2022: Become a priority in your life - today is your opportunity to build the tomorrow you want.
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oh that is DEFINITELY one for a frame Suzy !!! love it!1
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Thanks y’all. We had such a great time. I’m finally all caught up with laundry. I start my prep tomorrow for my colonoscopy on Thursday. I’m actually kind of worried about what they might find. Do you remember those weird pains I was having? I still get them occasionally and have had some bowel changes that I won’t go into. Lol. Anyway…fear of the unknown.
It’s supposed to get really hot here for the rest of the week. What’s it like in Toronto, Snoozie? Vail are y’all having record heat over there?
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Suzy.. i totally get that you're a little worried about what they might find.. when i was having my gut probs (which is code for bowels!) (and just so you know in our family there is a standing joke that if you can't talk about your bowels with your family, who can ya?) I have no idea why thats a joke with us lol.. and its only my sister and i now... but for whatever reason our bowels habits have become a standard topic of discussion - so altho we're not family, we ARE your MFP family.. so feel free to discuss anytime!)
Anyway i DO get why you are a little worried. .when things start to mess up in any way the older we get, i think we always start to worry whats going on.. and especially when it's something thats either hard to explain, or something you can't get checked while it's happening because it comes and goes.. and it's never "there" when u can get an appointment! I was TOTALLY freaked out over that gut thing in the fall... especially as it went on so long and i had blood in my stool (yup there's sharing for you!) which sent me beetling off to the doc again!) and I confess to being a little freaked out to find out last week the u/sound was on the whole abdomen not just the spleen.. spleen was bad enuf but then i started to think why did he want the whole thing.. ? i will find out this morning i have a phone appt with the hematologist for the bloodwork and u/s results. But i guess for me now when i do find myself getting a little worried instead I just try to think of it as better they check out stuff even tho it's scary ..
I can't remember did they do an ultrasound on your abdomen or the area you were having the pains in before? i know you mentioned that you're having some "gut" issues along with the pain so that's why they went with the colonoscopy.. makes total sense... in my case the colonoscopy seemed to have "fixed" whatever bug was living in my gut - well actually the prep did that as it cleans out your entire colon and i guess it took the ick with it finally.. i honestly thought i had even picked up a parasite or something! But.. after that things went in reverse for a bit and kinda freaked me out again lol.. it was like what the hell is going on?? I couldn't poop for days at a time suddenly.. no matter how much water and roughage i ate .. and once many years ago my bowels got impacted and i had to go to hospital - that was one of the scariest times for me and so of course.. when things started "backing up" again my head immediately assumed it was happening again which made me anxious.. and worried... and so the wheel continues to spin in our heads!
So now that we've had this lovely bowel talk HAHAHA... just keep in mind it's a good thing they are looking for the prob and try not to let your head get ahead of itself wondering... just try to think of it as a good thing they are looking at whats causing it and ruling out stuff as they go... sending hugs !
Vail - im sorry i had to laugh at the self breast exam becasue you said with the weight loss its easier for you now.... when in fact for me?? omg.. i can't even find my boobs anymore!! Seriously probably 20lbs of my weight loss came from my boobs i swear.. my old bras - i can actually fold the cup over in 1/2 again because they are all gone! So when i lay flat on my back to try the exam... the little bits that are left just fall off to both sides and i'm like WHERE ARE THEY!! so it was actually easier for me when they were actually still in front of my chest LOL!!!
Right then.. this already almost qualifies as a book instead of a post so i'll shut up for the moment.. !!0 -
Lol!!!! You can’t find yours and mine are down to my belly button! Lol. Gotta love getting older!
