kyethra

Right now I have a rabbit, a mini lop, (who is currently driving me crazy because the last couple weeks he has been doing this kicking all the littler out of his litter box thing! Ugh!) and he is a sweetie and I would let him have the run of the house except for his unfortunate cord fetish. Its a bunny thing- they do love to chew and mine loves to chew on all electrical cords and cables. So until we get the house bunny proofed (we are doing that as we replace our carpet with hard flooring) his out of cage time has to be strictly monitored. But his in cage time isn't rough-- he has one large dog kennel all to himself, all the hay he can munch, etc. He is about three now. And he loves to get his ears rubbed. His best friend is my dog. Kia is a sixty five pound mix of... dog We think she is pinscher and border collie and beagle and probablly something else in there. At first I was nervous when I moved in with hubby-- big dog meets little bunny. They hit it off. The dog likes to like the rabbit's ears and they play hide and seek. The dog will sit by the bunny's cage and eat any hay that she can get... The dog is a stray that was picked up as a 20 pound puppy by the husband's former roomate. She has turned out to be a great dog. Growing up I had lots of pets and was around alot of animals. Sometimes I miss the peacocks, but not the chickens. And I do like cats, I just happen to like dogs better. I'm thinking about getting another puppy maybe after the band goes in. My father was a cattleman and he also bred australian shephers. Those working dogs are my first love in terms of breeds. You can train them to do so much stuff around the house and yard and all that. My father also died when I was pretty small and I didn't get to grow up with him, but I did get to grow up with his dogs. So I would like to get an Aussie puppy before too long- one of good working stock. And then I think that would be a good number of pets at the moment. DH's former roomate had six cat's and it was just too many kitties for her-- that many together and they would have some behavior issues and so forth, so I worry a bit about having too many pets. I like having it at a number we can handle easily.

well I am under 26. I am 23. And I haven't been exposed. But being married I suppose it would be a waste of good vaccine on me. Part of me wants to get covered for all eventualities, like what if 15 years from now my husband and I do decide to swing or something (highly unlikely)... The more pragmatic part of me says to save myself a few injections in the cervix for the slight possiblity of unlikely eventualities and deal with those if and when they do happen.

How do you keep your hair in the braid? Is it a normal braid or a special kind? I've found when I do braids my hair comes out of them, so I was wondering if there was a technique... I also do this wierd repetitive head turning thing in my sleep which I suspects contributes to the knots, but I really hate having to cut them out of my hair after spending thirty minutes with detangler in the mornings. (and yes I have complained to my neurologist about this)

