deboregon

bella, put me down for -1 this week. not much, but at least the right direction.

mouse prob still going on. yesterday we adopted two cats from the humane society. hopefully they will be good mousers once they get acclimated.

hey, miss dee, home yet?

Have you noticed there are two different PB's? When I got stuck the other evening on zucchini, (this is really gross) I burped and a huge amount of thick mucous came up. I never had a pain, but a slight discomfort feeling. But I could have ignored it easily because it wasn't bad. After I burped and PB'd, I felt fine. Then about 5 mins later the same thing happened.

Then previously on Broccoli, I've gotten stuck and the pain for extremely bad. I have burped loudly and the broccoli came out with no excess mucous. With the zucchini, it never came up.

Sorry that is pretty gross, but I was wondering if these PB's are similar to others. I had no idea there were two different kinds.

I didn't get stuck until 11 months out, so I'm still learning these things.

The few times I have PB'ed (new verb) from eating too quickly, sometimes the food will come up, but always there is extreme slime. It is truly gross. And it takes a while to get over that feeling. At the end, that is pretty much it for eating for me.

Thanks, Julie, for doing the stats on last challenge.

Bella, put me down for 10 pounds. Maybe being back to aerobics will jumpstart me again. scale numbers not changing:angry:, but clothes are.:scared2:

I'm excited to see you too! And it will be nice to get away for a few days, even though it's a conference. I will get to see some of my friends from grad school, so that will be fun.

sorry to hear about your loss...several people seem to be losing loved ones lately....sad....

wish i were going to be in the area for the get together. say "hey" to everyone.

well, gained and lost the same 9 pounds this week. back to where I was at beginning of challenge. scale isn't moving but the inches appear to be as clothes keep getting larger. just wish the scale would do something!

weather here has been odd too. we were at our place in crooked river on Thurs, Fri., and Sat. Friday so warm we had on shorts and tank tops. Then we had to leave Sat. or we would have been stuck in 10-20 inches of snow on the way home. And it is hailing right at the moment. I am soooo ready for sun.

I'm here Sweetie!

thanks for asking.

I've been dealing with a lot of depression lately. Night shift is kicking my butt and I'm getting ready to take my daughter to college. I'll have an empty nest and it's something I am so sad about. I'm so happy for her! But after being married for 22 years, I never imagined I'd be alone when our daughter left for school.

Glad to hear from you again. Time flies so quickly, I didn't realize it was time for your daughter to go to college. Are you flying back with her or are you driving her back with all her "essentials"?

I start back up with Water aerobics tomorrow after being gone for 2 weeks. Gotta get the momentum going again:ohmy:

I am sooooo sorry that I've been so bad about posting as of late, and I'm way behind on reading, and I missed the weigh in this past weekend entirely. My dad had surgery for his melanoma last Thursday and they had to go back in this morning as they didn't get it all. Luckily, the lymph nodes were clear though. My MIL had the lower lobe of one lung removed this morning and they found another lesion in the upper part of the lung . . . won't know the results of the biopsy on that or her lymph nodes for 2 days. Luckily, they are in the same hospital, just a few hundred yards down the hall from one another.

I will weight next Saturday. Good job to everybody who lost! Sorry for the driveby!

Whoa, Mini, that is a lot goin' on. You and yours are in my thoughts.

well, got back from Palm Springs Tuesday evening. My, how sunshine can lift one's spirits...and one's weight! Won't be weighing in until the end, I am afraid. Like Mini and Mexico, I, too, gained. I am sure it is related to "water gain" but there was NO Water involved, unless it was the back to my scotch! Margaritas by the pool, wine with dinner, margaritas in restaurants...ahhhhh...the good life. But now back to reality and discipline.

Hey, where's Dee?

Put me down for +1.8...arghhhhh:cursing:

Patty, head and heart up....this week will be better.

Anyone heard from Shelbi or Mal?

Buster, Tucker is missin' you!:wink:

Good job!!! Is your back feeling better?

We were in Playa del Carmen, which is about 45 miles south of Cancun. It was great. Warm, sunshine, turquoise blue Water. It was wonderful.

Back is so-so. I will probably have to get another injection in about a month if I really want to get it going in right direction. Thought I would wait and see what a series of aerobic classes might do to loosen it up.

I have never been on that side of Mexico. sunshine and beautiful water...ahhhh....We leave for Palm Springs in ten days and I am soooo looking forward to it. It was 28 degrees yesterday morning here. Brrr.....

Well, I lost that 7 pounds of Water due to steroid injection and then some. Maybe these wateraerobic classes will be my jumpstart.