I did have a full abdominal ultrasound and they found those weird “wrinkles” on my liver and did some additional bloodwork but proclaimed it “normal.” I actually scheduled this colonoscopy on my own. I was supposed to go back for one last year but we were in the middle of moving and I put it off. She wanted me to come back in five years because my mother and brother both had polyps at a youngish age. My bowels have been getting looser over the past few months and I can’t chalk it up to a change in diet. Yesterday it was like I had already started the prep and that’s gone on nonstop. Today I’m on clear liquids so the prep won’t be doing much. It’s already done. Lol. I’m trying not to borrow trouble, as the saying goes, but I am worried. It may just be a bacterial thing.0 -
Honest to god for the 3 months i had the gut thing.. i would have sworn i was on the prep the whole time - they werent just loose i couldnt keep anything in lol.. ok that might have been TMI! The only good thing might be maybe like me, the full prep will wipe out any kind of bacteria that might be there.. have u ever had an endoscopy ? the camera down the throat into the stomach? i had one along with the previous colonoscopy cause i guess stomach and guts connected and there wasnt an ulcer, but there was some bacterial irriation and they put me on meds for a few months ... so was just curious if your doc had gone that route
i got the call from the doc... reader's digest version everything seems ok none of the organs are enlarged or whatever, my RA indicator came back super high again like a few years ago but he said with the other blood work what it is, thats a false positive. my own doc had sent me to a rheumatologist when it first came back high but he said nope just the regular osteo everyone gets back then..
anyhooo the only thing he said was my iron is really low... apparently my hemoglobin is ok but my iron is low so i wont wait for the call from my family doc when she gets these results, i'll pick up the same iron supplement she put me on a few years ago and start taking that.. i hate it cause it binds me up (why does everything lead back to the bowels ??) hahahha but that could explain some of the fatigue i was assuming was from the big weight drop ..
runnign late so will check in later... hang in ther suzy!! And to answer your earlier questions the past 2 days its been about 38C here so yep we're having a heat wave lol0 -
Good luck with the colonoscopy. Changes in bowel habits are one of those things we're always told to get checked out. I hope it goes OK for you. Good to be extra cautious with your family history. I wonder if it will work like Snoozie's and the prep will clear out the "bad" bacteria and let it recolonise. Makes me wonder if the prep itself could be a treatment for some things. But anyway, I do hope it's good news (i.e. no news) from the colonoscopy, or at the very worst that they find something easily treatable.
I had issues a few years ago, but they only did the test for inflammation which showed some inflammation but not enough for one of the diseases like Crohn's, so it ended up being just a flare-up of IBS.
While we're oversharing, I was so frustrated yesterday: I had to go for cervical screening and had been putting it off and dreading it because that part of my body has taken early retirement and is no longer working as intended. I've had hormone stuff to try to get it going again just for the examination but it didn't work, and the nurse wasn't able to do it. I think they're going to prescribe more stuff for me to use before trying again. I'm wavering over whether to use the HRT patches I was prescribed. They would help and also help with some other stuff, but apparently they raise the risk of heart attack slightly if you have existing heart disease. Such a dilemma.
Snoozie, I had toilet problems on some medication a few years back, and it wasn't nearly as unpleasant as yours, but definitely the consistency was similar to your description I think, basically just water. So I was confined to the house until I got medication to stop it which meant I could go to work: but then at night the medication would wear off after a few hours and I'd wake up launching myself towards the loo and have to sit there for an hour until or so the medication took effect again. Every night! It was absolutely exhausting! But I think better than yours because I wasn't actually unwell, it was just a reaction, and because the medication worked during the day. I actually had this twice, with two completely different medications, so I think I just react oddly to some things, lol!
I think it's good that they have a look around in the general area with the ultrasound. I hope the iron supplement works for you. It's a bit worrying to be so low in iron, but I suppose with months of what you went through it's a surprise you managed to absorb much nutrients at all!0 -
Vail - its funny you mention taking hte meds to be able to work during the day but once they wore off and at home you were stuck on the loo! When i had salmonella 30 yrs ago i literally couldnt go out of the house either - and of course i had to work back then plus my nephew had just been born and was only 2lbs at birth and was in the neo natal unit .. anywayyy my doc told me then to take immodium if i HAD to go out... but also told me the longer i took the meds, the longer the bacteria would stay in my gut... she said its better if you can just let it keep going til its out. i was like umm ya that's NOT gonna work lol.. but like you i would only take it to get me thru work and then once i was home, i didnt take it to try to let nature get rid of it.. but that was like 6 weeks of that nightmare so i totally feel for what you went thru with your med one!
