Miss Mac

Hopefully I dodged the bullit on this one. I am six months out now, and have only seen extra flyaways, but no clumps of hair in my brush or drain, even though the surgeon warned me about the possibility. I do not know that I have done anything so differently from anyone else. I have been on 80 grams of Protein, and 10,000 mcg of Biotin 2X a day. Other than that, I take my D3, B12, multi Vitamin and Calcium. On my own I added magnesium, chromium, and Vitamin C. I dont take fish oil because Miss Tummy gives it back. But I do eat fish twice a week. My hair is more limp, but otherwise healthy and soft. I did have quite a problem with dry brittle nails and really dry skin from months two to four, but that is gone. My nails and skin are healthy now. I don't know how to explain it, but I was resigned to accept it. My heart goes out to my bariatric siblings, and I hope that your recovery gets better.

I took the sleeve because I did not want to have a lap band port or have my intestines recongigulated. The sleeve has work well for me, and I am happy with that decision. Whatever you decide, I wish you good luck and good health

I love to hear this kind of stuff. NSVs are such an encouragement for us. Congratulations.

Here is a cute bedtime story that I found on-line. When my two grown daughters were little tykes, I used to read this to them.. This story was is in a collection. It was in a book "Believe and Make Believe, by the Sherman Reading Series. Anyway, the moral of the story is about how picky eaters should try new things. Goodfor the kids and a good reminder for us to expand our culinary horizons. Story is atached.cheese AND PEAS AND chocolate pudding story only.docx

Well, at least now you have some kind of idea why so long. If you have not had liver ultrasound imaging yet, you have it close to surgery. Mine showed an enlarged fatty liver, so it was imperative to reduce it before surgery. When the surgeon is able to move your liver out of the way, it is easier for him to manupulate the surgical tools around your stomach. But even with that, my pre-op liquids were for ten days. Good luck with your surgery. We all have very different weight loss journeys, but we are walkng toward a common goal, and that is good health. Take care.

My longest stall so far (over a month) was at 185. 185 is the number I have hit every time I had a little success with that old diet and exercise routine. Also, that is the weight that I have carried most of my overweight life. From there it bounced bak up over 200 many times. 185 is the weight I was packing when I had a stroke in 2010. I finally broke past it and am now flucuating around 175. So....it looks like this is going to be stairstep on the way down to my goal weight. This fat is going out kicking and screaming

A robe...bring a robe because the nursing staff will have you up and walking all over the place. I took CD player and lots of music, but I never used it. I just watched tv and slept. Chapstick.....your lips are going to dry

Before I retired, my experience with lunch and/or breaks was that if I am in my office for any reason, then I am available. The phone still rings and people knock on my door. So, I had to get up and walk about or eat in the cafeteria....even then, if someone knows you are in the building, they will not let up. I do have a home office now for my genealogy project, and under my desk is a hand/foot bike so I can cycle while working at my desk. The coolest set-up I ever saw was at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis. They have an acre or so on hospital grounds that remains wooded and undeveloped. A fitness trail was built in there where you could walk and then stop at different stations to do a specific exercis,e and then move on. I have been in the Toyota Fork Lift Plant in Columbus, Indiana and they have a nice gym for employees to use. If someone logs in X amount of time, they get certain additional benefits from the company. I think that's great when an employer facilitates good health for the employees rather than make it as difficult as possible. I hope you can find a clever way to fix yourself up with what you need to accomplish your fitness goals.

I probably won't use that product, but didn't the commercial say "with milk" (which would be 1/2 of the Protein gram total without even touching the Cereal. Besides, grain is what my grandfather - a farmer - fed to the chickens, hogs, and cattle to "fatten them up". So........no grains for me right now - just Proteins, low carb veggies, and 1/2 serving a fruit per day. I am trying really hard to keep the carbs below 20. This is so much work, but 800 calories and 20 carbs is the barrier that I can't go past right now or I start gaining weight back. Yeah, no.......cereal (high protein or not) has to stay in the background for me.

Ask your surgeon if he would please extract as much of the CO2 as possible before he closes up your incisions. Many people suffer from excruciating "shoulder gas" for a few days after their sleeve. It is part of the surgical process to expand the abdominal cavity with CO2 so that the tools have more room to navigate around and about in there while the doctor is working. One of my pre-op questions was about how he manages post-op pain and residual gas. He said and I quote, "I will extract as much of the gas as possible before I close you up." I am happy to report that even though I was over-anxious about it, I had no gas pains at all post-op. It is worth asking about, anyway. They put it in there, so why shouldn't they try to get it back out?

