I have Psoriatic Arthritis and I take an infusion every 6 weeks that runs about $12,000. Was just starting to take Diabetic meds and I had high Cholesteral. My insurance company, Aetna, via my personal nurse who calls monthly to check on me, suggested that I think about having Bariatric Surgery. I have to admit that Aetna and my employer have taken great care of me the last few years through my company benefits. I've had some serious health issues and I have received excellent care no matter what service I've needed.

When I started my Bariatric journey I was 5'4" and weighed 260 lbs. The day of surgery, Sept. 7th 2011, I was down to 233. The next day after surgery, I weighed 223, so, the part of the stomach they removed was 10 lbs. I don't hop on and off the scale much but the last time I weighed, about a week ago, I was down to 200 lbs. It's kind of surreal, no one warned me it would be so fast. I am 60 lbs lighter in the space of two months! That's the bonus. I had the surgery hoping to improve my health not to lose weight. I didn't mind being a fat girl that much! ;o)

Now, I'm not takiing Diabetes meds, don't know about my Cholesteral yet, my Psorisis & Psoriatic Arthritis have not flared and my joints have been great considering I was off my arthritis meds for so long before & after surgery. I've had an infusion since my surgery and I had lost enough to need one less vial of Remicade, costing me, my employer, & Aetna less money than the previous infusion. That's huge! I know it is...

Whenever I mention to a doctor that I think I'm just in starvation mode... well... they don't want to hear that!! I believe that. The truth is that I don't put a cup of food a day into my body. I work off more calories than I take in, easily... every day. I can't eat. I can't stand the whey Protein products and I am NOT a milk girl. I smell the stuff & my gag reflex goes into high gear (only since the surgery it's done this). I'm getting plenty of liquids but not nearly enough protein or anything for that matter. That worries me. I only eat a few bites and the burping and belching starts. Gosh! I hope this gets better because right now, I'm not feeling really good about my decision in spite of the positive changes it's brought. I'm hoping this place will help me figure out how to work through various things that I am learning in this new life of mine.

Don't Wanna Be Disappointed in Dallas,

Mera

Mera,

Like you, I had the surgery more to help my health than to change how I look, although I'm LOVING the positive changes in my body!

Thanks, I am loving my new body too. I just don't want my new body to get too thin. Just doesn't appeal to me so I hope my body will know when enough is enough and I hope by then I will know how to maintain that weight.

I have lost a LOT of weight very quickly and trust me, this is all new for me and it's not all bad. ;o)

I take it Tums has calcium? That could be doable, I haven't found a calcium I like yet and I always burp & belch like a sailor so Tums could help in that arena too...

Good luck w/ your new sleep study. I know I had my sinuses roto-rootered several years ago and I haven't had a problem since. A good night's sleep sure sure makes a difference.

I ditto this!

Welcome Mera!

Hi Mera, welcome to VST! I don't really have any advice to give you because I'm just newly sleeved. I will tell you though that I was (quite possibly) addicted to this site when I first found it. There is a wealth of information here. I used the search button up top and found answers to so many of my questions.

Good Luck and welcome!

I am planning the surgery for my health also. I have multiple co-morbidities and take around a dozen Rx meds daily. I will not lie though, I am so looking forward to being thinner. I haven't seen onederland in 18 years and it would be great to make my home there once again.

Hi Mera-

Like you, I HATE the Protein powders. Because I'm OCD, I weighed everything, just making sure that I had my 60 grams of protein every day (eggs, Greek yogurt, fish, meat, eventually cottage cheese). I lose very slowly (after the first 20 pounds, NOTHING "just fell off"). At 11 months out, I can eat about 8 ounces at a time. What helped me was learning to chew each bite well. Also, I learned that if I have a small plate and eat slowly, I can finish the meal more or less with everyone else. I try to think of meals as social occasions that just happen to have food.

Keep your chin up. It gets easier.

Mera,

Like you, I had the surgery more to help my health than to change how I look, although I'm LOVING the positive changes in my body! I have/had sleep apnea, pneumonia, pulmonary embolisms (emboli?), rheumatoid arthritis, pre-diabetes, asthma, etc. My RA has improved to the point that walking is my new favorite activity and my sleep apnea is improving rapidly as well. When i lost 20 more pounds, my doc has promised me a new sleep study that should remove the Bi-Pap from my bedside.

It takes time to adjust to the changes the Sleeve requires. My sleeve is so picky that I named him (no woman would tell me I can't have chocolate or milk), so Rex...who can't bea T-Rex since he's been down-sized, is now running my life. Like you, I worried that I wasn't getting in enough nutrients to keep me going, but my labs are great so far. I take a daily chewable multi-vitamin, along with sublingual B-12 and Calcium in the form of three Tums a day. The Tums were ordered by my pulmonoligist and approved by my batriatric surgeon. By eating my Protein first, then making good veggie choices, along with my Vitamins, my labs report that I AM getting the nutrients I need. I know of at least one person here who is pregnant after VSG (Tiffykins) and her OB is happy with her progress and seems to be predicting a healthy baby. IMO, if a woman can have a healthy baby after VSG, then we can certainly maintain our health after VSG!

You have lost a lot of weight very quickly after surgery! I hope that means that your co-morbidities are resolving themselves as well. Needing less medication is a plus as well, since most medications have side effects that aren't positive.

Like you, I didn't think I had a self-esteem problem, but I like the improvements I'm seeing in my body and my mind as I lose weight. Those add up to enhanced self-esteem and make me wonder how much of my self-esteem before was bravado. I still have a loooong, long way to go to get to my goal, but I feel better every day and I hope that you have the same experience.

You keep saying that you didn't do this to lose weight, but you do realize that by you losing weight has improved your health right?

I can't get over what you wrote. I have thought about it all night. You are getting healthy now & it was caused by being fat. Food is our drug. Without the Sleeve we would still be miserble or dead. I understand thinking you can't socialized over food. You just have to find whats works for you.

I wish you the best and hope you enjoy your new life.

I second the recommendation for the Isopure products - particularly the ISOPURE PLUS product. These are premixed Protein drinks that taste like crystal lite. The two flavors are punch and grape frost. They are "lightly flavored" not as strongly flavored as some others. I couldn't find them locally, so I ordered them from Amazon.com.

The belching and burping will get better. I took (and still take) Famatodine or Pepcid in the morning, Prilosec in the evening and I am never without GASX or Tums. Somehow drinking broth seemed to help, too.

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