kyethra

The carbohydrate addicts diet. It was great. Very restricted carbs for the first two meals of the day. But then get this. You get one meal of the day where you have an hour and in that hour you can eat anything you want! Naturally, I had full strategy session to plan on how I could cram as much into that hour as possible. I was starving at that point! Its entirely possible to eat more carbs in one hour than one would normally eat in a day and then some if one if determined. But it was all allowed in the diet... So of course it didn't work out when I was eating multiple meals at once and desserts. I can't believe I fell for it... I saw it on Oprah and bought the book.

I've heard there are things that do help... and it varies. I have no clue how I will look either. I am curious and anxious. If nothing else I want to lose the weight so I can see what it will look like! I know there are some pretty cool plastic surgeons can do though for some of it (not sure about inner thighs so much) and I hear strivectin and retinal A and vitamin E help with stretch marks and skin. I am currently doing microderm abrasion and firming lotion and pep talks for my skin as well. I don't know if that does much good, but frankly, my breasts have never been smoother or softer.

why $300? That doesn't like much to me at all. And what do they define as abuse? Where is the line between recreation and abuse? Does it depend on the person? Who determines it? And what is the method of sterilization? From what I understand, those things can sometimes be reversed. Also, a tubal ligation or a visectomey does not stop one from being able to have a child. Sure it wouldn't be cheap in the future. You'd have to go to a fertility clinic and get the egg and/or sperm out and pay for IVF for a reversal didn't work. But tubal ligation doesn't get rid of a women's eggs and a vasectomy doesn't stop a man from producing sperm. These procedures just prevent the release of them. I still think the $300 dollars is the most interesting part. Its not that much. How about $3000? I think that would be a lot more temping to me if I were a drug user. 300 is not an amount that inspires hope. A large amount does though. Money makes people think that they can turn things around- get a car, place to stay, move to a new place, get that fresh start. Even if it isn't true in the long run that hope sure can help, I would think. Fresh starts can be addictive. Then down the road when/if the user does get clean and becomes model citizen X he or she shouldn't have much of a problem, over time, establishing a good credit history and all that. I'm sure good credit helps when it comes time to finance the IVF or adoption fees or whatever if that person does decide to have children in the future. Because no one said they couldn't have kids in the future. And it is easier to get ahead financially without an adorable little money drain (aka a kid). I have no problem with the program or whatever. I just think the amount of money isn't enough. I also think we should legalize drugs. We can fund treatment and healthcare costs and other related costs from the tax money. And I think it would be widely sucessfully and there might even be more money left over to help us work on funding universal health care. I'm a dreamer.

my MIL is nicer to me than my mother... my mother has definite issues. When I want support I go to supportive people, like some good friends, or DH. Some people you can't blow bubbles around cause they carry pins with them.

I normally see a psychiatrist because I am on a number of meds than can be psychotropic and its a good idea for me to have someone like a psychiatrist know about that and overlook it. If you feel comfortable with your PCP ask him or her how comfortable they are with prescribing you something. Just say, "I think that I should get on an antidepressant. Would you feel comfortable prescribing that for me, or would you rather refer me to a psychiatrist and/or psychologist for that?" Sometimes group practice also dictates what a doc is allowed to prescribe. For example, at the clinic I go to the internal medicine docs can't prescribe birth control, so even if I just need a simple refil because of switching gynos or something I still have to jump through hoops at the gynecology department to get that prescription from them.

I'm not sure when all my swelling went down up there... I know about three days I got less restriction. And I was banded on the 14th and today is the 26th... So if I do math that means that about nine days I guess for me based on restriction. Most of my swelling was above my belly button where my incisions are. I just have a tiny tiny incision by my bra and it is about healed. Right now I am eating cottage cheese! The dietician said I could start on that a couple of days early. It is so good! And no I didn't blend it. I did however, promise to chew it really well and eat it very slowly. I've always really liked cottage cheese so I have been wanting it for a month now... Ice cream, cottage cheese, protein shakes, I don't know what I would do without my dairy. Other than this though I am still on liquids until Wednesday and then I get to start on my two weeks of Mushies.

