Facing50

Blondie, have you tried making your own shakes? I couldn't tolerate any of the pre-made shakes because of the awful fake sweetness. It takes me five minutes to make my own (I use a stick/immersion blender but you could use a regular small blender or food processer). I put in the following: I cup almond milk, I scoop unflavored Protein powder (mine is 17g/protein per scoop), 1/3 banana, 1 TB PB2 (powdered peanuts), 1TB high grade unsweetened cocoa, 2 TB fat free coolwhip, 2 packets of Splenda. I think that comes out to about 200 calories and 18g protein. Sometimes (if I know I am going to be running around and won't be able to eat for 3+ hours) I double it and sip it the whole time. If I need more Fiber I add a TB of chia seeds which are great for tons of health reasons (including constipation) but which gel into a texture kind of like tapioca in the shake after 15ms, which some people don't like. This shake tastes so much better than the premixed, is so much cheaper, healthier (fewer additives/less processed), and is super easy once you have all the ingredients. ** Sorry you guys, just realized this was a band to sleeve revision forum, I thought it was the regular post-op one, didn't mean to butt in.

I was sleeved on Jan. 2d, lost about 12 lbs in the first two weeks then stalled completely for two weeks. Then just in the last couple of days have lost two pounds. I started out at a relatively low BMI, though, and they told me it would be a slow process, not sure if this is the same for you. Re calories, I upped my calories at around the 3 week point to about 800 a day as well. I was just too fatigued at lower amounts. I usually get b/w 60-70 gms of Protein, but am bad about getting enough Water (50-60 oz including decaf coffee and almond milk in shakes). I suspect things might go a bit better if I drank more water.

I have a problem buying boots on line because I am short - 5 ft - so that boots that are supposed to be knee high end up an inch or two above. What I have been doing lately is going to Norstroms Rack (the discount place, check if they have one near you) or some other place with lots of quality and variety and trying stuff on. Then writing down the price/style and checking on ebay in my size. Cheaper and you know they will fit! Plus it eliminates rash purchases.

I did it almost a month ago with a bmi of 32. I had co-morbidities also - diabetes, high cholesterol, sleep apnea. I've only lost about 12 lbs (they told me my weight loss would be slow b/c I had less to lose) but my diabetes is GONE, sugar levels completely normal without meds. Even with the minimal weight loss, I feel so much better, so much easier to get around, especially exercising, and my BMI is now 29.5 (yay, "merely" overweight!) To my mind there is no question that surgery is the right thing if you cannot do it by yourself - and let's face it, if you are here you are having problems doing it, as do/did the rest of us.

Hello all, I was prescribed stomach stuff by my doc in Mexico but have run out of it and am starting to get what might be acid symptoms. I was thinking of trying Prilosec or the Cosco analog, which is cheaper, but both of them say to discontinue use after 14 days. It seems like a lot of folks post-sleeve just use these every day as a fact of life. Is that safe, or is there something I need to do to balance that? I am already taking Multivitamins and Calcium citrate.

$5500 in Mexico (Dr. Jaime Ponce de Leon in Tijuana) and I got great care. I think the good mex. docs are better than the US ones b/c they have done so many more (sleeve has been done for much longer there) so they are more experienced with the procedure and possible complications. My sister (she is a doctor herself) was dead against it, but after meeting the team there changed her mind completely.

It is kind of amazing to me, too, that people (I haven't even kept track of whom, I am relatively new to the board) feel that they are qualified to judge other people's decisions. Not just on food, but even on whether they are obese "enough" for the surgery. When I was deciding whether or not to do it I was kind of shocked that some heavier people would opine that so and so, at "x" BMI, was just not heavy enough to justify the surgery. Now, reading the post-op forum, I'm surprised that there are people who think that that their idea of what is acceptable to eat is the final authority for the rest of us. Like everyone, probably, I read certain points and think "duh, of course that's not a good idea". But I keep the thought in my head, where it belongs, I don't put it out on the screen to make someone else's day worse.

