dupexi

So, I was up to a size 22, peaked at 277lbs just before surgery, Nov 6th. 3 months later I'm at 212lbs, and squeezed into a size 12. Here's a before & after, (after is at a dress up ball 2 weeks ago).

I had Kaiser and I thought it was terrible. I have Hashimoto's and my primary care gave me the runaround when I asked to see an endocrinologist because I believed she was under-treating me. I left for Anthem BC, and haven't had any issues with seeing whatever specialist I need. I had Anthem BC for the surgery, and paid $1400 out of pocket, when the total bill was $113K. Also, it was the easiest application. I just had to be over 40 BMI, did the psych consult, talked to the nut on the phone. My surgeon sent in the request. No 6 month physician monitored diet, no mandatory waiting period. They did require a center of excellence hospital which probably inflated the bill.

I did low carb for 3 years, lost about 70 lbs, and eventually went off because I was severely constipated and tired. I gained back the lost weight plus quite a bit more. Discovered I had a thyroid condition. I thought that by treating that I'd lose the weight but I didn't, and I put more on instead. Tried low carb again, never really able to make it stick. Plus being lactose intolerant meant no dairy. Right now, the mount of food I'm eating is too low to trigger much of a lactose response, so hey, cottage cheese! I am now about a month out with the sleeve, down 30 lbs, and I've lost all interest in food. I'm not hungry. I've been setting alarms to remind myself to eat. I had some early fatigue, a lot like going into ketosis (I attributed it to healing & meds), but that's gone. Right now it just feels like such a chore to eat anything, and none of it is great food, just boring mush. When I get past this stage, maybe I'll have more interest. I love food, and I can honestly say I have never experienced this level of being not hungry - to the point that I've been having trouble getting all my Water and Protein. I've never had trouble eating all my calories before! I've switched to unflavored Protein powder in broths, cause I can't stand the artificial sugar in the Protein shakes any more. And my one attempt at scrambled eggs make me throw up, not doing that again for a while. I'm still early, so maybe the hunger will come back, but I imagine this lasting quite a while.

Duplicate

In middle school, I was the smart bookish band geek, and shy, so a total target. I was also in size 10's, which is big for a 7th grader, but I wasn't the biggest. But the one kid, who was super tall and skinny (at the time anyway, now he's fat and bald), he would sing at me any time he got the chance, "I feel the earth move under my feet, I feel the sky come tumbling down". He did it all year, despite my attempts at comebacks, ignoring, telling on him. Otherwise my mom is always a good source of outwardly polite, but actually quite nasty weight comments. That way when you call her on it she can look innocent and say, "What? I'm just trying to help!"

I've been "out to eat" a couple of times now, and since I'm so close to the surgery, I just drink water, and enjoy the company. No one cares.

It will be 3 weeks on Thursday. I'm allowed some soft foods, but man, the egg did not agree with me at all.

So far I haven't been able to eat much more then some cottage cheese. Tried a scrambled egg today, and it came back up.

I'm 5'7", highest was 277.5, currently 3 weeks out at 245.5. I was a size 22, now fitting into my old 18's.

I had my period the week before my surgery, a week of respite, then I got a second one. Very weird. I asked my surgeon and she said it's not uncommon. Apparently the stress of the surgery can do weird things to your hormones. I'm off it now!

My Dr was ok with Tums for calcium for the first several weeks. It's been really easy to get down.

I totally get hiccups, and that includes on just water. Also slightly nauseous, and just turned off by food.

I was a bit silly, I'll admit. I watched a ton of medical dramas on TV, and desensitized myself to the idea of surgery. I realized that just because I personally don't often see surgeries, or go to hospitals, doesn't mean there aren't lots of people who do, on a daily basis. Finding a great doctor with a great record helps. If medical doctors can bring people back after cardiac arrest, bypasses, brain surgery, and transplants, a little VSG should be a piece of cake. And it was!

I have a prescription for Omeprazole too. They found evidence of GERD on my barium X-ray, but I hadn't really had any symptoms before. They have me taking it for the first 3 months, then said I can switch to OTC. No symptoms yet.

I haven't had chunks with the Isopure powder, it mixes really well just by putting it in a water right container and shaking. It's reasonably tasty, and scored better then cheaper brands on protein absorption and no heavy metal contamination. Drinking so much, I was worried about both.