It was a week before I had a bm and I was slightly constipated but no problem. Then a few days after that my butt exploded LOL. I pooped my pants, honestly. Can't remember the last time I did that... I was sitting and watching tv and then I was sprinting to the bathroom. I cleaned the damp area of the upholstry with my turbo bot and its fine. And I took immodium and that took care of me. In a completely unrelated topic, I got a new microderm abrasion system. Its Water resistant so I can use it in the shower. I use it all over and I pay special attention to my breasts and my thights and my but and my upper arms and I will do my tummy once the incisions and the blisters are more healed. And its kind of funny. As I massage those areas with it I give my body a pep talk. I tell it you are young and firm and elastic. I remind my skin that it wants to shrink with me. I figure it won't hurt. And my breasts were super smooth afterward :bolt: And I also have some firming lotion. I also hear Vitamin E is supposed help and retinal A. I already have loose crepe like skin on my upper arms so I figure that area might be a losing battle and my nipples get closer to my waist every day, but I figure its important to try and do some damage control here. I'm healing pretty well. I have class this friday and I feel like I can handle work this weekend (for me it involves sitting and talking, but sitting can be difficult). I swear I have weak butt muscles or need a special pad or something because if I sit in my office chair for just a while my butt starts to hurt. If I sit too long I get knots! In my Butt! When this problem occured I do not know. But I feel its pretty funny although slightly tragic because it is rather uncomfortable. I also wanted to make sure my surgical pain was gone before I tried to work so I could focus on work and not be distracted. I think this comming weekend I have my women's group meeting again. I think our topic is Herbs. I'm going to bring some of my ginger altoids. I love the things. They are good for me when I go to grocery stores and get innudated with food that all looks good. They are strong flavored and I love ginger. And ginger is good for the tummy unlike mint, so they are a happy thing for me to have on my weight loss journey (I'm a huge fan of ginger in its various forms). I woud like to be able to take my NSAID again, but I know it is too soon. I can take my opoid, but thats stronger than I need (I have fibro) on a regular basis and I hate to build up a tolerance. But I have these stretches and stuff I am supposed to do that my podiatrist gave me for my high arches cause they hurt when I walk but the stretchs give me cramps and stuff and I'm supposed to use a NSAID or something while I do them and get used the new arch support and it really is painful adjusting but it is supposed to help more long term... we'll see. That is all that is new here. I'm just glad it is spring like outside. I need DH to make me an alter.

50mg is a fairly low dose of zoloft. You can go a lot higher. I have heard enough bad things about lexapro that I wouldn't recommend it over other meds. If you feel the need for a boost raising you dosage might be better, or trying to add on wellbutrin is also something a lot of docs will do as wellbutrin sometimes helps combat SSRI side effects (it is also less likely to have its own side effects) and can give a boost. It its only been a couple of weeks however, it might be too soon for a medication adjustment. Try getting outside if the weather is nice where you are! (sunlight helps) Just wear sunblock! Plan an event that you will look forward to and will occupy your time with fun stuff, like a dinner party or maybe having a day out with friends. If you don't currently exercise, exercising can boost the mood. Spending a couple of weeks feeling a little low can be normal. But I don't know how low you are feeling. That does play a part. And you know you better than I do, of course. So talk to your doctor about it. [i was on zoloft for 2.5 years with no probls and then I got off of it (to see if I go without depression meds-- I couldn't) and when I got back on it I needed a much higher dose. But it still worked great for me. Someone tried adding wellbutrin to that for me (for fibro issues) and I was actually overmedicated at that point, so I got off of zoloft. I ended up switching to cymbalta because of pain issues and I am very happy with that. I need the seretonin component that wellbutrin alone doesn't provide, and I love the way cymbalta helps with my neuropathic pain. BTW, I don't really think effexor, the other current SSNRI is that good of a med. But more SSNRIs are expected to come to the US market soon. They are like a newer version of tricyclics. Cymbalta is an SSNRI which is why I mention it. Also because there are three "modern" classes of antidepressants. SSRIs, wellbutrin, and SSNRIs.]

