anonemouse

I'm not really sure when I'll be solvent again. It depends on whether I can find another part-time job. I'm teaching a few biology labs this semester, but the pay's horrid. I'm looking for extra work though, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm thinking that I'll probably go for the FTT. Most of my excess weight is on my belly, so I don't have that much hanging skin on my backside. Whenever I do get it done, I'll definitely be needing a breast lift, as well, and maybe augmentation (I'm considering doing that at a later date and waiting to see how the girls look after the BL).

I'm going to try to wait until I reach goal, but that depends on how impatient I get! I'm really hoping my skin bounces back, and I want to wait to see if it does, but I have a nasty feeling that it won't, since I've had this belly for years. Plus, I'm tight on cash right now, and I don't have any guaranteed plans for employment in the near future (I'm finishing up grad school at the present time). I'm also considering going into the Peace Corps when I graduate, and if I do that, I don't know whether I should plan on having PS before or after that (it's a 2+ year commitment).

Heck, even without the hotel, that's a damn good deal! I'd really hate to see what a week in a hospital in the US would cost! Hey, I may take you up on your offer, you never know! If I graduate when planned, I'm wanting to take a trip somewhere, if I've got enough cash saved up. Unfortunately, I'm still paying off my surgery, and I'm pretty broke!

Wow. If that includes the 3/4 weeks of hotel and the week in the hospital, that's not bad at all. It converts to just over $17,500 US dollars. Hell, my insurance paid my banding hospital over $18,000 for just one night and I had to pay another $7,000+ out of pocket. Damn, makes me want to travel to France for surgery, too.

I was actually interested in this, also, because I'm considering joining the Peace Corps and would probably be located in a third-world country.

I had another fill on Wednesday and met with my nutritionist, too, for my 6 month post-op check-in. Guess what?! I've lost inches! She weighed and measured me and showed me the difference in my measurements from a week before I had surgery and my measurements now. Eee! I'm still at the point where I can barely see the weight-loss in the mirror, so actually seeing how many inches I'd lost was such a motivator! I don't actually remember the exact inches lost (stupid me, forgot to write them down), but it was something like 9 inches off my chest, 5 off my waist, and 6 off my hips. That, combined with the fact that I'm about to go down another size in clothes, REALLY helps.

Y'all, I'm seriously about to squeal with glee! Back when I was a size 20W, I found some pants that fit wonderfully, so I bought them in all the smaller sizes that the store had. I'm basically in a 16W now, so I just went and tried on the 16Ws I got in that style, and they're almost TOO BIG! Plus, the style isn't right any more! They're only a little big in the waist (enough that I know that they are too big), but they're baggy as hell in the hips! They sort of make me look like I'm wearing those funky horse-riding pants.

I couldn't do sugar-free stuff AT ALL. Like you said, they're super-sweetened. Call your doctor, he may take pity on you and let you have regular-sugar items. I'm sure he'd much rather you stay on liquids than stay on sugar-free stuff.

I weigh 182 and I'm still a 16W, but that's just because of my shape (I'm pretty hour-glass shaped, but I've got a big belly). In fact, I just recently got to that size, so I actually need to go shopping for pants, since I've only got one pair of 16Ws. I don't like close-fitting clothing. I like to have a little bit of room to move in them, but still have a nice tailored look (not too baggy, not too tight). I've gotten most of my clothes on sale at JCPenney's.

Oh! I forgot to add that my brother's MIL told me that I looked like I was about a size 12! She was so shocked when I told her that I was barely down into a 16W. I loved it, but it makes me hate this damn belly so much more, you know? I'd have a really great hour-glass shape if I didn't have this belly poking out. I'm not that wide from side-to-side, but my front-to-back depth is so much that I have to wear larger clothes. If I get clothes that fit my waist, they're baggy in the ass. :ohmy:

My personal feeling is that I support abortion if it is performed prior to viability (as defined by the fetus having a greater than 50% likelihood of living), and that they should be legal after the fetus becomes viable IF there is a major medical issue involved that was not previously discovered, either for the fetus or the mother. After viability, I think that attempts should be made to save the fetus (whether through inducing early labor or some other means), but that if it comes down to choosing between the fetus and the mother, the mother should have the right to choose herself.

