Miss Mac

Due to arthritis and spinal conditions, I take a 7.5 dose all the time if I need to up to every six hours. Been doing it since the day I came home from the hospital - almost a year, now. Never had a problem....it is ibuprophen that I can't take. That s**t nearly gave me stomach ulcers.....I was close to it.

unjury, here too. But if you are looking specifically for Fiber in a liquid or soluable form, you would get 3X as much with Benefiber or even Walgreen's knock-off brand, and you could add it to anything you want.

When I was 17 (back in 1969) I had some large painful cysts removed from oneof my ovaries - and they took the ovary, too. They did a bikini incision. No one was doing any kind of laparasopy yet. Anyway, problem solved immediately, and I went on to have two kids with the one ovary that I had left. Don't worry about what you don't have to worry about yet. Thank goodness the issue was discovered before it got any worse. I wish you the best.

What a great idea! I am going to start doing that. I guess I will start with Rita Moreno's outfit at the Golden Globes (2013).

Where do you think your level of health could be in five years if you have the surgery? Do you think you will be here in five years if you don't have the surgery? Serious stuff. I wish you good lick and good health.

White skinny jeans. I have a size 12 stashed in my closet. I have been stuck in size 14 for too long. Size 12 day will be a great celebration. I am not giving up.

For me it was easier after the third day. Just think of foods you can't have as poison.

There is a business principle that goes something like this: You cannot control that which you do not measure.

About the condensed milk..........my mom used to take baking cocoa and sugar and condensed milk and make hot chocolate that way. it was even better if we had marsmallows. Now I just have instant sugar free cocoa and Water.

Those are indicators of a neuropathy - nerves acting up. With my pinched nerves involved with herniated discs in my lumbar spine I feel activity like you have described. But this is doctor time. Never minimize your symptoms. What you are feeling is your body talking to you. Also, this could be totally unrelated to your surgery, Nerves that activate in the area you describe come from dermatomes beginning in your lumbar spine. So, I am not a doctor by any means. But I am just saying that I have similar symptoms which are manageable with medication (Lyrica), Lidocaine Patches, and lumbar epidural injections. If it doesn't go away, don't give up. Keep pushing your doctors to find a resolution for you. Any test you take that doesn't show anything, it's a good thing. It is helpful to know what things aren't, too.

You could get flight insurance and name your parents as the beneficiaries. That way, if something did happen, the insurer would contact them. Also when you are doing paperwork to allow the surgeon to work on you, there will no doubt be section on the paperwork to name a contact person. Having got that bothersome detail out of the way, work on building up courage (yeah the Xanax may help). John Wayne said this about having courage to get through something tough: "Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway." Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe said: "Whatever you can do, or dream you can - begin it. For boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." Baby girl, you are worth whatever angst and aggravation you have to go through to get happy and healthy. Now get out there and enjoy your flight and the scenery below.

It took me about three weeks before I began to snap back with a little energy.

That is funny that you went to visit the purse at the store. Good for you!

Here is my list that I made last Spring:Weight Loss Rewards 185 - “Yes” trip to Trader Joe’s for specialty items 180 – Kitchen gadget, probably a reversible stovetop grill / griddle 175 – Garden gloves and hat (use gloves for work-out also?) 170 – More CD’s for outside exercise / or MP 3 player w/sleeve band 165 – Backyard fitness trail equipment 160 = Plants for the yard = lilacs or honeysuckle 155 – ½ hour massage at Massage Envy 150 – Genealogy trip somewhere 145 – Style consultation 140 – Another Professional bra fitting 135 – Family portraits Alternate suggestions: replace Claddaugh ring, nice jewelry item (maybe an ankle bracelet), go to arts and crafts fair (or Scottish festival), go to that local church flea market, office supplies or new deluxe office chair)

I was prepared to lose hair. I cut my hair real short and bought bandanas and turbans and a sleep cap. How and why I did not lose any hair, I will never figure out, since I followed my plan like everyone else here does. 80 g Protein 20,000 mg Biotin 80 ounces Water 800-1000 calories. Your guess is as good as mine. I did take the opportunity to embrace the gray and quit coloring my hair every six weeks. One thing I noticed now that I do not put all kinds of processing and products into it, is that my hair is as soft as a baby's.

Bagel with bacon and grape jelly

I never met a potato that I didn't like! Since surgery almost a year ago (12/23/2013) I have to ration my potato consumption just like other starches......I keep it at one serving a week. I hate that, but carbs are the devil for me. If I go over 40, I will not lose any weight for the next three days. Sad but true. I was sick for a couple of days earlier in the month and made some home-made potato Soup.......so delicious. But I used to be able to eat beyond reason, and this time I made and ate one serving, about 2/3 cup. My taste buds were not done, but Miss Tummy was and she is the boss of me!

Be sure that if you are right handed, your IV should go in your left arm or hand. Opposite is true. If you are left handed, IV should go in the right. This one little detail makes it so much easier to do everything.

My primary doctor had started me on a strength training program when I was about six months pre-op. I am 62 with arthritis, neuro, and spinal issues and lots of pain to work through. However, my weight was not coming down and I remained feeble in spite of an agressive exercise and work-out program. Now I am 65 pounds down and doing better. Losing over 60 pounds has made a difference in my energy level. I had to wait until six weeks post-op to re-start my program - and I had to start with 1 or 2 pound weights just because that is where my strength was at. Over the months, I have worked my way from 1 pound to 10 pound weights on each hand. I also use a back brace and ankle weights to add resistance. I am also able to use a 10 pound kettle bell. I do have a 20 pound one, but cannot lift it yet. Here is how I know I am getting stronger: I am post-stroke and housework has been very hard for me. One thing I absolutely could not do was lift the mattress to tuck in the sheets. I had to save it for my Tarzan to get home from work and do it for me. I was making up the bed with fresh sheets on Tuesday and was able to lift that thing up several inches and tuck the sheets in just fine. I can open my own jars now. I can do about 20 (as in twenty!) full plank push-ups not in the girly position. These all qualify as NSV's for me.

New Balance has my vote.

Spot on, Bandista. In spite of all the flack we get from unsuportive family and so-called friends, I think once we get past that second or third month post -op, we actually do start to feel better, if not good. For bariatric brothers and sisters with complications, the process takes longer, but I am hoping that at some point this starts to feel good for them, too. I am not where I wanted to be at my one year, but I am heading to a good place.

Spot on, Bandista. In spite of all the flack we get from unsuportive family and so-called friends, I think once we get past that second or third month post -op, we actually do start to feel better, if not good. For bariatric brothers and sisters with complications, the process takes longer, but I am hoping that at some point this starts to feel good for them, too. I am not where I wanted to be at my one year, but I am heading to a good place.

173.4 about the same

To Icanmakeit: There is no more beautiful a place on this earth than Lake Tahoe. I was through there on a bus tour in 2009 (You know, one of those that comes out of Reno and comes over the state line and around the south end of the lake, back into Nevada past the Ponderosa, Carson City, Bunny Ranch - no stopping - Virginia City - past all of those wild horses - back to Reno ..........lovely trip. I just wanted to stay at Tahoe. I had never seen an Alpine Lake before. What a overwhelmingly awe inspiring location for a Thanksgiving family get-together, and here I am stuck on the Illinois/Indiana state line! Ok, Icanmakeit distracted me. Tony and I had a private Thanksgiving and our grown kids went to celebrate with other in-laws. Tony is a Mediterranean-style home chef (he is from Malta, which is between the coasts of Tunisia and Sicily. Anyway, it was nice to have the preparation of the entire meal under our control. I had turkey with a little homemade cranberry relish, and some green Beans. I passed on stuffing that he had made for himself. No dessert. We had a cheesecake that he had put up in the freezer, but we left it there and will bring it out on my birthday or Christmas. Today, I will have some bone broth made with the turkey carcass, carrot, celery, onion, pepper, and a little bouillion. So good!

Like it! Glad you came out fighting once again.