built2livenotexist

I am currently sitting on my luxurious king size bed at a 4.5 star beach front resort after having my surgery in gorgeous Puerta Vallarta, MX with Dr. Juan Francisco Hidalgo on the 22nd. My insurance company would not approve me in the states either. Some of the Eurocentric crap I've heard from Americans is disappointing to say the least. You'd think that Mexico was the newer civilization and not the US! The people of this country have been kind and forgiving of my ignorance of their customs and inability to speak the language; unlike many Americans I know (and am ashamed to be related to) I went through a standard medical history that was several pages long and spent my initial hours with staff going through pre-op testing. I even had a video conference with the doctor and his staff to answer my billion questions and receive 2 years additional post-op Skype follow-up. I can barely get into my regular doc when I'm actually sick let alone if I have random questions. I was given my complete chart, post-op notes, test results and x-rays to take home. The doctor will be visiting me in my room to check my incision sites both mornings before I leave. The care and professionalism I've received here belies some of the ignorant elitist crap I've heard from people and I'm glad that I have an educated mind of my own to make informed decisions about my care. The insurance company who I pay premiums to, back in the good old US wasn't willing to help me; I'm sure glad I had options.

Here is how I bid farewell to my ridiculous caffeine habit while saying hello to a new sleeve friendly high protein bev; I used Vanilla Protein Powder but substitute Vanilla Chai tea(already brewed, un-sweetened and chilled) for the water or skim milk and 2 tbsp of vanilla soy creamer. This my Sleevebucks! I've also done the same but with Mandarin orange tea and a touch of almond extract. Yum-yum! Try giving it a chance and getting creative. The holidays will come around next year and just think you'll be prouder to pose in family photos! GL

I am still in hospital supposedly getting released shortly but I'll admit that I'm a bit cranky. I knew going into this that I am horrible on the drugs they use to knock you out and I wake up a level 5 beeotch; snapping at everyone and very impatient. I'm gassy but its not bothering me as much as the liquid poo my new tummy brought with it. Also, mother nature brought her ugly face to visit a few days early and I'm just all around tired and sore and annoyed. I didn't feel this way yesterday but that's when they were still giving me morphine. I'm not hungry which is a good thing, and I'm not alone which is even better. Hang in there, I will too.

I'm on day 2 still in hospital, but they just gave me lime sherbet. Tasted awesome but felt horrific after 3 small 'bites' I'm sure that it will take getting used to.

@@HappygoSusan thanks for the great tip with the timer!

Congratulations! Glad you're off to a good start!

I probably would give my long time friend the benefit of the doubt and not jump straight to the j word. I have had friends and family members lose weight through various methods and that's all they talked about; what they could and couldn't eat and on and on. I never felt left out or as if I should be on their journey ' doing what I'm supposed to be' but I did think to myself sometimes "Are we ever going to be done talking about you?" You said this lady was your best friend and that she'd had a pretty significant regain. She could be embarrassed or angry with herself which has nothing to do with you. Or she could be having a hard time around something completely separate, unrelated to WLS and you're just projecting. Or maybe she is just jealous that you get to have the surgery and she wasted her chance. That last one sounded a little witchy, right? Right. You never know what someone else is going through on the inside but jumping to the conclusion that it's about you isn't very friendly; it's kinda selfish actually. It doesn't sound like she's able to be supportive about your surgery right now and in friendships that does happen sometimes. My BFF lost her father this year after a long illness and is not the same person she was before. She's grief stricken and she's busy being there for her mother, her siblings and her children; not a whole lot leftover. Under different circumstances, she'd be right by my side. But this time around, we're both going through a major life change at the same time. And it's okay with me for my bf to be consumed by something else while I'm focused on something else entirely different. It's like that sometimes; we're not always on the same page. I hope you find someone close to you that can be the support you need and that you're able to talk to your friend about your concerns.

Walking has helped me get rid of the gas pain over the last 30 hours. My doctor said that gas will become trapped inside the body during the surgery and that there is always a little left over. The same thing you are describing happened to me when I got my tubes tied. So, walking is working and so has not being dormant in the hospital bed; switching positions with the use or the grip rail and turning from side to side. HTH

I will be released from hospital Friday which is 2 full days in hospital and return to resort for 2 days before heading back to states. My trip including pre op testing, surgery, and recovery is 5 nights, 6 days

You could try the pre-op liquid diet; I wound up losing 9 pounds with that and moderate cardio.

