Dr. Gerald Kirshenbaum - Considering Dr. Kirshenbaum

[Taynuh 1]

Hi everyone!! I'm back home in Tampa!

I miss Colorado so much - we absolutely fell in love with the state. I grew up in Arizona so it felt like home to me. DH had never been "out west" before!

I'm still doing well - the only time I'm using the painkillers is at night to make sure that I'm getting some uninterrupted sleep. During the day, I'm fine, just a little sore if I don't sit up straight.

Tina - how are you doing??

Hi, Jenn...

I'm doing okay...I stopped taking pain killer Thursday night (the 6th)...that was my last dose. I really hate how drowsy and out of it they make me feel...plus, while sore when setting up or getting outta bed, I'm pretty okay otherwise. Heck, I am back to sleeping on my side too...I hate sleeping on my back.

For me, the worst part is...I am just freaking hungry constantly... tomorrow is the 4th day and I am planning on moving from clear liguids to full. Since I grew up in Florida (Ft. Pierce until 13) I am a big grits lover and am looking forward to having some grits, since they are on the list for the "full" liquids... and soup...creamy kind...and pudding! Compared to these last few days, its gonna be like feasting! Okay and some Protein Shakes.< /p>

Jello, popsicles and juice just don't make me feel any better.

For everyone else already banded...

Is it okay to have a little blood pooling under that clear plastic tape on the incisions? Its not much, probably like a 1/4 teaspoon at most...it just grosses me out when I look at it ... it does not go anywhere...just sits there soaking my incisions... I see Dr. K for post-surgery follow-up on Monday...

I know its about healing right now...but I did lose that 3 pounds I gained right after surgery...and another 6! (No surprise, since I am freaking starving)...(but sipping Water and tea left and right)...Psychologically its a much needed boost because I have been kinda depressed about what I just did to myself and how unfair it seems (major self-pity party going on right now)...Still, I think once I'm healed and can sample the foods I am missing I will be able to work the band properly and accept it much better...but right now, I'm really feeling kinda like "what did I do?!"... Buyer's remorse, I know...like buying a new car...you wonder for awhile if ya chose the right one... later you love it (well, okay, I have never learned to love the minivan/bus I am now driving...lol)...

That's the scoop on my progress...physically and emotionally...

Tina...looking forward to having full liquids! :hungry:

[want2bmeagain 0]

Rosey~ It's "Lap Band for Life" I got it on Amazon and it's a good book! Please post and let me know you found it!

And....you're not boring! But, if you are concerned you are, don't worry! The minute you make the decision to have lapband, your posts will get really exciting, with tons of questions and comments! Trust me!:omg:

[want2bmeagain 0]

P.S. Rosey~ please, please meet the girls on the 11th! Go there for me, I will be recouperating from surgery that day!

Taynuh~ Sorry you are having such a hard time. I go in on Tuesday, and I am scared to death. But, I keep telling myself that many have gone this journey, and the short term torture can't be as bad as my long, ongoing torture and thought processes, and the discomfort of being fat...You should post on the general board cuz a lot of people read that and you might get even more responses. Maybe the new thread could be something like "Just had surgery, starving to death, help!". That oughta get some replies!

Good luck, our friend!

[marcyinak 0]

want2bmeagain and rosey - When I talked w/ Paula about the pre-op diet she said that I should just try to follow the Atkins diet to lose some weight quick and shrink my liver before surgery. I told her that I'd never done Atkins so I didn't know much about it other than eating a lot of meat, so I just asked for the amount of carbs I SHOULDN'T go over each day....I tend to eat a lot of grilled meat and veggies anyway so this wasn't too much of a stretch for me. Paula said to keep under 30 carbs a day. I was supposed to do the diet for 10 days, but I decided to give it a full 2 weeks...it's a surgery safety issue for me and, besides, if I can't do a freakin' diet for two weeks, what the heck am I going to do with the band? Anyway, good luck to you two!

