Traci J.

Any medical expenses including co-pays, deductibles, medications, and even miles for travel can be written off on taxes as long as they are a certain percentage (I think it's 7%) of your income. I've had to pay my full deductible + OOP for the last 2 years, plus all my meds and traveling over 100 miles ea. visit....so have qualified. It gives you a bit of a tax break, which is nice. But if you're going to do this, you need to keep all your receipts, or if you use the same pharmacy they can sometimes print you a yearly statement of what you've paid. I keep all my receipts in a folder for the entire year, then add them up. You'd be surprised how much you really spend when you add all those things up....think mine was over $10k last year alone due to my surgery.

My bill was 42k for everything, and my was done with the robot...BCBS allowed 26k. Luckily I only had to pay the rest of my OOP expense. It's extremely outrageous. I work in healthcare, and all hospitals/doctors charge huge fees then the insurance companies all have their own limits on what they will allow. Wouldn't it just be easier to actually bill out what they know the insurance companies will pay them back for??? After all, they can't go after anything above the allowable amount from the patient's anyway. And for people that don't have insurance, they can usually get their charges cut down to what they would normally get back from an insurance company if the patient is wiling to make a few phone calls. My friend had hip surgery and for some reason her insurance didn't pay for it due to referrals or being out of network or something, but anyway, she called the insurance to see how much they would've allowed if it was covered and then haggled with the hospital to get it lowered to that price. Saved her more than 1/2 the cost.

Hi all, so I am exactly one month out today and am down 21 lbs., which is what I was down on 1/10/13 at my follow-up with my surgeon...soooo apparently I hit the dreaded 3 week stall. I did take my measurements and have lost 8.5", all from my waist up! It needs to switch to below the belt next month.....keeping my fingers crossed. lol

You look fabulous. WTG!

What a transformation....That is awesome.

Just breath, you will be fine. The first week or 2 is rough, but it gets easier. Just keep your eye on the prize and remember why you chose to have the surgery. Good luck and I hope you have a smooth and speedy recovery.

Zumba is a blast, I love it. Have fun with it, you might not be able to do alot but it'll get easier.

I have a good BM about every other day....coffee helps me go every time.

Congratulations! Enjoy the ride, and I wish you a smooth and speedy recovery.

I'm right there with ya, but I'm not changing anything cause I know it's just my bodies way of catching up to the quick weight loss. It'll start up again...hopefully sooner than later. lol

I saw this and had to share, cause I am so feeling this way today. Hit the dreaded 3 week stall....

That feeling will go away when you can actually eat solid food. You will feel much more restricted, so don't overdo it cause you don't want to get sick.

You should be getting 8 oz. an hour, 2 oz. every 15 minutes. Good luck.

They recommend no alcohol for a year, at least my Dr. does. Don't bother me though, I was never a big drinker.

Congrats to both of you. See on the flip side. Wishing you both a quick and smooth recovery.

You can always find a different surgeon. All the things you've done that your insurance requires can still be used. If you're not happy now, how will you feel following the surgery if you were to have a problem? Hope everything works out for you. Good luck!

Congrats. I was on Metformin myself, but they released me from the hospital the day after surgery off of it, and that was the main reason for me having the surgery. Wasn't expecting such quick results though. The weight loss is just a bonus.

Welcome doll. I am in NC to. I to have no support in my area and I don't personally know anyone that has had the sleeve, but I have made some great people on this site. It is a great place for support. I know several people that had the gastric bypass, but I didn't want to have my intestines rearranged or have the vomiting/dumping and food restrictions. I basically chose the sleeve because I wanted my stomach to function like normal, just be smaller for the permanent portion control, and so far that's exactly what it's been. I am a month out tomorrow and haven't had any problems since my surgery. I'm not hungry, ever, but eat every 3-4 hrs. as my nut told me to. I'm still not able to get in my 64 oz. of water a day, but my nut wasn't too worried about it as long as I don't show signs of dehydration and to at least try to get 48 oz. The breath thing gets better when you can eat a little bit more foods (carbs), my husband said mine was horrible for the first couple weeks. I kept sugar free peppermint hard candies to suck on at work so I wouldn't offend anyone, but luckily I have my own office and don't converse with alot of people face to face. I have very thick hair myself, but am still a little worried that I'll lose more than I want,...even though it doesn't really start for 3-4 months post-op. If it starts look'n cruddy I'll just get it cut to my shoulders and grow it back out when the hair loss stops. Might want to try biotin, I heard that helps with the hair and nails. Congratulations on your surgery and I wish you the best of luck. Keep in touch...

I'm surprised you're at 1200-1500 calories a day at 21 days out. My nut told me to stay at 600-700 calories and I'm one month out tomorrow. At 3 months out, depending on my weight loss, she said she may increase me to 900 calories a day. I know every Dr. has their own rules, but 1200 calories is more what you'd do for maintenance. And as the earlier poster said, take measurements because you will lose inches while you're in a stall.

I have, and when I weighed 190 lbs. before/after my daughter was born everyone swore I wasn't a lb. over 150. I've always carried my weight well, and I used to be in power lifting in high school so have always had alot of muscle. When I tell people I started this journey at 270, they all said I didn't look that big. It's all the in the way you carry it I guess. To be at a good BMI I would have to be 148 lbs.....but I think I'd be too skinny at that weight. Honestly I'd be thrilled with being 190 lbs. again. I think I looked good at that weight. Anything beyond that would be good to, but when I start to look bony I'm gonna hit the maintenance mark. Good luck!

Have you tried warm, cold and room temp drinks? Maybe you just need to find the right one you can tolerate and drink as much as possible. I find decaf iced tea is much easier for me to drink alot of then plain water. I'm a month out tomorrow and still only getting in about 32 oz. a day of liquids...but no dehydration yet (knock on wood). Hope things improve for you. Great job on the weight loss. I hope to see that same number tomorrow

I am a month out tomorrow, and although my clothes are much baggier, I still "look" the same in the mirror to me. I took measurements and pics the day of surgery and will be taking them again tomorrow....I've heard you can see the difference in pics. I take measurements for the stalls...cause I heard when you're not losing weight your body is losing inches to catch up to the weight loss....as long as I see the downward fall, whether I see it in the mirror myself, I'll be good. I love not wanting to eat, I'm never hungry and have to remind myself to eat something every 3-4 hrs. and get all my protein in. I have noticed increased mood swings around TOM only. Energy is good, though tummy muscles are still weak since the surgery, but are getting better every day. Good luck on your journey...it's wonderful

I'm still at 1/4c and will be a month out on the 19th. I'm not hungry though, so just stick to that. I'll try to increase it to 1/2c. at 3 months per my nuts advise.

Congrats. Positive thinking is what will get you through the rough stages in the next few weeks. Hope you have a quick and smooth recovery.

Good for you for having that ah hah moment. At least it didn't take you 6 months to realize you have to make a new normal. Glad you're back on the wagon and hope your loss picks up. Good luck!