kyethra

Its also good to elevate the head of the bed if you have GERD. I used to elevate mine by about 6 inches, but haven't done that here yet since I've lived with DH. And as I already normally moan/groan in my sleep he is conditioned to ignore that. So I should get on it!

Oh and I was a tiny thing actually when I was little until I was about four years old. Thats when I started growing like crazy... But I was a preemie and I remember before that people telling me I was small for age, I was so little, etc.

You know puberty and breast development in particular was sort of scarey for me because of how much they grew. First of all I was the third tallest girl in the entire fifth grade (and at that age girls tend to be taller). Then junior high happens and so does puberty. So these boobs start growing and I have to learn how to do everything with these things in the way now... Seriously LOL. It made playing the flute and PE and all sorts of other basic activities more difficult. Then two years later in the eighth grade I was up to a D cup. And I was 5'6' then and probably about 170-180 pounds. And these things on my chest hadn't showed any signs of slowing down and I honestly thought that maybe I would have to get a wheelbarrow for them or something. But then they did finally stop growing and I was still able to walk upright so it was ok except for some blouse fitting issues I still struggle with. And I don't know about obesity or many hormones.. I was overweight but not super overweight. And I became a vegetarian in Junior High but the boob growth didn't stop with that and I rarely ate eggs growing up because I've always disliked them intensly...

well technically you aren't supposed to take a hypnotic like ambien more than seven nights in a row due to potential for addiction I guess but if doctor oks it you can take it for longer. I was given a month long prescription before but stopped taking it after a couple of weeks because it just wasn't doing for me what we hoped it would do (I have lack of REM paralysis and we were hoping it might help me hold still in my sleep and get better rested and stuff. No affect.). I have different sorts of pillows. The wedges are nice if you get a good one. One of the tricks to using those, I think, is to customise the support with other pillows. I also think it is a good idea to have pillows of various sizes and shapes and thicknesses. I also heard the rolling a towel for neck support when lying flat on back so the back of head rests comfortably on bed is good for the neck sometimes when that is giving a person trouble too-- its something I am going to try tonight. Helps it get aligned properly. I might sleep on our chaise lounge (with the ottoman at the end) for a couple of nights if I think it best. I would sleep in bed if I slept alone but I worry that my sleep disorders combined with the pressence of my husband will make it difficult for me to sleep like I need to sleep in the bed. I imagine you will also get used to the discomfort in part too. I broke my hand this past summer and it affected the way I could sleep especially before I could get it in a cast because I had to have it elevated and so forth. And it still hurt once it was in the cast and I might wake up if I rolled over on it or something (esp since the cast became loose pretty quickly) but once I changed positions and stuff I would go back to sleep right away. I got used to the discomfort and after a day or two it didn't even hurt much at all...

I think having good boundaries is very important. I know some people who have issues with those and I find myself constantly reinforcing mine with her (ok make some people one person) and saying, "No, thats not appropriate" or "Well I'm sorry you feel that way, but there isn't anything I can do about it", etc. At first it was super hard not to get drawn into that conflict all the time but now it is so much better not ever starting in on the issue because there is always some issue, etc. So I ignore people who bring me down, and the people I do hang out with think I'm pretty neat. Its a positive formula for self esteem. If I am also in a delicate place I know to avoid weak areas like higher math and empathy (I'm an Aspie with NLD) and to seek out activities and stuff that I am good at or make me feel smart like volunteering at the children's book center. I also have a dog that loves me to bits. I swear that is such an ego boost! I come into room-- wag, wag, wag. I sit down and she is lying by my feet. I go to lie down and she is lying next to me, gazing up at me adoringly, etc. Even when I trip over her all is forgiven with a pat on the head.

I see my ENT at the end of the month and I'll bring it up again... if he won't do it I'll go back to my old ENT who first mentioned it to me. I tried singulair before... really didn't do anything for me. But yeah I think I will get it done. Though I might wait until after the semester is over.

