phyllser

Yeah, I a psyched about the possibility of surgery this summer. Does that make me a sicko???? Looking forward to improved MOBILITY!! Zero gravity lounge chair... like one of those outdoor chaise lounges??? I have a Pride recliner.. an electric one. A lift chair, really... not that I needed it.. but arthritis issues in my hands, plus short arms.... we could not find a recliner that I could operate... Pathetic, huh? Plus this was the only one we could find that is specifically designed for short people. headrest is too high on most and I can't get comfortable. All this talk about shopping in downtown Palm Springs is making me homesick for my winter retreat! I love it there! I was thinking today... if it wasn't for my girls, I'd move down there in a heartbeat. I don't think I'd mind the summer heat because I am always COLD! First steroid injection I had... quite a few years ago, gave me many MONTHS of relief. One I had lost month gave me a couple of DAYS of relief. Hope yours lasts a long time! I used to drink the iced coffees once in a while, but now they taste bitter to me. I like my coffee drinks hot even in hot weather. Always SF, FF, quad shot, 16 oz. New favorite: 1/2 SF white chocolate, 1/2 SF raspberry. You're probably well on your way by now. Hope you have a GREAT time and we'll be waiting to hear from you. Enjoyed your introduction! I'm sure you've said all that before, but I'm old and forgetful! Maybe we should all get a tattoo in Canada... are you coming, Karla??? I forget who all is coming.

Won't get much WORK done, right... because that's a pretty long list of "to do"s!! Sounds like a very busy day! One of my sisters has an iTouch and seems to love it!

Forgot.... ortho surgeon's office called today. They are mailing me the pre-op instructions for my primary care doc. Won't schedule surgery until they see me on July 2nd. I hope to get all the preliminaries done by then and hoping for a surgery date in early Aug, right after our trip. I think I will get my new knee this summer afterall! Hooray!

So sorry about your dog, Candace. Hope she heals well, and quickly! Have a wonderful time in France! We'll be waiting to see photos. Are you renting from Car?? I remeber seing dialogue between you. That seems like it would be a really fun thing to do. How could we forget you?? We love you! Yes, I did talk to Steve. He is still cultivating the internet relationship with the Philippine gal who is almost young enough to be his daughter (36 vs. 20)! We mostly talked about his oldest son, who at 16 is now living with his girlfriend. If Steve and/or his (estranged) wife don't take control, he'll soon be a grandpa and I'll be a great-grandma! DIL is an alcoholic who lives in LALA Land! GS girlfriend allready had one scare in that arena! Steve is more focused on going to the Philippines to meet his internet girlfriend, who continues to chat me up on FB. AT least she is now calling me "mam" instead of "mom". GRrrrr! I told her two nights ago that if Steve had money for a trip, it needed to be to Spokane to take control of the situation with his son! I talkd to GS other grandparents about the same time. Nothing they can do. GS has been allowed to call the shots. Thinking of asking Tracy if she wants to take a "road trip" to Spokane (and Montana to deliver Steph's breast cancer quilt), and we can visit GS and try to knock some sense in to his head!! We were looking forward to driving to NY until DHs talked us out of it. So nice to have a gardener in residence here! Ice packed Lortab daze sounds very pleasant at the moment. I need an escape! So happy for your new job. DD got laid off from her high school health room job. She was there 4 years. Today was her last day and there wasn't even a decent "farewell". Nurse she works for just told her she was going to a staff luncheon so DD may as well go home because there was nothing more to do! She was pretty hurt. Tried to get her to go to lunch with me but she was too bummed out. Didn't you just love that warm CA air, Karri??! I love it down there and I don't think the summer heat would bother me a bit. Up here I am ALWAYS cold. Everyone else can be in short sleeves and I'm wearing a jacket or sweatshirt... even a hooded sweatshirt. Lunch was not good. Went with ladies from church for a birthday luncheon for one of them... fancy tea house... not exactly my cup of tea.. pun intended! I should've made a more intelligent choice.. like quiche, but I ordered soup and spinach salad. So.... by the time they added my pot of tea, tax and tip, i paid $17 for a small bowl of tomato soup and spinach salad that had absolutely nothing in it but a few slivers of almond and some mandarin oranges. I was expecting some onion, bacon bits, boiled egg.... something. So I got absolutely no protein. And the service was so slow we were there going on 2 hrs. Good company, at least, but I left somewhat annoyed at what I got for the money. And I realized the spinach wasn't going down well, so I ate very little of the salad. Welcome, Connie!

