u/VagueEchoes

I have been on the Kwikpen for over a year in Italy. Once I moved to the US I was given a script for the single dose injection pens only since that's what insurance would cover. It took me well over a month to get a new prior auth, etc... so I'm lucky I was able to get anything.

In that month (and back in the US) I've managed to gain weight due to the food here and I noticed my appetite is back in full force. I want to move up to 15 mg, but stuck with all these 12.5mg pens for a while.

I have two full shots left in my Kwikpen (plus golden dose if possible) and I'm thinking I can take the single shot pen and then substitute a 2.5mg dose from the Kwikpen (12 clicks) to make it 15mg. Either that or slowly titrate up to 12 clicks (doing 6 clicks or about 1mg extra). Has anyone done this before? I figure it can get me to the 10 week mark and more likely to get 15mg next script.

Just like the title says. I managed to gain about 8 lbs in a short time being in the US. I had been in Europe for a number of years, doing great on losing weight on MJ. It's clear what the issue is - car culture, hyper processed foods, etc...

What I mean is I was so used to walking everywhere. I did not drive a car. I would walk to the grocery store, to work, to restaurants, etc... In the US I either get asked if I need a ride or the area is just not conducive to walking at all. The other days I spent 3+ hours driving back and forth places. Now if I want to walk I need to make gym time to do so.

As for food, I'm not in a position to be cooking as we have a kitchenette in our lodging, but there is no oven and no space to do good meal/food prep and little to no storage space.

The struggle is real in America.

We are in the middle of moving internationally. We have to buy beds for our kids here locally (in the US) but need something for us adults until the main shipment arrives.

We are exploring either getting an air mattress or perhaps a Japanese floor mattress or Korean yo. Either option we could reuse it for guests later on. I had back surgery a few years ago. Last time I slept on an air mattress it made my back pain worse, but I understand air mattress tech has changed since then.

We are in the middle of moving internationally. We have to buy beds for our kids here locally (in the US) but need something for us adults until the main shipment arrives.

We are exploring either getting an air mattress or perhaps a Japanese floor mattress or Korean yo. Either option we could reuse it for guests later on. I had back surgery a few years ago. Last time I slept on an air mattress it made my back pain worse, but I understand air mattress tech has changed since then.

I have a last chance at duty free and getting VAT off. How is the selection and stock?

I've heard from a lot of people that their first LV was a Neverfull gifted to them from family or their own first purchase. Or they started with a smaller item like a keychain, pouch or wallet.

What was your first LV item? Would you recommend it to others as a first 'toes in the water' for LV? If you could go back and change it, what would you have recommended to yourself back then?

I finally made it to 192 lbs, about 50 lbs down. I went from a size 20/22W to about a size 16 or XL size. A lot of people at work have been encouraging me to wear better fitting clothing which comes to mean tighter/form fitting clothes. I wear business casual and some business for the most part - dresses which are not tight around the waist and ponte pants with a nice top and cardigan.

The one time I wore a dress that was not 'loose' aka form fitting, I did not like the stares I received from my work colleagues focused on my waist area. Although many of the comments were encouraging from women in the office and they told me they were proud of how much I lost, but I could tell what the men were focused on.

Strangely I had enjoyed not having to deal with this when bigger and felt nice to be at work and have people talk to my face, not my body. It's not going to stop me from getting to my goal weight, but I feel I need to hide the weight loss a bit more in order to stop the comments and glares from work colleagues.

I've managed to drop 50 lbs in almost a year and went from a size 20W to a 16W. BUT the bloating in my stomach area is so bad and painful, my 16W pants feel super tight by midday. Yesterday I was looking at myself in the elevator mirror at work and I looked pregnant. Just last week my stomach was flatter and flabby and my pants falling off. This week it's the opposite. I have NOT gained any weight, in fact I went down another pound. I do have Miralax daily with my coffee and take a pill for HBP that is also a diuretic.

Since the weather is hot I've also been drinking more water. I'm sure it's due to slowed digestion, but it's incredibly uncomfortable.

I've tried a number of diabetic pen bags and they've all failed miserably over long international flights (20+ hours on the plane, 3 hours in airport). I don't mind so much if I'm within the 20 days window, but I'll be traveling with a new Kwikpen.