There is also prescription strength creme if monistat doesn't work. My very first yeast infection I ended up going to the ER cause I couldn't get an apointment at the Women's Clinic for several days and something was up! I had all the symptoms but everything I read says if it is your first one get it checked out by Dr. And I had had previous gynecological problems earlier that year so I was a little freaked out by this new gyno infection I never had before. So I got an exam at the ER. I had an UTI along with a yeast infection. Bad one too. First got put on diflucan then used monistat. Then my doctor wrote me out a script for the prescription based vaginal stuff... it didn't want to die! So now whenever I get the first signs of one I start treatment. I saw my doctor today for a migraine. I went to a walk in clinic because it was the worst I had ever had-- it just wouldn't go away even after 24 hours and nothing I was doing worked-- meds, massage, etc. So the walk in clinic doc gave me toredol and then that didn't work so she decided it wasn't that bad and offered to call my doctor. My doctor had them send me on up and fit me in. She gave me a large dose of demerol and vistril and also a prescription for imitirix (said it would work better than my current meds). And it did help a lot. But I can still feel the headache trying to elbow its way in... I think it is comming from these stiff neck muscles that won't relax so I am doing other things like ice pack, lidocaine ointment on it now, etc. I really want bread. I am so sick of this liquid diet. I miss cheese too. I would gladly eat cottage cheese. Instead of being super hungry and ending up binging or something I am going to go have one of those lean frozen meals and see how that tides me over...

The worst things said to me have been by my mother. And they haven't been out of love. They have been said out of a desire to hurt me, to get me back for percieved wrongs and hurts, to punish me for being... me. And not necessarily about weight either. Of course when I said I am getting the lap band the initial reaction was "Don't be stupid, you'll die." But I expected that from her. Its not about weight really- its whatever she thinks will hurt me. I don't really care much about my weight-- I have pretty high self esteem so thats not a good target for her.

I have a dog and a bunny. Love my animals. They are sweeties. They really are... like for example the rabbit never ever bites (well not people anyway power cords and coaxial cable is a whole nother story) except he bit me once because he was mad at me after I gave him a bath. So I guess once in the past three years isn't bad. And him and the dog are best friends of course... LOL and she is a big dog too. They play hide and seek. I don't feel good this week. Migraines. I hate migraines. THey had better go away because this liquid diet is not going to be stretched out I say.

I had a cold earlier this week but its gone now. Instead I have a migraine today :girl_hug: Also scheduled my preop stuff for monday-- my surgery is on Wednesday. They asked a bunch of questions about my conditions and medications and so forth. And that made me remember that the couple of surgeries he had my brother had a fever afterwards and it might have been due to anesthia. But I was fine last time I had surgery a few years ago. And I told them I was narcoleptic and all that and that I don't have sleep apnea per last sleep study and am on autopap now to confirm it and results per autopap do confirm that. Nurse asked if I snored and I said, no I moan a lot. LOL. Well I do. I am a mess sleep wise. I hope I don't have to explain all my various sleep disordered stuff to everyone... but if I do I guess I do. For preop I go in for an x ray or something in x ray. Then I talk to insurance. Then I see a doctor for a physical. Then I see the anesthiologist. Then I go to the lab. Then the afternoon of tuesday they call me to let me know what time my surgery is on Wednesday. I have no clue! Not even am or pm... So a little nervous about that and just post op pain. I also left a message for my surgeon about my port location because I want mine on my right side because on my left side I have an entrapped nerve ending in my abdominal wall. So we'll see. I sound like such a mess... But this is why I need the tool! I haven't weighed myself in a couple of days. I ate pizza yesterday because I was obcessing over it and it was good... but bad me! So now back on the liquids again. I'm also anxious about grad school admissions. Any other marchers have GERD? I thought that maybe the liquid diet would make it better since that stuff is easier to digest supposedly but nope if anything that seems to be worse for my GERD. I'm nervous about the impact the band will have on my GERD. I'm really hoping it improves it. If it doesn't for some reason there is something called the Stretta procedure my surgeon talked about. So now I am just waiting more or less.

What my doc did was whenever she wrote me out a prescription for antibiotics she always just wrote me out a prescription for diflucan too since if I am on antibiotics I tend to get an infection-- not always but enough of the time. She would also give me benadryl if it was a new antibiotic since I'm allergic to most of the ones I've taken and then I would have to go back if I needed prednisone. Then when I had to switch primary care doctors she just wrote a script for six diflucan so that way I don't necessarily have to remember to always ask the new doc for a diflucan if I get a sinus infection or something. Probiotics are good but sometimes they are just not enough... I also always try to keep a box of monistat around just in case. Also when the immune system is weak warts are more likely to be gotten-- I have gotten them before on my finger tips where I have had blood pricked. I guess hosptials are one place that that virus is rampant. So wash the hands a lot, always have feet covered (though I hear putting em in listerine helps), etc.

