eriadne

Glad to see I'm not the only one trying to figure out how to go swimming without being mistaken for a partially-deflated beach ball. My inner thighs are so droopy that my old, skirted swimsuit can't hide it, plus it's a bit loose on me overall now. Thanks for the suggestions!

I have also seen most of the flavors at Target, including the new soft baked ones, over by the pharmacy. I have typically bought mine from Amazon.com though (subscribe & save)

I'm on MFP as well! Username: lotusflwr

I echo the props for Pure Protein bars (the new soft baked ones are even better!) and Power Crunch bars (taste so good they seem more like candy.) I recently ran across a new-to-me brand called Think Thin bars, and they were also pretty good, though I thought the Cookies and cream one was disappointing. I will be looking for more of the other flavors though.

As far as I am aware, there is still only limited evidence linking soy milk to both male and female fertility issues. For women, there are also unconfirmed concerns are about breast cancer, but given that estrogen hormone replacement therapy is still used for menopausal women, 8 oz of light soy milk every day doesn't seem to be in the same risk catagory as drinking unnecessary milkfat, but each of us has to weigh various risk factors and decide what makes the most sense for us as individuals. Personally, I try to avoid any cow's milk that is not labelled as being rBST-free for similar fertility concerns. I swear on grocery shopping day, I feel like I've read a novel's-worth of nutrition labels and packaging labels before I finally leave the store!

My doctor never prohibited NSAID use, and only recommended using caution and reintroducing tablets/caplets as tolerated during the first 6 months. I have taken tons of NSAIDs since then, and other medicines for that matter, and have not had any problems with it and my sleeve in the 3 years since my surgery. I avoid aspirin due to other medicial conditions, but at times I take up to 4 ibuprofen several times a day if I have a migraine. Naproxen (Aleeve) and acetaminophen (Tylenol) have been fine too.

I am resetting, too, and I had the same fears about not being able to get back into the "losing game." However, it has been 2 weeks and 6 lbs, and I am actually finding that it is working just as well as it ever did. The first few days were hard because my blood sugar was demanding foods that I should not have in quantities that led me into this rut, but I stuck to 1) tracking my food intake (using MyFitnessPal), 2) sticking to my surgeons no-drinking-with-meals guidelines, and 3) working towards moving and exercising more. The tracking is helping a lot, and now that I've broken my bad sleeve-circumventing habits, I stay full longer, crave less garbage, and have a much easier time making smart decisions about what to eat and how much. They kept repeating in my pre-surgery sessions that you might stop using your new tool, but that you can't really break it, and they were right. It will continue to work as long as you use it properly. I had a number of external factors that led me to stalling out halfway from goal for the past 2 years, but now that I've dealt with them and resolved to return weight loss to the top of my priorities, the good news is that it never is too late to get back on track!

Target carries an organic skim milk by Archer Farms that is insanely delicious and rich, so much so that to me it tastes like 1 or 2%! If anyone wants to switch to skim but is not a fan of the taste, I'd enthusiastically recommend trying that brand if your local Target has a grocery section, or to try organic skim milks until you find one that you like. Also, if you want to lower your milk intake, try making Protein shakes with Silk Light Soymilk or Light Vanilla Soymilk -- I think it tastes even better than shakes made with milk (and it doesn't upset my sleeve the way milk on an empty stomach sometimes does.) Plus there's a lot of extra protein with the soymilk too!

I've been on NuvaRing since November now, but it isn't doing as well for my migraines or acne as I think the Yasmin did. Also, the past 2 months, my period has started almost a week early. I'm going to give it another few months since I still have 3 rings left, but I might have to switch back. I have been on Metformin this entire time and now that I'm down almost to the weight where my PCOS symptoms first started appearing, I am hoping to see some changes — so far nothing though. Everyone is different, however, just gotta keep trying until something works! At least I feel much better having dropped almost 100 lbs, so that is something! Any progress is still progress.

