Katcloudshepherd

How are you doing? I think about you so often and wonder how you're coming along. I wish you a healing and blessed day. Thank you for the quote. Kathleen

I know some people don't like to shop at Goodwill--but I do. I found a really cute jacket which has a beautiful floral pattern on it. It's already getting too big for me--NOT that I'm complaining in the least. I've also shopped at Texas Thrift--don't know if they have stores outside of San Antonio. I recently did a "closets flush" and took six huge garbage bags full of too big clothes to Goodwill. Now I need to get smaller pants again. My 18's are getting too big on me. I have to buy tall pants so getting pants at Goodwill is not always an option. I'm thinking of taking my 18 pants and getting them altered. I can get them done close to Fort Sam Houston for about $12.00 a pair. That's still cheaper than a brand new pair. Unfortunately, you never know what you'll find at Goodwill or the Thrift stores. Sometimes I get REALLY lucky and find some brand new clothes with the tags still on them! IF you don't like the smell, launder them. Another thing about shopping at Thrift stores is --it is more time consuming. You have to look through all the clothes to see the sizes. I've become quite the speed demon of putting on my reading glasses and thumbing through the clothes as quickly as possible to find the size. I then take a closer look and evaluate whether it is a good purchase. I've also bought things at Goodwill that were the "color of the week", (which are 1/2 off the already low price). They were actually too small at the time but I knew I'd "shrink" into them. WOW! Never in my life would I have thought I could do that! Blessings, Kathleen

I believe there is a link between depression and your gut bacteria, (normal intestinal flora). I have no scientific evidence of this but I sure wish studies would be conducted. I also believe that your gut bacteria may have an impact on what you choose to eat. Again, I have NO studies to back this theory up but since I had the surgery and stopped craving sweets and thus stopped consuming sweets and carbs---my depression has improved. I know this is highly anecdotal evidence but I think our digestive system is so much more involved with mental function, how we feel overall etc. Blessings, Kathleen

Wooo Hooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Welcome to the "I can cross my legs club AND swing my foot" !!! :D :D I put on my Class A US ARMY jacket yesterday for the first time in 20 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hoping to be able to button it by Halloween Blessings, Kathleen

Oh NO!, I have been away for a few days. I'm so sorry you are having to endure more problems. Sending you a hug from South Texas. I pray you will heal and find relief. You are such an inspiration to me. Blessings, Kathleen

Hello everyone I hope y'all are having a good day, I am undergoing Venus freeze to tighten my skin and help to get rid of the fat in my neck and arms. I am desperately trying to avoid the expense, pain and possible scars from plastic surgery. I have had Venus freeze on my neck and it turned out rather well. I didn't want "turkey neck" and I couldn't afford plastic surgery. Granted, the Venus freeze isn't cheap. It's $200.00 per treatment. The treatments take about an hour. I get five treatments for $1,000.00. They spread glycerin on your skin and use a machine with technology that combines both Multi Polar Radio Frequency (RF) along with Pulsed Magnetic Fields. These two types of energy work in synergy to penetrate multiple layers of skin, heating it from the inside. Why they call it a "freeze" I have no idea. The reason I am posting this is because I have a friend that had another type of WLS and she had the Venus freeze on her neck and was not in a "losing" state of weight or a stable weight. She was gaining weight, then losing weight, then gaining weight. She IS NOT as happy with her results as I am. Her results were not as good as mine were. The RN that runs the medical aesthetics practice that I go to had tried to warn her about the treatments being affected by weight gain and loss and gain---but she didn't listen. What I'm saying is if you are considering getting the Venus freeze be aware you should be at least at a stable weight and better yet be LOSING weight when you get the treatments. Blessings, Kathleen

The reason I don't use support or compression garments around my abdomen is because where I'm at it's just too darn hot most of the year. Since I've lost the weight though I've gotten considerably colder in air conditioned rooms. May be a consideration now that I'm not an excessive sweating machine like I used to be . Blessings, Kathleen

Hello y'all, I'm so VERY GLAD I went to the pool for years before my surgery. I flat out didn't give a frack what other people thought about me in my bathing suit. You don't like what I look like--tough titties. I can't imagine recovery without the muscles I was able to develop during Water aerobics. Didn't help with my sagging skin but I'm 49 so I think that has much to do with it. I'm going through Venus Freeze treatments on my arms. Next I'll do my legs and then my abdomen/torso. Not inexpensive but much less than plastic surgery. I'm hoping to avoid plastic surgery. I had the Venus Freeze on my neck and it worked well. Blessings, Kathleen

Congratulations!! So happy for you and hope it's the first of many, many to come. My college ring and wedding rings are so loose I'll have to get those plastic adjusters to keep them on my fingers Blessings, Kathleen

lidqtxuwvi, Nix verstain Deutsch. Sprekin kleina Deutsch. Could you use a translator to convert to English? Sorry, I don't know how to say that in Deutsch Guten Abend, Kathleen

vincereautmori, May I quote you? The last words in your post are ABSOLUTELY PRICELESS! "unfortunately for our naysayers, there is no surgery for ignorance." Absolutely profound! It not only applies to WLS but to so many other things. Blessings, Kathleen

Congratulations!!!!!!!!! Fabulous progress and I'll bet you feel so much better. I'm so happy for you Hoping I'll reach that goal weight but I'm taking one day at a time-keep on doing what I'm supposed to do. Blessings, Kathleen

Hello, Don't think I qualify as a veteran, (other than military service) but that is one of my biggest concerns long term. I take all my vitamins--even taking additional supplements for my joint problems, such as Ester-C, Turmeric and Essential Fatty Acids,(EFAs). I'll have my year follow-up in December. I'm sorry I don't have any advice to offer. Wishing you better health and blessings, Kathleen

