Frustrated

Karri - I wanted to mention a few things about plastic surgery before it got lost in my brain. Shop around for a surgeon. There are many who have an operating theatre in their offices. This saves on the costs of booking and using hospital rooms. Take a look at their before and after shots. A surgeon will want to put their best work forward for inspection. And if you're not overly thrilled with what you find, look elsewhere. Take into consideration this is th BEST they do. Many surgeons will give you the initial consultation free of charge. If they do charge, this is often taken off the total sum of the surgery once you've committed to it. I went to 3 or 4 surgeons before making my selection. Only one of them charged me up front for the consultation ($50). As it turned out, I chose someone else, but I don't feel like that was a waste of money. Okay, brain empty. Back for naps. :smile2:

Morning everyone! :biggrin2: I'm not in too much pain today. Just a little uncomfy. Haven't taken any pain meds, but I might do that soon. Just as a precaution for today. I don't like to be on meds too long. Head is a little fuzzy. I managed to get a good night sleep, even though I slept away most of yesterday. :grouphug: I'm feeling thirsty this morning and have already gone through a cup of hot tea, so maybe I'll make another and sit and read for a bit. I'll check back in with you all later. Have a wonderful day and thank you once again everyone for your well wishes and prayers. I'm so lucky to have you all in my life. :biggrin2::eek:

I didn't get mine fully paid by insurance. There was an 80% coverage. It still cost me $4,200. I've heard of some that have managed to get 100% coverage. But there are a lot of people who have paid for it themselves here. And some of them have traveled to Mexico for the procedure because the air fair, accommodation and surgery in total end up being significantly cheaper.

Can't read, can't think, just wanted to let you all know that things went well and I'm very, very happy. :drool: Back to bed and napland for me. :tongue2:

Thank you Jackie. And to you all for being so very supportive even if it really isn't your thing. :huh2: I've been on other forums where I've seen women torn to shreds for deciding on surgery to give them the bodies they want. :party: I'm scheduled to go under the knife in 2 hours, so I need to get moving here and get all my ducks in a row. I think it was peaches who said that hubby and son could fend for themselves during my recovery, and I know that's right, but there are some things I'm "control freak" about and I just cannot and will not admit that they can do perfectly fine without me. :cool2: Have a great day girls. I'm not sure if I'll be up to popping in when I get home today, so don't worry if you don't hear from me again. :biggrin2:

Steph, I'm so proud of you! You went the extra mile yesterday to get the help you needed and I'd like to think I would have done the same, but I'm not completely confident about that. I hope my post didn't sound too much like a lecture. :sad: Karri, you are amazing! I love watching your personal growth with each and every post. Your enthusiasm and enjoyment of life, and yes, even your rants, are an inspiration to me. Peaches - your flabby thighs/stomach comment had me spitting my Water at my monitor. It feels so good to laugh, and I can almost guarantee I'll get one from reading the posts of the day. Obviously they sneak up on me sometimes and I spit the contents in my mouth at the computer. :laugh: Phyl, it's wonderful to have you back! I love your drive-by posts. You can almost hear the panic in your posts as you try to fire them off before your connection dies. Too funny. :biggrin2: I read all the posts last night and this morning, but most have them have been filed safely in my forgettory. :tongue: It's kind of a so-so day for me today. I didn't get much sleep last night. I'm excited and apprehensive about my surgery tomorrow. At least this time I know what to expect, but I still have the same old concerns. And of course I'm worrying about how my hubby and son will survive if they have to fix their own dinner and Breakfast tomorrow and Thursday! :tt2::thumbup::tt2::thumbup: At times I don't think I'm happy unless I have something to be paranoid about.