oh before i forget suzy because if i dont write it when i think of it i will... i had polyps 2 the last 2 scopes i believe... they removed them and did biopsies just to be sure (there is no history n my family) but it was all clear... so im just saying its not unusual at our age for them to find some I AM thinking of you today.. altho as we know the test is a piece of cake itself... its surviving the prep thats the challenge!! My friend who came to pick me up after even brought me a coffee knowing i'd be jonesing for one after the procedure.. so i hope hubby brings you your treat to have the minute you're out lol
Vail - i was meaning to ask you if you had decided to start using hte patches.. i know u told us you had them but were reluctant to start using.. did u talk to your doc about the heart risk?? That completely SUCKS you werent able to have the test done... is there some kind of cream maybe you could use jsut until the next test?? honestly i don't know anything about it - that part of me has been in retirement a LONG time too hahaha... but i havent had any probs in that area myself .. i guess on me its all the other parts messing up so maybe mother nature decided to skip that one on me ha.. but omg i guess you would have been totally frustrated.. im really sorry.... hopefully they can figure out something soon just so you can get it done at least ! keep us posted on the patch decision pls
i HAVE to go shopping for some clothes.. i'd rather have root canal as you know.. but i need some summer shirts preferably 3/4 length sleeve to wear at the airport.. i will go sleeveless around town and puttering but not in public often ... and all i have are long sleeve shirts right now everythig else is too big (there's a complaint i've never had before) so off i go into the wilds..... if you don't hear back from me in 24 hrs pls send help - im curled up in the fetal position in a change room!!0 -
Colonoscopy done!!! Yay!!!! I had three small benign looking polyps that she removed. They’ll be sent to pathology just to make sure. Worried for nothing but so glad that’s over! I had my cup of tea waiting in the car. My yeti kept it warm. Heaven! They said to eat something starchy, high in carbs. So I had a waffle! Lol. I came home and slept for a couple hours. I still feel a bit dizzy so I’m drinking lots of water and resting. Early to bed tonight.
Snoozie, I don’t know why it always comes back to bowels. Lol. Hopefully the iron won’t have a stoppage effect. I hope you survived your shopping expedition!
Vail, I don’t understand the cervical screening. Why couldn’t they do yours? Is it a Pap smear? Is this a routine screening? How frustrating for you. It really is a dilemma about the HRT and I know it’s scary. Is there any alternative to the patch that doesn’t affect the heart?
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That's great news about your colonoscopy, Suzy. Although it still doesn't give you an explanation for the pain!
Yes, it was just a routine smear test. I had tried topical oestrogen, have tried both a ring and a cream and the ring in particular helped a lot, but didn't quite get things normal enough. Actually my symptoms aren't too bad, but it does seem to make it difficult to have any sort of examination.
Yes, I'd talked to my doctor a couple of times about the HRT. She said she wouldn't have it if she was me. In the end she said she would prescribe and I could think about it and then it would be there if I decided to have it. I did want the HRT for other reasons, for protection against osteoporosis, etc.
Hope the clothes shopping went well, Snoozie and you managed to find something. I hate it too! I remember we used to talk about how great it would be to be rich and have a chef who cooked meals for you. I'm thinking it would also be good to have a tailor or clothes person, who had all your measurements and bought/made clothes and shoes that fit well and you didn't have to think about it. And would choose things that would suit you. And would lay it all out for you to put on in the morning!1 -
Sometimes I just wish I had learned how to sew. I could either alter or make my clothes to my specifications. Oh well, that ship has sailed. Lol.
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So glad the scope is over suzy and glad u had your tea waiting - i bet it tasted awesome LOLOL.. and also glad they are gonna do biopsies just to be on the safe side.. they did the same with mine. i hope the dizzy has passed and you're feeling good today! I hear ya on the sewing - i flunked that class in school lol. Buttons are about as much as i can handle! And yes i would add personal tailor to the person chef dream lol. And a housekeeper whose only job would be to put fresh clean sheets and pillowcases on every day!! haha
Vail have you made a decision yet on the patches ?? since you've tried the creams and ring and no luck just curious if you're going to give it a go. I get your hesitation now specially if your doc said she wouldn't recommend it.. no wonder you aren't sure what to do. I hope you manage to find something that will let you get the screening done!
