7 months and so close to 100 pounds

Soooooooo glad to see you back on the board, Ms Joan!!!!!!! What a biggggg loser you are!!!!!!!! Take your rightful place on the loser's bench, girl! Yeah, things will taste soooooo different now, but after several months, you'll regain your normal taste & be able to tolerate most things so don't stress in the early stages, just change to something else. Take as much time resting as your body needs ... It will definitely tell you what it needs! You'll be up & going very shortly, but right now you need TLC!

Congratulations Debbie!!! I think it is great all the little things that we are beginning to appreciate. Yes the big things are good too, but it is the little things that you never even realized would change that is so great. Congratulations again, Christine

I am doing really well with the vitamins and protein- I LOVE my caramel calcium chews- I need to be mindful of not eating more than I'm supposed to-hahaha! I have the Isopure Vanilla Protein and I love it, too. I add fresh fruit or a package of the chocolate Carnation Instant Breakfast (no sugar added) and it is yummy. I have my Flintstone's Complete chewables- I got Dino this morning!- and I take 500 mg of b 12 and also Papaya Enzyme (which helps the body absorb all of the nutrients better). A body can only absorb like 30 mgs of protein at a time, and the Isopure is 50 mg for one scoop, so the Papaya Enzyme helps my body absorb the additional protein. Thanks for asking after us. We look forward to sharing your experience as well! Love-n-hugs, Christine

Hi Debbie, You should definately count in your pre surgery weight as your total lost. And that is AWESOME! I'm at 98 pounds right now (that's counting the 18 lost prior to surgery) and I started at a size 30/32 also. I can't believe it! Isn't it great to feel your bones again? And to cross your legs? And to have room in front of the steering wheel? I sat in a lounge chair outside the other day and the arms didn't even touch my sides! Last year, each time I sat in it, it would pop down into reclining position from my too big hips pressing against the arms and making it do that! I'm finding myself at a stall at this weight (235) and can't budge from it no matter what I do. I think it's cause I've been sick with a sinus infection and a stomach virus for two weeks and my body is telling me "NO way are you losing when you're sick!" My surgeon counts the pre op weight. He goes by the weight you were at the very first consult. He belives this is the time you started your weight loss journey and it should "all count!" Congrats! paula

Hi Paula, Thanks so much for your support. And to you also. I know exactly how you feel about when your sick you stall in weight loss most of the time. That is why I thought I'd never get there because I have been in the hospital 3 times since surgery. Once for my asthma and twice for a stricture and last week I was sick again with a bad cold which made my asthma act up again. The crossing your legs thing is amazing. I just love that. I feel so lady like. Just all of it is so exciting. These are things that so many people take for granted. Well, gotta go. I wish you luck on your journey to a healthier you! And I will count all the weight loss which is then 130 pounds. Thanks again.

