JamieLogical

@@dede0314 First, I met with my local PCP to make sure she was on board with ordering follow-up blood work and doing post-op check-ups. She absolutely was, and I definitely recommend you do that with your PCP. She ordered my first round of blood work ahead of time, so I went and had that done a couple weeks post-op then saw her at the one month mark for my results and a check-up. I have since had blood work and follow-ups with her at the 2 month, 4 month, and 8 month marks. Secondly, OCC provides you with email addresses and phone numbers for the nutritionist, the cardiologist, the radiologist, etc. So if you have an pre or post-op questions, you can contact them. I was also provided with my surgical report post-op (came via email a few days later because they translate it into English for you). That included the full surgical report including all the details about incisions, state of internal organs, types of staples and sutures used, etc. It also included the results of the blood tests and EKG that OCC did the day of my surgery. I gave copies of all of it to my PCP. OCC will send you multiple follow-up "surveys" in the days and weeks following your surgery. They include questions about whether you are taking your meds, experiencing pain or nausea, getting your water and protein in, etc. If any of your feedback on those surveys is alarming, they will contact you. The surveys become fewer and further between the farther out you get from your surgery. I only get one ever 3 months now. You will also have scheduled follow-up phone calls with the nutritionist to check on your weight loss progress, whether you are getting all your vitamins and protein in, how much exercise you are doing, etc. Dr. So is the physician you will most likely correspond with the most post-op if you have questions about how your incisions are healing or anything like that. Dr. Jimenez answered all of my pre-op questions about when I should stop/start my medications and supplements befor/after surgery. There is a whole team to support you and they will promptly answer your questions. I remember emailing Dr. So late one night on a weekend, because I was worried my drain hole might be infected (it wasn't) and he called me back immediately.

I just want to advise you against setting deadlines for your weight loss. Everyone loses at different rates and it might be pretty unrealistic for you to lose 37kg in just 7 months. I've only lost 57 pounds (~26kg) in 8 months and my starting weight is similar to yours. There is no rush and this is not a race. Unlike the diets of your past, you will never be "done" with your weight loss surgery. You are changing the rest of your life. So if it takes you a few more months than you'd hope to reach your goal weight, what is that really going to matter in the grand scheme of things? Ten years from now will you be looking back and wishing you'd reached goal in 7 months instead of 12? Of course not!

Welcome and good luck! I know that the couple of weeks before surgery can seem like eternity, but it will sneak up on you in the end!

Acid reflux can present with a runny nose and sore throat. Are you on a PPI?

I spent one night in a surgical center. Two days post-op I returned to have a barium swallow test done and have my drain removed.

Welcome! I think that in order to add a photo and profile info, you need to use the desktop version of the website on a real computer. I don't think you can do it through the app.

@@VSGAnn2014 I think the OP was just confused about where the appropriate place to post this information was. While disparaging a specific surgeon does sort of seem like "coordinator-like" behavior, the fact that she is railing against re-sleeve as a procedure entirely and asking what to do now that her re-sleeve has had no effect on her weight loss, helps convince me that she is for real. @@Popsicle530 I'm sorry you went through a procedure that didn't achieve any results for you. There are other options available, like revision to RNY or DS, but that will of course cost you additional money. If you can't get any of your money back from Almanza, then it might be hard to come up with the money for revision procedures, as those are quite a bit more expensive than the sleeve from what I understand. I wish you the best of luck and hope you can find your way on this journey and get back to where you need to be with your weight and your health.

@@losinghope15 Everything you are going through sounds so rough. I am sorry you are enduring this. Hopefully there is light at the end of the tunnel at this point. If revision to bypass with permanently correct this leak issue, I really think you should pursue it. I can definitely understand your hesitation to undergo another surgery, but it really does seem like that may be the only way to fix the problem and get back to a more normal life. Good luck in whatever you choose!

I know, right? I feel like I unlocked the secrets of the universe. Had I ANY idea how amazing fake boobs would be, I would have gotten them when I was like 18 and realized I was doomed to a life as a small B-cup at best! I guess there is this stigma that breast implants are about vanity or impressing men or something and I never concerned myself with those things. What I never grasped is how awesome they would be for ME. I just love love love love them. They are pretty much my favorite thing. Definitely the best "objects" I have EVER spent my money on.

I've had surgery in Mexico twice now and I assure you, there is nothing to worry about. You will be well taken care of.

You are going to be in various forms of discomfort for a while, I'm afraid. It will get a little easier day by day.

I haven't eaten a salad since I was sleeved 8 months ago. Raw vegetables REALLY make me sick. I can only eat cooked vegetables. And I don't eat many of those, because then I wouldn't have room for my protein!

I never had large breasts to begin with, but after losing 90 pounds "on my own" a few years back, they were just non-existent and what was there was saggy and sad. So I went with implants and I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE them! Why did I live so many years of my life without them??!?! They are awesome and amazing and I can't imagine life without them now. I go back and look at pre-op pictures of myself with them and I can't even remember my boobs ever being that pathetic. The best part is, now that I have my sleeve and I'm re-losing all the weight I re-gained after getting my implants, my boobs aren't getting smaller like they did back when I lost weight "on my own". EDIT: Only down-side is that I have to double up on sports bras when I run now.... But I don't think mine are overly big. If you look at my gallery pics you can see that there are well proportioned and I don't think anyone would ever suspect I have implants unless they knew me before. I'm pretty much the least-vain woman I know too. I don't even wear makeup! So I don't think anyone would look at me and think "she's so concerned with her appearance, I bet her boobs are fake".

