DeLarla

You poor thing. Didn't you read my horror story about taking a pill? I know your pain well, but I never had anything like you explained. My episode from the cold pill lasted 20 minutes before I slimed & PB-d up the whole mess, then I felt better. Time for you to take it easy, maybe lay around with a heating pad on your ribs and another on your sore back? I hope you feel better soon. This post made me sad.

I'm glad your doc has a handle on it, but is it still red & warm? When mine was like that, the Urgent Care doctor lanced it and drained it. I hope your next post shows some improvement.

Rachel, my husband never could look at mine, either. Penni changed the dressing the first couple times. Then my friend, Gross Mary, who is totally into disgusting body stuff changed it for a couple months. You are the first C-section infection I've heard of, but it sounds similar to what I went through. Yikes!

All I can say is that I was recently diagnosed with Sarcoidosis, an autoimmune disease that the American Lung Association recognizes as a lung disease. Nobody in my family has any type of auto immune issues. After a lot of research, I came across a report that links it to NutraSweet. Not only that, but I was so addicted to the stuff that I couldn't get out of bed without a stiff Diet Pepsi. I eventually switched to one can of regular Pepsi or Coke a day, and I just GOTTA have that soda. But now it's only one small can per day, while I had to have several buckets of the fake stuff before. Now I sleep at night. No more weird dreams, no insomnia. And I have a cup of real coffee, too, whereas before I'd have decaf with Equal. This isn't based on what anyone said, just my own personal observations.

It worries me that the area is red & warm. I had normal, colorful bruising, but I'm not sure your bruising and the red/warm situation are even related. It might be two separate issues, and the bruising will probably go away. It's the warm-to-touch redness that bothers me since that's exactly what happened to me a few days after surgery. I kept bothering my surgeon, who said it was normal. But it's NOT normal, it's infection (in my case.) As far as all that Fluid disbursing, do not freak out of the incision opens and the wound drains. Mine drained and scared the hell out of me, but it's normal for the body to release the fluid. I would get a second opinion right away. I know that's not what you want to hear, but I can't agree that your body will disburse that amount of fluid, cause that's what they kept telling me. Then I found out that your body will absorb & eliminate small amounts after the large amounts drain. Maybe I'm completely wrong, but better safe than sorry. I'm the girl that had two ports removed due to infection, so I think you should get a second opionion. I hope you're better soon. PM me your number if you'd like me to call you tonight. Sucks that your mom left, but we are all here.

I have already decided that I will definitely have some sort of gastric bypass IF my band is ever removed and IF I ever hit 300 pounds again. I won't do it in my 40s, but I will do it in my 50s. I hope my band stays with me, but I still haven't seen any long-term (10 years) people that still have healthy bands. Anyone else?

And call the State Bar Association and tell them you paid $900.00 to a lawyer who did nothing and won't return your calls. Don't hesitate.

Very strange - you told me about these this morning but they weren't here. I've checked all day, and now at 4:00 p.m. I'm finally seeing this post. Weird weird.... The blue outfit is darling and the one on the right with all the green looks like the Madame's lounge???? Tres jolie, madamoiselle! So, my French sucks. What do you expect from only one 3-CD lesson? What's all that cool green & yellow light?

Best piece of advice is to buy a king-size heating pad. It worked magic on all the aches and pains you might get from trapped gas. Also, laying in bed stiffens joints, so the heating pad was my best friend. You'll most likely have to fast 24 hours before surgery, then they will give you Water in recovery. I brought my own bottle of Gatorade, which they let me have right after surgery instead of water. By that time I was dying for something, and the Gatorade was much better than plain water. I also brought pink fuzzy booty socks, which I lived in. This way I could wander the halls without putting slippers on and off or getting my feet dirty. Pack light. Don't bring your whole wardrobe to the hospital. I had one small tote bag, which was plenty. Do yourself a favor and leave all the girl junk at home. Chapstick, lotion, toothbrush, change of panties, magazine, Gatorade, pink fuzzy socks, cell phone. That's all you'll need.

Congrads on a couple levels!

That doesn't sound normal to me. I only have a little restriction, but pizza isn't one of those things that slides down easily. You should ask for fluoro as soon as possible. Maybe you are completely normal, but sudden loss of restriction could be a sign of erosion. Also, fills sometimes take a week or two to kick in. Just be on the safe side and have them look under x-ray.

I thought it was a ploy from the Dairy Counsel as well. However, I don't mind making cows rich since I adore them, so I'll go along with this one.

