JamieLogical

I am not sure how long it took me. I did eventually get to where I could coordinate my breaths with my steps and so I would breathe in two steps/out two steps. But I think I had to work up my conditioning quite a bit before that felt natural.

I had them all done at the same time. I am hoping to do a spiral thigh lift now that my loan from the first round of surgeries is paid off.

I definitely wouldn't use the word "like" to describe my feelings for running. I did run pre-op. Quite a bit, in fact. Did many 5k races at various points. But I didn't start distance running until after I was sleeved and at goal. That's when I started training for my first half marathon. I still hate every single second of the actual running. I love the feeling when I'm done!

I had extended TT, breast lift/implants, all-over lipo, and fat grafting in Mexico for right around $10,500. But that was back in 2011. Might be more expensive now. I paid for it by taking out a loan against my retirement account.

@@C&C The "I want 2 eggs" thing was adorable. The first time I ate ONE egg post-op, I was lying on the floor groaning in pain for an hour after. Thanks for this write-up. I think it will very informative for people who are still awaiting surgery.

I was cleared for running at 60 days post-op. Up to that point I was only allowed to do "brisk walking".

Congratulations! Don't freak out if your weight loss stalls a bit in the next week or so. Almost all WLS patients experience a stall in their third week.

So, I had my sleeve at OCC as well. While I was there, there was a a woman getting a tummy tuck, breast implants and face lift at the Ariel Center. I was honestly HORRIFIED because they sent her back to the hotel to fend for herself just two days post-op. She had her surgery the same day as my sleeve and then I rode back to the hotel with her two days post-op when I had gone to get my drains removed. I had previously had an extended tummy tuck, breast lift with implants, all-over lipo, and fat grafting with Dra. Cardenas and I stayed in her the recovery house with 24/7 nursing care for two full weeks post-op. How could the Ariel center be sending this poor woman back to a hotel two days post-op? It was INSANE. She didn't even have any loved ones there in TJ with her to help her with the basic things like getting in/out of bed and using the toilet. Which, trust me, you NEED HELP WITH two days after a tummy tuck.

Don't eat soup and expect to feel full. My nutritionist told me no soup ever again after my post-op food stages were over. It's basically "drinking your calories" which is a big no-no.

@@sonkat5355 Everything you are describing really is completely normal. Pain in the chest when swallowing, fatigue, difficulty getting all your fluids... Almost all of us go through that. It will take 2-3 weeks for the esophageal contractions to ease up when swallowing. The fatigue lasted me until I was on soft foods and could get more calories in. For the fluids you really do have to sip, sip, sip ALL DAY long. Constantly be sipping. Marching in place made it a little easier for me, but it was tough. Does get a little easier every day, I promise.

@@anonmom Okay, I have never heard of a nutritionist telling a patient to CUT BACK on protein. Especially not at a week out! That seems crazy. How much protein are you getting? My nutritionist wanted me to push up to 100 grams a day as quickly as possible. It took me well into my soft foods phase, but I did get here before I was back on solid foods.

Sip, sip, sip... all day long. Aim for at least one ounce every 15 minutes. Just tiny sips constantly, not like one big gulp every 15 minutes.

The first few days are rough, but it does get easier every single day. You won't need the nurses to help you by day 3 or 4. Make sure you get up and walk as much as you can. Even when you REALLY don't want to. It will help a ton with the gas pain and prevent blood clots. Plus it will just generally make you feel a little better and more energetic.

Mine definitely got better and less noticeable over time. You are still swollen and healing. If it's still happening at 3 MONTHS out, then you can start to worry it might never go away.

It really will get better day-by-day. In two weeks you will look back and not believe how much better you are doing. In the moment it feels like eternity, but it really does go quite quickly.

I highly recommend you take some time to do your research of surgeons in Mexico if you decide to go that route. There are some excellent surgeons and facilities there, but just like in the US, there are also some hacks. My surgeon and facility was excellent, but more on the pricey side for Mexico. BariatricPal actually partners with a couple of surgeons in Mexico as well. The do the vetting and due diligence for you and offer competitive pricing. You can find out more about in the forum I linked you earlier.

Actually, the no drinking 30 minutes before eating is really only an issue immediately post-op. Water moves through a fully healed sleeve in a matter of seconds. So if you drink even right up to the time you eat, the water is out of the sleeve before any food gets to it. When people still have internal swelling, the water can be slower to move through the sleeve and can make people feel "full" preventing them from being able to eat their food. Thus the need to stop 30 minutes prior to eating. The no drinking AFTER eating is critical though. Like @@Mooseknuckle said, it can flush the food through your sleeve faster or make you feel uncomfortably full because it can't get past the food that is already in your sleeve. It's a bad situation all around. I actually end up waiting closer to 40-45 minutes after eating most of the time just because I feel too full to drink any sooner than that, even at over 2 years post-op. And I'd be remiss to not mention that you should never ever drink WHILE eating. That waters down the food and makes it pass through the sleeve more quickly, allowing you to eat more and eat around your restriction.

@@Jesm1029 One thing you should be aware of is that things tend to "even out" a bit over time. So when you first hit goal, your face might look a little sunken or hollow, but your skin can recover a bit and your fat can settle back into you face after a few months. No guarantees, but it does happen.

Glad to hear things are progressing. I know you can stay tough this weekend and not overindulge!

From a medical standpoint, there is definitely such a thing as "too skinny". A BMI of under 18.5 is considered "underweight" and puts your health at risk. Some people also fear they may LOOK "too skinny" depending on their body type and weight distribution. But that's a much more subjective issue. For me, I feel uncomfortably skinny when I am under 160 pounds. I like having some curves and some muscle. Others are content to get much lower. It's an individual decision.

Your best bet would be to do a version of the more strict pre-op liquid diet. Mine was: 3 Protein shakes a day, no more than 150 calories each 1 green salad with sugar-free dressing or vinegar unlimited sugar-free Jello and popsicles

Many many people opt to self-pay for various reasons. In my case, my insurance required a documented BMI over 40 for five years. Well, I had managed to lose 90 pounds on my own a couple of years prior to researching surgery and had gradually gained it back. My BMI had just crept back up over 40 when I decided on surgery. I wasn't about to wait five more years at that BMI before having my VSG. I felt like the insurance requirement was punishing me for at least having *tried* to lose the weight without surgery. You should check out the Mexico & Self-Pay forum here on BariatricPal: http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/486-mexico-self-pay-weight-loss-surgery/

Thank you for explaining that. It's a really cool idea!

I would definitely recommend trying to increase your water. How do you think you are doing calorie-wise?

It is VERY important that in these early weeks you weigh/measure your food and eat on a schedule. You cannot rely on "full" or "hungry" signals from your stomach, because there was a lot of damage to your nerves with the surgery. Your surgeon or nutritionist should have instructed you on how much to eat at one time. For me, in the puree stage, it was two ounces.