Well, just like my pants, the band is getting looser. I can now, finally, drink with ease. I was really restricted so it was just sips and waiting and burping. But now I get to have a good gulp. Its so wonderful! I'm a little surprised by how fast I am losing weight. I lost another two pounds already (not shown on my ticker). I need to go buy a belt so my trousers will stay up (seriously). I went to walgreens last night and I had to keep yanking them back up to where they are supposed to be. I tried on the size 20 jeans I had in the closet the other day and they were too tight (sure I could fasten them and breathe but the fat was all over the top and I bet sitting wouldn't be comfortable). I figured I would try them on again in a couple of weeks, but at the rate I am going... Right now I have lost 14 pounds in less than 2 weeks since the surgery. I know I should be thrilled about that, and I am for the most part, but I am wondering when the rate of weight loss is going to slow down. I want to lose a lot of weight, of course, but 7 or 8 pounds a week is just a bit fast. After all, thats one of the reasons I chose the band. I start on mushies in a couple of days and I imagine that will slow the rate of loss down a bit. And if that doesn't, I'm sure solids will. I can see why I am losing weight-- I am not comsuming very many calories. There has only been a couple of days where I got up to 1000 calories. Yesterday I had 750 calories. And I took a long walk (too long, I over did it actually) and even had ice cream! But my dietician didn't give me a minimum number of calories to consume, only a maximum (1400). And I'm working on getting my protein in. Am I the only one a little nervous about their rate of weight loss? I feel so silly being nervous about it at all. On the other hand, I do feel like I have to work with some of my overeating issues that I wasnt necessarily aware of. And that is a good thing. Last night, for example, I was feeling a little blue. Maybe because I was sore and tired after overdoing it-- I don't know. It happens. And I was sitting and thinking about things I could do to give myself a lift and the first "good" idea I had involved food. I thought of making something and eating something. It would give me something to do that I enjoyed and then I could which I also liked. And I wasn't even hungry when I thought that. So I think realizing that was a good thing. Since I'm still on liquids that obviously wasn't an option. So instead I went to favorite comfort number 2: a good read. I grabbed a Mary Higgens Clark novel when I was at walgreens. Those always cheer me up- basic whodunits that always have happy endings. Quick reads. I like them. The books I have in my current reading pile are either school books about catologing (not cheeful), 1984 (not cheerful), or a Margret Atwood novel (Life Before Man and while I greatly enjoy Margret Atwood she isn't what I would call cheerful). It worked. I also am findng myself being mindful of my "rules" like no more than one serving of juice per day. If that wasn't a rule than I would drink more juice because I like juice, but I know it is a rule for good reasons so I do follow it. Before the band it would have been a lot harder for me to do that. Now when I think about getting something to drink and I have already had juice and I want it I just drink water or crystal lite instead. Or tea. DH is being good too. Not in his eating habits- if anything those have gotten worse since my surgery. But about taking care of me I mean. Like the other day he wanted pizza but he asked if it would be ok with me if he ordered pizza and how I would feel about it and we talked about it first. I also made him cuddle with me when I was feeling blue and talk to me about that. BTW does anyone know when we can have alchohol again? I have this sugar free margarita mix so its not like I'm going to have a billion calories with just one drink. But I know my tummy must still be swollen, and alchohol on a swollen tummy would be a bad idea.

If you run out you can get a refill... :bolt: Thats what I did. Honestly. The first couple of days post op it hurt more than I expected it to and DH and I looked at the bottle and so forth and based on the tylenol amounts we did a couple of calculations and figured I could increase my dose (It was only vicodin. And I have taken a lot of pain meds in my past so I have experience calculating dosages and stuff, honest. While doing this we also noticed that while that darvocet I have ( I have a big ole bottle of darvocet lying around. doesn't everyone LOL) says I can take two pills at a time I really can't because of the amount of tylenol in it. All the opiods come in various doses with different amounts of tylenol. But the darvocet tabs I had were too big for me and it was too difficult to take them broken up because of the number of pieces (darvocet is stronger for me than vicoden but it doesn't come in liquid). So I just increased my vicoden. I also took it with hydroxezine. Its a prescription antihistamine that helps with nausea and also increases the efficacy of pain meds. I take it for my sinuses at bed time, but I first discovered it in the ER for pain... they give it with demerol a lot. And then when I ran out of vicoden I got a refill. I didn't even use all of the refill. So try asking for hydroxezine and a refill. Take the higher dose now if you need it.

