pintsizedmallrat

I take it no more than once a week. Tylenol just doesn't work on certain kinds of pain. If I were to develop new acid reflux or stomach discomfort I would discontinue them but I haven't yet had an issue because of how infrequently I take it.

I am 26 months post op, and I am very small and female (4'11", currently weigh 102)...I eat 1100 calories on weekdays and 1300 calories on weekends, sometimes a bit more if I'm especially active.

I got an answer within 10 days when mine was submitted in 2021. I had to do 3 months of supervised diet. I think my out of pocket was something to the tune of about $175 for the actual procedure.

Neither of those drugs is going to "end obesity" when obesity can be a symptom of poor economic status and they cost almost $2000 a month in some cases. Maybe ending obesity for the wealthy but for the average person you see in Walmart? No.

Mine was coming out in HANDFULS. About month 2 after my procedure I got deathly ill with pneumonia and wasn't able to eat much for several months. My hair loss was BAD. I've since been diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder and I lose hair again every time I have a flare-up mostly because it makes it so I can't eat. I just keep it short now, no reason to try to grow it out and end up heartbroken again.

I used to take it as an adjunct for treating a mental health condition--and while there were some side effects for me, it wasn't bothersome enough to make me stop taking it. Among the side effects I had (which, you may not, or you may experience different ones): I got a little bit of tingling in my hands/feet, felt a little sleepy, it made bright objects against a dark background have a "trail" behind them when I was tired (I was able to mitigate some of this by taking my entire dose in the morning instead of every 12 hours, so if you get that, ask if your doctor thinks that's OK), and it made soda/anything carbonated taste terrible, but we're not really supposed to drink that anymore, either!

I am 2 years post-op and I don't feel like my hunger has ever truly "come back". I feel like my capacity is still that of someone who had the procedure about 6 months ago.

I am sitting here in my house with a hoodie, sweatpants, thick fleece socks and a blanket on my lap and my thermostat says it's 68 in here. I feel your pain!

The only area of caution with that is to get to that calorie number, it's got sort of a lot of sugar for people like us, and if OP is susceptible to dumping syndrome, they will need to either break it up into multiple, manageable servings or choose something less glycemic (the only reason I say this is that I have been in that situation myself, and those Ensure shakes made me dump if I drank the whole thing in one sitting. I had to break them up into 3 "parts" and would drink 1/3 30 min after each meal)

To be honest I hate protein...it's my least favorite thing I have to eat. I do a lot of egg white scrambles and protein bars. I just really don't like meat very much.

I have to have them every month but I am also extremely anemic so they are monitoring it

I need to get a new badge because I DO NOT look like my photo...it was taken when I was at my heaviest. My driver's license, thankfully, is only about a year old and I'm about 20 pounds heavier in it. It still looks like me. My pre-surgery engagement ring was a 9 and my post-surgery wedding ring is a 4 1/2. My fingers shrank A LOT. My shoe size went from a 7-7 1/2 to a 5 1/2. So I went down TWO shoe sizes. I also no longer have to buy wide widths.

I have a sleeve; I take ibuprofen occasionally when the particular type of pain I am dealing with isn't helped by ibuprofen (I have a lot of joint/back pain just because of the weirdness of sleeping/moving around these days). I try to avoid taking it more than once a week. You're right, Tylenol just doesn't work on certain things and it's got its own set of problems if you take it too often. One way I avoid taking more pain medicine than I need in general is using non-pharmaceutical pain relief methods like hot baths with epsom salts, pain patches like IcyHot Advanced, ThermaCare wraps, and heating pads. I also use CBD as a supplement sometimes and it takes the edge off my pain.

For me that's been a razor-thin line because my calorie numbers are so small to begin with (I am less than 5' tall)...1400 was too many, 1100 is too few, and it varies wildly depending on how active I am (I ride a motorcycle and it burns 200 calories an hour...when I'm on a trip I have to go out of my way to eat a LOT extra to not come back from a weekend trip with all my clothes too big). I try to stay between 1200-1300 and that's working OK, except for when I can't hold that much, which happens sometimes.

I think it's very hard to determine how you think you'll look or feel at a certain weight, especially if you've been heavy your entire life and the last time you weighed that little you were a child (True story; I currently weigh the least I have weighed since I was 14 years old, and I look much thinner now than I did then because I have more muscle as an adult). Be flexible, be realistic, and expect the number to change as you and your body evolve.

