JamieLogical

I definitely still enjoy food. It's just different now. I can't binge the way I used to. So instead of getting pleasure out of how MUCH I eat, I get pleasure out of the quality of what I'm eating. I am over two years out and I do enjoy sweets, Snacks, junk food, and fast food from time to time. But it no longer controls me. My cravings for that stuff are no longer constant and all-consuming. And even when I do "indulge" I can eat so little of it that it really doesn't make a difference. I had a period of I'd say about 4 months post-op where I really struggled with the emotional aspects of not being able to binge my feelings away. My brain still wanted to binge. My stomach was not physically capable of it. It took a while for my brain to catch up to my stomach. But I found other ways of processing my emotions and I rarely have emotionally induced eating anymore. When I do try to eat my feelings away (which is rare now), I am quickly disappointed, because I can't eat much. Here are some pics to help inspire you: The second-to-last one is after completing my first half marathon and the last one is me finishing my first marathon!

I feel you so hard on the tuna! I was so excited to be able to have some when I reached that stage of my post-op diet. But I could maybe get two bites in! I was allowed to have 2 oz. of it... I probably managed half an ounce! But don't worry, it gets easier day by day. You will get there. Sounds like you have a great attitude about it. So I know as long as you stick to your plan, you will have tremendous success!

Is the nausea related to the sleeve or to the pregnancy? Can your surgeon or OB/GYN give you anything to help control it that won't adversely affect the baby? I can imagine it's pretty tough to find things that don't upset your stomach when you are fairly newly sleeved AND pregnant! Maybe try to focus on calorie-dense foods if you can handle any of them. I had to get my calories way up while training for a half marathon so I started eating a lot of cheese and nuts to help pack in the calories, without eating much more food.

That would be a question for Dr. Ramos' coordinator, I think. Different surgeons/clinics do it differently. When I had my plastics, I was driven back across the border in a car by a person with dual citizenship. When I had my VSG, I was driven to the border in a shuttle, walked through the customs area, and then was picked up by the shuttle on the other side.

With your limited ability to exercise, you will need to focus a lot on nutrition. Go back to the basics and put protein first! Also, make sure you are drinking plenty of water and not drinking your calories. Are you allowed to bike at all with your ankle? That might be a good alternative to walking while you are healing up.

I had my surgery a little over two years ago (September 2014) and the separation/divorce stuff started back in May (2016). The separation was entirely my idea and decision. I wouldn't say that the surgery necessarily caused it, but I think it highlighted some of the fundamental differences in us. I am continually striving for self-improvement.. I am not content to be stuck in a rut. My husband was very content in his rut. I think maybe the surgery emphasized the differences in our outlooks on life. My husband summed it up pretty well in one of our discussions after we separated. I have always enjoyed MMORPGs... they are a type of video game where you play a character that explores a world, learns crafts, fights monsters, gains levels, makes allies, and completes quests. They are very open-ended and there is a ton of room for improving your character through various styles of game-play. You set your own goals and work towards them. He always liked linear games with a clearly defined ending that you can "win". Apparently, after we got married and settled, he felt he had "won" and didn't have to play the game anymore. Whereas, I am always striving to learn new things, explore, and grow. We are just different people. My surgery and subsequent weight loss were just strong examples of my determination to improve myself.

Huge congrats to you! It is a very exciting time. I know exactly what you mean about being anxious and nervous and excited at the same time. Just know that even though the next few days and weeks will be incredibly hard, they will be SO worth it in the end! Focus on one day at a time... heck one hour at a time! Do the things you need to do to take care of yourself and ensure a safe recovery. Sip, sip, sip. Walk, walk, walk. Take all your meds and vitamins as prescribed. And try to get your protein in. It will feel like a full time job keeping track of it all. Especially the water in the beginning. But hang tough and you WILL get through!

I haven't been pregnant post sleeve, but I think you should be able to get in more than 500 calories a day at 4 months post-op. What are you eating in a typical day right now? What is limiting your ability to eat more aside from your restriction? Are you experiencing nausea, vomiting, excess acid, or difficulty swallowing?

