GACaldwell

I had my surgery with a different dr too but choosing to go to Mexico was absolutly the best choice for me financially. I was very satisfied with my dr & staff. The two hard things to note (for me anyway) was traveling home was harder than I thought & having only online/phone support can be challenging. Sent from my SCH-I435 using the BariatricPal App

I always sleep with pillows surrounding me but mostly on my stomach. I was doing the same thing by day 3 after surgery. Day 2 was HE'LL for me...but by day 3 I was fine. Sent from my SCH-I435 using the BariatricPal App

I drank TONS of Water before the surgery...but at almost 5 months out I'm struggling as well. Yesterday I put 5 red rubber bands on my cup & one blue one. Each time I filled the cup up, I moved the blue rubber band over one of the red ones to mark my progress. The cup I use holds 16 oz. ..and I THOUGHT I was drinking a lot more...but according to my bands not so much. Ad for the taste, I'm happy with lemon slices in mine. It's simple but it works to change the taste since I dislike it now. Sent from my SCH-I435 using the BariatricPal App

My dr cleared.me to go back to gentle yoga (I'm a teacher) at 2 weeks but that was it. I still get tired easy but I'm getting less calories so I do what I can as I can. Listen to your body (& dr) and do what's best for you! Sent from my SCH-I435 using the BariatricPal App

I went to my parents for the big meal & ate a little bit of everything I wanted without over doing it. Plus I planned ahead and had my favorite things spread out over a few days so I didn't feel like I was missing out. I was also sick over the holiday so comfort foods & less eating were helpful in making me feel better. Sent from my SCH-I435 using the BariatricPal App

Without reading through 11 pages..Yes..but only because of the financial burden. I feel guilty for having spent that much money on myself. But also there was not really any way of knowing my hubs would get cut back on pay...so now with the holidays and two kids with birthdays next month too, I'm feeling regret because we could have used that money for other things. Hindsights 20/20

Hi all! I wanted to give a quick update since you were all so supportive and helpful. First, My dr was able to get me in early and prescribe my meds. Woohoo!! Even better, she was previously an OBGYN and has experience with gastric patients. I really like her and I think it's going to be great. Granted, I have to drive an hour to see her..but that's ok. Secondly, I broke my 2.5month stall! Woohoo! Upping the calories has definitely helped. I still need to get a scale but, well, times is hard and I'm a broke chick till after the holidays and the upteen Birthdays I have between now and then. Anyway...I'm better than I was. Still battling but that's a life long journey. Thank you for your support!

The drs offices im working with are aware. Unfortunately, it's a veritable wasteland here for mental health care. There are three offices..one that the dr nearly killed me, one office that treats you like a drug seeking addict and one that you can never get into because they are not taking new patients..that's the one I'm waiting on an appt with for the end of the month but until they see me, they won't prescribe. I've even gone so far as to travel to two neighboring cities to seek help...one dr went 5 months without seeing me/canceling appts etc even though I begged the nurses telling them I needed a med change (He's also the one who likely misdiagnosed me) and the other drs don't have an opening until January. Needless to say, it's frustrating. There is the option of checking myself into the hospital and I've debated it but so far, I don't think I'm there. Yet. Going to the ER here initiates a 48 hour psych eval and being a single parent of two kids...well..you can imagine how difficult that becomes. You are right, this is more important than the weight loss and that's the main reason I posted it here tbh. but it all ties in unfortunately. Thank you for the kind words about the eating habits. Sometimes it helps to have an outside eye look at it.

Thanks James. Unfortunately there are no bariatric support groups anywhere near me. I've looked into it and the closest one is over an hour away.

Yikes!~ Apparently it did paste it but not in any readable format! sORRY ABOUT THAT!

About 800 calories per day. I track it through spark people so I cant copy and paste it here. Calories for yesterday were 817, grams of protein were 103, Carbs 28, fats 33, Fiber 10 CALORIES CARBS FAT PROTEIN FIBER Breakfast Create group Copy foods Add a food + Premier Protein: High Protein chocolate shake, 1 serving ⊗ 160 5 3 30 3 Pepper Jack, Kroger Monterey Jack Cheese w/ Jalapeno (1 slice=21g), 21 gram(s) ⊗ 80 0 6 5 0 All Whites liquid Egg White (3 Tbsp=1 large egg's white), 9 tbsp ⊗ 75 0 0 15 0 BREAKFAST TOTALS: 315 5 9 50 3 lunch Create group Copy foods Add a food + Chicken Breast (cooked), no skin, roasted, 0.5 unit (yield from 1 lb ready-to-cook chicken) ⊗ 43 0 1 8 0 Dole Chopped salad Kit - Sunflower Crunch 3.5 oz./100g/about 1-1/2 cups, 1 serving ⊗ 180 14 13 4 2 LUNCH TOTALS: 223 14 14 12 2 dinner Create group Copy foods Add a food + Chicken Breast (cooked), no skin, roasted, 0.5 unit (yield from 1 lb ready-to-cook chicken) ⊗ 43 0 1 8 0 Zucchini, 0.25 cup, sliced ⊗ 7 2 0 0 1 DINNER TOTALS: 50 2 1 8 1 Snack Create group Copy foods Add a food + Almonds, 10 almond ⊗ 69 3 6 3 1 Premier Protein: High Protein Chocolate Shake, 1 serving ⊗ 160 5 3 30 3 SNACK TOTALS: 229 8 9 33 4 CALORIES CARBS FAT PROTEIN FIBER Totals: 817 28 33 103 10