The only person who made any snide remarks about my decision to have weight loss surgery was the woman at the hospital who performed some of my pre-admission testing. She was clearly overweight herself, and told me that she did not think iIwas heavy enough for the surgery. So, in spite of the fact that my spine was collapsing from carrying over 100 pounds too much, and many serious health issues related to the weight, she let it be known that I should try harder at diet and exercise. (Yeah, how was THAT working out for me? I had been on one diet after another since 1978.) When I got my Press-Gainey survey in the mail, I mentioned the incident in detail and how unprofessional it was of her to offer her own diagnosis of my condition, when her only responsibility was to do an unltrasound of my liver, and an EKG. I know a lot of people don't bother with the survey forms they get, but coming from a retired hospital housekeeping manager,I am here to tell you that the surveys do make a difference. The feedback is extremely valuable. It is one of your tools in being an outspoken advocate for your own healthcare. A good experience needs to be mentioned as well as the bad. Sometimes it is the only patient follow-up that the hospital's administration gets.

Early on post-op, I was drinking any anything and everything that could be put in a blender and thinned out. In the pureed phase I even had some Wendy's chili from the blender, The unflavored Protein is handy to add to stuff like that.

I am one of those who lose from the top down. My face was first, then my boobs and arms, then my waist and belly started to go down slowly. Right now I have lost 10" around my belly, but it did take 40 pounds before I could even think about a smaller jean. Don't get discouraged....at some point the fat has to GO!

Unfortunately, yes.

RJ, you are amazing. Thank you for sharing the unvarnished truth with us, too.

My heart goes out to everyone who knew this man personally, and to those in the bariatric community whose lives he impacted in many positive ways.

Halfway through my journey. I am not obsessing about beauty supplies yet, but I have stepped up my game a bit. I am using drug-store make-up, and I actually bought some summer dresses last week. I have not worn a dress in almost 20 years. As for kicking and screaming against old age, I do use a moisturizer on my face, and I exfoliate with every other shower, after which I soothe my skin with sweet almond oil. Other than that, I hide in the shade, use sunscreen, and am Verrrrrry protective about my sleep time.

jhood2005..........you will be amazed at how much better you will feel, even with the first thirty pounds down. You will have emotional ups and downs, but we all volunteered for this ride, didn't we? Just a comment on the dressing room experience in general........why are most of them painted a yellowy-beige or a puke green, and look like they have not been painted for years, and no hooks to hang stuff on? No wonder we don't like them. Anyway, I hope that you have a textbook recovery from your surgery. I wish you good luck and good health.

Without my sleeve, I would have been dead soon, or in a nursing home wishing I was. I had alrady had both knees replaced, many spinal issues, and a stroke that forced me into early retirement. All of my numbers were bad, and my weight was skyrocketing exponentially in spite of my best efforts. I was developing all of the co-morbidities that caused the early death of many of my relatives. I had asked my primary about a lap-band, and when I went to the bariatric clinic, the staff introduced me to the possibility of a sleeve. I had never heard of that procedure. The sleeve (Miss Tummy) saved my life. I am battling my way to goal, but I don't mind, because I am still alive to even face the battle.

I had diverticulities for about five years pre-op, and one scary long hospital stay ( a month prior to my sleeve) with ischemic colitis, which almost cost me part of my bowel. Thankfully in my six months post-op, those issues have not reappeared.

I am one of those people who weighs everyday, thinking that it helps me to stay responsible. At six months out, I still log every little bit, knowing that if I don't track, I lose track. One thing I did have to get over was EXERCISE BULIMIA. We all know that bulimia is a condition when whatever you eat, you bring it back up. Exercise bulimia is when after you eat, you feel like you have to go exercise those calories off right away. I am more relaxed about that now, but I still have issues with plateaus and constantly experimenting with should I eat this? cut back on that? drink more shakes? drink fewer shakes? eat cheese ? dairy? more carbs? less carbs? exercise first thing in the morning? eat more Protein? can I eat too much protein? am I done losing only halfway to goal?..............................geeze Louize, the mental torment seems like a normal, but undiscussed part of the process, and keep on with all of the good habits I have learned on this journey. Just my humble observation of my personal (and very individual) experience.

Great job! That helps me to be inspired with a large family cookout coming up in a few weeks.

Tracking is a huge benefit. When I don't track, I lose track.

I never stopped taking pills. The ones I do take go down easier with a mouthful of shake or chewed up food. Never have been able to swallow the fish oil pearls post op. Miss Tummy rejects them and gives them back right away. I am not about to start cod liver oil. I will just eat fish more often.

I never did go to any of my high school reunions. I never did like those people the first time around anyway. Ironic....I was painfully and unhealthy thin back then and they made fun of my skininess. Oh well. Hopefully you can go and enjoy some good memories while keeping your new little secret close to the vest.