Yenli

I have the dreaded early waking insomnia--I wake up early and cannot get back to sleep. I have no problem getting to sleep at night though. Some remedies that have worked for me: Designs for Health Insomnitol Chewables (pricey, but I use them maybe 1-2 times a week as melatonin should not be used daily) , walking for exercise in the mornings, staying away from sugar/high carb foods, eliminating caffeine esp. after noon, Gaia Herbs Rhodiola Rosea, and Traditional Medicinals Organic Licorice Root Tea. I have tried many others, but these are the only ones that have helped me. I have a strange metabolism and many things affect me in an opposite way. For example, I am energized by magnesium instead of calmed.

I had my sleeve done last Wednesday at Blossom, and they are as advertised. That practice is a well-oiled machine, and less than a week out I am feeling surprisingly good. I did not even have much in the way of gas pains. The worst of it was the side effects of the anesthesia and anti-nausea meds, which was gone within 2 days of surgery. I seriously debated flying out on day 5 or staying an extra day, but really wanted to get home to recover rather than stay in a motel room. I was able to fly as scheduled on Friday without any problems. I am post-menopausal and had reached a point where after years of yo-yo dieting, I simply could not lose and keep off weight. Last summer I tried a diet clinic and ended up even worse off, gaining back 15 pounds I had lost earlier in the year. YouTube's Dr. Weiner says that weight loss surgery is basically a one-time offer--only redeem if you cannot lose and keep weight off any other way. I feel I had certainly reached that point, and I had the surgery with a BMI around 35. I am down 16 pounds since I started my pre-op diet December 1 (a few days early). In comparison, earlier in the year it took me about twice as long to lose the same amount, and I plateaued after losing 25. This was on a low fat, low carb, low calorie diet that was torture the entire time. I am glad that I did this after entering menopause, because I rapidly gained a lot of weight at that time and hope that the hormonal aspect of weight gain is behind me now, so that my redeeming this offer will result in a lifelong improvement in my health.

April, I just booked my gastric sleeve for December 19. I am going to Blossom Bariatrics in Las Vegas as I am self pay. It will be Happy Holidays with our new sleeves! We'll start the new year creating a new us! --Marie