Congratulations Alex! Thank you for all you do. I think the article leaned towards the negative side regarding the lap band. It's only a tool. I give you a lot of credit because the lap band takes a great deal of discipline in order to LOSE the weight and KEEP the weight off. Blessings, Kathleen

RJ'S/beginning, I'm so happy for you. You must have an incredible amount of strength to go through what you have. I wish you the very best. Blessings, Kathleen

I wouldn't think of using ankle weights because all that extra weight I lost is what caused me so much pain in my joints. Using ankle weights won't help loose skin. I have skin hanging on my legs that actually comes from my butt! according to the nurse at the medical aesthetics business I go to for my fillers, Botox and Venus Freeze treatments. I'm 49, so IMHO, too old for exercise to help my sagging skin. I'm getting treatments on my arms and when I'm finished with them, I'll get treatments on my legs. I'm NOT attempting to advocate or advertise the Venus Freeze---I just want to say that is what I am doing. It's $200.00 per hour treatment, so I'm paying $1,000.00 for 5 treatments. Less than plastic surgery would cost but for many people that kind of thing is too expensive. I'm hoping it will be effective enough to avoid having plastic surgery. Kathleen

Camella, I've had extensive fillers, Botox and am undergoing Venus freeze on my arms. They are less expensive than plastic surgery and plastic surgery only lasts so many years. That is why so many celebrities that start using plastic surgery look so freakish over a period of time. They have one surgery, it only lasts so long, then they have another and another and then their face is all out of proportion. They have come a long way with non-surgical means to improve the appearance of the face and the rest of the body. I would add the caveat that sometimes plastic surgery is the only alternative for the legs, arms and abdomen. Good luck, Blessings, Kathleen

Bernie, I'll say a prayer for you. Hope your surgery goes well and you have an easy recovery. Blessings, Kathleen

Hello everyone, 1. You are not consuming any where near what you ate before surgery--IF you are on solid foods yet. 2. You have to drink the Water to get the bowel movements. 3. You have to MOVE to get bowel movements. 4. Protein will cause constipation and since getting the protein in is what is MOST important for WLS patients, it adds to the circumstances which lead to constipation. 5. Caffeine will help BUT dehydrates you AND most surgeons want you to stay away from it for that EXACT reason. Getting water in right after surgery is the most important thing. You have plenty of reserve energy--that's why you had WLS. I go every few days. I don't obsess over how often I go. I take a pro-biotic every day. I get my water in and exercise. I try to incorporate some kind of vegetable/fruit Fiber in my diet BUT I am almost a year out. Keep in mind that if you just had surgery, or you are not that far out, you're not going to be at the same stage as I am. Blessings, Kathleen

Adam, I hope your surgery goes well. I couldn't have said it any better than BitterSweet*. I'm 49 so I'll need some assistance with my "bat wings" and sagging skin on my legs. I have a herniated disc in my low back, a slipped disk and a 60 degree kyphosis, (C curve not S), in my upper spine. My knees are shot and need to be replaced. If you would have told me before surgery that I would have been able to NOT take any NSAIDS or pain killers after I lost a significant amount of weight----I would not have believed it. The more weight I lost, the better I felt and the less Voltarin I had to use. Voltarin is a prescription cream that works like an NSAID through the skin. My ortho docs would not prescribe any NSAIDS after I had the surgery. The Voltarin was the only thing that got me through the period of time when I was loosing weight and needed something for the pain. I also do all my exercising in the pool. I can work out VERY hard in Water but no way in heck could I do that on land. The water provides cushioning to my joints and resistance for ANY movement you are making in the water. Again I wish you well, Kathleen

bikrchk, Thanks for your comment. Yes, those habits developed after surgery are something you must continue to do to find success in your weight loss journey. I find that exercising makes me sleep SO WELL and just makes my body run more efficiently. I'm getting close to a year out and my appetite has come back but it's NOTHING like it used to be. I used to become a beotch from Hades when I was hungry before. Get the frack out of my way! Get me food now or I will hurt you! Now, I get a twinge and say sometimes out loud--"I need to eat something." If I am bored, I can graze and fall back into habits pre-sleeve. I choose to keep myself as busy as possible so I can keep from sitting in front of the TV and mindlessly consuming food. Blessings, Kathleen

optasia, I was amazed that after losing a significant amount of weight, how much less I would sweat. I used to be a BIG drinker of liquids with my meals. I learned to adjust to my doctor's recommendations of nothing 15 minutes prior and waiting an hour after eating to drink. It was difficult at first because it's a habit. Like any habit, it takes practice to stop doing it. A few times I took a drink without thinking about it and my body immediately let me know that it was not acceptable. I take a small sip to take pills with food--but it's a super small sip to get the pill down. Even in a South Texas summer, I was amazed at how much less I sweat. Blessings, Kathleen

ochiatl, Glad you had a successful, uneventful surgery. I'm hoping your recovery is an easy one. After surgery, the most important thing is to sip, sip, sip Water. Your body has plenty of stored energy to run on. Rest when you need to and allow yourself to recover from the major surgery and be as active as you can comfortably be. Welcome to the strange journey down the "losers" highway, Blessings, Kathleen

Hoping your recovery is an easy one. Walk, walk, and walk. When you are allowed to: sip, sip, sip. You have to take small sips all day long to get the Water in. Right after surgery water is your most important thing to ingest. Blessings, Kathleen

Congratulations! I know about the undies---but I'd rather have to keep buying them because I'm LOOSING weight instead of gaining it . Keep doing what you're doing and I'll bet you'll have continued success . Please thank your son for his service. I don't envy him considering who the current Commander In Chief, (CIC) is. Blessings, Kathleen