It's been ages since I've been on the forums! I wanted to check in and let you all know that I am still alive. Life got CRAZY since October or so. Finally sold my house... bought a new condo... meandering my way through the divorce process with my husband.... I am really hoping things settle down after the Holidays. I have been working non-stop on making my condo livable since I moved in. It was filthy and disgusting. I've been cleaning, painting every room, replacing all the fixtures, and repairing/replacing everything that was broken. Haven't been able to keep up with my running since October-ish. Really hoping to get back into that after the first of the year as I begin training for my April half marathon. Hope all of you are well!!! PS: Thank God for my sleeve! With my schedule being so busy and erratic, plus all of the stress, I know I would have gained like 20 pounds in the past 3 months without my sleeve! It's definitely helping keep things in check until I can get back into a normal routine again!

Why are you even trying to stay under 1000 calories? Did your surgeon or nutritionist instruct you to do so? My nutritionist just wanted me to get 100 grams of Protein per day in and not worry about calories at all. I did start worrying about calories once I was at goal and trying not to LOSE any more weight during my marathon training. I started tracking calories to make sure I was eating back all that I was burning. Turns out, I need a good 2400 calories a day to maintain at goal because of how much exercise I do. During my weight loss phase, once I was all healed up and eating solid foods without issue, I would guess I was eating about 1400 calories a day? And I managed to lose all the weight and keep it off. Not sure why you would need to stay under 1000 unless you are completely sedentary. Too large a daily calorie deficit can have a permanent impact on your metabolism and make it harder to lose weight and keep it off in the future.

PS: To the OP, only YOU can decide if surgery is what is best for you. As for a travel companion, I went to Mexico twice for surgery by myself. There will be other patients there for you to bond with and socialize with. Having a friend or family member there would actually probably put more stress on you, since you would feel obligated to keep them entertained instead of only worrying about yourself.

Mexico has many skilled and experienced surgeons as well as world class facilities. It is ignorant to say that "going to Mexico for surgery is like going to Iraq". I can't speak to the conditions in Iraq nor the quality of medical care available there, but I can attest that I received excellent care in Mexico both times I've been there for surgery (once for plastics and once for VSG). For my plastics I can promise I received MUCH better care than I would have in the US. I had nurses tending to me 24/7 for two full weeks post-op. In the US, I would have been sent home a day or two post-op and left to fend for myself or had to depend on loved ones for embarrassing tasks like using the toilet and showering. Are there hacks performing surgeries in Mexico? Of course there are. Just like there are here in the US. But if one does their research and due diligence, it's not hard to find well qualified surgeons and to go to Mexico for surgery with full peace of mind.

I never once feared for my safety in Mexico on my two trips there. The part of Tijuana where these clinics and hotels are located is the more "upscale" part of town. You are shuttled around by a professional driver who is familiar with the area and traffic. Are there sketchy areas if you stray too far off the beaten path? Sure. But we have those in the city where I live in the US too. Tijuana is literally directly across the border. If you look at a satellite image of San Diego and Tijuana, it's hard to even see where one ends and the other begins. You won't be traveling down any deserted highways. You won't be out of areas that are patrolled by police. You will be in a highly populated area that pretty much, in every way, looks and feels exactly like being in a US city, except with more signs in Spanish.

Glad to hear everything is still chugging right along. I'll keep my fingers crossed that you can get in before the end of the year!

@@Spiceyfrog My belly button was reconstructed. She did a great job. Scar is deep inside it so you can't see it at all. Edit: Another fun fact is that mole that is now right above my belly button used to to be up even with the bottom of my breasts.

Good luck! I am sure everything will go fine. Just remember, after you wake up, sip sip sip and walk walk walk.

Congrats on 4 years of successful weight loss! I just had my 2 year surgiversary in September and it's been great for me as well. I love being far enough out now that there are people in my life who never even knew me pre-op. It helps really bring home that this new me is the REAL me now. They never knew any other version of me. I also love that my WLS lifestyle is just the new normal for me now. I don't have to think about it all the time or figure things out anymore. I know exactly what I need to do and I do it automatically. I too think it's cool the way I have become kind of a "mentor" to some people. I try to be as helpful and informative as I can. I find that sticking around these forums helps keep me accountable as well. Been such a great experience all around!