Okay I am officially sleeved!

I'm not sure why but my phone will not let me see the script I type when starting a new thread! Anyways, had my surgery around 11 am yesterday and got back to room by 4pm after a couple of hours in recovery. Listerine strips and a cold, wet washcloth have been great for moistening my mouth. So far, the pain is pretty sucky in terms of trying to adjust myself in bed or use the bathroom. Suffered some nausea when first waking but other than that I am doing just fine

Hey I'm starting to be fully with the program myself. I had surgery around 11am and came to my room from recovery at about 4pm here. I am in Puerta Vallarta. So congrats to you and me!

My gastric sleeve surgery is scheduled for October 22nd. I've been lurking on the site for months though and am grateful for all of the support that is out there; only 2 very supportive people in my life know about my decision. I am about 3 days into the pre-op diet. I am a coffee fiend and a smoker and the withdrawal from both the nicotine and caffeine that my surgeon requires feels like poo; so much so that the diet isn't even fazing me. I've gone back and forth between cranky and lethargic and weepy and anxious. I understand that this is normal. I thought to myself, "Why are you doing this!?" I thought I would remind myself and share with all of you. I've always been fat. I never used words like curvy or fluffy because they just don't do these rolls and blubber justice. Also, because I just couldn't bring myself to romanticize something that I've always hated; my body. I went on my first diet program at the age of 15 and over the course of the last 22 years I have spent thousands of dollars on infomercial exercise devices and weight loss tablets all so that I could lose and gain the same 150lbs over and over and over. It's crazy how I managed to become comfortable being uncomfortable. Last year, I got a sassy short haircut and while running my hand along the back of my head, I felt a fat roll....on my head. Not my first, of course, but a great dawning began. I realized that my highest weight and largest clothing size had been consistently growing over the years. The pile of smaller clothing that I one day hoped to wear again was made up of garments that were no longer fashionable and began to outnumber the clothes that actually fit. I realized how tired I was after attempting to play with my young child and felt immense guilt at just how many activities I begged out of due to my weight and lack of endurance. I realized that it was becoming increasingly difficult to wipe my own behind thoroughly, especially in tiny public bathroom stalls. I realized how much of my thoughts revolved around food and how ashamed I felt to even raise a fork to my lips in front of others. I realized much of this while carrying a basket of laundry to from the basement to the top floor; I had to stop on the ground level to catch my breath. Why am I doing this? Because despite how big I am, I feel really small. This was certainly not the plan. I am tired of being a slave to food and I am tired of the bondage of this body that doesn't reflect who I really am. I don't recognize the lady in the mirror and I don't like her. I am doing this because I am ready to stop limiting myself. Because I want to live and not exist. Please share if you will. Why are you doing/did you do this? What moments were really memorable in your decision making process?

@VSGAnn; Thank you for your comments. For me, I have some definite emotional issues around food that I've been working on in therapy for over a year. I have had some moments over the last few months that brought me to tears or caused a great realization of patterns I've been blind to. I do not love food; I use it and abuse it; have for a long time. It can provide a sense of comfort or indulgence and has temporarily alleviated boredom and loneliness. It allows me to feel in or out of control. Food is not going to leave me or criticize me or cheat or lie, so there's a certain sense of safety. My relationship with food is unhealthy at best. I'm sure some of you can relate to watching a talk show where a female guest sits on stage and lists all the horrible abuses she's gone through at the hands of her mate. She says that she has tried to leave a handful of times but goes back due to the promise of better behavior in the future which never lasts long. When asked why she doesn't leave for good she says, "Because I love him." The audience shake their heads. Now, if we switched the players around and I was in the seat and I made a list of all of the negative things that have arisen as a result of my relationship with food; I am uncomfortable in my own skin, I am sorely out of shape and have difficulty being active, my intimate life is not what I would want, health concerns, guilt, shame, regret, etc. I mention that I have a long history of attempting to amend my behavior over and over through diet and exercise but admit that I've gone back to old ways each time. When asked why I continue to go back to this negative behavior I say " Because I love food" The audience shakes their heads. Why do they shake their heads? Because the idea that someone would gamble with their life and continually return to such risk taking behavior based simply out of love is unbelievable. It's perverse. For me, there is a clear difference between an excuse and a cause. Doing work with an objective professional has allowed me to get down to the reality of this unhealthy destructive pattern I've been following for a couple of decades, and look at things differently, so that I can finally bring this cyclic behavior to and end. HTH