I have to drive between 5.5 and 7 hours (depending on if I'm driving from my parents' house or my apartment), one way, to see my surgeon for fills. I would LOVE to only have to drive 3 hours. It's totally doable, you just have to be careful about scheduling stuff.

I feel like throwing my doctor's scale out the window. It always seems to give me 5 pounds of extra weight.

Bandster_1007, has your doctor evaluated you for Cushing's syndrome/disease? Cushing's and PCOS share a LOT of symptoms, but Cushing's is extremely severe. If he/she hasn't yet, ask your gyno/pcp to do a complete hormone profile, including cortisol levels. That should not only give a definitive answer as to whether you have PCOS, but also either rule out or confirm Cushing's.

I noticed a reaction to it fairly quickly. It really sucked. This is probably way more information than you wanted, but I had very unpredictable diarrhea the entire time I was on it. It's really one of the things that pushed me into having lapband surgery. I knew that if I didn't lose weight, I'd be stuck on that crap forever. Talk about motivation!

Unless the fill kicks in more, I should be good to go. I've been getting soup down just fine. I'm tight enough that I have to sip (which I've never had to do before), but not so tight that I PB on what I'm sipping. I'm going to stick to soups and stuff for another couple of days, though, just to be on the safe side. I've been able to get thick, chunky soups down easily, so I doubt I'd PB on soft food, but I don't want to take the chance right now.

I've not seen it at Walmart, but if they have it, it would be somewhere in the frozen food section. I've looked in the section with the regular veggies and didn't see it, but I didn't have time to really search for it, either. If you have a Kroger or another grocery store with a frozen health-food/organic section, you could probably find it, though. I've always gotten mine at Kroger. You're welcome! They're an incredibly yummy healthy snack. I've not had any problem hitting my Protein goals since I've started eating them for Snacks. I've even thought about buying the shelled edamame and putting it in homemade Soups and maybe even my bean salad recipe. I bet you could even make a hummus-like dip out of it, maybe add some garlic and other spices. I saw someone on TV make dumplings out of it, too, using pureed edamame in wonton wrappers.

I feel so sorry for all of you on metformin. I was on it for several months and my body never got used to it. I was completely miserable, especially since I was doing the fieldwork for my thesis at the time and didn't have quick access to a bathroom. I was having to carry TP with me and constantly kept on the lookout for a decent bush.

Oh my GOD, the Rapid Blast things are disgusting! I tried one the night before my surgery because I was starting to get a headache, and I nearly threw up. The actual mint flavor wouldn't be too bad if it wasn't combined with that nasty bitter tylenol flavor. It's like they just combined crushed tylenol with some strong mint flavored stuff, compressed it into a chewable, and called it done. ICK! And if anyone should be tempted, never EVER open an ibuprofen liquigel and squirt it into your mouth. I wanted to rip my lips off and stomp on them.

Oh, I LOVE Iron Chef and the Food Network competitions. Or at least, I'd much rather watch them than Giada, Rachel, or that horrid Sandra Lee.

Told you it was yummy!

Remember, the only thing that is ABSOLUTELY required at a wedding is that you two get married. Everything else is extra. If you are really short on money at the moment, you can always have an extremely simple wedding and schedule the reception/party for some time in the future, when you'll be better prepared to pay for it. That's what my brother did.

I've read Skinny Bitch in the Kitch, and I thought the majority of the recipes sounded either pretty bland or outright gross, honestly. Tofu scrambles instead of eggs? *shudder* I think there were maybe two recipes in the entire book that I'd be willing to try.

I just found out that my younger cousin (my UNMARRIED cousin who flunked out of college and is still living with her parents) is pregnant from her MySpace page. Between her, my brother knocking up his girlfriend last year, and just finding out that another cousin is set to have a child with his girlfriend (he already has three with a former girlfriend), I'm really starting to wonder if I'm the only freakin' person in this family that doesn't apparently have unprotected sex. Jesus.

Job freakout over! :biggrin1: I was able to get a couple of labs to teach at my university for this semester, so I can stop pulling my hair out because I'm freaking out over having to find another job on such short notice. I'll be getting paid absolute chump change (considering that I wasn't even netting $800/month last semester, when I was teaching MORE :straight), but it'll let me stay close to the university, so it'll be easier to get my thesis finished. I'm hoping to find some part-time work somewhere in town this semester, just to help pay the bills.