Put me down for -3.4 this week.:wink:

Mini: where in Mex. were you and did you have a good time?

Dee, thanks for the affirmation of what I thought. Jeez, I couldn't believe it! If I am going to gain 7 lbs. in three days, I want to have eaten those kind of foods in the required quantities!!

Well, I was down 4 this morning, but that's still 3 more before Sat. to be even. Sheesh...

Did my first Water aerobics yesterday. How much fun is that?

I didn't know you could be in cool water in a cold building and still sweat! I couldn't imagine moving for an hour solid on dry land, but it was easy in the water. Tomorrow morning is session #2!!:thumbup:

Question for medical types:

I had steroid injections in spine for back pain last Friday. I have now gained 7 lbs. in 3 days:cursing: Question is can steroids have an impact on Water retention or some other aspect of body that would account for such a gain?

Thanks! BUT I have to be honest, if I had any way of NOT working nights, I would go for it! Money or no money, it's just not worth what it does to your health!

I remember once, I was in Haiti and I choked on something I was eating. It was during a blackout. No lights, only candles and we were eating. I couldn't breath, I couldn't talk and I could feel my fingers tingling. My MIL got up and hit me on the back, up it came and I survived! It was truly the scariest time of my life!

I think traveling would be a blast! I hate to leave the clinic - I love it there, but the money just isn't enough to make my bills if I can truly pick up more hours in the NICU. I have to install my black out canopy when I get home in the am. I was so sleepy driving home this morning, it scared me. My reflexes were very slow and I kept drifting off when I was stopped in traffic. It seriously is just like driving drunk, which I have never done - and I hope to not drive that sleepy again! I was able, thank God to sleep today. I slept about 4 hours. Woke up with the stupid leaf blowers outside my window! DAMNIT! AND then I was able to fall back asleep around 3pm and wake up in time for work at 4pm. Life goes on...

I am with you Deb! I hope for 199 in 09! Hmmm, I wonder if you and I should put that in our signatures!

i would certainly add that to my signature if I knew how to freakin' do these computer antics! Notice I have never had a ticker cuz I am computer illiterate. Unless someone SHOWS me, I am dead in the water!

Well, put me down for a big fat zero. I have been a bad, bad bandster. I am falling into some old habits and can't seem to stop. I am eating the wrong foods and snacking waaay to much. I don't know what's wrong with me. :tt2: I am sooo afraid that this will get the best of me and I won't be able to get back on the wagon. That was always my problem in the past. I would lose and then start eating bad again....and you all know the rest of the story. I haven't been exercising either. I have to get control, but I can't seem to do it.:thumbup:

Bella, don't be so hard on yourself. Gosh, you have lost over 100 pounds in a short period of time. Relax....

i used to get those also! it was like an epideral of steroids. so I'm doing a drive by weigh in from my phone while waiting to board my flight. i'm down 4.5. yay! i can't update my ticker but I think my BMI should drop into the overweigfht category. woohoo,

Mini, have a great time in Mexico and STAY IN THE Water, just don't consume it!

Julie, put me down for -2.6 this week. Finally headed in the right direction and I start water aerobics on Wednesday.

Every time I see that "Size 9 in '09", I just think please, 199 in '09! My don't we have different perspectives!

Mini:They are steroid injections for bulging discs and other related back pains. I have had one before and it helped tremendously. Hopefully, this will work without having to have a second or third one. Plus I love the percocet!

You do get benefits, retirement, 401K, vacation, bonuses.... etc plus housing is paid for.

Dee, that sounds like the ideal solution, a little travel and benefits. Sorry to hear about having to make a choice in the job market, but your body and overall mental health wouldn't be able to handle that for too long. Good luck with the sleeping battle.

Mini, whoa, girl, I bet that was a bit scarey! It must truly be the season: I have had a bitch of a cold for three weeks now. Just today am feeling better, better enough to go get a spinal injection in ten minutes:huh2: Problem is the cold started with JL and then I got it; now she is getting another one! She usually is never sick, so this is a rare instance!

Good health to all of you out there suffering.

Mini, the warm weather of Mexico will do wonders for your health. Stay away from the water!:tt2:

Patty, remember what you already know: any time we put some new foreign substance in our bodies, they "stand firm plus" until the substance becomes familiar. You will be fine...irritated but fine!:cursing:

Well, I am feeling newly committed as the sun is shining and it is 60 degrees. Plus I packed up 5 garbage bags of too-big clothes to give away, and I unpacked several pieces I had stored away from an earlier "commitment" to losing....a commitment I lost. However, I unpacked them this morning, ironed them (an activity I loathe), and hung them all neatly pressed on hangers. Several pieces are for warm weather, so I will have some outfits to take to Palm Springs in March. Now let's hope the pounds start to drop again!:blushing:

Yahoo!!! The new pool opens today! I plan on starting aerobics next Wed. (still have this cold; thought I would give it a week). Will be busy between now and then, so maybe won't focus on food so much. Trying to get in as many oscar contenders as possible, taking folks to casino, getting shot at spine clinic, and hosting an oscar party. Not much time for sitting and munching.

