duckydoom

I paid for MFP premium, and I have a bit more control over telling it when to tell at me (macros etc) than before. Not renewing it though Whoops just saw that the question is re:the boards here. My premium is for MFP, I am tired and not reading well Sent from my VS990 using the BariatricPal App

You spoke of eating mangos in the tub. I'm down in Miami and they are EVERYWHERE. My daughter rides her bike and collects them. This morning she had 22 before she got to the end of the street. I'm going to be good and have a mango Protein smoothie. She will enjoy this... (She's a smart kid who understands moderation. She must have gotten that from her father. ImageUploadedByBariatricPal1465671669.108027.jpg Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App I hit the mango sale at TJs yesterday. Husband is in heaven. Sent from my VS990 using the BariatricPal App

My brag list: I've been with my husband for damn near 13 years, married for 7. I feel this is brag worthy because we both grew up in super tumultuous households yet we've made it work and grown together. I've basically raised my bro since I was 7 and he was 4. He has Down syndrome, and said tumultuous household left us to fend for ourselves. My husband is great with him, and we come up with awesome stuff to do with him. Last year he was a guest artist on Inkmaster! I make totally awesome soap as a hobby. I sell tons at craft shows, and people seek me out specifically now. Ego boost right there I finished my associates degree. I've been at the same job for 8 years and I am often everyone's go to. All of my pets are rescues, and two years ago I was able to volunteer at one of the forefront No Kill shelters. I have fantastic lips and eyelashes! I think I have a fantastic personality and a big heart. I have it on my Facebook tagline thingy - I am a dreamer, passionate, creative, crazy pet mom, wife, sister, daughter and friend. Not so brag worthy, I am neurotic. I have to plan everything out as far in advance as I possibly can, and I get anxious with spontaneity. Working on that for sure. Not defining myself as "the fat one" in the group is going to be tough, though hopefully not as much so post surgery. Sent from my VS990 using the BariatricPal App

I looked up hair loss, and I know the basics, but I'm wondering if anyone has successfully proactively prevented hair loss? I'm looking at a couple of options for shampoo and conditioner - Nioxin is obviously the gold standard, but I've also been looking at OGX Niacin3+ caffiene and OGX Thick and Full Biotin & Collagen which I have seen mentioned on a couple of VSG blogs. I'm currently taking a Hair, Skin and Nail supplement with 5000mcg of Biotin, argan oil, and other fancy stuff. Its in capsule form so I plan on switching to a gummy after surgery. I didn't lose much when I had my lap band, so I am hopeful, and I know it's different for everyone, but I'm wondering if anyone specifically took supplements and new shampoos/conditioners prior with good results?

@@chycky good to know! When I had the band they had me on all sorts of gummies, so I will definitely check with the surgeon and the nut (she really is a nut hahaha) about what they recommend! Have you looked into the patches at all?

I came to suggest the same as @@KristenLe - keto rash. It can be a pain! Add more healthy fats - you can mix olive oil into your cottage cheese for a boost, or I do avocado drizzled with olive oil.

That is epic. Congrats

I've already had my band removed, 2 years out from that, and I'm going in for the sleeve. Before we proceed, I have to get scoped and do a motility study to make sure that everything is good to go since the band had given me so many problems. I've been looking at belly braces, but not sure how long I'd use it or if it's even something people think is useful, so I'm really interested in seeing the responses to that. Good luck to you!

@@thomas1984 I'd just present it to him as a concern - "I was able to eat this much food and didn't feel full, is there a reason the mechanism of my sleeve didn't cause me discomfort?" That way it's coming out more as a question vs an accusation, less likely for him to be offended. Then you can discuss the size of the sleeve that he chose, if it's appropriate to "reset" the sleeve as others have mentioned, perhaps diagnostics to rule out any issues. Good luck - I know how frustrating it can be when things aren't going as you've expected. Hopefully he has answers.

I had my consult yesterday with my surgeon - he thinks that I'm a good candidate for the sleeve, and remembered that I had wanted it instead of the band, but since it wasn't covered at the time we went with the band vs RNY. For those of you who've read my other posts, sorry for repeating, but I had the band removed 2 years later because I couldn't keep food down and kept sliming, even with the band empty. With the band out, I've had no restriction and no issues. However, he wants to make sure that they do the motility study to show that it was the band itself vs a physiological issue with my esophagus. The worry is if it's physiological, if we give me a sleeve it might cause the same exact issues, but this time it's not reversible. It will also be helpful when we submit the auth request to my insurance to have that in there, because there is a chance that they might deny on the basis of a previously "failed" surgery. Since I was only authorized the one visit for a consultation, I'm also requesting additional visits, and I emailed my PCP for that. They said they submitted it this morning, and I've already seen that it's been approved, so woohoo. One less hurdle to worry about lol. I should be able to schedule the psych eval pretty easily as well, but I'm waiting for a call back from the coordinator to see if I should do that now or wait. Being neurotic and having insider knowledge as to how my insurance company works is so frustrating sometimes LOL. I have been asked to go to the informational session again since it's been about 4 years since I last went to one - kind of a lame formality, but hey, I'll do it. My appointment for that is July 7th, and then my next appointment with Dr Rawlins is on July 21st. I'm guessing we will submit the auth request then, and those can take up to 30 days to process through our system. I'm guessing if I'm approved surgery will be September, possibly late August. Now I have to sit on my hands and try not to be overly neurotic about preparing, argh! Anyway, after all of that - has anyone had a motility study? I know it's gonna suck, but how much? Thanks for reading

@@Christinamo7 Thank you I can't wait til all is said and done! I am actually going to get in a bit sooner - July 13th for my followup. I realized that I was already going to be out of town on July 21st to see Peter Gabriel

Congrats!! Do some slow neck rolls, might help with the stiffness and soreness, and take it easy!

