THE DS

THANK YOU all so much for your support! I very much appreciate it :)

So a lot of you have asked to hear more about the DS (duodenal switch), so instead of trying to type it out myself and bore you to death, I am going to insert a lot of the documents I've found that led me to this decision.

**I also want to make myself clear, I am NOT anti- any specific surgery. I do not think that one surgery is better for everyone than another...I am simply demonstrating why I PERSONALLY am going with the DS and why this is a good choice for ME. Please do not let me influence anyone one way or the other, it is important that everyone research all of their options and decide what is best for them!**

This article does a very good job of explaining the DS vs RNY: click

This article is why super obese patients should have DS (which I am considered super obese so I enjoyed this article): click

One of my fellow OH members has a post on her profile that is very helpful and lays out myths and facts about the DS too: click

Basically...if you don't want to read all of that stuff...MY reasons for converting to DS, in a nutshell, are this:

*I am not going to be successful with restriction alone, I need the malabsorptive features as well.

*I do not want to have dumping syndrome. Some people use this to keep them from eating sweets, but I want to eat some sweets, sometimes...I enjoy it and I should be able to enjoy my food.

*I want a fully functioning stomach. I do not want a stoma that will eventually stretch out anyway.

*I love high fat foods. Why should I have to give up everything if I don't have to? Since when is having WLS a punishment? DSers only absorb 20% of the fat they eat.

*I want to be able to take advil or motrin if I have a headache...I cannot remember the FULL list of NSAIDs that I can't take!

*I LIKE being able to drink with my meals and use straws.

*Ultimately, it comes down to this...do you want to spend your time worrying about your food or vitamins? I'd rather deal with the vitamins...I've spend plenty of time worrying about the food.

Now...having said all of that...I know many people who have been completely successful with RNY and don't have near the problems I'm trying to avoid by going the DS rout. I also know MANY of you who have the band who have been very successful and not had any of the problems I've experienced.

This post is not intended to try to sway or encourage anyone one way or the other, PLEASE do not get into a surgery war on my blog...that's not my goal. I am simply presenting another option that I wish I'd heard about before getting my band.

THE NEWS

OK so I suppose now is as good of a time as any to make my announcement.

I am having my lap-band removed.

This isn't exactly a "bad" thing...although it kind of is. The main reason is because it is FULL and I still have NO restriction! You are all witness to my many posts after my many fills and saying that I still don't feel any restriction. It's also been causing a lot of other problems though. I have seriously bad acid refulx lately, caused by my band. And my port hurts ALL the time. Not contstantly, but multiple times a day, for no reason just out of the blue I'll double over in pain from it causing muscle cramps. It's just making my life miserable, especially since I'm not even losing weight with it.

I went and had my fluoroscope over a month ago and they couldn't find anything wrong. The weird thing is that my port has moved about 5 inches down from where they originally placed it. The Dr's are baffled, they have no idea how that happened, because it's not flipped, it's not loose, it just moved.

So next month on the 18th will be my 1 year band-iversary and I have only been able to maintain an overall weight loss of about 15 lbs. I've re-gained everything I originally had lost but those 15 lbs. And I lost those before my surgery, so they don't even count.

The good part of it though, is that I'm not just giving up. I'm having a revision surgery to the Duodenal Switch (DS). I've not a LOT of research and I've decided that this is CLEARLY the best surgery for me. It's what I should have had in the first place.

I don't want to discourage ANYONE who is thinking about getting the band, and I am not in any way bitter or resentful and I will never trash talk the Lap-Band. It works very well for MOST people. I just happen to be one of those rare few who just can't get any restriction at all.

I really hope that my fellow bandsters who follow my blog will stay with me. Our over-all goal is the same, we will just have different tools now.

There will be more posts to follow were I will talk more about the DS, but I wanted to make my announcement.

I'm not upset, so this isn't a "boo-hoo" post, this is a "moving on in a productive way" post. I'm actually very excited for my revision surgery. It's in the VERY early planning stages, but I'm 110% decided on it. So I hope you can all be happy for me :) I am ashamed and embarrassed that the band didn't work for me, but like I've told a few people...at the end of the day I have to do what's best for me and not worry about what didn't work. I tried, and it just didn't work.
So all I can do now is move on and keep working toward my goal of health and happiness!

I'll keep you all posted :)

**Screams like a little girl**

No your eyes are NOT deceiving you! Those ARE sugar free effing Oreos!! And guess what? They TASTE like real honest to goodness full sugar Oreos! I think world peace is upon us.
Here's my Oreo smile :) Don't act like you all don't get them too...I know you do!

So what I want to know is...
are you a twister or a dunker?

