mngreeneyes

Thanks all. I felt better as the afternoon went on. I think it might have been too much. Even though I ate less than I usually do. I will try again another day. pam

That is awesome advice. I was an English teacher and it blew my mind that my nieces and nephews would rather fail English than ask me for help! Silly kids!

@@theantichick You are such an awesome mom. Your approach to your kiddo is amazing and I wish I had had someone like you in my life when I was younger, instead I had a mom who was a dieter and encouraged me to diet. My family used to ask me if I really wanted/needed to eat what I put on my plate. pam

My surgeon's office recommends flintstones complete. I take 2 in the morning each day as recommended. I am a bypass patient, but they now recommend that for sleevers too. I tried to use generic Flintstones, but I couldn't stand the taste. I like the actual Flintstones flavor so I don't have to choke them down. pam

WOW! My thoughts and prayers go out to you. I also had high blood pressure. I can't imagine hitting the other end of the spectrum. Take care of yourself. (maybe its time for bubble wrap to keep you safe and uninjured.) pam

Thank you.

Great post. They need to make this sticky so its at the top for newbies to read! pam

My surgeon's office didn't recommend Biotin because they didn't feel it helped any. I never took it, but was using Nioxin after surgery. I ran out and didnt' use it for a few months. My hair started falling out. I have been using Nioxin again for a week now and it seems to be stopping the loss at least. I don't know that it will regrow it, but at least its not getting any thinner. I got my hair cut right before surgery to a very short pixie and have kept it very short since. I have very fine hair to begin with and it was already thinning on the top, which was why I was using Nioxin - to prevent further thinning. The eye opener for me and motivation to get Nioxin again was that I now have visible bald/thinning Patches on the sides above my ears and on top I almost don't have any whispy pieces left for bangs! I knew it was coming and I think I am emotionally dealing with it okay, although sometimes I wish I could/think I should deal with it the way my brothers have with their increasing foreheads and shave it all off! Then people would really think I have cancer! Good luck, pam

I noticed the other day that although the smells of things can make my mouth Water, of late, the reality of the taste is entirely different. Nothing tastes as good as it smells and the disappointment is helping me not even try things. (This has probably been going on for a while, but I just made the cognitive connection on Monday) Its much easier now to convince myself that the reality isn't going to be nearly as good as I think so passing on the food is more likely to happen. Mind games. pam

@@kochie3 Its been pretty good although starting to slow down. I am more than halfway to my goal which is good, but have about 60 pounds to go. I had an easy recovery and haven't had too many problems so far. I have taken up running and start a training class for the TWin Cities 10 mile: Shortcut to the capital tomorrow night. When are you hoping for your revision? pam

Congrats! Welcome to Onederland! Keep up the great work! pam

@@Katrinakit I too used to be able to do flip turns. I haven't quite gotten to the point where I am ready to try them again, mostly because I need the breather of stopping at the wall! Keep it up! @@Djmohr I have made sure that my suits are tight and with LOTS of coverage in the area of the girls so so far the floating girls hasn't been a problem, but I can attest to being less buoyant. I used to be able to sit as though I was sitting in a chair with my arms up at 90 degree angles and just sit and float. Treading Water was a piece of cake because I floated so well. It is not so anymore. I now actually have to work to keep my face above water! pam

I have a vivofit2. I love mine for all the reasons that @@freelee mentioned above. Its all the reasons I went with garmin instead of fitbit. Now that I am running, I wish I had paid the extra for the HR version, but when I bought it, I went with the most basic that had the time on it so it doubles as a watch. If and when it dies, or perhaps when I just feel a bit rich, I will likely upgrade to an HR version. I do have to say that it seems like there are lots more options with HR than there were when I bought mine in December. pam

@@Junebug1971 Congratulations! Love the bike. Keep up the great work! pam

Congrats. Great post. I have noticed that I am using my AC a lot less this summer than in the past and when I am using it, it isn't on full blast with me still sitting there sweating! Congrats on your surgiversary! pam