I had an exploratory gynecological laproscopic procedure about three years ago and I was pretty surprised with how fast the scars healed. I just had one tiny one by the belly button I could barely see a couple of weeks later and one for a catheter. They are both all gone completely now and I'm sure they were gone within one year possibly six months. But it took a few months back then for the abdominal incision to heal completely before all achiness and twinges and stuff from it was gone. I wonder if we can put lidocaine ointment over our incisions? I'll ask my surgeon about it. I've got a big tube of it. Probably not. I also have pain meds because I always have pain meds with my entrapped nerve ending. I'm getting kind of nervous. Not about the surgery. About after the surgery. Thats the part I never like-- the part where it hurts and you have to heal and deal with it.

Nah, other people can get thrush... Its more likely to occur in someone who has a lowered immune system for one reason or another. Stress due to something, like, I dunno... surgery, could be a reason I suspect. I bet your body was all focused on healing from that and decided not to focus on warding off the yeasty beasties. Hope you feel better soon! I plan on taking a couple of weeks off. And I work from home! But I'm wimpy.

I'm sort of strange-- or rather, I'm not normal. I have Aspergers and stuff so I tend to think differently than the average girl. BTW though I do like NLP I first discovered it years ago and it was one of the few self help books I actually found useful. As far as other methods of therapy go I also really like REBT or rational emotive behavior therapy. Its similar to CBT or cognitive behavior therapy but they really are different. I like REBT different. One of my last classes that I took as an undergrad (my BS is in psych) was in therapy methods. And in it I learned that people in a CBT program can lose weight with it. But within six months of the completion of the program most of the people gain the weight back. Therapy tends to be very helpful for a surprising variety of conditions but weight and stuff- it can be trickier than depression. Much more so. So thats why things like the band are so sucessfull. But of course there are psychological issues involved too. How can there not be with any major body change and behavior change? Some people go through phases or things. Some girls go through stages where they have flings (and guys too). Some prefer one night stands. Others its a series of small non serious relationships. Then they usually seem to get more mature and move on to healthier relationship patterns. Now that doesn't mean I advocate doing these things. And I certainly don't advocate doing anythign foolish risky or regrettable. But if you need to date the cut guys now then date the cute guys. Just don't forget about the not so hot ones when you get that out of your system. Or if one of the cute ones if a potential Mr right careful not to send him packing too... I hear good things about meditation. Personally I like my spider solitaire and majong for that purpose. Not sure if it counts... But either way its all good.

I worry about not losing enough too pre op. I am losing... so far I have lost 2.5 pounds on the preop diet and my surgery isn't until the 14th. I guess I am worried that for some reason my weight was at a lower point like 280 when they had my official weight down or something. And then I gained a couple of pounds before I went on preop diet (too much ice cream) so I was at 287 before I started it. So what if I do lose like 8 or even ten pounds but because they don't know how much I weight pre pre op diet they think I haven't followed it (more or less) and lost weight? Even though it has been hard and I am? But I know that is a silly worry. So I am trying not to think about it. The dietician said no one has been turned away yet for lack of weight loss.

I worry about not losing enough too pre op. I am losing... so far I have lost 2.5 pounds on the preop diet and my surgery isn't until the 14th. I guess I am worried that for some reason my weight was at a lower point like 280 when they had my official weight down or something. And then I gained a couple of pounds before I went on preop diet (too much ice cream) so I was at 287 before I started it. So what if I do lose like 8 or even ten pounds but because they don't know how much I weight pre pre op diet they think I haven't followed it (more or less) and lost weight? Even though it has been hard and I am? But I know that is a silly worry. So I am trying not to think about it. The dietician said no one has been turned away yet for lack of weight loss.

