NO LAP BAND SURGERY

Please note : On some browsers I believe "ads" are popping up over my blog description for Lap Band Surgery . Or where to get lap band surgery , I IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM have ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS .. And I STRONGLY DISCOURAGE LAP BAND SURGERY .

About Me

My name is Mindy and I am a wife and mother of 2 boys, Ages 20 and 12. I recently started on the path of becoming a nurse something i have wanted to do since i was 11 !

Blog Archive

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Why didnt I move my A$$ more ? My ONE Regret w/ the Band !



A friend of mine contacted me today about lap band. She's having a consult next week for hers. So I was going back and re reading some of my old blog posts. I really needed to read some of them right now .
I go Thursday for my fill . Its been over a year since I have been unfilled and close to 40 pounds gained. WHY ?

I would say the ONE THING I Screwed up on and one thing i regret about the band is not moving more, not getting on a regular exercise routine from the get go . I KNEW if something were to happen to my band, it slipped, needed to be removed I would HAVE to have a plan to at least help keep the weight off. I did not though, I did not move , I did not work out . I made the mistake of thinking that being more active would be enough .

Guess what folks ? I am here to say I was wrong and here to show you 40lbs heavier wrong !

I will say this , I HOPE this fill can give me another shot at it .
I Plan to start over. I hope this is the beauty of the band. That I CAN Start over !
This is what I have always thought was the good part about the band. NOW I WILL SEE !

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Laser Hair Treatment #5

I did another Laser Hair removal treatment Saturday with the Silk N SenseEpil machine .
I will take another picture tomorrow morning.
This time I put the laser on Level 4 I guess you would call it . This level was a bit more painful, and i use that work loosely . I did my upper lip, chin , under arms and bikini area.
Once again the bend on my under arm stung pretty bad but nothing un bearable.

As far as growth goes ... I can see some progress I think. I noticed this morning that If I did not want to I probably did not need to shave. I did because I am so self conscious about it but I bet it would not have been noticeable to someone else. That in it self is improvement to me !

So I am defiantly excited about this for sure !

Read the progress of my other treatments here !
Treatment 1 and 2
Progress
My Chinny Chin Chin
Treatment 4

PS .....
If anyone has an idea of how I can link these with out having to link each page on every progress update please let me know . It gets aggravating having to do this !

Monday, January 24, 2011

Im going ....

In for a fill next Thursday . I am SOOOOOO ready for one too y'all ! Im a little worried after I tell him about all the issues I have been having that he may not want to give me a fill . But we shall see.
A friend/ fellow patient of Dr Rincon is going with me for her fill as well.
Lets hope he doesn't freak when he see's how much weight I have gained !

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Surrender , Stick a fork in me , Im Done , What Ever...



You want to call it ! I told the hubs tonight , either I get a personal trainer or I get a fill, you take your pic, you pick what comes out of your wallet , but something has to happen, change ! Im slipping further and further back into old habits, larger sizes, and more and more weight is coming on ! I cant , wont and refuse to let it go on anymore.
Depression is setting in , excessive shopping is coming out to make me feel better.

So what did he chose ? A fill ! Cheaper for his pocket book !
Im going to talk to my surgeon , explain to him what is going on with me medically and see if I can try a small fill to control my hunger. I think he'll be ok with it.
I'll have to be extra careful to not throw up , PB ( YES People PBing and throwing up are the SAME thing and WILL make you slip your band ) since I have slipped my band twice already . So I am most likely going to go next week or the week after.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Cosmo Freebies and Discounts !


Right now for a limited time you can subscribe to Cosmo for just $5.00 ! Enter their daily freebies and sweepstakes as well. As a BzzAgent I get info on all the great deals ! This is one of them !

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Treatment #4 Laser Hair Removal

I did another treatment of the Silk N SenseEpil Laser hair removal system tonight. Since I was told by the people at Silk N SenseEpil that it would be ok with excessive hair growth that is cause by the PCOS to use the machine every week , I went ahead and did it a week apart .


This time I used level "3" I guess you could call it, the light was on the 3rd bar. I treated my upper lip , chin , under arms as well as my bikini area . ( I have only treated the bikini area twice). The treatment on some area's stung a little bit more than the other setting . It did not hurt .

I have noticed a small difference in the hair growth . It does not seem as coarse either. I would say there is a 10-20% difference since I started the treatment. Nothing major but just a little. Next week Im going to bump the laser up one more level. I believe there are 5 . I may try one under arm at 4 and if that is ok I will try the highest. I think I will get the most results the fastest with the highest setting.

