Lap_dancer

GREAT Cheryl. I'll be there at Dr. K's office for my 2:15 appt. What time is your appt? I can try the Comfort Suites in Engelwood. I am all about prices right now. Glad you got home safely. That was one week storm, ya know? YES, I thought the surgery was relatively painless in comparison to a few other surgeries I have had which were off the chain pain, whereas the band was mostly isolated to my surgical site. I understand what you mean by comparing it to your other surgery. Anyone else around the states suffering from this sickness with symptoms of everything from nausea to nose? My school clinic looks like a checkout line at Christmas this past week especially. Everyone at work is seriously in need of Spring Break. You can imagine how our state exploads with tourists over the next month. Traffic is getting progressively more congested and driving home in the afternoon is adding ten minutes to my afternoon drive due to the breakers. Cherly I would love to meet up. Let's plan on it. Tell me your appt. time. I know you want to tour a little around. So do I. Possible places to dine. I'm thinking American mix, good soups. I found these places: Mesquite House East 9668 East Arapahoe Road Black Eyed Pea Restaurant8505 East Arapahoe Road Rockbottom Brewery & Restaurant*several locations Rockbottom looks fun. Check out the menu:tt2: Food Menu - Steak, Seafood, Pastas, Sandwiches and More - Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery >>YUM Chicken Waldorf Salad Oven–roasted chicken, sundried cranberries, fresh arugula Okay who wants to ROCK with me at Rockbottom?

I'm coming to Colorado! I'll be out there April 7th, Tuesday, will stay a couple days and probably fly out on Thursday. I can tell I am starting to need a fill. My inbetween meals is getting closer now. Use to be four or five hours I could hold and maybe feel a tiny bit of hunger but now I am at three hours and feeling hunger. *Isn't it great to know what it's like to FEEL hunger?* :tongue2: Can we do a meet up on that Tuesday or Wednesday evening? I would love to meet some of you that can make it. We could have a great time!! Let me know.

I say the boobs too. Make them high, bouncy, with SPINNERS that whistle "Dixie".

I posted that last night after finding it in an old Photobucket file. Hope everyone is having a great week. It is VERy cold here in Florida. Burrrrrrrrr.

October 2006 A friend took this at a costume event. I was up on the stage talking, making long gone, I WAS the Wicked Witch, Snow White's wicked witch.

Hello my friends: Bad week. Bad food. Bad choices UP 4.5 pounds. put me down for +4.5 Haven't the heart to lay it all in your laps. I'm putting my arm around my own shoulder, hugging myself, I understand exactly what I'm talking about because I've been there. Being my own best friend right now...and mom and sister and grandmother. Onward.

I financed mine through a line of credit from our bank.

Hello Friends: I did not lose any weight this week. BLAH. I'm also not doing the FITDAY. I'll keep the account but to be honest, trying to eat when I don't feel like eating, trying to eat protein, as recommended, when my port/stoma is in small mode and bulky chicken doesn't want to go down, isn't working for me. It seemed to throw my whole routine out of whack and my body became irregular by Wednesday. I'll stick to what seems to be working for me now that I have my meds under control. My pain is diminishing as each week goes by. Between my weight going down, the pain medication regulated to my pain level, I find more and more energy coming. I actually stood and did the dishes, cleaned off the counters, put away 'stuff' for 20 minutes last Monday. On Thursday we had dinner at mothers house. I was able to stand and start cleaning the supper dishes up! *For those of you who do not know me, this is short of a miracle*. STANDING in one place is something I use to liken to an older western scene where the victim lay grimacing on a cot saying..."give me a bullet, a shot of whiskey and the grip of a strong armed man so I can get through this". Each week is better and better. I had some drama with my mother this week. She is in the hospital, taken by ambulence on Thursday. She has a lump removed from her breast on Tuesday. She was taken off her Kumadin (sp?) and from Sunday to Thursday she did not have this blood thinning medicine. End result was a build up of fluid on her chest, she has had congestive heart failure, this time she was in the early stages of it so they put her on oxygen and kept her for four days. She is out now but that explains my absence this week.

