Tomo

Mine kind of mumbled something similar to what@Arabesque said about portion size. Start off with 1/4 to 1/3 cup and work up to 1 cup, and stay at around 1 cup forever. He was pretty vague about it too. The progression came natural to me since our stomachs do expand a little as time goes on. I usually weigh my food (in grams) instead of measuring volume though. There are some foods that I do go on over the 1 cup rule, like lettuce, or watermelon due to the high water content, for example.

Mine didn't get serious till about 4 or 5 years later too. It got to the point that it was "uncontrollable" and no PPI worked. It wasn't till my throat was literally burning 24/7 that I decided I had to get it revised or I would be risking throat cancer.

Yes, I had Da Vinci robotic surgery as well. State of the art. Less scarring, less pain, reduced risk of infections or complications, quicker recovery and more. There are many benefits. You still have to have a great surgeon though since they will be leading their team and controlling the arms... Etc.

Some people can do it without surgery. Unfortunately, I was not one of them. Like the others, I would lose weight, only to regain it, and more each time. One thing that you will see in these threads are people saying they wish they did it sooner. I am one of those as well. I wish I didn't put it off. I wish I did it in my 30s, it would have saved me years of frustration and pain, mentally, emotionally and physically. I guess that's why I am sharing my thoughts with you. I wish someone sat me down then and told me that I needed help, that it was only going to get worse. Instead, they just kept telling me "just don't eat so much". No one in my family understood overweight people. To them, it was simple but not to me. It still isn't. I still have to work on it every day. WLS saved my life in so many ways. If you do decide to do it without surgery, it would probably be helpful getting a therapist to help you with your relationship to food and to be successful.

In my 60s too. Welcome!

I use small plates and bowls too. My favorite forks are theb little appetizer forks, and I love the long handle ice tea spoons (i.e. tiny spoon size but with a long handle).

Yes, I am a fan of both. I especially love to make chia pudding with my kefir or yogurt. Yummy.

feel better soon

Airfried plantains with pink Himalayan salt, and then I serve it with lime juice. 150 calories.

Yogurt, hummus, black beans with cheese, oat bran, air fryer cheese crisps, all kinds of soups.

I don't blame you for being frightened. There is a reason why there are several Mexican states under a travel advisory, like Colima, Sinoloa, for example. Crime and kidnapping is listed as the top reason for all of them. I would check the U.S. Dept. of state travel warnings for the area.

Kefir (preferably homemade) has the most probiotic of any food. Has millions. Far more than even yogurt.

No, just milk kefir but I've thought about trying it (also thought about trying to make kombucha).

I put 1/2 c of silk cashew milk, 2 tsp of Besha Verisol collagen supplement, 1 tsp of miralax, and a tablespoon of chobani creamer. Depending upon the type of coffee, I will add a serving of Cocoavia cardio health cocoa powder (unsweetened dark chocolate).

Do tell your surgeon and team. I'm sure it is common, and they have had other cases so don't be embarrassed. Your surgeon will know anyway the second he/she looks at the camera, if your food is anywhere still in your system. Depending upon the person, the whole process can take up to 5 days to get the food completely out.

I recently got the Millard memory foam seat cushion. I paid $24.99 and it's very comfortable.

For those who have had it, is the pre-surgery checklist less drastic than pre-WLS? To think about all those hoops that I had to go through for WLS, like heart stress tests... Etc. makes me feel tired already lol. Thanks in advance.

Yup. I asked about it too and that is when he said maybe 20 lbs. Luckily, he was wrong in my case, but it is an individual thing, I think. It may be because just living gerd free has drastically help me stay on plan. I no longer had to have food in my stomach in a desperate attempt to control acid levels.

I don't see why not. There are many here who hit goal weight after having a virgin sleeve. But unfortunately, band to vsg usually doesn't have as high of success rates to get to goal. They may lose some weight but not as drastic as those who never had a previous wls.

For me, 100% this too. I never want to be morbidly obese again and all the things that go with it, including not being able to fit in seats or pain from unnecessary health problems. That is my main motivation. Even naturally thin people will sometimes have too big of a meal, or eat unhealthy foods. It doesn't even phase them. So after all these years, I have finally wrapped my head around the fact that it is not an all or nothing situation anymore, I just go back to my normal routine the next meal. It took me a long time not to take one slip too serious. So the majority of time, my fridge is stocked with nutritious food so if I get the nibbles, I can reach for a handful of strawberries but sometimes I just really feel like having an apple fritter lol. It is a meal to meal, day to day, month to month, year to year consistency for following my plan 80 to 90% of the time.

In defense of the surgeons, I think one of the reasons doctors either don't tell you (some warn you of minimal weightloss) that a revision due to gerd often results in minimal weightloss is because to them, it isn't about the weight to them, it is to fix your gerd. You can't live a quality life suffering from severe gerd day in and day out. I couldn't sleep at night and during the day towards the end, I had to have food constantly in my stomach or the knawing feeling in my stomach would never go away, and my throat literally burned all day no matter what. It was miserable.

I would go with the advice of your doctor since he knows your case the best. However, you can always get a second opinion. Many people who have had the sleeve have long term success. I know those who had vsg and they regained, but I know people who had bypass and regained. It's really up to the person to be able to follow life long changes and commitment. I think if one has a history of gerd, then they are the main people that should stay away from the vsg. Good luck and how to hear of your decision soon.

Doesn't matter what type of WLS if you are taking about gallbladder. It has to do with rapid weightloss and bile acid circulation. For example, a recent study "The occurrence of cholecystectomy was 46% after sleeve gastrectomy and 71.1% after gastric band procedures."

It sounds like you are out of the honeymoon stage, that is, less restriction and more hunger. It is common for many to be able to eat more after a year and get hunger again too. Your doctor is right, and it is generally true that our stomach will never go back to original size BUT some people learn to eat around their WLS and unfortunately gain their weight back. The honeymoon phase is the best time on learning to eat correctly to maintain long-term weightloss.

The reason I mentioned second opinion is there are many causes of myopathy, and it is imperative they find out what is causing it early on so it can be treated properly. It can be congenital, even an infection past or present, rheumatoid arthritis, electrolyte imbalance... Etc. One of my siblings has it due to rheumatoid arthritis and gets monthly steroid shots and treatments to help with his autoimmune condition. Another had it due to being in a long term off and on state of dehydration. Both had significant improvement from their treatment.