That's my next goal... to get under 200 lb. I was hoping to do it by my 2 yr "Bandiversary", but that's coming up in a little over a month and I have about 15 lb to go, so I won't make it.

Hi, No posts here in a while. How is everyone doing?

Ah.... SURPRISE VISITS!! Our specialty! Too bad we don't live close by. We LOVE to harass our grandchildren with those when DD & SIL are out of town! Recruit someone else to do it if you can't, Denise! Of course, this last time, it was just DGS. And we were gone on the cruise for a week of their vacation. But we did our best! Great pics, Janet! So glad you two had that time together! PB yesterday when we went out to lunch.... had two stinkin' prawns but must have eaten them too fast or didn't chew enough. At any rate, very tight today as a result, and sliming after dinner. YUCK! I did a little online research late last night... Knee Replacement in Obese Patients. Read absolutely NO contraindications, and, in fact, pretty adamant statements that obese people should NOT be denied knee replacement surgery and NO indications that risk of infection was any higher. And infections they had documented were insignificant and easily resolved with conventional treatment. So I decided to get militant! I made an appt for followup with the ortho surgeon and I am not going to let him put me off any longer. He should not have put me off LAST year, and we're not going another summer without taking care of this so I can walk and exercise! We went to an RV "show and tell" last weekend and I was in and out of about a dozen RVs and knee was giving me fits the rest of the weekend because of all the steps. I can do a few steps once or twice a day, like if we're at our youngest DD's. But all that in & out that day.. not good! I even decided this afternoon that i am going to call them back tomorrow and tell them I need to know NOW, before my appointment, what pre-op tests, etc. the doctor requires because he told me to go to my primary care to get clearance for surgery but gave me no other directives... no idea what tests he wants. So when I did go to see her she said she couldn't do a thing without specifics from him. So I'm going to get them to mail me something in writing as to what he requires for "clearance" for surgery. Then when I go in July 2 he will have no excuse for not scheduling my surgery. I want to have it in August when I get back from Buffalo/Canada.

Oh, my! Don't get discouraged ALREADY!! This is LapBand and NOT bypass... and the doctor who is upset with you needs to understand the difference. NO, the pounds will not FLY off with LapBand. It's a slow steady process and we have to hang in there. Plateaus will come and go. Keep plugging along! The pounds WILL come off as long as you follow the bandster rules. 500-600 calories per day is NOT enough and may actually stall your weight loss. When I first started this journey, my clinic's dietitian chewed me out when my calorie intake was that low. She had me bump it up to 900-1000. Our bodies will sometimes go in to starvation mode if we're not getting enough calories. 14 lb your first month is very good. Most doctors say the initial phase is a recovery phase and not to worry about weight loss initially. You are still on mushies... are you eating approx. 1/2 cup 6X a day?? What are you eating? Are you getting enough fluids? Are you doing some walking or some kind of exercise? YOU CAN DO THIS!! We're here to help. Don't get discouraged!

Had a sit down talk with our husbands this afternoon and we now have reservations to fly to Buffalo July 21 for two weeks. They really didn't want us to drive it by ourselves and SIL didn't want DD to be away three weeks.

Are you taking any Rx for cholesterol?? Sounds like symptoms of side effects of some statins. "Since the drug companies that manufacture statins have become aware of the incidence of serious side effects, they added a warning to statin advertising that was not present in the earliest advertising. This warning states, “Unexplained muscle pain and weakness could be a sign of a rare but serious side effect and should be reported to your doctor right away.” People who take statin drugs need to heed this warning immediately because in extreme cases the side effects of statins can be fatal. Muscle pain and muscle weakness are two of the main side effects of statin drugs. While muscle pain and muscle weakness sound ordinary enough, due to the manner in which statin side effects can act in the body they are potentially dangerous side effects of statin use. Another is memory loss. Anyone who is taking statin drugs for any reason should be aware of these side effects and their symptoms. The medical establishment recommends that anyone who suspects they are experiencing any of the possible statin side effects consult with their medical professional."

Road trip is looking a little iffy. I don't see how we can do it in less than 3 weeks and SIL is not real pleased with DD being gone that long. So, she's looking at maps, etc. I figured it out and its over 2600 miles to Buffalo. She wants to try to drive it in 4 days.. 4 days each way and stay about a week. Well, if I"m in Canada with you guys for 3-4 of those days, that doesn't leave much time with family in Buffalo. I'm just having a real bummer of a day already, so this tops it off. Maybe I'll just go by myself on the train! Or maybe I'll just go eat worms!! UGH!

WOW!! You're doing GREAT! Wish I could lose that fast! I'm fighting a slow but steady battle and it sometimes gets wearisome!