Kayleigh's Mom I too am sorry for your pain. Please be persistant in following through until you have remedy. Sometimes the NO is fate's way of sending us in another direction. I got a NO here in Florida and persisted and ultimately found Dr. K. How fortunate fate was on my side. This subject brings to mind insurance companies. Did anyone see the movie "The Rainmaker"? The storyline involves a young lawyer who takes the case of a family whose son has lukemia. Their insurance company continually denied coverage to prevent from having to pay for the care that a young man diagnosed with leukemia needs. In the end the young man is too ill to even appear in court and it is feared he won't live long enough to see his case to trial. It's a really dark and seedy look into some practices by some insurance companies. In the case of the movie, it was disclosed they denied coverage on a regular basis hoping the policy holder would give up. I always get copies of my reports when any test is done. I keep them in a file in the event I need them. To those who have insurance, your policy/coverage is most likely online. The details of your coverage are online as well. When you get a NO from insurance, it may be something as simple as a word, a sentence structure, which lead to the denial of your coverage. True story:.... Most of you know I went to the Cleveland Clinic for my back. My insurance policy does not cover anything weight loss related. That is, if I go into a doctor seeking assistance with WEIGHT LOSS as my PRIMARY cause for going to the doctor, it is not covered. I was referred to a plastic surgeon while at the Cleveland Clinic to look at my pannus ( the thing that hangs from your stomach and swings and is all skin and fat) to see if removing it would assist in my problems with the lumbar region of my back. I saw the surgeon, he advised not to have the surgery at this time but continue losing the weight. His rationale was that my BACK would be relied on to support myself after the surgery. It simply is too weak at this point. I got a bill from the insurance company that coverage was denied. I called the billing department at my insurance company and they said it was denied because of the diagnosis: morbid obesity. That's was true right? But after reading the above information, that isn't ALL of the story as to why I went to see him. They advised me to call the doctor and ask if he could resubmit a different code. I called the hospital billing department. They had the doctor's medical transcription on their computer system and could read his notes from my visit. Sure enough, the first sentence of his transcription was that I was there referred by the Spine Institute, consulation for panniculectomy for possible relief. The submitted the information, he changed the code and the $458 bill was paid by insurance. Learning as much as you can about all things related to you, including your insurance, what is covered, what is not, calling and asking WHY something is being denied, or, better still, asking for a 'a medically based reason my request for coverage was denied' may change the scenerio. Hope this helps.

Wow, thank you all so much! Here I am, and here shows my still diminished self esteem, that my posts are stupid and people think I'm flapping my jaws. *I appreciate knowing they do some benefit* ........................................................................ So I am on this new medication in powder form, paid for rather than free samples in pill form, and that is the only thing changed in the past five days. I'm up five pounds. Can I win? Can I? Geez. 290. I must believe, I must know, it will only get better.:blushing: Okay cheerleaders. Where are you?

Cool idea. I'm a visual learner and the change in smiley face seems easier for me. *Dee thanks again for the last challenge. Yes, come on folks, I have found the challenge has made me more accountable to myself. Viewing others words while going through my own personal challenges. It works both ways, I have a better week and get answers at times to things I am having struggles with. It also has left me feeling much closer to people and I am more willing to share of myself. Some of you have already taken advantage of Fit Day. www.fitday.com this is a great tool. The task bar at the top has several options: Foods Activities Weight Weight Goal Journal Moods Body Stats Calendar Reports Which when used properly, ends up shaving time off the planning process and assuring there is a variety of food, assured nutrition or atleast awareness of content. * I Will Be using this tool for this next challenge.*

I started my losing adventure already with a day of deep cleaning in my house and studying my typical meals to see if I can reduce some sodium. Salt makes me poof like a Blowfish. Thanks for this Dee. Tally Ho everyone.