I had the lapband, then had it removed, and now I am going for the sleeve. It is what I originally wanted, but it wasn't covered by my insurance at that time. RNY was a bit spooky to me because of the whole bypass bit, so my surgeon and I decided that given the amount of weight I needed to lose, the band would be great. I personally had issues with keeping food down, my band was "fussy" and would accept foods one day, and they'd get stuck and I'd be miserable and vomiting/sliming the next. I had it out after two years because I had stopped losing weight and I couldn't keep food down. There are PLENTY of people who have had bands and had great results with them. There are also plenty of people who have had issues with the band, sleeve, and RNY. Look up "sleeve regret" "band regret" or even just "regret" in the search bar - you'll get a good mix. I'd say ultimately talk to your surgeon about how much weight you want and need to lose, and which surgery would be appropriate for you. I know a lot of them are phasing the band out, and my insurance company doesn't even cover the band anymore. Just something to take into consideration. Anyway, congrats for your first step! I'm sure you'll do well no matter what surgery you choose to go with. Best of luck on Wednesday!

But slippers, right? Or just rock the awesome socks they give you?

@mrs.punch - I don't know how much I'll broadcast as it's connected to facebook. I don't plan on keeping it a huge secret, but I'm not going to go out of my way to let people know lol. In the meantime, lots of puppy pictures! I'm going through and adding everyone now

I have my consult tomorrow new to vsg, but old hat at lap band Sent from my VS990 using the BariatricPal App

Also side note - when I did Keto for 2 weeks my stress levels normalized despite life being insane and I lost 7 lbs. Basically I ate bacon, eggs, cheese, cottage cheese etc and drank a gallon of Water a day.

Personally when I've tried diet pills in the past, they made me jittery and overall even more stressed and spazzed out. My insurance considered it one of my "tried and failed" diets though, so that was a plus side I suppose.

Definitely track on myfitnesspal - you can set custom amounts for macronutrients, so if you start to go over the amount of carbs it will let you know. When I go low carb, I follow the ketogenic protocol which is basically phase 1 of Atkins. 20g or less of carbs, moderate Protein, and high healthy fats. It cuts out all fo the breads, rice, Pasta and starches, unfortunately. HOWEVER - I found a good high protein low net carb pasta from IsoPasta. It's pretty good, and has less carbs than the Barilla high protein pastas. What I usually eat: Breakfast - 2 eggs, 4 pieces bacon, 1 cup coffee with 1 tbsp heavy whipping cream lunch - salad with mozzarella, lean turkey or chicken and a low carb dressing, or sliced mozz, avocado, olive oil, salt pepper and vinegar. dinner - meat and veggies. This can be salmon, steak, ground beef, chicken, whatever, and usually asparagus or broccoli. My Snacks are 1/2 cup full fat cottage cheese with some walnuts and rosemary infused olive oil mixed in. All of that is roughly 1300 -1500 calories for me, and I weigh everything out. When I stick to it, I lose all of my excess Water weight SUPER fast. The fats keep me really satiated and I have ridiculous energy. Last time I did it I lost 10 lbs in a week and was bouncing off of the walls. My irritable bowel symptoms all but disappear, I'm not gassy, or crampy, but I do spot. As a disclaimer, I usually stall right at the 230 mark though, so that's why I'm still pursuing surgery. The sleeve is also going to be a great tool in helping me to avoid all of those starches, pastas, and carbs in favor of healthier foods. It's going to be a great extra boost for me.

How is your Water intake? I don't lose at all unless I cut carbs down to 20 to 30 grams and drink about a gallon of water a day. Make sure you get electrolytes too if you're drinking that much water, I use fizzy tabs that I got from Hammer nutrition that don't taste too bad Sent from my VS990 using the BariatricPal App

We will be good friends then Sent from my VS990 using the BariatricPal App

Whose laughing, woman ? I swear I'm going to ram the next left-lane-slow driver in the arse with my bumper. Gonna do it...........one day. Today is not that day, though. I regularly wish for the turtle shell or missiles from Mario Cart for these drivers. Look up Jeremy Clarkson rocket launcher Porsche on YouTube. My husband and I discuss the imminent need for this technology on the regular. I can't stand people who don't take constructive criticism or assistance well, and who can't ever be wrong. I'm in training at work and one of my co trainees is ALWAYS right and ALWAYS has to talk over the trainer and make a big deal about how it's not her fault it's the system etc. even though she consistently makes the same mistakes after they've been addressed and nobody else has issues. I was her trainer previously for a couple of specialties and I just wanted to strangle her. 3 more weeks of sharing a classroom with her Sent from my VS990 using the BariatricPal App

How do I add you to my fit bit are you on Facebook Sent from my SM-G925T using the BariatricPal App Yep! Www.Facebook.com/Duckydoom I think if you go to fitbit and search by username you can find me, but I am totally ok with being fb friends too as long as you don't mind pictures of my dogs! Sent from my VS990 using the BariatricPal App

@@WitchySar there are SO many great youtubers who are going through life after VSG. I"m trying to start my own channel even, just for the support that's out there! I'd recommend looking at Clusie, MadeUpMama, IndiraVSG, DreaVSG, VSGJodi, IvyMUA, there are SO many!