OH MS DOLLIE ... I'M SO SORRY, I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE YOUR "CAROLINA GEECHEE" NAME; WHERE WAS MY HEAD? MY HEART JUST ACHES FOR YOU ... YES, YOU HAVE GONE THROUGH SO MUCH WITH YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY ... I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW SOME OF THESE COMPANIES BECOME OUR WORST ENEMIES & THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IN TRYING TO REGAIN OUR HEALTH. IT'S NOT THAT I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO TO MEXICO; MANY ON THE MAIN & WESTERN STATE BOARDS HAVE HAD WONDERFUL EXPERIENCES & RESULTS IN MEXICO, BUT IF YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR YOUR PROCEDURE & THE TRIP TO MEXICO ANYWAY ... THEN, TAKE THE TIME TO MAKE ONE APPOINTMENT WITH DR BYRNE TO TALK TO HIM ABOUT WHAT CAN & CAN'T BE DONE FOR YOU HERE AT MUSC ... MAYBE THEY'D CUT YOU A DEAL FOR PAYING CASH & YOU COULD HAVE THE RNY HERE, ALONG WITH THE AFTER CARE. IF NOT, THEN YOU'VE EXHAUSTED ALL YOUR OPTIONS HERE ... & OFF TO MEXICO YOU GOOOO!! THE ONLY THING THAT WORRIES ME ABOUT GOING OUT OF THE COUNTRY IS THAT SHOULD YOU HAVE COMPLICATIONS LATER, DOCTORS, SURGEONS & HOSPITALS ARE BECOMING VERY RELUCTENT TO TAKE ON GASTRIC BYPASS CASES THEY DIDN'T HANDLE FROM THE BEGINNING ... SO, HAVING TO HUNT DOWN A SURGEON OR DOCTOR WHILE IN THE MIDDLE OF A MEDICAL EMERGENCY MAY TAKE UP PRECIOUS TIME & CAUSE YOU FURTHER MEDICAL DISTRESS. THAT'S MY WORRY FOR YOU. PERSONALLY, I JUMPED AT THE RNY vs THE LAP BAND, BUT THOSE WITH THE LAP BAND HAVE VERY VALID REASONS THEY CHOSE IT INSTEAD OF THE RNY. IT'S A VERY PERSONAL DECISION. I MENTALLY NEEDED THE PERMANCY OF THE RNY AS THIS IS THE LAST THING I WILL EVER TRY FOR LOSING WEIGHT ... SO, I WENT FOR IT ALL IN THE RNY. I'VE BATTLED MY WEIGHT FOR 27 YEARS. I WAS WILLING TO TAKE THE HIGHER RISKS OF RNY FOR THE CHANCE AT FASTER/MORE WEIGHT LOSS, BUT THAT WAS ME. TODAY IS MY 6 MONTH ANNIVERSARY & I'VE LOST 72 #s; I'M WHAT IS KNOWN AS A "SLOW LOSER" I DID FANTASTIC THROUGH THE 1st 13 WEEKS, DIDN'T CHANGE A THING, BUT SOMETHING CHANGED IN MY BODY & I HIT A BRICK WALL & NO MATTER WHAT I DO, I HAVE ONLY AVERAGED ABOUT A 1 # OR LESS LOSS FROM WEEK 14 THROUGH WEEK 26. THAT PART IS VERY FRUSTRATING ... BUT ... MY HEALTH IS ANOTHER MATTER ... I'M OFF ALL MEDICATIONS EXCEPT MY HEART MEDS WHICH I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO BE OFF UNLESS OUR SWEET JESUS GIVES ME A MEDICAL MIRACLE. I NO LONGER TAKE 26 PRESCRIBED DOSES OF MEDS A DAY ... YUP, A DAY, SO WHAT A BLESSING THAT IS. BY THE 5th WEEK, EVERY CO-MORB HAD JUST DISAPPEARED & MY BLOOD WORK CAME BACK "BETTER THAN NORMAL" ... MY BLOOD WORK HADN'T BEEN NORMAL FOR 25 YEARS, SO THAT IS FANTASTIC. MY PRIMARY DOC SAID MY BLOODWORK NOW IS ACTUALLY BETTER THAN HIS IS. AS FAR AS ARTHRITIS, JOINT PAIN & BODY PAIN - IT HAS DIMINISHED CONSIDERABLY ... I HAVE SOME PAIN IN MY HIPS, KNEES, LOWER BACK & SHOULDERS BUT IN COMPARISON TO WHAT IT WAS ... IT USED TO STOP ME FROM BEING ABLE TO DO MOST NORMAL THINGS IN LIFE ... I HAD TO QUIT DRIVING BIG RIGS BECAUSE I COULDN'T EVEN GET IN & OUT OF THE CAB ... I COULDN'T GO SHOPPING AT WAL*MART WITHOUT STOPPING & SITTING DOWN 3 OR 4 TIMES ... NOW, I'M ABLE TO WALK FAIRLY NORMALLY & FAIRLY QUICKLY, & DO MOST THINGS & HAVE EVEN STARTED TO EXERCISE. SO, FOR HEALTH ISSUES, I GIVE THIS SURGERY AN "A+++++++++++++++++++++++++" &, FOR WEIGHT LOSS, I GIVE IT A "B -". SINCE I'M STILL LOSING WEIGHT, NO MATTER HOW SLOWLY, THAT GRADE WILL MOST PROBABLY IMROVE. NOW REMEMBER, I'M 53 .... WITH A MAJOR HEART CONDITION ... ON HEAVY DOSES OF HEART MEDS WHICH SLOWS MY MOTABOLISM WAY DOWN & I'M PARIMENAPAUSAL ... I ONLY HAVE A PERIOD ABOUT 1 TIME EVERY 3 MONTHS. SO, WITH ALL THAT, MY WEIGHT LOSS WILL BE SLOWER. HOPE THIS HELPS. IF YOU NEED ANY OTHER INFORMATION, I'D BE VERY GLAD TO TELL YOU WHAT I CAN. I'M GONNA TRY TO UPDATE MY PROFILE THIS WEEKEND, BUT TAKE A LOOK AT IT ... THERE IS A LOT OF INFO IN IT. E-MAIL ME ANY TIME! GOD BLESS YOU DAWN & NICK