I still take Vitamins. Though I think it's unlikely you will find one that has everything you need, since you need both Iron and calcium and you can't take both of those at the same time, since they compete for absorption. For my Multivitamin, I still take Vitaleph, which is the one my surgeon recommended. The instructions say to take three per day (spaced out), but I have only been taking two a day for over a year now and my labs are good. For my calcium I was taking Citrical Max +D3, but even though I am on a PPI, my primary care physician told me I could cut out supplemental calcium since I am getting so much from my diet and to just take D3 by itself. I just take my grocery store brand D3. My nutritionist from my surgeon's office also wanted me on a probiotic, so I am still taking one daily. I use this one: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B002S1U7RU Finally, I use a B12 spray every morning. It's this one: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00K5NEPJY Those are all the vitamins my nutritionist/surgeon wanted me on. In addition to those, I take Vitamin C, coq10, and Omega 3 every day. I was taking those before my WLS and have continued to take them since.

Dr. Almanza... there's your answer. That guy is a hack and I would say 90% of the stories about injuries/death/complications from patients who go to TJ for WLS come from HIS patients. Why anyone still uses him is a complete mystery to me. I have seen dozens, if not hundreds of accounts of how terrible he is. Yet some people apparently still do ZERO research and end up going to him. It is mind boggling. There are so many reputable and trusted surgeons in TJ that are reasonably priced, so I have no idea why anyone would resort to going to him. As far as I know, he's not even the cheapest!

My advice is to be kind to yourself. It's really tough to do the pre-op diet when you still have a full sized stomach. At least if you are on one of the more strict ones. You won't be getting many calories and the process of switching into ketosis is pretty taxing on the body, so take it kind of easy if you can. Don't try to do too much physical activity. My other advice is to stick to it, because the transition into ketosis is no joke. It can take 2-3 days, during which you are likely to experience headaches and general misery. If you "cheat" by having any carbs at any point during the diet, you will kick your body out of ketosis and have to go through the transition all over again. Don't put yourself through that! So not worth it to temporarily satisfy a carb craving. If you have to "cheat" at all, which I don't recommend, then make sure you are doing so with high protein/low carb foods.

Definitely questions better suited for your surgeon, but I think with the Plan B at least, you probably should't wait for an answer if you don't hear back early this morning. I can't imagine why laser hair removal would be an issue as all.

I stuck to my pre-op diet, so it wasn't a problem for me, but I have definitely heard of/seen people on these forums who had surgery canceled or postponed due to not sticking to the pre-op diet. While the diet is about shrinking your liver, not losing weight, some surgeons do use weight loss an an indicator of whether or not a patient has stuck to the diet.

Running/exercise. I am not going to lie... figuring out how to cope with emotions post-op was probably the hardest part for me once I was healed up and used to my restriction. I would say it took me a good 4 to 4.5 months for my brain to catch on that bingeing was no longer an option. Up to that point, if I was miserable, I wanted to eat. And the fact I couldn't eat just made me more miserable! But I did eventually get there.

I've traveled to Mexico for surgery twice by myself. There is no need for a travel companion. In fact, I feel like it's better to go alone because then you can focus 100% on yourself and not worry about keeping someone else entertained the whole time. You will be well taken care of by the surgical staff and by the time you are sent back to your hotel, you will be perfectly capable of fending for yourself. You can wallow in your misery and discomfort without having to worry about anyone else. As for the ibuprofen, that is definitely something to discuss with your surgeon. Maybe you can find some other way of managing your pain. Finally, I don't know about short term disability, but I know that I was qualified for FMLA when I had my surgeries (VSG and plastics) in Mexico.

Don't be worried about going alone. I have traveled to Mexico twice for surgery and went alone both times. It's actually nice to go alone, because then you don't have to worry about anyone but yourself. You don't have to worry about keeping your companion entertained. And you don't have to worry about whining and moaning and driving someone else crazy when you are uncomfortable.