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Dr. Cirangle was my surgeon. Yes, I paid the "program fee" for Dr. Cirange, but this might help clarify. The $5600 I paid was all I ever paid him. I will never pay him another dime for the next 5 years. This includes all follow-up appts, even if my boss changes my insurance (which he did) or even if I lose my insurance. Because of Dr. Cirangle's experience and the convenience of him driving 3 hrs every couple of months to come to the central coast for follow-up appointments, the fee was worth it. I live in Morro Bay and there are no Bariatric surgeons around here. My insurance required me to have my surgery at Good Sam in San Jose because there are no Bariatric Centers of Excellence in my area. Any option I chose would have meant a 2-3 hr drive every time I had a follow-up visit. Dr. Cirangle is the only Dr. that comes to my area. I have been very happy with him and don't regret anything I have paid him.

My goal is 100 lbs. total weight lost. I lost 75 lbs the first 6 months. I lost 20 lbs the 2nd 6 months. My current weight is 153-154. Now, after a year, I go up a lb, down a lb, up a lb, down a lb. and then finally lose a lb. Then the same thing happens for the next week. So, at 1 year, 2 weeks, I have 3 lbs. to go. I am happy with where I am now, but we'll see what the next 6 months accomplish.

My Dr. said it's a great snack once on solids. Low, low calories

Click on my name, which will take you to my profile. Then click on gallery.

I am 5'6 1/2" Never quite made it to 5'7". I started at 250. I was 240 on the day of my surgery. I am currently 153 and 3 lbs from goal. Check out my gallery to see my journey. I think that 165-170 is a super realistic goal that you will probably pass. Blessing to you on your journey.

Here's the easy way. Take the amount of weight you have lost. Me - 97 lbs. Divide by excess weight, 100 lbs. 97 divided by 100 = 97%. Way easy for me, but it works with whatever numbers. Don't want to hurt any brains here. :^)

Today is my 1 year surgiversary. I have lost 96% of my excess body weight. 100 lb goal to get to 150. Currently 154. 96 lbs lost. I am 5'6" and believe that 150 is best for my body.

I eat them for breakfast with my coffee. Can't usually finish one, only eat half on most days.

While I was on my liquid stage, I had a couple of bad allergic reactions. Anaphylaxis reaction, throat closing, itching. This happened right while I was drinking a protein drink. The second time it happened, I called my allergist. He said I probably have a pure milk allergy which is what whey is made of. But, I finally figured it out on my own. This only happened when I took my Omeprazole (Prilosec) while I was drinking my protein shake. I spent a week just like you freaking out about how I was going to get my protein in, walking around the store trying to figure out what I was going to drink without killing myself. I quit taking the Omeprazole and have never had another problem. I drink protein every morning in my coffee and have never had a reaction again. So, if you are on an acid reducer/reflux pill (which is common after the surgery) don't take it while you are drinking a protein shake. Hope this helps. Probably saved my life.

SF Popsicles were my saving grace the first 2-3 months. Got me through the evenings.

Don't worry, you won't care. As you can see below, my sleeve date was 10/4/11 and I was 7 weeks out last Thanksgiving and I didn't miss it. We had a big Thanksgiving potluck at our church and I had about 5 things on my plate (about a quarter size serving of each thing) and ate about 6 bites. I was also over 35 lbs lost so that was a much better trade off for me. You can splurge for the day and eat whatever you want, but for once in your life, you won't want to eat much.

I had an allergic reaction to prilosec too but only if I drank a protein drink after taking the pill. I realized this early on while still on liquids and it so freaked me out, I didn't drink whey protein for several weeks. I no longer take prilosec and have not had anymore reactions. Hope this helps.

Slimies are when you take 1 bite too many. You overfill your tiny stomach and instead of throwing up, the saliva or slimies in your stomach just come up. If I overfill my stomach and bend over, it just comes up. 10 months out and had an episode today at lunch. Only took 5 bites of my lunch, one bite too many. But I ate pasta and I notice it happens more if I eat pasta. And prior to my sleeve, I ate pasta all the time. My favorite food. Now, not so much because slimies is not worth it. I also get the sneezes and nose runs. Today at lunch, my daughter, who works with me, heard me sneezing and said, "Mom, are you sliming?" Ha Ha!

Ha, ha, so true. I turned off my scentsy warmer because the smell was off. The cinnamon spices all smelled terrible. And I LOVE cinnamon. Took about 4 months before I turned it back on again. Hang in there, it will get better.

First picture is the morning of my surgery, 2nd picture was 10 months out. Love my new body and hope it inspires you that this CAN be done.

Sorry, I see Dr. Cirangle in Templeton and I live in Morro Bay. Wish there was a support group in our area, but I have found that this group has done pretty good for me so far. Hope you are able to go. Maybe you could let me know what I'm missing.

You have to learn to eat realllllly slow. And stop 1 bite before you're full. It has taken almost 10 months for me to quit sliming. You will notice it more when you stomach is full or you took 1 bite too many. Hang in, it's a learning curve. Remember, it takes 20-30 minutes to your brain to catch up to your stomach, and you will want to take one more bite even though you are full. Thankfully, it's not real acidic, I just keep a cup handy and spit it out.

Sleeved Oct. 2011. Lost 92 lbs, 8 lbs to go.

I was wondering: How many of you have heartburn? Was it only short-term or is it a case of being on a PPI for life? Rarely get heartburn and I take no PPI. Dr prescribed right after surgery, but have not taken any for 6-7 months. Do any of you have dumping syndrome with the sleeve? (some research says it's possible) No dumping issues. Sometimes when I eat certain things, it doesn't agree with my new stomach, but doesn't happen very often. Have any of you had any complications out of the norm/ not easily resolved? No complications and I have lost 93 of my 100 lb goal. IS anyone aware of any studies with Long-term efficacy of the sleeve (5+ years out?) No info on long term, but at 9 months out, I still can't eat a half a sandwich for lunch. I eat a lettuce, tomato, and meat sand and throw the bread away. Wouldn't trade this for anything. Hope this helps.

It probably is the fluids that they pumped into you at the hospital. Also flying will make you retain water. If you pee all night, you'll see a few lbs. drop. I gained 10 lbs from the hospital. Lost it all within a few days.

Whoops, I meant my insurance paid approx $5000 contracted price.

With CA Anthem Blue Cross, I paid $5600 to the Dr. (That is his set fee with insurance) and about $1000 to the hospital. My hospital paid approx $5000 contracted price on a $117,000 bill. I will never pay another dime to my Dr. for the next 5 years of followup.

Thanks for sharing.

I have never regretted it. Check out my gallery. I'm the same height as you and I am 7 lbs to my goal in less than 10 months. Wish I would have done it a year sooner to be skinny for my daughter's wedding.