Kat817

My surgery was an easy one. I had meds for pain in my IV not long after coming out of the OR. Then I never took any more. The 2nd night I took a sleeping pill, but nothing else ever for pain. I had discomfort, and used Tylenol when that happen, but it was usually from over doing. I had surgery in Mexico, and on the 3rd day come home. It was an hour and a half to the airport, 5 hour flight, then another 3 and a half from that airport home.....all in one shot. We were remodeling a home for our DD, and I was out shopping within the week. Moving slow, not lifting much, and resting---sitting watching them paint and tile. I have had several surgeries before---and this was simple compared to them. I had a dental surgery last week----I would have much rather had band surgery again! Do not try to be brave! If you are one of the people who has pain--take the meds!!! If you hurt, you tense up your muscles, and it makes healing harder. Take it easy, don't push yourself too hard. Let how you feel be your guide. It isn't a contest, and it isn't a race. But I honestly think you will be pleasantly surprised! Plan ahead----put things in easy reach----have groceries already bought. Put a dining room chair next to your bed, you can use the seat as an extra night stand, and also use the chair to leverage with to get in and out of bed, so you don't have to use the stomach muscles so much. If it hurts to lie flat---and much of that will depend on where your particular surgeon places the port---sleep in a recliner, or propped up into an almost sitting position. We will be here to help if you encounter something that is difficult!!! As far as nerves---worrying about surgery---I imagine EVERYONE does---or should!!! Surgery is scary business, I was a nervous wreck!! Kat

YOUNG???? Wow I found me a new bestest friend!!!!!!!!!! LOL, thank you!! I have been complaining of all the wrinkles, now that the skin is not filled out so much!!! Makes me wonder....are we ever happy??!! Kat

My granddaughter loves the mini cheeseburgers at Applebees, so we go, I usually have the soup and salad specials. At Subway, you can have a tuna salad---just eat the salad, skip the bread. As I progressed, now DH and I usually share, but we do a lot of fajitas, I eat the meat and veggies, and leave the tortillas to him. Chile, loaded mashed potatoes, most kinds of beans, lots of fish---it is always easy!! I have found most places very accomodating, ordering from the alacarte menu is sometimes easiest. It has not stopped me from going out and having a good time! Kat

Even having lost this much weight, I am afraid I'd get arrested for indecent exposure if I were to attempt a bikini!!!! My belly skin would hang over the bottom, and I'd look nekkid....really ugly, saggy nekkid!!! GO for it!!! Kat

I'm really NOT that funny.....you must be dreaming!!:drool: Kat

Yeah right----like you were needing a reason, so that one sounded good to you!!!! Don't forget I am an entire year ahead of y'all---and many of them have caught me! So there ya go----that's my reason----fill me up too!!!! LMAO you goof ball! Kat

I have taken synthroid for years..... Back in HS my thyroid was overactive, then they did nothing---went on to have a child, and wham, it bottomed out, and I have been on varying doses since the. That is 27 years! Last fall, I got sick, had sore throat etc. Feeling my glands, I felt where I usually had a hollow in my throat it was swollen. Cold went away, lump was still there. So off I go to the Dr. My thyroid has a tumor. We did multiple tests, and biopsies, but in the end it had to come out. So last November they removed the entire left lobe, and the isthmus---the center. Your thyroid is shaped sort of like a bow tie. The tumor was huge--between an orange and a grapefruit. Since the removal, I am actually requiring less hormone than I was pre surgery. My weight loss has stalled, but it has been going in spurts for some time, the closer I get to goal. As my needs changed so have my dosages through the years. Now I am waiting----I have another blood draw in 2 weeks to see if we need to go even lower on the dosage. Less than half a gland---and it works better than the whole one that was sick! When you get your Rx--call and have them set you up for a blood draw in 6 weeks----so you can stay on top of it. I would imagine you will not feel any different, with the weight loss, you are just using less.....it is a good thing!!! Too much is scary... Kat

