SerendipityHappens

Around the time I had my surgery, a forum member here passed away due to complications of DVT.. That's serious stuff.. There are several forum members who suffered serious complications, there are some who regret having the sleeve for emotional reasons. Personally, I'm thrilled with my sleeve and I would do it again in a heartbeat but I definitely felt the fears that you're having going into it. When I weighed the pros and cons and how obesity was impacting my life physically, it was a no brainer.

I was very happy with the surgical team of Cabrerra and Valenzuela. I booked with Christy at Mexico Bariatric center and had surgery at MiDoctor Hospital. I'm thrilled with my sleeve so far and my surgery experience was great. After researching pretty much ALL the doctors listed in this thread, I would have been very comfortable going with any of them. Choosing my doctor was a difficult decision because there were SO many competent and capable doctors to choose from... That's a pretty good position to be in!

Rox, I was sleeved in Mexico and I received a full post op diet and information package for reference, I also had plenty of face to face time with the doctors for all the questions I had. Additionally, most Mexico surgery packages will include phone visits with a nutritionist. I can't guarantee your experience will be the same, but this was mine.

No, no, no, she's quite right. My doctor IS a foreigner. It says it right in my signature that I was sleeved by Dr's Cabrerra/Valenzuela in Tijuana Mexico.. Though technically, since I traveled to THEIR country to get the procedure, I was the foreigner!

OMG, the thought of this actually made my mouth Water.. Sounds ALMOST as good as a buffalo wing cupcake! I'm going to go watch some food porn now.. I need a little Diner's Drive-ins and Dives to take the edge off while I drink my chia seeds and eat my 3 ounces of chicken

*sigh* it is SODA dang it.. unless you are over the age of 45 in which case you may call it TONIC. My patience is wearing thin with you people today.. Get it straight! Especially YOU AmandaRae, quit being such a little troublemaker.

Personally, I think it's smart to count the weight you lose if you do a preop.. If you do a preop diet, you will loose less weight post op than if you don't do a preop diet... so if I include two weeks preop I lost 38 pounds in three months.... I coincidentally ALSO lost exactly 38 pounds in the three months prior to the start of my actual preop... Makes sense because during those three months I was eating at a pretty strict 800 calories a day, which is similar to what you eat post sleeve! The sleeve doesn't make you lose weight faster, it simply allows you to eat at a big enough deficit so that you'll lose weight.. You could do it without the sleeve.. but who wants to eat 800 calories a day with a full sized stomach? That's crazy talk! My weight loss is slower than most people and I knew it would be coming into this. THAT'S WHY I HAD THE SLEEVE IN THE FIRST PLACE, because I struggled with losing weight even at a caloric deficit so I needed a tool that would make eating at a caloric deficit more comfortable so I could stick with it over the long haul.

Fantastic post! I enjoyed an 800 calorie a day preop diet for THREE AND A HALF MONTHS prior to surgery and it's the BEST thing I could have done for myself. After completing that I KNEW I had what it takes to have a successful sleeved life! I won't ever tell anyone that the preop diet is easy, but it was definitely very rewarding!

I think we all have different definitions of what is going to help us on the road to better health.. Personally, for me my big demon to overcome was WHEAT not soda.. I had to give up wheat and all my beloved concoctions that are made from it. This was a HUGE thing for me, but I HAD to do it and I am militant about it now.. I don't have even a "taste" not EVER... but my two or three a MONTH soda "habit" is pretty far down the list of things I need to change... Honestly, as time goes on, I'd like to eliminate all artificial sweeteners from my diet but I don't see this happening until I reach maintenance and I can increase my carbs and have some FRUIT again. I'd GLADLY trade all the soda and sugar free Jello in the world for half a cup of Thompson grapes!

I was watching doctor 90210 and one of the surgeons Dr. Li had a formerly obese young patient and the doctor recommended removing the excess skin now but NOT tightening the underlying muscle until after childbearing.

I asked preop and was told six weeks before soda could be tried. Instructions in my packet also said no soda for six weeks... There are many doctors who do not prohibit soda. Because YOUR seminar so clearly stated that you can never ever ever have soda again, I think it is quite presumptive of you to assume that this is the case for everyone. I think it is quite narrow minded to say that people who don't follow YOUR doctors instructions or the information that YOU received in YOUR seminar are stupid. We simply didn't have the same doctor that you did. BTW, I don't "cheat" I log my calories, I exercise AND I enjoy an occasional soda because it's allowed on my plan and it's something I enjoy. No it's not the healthiest thing, but I enjoy it in moderation (maybe once in a week or two) I also enjoy an occasional sugar free jello.. I don't think it's a healthy option either since they use aspartame, but it's sure tasty when I'm craving something sweet!

