Miss Mac

Those are indicators of a neuropathy - nerves acting up. With my pinched nerves involved with herniated discs in my lumbar spine I feel activity like you have described. But this is doctor time. Never minimize your symptoms. What you are feeling is your body talking to you. Also, this could be totally unrelated to your surgery, Nerves that activate in the area you describe come from dermatomes beginning in your lumbar spine. So, I am not a doctor by any means. But I am just saying that I have similar symptoms which are manageable with medication (Lyrica), Lidocaine Patches, and lumbar epidural injections. If it doesn't go away, don't give up. Keep pushing your doctors to find a resolution for you. Any test you take that doesn't show anything, it's a good thing. It is helpful to know what things aren't, too.

You could get flight insurance and name your parents as the beneficiaries. That way, if something did happen, the insurer would contact them. Also when you are doing paperwork to allow the surgeon to work on you, there will no doubt be section on the paperwork to name a contact person. Having got that bothersome detail out of the way, work on building up courage (yeah the Xanax may help). John Wayne said this about having courage to get through something tough: "Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway." Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe said: "Whatever you can do, or dream you can - begin it. For boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." Baby girl, you are worth whatever angst and aggravation you have to go through to get happy and healthy. Now get out there and enjoy your flight and the scenery below.

It took me about three weeks before I began to snap back with a little energy.

That is funny that you went to visit the purse at the store. Good for you!

Here is my list that I made last Spring:Weight Loss Rewards 185 - “Yes” trip to Trader Joe’s for specialty items 180 – Kitchen gadget, probably a reversible stovetop grill / griddle 175 – Garden gloves and hat (use gloves for work-out also?) 170 – More CD’s for outside exercise / or MP 3 player w/sleeve band 165 – Backyard fitness trail equipment 160 = Plants for the yard = lilacs or honeysuckle 155 – ½ hour massage at Massage Envy 150 – Genealogy trip somewhere 145 – Style consultation 140 – Another Professional bra fitting 135 – Family portraits Alternate suggestions: replace Claddaugh ring, nice jewelry item (maybe an ankle bracelet), go to arts and crafts fair (or Scottish festival), go to that local church flea market, office supplies or new deluxe office chair)

I was prepared to lose hair. I cut my hair real short and bought bandanas and turbans and a sleep cap. How and why I did not lose any hair, I will never figure out, since I followed my plan like everyone else here does. 80 g Protein 20,000 mg Biotin 80 ounces Water 800-1000 calories. Your guess is as good as mine. I did take the opportunity to embrace the gray and quit coloring my hair every six weeks. One thing I noticed now that I do not put all kinds of processing and products into it, is that my hair is as soft as a baby's.

Bagel with bacon and grape jelly

I never met a potato that I didn't like! Since surgery almost a year ago (12/23/2013) I have to ration my potato consumption just like other starches......I keep it at one serving a week. I hate that, but carbs are the devil for me. If I go over 40, I will not lose any weight for the next three days. Sad but true. I was sick for a couple of days earlier in the month and made some home-made potato Soup.......so delicious. But I used to be able to eat beyond reason, and this time I made and ate one serving, about 2/3 cup. My taste buds were not done, but Miss Tummy was and she is the boss of me!

Be sure that if you are right handed, your IV should go in your left arm or hand. Opposite is true. If you are left handed, IV should go in the right. This one little detail makes it so much easier to do everything.

My primary doctor had started me on a strength training program when I was about six months pre-op. I am 62 with arthritis, neuro, and spinal issues and lots of pain to work through. However, my weight was not coming down and I remained feeble in spite of an agressive exercise and work-out program. Now I am 65 pounds down and doing better. Losing over 60 pounds has made a difference in my energy level. I had to wait until six weeks post-op to re-start my program - and I had to start with 1 or 2 pound weights just because that is where my strength was at. Over the months, I have worked my way from 1 pound to 10 pound weights on each hand. I also use a back brace and ankle weights to add resistance. I am also able to use a 10 pound kettle bell. I do have a 20 pound one, but cannot lift it yet. Here is how I know I am getting stronger: I am post-stroke and housework has been very hard for me. One thing I absolutely could not do was lift the mattress to tuck in the sheets. I had to save it for my Tarzan to get home from work and do it for me. I was making up the bed with fresh sheets on Tuesday and was able to lift that thing up several inches and tuck the sheets in just fine. I can open my own jars now. I can do about 20 (as in twenty!) full plank push-ups not in the girly position. These all qualify as NSV's for me.

New Balance has my vote.

Spot on, Bandista. In spite of all the flack we get from unsuportive family and so-called friends, I think once we get past that second or third month post -op, we actually do start to feel better, if not good. For bariatric brothers and sisters with complications, the process takes longer, but I am hoping that at some point this starts to feel good for them, too. I am not where I wanted to be at my one year, but I am heading to a good place.

Spot on, Bandista. In spite of all the flack we get from unsuportive family and so-called friends, I think once we get past that second or third month post -op, we actually do start to feel better, if not good. For bariatric brothers and sisters with complications, the process takes longer, but I am hoping that at some point this starts to feel good for them, too. I am not where I wanted to be at my one year, but I am heading to a good place.