@@Nurse_Lenora Congrats! So proud of you. You have done great. Keep it up! pam

@@kcsunny (and anyone else who is interested) I am not far away from you. I had my surgery done at Fairview Southdale. I have been going to support groups at Fairview Southdale and Fairview Riverside. (I work just down the street from Riverside at the U West Bank. ) Southdale's support group meeting is the third Wednesday of each month from 6-7:30. For July (next Wednesday) they/we are having an indoor picnic with post surgery appropriate potluck items. Items will likely be from a variety of phases of post surgery diets. There are some really good cooks in the bunch with LOTS of great recipes to share. Knowing the group, people will actually have copies of the recipes next to their dishes. I will be there so if you want to make sure you know someone, pm me and we can make plans! The University of Minnesota/Fairview Riverside group meets on the first Wednesday of each month from 6:30-8. They are a great group also and have been welcoming to non-university patients, i.e. me and many others. THey have many long time post-op members who have great insights into maintenance. I will not be at the August meeting, but Barb, the leader, is great and super friendly, and Betty, one of the long-timers, is especially welcoming. Just mention that I recommended it for you and you will be all set. I am pretty sure that I heard from a U of M support group member that she goes to a group at Unity. Another one mentioned I believe Regions. I believe having a support group is now a part of being a center of excellence so I imagine there are a few around. I can't vouch for what any of them are like, but I love and value my groups. My thought process on the support groups is that when I did weight watchers, etc. we met every week. My two Wednesdays a month are nothing timewise and I get some much support from them both at the meetings and out. Also, I am no expert, but I am more than willing to chat with anyone about their journey. I am still in my honeymoon, but I have learned a lot already. Anything I can do to help anyone else on this journey, I am more than happy to do. pam

I am from St. Paul. I am nearly 8 months post op. Where are you having/did you have your surgery at? pam

Congrats. Welcome to the club. pam

@@Inner Surfer Girl Good article. Thanks for sharing. Something I need to remember as I continue to navigate this journey. pam

I got the full text off the library of the university I work at. I hope it helps. @@Oregondaisy I've been going on a series of dates lately. I exchanged numbers with the person sitting next to me at a Cabernet tasting at my favorite wine bar and went for a coffee with a neighbor I met walking my dog. I reached out to people from my past I haven't seen in years, to see if they're newly available. I'm trying to make new friends. A body of research shows that people with solid friendships live healthier, longer lives. Friendship decreases blood pressure and stress, reduces the risk of depression and increases longevity, in large part because someone is watching out for us. A study published in February in the British Journal of Psychology looked at 15,000 respondents and found that people who had more social interactions with close friends reported being happier--unless they were highly intelligent. People with higher I.Q.s were less content when they spent more time with friends. Psychologists theorize that these folks keep themselves intellectually stimulated without a lot of social interaction, and often have a long-term goal they are pursuing. 5 Steps to Starting a Friendship Finding a friend is a lot like dating. * Friends lead to friends. Welcome in these 'bridge' friends. * Don't limit yourself to people who are just like you. * Don't expect too much too soon. * Be open and share about yourself. * Follow up. One call or outing isn't enough. You need to keep pursuing one that seems like it has good potential. Starting in early adulthood, our number of friends starts to decrease steadily. Changes in friendships typically happen around life transitions: graduation, parenthood, job switches, divorce or death of a spouse. One study, published in 2015 in Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, looked at 540 men and women and showed we lose an average of two friends when we gain a romantic partner. "We are constantly shedding our friends," says Irene S. Levine, a clinical professor of psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine and author of "Best Friends Forever: Surviving a Breakup with Your Best Friend." "We grow in one direction, our friends grow in another, and there isn't much in common anymore." But it gets harder to make friends as we get older. We have less time to pursue friendships. It is tougher to find people with similar interests and emotional styles when you no longer have a ready-made pool of classmates to choose from. School also provides a steady routine for people to develop intimacy slowly and naturally. We also become more inhibited. Most children have no trouble walking up to another child on the playground and asking if they want to be friends. Imagine doing that at Starbucks. How do you make a friend now? Dr. Levine says the first step is to get over the stigma that something is wrong with you if you don't have enough friends or are looking to make more. "As an adult, we think that everyone has their friends and we are the only ones seeking them," she says. "Nothing could be further from the truth." Women especially feel judged if they don't have friends, she says, since they're supposed to be good at friendship. It may be harder for men to make friends. Women feel more comfortable reaching out to others, says Geoffrey Greif, a professor at the University of Maryland's School of Social Work and author of "Buddy System: Understanding Male Friendships." He says that men often worry that reaching out to another man might be misconstrued as a sexual advance. And, in general, "they are less willing to be vulnerable," he says. If you want new friends, you need to look with intention. And, just as you would when looking for a mate, you need to look for someone who has something in common with you, and who is emotionally available. Tara Massan has made friends by asking out a fellow volunteer at a food pantry, frequenting her local coffee shop at the same time each day, and consistently positioning herself at her exercise class next to a woman whose athletic skills she admired. A few years ago, while working as a paralegal, she noticed that a co-worker brought running shoes to work every day. Ms. Massan mentioned that she is also a runner and asked for tips for an upcoming 10K race. Soon, the two women began chatting each day about running, and the woman invited Ms. Massan to join her running group. Now the friends connect every week to run or catch up. "If you feel a chemistry with another person, introduce yourself," says the 33-year-old violin teacher from Blaine, Minn. "You never know what kind of friendship will blossom." When you're looking to make friends, don't expect too much too soon. Start by making acquaintances. I call these "freshman year friends." You never know who will become a close friend. Look broadly. When you widen your horizons, you multiply your options. Share something of yourself emotionally . "It's like a dance," says Dr. Levine. "You share some, then give the other person a chance to share," she says. "It should be a mutual unfolding of information about each other." Follow your interests. Get involved with groups or volunteer activities you enjoy. You will meet like-minded people--and become more interesting yourself. Check out Meetup.com, a site where people create local groups around specific activities or interests and are looking to meet new people. Be consistent. Ongoing activities let you get to know someone naturally, over time. "It's hard to take it to the next level if you won't see the person regularly," says Carlin Flora, author of "Friendfluence: The Surprising Ways Friends Make Us Who We Are." Consider rekindling an old friendship. People's circumstances change and someone who was too busy in the past may now have more time. Be a friend when someone needs one. Offer to drop off Soup when a neighbor is sick or ask a stressed-out co-worker to grab coffee. I've met friends by chatting up strangers on planes, volunteering for a charity that helps veterans, and taking part in Wednesday evening sailboat racing. Recently, I decided that I don't have enough girlfriends in Miami, where I moved several years ago. An acquaintance pointed me to a Facebook group called Scuba Girls, for women who liked to dive, which is one of my passions. I posted a message to the group introducing myself and said I was looking for new buddies. Within 15 minutes, I had 11 responses. Three were from women I already know, saying hi. I made plans to meet several of the women I didn't know. All were interesting and fun, and I am sure I will eventually dive with them. But one woman was different. We bonded over our curly hair as soon as we saw each other. Then we moved on to talk--for three hours--about our jobs, favorite books, relationships and the Midwest, where we both grew up. Halfway through, I informed her she was on a friend date. "I know!" she said. "It's going great, don't you think? Write to Elizabeth Bernstein at elizabeth.bernstein@wsj.com or follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at EBernsteinWSJ. Credit: By Elizabeth Bernstein

