VSG Maintenance Group
Thursday, February 22, 2024
Kinky Boots was a really fun musical. Though I knew Cindy Lauper had written the music I didn't really know the story. It was actually about a shoe manufacturer, Diane S, but it is about their move into making boots for transvestites/cross dressing men. Though really it was about acceptance and being real. The cast voices were good though not as compelling as at a Broadway show. But great nonetheless. We have one more show left in this season's subscription in April: On Your Feet.
We prefaced the show by going to a highly rated restaurant which is unadvertised, has no website and doesn't take reservations. Wow! Wonderful ambiance, food and service. And small amounts of super tasting food (we had fish). We will be back but not frequently as it was quite expensive (though worth it).
So my weight staying static made me feel better. I knew my clothes from the last couple of years still fit but something was making me feel like it might be creeping - probably my knees. I'm thinking I should start doing my own physical therapy routine for my knees in addition to taking some weight off of them.
This afternoon we are going to try sheltering from the wind at the pool (it has continued to be cool and windy most of this week). Dinner tonight is grilled chicken and salad. Trying to eat healthy.
Time to walk our usual 3.5 miles with Justice. Have a thrilling Thursday!
on 2/22/24 8:25 am
You know those days when everything goes wrong and you really should just go back to bed and maybe try again later? I had fed the dog this morning and just sat down with my full cup of coffee when Kirby ambushed and flew at me on the couch. My whole cup of hot coffee flew all over me and the couch. Then he thought it was a game and ran around through the mess. I got out the carpet cleaner to try to get it off the couch and rug and couldn't figure out why it wasn't cleaning. Forgot part of the attachment. Finally got that sorted, changed my clothes. Mason came and we discussed how the new grout he's putting in is totally the wrong color. He's going to regroup. Come inside and decide to make eggs to restart my day. Drop an egg on the floor. Fergus would have been all over cleaning that up, Kirby just walked through it extending the mess. Cleaned that up. Try to make myself another cup of coffee, but the water tank is empty. Go to fill the water tank, but the water cooler is empty. Go to change the bottle, but they filled the new one too full, so I get Claudia to hold a bottle while I try to pour off the excess. Put the 5 gallon bottle down, it splashes out all over the floor which was the mess I was trying to avoid by pouring off the top. Go to slide the new bottle into the machine and get my finger caught between it and the edge and rip an inch and a half chunk off the top of my index finger and start bleeding all over. At this point I burst into tears. Today sucks so far!
Today is my 7 year surgiversary. Amazing how life marches on. My regain was 62 pounds until the Zepbound. Today I'm still 50 less than before my VSG and 100 less than my highest weight before one of my many other previous 100+ pound weight loss attempts. So while I still battle, I have held on to previously won battle fronts and given myself more time to fight.
The scale was up 0.2. A rounding error. I'll walk the coffee terrorist at some point and maybe go to the car wash and pick up a few things at the grocery store, UPS store drop off and post office. My dad and Claudia are heading to Phoenix tonight ahead of his stent change early in the morning. Easier than driving 2 hours in the early am. So I'm on my own tonight (mutt included).
That's it from Chaos Central. Hope all your mornings are starting off better!
Had my labs drawn yesterday. So far all results are within normal limits. LDL is 51. Can't complain about that. Naturally, non of the glucose panels are back yet. Those are the numbers that will tell whether I qualify for the WL meds through insurance.
Turns out my brother's medicare supplemental doesn't WANT to cover Ozempic as prescribed. Yet, it covers Mounjaro. He took his first shot of Mounjaro day before yesterday. Will be interesting to see if he loses weight on it, since weight loss is not a seemingly high priority for him.
I have not been getting proper sleep for one reason or the other this week (doggy diarrhea, puppy diarrhea, staying up too late, and the respiratory virus that just keeps giving!). I am looking forward to the weekend when I can sleep in a little. I did get a new inhaler and some effective cough medicine (benzonatate) that allowed for a cough free sleep last night. I actually woke up without the alarm today. Always a sign of ample sleep for me.
CC, I think Kirby has a naughty gene! LOL! I am curious about your morning routine with him. Believe it or not, your morning routine could have something to do with his behavior choices in the morning.
Liz, how wonderful that you are wearing the same clothes that have fit you in recent years. I find that an absolute cause for celebration. I was "bragging" to my doctor that I have been wearing the same clothes for several years. I'm a bit proud of myself for stopping the gain and maintaining for several years, albeit in the obese range.
Not much planned after school today - a visit with my dad and then maybe some puppy play, dog trimming, and continued desk cleaning.
Let's strive for a thriving Thursday!
on 2/22/24 10:19 am
Benzonatate is great stuff! That saved me a few years ago when I couldn't get rid of a long standing cough. I got the inhaler too, but the "pearls" alone stopped my coughing. Suppresses the impulse when you don't have anything to cough out anymore!
Kirby is a morning dog! Up at sunrise, I give him pets and he licks my hand and arm until I can drag myself out of bed. We go out to pee and poop, then inside for breakfast and water. Then he wants to play, which caused this morning's body slam I missed coming. He also doesn't like me looking at my phone or iPad and that makes him nip to get attention. I am not a morning person and it takes me a cup of coffee to wake up. Ferg would eat and go back to sleep. Kirby finds meals energizing. He gets a walk around 10 or 11 and sometimes one late afternoon. I'd be interested if you have different ideas! He's often hiccuping when he gets up, so I like to get him fed so he doesn't do the bile throw up thing.
I'm confused why your doctor is trying to prescribe Ozempic instead of Wegovy? It's the same drug, but Wegovy is manufactured for the purpose of weight loss, whereas Ozempic for weight loss is off label. How we got Wegovy: people were losing weight on Ozempic, so studies to test it for weight loss, not diabetes, were conducted. It was found to be effective, dosages were set and it was approved solely for weight loss. All you need to qualify is a BMI over 30. Is the issue that your insurance will not pay for weight loss drugs, so they have to find a way to qualify you for Ozempic instead of Wegovy, a designated drug for weight loss.
Also, how long ago did you take Vyvanse for binge eating? Could that qualify for one of the drug trials they want you to do? When I asked for Wegovy they were able to document I already tried phentermine and topamax, so I could now move onto Wegovy.
I'm with Kaiser. Kaiser does not currently cover Wegovy, but does cover Ozempic. The weight loss drugs available with Kaiser in my region are Phentermine, Wellbutrin, (and off label Metformin and Ozempic if high glucose is an issue). Kaiser does not cover Mounjaro or Zepbound or Wegovy yet.
I took Vyvanse for about a year, but again that was not technically for weight loss.
I'm going to go ahead and start with the semaglutide compound and see what the doc says about my A1C results. I am a tenth of a point over normal range, so I'm not sure he will prescribe even the metformin. We shall see....
Interestingly, my brother was prescribed Ozempic by his doc to manage his type 2 diabetes. My brother's bluecross coverage doesn't cover Ozempic, but it does cover Mounjaro, so he started Mounjaro. I find it fascinating what insurance companies will cover and how coverage can vary company to company!
