TEXASLADY52

I had something as you described done in June. I have lost 81 pounds. I had a stomach stapling in 1980....I only lost 11 pounds. The staple line came lose and therefore I had two stomachs. The doctor said that was why I was unable to lose weight all of these years. The Dr told me he recommended a combination (some call it a modified DS). Because of my stomach problems they were unable to form a sleeve and just made a small pouch. I haven't had any problems except when I eat too fast or don't chew good enough. You will need lots of Protein and be on Vitamins for the rest of your life. So far my labs have been good......just my thyroid is like it is on a roller coaster....still trying to level it out. I feel I am a slow loser compared to others on this board.....but I am older and probably don't do as much exercising. Losing slow is ok.....they say you are more often to keep it off. I have gone down three...almost four sizes.

At first it drove me insane reading where some people lost so fast. Then I read about the "Honeymoon Stage" and how the fast weight lost is over. I am a slow loser.....if this is the "Honeymoon Stage".....I hate to see what will happen next. I have had to come to the fact that I am older, bad knees and sit all day behind a desk!!! I get in all of my Protein, Water and Vitamins. I went through a period that my thyroid was like a roller coaster ....had 6 week stalls....lose a little and then stall...even started gaining (this drove me insane because I had failed at so many other diets). Went through three different brands of thyroid medication. Seems to leveled out now and I am dropping weight again....slowly, but I did lose what I had gained and then some. I will probably take more than two years to reach anywhere near my goal....but that is OK....I am getting healthier every day.

The drinking is the hardest part for me. It is best you don't drink anything for thirty minutes before you eat and wait at least thirty minutes to one hour after you eat. I get so thirsty.....I have always drinked while eating. I have found to set a timer....so it will help me to know when I can have a drink. I have forgotten and taken a drink to soon....it will fill up my stomach and a lot of times my food and everything will come up because I am too full. My NUT told me to take bites as little as the tip of my pinky finger and then chew chew chew. After a few times....of not chewing...eating to fast or eating too much... you will learn. The pain is horrible and it takes awhile for it to go away! There is an app called Eat Slower....it is a timer to help you to time yourself and eat slower. This is something that I am still working on. Good Luck! You can do this!

The drinking is the hardest part for me. It is best you don't drink anything for thirty minutes before you eat and wait at least thirty minutes to one hour after you eat. I get so thirsty.....I have always drinked while eating. I have found to set a timer....so it will help me to know when I can have a drink. I have forgotten and taken a drink to soon....it will fill up my stomach and a lot of times my food and everything will come up because I am too full. My NUT told me to take bites as little as the tip of my pinky finger and then chew chew chew. After a few times....of not chewing...eating to fast or eating too much... you will learn. The pain is horrible and it takes awhile for it to go away! There is an app called Eat Slower....it is a timer to help you to time yourself and eat slower. This is something that I am still working on. Good Luck! You can do this!

At first it drove me insane reading where some people lost so fast. Then I read about the "Honeymoon Stage" and how the fast weight lost is over. I am a slow loser.....if this is the "Honeymoon Stage".....I hate to see what will happen next. I have had to come to the fact that I am older, bad knees and sit all day behind a desk!!! I get in all of my Protein, Water and Vitamins. I went through a period that my thyroid was like a roller coaster ....had 6 week stalls....lose a little and then stall...even started gaining (this drove me insane because I had failed at so many other diets). Went through three different brands of thyroid medication. Seems to leveled out now and I am dropping weight again....slowly, but I did lose what I had gained and then some. I will probably take more than two years to reach anywhere near my goal....but that is OK....I am getting healthier every day.

Ouch! We were able to use our Tex-flex benefits to pay for $4,800 of the costs and have it withheld from our paychecks, pre-tax, over the next 12 months. So, come October, our paychecks will go up around $200 a month, yay! That's when we'll also pay off one of the small loans we took out and then we'll only have one loan left to pay off. I can't wait, because then I'll be able to start saving for plastics, lol.

That is fantastic! Hope you both are doing great! I refuse to let myself get stressed out over the bills.....I have been paying them $10 a month....each month they call and want to know if I can up my pay and I just tell them not at this time!! I probably owe at least $12,000 if not more.
@@TEXASLADY52, I sure do. I work for a state university and my husband works for TDCJ so we both have the same insurance. We ended up going to Dallas and seeing Dr. Jayaseelan at Dallas Bariatric Center. We both had hiatal hernias, so he did the hernia surgery and billed insurance for it, then we paid cash for the sleeve portion of the surgery. Instead of the 18 to 20 grand each, it has ended up costing us about $6,000 each for everything.