This is the part I want to learn how to do. Could you teach me? ............................................. Julieann thank you for taking on the numbers this challenge. ................................................ Today I'm giving a shout out to those girls who took baby steps with me. They had my back when my knees went weak. Michelle - Dynamo Mini Mal my pal Shelbie Hope the kids are great, school is going well, love is flourishing finely.

Ohhhh that's a difference. Well I am going to shoot for 252. Why not! Friends root me on. That will be my presurgical weight and will also put me very close to the desired weight of my plastic surgeons. I'm adding walking to my daily routine. Dee, using your magic math, can you give me a daily and weekly goal. I don't know your formula but you have a method. Please post it here so I can follow it.

To who is charting our next challenge. 285 now, 273 March 17th. Twelve pounds

Hello Friends! First, Bella....la la la la :thumbup: Way to go! The first biggest milemarker and you reached it. Congratulations. WHAT TO DO ABOUT A POOR WORK ENVIRONMENT This week at work kept me away from checking in with you all daily. >Anyone out there have one person at their job who is quite cruel, manipulative, divisive and creates a difficult environment? < That's the type of thing I am dealing with. In the midst of my back spasms/pain/med adjustment I was out of work six days. When I came back, I learned this person had inferred to supervisors..and it got to my supervisor..I was "no where to be found when needed, left other people stuck to do my job" and they didn't want to pick up the added responsibility. When I say responsibility, that would be my one student. Long story short, i spent the better part of this week correcting misperceptions and putting out fires she had started. i've come to the conclusion she tries to make herself appear in charge of things by belittling those she works with. Even her 'best friend' a teacher in the next room, isn't immune from her actions. Here's an example of what she does as a form of manipulation and to create a situation. She knows I have back problems and difficulty walking. Yesterday she called my office and told me my student's bus number had changed to 23. At dismissal, he and I walked the entire bus loop. No bus 23. My legs and toes were numb. I had a driver from one of the buses call central office and found out, there is no such bus number. There IS a bus 32 and that is the bus he is to get on. She's making it very hard on a co-worker by interjecting comments, distractions, during the work day. Anyone know any good head games? I'd love to give her a dose of her own medicine.

