NanaRenan

Thanks to everyone who's posted. I"m fighting the reflux, too. That's what has me up and posting at 1 AM!! But I was SO tired of being stuck at the same number on the scales for over a year when I'm still a long way from GOAL. I'm willing to live on liquids-only if I have to. I just wish they'd stay inside me!!! But even sleeping sitting up, I'm still awakened several times a night with liquids in my mouth....whether I ate 3 hours before bedtime or six!!! Argh!!!

Hi, everyone....just wanted to check in. Guess I need someone to talk me down out of the tree tops. :thumbup: I hit my all time low (101 lbs lost) about 10 months out. Then I got stupid and drank too much Diet Coke for too long (over the summer as my daughter's wedding came and went!) and ended up with esophogitis. Instead of going immediately, I was afraid I'd had a slippage because the pain was so intense and I didn't want to hear bad news (DUMB, I know!) so I went several weeks where the only thing I could eat and not be in pain was ice cream. (I learned later, that it was a bad idea because the high fat content actually makes ice cream hard to digest.) I had to be unfilled for several months. Filled again. Same problem happened with even LESS soda this time. Unfilled again. Then filled again. Through all of this I put back on about 25 lbs. My body is fighting SO hard to stay at this particular number. It simply WON'T budge!! After over a year of dieting like crazy, I had another fill put in, but the reflux problems are REALLY bad. I take an OTC, so the acid is controlled pretty well. But if I even attempt to get horizontal -- something is coming up. Of course I know better than to lay down after eating. But even if I go to bed 4 or 5 hours after eating, just my saliva and gastric juices will blow up into my mouth -- sorry if that's gross, I know it is to wake up to. Oh, and I'm sleeping on so many pillows, I'm practically sitting up!!! I LONG to be able to lay flat once again! About three months of this and I've finally manage to see the scales move -- about 6 lbs. I know I should get an unfill but I don't want to gain any more and don't know how to get the scales to move. (Okay, I DO know -- I NEED to spend more time at the gym, but just have a really hard time working it into my schedule!!) At this point, I don't know what to do. Anyhow, thanks for listening.

Hi -- I'm asking here from those who've just had surgery. My son had it on Wednesday and is very uncomfortable from the gas in his belly and chest. I've had multiple lap. surgeries and for some reason this has never been a problem for me. I know I've read that walking is good for it. Any other tips I can share with him...?

Hi, Dave. I've been AWOL, too. My weight loss more than plateaued, it flat-lined! I'm in serious need of some support and possibly a kick in the pants, too! Hope some more of our Crazy Ates are still around!

I had a dental appointment so I wore my hair down today. I had difficulty finding a barrette that would stay in it. It's already fine and straight and now is so thin, every barrette I tried slid right out. *sigh* But it's been 7 months since the last general anesthesia -- it should be at the end of the LOSING phase. Hang in there everybody, it should turn around

