liveaboard15

11 hours ago, LindsayT said:

You will definitely need one to get back into the US.

Depends... If you are flying... Yes... If you are traveling by car or walking across the border then no. But you will be subject to additional verification and they will more than likely send you into secondary inspection.

It will be on the rough side... but at least in a car you can stop as often as you like to take a break. Seatbelt may not be a good thing to wear.

On 2/12/2023 at 3:39 PM, Annettecoto said:

I live in PR and I’m getting my surgery next week. Where did you stay??? Cause I’ve found everything I need and more. Yes culturally we do use rice and bread a lot but there is plenty of options.
If somebody is coming over just ask, we can point you where to find everything, defined in a touristy are it will be more difficult.

I am from Puerto Rico. I grew up in Coamo but most recently i was in Vega Baja. I went to the Walmart in Bayamon as well as a few supermarkets like Econo and some other one i forget what its called. I really didnt find much options, Plus everything is so expensive Thats one thing i dont remember about living there lol. and since when the heck did they start charging for plastic bags lol When the cashier asked if i wanted a bag and charged me 15 cents i was like WTF haha

13 hours ago, Arabesque said:

Had my gall removed 13 month after my sleeve. Recovery was pretty similar - just no restricted diet after. 😁 I didn’t have gas pain after my sleeve but did after the gall. Similar surgical discomfort & was a bit low in energy & tired for a few days. Same restrictions on lifting & similar activity advice. My surgeon used the same surgery sites as my sleeve so no new scars.

Had some diarrhoea/loose BMs, which slowly disappeared during the first month after. Think I preferred the diarrhoea than the sleeve Constipation.

Generally was easier because I knew what to expect in regards to hospital procedures, pain/discomfort & other general post abdominal surgery requirements & effects.

Funniest was my surgeon has his bariatric patients walk to the theatre but was wheeled in for my gall. Don’t know why. The nurses said he was quirky that way.

so whaat happened that you needed to have your gall bladder taken out?

whats the point? Get use to drinking Water and zero sugar/carb, no carbonated drinks. I am 10+ months post op i think. The only carbonated drink i have been able to have without issue is redbull and its because its lightly carbonated. and that was like 6+ months after surgery. I have yet to even attempt alcohol. I took a few sips of a pepsi and it was not too pleasant.

yup tons and tons on youtube of people documenting their journey pre and post op. i watched probably 100+ videos before i even got started lol

Its monthly weigh in time. I weigh myself and take measurements around the 4th of every month. Small changes continue. I joined a gym recently. Cant wait to start going.

i had no issues taking pills after surgery. Took several right after surgery. after it was around 4 pills a day for a few months.

smoke a joint and calm down lol. but everyone gets anxiety over their pre op diet... it sucks. 2 weeks of liquids is hard. after about the 3-4th day it gets much easier as your body starts to adjust. stay active... Stay busy. Because doing nothing can lead to boredom and that leads to snacking.

my hunger came back around 6-7 months post op. i had my surgery a few days after you. so we are at the same time frame.

My surgery was at 8am. I had to be at the hospital at 5am. Checked in. Taken to the surgery prep room, Put in my little section, given gown to change into, and wipes to wipe down my entire body really good, Put the IV in my arm waited a while, Then a nurse came and put some gooey crap in my nose, Taken to the surgery main floor where i waited some more, Then the anesthesiologist came in and asked a bunch of questions, let me know how he was going to put me to sleep, Then surgeon came to go over it and rolled into a surgery room where they were playing loud rock music which was awesome and then i woke up after surgery.

not at all. I use stevia everyday... probably 3 times a day in my coffees at work. been using it since i could drink coffee again after surgery. I use the regular Truvia Stevia and Stevia in the raw.