Well I agree that this one was somewhat of a chicken sh*t!! BUT----in the future, even if the person you date is not a perfect match for you, you never know who he knows---it is like networking!!! A few years ago, my DH and I set up one of my friends with a guy he works with. They went out, had a nice time, but he said the whole time he was with her she kept reminding him of his brother, her sense of humor etc. was similar. So over a 2 week period they talked off and on, and he told her, and invited her to go golfing with he and his brother. My friend and the brother just celebrated their 4th anniversary---but they couldn't go out on the town---they have a new baby!!! The guy he works with.....still single, but still a nice guy----don't give up!!! His loss! Kat

I do little bites of most things---it keeps me slow, and steady----and I don't tend to forget and get carried away---which I tend to do if I am talking or something while I eat.....old habits die hard!!! Kat

Wonder what the tare weight of the Biohazard bag is????!!!! When you're right---You're RIGHT!! Kat

My surgeon told us (my SIL and I went to get banded together) that if it was not possible to do it laproscopically he would close up. He would not open to do a band. He said he has patients that he knew that was the only option, but he would not switch from one to another! My SIL was concerned, because she had some bad adhesions. I too am apple shaped, and thin elsewhere---and he explained how difficult it made this surgery---told us about the strength it takes to hold the instruments, about them getting bent----pretty much all the same things. I went to surgery at 283-286 somewhere in there---but even with all the weight I have lost, the last place it is coming off is my belly---I believe it IS made of concrete or some such substance!!! It is my opinion--and that is all it is----basically that they tried repeatedly to do your surgery, and eventually they were likely afraid of causing damage to your liver, or your stomach---so postponed you. In hind sight-----this is telling you how right you are to make the decision to be banded! Apple shaped is dangerous, it puts such stress on our organs---and it sounds like yours were being seriously compromised! I am sorry you had such a time of it--but just imagine, you will have lost almost 100 pounds on your own pre op---then the weight coming off after being banded finally----you will be so far into the game already!!! Losing that much pre op is an amazing feat-----be proud of what you have done! Kat

I honestly don't remember having them over my band. Rightnow I am waiting to hear from insurance on a TT---and I dreamed they told me I had to make arrangements for the disposal of the skin and fat they remove!!! They brought it to me in a zip lock marked Hazardous Waste!!!! If I could just get the approval----I'll dispose of it even!!!! Kat

Amazing progress Michelle---you look lovely!!! Be proud!!! Laura, I didn't mean to compare your DH with Jackie---just the talk of the parallels!!! Was intended as a joke!!! All that is literally over my head, and like you when I have a chance to maybe glom onto what they are saying, I usually ignore it!!!! You guys talking about past lives.....Do you remember the movie "Defending Your Life" with Meryl Streep? They went into the past life Pavilion---was my DD's favorite part of the movie---when the little lady had been a Sumo wrestler!!! Kat

My mail already came today, and nothing from insurance---I am getting so antsy!!!! Did you like the surgeon? Is this a procedure she has done a lot of? I keep thinking I might ought to have ask about putting the girls back up where they belong---but might look into it as a reduction when the rest is all done..... Keep my posted as to what is going on! My insurance is notoriously slow.......is always that way! Going to give it another few days and call insurance I think---I just want to know! Kat

I have a very good friend, we have been friends for well over 30 years---and her brother was always trying to tell me about parallel universes. He told me one time, that there was a parallel in time in the LR we were sitting in, and there was a train roaring through....and how he wished he could commit suicide by stepping into the path, and having his body demolished, and the police being unable to solve the mystery---because it all happened in a parallel universe. He went off the deep end......seriously off. Served time for being with his Dad in Olney TX when his Dad killed 2 people....he got out, and was a wild, crazy man-----scary crazy!!! He ended up killing 2 men in MS, caught a ride with a man and his 2 kids, killed the man, and the son, and what all he did to the girl, I have no idea, the police just told his sister (my friend) that the girl would have been better off if he had killed her too. He took off into the woods in SC---and had like 5 different law enforcement agencies searching for him....he took a deputy by surprise, and killed him----then they got him-------shot him 17 times. And the SC coroners office called me--they found my information ---connected him to his family through me!!! When he was here being scary, he applied for gov't aid, and used my address!! He would apparantly come down, and go through my mail while I was at the center! So...... tell your DH to be careful in his parallel universe, there are some really bad guys!!! Kat

