You are to be congratulated for putting your son's needs first! The schools were not so good here either and we did the same thing! You have made a huge step in having the surgery and keeping up with the weight loss. Keep fighting the the additional surgery. Some jobs allow you to deduct through a medical savings account so, at least, the surgery would be pre tax. Good Luck. Steve K 360/202 June 2005 Berkeley, Ca

Hello all, I went to my plastic surgeon consult for my breast and tummy about a month ago. The visit over all went well. My doctor sent the request to my insurance carrier and they only approved my breast reduction. They said that I did not have enough loose skin on my belly and that in order to be approved, my tummy had to hang past my vaginal area(no appeal). The sugery will cost roughly $6,000 for my tummy. I dont have that type of money and no clue where to get it. I'm a single mom and putting my son through private school(the schools here are terrible). I know this surgery was not in vain... but, things are seeming grim to me. I'm trying to recover credit wise and this is just icing on the cake. I feel so lost, and like I have reached a dead end........................ I'm at a point of not knowing what to do. I have always been the encourager but now, I need a little myself. So Lost, Renee'

Good Morning Debra~ I think you are voicing what everyone is feeling. I am struggling with all of my food demons as well...trying a little of this, dabbling with a little of that. Also, because I'm not training as hard for that 1/2 marathon anymore, my exercise has decreased and I've been struggling with about 3 lbs. that seem to drop and come back on. The demon candy is to blame!!! Then, I always go back to~ I've lost 160 lbs. so far. Yes, it's down to a crawl...yes, I'm struggling with the sugar/carb addiction, but I could never have gotten here without this surgery. I'm a bit freaked about gaining as well, but I still eat things that I shouldn't, especially recently. I am very proud of the weight I've lost. If I did nothing more than maintain this weight for the rest of my life, I couldn't be anything but happy. I still have about 20lbs. to go to get to my own personal goal. It would be nice, but I don't know if it will happen before ps. Hang in there. I know that the hardest part comes now, when the highs of seeing the numbers drop isn't there anymore, and the compliments become fewer and fewer. This is when we have to toughen up~ both physically and mentally. And, I think this board is even more important now for support. We can do this!!! I'm going to make some goals for myself now that the doctor has said I can still train hard and try to get pregnant at the same time. I've been very fearful of that. But, much to my surprise, I would have to be below 12% body fat in order to have any issue. No worries there! So...another 1/2 marathon is going to be in the works for me! You have been incredibly successful. You just have to remember it and stay focused on what you've accomplished. One thing I'm going to do to focus my head on positive instead of failure is to begin journaling again. I think it will help keep me honest. Write down all of the things that you can do/feel now that you didn't at your beginning weight. We have so much to be grateful for! Hugs, Kerri

I would definitely check with your doctor or at least a nutritionist. I find i can eat more then most and as i have acute gastritis (too much stomach acid production) it dissolves my food rather quickly. I do have to stick to the guideline. protein first which will sit heavier in my pouch. I also have to do chicken breast instead of deli meat because i won't stay as long. I too was getting hungry frequently. But now i write down my food and the dietician helps me with choices that stay with me longer. Good luck Monica

If you eat at 12 and are hungry by 1 - you may want to see your surgeon about getting scoped. It could be that the stoma (exit point from the pouch) is too large. Are you eating large quantities? Like more than a cup at a time? For me, I have to eat every couple of hours because my blood sugar drops and i get the shakes real bad. Because I have to eat so often, I don't have very large portions. Here's some examples of how different things settle with me: A banana will hold me for about two hours. An english muffin with meat & cheese will hold me for 4-5 hours.... An english muffin with butter will hold me about 2 hours - MAX A cup of chili will hold me for about 3-4 hours.... A mini bagel will hold me for about 2 hours.... 2 chicken tenderloins & veggies will hold me about 3-4 hours. Here's what I learned about what I eat - breads by themselves DO NOT stay in my pouch long. This goes for anything with the consistency of bread (crackers, muffins, biscuits) Meaty foods - a hamburger patty w/cheese, chicken, meaty chili, adding meat to my english muffin ALWAYS holds me over longer. I just can't eat alot of it at one time. I am a PRO eat out person for lunch! Here's my fast food fixes: McDonalds - double cheeseburger no bun with mustard (use a fork!) Taco Bell - One beef taco supreme hard shell Taco Bell 2 - Pinto's w/cheese topped with chicken Taco Bell 3 - The insides of a beef n bean burrito (use a spoon!) Wendy's - small chili Wendy's - Single with cheese n mustard no bun Wendy's - baked potato with chili n cheese Wendy's - grilled chicken breast with cheese n grilled onions (no bun) Chick fila - grilled chicken breast with cheese no bun - no toppings Chick fila - grilled chicken salad Chick fila - large fruit cup (when mother nature needs some assistance) Checkers - Champ burger with cheese No bun Arby's - hot ham n cheese (with bun AFTER peeling as many layers of bread off as possible) Subway - Sweet onion teryaki chicken in a cup with cheese melted on it Subway - meatballs in a cup (about 3 meatballs) WaWa - Meat balls in a cup w/ a roll (about 3 meatballs) WaWa - Chicken parmesan (no bread) (made with grilled chicken) Sheetz - English muffin with ham n cheese Ruby Tuesdays - white chicken chili Ruby Tuesdays/Damon's - Cheeseburger (medium well) NO BUN sometimes with grilled onions & Mushrooms Well, that gives you an idea of how I do it. Any of these above would be my Noon meal. I normally eat a muffin every morning. (I have weaknesses too!) I nibble on the muffin from 7am til about 10am. Have lunch about Noon. Have a snack around 2:30 (usually a piece of fruit or a small fruit cup) - then I have another snack around 4:30 while driving home (almost ALWAYS a banana) then I make dinner and eat about the same size portions as above. Dinner is usually around 6 or 6:30. I don't know if this helps at all. But like i said - If you are able to eat large quantities or are hungry an hour after eating.... you might want to ask your surgeon about being scoped. Hugs, Pam