minpinmom

I am so STINKIN excited I can't stand it! I mean, a road trip with a girlfriend, a three day stint in a beautiful hotel - all sorts of band-friends that I finally get to meet, tons of useful information - WOOHOO!!! I can't wait!!!!

Any news on how the clothing exchange will work - I will try to bring some on hangers - but I would love to know what to expect - might determine how many clothes I bring. Will it be like a garage sale - you can buy the items cheap, will it be - you bring and donate all yours and then take what items you want. Is there a limit?

I was going in this Thursday for an unfill, but I am starting to be able to eat some - had mashed potatoes yesterday. So I am thinking I will cxl my appt until after the Lapband Convention.

I guess everyone has one - but here is mine. I went in last Wednesday for a small fill. I am great for Breakfast and Lunch, but can eat anything, in any amount for supper. So I wanted a small fill. I have a 4CC Band and I am already at 3CC. So, I go in and they tell me (and everyone else there) that the buildings AC was damaged during the Hurricane and only the front 1/2 of the building is cooled. So we ALL pile in the check-in area. Finally, it gets so crowded I ask if I can go to the back, I don't mind if it is warm. They let me and about 1/2 of everyone else. So it is hot and we wait and we wait. Another patient comes in from the front and says - I heard them say Dr. Spiegel is stuck in surgery and they are sending over another Dr. No big deal I figure - he is a LapBand Dr. So, he gets there, I go back, they say yes I can have a SMALL fill. .2 CC. He pokes and jabs and digs and even says he can't find it because I have GAINED weight! WTF I have LOST weight since the last time I was in. Ass. Anyway, he finally finds it after 10-15 minutes of poking and scraping the port (yes, I could totally HEAR him do it). So, I drink my bottle of water - no problem and go home. Next day - water seems to be going down slowly. I am on liquids for 3 days following the fill - but I can tell they are not going down as they should. So, day 4 I am supposed to start soft foods. NOPE, nothing will go down. By now it is the weekend - so I survive on SlimFast and juice - I know I am not going to die, I mean how many people were on liquids for weeks! So I am not in any danger, but getting a little bitchy. So, I call this morning (Monday) and tell the staff that I refuse to be seen by anyone other than Spiegel because of the pain that I endured. So, her response - you can come in on Thursday! AND, I will have to pay a regular visit fee, + the Barium Swallow Fee because it isn't an emergency! Apparently since I don't want to go back to Dr. PAIN I am going to have to pay. My Dr. is SO going to hear about this.

Sounds like a gallbladder attack. My sister and good friend both had them (after starting to lose weight) Suggest to your Dr. They can do an ultrasound and see it. If it is, you can have it removed or they can suggest certain foods to avoid that may help. good luck!

Yes, it is Dr. Felix Spiegel - whom I LOVE dearly - he is going to have to deal with me next time I see him. On the bright side, I was able to eat some mashed potatoes last night - I wonder if all the pain I was in during the HORRIBLE fill caused swelling? I never swell - ever, normally, the fill doesn't kick in for a couple days.

Me too, me too, I would love to know!

My Dr. has in his literature that he sends home - that you take your first bite, get up, walk away for at least 2 minutes, before you can return to your meal. I wonder if it is to help deter this? I THINK I have experienced it - but I had gotten used to no restriction, so I thought it was eating too fast. I bet this may have something to do with it.