Yes I do have an accent. :biggrin2: My son has lost his since coming here in December 2003. When we call family back home and he speaks to them, he says "They all talk different now." He doesn't realise that it's his accent that's changed. :sneaky:

Me too! I love Canadians so much I married one. :biggrin2: Something else you all probably don't know either, is that I live in Texas but I'm not a Southern Gal. At least not by the American definition of one. I do hail from the south, but I'm actually a down under girl. My father is Australian and my mother is from New Zealand. Before moving to Texas I lived my life hopping back and forth between both countries. Couldn't make up my mind which one I wanted to live in for keeps. :sneaky: We have plans to move back to Aussie hopefully sometime this year. I love Texas but I'm homesick for "home". *sigh*

No weight change for me this week. And after my post to Steph, I have no right to complain. I'm not going to beat myself up over it this week. I'm not a failure! I didn't GAIN weight this week! :biggrin2: My son has "lunch with mom" on Wednesday at school, but because I'm scheduled for surgery that day, I'm going to go there tomorrow instead. Plus I'll be taking my own lunch. I don't trust school cafeterias. :thumbup: And I'm going to walk there and back (weather permitting). It's 2 miles from here and that will help with my March exercise challenge. I'm going to try for another 30 min workout this afternoon as well, because I'll be off the exercises for a week following surgery. I don't think I'll be able to meet up with everyone in July. I have already planned vacation time with my family for then. Plus I'm not a good shopper. I don't like it. It's better now that I don't have to go to the fat section for clothes, but it's still not a pleasant thing for me. I don't know that I'll ever enjoy shopping even when I make my target goal size. Well that's it for me today.... so far.... I'll check back in later on. :crying:

Steph, I'm glad you're doing better. *hugs* Now as for this business about nagging you to go to the doctor, you're right. Many of us would and should have done that because he is the best person to help you. But as for making the drive yourself when you're really physically not up for it, that's another story. I wouldn't have seen it as an excuse had you told us that. But I do understand how you feel about "making excuses". I would have felt exactly the same. Y'know, it's SO much easier to be more forgiving of other people's behavior than it ever is of our own. If I'd been in your position I would have done the EXACT same thing. Taken myself, not wanted to bother the doctor on his day off, not wanted to break a promise to my friends.... all of it! See your doctor today. Tell him all you need to tell him. And if you're still feeling bad and it's coming out both ends, seriously, and I mean seriously, consider staying another day at the motel. Don't be a hero and try and get yourself back to your family because they need you or you don't want them to worry. You have to put yourself higher up the priority ladder than you are. It's easier for us to sit here and advise you what you should be doing. It's far harder to be on the other side of things. We've all been there and we all wonder if the voices in our heads are making up excuses for us and trying to sabotage our hard work. Our demons are very clever. They've fooled us and lied to us for so long that we never know what to believe any more. Your challenge for today is to put yourself first. Remember we're all here for you. We only worry because we care. *hugs*

I made this last night for dinner and it was a huge success. I think it helped that my son really loved the movie Ratatouille. :thumbup: Both hubby and son came back for seconds. :biggrin2:

I'm with you on the religious front. I don't know what or who "God" is, but I do believe there's a higher power or powers. I also don't understand why anyone should be offended if they're wished a Merry Christmas or a Happy Hanukkah or anything like that. The message behind these well wishes are far more important than the words themselves and I don't know why people can't see that. I find it very sad that people can find offense in it. My child can't go and see a Nativity play at Christmas because of other people's religious beliefs or non-beliefs. I think I should stop now before this turns into a full rant. :crying: Steph, I'm sorry you have had a hard time of it. I didn't have any words of wisdom to offer as I was having a bad day myself yesterday and the pull of the demons was strong. I couldn't afford to put myself at further risk, and I hope you understand that it's not because I didn't care. I just felt I couldn't help. :teeth_smile:

Thank you for your suggestions ladies. :crying: I've used baby powder with limited success. The anti-fungal cream made things worse. Right now I'm using an athletes foot powder and it clears up most of it, but there's still some redness there. I'll try the deodorant next. I have sensitive skin at the best of times, so I expect this to be an ongoing problem until the apron is removed. But I'm not physically ready yet for a tummy tuck.

