mngreeneyes

I have sleep apnea. I am going towards 4 months out and I know that it has gotten better. @@Ryan TN so the cotton mouth is a sign of it being too high? I have noticed that a lot lately. Its obnoxious! I already wear a full mask so I suppose I should look into checking with the sleep dr. I will be so excited to get off my machine! pam

@@MnGirl40 Does your name mean that you are in Minnesota? I am just slightly older than you and heading toward 4 months post op. I carried most of my weight in my abdomen so I already have loose skin. I am finding though that especially with my chicken wings, weight lifting and exercise are making a huge difference in how loose the skin is. I don't believe exercise is going to completely solve the loose skin issue for me, but the more it helps the better. pam

I workout at about 5 p.m. after work. I usually have a Protein shake between 3:30 and 4 so that I am not starving when its time to go to the gym. That's too easy an excuse for me to skip the gym and go home instead. After the gym I go home and make supper. On nights when I have weight lifting class, supper can be as late as 8ish. This week I had support group after working out and didn't have time to eat a meal before group so I brought some beef sticks and ate them while I got ready at the gym. Otherwise, I don't eat anything but my regularly scheduled supper after working out. pam

You look great. Way to go! pam

My insurance didn't require a referral for WLS, but I eventually had to have a note from my PCP as one of the hoops. I knew I would get it because i had already talked to my PCP about the surgery, but I didn't need to do it before I started the process. Best wishes, pam

Roue n Y - Gastric Bypass. pam

Glad you are feeling better. What a scary situation! I can't imagine what I would have done in your shoes. (I live alone and far from my family!) I hope the treatment for the kidney stone goes well and you have no more attacks. My brothers and dad have had issues with kidney stones, thankfully, mom and I have not. Hugs! Be well, pam

My surgeon's office pretty much swears by Flintstones complete 2 chewables a day. I have found that I like the flavor better than generic ones so I stick with them. Good luck finding a good Vitamin. pam

Good luck! What a great team! Keep us posted! pam

Congrats! You've done amazing! You are inspiring! Keep up the great work! pam

I am heading toward 4 months post op. I was cleared to walk and encouraged to walk as soon as I woke up from anesthesia. I had to wait until 1 month before I could pursue any other kinds of exercise. I started swimming and treadmill running right after the holidays. Now I am training for a 5k and will start training in April for a VERY SHORT triathlon. I am also taking a weight lifting class two days a week. Part of my motivation for exercising is that muscle tone can help with loose skin. I don't' have any misconceptions that it will solve the problem, but I can already tell it is helping. I was pretty active before my surgery and am glad to be able to get back into it. All I can tell you is take it slow, but get moving! pam

I believe it is also acidic so it is hard on your new innards. As to coffee/decaf, my clinic says it is also too acidic for the first while. pam

If I remember correctly, there are some variables for how fast that all leaves your system. I think length of time you smoked and quantity smoked can make a big difference. I don't know how much you smoked and for how long, but perhaps that actually shows an improvement. I wonder if being around smokers/second hand smoke doesn't affect the speed your body improves. You'll get there. pam

WHOOOHOOOO! Congrats! You are getting so close. pam

Best of luck! pam

My thoughts and prayers are with you. Hope all goes well. pam

Thanks all. I found myself a 20 week essentially couch to super-sprint tri workout plan that I will start in mid April. It is 7-8 workouts a week with increasing length and difficulty so my body won't get too used to any part. Hopefully it will help me continue my weight loss. Its 5.5 months away and I could potentially be down another 50 llbs by then. If that's the case I am also going to need a smaller and cute tri outfit! I will keep you all posted. pam

Thanks for sharing. This is a very important topic for all of us. pam Thanks for sharing. This is a very important topic for all of us. pam

I was thinking that some smart person should figure out how to add those Torani coffee syrups to our Protein shakes to make them taste like thin mints! I used to have some mint flavored syrup. Around here you can buy them and have them shipped to deployed US troops. I haven't been asked yet, but that's going to be my tactic. Be Strong everyone! pam

