Answering reader questions

Hey there! I got the following questions from a blog reader and made a video to respond. Hope this helps, Ashley - best of luck with your surgery with Dr. Aceves! Can't want to hear how it turns out.

1. In regard to medications... Do they all have to be of a chewable or liquid nature? Can you not take any tiny liquigels? Also, what about OTC pain relievers...do you crush them up or do you take the children's liquid kind? 
2. Were you fearful about a US surgeon refusing you if a complication were to arise down the road? I have a friend who is a general surgeon and, in my best interest, was explaining to me that there is a culture among surgeons where they want you to always go back to your bariatric surgeon if any surgery was needed....that they never want to touch a bariatric patient. I've seen on other blogs/forums, however, that there are SOME surgeons who would take a bariatric patient on if their surgeon was overseas, etc. I was just curious of your thoughts on this.
3. What size bougie did Dr. Aceves use on you? I couldn't remember the bougie size when I did the video but Dr. Aceves uses a 36 bougie and then sutures over the staple line making the sleeve smaller. You can read about the details on bougie size on the Surgeon Questions page on this site.
4. Even after all of the literature I've come across and was sent to me, I'm still unsure of portion size. As in, when you say that you drink a protein shake each day (especially in those first few weeks), how much do you think you drink in one sitting? And how does the quantity in those first few weeks compare to how much you are able to drink now?