Hi all. Here's my latest NSV. First though, I will start with an SV. I hit Onederland!!! I have now lost 86.9 pounds total. That SV sets the stage for my NSV! I attended a birthday party of a good friend who I hadn't seen much of lately. WE both have very busy lives and hadn't gotten together since January. Not only that, but most of my friends who I know through him I hadn't seen since before surgery. The number of double takes, not to mention people who never quite seemed to figure out who I was, was such a surprise to me. In fact, one of the guys who didn't seem to get it figured out, usually gives me a hug when I see him, but I barely got a hi out of him last night and he seemed like he couldn't quite place me! It was pretty crazy. I guess I see myself everyday in the mirror so although I am smaller, I just don't see THAT much difference in overall looks, just smaller space occupation! I guess its kind of remarkable when you haven't look at it in the mirror everyday! pam

@@Mapleleaves Welch Hi. I am about 20 years younger than you, but have had experience with a few of the weightloss drugs. I took FenPhen back in the mid 90s. It didn't do much for me and about a month after I started taking it they decided it was dangerous so I stopped. About 10 years ago, a psych. put me on Topomax, at the time off label, without warning me of any side effects accept the weightloss. I was on it for three of the most miserable weeks of my life. It was extremely strong medicine even on low dosages. When I started this journey more than two years ago and I wasn't ready for the surgery yet, the dr. wanted to put me back on meds. I refused. weightloss - for me- wasn't worth the side effects of the Topomax. Good luck to you in whatever you decide. pam

I became lactose intolerant after RNY surgery. I started almost immediately using Fairlife milk to make my shakes. That helped immensely. I don't know how sensitive you are, but its worth a try. pam

@@Daisee68 I understand how hard this is. I went to a birthday party for a friend last night and got to see a bunch of friends who I haven't really seen since surgery or longer. I know that I have changed a lot, but there were numerous people who had to do double takes when I waived at or said hi to them because they didn't recognize me. I know that I've lost a small person already 85+ lbs) but I don't think I've changed that much except in circumference. I don't have any great before and after photos yet. My SIL has been taking photos every time I see them since a few days after surgery. I have a few of them, but nothing since Easter. Congrats on your changes and Keep up the great work! You look fantastic and I am sure you feel great too. pam