melting mama

Biggest Giveaway EVER.

Food Addictions, Weight Loss Surgery

This comes at a perfect time. Maryjo Rapini on Fox Houston - PERFECT.

"The cycle is what destroys you."

Fox Houston

HOUSTON - Most professionals who work with weight loss patients know little about what makes a successful long-term weight loss patient; however they do know of several things that should be dealt with prior to a weight loss surgery.

If the patient can be candid enough during the psychological evaluation before a surgery, most of these issues can be discussed and helpful counseling sessions could address them.

Unfortunately, insurance may not cover the expense of counseling, so many of these issues remain hidden for the patient to deal with after surgery. This leads to an overwhelming feeling and many times a sense of failure for the patient.

The first of these issues is prior psychological history. This includes depression, bi-polar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit disorder, external locus of control, and “magical thinking," which may lead to discontinuation of necessary psychotropic medications.

Secondly, the issue of abuse is a possible saboteur after surgery. Was there physical abuse, sexual abuse, and or verbal abuse? If this is not addressed prior to surgery it will not be a surprise to see an anxious patient 6 months post-surgery due to the feeling that they have lost their “protective cover”.

Thirdly, a low self esteem may lead to a patient not being successful after weight loss surgery. The patient may experience a sense of failure if they go off track (since it is a total life-style change they can expect to go off track once in awhile). There may be lack of accountability; many patients are socially immature, or, not wanting to take responsibility.

Fourthly, if the patient suffered from past grief or trauma that wasn’t dealt with prior to surgery this can make a patient fail. I have sit in my office many times talking to patients who gained their weight back after not being ready to give up losing someone close to them who had died, or a past rape that they had never dealt with.

Lastly, and perhaps the most frustrating for the patient is a history of addiction. This can present has a history of smoking, drug use, drinking, or food.

Cross addictions are a reality -- they really do happen. The Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, Ca. is seeing an influx of bariatric patients checking in for help with new addictions.

Addictions do not go away.

Anyone who had a food addiction prior to surgery, will most likely have one after the surgery. Sometimes they can anticipate
changing addictions, but with a food addiction many times they do not. They end up overeating many of the foods they did prior to surgery.

Food addictions can be present in many forms. They may present as compulsive overeating, night eating syndrome, binge eating disorder, and many other forms of eating that reflect an unhealthy relationship with food.

Symptoms of an unhealthy relationship with food include:

Fear of gaining weight while eating
Feelings of loss of control when eating.
Having thoughts about food and eating other than at mealtimes.
Thinking of food with feelings of guilt or shame.
Repeated attempts at dieting.
Self-consciousness or embarrassment about eating.
Lying about eating habits.
Eating to relieve stress or depression.
Eating when not hungry
Fear of not being able to stop eating when he or she should.

If anyone knows prior to surgery of a food addiction, they need to tell the psychotherapist. If a psychotherapist knows about the addiction prior to surgery, the professional can guide the patient so that after the surgery, the patient will be successful.

Dear Earl,

Earl, who invited YOU? You drunken, wet, sloppy BASTARD? I can't HAVE a wet basement right now. Don't you know this? Don't you know that I am not in the mood to DEAL with your bullshit?  I don't really WANT to deal with your throwing trees around, shutting off my electricity and shutting off my water, and I DO NOT HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT.  :P  But, I will be forced to.  Because you're coming anyway.  Screw you, Earl.

 

My kitteh is going to be on TV!

Sweet orange kitten to be on The View on September 13th within a commercial for Fancy Feast.

My kitteh is famouse!

Q: What are the rights of co-workers when another experiences side effects (i.e. malodorous flatulence) due to gastric bypass?

OMG.  I know we have all THOUGHT it - but - this is something else.  I have even posted about it. 

I have a serious issue with my peers who <poot> without thinking about their personal air radius.  It's AN ISSUE, A BIG STINKY ISSUE in our community.

Don't pretend it isn't.  It is.  Can you imagine an all WLS Office?  *dies*  I would have to build a bubble for myself.  A Yankee Candle Impentrable Aromabubble.

www.nataliedee.com

This, from Entrepreneur.com

Q: What are the rights of co-workers when another experiences side effects (i.e. malodorous flatulence) due to gastric bypass? The surgery is not recent, and to add insult to injury, the offender does not maintain a healthy diet, which only exacerbates the problem. The office manager has supplied the office with various oder-eliminating products, which we all use, except for the guilty party. He has absolutely no regard for his co-workers, and to my knowledge our HR person has not counseled him on any kind of office etiquette. There are laws in place to protect those with medical disabilities, but what type of protection is there for those having to be around such an inconsiderate person? This may seem like a joke, but it is not! I think people are leery to say anything to this person for fear of being accused of discrimination.

A: Unquestionably, your employer should be doing more to resolve the problem than merely leaving bottles of Beano sitting around. It’s not clear whether your co-worker’s flatulence is truly disability-related. You mention other factors, like poor diet, that may point to this being simply a hygiene issue (which is not a protected class under discrimination statutes). It’s for your employer to determine whether there’s really a disability issue here and, if so, whether the Americans with Disabilities Act applies and there’s an accommodation that will resolve the problem. If your company is sophisticated enough to have a dedicated HR person, it probably has an HR manual that outlines grievance procedures. Following those steps should make it clear to your employer that you (and others) mean business and that this issue must be addressed.

Heidi Montag - Welcome To Body Dysmorphic Disorder.

Bariatric Bad Girl Tee

Bariatric Bad Girl Tee from Zazzle.com.