I'm obcessed with books. Honest. I'm a library sciences student. I have more specific areas of obcession within books... but books is the broad category. Romance: Who doesn't love a good trashy read? I took like Kenyons dark Hunter. Currently I am super into Laurel K Hamiltons Meredith Gentry series. Its about a modern day faerie princess and there is blood and magic and its a fun time. Mystery: I like anything by patterson. I was surprised by how much I liked Koontz's Velocity. Not that I don't like Koontz, but sometimes he makes me want to not read him for a while because he is just too off or something... Rushed maybe. But I felt that velocity was given a little extra once over by someone. I actually have not read anything by stephen king ever because I am afraid of the dark, sort of. LOL. Movies and tv shows made out of his stories tend to give me nightmares- even if they aren't particularily scarey. (except for shawshank) And I don't like nigthmares so I'm staying away from him for a while until I feel more brave. I also like Kate White-- shes an interesting Girly girl and a smart woman. There are also the classics. The moonstone is great fun and because I like wilkie collins you should check out woman in white too- theres nothing like identity theft and false imprisonment to keep things interesting. Fantasy. I've always liked fantasy. I'm more partial to that than scifi. Latley I've been reading kids books. I adore children's lit. Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy is brillant. and not too juvenile at all. Its actually a response to the dogmatic ideals in narnia. They are making a movie of the first book in the trilogy, the golden compass. Diana Wynn Jones is fun- check out Howles moving castle. Robin Mckinely's the Blue Sword and Hero and the Crown are favorites of mine since I was a kid. One is a newberry winner and one was a runner up I think- can't remember which is which. I really liked Wicked. I like Maguire. I also sort of have an obcession with Peter Pan. Recent Peter Pan novels: Peter Pan in Scarlet. This is good. Its the only authorised sequel. There are also the Dave Barry and Ridley Peirce Prequels that are fun for a quick read. some non fiction I have within reaching distance: Organizing from the Inside out. Circle of Fire. Finding Neverland. I also have a nice big book that talks about the history of weaponry in western civ with a lot of pictures. And one book about the english monarchy through the ages with diagrams and family trees (important for understanding things in english lit like who Daniel Defoe worked for (he actually added the de to foe to make it sound more upper crust). I also have the Dummies guide to playing poker because I want to beat people at texas holdem. And of course all my cataloging textbooks. As far as sixth grade dective stuff goes... There is always Poe. One of the first detective writers and generally lauded as the father of the whodunnit. Currently there are the Blue Balient Books (chasing vermeer)- definitely a mystery there. Graff, Serena. Blackwell's Island. Delacorte, 2005. Gr. 4-6. In 1914 New York City, Alex finds himself searching for sunken treasure while eluding lunatics, gangs, and the undead. Feinstein, John. Last Shot: A Final Four Mystery. Knopf, 2005. Gr. 5-8. Eighth-grade journalist students investigate a case of blackmail and game-fixing while reporting on college basketball. Fritz, Jean. The Lost Colony of Roanoke; illus. by Hudson Talbott. Putnam, 2004. Gr. 4-6. This non-fiction historical mystery provides an account of the disappearance of American colonists from the Island of Roanoke. Collier, James Lincoln. The Empty Mirror. Bloomsbury, 2004. Gr. 5-8. When Nick's reflection disappears from the mirror and he is accused of crimes he didn't commit, Nick must investigate the supernatural to solve this mystery. Smith, D. James. The Boys of San Joaquin. Jackson/ Atheneum, 2005. Gr. 4-7. In the summer of 1951, Paolo O'Neil helps uncover the thief who has been stealing from the local Catholic church. Those are some. When looking for books for kids one of my most favorite places on campus (or anywhere really), the center for children's books, has this cool website with all these annotated bibliographies. You can check it out at http://ccb.lis.uiuc.edu/bibliographies.html For grown up books (because I don't have a car and the bus stop is a cold place to be) I tend to check out books from www.booksfree.com its sort of like a netflix for books only with a much slower shipper. It still saves me money because otherwise I would buy way too many paperbacks.

I'm married, yet I am still considering getting the vacine myself. Not because I plan on ever getting divorced or anything, but again there are many variables in life, etc, etc. I've had all my vacines accept the pneumonia vacine because my doc said it was only good for the viral pneumonia and I've only had the bacterial kind and that was really unpleasant- had about three times one semester. Also I do have a history of gynecological problems so I guess I am a little sensitive about any threats and want to guard against them. I had this monster cyst that made me really sick and then it grew for a couple of months (all the while making me sicker) unti it ruptered and when it ruptered it damaged a nerve ending in my abdominal wall, and now I live with chronic pain and other issues. At first my doctors had no idea then when they found it was a cyst they wanted to make sure it wasn't a tumor so there was all the waiting on tests and more tests... During those few months I had more gynecological exams than most women do in a decade I think. So I'm all for anything can potentially prevent any gynecological bad stuff. And I've been telling my friends about it. All my friends are young like me and either scientists or students and while I know my closest friends are very very carefull about stuff like sex (didn't lose virginity until twenties, etc), life does tend to happen. What if one partner lied about his sexual history and condoms aren't always going to protect against HPV... I mean my friends are good judges of charachters and stuff but there are some scary people out there who can totally fool you into thinking that they are someone other than they aren't. What if they end up sleeping with someone like that- should they neccessarily have to end up with his or her HPV?

I have slept nude for many years. Its the whole tangle thing. I do not sleep restfully (I have PLMD and lack of REM paralysis. I sleep like I'm kickboxing.). Its a big enough trial just to keep the covers on the bed and the things on the nightstand (its only a foot away from the bed-- so sometimes I sweep things off of it, or if its one of those when I am throwing things, or tossing my pillow around, I don't know stuff will end up). Worrying about keeping clothes on me and comfortable is just another irritation- and one I was glad to eliminate. Sometimes I will wake up briefly because I am cold and then I take back some of the blankets from my husband or pick some up off the floor, find my pillows and go back to sleep. What I really want to know is how to keep my hair from getting knotted and hopelessly tangled. I'm thinking maybe if I try a braid and hairnet... If I can get the hairnet to stay on.