I didn't exercise at first either...too busy, too tired, too much to do, bad knees...etc....we can find all of the excuses we want. I joined the gym at our local hospital. At first I said there was no way I was going to get in the pool and let anyone see me in a bathing suit. Trainer kept telling me it was the best because of my knees. I took the plunge and got in the pool (guess what ....nobody cares what I look like!).....I walk the pool and stay in it an hour or more! It is open until 9:00 at night and 7 days a week.....low cost also. You can do it....just make up your mind.

I had a hard time at first also. I still cannot stand sweet. Cannot get yogart down. Cannot tolerate sweet drinks. I found I do like Crystal Lite lemonade....it is more tangy and not as sweet. Could not stand Protein drinks at first other than Adkins chocolate Royale.....but it is low in Protein. I hated Premier drinks...30 grams of protein....but your taste changes and now I love the strawberry Premier drink (you can get these at a Walmart). My stand by during this time was Soup.....make refried Beans thin like Soup and put cheese on top...I still go and get Wendy's Chili because of the convenience and it is high protein. Six grilled nuggets from Chick Fila has 23 grams of protein (I eat these for breakfast). I mix Crystal Light lemonade with GENEPRO and keep a big glass of it at my desk.....I get my protein and Water in at the same time. Most days I get in at least 100-120 grams of protein

I didn't have the Band but did have a stomach stapling back in the 80's. The staple line did not hold up.....so I had lots of stomach problems over the years and lots of scar tissue. I had my surgery in June and have done great. Just make sure you do your research and use a doctor that has done revisions. I went to a doctor several years back and the first thing he said to me was "I hate revisions...and can't stand to do them".....I knew he was not for me.

I didn't exercise at first either...too busy, too tired, too much to do, bad knees...etc....we can find all of the excuses we want. I joined the gym at our local hospital. At first I said there was no way I was going to get in the pool and let anyone see me in a bathing suit. Trainer kept telling me it was the best because of my knees. I took the plunge and got in the pool (guess what ....nobody cares what I look like!).....I walk the pool and stay in it an hour or more! It is open until 9:00 at night and 7 days a week.....low cost also. You can do it....just make up your mind.

I know how you feel!! I think a lot of it for me is two different things....First is the weather.....I am so ready for winter to be over and to see sunshine and flowers. Was snowed in all last weekend.......which if you are not careful....you get bored and want to eat.......Freezing rain today......so dreary!! The second thing is I am going to retire October 1......I am so ready.....so I have lost my passion for my work. Hang in there...you will get through it. You are just going through a lot at this time.

I didn't exercise at first either...too busy, too tired, too much to do, bad knees...etc....we can find all of the excuses we want. I joined the gym at our local hospital. At first I said there was no way I was going to get in the pool and let anyone see me in a bathing suit. Trainer kept telling me it was the best because of my knees. I took the plunge and got in the pool (guess what ....nobody cares what I look like!).....I walk the pool and stay in it an hour or more! It is open until 9:00 at night and 7 days a week.....low cost also. You can do it....just make up your mind.

I can completely understand. I am 2 years out on this thing and the emotional changes were no fun at all. In fact, I find that there are lots of things I just don't care about anymore. I go to work everyday and do my job but to say I really give a rip deep down would be untrue. This applies to many areas in my life. I won't bore you with the entire list but situations that used to cause me a lot of stress and worry just don't matter anymore. I've had to learn to let it go as a means of self preservation. I just don't have the room emotionally to take on a lot of problems or deal with other people's issues. While I used to try to save the world, now I take care of me and my immediate responsibilities and let the rest go. It's not necessarily a bad thing in some ways. I kind of discovered that I had been taking on too much from outside sources and honestly I'm happier now in not doing so.
Yes - of course these issues should have been dealt with pre-surgery. But if they weren't and you are dealing with them now then so be it. As long as you recognize the issue and are aware that you must deal with it then you are halfway through the battle. You got this. Just stay the course.

At first it drove me insane reading where some people lost so fast. Then I read about the "Honeymoon Stage" and how the fast weight lost is over. I am a slow loser.....if this is the "Honeymoon Stage".....I hate to see what will happen next. I have had to come to the fact that I am older, bad knees and sit all day behind a desk!!! I get in all of my Protein, Water and Vitamins. I went through a period that my thyroid was like a roller coaster ....had 6 week stalls....lose a little and then stall...even started gaining (this drove me insane because I had failed at so many other diets). Went through three different brands of thyroid medication. Seems to leveled out now and I am dropping weight again....slowly, but I did lose what I had gained and then some. I will probably take more than two years to reach anywhere near my goal....but that is OK....I am getting healthier every day.