Before I got banded I read an article on the band in pregnancy that suggested slight unfills if needed in earlier pregnancy with larger unfills later on. And then, of course, a fill after delivery. It advocated use of the band to make sure that the proper amount of weight was gained during pregnancy and not more. We might be ready for kids in two years. But I like to think ahead (I also know that in my case about a year before I would want to get pregnant I would need to start lining up and seeing professionals like genetic counselors, high risk OB, and getting them to work with each other and my neurologist and etc.)

cost. I've heard from someone who has had RNY that it is a lot more expensive than the band. So that is something to take into account if one is self pay or worried about copays. I think that overall the band is a better choice. I know it is more popular than RNY in Austrailia and Europe and I wouldn't be surprised to see it become more popular here in time. But it isn't the better choice for everyone. Some people need to lose the weight faster. Or have other reasons/issues that make them a better canidate for RNY versus the band. Or even for DS. Or for verticle gastric banding. The two people I know with RNY have gained weight back. They also experience dumping or other issues. And have to take serious supplements every day. One of them now has breast cancer (currently in remision). Due to the RNY I think that maybe her choice of meds was sometimes limited. She can't take big pills anymore, at all. So for pain meds and stuff that means they have to be small enough or liquid. I'm narcoleptic-- I didn't want malabsorption because of my worries about how that might affect meds I take for that (and other conditions). Also the band is safer for pregnancy. And as my surgeon pointed out, if something better comes along in, say, five years with the band I can always get an upgrade.

I've always hated thigh chafe. I try to walk around, like in a museum, in a shirt or dress and I end up with sores on my thighs from the way they rub together. Do the thighs stop rubbing against each other when walking after one looses a certain amount of weight? How much weight?

I have a rather odd problem: I really don't know how my body looks compared to other people. I mean I know I am overweight and everything and that I have a spare tire which does tend to annoy me as it sticks out and big boobs and how tall I am and so forth, but I don't know how overweight or flabby I am comparatively, if that makes sense. Here's an example: There was a friend of a friend of my husband's who was also morbidly obese. And she was only about an inch or two shorter than I was. If I had had to guess I would have said that maybe she weighed about 30 pounds more than me. And I saw her frequently. When I asked my husband he told me she definately weighed about 100 pounds more than me! I also don't know how I look compared to women who are also overweight but weight a lot less than me. I think I might look about 30 pounds more than them too maybe. I have no idea if that is more accurate or as out of whack as looking 30 pounds lighter than someone who is 100 poudns heavier than me (and apparently she looks 100 pounds heavier than me too). I've always been like this- never able to compare. I'm not sure if it is related to my Aspergers/NLD(LD with spatial problems) or not. But I do think it would be a good idea for me to work on getting better at knowing what I look like body wise compared to others. One thing I was going to do is assemble pictures from various sources and have my husband tell me which ones look like me (like they might weight what I weight based on a visual look) or a friend. Or my DH tell me when we at the store or something if he sees a women who looks like I do (distreectly of course). I think that now, as I lose weight and am working on other food or body issues that this is a good time to work on this issue. Any other ideas? I'd appreciate them!

I thought it was normal to always instantly delete or get rid of the bad pictures of onesself... It helps to boost the self esteem. I may have one or two bad pictures but even then I sitll can't tell... I think I look pretty damn cute, esp in certain pictures. And if it is a not cute pic I am more likely to blame its not being on cute on lighting or clothing choice or hairstyle or angle of camera than ME... LOL The virtual model is neat! I had DH help me with it. (He's very honest because he knows I depend on that. Also I'm never going to get mad at him for telling me how something/I truly look I tell him if/when he asks me if his hairline is receeding more and I tell it exactly like it is.) I wish I could customize it a little more, like we couldn't get the model to have bigger boobs on it. But thats ok. Its a good tool.

