aprilalison

I can hardly believe what you went through! You poor thing I wish I could hug you! Not sure where you are in SD, but I am in Rapid City and the bariatric staff here is phenomenal and I know they could help. I know if I had an emergent issue, my surgeon would be in pronto - even in the middle of the night. When I was having some issues with too much restriction, the bariatric coordinator talked me through it and gave excellent suggestions but also said she could get the doc to see me if needed, which I didn't need to because her tips worked. PM me if you ever need to talk...
april k

I am currently in Tijuana after having a lower body lift. I have lost 130 lbs and needed some work done. After months of internet research, i chose Dr Quiroz in Tijuana and have been so glad I did! The lower body lift was $4,800 plus airfare. I am staying at an aftercare facility called casa de lilas and that was the best decision. There are aids available 24/7 to do dressing changes, help with showering all for $120/day total and that includes amzing home cooked food. The surgery center was immaculate-i am a nurse so I knew what to look for. All of the cosmed clinic staff spoke english fluently and helped with everything I needed. Choose your surgeon and surgery center carefully=Dr Quiroz is licensed in Mexico and in the USA. Good luck wish I had started this journey years ago!!

Yep, we all have that feeling - we were all overeaters before-hand and a lot of us find comfort from food. Funny enough, yesterday we had veggie soup and my husband sliced some French bread thin and baked it with some Provolone on top. I took one small bite of the bread and realized nope - that's not going to sit well. I looked at him and said, "You have no idea how much I want to cram that piece of bread in my mouth and enjoy every calorie of it." It just isn't gonna happen. I know the old adage of "Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels", but that's hard to reconcile in my mind - it's apples and oranges to me. However... I find the more time that comes between myself and a specific food, the less I crave it. Example: we had a bag of bugles in the house a few months ago. I had a few and my God they were good. I ended up eating more and buying more and eating more. The more I gave in, the more I wanted it. I'm the same with ice cream or McDonalds. I finally have to stop cold turkey because I can't wean - if I eat a little, I want more. Once you get over the hump of cravings, it's not as bad on the flip side. It's something we'll all likely struggle with for most of our lives. It's why we don't do so well when left to our own willpower. Don't beat yourself up over it - celebrate each victory but don't mourn your losses too badly.

Costco has packages of cooked chicken breast strips in the refrigurated section. They come in a dual package so I put one in the freezer. Wayyyy cheaper than the ones in reg. grocery store.

My gosh, thank you all for posting this info. I've been silently terrified, losing my hair. I have always had very thick hair and a lot of it until recently. I'm feeling absolutely devastated because I've worked for so long to get my hair this length - it's about 4 inches lower than the bottom of my bra. My hair has fuzzies all over and some areas it's starting to become noticeable for me. I could usually only wrap a coated rubber band around a ponytail twice and now I can wrap it 3 times. I am feeling quite overwhelmed by this - I can deal with sliming and PBs and saggy skin and all that nonsense, but my hair? Please God, no. I'd not heard of this as a side effect until recently when I actually started looking for answers. I've tried oil treatments, hair masques, wearing it up, wearing it down, only washing it every 3-4 days, buying new brushes and wide-toothed combs - everything and I feel like I'm shedding more than our dogs. I'm embarrassed and feeling like I'll never have normal hair again - what may have resolved for someone else doesn't mean it will resolve for me. I'm 5 months out from surgery - June 29th was banded - and I've lost about 55 lbs. Weight loss is going well, fills have gone well, save one (he put in double on accident and I had to be unfilled and given fluids in the ER). Yes, life is stressful right now but I don't see that changing for a while.
Sorry for the rant, just feeling overwhelmed and hair loss is the last thing I needed right now.
I take a Multivitamin - Vitafusion Gummy Vites - I try to take 4 a day now (2 servings) - 1 in the am, 1 in the pm. I probably don't get enough Protein, but I'm working on that. I don't take any Iron or zinc or anything extra. Does anyone have any recommendations for not terrible tasting, reasonably priced supplements? I am surprised no one has come out with a widely available chewable just for bariatrics pts - like prenatals.
Thanks to all...
One more thing - I try to take Fiber daily - sometimes a supplement, sometimes Fiber One products, because since surgery being "regular" has been a real issue. The fiber gives me so much gas which is painful that I end up skipping it sometimes.