I have to admit that I too have been thinking about some things I *must* just eat before I get the band. As much as I want to avoid the last supper syndrome I also do love the eating whatever I want aspect of being morbidly obese. Its the its going to destroy my health and kill me slowly part that I don't relish-- so I need to change my ways for good and I need help doing it. But I really want an ice cream cake! And other forms of sugary foods have popped into my head along with big meals. Lobster dipped in butter or something-- I don't know. I'm actually not a huge butter fan (unless its in certain things). but a little bit is nice. And I know I can have seafood after the band because its nice and healthy. Its just unhealthy sauces and stuff like that I need to look out for and portions. So... I don't know. I know I can still have it all in terms of main course and side dish type stuff that I really like. Less of it, and maybe a healthier version, but I can have it. So I think that does help. Mostly I just have this compulsion to start eating all the junkfood I can while I still can.... But I know thats not a good idea. I'm also very curious about what will happen to my size as I get smaller. And body shape too! Back when I was a size 18 I used to be a perfect hourglass. That wasn't too long ago- maybe two years ago? So I would like to think my body shape won't have changed much. Right now I am 5'8" (and that won't change!) and I weight is typically between 280 and 285. And I generally wear a 22W in jeans and trousers and a 24W in blouses (or a 3x). I think I was about 220 when I was an 18W... So maybe based on that I can try to find an equation for pounds and size. But I don't know the difference between womens sizes (the W) and normal sizes. Also, sometimes I will wear a tall size and sometimes a normal size because that depends on what each brand has as inseam and torso length and arm length and so forth. But assuming I wanted to stick with one or two brands of jeans I could figure that out and account for variations. I'm going to have to try and lookup the W to normal difference now... Oh and there is also how frame size and so forth affects stuff. I used to be sort of lucky in that I could carry weight well, but it also means I have to lose more to have a noticeable difference. I'm probably overanalyzing this. I like to analyze things... I'm also thinking of different questions to ask before the procedure, like exactly what is defined as vomitting and so forth ( I have GERD)...

:help: I know that we are supposed to know via sleep study if we have sleep apnea before surgery. I even know why-- because the anesthiologist needs to know and stuff in order to keep us breathing and all that. What I'm conflicted on is what sleep study the surgeon goes by? Is it the most recent one? Does the sleep study have a set of criteria? I ask because I have had three sleep studies since the beginning of September 2006 (I have a variety of sleep issues including narcolepsy). And the results about apnea are conflicted. According to the first study, yes. According to the most recent study, last month, no. The middle study wasn't a good study since I didn't go into REM sleep. Personally, based on my experiences with CPAP and so forth, my husband and I now suspect I don't have apnea. But I'm asleep! So what study? What verdict? Should I ask my surgeon's office? When should I do that? (I'm scheduled for march).

Initially I told my husband, of course, my close friends, and I mentioned it to my mother early enough on so she would have time to get used to the idea. She wasn't supportive, but I didn't expect her to be. I got the expected "But you could die!" from her and so forth. Husband is amazing. Friends are great. Then as it has gotten closer ( I just scheduled it for march) I've mentioned it to other people I eat with. People who are going to notice that I'm drinking low carb slimfast for preop instead of eating cornchips. And still more liquids afterwards. And all that. Now all those people might not agree (these are people in my religious group) but I know they will be supportive. I don't mind people sharing or telling others. At the same time I'm not going to "advertise" it myself. When I was younger I learned that people can be really judgemental about stuff that is different- I learned this because I was too open about my religion (I'm wiccan). So this has taught me that while I can be perfectly honest about things if people ask and so forth, I don't necessarily need to shout things from the rooftops. I've told all doctors. I've told my therapist. I'm sure my husband will mention it to a friend of his that had gastric bypass. I'll mention it to an aunt of mine that had stomach stapling. I'll tell my brother all about it afterwards (he tends to worry and if he worries he sometimes has seizure activity). If I lose very slowly or don't lose than I'm likely going to be extra frustrated and need even more support.

I have crazy dreams all the time. So far, none about the surgery. But I do dream about food. I am hoping that as I lose weight I will dream about oreos and brownies and so forth less. I think I am stuck dreaming about pizza-- I take pizza orders for a job. Right now I can get a craving and it can be weeks that have passed and the craving will not go away until I eat whatever it is that I am craving. And the dreams usually make me crave something!