Check out the links below......they do medical finance loans:
www.americanhealthcarelending.com they do Bariatric lending at a lower interest rate
www.carecredit.com

I have been hollered at for telling this before...oh well! What got me through is I would take a package of instant potatoes and make it so thin.....it was Soup...add a little cheese. I know there is no Protein, but you are in the healing stage and that should be number one!!! It was so satisfying......I have never liked broth......some say cook chicken and make your own broth and it is better? You can also take refried Beans and add Water to make them Soup and add cheese. Just make sure it is real thin and no lumps. I had a terrible time with Protein at first also.....Once I hit the soft foods.....I lived off of Soups for several months and is still my go to when my tummy is not tolerating very well.

I have been hollered at for telling this before...oh well! What got me through is I would take a package of instant potatoes and make it so thin.....it was Soup...add a little cheese. I know there is no Protein, but you are in the healing stage and that should be number one!!! It was so satisfying......I have never liked broth......some say cook chicken and make your own broth and it is better? You can also take refried Beans and add Water to make them Soup and add cheese. Just make sure it is real thin and no lumps. I had a terrible time with Protein at first also.....Once I hit the soft foods.....I lived off of Soups for several months and is still my go to when my tummy is not tolerating very well.

I have been hollered at for telling this before...oh well! What got me through is I would take a package of instant potatoes and make it so thin.....it was Soup...add a little cheese. I know there is no Protein, but you are in the healing stage and that should be number one!!! It was so satisfying......I have never liked broth......some say cook chicken and make your own broth and it is better? You can also take refried Beans and add Water to make them Soup and add cheese. Just make sure it is real thin and no lumps. I had a terrible time with Protein at first also.....Once I hit the soft foods.....I lived off of Soups for several months and is still my go to when my tummy is not tolerating very well.

I have been hollered at for telling this before...oh well! What got me through is I would take a package of instant potatoes and make it so thin.....it was Soup...add a little cheese. I know there is no Protein, but you are in the healing stage and that should be number one!!! It was so satisfying......I have never liked broth......some say cook chicken and make your own broth and it is better? You can also take refried Beans and add Water to make them Soup and add cheese. Just make sure it is real thin and no lumps. I had a terrible time with Protein at first also.....Once I hit the soft foods.....I lived off of Soups for several months and is still my go to when my tummy is not tolerating very well.

I have been hollered at for telling this before...oh well! What got me through is I would take a package of instant potatoes and make it so thin.....it was Soup...add a little cheese. I know there is no Protein, but you are in the healing stage and that should be number one!!! It was so satisfying......I have never liked broth......some say cook chicken and make your own broth and it is better? You can also take refried Beans and add Water to make them Soup and add cheese. Just make sure it is real thin and no lumps. I had a terrible time with Protein at first also.....Once I hit the soft foods.....I lived off of Soups for several months and is still my go to when my tummy is not tolerating very well.

I have been hollered at for telling this before...oh well! What got me through is I would take a package of instant potatoes and make it so thin.....it was Soup...add a little cheese. I know there is no Protein, but you are in the healing stage and that should be number one!!! It was so satisfying......I have never liked broth......some say cook chicken and make your own broth and it is better? You can also take refried Beans and add Water to make them Soup and add cheese. Just make sure it is real thin and no lumps. I had a terrible time with Protein at first also.....Once I hit the soft foods.....I lived off of Soups for several months and is still my go to when my tummy is not tolerating very well.

I have been hollered at for telling this before...oh well! What got me through is I would take a package of instant potatoes and make it so thin.....it was Soup...add a little cheese. I know there is no Protein, but you are in the healing stage and that should be number one!!! It was so satisfying......I have never liked broth......some say cook chicken and make your own broth and it is better? You can also take refried Beans and add Water to make them Soup and add cheese. Just make sure it is real thin and no lumps. I had a terrible time with Protein at first also.....Once I hit the soft foods.....I lived off of Soups for several months and is still my go to when my tummy is not tolerating very well.

I have had constant stalls from day one! Some last as long as six weeks. Most times I still lose inches. The most important thing you can do is follow your plan....do not compare yourself to everyone else......we are all different. I recently started gaining....got so depressed and upset....thought her I go again and another failled attempt.....went to the doctor and my thyroid was way off. I have had to learn....I am older...I have different health needs....I will get there...it just may be at a slower rate.

I went to a birthday party this past week at a pizza establishment. I ate the salad bar and then just ate the topping off of the pizza.< /p>