Mary, I am so glad t hear the band is ok, and that your esophagus appears healthy!!! Sorry the testing was such a drag. I would have probably thrown up on him, handsome or not!!! I would like to say I can't believe your Dr. has not called you back---but I do believe it---it is hard to say if HE even knows you want a call back---office staff is often to blame! Please keep us posted when you do go in for further testing, it is all information that all of us who are banded should know so if we ever have to face any of this we are prepared. Sorry you get to be the leader!!! Rest and recover, hang out here at LBT---let US entertain you!!! Kat

Thanks so much azchick---that is so sweet of you!!!! Audrican---------how you doing today????? Check in!! Kat

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble----I too have all this spare skin....and wrinkles....oh my! I am not sure how much of it I would have anyway---I mean I am 2 years older, but jeez.....I have seriously aged!!!! Terry---these flowers in my Grandma and Grandpa's yard--everyone who mentioned them called them Grandma's......but Grandpa tended them, and every rosebush on the place---he was the gardner....wonder if your Grandpa did the same??? The man who bought their place took out everything! He let everything go....I mean the house is not dilapidated or anything, he just has it xeriscaped into hideousness!!! There is nothing except these 2 evergreen trees my Grandpa kept cut small in the park way out front, and he has let them grow--one is about 20 feet tall now, and the other 9-10 feet---and scraggly! Kinda sad..... Laura! Shame on you! I behaved! I cleaned my kitchen---deep cleaned it, cleaned out the fridge....had the trash with all the growing left overs ready to go out, when what did I see on the back of a shelf but a KitKat Caramel........I grabbed it before I could second guess myself and threw it into the slimey yuck in the trash! I am still kicking my own butt!!!! Trying to decide whether to cook dinner, or go out----should I eat sensibly and cook....or keep my kitchen clean and go out??? Hmmmmm........ Kinsey and I got her little house in the back yard cleaned up, and she played out for awhile, then we blew some bubbles, she come in and had some soup for lunch, and has been out like a light ever since! Judy....sorry about the toilet head-----------at least he hasn't learned to flush yet!!! I had Connor over here the other day, and he needed changed, OMG I hadn't missed diapers!!! Kinsey potty trained so early--course she is a girl--I hadn't had one of those in awhile!!! Connor is so wild, I usually let his Mama deal with him, and being changed, I am always afraid he will get away from me! But she was gone, so it was all Granny!!! We managed! Well I am gonna have to go back and look and see if I missed Tracy's deflated belly. Mine is not deflated enough! My mail come already, and no news from insurance....I am getting so impatient!!! I want my surgery yesterday! Be back in awhile....gonna go fold a load of sheets! Kat

I so admire this self confidence---got any to spare---I could sure use it! GREAT attitude!!!!!!!!!! Kat

Lynne---I know it is easier said than done, but try to approach each "snack attack" individually---find several things that you can snack on that are high Protein, and no to low carb---and stock up. Divide up some raw almonds for instance into 1/4 cup snack bags, and when the urge to snack hits, go for one of your healthy Snacks. It might not ALWAYS work--but every one you avoid is a step in the right direction! If you are eating the SF/FF puddings, you can make your own and add extra Protein powder, which sometimes helps with the hunger--if it is stomach hunger as opposed to head hunger. Since you have no real restriction yet, fresh veggies are always an option. When I have fallen off the band wagon, and have to drag myself back on, I have to purge the house of the things that seem to call to me--and do as I said, stock up on lots of healthy options, so I am not left to my own devices of looking around through the cupboards---or I'll find something I don't really need!! I'm not saying your first fill will take you to a restrictive point, but it will be a start----and before long the band will actually be helping in controlling the hunger, as well as portions. I know it is hard til then though!! Hang tough!! Kat