The Hairs on my Chinny Chin Chin ! ( pics)


Ok .. It is not easy to get a clear picture of the little hairs on my chinny chin chin ! So this was the best I could do .
This was before last weeks treatment and this is A DAYS growth . I look like this (or WORSE ) every morning .
The hair is very coarse and black.
I'll try to figure out how to take a better picture. I could do my under arms but I know those of us with PCOS , the issue is on our chins and face so I will stick with this if its helpful to everyone. Also not the "razor burn" on my chin ! That's lovely too.
So there ya go . I hope you can see the problem ok .

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Pictures for Laser Hair Removal

So it seems a few people want to see pictures of my progress with the Silk N SenseEpil Laser hair removal system.
Ive tried to take a few pictures and its kind of hard to tell since its of my chin. So im going to try this weekend and maybe try my under arms. I know gross huh ? LOL

I am very happy though . Silk N SenseEpil emailed me on Facebook and sent me a coupon code to help me get more light cartridges. I am excited because I know its going to take some time for me ( or I think , i might be pleasantly surprised ) to get results , so i'll need all the help I can get !
You can google "SensEpil coupon" for coupon codes !

The cartridges are not as expensive as I thought they might be . Since I am doing my face it should not take too many of them .
See pictures here !

This is what they look like .

Light Cartridges.

Let me figure out how to get some pictures to show up and I'll post my progress.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

At Home Laser Hair Removal ..PCOS Up the Treatments !

I had posted a message on the Silk N SensEpil's Facebook page a few days ago asking if anyone knew if you can use the Sense N Sense Epil weekly . Because of my PCOS i know its going to take me a long time to get things rolling on the hair removal. Using it weekly however might just help things move even at an average speed for me.

One of the nice people who run the page answered me and I was VERY happy to find that they said they thought because PCOS cause excessive ( increased) hair growth that it would be ok. She suggested maybe even treating one under arm once a week and the other every other to see what the difference is.
So... I will be doing that. She also asked me if i would be putting pictures up of my progress. I am not sure. Pit pics I might do ! ( gross I know) But facial pics I dont know . I could, its just so embarrassing ! I guess if it works in the long run what does it matter huh ?
What do y'all think . PICS or No pics ?

BzzAgent Campagin Factor Tree !



If you do not know what BzzAgent is then you should check it out ! Party of being a BzzAgent is they send you all these awesome products and services to try for free.
One of those service is Factor Tree. I received a free 30 day Trial. Factor Tree is a better way to learn math for kids. As a child of a dyslexic son , I know better than anyone that no 2 kids learn the same. Factor Tree also know's that and uses that to teach kids math differently than most "Tutoring" companies.
What makes Factor Tree Different ?


* Provides the practice and repetition needed for a child to truly master key math skills (Something a child like mine who is dyslexic truly needs, repetition is key ! )

* Use a skill-adaptive progression algorithm to pinpoint each child’s true skill level
* Provides parents with helpful reports, metrics and notifications to track their child’s progress
(It does not do any good if the parents cant track the progress. )
* Combines a state testing-compliant curriculum, world class educational theories and innovative technology to create a better learning tool

Lets face it ,the schools now do not always do the best job at teaching children , some children , like mine fall through the cracks. So new learning tools and extra help like the Factor Tree are great tools.

Monday, January 10, 2011

At Home Laser Hair Removal .... My Progress

Well I did another treatment last night , This time on my under arms.
The first treatment I did 2 weeks before this on the lowest setting.
I was doing some more reading and some users of the Silk N Sense Epil were saying its better to have a days worth of "hair" before using it instead of having just shaved like the literature says. So I tried that this time.
The second setting under the arms was a bit more sensitive than the first one in some area's . Mainly just in the "bend" of your arm if that makes sense .
Other than that, no biggie. I wish I could find out if its ok to use it every week.
See my previous posts about Laser Hair Removal.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Treatment 1 and 2 of Hair Removal

Read my intro to the Silk N Sense Epil Laser Hair Removal here.
I did my first treatment of Laser Hair Removal on Christmas day .
Area 1
Treatment 1: 12-25-10 Area: Chin and Lip . On Lowest Setting of Laser .
Treatment 2: 1-8-11 Area: Chin and Lip Laser set on notch Up .

Area 2:
1-1-11 Area Underarms Laser on lowest Setting ...

Hair Growth: Maybe a small slow down in growth but that might be generous !