I have both slim fast and unjury and variety does help. I also have soup and I have my fuze slenderize and crystal lite too. But yeah it is hard... Very hard! I'm dreaming about food again. :notagree I hope that stops after I get banded. I thought of getting jello but I only really like warm liquid jello cause I am wierd like that. We'll see.

yes do let us know how it goes. In a couple of years I'll probably want to see about getting pregnant with one of those money drains known as children. And with my other health conditions and stuff I know I would need a high risk OB, but still wonder about the band the role it plays esp with things like morning sickness and healthy weights and so forth! And good luck with your pregnancy!

well today I also managed to stay on my liquid diet. But I know that before the surgery I need to eat at least two things: a sub sandwhich (I'm thinking tuna with cheese and avacado and I want it toasted) and snickers cruncher bar. And the reason for this is because I have been craving these for a while. Now I know that most people say when you get a craving for something you should just wait for it to pass. Mine don't pass. Seriously. They just get worse. If I don't have the food I want I start dreaming about it. Then I start thinking about it more and more and I just want more of it and then its fine after I get it and eat it. At least unless I get a craving again. I don't know where the waiting for it to pass comes from. I think that must not be a true craving. Now I can eat just a small sub- not a foot long or anything. I am trying to be good here and it is getting easier, but it will really drive me crazy if I don't get those things and I'll eat other things that I don't really want because they are closer to those things, but I will still want to those things. Its getting easier with the liquid diet at least. I have been increasing the amount of unjury and not the amount of milk- just adding another scoop so its thicker and I get more protein. I also add benefiber because I normally take fiber capsules but I ran out and I figured on doing the benefiber for after surgery so I might as well do it now. Today I was trying to instruct my husband how to make a protein shake when I was rushed. I told him he had to use to the handblender. And he didn't. So I made him swear he would next time because otherwise it doesn't mix as well, etc. and that he can't use too much milk and I need a straw, etc. And I made sure to thank him. And I also added the unflavored unjury to my soup. I've always done better when I get supper high amounts of protein with hunger-- like over 100 grams in a day-- so I just have to remember that and stick to it. Its funny how easy it can be to forget stuff that works, I think.

what sort of frame do you have puddin? I guess if you are small or medium frame 140 would be ok (but not lower-- getting close on medium). But if you have a large frame than 140 probably isn't enough and 150 would be better esp since you probably have a lot of muscle mass and you are so physically active. You don't want to get too thin! Thats even worse than being a little overweight as far as looks go- or so I think. Guys like women with some curves. If you become all skin and bones you'll have trouble with energy maybe and other problems. My ideal weight is somewhere between 150 and 180 I think and you have an inch on me!

Today is my third day of my preop diet-- which last two weeks. And I think I just might be able to stick to it today, for the first time :hungry: despite my cravings for actually food (mine is one of them 1000 calorie liquid diets). Today on campus is also unofficial st. patricks day which means the bars all have specials and drunken students roam campus from morning to the wee hours. Made we think of when I used to go out to pubs with friends. Now my diet booklet that the nutritionist gave me says low cal and low carb. Hard liquor is both. I figured that maybe a shot or two of tequila might help dull the hunger pangs. And there wasn't anything about liquor and the preop diet that I recalled in the book. But I figured that since the diet was supposed to shrink my liver, and I recall something or other about how liquor doesn't do stuff like that, I figured maybe I wasn't supposed to drink. At least not until I know for sure. And I also figured that maybe it would make me more suceptible to eating-- which is a real threat that makes me worry more than the size of my liver actually at this point. I took out the scale today and put the piece of laminet floor across it and stepped on it (we need the flooring on it since I broke it before by stepping on it- I cracked the outer casing. The scale is supposed to be able to hold up to 330 pounds and measure it sucessfully. Yet at 286 I broke it. Boo. My husband says he will fix and reinforce at some point but I have to be careful about stepping on it. I told him that its a scale. Its SUPPOSED to be stepped on.) Anyway due the starvation diet (my pet name for the liquid diet) I am already down two pounds. So that means I am only 2 pounds above my ticker weight. Hey, variations happen especially when you are last suppering. So I figure if 1) the scale is reliable and 2) weight loss continues to happen at this rate (it feels like it is but that just might be the hunger pangs) I should be down a good ten pounds by surgery. I ordered a special t shirt just for the operation (I posted a thread about it in the lounge). If it comes in time and it fits I might wear it for preop too. If it doesn't fit I will have to alter it. I got a serger for christmas and I need a project to learn on. Its a crimson shirt and I have some nice gold fabric that I think will go nicely on the sides and under the arms-- think sporty. Or I could do a baseball style thing but I will probably not. So I am feeling more positive. I need to make apointment for my preoperative stuff at the hospital. And I am also all nervous:nervous about grad school admissions. One of my letters of recommendation my prof gave to the wrong admission person because was confused about what program I was applying to and I contacted the person who has it and I have to wait until they have another meeting before she gives it to the person who is supposed to have it. And its nerve wrecking cause its my first choice school and I tend to be an emotional eater. So I want to curl up with ben and jerry and I can't. I'm thinking of this as a really good chance for me to work on those issues by force because I tend to think I do have them worked out even though I don't necessarily... And yes, rambling on is a way of working them out. Ok I'll shut up now.

