iggychic

Are you having surgery in state or do you need to travel outside? I know of one other Alaskan besides myself and I know she's going to Mexico...wait there is one other gal....we're practically a pack LOL (I think she was mexico as well...)

We were down there a couple of years ago with the Savoir (sp?) family for the mardi gras run What a hoot! And the people were lovely.

Volume is the measurement you need to be concerned with. Think about the size of your sleeve...it does not matter if you eat half a cup of lead or half a cup of feathers, it only has room for half a cup. Weight is handy for some tracking (ie MFP) but you want to be sure you aren't over filling your sleeve which is a volume issue.

You aren't on solid food are you? Once you eat denser foods you'll fill up faster.

I was told that carbonation on occasion at six months is ok. Not prior as it's not good for a healing tummy (and your tummy is not healed at a few weeks out). I don't care so much for soda, though I do like one on occasion, but we are wine collectors and I used to drink champagne weekly at worst I love champagne and don't care if it has nutritional value I think there are many wonderful things in life without nutritional value...and enjoy experiencing them IN MODERATION! So, at six months I will have a glass of champs on occasion if I would like to. And given it's carbonation in moderation...I'll take the champs over soda any day LOL Gin and tonic though on a hot hot summer day....ya that will happen as well

im glad all turned out well and you are recuperating! see you on the losers bench!

Size is realtive to almost nothing but the brand you are buying Ten years ago I was 110 which is my goal now as well. I was in general a size five (now a days I only see even numbers though so that might have been juniors). But I had pants that were too big that were a size 2 and a few pairs of 7's that fit perfectly. The cheaper the brand the higher the number was a general rule I saw in clothing (vanity sizing...if you're rich you can buy smaller sizes I guess LOL). Anyhoo, I expect that I'll be in anywhere from a zero to a six and a size small or xsmall top, though I am a DD at that weight so that varies by cut. The scale number is more important than the clothing size to me.

Okey dokey...I'm in as well Current weight, 145 Goal weight, 130 I'm getting into the lower numbers so I expect a bit slower weight loss than some. I'd love to put 120 but I think that might be a huge push

I nearly died of a leak and it's complications. I never once had pain in my stomach. If you develop a fever (low or otherwise) and have general weakness or illness, you need to have a test. It's life and death stuff if you ignore it.

heh heh Ditto! And for a reward I'm having pumpkin pie LOL Ok not much of it, but I'm glad to be off most restrictions today!

We earned neurotic honey! At this point you should be feeling fairly safe that you are in the clear, though of course don't push things like aggressive exercise or eating things that are too tough for your tummy. The only restrictions I have are raw vegies and fruits like carrot, apple, oh and nuts...super hard things pretty much. But we are within a week of each others repair work and my doc said after two weeks I should breath a sigh of relief and at six I could quit worrying

lol you reached mine too! oh and I did as well, though I'm traveling so while the hotel scale seems right, I don't officially count anything but my scale at home.

Are you in the hospital? If you have a leak and are this far out your life could be in danger. DO NOT take lethargy from a doctor. This is your life!

Not waiting is not a matter of if you stomach will like them...it's that they may cause damage. Stick to your doctors orders. You don't want complications from advancing too quickly.

Well of course it's possible, but you have to look at the anatomy of a leak to think about the likelihood. You are out over six weeks from the first leak right??? Any future leak issues would be likely detected by now or you'd not be seeing improvement. Your initial leak of course is kind of "virgin" territory so it has to have the whole period of recovery started again from whatever cure was done....so for me that means that my leak is six weeks old, and fragile, and my original incision line is three months old. Three months out is a very safe period of time to feel I'm going to be leak free...except for the weaker area of the incision where the leak was...which is still in the window of possibility for leaking. Was that talking in circles???? Or did it make some sense? The good thing about a leak (if there is one) is that it can't just leak undetected for too long before it kills you. Typically they are discovered within a week or two. Even my great doc says that I'm in fairly safe territory because the leak cure was still working two weeks from the second operation. Six weeks out he feels pretty safe that all will be well. Three months from now hopefully it will just be a bad memory for both of us!

