Moogle

The thing I miss the most right now is popcorn. I was a popcorn junky. I always had to have a bag at the movie theater. At home I would keep several varieties to pop myself. When I go into a place and smell that smell I almost want to cry.

I love my Ninja. Turned in like a year's worth of Dave and Busters credits for it (I'm not joking lol). Bought a small 2qt crockpot for when I'm cleared for chicken.

I've had Nexplanon for a few months now. They let me keep it for my surgery. I didn't notice any weight gain or loss after starting it. I had some spotting issues immediately after surgery, but nothing in that department from the day it went in. I love it and will probably never use anything else again.

@@KristenLe I've been told by multiple doctors that the hs should get better if I lose weight. I am really hopeful that is the case. It is just really rough right now without being able to use the one thing that gave me relief.

4 people were robbed at gunpoint in my neighborhood playing Pokemon Go last week. That is why I don't play it where I live. However, some of our local malls have huge amounts of pokestops so when we do our walks there every other day I can usually load up. Some groups started doing Pokemon Go monument tours in DC which I REALLY want to do. Just hate going in there sometimes.

I agree with @@Cervidae - when I crave juice I go for Sobe Lifewater or Vitamin Water Zero. My team does not allow me any juices with no discussion of when they'll be accepted. I do a lot of Crystal Light, but those other enhanced waters make me feel more like I'm drinking some sort of juice.

I did not have any done at my 4 week. My next appointment would be my 8 week. We'll see if they order some then. I know they tried to warn me that they take 12-13 vials of blood. Should be fun. (I am a terrible stick and I've had to get multiple locations drawn to get 4-5 vials in the past. Yay?)

This is something I need to talk to my surgeon about. I have a pretty rough case of hidradentis suppurativa and am prone to getting very large masses under my arms. I've relied on ibuprofen in the past to help with the pain and swelling. It was the only thing that seemed to work. Right after my surgery I had a lovely outbreak under my arm and pretty much had to deal with it without my trust ibuprofen. Even now I have a huge hole where the thing used to be (sorry, I know that is gross). Only other thing I can do is get antibiotics but I am allergic to so many of them and my doctor does not want me to develop a resistance to the few antibiotics I can take. Warm compresses don't help. I've tried changing so many things as I've dealt with this problem my entire life. I had surgery under my left arm a few years ago to remove all the heavily damaged tissue and now this crap has started under my right arm. The last surgeon completely butchered my arm. I have nerve damage and the skin is so tight that it cracks and pops open if I stretch my arm out too much.

I'm not a fan of strawberries, so I avoided it. My husband, however, loves strawberries and was excited to try it. That excitement turned to pure regret the moment he tasted it. He moaned every time he had to drink one. Eventually he finished the box, because he wasn't going to throw away a $25 box of shakes (he said that not me. I told him to trash em if they were that horrific.) Personally, all of the shakes I've liked have been chocolate. Haven't really enjoyed anything else.

I've had friends and family actively try to discourage me from this as soon as I started considering it. I had to convince them all and ultimately it was my decision - not theirs. They weren't the ones jabbing themselves with 5 needles a day. They weren't the ones who broke down crying after no longer being able to fit on their favorite roller coaster. They weren't the ones who were always self-conscious that someone was always staring, judging for their life choices. They weren't the ones who were worried that they would end up like their oldest aunt - dead of a heart attack at the age of 42. I am glad I made my decision. I see an immensely bright future for myself and taking this huge step was probably the best thing I've done in my life, well, after meeting and marrying my husband.

So I had my four week follow up yesterday. After four weeks of shakes / sugar free beverages, Jello and popsicles I was super excited to see what the next step was. Mentally I was preparing for purees (they don't tell you ahead of time what the program is). Thankfully my surgeon doesn't require that step. Instead, they added seafood (minus shrimp), tofu, cheese and eggs. Here's the problem: the smell, taste and even thought of seafood makes me gag. I love shrimp and scallops, that is it. I don't eat tofu and I have the same problem with eggs as I do seafood. At first I was upset. I don't want to eat nothing but cheese. I'm already having issues going to the bathroom and, well, cheese does not help on that front for me. Then I realized I was being silly. I can have cheese! Scallops! So I went to Wegmans that night (to all of you who don't live anywhere in the NE, I mourn that you do not have one of these amazing stores) and bought several types of nice cheeses and stuff to make the ricotta bake. Got some medicine that the nutritionist recommended to help with the, uhm, aftereffects. That night, my husband insisted on taking me out for scallops (we used to eat out 5-7 times a week, now haven't been out for 6 weeks). I managed to eat one, but it was the best damn scallop I think I ever had. So yeah, I can't have chicken for four more weeks, or food that I really enjoy, but at least its a step. At least I didn't have to go through purees. I was really sad at first, but now I have the motivation to stick with it. On another note, I am frustrated about something else. Even though I've been drinking between 64-90 ounces a day I was terribly dehydrated. Had to sit in the office for several hours for IV fluids. Doctor said I shouldn't be that dehydrated. Oh well. Guess I gotta step the sipping up.