I am feeling a new burst of commitment:thumbup: Sun was out for a couple of days, and it makes such a difference! Plus I am going to Palm Springs on Mar. 11 and will be seeing guys I haven't seen since wedding and some since last June, so am making a push to lose more in next three weeks.

So a lot has happened in the past few days. My Dad had his MRI on Wednesday and met with the radiologist on Friday. He pulled up my dad's mri on the computer and let my dad know the preliminary results. The cancer is not gone, in fact, it has spread. Apparently the interferon hasn't helped at all. He said that my dad's 95% chance of living for 5 years has dropped to about 25%. The free-floating parts of the cancer have attached to his adrenal gland, one of his lungs and now there is more in his brain. The ones in his brain are so deep in that there aren't many options besides using radiation on his whole brain and hoping that it helps. But that can have some pretty bad side effects. My dad is meeting with the Oncologist this Wednesday to get some definite timelines and treatment options. I am having a hard time trying to wrap my mind around this.

Marie, I am so sorry to hear about your dad. Maybe his youth will help him in this battle. sounds as if your mom is really going to need you and your sibs to step up so she can let her emotions out. Moms are sooo like that...strong for everyone else. My thoughts are with you and yours.

Well, if we are going for April 1, I guess I will go for 15 pounds on this challenge. Since I didn't make the 10 I set on the last one, maybe if I up the ante, I will get more motivated. Who is keeping track this time? Julie?

I am still even on the weigh in. None lost, none gained since my last check in. Hopefully Sat will knock me down another pound or two.

Borrowed a friends hair waver and was feeling cute today. Decided to update with a new photo since it has been awhile. I will save the full body shot for when I hit -100. Only Twelve pounds to go!

Here is moi… -88

(hopefully it is obvious the left photo is a before shot!)

You look FABULOUS! Congrats to you!

Mini, everything went fine with the fill. I am at 3.5 now (he put in 4cc). I feel so crappy with this cold, I can't tell much difference in ANYTHING! food isn't really on my radar right now. Cold, stuffy nose, gritty eyes, you know, the whole nine yards. Got to keep those fluids going though.

Dee, put me down for a +1 for this weeks weigh in. That TOM must be haunting a lot of this this week.:crying:

Ahhh....the joy of a hysterectomy.

Wow, please don't get pissy about it. I just have concerns and wonder if anyone has experienced it firsthand. I am only asking for advice and first hand experience.

Don't be so defensive. Her reply wasn't "pissy" at all.

Hey Friend:

I read your somewhat skeptic post and smiled to myself. It was easy to recognize my own familiar wary attitude in your words.

I think being morbidly obese is not an easy 'job'. First off, you have every Tom, Dick and Mary and their Fat Free Medical Side Show flooding the airwaves, magazines and email with the next miracle cure to your hopelessly helpless life of fatness. The magic comes for only $XX plus S & H and YOU TOO will soon be just like the model wearing a bikini. Most times they are selling a dream and not a valid medically safe method.

By the time I FOUND Dr. Kirshenbaum, I had been through my own Oprah's Diet list of all the diet attempts to lose weight, and two seminars locally on weight loss surgery. Why did I not go with the surgeon here in Florida? The first one was gastric bypass, cutting my organs? No thanks., the second one was Dr. Feelbad who spent a portion of the office consult hashing me out for being as heavy as I was ( 381 at that visit ). I was going to tell him I use to way 402 for kicks just to watch his eyes roll back but thought otherwise. At any rate, my thick skin got even thicker once he told me, in front of my husband, I would not fit on his surgical table. Whether or not my insurance covered it was the lesser issue after that visit. This 'doctor' did not seem to have the compassionate professionalism associated with most doctors who deal with disabling disorders. I know this because I work with deaf students, have a deaf foster daughter, my son has auditory processing deficits and was also a premie. I've had my share of the disabled end of the world and also I took it up a notch and got trained as an Advocate for disabled individuals covering the IDEA (education law for disabled children) and a portion of the ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act. The general professional attitude amongst those who work with individuals with life incumbering concerns is not one of chastisement. It tends to lead more on the proactive side of resolution or atleast what can be done as a plan to help this citizen. Dr. Feelgood was no where close to that.

