dancinglamb

Can I come play? I'm Marisa, I'm 37, Mom to Sophia (5) and Amelia (3) and I just finished my first semester of pre-reqs -math and AP I - for Nursing School (and made Dean's List - woo hoo!!). I'm doing it at a community college basically because even though they're equidistant from my house, it's way cheaper than Seton Hall by about $300/credit. :party: If all goes as planned, I will be entering Nursing School next spring; where I plan to go for my Associates to get my RN. I figure I can probably then get whatever hospital I end up at to pay for the bridge to BSN afterward. I'm completely starting over, since the last time I went to school, it was for theatrical set design. Before I had the girls, I was a project manager for an NYC architecture firm and then ran a construction office that specialised in brownstone renovation. I always was sorry that I didn't go into medicine, and needed to figure out how I was going to 'reinvent' myself once the girls went to school full time. When I realised I could do it in roughly three years, I decided to go the Nursing route. I'm pretty sure I want to specialise in ICU, though I'm not going to rule out other options depending on what I might like during rotations. So, I guess you can say my goal is to be a skinny RN by the time I hit 40 :party: -m

Northern NJ -m

I have had the worst craving for DAYS for a big fat handmade NYC chewy bagel. Lightly toasted with whipped butter and raspberry jam. Served hot. You have no idea.:blushing: I think just not having the opportunity to be around any of the stuff is key. I just can't keep stuff like that in the house. Or if I do, it's in the freezer so it's no easily accessible. I absolutely can't keep the 'good' goodies (candy, etc.) here. It took every morsel of self control not to grab a KitKat bar at Target today. I was in a crappy mood, the kids weren't behaving, I was hungry - starving. I wanted that damn thing like nobody's business. But I was good. Of course it didn't help that when I got out to the parking lot an empty one flew past me in the wind:cursing:. But I was good, and even avoided the drive through Dunkin Donuts on the way home. Instead, I had one of those cup in hand Campbells things when I walked in the door. Comparable? NFW. But better? Slightly. Still, it's a battle that I know I'm going to always have to fight. *sigh*:sad: -m

Yep. That pretty much sums it up. I was apparently vocal enough that they said I could move to mushies a few days early (I also pointed out that there are new recommendations that there aren't necessarily benefits to the extended liquid diets). I have found that my food processor is my best friend and as disgusting as it looks, you can put 'regular people food' in the blender with either milk or broth and go to town on it then drink it. It at least tastes better than the boring stuff and you can get more nutrients in (unless you're still doing the Protein shake routine). I do have to admit that I was stuck in traffic one day with the family and resorted to a small chocolate shake from Checkers. Can I just tell you that I think it may have been better than sex?:blushing: -m Oh, and Hippiemama - I dig your avatar :sad:

My first official soft food today? Overdone Pasta with some chopped up chicken (think chicken salad chicken) and mushrooms. It's what the family was having for dinner, and I needed Protein. The numbers were high, and was too hungry and tired to think further. Poor planning on my part, but it was a long day and I was sick of two whining kids. I'm also not feeling great after overextending myself one week after surgery (today was the first day I had the kids on my own). Excuses? Probably. But still my reality. I'm feeling kind of nauseous because even though I only ate 1c of it, it's way more than I'm used to eating. I'm pretty sure I'll head back to mouse portions, but my first fill isn't for another three weeks. Apparently it's going to be a significant one (4cc; I have a Realize band and that's the standard initial amt), so it ought to be interesting. I have to say, though, this is nothing like I anticipated. I'm having an INCREDIBLY difficult time controlling the urge to eat like a 'normal' person. It's basically fear of majorly f**cking this up that's keeping me in line, kwim? Hang tight. We'll get through this. We have to, right? :blushing: hugs -m

I haven't seen the thread, but I have looked at the website. It seems the software isn't supported by Mac OS. WTF?! Only one of our computers will support the new Windows XP, and we would need to get Windows as well. Either way, it would be an almost $800+ investment when all is said and done. Cool toy, though! -m

I was completely inspired by your post in the scar sticky and bought the Kelo-Cote on eBay (way cheaper than Skinstore!). I've been doing the Arnica, but didn't start it until the day before the surgery. How many times a day were you applying it? I'm doing it twice right now, because it tends to rub off under my shirt. I can't do the underwire bra thing; in fact, I've not even attempted it. So, for now, I'm doing wildly unsupportive jogbras. Better than nothing and they will at least keep me from being arrested whenever I leave the house. :biggrin: -m

