RobinAnn

I've added a few more lines for anybody who wants to join in. We have just three weeks until Turkey Day!

Christmas Challenge... I'm in but I'm going to be conservative. I need to make my challenge so I'm just going to say 12 pounds.

I will be getting the H1N1 vaccine just as soon as I'm able. I'm a volunteer EMT for our fire district and am eligible to get the vaccine. (Our county's health department protocol does not allow the H1N1 vaccine within 30 days of the seasonal flu vaccine; I have to wait until 11/9 to get the vaccine.)

Oddly, I was running an evacuation center on Friday (we thought we had a poisonous gas leak in our district) and one of the evacuees had H1N1. Luckily for me she didn't get out of her car and I got her info from a distance.

For me, I really want the protection of the vaccine both so I don't get sick myself and also so I don't spread the virus.

Last post, I promise.

I just got the call that Dr Brown's office is closed tomorrow too so my appt. was cancelled. CRAP. That is going to be a ton of money in change fees. Guess I will go early next week.

There better be 24 inches of snow in Denver! Wimps! They really can't handle snow up there.

OK... so now we both can wish for a snow cancellatiion of the flight.

First, sorry to everyone who has to see this back and forth about our flights! This is an easy way to communicate.

They just put the flight "on time" again, leaving at 5:12. Hope to see you there if you can make it!

But I don't have a fill appointment to go to.... waaaaahhhhh....

All I can say is that Denver better get 24 inches of snow tomorrow since the office is closed.

I have a class tomorrow night at 6:00 that I really shouldn't miss. (I'm already scheduled to miss one and supposedly we can't miss any... they will have a make-up day. It's a fire science class... Haz Mat Ops... why am I taking this?).

Since I got the flight through Travelocity, I can't change it unless the airline cancels. If I stay an extra day, my package will cost me $100s in change fees (at least that's what Linda in India said).

Hah... blue sky overhead here!

Well crap....

Dr. K's office is canceling office hours tomorrow.

Whether the flight goes tonight or not is immaterial.

Gen... for whatever reason this is just flummoxing me.

So now I pray they cancel my flight :thumbup: and then I should be able to reschedule for next week.

I did get put on your flight tonight Robin. However, I have my doubts about that flight happening. If not, I will reschedule for some time next week. If it does happen, I will look forward to meeting you!

Are you on the 5:12 Frontier flight?

Of course they'll put me on another flight if they can but...

of course I got a real cheap "package" from Travelocity and if I need to change it, it will cost nearly $250. Sniff...

Guess I'd better get on the phone to Dr. K's office to see about later appointments and such.

What a mess.

I haven't read JillyPoo's answers, but I'll do mine and then see if I disagree with her. My answers will be after your questions. I had surgery w/ Dr. K in June of this year.

JULY, not June.

Indeed, you have! I'm sure I'll come up with more questions, but for now we're going to plan on driving.

Yes, my husband is coming with me, and he plans to take a week off after to stay home with me and the kiddos (currently 2 and 3). Do you think a week is long enough for him to stay with me? I'm a stay at home mom, so after he goes to work, I'm on my own.

I've never had kids... is 2 and 3 (3 and 4?) old enough not to need picking up? THat is really the only restriction after surgery that I'd worry about with kids. I suppose at that age if they need you to hold them, they can climb up to you?

I haven't read JillyPoo's answers, but I'll do mine and then see if I disagree with her. My answers will be after your questions. I had surgery w/ Dr. K in June of this year.

Hello everyone,

1) Will I need a car while I'm out there for surgery? The best rental I can find for 3 days is about $200. I don't know how close the hotels are to the office/surgery center (are they two different places?). Unless you are planning for spring break or prime ski season, you surely should be able to get a car cheaper than that. I consistently can get a rental (Dollar or Enterprise) for under $30 a day. (Check priceline for cars.)

2) I live about 7 1/2 hours away. I'm considering driving, but I don't know if I'll be comfortable enough to sit that long for the drive home. What is your advice on that? It'd be cheaper than flying (2 plane tickets would be about $260, gas would be about $100), but if someone thinks that I'd be foolish to expect to be able to handle a day long car ride, please tell me. I had surgery on Wednesday (I think that's his only surgery day). I slept all day Thursday. We (my dh and I) planned to drive home on Friday but extended one more day partly because I felt washed out, partly so he could continue working (he's an IT manager and worked from the hotel room). At first I read that you'd be driving, but you mean riding? I rode home over 8 hours with no problems (and had dh not been able to work on Friday and if I hadn't been afraid of having to deal with my rambunctious dogs, going home Fri. would have been fine).

3) If we do fly, and we don't need a car, do we take a cab or a shuttle from the airport? Where do I look for that? You'll need a car to get to the hospital and Dr. K's office. They are not close to each other. A shuttle costs ~$22/person, each way, to his office area. Find a cheaper rental car. Heck, even $200 is a bargain compared to shuttles and cabs.