My nutritionist refuses to set a calorie target for me. She just insists I meet my Protein and Water targets every day. But I started out getting maybe 500-600 calories a day tops until I was on solid foods. From there I tried to work my way up over 800 in order to begin regularly exercising. Now that I am running and working out intensely, I aim for over 1000... usually 1000-1200 a day?

Sounds like you are losing right around the same pace I was. I was down about 46 pounds at 6 months, with at least 35 to go. It can be discouraging, but the scale IS moving in a general downward direction. That's what really matters!

Well, I will give a big endorsement for Dr. Ariel Ortiz at OCC, since that's where I had my surgery and it was great. There are MANY fantastic surgeons and facilities in TJ, so do your research. The Mexico & Self-Pay sub-forums are a great place to start. As many many people post there with their experiences and the results of their own research.

I believe you have to do it on the desktop version of the web site on a real computer and you can't do it through the app. But if you are on a computer, you go to your name in the upper-right corner, and click on "My Surgery". Lets you put in all your stats, your surgery date, your surgeon, etc.

Heh! Well, you work your way up to it, just like you are doing now going 4.5 MPH. I mean, at the start of C25k none of us can even IMAGINE being able to run for 30 minutes straight at ANY speed, but we manage to do it by the end! My plan is to kind of "redo" C25k once I finish this first round and increase the speed of my "running" parts to 6.0 so I can maybe get to that 30 minute 5k time eventually. One thing I've observed too is that it's hard to find your "natural" speed on a treadmill. When I run outside, I tend to naturally run a bit faster than the 5.0 MPH that I set on the treadmill. But if I do try to bump the speed on the treadmill up, I can't maintain that constant faster pace for the whole time yet.

1-2 pounds a week is pretty standard, especially past the first couple of months. Heck, I barely lost over 2 pounds last MONTH. Now that I am 8 months out, I have pretty low expectations, so long as the scale keeps generally moving in the right direction overall. And I really didn't mean to laugh AT you. Just with being 8 months out now and fighting so hard for every pound, the idea of losing 2 pounds a day seems so completely absurd to me. Your doctor's estimate of 3-5 pounds a week is fairly reasonable for the first couple of months. Many do lose slower than that, but you've already lost 15 pounds in 2 weeks, so you are well ahead of that 3-5 pound average. I too have lost more weight faster with diet and exercise than I have post-sleeve. I lost 90 pounds in one year "on my own" before. Since my sleeve, I have lost 57 pounds in just over 8 months. But what you need to remember is that this is not a diet. It is not a race. It will never be "over" or "done" the way your past weight loss experiences have been. This surgery has altered your relationship with food forever. I know you want to lose the weight fast. Everyone does. But ten years from now it won't matter if it took you 6 months or 16 months to reach your goal weight, will it? What will matter is that you have MAINTAINED your loss (which, if you are like me you've never managed in the past) and you are living a full, happy, healthy life.

@@Babbs Sounds like the numbers are MPH if that's the "speed" stting. The treadmill is likely also showing you distance and time as separate displays. So it should show a running total of the distance you've gone so far and how many minutes you've been going. 4.3-4.5 MPH is a perfectly adequate speed to start with. I only do 5 MPH and plan to work on my speed after I've finished C25k and can actually "run" for 30 straight minutes. Remember, despite the name, Couch to 5k doesn't necessarily get you running 5k non-stop by the end of the 9th week, it just gets you running for 30 minutes non-stop. In order to actually run a full 5k in under 30 minutes, you'd have to be going faster than 6 MPH, which most of us don't actually go that fast.

Could be completely unrelated to your sleeve. After all, I am sure you had bouts of diarrhea in the past as well, just like everyone else in the world. Definitely make sure you are keeping up with your liquids, since you are much more likely to get dehydrated. Try something like G2, since it has sodium in it that can help you retain more water. I agree that if it persists for more than a couple of days, you should talk to a doctor, whether its related to your surgery or not. Because long-term, dehydration could become a very serious issue.

Well, I was able to do the 25 minutes in week 7, I just kind of hit a wall yesterday at the 20 minute mark and knew there was no way I was going to make it 8 more minutes without walking for a bit. Probably more of a mind thing than a body thing. Hopefully I can be in a better head-space when I try again tomorrow. The good news is, even with that walk thrown in, I was under 40 minutes for my total 5k time and that's my goal for the race I'm doing on May 23. So even if I do have to stop and walk partway through in the real race, I should be able to make my goal time.

You should take the clothes and the compliment. Even if you can't actually fit in them NOW, you likely will be able to soon enough!

Going to try REALLY hard not to laugh at that, but you seriously thought you were going to lose 2 pounds a day for any significant period of time?!?!!? It is VERY normal to lose a lot in the first week or two and then see a plateau as your body rebounds from the shock. And you will definitely NOT be losing 2 pounds a day. You might lose 2 pounds in A day due to Water retention and release, but you won't be losing 2 pounds EVERY day. Don't fret! You WILL lose the weight eventually, it will just likely not be nearly as quickly as your unreasonable expectations. This isn't a race. It's the rest of your life. If it takes you one day or one week or one month to lose a pound, as long as you are still losing, you will get to where you are going.

I'm a little unclear on why one would NEED a straw to drink in the car. Not that it really matters, I'm just curious. I drink without a straw in the car every single day.....