I was on the onion website today and I saw this T-shirt http://store.theonion.com/product_info.php?products_id=171 Once I could stop laughing I ordered it. It will perfect for surgery day I suspect (if its big enough ). Then I decided I had to look for other t-shirts with similar types of themes cause I am sick and twisted like that. one about lap band http://www.cafepress.com/buy/diet/-/pv_design_prod/pg_1/p_storeid.98602582/pNo_98602582/id_16828490/opt_/fpt_/c_360/ A whole site with shirts: http://www.fatguyshirts.com/cgi-bin/store/cpshop.cgi http://www.damnfunnytshirts.com/product_info.php/products_id/44 But the one from the onion... Thats my favorite one.

I had hypoglycemia growing up (it runs in my family) and I was lucky enough to grow out of it for the most part but if I just eat sugar it comes back (duh) and because I'm on an ACE inhibitor now its back. My doc says that after I get banded I can at least lower my ACE inhibitor dosage. But I found that one Vitamin helps: Chromium. It can help regulate blood sugar levels. Also prevention is the best cure-- don't let it get low if you can avoid it. Sip on half of a low cal Protein shake every couple of hours if you need to! I found that frequent little high protein Snacks used to help me out before. And I know a lot of hypoglycemic's have one type of sugar they respond to better than others. For some its fructose. For me its lactose. Knowing that when you do get all low and shaky can help rather than having to take a bunch of glucose -- unless of course you like glucose. Also watch and see if you have any dietary triggers. Caffeine should be avoided. So should sweetners if thats a potential cause. Sometimes sweetners can trigger the response. Maybe it is a certain food... And if you do use glucose, add in some protein with it so two hours later you aren't going through it again! Band eating and the band itself (avoiding binges, eating right, small healthy meals) sounds like the way to go. Losing weight is a positive thing for the body and insulin and all that.

One of my main reasons for choosing the band is because it is purely restrictive and not malabsorptive. I'm going to want to get pregnant at one point, but also I take meds for narcolepsy. And I know that some people who have malabsortive procedures like the bypass don't get the sam effect from meds that they did before. I didn't want to have to end up taking high doses of dextroamphetamine and still be sleepy because of malabsorption. That was something I asked tons of people about and grilled my surgeon on. You might want to talk to your doctor about it and your Vitamin protocol because getting too much of a vitamin can sometimes be really dangerous I know. And if doc assumes you aren't absorbing all of it, he or she might be giving you more but if you really do absorb it... Well its worth checking on.

I like the unjury. I also have the slimfast low carb so I have ready stuff in the cans as well. I am on day two of liquids. I am being such a bad patient! Ugh! I don't know what is wrong with me. I swear I pathological or something. Today started out much better. I woke up and had a slim fast. Then a little while later I was still hungry so I had a dannon smoothie thing. Then I was good. Then my GERD was acting up after a while so I took some zantac. After it quieted down I felt fine- not even hungry. But then just now I noticed my blood sugar was getting low (I'm hypoglycemic and the classic symptoms are things like cold, shaking hands, etc). So I had another slimfast figuring that should help. Nope. Thirty minutes later I'm just feeling worse. So I ate some maltesers I had. BAD IDEA. I should just have drunk some milk instead- milk works for me. But I ate the stupid malteases. And they tasted oh so good. So wonderful. So they I put a couple pieces of string cheese in a tortilla and heated it up. Again- so good. And then I had about one cup of ice cream. Then I came to my senses. If I don't stop this stuff I won't even make it to the surgery! I think I'm going to have my husband gather up all the really tempting food and hide it. And since everything is tempting I might write myself a note to stick on the fridge. I'm getting concerned now I won't be able to lose with the band if I'm like this now! Normally I can at least start a diet for a week or two. At the moment I am just feeling like a big fat failure. Ugh! I need to do this. Maybe if I increase my water and noncalorie liquid intake it will help. I'm just so frustrated with myself. I also don't even want to do housework because I'm afraid of doing anything that will use any energy lest it make me hungrier. Which I know is unreasonable. At least my husband will be home before too long and I can make him take the bad stuff away.