No I'm not sick. I haven't been able to get any food in me in the morning's since my most recent fill. Even when I went back for the unfill I was restricted, but I could at least get liquids down. Today just seems to be a crappy day where the world is against me. :crying: I've had problems when I haven't been paying attention and swallowed too much too soon. That wasn't the case this morning. There was nothing to chew. It just all of a sudden snuck up on me. And try as I might, the call of the cookies eventually got the better of me this afternoon. I made my son hot chocolate when he got home from school because it was cold and he asked for cookies. As soon as they were in my greedy little hands I lost control. :eek: But the good news is I only ate 2 and I felt satisfied and I kept them down. I don't really feel guilty about them because I could have gone all the way to the dark side and found other bad things to put in my mouth. I don't feel nauseous. I don't feel sick. I don't feel run down. I don't feel stressed. I just feel "bleh!" It actually snowed here today. I live in Frisco, which is 30-40 minutes north of DFW. Some areas close by got 9 inches of snow. We got 2 or 3. That's more than we'd get for the entire winter season. :ohmy: My son has had a wonderful time out in it since he got home from school. I went out with him for a little bit, but the cold got the better of me and I ran back inside to snuggle up with the furnace.

They're not going to strip search you. But they may ask you to remove your shoes for the weigh-in. Be ready for that. Someone has already mentioned ankle weights. Wear those under long pants. Or you could stuff bags of rice or sand in your bra. It sounds ridiculous, but the insurance companies can be ridiculous too. Play the game. Needing to gain 10lbs in order to be approved for a procedure that can help you lose 10 times that much is worth it in the long run. It'll take some time to lose that extra weight, but if you're anything like I was, it's only a matter of time before you hit that high anyway. :eek: Another tip for when they're measuring your height, slouch down so that you're half an inch to an inch shorter. That makes a big difference to your BMI.

*sigh* Back to complain some more. :thumbup: The Cookies are no longer going to be a problem. I got halfway through my chicken soup and had to rush off to the bathroom to barf it all out. It was more than just PBing, I felt my stomach muscles contract and everything and force out the soup I'd just drank. That was enough to put me off wanting to eat anything, but I still have this "hungry" feeling in my stomach. :cursing: I'm going to sip slowly on my Water for a couple of hours and try and get that in. I don't know now what I'm going to eat for the rest of the day. Soup is out of the question. Maybe I'll get some cottage cheese in later in the afternoon when my band loosens up. I hope I haven't aggravated things and have to stay on liquids for a couple of days. :thumbup: Did I mention it was a tough day today? :thumbup: Think I'll watch that video again and then search on youtube for more of the same. :thumbup:

125? :cursing: Perhaps you should call back and check that figure. I've never heard of anyone being told they need that much. For me it's between 60 and 80. I think you have to look at your weight loss realistically and objectively. I would love to be dropping 5lbs a week. That's just not realistic. And if someone else told me that's what they averaged, I'd be horrified. I get down on myself when I only lose 1lb in a week. That's an insane attitude and I know it. TV shows like Biggest Loser used to be an inspiration for me because I could see and feel the pain of the contestants on the show. I watched it the other night for the first time in a very long time and couldn't believe the reaction of the people who only lost 6lbs. I understand it's a competition and that there's prize money on the line. But to be so disappointed in that kind of loss is sending out the wrong message, imho. I've lost over 60lbs in 7 months. And when you look at the entire picture, that's phenomenal and I have every reason to be proud. And I am. But there are SO many days when the journey there has been hard and I've gone backwards instead of forwards. Today is a hard day for me. I didn't want to go to the gym for my usual morning routine. I dragged myself there and the entire time I was exercising I complained. Then I came home and all I want to do is find comfort in food. There are Girl Scout Cookies in the cupboard. They know my name and are calling to me. :thumbup: I won that battle and opted for a cup of chicken Soup instead. I'm typically more restricted in the morning, and got halfway through the soup and it all came up again. So now I'm waging another battle with my head. Telling myself I should or could have had the cookies because they're one of my slider foods and they would have slipped straight through my band no problems at all. :thumbup: One of the ladies suggested I find another outlet and perhaps offer some words of wisdom to some of the newer members here to help them out. I don't know if sharing my hardships is going to help anyone but myself and I apologise if you feel I've made this more about me than about you. What I'm trying to get across is that even those of us who have been going down this road for a little while still stumble and fall and wonder why the heck we're putting ourselves through all of this when being fat is so much easier to accomplish. :thumbup: Hang in there. Call your doctor and discuss your concerns with them and ask for their advice. They may tell you you're in need of a fill, they may give you other options to try first. If it's hard to get an appointment for a fill, book one for next week or as soon as they can get you in. You should be able to cancel up to 24 or 48 hours without any penalty, and it will give you a little more time to decide if it's what you need right now. Remember, there can be a difference between what you need and what you want.

