Hey all.

So there's a bunch of us in this group, all split up into our different banding days. I was thinking that it might be a good idea to have one master thread as we move through the month, in which all of us could post as we go, from the pioneers going on March 1st to the finalists on March 31st.

I'd love to talk about our anticipation and any worries as we approach our banding date, for people to talk about exactly what happened from the moment they walked into the hospital door until the second they walked out, about how recovery is going, about weight loss and plateaus, about non-scale victories and challenges.

I was thinking that if we all contribute to one thread, it'll form a more substantial channel for information and support. At the moment, I was thinking that we might be too spread out into individual date, and that a central thread would be a really good backbone for the group, in addition to the date-specific threads.

What do you think?

Fenton

Great job Special K on turning what was a frustrating situation into a positive experience for you. That is a wonderful way to think.

I did my own exercise routine yesterday at home. I am currently quite tired of going to the gym so I am stirring the routine up a bit and doing some dance, weight and core exercises at home.

My eating was off yesterday and I was up a bit this morning but I can reverse that quickly. My body fluctuates a bit day to day but I know I overdid it on carbs yesterday. I made homemade cinnamon rolls for hubby and the temptation was to great.

Have a great weekend!

Dottie

Yum on the cinnamon rolls my Gram use to make them and belive me if they were available I would eat them too.

Oh the temptations we face. :smile2: All part of learnig to change our eating patterns.

Cinnamon rolls, hot from the oven, MMMMM

Special K -- HOLY COW!!! And I was concerned that taking 5,000IU of D3 was a lot!! And you were STILL low? WHOA! Did your MD tell you what your level was? I'm just wondering what he considered low? Mine is 35 and that fits within the old standards that are still on most lab report forms as the proper guidelines but it's below what the important new studies are saying. I'm hearing that the new guidelines are 50-70 and some say as high as 80. Yes -they have just recently found that low D can be involved in the development of 17 different diseases. We can not get enough of it in our food - specially those of us who live in the northern states. But what was most impressive to me is the role that proper levels of Vit D are playing in the metabolism of FAT!! It's a very important Vit for weight loss --- especially around the belly and mid-section. They are finding that up to 50% of all Americans are under the new levels of 50. Just thought I'd mention this for anyone who feels stuck in their weight loss and can't understand why. I have started taking it to see if it helps.

Edited July 5, 200917 yr by Desdemona

Special K--

That's a wonderful story. Thanks. I was on a plane and saw something like that happen to a bunch of volunteers on their way to Rwanda to help genocide victims. It was a great feeling.

Desdemona - I had to go look up the Vit D testing results report he sent me. My "Vit D 25 OH"= 24.2 and that was after a 6 month effort on my part to eat yogurts, cheese, milk and take a 1,000-2,000 IU supplement with my multi-vitamin. I've been outside getting sun as well with yardwork, exercise walks, etc. Normal Reference range is 31.0 - 100. He wants me to do this prescription for 12 weeks taking 50,000 IU (ergocalciferol) twice a week and then get retested to see if I am in the 40-50 range at least. I actually need to go get the prescription refilled tomorrow.

Vitamin D Deficiency Syndrome (VDDS) exists when 25(OH)D levels of less than 25 ng/mL are found in patients.

I do know I am a person who gets more depressed, sleeps more when we lose sunlight hours as the fall comes on. I love how long it stays light outside now and I'm soaking in a much sunlight as I can by getting outside often but not for tanning per se.

He also tested something called PTH (parathyroid hormone) and I was at 37 when the normal was 8-83.5 so he thought I was okay on that. I had to look up the abbreviation but its generally Vitamin D/Calcium and metabolism things all tied together. Very important to keep the balance of these things.

The sole purpose of the parathyroid glands is to control Calcium within the blood in a very tight range between 8.8 and 10.2. In doing so, parathyroids also control how much calcium is in the bones, and therefore, how strong and dense the bones are.

Edited July 5, 200917 yr by SpecialK

Special K-- WOW! That IS low. I'm glad you're MD thought to check it. I'm a researcher so I keep an eye on a lot of studies. You might want to check out this page from the Vitamin D Council. There really is a lot of very new material in D and it's very interesting. Am I Vitamin D Deficient?

Scrappy -- I see you work out a CURVES. I've been going there since just before Memorial Day. I like it. I keep reading mixed reviews about it's effectiveness. Do you feel it really helps you a lot? Do you just go around the circuit the "prescribed" 2X (30 mins) or do you do more rounds? Do you do other types of exercise the other days?

