Thank you! I'd be really interested to know how things go for you..Are you planning to do 1 pill 3 times per day for 10 days or something else? What are you treating (if you don't mind telling me?). I haven't tried this before but I feel like it's time since my husband can hardly stand to be in the same room as me because of the lovely smell that seems to waft in a green cloud around me and I've been keeping air freshener within arms reach at all times!! I've heard some people get diarrhea from flagyl so I'm hopeful that doesn't happen to me.

  I was wondering where people are buying Flagyl from and what name does it go by - do I just search Flagyl? I don't want to accidentally buy the wrong thing.. Also I'm not sure about the correct dose to use. Thanks!! 

 Thanks for the responses. I will look at the medical inserts and perhaps also speak with the pharmacist. My surgeon was in Mexico so doesn't really have much to do with patients once they return home. I'll do some of my own medical journal research and see what I can pass on to my psych. I'll make sure I post again with anything I think may help someone else in this position.

 Hi Maria,
Don't worry, you'll get there!! I went through a couple of long stalls that really stressed me out. Just stay with the program and you'll make it! 

 One year ago yesterday I made the trip of a lifetime to visit Dr Ungson in Mexico for the DS surgery. I was SO scared going in for surgery. I thought maybe I'd be the ONE person in existence that the DS simply did not work on. Maybe I was BEYOND help. I was scared I'd die in surgery in a foreign place where I didn't even speak the language. I was scared of living with my new 'tool' and feeling different from everyone else. I was scared I'd never be able to eat foods I love ever again. At the same time I was excited, elated and completely over the moon to have the chance to get the surgery. We took out a 401K loan to afford it and I still feel such appreciation and gratitude to my husband for helping to make this happen. 