Yeah! One page since Friday!! Slow weekend! And I think it was Friday that the site was down ALL day. Didn't come back until evening. Glad you're having a good time. Sounds like they need to give you some more break time! Karri & Janet must be having a good time. Nothing here from them. We've had family stuff going on.. Friday zoo, Saturday BBQ.. because our son and his family are in the area to pick up DGD from U of WA. Very enjoyable family time. Pics on FB. Trying hard with food... took salmon to the zoo, and a few crackers and SF pudding. Saturday... hot dog w/o bun for lunch. Dinner they did hot dogs and burgers. I put my burger between two lettuce leaves w/a little catsup and onion. Later had a hot dog w/o bun. Had a small spoonful of potato salad and a small spoonful of beans. Later, a few thin slices of watermelon. WAY less than I would've eaten at one of these occasions two years ago... but still gained about 2 lb over the weekend if my stupid bathroom scale is right. Kind of discouraging, really. Didn't have any wine last two days. Seems like I should've at least maintained and not gained!! We'll see tomorrow morning... TOPS weigh in. Oh, yeah, I had 1/2 chocolate chip cookie, too.

Some threads down this morning and others okay. What's up with that??? How's everyone doing today? Cloudy here in the Pacific NW. Big family outing to the zoo this morning and we're really looking forward to it. DH is packing us a lunch and scooter is loaded!

Well, gang... it's tough to find PS who do the thighplasty and so far I've been turned down by three of them, including the one in Mexico who booked after he saw the photos. DH is telling me that I am misinterpreting and exaggerating the risks the Orthopedic surgeon explained to me. He thinks I should go back and see him and tell him I want the knee replacement done this summer and will take my chances with the risk of infection. So I guess I will make an appointment to go back and see him and tell him the steroid injection did nothing and I want to go ahead with the knee replacement. Will wait until next year to pursue the thighplasty further.

Good Morning! I'm hoping Earl will change his mind and at least fly to Buffalo for a few days.. or maybe for the Canada weekend. But I wasn't willing to wait any longer to make my plans/reservations. Tracy is really excited about the prospect of a "road trip", but she has yet to talk to SIL about it. I don't know if Earl & I have been apart that long since AF days. Ten days-2 wks is probably the longest. Steph... yes, we will be coming through MT on I-90. Forgot to ask Kellie about the quilt the other day! She didn't mention it! I know it's done and I know she was planning to bring it with her. Puzzles me because she is VERY efficient and it's not like her to forget ANYTHING, so I wonder why she didn't mention it. I will call her later today. And we'll see them tomorrow because we're all going to the zoo. Tracy & Jim are playing hooky and borrowing Jim's little granddaughter to bring with them. Jodie is coming with our little Thomas. Should be a fun day. And I WILL find out about the quilt. Good idea to meet with you on our way east to give it to you. We've been to those demonstrations on the waterless cookware and even bought one of the electric frying pans... around $300 at that time, I think. I'm sure it was less than 10 years ago, so those prices you are quoting are outrageous! I think you could get the whole set for about $1500-2000 at that time. I really wanted the slow cooker BAD, but it was too expensive to justify it. Well, after printing up about 30 pages of plastic surgeon info I started whiddling down the list this morning. Found a lot of thme specialized in facial surgery, and a large percentage were affiliated with Children's Hosp in Seattle, so I knew they wouldn't be doing what I need. When I got down to those who were posibilities, I started making phone calls. First one, no longer a working number and could not find another number online for that guy. So, went to the next one. Had a fairly long discussion with the person who answered the phone. Yes, the surgeon did that type of surgery (thighplasty). No, Medicare will NOT pay but Tricare might. But you have to have the surgery and then submit the claim and IF they find it medically necessary they MIGHT reimburse you. But, once she asked my height and current weight she said I was too high of a risk for ANY kind of surgery until I get my weight well under 200 lb! So I hung up, had a good cry and now I'm done pursuing anything for this summer! Screw it!

I forgot.... Joann on one of the other threads had a great suggestion... told me to search the Medicare site to find plastic surgeons in the area who take Medicare. Can't believe I never thought of that. I came up with a list of 39 who are within 25 miles and one that is 4 1/2 miles away. Of course, until I look into it further, I don't know what their specialties are. I already crossed one off because it was clear he specialied in face stuff, and another whose office is in an Eye Care center... so he obviously doesn't do what I need either. But I have a LOT of leads to follow up on. So that was another reason I didn't spend more time on the Wii tonight... was working on that for a while.