I also think size 12 would be a nice size to be. I have no idea what weight that would correspond to for me though. Size 16 I remember. That was back in highschool. Since I'm not really sure of the difference in pounds between a size 16 and a size 14 I don't know how many pounds it takes to go from a 14 to a twelve. So I know its possible I might not get that small (I do have a large frame. Honest! Man sized hands and feet!). My goal weight? I don't know! Something healthier, but also something that I can live with. I remember a doc once told me I should lose weight and I asked how much I needed to lose to make a difference- because I thought if it was twenty pounds I could do that. He said I should try to get down to my ideal weight, probably about 130. I don't know how long my mouth was open. According to charts 130 would be on the low side of normal range for me. But I would be way too thin at that in real life, I think. In reality I think my goal weight is somewhere between 150 and 180. Is it ok to not really have a magic number (other than size 12)?

I like to exercise. Its good for me- I know that. Exercising consistantly makes me feel better too. Its just that sometimes I can't. Or at least not consistently. I have fibromyalgia, so if I do too much then I am going to end up in bed the next day or two with a fever and aching all over. I also have narcolepsy and some days I am just too tired to do anything. I found a new neurologist and I am hoping that helps out with the narcolepsy. Latley the fibro has been going through a flair up and I have had a sinus infection so no exercise. It can be discouraging. I have to take time off from the exercise- sometimes its a couple of months- and then build back up again. A couple of short walks with the dog, then maybe a few more in the week. Then a few minutes on the treadmill and eliptical. Then I can add in the weights and bike, etc. After a month or two I am up to a twenty minute workout, but if I need to take off... Any advice for not getting discouraged? I suspect losing weight would help with the fibro- it would help with taking pressure off of my joints. But exercise helps with weight loss and sometimes it seems like a big catch 22.

I actually don't care for carbonation- I'm one of those strange people, I wish that all sodas had a flat option, like diet, and caffein free, or best yet, diet and caffein free and flat! One good way to get rid of carbonation is to stir up a glass of the stuff. Put in some ice. I also work over the phone and its nice to have a drink but due to burping, ("Oh, excuse that loud belch sir...") I started exploring non carbonated drinks. I like tea. Tons of flavor and variety. Another drink I really like is fuze slenderize. Its pretty low calorie- like ten calories for a 16oz bottle and its fruit flavored and it has vitamins too. Yummy. Personally, I suspect its giving up milkshakes thats going to be a bigger problem for me.

Yes, my internest manages it all. I sometimes have another doctor prescribe something but all doctors know all things I take. I also check out all prescriptions for potential side effects. I would really like to take less meds.

I'm on cymbalta and I adore it- it cut my pain level in half. And I have the lidoderm patch - its a topical one that does have systemic affects. I need to ask about NSAIDs. I currently take suldinac a few times a week- its a prescription thats a little stronger than aleve. With all my medical stuff (including allergies) I'm on about 15 different meds. I take cymbalta, flexeril, topamax, provigil, zyrtec, guiafenex, lisinopril, nexium, flonase, astelin, hydroxyzine, zantac, estropipate, nuvaring, and the occasional ambien or darvocet. I'd like to start on something else for sleep-- I see my neurologist in a couple of weeks. I'm sure this will all be covered in pre op. And I did ask about taking my meds when I first went in- I can take my pills with the band, though I might have to wait for some of the swelling to gone down at first.

I am not currently a vegetarian, but I was one for nine years. And I don't eat eggs (I just hate them with a passion- no idea why I do, but I do), and I also do not eat any chicken because I do not like chicken. Its a texture thing and I have sensory issues. I actually substitue fish for chicken in some recipes. Or I use fake chicken. One thing I recommend is getting an issue or two of vegetarian times magazine. I still get it, even as a meat eater, because it has a lot of good healthy recipes in it. Do you like fruit smoothies? When I make them I add benefiber and sometimes other stuff too like Protein powder. And splenda to sweeten. My husband can't even tell. Because I am lazy I sometimes buy fruit that is pre chopped. I also buy frozen vegetarian stuff. One brand, Amys I think it is, will also have some vegan stuff. Our grocery store sells these veggie stirfry kits. Really easy since it is all in the bag already and pretty tasty. I also tend to be a fan of the south beach diet Protein Bars. Salads are good I think- not necessarily lettice salads but bean saldas and so forth. I have gotten some great recipes for various ones from my veggie times over the years. They are also good to bring to potlucks or to stick in the fridge. I love seafood- and this includes tuna for me. Its a pretty versatile canned food. I also like to make stuffed peppers. Only I don't put sausage in mine. I make my mixture with either Beans and corn or with the fake sausage. I prefer the soy sausage to the real stuff. I also throw in some feta. We have a food sealer. So when I make a meal I usually put extra servings into individual sealed things and those can go in the freezer and stuff. Tofu really does rock. You can almost sneak it into everything too and not even notice sometimes. One snack I've discovered are soy crisps. They are healthier then rice cakes and I think they are pretty yummy. Especially with hummus. Only I forget to buy hummus or whatever. But the soy crisps I can just reseal with the food sealer and they last and last whereas the hummus goes bad.

