minidriver

I hear ya. We have a perfectly lovely pool at my college and I have tried to swim laps a few times but the thought of my students seeing me in my swimsuit is just more than I can bear. I know I'm being silly . .. but I can't seem to help myself. And I really LIKE swimming. It's one of the few forms of exercise that I actually enjoy!

Wow, a public swim suit outing! Good for you! Sounds like you got some fun stuff.

The self-pay thing is totally worth it. SO much more valuable than a cheap used car. Where in Oregon are you? I used to live in Eugene. Oh, and it's never too late . . . .You still have lots of years ahead for a whole new you!!

Hi Deb. Well, I just had my pre-op consultation on the phone! So I didn't even need to fly over. I think most out of towners do it over the phone. However, my surgery will be at Crown Pointe surgical center so I'm staying at the Holiday Inn across from the hospital. The office is in a different place though - when you talk to Natalie she'll be able to give you suggestions. Is there a reason you want to wait till the end of August? I first contacted Dr. K's office in mid may and was able to get a surgery date of 7/2! Anyway, welcome to this thread. It is THE BEST!!!

you do a three mile walk/run? Oh, my. I am so impressed. That's fantastic.

Well, I talked to Dr. K about this very issue . . . we have a Fill Center USA in our city and Dr. K is going to check on its reputation. I am hoping that it will turn out to be a good place. Otherwise I will just travel to Denver (I'm in SLC so not all that far).

swim suit shopping? You go girl!!! That's awesome. Do post pics. that would be fab.

Shelbie - I think that your doctor may have been referring to the idea of personalized medicine based on genetics. The idea is this: Let's say that there are a group of people whose depression responds well to Zoloft but not Effexor and another group who respond to Effexor but not Zoloft. They would then do genetic testing on both groups to see if they can identify a gene that differs consistently between the two groups. They can do this for all kinds of medicines, conditions, etc. Then every person could eventually have their own genetic "map" that is encoded on a little card. When you have something wrong, the docs could look at your genetic map and say "oh, you have depression variant xyz that responds to Effexor". While it's not going to happen anytime soon, I think that it is definitely on the horizon. As for hurtful comments, I certainly can't add anything that would mean more than what dee said. I will say, though, that after having my mother make hurtful as hell comments about my weight for 30+ years (along with many other topics) I finally told her that I didn't want to have a relationship with her anymore unless she quit criticizing me all the time. That was 2.5 years ago and she hasn't spoken to me since. Sometimes I think I should have tried harder, been more patient with her, etc. etc. but it reached a point where she really was toxic to me. Should I try to reconcile with her? Probably. But I don't think I have the strength. Sometimes you have to do what you need to do to survive. dee: I can't believe that someone said something like that about your pictures. That's really inexcusable and so incredibly hurtful. I just have two words for that person: karma police. You better watch out, because you get back what you give. Well, on a lighter note: Bookholder, Moab is my home town! Isn't it gorgeous? How fun for you! Lap: your conversation with self was hysterical. I'm gonna' remember that next time head hunger hits. I tend to talk to myself though. Hope DH doesn't think I'm talking to him!

dee - mmm, the cookies sound great. I'm so glad you're checking into nurse education. I love the nurse educators at our school. They are all so warm and encouraging. You could have such an impact.

yay for teachers! Yay for going back to school when you're older! Yay for the pizza place not answering the phone! And super duper yay for this site! Wow. I just realized that I use waaayyy too many exclamation points when I write. It's also the way I talk. There's a reason I chose Tigger as my avatar :laugh:

Sorry, no brothers. But he's a really good guy. My first husband was not. Sometimes the second time is the charm. I know what you mean about the losing, gaining thing. I had rheumatic fever in my early twenties and actually became skinny! As soon as I got better . . . it all came back. I used phen-fen, lost nearly 50 lbs, gained it back plus 15 more, etc. etc. etc. It's the one thing in life that I have NOT been able to conquer. I smoked for 25 years and managed to quit. I started college as a 35 year old freshman and had a doctorate eight years later. But do you think I can lose weight and keep it off? Hell no! I hate the stereotype that fat people are just lazy, or whatever. I look at the people on this board and they are all intelligent, active, hard working people. AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!!!

speaking of DH, he's waiting on the porch for me with a Mojito. Mmmm, so much better than virtual wine. TTFN. Hugs and kisses.

Mmm, that all sounds really good. I like meat . . . alot! So it sounds fine. He wants me to do it for a week, but I think I'll do it longer. I want to make sure my liver is as small as it can be. Don't feel bad about gaining back your 14 lbs from your first preop (btw - that had to be so disappointing that you had to go home without your band . .). Anyhoo, I spent 9 months doing weight watchers last year, and lost 30 lbs (big whoop). Then I went to the UK for 17 days and gained back 21 pounds. HOW THE HELL CAN YOU GAIN MORE THAN 1 POUND A DAY!!! My DH, who ate fairly similar things on the trip, gained 5. I was sooo bummed.

Oh no! I can't get much stupider. Oh dear. So what types of stuff did you eat? Did you do protein shakes or real food? It seems like there is plenty of real food that would work, but I would like to get a head start on losing weight.

That's okay. I thought you were messin' with me, but I wasn't 100 percent sure and my memory is sooooo awful that I thought - "hmmm, maybe it is the same pic". One problem with having your ovaries removed - they take out your memory while they're at it. A little know side effect . . .

Whew. I thought I was losin' it there for a minute. I mean, more so than usual.

Band Land, the game. Coming soon to a store near you. Well, I"m going to go walk my doggy in the park. It's a lovely evening.

Oh, a little Dr. K! And a little Natalie! They would have to chase them through all sorts of obstacles then catch them to put on the band. This could be really fun.

Yes! Now you're on the right track. Oh dear. We're evil. Evil, I tell you.

NOOOO! The SKINNY people will slime and PB in our game. The banders will just smile and keep on eating while losing more and more weight.

Yeah! And you would have to steal the food from skinny people by knocking them down and sitting on them! And you'd get bonus points whenever you knock down an avatar that looks like Paris Hilton.

Me too! Oh wait. Mine was real. Never mind.

Hey, do you guys know that video game "The Sims"? We could make one for lap banders where you could wander around and eat all the cyber food you wanted. There could be a bunch of cyber restaurants full of fattening, hard to chew stuff.

lololol! And some of that virtual wine we were sipping last night!

dee, did you change your pic?