This is not strictly related to vsg, but I have been having heavy hair loss for about a year. Strangely, after the surgery (two weeks ago yesterday) that has drastically reduced. I thought about what had changed, did some googling, and am pretty sure the falling hair was because my doctor put me on heavy doses of statins when my diabetes was diagnosed. I had been on them already because I had high cholestorol, but she doubled them. Anyway, if you google, it seems pretty obvious that statins do cause hair loss; although doctors don't warn you about it, the FDA apparently acknowledges it. I stopped taking the statins after the surgery because I wanted to see what my cholestorol was a month out without them, and the hair loss has almost stopped completely. Huge relief to me, I went from having super thick hair to being able to see my scalp, and anticipating being almost bald when the sleeve related hair loss set in. I figure a lot of us out there have high cholestorol, anyone else notice hair loss from the date of statin usage?

It really is all about distribution. My legs have always been thinner than the rest of me, now they look like chicken legs with my barrel sized tummy on top. I know that in the end everything will balance out, I think we just need to keep going and be grateful that we can't just give up and have a comforting pint of ice cream like in the old days.

Thanks you guys. that is exactly what I needed to know.

Hello all, I was prescribed stomach stuff by my doc in Mexico but have run out of it and am starting to get what might be acid symptoms. I was thinking of trying Prilosec or the Cosco analog, which is cheaper, but both of them say to discontinue use after 14 days. It seems like a lot of folks post-sleeve just use these every day as a fact of life. Is that safe, or is there something I need to do to balance that? I am already taking Multivitamins and calcium citrate.

Oops, sorry guys, meant to post this to the post-op forum. If an admin sees this, will you delete it? Am going to repost in post-op.

Just saw this link from a foodie who did a taste comparison b/w PB2 and peanut flour (same idea) from Trader Joe's. She says the TJs version is just about as good (she does advise adding a little salt) and costs almost 2/3 less. Plus if you have a local TJs, less hassle. Could be a major savings for you PB nuts (pun intended:) http://www.dailygarnish.com/2010/09/powdered-peanut-butter-a-review-taste-test.ht

Hello all, Am scheduled for surgery on Jan. 2d. I have had a cough for the last couple of days, today I also developed a cold (runny nose/congestion), sore throat, and the cough is worse. According to the facilitator it should be ok as long as I do not develop a fever, plus they put you on antibiotics after the surgery. My questions: the cough is pretty bad. It seems as if it would hurt like *^&% to be doing it consistently post-op with stitches to add to the equation. Also, I'm worried that the cold will generally slow down recovery and make it feel worse all round. My sister (an anesthesiologist) says that generally a cold will do that but that most docs proceed on a case by case basis. Did anyone have a cold/bad cough post-op? In retrospect, would you have rescheduled?

Thank you, VIctoria! I will take all the good wishes I can get. Good luck to you in your recovery as well. Just think, this time next year all this will be a distant memory and we'll be ready to toast in the New Year like everyone else.

Thanks for your reply, Victoria, not looking forward to that. But I just confirmed the date an hour ago, so I am going to suck it up and hope that is not a big mistake. How long did that extreme/crying inducing pain last? Do you think that the coughing/cold slowed your recovery?

Thank you so much for the response, that helps a lot. I was imagining bursting through stitches or something equally awful and improbable the way you do in cases like this.

Strange question here. I am getting the sleeve done in Mexico in 9 days. Several of the FAQ posts mention that it would be good to have a little pillow to provide pressure on your tummy during recovery in the hospital. The doctor I am going to, dr. ponce de leon, is not one of the docs that provides them. Would like to order one from Amazon before I leave, but not sure what size/firmness to get, does anyone have any guidance? Thanks in advance!

Thanks you guys. I ended up buying a cheap small cushion at Ross Dress for Less. Amazing what they have there, I got an exercise stomach wrap that will be great as a binder, which other people recommended as well. Both for less than $5.00 each!

My BMI is 32/33, and I definitely have questions about whether this is the right way to go. But I have been at this weight for 10 years. I also have severe sleep apnea, diabetes, and a family history of severe cardiovascular disease. I would rather take this step and stop having to worry all the time than wait another ten years and be facing a triple bypass. I don't think you should be comparing yourself to other people, just be comfortable with the reasons you are doing it on your own behalf, you know?