I was actually talking to my friend about this the other day and how cool it would be if we could get clear tummies. Like the cows on quad day. (I go to U of I. I actually had a dream I was petting calves last night. Dairy calves naturally. Though I do admit that when I see angus out in a pasture I think to myself "yummy cows". But I grew up with dairy cows and they can be real sweeties...) Anyway, there are these cows in the ag department with clear abdomens for research purposes. Wouldn't it be neat if I could get a clear tummy? Not only could a visual scan look at the band and see how it looked and the stomach as well, but also my other internal organs. Not feeling well? Just peel back my skin colored outer layer and take a look for anything apparent on the organ surfaces. Personally, I want the six pack shaped tummy. Because I watch way too many episodes of things like CSI, I do feel comforted by the thought of devices with serial numbers inside of me. I have, however, been told I am odd.

I just got approved the other day and then I just scheduled today. I'm getting banded on March 14. Its the week before spring break, so I am going to miss one class (surgery is an awesome excuse though) and then I will have an extra week off. I start the liquid diet on the 28th of February. March is going to be an anxious month for me. I should also find out in March if I got into a couple of grad schools I applied to. So I am keeping my fingers crossed real tight... The more I think about the more I feel this is the right decision for me. I want to be healthier! I want more energy! I want it to be easier to move! I got sick when I was 20- I had this wierd virus or something that did a hit and run to my immune system and after that I was run down and always getting colds and stuff and then a couple of months after that I got an ovarian cyst that left me very very ill (abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, hair falling out, increased weakness, etc). The cyst grew for a couple of months and then when it ruptered it caused a problem with a nerve ending in my abdominal wall. I have an entrapped nerve ending meaning the nerve ending is constantly irriated and its a constant source of pain despite injections and so forth. I am very fortunately in that the lidocaine patch helps immensly. And no one could figure all this out for months, I had to go up to Mayo, I ended up with Fibromyalgia. After that the weight started stacking up. And around my 21st birthday I developed narcolepsy. People like to tell me I have a strange medical history. I also now have sleep apnea. My blood pressure is high. the last time I looked at my medical records I noticed my blood sugar looked on the high side. That needs to be stopped. I've had numerous docs tell me to lose weight (I love it when a new doc explains that I should cut my calories and start exercising. Gosh if I only knew it was so simple...) and it can really help with the abdominal wall nerve issue. I want to be healthier! I realise there is a chance something could go wrong and this could become a nightmare. But I think I will regret not having the surgery more than I will regret having it. I have a very supportive husband. He loves me no matter what I weigh or eat. But I want both of us to be able to have a healthier lifestyle. And part of that is just being healthier.