Hi all! Just wanted to drop in and share my good news -- I was diagnosed with sleep apnea in 2006, when I weighed about 270 lbs. My pressure was pretty low, 4cm/H2O, but adjusting to using a machine and a mask every night was not great. I was only 26 years old then, and the idea of using a mask every time I slept for the rest of my life was just depressing and sad to me. By the time I was trying to meet my insurance requirements for surgery, I was up at 300 lbs and I had to get retitrated and my pressure went up to 10cm/H2O! Fast forward to a few weeks ago, about 7 months after from my surgery date, when my mask broke and I found out I couldn't get a replacement without a prescription -- so I had to go back to my sleep doctor. He congratulated me on my weight loss and put me in for a split-night study, where I'd be woken up and have a mask put on me if I still was having apneas. Sure enough, they never had me put a mask on during my sleep study and my technician told me in the morning that she didn't see anything eventful, but that it would be up to the doctor what that meant. I went in today and he told me "No apneas, very minimal snoring... everything looks good. You cured yourself with the weight loss. You don't need me anymore!" I am just super-happy about that! It means one less doctor, one less thing to worry about when traveling or visiting people, one less risk factor for heart disease, stroke, etc. and one less "life-long" ailment... and one less piece of headgear and hose keeping me from cuddling with my husband at night! Just one more check in the 'pro' column for VSG. I had been stepping my pressure down on my own as I lost weight (I learned how to change the settings on my CPAP and after using it for years, I could tell when I needed to adjust downwards) but I never thought I'd be rid of my CPAP, or at least not this soon! I was going to wait until I was under 200 to go back to see if I was 'cured' yet, but I am glad my mask broke when it did! If you do have sleep apnea, just know that things can get better as you lose the weight. Definitely check in with your sleep doctor regularly so you can be re-titrated as you lose weight (too high a pressure can cause apneas too) and you might be able to lose the CPAP altogether sooner than you might think! Hope everyone is doing well, staying healthy and staying positive!

Gas-X, heating pad on the stomach, walking & time!

My surgeon puts one in after you're under and removes it before you wake up. I didn't feel a thing. Some surgeon's leave it in for a while, just depends on your surgeon. It's a good question to ask so you don't have any surprises when you wake up.

I have been trying hard to keep up with my exercising. A gym is out of the picture for me right now, so I went searching for some alternatives, especially for strength training. Walking on a treadmill is pretty easy but figuring out what exercises to do to tone up is a bit hard for me without someone to tell me what to do, how many and the proper form, etc. Anyway, I decided to check what Netflix had in exercise videos, especially anything that was "Watch It Now" that I could stream instantly to the xbox, wii or computer. Lo and behold, they have quite a few! The whole list is here. I'm using the 10 Minute Solution: Target Toning for Beginners, which really is truly a beginner's workout. I can get through one or two of 10 minute segments but really feel it the next day. The thigh one actually put me out of commission for about 5 days (I'm just now able to really get around again today, hah!) Plus since I'm still so hefty, I actually get my heart rate up and start sweating. There's lots of other types of workouts too, so I thought I'd share in case anyone here has Netflix but didn't know there were exercise DVDs available to watch online whenever. I'm sure it'd be great to do on a rainy day or if you feel bored or can't get to a gym. Variety is always nice!

The 5 Day Pouch Test is a 5-day eating plan that gets you back on track if you feel like your stomach is letting you down (or you are letting it down.) It's basically like your post-op diet but crammed into 5 days. The link to the site that explains it is Surgical Weight Loss 5 Day Pouch Test Basically it's 2 days of liquids (Protein drinks, Soup, etc.), then a day of mushies (tuna salad, chicken salad, eggs, fish), then a day of firm protein (seafood, ground meat) then a day of solid protein (chicken, steak, pork, lamb.) The guidelines are pretty simple and laid out on the site. It really helped get my blood sugar back in order after 6 days of IV medicines and carb'y hospital food pumped me full of sugars. It also helped me restart weight loss, although losing weight isn't really the goal -- feeling the tightness of your stomach pouch is the goal.