173.4 about the same

To Icanmakeit: There is no more beautiful a place on this earth than Lake Tahoe. I was through there on a bus tour in 2009 (You know, one of those that comes out of Reno and comes over the state line and around the south end of the lake, back into Nevada past the Ponderosa, Carson City, Bunny Ranch - no stopping - Virginia City - past all of those wild horses - back to Reno ..........lovely trip. I just wanted to stay at Tahoe. I had never seen an Alpine Lake before. What a overwhelmingly awe inspiring location for a Thanksgiving family get-together, and here I am stuck on the Illinois/Indiana state line! Ok, Icanmakeit distracted me. Tony and I had a private Thanksgiving and our grown kids went to celebrate with other in-laws. Tony is a Mediterranean-style home chef (he is from Malta, which is between the coasts of Tunisia and Sicily. Anyway, it was nice to have the preparation of the entire meal under our control. I had turkey with a little homemade cranberry relish, and some green Beans. I passed on stuffing that he had made for himself. No dessert. We had a cheesecake that he had put up in the freezer, but we left it there and will bring it out on my birthday or Christmas. Today, I will have some bone broth made with the turkey carcass, carrot, celery, onion, pepper, and a little bouillion. So good!

Like it! Glad you came out fighting once again.

At nearly one year (12/23/2013) I am up to 80-100 ounces of Water, tea, and milk per day, but did not start there. Freshly pre-op it was hard to get 40 ounces in and it took me an hour to drink 8 ounces. Now I can sip every few minutes except for carving out meal times, and I keep 3 water bottles by the bed at night. I have to remember to sip, but it can be done - just not in gulps.

I started out on 1/3 cup plus two tablespoons of food, but was told that after about six months I could start eating a bit more, maybe a full cup total. With 3 weeks to go for my one year, that is still where I am. That or 2 ounces of Protein on the scale a a few small bites of veggies (usually green beans). If I were to eat something like chili, 1/2 to 2/3 cup would be plenty.

I grew up with 60 (as in sixty) first cousins. The hub of all of our celebration was the 80 acre farm that had been in the family ever since Indiana opened up for settlement. It is near the route that Morgan's Raiders took on their way from Kentucky to Ohio to whoop some Yankees. My grandfather's grandmother (Druscilla)was a Morgan, and as the troops spread out in search of food and supplies, a group of them hid in the walnut woods on the property. Of course, the raid didn't quite go their way, and the Yankees whooped back and put John Hunt Morgan in prison. We cousins loved to sit on the living room floor at the farmhouse and listen to the grownups tell the family stories like that. Druscilla Morgan's mother (Mary Priscilla Bryan) was a cousin of Daniel Boone's wife Rebecca Bryan. Druscilla's father and uncle both fought with Boone in defending the pioneer forts of their friends. The farm bustled at Thanksgiving time. The uncles (Dad was the 3rd of 9 brothers and 3 sisters) would play basketball on the gravel out by the barn. They were very competitive. Dad and one of his brothers were part-time referrees for high school tournaments. The aunts would make apple cider on the cider press out back of the farmhouse. Grandma and the aunts would make pumpkin pie from pumpkins grown at the farm. My cousins and I would argue over who got to eat the turkey legs. After the uncles were done with basketball they would come in the house and play Carrems and teach the older cousins how to play. Grandma smelled like food; Grandpa smelled like cows and cigars. At Thanksgiving, Grandpa would cut a tree from the woods and bring it in and we would decorate it with garlands made of colored popcorn and other homemade decorations. Now it just seems like family wants to do a hit and run, and not linger for a very long visit. Everyone is too busy with their lives. I miss that close family atmosphere. I am very thankful for being exposed to a humble farm life and having a large family to love.

The laxative properties in Smooth Move Teas are herbal and not chemical like Ex-Lax or Miralax. I am supposed to still be taking stool softeners because of the pain meds I take causing constipation. The Smooth Move tastes a little like licorice, but I steep the chocolate flavor in a cup of sugar-free cocoa at bedtime if I have not had enough veggies that day. So, I don't use it to purge a meal, because I was an anorexic teen and don't want the opposite problem with laxative bulemia now. Seems like I use Smooth Move a couple of times a week, though. When constipation was a problem for a while, I did indeed use it every day. I keep it on hand. I got mine from Amazon, too. It shipped quickly.

My boyfriend cooked our meal yesterday. I had turkey with a little bit of homemade cranberry relish (made with sweetener instead of sugar), and green Beans without the crunchy onion topping, I passed on the mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, and dressing. Today, I took the remaining turkey leg and made some bone broth. We folks here on the forum are a creative bunch. I applaud you for making it through while on a liquid pre-op diet.

I tried smushy cauliflower at that stage, and Miss Tummy made me regret it for the next four hours. If she does not like what I give her, she either does that or gives it back to me, or runs it through like a sieve. Introducing mushies, soft things, and regular food is going to be like a mad scientist experiment. You may not get the same results as you had with foods when you were pre-op. Make sure you weigh and measure for at least several weeks, and don't eat he last bite. Of course, if the pain is getting out of hand, call your doctor or go to the ER if you need to. I hope this helps. Oh yeah, I am closing in on my one year post-op, and I still have not had cauliflower again!

I had to stop cold turkey (no pun intended on this Thanksgiving Day) about a year before surgery. I was having a really hard time of it with reflux and diverticulitis, and a endscopy showed that I had a severe inflammation in my stomach and esophagus. The doctor put me on a no caffein, acids, hot sauce etc. regime to help.it calm down before I got full-blown ulcers. It was hard for a few days, especially since there are other soda pop drinkers in the house. But I had to decide if it was worth the pain of stomach ulcers. My biggest problem with giving up certain things is not that my stomach wanted that stuff, but my taste buds wanted it. The advantage to that now is that either it's the medications, or the ketosis, or something phisiologic about the change in out stomachs - food and drinks (for most of us) just do not taste the same post-op. Old favorites are blech! and new things are hmmmm not so bad. If you can get past a couple of days, you should be alright. My guess is that as soon as you ditch the soda and cut back on starchy carbs, any bloat that you have will start to disappear. You just have to think differently to feel differently.

I have previous posts where I mentioned that BCBS Federal Employee is the best insurance I have ever had.........ever. My surgery was entirely paid for except $150.

Mine used to look like two cats in a sack. Now it just looks like the sack.