Wheetsin- I specifically asked my surgeon about that and he said the AP bands come with 3cc in them already so that's the baseline. It's never counted as a fill. (i.e., when you go for fills and they remove existing saline to calibrate before adding new in, the 3cc is basically a 'tare' like on a scale.) I ended up getting the Realize band and he told me that this one actually has a 'negative' fill and there's no restriction whatsoever. Kind of sucks, since I'm *starving* hungry.:biggrin: -m -m

A tiny bit. I was on two weeks of three Optifast shakes plus 64oz of clears. They told me that if I was starving, I could have salad, hardboiled egg whites, lean turkey/chicken. I did cave and have some of the food. I was just too freaking hungry. I did cheat with 6 Hershey Kisses the second day in, and had 4 Tootsie Rolls and 2 Starbursts the third day. Leftovers from Easter Egg hunt/Birthday Party loot. :biggrin: I knew I need to get it out of the house, so I figured it would be better to do it then rather than after the surgery (of course, could've given it to the kids, husband, or thrown it out. Couldn't do that in good fatty conscience, though!). I was pretty devastated that I didn't do it and really felt like a failure. It took me a long time to come to terms with it. It was all good, though. The surgeon said my liver was 'textbook' when he did the surgery. -m

I voted yes, because he came and saw me the next day in the hospital. He also came to see me before and after the surgery, and spoke to Jonathan after he came from the operating room. I've also been emailing with him from home. -m

Congrats! And every time you want to slip on the diet, keep thinking about those shoes :biggrin: You'll be a Skinny Minny in no time!! -m

This is hilarious. I was thinking that Thank God I'm not the only one feeling this way. I was beginning to feel like I was the freak among everybody else that can't get more than 2oz of food down after their surgery! I've been kind of cheating with very miniscule amounts of mushies, too. I can officially begin them on Wed (today is Sun), and I've been OK for the most part. A Keeber Club cheddar cracker didn't like me earlier today, so I've backed off for now. Just know I'm right there in the hungry line next to all of you :wink2: -m

Thanks for the info on the registration. I happened to glance at the calendar tonight. Good thing, since my appt with the surgeon is Tuesday morning and not Thursday as I thought. D'oh! How did you not eat bacon?!!!! I tell you, it's my favourite food group. I woke up hungry, as well. I went into this thing thinking that it would ameliorate all these food thoughts that seem to preoccupy about 90% of my thoughts. Instead, it's now kicked it up to ohhhh, say, 98.85%. I seriously think about food damn near constantly. When I can have it next, what I can't have, what I really want to have, how I can figure out how to get what I want, what I can settle for. It's pretty pathetic. I can 'officially' start mushies on Wednesday, though I've been kind of nibbling today. I had some of those Keebler Club chedder crackers today and one of them didn't sit too well. I got scared on that front and backed off. I had one of those Campbell chicken and Stars Soups in the cup you microwave. Holy CRAP that was good. I haven't had it since I was little. I was expecting it to suck and got a very pleasant surprise in exchange. The warmth of it also helped whatever the cracker was doing down there. Dunno <shrug> hugs -m</shrug>

I stayed overnight. They did an esophogram the next day to document the placement of the band as a baseline should there be any future problems (God forbid!). ETA, the also did an I/O where they monitor your input/output of fluids. I wasn't peeing a lot at first and they started threatening me with either more IV fluids or the dreaded foley. Boy, you've never seen somebody strain to pee so hard in your life. But back to your question; my girlfriend came and picked me up around 3pm when she got off from work. I could've left earlier, but that's when my ride was there. Oh, and I have to tell you, it had to be one of the most restful nights I've had in a long time. But then again, it was a private room with a huge, disturbingly comfortable bed (at least for a hospital bed), with this nifty underbed ambient lighting at night. I had my down pillow, my own jammies, my iPod. It was pretty relaxing, actually. Listen, when you share your bed and covers with a snoring husband and a dog, with two more dogs in the room, pretty much anything is glorious. -m

Congrats! That's an awesome hospital. I delivered both my kiddos there. Good luck and welcome! -m

OMG, those are hilarious. (they are supposed to be funny, right?). Where did you find that site? I had to go ahead and click some of the other links and came across these. Look! Did you ever dream of dancing on pointe but were too fat? Here! Ballet shoes with kickstands!! You have no idea how hard I've been laughing. I swear I may have not only peed a little, I may have pulled some stitches. Woooh, that was funny. OK> back to your regular programming. -m

