JamieLogical

They are usually available in border states. They cost more than a normal license and they have an RF chip in them. I live in NY, near the Canadian border, so I got one to make crossing back and forth between the US and Canada easier once they changed the laws for border crossing post-911. However, as Henry pointed out, an enhanced license is technically not enough to allow you to cross the border INTO Mexico, as the Mexican government recently changed their own laws to require either a passport or passport card to ENTER Mexico. While that law is indeed on the books, how much it's being enforced is a matter of debate. I was not asked for ANY form of ID when I crossed the border into Mexico for my VSG.

Yeah, if you read back through this thread a little, I explained more in detail about my plastic surgery. I had lost 90 pounds "on my own" back in 2010/2011 and had plastic surgery in August of 2011. I had an extended tummy tuck and breast lift with augmentation. Over the years since my plastics, I had regained 80 if the original 90 pounds I lost, so I then decided to have VSG in September 2014. So the "before" photos in my original post were post plastics, but pre-VSG, thus my flat stomach and perky boobs! Somewhere in this thread I posted the "before" pictures from 2010, before I lost the 90 pounds on my own and my shape was much less pleasing at 270 back then! Luckily, my tummy tuck held up incredibly well through my weight re-gain and re-loss, so my stomach looks amazing now. I do have significant amounts of loose skin on my thighs and hope to have a thigh lift at some point. I also have a little loose skin on my upper arms, but not bad enough to justify an arm lift.

I was going to suggest the same thing. I am in love with the Key Lime. Also, the Raspberry has a jam-like substance with some seeds, but no actual chunks.

@@MrsSugarbabe There are a variety of ingredients in Quest Bars that may or may not sit well with certain people. Some of the flavors use Erythritol, a sugar alcohol that has been known to cause diarrhea and bloating in some people. Some use artificial sweeteners including Stevia and Sucralose, which many people have issues with. For me, none of those ingredients had caused any problems. I've been eating the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough bars for almost a year now. It was just the switch over from IMO to soluble corn fiber that started causing me problems. I imagine it will be just fine for a lot of people. I know that for many people, the S'mores flavor has been their favorite and that's one that's been using soluble corn fiber since the beginning.

I did fill out their contact form and let them know the issues I was having. I wouldn't expect them to change back anytime soon, since they just underwent this huge overhaul. But I figured it would be good to let them know that it is causing problems for some of us at least. I genuinely hope that not many other BariatricPal members experience the same digestive issues I had with the new ingredient, because I know there are a LOT of other Quest Bar lovers on this site. This site is how I found out about Quest Bars in the first place!

I think it's due to a combination of factors actually and not all apply to every patient. Anesthesia, rapid weight loss, low protein intake, and vitamin/mineral deficiencies can all cause hair loss. WLS patients usually experience more than one of these factors at the same time. Some are within our control and some are not. Which is why it's important to at least take what active steps we can.

Ha! The good news is, not everyone has an adverse reaction to the soluble corn fiber, so you might be fine!

The bad news is, there is little you can do NOW to stop or prevent hair loss. It's due to things that happened to your body months ago. My hair loss started right around the same time as yours, 3.5 months post-op. The good news is that it slowed down bu about 5 months post-op and started to re-grow immediately. Make sure you are getting in all your Protein and Vitamins and be patient. Mine never got so bad that anyone else could tell by looking at me. Though our bathroom floor and shower were a horror show. I did cut my hair pretty short a couple months post-op in preparation for the inevitable hair loss. I figured the shorter style would make it less noticeable and that did seem to help.

@@jess9395 Yeah. Clearly the change won't have a physical effect on everyone. Some people's bodies tolerate some things better than others. Like, the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough bars have always had Erythritol in them and some people have digestive issues with that. It was never a problem for me. Just bad luck for me that they decided to make this change and soluble corn fiber seems to be something my body can't handle.

Here's the blog post on the Quest Nutrition site about why they claim to have made the switch: http://blog.questnutrition.com/our-latest-innovation-soluble-corn-fiber/

It is. I found a press release about it in my searching last week. But now I can't find it again. It started with any NEW flavors they were making (the first was S'mores), but now they are going back and converting all the old flavors.

http://www.questnutrition.com/protein-bars/pumpkin-pie-box-of-12/?type=box Your wish is granted! Though, they use the new "soluble corn fibler" formula, which makes me SUPER gassy. So I don't think I'll be trying them.

