mezanne1401

I had a terrible sweet tooth as well, but since my sleeve on Nov 12, I have not wanted anything sweet at all. I haven't had a single craving since Nov 11!!!! Good luck in your decision!!

Hey everyone!!!! Hope you are having a wonderful Tuesday night!!! So, my family and I are going to be moving to Galveston, TX in a few months and I will be leaving my surgeon and he will be 3 hours away. I had surgery 3 weeks ago and was wondering how often follow up appointments last. I have another follow up later this month for my 1-month check up. Thanks everyone. Hope you all have a great night!!!

Interesting development around here!!!! I see now why so many are denied and have to fight with insurance!!!! I was self pay for my surgery, $12500. The hospital portion of the cost was $8100. No big deal. 24 hours at the hospital, meds, operating room. Makes sense to me. I just received a bill from the hospital for $79,000 with my 8100 removed and remaining balance of $71,000!!!!!!!! I called immediately and they said that I had a zero balance and that the bill was sent prematurely. Out of curiosity I asked how in the world the cash price can be 8100, but they bill $80,000. She said that the 80K was for insurance. I am just floored by that. Highway robbery and the hospital should be ashamed!!!!!

People like my mother-in-law would pay without question. She sees a bill, she assumes she owes it.

PPI is a proton pump inhibitor, i.e. Zantac, Pepcid. It reduces the stomach acid that gives you heartburn/indigestion.

Well, just got back from CA from my grandpa's funeral a few hours ago and what a rough week. It was rough not because of his passing, but because I wanted to eat at all my old favorites. I ate every meal and threw up every meal. I would take literally one bite too many and off to the bathroom I went. My dad's idea of a night out is a 5-hour dinner with old friends, which I used to love. I'm finished eating before everyone else and then I just sit. The smell of everyone's food is usually what made me queasy. I excused myself once and my husband and I walked back to our room. But, with all of the downs, there were some amazing ups. EVERYONE noticed my weight loss and complimented me like crazy. We went to Disneyland on a whim. I was able to walk through a turnstile without turning sideways!!!!! I almost pulled down my once to tight blue jeans while walking to a ride. My jeans were so loose that my mom would tell me to pull up my pants. I walked that entire park and rode a dozen rides or so and my back didn't hurt at all!!! My back used to be so bad that I would have to rest frequently. I was never the first person to suggest a break. I guess I did okay given the situation, but man, I've been on cloud 9 for 3 days!!!!

I'm 2 weeks 1 day out and have had a pretty easy time so far except of course the gas at first. I've had no nausea or vomiting until yesterday. I ate lunch and about 20 minutes later I was so nauseated. I vomited lunch. I remember reading that just because something sat okay once, it could very well not sit so easily next time. No big deal. Another live and learn lesson in the books. Today, I woke up feeling just icky, the only way I can describe it. I have to clean my house, do laundry, get my hair colored and bags packed before I go to CA for my grandpa's funeral. Problem is, I have no energy. I took my shower this morning and getting out and getting my bra on was almost all that I could stand. I feel zapped and I haven't done anything on my list yet. Any ideas to get to feeling halfway normal!?!? I have a lot to do today and no patience to wait around like a bump on a log.

I wanted the band for 10 years. I went to seminars, researched and told my mom and everyone thought it was a great idea. I never really followed up on getting it done and 10 years slipped by. So, the opportunity presented itself that I could have the surgery self pay and I went in knowing that I wanted the band. I walked into my surgeon's office for my first appointment and said I wanted the band. He asked me if I wanted the band or the sleeve. This was the first time I had heard of the sleeve. He explained the procedure and said that with the band, I could expect to lose 50% excess body weight, but with the sleeve, I could expect to lose 85% EBW. Of course, I liked the numbers for the sleeve, but the thought of it being so permanent scared the beejeezus out of me. What if I wanted to eat like I could before? What if skinny isn't my thing? I had to wrap my head around the fact that this was going to be the new me forever. When I was talking to my surgeon and I said that it was so permanent, my mom said bluntly and matter of factly, "then I guess you don't really want to change your life and lifestyle". Talk about a blow to the gut. She was right. So I made up my mind right then to have the sleeve and haven't looked back. I work from home typing for a 10-hour shift. I was sleeved on a Mon, had my normal 3 days off and was back to work on Friday. the first few days were the worst for me because of the gas, but i have no regrets. I started at 327 on Oct 31 and I am 292 today. Best decision ever.

