I Left my Stomach in Matamoros (sung to the tune of I Left my Heart in San Francisco)!

Hello to all!  I am new to the forum.  My lovely wife has found this place for me (as she has found so many others) and has walked me through the basics.  I don't sing well so I will let the introduction stand by itself as I do not want to alienate anyone with my horrible voice! ;-)  I am now 2 weeks out of surgery having gone to it cold (without support) and while I was fearful going in not knowing what the surgery was going to do to aggravate my illnesses, I am glad to say that for MOST, there has been a marked IMPROVEMENT in a very short time!  I am taking about HALF of the medication I was previously for Diabetes.  My Fibro-Myalgia pain has been reduced instead of INCREASING as I feared it would.  My migraines have become more manageable and I am better able to sleep through the night with my sleep apnea.  I have lost over 11 pounds since the surgery.  My wife says that she thinks I have lost 14 pounds.  That comes out to about a pound a day!  I have done all of this without even feeling very hungry at all!  My Doctor, Dr. Manuel Martinez Quintanilla, asked me today if I experienced any hunger.  I told him I did but not much.  I explained that the level of hunger I had was akin to the situation where I would be working and someone would say, "I'm going to Taco Bell, anyone want anything?"  and I would reply, "Yes, bring me back a taco."  There would be NO urgency to the request and I would NOT be the guy MAKING the suggestion.  This was after a week of not eating ANYTHING!  I had been on a LIQUID diet!  I had been on a liquid diet before.  Without the surgery, I was ready to chew my ARM off after a DAY without eating.  I found this to be an AMAZING development.  I no longer had the monkey of hunger riding my back like a jockey 24/7!  What a BLESSING!  I look forward to watching the pounds melt off.  My wife took me out to dinner today to celebrate the fact that the doctor was now allowing me to eat real food again. I am allowed to eat anything that is not crispy.  I can have baked potatoes and mashed potatoes but NOT potato chips.  I can have creamed corn but NOT Doritos.  I can have grilled chicken but NOT fried.  I am going to have to wait another 3 or 4 weeks for those foods.  That is OK.  I don't NEED them!  I was only able to eat 1/3 of the chicken breast that I had ordered for my meal and 1/3 of the mashed potatoes.  I had not even touched the black beans.  Before the surgery, I would have eaten the entire basket of tortilla chips with salsa, maybe 2, the meal placed in front of me, and possibly an appetizer or a side of fries as well.  I would have had all that and several glasses of tea or diet soda.  This was a MAJOR change.  My wife walked out and said that it was nice not to feel embarrassed by the quantity of food that I ate.  I just though that it felt good to walk out of the restaurant feeling full without having to spend a great deal of money.  One of these days we are going to have to ask the doctor just how big my stomach was when he pulled it out.  For anyone that is interested, I have a blog on AOL that comments about much of my experience with the surgery before, during, and after.  You can find it at:  http://journals.aol.com/hughabarlow/the-further-adventures-o f-stupor/ .  Keep a stiff upper lip and wipe the drool off the lower one.  The food may SMELL good but it was killing us!  Eat to live, don't live to eat.  Catch you all later, Hugh

Hi, Hugh!   Nice to meet you.   I had my surgery 29 January, and I lost weight like crazy for about three weeks and then something slammed on the brakes.   I am glad you've joined this group, because you will learn, as I did, that it's very common for the weight loss to "stall" at that point.   Whew!! You'll meet some very nice and very informative and helpful people here.   *I* think it's imperative to have a support group when you have weight loss surgery, and there are so few VSGers "out there" the support groups that I've seen here have pretty much all been for RNYers.     So this is a very good support adjunct for me.   You'll probably find that, as well. Dennie

Welcome to the forum Hugh and congrats on being sleeved, you'll enjoy being part of this friendly and informative group and remember no question is too big or small.   Check out www.vsgfaq.com it's a great site put together by one of our members.

Cheers Talia

Way to go, Hugh!  Sounds like you have a wonderful wife! So glad you are experiencing relief from so many of your medical issues, I must say, I love my VSG!  Keep us posted with your progress.