Not even sure how to respond to that.. Yes.. I did. i clearly put it in my signature but thank you for pointing it out for anyone who may not have noticed. Are you somehow implying that my doctor is incorrect because he was 3 miles south of the border? Doctors disagree on the carbonation issue.. Many doctors both in the USA and Mexico agree that carbonated beverages are not harmful to the sleeve.. Other doctors both in the USA and Mexico advise against carbonation for life. I fail to see what going to Mexico has to do with anything... unless you were using my doctor's geographic location in an attempt to discredit him simply because he harbors views that differ from YOUR doctor?

Why wouldn't it be a serious question. Many of us drink soda occasionally and do so with the blessing of our doctors, I knew ahead of time that drinking soda was not allowed during the first six weeks and that after that it was just an issue of my comfort if I wanted to have some or not. I only know because I ASKED for clarification prior to surgery.. Some people may not ask prior to surgery because they have more important things on their minds to ask their doctors. You're right soda has no nutritional value, but I do enjoy an occasional diet soda. I don't drink crystal light either as it has no nutritional value and artificial sweetener either.. but occasionally I indulge. Giving up soda is great if that's what you want to do.. but for MANY of us our doctors do not believe that carbonation will stretch your sleeve and as long as it doesn't make us gassy, we are allowed it.

you need to check with your own doctor's instructions. Some people say no, some say only decaf and others say regular coffee is fine. I drank coffee before and after.. My instructions just said to try to limit caffeinated coffee to 2 cups a day.

I just tried the Quest and OMG.. DELISH.. And not full of junk either.. they are REAL protein bars with 20 grams of high quality protein and around 18 grams of fiber depending on flavor... and let's face it, fiber is awesome, I mean really, who doesn't like to poop? most flavors have between 160 and 200 calories and around 4 to 6 net carbs. I bought the 12 flavor sampler pack directly from Quest and can't wait to try ALL the flavors. I've been having a hard time eating enough protein lately due to the fact that I'm just not hungry in this hot weather.. but the quest bar went down nicely as my lunch today.

I'll be going out of the country for sure. likely Mexico.. possibly India. I will DEFINITELY book an extra week or two wherever I decide to go though. Both for my comfort and to be near the doctors who treated me in case complications arise.

Hubba Hubba! You look fantastic and you can brag all you want!!! Remarkable success story!

I did a pre-preop diet for three months prior to starting the actual preop.. I am so happy I did.. Not only did I lose a lot of weight, I really got a handle on my emotional eating during that time and it gave me a great deal of confidence that I could be successful with the surgery. My pre-pre op diet was 800ish calories a day. 2-3 low carb high Protein shakes, one lean and green meal, and optional Snacks of half a piece of fruit, an egg, an ounce of nuts. I chose to drink juiced kale and ginger on most days in order to gain the anti-inflamatory benefits of these foods. Getting off the grains and sugars completely prior to surgery was AWESOME.

A pound a day is a 3500 calorie per day deficit.. it is not reasonable to have that huge of a deficit every day even with the surgery. Also, your body will plateau for a while.. My weight loss stalled for an entire month right after surgery. I wasn't doing anything wrong, that's just the way it goes. I am happy to lose 10 pounds a month.. A 15 pound loss in a month is absolutely THRILLING. I think you need to adjust your expectations a bit. You'll lose the weight, it just may not come off at a rate of 30 pounds a month.

My doctor told me whenever I wanted was fine.. just remember not to lift anything more than five pounds... Not sure what he thought I'd be lifting during sex that would weigh more than five pounds... but I was too chicken to ask him what he meant by that.

I'm saving already.. Getting my belly/breasts/arms done.. then going back for lower body.,. I was once 360... and even at my heaviest my skin was saggy with no tumescence at all so I KNOW for sure NOTHING will bounce back.. I'll likely need the lifestyle face lift for my neck at some point too

Yeppp all the time! Nothing to worry about. Everything is completely normal.

I'm having the same problem.. My pannus is swinging like a pendulum when I run! I'm still in plus size and plus size compression pants are hard to find.. (you mean fat people don't like wearing super tight pants? go figure) Anyway, Looks like Old Navy has some compression plus size compression pants that you can order online but they don't carry in their stores. I'm going to try out a pair

I don't have to take them at a different time than my multi because I bought a multi without Iron. My multi has 200 mg of calcium I also take three two tablet doses of the calcium citrate. My multivitamin is in a six pill dose and I separate it out throughout the day.. so with each of my three meals, I take 2 multi and 2calcium. Then right before bed at night I take my iron pill. It's easy to remember to take them.. just put them all together in a box... and take them until they are gone.. even if I see I miss a dose, I just take it later.. it's not like taking medication where they have to be spaced perfectly

I started my shake+1 lean and green meal plan on December 1st in preparation of my march 13th surgery date. It was AWESOME. I lost 45 pounds preop and I know that the diet and weight loss helped me have an easier recovery. Also sticking to the diet preop really helped me be prepared for my new VSG style of eating. You can do it.