WaistBand

How much swelling is in your foot? That can make a difference on the scale.

Congratulations! Your progress has been really inspiring to watch :biggrin:

Sanctimonious fatties?! Well, now. That's a good way to make friends and influence people! ETA: I don't think Sensa would work for me, but can see how it might for some. FWIW, Alan Hirsch is well-respected; he's an assistant professor of neurology/psychiatry at one of Chicago's most prestigious teaching institutions (and my alma mater). Who knows? He might be on to something--for some people. I will be interested to see where his findings are published.

Though I love it, and used to make it, I no longer make it. There have recently been warnings issued about bacteria growth in sun tea (the temp in the sun is just right to grow bugs)---and I have to say I experienced this first-hand. So, now it's a big jug of cold Water and cold-brew teabags in the fridge. Same concept, but safer. I am an UNsweet girl, so that's all there is to it. Toss the bags after steeping, and add a squeeze of lemon. But my sweet tea husband uses Splenda. (Stevia--at least Truvia brand--caused me some weird neuro symptoms, so I haven't stuck with that.)

When it comes to chest pain, let the experts figure it out. There are too many potentially very dangerous conditions to waste time speculating. Please contact your doctor or get to an ER ASAP.

At this point, I'm just grateful we're not being hit with the fat person's equivalent of the BoTax proposed for recipients of cosmetic procedures. If the cost of the procedure bumps our medical expenses into the right percentage, we do get a tax break :crying:

Awesome progress!

How exciting!

Keith, do you have kids? I ask, not to pull a snarky, "Well, if you don't, you can't possibly understand"...because you can understand. But what seems to be missing from your responses is the notion that 14-year-olds are fairly autonomous beings. They eat lunch in school cafeterias (and their friends shove the food they don't want toward them). They hang out at pizzerias and mall food courts. They sit in front of X-boxes at buddies' houses, and send little sisters upstairs to get boxes of Ding Dongs and bottles of Coke. A mother can make her house as health-promoting as possible---but she cannot imprison her kid.

Awesome, awesome post!!

Diaphoresis (fancy-schmancy medical term for sweating) is very, VERY common post-op. Anesthesia does bizarre things to our regulatory processes, including our "thermostats." It should go away with a bit of time.

I have very mixed emotions about this. While parents are responsible for their children, children are individuals. A 14-year-old has considerable autonomy, not to mention time spent away from home---as the mom of a teen boy, I can no more control what he eats than I can control my dog's desire to chase rabbits. I can control what comes into the house, and I do. I can control the messages I send about food, and I do. But I can't control what he does when he's not at home---nor should I; gaining independence and learning to make wise choices is a developmental necessity. All that said, there comes a time when parental intervention is demanded. My early teen son has experienced a spurt in weight. I know that it will soon be followed by a growth spurt in height---and reassure him to make wise food choices and get lots of activity. For now, this will do the trick; I don't want to encourage loss, but if he achieves adult stature with a couple of pounds to lose, we can deal with it positively. BUT, if he were to continue to gain, I would intervene as well as I could. And if he approached the astronomical weights you see on shows on Discovery, then---well, I think that the intervention should be family-based. I watched one last week in which the mother infantalized her 800-pound teen. Weight was a tool by which she kept him dependent. Having lost another son to death, she could not bear losing her current son. Not the best strategy, since his weight seriously threatened his health. (Fortunately, she recognized this and sought therapy.) When I see shows like that, I do tend to yell at the TV screen. When someone is immobilized by excess weight and wholly dependent on another person for meals, then HELLLS YEAH! You bet that caretaker has the obligation to provide healthy meals appropriate for weight loss. I don't think that arrest is likely the best approach, but if it's the only way to underscore the necessity of appropriately parenting a child at grave risk, then the message must be sent. I suspect that a good deal of attempted intervention preceded the arrest. And I suspect that, legally, it won't go far. I would hope that educational opportunities would be made available to the mother and her child---at 14, s/he needs to learn how to make appropriate decisions, too.

No, urine shouldn't be clear---at least not the "color" of Water clear. It should be very pale yellow. Many push for clear (including many doctors--sorry, they're not always right), but there is such thing as too much of a good thing, and when the kidneys are really flooded with Fluid, then the risk of flushing out important electrolytes (which are ordinarily conserved with mind-boggling accuracy) really increases dramatically. The color of urine is a great gauge of hydration, however, once you learn to "read" it. (Sorry, kcmagu--it really is; I'm an RN, too--and while other things affect hydration, urine concentration is a very good, if basic, indicator.) If it's too dark, drink. If it's genuinely clear, you can ease off a bit. Very pale straw yellow is "just right." Obviously, water-soluble Vitamins and some foods and meds can affect color--so you can't rely solely on this gauge. But on a hot day when you're wondering whether you're getting enough fluid, there are few better ways to judge. Surgeons do ask about urine color, and press for clear (as in colorless) because most surgical patients drink far, far too little fluid, and there is little risk of them actually achieving clear urine. It'd be far better, especially when addressing a motivated patient, to really describe what is desirable.

I'm pre-band, but trying a variety of Protein drinks in prep---and really like Isopure. It's a bottled clear fruity whey Protein Drink. Get it good and cold, and drink it from a sports bottle. (It smells kind of weird, but you can totally bypass this with the right bottle.) It's my hands-down favorite, compared to all of the Atkins, Myoplex, EAS Advantedge, etc. shakes., though some of those are nice, too. A 20-ounce bottle has 40 grams of protein, 0 carb and 0 fat. It's probably not the best choice for complete post-op nutrition (a little good-quality carb and fat is wise), but as a supplement, I think it's great.

I'm pre-banded, but am fiddling around with Protein sources--especially liquid ones for the pre- and post-op periods. So far, the hands-down winner is Isopure. A 20-ounce bottle of clear fruit-flavored whey Protein Drink has 40 grams of protein, 0 carb, and 0 fat. I like this a million times better than any of the shake-like protein supplements--though it's best very cold, from a bottle with a lid. (It does smell weird---a sports bottle eliminates this. And it really does taste good.) I can't yet quite envision achieving the recommended protein intake without at least some supplementation, even when eating solids again--I have a feeling this may become part of my daily intake. Expensive, but with all the stuff that's going to fall by the wayside (soda, for example), I'll still come out ahead.