The lowest setting of the laser you have to do for the first treatment , you can bypass it by holding down the -and + button after that. The first session did not hurt at all. The second one you felt a small zap but other than that no biggie !
I personally am expceting this to take some time. PCOS people take longer for hair removal I have heard anyway ... The Silk'n Sens Epil site says this :


However, I will be so happy If I only have to shave, pluck , wax once or twice a month or week even ! That would be well worth that money !


How often should I use Silk’n SensEpil?
Treatment sessions with Silk’n SensEpil should be spaced every two weeks for the first three to four sessions. After that treatments should be done if hairs have grown back, until the desired results are achieved. The total number of sessions varies from person to person, but, in general, most individuals notice a reduction after four treatments, with very good results after six treatments. Most females require eight full sessions. Males tend to have more stubborn and deeper hair and may require ten-twelve treatments. For more information please click

At Home Laser Hair Removal .... My Progress




My awesome family got me the Silk'n Sense Epil for Christmas . I decided since I have an awful memory I should probably blog about it for a few reasons. For 1 so I remember when I did my treatments. For 2 so I can report on the progress and 3 several of my friends want to know how it is working.
Im also blogging about it because it is actually weight loss related.

One reason it was so hard for me to lose weight is because I have PCOS . ( Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome) One thing PCOS causes is excess weight gain and excess facial hair. I dont have "normal" facial hair like a little lip hair around the sides of my lip, I have it on my chin as well and on my entire upper lip and lucky me its dark hair. Probably the ONLY health issue, side affect etc that did NOT Clear up after my band surgery is the excess facial hair.

Its one of the most embarrassing issues of my life. Its awful y'all. I have to carry a razor in my purse in case I forget before I leave the house . My kids are quick to point out ( Boys of course ) "Mom you need to shave " . Laser hair removal treatments are SO expensive.

SO my husband got an unexpected bonus for Christmas and I BEGGED and I do mean BEGGED him for this ..

Now about the Machine ...
There are actually 2 good ones on the market right now . This one and another one . The other one I really wanted because its rechargeable and it does not have a light source like this one . However, you can not use it on your face like this one .
Its called the Tria.
The Silk'n Sense Epil has a light (the laser source) that has to be replaced. I decided I would go ahead and get this one. It says you can use the light on an entire leg , since i only want to use this on my face ( for now ) I thought it will work fine for that for now and I wont have to replace the bulb that often .
See my first 2 treatment progress here.

Day One Down !

I did it , I worked out Yesterday !
Im going to hold myself accountable on here ! So y'all whip my a$$ if I slack off !
Im trying to watch what I eat . I will NOT go on a diet ... however Im trying to eat band friendly again . Im going to either email or call my doc soon see what he has to say about a fill . We are suppose to get medical insurance in the next few weeks , if that does not happen and I dont lose weight before then , im calling my surgeon .
In the mean time I am going to do my part, the best I can !

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Excuses I know

Between putting the house back together from the holidays and a puking kid , I have not had time to start my fresh start.
But I AM going to do it . Next week I hope things will calm down, or even tomorrow when the little one goes back to school and stops puking all over me !
I am going to the store today , I went back over some of my old blog entries to start to follow my own advice !

Monday, January 3, 2011

Ashamed, Embarrased, How did I get here again ?



I am so ashamed and embarrassed of myself right now. As i sit here unable to sleep I realize I am slipping back to old behaviors and habits. Not only physically but mentally. I am frustrated with the weight I have put back on , the health issues I have had and mostly the light that just does not seem to stay on in my brain to keep me motivated ! Why do some people have the drive and get up and go to work out and stay healthy and be skinny and I do not ? I AM going to do this . At this point a fill in my band is not possible. With the Crohns disease or what ever is going on w/ me I throw up often . So I have to head off this weight gain more than I have , or at least try . Im worried though , I could not do it before . What if I cant again ?

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Fresh Start





Im done, I looked in a full length mirror today and was disgusted with myself.
I worked so hard to get my weight off and its coming back on . Its now been over a year since I had a fill . Ive been totally unfilled for over a year now and I have gained about 40 or 45 pounds. I cant do this again ! I have to stop this !
I can say its been due to medical issues and 60% of it has been . The other 40% has been from eating crap and not doing what I am suppose to do !

So I have the new work out DVD I got the other day , Jillian Michaels 30 day shred , and my new pretty work out shoes





Im going to start working out . If i cant get at least 10 pounds off in a month Im going to go talk to my doc about a fill. I dont know if he will give it to me giving the issues I am having . Hopefully in the next few months I can get to the doc and get figured out what is going on with me , but until then I Have to do something !