jayhawkgirl

@AvaFern I'm soooo glad you mentioned the whipped Greek yogurt. I totally agree with you about not liking the sour taste of most Greek yogurts. I also have to be "in the mood" for yogurt or the texture will gag me. I just found the whipped greek yogurt over the weekend and bought 3 flavors to try but I haven't yet. Now I don't feel quite as "afraid" to take the chance!

I don't know what you do for a living, so I don't know about your recovery time. As far as I'm concerned, I didn't tell my employer either, because my personal life is NONE of their business. No, they should not know what you had done due to HIPPA. They will see an increase in costs if they pay for your insurance (as my employer does). I had my surgery when I only had to plan a few extra days off because we had a break for Christmas anyway. I really did have to have a hernia repaired as well, so that's what I told them I had to have done. I don't have a job where I have to do heavy lifting or lots of standing, so I was able to go back in two weeks without any difficulty. I didn't have any problems, so I really didn't use the pain medication for more than a few days. Best wishes to you!

I also have BCBS- Iowa and mine was less than 24 hours as well! They must believe it will help! Who knows??

If you haven't already, I'd recommend going to an educational session about the different types of weight loss surgery and perhaps consider taking your parents with you if possible. Surgery has advanced since 2001. Perhaps hearing the facts and knowing that you've fully researched the surgery will put their minds at ease. My VGS surgery has been the best thing I've ever done for my health and my family is fully supportive. In fact, it's gone so well that my husband had it done as well! Best of luck to you!

Good for you! My husband had the same surgery I had in June 2014. He also dropped weight rapidly. I had to remind myself that he had more to lose to start with and his daily job requires more movement than mine, so it made sense that he lost weight faster!

I agree with those of you who have talked about people who think WLS is the cure-all for weight loss problems. I don't tell many people how I've lost the weight unless I know them better. People I know well actually take the time to hear about how this has been a process, and that it's a never ending process, because it's about taking better care of myself forever.... not just until I get to my goal weight.

My doctor has me taking Feosol with bifera. It's in a white box with purple lettering. It's supposed to be the version that is more sensitive to your stomach. I haven't found anywhere I can just buy it on the shelf. Most places stock a different version of feosol. My pharmacist orders it in for me. Good luck!

In April 2012, I was driving to work one sunny morning when my life changed. A 19 year old drunk driver drove into my lane and hit me head-on. I know just how lucky I am not only to be alive, but not to have been injured any worse than I was. I had 3 broken bones and spent 4 weeks in a wheelchair, 2 with a walker and cane, and weeks in physical therapy, but I'm still here! The problem was even after physical therapy, my joints hurt. I thought I just needed to work-out and lose weight. Uh, yeah, I was about 316 pounds, so that should have been enough of a clue! However, working out wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, because I was in pain during and after. I realized that I needed to take off the weight in order to make the exercise work for me. I had considered weight loss surgery before and had even gone to an informational meeting, but didn't follow through. It seemed too extreme! What I needed at this time was the extreme. I had surgery Dec. 19,2012 by Dr. Teresa LaMasters. It was easily the BEST decision I've made to improve my health! I didn't have any problems. My insurance approved the procedure literally in less than 24 hours! I was fortunate that because of the car accident, my deductible was met and I didn't have to pay very much out of pocket for the procedure either. Nothing made me sick after surgery. My tastes changed some in that Protein drinks that I liked before surgery tasted like drinking syrup after and I found that the only one I really like is chocolate unjury. I also discovered Quest Protein Bars and love them! For about the first year, everything was easy. I got down to 209 pounds and stalled some. Some of the stall was due to the fact that I discovered I could eat anything and maintain for the most part as long as I worked out and didn't over do. So I'd gain and lose the same 5 pounds! (This is the point I should have been smacking myself in the head! lol) Things were going so smoothly for me, that my husband decided to have the surgery as well. He's 6'4 and was over 400 pounds. His surgery was June 2014. He's down 125 pounds so far. Now we're to the part of my story that got me here. In October, my sister started to not feel good and went to the hospital. She came home and they thought she had a virus. Two weeks later, she was worse and they admitted her. Three days later, no one had answers and she was transferred to a bigger hospital. In the meantime, I'm working on an important report for the federal government that will help me gain "points" towards re-funding the grant for my program. I was also informed at this time that my employer didn't want to spend the money on a grant writer and that it was now "my job" to write the grant that funds my job and 3 others over the next 5 years. Oh, and did I mention I was supposed to do this in my spare time for no money? We're approaching Thanksgiving and my sister is still in the hospital without a diagnosis, but with dozens of tests run. The week of Thanksgiving, we hear she's going to get to come home! Yea! The next day, they decided they needed to put a stent in and that she can't leave yet. Two days later, they decided she had polycythemia vera. She never got to come home. She passed away on December 1. 12 days before her son's 22 birthday...22 days before her 25th wedding anniversary...during her daughter's first semester of college. It's just so surreal to have my best friend and sister be gone. Our family is fractured. Two days before the funeral, my husband had surgery on an elbow he'd injured. The thought of him with anesthesia terrified me. Then two weeks later, I had surgery. We made it through Christmas and needless to say, food was a comfort through all of this. On Dec. 26, I went for my yearly mammogram and got a call two days later that it was abnormal and I had to have another. From there, I went to a breast cancer specialst and was informed that I had to have a biopsy. (I'm thinking to myself, are you FREAKING kidding me!! Yes, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself!) Good news, NO CANCER! Whew! In the middle of all of this, I finished that stupid grant that turned into a nightmare and things were starting to look up! Then, honest to God, I should be in a country song...I came home last week to find one of our furry, four-legged children dead. ARGH!!!! I've decided that if I've survived all of this, then I can DO ANYTHING!! Yes, I've gained 14 pounds since my lowest weight. However, I'm determined that this will not beat me!! I am so encouraged my the stories I've read here and am anxious to try some of the suggestions people have made. Thanks for giving me some inspiration!

Yea! Congratulations to you!

Awe! Thanks everyone! I'm inspired by reading everyone's stories to just keep fighting those pounds. As my mom always says, "this too shall pass." I'm ready to pass these pounds to the trash!