SueJH

I will! I'm going to add you as a friend so I can find you easily.

I don't know how effective yet because I just started using it, but doing my own research I found this "super toning body cream" by balance Me. You have to order it online, comes from the UK. Time will tell!

It's all about mindful eating. You need to be fully aware of everything you are putting in your mouth. I know all programs are different, so please don't be offended about my question. Did you have to attend behavioral modification classes prior to your surgery? With my program I had to go through 6 weeks of 2hrs classes and then attend monthly 2 hour meetings until approved for surgery. This is a lifestyle change and be mindlessly eating or grazing are going to sabotage our efforts. Hope I helped a little!

I'm definitely in the club. This Monday I'll be 7 weeks out and as of today I am down 19.6 lbs from surgery day. But, you are right, I can't compare myself to anyone else. This is my journey. I'm happy the scale is going down! Love the pics!!

Wow! Well I guess that explains a lot! Be careful.

Yes, that is what I meant. I would say try the ice a couple times a day and stretch afterwards. Do it for several days though. One time is not going to help much. I had pulled my soleus muscle in my calf before and it took a good couple of weeks before it really felt better. I would ice 2-3 times a day and stretch as tolerated. Good luck!

Have you iced the area? Usually at the onset of an injury you would ice it for 20 mins, maybe 3 times a day. Since you are a week out, you could try the ice first and on another day some heat and see which one feels better. Also, gentle stretching can help (i.e., side bends until you feel the tightness and hold for about 5-10 seconds and repeat a few times). This is provided that you are certain it is just a pull. When/how did it happen?

You could try the Syntrax Nectar Fuzzy Navel Whey Protein. It doesn't taste exactly like orange juice, but close enough. And for 1 scoop in 8oz of water you are getting 23g of protein.

I was walking about a mile and a half I think day 3 post op and a little over 3 miles from day 7 on. At my follow up with my surgeon at about 2 1/2 weeks, he told me I really didn't have any restrictions when it came to exercise. Molly - as a runner, do you remember how long it took you to actually be able to run a good distance? I would love to be able to jog/run. Yesterday at the gym I was able to jog at 4.1mph for 2 mins then I would walk at 3.7 for 3 mins and repeat. I was able to keep it up for the whole hour. Gotta say, kinda proud of myself!

I pretty much told everyone - family and friends. Didn't have to worry about gossip from extended family because my mom took care of that! Not in a bad way, but she told everyone about my surgery, even my next door neighbor who I rarely talk to! Word of caution: If there are any life or death secrets out there, do not tell my mom!

Congratulations! You look great!

I think it took me about 2 weeks also until I was comfortable sleeping on my side. It gets better.

I'm going to add you guys too! Good to see what others are doing! I'm on as 'shenry8'.

Awesome job! Congrats!

Thanks for the info!

Great job!

That stinks! Too bad to have to throw it out, but that is awesome that you've done it so many times before!

Everyone is different. By day 5 I was walking 1.5 miles and by day 7 walking 3 miles most days. I wasn't going very fast in the beginning, but I did get the mileage in. I now can do almost 3.8 miles in an hour on the treadmill at the gym. Just started trying to jog for 2 minutes after 5 of walking. It will come, just do what you can!

Great job! You look amazing! I watched that episode last night too. She was all about excuses in the beginning. That's what kills us every time! Making excuses for our bad choices. I'm glad she finally got her head in the right place! She looked like a whole new person!

You know what, thank you for letting us in on your "down" moment. It's hard to be positive 100% of the time. I will echo what others have said though. You are truly an inspiration to a lot of us here. Since I've been on the boards, I have gotten a lot out of your posts and you are someone that I would say to myself "I want to be like her!" I hope your day has improved as it went on!

That's brave! I don't know if I could do it all at once. I hope you donated it to locks of love! I think you need to have 12 inches of hair to donate.

For my program we had to get a physical, meet with the dietician, meet with the psychologist, attend 6 weeks of behavioral medicine classes to show that you are working on changing the behaviors that got us to this point. The physical may show things that need adjustment. For me my vitamin D and potassium were low so I needed to get those up a bit. After the 6 weeks of classes we are required to attend monthly meetings until you get the approval. The team meets once a month to discuss potential patients. Like I said, I was lucky and went through pretty quickly.

Went to the informational meeting I think at the end of November and started my classes jan/feb. Got my call at the end of April and had surgery June 10th. I actually got through the process pretty quickly for some reason. There are people in the group I go to each month that have been waiting up to a year. Some even over a year. As mentioned above, it depends on your insurance and if the hospital has a program for you to go through.

I will be 7 weeks out this coming Monday and I wouldn't even attempt to have a slice of pizza yet for a variety of reasons. Whether or not it is normal depends on who you are talking to. What would your surgeon or NUT say about having a slice of pizza? If they are okay with it, then that is great that you are able to tolerate it. As for myself, I would be very nervous and scared that I would start to fall into the same habits that got me in this position to begin with. I personally need much more time to help ingrain more healthy habits and food choices before I would be comfortable trying some of the foods I enjoyed before.

Of course. Half of the people in the OR probably have MRSA. It's a risk we have working in the health profession. You can be around people with active MRSA all the time and not know it. Like Arts said, your latest tests have come back normal. No reason not to operate.