I cannot tell you where I found Dr. Kirshenbaum but I believe it was from another MOP ..morbidly obese person who was basically in the self pay boat looking for the best surgeon at the best facility.

I called one surgeon in Mexico, wonderful secretary, very personable but when I expressed concerns over post surgical care in the U.S. there didn't seem to be a clear path already laid which she could articulate well.

From there my next jump was Dr. Kirshenbaum. I always field my doctors by a call to the office. I am looking for three things:

1. How many rings before they pick-up. *If you have a situation and you are close to going to the ER but don't want without first speaking to the doctor, you call the office. If it rings and rings and rings, and then you get cogged on hold that shows a busy office that has not effectively distributed their patient services.

2. Ease of facilitated information. The person you first speak with at a doctor's office is truly the face of his practice. I know exactly what I am looking for, I by then had already researched the band from it's design in France and use in Canada. I am now ready to explore surgery options. When I called, "Marilyn" was the voice at the other end. She was gracious, informed, answered my questions and also said she had worked for Dr. K for twenty years. Finding ANYBODY in medicine who has worked with the same group for twenty years is rare. But it showed me she had faith in her employer. Marilyn sent me an info packet and the next thing was a call from Dr. Kirshenbaum.

3. The doctor. I do not like to feel rushed. I want my questions answered in a way that if I do not understand them the doctor is concerned enough about my health that as a patient of his he would also like me as educated about my condition to eleviate any concerns or questions. Dr. K sent me a power point via the internet which as an educator is unseen outside the classroom, in the real world in medicine. I regularly take "WEBINAR" classes and to be honest, Dr. K's presentation was the best webinar I had particpated in. I also could pause and discuss specifics of his material as we were both looking at the same page via internet. So not only was he a good educator, he also spoke very clearly and concise and explained things in a way that left me feeling confident not only in the Lap Band but in his knowledge base as a surgeon.

I also did a little search on him. FIRST, his medical practice is laparoscopic surgery. If you didn't know, what is happening these days is "doctors" are crosstraining into Lap Band surgery and beginning this, probably, profitable new remedy to obesity. Do they have extensive clinical expertise in surgery...ahhh, not so much. So with Dr. Kirshenbaum, not only are you getting an exceptional device in the band but you are having it done by a man whose medical practice before Lap Band came along was, is and remains s-u-r-g-e-r-y with a laparoscope. How many surgeries? Over 10,000. Yeah. When Routine Surgery Turns Into a Nightmare - ReliableAnswers.com

Here's an article I came across non-band related but related to laparscoic surgery. Dr. K contributed to the article.

...............................................

I know this is long winded but I really did my homework with him and I cannot sing his praises enough with where I am in my life and where I was and the surgery itself. Let's talk about that.

I'll post seperately about the surgery and your concerns on being healthy and preop testing.

Patty, well-said, as always.

I really believe someone should send this response to Dr. K's office. If this isn't the most articulate and thoughtful endorsement for his practice, I don't know what would be:w00t: He should put it in his literature and on his website. I am serious.:laugh:

Dee, thanks so much again for the ride to the airport yesterday. It was great to see you and chat. You look wonderful...keep up the good work. My flight was late, and then all the planes had to be de-iced, so we were over an hour late getting out of Denver. Made for a very long day!

I think I will stay over next trip, and we can have a get together like we talked about yesterday.

Hey Denver Banditos!

Don't forget our next Get Together is on Monday night!

February 9th at 7pm!

Red Robin at Arapahoe and I-25.

I hope many can attend!

AND you out of towners, you'll be in our hearts!

Shoot, I am going to miss it by one day:frown:

Put me down for no loss/no gain this week. Right about now I am so looking forward to my second fill.

I opt for a longer time frame on the next challenge.

I am so hoping that we are able to see one another! What time do you have to be back at the airport? AND what time is your appt? I have to mapquest the court house to see how far I'll be from Dr K's office. I'm hoping to get out early! I heard that they usually release everyone by 4 or 5pm, I can drive really fast to see you before you leave! I'm so sad about that stupid jury duty! IF they wouldn't put out a bench warrant for my arrest, I'd just not go! BUT I do love my freedom and I'd hate to have to wear an orange suit and pick up trash along the highway! However, the mug shot would look much better than it would have a year ago! HA!

Just kidding everyone! I'd never even consider not going! I'm a law abiding citizen!

my appointment is at 2:45 and my plane leaves at 6:30.

I have a shuttle spot secured for 4:30-4:50.

Hope we meet up.