(Note from Pam: I, of course, did NOT write this, seeing as how I live in BRAZORIA county. However, I do intend to follow some of the advice given in the future. I am particularly interested in the swimming pool!!) (P.S. Pray, Saints! Pray!!) Hurricane Season in Galveston County To: ex-Galveston Countians, present Galveston Countians, and future Galveston Countians or those who know a Galveston Countian: We're about to enter the peak of the hurricane season, which starts June 1 and ends November 30. Any day now, you're going to turn on the TV and see a weather person pointing to some radar blob out in the Gulf of Mexico and making two basic meteorological points: (1) There is no need to panic. (2) We could all be killed. Yes, hurricane season is an exciting time to be in Galveston County. If you're new to the area, you're probably wondering what you need to do to prepare for the possibility that we'll get hit by 'the big one.'' Based on our experiences, we recommend that you follow this simple three-step hurricane preparedness plan: STEP 1. Buy enough food and bottled Water to last your family for at least three days. STEP 2. Put these supplies into your car. STEP 3. Drive to Nebraska and remain there until Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, statistics show that most people will not follow this sensible plan. Most people will foolishly stay here in Galveston County. We'll start with one of the most important hurricane preparedness items: HOMEOWNERS' INSURANCE: If you own a home, you must have hurricane insurance. Fortunately, this insurance is cheap and easy to get, as long as your home meets two basic requirements: (1) It is reasonably well-built, and (2) It is located in Nebraska. Unfortunately, if your home is located in Galveston County, or any other area that might actually be hit by a hurricane, most insurance companies would prefer not to sell you hurricane insurance, because then they might be required to pay YOU money, and that is certainly not why they got into the insurance business in the first place. So you'll have to scrounge around for an insurance company, which will charge you an annual premium roughly equal to the replacement value of your house. At any moment, this company can drop you like used dental floss. Since Hurricane Alicia, I have had an estimated 27 different home-insurance companies. This week, I'm covered by the Bob and Big Stan Insurance Company, under a policy which states that, in addition to my premium, Bob and Big Stan are entitled, on demand, to my kidneys. SHUTTERS: Your house should have hurricane shutters on all the windows, all the doors, and -- if it's a major hurricane -- all the toilets. There are several types of shutters, with advantages and disadvantages: Plywood shutters: The advantage is that, because you make them yourself, they're cheap. The disadvantage is that, because you make them yourself, they will fall off. Sheet-metal shutters: The advantage is that these work well, once you get them all up. The disadvantage is that once you get them all up, your hands will be useless bleeding stumps, and it will be December. Roll-down shutters: The advantages are that they're very easy to use, and will definitely protect your house. The disadvantage is that you will have to sell your house to pay for them. 'Hurricane-proof'' windows: These are the newest wrinkle in hurricane protection: They look like ordinary windows, but they can withstand hurricane winds! You can be sure of this, because the salesman says so. He lives in Nebraska. 'Hurricane Proofing Your Property: As the hurricane approaches, check your yard for movable objects like barbecue grills, planters, patio furniture, visiting relatives, etc.; you should, as a precaution, throw these items into your swimming pool (if you don't have a swimming pool, you should have one built immediately). Otherwise, the hurricane winds will turn these objects into deadly missiles. EVACUATION ROUTE: If you live in a low-lying area, you should have an evacuation route planned out. (To determine whether you live in a low-lying area, look at your driver's license; if it says you live in anywhere in Galveston County you live in a low-lying area.) The purpose of having an evacuation route is to avoid being trapped in your home when a major storm hits. Instead, you will be trapped in a gigantic traffic jam several miles from your home, along with two hundred thousand other evacuees. So, as a bonus, you will not be lonely. HURRICANE SUPPLIES: If you don't evacuate, you will need a mess of supplies. Do not buy them now! Galveston County tradition requires that you wait until the last possible minute, then go to the supermarket and get into vicious fights with strangers over who gets the last can of SPAM. In addition to food and water, you will need the following supplies: 23 flashlights. At least $167 worth of batteries that turn out, when the power goes out, to be the wrong size for the flashlights. Bleach. (No, I don't know what the bleach is for. NOBODY knows what the bleach is for. But it's traditional, so GET some!) A 55-gallon drum of underarm deodorant. A big knife that you can strap to your leg. (This will be useless in a hurricane, but it looks cool.) A large quantity of raw chicken, to placate the alligators. (Ask anybody who went through Alicia; after the hurricane, there WILL be irate alligators.) $35,000 in cash or diamonds so that, after the hurricane passes, you can buy a generator from a man with no discernible teeth. Of course these are just basic precautions. As the hurricane draws near, it is vitally important that you keep abreast of the situation by turning on your television and watching TV reporters in rain slickers stand right next to the ocean and tell you over and over how vitally important it is for everybody to stay away from the ocean. Good luck and remember: It's great living in paradise! Those of you who aren't here yet, you should come. Really!

Hi, Steve! I'm in Ike's cross-hairs, too. I'm in Pearland....far northern Brazoria County....about 5 miles south of Hobby Airport. We're hunkering in for the long wait, too. Our house is less than 5 y/o and build as hurricane safe as they can make 'em. My three grown children and their families are going to come here because one lives in an old apt. building in Texas City and the other two live in older homes with LOTS of big old trees -- they're in danger any time it storms. I've probably burned a thousand calories kicking myself for never getting around to getting that generator and plywood -- but you know how it is. When you've got money you aren't usually thinking, "Hey, I think I'm gonna spend this extra $500 on a GENERATOR~!!" I am dreading the possibility of being without power for days or even weeks! But, I can't wish it off to the East -- those people have had quite enough in the last few years!

I took Metformin prior to surgery. Along with several other meds for different conditions. I went to see my GP a week before surgery to find out what could be crushed, or was available in liquids, etc. She looked at the list and said, "None of these are "life-threatening" if you miss a few days, come in two weeks post-op and lets draw blood." I never went back on any of them, and my blood work consistently improved. By 6 months out ALL of my lab tests were in the NORMAL range. I did the math -- we use a 90 day mail order prescription service that costs what 30 days from the local drug store charges. Even with that, prior to surgery we were spending $2100 per year on meds -- plus whatever the insurance was kicking in!! Now I get to spend all that extra dough on NEW CLOTHES!!! But most importantly of all. I feel great and am no longer "sickly" and at risk.

I was all set to start a challenge this month. Then my daughter abruptly found a job and starts tomorrow. Day care can't take my GrandBuddy for at least two weeks! I was thinking, "Aw, no gym, no workout." And then I remembered WHO I will be babysitting..... Never mind, I'll get 6 to 8 hours of WORKOUT every day!!!

Yay!!! I love that feeling! I ask for a BOOTH every time we eat out now -- just cause I can. Some places I couldn't get in them at all, some were just super tight. Now I can fit in them all. And I've still got a lot to lose! And -- I'm flying next month -- I won't have to ask for a seatbelt extender!!!! WHOO-HOO!!!

A "PB" is a 'productive burp'. It's similar to vomiting, but not as horrible. It occurs when you over eat and/or something gets 'stuck' in the band area. Sometimes your body reacts to this by "sliming" -- producige copious amounts of saliva and mucus in a natural attempt to move the stuck food. When you're banded this compounds the problem because there is no where for the extra fluids to go, they must be spit out. Eventually the food either moves on its own, or a bubble dislodges it, or you gag and essentially puke it up. But its not combined with stomach acid -- which is in the lower portion of your stomach -- so its not utterly revolting! The best part is, it can be completely avoided by cutting foods into tiny bits, (I use a pencil eraser as my mental yardstick.) and chewing, chewing, chewing everything very fine.