I very much appreciate the feedback. I might have to try a shrimp or two in the next week or so. Scallops are so hard to find (and really darn expensive), while shrimp are everywhere. I really want something warm. Plus I'm worried about all the fat and calories in cheese. I hope I am okay with chicken when the time comes. I seriously lived on it before my surgery. I would probably have it for dinner 5-6 times a week. I really can't wait until I can have my chicken meatballs - stuff a cube of mozzarella in ground chicken with seasonings. Mmm. @@Ale Nunez - stick with it. It gets better. I am not even that far out - just over four weeks and every time I see that number drop (even after this ridiculous stall) I keep my motivation.

Oh I am loving it! I'm frustrated that I can't get out in my neighborhood to walk, though. I live in a really rough neighborhood, plus pedestrian safety here is pretty bad (like 3 people have been hit and killed within a .5 mile radius in the last year - 2 of them were not at fault). And yes, I do go out walking all the time, I just go to nice air conditioned malls where I don't have to worry about getting run over or shot or something. I live right outside of DC and driving by it earlier today I saw SO many nodes. I want to spend a few days just walking around the city and catching EVERYTHING. I'm so behind. The "Gym" across the street from me is run by someone with all 600+CP pokemon and my highest is like 150 (lol). The game is great for exercise and walking and I'm glad to see a video game company do something to get kids moving around. Gotta catch 'em all?

One thing I am thankful for, is that my team allowed me to keep my bc before my surgery. I use the implant and they would not put another one in for at least two years. My gyno is amazing; she talked to a hematologist and my surgeon and convinced them that my Nexplanon implant was fine. The last thing I want to worry about is getting pregnant in this stage of my life. I want kids and half the reason why I'm going through this is so I can be healthy enough for children (my doctor discouraged it because of my volatile diabetes). When I came home I got what I call my "mini-period". I spot for a few days and that is it. Another reason I love this bc. On another note, your coverage sounds very similar to mine, except for the dental. Though my dental is pretty pathetic and I haven't even tried to use it yet.

I had mine on June 9th. Just entered the soft Protein stage yesterday. The week 3 stall was pretty brutal for me. I lost 15lbs almost immediately after the surgery and maybe 2 pounds in the last 10 days. At my last appointment they pumped me so full of IV fluids that I gained back 5 lbs, but I know that is partially temporary. Even though the numbers have been sluggish, I can feel the difference. I've lost 5 inches off of my waist and 2 off of my bra band. All my bras are big now which is a bit of a problem. I was on two types of insulin and metformin and now I'm just on the basal. That makes me happy. I much rather have 2 injections per day than 5!

I did not use a binder. I actually didn't know they existed until after the surgery. I kept a pillow with me and if I felt like I had to cough or something, I held that close. That helped quite a bit (and it didn't cost me anything).

Neither the caramel nor the banana ones are here at my Costco yet, well, at least not two days ago when I checked. I might have to try out that caramel one. I haven't liked the fruity flavored ones and vanilla is too bland so it would be nice to have something else other than chocolate.

I mostly went minimalist. Brought a clean set of clothes, phone charger and a handheld game console. Didn't really need anything else.

I liked the 100 calorie chocolate ones a lot. They have 25 grams of protein. Would have those for breakfast some days before surgery and used them through my pre-op diet. I haven't had any after, though. My surgeon and nutritionist told me not to drink them afterwards. They advised me not to have any protein powders or shakes with extra vitamins. I've been using EAS shakes. They go for something like $26 on Amazon for 12 of them or $8 in Target for 4. Kind of expensive, but I like them. My nutritionist wasn't happy that they were 7 carbs, but was happy that I was able to tolerate them. Too many of the pre-made shakes have a bit of a tinny taste to me and this one didn't have it.

That is true for me, too. I don't go to my local thrift stores. Not to sound rude, but most of the people here where I live aren't going to give things away that are in good enough shape for me to want to buy them. When I go down to Hampton Roads in VA, though, I destroy some thrift stores. Always manage to come out with a bag or two of mostly like-new or new name brand stuff. I am also a big clearance shopper. Stores like JCPenney's and Macy's have awesome clearance sections. Found a bunch of shirts for like $5-10 last time I went.

I've never had any adverse reactions to any of the protein drinks. I've probably tried at least a dozen (sometimes have to grab one from a gas station because warm protein drinks = ewwwww). I've never gotten nauseous either. I started using them a year ago for breakfast on recommendation of my nutritionist. I don't like eggs and she wanted me getting protein in the morning so it seemed like a good alternative.

Was 13 days for me (5 days before, 8 days after). My doctor suggested Miralax so I bought some on the way home from the appointment. Never got to take it because the next morning all was right in my world. Now it's like every 4-5 days. My doctor said this was going to be normal until I started taking in something other than protein shakes and other liquids.

I've got another 10 days before I enter the puree stage (exactly four weeks after surgery). Picked up a new crock pot because my other one is a 2 gallon unit and I definitely don't need anything that big now. $12 for a two-quart crock pot at Target. Really looking forward to some chicken. Before surgery I was kind of a hot sauce snob. I have about 15 bottles around the house. Couldn't bring myself to throw them out (well except for the one that was super-sugary). Hoping they get to see the light of day again sometime.

Born and raised in Cape May County, but haven't lived there since I graduated high school. I actually made a special trip up before my surgery so I could have a few of my favorites from the boardwalk: Macks Pizza and some Curly's.

My surgery was at 8am and I was out at 8-9pm the next day. They said I would have left a bit earlier but my potassium was high so they kept me around a few more hours.