:cursing: I laughed till I cried. Then I laughed some more. :thumbup:

*sigh* Thank you SO much. That's exactly what I needed to hear today.:thumbup: I was just on my way out the door to the supermarket in the hopes of beating the rain, but it started coming down a little heavier, so I'll put it off for a little while. I was going to load up on vegetables. I haven't had any salad since my recent fill and I think it's time I increased my intake of leafy greens. I was also going to make Ratatouille for dinner tonight. I've never made it before but I like the sound of it. I feel hungry today too. I think. :thumbup: I know I won't be able to get any food in because it's too early in the day for me and my restriction is very unforgiving, so maybe I'll heat up some chicken Soup and have that instead of those Girl Scout Cookies that are in the cupboard. Junk food has been off limits in our home for most of the time since my surgery, but hubby couldn't resist the selling pitch from the girls the other day. At least he bought the sugar-free choc chip. But still, I don't need them. My challenge for today is to NOT succumb to their calling. :thumbup:

Today took a LOT of willpower and inner turmoil to get my butt to the gym for my morning workout. :thumbup: But I did it. I didn't enjoy it and couldn't wait for it to be over. Some days are so much harder than others. I need to be careful today. I'm in the kind of mood where I'll eat just because. I won't need a reason or an excuse. :cursing:

I had a breast lift and implants done 3.5 months after my surgery. I opted for 800cc implants overfilled to 1000. I realise this is considerably more than average, but it's what I wanted. I went from a very deflated 38DD with my nipples pointing to the ground to a perky and full 38H with nipples that point dead ahead and was thrilled. However I had a complication and developed an infection in my left breast and had to have the implant removed. This wasn't due to the surgeon's error or something I did or didn't do, it just happened. I go in for re-implantation on March 12 and am very excited about that! I plan to get a tummy tuck done in future, but want to get within 10lbs of my goal weight. I still have to lose another 20 to get within that 10, but I have a goal to focus on. Since losing weight, I've developed a rash under my flabby tummy/upper pubic area. I've been doing all I can to keep it dry and clear the rash up, but just when I seem to get on top of things, it will flare up again and not respond to the different creams and powders I have on hand. With any luck because of this complication, I'm hoping that my TT surgery, or at least part of it, will be covered by insurance. I questioned my surgeon's nurse about this at my pre-op consultation yesterday and she seemed to feel that it was worth submitting an application with my insurance co. to see whether or not I'll be approved. Right now I'm not ready though, and I have to have the surgery within 30 days of the approval (should I be fortunate enough to get it) so I'm holding off for a little while longer. It will give me a chance to lower my weight and raise my bank account. That's plenty of incentive for me. :biggrin2:

I think a lot of it has to do with the band you have in place. It seems that many that have the 10cc band go in for regular fills. But others like myself who only have a 4cc band don't go in nearly as often. I've had 3 fills and an unfill 3 weeks after the 3rd because I was too tight. My doctor said to expect to lose 4lbs a month on each fill. When the weight loss stops or I gain weight, and I discover that I can eat more and feel hungry more often, it's time for a fill. He also said that it's common (for his patients) to book another fill after 20lbs worth of weight loss per fill. The band loosens as you lose weight around where it's been placed. Your doctor will have his/her own policy and I think it's best you follow that one as advice can vary so much between physicians.

The unfill won't be any different from the fills you've received so far. It's the same procedure, they just withdraw instead of filling. Then I expect they'll replace what was taken out and add more. You should only be stuck with the needle once though. As for the dry mouth, have you tried chewing on some gum after eating to encourage your salivary glands to continue working? You might also want to pop an ice cube in your mouth and suck on that instead of drinking Water. That way it won't be as much Fluid, but will hopefully keep you mouth moist for longer while it melts.

It has a quite mild taste. The texture (to me) is like cooked, shredded potato you would buy in the frozen food section to make hash browns.

They're more commonly known as salad plates here. :thumbup: