terry1118

Thank you again, everyone, for your kind words and sympathy. I do have two boy Dachshunds who are eight years old. God willing, we'll have them with us a long time yet. Each dog is unique and, though I have two others, I will miss my sweet girl. I find the hardest thing in the world to do is choosing to end the life of someone you love. I know in my HEAD that it was necessary, but in my HEART it feels like I killed a dear friend. That is what is tearing me apart. :-( It's just too fresh...

The mobile vet was wonderful. She made a difficult time a little easier for us both. She sedated Tally while I held her, talked to her and pet her. Tally was very relaxed and calm. When I was ready she gave her the second shot and Tally just closed her eyes and was gone. I cried like a baby for an hour but I know it was time. They don't live near long enough... Thank you for your kind words.

I had to crush my pills or take a liquid equivalent for one month. After that I could take pills if they were no larger than a Tylenol tablet. If it was larger I was told to crush them or cut them. I have trouble with pills larger than that getting stuck.

A small food processor if you don't already have one. I used mine a lot in the first month or so. Sometimes I still use it - it cuts down on all the chewing you have to do! :-) Don't stock up on too much for food. Buy just enough for the first week or so. I used canned cream Soups, broth, greek yogurt, sugar free pudding - all of which you can add Protein powder to - and Protein shakes, of course. Your tastes change after surgery and you may not like the things you like now. For the first month everything smelled and tasted funny to me. Eventually that passed. Also I threw away a lot of food. I would want something, eat it once, then not want it again. Little leftover bowls started piling up in my fridge. Now if I don't finish a meal, into the trash it goes. I stocked up on Vitamins - sublingual B12, Vitamin D (I tend to be deficient), Biotin. I always buy them when CVS has their buy 1/get 1 sale. I bought appetizer spoons and forks and an insulated lunch bag. The forks and spoons are small so I take little bites. The lunch bag goes with me everywhere I go. I pack healthy Snacks (like yogurt, beef sticks, cheese squares, laughing cow cheese, natural Peanut Butter, and think thin bites small protein bars). If I'm out a long time I bring a meal in my bag, too. If you plan ahead you won't be tempted to eat something you shouldn't (a bad idea). And I keep extra calcium citrate chewables in my lunch bag and my purse. That's the one I tend to forget so if I have it on me I can take it when I think of it. And I keep single portion drink mixes in my bag too. I can buy Water anywhere and flavor it myself. It's good to be ready but I found that I bought things I didn't need, like an expensive food scale - I use mostly measuring cups - and a camel-pack (a backpack-type water bottle). I kept the scale because I'm sure I'll use it someday but I returned the camel-pack. Sometimes you don't know what you'll need until you need it. As long as you have the basics you can pick up other things you need as you go along. :-)

I'm in a 16 pants and a large top. I'm 5' tall and 54 yrs old. I say my age because that is probably the reason my boobs deflated as I lose weight. That and I breast-fed three children. As a short person a size 16 is still pretty big but my stomach is also a factor in my pants size. Even if I get a lot smaller my stomach will always make me a size bigger than I should be (it's stretched out from the twins and then my 10.5 lb son - the weight gain came over the years). Someday I might try to get the skin removed but that won't be for several years yet, if ever. I need to be at a stable weight for a year or two and I need to have a history of infections in my stomach area before insurance will consider paying for it.

I bought them at a family owned grocery store in Portsmouth RI. Perhaps you could find them in the specialty section of your local grocery store? Or maybe Amazon?

I went through my clothes again - I have to do this at least once monthly - and got rid of more that are too big for me. I'll hold up something that I never wore before (still w/tags on it - I often bought smaller things "for when I lose weight" but just got bigger and bigger) and I'd think 'this won't fit' but it did (sometimes they are even too big)! They ALL did. I'm at that happy place where everything I own fits. Only four months ago I had only one pair of work slacks, one pair of tight-fitting jeans and a few tops that fit. If I didn't lose any more I'd be content, but at only four months out I'm sure the losses will continue. Which raises a dilemma. I only have one more size of clothes in my attic to fall back on (14's). When I get smaller than that I'll have to really start shopping. I may have to take advantage of the business clothing loan at work! :-) :-) :-)

Without the extra padding I'm feeling the bones in my butt. It's uncomfortable sitting on hard surfaces. I'm assuming, since thin people don't have this problem, that our backsides will gradually toughen up and the pains will go away. Even if it doesn't I'll take an achy boney butt over fat w/health problems, aches, and pains any day. :-)

I also had all the sizes from 14 to 22. I'm in a sixteen now - if I get smaller than a fourteen it's going to get expensive. Try higher end thrift stores. You can get some nice, brand name things for work in those places. My friend was assistant dean at UMass and got some of her outfits in places like that. Also clearance sales are good ways to find quality clothes for cheap. I buy work slacks in that awesome stretchy material everyone has now. I can get a couple sizes out of them. Macy's has a nice selection - I liked them so much that last week I ordered some from their website in two different colors and in two different sizes (M & L). And they didn't cost me a penny because I had returned a bunch of things that were too big and still had tags on them - I got over $100 on a store credit. :-)

And I bet they're good with salsa, spicy hummus, or taboule. Or use them in a taco salad. :-)

Have you tried "Beanitos"? They are made from Beans (I think Navy beans?). They look and taste pretty much like Tostitos corn chips. They even have Protein. I like them but my pouch doesn't. Maybe you could tolerate them...

Someone needs to know. If you have any problems or need help someone needs to recognize what's happening and be there for you. My team requires a minimum of two support people in each place you spend a lot of time. For me that was home and work. At home I told my husband and one daughter (who was still living at home at the time) and two coworkers (my manager, who had the lap band, and a coworker who I'm very friendly with). There are many reasons to have these support people. In the first days you may need some help physically. Recovery, physical restrictions, learning how and what to eat, emotional changes, fears, and those first bad experiences from food (dumping, vomiting, food getting stuck) can be scary and you will need encouragement, support, and even comforting now and again. At work someone needs to know why you might need to disappear into a bathroom for an extended period of time (my third week back at work I had my first food 'stuck' experience and spent 2 hours in the rest room trying to throw up and waiting for it to pass) or need to take a walk (for me walking sometimes helps it pass quickly). Someone needs to know in case you have a medical emergency (unlikely, but possible). That being said, other people could eventually find out. My daughter slipped up and told my mother-in-law. That resulted in a lot of strange comments and questions (she is VERY misinformed on many subjects and has strange ideas and opinions). At work the one and only person who is a nasty gossip eavesdropped on a private conversation between my manager and friend and started telling EVERYONE who would listen about my surgery and how I wanted to be 'sexy' for my husband (when saying this she'd do a bump and grind kind of dance). I don't know how the you-know-what came up with that one - I did it for my health). She was telling people I didn't know - people in our other branches and the back offices, and even customers! I found out she was blabbing when she told a sub from another branch in front of me. I was furious! I never told HER and she had no business giving out personal information about me to anyone! I reported the invasion of privacy to my manager and to HR and she was reprimanded (by several people) but the damage was done. Now everyone close to me knows (and most of the people at work :-p) and it's a non-issue. So support is very helpful (I would say a necessity), but you possibly could get along without it depending on you and your circumstances. But be prepared for people to find out somehow.

Cottage cheese w/Maine wild blueberries (blueberries from Stonewall Kitchen, has no sugar or artificial sweetener). Now I'm drinking my Miralax - it's going to be a wild Friday night! Lol

I feel very guilty about how well I'm doing and how happy I am about it. I feel guilty for another reason, too. My twin girls are both overweight - and I feel that their poor eating habits were learned from me over the years. I also fed them nothing but junk as children - homemade Cookies, cakes, pastry, and fatty comfort foods. They weren't overweight children but both have gained weight as adults. One is the weight I was before surgery. She suffers from depression (hereditary on her father's side) and cannot find a job in her field. She got laid off from her full time job and could only find part time work so she's having money troubles and eating badly. The other is getting bigger than I ever was. She is working on a second degree in laboratory science - her first is in Marine Biology but she couldn't find a job doing that. Right now she is doing an internship at a local hospital in addition to working at the blood center. She has anxiety attacks and is developing co morbidities quickly that are affecting her health. I am happy for me, but worried sick about them. I feel responsible for their unhappiness. :-(

I never had second thoughts. I felt totally prepared for the surgery and looked forward to getting it done. I have to admit though, I think I might have been much more worried if I had dependent children relying on me (my youngest is 22). I would have still done it but it definitely would have been harder emotionally. As it was my husband was not 100% for it. Outwardly he acted supportive but he was quiet and reserved about the whole thing and wouldn't discuss it. He told me later he was afraid I could die. I secretly made a will and left a copy w/my boss and put the original in my SD Box at my bank. If he knew that he would have freaked out! All went well - amazingly so. Little pain, no complications, quick recovery, successful weight loss - I'm very happy with the whole experience! :-) I would have gone through with it even if my husband had been outwardly opposed to it. I spent my whole adult life caring for and sacrificing for my husband and my three children. I've ALWAYS put others first and never done anything for myself. This was for ME. At this stage in my life I feel I can finally start taking care of ME first. I wish I had done it years ago. I could have enjoyed doing more with my family and felt better doing it...

I've only been there one other time about ten years ago. I wish I knew about the seafood earlier, but I definitely know now. I should've gone with the meat loaf...

Spent the day at the Wrentham Outlets w/my daughter today. We had dinner at Cracker Barrel - grilled spicy catfish, sweet potato, and broccoli. Seems like it would be a safe choice, right? The fish was dry and overcooked, the sweet potato was buried under brown sugar (I never touched it) - only the broccoli was okay. Against my better judgment, I ate a little of the fish anyway, followed by a couple pieces of broccoli. You'd think I would know better by now. 45 mins later I'm on the side of 495S in a construction zone, in the dark, puking up foam. NOT a nice ending to a great day but it WAS my own fault. :-p

I take: Flintstones Complete - 2 daily Vitamin B sublingual (500 is recommended but I take a higher dose) - 1 daily Calcium Citrate plus D - chewables 2 daily or fruit chews 6 daily Vitamin D 1000 - 2 daily (I tend to be deficient in D) Biotin - 1 daily The Flintstones are cheap at Walmart or Target. I get the others at CVS - I stock up whenever they have their buy1/get1 sale. I also take stool softener (cheap generic) and Miralax when needed. I don't find it expensive at all. I used to spend more at Dunkin Donuts alone, not to mention all the other crap I used to buy and eat. :-)