I track my food and exercise as well which is why I know I'm eating within the guidelines of my plan. This is what i typically eat: Typical day (and I eat a lot of the same things day after day) Breakfast Premier Protein shake 2 Egg whites w 1 Laughing cow cheese Lunch: 1/2 Grilled chicken breast with salad (no dressing or croutons, just greens and veggies) Snack: 8-10 almonds, or 2 slices of Low cal deli turkey with 1 wedge of laughing cow dinner 1/2 grilled or baked chicken breast with 1 veggie..usually 1/4 grilled zucchini Snack: String cheese, almonds or another protein shake Daily: Water intake is over 64 oz per day. I only drink water, green tea (no calorie sweetener) or zero calorie drinks but water is my go-to

Find reminders that work for you....set alarms on your phone, or your fit bit, put post it notes on your mirror or your fridge. I keep Protein Snacks with me always and usually have a lunch bag full of stuff no matter if I'm at work or running errands in the car. I use sundays to prep meals so I have grab and go stuff (Boiled peeled eggs, baked chicken breast, cheese sticks)

I HATE shopping for clothes! I've altered a few of my favorite tops and pants..mostly the easy ones that I could see where to take them in at. My palazzo pants were the easiest to alter...just replaced the elastic with a tighter one! Other than that, i'm getting rid of things on yardsale sights on facebook and using the Letgo app for selling clothes that I can't take in

It's hard when you're dealing with kids. Try sitting down with them and a Low carb/healthy cook book or pinterest and have them help you pick out meals. One thing I've learned is that cooking smaller portions (I make sliders instead of burgers, mini lasagnas-mine with zucchini, theirs with pasta- in muffin tins etc) they can eat more if they need/want it but I'm not overwhelmed. Also, if I cook chicken, I cook theirs in whatever and cook mine on the side...same meal, im just avoiding the sauces. Worse case if there is something planned for them that I cant/wont eat, I keep a rotisserie chicken from the deli around as a go to meal for me.

AS others have said, I felt like crap for about the first month after surgery. Day 2 & week 3 kicked my butt. Now I'm at 3 months out and I feel...fine. But be aware, i felt fine BEFORE surgery too, even at a higher weight. My brain is still processing being smaller and I'm having to prove to myself with Non-scale victories that there are changes happening. My energy level is back up and I'm back to doing the things I did before (yoga 2-3 times per week, belly dancing 1-2 times per week) but like I said..I did all that before too. If you feel going in that there will be little support after, perhaps finding a therapist or counselor to help you through the process after is a good idea.

<Insert "carry on my wayward son...they'll be peace when you are done"..Points to the SPN fandom> Today marks 3 months and 1 week since I had VGS in Mexico. I'm still learning to use this site so I never knew there was a blog option till now. I've been fairly quite on my other social media feeds about my surgery for a multitude of personal reasons. But here feels safer, and well, none of my family/friends/acquaintances are here so... I've spent the majority of my life being a yo-yo dieter. While I have always loved my body just as it was, yes, even when I was morbidly obese (it's strange to say "was"), I was never that healthy chubby chick. I've been on BP meds since I was 30yrs old, battle my cholesterol & have a history of heart disease on both sides of the family. My dad had his first heart attack at 40 and I was 38 when I had the surgery. I still question myself every day if I did the right thing. I'm 30+ lbs down in 3 months, my blood pressure is in normal ranges for the first time in years and my dr is thrilled with my progress. But the negative committee that meets in my head tells me "this isn't going to work...just like everything else" and "you'll just gain it all back because that's what you do" and the worst "Why did you spend so much money on yourself you selfish pig." Yeah...they're a real piece of work, that committee. We'll be paying off my surgery for years. Was it worth it? i hope so. My partner tells me it was to him...and he likes to remind me that it's cheaper than the cost of a funeral. Morbid, yes, but it makes sense. My brain still cant accept it..I'm down 30lbs, 4 pants sizes, Lots of inches and still I don't "see" it. I can see it some days in what I wear...in my rings being looser...in the way I can do little things like cross my legs where I couldn't before. But it's like there is a disconnect with my brain in accepting all of this as truth or as real and definitely as sustainable. Every time the scale goes up, even when it's a fraction of a lb, I think "this is it..this is where this stops and I gain it all back". Every time I "fail" and give in to temptation and eat something that isn't 100% on diet, I think "this is where I give up and revert to bad habits" (though admittedly, I eat pretty well most of the time, even before surgery). Every time I'm too tired to get on the elliptical I think "You wasted all that money for this?" Maybe it will change. I keep trying. I keep going.

I ate a lot of scrambled egg whites with laughing cow cheeses (still do!). Mashed potatoes were good but I added a lot of chicken broth to mine to help with the taste & to add Protein.