MacMadame

I can't take HRT because of my past history of blood clots. Technically, the period where you have all the symptoms - hot flashes, irregular period, moodiness -- is called peri-menopause and it's supposed to happen in your 40s for most women. Menopause is when you get to the other side and are no longer ovulating. That happens typically in the 50s. But I had a kid when I was 41 and became regular as clockwork after. It sucked because I hardly ever ovulated before that. I think that now, in my 50s, I maybe, might be just starting peri-menopause. But it could just be a side-effect from the surgery. Who knows when menopause will hit. At this rate, I'll be in my 60s!

The only tattoo I plan to get is this one: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/52/138338474_409752ec74.jpg But first I have to do an Ironman. No biggie.

Eggface's site has a section for mushies: theworldaccordingtoeggface

Not everyone uses a foley catheter though.

We have a fully functional stomach so anything we could take before, we can take now. IOW, if it was a problem before, it will be a problem now. Some docs want you to steer clear of NSAIDs until your tummy is more healed. Some docs hate NSAIDs and will tell you not to take them with a sleeve because they are "hard on your stomach" but, if you are not bothered by them, and lots of people aren't, then there is no medical reason why a sleeve would preclude them.

Under what name? You can find me as MacMadame so that's easy. :thumbup:

No. They aren't competing for the same receptors.

That's just fine early out. What choice do we have anyway, right? :thumbup:

BMI 35 - 45 : EWL - 82.2% BMI 45 - 55 : EWL - 73.4% BMI 55 + : EWL - 52.1% If BMI is 50 or less, then less than 10% have significant regain. BMIs of 50 and up see more regain, typically 15%. Those are from my surgeon's practice and will be published this Fall. Surgeons who use larger boughie sizes (significantly larger, not 2 f larger), tend to get lower results. When they were using 48 f boughies, they found significant regain at 3 years out.

Sounds like the 3 week stall. It happens around the time you start mushies (which tends to be around 3 weeks out) and can last for a few weeks. IMO, it's just Water weight masking your true weight loss. Something about moving from liquids to mushies seems to trigger it. Generally, drinking a lot of water helps but you probably can't drink a lot of water right now so, hence, the stall.

Could to be a reaction to the anesthesia?

Once you are eating regular food, you can take regular Vitamin pills, btw. I am not a fan of the chewables or liquid Vitamins because they are missing some key ingredients. There are a few vitamins that just can't be made to taste good so they leave them out. This includes things like potassium.

You say that like they are different prices for the same thing. :lol0: $100 is only better if it's buying you want you want. I went cheap on my HRM and I was sorry and now I have to get another one. Let's put it this way, when it comes to scales, I want the Lexus, not the Ford Focus. :001_tongue:

I just FaceBook. I did just join LinkedIn, but I'm going to use that for professional stuff only.

Well, you don't have ghrelin any more so that impetus to eat is gone. It's just the mental stuff and true hunger left. I was cleared to go back to the gym at 2 weeks. I didn't feel up to anything that worked the abs until sometime between 1 and 2 months but I was biking and running well before that.

Yeah, stopping in the middle will give you your period. But some surgeons make you stop before a surgery because of blood clots, so they are used to it, I guess. :001_tongue: I would talk to a Gyn about long term use. I think most of the absorption of medicine happens in the intestines, not the stomach and our stomach emptying time shouldn't be that different -- though this depends on how you do the operation and the shape and size of the sleeve so it's going to vary from surgeon to surgeon too.

Well, a lot of these things have no exact definition. For example, what's a large chicken breast? To me it's around 5-6 oz. But technically a chicken breast is both sides of the breast. When I order the Chicken on the Barbie at Outback Steakhouse, it says it's a chicken breast but the plate has what I think of as two breasts. It's not a "large chicken breast" but it's still around 10-12 oz. of food by volume. So what is two cups of food? Well, soup is a food, right? :001_tongue: That's why I think it's better to ask questions when something doesn't seem right. It could just be miscommunication.

Plus "less effective" is very different from "won't work at all." :001_tongue:

32 f is the diameter of the boughie that is used to size the stomach.

I have a card in my purse that I present to the ER admissions clerk. Mr. Mac has a copy too. I am in the process of getting something called Road Id that I will wear when I bike and run and race. I haven't decided what I'll put on it. The "No blind NG tube" thing is apparently not considered necessary by some people and I don't want to put a novel on the thing. (They don't intube with NG tubes in the field and the tube is very soft and also with our sleeve stomachs, there should be plenty of room. From what I can tell, it's a RnY/band thing that has carried over to other surgeries.) I was going to put my dh's contact info, one alternative contact info, and either 'partial gastrectomy' or 'vertical sleeve gastrectomy' and the date of my surgery on mine. Then I'd see how much room was left. Here's the web site: Road ID? I don't feel a need to wear a medical alert braclett in general though. I've never actually been unconscious and most of the time I'm where people know me and I have ID on me and my surgical card. Plus it's really, really obvious I've had a bunch of surgeries so the emergency people I've talked to say they'd already be being careful with me based on my scars.

I substitute ice for some of the water and that helps too.

I have a limited tolerance for repetition so any reality show I'm into, I fall out of love with after about 3 seasons. Well TAR took more like 5 seasons. But it's really, really good.

I am looking forward to being able to track my muscle mass and hydration levels. :ohmy: Since I'm maintaining, stepping on the scale rarely makes me mad any more so that's okay.

I just get a to-go box. That way I have something for lunch the next day. Sometimes I get two lunches out of it.

They do, too!