snow_white_39

5'6" and 254 starting. 4½ months out, now 196. I'd be happy if I only lost 84lbs or so. I have 100lbs as my goal but I'd be happy even if it was less than that. I did tell friends and family, pretty open about it as people are curious. It's amazing the range of responses. Some people (who have been battling weight themselves for almost their whole adult life) were very UNsupportive. Can't believe I'd do something so "unnatural". And when I told them I was going to Mexico? Wow, they flipped their lids! I did not tell the coworkers because of the societal stigma of losing weight "the easy way" even though all of us on here know the truth about that and having 75% of your stomach removed isn't "easy". Like Nadoue, I told them high protein, low carb, cut out Diet Pepsi, some exercise and none of it is a lie. Would I do it again? Yup. Been a while since I've lost 57.5 lbs any other way - and the difference? This time I'm keeping it off!!! Good luck with your surgery!

Some chewables are better than others. I found Opurity (from Unjury), while good in the nutrients dept, tasted horrible. Centrum chewable for seniors is a little better tasting and better than nothing I guess. I have found a couple tricks. First, the Opurity has more nutrients, so that's my first choice but I hate the taste - so I found if I cut it in half, and had a half at lunch and half at dinner, it helps (not having an entire mouthful of "vitamin taste"). If you chew it at the back of your mouth for a quick swallow, that helps because of less/different taste buds there. Also, have a mouthful of food ready to go after you swallow your vitamin to help get rid of the vitamin taste in your mouth quickly. The gummies taste awesome but they're missing so many nutrients. I would think they're better than nothing, but you don't want to rely exclusively on them. There's no calcium or iron or numerous other vitamins and nutrients. You'll figure out what works for you. BTW, the Carnation Instant Breakfast, ready-made, no sugar added, is 150 calories and has 12g protein and several vitamins & nutrients. It's helpful and the chocolate tastes exactly like chocolate milk to me - which is AWESOME because I'm lactose intolerant and can't have chocolate milk even though it tastes good. So Carnation Instant Breakfast is definitely a favorite of mine right now!!!

April 30th.... down 52 lbs from 254 pre-surgery. The loss feels so slow even though I guess it really isn't... nice to know that I'm right in the ballpark with others. Thanks for your posts!

Back in April it was $8750 for everything except airfare.... and if you need a room for your companion at the Crowne Plaza where he puts you up the first night in Mexicali, they have a special rate for his patients which was a better deal than on travelocity or expedia. Your companion can also stay in your hospital room if you prefer though the rooms are kinda small for 2 people. The shuttle van was a Honda Odyssey which was super comfortable.

Thanks to ALL of you who have replied on this thread... you make me feel SO MUCH more at ease. I am 5'6" and had exactly 100 lbs to lose. I'm not excercising much due to an issue and I was worried it was just me that slowed down so much after the first month! Month 1: 24 lbs Month 2: 11 lbs Month 3: 9.5 lbs Month 4: 7 lbs = 52.5 lbs total My logical brain says it's good I'm losing slowly because skin will have a fighting chance of catching up.... but my impatient brain thinks it wants 100 lbs off in 2 months.! It's nice to hear from others that have been through it and know there's hope!

Hang in there! In my humble opinion, a few of the other members are right - you may want to sit down with a therapist and talk about how you feel, or how you feel others perceive you, and why that hurts. If you've been overweight your entire life, your mind isn't going to change overnight. Your body might be getting skinnier (congrats on 54.1 lbs!!!) but your mind still thinks you're "fat" and that others look at you that way. It will probably take you years to convert your brain into not thinking that way, and to accept yourself as a "normal weight person". Therapists are good at building up your self esteem because they look at you from a very different perspective than you look at yourself. Good for you for playing volleyball and actually considering pushing others out of the way to play (you know what I mean) instead of just retreating to the sidelines which I'd probably have done. And yes, when you're overweight, and probably even after you lose the weight, you will think that people will always be watching what you're eating. When you're overweight, you think "they're probably wondering why I'm eating this, I'm already overweight" and when you're thinner, you'll probably think "they're probably watching to see what I put in my mouth and wondering if I'll put on the weight again". But you know what, chances are they're probably not wondering that at all, they're probably thinking about picking up the kids and what's for supper that night. And - you'll have them fooled because you're not going to put on the weight again! Good luck & hang in there!

I just read the surgery report and it didn't say what the stuff I received was. There's likely a few good options. You will talk with the anesthesiologist before your surgery and you can let them know then about previous bad experiences. Also let your surgeon know ahead of time so it will be in your file. Worst case, they have drugs in the hospital by IV for nausea that will help... btw, Zofran is the starting point for our nauseous chemo patients, it's not the gold standard (Kytril is). Best of luck.

True... can't stand cakes, donuts, chocolate.... YUCK. And that used to be my weakness. There's a weird sort of disconnect - because my brain still says "hey, that looks yummy - I want to try it!" and then I have it and I think "gross, okay, now I have to throw it out". And I keep doing that because I can't believe I don't like sweets anymore.

Wow! You look amazing! I can't even believe those 2 photos are the same person... you give me hope...

3 months out... used to **love** sweets (my weakness), now I can't stand chocolate or other sweets, they leave a cloying taste in my mouth. Weird. But I'll take it. And I found that my tastes immediately after surgery were no different than before, they just started to change about a month and a half or 2 months out.

In Canada, there is the "usual" anesthetic, and the "good stuff". I get super motion sick. Dr. Aceves was aware of that and the fact that I have been very nauseated after prior surgery with anesthesia. The anesthesiologist in Mexico gave me the "good stuff" and I had no problems, no nausea, able to drink water and eat ice chips. Don't be afraid to ask for the better anesthesia - it will make your recovery so much better.