Hello from an old OH member

Wow, I never thought I would be back here and I'm not sure why. Well, that's not really accurate. I need help. I doubt anyone that I used to know is still here.

My VSG was back in 2008, in Mexico. It was great for the first year. I lost about 110 lbs total, then it just stopped.

My life has been on a roller coaster ride since then.. and I despise roller coasters. I went through a divorce in 2010 that left me broken. My weight dropped some. I totally stopped eating. I couldn't eat. I lived on coffee and tequila. I was a mess. After 7 yrs, I still haven't quite recovered from it. In 2012, I had 3 ruptured discs. When I was finally admitted to the hospital for surgery, major damage had been done. I've got alot of nerve damage now and constant pain. I try not to dwell on it, but I'm on a high dose of oxycodone. I have tried going back to basics, but my disability income isn't enough to buy high protein foods. I don't qualify for assistance, which is absurd. I wish the ones that make up those rules had to live on $900/mo. Ok, that's just to show where I'm at now.

My starting weight was 396. Right now, I'm back up to about 325. I've been looking into a revision of my Sleeve, but I need a Medicare provider that is within a close distance to me. Travelling isn't easy. I don't know if I will find a surgeon who will do it with my needs (medicare mostly). But I'm going to try.

Hello and welcome back.

The good news is, that as long as you have your sleeve, it's still there and still functional unless there's some actual medical issue that has caused it to be non-functional. This means that if you are able to stick to dense foods, you will feel restriction and a revision is unnecessary.

Are you able to work with a registered dietician with your medical coverage to help you figure out a way of eating that will work with your budget?

My sleeve was always larger than others. The doc just made it that way. I can't remember the logistics anymore, too long ago. But when everyone else could only eat 2 oz at the beginning, I could eat 5oz comfortably. Now, it's stretched out. I don't think it's as large as it was before the surgery, but I do know that it's stretched. I can't afford to work with a dietician or even a diabetic educator. I'm a former nurse, so I still have most of that knowledge. However, my financial restrictions prevent me from choosing the healthiest of foods. I have to choose whatever is cheapest. I don't qualify for any other assistance.

I forgot to thank you. I really appreciate your reply to me. :)

Sleeves don't "stretch out" except under special cir****tances and then the only way to know this is with medical tests. Most people who think their sleeves have stretched find that if they stick to dense protein for a week, their restriction is still there. It seems like you eat a lot of slider foods and those won't trigger your feeling of restriction the way dense protein will.

But if you can't afford dense protein, a revision won't help you either.

Thankfully you've gotten great suggestions for affordable protein options.

You can do this, even if it means living off of cheap protein like eggs and canned tuna. Your tool is still there and all you need is to believe in your future success. Give your future self the gift of eating on plan today.

Thank you. I do indeed eat alot of eggs and tuna and chicken breasts. Lean ground beef when I can get it on sale.

Forget the lean stuff - that's old news. They have decided in latest studies that fat doesn't make us fat. Nutritionists are slowly coming around to this.

There's all kinds of ways to get nutritous food on the cheap. I've been living on $1000/month since January and this is how I do it:

• Go with the cheap ground beef and drain/rinse if it makes you feel better.
• Chicken breast is expensive. Legs are very inexpensive ( 6-8 legs for less than $3).
• Ask your grocery store when items are marked down from your favorite departments (dairy, meat, produce) and arrive early in the morning to purchase. I do this and usually save at least 50% on those items.
  • When meat is marked down, it is not because it is not 'expired'. The dates on meat are the "freeze by" dates, meaning prepare it or freeze it before this date.

Welcome back, you took the first step by reaching out! My only other suggestion would be to find a therapist to work with and help you strengthen your inner self. Medicare does pay for therapy, a lot of therapists even work on a sliding scale as well. Keep coming back to OH:-)

Thank you. I worked with a therapist for awhile. It was going well until the clinic closed. There are no other in my city that will accept Medicare.