Hey Friend: I read your somewhat skeptic post and smiled to myself. It was easy to recognize my own familiar wary attitude in your words. I think being morbidly obese is not an easy 'job'. First off, you have every Tom, Dick and Mary and their Fat Free Medical Side Show flooding the airwaves, magazines and email with the next miracle cure to your hopelessly helpless life of fatness. The magic comes for only $XX plus S & H and YOU TOO will soon be just like the model wearing a bikini. Most times they are selling a dream and not a valid medically safe method. By the time I FOUND Dr. Kirshenbaum, I had been through my own Oprah's Diet list of all the diet attempts to lose weight, and two seminars locally on weight loss surgery. Why did I not go with the surgeon here in Florida? The first one was gastric bypass, cutting my organs? No thanks., the second one was Dr. Feelbad who spent a portion of the office consult hashing me out for being as heavy as I was ( 381 at that visit ). I was going to tell him I use to way 402 for kicks just to watch his eyes roll back but thought otherwise. At any rate, my thick skin got even thicker once he told me, in front of my husband, I would not fit on his surgical table. Whether or not my insurance covered it was the lesser issue after that visit. This 'doctor' did not seem to have the compassionate professionalism associated with most doctors who deal with disabling disorders. I know this because I work with deaf students, have a deaf foster daughter, my son has auditory processing deficits and was also a premie. I've had my share of the disabled end of the world and also I took it up a notch and got trained as an Advocate for disabled individuals covering the IDEA (education law for disabled children) and a portion of the ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act. The general professional attitude amongst those who work with individuals with life incumbering concerns is not one of chastisement. It tends to lead more on the proactive side of resolution or atleast what can be done as a plan to help this citizen. Dr. Feelgood was no where close to that. I cannot tell you where I found Dr. Kirshenbaum but I believe it was from another MOP ..morbidly obese person who was basically in the self pay boat looking for the best surgeon at the best facility. I called one surgeon in Mexico, wonderful secretary, very personable but when I expressed concerns over post surgical care in the U.S. there didn't seem to be a clear path already laid which she could articulate well. From there my next jump was Dr. Kirshenbaum. I always field my doctors by a call to the office. I am looking for three things: 1. How many rings before they pick-up. *If you have a situation and you are close to going to the ER but don't want without first speaking to the doctor, you call the office. If it rings and rings and rings, and then you get cogged on hold that shows a busy office that has not effectively distributed their patient services. 2. Ease of facilitated information. The person you first speak with at a doctor's office is truly the face of his practice. I know exactly what I am looking for, I by then had already researched the band from it's design in France and use in Canada. I am now ready to explore surgery options. When I called, "Marilyn" was the voice at the other end. She was gracious, informed, answered my questions and also said she had worked for Dr. K for twenty years. Finding ANYBODY in medicine who has worked with the same group for twenty years is rare. But it showed me she had faith in her employer. Marilyn sent me an info packet and the next thing was a call from Dr. Kirshenbaum. 3. The doctor. I do not like to feel rushed. I want my questions answered in a way that if I do not understand them the doctor is concerned enough about my health that as a patient of his he would also like me as educated about my condition to eleviate any concerns or questions. Dr. K sent me a power point via the internet which as an educator is unseen outside the classroom, in the real world in medicine. I regularly take "WEBINAR" classes and to be honest, Dr. K's presentation was the best webinar I had particpated in. I also could pause and discuss specifics of his material as we were both looking at the same page via internet. So not only was he a good educator, he also spoke very clearly and concise and explained things in a way that left me feeling confident not only in the Lap Band but in his knowledge base as a surgeon. I also did a little search on him. FIRST, his medical practice is laparoscopic surgery. If you didn't know, what is happening these days is "doctors" are crosstraining into Lap Band surgery and beginning this, probably, profitable new remedy to obesity. Do they have extensive clinical expertise in surgery...ahhh, not so much. So with Dr. Kirshenbaum, not only are you getting an exceptional device in the band but you are having it done by a man whose medical practice before Lap Band came along was, is and remains s-u-r-g-e-r-y with a laparoscope. How many surgeries? Over 10,000. Yeah. When Routine Surgery Turns Into a Nightmare - ReliableAnswers.com Here's an article I came across non-band related but related to laparscoic surgery. Dr. K contributed to the article. ............................................... I know this is long winded but I really did my homework with him and I cannot sing his praises enough with where I am in my life and where I was and the surgery itself. Let's talk about that. I'll post seperately about the surgery and your concerns on being healthy and preop testing.

Its a freak thing. I tell ya just a freak thing. Just look forward to the morning after you've eaten a chocolate cake, chocolate sauce, ice cream, and..what...else...ummm, yeah, chocolate mousse, all day for two days and lost five lbs. Dee, I'm up three lbsm today I'm thinking it was the salty mushrooms last night but who knows.

My GIRLS have dropped maybe one cup size and I've lost 100. But I don't think that is the core issue. My husband was supportive but a friend of mine's husband was not. He got all insecure when she started looking better and feeling stronger. the dynamics of their relationhip changed as she got less submissive to him and finding her own self. She went from a person who was a people pleaser to someone with her own opinion. AND she is hot looking. Best friends want good things for eachother. I think a strong marriage starts first with being best friends.