Gotta love a good judgemental nurse! I must say that at the hospital that cured me I never ran into that. Virginia Mason must weed out the bad eggs But at our local hospital it was the idiot doctor...she told me the morning after my first drain that I was cured and could go home. Mind you I couldn't breath and I felt exactly the same...but she told me this was her bread and butter and she knew what she was talking about. We insisted on another xray...hummm lung was full again in less than six hours. I insisted on transfer to a better hospital...and oddly enough she never showed her bread and butter face again

Lux you need to get back with your surgeon or another one and get this taken care of. It still sounds like a leak might be the issues because it's been going on for so long with no relief. Oh and Katie...I'll know for sure next week but all looks well. If I don't need my claw anymore I'm going to mail it to Lux

WOWSERS!!!! What a fabulous thing to do...lose 100lbs FOREVER!!!!!!!! When I went from "obese" to "just fat" I wanted to shout it from the rooftops as well. I'm so excited for you. WTG!!!!!!

I hope they find your gall bladder soon so they can fix things up! Is it perhaps having tea with the queen? They do tend to sneak off sometimes for a little spotted d**k or figgy pudding.... (I love a good typo) And I'll love better to read this made you giggle when you get out of surgery and feel 100% better my dear! Stay away from the hospital turkey though! It's beyond horrific!!!

Good They take a couple of days build up in your body to work, but most sleevers find them necessary for the first three months. I tried to go without them last week and learned I still need them. (I'm at seven weeks from my second surgery and three months from the first).

Did you have the front drain or the ones in your back? I don't know which was worse LOL But I use both as an example to people who have a few pounds to lose... "Stick a knitting needle down your back without anesthesia" or "Slit a hole in your chest, pry your lungs apart, and then stuff a garden hose down in the hole...again, no anesthesia...then attach it to a suction pump and remember to plan your potty trips because you can't move without assistance". The second was a hoot when burdened with diarrhea! If I'd had one of these procedures prior to the surgery I'd have joined a gym and kept the weight off permanently out of fear LOL I was hoping you'd skipped this fun because they knew about the leak so soon. Your leak must have been higher up on the stomach as well. Sorry you had to live this dear!

I never felt good after the first surgery. Somewhat due to the issue with internal bleeding, but also because of the leak. As each day passed I got weaker and weaker. I was in and out of the ER constantly and the doctors office. I never felt remotely well after the first surgery. After the second I was amazingly better even the first day after. It was like night and day.

Oh I forgot...are you eating frozen farmed salmon? Frozen fish are always dryer (even flash frozen) than fresh. If someone tells you it's "fresh frozen" please remind them that once it was frozen...it's no longer fresh King salmon is much moister than any other type you might find. Alaskan king, Kwethluk King and Yukon or Russian River are the best. WHite kind is devine if you can find it. While king is more expensive than coho (which we don't even attempt to eat unless we catch it that day) you can eat so little you can afford the splurge if you're going to enjoy some salmon It may now be apparent I'm a bit of a fish snob? Salmon in particular LOL M Street Market in Anchorage ships fresh if you're desperate LOL

Oh doxie I forgot to ask DH....Baked...leave the skin on with the skin down on the bottom of the pan. RUb it with some olive oil and season as you wish. We like paul prudom's magic salmon seasoning. Bake at 350. To check it for doneness you stick a fork into it in the center of your piece. You want it to be flaking on the top but pink in the center. Typically a one inch filet would be checked at ten mins and then every couple of mins there after. Fifteen would be max. If the piece is thicker or thiner adjust your time. The lemon caper sauce we like is made by finely dicing shallots sautéed in two tablespoons or so of butter. Add in the capers when shallots are cooked and sauté for a few mins to soften. juice half a lemon into the butter mixture with 1/4 to 1/2 cup white wine, whisk and reduce it down and add in a thickener (we use a bit of arrowroot). Salt and pepper to taste. You can find more defined directions for a lemon caper sauce online if you need them. My dear husband does not use much in the form of measuring spoons If you grill the salmon, again leave the skin on. That's a key to keeping it moist and don't flip the fish to sear on both sides in either case. Grilling is dependent on the heat of your grill so it's harder to tell you specifics but if you want me to pick his brain I will. We use a big green egg for grilling. As to the skin...we serve it skin on and don't eat the skin if it's just us, or if it's grilled it will just stay on the grill. If we are doing a fancy party we remove the skin and the gray portion of the fish down there if there is much of it.