Welcome to the Forum! Harlingen, Texas, huh?  I'm originally from Donna.  My ex used to play A LOT of music in the valley.  You may have hear of him if you've been down there for long.  Lannie Browning.  He played country music down there for many years starting back in the mid 70s up to just a few years ago.  Also had is own bar in LaFeria..Lannie's Place.   I sure miss that south Texas weather..I know that! I live up in Indiana now.  Did you have your surgery in Harlingen or did you go to Mexico?  I saw where you were singing that you left your stomach in Matamoros. LOL   Hope you continue to do well and lose all the weight you want.  Enjoy some of that warm weather for me, will ya?

Linda: I am sorry to say that I have not heard of your Ex but then maybe that is a GOOD thing.  I was never into the bar scene so I would not have heard the band or the bar.  Now that I know the bar exists, I will keep my eye open for it just to say I saw it next time I am in LaFeria.  The Valley weather is truly something.  About the only other place to find weather like this is in Florida but the cost of living THERE is outrageous!  Let's not even talk about OTHER statistics.   I had my sleeve done in Matamoros.  My doctor was Dr. Manuel Martinez Quintanilla.  Matamoros is just across the river from Brownsville.  My wife, who is a medical professional herself, wanted someone close so that there could be follow up care. I'll be sure to soak up what I can of the warm weather here in Deep South Texas.  Right now it isn't TOO warm though.  We have had the mercury only topping out in the 80's. ;-)  Maybe by summer I can enjoy it when it warms up some.

Hi there Hugh!  Just wanted to say WELCOME to the VSG family! I am still a pre-op, but these people have accepted me with open arms and I love them all. You will too! Sounds like you have an amazing wife and awesome support system...a blessed man!  Welcome welcome welcome!

My wife is GREAT and has been the driving force behind the surgery.  My church family is also behind me.  They have had one member before me that has had weight loss surgery and have been through this before.  My church family is fairly health oriented to begin with, so that helps.  I think that most are eager to watch my transformation and be passive participants in the process.  Having undergone the surgery myself, I now almost wish that I could convince some of my fellw church members to follow my lead.   There is one young gentleman in particular that reminds me so much of myself when I was his age.  I wish that he could avoid so much of the grief that I had because of obesity at that stage of life.  I got mad and lost something like 250 pounds and kept it off until my back went out when I was his age.  I don't see him doing that. As far as my blood realatives are concerned, most are too far away and we speak too infrequently for them to be much support.  My mother is the way I keep in touch with the rest ot the 7 other children.  We all call in to her and touch base and she dispenses gossip and news.  My Mom is greteful that I have finally done SOMETHING to get rid of the weight. Most of the kids have expressed their concern either through her or with a phone call.  I suspect that that is probably the last I will hear about it from most of them.  Once they knew I survived the surgery, their concern turned to other matters. Thank you for your warm welcome.  I am indeed blessed in many ways.  I hope that you are too in your upcoming surgery.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. Hugh.

Hi again Hugh!  Wow! What a great guy! A guy that has lots to say! Haha! Your wife must LOVE that! Most men are men of few words. (Well, the men that I know are men of few words anyway!) Ha!  Seriously! You are one blessed man! You have an amazing wife, AND you are plugged into a faith filled church! I was thinking about what you said about that young man at your church that reminds you of you at his age. Im thinking that YOU can be a testimony to this man one day. God can use you in his, and in others lives. You obviously have a deep compassion for people who are stuck in the pit of obesity like you were--WERE! (Never again!) There will be many people that you meet over the years to come--and this is so true for all of us. Our testimony and example can be such a shining light and HOPE for obese people who feel stuck and hopeless......like we have all felt as well. I have struggled deeply with telling people that I am having WLS....and I think now that I will reconsider my stance!  Congratulations again on your successful VSG and I look forward to getting to know you on this board! Post lots Hugh! 