[marcyinak 0]

Andrew and I celebrated our 10th anniversary the other day. It was pretty low-key, as usual, and we had decided that we'd go out to dinner last night (Fri.) to Celebrate. After a day of Andrew not being home and being out doing things with other people, even saying he was at work for a while...I was a little ticked off, but happy to be going to dinner. Then he comes home from getting the babysitter and tells me my car is making funky noises and we need to borrow our neighbor's truck. I was upset at his non-chalance about our only vehicle making funky noises than I was about using Matt's truck! But Andrew blew me off and off we went. Well, I knew something was up when he turned left instead of right and we headed out of town. I kept thinking that maybe we were going to someone's house for dinner (because he'd been complaining about being hungry for a while.). Then we turned onto a dirt road that leads to nowhere and I was a little confused...there aren't any friends or restaraunts out there...

So we pull up to a cabin out in the middle of nowhere and he surprises me with a WHOLE NIGHT alone with him. He cooked steaks on the grill, borrowed table linens and candles and set the table all romantic, he even created a romantic playlist for the iPod! Then after dinner he came and sat next to me and surprised me (once again) with a new diamond for my wedding ring. It's not just a new diamond, but a HUGE diamond! He DOUBLED the size! I can totall poke an eye out now! After that we went out and sat in the hot tub for a couple of hours (took a while to get it good and hot) and the weather was just great...stars were out and everything.

Torrential rains started after we went to bed and it was gloomy when we woke, but we had some hot chocolate and Andrew made omlets. It was really nice. Apprently, he also arranged for a helicopter ride, but since the weather was bad we have to wait for another day....too bad. Andrew thinks it all just went perfect. I know that MANY folks were involved in the planning of this (the ring took over 2 years to save for!) and I am VERY appreciative!

When we got home we spent about 5 hrs butchering some moose we got from a friend. All this free meat, I don't know what to do with myself! I'm planning on just grinding it all so I'll be able to eat it (moose meat is known to be dry and chewy). It's been a LONG day!

[want2bmeagain 0]

Marcy or anyone

I thought of a question...probably stupid, but I still haven't heard back from Paula. When/if you calculate carbs, do you figure in the meat, cheese, eggs, and veggies, or are those "free"?

[ShelbiCallie 0]

Good Morning Everyone!!

Welcome, Rosey! I know you'll have a great time at Red Robin with the others. I wish I could make it at some point. I'm convinced that support is the key to success.

:love:Marcy -- that is so romantic!!!!:love: And a new diamond,too!!

Want2B -- I think the carb count is a total of everything, including meats and vegetables. Paula didn't specifically mention Atkins to me, so I don't know if it's the induction phase or the next phase, but I've found some of the Atkins links and put them below. Dr. K told me no Pasta, potatoes, bread -- "not so much as a cracker". Since the liver shrinkage is the goal here to prevent surgical complications, I think the key is just to lose some weight pre-op because the first place a reduction shows up is in the liver.

Atkins - The Rules of Induction

Atkins - How to Follow Phase Two, Part 1

Lap-dancer I'm missing your daily thoughts. Hope you're ok.

Dynamo "Raw Sewage and the IRS" - sounds like a country song. Soon this will all be behind you and you'll never have another audit again.

I am out of time now, but am sending healing vibes to the newly banded and courage vibes to those who are waiting.

Everyone have a great week! I can't wait to see the pictures from the Red Robin meet up!

[Woofay 0]

Marcy! What a wonderful evening. Your post made a little tear come to my eyes! Its like that moment in your favorite show where the two you want to get together finally do. I'm a true romantic :love: and I think its great that you had such a wonderful moment! Any night out without kids is to be cherished, but WOW! Glad your Anniversary was so lovely. What a guy you've got!

Taynuh~ I went through that too. I looked down at my belly and thought, "What the hell have I done to myself? I have bought some crazy diet pills, exercise equipment, diet books, diet foods, but this just tops the list!" And it is rough when you are feeling better, feeling hungry and your still not allowed to eat solids yet. I was fixing dinner for the family one night, knowing that I would not be eating it, and I was just bawling. My poor hubby. Also, I think anesthesia can mess with your emotions too. Plus, you've been excited for so long now about this, and now its over. (Really, its just beginning!) Don't worry. It will pass. Try to pamper yourself a little bit and know that lots of us have gone through what you are and its okay. Also, if your not feeling icky or anything, you can switch to full liquids any time you want. Take it slow with the first few sips and make sure you don't feel like your gonna barf. (any chance to get the barf smiley in there!) The entire goal is to not vomit for a month. If full liquids are staying down without any feeling of nausea, its okay to go to soft foods. Some of us went through the liquid stages very quickly. The only thing that made me feel sick was a Protein supplement I bought. Everyone is different with this. Good luck. I'm thinking about ya!