I am so sorry to hear that. I have no problems with my band. But a few years ago I had a "questionble mass" off of my left ovary. Because I had a horrible incompetant Dr it took them months to even look at my ovary and then when they did find the mass the gyno I saw was so busy covering her ass ordering every test imaginable and then more tests that I just got sicker and sicker and no body cared at all. Then when the cyst ruptered (it was a complex cyst), it damaged a nerve ending my abdominal wall, and I saw another gyno, a surgeon who said all this stuff, then told me I was crazy after she cut me open cause she couldn't figure it out. I went to Mayo. They figured it out and helped me. But the whole incident destroyed my health. I'm in constant pain. So when you say that they found a questionable mass and didn't do anything that reminds me of my experiences. And that makes huge alarms go off in my head. Also that form... Those kinds of doctors are dangerous. They would rather watch your health get destroyed than do anything that they thing might but them in an uncomfortable situation. Don't see that doctor anymore. Find another one. Keep going to doctors. Travel farther and farther if you have to. There are great doctors out there who really do care.

I just got the band so its too soon for me to tell... I've had severe GERD from birth. It is partially stomach acid but also the esophgas doesn't close like it should... There is something called the stretta procedure that my surgeon mentioned. Its for GERD. Its not a surgery but an endoscopic procedure. It cauterizes the esophogus and seems to be good results wise from what i have read. Not many people do the procedure. My surgeon said he used to do it but doesn't anymore because of cost-- he also thought it wasn't very well marketed, etc. But he did think it was a really great procedure for GERD. someting to look into anyway...

I was super irritable before my banding too. DH wasn't allowed to eat if I was in the same room and he wasn't allowed to leave any evidence of fast food behind at all either or else I would get really upset and then obcess over that food. Now I just look at the food appreciatively if it looks good and think about when I'll be able to eat solids again and how it will be interesting to see what my band tolerates and dosen't. And I also think now that as far as fast food goes I don't think I could eat a whole meal at once! Especially a Hardee's one (I really like the thickburgers and curly fries) and that if I really wanted that stuff I'd probably have to have about half of a small fries and maybe half of hamburger and even then it might be more than one meal's worth of food... Or I think that if we went out to eat I certainly couldn't eat a salad before the meal! And a whole meal! Well doggy bags for me! I think our food bill is going to go down. At least I think it will once I start making dinner again. Right now DH gets every meal either through the drive through or by heating up something frozen. Now I might make him something simple like pasta if he asked nicely. But he hasn't asked at all. When I start on mushies I'll like cook a few things and maybe he will have a real meal cooked at home then. I'm very glad that with the band I can still experience hunger and satiation. And I enjoy food-- hell I love it. But it really is just food. And it is so important to be in control of the food and not have the food controlling me. I also didn't want to be hungry all the time. I knew that I needed weightloss surgery in order to lose weight and not be hungry. I didn't think I could get used to being hungry all the time (like my mom is) nor did I want to. But I also didn't want eating to be a chore-- it is an enjoyable experience. So I think I can have the best of both worlds with the band as long as I am careful. Careful not to cheat it. Careful to count calories. Careful to follow the rules. Careful to exercise and so forth. Careful to make good choices and follow my pyriamid... I can live with careful. Now that I'm in less pain and feeling better and have lost 20 pounds I'm in a better mood and I'm nicer to my DH. So I think it pays off long term if I keep being nice.

What about hourglass shapes verus apples versus pears? I'm an hourglass, or at least I used to be. I was once a perfect hourglass, but it sure ain't perfect anymore. However, my hips and my bust still have the same measurement and my waist is less than those...

Oh! I got so busy rambling on I forgot about my new diet plan the dietician gave me. She gave me a pyriamid and stuff too. Its a plan where I am supposed to eat 1400 calories a day or less. Now, before the band I would have told her she was crazy if she expected me to be able to eat less than 1800 a day. But now that I have the band I think 1400 is perfectly doable The pyramid shows me how many calories a day I am supposed to eat from each food group. She also gave me a list of serving sizes of different foods that equals 100 calories. I am basically supposed to count things in units of 100 calories. I round up or down to the nearest 100. Then we talked about ice cream. Ice cream is my most favorite food and my biggest weakness. I can eat it now. But I'm not supposed to have more than 200 calories at a time. And now more than 200 calories a day spent on junk food- things like cookies or brownies or whatever. I think thats just perfectly reasonable. I also have heard of a ben and jerry's ice cream safe. I think I might get one and have my husband set the combo and ration out ice cream to me to be on the safe side. I asked about PDA programs and she gave me a couple of websites. I have yet to check them out. I lose paper. I am better with electronics cause I have a beeper finder thing attachted to them. Also I don't have to try and read my handwriting on those. I go back to the bariatric center in one month.