I'm back to my pumpkin spice coffee! Yay!

Yeah, I was both relieved and disappointed to discover this was the source of the problem. Relieved because I was literally about to schedule a doctor's appointment it was so bad! But disappointed because now I have to search for another Protein bar option I can tolerate. I *really* loved my Quest Bars!

It's on the ingredient list. Right after the Protein blend, which is the first ingredient. If it says "soluble corn fiber", you've got the new formula.

Hmm, they are still showing up fine for me. Did you try clicking into my profile and then my gallery instead?

So, a few weeks ago, I received my latest shipment of chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Quest Bars. I noticed they had a slightly different taste and texture, but didn't think much of it, because I've noticed some variation in batches of Quest Bars before. But then I started getting really gassy in the past two weeks or so. Like really gross smelling gas and loose stool. After talking to a coworker who also eats Quest Bars, I realized that Quest Nutrition has been phasing out Isomalto-Oligosaccharide in all of their bars and replacing it with Soluble Corn Fiber. Now both of these are "fake" fiber and have their various issues, but at least the former didn't make me horribly gassy. I've now been soluble corn fiber free for a day and a half and the gas has stopped, so I know that was the issue. I managed to find one more box of the old version of Quest Bars, but I'm very sad to have to be switching away from them. I loved them SO much. Now I'm trying Muscle Pharm's Combat Crunch bars and they are tasty, but very candy bar like, which can be cloyingly sweet. The also have slightly more calories and more net carbs than the Quest Bars. I guess I will have to keep searching for something that tastes good, has plenty of Protein, has few carbs, and doesn't make me sick.

I'm going to assume you meant "threatened"? Anyway, this is a decision you have to make for yourself. Whether to have surgery, where to have it, and with which surgeon. You shouldn't let other people influence your decision. Thousands upon thousands of people have successful surgeries in Mexico every year. I've been to Mexico for surgery twice (once for plastics and once for VSG) and had incredibly positive experiences both times. All you can do is do the research, talk to past patients, and make the best decision for YOU, no one else.

If you are willing to travel out of country, you can find a lot of surgeons who will do VSG on patients with a lower BMI and you'll probably save a lot of money too! I had a great experience with my VSG in Tijuana.

I think it's pretty common to be full of regret in the early weeks. Especially when you hit that week 3 stall and you feel like you've gone through all of this for nothing! Hang in there. Stick to the plan. Trust in the process. It's a real struggle to get your food in as you move through those early food stages, but I promise you, you will work your way up to eating "normally" again. It will be a new normal, but you will find the foods that work for you. Everyone else is absolutely right about how important it is to get your Protein in. And your WATER! Don't forget that. In these early weeks, you just need to eat and drink on a timer. Get your protein and Water in. Walk, walk, walk. Things will take a turn for the better soon, I promise. Just hang in there! I went through all the same feelings you are having now when I was only a few weeks out, but now I'm a year out and maintaining at goal. It seems SOOOOO worth it now! Just have to power through the tough times.

Not true. You can reenter the US with an enhanced driver's license or Nexus card. You don't need a passport or passport card.

There are definitely people on here who started in the 300's and made it to Onederland and then on to their goal weight. CowgirlJane is one that immediately comes to mind. But I know there are others.

Why would you NOT tell your PCP? I met with mine a couple of weeks before I went to Mexico and she scheduled a follow-up and blood work for a month after I got back. She has ordered regular follow-ups and blood work for me to make sure I'm not developing any vitamin/mineral deficiencies. Having her know about my surgery and monitor my progress has been fantastic, since I had my surgery in Mexico and only do follow-ups with my surgical team via email.

I learned VERY quickly after my VSG that setting any sort of date-based goals for weight loss was a recipe for frustration and disappointment. You need to trust and have faith that, if you stick to the plan, you WILL lose the weight. How quickly you lose it doesn't really matter so long as that scale keeps trending downward, you will end up where you need to be eventually. It took me a full year to lose the 71 pounds I needed to reach my goal weight. That's pretty slow compared to most, but now I'm at goal and maintaining. In the grand scheme of things, what does it matter if it took me a few more months to lose the weight than it took someone else?

That definitely reaffirms my decision to have WLS! As if I needed any more affirmation at this point.