Celebrate Multivitamin Chewable Pineapple Strawberry

Funny thing about this product -- I was ready to post a review about these particular chewable vitamins, and the company had a mad rush on it and sold nearly clear out.  "Don't post yet!  It's been too popular!  WAIT!"  I guess that means it's an automatic Pouchworthy, ^MM. 

I was amused.

Celebrate makes a variety of tasty chewable vitamins for post bariatric patients, and this is one of the newest additions to the flavor family:  Pineapple Strawberry.

(Girl not included)

Plus sweet, sweet...

Celebrate says:

When it comes to chewable multivitamins, there are two important things to consider, formulation and taste.  No other bariatric multivitamin can compete with us on either.  Developed specifically for surgical weight loss patients, Celebrate Bariatric Multivitamin provides the most thorough blend of vitamins and minerals available in a great tasting chewable.  Our integrated formula provides maximum bioavailability as we have carefully selected each vitamin and mineral level and form to enhance interaction and absorption.  Key things to look for in our multivitamin:

    * Taste - When you have to take a product every day, it needs to be something that you like. Our Pineapple-Strawberry flavor chewable is unbeatable with a smooth texture (no grit) and great taste, it will be easy to maintain your compliance. This has a delicious pineapple flavor with just a hint of strawberry.
   
   * Vitamin B-12 (cyanocobalamin)  - With nearly 6,000% of the RDI of vitamin B-12, Celebrate Bariatric Multivitamin contains the highest level of B-12 available in a bariatric multivitamin. Studies have shown that at these levels, 95% of patients will NOT need additional sublingual B-12.

   * B-Complex - In addition to vitamin B-12, the other b-complex vitamins are critical for your health following surgery. Certain B vitamins such as vitamin B1 (thiamin) are critical immediately following surgery and our multivitamin contains the most appropriate levels of each vitamin, in the proper form for bariatric surgery patients. 

   * Vitamin A - By blending pre-formed (retinyl palmitate) and beta-carotene to make up our vitamin A, we are providing the safest and most effective approach available for this key vitamin.  This blend allows your body to regulate its intake of vitamin A, absorbing only what it needs to function properly.
   
   *Magnesium - This critical mineral is most effective in the citrate form.  Celebrate contains the highest percentage of magnesium citrate of any bariatric supplement.
  
   * Chelated minerals - Chelation simply means,  "attaching to".  By chelating our mineral forms to amino acid, we have increased the likelihood that these minerals will be absorbed in a reduced acidic environment. 

    *Water Miscible ADEK - We utilize dry, water miscible forms of vitamins A, D, E, and K to further enhance absorption.

I tasted these vitamins a couple times prior to this review, at ASMBS and at the last Obesity Help Events, so this is not my first try.  Here goes my attempt at pretending I haven't ever smelled them.

Opening the bottle, PINEAPPLE!  YOU CAN SMELLS IT!
Sweet tropical pineapple!  Not overwhelming, but you don't smell vitamins, you smell a bit of fruit.  (Pleasant for the smell sensitive girl.)

Biting the vitamin - it's sweet and a tad sour - delicious.  You can taste both pineapple and a touch of berry, and like the other Celebrate Vitamins, it crumbles away into nice sugary texture.  But, this product doesn't have any sugar, it's simply how it feels.  Like.  (Facebook has infiltrated my life.  I am "liking" real life all too often.)

I must say that the initial flavor here - kicks ass.  It's pineapple.  This flavor profile would be awesome as the base of a protein shake.  (Just saying for the sake of saying.)

The aftertaste is minor, as with most chewable vitamins, there's vitamins.  But, I'm not at all displeased or running for a drink to "wash my mouth out."  It was also simple to overdose for the sake of review -- I've just ingested three chewable vitamins with ease and enjoyed them.

The stats -

Yum.

• Product - Celebrate Multivitamin Chewable Pineapple Strawberry
• Via - Celebrate Vitamins
• Price - $15.95 for a 30 day supply
• Pros - Sweet mother of pineapple!  Easy to take.
• Cons - ?
• Rating - Pouchworthy, ^MM.
•    success@celebratevitamins.com

Almost gone.

I can't say that I'm sad that summer is almost over.

It's been a long, hot, long, and hot summer vacation. Since I haven't been driving since early spring, the kids have been b-o-r-e-d.  School will be a welcome relief for them, even though it's usually not on the top of their list. 

I don't suggest not hanging at home six to seven days a week in 90-95 degree weather for anyone with four kids.  IT SUCKS, and?  IT SUCKS.  I'm repeating for the sake of MAKING THE POINT.

I can only hope by NEXT summer I can drive again, but my brain said "no thank you" with a seizure this morning.  Super.  I had a extraordinarily stressful weekend, I thought for sure it would be a trigger for a seizure, but strangely enough my brain did not CTRL ALT DLT until this morning, while quiet and peaceful. 

Afterwards, I thought about again selling this house and moving to where there is public transportation, preferably near the ocean.  It's about 100% unlikely, but still, a nice big rental house in center of town?  I need one.

WLS E-BOOK: ONLINE RESOURCES (Need your help!)

WLS E-BOOK: ONLINE RESOURCES (Need your help!)

Quest Bar

"A low carb dieter's dream! Quest bars have the best nutritional profile of any protein bar on the market - bar none. Quest Nutrition created a bar with 20g of protein, 4g non-fiber carbs, and no sugar alcohols or other junk. And most importantly, their bars taste better than any other bar."

I don't believe you.  Neener, neener, neener!  Prove it.  I've got everybody eating one...

Off to write up the review!  :D