choosethewrench

you go to the profile of the person you want to friend and to the right it will give you the option. The chats that are up can not be deleted unfortunately. r

She is just precious! I missed your questions too My oldest is a very responsible kid. I was very lucky to have him as my first driver. It went well and he is a really good dirver. Probably better than me...I am a leadfoot! ha ha. I grew up in Bham but not a fan of the place. I left when I was 21 and have not been back to live. Its beautiful and I have a couple close friends who are still there. Not much to write about. I have been super blessed with a great husband and 2 wonderful kids. We broke the "cycle" with regards to the way we grew up in the NW. We wanted different things for ourselves and children. Sometimes improving ourselves makes others feel uncomfortable and one day there is nothing in common anymore. Thats what happened to us with our families out there. We chose not to live the lifestyle that so many in our poor neighborhood fell into. I was from the wrong side of the tracks growning up and just wanted a different life. I have no regrets or complaints about the past because its what made me who I am today. My father, who was a good man, couldnt get out of his slump and took up drinking again after 15+ years sober. He couldnt take his situation anymore and put the bottle to his head and pulled the trigger. Drank himself into passing out and death 9/27/10. It was a choice he made. I had seen him 7 months earlier and when I flew backto DC I knew it was the last time I would ever see him. He was 400+ lbs and uncontrolled diabetes. He lost feeling in his feet. He was a very depressed and sad man. If I had stayed in WA my whole life I would be no different. I have never cried for my dad. I smile always.He made a decision and he is somewhere bass fishing now as we speak. I do not talk to the rest of my family. So I guess thats my story. I lead a very happy and blessed life but through a learning experience. I feel I can help others because I have gone through the hard stuff that put me in a physical and mental good place now. Hope I didnt bore you Ray

You have a busy life with a 17 month old, my oldest will be 17 YEARS in 2 weeks! I have 2 boys 15 and 17. I hope the nutritional issues arent serious. I am sure it keeps you busy though. Do you have local support or family? Bellingham is beautiful. My husband is from Ferndale and we both have not lived in Whatcom County since we were 21. He is military and we traveled a lot and found wonderful places, enjoy the sunshine and have made friends everywhere. We think we will settle down in Atlanta. I cant do the 60 days of sunshine a year in the NW 5 years and 95lbs down! That is a success. Always looking at the positives. The bummer is the "eat whatever you want" issue. I listened to a lot of people talk about what they could and couldnt eat after bypass. It scared me. I have no desire to eat sugar and the small amounts of fats I get in make me feel low so I dont do them. I am still having the issue of not wanting ANYTHING to eat. I am just not hungry. I know this wears off so I pay close attention to meals. I make sure I eat 3 meals a day but still cant get up past 500 calories (I should be heading towards 1000) I work out a good bit too. I think the best strategy to kick start yourself back into shape would be: 1. walk with your baby at least once a day (to get started) 2. its beat like a dead horse--but REALLY focus on not drinking 1/2 hr before or after food. 3. solid food. I try to eat the tuna/salmon first (all of it) then I get to the veggies and then if there is room that cracker or mashpotato. In that order. 4. Damn the liquids!! I have YET to master drinking 64 oz a day but I strive for it! I am something of a workaholic so I forget to drink often (eventhough I sit at a desk). There are some super cool places in Bham to walk. The weather is getting better so thats good. What section of town are you in? Did you go to BHS? I did (1988 grad--did I just date myself Baby. Hmmm. Thats tough. Whats going on there? Do you have to create a time consuming special diet for her? Does it take you off track -- putting yourself up front. Its a fine line to balance our babies and ourselves. Your pic is beautiful and you look wonderful. Don't dwell on the parts of the last 5 years that have dragged you away from your initial goals. Find the best parts and move them forward -- i.e Baby, loss of #30 after a loss of #95 originally...try the 4 steps above for ONE day...challenge yourself to fit it into the day. I let the last 9 days go without taking my Vitamins...eating well or drinking well because I have been working on my son's school play (set construction) for the past 2 weeks and I was sick the last 5 days...felt fine this morning but low and behold...here comes the head cold now!!! This is what happens when I neglect my rules! Talk soon,

Hey Korngirl23 Are you getting ready for surgery? What stage are you at? I had my surgery on 2/20/13 and down 45 lbs 9 weeks out. For me it was painless and effortless. I have a high pain tolerance and heal quickly. I clicked on your post because of the title and laughed when I hit your page because you are from Bellingham. I grew up in Bham. Small world. I live near DC now. Just changed on WA for another Hope I can help you through the process. Ask away! Choosethewrench (It means take the hard road)

I check in at 9am...Virginia...where are you?

