Katcloudshepherd

tallysfunny WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You look FAB---U-----LUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :) Trying to convey the vocal inflection in text just does not work. I'm 6 feet tall too! I'm working to see 200 again. Kathleen

Hello everyone, I have two all-American mutts, however, I had their DNA analyzed to see what breeds they were. Shadow is a black 1/2 Pomerianin, 1/2 Chihuahua, (Pohuahua). Zsa-Zsa is a 1/2 Havanese, 1/2 Poodle, (Havanoodle). The cats were recently adopted. Sonnie is the yellow male kitten and Misty is the cream/tan/brown female kitten. They are the love of my life--besides my husband of course. Kathleen

Do I ever agree with you! My husband and I keep to ourselves. I love my critters and often times prefer their company to the human type. Fake people are abundant, true loyal friends are hard to find. Kathleen

beth_d, I can't answer the question regarding if you have no thyroid. I've been on a dosage of .088 mg of Synthroid for years because of Hypothyroidism. At my last support group meeting, one of the weight loss surgeons said: "This is a marathon, not a sprint." He said your body may lose slowly but that's OK because you're in it for the long haul. Welcome to bariatric pal, Kathleen

cutiecake, You can't have coffee for one--it is highly acidic. Your sleeve is healing for several weeks after surgery. The second reason is that the caffeine dehydrates you. It's hard enough to constantly be sipping to stay hydrated and you don't want anything undoing that. I started to wean myself off of the caffeine several weeks before surgery. I mixed de-caff with caffeinated coffee, (slowly adding a higher percentage of the decaff) to slowly bring my consumption to 100% de-caff. It was damn hard but I'm so glad I did it. I didn't want a headache from not having coffee along with any other pain or problems. My doctor allowed me to have decaff 1 week after surgery. I used Starbucks decaff coffee because it is supposedly lower in acidity. I was finally able to drink regular coffee after 3 months. Check with your doc--they're all different. Getting off the coffee was hard but carrying all that extra weight was worse. Good luck, Kathleen

sobrien89, When you are in the hospital----WALK, WALK, WALK, SIP, SIP, SIP. Getting the amount of Water in at first is difficult--it can be done if you're constantly sipping small amounts of water--or flavored water if your sleeve can't handle it. I know for me after surgery, warm liquids went down better than cold. Even now--if the liquid is too cold my sleeve doesn't like it. I don't know if there is a way to prepare yourself for the mental part of this. It was much more than I expected before surgery. It is such a drastic lifestyle change that happens overnight. I come to this site because the people here completely understand when it comes to that. Give yourself time to heal from the surgery. Do what your body will allow you to do with regards to physical activity. This is a major surgery and your body needs several weeks to heal. I hope your surgery goes well and you have an easy recovery. Welcome down the trip down the "loser's" highway. Kathleen

RJ'S/beginning, I'm so sorry that you are still going through so many complications! Things have GOT to start getting better for you. Bravo on your NSV! I'll be traveling to Nevada in June and am hoping my rear end will fit in the airline seat much better this time! Sending healing thoughts and prayers your way, Kathleen

Hello everyone, My hair has been falling out by the handful. I've been saving it to put on my outdoor plants. Hoping it can at least do THEM some good. I've cut back on the frequency of washing my hair and am trying to be as gentle as possible. I already use a leave in conditioner/de-tangler and only comb my hair with a de-tangling comb. I need to color it but I'm holding off as I think that the strong chemicals would only exacerbate the situation. I'll be so happy when I get through this hair loss phase. I used to have nice thick hair and now it's so thin . Still---would not trade hair loss for weight loss. Be Well, Kathleen

lark60, Yes it was an NSV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anytime you have to change a record showing you lost that much weight--you bet your biffy it's an NSV. My ta-tas are now a 42-Long, (42L) instead of a 42C. I think I"m actually smaller than that--got to get some new bras. Need a "Border Collie Bra" --one that can round them up and point them in the right direction . Kathleen

bflblog, I have suffered from depression for a long time. I was on Zoloft for years. I was very surprised that my surgeon had me take it while still in the hospital--after I had passed the leak test of course. For while after surgery, I felt so darn good. Then, I seem to have gone through a period of mourning for my old, constant companion--food. I'm finally getting out of the mourning--it took a while and I was deeply depressed during that time. It didn't help that I took myself off of anti-depressants--my doctors WERE NOT happy with me regarding that. Follow the doc's advice. Hopefully you can wean yourself back off of the ADs after surgery. Kathleen

The one sentence in your post that really caught my eye was "What's with all the rage all the time". Man, you really hit the nail on the head for me with that one. Sometimes my anger comes out of nowhere and it comes up so quickly. Don't know why. I agree many of us are our own harshest critic. I wonder where I picked up that particular talent from. Welcome to the trip down the "loser's" highway. I wish you well, Kathleen

sleeved215, At the support group meeting last night the doctor said make sure your hunger is not thirst. The body has a hard time discerning between thirst and hunger. If I'm not supposed to be eating and I feel a twinge, (nothing like before surgery), I drink something first to make sure I'm not confusing thirst with hunger. Congratulations on your surgery, Welcome to the trip down the loser's highway. Kathleen

Goddardgo, The surgery was physically challenging--the mental part for me has been brutal. Yes I'm happier but I don't want you to get the impression that it's ALL butterfly kisses and unicorn farts. For some of us, there is very hard mental work to be done after the physical healing has taken place. There was nothing anyone could have said to me to prepare me for the mental part of the trip down the "loser's highway". All that being said---I'm so much better off now than I was before December 11, 2013. If I had to undergo it again to keep the weight off, I'd be HAPPY to do it again---in a heartbeat. Kathleen

fred2014, I think you're courageous!! It take a lot of courage to admit what you have on this forum. Like other wise posters have said ---get back in the saddle and you CAN DO THIS. Blessings to you, Kathleen

I am so with you on your comment!!!!!! That is where I'm at too. Kathleen

natalie_christin, I see you are in San Antonio. I was fortunate that after my surgery, my surgeons office partnered with HealthLink. I got a 3 month membership at a good rate. I went to the one off of 281 and Bitters. They offer a personal trainer that IS NOT some young twenty-something that doesn't have a clue about health problems. I went there for few months because I wanted a personalized program for someone like me that has severe joint problems. I am very blessed in that I can work out in a pool and have a membership to a gym with an excellent pool. I went to HealthLink because they gave me a personalized program where I could work out on machines to build strength without any impact to my joints. I found the program they designed for me to be very effective. I hope you can afford to go there--they helped me and I hope they will be able to help you too. Kathleen

PRINCESSM, They probably were not even remotely mindful of how their statements were impacting you. People often say things only thinking of themselves without taking others into consideration. We all need to remember where we came from and have compassion for those that still suffer. I remember hearing that in all the Overeater's Anonymous, (OA), meetings I went to--have compassion for those that still suffer. I don't think people who have never been overweight or obese have any clue as to how deep that suffering goes. Not just the physical pain and suffering but the emotional pain and suffering that overweight/obese people endure. People unjustly judge you to have serious character flaws when you are "fluffy". I hope your surgery goes well and you have an easy recovery. Blessings, Kathleen

BlondeBanshee, I have days where I'm just so damned tired! Don't know why. I'm 49 and I'm menopausal. Why do things that cause women so much aggravation start with "men"? I take all my supplements, exercise, eat what I'm supposed to and yet no huge burst of energy, What the heck? I remember about 2 weeks after surgery I felt so good and had so much energy and then all of a sudden--BOOM! The absolute tiredness settled in. Working full time and running a household has been really kicking my rear end lately. Kathleen

JanetPRN, I also come to this forum because the people here know what it's like to go through the surgery and all the physical and intensely emotional changes it brings. In my humble opinion, after the healing of the actual surgery, the emotional changes are much more difficult than the physical ones. I'll be traveling to Michigan in July. I'll be seeing family members who haven't seen me since 2009. I'm very much trying to mentally prepare myself. I know I'm going to be pounded with questions by family members who don't know I've had WLS. I've been thinking about what I'm going to say to them. I REALLY don't want to tell them just how much I've lost--don't want to provide ammunition for being even more judgmental. The good thing is, after a few days, I'll come home to Texas and leave it all behind. I think that's the best way to look at it--this too shall pass. Kathleen

SullysRants, I've got severe joint problems so the only way I can work out is in a pool. My usual workout: I do a 2 lap warmup and then alternate with swim/jog/cross country ski for 30 minutes. After that, I use resistance buoys to do arm/abdominal and back muscle work. I finish with thorough stretching that I learned attending Water aerobics classes. Went to water aerobics for several years before I had the surgery and I think it REALLY paid off. I had more strength and my surgeon was extremely pleased with how quickly I recovered from surgery. Kathleen

PRINCESSM, Sometimes you have to put yourself FIRST. I told very few people at work because like another poster said: most people have no frackin' clue how hard it is to loose weight for someone like me. I'm in this for ME. It's high time I think of myself first and foremost--and i think you should do the same. I hope you have an easy, uneventful surgery and easy recovery. Blessings, Kathleen

I hope someone finds this information useful. Yesterday, on my way home from after a long day of work, a gentleman in a pickup truck pulled along side and got my attention. He said he almost hit me because my brake lights weren't working. Got home and with my husband's help, found out--yes my brake lights weren't working. My turn signals and running lights were working. My first thought was a fuse. Dug out the owner's manual from the glove box and found the fuse. Fuse appeared to be OK. Drove to Lavernia, small South Texas town and found all automotive places closed. Drove to closest larger town, Floresville and went to auto parts store. Even though they were very busy, the nice gentleman explained that if your turn signals and running lights are working--probably not the fuse but the bulb. He said even if just one goes out--often they both won't work. He showed me how to get the light fixtures off and I used their screw driver to do so. He had the bulbs in stock and suggested "bulb grease" to prevent it from happening again. It's just a little inexpensive packet of grease that you put on the ends of the bulbs before you install them. He even applied the bulb grease and put the new bulbs in for me. I put the light fixtures back on and all is well. Just wanted to let everyone know if your brake lights don't work but your turn signals and everything else works--could be your bulbs. Glad to have them working again! We're actually going to get a rare meteorological event in South Texas today--RAIN. Blessings, Kathleen

Like anywhere else, a lot of Texas is a safe and friendly state. It's just so much bigger--maybe that's the difference-more real estate to be safe and friendly? Yes, people do exercise their second amendment right and there's lots of country where you might need a fire-arm to deal with varmints--the animal type not necessarily human kind . People often actually pull onto a paved shoulder to let you pass if are wanting to go faster. Of course I've come across some Texas UN-friendly drivers as well as the Texas Friendly ones! Kathleen