So to close out the bowel discussion for now perhaps.... yesterday i experienced a living nightmare with mine. This may be (will be) TMI so you might want to skip this part) but i was sitting in my financial planner's office going over some stuff when completely out of the blue with absolutely no warning i had a terrible bout of diarrhea .. i couldn't stop it i couldn't even tell it was coming just suddenly whammo and it wouldnt stop!! OMG.. I'll spare you the majority of the details but i literally ran out of the office trying to find the bathroom - all the while it just kept coming.. he ran after me trying to point me down hallways towards it and still it came.. I thought I was going to die of mortification and humiliation... the ONLY saving grace was I was wearing a relatively tight pair of black capris.. but you can imagine by the time i was able to lock myself in the bathroom.. well... it was a disaster. I managed to clean up enuf to get back to his office and grab my purse, then apologise profusely and literally ran out the door - my place is only 10 min from there but it was the longest 10 min of my life... i was so embarrassed and so humiliated... i had a few more bouts at home ... the only thing i can think that caused it was i picked up some iron supplements and had taken one the day before and one yesterday morning... they can be hard on your guts but i've been on them before and NEVER experienced this nightmare... so needless to say i won't be taking any more for the moment.. i'll call my doc on monday but i'm crossing my fingers today i will be ok as i'm back at the airport tonite. But i gotta tell ya.. i may never call him back to finish up my stuff.. i'm just glad i had already signed the important stuff before it happened!!!
Right then.. i'm thinking maybe its time to move onto those elbow parts now for a change???0 -
Oh my gosh, Snoozie. I can’t even imagine. I’m so sorry you went through that. How awful for you. I hope it was a reaction to the iron. Maybe go buy some Depends before going to the airport tonight just as a precaution. So scary that there was no warning.0
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Yep was right up there in the worst most embarrassing moments of my life lol.. oh well.. i actually found some pads i had got for the last scope prep in my linen closet... but knock wood it was the damn iron supps.. hope you're feeling better today!1
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I’m feeling fine today. I think I just milked it for all it was worth yesterday and did nothing. Lol.
Glad you found something to give you some reassurance for tonight’s volunteer work. Let us know what your doctor says after you talk to them on Monday. I hope tonight goes well.
Vail, am I getting too personal when I ask why you have to have hormone treatment for a cervical test? Is there something specific they’re looking for? I hope you’re okay and this is more of a routine exam? If it’s more than you want to go into then I totally understand.
We’re taking my parents out to a steakhouse tonight for dinner. It’s their 72nd anniversary. Can you believe that? Wow!
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holy cow.. 72 years !!!! i think that's some kind of record Suzy!!!
LOL @ the milking.. you go girl!! i'm pretty sure i did the same - i figured i earned it after the scope too lol.
steak huh..... steak is one of the best sources of IRON.... RED MEAT (ok organ meat but yuck on that) so i think me deserves a STEAK too !1 -
How awful, Snoozie! Maybe it was the iron tablets. They do seem to make you go either constipated or the other way. I wouldn't have expected anything so dramatic, though! I wonder if because of your previous issues you've had a more extreme reaction. I'm so sorry that you had that experience. It does sound like an absolute nightmare. Yes, go for the steak rather than the iron tablets!
Suzy, it's just a routine test that's due every few years. The HRT isn't for that specifically, that's just a hopeful side effect as the other hormone treatments haven't fully worked. I do actually have another condition in that region, although I don't think that's the issue, and also having some other health problems at the moment - anyway, I don't want to give too much detail as I'm aware this isn't a private forum! I wouldn't mind you knowing, I just don't want to put it all out in public!0 -
I totally understand! I hope you get it worked out soon and everything is okay. I never used to think about health issues when I was younger. It seems like it’s always something any more. It makes us so much more thankful for a day without pain or worries!