4) Is there any sort of shopping/restaurants close to the hotels? I'm sure my husband will want to get out for a bit, and I need to know if there is anything within walking distance for him. The availability of shopping and/or restaurants depends on the hotel you choose. Denver (Aurora) is strip-mall (and mall-mall) heaven.

5) Regarding fills, follow up appts, etc, is it reasonable for me to expect to be able to fly out there, have the appt, and fly back the same day? My husband works about 5 minutes from the Omaha airport, so I'm (maybe ignorantly) thinking that I can ride with him to work, take the 1 1/2 hour flight to Denver, have the appt, and then get back to Omaha by evening. And if that works, how do I get myself from the airport to the office without spending $60 on a car rental?

I'd sugggest for your first fill you plan to stay overnight ... although you do live in a city where you probably could have an emergency unfill if necessary. I don't have that option. For the first two fills I had, I flew up to Denver on Wednesday night, had my fill Thursday morning, had a mini-vacay for 36 hours, and flew home on Friday. I was worried that I'd be overfilled or something. This week (Wednesday!), I'm flying up to Denver in the evening and coming home Thursday afternoon because I have a 6 p.m. class. Again, you shouldn't be paying $60 for a car rental. The shuttle will cost you $44 round trip.

That's all I can think for now, but I'm sure I'll come up with something else.

Thank you!

Tagging on to Gen's post.

I lost 4 (!!!!) in the past week making my challenge total lost so far at 6. I still have 5 to go. Don't think I'll make it.

I am flying up to Denver on Wednesday afternoon (late) for a Thursday morning fill. My restriction is marginal; it's there when I eat but a meal sure doesn't last long. It's a whirlwind trip this time; home Thursday afternoon because I have a class at 6 p.m. that night.

Hope all is well with everyone.

I may be converting this wrong, but I found that 10cc equals .34 ounces. That's like two teaspoons. I used a couple of online conversion sites. (I'm sorry if I got it wrong).

FWIW...my pouch holds 1/2 cup.

No, you're right. And yes, my pouch holds a lot more than that!

I know the Airport Super Shuttle is $44 round trip. Don't know how much a cab would be. You should be able to get a car for less than $35 (including a buck or two for gas). I'm not that familiar with buses in Denver.

You'll do fine with your fill. Dr. K does a great job with them (I think). But in a way it's kind of like going to the eye doctor .... is this better or worse.... and after a while you have no clue.

Pay attention now to how it feels when Water goes down. Concentrate. It's not something we think about and you'll be thinking about it next week.

Also, unless you are really curious, when Dr. K has you sit up, don't (I repeat DON'T) make your eyes cross-eyed and look at your belly. It's awfully disconcerting to see a syringe hanging off of your abdomen.

Who is your doc? I too go to a doc in Denver (and it might as well be out of state for me as far as it is from my home).

Tell your doc of your concerns re: overfilling.

What are your plans for flying in/out etc? My first and second fills I flew in on Wednesday night, was filled on Thursday morning and flew home on Friday just to give me an extra day in case I was overfilled.

I wasn't overfilled and for my next fill, I'm flying in on Wed and home on Thursday (mostly because I have a class on Thursday night).

Dr. K. puts a bunch in, has you drink Water, puts more in, you drink more, more fill... until you feel restriction w/ Water then he backs out the fill until you are comfortable. I think if I was really worried about being overfilled I'd let him know and go from there.

Click HERE to play.

Sue... I've been dinking with the same 1.5 pounds too. How annoying. It's too early in my travels to be plateaued. I have a fill in 12 days so hopefully that will help.

after fill its clear liquids 3 days then soft 3 more then food

Not all doctors require this.

You definitely should NOT be drinking coffee. No caffeine at least 2 months after surgery, especially coffee because it irritates the stomach lining.

Not all doctors require this.

And then on the other extreme is my doctor who says I will never (never, never, never) be able to take an uncrushed pill again. Ever.

(Not saying I agree with him, just saying what he says.)

chicken cooked in the crock pot w/ BBQ Sauce on top.

Cottage cheese

String cheese

I have had very few Protein drinks since surgery. My goal is to eat real food.

I can't access the chart without a google username and password. I don't have one of those. So I haven't updated anything. How does one access the chart?

I think if you don't have a google id/password, you must go to the chart through a direct link, like this one.

I can address both the problems with the chart:

1. Whenever I want to go to one of the spreadsheets I have access to I type into google search "google documents" and it gives me the link to all the documents that I am authorized to work on. The link is docs.google.com.

2. For the next challenge, I could change up the spreadsheet so that we could have a column for each week's entry so that we could see that we "lost 1, gained 2, stayed the same, lost 10, etc, throughout the weeks". I'll start thinking (and working) on this for the next (Christmas? New Years?) challenge.

I fixed the formulae for folks that noted they were having issues. I fixed the "weeks left" formula for most everyone (there was a problem), and I alphabetized the newcomers.

Welcome and good luck to all!