I haven't been banded yet, but I can tell you all about reflux. I have had GERD my whole life. One of the reasons chronic reflux is bad is because the acid can lead to damage in the cells the line the wall the esophagus and that can become precancerous. Its also unpleasant. My GERD is very bad for me because I have asthma. Now that might sound strange. But I went to plenty of doctors as a teen and no one could figure out what would trigger my asthma attacks especially since I didn't follow a normal asthmatic pattern- I was better at night and worse in the morning. Then I saw a great specialist and he asked if I ever had heart burn or relfux. All the time, I said. She eats tums like candy, my mother put in. I did mention that yes, I bought the big bottles and carried it with me. And my asthma attacks tended to be more of the choking kind rather than the wheezing kind. That sort of sudden choking is usually related to GERD. The acid was getting into my lungs. He put me on prevacid and sent me to a gastro. After the meds kicked in I was amazed! I had never know what it felt like to not always have reflux. And I could breath so much better. I went up to Mayo a couple of years ago when I was having stomach problems, including increased reflux, after a local gastroenterologist did a a couple of scopes and pronounced me not his problem. There I did a 24 hour Ph test. For some reason my stomach was now (even on my high dose of prevacid) producing 60% more acid than is normal) So I was put on the twice the dosage and switched to nexium. Another thing I learned there is that mint is bad for reflux. What it does is calms the tummy initially, but mint loosens the esophagial valve. So breath mints, mint gum, mint tea is now a no no for me unless it is really just on a rare occasion. Some things that are helpful for reflux are gingner (you can either eat ginger or drink ginger tea) and chamomile tea. Caffeine is also bad for the stomach- it can really upset my tummy and make my GERD worse. No spicy foods for me, avoiding food about three hours before bed (I am bad at that one), overeating (Ok I am bad about that one too), and the foot of the bed should be elevated by six inches (to help keep the acid down in the tummy while you sleep). As far as over the counter products go, if I am having a bad time of it I tend to take something like zantac and also gaviscon ultimate or something like that because the gaviscon does this foam thing that sort of acts as a barrier. Not sure how good it would be in a pouch though, so ask your docs about that one. I'll have to remember to ask mine if that is on the ok list of the list of no-nos.

I would consider having the band removed and getting another weightloss procedure done if I felt that after a sufficient period of time and all the right efforts, the band wasn't working for me or the complications were too many. One reason I am currently pre-band is because it is removable. Naturally, I don't anticipate needing to have it removed but I know that if for some reason it did need to be removed- like say I needed a fundoplasty for my GERD, I could have it removed. But in that scenario I couldn't have the band replaced. So then what? I decided that a malabsorbtion method was not right for me. I think its a very personal choice- to have a weight loss procedure, and what one to have. My decision was based on several factors. I didn't want a malabsorbtion method because I take a lot of medications and will need to continue to take medications for chronic health-care problems. I have narcolepsy and there are just a couple of meds that really seem to help me out with the whole staying awake thing. I am currently at the highest dosage of provigil. I would hate to mess up the way it works for me by having a malabsorptive procedure but it does work well for me and its not even technically a stimulant. After posting about bariactric surgery on a narcoleptic forum I got some responses from people who had had the bariactric bypass or who knew someone who had and they had had medication related complications. Also I decided that I didn't want to lose the weight as rapidly as most people with GP do. I would prefer to lose weight at a more "natural" rate to allow to better adjust to the changes as they occur, both physically (I do fear loose skin) and psychologically. There are other factors as well, such as rate of complications, healing time, level of invasiveness and so forth. But my two main deciding factors are as described above. My husband's best friend had gastric bypass a few years ago. It worked well for her I think. I think he said that before she had the surgery she weight at least three hundred something (I know she got up to about 400 before). She now is down closer to 200, and thats the weight she was around when I first met her. She has had one surgery to remove some of the loose skin around her waist. She would probably weight about 20 pounds less than she does now, but she has been dealing with chemo therapy and other hormonal treatments for breast cancer and those things affect weight. And no, the cancer does not seem to be related to her GB, it seems to be Genetic in her case. The GP worked for her and gave her a lot more mobility and energy and so forth, but she does have some malabsorbtion issues when it comes to taking pills and subliments. For her it was worth it.

what about gagging/retching? I am doing better with it now since we added on Astelin nose spray (in addition to all the other stuff) and I am also on allergy shots now, but sometimes I get really bad post nasal drip. And I have a pretty sensitive gag reflex, along with GERD (I was born with GERD. Spent the first year of my life in the car seat) So if I get bad post nasal drip sometimes it makes me choke and gag and then triggers some dry heaving or even a little vommitting/reflux. Or if I just cough really hard (like if I have a cold) after I've eaten a meal now and have a full stomach it is not at all unusual to have some of that come back up. Or even just do that randomly- it is reflux. My surgeon said the band would likely help with the reflux in general. But what I am a little concerned about is that sometimes I tend to dry heave a little bit in general anyway. Its nothing I would have thought of... until now. Also, did any of you ever projectile vomit before? I don't mean to be gross or anything, its just that last time I had the stomach flu thats what happened- I do that sometimes. I'm just wondering what I should ask my doctor about and areas of concern. Knowing when a little nausea is ok and when some is not, etc.