I am doing well. Off of the pain meds! I was out walking a lot the past couple of days at the mall because a good friend of mine who lives in Singapore was in town for a couple of days and then she will be back in town again on tuesday for the rest of the week. On Wednesday I ended up getting about 1200 calories in and I was surprised because 1200 was so high compared to what I was getting in and I thought that was pretty funny!. Then thursday I saw the nurse practicioner at my bariatric center. I am doing good and I can also put lidocaine patches over my incisions! The patches aren't for my incisions but they are for pain I have from an entrapped nerve ending in my abdominal wall. One thing I need to do is make an apointment to go in and see my anesthiologist up in the chicago area and get a nerve root block. Those are done with floro at the spine and numb the nerve for a little while- maybe a week. Then the pain comes back. THe idea is that if I have several of the nerve blocks with each one the pain will stay away longer and longer and maybe even go away. Its worth a try for a few injections anyway. But because of the procedure and floro and everything its ridiculously expensive. My Dr. bills my insurance about 5000 per shot. Yup, thats per shot. So now that I have had my surgery and everything I want to get as many in this year as is reasonable because of deductibles and out of pocket maximums being reached. But that pain is settling down for now to its usual level-- it had a bit of a temper tantrum after the surgery. So I am doing good! I only got 300 calories in yesterday. But I was mostly just thirsty and not hungry and it takes a while. I'm pretty tight restriction. So its sip. burp. Wait. Sip. Burp. Wait. I'm a burping fool these days. But I lost about four pounds in two days and now I have bit less restriction I think and I can drink a bit more at once and I love that. So far as fertility goes-- I know that obesity can cause infertility. I forget why. Can in men too, but its more so in women I believe. So losing weight makes up more fertile (uh oh!). So good birth control is a must! My surgeon had me sign a thing saying I wouldn't try to get pregnant until I had been banded for a year. No problem with that for me. Its going to be a couple at least until I'm ready for that. Heck, I'm thinking it might be best if any kids aren't even mine genetically (I have problems I could pass on), so an unplanned pregnancy is not something I want. I actually need to make an apointment to see a new gyno about birth control options at some point- its months to get an apointment with her. I have an apointment to see her nurse practitioner next week for my annual. The only place I ever saw a gyno I ever completely trusted was Mayo. Its seven hours one way drive though... I'm pretty limited in my birth control options due to medications I'm on. I can't take oral stuff cause I'm on provigil for my narcolepsy. But I need something that helps control cysts and does all that good stuff, so I'm on the nuva ring. I really like it but its kind of low hormone and I'm not a low hormone gal. So that means I also take estrogen with it. I'm a bit young to be on estrogen, but without the estrogen I get sort of menopausal. I'm kind of young for that too. LOL. So I am also hoping that weight loss might help with my hormonal balance. Like maybe if I lose enough weight it will make it so that I can have a lower dose of estrogen at least. Or even not need estrogen anymore... The whole estrogen thing and fat and all that is related but I can't remember how and I am too lazy to look it up now. And that is probably way more than any of you ever wanted to know about me;) As far as scars go, I use mederma and I like that. I think it helps. Only use it once a wound (or incision) is completely healed though). I'm a huge clutz so I always seem to have a couple of scars that I am applying it to. On me, it helps flatten and fade them. I don't tend to keloid, but I do sometimes get raised scars or more noticeable ones depending on how I got the scar. Which reminds me, No one should fry anything in the nude. Not just bacon. I don't know why the saying is only "Don't fry bacon in the nude." I found out the hard way. So currently some of my mederma is going toward the frying incident. I know I should have known better, but I do tend to be rather literal... According to my husband I took a long time to come out of anesthia. I also wan't fully breathing enough either. I had oxygen until shortly before I left. I remember that, but I didn't care because I was sleeping at the hospital. DH says the nurses kept having to check on me because my pulse ox would drop and beep and they were getting impatient waiting for me to wake up. I guess it took about six hours for me to be able to stay awake after the surgery, and apparently that is longer than usual. But I think everyone should have expected that with me. I did. I was told not to take my my provigil that day (wakefullness med). So I'm a sleepy person and if you give me anesthia its going to make me even sleepier. I found that walking me gassy too. But I think it is supposed to. Then gas X and heating pad help get rid of it. I also am finding i have some trouble with my purse strap and drinking when I am out and about. If I have my purse on me diagonally then the strap goes over my chest. And if falls so that it puts pressure on it and if I take a sip and so forth I have to lift it up in order to be able to take more sips. But I can't have it on just one shoulder because I have fibromyalgia and my shoulders are full of trigger points- my shoulders always hurt and carying a purse just on my shoulder usually hurts a lot. Any ideas (Other than just holding it in my hand)?