Edited July 6, 200917 yr by Desdemona

Penny, I like curves and I do think it helps. I started in November and I have lost every month since I started and it seems like when I started I lost weight faster. I do the 30 minutes there so only what they prescribe. I think the workout is too easy. I guess I could push myself to do harder. I also walk most days outside if the weather is nice or at the mall in the mornings. I walk between 30-60 minutes. I am more tired from walking than I am from curves.

Right now I am not doing any exercise but am really looking forward to starting again. I hope the doc will tell me I can start walking this week. I'm sure I'll be taking it slow for a week or 2.

Hi guys,

I hope your holiday weekend was a great one. I had a quiet weekend that was quite enjoyable. I had to chime in on Curves. I went for quite awhile when I first had surgery. It worked for awhile then I quit getting results. I needed to step up my workout. I started going to a regular gym and started first walking then running. That is what got my weight loss started again. So I think Curves is a great place to start but it soon quit being effective for me. I think it is like anything else. To be effective we need to mix up our workouts and always keep pushing for a better workout, which is what I am convinced is the secret to keeping the weight off. IMHO

Dottie R.

I did the Curves thing too, long before the surgery. I got bored and stopped going..Then joned a gym. tht was great, but the financial cost was a stretch so i quit that. Just walking for now. Getting ready to scheudle my TT. denied by insurance and decided not to fight it. I am lucky enough to have gotten a bit of inheritance and figure I am spending it on me.. Have to call tomorrow and start the process. hoping for end of July as a surgery date!!!

I agree about Curves Lynn. I am so happy that you are getting a tt. I am a little bit jealous also. I found out today that my insurance will cover it if it is a medical necessity. So I have to figure out how to go about proving it is a medical necessity.

Dottie R.

HI guys....I've been MIA for a few weeks, and have just read all the posts I have missed.

Sounds like many of you are doing all the right stuff to get back on track. Congratulations on the re-comittment to yourself!

Scrappy, so glad to hear that your healing is going well. You are an inspiration.

Amanda, sounds like the trip to Alaska and the memorial for your mom all went well. Been thinking about you.

I have more issues....as Fenton so kindly once pointed out I must have been really bad in a previous life....

I have lumps....on my hips....they are weird. I felt one in the shower one day a few weeks ago and figured it was a lipoma (benign fatty lump) No biggy! Well, over the next week a new one popped up on the other side that was painfull...so I took a look at work one day. Well, it did not look like any lipoma I had ever seen and surprise, surprise there were many of them. I showed a couple of radiologists and they immediatly suggested getting a biopsy. Of course life does not move that quickly....

Now after another sonogram and consults with my doctor and another radiologist I have a CT scan of the pelvis scheduled for Weds and an appointment with a surgeon scheduled for August 3rd (masses on the hip are not so urgent). They are doing the CT scan before they will do a ultrasound guided biopsy of the largest lesion on my left hip....that's the fastest growing and the strangest looking on ultrasound.

Well....it no longer hurts and it seems to have slowed the growth...all good things. The worst it could be as far as I can tell is a liposarcoma and the most likely is fat necrosis (but why the heck is the fat around my hips dying/growing/hurting?????)

I figure if it's not cancer of some kind, maybe it will be one more thing to present to the insurance when I want my tummy tuck. If I have panniculitis (fat necrosis) it would be a good reson for a panniculectomy, and maybe they could fix my hernia at the same time.

The stress of all this combined with my mother having hip replacement surgery and my lovely husband thinking I am having an affair (HA-HA-HA) has led me to a 13 pound weight gain over my lowest weight. YUCK!

Still have a very hard time with solid Proteins (empty band) and the bad stuff goes down oh so easy!

Christine

Congratulations Lynn on deciding to go ahead with the TT!

Christine

Lynn hope all goes well. What all do you plan on getting done? I still think I would push for insurance to pay for the panectiomy at least.

I'm doing the CURVES because I started using the machines at Planet Fitness and they are too big for me. I strain trying to wrap my little body around them. I thought the CURVES would be easier. They are -- but now I'm wondering if they are really doing much for me. I AM losing but I'm wondering if it's because I go to Planet Fitness (only $10 a month!) to use the bikes on the days I don't go to CURVES. I use interval training on the bikes. I do hope to also be able to switch my strengths training over to Planet Fitness but I think I need to get stronger at CURVES first.

Christine -- glad you are back. Wow! All of that sent me right to the medical dictionary! It sounds frightening. I understand why they want to do a biopsy of the hip but I'm unclear about what they are looking for in the pelvis. I do hope you will stick in here with us and let us know what's going on. I'm concerned.

Lynn-- Like Christine -- I'd like to know more about your TT. Will you do it soon?

Still no word on the breast reduction approval from my MD or ins co.