Maybe you could thin out the liquid with some water??? Tylenol pills are pretty big. You could also crush them up and put them in some pudding or something to mask the bitterness.

Well, I got the call I have been dreading since I moved out of my parents' house almost 13 years ago. My sweet grandpa passed away early this morning. I mentioned in an earlier thread that he was ailing and he finally got tired of hanging on. Thank God I was able to find bereavement air fare at $533 instead of other airlines with their bereavement of $1300!!! Multiply that times 3 and holy crap! My mom and dad have been divorced since I was a little kid, but she still called grandma and grandpa mom and dad. Once in the family, always in the family mentality. So I woke my mom up (she moved in with me and my husband after she literally escaped a severely abusive marriage) and told her that he had died this morning. She was going to stay here in TX with my 2 dogs. She came into the office where we both work from home and she was crying. That broke my heart. I wanted my husband to come with me because on top of being my husband, he is my rock that I lean on. I wanted my mom to go because my grandparents still adore her and I know the feeling is mutual with her. She told me a week ago that we couldn't afford for all 3 of us to miss work so she would stay here. She came in crying this morning about grandpa and told me to call my husband's niece and ask her to house sit because she wanted to go after all. That made me so happy. I know my grandma will be so happy that she came with us. I'm so happy that mom realized that some things are more important than money. I'm worried about my grandma. She is 90 now. She and grandpa have been married 69 years so I know she is completely lost. I just want to sit in her lap and cry with her. I know that is physically impossible since I'm not down THAT much weight and she is in a motorized scooter. But, I tend to regress when I'm around them and I just feel like a little child who only seeks comfort in her grandma's arms. I am their only grandchild and I know she expects me to not be able to come out, but I can't wait to be with her. So, having grandma and grandpa on my mind has made me so anxious because I can't eat. Today would have been the day that I ate until I felt better and I had nothing today to make me feel better. My mom and husband went to play their weekly game of golf while I worked so I was here by myself. Don't get me wrong there. I live that my mom and husband bond over their golf, so I would never selfishly ask them to stay home while I walked back and forth from the kitchen to the office. I left the kitchen every time empty handed, so I guess I did that right. I deleted my Facebook account a few months ago, so now I don't really have anyone to talk to about my grandpa, so I apologize for the long thread. I guess I just needed somewhere to write out my day.

I won't lecture either because no one is perfect. Those who can cheat probably have and those that can only do liquids would probably give anything to cheat and not hurt. I have read a couple of your posts that you have cheated and want so badly to be checked for a leak or have an x-ray machine at home to check, but bottom line is, you are worried about causing a leak based on your own actions/decisions. Cheating is what got us in this position to begin with. I would cheat and have an extra piece of pizza when I already had two and was already full. This surgery isn't a miracle. It is damned hard to control our minds. This to me is more of a mind game than anything. My sleeve merely tells me when I have screwed up again. You are the one that will pay for any complications. Not us, not anyone else. You deserve to lose weight. You deserve to be happy and healthy. Don't sabotage yourself because you want to test the Water. You buckled down and was able to get your surgery. Now buckle down and reap the rewards of it. And now I'm off my soapbox. Sorry about the rant. I believe sometimes in the tough love scenario. Good luck!!!

Hey everyone!!! I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving!!! Quick question about MFP. Is there any way to put past weights in? I'm playing catch up. I log my weight on my weight logger and forgot to put it in MFP. Thanks a million!!!!

