ArmyOfMe

Woohoo!!! Way to go, girl. 22 lbs lost is an awesome achievement! Good luck at work. You will be fine, you;ll see.

I agree with Elle. I've read from other members that the pouch can get very comfortable with only one type of diet regularly and that's when you bump into stalls. Maybe as Elle suggested, mix it up a bit and do not eat the same foods every day. Kind of take your pouch by surprise and give it something new to work on. I highly doubt your pouch is malfunctioning. From what I read, that happens when something medically wrong is going on.

Makes a lot of sense to me. I bought bariatric plates (they're so mini hahaha) from my surgeon's office and a pirex measuring cup from Publix. The food scale is a really good idea.

Hey, hey! I am 2+ weeks out and I am doing well. A bit all over the place (confused mainly) but hanging in there. How are ya doing?

I can sympathize with you. I am 2+ weeks post-op and I am lucky if I can ingest at least 10gr of protein shake. I do really well with my water intake (that is, as long as I mix Crystal Light in it, which I used to dislike pre-op) and with the fat free chicken broth. I am starting to realize, I only live off of these two every day. No bueno.

Week 2 says it's safe. I tried mashed taters once and they made me sick. One food I will stay away from for quite a while.

I was the first surgery of the day, as well. It went well. As Jacqueline said, you will be fine. You will sleep a lot. I was scared as well, as I left my 1 year old home with my MIL but she was fine. Anasthesia won't be that scary. You will just answer and sign a bunch of stuff, you will be briefed about the anesthesia procedure and before you know it, you will chase puppies in Lala-land.

Nexium maybe? I know my surgeon cleared me to continue taking it. Helps better then the Omeprazole or Pepcid.

Congrats. That's wonderful!

Did they give you any Omeprazole to take daily?

I started liking the Special K Cracker Chips. They are really tasty and filling. Good as a small ocasional snack only, IMO. Some other members mentioned hummus. I have never had it before but now I am curious.

I was filled with gas up my neck after sugery. I was prepared for it because with my C-section it was even worse - I'm talking about pure agony. The only medication that gave me relief were the Gas-X sublingual strips (fast acting compared to the tablets). I took those starting day 1 like bonbons. My shoulders hurt so bad, sometimes throughout the day, I would literally feel paralyzed. I'm still taking them but not as often. In my experience, if you have to break wind, let all "the evil" out until empty. Trapped gas can be very painful.

....

My insurance does not cover the VS procedure nor the DS. I think, right now, they don't consider them long term effective (whatever their bureaucratic thought process is), though, I kept reading they are in the works of approving the VS, but I don't know for sure and I don't keep up with it either. So, I chose RNY because my surgeon said I am not a good candidate for the lap band. I got over the lap band quick once I started researching more and more into the RNY procedure. I would not chose the sleeve even if it was possible. The thought of having a huge portion of my stomach cut off and knowing it's an irreversible procedure just didn't feel right. It is an effective procedure but def. not for me. In my case, RNY made more sense to start over and follow the path to a healthy happy life. Good luck. I hope you find what works for you!

Oh, ok. If it was Tricare, I could have helped a bit but I don't really know much about the other Humana branches. Hopefully, you will find some answeres soon. Good luck!

Tricare Humana?

You could try get on the high Protein diet that some surgeons put you on before surgery. You know, all those bariatric shakes, beverages, bars, puddings, Soups. Kind of replacing normal food with bariatric food. It couldn't hurt, right?

Thank you for the copy, Dave. Really appreciated!

If your infection does not drain or heal properly (which causes tremendous amounts of pain), your surgeon should be able to let you know if you need one and/or if that's the case.

Congrats, Ms Shea. That is amazing news.

Did they ever offer you the option of a wound vac to accelarate the healing process?

Can you guys please send some prayers, good vibes, good thoughts my way? I could really use them for my insurance approval. They want more and I don't have anything left to give them. TIA

Joy, don't give up. There must be something more miss Margaret and Dr P can do for you.

Congrats, Jacqueline! The tentative date is one step closer to the surgery. Prayers that you survive your insurance.

Thank you, all. It really means a lot to me to have such an amazing support group here. The majority don't understand and always judge and blame it on poor diet and exercise. Ms Kb, I did write a 9 pages long personal letter to my insurance. I don't know how much of a difference did it make, though. I gave it to my bariatric coordinator together with all the letters of medical necessity I could "beg" for, from my old PCM, current OB/GYN, and current PCM. I have to see my PCM next week for obesity counseling again, so she can provide me with the last insurance requirement. Time if so not on my side. I am not losing faith. I witnessed way to many miracles in my life to give up now.