http://www.mrbra.com/brasizecalculator.ivnu I entered in my measurements that it asked for: My frame size was 40 (as I measured). My chest plus breast size was fifty (as I measure, loosly like instructed). Welll not super loose, just not tight actually. I figured by loose they meant not tight. I eased up until there no longer two inch indentations on my boobs. Then it was just a small indentation from the tape measure. So 40 around and 50 around the boobs gives them 46 H or larger. Huh! I bought bras today that were 42 DDD. THey fit. the 44 band was too big. Honest. I tried adjusting the straps on the bra. I made sure i tried in a couple of different positions on the back too and that my boobs were positioned correctly within the cups... I was like a bouncy ball in there. I know if I measure above the breasts it is 42. So between 42 and 40 I thought you took the higher- 42. And well ten inches... I always just wear the smallest cup size I can get by with without it getting four boobs or other obvious spill over. Though I think they are all in there in a DDD. And there isn't any puckering or wrinking on the fabric of the cuff. So why would the size that fits be wrong? I don't even get where they get the 46 from.. I think its off. And then another place or article will tell me I am suppose to add four inches onto the four inche measurement I got today so I really should wear a 44 I guess. And then I'm still supposed to do the subtract thing and translate that to cupsize...:faint: Then another article I read said to add three inches to the under the bust measurment and then round up if needed. Ok. And then you subtract the big big bust number from the number that has three or four added to it after the three or four has been added (that at least makes a bit more sense). So if I take 44 from fifty I get 6. So thats a six inch difference! And that gives me... my DDD! And to confuse it even more this place has a calculator that does it differently... http://www.leadinglady.com/fitting_room/ (i'm a 42 H there).. What does an H look like? I think thats more cup than I need. Maybe at some point I'll try on a G for kicks... I'm pretty damn sure I'm not a cup size H at all. Maybe I need to make up my own formula. I think I am going to try taking the top measurement as my band size. Then the measurement below the breasts I will add three or four to. Then I will subtract that number from the number I get when I measure around the big part. Then I will take that difference and use a standard table to figure out my cup size where one inch is equal to one cup... I am going to be a bra sizing rebel.