Excellent point, Amanda, I am going to do that today.

Hey you guys, I was diagnosed with diabetes about 5 mos. ago, which is when I started thinking of doing the sleeve. Other issues: I have serious sleep apnea, high cholestorol (on meds for this, plus the diabetes) I am 50, BMI of around 32, family history on dad's side of serious diabetes and heart disease/triple bypass-valve replacement. Was hoping that my insurance, Kaiser would cover the vsg surgery, but they only do so with a min. of 35 BMI, even with co-morbidities. I do not want to gain weight to get coverage, I am already noticing some vision deterioration in one eye. Maybe it is not diabetes related, but it scares me enough that I really don't want make anything worse So I am just going to pay for it myself in Mexico. The thing I am most frightened of about this is that if I have follow-up issues once I am back in the US - leaks or even more serious - Kaiser won't cover them because they didn't do the surgery. I am not sure that it is worth going bankrupt if something like that happens. Has anyone had follow up care under their State-side insurance after Mexican surgery? I am really, really worried about this and would appreciate any input.

Hi you guys, Thanks for your responses. I have not talked to Kaiser yet, I am nervous about flagging the issue before anything even happens. I am just nervous because I think I have read in other places that insurers will not assume liability for follow up care on operations that they did not do, and of course it is just something else to be worried about! Hoosier Girl, good suggestions. I was already going to spend an extra night in the hotel just to be safe. Best wishes to you both.

I haven't even *started* the journey really. I just (two days ago) officially found out that I have diabetes so am trying to figure out what to do. My BMI is right at 35% and my understanding is that my insurance provider (Kaiser SoCal) covers VSG, even at that BMI, with two co-morbidity factors. I also have severe obstructive sleep apnea and high cholesterol as well as the diabetes (yay, me!) so I am thinking of VSG as an option moving forward. I know that the doc will want me to lose weight no matter what, so I am thinking that I will ask for a referral for VSG at the same time. I think Kaiser expects you to go to pre-surgery classes and lose a certain amount of weight before VSG. So if I am able to lose the weight and get my sugar levels under control by myself after a few months, great. If not, I will that much further along in the process towards VSG. Genetically I seem to be exactly like my dad, who was diagnosed with diabetes at exactly my age (49). He was not overweight, so it makes me nervous that it might be difficult to control the disease even if I do get to a reasonable weight. That is one of the reasons I want to have VSG as an option, it seems like recent studies pretty much conclusively show that bariatric surgery is a really good option in that event. And those studies are credible - two of them were published in the NEJM, you have probably read them - see http://abcnews.go.com/Health/DiabetesTreatment/weight-loss-surgery-cuts-type-diabetes/story?id=16002552#.T5rRaNXUWSo It is a hard enough process for me, a single 49 year-old without a family, a regular job (ie, no school), no other obligations. So I think you are really admirable for doing this with all your other stuff. I found your information super helpful, I am a smoker and knew I would have to quit because it creates post-operative healing issues, but didn't consider the possibilities of embolisms or CVSTs which are pretty darn scary and pretty much a conclusive argument that I HAVE to quit before considering surgery if the serious threat of cancer/COPD, etc, did not lie directly ahead anyway. Anyway, sorry for babbling on, part of it is me thinking things through. I also take meds (Paxil) for anxiety and occasional depression, so it helps to do that before the doubts set in. So please keep posting!

Just watched your "blot-clot" video, again, excellent. Especially the recommendations for travel care and the thumbs up/down on heparin and aspirin, respectively. I didn't realize that aspirin could be an issue that way, especially since they recommend it for heart patients. I think you are probably going to be a great resource for folks here, but to protect yourself, it might be good to put a disclaimer at the beginning and end of the videos; ie: "I am not a doctor; please discuss this and any other medical information with your own doctor before engaging in any conduct on reliance on it." Something like that, I have never provided language to someone in this case. Probably I am paranoid b/c I am a lawyer, but just don't want you to get screwed because you are doing a good thing.