My weight on day of surgery was 251 pounds. I lost all excess weight and hit goal within the first 6 months and have maintained at 140 pounds. To say I'm ecstatic with my surgery success is an understatement! I'm THRILLED, OVERJOYED, COMPLETELY HUMBLED, GRATEFUL..about my success and how healthy I feel. I'm 5'7". My BMI is 21.9: NORMAL. I went from a size XXL top to a size small. I went from a size 22 pants to a size 4. I still can't believe it when I go shopping for clothes. I find myself wandering into the plus size area and then realizing I can shop in the regular sizes. Shopping for clothes is finally FUN. I used to dread going clothes shopping because I felt like I couldn't find anything that looked good on me. 
  Health wise I'm doing great. I'm waiting on my yearly lab results but haven't had any real issues so far. I take the vitalady vites schedule without much trouble. The thing I hate most is sitting down and putting them all in the pill boxes for some reason. I find them relatively easy to take, although I did switch to the calcium petites. My blood pressure is consistently 116/ 72. Pre-surgery it was 143/92 and I was on blood pressure meds, which I no longer need!! The one issue I've had is that my throid went crazy and became under-active - slow metabolism, causing me to have extremely dry itchy skin, lost menstrual cycle, fatigue, hair breakage and some hair loss. It took a while to get my PCP to figure this out and I now see a specialist and am on meds to fix this.
  Exercise before surgery was non-existent. I used to look for the easiest way to walk places because I knew I'd struggle and get out of breath. I had sore joints and a tired, achy body - not anymore! For the first 9 months after surgery I really didn't do any exercise. At 9 months I bought a treadmill and I now jog almost daily for 30 minutes! I can't believe I'm capable of jogging!! I actually look forward to exercise! This weekend we also took the kids swimming and I felt completely NORMAL at the pool. I have avoided swimming for years because I was so ashamed about how I looked.
  Daily Life after DS has been a learning curve for me. I can pretty much eat whatever I want. I am drinking 2 to 3 protein shakes a day, usually in the morning mixed with my coffee. The rest of the day I try to snack on high protein yummy foods like cheese and crackers, lunch meats, hard boiled eggs etc. I also eat a lot of chocolate because it's an addiction I just love too much to give up. I feel like I eat a lot throughout the day. I seem to eat at least every 2 hours and I never feel deprived. Early out I felt frustrated with how little I could eat - I'm talking one or two bites and I was done. Now I can eat a single piece of toast with melted ham and cheese and feel very full. Now I worry I can eat too much! I have noticed I seem to be able to eat more empty carbs like potato chips or cereal, than protein. I can feel very full on one hard boiled egg for example yet seem to be a bottomless pit when I eat potato chips!. I also have to watch the carbs not only because I worry about putting weight on, but also because of the HIDEOUS gas some things give me. Learning about the changes to my BM's has been challenging for me also. For the first 5 month's I felt like things were very unpredictable with when and how often I had to go to the bathroom. It was often urgent too so I was careful to know where restrooms were. Now my body seems to have regulated itself. I go usually once in the morning and then occasionally once at night, depending on what I ate that day. It's not the 'urgent' feeling usually either, I can hold off a little while if I have to.
  I'm a very private person and the only person I've really told about my surgery (apart from Doctors) is my husband. I don't know if I will ever tell anyone else. We'll see. I guess for me, I knew some of my family would not be happy about the surgery and I really didn't want to have to explain myself to them. Not THIS time. Not when my health and happiness were involved. It has been interesting to see different people's reactions. One of my sister's is constantly telling me I'm too skinny and need to go back to eating 'normally' (she happens to be obese herself but would never consider WLS). My Dad has joked a few times that I'm anorexic, which I really didn't appreciate. I don't have close friends around me because of a recent move, so I'm yet to see what others have to say. My PCP even said "don't lose too much weight, don't take it too far." I felt a little annoyed at her comment because I'm normal, within a normal, healthy weight range for my height. It just goes to show you what people 'perceive' as normal these days. I recall telling family I was obese at 251 Lb and they rolled around on the floor laughing. The perception seems to be that unless you are 600Lb and barely capable of walking, you are simply a little overweight. My relationship with my husband hasn't really changed. He is a good guy and I still feel madly in love with him, no matter what size I am. I'm lucky that he has been so accepting and loving no matter what I look like. He's one of the good guys, that's for sure!
Anyway, I hope this helps people that are considering the DS. Feel free to ask me questions if I missed something here that you want to know about. Without a doubt, I'd do the DS again!

I've been on a stall for the past 3 months! I had surgery 10 days before you. I have tried everything too. My latest is starting exercise, which until now I hadn't done ANY and the weight still fell off me. I feel lucky in that I am already within the normal BMI, but I'd still like to lose another 10 pounds that refuse to move..Good luck to you. Let us know if anything works for you!!

edited because I had a typo!

 Thanks Steve, I really appreciate you explaining the codes to me. This is the first time I've run into issues with getting things paid by my insurance company (apart from the actual DS surgery, which was also declined). Yes, I am worried about future lab expenses which is why I feel it's important to fight this early on so there's no precedent set for future labs.
Thanks again!

 Oh ok! Thanks. They were just the codes listed. I'll find out correct codes. Thanks for letting me know this.

 Thanks for the response Inge. SO, do you just have that one single code to cover all lab work - not separate itemised codes?

 What's the name of the surgeon? I've just started looking too so would be interested in learning about him..

Thanks for all the responses. Sounds like I need to increase my fat intake. I hope it doesn't lead to diarrhea for me. Thanks for the cream suggestions - I'll try them!

Wondering about my excessively dry hands. No amount of cream will help. It got so bad a few weeks ago they started bleeding. Not sure what to do. I wear gloves, apply a lot of cream multiple times a day, even apply thick vaseline. Not sure if this is vitamin related? Not sure if this is also connected to my hair issue I posted a couple of weeks back. My hair is breaking all over the place. I have started drinking 4 protein shakes a day in the past couple of weeks - so I am doing my best to turn that issue around. What do you think?