None of my friends and most of my family never commented on how big I was before surgery. Occasionally at work I would get the "you look great in that" or "that outfit looks nice on you" comment, but no one ever told me I was big. Was that because I live in Minnesota and they were being "Minnesota Nice" or was it because they didn't notice or because it didn't matter? I'm not sure I care why they didn't. Before I had surgery I didn't tell a lot of people. A few select coworkers, a few select friends, and my parents and brothers and their families. I just didnt' want to risk the comments. Coincidentally, no one tried to tell me I was too small for surgery! They all were very supportive, except maybe my parents, but that's another story. I have now hit more than 55 lbs lost and yesterday two coworkers that I hadn't told about my surgery commented. One, who I suspect has heard, got on the elevator and did a double take. She said she almost didnt' recognize me because I was melting away before her eyes! (she can be really snarky so I was shocked at her comment!) The second was a coworker who I know lost about 40 lbs a few years ago with low carb and exercise. He and I have lots of mutual friends outside of work and have always been really friendly. He just came out and asked, "have you lost a bunch of weight?" Then he said, that could have been a bad question! I told him about surgery and we talked about our respective journeys. He showed me photos of him before the weight loss. I didn't' know him then. I wouldn't have recognized him. Then he pointed to my photo from new employee orientation 3.5 years ago that was hanging on my file cabinet. He said. "That doesn't look like you anymore!" I hadn't looked at the photo recently and he was very correct. My point with all of this is, I am learning to accept everything as a compliment now because even my snarky coworker could have meant it snarky, but she was still noticing how much I have changed, at least externally! She will likely never know how much I am changing internally and that's just fine. Someday we will look back at photos and people will say "I cant' believe that's you" because all they know/remember will be the healthier version of your former self and they will say similar things to what your BF mother said. Its the truth and its not that there is anyway we didn't know it about ourselves, I think its also a testament to how other people saw us even before surgery. We often feel invisible to the world when we are big, but to most of our friends and family, we are and were just us. My nephew who is 7, before surgery, told his mom that he didn't want me to have surgery because he didn't want me to change. He liked me just the way I am. (I am the favorite aunt and he is precious!) I have seen him several times since surgery and he has had no complaints! I have more energy to play with him and his sisters. We have always gone on walks together, but when I was there in January, I went on THREE walks so that I could hang out with each of the kids separately! We used to just go on one walk all together! We went sledding, we played outside, we had a blast. Surprise does weird things to our filters. Like my coworker who realized AFTER he asked me about my weight loss that the question might have been ill-advised, sometimes our mouths engage before our brains do. If there is one thing I am learning more and more every day, it is that I can't control what other people say or think. I can only control my reaction and my interpretation is a part of that. I "decide" everyday that I am going to put the best spin on everything that comes out of other peoples' mouths. (I don't succeed, but practice makes perfect!) Remember, people show a more honest view of themselves by their actions than their words. It sounds like actions should be able to show you what your BF's mom really meant. Believe her! Best and congrats on your weight loss, pam

I took an entire canister of unjury Protein powder with me to Atlanta the first week of February. I took a new canister so that it was sealed when I went. It pinged the xray machine and they had to look to see what it was, but all they did was wipe the suitcase and container to make sure it wasn't explosives or whatever and I was on my way. On the way home I had the now opened container in my suitcase/carry on and I didn't even get held up in security! I made sure to keep it in the original container just in case, but no one really gave me any trouble flying with it. I had to dump out my Water bottle at both security locations, but nothing with my protein powder! I think you should be fine. pam

I just had my three month followup yesterday. The one big change besides starting to balance my diet was that my NUT really wants me to save my Protein drink for my snack in the afternoon and only on days I workout. I eat three meals a day and a snack if I workout. I had been drinking my protein as Breakfast, but my NUT really wants me to eat regular food with some amount of Fiber now. It will be an interesting change. pam

Congrats. What a great NSV! pam

Right off the bat I want to express that for me this is not about the politics and I think this article is very even handed. I thought this was an interesting perspective that many of use can appreciate from an insurance and weightloss surgery perspective. That said...http://www.huffingtonpost.com/don-mcnay/who-will-be-the-best-pres_b_9257982.html Thoughts? pam

@della street I am so excited for you. I know the ACA can be a hot button issue on both sides, but I am so thankful for all the good things that have happened for people under ACA. Congrats on your losses, all of your losses - before, during, and after! best, pam