Want2bmeagain~ goodness girl! Thank goodness you only have today and tomorrow to make it through this pre-op diet. Hahaha! I never counted the carbs in my meats, cheeses and eggs. They are mostly insignificant. What you do need to pay attention to is your sauces, like ketchup (a no-no) the carbs in your veggies...corn and peas are bad! Very starchy. Your Salad Dressing is usually loaded with sugar...stuff like that. Its the "everything else that goes in your mouth" thing. What you really need to do is get a hold of The South Beach Diet book. It's somewhat of an Atkins redone type of diet. It really makes a lot of sense and considers the glycemic index a little further than atkins does. So fruits and whole grains are added back in as they don't effect this as strongly as once believed. (see how easy it is to say it? Now if my butt could just follow it! Ha!) I'm sure your doing fine~stop worrying!

I found two protein supplements that I really like. One of them you might not because it contains sucralose. But I hate proteiny tasting stuff and this one goes down fine. It's called ON 100% whey Gold Standard. It's in a black plastic container and they have it at GNC and other nutrition stores. (I paid $16) The beauty of this stuff is that it only has 2 gms of carbs per serving. Pretty much no sugar. It has 110 kcals per serving with 24 gms of protein. Sooooo, if you mix it with 1 cup of the Calorie Countdown product I told you about earlier... you wind up with 200 kcals, 5 gm carbs and 32 gm protein. (can you tell I used to be a dietician?) It comes in chocolate, vanilla and strawberry.

There is also New-whey Liquid Protein vials by IDS. In about 3 ounces you get 42 gms of protein. It comes in orange, fruit punch and grape. If you mix it with crushed ice and Water or with diet fruit juice it goes down pretty good too. But it has to be ice cold or it starts smelling quite proteiny when it warms up. Icky!:omg: And, IMO, never try to drink those things without mixing them in something! OMG The vials are a little pricy like 2.70 a piece or something, but they are not as much as Iso-Pure.

Wow! Is this post long enough or what? Sorry! I'm so excited for everyone, plus a little nervous about tomorrow...so I ramble!

Have a great day, All!

[Taynuh 1]

I did switch to the fuller liquids and I'm feeling much better.... so I'm pretty happy again. I had my grits with butter, salt and pepper and I feel renewed... also, been forcing down those ensure high Protein Shakes (gag)... so I feel like my calorie intake is back up to a more energizing level. I'll probably do this for another day or so, then move up to soft foods... plus I can eat like a full portion of each without issue so I am good. Just trying to watch the overall caloric intake.... :whoo:

Regarding carbs and pre-op diet... Dr. K told me, I could have low carb tortilla's... in fact he recommended the whole wheat LaTortilleria brand...they are big, with only 3 net carbs each... I had one each morning with my eggs...and another with lunch or dinner... they are awesome as a sandwich wrap... yum with tuna. He said it was really about eating the right carbs... so my second pre-op diet I just avoided bread, Pasta, spuds, rice, corn, peas and beans... I lost more weight the second time (First surgery was rescheduled cuz I had a fever and was catching a bad cold...Doc's orders). I also got more creative...Labor Day we BBQ-ed... I made fake potato salad with steamed cauliflower florets (soft but not mushy) and the regular potato salad ingredients. I have to say that it was awesome.... I think its the eggs and mayo...anyhow, the texture and flavor was very satisfying...I'll continue to use it instead of real potatoe salad... even Paul liked it!

Anyhow, the point is, Dr. K basically said I did not have to be as strict as Atkins, as the goal was to shrink the liver... the tortillas made me feel like I could stick to the diet better... I lost 10 pounds in 10 days doing it that way the second time, only 7.5 pounds when I did the Atkins thing the first time. I also snacked on Pork rinds (not everyone likes them, but I like salty, crunchy snacks) and beef Jerky. I ate what I made my family for meals...basically substituting cottage cheese for their starch...although one night I did a half cup (cooked) of whole wheat pasta with the meat sauce I fed them... surprisingly it was yummy too. Oh and I was way into smoked almonds...(again I like salt and crunch...not that big on sweets...). When I ate lunch out... I did salads with grilled chicken and either ranch or blue cheese dressing, buffalo hot wings with a side salad, or a burger or grilled chicken sandwich with no bun and added a side salad... Hot wings (bone -in non-breaded) are awesome, I felt like I was cheating, but I was not... and the celery sticks were good with the blue cheese! I also did shrimp cocktails as appetizers... Deviled eggs are a great snack too... I ate cheese only with Breakfast and as cottage cheese...otherwise, I got constipated...