Well,  in many ways my wife's and my roles are reversed.  My wife is a Nurse Practitioner and works full time to support the family.  I am a stay at home dad.  PART of this is due to the many health issues I have.  I was an electrician in Nebraska before we moved to the Rio Grande Valley in Deep South Texas.  Just before moving, I developed Bi-lateral carpal tunnel syndrome and had surgery on BOTH hands at the same time.  My wife decided that I should take some time and recover from the surgery and keep an eye on the older boy while I looked for a place for us to buy here in the Valley.  As time went on, I developed MORE health problems (actually some were there prior, they were just DIAGNOSED) and it became clear to my wife just how ill I actually was.  I was then MIS-diagnosed for poly-myositis and put on chemotherapy for about a year and a half with NO improvement.  We QUIT the therapy and after a while lucked into a VERY good physician for treating immune system disorders.  The best part was that he was one of my wife's new co-workers!  He had just been hired on and had moved to the Valley  from Chicago.  Between my wife and him, they drove the medical professionals here in the valley to find out what was ACTUALLY going on with me.  The diagnosis as it stands today is Fibro-Myalgia with severe cluster headaches or as some like to call them, "migraines"  I have been told, however, that the type of "migraines" that I suffer from are the worst type.  Usually only men get them.  I lose consciousness from them.  I CAN force myself to stay conscious for a while, but life is NOT pleasant while I do.  I usually force myself to stay awake until my wife gets home and then allow myself to pass out.  I need 4 to 6 hours of rest to get rid of the effects.  Having rested, my sleep schedule is then all messed up for a day or 2. In many ways I am a typical man.  I DON'T want to be seen as WEAK by my wife.  I will often hide or not talk about important things if I think I can deal with them myself.  Talking to a stranger is NOT the same so there is a bit more freedom but there are things you will never know.   My wife is an introvert and I am extroverted so in some ways it is like our roles are reversed THERE too.  She OFTEN wishes that I would just SHUT UP!  She especially finds my desire to talk annoying in public.  Then again, when we get home, I often clam up because the topic of conversation is NOT something I want to talk about.  This frustrates my wife also because she KNOWS that I can talk when I want to.  I tend to have a greater vocabulary than the average man because for many years I was an avid reader.  This translates into an easier way with words.  I read when I was young as an escape from a brutal reality.  Today, I read because I love it.  Over the years I have found that the best testimony is to live an honest life.  Lead by example.  You can tell a story a hundred times but if the people you are talking to do not SEE the story in your life, it MEANS NOTHING!  Right now, my story with the Sleeve Gastrectomy means NOTHING!  I have not lost enough weight for the story to be effective.  To talk to the young man would be a waste of breath now and I might possibly insult him.  I need to be patient and wait until my story is better illustrated by my life.  When the weight loss is OBVIOUS and the benefits can be seen by ALL, then I can talk to him and possibly be effective.  There are several young women in the church that could use this help too.  All of the Tacos here in the Valley really do a diet in!  My next step is to get the young man and one of the young ladies to get together....         As for telling people about the surgery;  I have NO qualms about THAT at all!  I fear, though, that the subject will be as touchy as religion itself.  Most people do NOT want to hear that they are FAT even if you are just being honest and trying to help.  The same thing goes for religion.  Try telling someone that they are a sinner and see what type of response you get.  Most often you are as welcome as sour grapes.  Even when you tell that person that you have a way to help them, they tend to reject the message.  I fear the same thing is going to happen with the weight loss surgery message.  "Hey, buddy!  I see you are FAT!  I used to be too!  I had a Sleeve Gastrectomy and now I am SVELT!  YOU CAN BE TOO!"  Just ain't gonna float with most folks.  As soon as the word FAT comes out you lose them.  The only effective way I can see to reach someone is to SHOW them and let them ASK.  Even then I don't think there will be many takers.  People are too caught up in thier own ruts.  I know that I would not have gotten this done if it hadn't been for my wife pushing for it.  I was too fearful of the possible complications.    It has been nice getting to meet you Mattysmamma.  Catch you later. Hugh