Haha, I'm married to that same guy! Hence the Aquarian's response to, "what do you think about calling cards?" is "Is that Thunder I hear?" Thunder? Who the hell said anything about thunder? I gave up talking to my husband years ago. Everything has to be superficial. If I go any deeper than the surface he'll mention pepperoni pizza or something so off topic that I want to scream!

Wow, it's a trip hearing about other people's stories. You sound like you've got your sense of humor, which you'll need when the gas starts coming out! You mean they gave you nasal pain drops? Never heard of that one before. And is the Upper GI afterwards a standard test they do now? Good luck to you, and a big congrads!

Chris, this doesn't sound normal to me at all. Get on the horn with Ortiz and don't wait for an e-mail response since he might not get back to his desk today. He's really good about taking calls, so call him right away, okay?

My husband married his first wife twice. I think that's actually pretty common. I hope this is a postive thing for you, sounds like you're doing great! Congrads to you on your new life, and how funny that you call them, "Squids." I'll have to remember that one!

Okay, maybe "penny pincher" was the wrong term, but Gemini's are very aware of money, just like you always checking the account. January 14 is Aquarius... Kathy, do you sometimes wonder where dad is upstairs? This isn't to say that Aquarians are air heads, they just tend to wander away mentally to their own little world.

I've never felt deprived. I do pull my hair out at nights though out of sheer addiction. I'm able to eat a good amount of food. I have read thousands of posts in the past year, and I think I'm the one that has the worst problem of all of us when it comes to addiction. I have anxiety disorder, and I've used food as a drug my entire life. I still love my band! I've only lost 1/2 of the weight that I need to lose, and I won't lose any more till I break the addiction of eating past being full. The band helps, trust me. I couldn't stop eating to save my own life before, but there are times the band stops even ME dead in my tracks. Hard to believe.

I don't recall ever seeing 1%, but I'm going to look. Skim milk is clear so I'd have to gag it down. I wonder if the Weight Watchers ice cream bars are a real dairy product?

Another fun thread! I'm a Libra. Actually, a double-Libra. Many years ago I read the best ever astrology book, it was Linda Goodman's Bedside Astrologer, I think. Anyway, there was the greatest story in there that gave a really cool description of each of the zodiac signs. Does anyone have the book that could copy that story for me? It's a story I tell people all the time. Basically, there's a group of 12 women sitting in a circle, one from each sign of the zodiac. The hostess asks each person to talk about how they feel about old-fashioned calling cards. I guess way before phones were invented, well-to-do folks would have custom calling cards printed, and when they wanted a visit, they'd send their butler or runner to deliver these calling cards as an invitation to "come calling." So the hostess asked each person their opinion on calling cards. I only remember a few of the responses, and it's amazing how they are so much like the friends in my life who share the signs. Here's the responses I remember: Gemini says, "Calling cards? How much do they cost?" In my experience, Geminis are the penny pinchers of the zodiac, so I thought that was an accurate response. Aquarian's response, "Is that thunder I hear?" This one cracks me up because I'm married to an Aquarian, who are famous for being perpetually "out to lunch" and in a world of their very own. Sagitarrius, "Who the hell has time for calling cards?" Virgo (the critical perfectionist) Well, naturally, as long as they are gilded in gold. Libra goes on for pages & pages & analyzes till everyone falls asleep. Did I mention I'm a Libra? Has anyone seen this? I'd love a copy. Virgo

I thought I was the only one on earth that had Steve Martin albums memorizes! Thanks for the memories of $10,000 worth of cat toys; don't you hate when it goes under the couch? Gimme that, gimme that! I'm sorry if I came off too harsh on hubby from the original post, but I've been a little irked at men in general lately. ALL of them except darling Jonathan, that is!

Every time we want evil diet soda we should drink (gag) skim milk. I'm going to buy a half gallon for my work fridge.

I can't make Texas, but it's mandatory to post pictures at LBT. I swear it is!

Things are too slow here today, so let's stir up some new threads! I've been hearing a lot of commercials lately about how dairy products help the body lose weight. I just bought a bunch of dairy products, and even the Yoplait Yogurt says, "Recent research shows that dairy foods may help you burn more fat and lose more weight than counting calories alone." The commericials say to get in 4 servings. Anyone else care to join my daily dairy challenge? I'm having a glass of milk with pills for Breakfast, a cup of yogurt a couple hours later, cheese with lunch, and darn, looks like I'll have to force an ice cream down for dinner.

I think I sent you a long post about my leaking wound. Please get back to us and tell us if it stopped leaking.