I’m watching my granddaughter Mon, Wed and Fri this week while my daughter has a class. She’s potty training so it should be quite a week. I don’t guess I’ll be taking her to the park or pool. My husband and I are going to try to start walking after dinner again starting this week. We’ve got to do something because we haven’t been hiking.
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Vail - i totally get why you wouldnt want to post intimate details on the world wide web too LOLOL.. so agree with Suzy that whatever you're dealing with - that you can get it all sorted one way or another! Like you said.. why is it never elbows or knees huh? Maybe we could start substituting those parts in our convos instead of the nether regions ha...
and no i certainly wasnt expecting that horror either.. never in my wildest dreams... and im not taking any more til i see my doctor frankly i just dont wanna risk it happening again.. so i bought a nice little steak today for dinner tomorrow night ha.... i have a couple of days off after tonites airport shift so i'll enjoy that dinner for sure!!
Suzy - dont you have a birthday coming up?? Mine is and i think we are very similar in dates - we were talking about ages at the airport the other day cause so many are so young and i said something about be kind to us old folks i'm 62 ... then i was like omg hold on.. NO I'M NOT LOLOL.. i just turned 60 last year so i'll be 61 this year gak.. the last thing i need to be doing is adding on years hahaha..
Suzy good luck with the potty training week lol... hope you and your hubby get to enjoy some after dinner walks on the off days .. i haven't walked in weeks either and i desperately need to get back to doing it daily!1 -
Yes, I celebrated my 61st while staying with my brother in Texas. The years seem to be flying by.0
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Suzy
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Lol. Thanks Snoozie! If only my body knew that loophole!0
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Happy Birthday Suzy! Glad you were able to celebrate with family. Yes, the years are going so quickly. I really feel that at the moment - just whizzing by!
I think the chances of anybody coming across me on this forum are slim, but a friend recently had a bit of scare being found and stalked on social media. She didn't know she would be so easy to track down. I know I don't use my real name here, but it's amazing how sometimes people find you. In fact, I've found people in the past, accidently, when they were "incognito", just recognising some of the details of their life and their writing style. Anyway, my friend's experience has just made me a little bit wary for now!
I've been helping my son and daughter-in-law move house and apparently it's traditional to get takeaway at these times. So we did, and that's a least a week's work gone! Trying to get back on track yet again.0 -
Vail - you're absolutely right people don't realize how many bits and pieces they leave of themselves.. i had a friend challenge me to try to find her on FB as she used a fake name - it took me maybe 10 minutes!
LOL on the tradition - in my day it was beer and pizza for the volunteer movers - but i suspect you burned off a lot of any extra cals consumed with the moving part!
Not much new here - i had my steak last night and my plate for once actually looked like the food pyramid thingy - i had 3/4 of my plate steamed broccoli/cauli and a bit of frozen corn tossed in and 3 little slices of the steak.. ok i went back for another small slice haha.. but i do find now if i slice my steak thin in the kitchen before plating it, rather than throwing 1/2 the steak right on my plate i eat less of it.. i even have enuf left for a nice lunch before i go into the airport tonite. I haven't heard anything about an extension yet so technically tonite is my last scheduled shift - altho i may hear from mobilization today. i signed up for a fun pickleball event tomorrow - it's been over a month since i have been able to play and i miss it - but it might rain so we will see.
I'm up a couple of pounds which is no surprise as i had a weird craving day yesterday and indulged it - have to admit its a rare day now when i do crave sweets or salty so i'll live with it.. i did put my weight up in the check in tho as i'm still tracking it to show my doc.. i'm going to make an apt to see her about everything thats gone on the past few months and the results from the hematologist, but i'm actually making a list of everything that went on by body part LOLOL... starting at the top and working my way down.. i've had a few weird things - not big just weird, like my baby finger on my right hand has been really sore for a few weeks.. sore in the joints .. i've had a pulled muscle in my leg or back as well for a few weeks.. one minute i think its the sciatica the next i think its that pitiformis muscle then i wonder if its a hamstring.. i should have paid more attention in biology and anatomy .. and as long as i wear shoes it doesnt hurt much, but as soon as i go barefoot omg can barely walk.. that sort of weird stuff.. so i'm compiling a list of the gut stuff and eveyrthing else and will email it to myself when i've finished to go over absolutely everything with her, along with the questions i want to ask... then i'll book the appointment. i figure if i write it all down i'll remember more stuff as i go and perhaps having the whole picture of the last 6 months laid out will make it easier for both of us to see any kind of pattern or explanation for the stuff..