Pre-op I only needed a 3 day liquid diet. Tomorrow is surgery but awful exhausted from lack of calories these past 3 days. Head feels a bit foggy. So glad my surgery was moved up to the morning from 2:45 in the afternoon! I now applaud all who did this pre-op diet for 2 weeks and I have no complaints for my 3 days!! Congrats to those who just went through and Carpe Diem to those going in this week!

Pre op in morning for me too Jenn. You will be great! Lots to worry about. It's perfectly normal. 3 days to go.

your mouth does not like to be acidic. hormones fluctuating, stress and food intake will all play a part in lowering the pH level in your mouth leaving it more prone to gum disease and decay. The mouth at a lower pH allows bacteria to reek havoc. The calcium intake while important, is most likely not the culprit in relation to the WLS. Ask your hygienist for a Rx fluoride paste. What this does is soak into the pores (dentinal tubules) in the enamel and harden. Tomorrow..another dose layers in and hardens and after a few weeks of use, has provided a solid protection against sensitivity and thwarts decay. You don't need an appointment to pick this up at your dentist. Most dentists carry a Rx fluoride for around $18-$25.

Congrats!

Have you been to the dentist yet? I would get in for an emergency visit this morning if you can. The golfball size gum tissue could be one of a few things. You could have an abscess and potentially need a root canal. It could be calculus (tartar build up) irritating the gums and a good scaling will reduce the inflammation. it could be a pyogenic granuloma (which literally is "an overgrowth of tissue")--but this last one is more common if you a pregnant. Hope your results are good! A good dental hygienist should not finish a post without saying floss floss floss Hope you are healed quickly!!

I have the standard option. you shouldn't worry too much about costs for tier 1 and 2 meds (the hover around $5 copay). Tier 3 meds cost a bit more but its not that much. I just purchased typhoid meds (my son is headed to the Philippines in a few weeks) and the script was $71 and the copay was $20. The only other med that I purchased above tier 2 was Vancomycin which is a scheduled drug (C-diff 3 years ago) the cost was $1900 for 2 weeks and my copay was $200 which was the max on the plan at the time. Don't forget that paying double for the standard ($100 per pay period v. $200 per pay period for a family) is that it is pre tax money. The savings on surgery plus the pre tax was why I chose it. I was just flabbergasted that I called the Doctor on Monday, sent approval letter in on Tuesday and was approved (on my birthday no less) 2 days later. It just seemed so quick!! I was prepared for a couple months of paperwork. I also chose the standard because when I decided to do the WLS in October 2012, I was in open enrollment, and while GEHA was a good plan, my total out of pocket expense was a bit less with BCBS so I switched.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE :wub:

I am in Vienna. Dr. Fitzer is my surgeon.