I can't answer your question but I can validate the whole wondering what this experience will be like for you. I totally get it. This site does give users the option of displaying their height, weight, date of surgery, not to mention before and after pics and it's difficult not to look at someone's stats/pics and think "Wow! " or to see someone state being " a slow loser" and think " is that going to happen to me?" I have the same type of anticipatory thoughts or fears and, I don't think it's unreasonable. Your doc is the best person to forecast what you can expect to lose(if compliant) but the timetable isn't something they can really tell you for sure

I did not tell my PCP about my surgery which is in Mexico next Wednesday. I've had this same doc for ten years and when I first broached the subject a few years back she was incredibly unsupportive. She told me that I should just eat less and be more active and "do it on my own" She is a firm believer in will power and she's not the only person ever that's taken that position about wls, so I've only shared with my mom, a trustworthy friend and my therapist. In all other respects, my doc has been encouraging and open minded but I just don't need any guff from anyone.

@@clautxs my pre-op diet had been so easy compared to quitting smoking and caffeine. I am one of the lucky ones who actually gets to have a smart meal along with protein shakes and clear liquids. I also have been doing 30 minutes of cardio exercise daily and balloon exercises to help my lungs. I feel pretty good. I just keep reminding myself that the things that I feel deprived of are all of the things that helped me get to such a crucial point. I acknowledge that I know little of real hunger; I've always eating beyond satiety and biological urge. This helps me get through the sucky moments (like the aroma of Chinese from the restaurant next to the gym!) HTH.

Looked down and saw a beetle wearing a tuxedo and top hat

Hey all! I am being sleeved in Puerta Vallarta, MX on 10/22 which is....now 6 days away! I'm so freakin' exicited! I began 14 day pre-op diet on the 8th. I feel like I'm line for an awesome roller coaster at an amusement park; almost my turn to get on the ride! Good wishes to all for a safe beginning to this amazing journey!

I haven't had my surgery yet; I'm the day before you. But I started my pre-op last Wednesday and I can say I'm the only person in the house who's made any changes; this includes coffee/caffeine, smoking and the diet itself. I'm also the only who is morbidly obese. Sigh. I do my best in relationships when I ask for what I need though. I am not sure about your fiancé but you can't know how your decision may be rolling around in his head. He may be anxious or worried as well and not say anything for fear of not being supportive. Did you bring up the "last meal" and how important it was to you to share it as a family? I had to dredge out my will and life insurance policy info for my mom. She'll be caring for my son and I didn't want to go there, but I have to ,as a responsible parent, acknowledge the risk. My mother poo - pooed me away which hurt my feelings. Here I am trying to be sensible about it and she's calling me silly. Later on, she came and told me that it suddenly became real when I brought her the documents and that she'd only been thinking about me losing weight and getting healthier but no other possibilities. She was scared and deflected; my tough old battle axe RN mom did the best she could so that she could feel better about being scared. It just didn't feel good on my end. Perhaps you can arrange for a late night snack in bed with your guy. Something you both enjoy, maybe? This is a huge change for you and thus for those you love and who love you. Change is good but it can be scary and uncomfortable. The benefit of the doubt is always a good first step for me when I feel offended or let down by someone close. JMO.

I feel overwhelmed as well. I know I can do it but familiarity is a powerful thing in my life. I've stayed stuck around so many things in life simply because they were recognizable; I knew what to expect. I have been making changes slowly regarding the things that will be necessary for optimal results and health safety(not drinking with food, exercise, etc.) and I still have no doubt that I will be shocked and that it will take time for my body and mind to adjust. I laughed when I read the childbirth bit! I remember afterwards wondering why not one single woman in my life told me that it would feel like someone was shoving a fiery sword into my lady parts!