I have a wedding to go to next May and have the most fabulous Stuart Weitzman tealish-turquoise crocodile slingbacks with 3" heels. I bought them, then promptly broke my ankle. They would've been miserable to wear anyway, what with the cankles and all. I am sooooo dressing around those shoes! I tried to find a pic of them, but couldn't:sneaky: -m

Did you guys have a hard time getting your surgeon's Realize ID number so you could log into the the Realize site? I have the little card with my ID number, and the actual band serial number, but since I'm only the second person he's put it in, I have a feeling I'll be chasing my tail on this. -m

Thanks, Nikki. I see him on Thursday for my first post-op visit. I'll be interested to see what he says. I emailed him yesterday and told him I've been hungrier than I anticipated and he said I could lean more toward the 10 of the 10-14 days post-op for mushies. I had watery *oatmeal* this morning!!!! Woo hooo! (OK, I know I am a dork, but it was nom nom NOM!!!!!) :huh2: -m

Have you called your neurologist to tell him/her what's been going on with you? If you've not looked into Topamax, I highly recommend it. I did the Imitrex route for a while and just didn't like the way it made me feel. Kind of queasy hung over, kwim? I went from having easily 4-6 migraines a WEEK to now maybe 1-2 a MONTH (and usually I can knock them out with the Advil routine). It's truly been a lifesaver for me. I have two little kids and it was awful having to lay on the couch in the dark because I couldn't handle the light and noise on a daily basis. Honestly, I had forgotten just how bad they could get until last night. I really hope you're feeling better soon. hugs -m

No worries. :smile2: Feel better! -m

I'm 5'2", and my current 'yay!' goal is 145. My 'wooo hooo!' goal is 135. Do I think I can hit 135? Dunno. I don't even know how I would look at 135. It might not look good on me. The lowest I recall being as an adult was 148 and looking back, I was pretty smokin' if I say so myself. :smile2: But that was 15 years ago, and before two c-sections. Honestly, I'd be happy if I could be a size 6-8. Hell, who am I kidding. I'd be happy if I could be a 10, but single digits are really preferable. Ultimately, I think it's how you feel once you get there and what's going on in your life at that time, kwim? -m

Yep, spontaneous deep breaths, then the hiccups, then a burp. Very strange, but pretty predictable. -m

Hi- I got the Realize band this past Monday. I've not looked at their site yet (I have to register - husband has the damn card in his wallet from when the surgeon gave it to him in recovery...), but have you guys looked at thedailyplate.com. I started using it when I was on the pre-op diet and got pretty hooked on it. You can even enter in recipes and it will break down for you what the nutritional counts are. On top of that they have stuff from Trader Joes, Whole Foods, and um, Cold Stone Creamery (not that I, uh, would know about that) in their database. You can also log your exercise and weight goals, tracking, etc. My surgeon told me that my first fill will be 4w from the surgery date. Now I'm kind of worried after reading your posts that the first fill doesn't work well. Crap. I'm hungry already! -m

First, don't use any cornstarch. You'll be feeding any yeast that's growing there. Literally. Second, take pictures and get it documented by your PCP. If you ever plan on wanting plastic surgery down the road, rashes will qualify you as 'medical necessity' and insurance may pay for tummy tuck and breast reduction/lift (do searches in the plastic surgery forum for more on that). Third, the diflucan pills should help, but you will also need a topical cream. You need to first wash the skin, then pat it dry. After that, dry it with your hairdryer on a cool setting. I know. Sounds ridiculous, but it's imperative that there's no moisture left. After that, you can put Lotrimin cream (either the stuff for vaginal yeast infections or for jock itch - same stuff different marketing - just Gyne in front of the former) on the rash. The best thing you can do is expose the skin to air. If you are able to lay down, maybe under a ceiling fan, it would help. In the mean time, if you need to, you can cut up old t-shirts and put a layer of the soft cotton in between the layers of skin to absorb perspiration. Once the rash is under control, a great powder to use is Z-sorb. It's in the foot section (where they sell the Dr. Scholls stuff) of the pharmacy. It's not the greatest smelling stuff, but it's probably the best working stuff I've ever come across. It's got one peculiar side effect in that it absorbs so much that it tends to become a little granular by the end of the day. Not so much that it's painful, but enough that it's slightly noticeable. Oh, and as far as any sort of cream, Monistat sells a chafing cream that starts out as a cream and turns into a powder. You can also buy stuff called Body Glide that's used by runners. I found it on drugstore.com. Sorry for the scribe, but I, uh, have a bit of experience with this. :smile2: -m