I know they happen! My Grandpa used to be the hit of the neighborhood with his flower border down the drive way and across the front of their house--which is just down the street from me. In the Spring there would be huge full bundles of daffodils, and then marigolds all summer long, big ones, little ones, gold, orange, yellow--thousands of blooms at a time. He died in January several years ago, there was several inches of snow on the ground. When we all made our way back to the house from the cemetary following the burial of his ashes a few days after the service, my Grandma stopped dead in her tracks on the porch, and there peeking through the snow was one single yellow daffodil. Daffodils are bulbs, and marigolds re-seed themselves. For years he dead headed the marigolds and re sprinkled them, but left on their own, they bloomed every year until my Grandma died too----and there are no daffodils, nor marigolds blooming there anymore! They used to have a gorgeous snowball bush---and the guy pulled it up. We mentioned last fall we wish Grandma could see how big my snowball bush had grown----and went out a few days later to find a single snowball bloomed out on it! They enjoyed the flowers so much, I see them giving me signs through them a lot! I know how green Grandpa's thumb was here in dry New Mexico---I can only imagine the things he is doing where he is now!!! Oh my! Kat

Wow--your schedule does make things difficult, it is going to be something you might have to adjust as time allows. I too love cornbread, and can eat it without issue, but it is not exactly low cal---especially when I smother it in butter!!! You might try some high Protein Snacks to take with you so you don't get soooo hungry at work. I take a cheese stick, and slice it length wise into 2 or 4 pieces, then roll a slice of the thin lunch meat around it. I can drop 3-4 of these in a zip lock, and snack when I want without worrying about them being bad for me....and they will hold me til I can get a good dinner together. Or in your case until your lunch break at work hits. Plus, they don't leave your breath horrid for dealing with your patients!! Maybe a can of raw almonds somewhere that you could grab a couple of them from time to time if you are starving at work, as well. They are high protein, and will help hold you over. If you got a few divided plastic childrens plates, you could dish you up small servings of the things you make over the weekend, and since it would be in kids plates, the real kids would know it was yours!!! I have one of Tweety Bird!!! I use it here at home, if I make a full dinner, I fix me a plate to have for lunch the next day, and it keeps me mindful of how much I am eating. I know you wouldn't want to take that to work but for eating when you get home. Do you eat when you get home, right before going to bed? I can't do that due to reflux, but I understand it is bad for weight gain too. I notice when I eat oatmeal of any kind, even the weight control kind, I get hungry really quick! I would have thought it would stay with me, but for some reason with me it works the opposite---so you might watch and see if you are reacting the same way. I know prices are so much higher for healthy foods--seems so backwards! Walmart is not my favorite place to go, but I like the ability to price match all the different stores in one place. What I do is this....our grocery store ads come in our Wed. newspaper. So Wed. morning, I sit down and look through them, make notes about what is on sale where. Then when I hit Walmart---and I try to do it at an off time so it is not so busy---if it is in an ad at another store, they will Price match it....so I get the sales from several different stores, and only have to go to one. Like I just did this....and the little baby carrots---peeled and ready to eat are on sale at several places, so I will get a couple bags of those, they are good to snack on, and my granddaughter loves them! Good Luck----you might ask your Dr. if they have a nutritionist you could consult with....they might have some great ideas for you!!! Kat

TA-DA!!!! Previewing the new siggy----TY Laura!! Kat

Yeah they just did a piece on this human body exhibit---it is a big thing! Supposed to be unclaimed bodies they say---and now they will have releases from either the donating family or from the ME stating it is an unclaimed body from now on! Dunno about any of that, but I am looking forward to going! Rick is looking forward to the bike show---it always costs me, he finds new chrome or something!!! Actually this year, I want a new drink holder for my seat!!! ME! ME! ME! Laundry is ready to change! See I DID go do something....I have 1 load of clean clothes, and a bubbly clean granddaughter as well!! BBL~~ Kat

Hell if she is comparing her size to that of the apple--I am gonna have to walk around carrying and measureing a melon!!!! Wonder if we can get a cheaper rate buying melons in bulk BBK???? Kat