I'm a student. I applied to the program here to get my k-12 teaching certificate along with the Masters. Don't know if I got in yet. And yes I am on pins and needles waiting. Its for library science. I want to be a school librarian. And after I get my masters I want to get another masters in children's lit. Then I figure I can think about phD programs and stuff like that... maybe. Its tempting. I almost applied to the phD program but I couldn't handle one, a phD program, that is at that point in my life, not with how my health is now. Too sleepy (narcolepsy) and still too sick (fibro). But I have not unreasonable hopes for improvement from both. Ideally I'd like to be a middle school librarian. I like that range of materials the best. And its children's lit that I am truly passionate about. I am also interested in twice exceptional children as an academic group in terms of helping them get their needs met as far as resources and all that. I was one of those kids ( I have a milder form of Aspergers and I also have NLD). So I think my experience with the Autism Spectrum overall could come in handy. I've also worked as an aid and tutor and babysitter before. I worked as an aid a couple of times. Once for a nonverbal autistic bou (little boy). And then as an aide for an older boy with more severe AS type problems. My brother has severe Autism, so I've always known all the facets I suppose. Then I was a babysitter for three years for one girl after school four days a week. Sometimes other things here and there. I did a internship so now I can screen infants and toddlers for possible development delays so they can be evaluated and someone else can decided if further testing if warrented ... So far grad school courses are my favorite. Though I agree about not locking the door. Students might have delays beyond their control or things they are working n... I developed narcolepsy as an undergrad. Thats a problem that definitely affects getting up for those 8ams. But the student insurance I had wouldn't pay for anything related to sleep. And sleep studies cost a lot of money. There was no way I could begin to pay for a diagnosis for my sleep problem ( I knew I had one, I just had no idea what). My doc and I tried different meds and stuff but we didn't know what I had so choices were limited. Then when I got better insurance I find out what I have so now we can treat for what it is... Without better insurance of lots of money I wouldn't have found out. And if I did wake up and manage to get to class I would feel so discouraged to fine the door locked because I figure its better to be horribly late than not come at all, but I would not even try if I was worried about being a little late in the future, etc. Its not a good thing. Or I was late to class last time because my husband was late leaving the house and I don't drive and he was my ride and I told him to hurry... Things like that. Maybe you could dry docking points instead? Can you take away participation points for tardiness? The later a person is, the more points taken off? When I got really sick my junior year I had to drop all my classes by one. I could barely make it to that class once a week-- I didn't make it a lot. When I did might come late or leave learly. I handed in work that was late. My participation wasn't was good. The prof was getting ticked off/frustrated with me-- even I could tell. When I got sick I explained I was sick. When I kept getting sicker I explained that. When no one knew why but I was having surgery I told him that. When that didn't work I had to go up to Mayo I told him that too. Plus I gave him a letter from the office of the dean of students basically excusing me from all classes for the whole semester (if you get sick and miss a couple days worth of classes or week due to something or whatever you are supposed to get letter excusing you from dean of students here. My letter just excused me from everything for the whole semester that semester). It was an hours seminar and I was supposed to behave like an honors student and attend class. But this prof was wonderful and he worked with me. And I did get my work in and those papers written. And I got a B+ and it was one of my favorite classes and the reason I stayed in college. His working with me gave me hope that I could manage school. And I did manage to get my degree. I doubt he knows how pivatal a class that was for me and how important he was that semester. But it made a lot of things possible for me for the future. I could stay in school and think I might have a future after I managed that class. Plus I learned a lot and it was fun (Myths and Legends of Medieveal Ireland). So you see you might do wonderful things for your students just by letting them come to class without ever knowing it. Of course you know what the best choice is at your school with your students. When I see an older professor I don't worry about their age except I sometimes worry that they might retire before I'm all done taking their courses and advice, etc... Or potential health problems will keep them from teaching maybe, or something if they seem frail. I like to talk about people about things I feel strongly about. Thats why I think I might enjoy lecturing or lecture discure type of classes. And research... But first I have to get into grad schoool somewhere. And then a masters. One step at a time here. My inlaws just recently retired, elementary school teacher he was and she was the head of the junior high science department, taught earth science. My mother was a substitute teacher--- has he degree in elementary ed. I think my guy is the only who currently has no aspirations or experience to teach a bunch of people... One course I have really really really wanted to take at the university here for the past year and a half is advanced grammer. Its an upper level undergrad/lower level grad course in the english department, but thus far I have had schedule conflicts or tuition conflicts with my wallet over it. But I will take it one of these days! It sounds like a ton of fun to me! And yes, I am a nerd.

I was at the mall with friends today and we were shopping and I decided I should get a new bra cause the one I was wearing had cup overflow (sometimes I try to cram myself into a DD) and my back hurt. So we went to lane bryant and I got a couple to try on. They didn't have one I wanted to try on in my size 44DDD so I tried on the 42DDD instead and it fit! It wasn't tight! And when I tried on the 44's in a couple of other models I noticed they were looser so I went I got 42s especially at the rate I am losing. I was really surprised. I have only lot about 15 pounds so far- and not quite that many. My jeans are loose of course but not loose enough to have me looking at the 20s in my closet. So I wasn't expecting to go down a bandsize this quickly! How much weight before the cup size change happens?

Wow. I hadn't heard of using the stimulator for obesity before this thread. I'd been aware for years now of its usage in depression. I've know about it in relation to epilepsy since I was a girl... I feel sort of stupid.