Basically, that's how I made the low car dietwork for me...

Tina...happy now that she is on full liquids!

[ShelbiCallie 0]

"grits with butter, salt and pepper and I feel renewed..." AMEN!!! to that. I so glad your spirits are back up, Tina! Grits are good for the soul. I can hardly wait until I get to full liquids -- and I'm still pre-op!

Woofay -- Good luck tomorrow; you are in the best of hands, of course, you already know!

Want2B -- Good luck on Tuesday; please give us an update as soon as you feel up to it!

[want2bmeagain 0]

DANG, Taynuh~why oh why didn't I talk to you sooner!

Deviled eggs (never thought of that one), tortillas (never thought to ask him)...ugh. Yum! oh well, the diet's about over! dangit!!!

The other night, I was going to make chicken breast spaghetti. Spaghetti sauce..ya know, tomatoes and olive oil? So I go to the store, and read every label..they all had sugar:mad:

So, I bought it for my family, came home, and made mine with tomatoes I had just canned, the chicken, parmesan, and squash from the garden. The funny about the story: it was just so sad, but I made Pasta for them, and you have to taste it to see if it's ready, right? I would take a bite to check if it was done, then spit the bite out in the sink~ first time I had ever done that IN MY LIFE!! ha, ha!

I am soooo glad you are feeling better! I know I am ready for something sweet that sticks on a spoon...I am fantasizing about a creamy yogurt...I am such a dork!

[NM Sunshine 1]

Atkins DIET

I've been on it many times. Heres a few hints

all meats & fish are carbo free

cheese check the lable to see if there is carbo in it.

Veggies be very careful with what you eat as some are carbo loaded, good ones are salad (carbo free dressing) broccoli,

stay away from fruit.< /p>

You can eat pickled pigfeet.

& fried pork rymns

careful with hotdogs, lunch meat, sausage so on. Some of it has sugar in it.

try turkey or chicken lunch meat wrapped up in lettuce.

It's hard but if you keep the carbs way down you will lose your hunger and your cravings. It really works...takes a few days to click you into that mode.

[want2bmeagain 0]

Ok everyone! We are heading to Denver! Keep me in your thoughts, your prayers, your whatever! I will check in, I am assuming there is a computer at the hotel!

[Lap_dancer 8]

My dear dear friends:

Greetings.

I would go through my names list and shout out special thoughts to each one but wanted to send love your way.

My daughter's wedding party was yesterday. She and her new husband came home this weekend.

(for those of you who do not know this, my ONLY daughter and precious light in my life eloped on July 5th. We already had purchased her wedding gown and veil and were full tilt into planning her Feb. 2, 08 wedding but the love birds didn't want to wait that long to be together)

The party was a riot! Grand fun and it renewed my friendship with some girls I had drifted from for one reason or another but mostly my personal issues. This experience was very healing to me.

I saw my mother.

For those of you who don't know, my mother and my only sister and I are on the outs. I am in recovery for food addiction, they read my journal post to my OA friends and took great offense at what I shared with my support group. My response was to reject them and their mindset.

BUT

The stress of seeing my mother, the anticipation that she may ruin things with a pouting spell or something, sent me grazing. Doesn't matter that I can't recall what it was but I ate over limit and gained weight. Strange how my snacking has changed from junk food to too much of a good thing.

I need a fill so very much. I still have restriction but not nearly like I had before. I've waited too long for a fill.

Wish I could be there on September 11th. I will fly in on October 10th for my October 11th appointment with Dr. K. I'm staying until the 13th and plan to try to do something in the mountains. I want to see the colored leaves.

Enjoy these photos of my SUN-in law, my NEW sister of choice...my daughter's mother-in-law "Mary". She is from the Isle of Wight in Great Britain. Her accent is divine and her tenderness is beyond imagineable. She never had a sister and my only sister treats me like dirt. We've unofficially adopted eachother as "sisters".

[Lap_dancer 8]

Double post of the cake, I meant to show this one. (which I adore)