. And don't even get me started on those nasty sweet flavored protein drinks!!!!! I can't stand Protein Drinks anymore...lol But its a small price to pay for good health so I gripe and complain but still follow the rules. I've lost 10 pounds in 11 days so I'm not complaining.

The reason I didn't - and would never -- think about RNY is because of the rerouting of the intestines. That actually *did* sound drastic to me because you process most of your nutrition *after* the stomach and there is a lot we don't know yet about how that truly affects health.
I didn't like the lap band because I didn't want some kind of cap you could open on my belly to inject air and saline. That was just too Matrix for me.
The VS is pretty tame in comparison, and quite honestly I am confused about how anyone could possibly get back to their prior weight after it. You might bounce back up five or ten pounds, but there is just not enough time in the day to really get those calories in unless you decided to eat butter every hour on the hour. I mean it can be *done*, but you you would really have to try.

LOL, I have a 22 pound pug and she is quite the fatty. She sleeps on the bed with us at night so I trained her to come to the foot of the bed and stand up against the footboard so that I can lift her only half way before she's on the bed. I'm only 8 days out and so far have had no problems lifting her using this technique. Hope that helps.

I'd advise waiting till after you get out of the recovery room to start.
Beyond that maybe a week or two.
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