kaitlynm

I do attend the support group at Memorial Hermann in the Woodlands every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month. Sometimes I get a lot out of it, sometimes not so much. Many people come to the support group before they have their surgery to get answers to questions. I started about a month after my surgery. I think anyone is welcome, you don't have to have had your surgery at MH. There is even one person who had theirs in Mexico. Most people do have Balette, Howard, or Turnquest as their surgeon, but I don't think it is a requirement. The meetings are totally free and they are held in the main conference rooms by the Pinecroft entrance. I'm down 74 since my surgery in Oct, and down 92 in total since I started trying to lose weight since June. I hit a goal this week of getting below 195 for the first time in at least 20 years. My next goal is 186 which will be 100 pounds lost. I work out a lot right now because I'm not working at the moment. I'm scared of what will happen once I don't have the time to keep it up. Today I had an interview and I put on a suit I bought last summer for when I lost weight and it was already too big. I've already spent a fortune on clothes. Anyway when I looked in the mirror today I felt like a normal person, not really over weight. I still have a long way to go, but that was an amazing feeling. It really gave me confidence for the interview as well.

Don't worry about it. You have other things more important to worry about. The surgery part itself was absolutely fine and that is by far the most important aspect. Other people in the support group have been fine going through there. The only difference I notice is that the are Dr. Turnquest's patients. He is the head of the bariatric program down there so I'm sure the staff doesn't want to tick him off. I didn't know about Conroe Regional. That is a surprise that Dr. Howard doesn't have privileges given he has an office there.

All insurance companies cover WLS, it is the group that creates your plan to decide what is covered. Generally it is your employer. If you can make a case that you will save money on meds you may want to talk to your HR dept and see if you can get them to make an exception. I don't think this happens very often, but it might be worth a try before giving up.

You must have BCBS. I don't think you can do anything about it and I've talked to others and they had better experiences. I had trouble with the equipment and alarms kept going off. The nurses would take forever to respond and it just drove me nuts. They don't give you pain medication automatically so you have to ask for it. Again they would take forever from when I asked for it till when they gave it to me. The second day in the hospital I never got any and I didn't get released until 4 pm. At night they were doing something that sounded like shredding paper most of the night right outside my room, and it kept me up all night. Also their book says not to bring any of your prescription drugs, but they do not supply them either. I never saw the bariatric coordinator so I got no instructions about how much to drink. I got back to my room from the X-ray and there was broth, a bottle of Water, and some Jello I think. I just started eating all of it. I had forgotten about the 1 oz rule. The only other hospital I've ever been in is Memorial Hermann and they treated me like a queen when I was there. The operation itself was fine. That staff was much more attentive, and seemed much more capable. That is the important part. It s your employer that makes the decision about whether you have to go to the center of Excellence. Dr Ballette told me that he had patients that went to their employers and tried to get that requirement removed. He said sometimes it works. I was on Cobra so there is no way my past employer was going to do that for me. For me, everything turned out just fine. I would have just preferred to skip the overnight hospital stay.

Welcome Roxanne! Hope everything is going well for you. Let me know if you have any questions.

Congratulations!!! It feels wonderful doesn't it.

I have hypo thyroid as well. I'm 5 1/2 mos post op and have lost 92 pounds so far. 74 since being sleeved. Still have 50 to go. I was surprised at my 2 month blood work that my T4 was actually high and my Doc had to decrease my meds.

I'm making a blackberry balsamic chicken tonight. You might be able to do the same with raspberries. Found the recipe on Pinterest.

My insurance required me to go to Houston North West down on 1960. It was horrible. So wish I could have gone to Memorial Hermann.

Hi @HunnyBlossom. I see Dr Balette.

I'm lucky, I love the smell of the popcorn, but have no desire to eat it. Now candy on the other hand..........much bigger temptation.

I'm 5 mos post op and can definitely eat more than 4 oz at a time. For me daily life is all about getting in my Protein and limiting carbs and fat. So much protein comes mixed with either carbs or fat or both. I have not found anything that upsets my sleeve yet, so I have lots of options, but get sick of chicken and fish. I love working out so that is not a problem for me. It is probably the best part of my day. I too drink alcohol occasionally, but try and limit it to rare occasions. I don't even find that I get drunk off a glass or two like I've seen others post. I think the biggest difference is just planning out your meals more to make sure you are getting the right macronutrients and correct percentages for the day. Also it helps with your grocery shopping. It really isn't all that hard, just sometimes I still crave sugar. It is definitely worth it.

You will be feeling great in no time. The first month or so is by far the worst. Once you can starting food again it is much better. It may not seem like it now, but it will go fast.

I really like the Oh Yeay one bars. I like chocolate mint, raspberry cheesecake, lemon and other flavor that I don't think have almonds in them.

I'm 5 mos post op and I still get hungry at times. Especially at night. I believe it is head hunger rather than real hunger. When I'm watching TV or on the computer I'm somewhat bored and that is when I'm hungry. When I'm working out in the morning and busy I'm not hungry at all. Have to find ways to keep your mind off eating and busy with something else. I work out a lot and my program lets me have a lot more veggies now. There is really nothing I can't have at this point, but I have to stick to protein if I want to continue to lose.

I have BCBS of TX and they eliminated the 6 month supervised diet in Feb 15. Makes things go much quicker.

I don't think the juice is a good idea. You need to stick to protein. All the carbs in juice will just make you crave it more. My Doc said to avoid juice for the rest of my life.

Hi Kelly, welcome to the group! I hit my heaviest in Apr 2015 at 286, so I'm right there with you. Got my sleeve in Oct and now I'm down 90 pounds. I was the same way trying every weight loss plan out there. I probably have lost and regained close to 700 pounds. I'm 3 pounds away from the lowest I've been in 20 years. Hope to get there soon. Good luck on your journey.

I've lost 90 so far and looking forward to hitting that 100 lb mark. I still have 55 to go. I feel much better physically because of working out and less weight to carry around, but I still don't feel skinny. I think I will feel differently after loosing 25 more. Then I will just be over weight and not obese. I do notice that I look more like many people out there today, but that doesn't say much given the obesity rates of Americans today.

I like the syntrax nector protein drinks. Not so thick and goes down easier for me. Also no carbs or fat. They don't fill you up as much is the only downside.

I just recently discovered syntrax nector protein. It is fruit flavored that you mix with water. I have a much easier time getting that down than I do drinking the premier protein. I get it on Amazon and with prime I get it in a couple of days.

Good Luck! I'm close to Rayford and Kuykendahl in Augusta Pines. Who is your surgeon?

I also live in the Woodlands. I'm a little over 5 mos post op. Have you had your surgery yet?

I didn't have a support person either. I couldn't wait to get out of the hospital so I practically ran from the room to my friends car. I had someone take me to the hospital and they stayed through the surgery to talk to the Doc, and then someone pick me up and bring me home. I went for a short walk the following day. I also drove the next day. My Doc said I could drive as long as I wasn't taking the pain meds. Luckily I didn't need it. Can't say that will work for everyone, and I'm pretty independent and have a high pain tolerance. Just my story.

Wow! What a transformation. Great Job!