I would seek out an independent coffee shop over Starbucks; a lot of the little mom and pop coffee places near me have a much better selection of sugar free syrups and toppings. One thing about the Torani white chocolate syrup vs the Starbucks one is there is a pretty big difference in texture between the two; what Starbucks uses is a thick, viscous syrup that's almost the consistence of a sundae syrup or honey. The Torani product is clear in color and has a consistency similar to water. It tastes really good, but it may make your drink feel like it has less "body", and I have a trick for that. Put a scoop of collagen in your coffee. You won't really be able to taste it but it will give it a richer mouthfeel and you'll get a nice skin-enhancing boost from it for 40 calories, much less than adding that thick Starbucks syrup.

I have trouble with a lot of pasta, rice, potatoes and bread still because they always feel like they "swell" in my stomach, so gaining weight was hard for me after I too found myself underweight following a health scare. I'm also a sleeve patient who dumps, so eating things like ice cream was out of the question. If you are ABLE to eat those things without issue, I don't see there being anything wrong with consuming a little extra treat here and there to gain weight, unless you are concerned that once you get back to a weight you're happy at, you won't be able to stop eating those things. I was eating peanut butter quite a bit when I was trying to gain; I found some high protein waffles that agree with me (Kodiak), so I'd eat one of those with peanut or almond butter on it, maybe a LITTLE drizzle of honey, a few dark chocolate chips, or some sliced banana. It was giving me more calories with a nice healthy dose of fats and protein vs carbs, which felt "healthier" to me.

Trying very hard to maintain, but the hardest thing to get into that state is my BRAIN. I've not only spent the last 2 years meticulously monitoring every bite of food I put in my mouth (even though my doctor didn't insist upon it I've been counting calories since day 1), but I spent the last 20 YEARS in the mindset that if I wasn't actively trying to LOSE weight, I was going backward. So, at 41, I have to learn how to eat to maintain which for some reason is VERY hard for me. I can't get out of the "weight loss" mindset. I don't eat enough. I monitor and measure and check and re-check everything. I pour myself a bowl or plate of something and put half of it back. I just can't seem to accept that I am *done* losing weight.

Avocado oil is probably the best choice health-wise for high heat cooking. It has a very high smoke point.

The veggie egg bites from Dunkin are also excellent if you ever find yourself somewhere there is no Starbucks. Similar calorie count, too.

Gold and silver are softer and therefore more porous on a microscopic level, and can "pit", meaning bacteria or other irritants can cling to them. They can also flake off into the open wound, and are more reactive with body fluids. They're generally fine for a healed piercing (which can take a few weeks to several months depending on what kind of piercing it is), but because they're not as hard and non-reactive as something like surgical steel or titanium. I worked, unfortunately, at a Claire's in a mall for several years when I was in college, and I know that stores like that push gold as being "safer" when really it is "more profitable". I had nothing but problems with piercings done in gold with a piercing gun. I have since gotten SEVERAL more piercings done with a single-use hollow needle at a piercing parlor, and have had none of the same issues. The right establishment should almost feel like a medical office.

I love stories like this. For all the weight we lose, we gain so much we never thought possible. My big deferred dream was getting to ride a motorcycle, and last spring I started!!! Congratulations and keeping kicking butt at whatever you do in your life. You've earned that celebration.

I don't currently have any partially because I took them out before my surgery 2 years ago and some of them closed while I was under!! Over the years I've had my nose, navel, and countless configurations in my ears. I sometimes miss my nose ring and would like to get it done again. If you do, please please go to a professional, certified piercer and not to the mall or some other place that uses a "piercing gun." Don't get gold or silver in a fresh piercing; titanium or surgical steel only!

It's really been a game-changer for me; I had no idea how much oil I was using (even when doing things like seasoning my cast iron!)...it's saved me money AND calories.

There's a point where you may need to do some of your own research and make decisions that are right for YOUR body, because I agree with the sentiments shared above that the person telling you don't drink protein shakes this early in your recovery is useless. There may be people out there who can hit 80g of protein on whole food when they're only able to eat 1/2 a cup at a time, but I definitely wasn't one of them. I still have to eat a bar or two to fully reach 80g of protein and I am two years out. That's ludicrous.