I think gastric bypass is still very popular here. I am actually a little surprised that it is still so popular now that the band is becomming more available. I didn't really consider the gastric bypass for a few different reasons (but my primary care doc did suggest I look at it because she said she thought people seemed to lose more weight with it-- though I have read a couple of different studies that say that after a few years there doesn't seem to be a difference between the groups in terms of who weighs less. Lap banders just lose it more slowly. I like slow- seems healthier to me). Part of it is certainly cost- unless medicaid/medicare or your insurance pays for you, then you have to self pay. I think another thing is lack of awareness. I first hear of it about a year ago when I saw a breaf headline on an online newsite, and being morbidly obese I am curious about those things, so I googled it. I just recently saw a television ad for it though- first time I've really seen it advertised widestream like that. Another thing to consider is age. Many of our obese citizens are getting younger and younger. Children are getting bigger and they are getting bigger at younger ages. Those kids grow up to be obese adults. And, of course, there has to be the very strong desire and incetive and motivation to make the change. You have to have tried all sorts of things- reducing carbs, trying to avoid certain colors of foods maybe, counting points (I think I gained frustration pounds on that one), promising yourself to be serious this time, going around and throwing away the bad things in the cupboards, and so many other little ups and downs and failures. A lot of people also feel uncomfortable about surgery and devices of any sort in them. Those are my thoughts on the subject anyway.

I'm 23. Its something I thought about for quite a while- maybe a year to six months (after I first learned about) before I decided to get more information. I knew I did not want to have gastric bypass unless I got even heavier for a variety of reasons- that procedure is too extreme, for lack of a better word, for me. I did my research about the band and long term weight loss compared to the gastric bypass and safety and how it worked and recovery and so forth. I liked what I saw. My husband and I talked about it a couple of times (I got married in August). Then I decided that it was something I should do. Maybe in five years they will have a pill. Or an even better procedure. But what about the damage to my body in five years? The pressure on my joints? The blood pressure that I need to get down, other little things that haven't happened yet but will if I don't lose weight. No one ever thinks of surgery as the first step. I have people who also disagree. My mother lost 120 pounds on the weight watchers point system a few years ago. I'm proud of her, she has kept it off. Thats great. But she has to obcess over food still. She is always thinking about what she gets to eat next, what she can't eat, how much she ate, etc. Or she's hungry (or overfull because she ate too much). I can't even manage a week on the point system- it frustrates me terribly. Her way is not the way for me. She thinks this is a bad idea because I might die. I think my weight is more likely to kill me or to substansially reduce the quality of my life. Or there are doctors who I will see for the first time who start to tell me how to lose weight- they explain diet and exercise. I can tell you all about that stuff. And it used to work much better for me. But I have gained about sixty pounds since I was 20 and I developed fibromyalgia and now I can't do the things I used to and it makes that harder to stick with stuff for me and I could use a tool. I want to fit in smaller clothes and all that of course, but mostly I relish the thought of being able to dance around and not get so tired from carrying all the extra weight. To not have to worry if I am too heavy for a delicate chair maybe or too big for a small car, to fit more comfortably into the ridiculously small student desks they have at the grad school. I'm five foot eight, 285 pounds. I don't need to gain anymore and I don't need to wait for another birthday to make this decision. What I do need is a tool to help me work with my body to get it smaller.

I've called my insurance on a few different occasions. I first called to see if the surgery was covered and what they required. Did they require a physician supervised diet for any length of time, etc. My insurance said they do cover it and they don't require the physician supervised diet and there isn't any specific formula or process they have. Just that they look at each person on a case by case basis and then a committee decides. So they had requirements (other than the standard BMI ones) officially, but they did want to make sure surgery was apropriate for people and weight loss couldn't be achieved other ways. I had already started on a physican supervised diet anyway at that point- I don't think it will hurt. And my BMI is about 41 I think and I have other issues that are related to the weight- I have fibromyalgia, GERD, and an entraped nerve ending in my abdominal wall. And I've been on all sorts of diets and seen nutritions over the years. So it was all submitted to my insurance after my physc evaluation. I called my insurance a couple of weeks ago. I said, "I'm calling because last month a request was submitted on my behalf for the lap band procedure. When can I expect to find out if I have been approved?" They took my name and number and that stuff and said it would probably be a couple more weeks. Its been, so I will again Monday and ask the same thing. Say please and thank you and be patient with whoever you get.

thats a really good idea- having the two plans, because with a definite plan its easier to do something. Without a plan its very easy to give in.