this is a holiday weekend for us - we're Canada Day on July 1st and i know July 4th is your holiday Suzy so happy birthday to both our countries lol0 -
I hope you were able to play PB, Snoozie. I wish it wasn’t so darn hot so that we could go hiking but I’m not going in this heat. We haven’t been in so long and neither of us are in condition for it right now. We still haven’t started our evening walks. I definitely have NOT been making myself a priority that’s for sure. It’s my own fault.
My niece and her two year old daughter are coming to visit later this week. We’ll be able to get four of my parent’s great grandchildren together at a pool party/bbq next weekend. No one here has met her daughter yet. We saw them in Texas recently. It should be fun.
What a great idea on documenting everything. I hate that we all have things to document though. Lol. Remember when we were younger and didn’t have this roulette wheel of aches and pains? Sometimes when I can’t get to sleep I’ll start cataloging all mine, just thinking about it. It always puts me to sleep. Lol.
I’m a day late but happy Canada day! We don’t really have plans for the 4th. We may go to our daughter’s house and go to their pool.
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I'm sorry, Suzy, I'm laughing at you cataloguing everything to get to sleep! It's awful that it should be like that, but true.
I was doing an online form to contact the doctor yesterday, and it asks for your symptoms then asks if you have any of these and gives a list of more worrying things, and I never know what to do because I've got a few on the list but they're not the things I'm wanting to see the doctor about! I'd end up a huge dissertation if I documented all my ailments, lol! However, the doctors in the family have told me that this particular one is quite worrying.
Anyway, I hope you find out what's going on, Snoozie. Maybe those other symptoms are a clue, so it's good to make that you're making a list and looking at the whole picture. The iron deficiency as well.
Happy holidays to you both!1 -
oh no Vail - on the worrying one.. is there not an "other" category you could state your more worrying one you want to see him/her about?? im assuming you can't call or you would have... i hope you get in to actually see them in person soon so you can splain its about the more specific thing... fingers crossed and sending a hug!0
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Thanks, Snoozie. I have actually got a face to face appointment later this week so I must have said the right things on the form! It's famously difficult to get one these days!2
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Ohhhhhh i'm so glad you'll be able to get in face to face - I imagine it's going to be a long wait for you even tho its this week as you're having some scary symptoms; please let us know how it goes and i will send up positive vibes into the universe for you!1
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Vail, I hope you get some answers and that they’re manageable. I hate it when doctors just tell you that it’s “normal” or because you’re getting older. I want definitive answers. It seems like we rarely get that.
Snoozie, don’t you have an appointment coming up soon?
We had a really nice weekend. It was so busy that we opted to stay home and chill on the 4th. My niece and her two year old daughter arrive tomorrow and stay until Tuesday. It’s going to be a really busy six days. I keep telling myself that once this next thing is done then I’ll get back on track but then I don’t. I know it’s all excuses and I’m only hurting myself. This next week I’m going to focus on portion sizes and try not to mindless eat. Baby steps. We still haven’t started our evening walks and won’t for the next week.1 -
Suzy - lets face it at this stage of our lives, we all know sometimes we have to make other people our priorities instead of ourselves.. in a perfect world we could place our own needs first, but real life don't work that way as we know. It is what it is this next week, so please try NOT to add in any of the "guilt" we are all famous for dumping on ourselves over things are out of our control! When it's the right time for you to be able to focus on yourself, you'll know it so just enjoy your time with your family and don't worry about what you "can't" do - if you get the chance to watch your portion control and keep one eye on the mindless eating, great!! But if not - that's ok too.. !!0