Longer or shorter how about knowing what to do with it expertly no matter what size the pipe fitter lays.:thumbup: Yeah girls I said that... and tank me with two stiff tall ones ..pun intended....and some southern rock and I'll be using the pool stick for a stripper pole. ...I will. winks.:thumbup: Okay friends. I'm unzipping my fly, letting it all hang out.................. I'm sitting at 285 and what I face is this: At 252 I will be "officiallly" one hundred pounds off with Dr. K's office. At 240 I am 100 shy of goal. At 250 I am to reschedule with the plastic surgeon for a presurgical exam on a lower body lift, breast augmentation, two hernia repairs and a recovery period of three months. Anything between 85-52 are stepping stones across the river. What does everyone else have going on for their goals. I'd like to shoot for the 240 as my next goal. That's thirty five lbs. I like how DEE does the math algebra on her weightloss, I'm starting to catch on. If you all want to go St. Patty bye Fatty, I'm okay. If the long haul one is better, I'm good as well. We can also split the difference and do a six week one, seven...we can do whatever we decide. My vote is for: April first... April Fools. Call it April Full's Day, April Full's Weigh, April's Cool Weigh

Patty, I love your wedding photo. I used to live in Orlando, and have been to WW several times. You look so hip! THANKS! Well all, I had quite the event this week. Ended up spending 2 nights in the hospital for severe nausea, vomiting, GI upset, etc. Got some kind of bad stomach bug. After 2nd day in, wondered if maybe it was my band, so I called Dr. K. He told me to have the order an upper GI series. They did it the next morning, and the radiology tech told me my band had slipped. It looked ok to me on the screen, kind of like photos we've seen on line, but I was nervous. I got discharged from the hospital, went home and called Dr. K's office. The staff told me he was at the surgery center. I drove there, and was lucky to catch Dr. K inbetween surgeries. He took a look at my films on CD right then, and said my band was fine. What a relief. So, a close call for me. Well I am so sorry for your sickness this week. BUMMER. Must be close to a full moon because this week, for so many, was wrought with strangeness and upending events. That your band is FINE does not surprise me. It should not be surprising to us finding a difference in the awareness and level of knowledge related to our bandings with those who are in the field on a regular basis and those who do not have it as part of their regular practice. I'm very happy your outcome was successful and that you got to see Dr.K quickly. In having all my back and spine problems over the past eight months, the variety of practioners I've seen has led me to believe strongly in seeking out facilities that have bariatric centers, for out patient services at every opportunity. I know I will be doing this. Going to Weston to the Cleveland Clinic for my spinal problem, and soon discovering they do Lap Banding was a relief. There was no EXPLANATION, no awkward fear that they may misread something. Every dept. I went to made note I had the banding..."did you have it done here?"....no, COLORADO!... I plan on doing that each chance I can and reading your post has reminded me of that resolve I made to myself. :thumbup::thumbup: I'm crying..... Must be menopause because I cry all the time now. Sweet victory to you! Congratulations. Okay friends... I HIT IT ! Valentines Challenge of 20 lbs. I hit twenty lbs. today. Put me down for three lbs. down. 285 now.

First, would love to see the performance with you in it. Some day? If you do it annually we may see that as a reality. Secondly, after the night windfall conversation Dee and I just unloaded, I would say that she and I both can readily identify with precisely what you all were talking about. Never in my life have I had this personal experience of feeling out of body, morphing, changing, flopping around in this skin. LIKE THE ALIEN IN MEN IN BLACK..'there, is that better?" pulls face back. Yeah. Something like that. Watching television here in Florida I often see a show featuring the town in Colorado that is the sex change operation capitol of the world. The lead doctor, a woman, who had sexual reassignment being born a man. Some of what she says does ring true. Some of what her patients say rings true. And though I don't have the issue of feeling like I do not match my birth sex as a woman, I very much am feeling like I don't fit in this body of mine anymore. That skinny me inside that I knew back when I was twenty, twenty one, twenty two...until I got pregnant the second time and really lost my grasp, THAT female who is ThAT size is frickin flipping out on me. She's kicking it hard to get out. I wake up THINKING I can run, move faster, and I can...to a point. But having the spine issue has been a totally different matter. It's impaired me. Just now I got up to take my meds and quickly GOT UP and was slammed with pain, reminder! So yeah, I can't say I understand intimately that I feel I should have a penis between my legs but I can most definately relate to the same sensation of feeling that the parts hanging on my body do not match with what my head is telling me is there. and I hope to someday see you in that show.:cursing:

No THANK YOU. I ramble, you rope it. Then inspiration happens and everyone goes arm in arm and we keep it going. We have a comfort and trust in our group of Dr. K patients that I believe is a trickle down from the people who touched our lives. I'm rolling now...don't stop me..... Like our Natalie that we can call at the drop and she'll get right back with us. Like MARILYN, the sweet voice in 2006 Colorado who was kind and understanding and I lied to her about the 402 lbs. I KNEW I weighed because I was afraid this doctor in Colorado was going to turn me away if he knew how much I really weighed so I dropped myself a few sizes. JUST LIKE the 'doctor' here in Florida who told me, finger in my face, that I would not fit on his surgical table. His solution for me? He had none. Lose weight. Like I didn't know this before. Trickle down effect from the main man! Like Dr. Kirshenbaum who stood over my huge stomach that was larger than when I was nine months pregnant. He didn't scold, he didn't chastise me and having made that long journey west, flying four hours on pure faith. Blindly meeting this man whose care for me, his belief in medicine was more than evident through those long distance lines. He loves medicine, he loves healing. If you are a person who reads people, I do, you know it when you leave his office. Pausing for a portion of the Hypocratic Oath, a modern version: To reckon all who have taught me this art equally dear to me as my parents and in the same spirit and dedication to impart a knowledge of the art of medicine to others. I will continue with diligence to keep abreast of advances in medicine. I will treat without exception all who seek my ministrations, so long as the treatment of others is not compromised thereby, and I will seek the counsel of particularly skilled physicians where indicated for the benefit of my patient. So you know Dee, WOW, tonight and today and yesterday we have both had moments of awakening. Me with my ID and you with yours! Your story left me now drained because once the anger leaves me I am depleted....and had I been there, I would have had your back! Onward we go friends. Tomorrow is our weigh day. WOO HOO. Love you all. Patty

Patty, we will all be here supporting you and loving you as you are a wonderfully deserving woman. I can hardly believe the difference in alll those pictures. You are beautiful, inside and out!:confused::thumbup: Dee you got me teared up. If yesterday was the Independence Day, today was Armaggadon. *Truth comes out eventually*. We have a wicked person underminding many people. Me? No more . I've got her number. Dee, I believe in sizes comes not always by pounds. I can vouch for that in my clothes and by running my hands over my body and feeling cheek bone, jaw bones, specifically the mandible. To run my fingertip along the lower part of my head, under my chin near my neck, and to FEEL the bone directly under the skin is a reality of a dream. NON WEIGHT VICTORY... my husband told me for years, until I gained enough weight to cover those bones, he loved looking at my face, why? My bone structure along my cheek and jawline. >>>> any Native Americans in our group <<<< This is the Creek cheeks that run in my father's side of the family. To see them again after so many years is more than a simple item to brush face powder over in a vanity kind of way. Yes Dee, I'm feeling the inches melt, I'm seeing the change in shape. It seems like it is all happening at once. Like yesterday I could wear these too big for me purple pants and today, they fall. I can't escape the obvious. So today, if anyone here is feeling discouraged, take heart, breath deep, put your nose into the wind and believe. Run on belief. Run hard on the simple words of people who say things like "that happened to me...here's what I did" and " I can tell a difference by your pictures" even though you can't. Stay with it, don't quit.

My answer: All the time. Foods I use to eat, now the thought of them is disdainful. I also have odd experiences with foods I use to eat. An example: I use to love this Chinese food, ordered it often. Suddenly after one meal, I felt nauseated. I hadn't over eatten because as you know, we can't really overeated unless we want to do the PB MONGO dance all over the house. My food preferences have definately changed.