AJW

154 this morning. Yahoo!

/ OK, what exactly is a hidascan? Is that like a CT or MRI or a what?

Ouch! Glad things are now better. When I wake up in the middle of night with any weird pain - usually gas LOL! - I'm always mindful of some odd situation such as this. Never had any GB or pancreatic issues, but ya never know. Never had this surgery before, either, so all things are subject to change. So glad you're doing better. The soreness will go away and then you'll be good as new.

Nope, sounds quite normal to me. Everyone is different, usually the "stall" hits around 3 weeks but it can hit at 5 weeks too. It'll move again, just keep doing what you're doing and you'll see a difference. You're still healing and that takes time. Be patient and trust in the process; it'll work.:confused1:

I know what you mean, when it doesn't happen as fast as we think it should, we get depressed. My weight is coming off slllloooowwwww now, so I totally know how you feel. You're still in the honeymoon phase of the procedure, so expect that you will keep losing pretty good until about 6 mos. out when things slow down; that and the fact that the more you need to lose, the faster it comes off. My BMI is down to 24.1 or normal weight mode, that's why it's so slow for me. You will definitely get there so don't be dejected about it.

I couldn't find it; can you post the link, please? Oh nevermind, I think I found it; is it about Betencourt not being a real doctor or something? I don't know anything about other Mexican service providers other than Dr. Aceves, so no opinion to add. I have to say that sometimes the people posting on OH seem a little "unhinged" and angry. I don't post over there.

Stacy, you've lost 41 pounds in 8 weeks! Are you kidding me?!! That's considered GREAT progress. Rejoice!!:laugh0:

Sure: I've done it since before surgery and lost 26 pounds pre-op. I've followed the plan since surgery to speed the loss along and not have to think, "What am I going to eat today and how many calories is that?" I'm basically lazy and want it measured out for me. Medifast meals are 110 cal. each, no matter what the meal is. Their plan is 5 of their meals throughout the day and a lean/green dinner portioned out to how you can handle it. This was pretty easy to follow before surgery and even easier after. I'll keep doing it until I reach goal and then do a maintenance. It's not that there's anything special or magical about the food, it's just a plan that's easy for me. The total calories, Protein and carbs is all worked out so that's the easy part. You could also do other plans, but I found for instance, Jenny Craig, has more calories, etc., so I just stick with Medifast. You can order online and they ship to you; what could be easier?

Actually there is a lot of information from the links on this page: WASaBubbleButt Lost Weight: Helpful Links For WLS Folks and I've asked the author to post in response to your inquiry above. Hopefully she'll be around to comment.

Heather, check this out: WASaBubbleButt Lost Weight: Is Weight Loss Surgery For You?

Awesome find, Tiff, thanks for sharing! It tells me my ideal weight is 138; my goal is 135. Then it said for my age (60) I should probably be 142. I was 156 today, and posted a couple of new photos - one before anything and the now. Huge difference. You can check em by searching PHOTOS under AJW. Anyway, thanks again for this chart program.

Laura, I know it sucks. I'm down 87 pounds and nothing has moved in a month. But I'm 7 mos. post-op, so my loss has just slowed way down. You have lost a lot of weight in a short period of time, not even 4 mos. yet. I think your body is just re-adjusting, and it sounds like you're maybe not eating enough. If your body thinks you're starving, it's going to slow down the metabolism so you don't. Increase your calories, but do it with protein, not fats and carbs, and fire up your metabolism with exercise and lots of water. That should help break the stall. How long have you been on this stall?

I agree with Tiff......you're only at 3.5 months. That's really nothing in the big scheme of things. Everybody goes through a stall; it'll change. Sounds like you're holding onto fluids which should change soon. Watch your carbs and sodium intake.

It's sad I know, and you can't tell them. When people self-medicate with food, unless you replace the drug of eating with something more appealing, they ain't gonna give it up unless they get to the place where being fat becomes so much more uncomfortable they can no longer stand it. As for hypertension and cholesterol through the ceiling, well unfortunately there are no real physical symptoms that tell you you're killing yourself until........well..........you do. Oh well, what can you do? Not much until they're ready to "hear" the truth.:crying:

Well I have been as low as 103 lbs. in the 70s and 117 lbs. in the 80s. Did I look skinny? Yes. Was I much younger, oh yeah. But it's not a level that my body's never seen before. I'm not an exercise person, never have been. I have a treadmill upstairs that just takes up room when my DH isn't using it. Me, I don't like it. BUT there are other motivators, just have to find the one that works for you. I recently bought a very expensive Chanel jacket. It's a size 40 which in French/Italian sizing is between a 6-8 US sizes, depending on the item. Their RTW runs small anyway, I'm learning. I bought it used because new we couldn't say the price outloud. LOL! Anyway, it's a winter style and has a lot of built-in layers so it's more bulky and therefore more tight than a normal size 8 would be - and I can wear my other size 8 "normal" weight jacket. I WILL wear that jacket, but I need to lose another 10 to 12 pounds for it to fit me better. I was worried I was buying something I'd be out of too soon because of weight loss; now I'm worried I won't get into it and it'll be a complete waste of money. I don't like that thought at all, so I have to get the rest of the weight OFF. And being an Aries, I am not a patient person by nature. And yeah, I do kwum about sometimes your body is done losing and that's as far as the sleeve is going to take you. I even "toyed" with the thought of a DS if no more weight loss is forthcoming. Vain? Yeah, you got that right. It's not good enough to get "almost" there, but not there, kwim?:crying:

I probably don't know what I'm wishing for, but I'd rather be having issues with maintaining than having the loss come to a screeching halt! I've been stalled for around a month with losing and gaining the same 1-2 pounds. I remember someone saying you will go through a stall around 6 months. I'm 7 mos. post-op, and my BMI is now 24.5 which is considered NORMAL weight. I'm wondering IF I'm going to be able to get the rest of the 25 pounds I've got left to lose OFF me. I keep my cal. between 600-800, and protein proportionate to that. I follow Medifast which is all portioned out cals, protein and carbs, etc. Lately I've been dropping cals below that and have seen a tiny bit of movement (measured in ozs. not lbs.) Do you just get to a point where that's IT and nothing else is coming off, or how do you deal with that?

Very interesting article. I was not employed at my heaviest weight, but I'm sure there would have been prejudice had I been. Even now I look at obese people differently, but it's more like I want to tell them there's a way for you NOT to be obese. But you know, some people - in fact a lot more than you think - have no interest in WLS. They'll tell you straight up: I LOVE TO EAT too much to ever go for a surgery that removes most of your stomach. Well, yeah, when you put it that way, sleeve surgery does "sound" severe. I'm totally at peace with my decision, but I can see how it's not for everyone. But the comments of I LOVE TO EAT TOO MUCH to consider an alternative is interesting to me. To my mind, it's not JUST about how you look being obese, it's your health, your heart, your cholesterol, your everything else health-related that should wake you up to the fact that LOVING TO EAT should NOT be your motivation in life, and IF it is, time to change your priorities IMHO.

OK, you're obviously the WRONG SKINNY B to ask! LOL!!:)

I'm below that BMI right now by 2 pts. so it's sort of right. I'm not done losing, but it's coming off SLOW now. What I was told, the lower your BMI the slower you lose. Tiff, that true for you now that you're below your goal weight?

/ Congrats to everyone with their losses! I'm now considered to be in the NORMAL WEIGHT category as far as the BMI scale. My weight loss has slowed way down in the last 6 weeks. I'm starting to wonder if I'll lose much more. I can lose a bit more by cutting my calories down to almost nothing, but that seems a tad risky health-wise.

We are back in So. Calif. where we were born. I miss Colorado and still have a friend who lives in Falcon there. Yes, I do remember how crazy the spring weather can be. Enjoy your days in the 60s.

Wow Barbara, you're going to town with your weight loss! Good for you!! I used to live in the Black Forest area of Colorado Springs in 2002/2003 so I know where Monument is.

The actual patients are the ones who know. You were questioning whether the people on this board were actual patients (or?? people trying to get business for Dr. Aceves??) I know of no one who has attested to his good work who is not an actual patient or know actual patients who've had great results. As for your co-pay, I would expect it to be around $5K depending on your insurance. If you have Kaiser (as my friend did) they told him expect to wait about 2 years for all the hoop-jumping you have to go through before approval. If your BMI is below 40 and you have no co-morbidities, then forget it. Funny how in the USA 40 is the magic BMI number, whereas in Canada and Mexico, it's 30. Guess this country just wants a lot of fat people instead of healthy people, at least from the insurance companies' point of view. That's very sad. Anyway, NO, I wasn't offended and was't getting on you. You should do your research, talk with actual patients, etc., until you're satisfied. IF YOU HAVE TO GO TO MEXICO, go to Dr. Aceves. Yes, there are other doctors, but he is the best. The surgery is done in a private hospital - not a clinic - with round the clock nursing staff who mostly speak English. Everyone who goes there raves about how clean it is, how caring the staff are, and how great the doctors are. You can't beat it - even in the US. Trust me. Been there and done it.