I guess everyone has one - but here is mine. I went in last Wednesday for a small fill. I am great for Breakfast and Lunch, but can eat anything, in any amount for supper. So I wanted a small fill. I have a 4CC Band and I am already at 3CC. So, I go in and they tell me (and everyone else there) that the buildings AC was damaged during the Hurricane and only the front 1/2 of the building is cooled. So we ALL pile in the check-in area. Finally, it gets so crowded I ask if I can go to the back, I don't mind if it is warm. They let me and about 1/2 of everyone else. So it is hot and we wait and we wait. Another patient comes in from the front and says - I heard them say Dr. Spiegel is stuck in surgery and they are sending over another Dr. No big deal I figure - he is a LapBand Dr. So, he gets there, I go back, they say yes I can have a SMALL fill. .2 CC. He pokes and jabs and digs and even says he can't find it because I have GAINED weight! WTF I have LOST weight since the last time I was in. Ass. Anyway, he finally finds it after 10-15 minutes of poking and scraping the port (yes, I could totally HEAR him do it). So, I drink my bottle of water - no problem and go home. Next day - water seems to be going down slowly. I am on liquids for 3 days following the fill - but I can tell they are not going down as they should. So, day 4 I am supposed to start soft foods. NOPE, nothing will go down. By now it is the weekend - so I survive on SlimFast and juice - I know I am not going to die, I mean how many people were on liquids for weeks! So I am not in any danger, but getting a little bitchy. So, I call this morning (Monday) and tell the staff that I refuse to be seen by anyone other than Spiegel because of the pain that I endured. So, her response - you can come in on Thursday! AND, I will have to pay a regular visit fee, + the Barium Swallow Fee because it isn't an emergency! Apparently since I don't want to go back to Dr. PAIN I am going to have to pay. My Dr. is SO going to hear about this.

Oh, that is horrible. I am so sorry. Just know, you will have it soon!

As most of you know, Hurricane Ike blew through our area with much gusto. We lost trees and power. Our power was restored on Friday night giving us power 1 week after we lost it. We were one of the lucky families that had wonderful neighbors that gave us an extension cord to their generator so we could keep our freezers running. The last few days of no power, a friend of ours brought over her generator so we had fans and lights and such. No AC, but still - it was awesome. Neighbors pulled together, we chopped up trees and brought grilled food to all the neighbors who were without. We had a little lady living behind us, she is 86 and by herself. We thought about her after a couple of days and I am glad we did. She was living on cold chicken noodle soup. We grilled lunch and dinner at my house everyday. Neighbors kicked in on food and we fed lots of families. We also went through the food/water/ice lines every day and got what we could for the neighborhood. So many families lost all the freezers. It is amazing how something like this pulls a group together. I kinda miss the evenings in the front yard, grill burning and folks walking up and down the roads chatting with each other. I hope that part of what Ike brought remains. We are lucky to have power - 30% of the area is still without. Luckily, now food, generators and gas are easy to find. It was not fun to sit in a gas line for 3 hours to get a maximum of 25$ worth of fuel and then to find out they ran out. We drove hours to find gas stations and grocery stores open. Everyone would pile into one vehicle and we would hit the road. It was so nice to find milk and BREAD :-) Thanks everyone for the prayers - they were answered. I have included a few pictures of our neighborhood. I also have a video on myspace - you can find me by looking up Wendy Baldwin in Conroe TX The first picture is our backyard, the second is a neighbors tree, third is a sign that was completely bent and the fourth is a car that thought it could make it through a flooded street.

I hate to hear you have it, but it is kinda nice to know someone else has it - I have never heard of it before!

Okay, so I posted a while back about the allergic reaction I was having. So I finally got my referral and went to the specialist. By the time I got my approval, the reaction had gone away. However, I brought pictures . . . You are not going to believe this. I have something called Cold Urticaria. It is a reaction to COLD - like air conditioners, ice, fans, etc. It is very rare - but the only other case the Dr. has ever seen is another lady who had LB surgery. Apparently - fat insulates the body and keeps it in a kind of remission. So as I lost weight, it triggered it. Now, the good news, it only reared its ugly little head because I had been sick, had other allergies at the same time and was in a cold AC. The Dr. said my immune system has to be really beat down for it to happen. Hopefully that won't "happen" again. I thought I would share some of the pics with you guys again - in case it ever happens to any of you. BTW, I will take allergic reactions over being Morbidly Obese any day of the week!