gamergirl

Based on the composite experience of many, many of my friends, the two that are weight neutral and have no sexual side effects seem to be Wellbutrin extended release, and Pristiq. Almost everyone I know who tried Prozac found that it worked but for both men and women, caused some kind of sexual disjunction, primarily inability to achieve orgasm. Wellbutrin is cheap, at doses under 300 has minimal risks and side effects. If that doesn't work, Pristiq with its impact on 2 neurotransmitters seems to work better with few side effects. As a disclaimer, yes I have a phd in psychology, but I am not a shrink nor a psychiatrist, just someone who reads a lot and cares about this stuff. YMMV. Glad you're going to have it seen too.

I have yet another way to make ground chicken. This time it's a North African Merguez, a sausage typically made with lamb. See here for the full recipe with pics. http://sleevers.wordpress.com/?p=371&preview=true Ingredients 1 lb ground chicken or turkey 2 garlic cloves minced fine 1 tbsp SWEET paprika ( we once used the hot kind and near to killed our taste buds) 1 tsp salt 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1/2 ground fennel seeds 1/2 tsp ground coriander 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 1/4 tsp allspice Method 1. Mix all ingredients together and let it sit for up to 2 hours to get the flavors to meld. 2. When ready to cook, in skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1-2 tsp of oil until lightly smoking. 3. Wet your hands and make little 1 oz patties with the sausage and cook until no longer pink in the middle. Enjoy! I also have two other ground chicken recipes here, one for bratwurst and one forThai Sausage.

Wow so glad to see this! I cannot seem to fall asleep and sleep through the night either. I took TWO melatonin last night because one didn't do the trick a few nights ago--and still couldn't sleep. I have tried and true tricks to fall asleep and nothing is working. And then I have trouble waking up. I have no idea why. I'm wondering if perhaps my thyroid dose needs to be reduced again, but other than that, I'm clueless why the sudden insomnia. Hope someone has an answer.

I have RA and am 6-7 weeks out. Until last week I was in remission and had zero pain. 3-4 days ago the pain has returned in full force and I am struggling to cope with that mentally as well as physically. I've started the meds again and am hoping for some relief. I have to believe that the lower weight is easier on our joints. I had really hoped that the inflammation would subside with the surgery and with a change of diet. There are people on the board for whom that was true. In my case that didn't turn out to be true. I also have bad genes on both sides of the family. My mom had RA, and on my day's side, a cousin and Aunt have it and they are both skinny people. So I guess it was unrealistic to think it would go away--but I had hoped it would. Rambling but my point is, your arthritis may or may not go away, but the weight loss will help your joints and disease progression. Good luck!

I've now lost as much as 4 avg new born babies...29 lbs.

I haven't learned the angles either. Mine is my usual fat face taken a week into the liquid pre-op I think. And I ain't 21 I have to learn the tricks too!

I'm usually too impatient to watch videos, but I liked this one. Separating between God and Religion was pretty germane to how a lot of the responders to this thread have felt I think. http://www.upworthy.com/a-debate-between-an-atheist-and-a-christian-has-quite-a-surprising-result?c=ufb1

I don't know if you realize that, but you are an inspiration to me. I love watching your MFP reporting the calories you are burning. Can't wait to join you! Congratulations. That was a BIG achievement.

You look fantastic! Congratulations.

I'm very interested to see others' responses to this. For me, I could no longer lose weight on my own, despite severe calorie restriction. And when I did, I always put it back on and it comes back on with several of its friends. Always. My metabolism is severely jacked up and on very low calorie diets, it would slow down to a crawl. I'm very early out, I'm losing very slowly. But for the first time, I feel like I'm in control and that this might work. I've always had to be vigilant about food, calories, and carbs. So if I still have to do that--but this time it WORKS--then I'll happily do it.

I'm indian so of course, I didn't wait at all. I ate it as soon as I could eat and had NO trouble. Nor did my husband who is white and used to eating Indian food. I will say that he is having a little trouble if it is very spicy, but most Indian food in this county is not that spicy anyway i suggest if it sounds good, have it.

In my first post, I provided a link to the one we got. If they don't have the pencil sharpener one, perhaps they'll have my one. It's pretty sturdy. Enjoy!

Are you allowed full liquids? I have some protein soups listed on my blog and they saved our sanity when we were sick of sweet protein shakes. Www.sleevers.wordpress.com

I was so pleasantly surprised by the noodles. As Phoenix said, they were deliciously slurpy. And they tasted like...crunchy. Seriously not like zucchini. We too pan-sautéed them and now I wish I'd done that pre-surgery instead of eating Pasta Made my son taste them and he was so torn. He wanted to say he loved them--which he did--but to say that would be admitting he likes Zucchini! What a crime! My first side of proper veggies since being sleeved. So yummy!

I can't answer from personal experience but my son is 6'2 and weighs 185 and doesn't look sickly. He looks lean and slender. My husband is 6 and has lost down to 240 and at 200, he will not look sickly. When he's 200, he looked like he could have lost another 10-15 lbs. I think you should be okay.

It wasn't until I saw it in it's full glory that i realized how much had splatted on to the sides. ugh. My normally attentive-to-details husband took that pic while I was working but the math homework diversion from the younger one may have played a role!

I agree with him. I've had 25% body fat and weighed 185 lbs which is overweight for a 5'6 person but I would kill to have 25% body fat again!

My synposis is that following your diet and guidelines is necessary to avoid trouble---but not sufficient. Leaks, strictures, nausea, even death occur in people who have done exactly what they should--but as grammy says, only to a small percent of people. Let's say the rate of complications is 2%. if you stick to the guidelines and follow orders, you, too, have the same 2% rate that everyone else has.* If you don't, your risk of complication is considerably higher. That's the bottom line. *Geeky caveat, actually if you stick to it, your risks are LOWER than 2% because that 2% is comprised of people who didn't stick to it and therefore had issues, but that's a sampling issue so I will SERIOUSLY STOP geeking out now!! Most of us have very few issues with the surgery. Note that your re-gain question is entirely different. Chances of re-gain are considerably higher than 2% of course. A significant minority DO gain some of the weight back, and some gain all the weight back. Some people regain about 10-15 lbs of the 100 they lost as an example which is apparently quite common. Less common is 100% regain. There are many factors for that including hormonal disturbances, eating addictions, lack of proper restriction, and fundus re-growth through no one's fault. There's a certain amount of faith involved in all of this IMHO. We go into it full of hope, hoping we're not that 2%, and that we're not the ones that cannot stay at the lower weights. At the end of the day, we can only do what we always do, which is try and hope and try some more.

Oh thank you! this tells me I am big-boned. yay!!

oy that pic was huge, sorry!