tazzyinheels

I understand how you are feeling as I lost 65 pounds before surgery and 25 to 30 pounds after in 6 months. My bariatric team tells me I am doing great and be patient. I had to do the math I am losing 1/2 to 2 pounds a week but it does slow down and you do get non-weight rewards, I am toning up, am so much healthier but muscle weighs more but my pants are getting baggy again. It is a long hard journey and the weight just doesn't fall off. You have to work it off. Plus I have to remember back to all the years when I was just happy to only gain 10 pounds in a year so losing 100 pounds in a year is somethng I never beleived could happen. Because I had so much to lose and so much stress in my life, I waited until I realised I had to do something serious. You didn't mention anything about exercise. I try to exercise 6 hours a week and my bad weeks I still get in at least 3 in. I see the difference that makes alone to my progress. Keep working at it, work the tool and remember it is not a magic wand. It doesn't take away hunger but it does help you to be more realistic about your portions. You said you are doing good with the food so I want to commend you. So I get the turtle versus the hare speech my last visit and see this as a 1-3 year process. Join me on the journey.:thumbup:

It is actually not strange as they try to get you to live the band life before surgery. I lost 65 pounds before surgery which included 13 from the 2 weeks of Optifast. i did also go from being inactive to about 6 hours of exercise a week at that time so it helped prove to me it was the right things to do. I continue to lose 1-2 pounds a week after surgery for the last 5-6 months so I have lost almost 100. I still am working on the not drinking with meals so please work on that one. I never have a problem getting in my 64 ounces but I drink too much with meals. All the best,:biggrin:

Hello Well I have almost lost 100 pounds and my BFF will have a free week without kids (away at boy scout camp) so we wanted to do a girls exercise retreat/spa etc as we live in different cities. I did Camelback about 20 years ago and found a Heartland Retreat Center outside of Chicago. Any suggestions for July where we can spend 3-5 days exercising all day with meals? Thanks.:Banane20:

Since you like Isopure, here are a few hints I have learned. The melon or any of them make decent popsicles when you want something to chew on Also so can dilute with or mix with Crystal Lite to change the favor around a little bit especially since Isopure really has too much Protein in one dose: put half in and add Crystal Lite to tatse to your Water bottle. I also learned to make icu cubes with Isopure as you do sometimes tire of it. Hang in there: things do really improve between days 3 and on Keeping drinking regularly and Jello and popsicles were a lifesaver as I was tired of not chewing after a while; Gum helped and it kept the better too.:smile2:

Yes, carbonated beverages can really make you have gas and funky sounds down there and if it gets stuck behind some food it can cause pain too. I do find it helps if I need to burp sometimes but generally I didn't drink any for over 6 months, the first post op hurt so I have probably had 20 ounces all this year. Mostly when I need a little caffeine and want to social with others that are drinking more calories. I do struggle with not drinking with meals and get tired of water some times.

I agree with the others that walking, heat seem to work best. I also found wearing spandex helped me: squeezing it out while I walked-walked-walked. Be aware if the reason you are using the pain medicine is for the shoulder pain that may not help and actually slow down the gas release. Besure that you are taking your calcium as I get cramps when I miss more than a day or two of it any more:redface:

Insurances differ on their criteria so you will need to check yours I know from attending support meetings that most don't cover it if cosmetic only but some do If you get rashes or yeast infections in your skin folds, start telling your health care provider now and refilling the medication ordered Some pay if your skin hangs down below your sex organs etc. Having a hernia also helps :bored:

Mona is a great one I named mine Gremlin as it growls when I ignore it or wait too long to eat especially at quiet meetings also I figured it was because of the ghrelin hormone thing.

Thanks www.spafinder.com had like 54000 links Once I used destination spa got better results and fewer choices I am looking at a few choices yet, Heartland, Hilton Head Health, Birdsong in MN and one in Tennessee When I searched with best budget destination spas got a few good leads to narrow my search.

My first piece of advice would be to search using slime as your key word. You can slime for many reasons and here are some but not all. sinus drainage being dry-dehydrated eating too fast not chewing well enough on the way to stuck when all of the above happen and you haven't moved to the second chamber yet ... Hope this helps

is it like gas pain or pressure? that will get better as the swelling and gas goes down walk as much and fart as much as you can if the drainage isn't getting larger keep an eye on it, if you are worried call your dr that is what you have them for

Hello I still get hungry especially if I go too long without eating but I can easily go 5-7 hours without a meal especially if I have eaten protein. In general it takes much less to fill me maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of what I ate before. My stomach gurgles/growls when it is hunger (the ghrelin hormone is what they tell me I call it the gremlin). I am almost 6 months post op and you will get hungry and really need to think about what type of hunger it is (real or need/want) and make good choices, your stomach does shrink. I have also learned that when I want something it rarely tastes good or is worth the exercise to take more than three bites. That works for me. Good Luck on whatever you decide....

I have Kaiser in Hawaii so it may be similar. I needed a referral and there was a waitlist. Some doctors are resistant but others are willing so I would encourage you to ask your PCP and if that doesn't work try someone else at Kaiser before giving up. Once I went to orientation, it took 5 months to finish the process (dietician x 4 once a month, behavior classes x 4, 2 exercise classes before consult with team. I had my surgery after 6 months was on waitlist for almost a year before orientation. I lost 65 pounds while waiting for surgery as I wanted to be sure I could live the lifestyle. Kaiser paid and it only cost me about $2500 for everything (visits, surgery, opitfast, and fees). Fills are only $15 under my policy. So before you go outside, please see what your Kaiser can offer you. I have found the support very helpful. My PCP was very supportive and has known me a long time. I do have friends that got resistance from their PCP's. Hope you find this helpful