The first week was miserable. I was so incredibly tired after I came home for the first two days and realized I hadn't taken my vitamins. After I took them, I got some energy back and started to get somewhat back to normal.

My husband's brother and wife called us tonight and invited us out to eat. I usually say no because, well, because I just don't like them that much. So, my SIL is SO jealous that I got my sleeve and am doing really well with it. Of course, had to brag A LOT that I was down 32 pounds since Halloween. It sure did feel good too! Anyways, I digress. So my husband and I have always been jokers/pickers with one another do while walking out to the truck, I pushed him and I RAN!!!! Granted it wasn't a marathon, but I ran and I wasn't huffing and puffing. My knees didn't crack and sputter and for the first time in 5 years, my back didn't hurt. I'm starting to feel like a new person and I still have 120 to go!!! If I'm feeling this good already

Oops, hit send to quick!!! If I'm feeling this good already, I can't wait to see what 170 pounds feels like!!!!

I called my dad last night to wish him a happy Thanksgiving and he informed me that my grandfather is not doing well. He has quit eating and dilrinking and I know from personal and professional experience that I'm looking at a matter of days before he passes away. My grandparents live in CA and I am 1600 miles away in East Texas. Started looking for last minute flights on different days since it is a crap shoot as to when I will actually need the ticket and they are like $1400!!! So, now I'm stressed about that and it looks like my husband and I will have to make the 2-day drive instead of flying. How did I manage stress before my sleeve??? Why, eating of course! Guess I'm going to have to put my big girl panties on and deal with this like a normal person.

Ahhh, good call on the public record thing. That never even crossed my mind!!!! You're my hero!!! Thanks again!!!

I did research the bereavement policy, but u honestly don't know if my aunt would give me a copy of the death certificate. My aunts and uncle are kind of a pain in my rear and not easy to get along with, so I really can't risk being out 2-3 grand for travel. After all, I just paid s massive chunk for surgery almost 2 weeks ago! Thanks for your advice and kind words!

Ugh, a lesson learned the hard way! I LOVE to cook, especially the holiday dinners. I'm a pretty rockin' cook, hence all the weight gain after married life began and I had to learn to cook!! So since surgery was just last Monday, we decided to order all of our Thanksgiving dinner from Honey Baked Ham Co. My poor husband is very much a country boy and looks forward every year to my cornbread dressing and cranberry sauce. I also had to make deviled eggs. No big deal. I can throw those together in an hour. I don't know if it a southern thing, but I don't use recipes. I taste everything step by step to make sure it is awesome. Did the deviled eggs and took just baby samples to make sure I was on track. Thought I did pretty good and was proud of myself until I was done with that and went on to my dressing. I was/am so miserably full that I can hardly breathe. I am miserable. Stupid deviled eggs. I still had to taste the dressing in the meantime. I put a baby bite in my mouth knowing that I was going to spit it out and my mom rounded the corner and saw me tasting after I had already told her that I was a complete idiot and she yells "just spit it out!". Poor thing, she is so worried about me, but I had learned my lesson and told her that she was reading my mind and I was definitely spitting it out. So, I will continue to cook and cook well, but I will never swallow that food again! Sorry for the long post. Needed someone to vent to!!!!

One thing you can do to check if it is indeed dehydration is check your skin turgor. I have been doing it all week double checking to make sure I was okay. Hold your hand in front of you palm side down. Pinch the top of your hand and release. If the skin goes down quickly and elastic, you're okay. If the skin stays up or "tents" or takes a second to go down, you are definitely dehydrated.

At first I thought I would just have mashed potatoes or something equivalent in consistency, but I figured out yesterday that the number of dishes we will have is about as many bites as I can eat so I will have a small bite of everything so I don't psyche myself out by 8 pm thinking I didn't get to have a Thanksgiving!

It actually wasn't hunger that I was feeling. I just had indigestion.