Wow-what a neat poem. I think we all struggle at some point. I'm with Inky, the portion of the stomach that is left is very tough to stretch. I still think you can make it work but I agree that the best solution is to learn and work thru your issues and then you can make it work. Best of luck to you!

WOW Cindy you are in my thoughts and I hope that all is going to be ok with you.....I will say the BIGGEST prayer for you....

Hi Wynette, I'm soo sorry to hear you are having trouble. It's never too late and you are worth the effort. Going to a counselor is the best first step and making an appointment with your physician is the second step. Guess what, you aren't going to be the first or last patient who struggles - they've seen it before - and will know what to do to help you. I had my surgery on 4/24 and I still log my food daily on sparkepeople.com - good or bad but it really keeps me accountable. My exercise physiologist says that we under estimate how much we eat by at least 25% so tracking it is critical. I would recommend tracking your food so you know where the 10 - 15 pound yo yo is coming from. My physician's office also provided the RMR testing to you know how many calories your body burns a day which then tells us how much we need to eat to lose. For me - this has been key to losing. I've lost 120 pounds with 17 more to go and I haven't been perfect. I still make mistakes, get off track, but something I do differently - it's getting back on track so I don't snowball like I did before. I'm also going to saying something that's not popular but here goes...when you can't do everything, stick with the basics - good sleep and watch what you eat. When I'm not exercising regularly I really watch what I eat - and it works. You don't have to do everything perfect. There is hope Wynette and you are not lost. Here's a poem that a friend of mine in my local support group shared (and I think she got it off this website) but I thought it might speak to you. Peace! Susan If you've started out in pursuit of your goal And you've really tried with your heart and your soul, but somehow things got out of control--- START OVER. When you've tried your best to do what you should And you thought this time that you surely would, But once again, you didn't do good--- START OVER. When you've worked so hard to follow a dieters way And you fought to win a victory each day. But one more time you went astray--- START OVER. When you've tried so hard to yourself to be true And do the things that you know you should do, But once again you failed to come through--- START OVER. When the road to success seemed much too long And each temptation was oh so strong And once again you gave in to wrong--- START OVER. When you've told your friends what you planned to do And trusted them to help you through But soon discovered it's up to you--- START OVER. When you know you must be physically fit, But your hope seems gone and you're stuck in a pit That's not the time for you to quit--- START OVER. When the week seems long and successes few And at weigh-in time you're feeling blue, Remember tomorrow is just for you--- START OVER. To start again means a victory's been won And starting over again means a race well run And starting over again proves it can be done So don't just sit there--- START OVER ~~ Author Unknown ~~

Boy it sure does, Even just two days off it now I feel so much less blah than after I was taking my Atenolol (even though it was only 25 mg). I do have to keep monitoring it for a while and make sure it stays down, but I'm happy to at least have the chance to try life without it. Inky

I'm keeping you in all my positive thoughts Cindy. Please let us know what else you hear - and thank goodness for those yearly tests!! Inky