I did not do insurance. I paid for my surgery out of pocket but after i got done with all the required testing. Surgery was literally 3 weeks later.

that medication you started the side affect listed on it is possible weight gain. But lets start there at your food habits... Are you still eating healthy? making sure to limit carbs and sugars? or are you just eating whatever? I am only 9 months out and i dont feel the restriction i did 5 months ago. I can eat much larger portions than before. The goal tho is to limit those portions regardless. The goal is not to eat until you cant anymore. Its to eat until you are satisfied. not full but good. Not sure what else you can do with surgery. you already had the sleeve and then bypass which is what most people go to when they gain too much weight after sleeve or have GERD issues.

mine is probably not typical and dont meant to scare you at all but after surgery i was taken to a observation room where they woke me up. I could not breath on my own after i was woken up. They had to give me a second dose of the anti paralytic (they paralyze you during surgery and put a breathing tube down your throat. But after that it was not horrible. Yea it sucked, i was coughing a lot and that hurt like hell. but most of the time i was in a chair (could not lay down) and walking around the hallways a lot.

i dont know what part of Florida you are at but i got my surgery done at the Baptist Bariatric Center in Jacksonville, Florida. They have several surgeons. Process was pretty simple.

I loved the cold before surgery. Would love to sleep in 20 degree weather. Right now its 71 degrees here in Florida and i am freezing. Its kinda pi$$ing me off lol

Weighed myself today and i seriously thought i gained weight. but finally i am under 200lb at 197. I have not been under 200 since i was in high school. So happy. It took around 2 months to loose nearly 10lb being this far out from surgery.

My surgeons office refused to let me find my own for the eval. They gave me a list of approved ones that i can choose from. it was a 2 visit deal 1st visit was online on zoom where she discussed the surgery and asked about my eating habits and daily life. Then a week later i had to go in and take a 600-700 question test on a computer. Most of those questions were the same but worded different.

I never really stopped lol. Even now i drink several cups a day. After surgery i chilled and instead drank the Premier Protein coffee latte one and it tasted amazing and has about the same caffeine as a cup of coffee.

So i just got back from a trip to Puerto Rico (work trip) and man that place is not for people who had weight loss surgery. 1st there is no sugar free anything. especially drinks. No sugar free gatorade, Powerade ect... Nothing low carb. bread is a huge huge part of everything. I even went to a Walmart and nothing. just some Protein Bars and such. Only Protein Shakes i could find were just regular ensure and some other strange brand i have not seen. Best part was i finally fit in a coach seat without issue. before i would spill over to the next seat or be so tight it would be so uncomfortable. Now i fit perfect with plenty of room to spare. Got to say i am happy to be back.

4 hours ago, Kimpossible00 said:

I know there is no one recommendation, but I'd like to hear from veteran WLS or patients 6+ months out.

How often did you weigh in after WLS? Once a month? Once a week, or every two? Does it just depend on your mental well-being? I don't want to obsess and my surgeon didn't mention anything.

I want to create a plan now that I can stick to and was thinking once a week was sufficient.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using BariatricPal mobile app

i typically weigh myself once every 2 weeks to see where i am at.

After surgery its going to be very hard to get the full amount of Protein and Water in. So dont stress if you dont even get half in right after surgery. It took me several weeks before i could get enough protein in and water was a struggle for a while. Buy little 1 ounce cups on Amazon and pour an ounce and work on each individual ounce. The surgeon should give you a paper to let you know how much protein and water to get in daily. Just do your best. one Premier Protein shake typically has like 30 grams of protein. Thats about half of what you need daily. you wanna shoot for about 50-60 grams of protein daily and 48-64oz of fluids daily like water. (your Protein Shakes count as fluid)

I weigh myself on the 4th of every month along with measurements. Little late on posting i forgot. But yea no big changes at all in the last month. Weight loss has slowed down by a lot which is expected this far out. I had surgery in April of 2022. Struggling to get below 200. I leave on Sunday for the Caribbean which sucks because well the big food down there is everything is fried lol. So i am bringing me a load of "snacks and foods" in my suitcase lol.

I can chug a decent amount of Water. i thought with the surgery we could only sip tiny bits but thats just for the first little bit after surgery. Once you are healed up its pretty easy to chug tho not too much. If you do it too much it can be painful.