Me? I'm a twist, scrape the icing off with my teeth, then dunk the cookies :) Of course I have to make it complicated.

My WA Trip

Here are some pics from my vacation to Washington State last week. I had a blast and surprisingly didn't gain any weight!! And let me tell you I wasn't being health conscious!!

My daddy and me on the docks in Seattle:
The view of the Space Needle from my room! I SUPER loved my room!

The city view from my room, idk why the Space Needle looks so much smaller and further away in this pic...but it's still beautiful!

Repping the Diamond Backs (Arizona) even though I'm a die hard SeaHawks fan :)

My room service came with a daisy and I decided that it would look better in my hair than on my plate :) lol...hey, everyone needs vanity shots ;)

I'll post more later...I'm super tired and have to upload them still.

Also...I have some BIG news coming up...but I'm waiting for a few more things to be confirmed before I announce it...but just be aware...it's coming!!

Protein Donut Holes!!!

Protein Donut Holes (I got off an OH posting, but have seen on other sites too)

oil (I used olive oil)

1 large egg
1/4 cup melted butter
2 TBS splenda (or 2 packs/tubes of Stevia- I use Purevia)
1 tsp vanilla
1 scoop vanilla protein powder

splenda/stevia
cinnamon

Start heating about 1 inch of oil in a frying pan over MEDIUM heat. If your oil is too hot then when you drop your batter in it...this is what happens:



The batter will just spread and not maintain a "ball" form and will burn the second it hits the oil...no bueno.

While the oil is heating, beat the egg and butter lightly. Add the splenda/stevia, vanilla, and protein powder, beat well, and then let sit for a minute. Then beat again until the lumps are gone. Using a tablespoon drop (don't drizzle) the batter into the oil in small batches. BE CAREFUL! Also have ALL of your "tools" on hand because you will need to flip them almost immediately to prevent burning...flip when they start to brown. After the other side is browned, remove from oil, drain, and sprinkle with the cinnamon and splenda/stevia. As you can see below, I sprinkled mine w/powdered sugar. I understand that doing so negates the sugar free aspect, but that's just what I was feeling tonight.

A few other people who have tried this said that they get more of a round, real donut hole shape by spooning the batter into a baggy and snipping the end to "glop" out balls of batter instead of spooning it in. I didn't try that, but go for it :)

Also...if you're finding that your batter is still spreading too much when you plop it in the oil, add another 1/2 scoop of protein powder to thicken the batter up a bit. I had to do this and it worked perfectly!

Since this is fried...this should be a "sometimes" snack...but hey, when you are craving something fried and sweet...this gives you a nice protein punch and doesn't have any flour :)

Toasty Oat Protein Balls

Shelly's Toasty Oat Protein Balls (click here for the original recipe and posting from EggFace)

1 cup oatmeal (I use steel cut, it's a different texture but the same thing)
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (I actually found this by the regular coconut!)
1/4 cup peanut butter (you all know I use the freshly ground stuff)
1/4 cup Vanilla Sugar Free Torani syrup
1/4 cup chocolate protein powder
a hand full of sliced almonds

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the oats, coconut, and almonds over a baking sheet and place in the oven. Toast for about 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.

Mix peanut butter and SF Torani syrup until well combined. Add in the toasted oats/coconut/almonds to the mix and then add the protein powder. Stir until well blended.
If your mixture is loose/a little on the soft/runny side then add a but more coconut or almonds. If your mixture is too stiff/dry then add a little more syrup.
Shape into 18-20 cocktail meatball size balls.

Refrigerate for a few hours before serving. They are great in the fridge for a few days.

I have been really loving popping one of these into my mouth when I'm craving something sweet or need a little protein boost. I haven't tried it yet, but I think these would be super yummy with some sugar free chocolate to drizzle on or dip these in.

Other variations instead of the almonds, or in addition to...could be:

*raisins

*SF chocolate chips

*minced apple (ooooh yumm!)

*other kinds of nuts

*dried fruits

SWEET TOOTH!!

I'm having a major sweet tooth tonight! I have 3 recipes that have just been sitting here patiently waiting for me to try them...so I am in the process.

Just had to share how funny Google is :) I usually LOVE how it corrects me. If I type in "orange high hells" my Google will politely suggest "Did you mean, orange high heels?" and I'll say "Yes Google, as a matter of fact I did!"

In tonight's quest for a Stevia conversion rate for one of the recipes you will be seeing in a bit, I typed in "if a recipe calls for splenda, how much stevia do I use?" and Google (poor, naive google) suggested "Did you mean, if a recipe calls for splend, how much saliva do I use?" LOL...no, not this time Google. Maybe next time I need to whip up a batch of saliva cookies I'll come running back to you.