I am an A type personality. A former athlete and self proclaimed workaholic (okay maybe more than self proclaimed...as I am told regularly that I work too much). I spent a lifetime playing baseball, softball, rugby, indoor soccer and pretty much anything I could sacrifice my body to in the name of winning competitions. My knees started to go as a teenager (first surgery at 14). Now at 43 I have osteoarthritis and I am nearly bone on bone in my right knee. The pain in my knees have progressively started getting worse as one, I quit playing sports about 5 years ago and two...and extra 110+ lbs will do you in too! Its an awful pain. I have paid the trainer and worked out diligently for 2 years with a 258 going down to 213 lbs. During this time I dislocated my right knee a few times (once while walking in the pool!!) and this of course makes for a great setback. Oh...I worked out with a leg brace on but not getting a 1000 calorie per hour burn does not help my A type personality when I only burn 400 in an hour. And lord forbid I only get to burn 250 because my knee has gone out again. *sigh* How did I get overweight? I weighed 160 lbs in 1995 and gave birth in 1996 at 290 lbs! I weighed 330 lbs when I gave birth to my second child in 1998. Gestational Diabetes. I did not have diabetes nor did I carry over diabetes into my life after pregnancy. But I did get down to about 208 and hovered there. As I played more sports (now with another 50 lbs in tow) my arthritis got worse and the weight began to rise. Second, I developed a sugar addiction. I work and dont eat...I come home and I crash/binge eat. This is the mental game I have to change going forward. Eventually I quit playing sports (2008) and easily added 20 more pounds. Here I have remained. Not one person, no matter what your backstory, goes into WLS flippantly. If I could control the sugar and workout without ending up in a knee brace every few months I would have done it! There is a mindset that needs to be achieved and I know I have a joint replacement surgery coming 10 years down the road. So while I have a plan that is 10 years long, I have short term miles stones to achieve right now. I read about people's outcomes and successes after WLS. I realistically understand that my arthritis will still be here and still be painful even after the weight is off. I hope the weight loss eases my knee pain. I know I will be able to relearn the food because I am/will take the time I need (something I never do) and I am committed to each step of this life long change. I am a very assertive person and will take each step as it comes and not worry about all the steps that will come in the future. I just want to focus on what I need to do today and change that. Tomorrow I will focus on the next step and so forth. Oh--I have a killer support group. My family and friends are going to be very helpful and my employees and my bosses are supportive. I am blessed to have these people in my life. For the first time, maybe ever, I am asking for help and I am going to openly receive it. That has been a huge step for me in the past few months. I tend to do everything for myself an not ask for help. Things are changing

February 20th in Virginia. I also did not have to wait. I am curious what factors play into the quick decisions v. several appeals. My blood work came back great, my heart is wonderful (in fact I just had a surgery un-related and I did great). Other than the obvious BMI of 41 and having never been overweight before having kids, I have a joint issue (too many sports over the years--knees) and was diagnosed with cancer that was recently surgically removed. I had the surgery the day after Christmas (hysterectomy) and was up and running a few days later. Obesity is one of many causes related to cancer. I had already begun researching WLS before I found out about the cancer so when I found out obesity contributes to it, I was no longer on the fence about doing WLS. My insurance pre approval was submitted on 1/22 and approved on 1/24. But I read about people who have more serious circumstances than I and its awful to hear how many times or how long people have to wait to get approval. I have BCBS with the Federal Government. I wonder if some delay is related to which insurance someone has or if joint and cancer were enough to be approved so quickly. Thoughts? 10 days to go!

February 20th in Virginia. I also did not have to wait. I am curious what factors play into the quick decisions v. several appeals. My blood work came back great, my heart is wonderful (in fact I just had a surgery un-related and I did great). Other than the obvious BMI of 41 and having never been overweight before having kids, I have a joint issue (too many sports over the years--knees) and was diagnosed with cancer that was recently surgically removed. I had the surgery the day after Christmas (hysterectomy) and was up and running a few days later. Obesity is one of many causes related to cancer. I had already begun researching WLS before I found out about the cancer so when I found out obesity contributes to it, I was no longer on the fence about doing WLS. My insurance pre approval was submitted on 1/22 and approved on 1/24. But I read about people who have more serious circumstances than I and its awful to hear how many times or how long people have to wait to get approval. I have BCBS with the Federal Government. I wonder if some delay is related to which insurance someone has or if joint and cancer were enough to be approved so quickly. Thoughts? 10 days to go!

I get cortisone every 3 months. They really do help I just hope the weight loss really REALLY helps

I am having this surgery directly linked to my osteoarthritis. My surgery is in 11 days and weight loss goal is approximately 110 lbs. I am virtually bone on bone in my right knee. At 43 my knee surgeon does not want to replace my joint until I get closer to 50. The weight is a huge factor in the deep intense pain I have daily and especially after exertion of any kind. I have not been an overweight person my entire life; its all post baby circa 15 years. I was an athlete until age 38 when I could still hit the ball hard but only hobble to first base. I will keep you posted on my results. I am concerned about easing the joint pain as I lose weight as well. It has been a catch 22 for me...work out to lose weight...injure knee in the process (no matter how easy the pool is...I dislocated my knee in the pool!!) but if I don't lose weight my knee will stay in pain... *sigh.