Well, I waited until DH was in a good mood again to discuss our summer trip. Didn't matter. He still doesn't want to go. So then I was going to fly, but when I told DD, she was disappointed because she was looking forward to us taking a "road trip" this summer.... So.. she and I are going to drive... Seattle to Buffalo. Don't know if she'll come up to Canada with me or stay in Buffalo. It's pretty crazy at my sister's, though, and I think she'd enjoy coming with me. Would that be okay, Candice?? We'll be stopping to visit a friend in Madison Wisconsin and probably a day at M of A, too. We both love to shop! So, we figure we'll be gone 3 weeks. DH will have to live with it.. don't know how happy DSIL will be about this! Wii/Wii Fit tonight, but only about 35-40 minutes. No motivation and Earl got back from the hot tub too soon. I don't like to do it when he's here! What's that about?? I don't know! I'm getting pretty fast on the downhill ski... 2nd place time tonight.

I so much appreciate your encouraging words! Thanks! I didn't think about researching the Medicare site. I'll try that. Good idea. You're certainly right about the direction our health care is headed! It's a scarey thing! People don't understand what they are in for! I have friends in Canada, and one whose mother lived in the UK and were forced to wait MONTHS for care even in the presence of very serious, life threatening health issues.

Hi, Good to see some action here! Wonder how Don is doing? Are you out there, Don?? I'm losing ever so slowly, too, Joann! Sometimes it gets discouraging, but just have to keep plugging along. I'm somewhat challenged as far as exercise goes. Was hoping to have at least the left knee replaced this summer but it doens't look like that's going to happen. Ortho surgeon is reluctant because he says I still have so much "adipose tissue" (like I don't know that means FAT??) and that increases the risk of infection. He was encouraging me to get a PS consult and thought Medicare might cover lipo/removal of excess skin on my thighs since I need double knee replacement and it would be dificult without some prior surgery. But, plastic surgeon office had no consult appts open until the end of July, AND told me to more or less forget about the possibility of ANY insurance covering it and they don't take Medicare or Tricare anyway! So all of that pretty much took the wind out of my sails and I haven't done anything to pursue any kind of surgery! He did inject the left knee with steroid, but it only gave me relief for a couple of days. So, I do what exercises I can on my Wii/Wii Fit... enough to work up a sweat about 45 minutes a day. Or until my knee hurts too bad to continue!:cursing::mad::sad:

I looked at the EA in Target today.. it's still on my "maybe" list. Yes, we always go to Buffalo in the summer so we can both visit family. He doesn't deal well with the chaos at my sister's and I'm not comfortable at his sister's... we both have sisters named Shirley!! So I stay with my Shirley and he stays with his Shirley! They only live 5 minutes apart. So it's kind of funny... he gets up so early.. So he stops at McDonald's and gets breakfast, and I think he buys a paper.. if my sister remembers to leave the door open, he's there reading the paper and drinking his coffee when I get up in the morning. After i have my coffee he makes me breakfast. So we have this routine even when we're there! I think his brother from CA is going to be there about that time, so maybe I can get him to come. I haven't gone back to the ortho guy yet and the PS didn't have a consult appt open until the end of July and told me they don't take Medicare or Tricare and chances of Medicare covering PS as "medically necessary" were slim to none no matter what the ortho surg. says! Kind of knocked the wind out of my sails so I haven't done anything since that phone call. Okay, I will tell him when I get ready to discuss it with him again... in the next day or so. He's not being a butt head anymore. I think he decided he better be nice because DS & DIL & grandkids due here any minute. They've been in the area since Saturday, but this will be the first we've seen them. Then we're going over to Tracy's and probably out for dinner some place nearby.

Janet...the more time you put in and higher your scores go on any particular exercise.. then things unlock or let you go to the advanced level. Is that what you were asking? I've tried doing those step exercises with some success.... until I have to go to the side. I should try it again. I probably haven't even looked at that one for a year! So you like that EA Active? I've been checking out the reviews online to see if its something I could use. Can't do most of the exercises that involve bending the knees. Pathetic!

Glad to know you're still here! Sorry about the loneliness. No fun! Is Mel coming to Candice's with you? I thought Earl was but that's up in there air now. He is not wanting to go to Buffalo or Canada and wants me to make the trip by myself. I'm about ready to make my reservations to come alone. I'm going to ask him one more time. I'm down about 1 1/2 lb for the challenge, but don't see making the 5 lb by Friday.

You betcha! I'll come and pick you up. I have a friend in Wisconsin we can hide out with for a while. She makes really good white chicken chili and she's promised to make some for me next time I come and visit.