Miss Mac

Former golfer, here. You can't lift anything heavy such as toting your bag around, so just use a cart. Walking is the best exercise you can do. The biggest issue other than lifting heavy things is to make sure you feel well enough to last through the rigors of the weather and / or bright sunshine. (I am guessing that you are not golfing in Chicago or Buffalo. Hopefully you have a close enough golfing budding to get your bag in and out of the car. Stay hydrated and don't overeat at the 19th hole.

I heard this from the pulpit once: You don't have to lie; you just don't have to tell everything you know. Do you think that celebrities are obligated to answer every nosey question asked by the paparazzi? Just think of your Thanksgiving company and nosey acquaintances as paparazzi with a camera in your face, and react in the way you see fit.

I am old farm girl, so I could do better than some folks I know - so long as the disaster didn't kill all of the livestock. If there is a person stronger than me around who do the caveman thing with capturing and dressing the Protein, I could do the processing and campfire cooking. I would be hard put to eat maggots, but I can bait one on a hook and go fish. As for the Medical ID bracelet, I do have one with the cross and cadeuces on it. It is engraved with my first name and Gastric Sleeve Patient - No NG. Inside a flip latch is my other medical info and the hospital that carries my medical records, my doctor's name, my meds, my blood type and emergency contacts. I have aleady had a stroke, so in case I am unable to speak for myself again, I will at least have the ID bracelet. I guess that comes from my years in Girl Scouts and 4H. Always be prepared. It is better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

We all go with what we are comfortable with. I chose the sleeve because I did not want my plumbing re-routed or have a port in my abdomen. I also believe that by the time my grandbabies are adults the current treatments and surgeries for obesity will be obsolete. For example, in 1973 (at the age of 21) I had my gallbladder out. Back then, they still cut you half in two, and I was in the hospital eleven days. Now they do it lapascopically, and some places send you home as an outpatient. Medical science never ceases to amaze me.

It's acronym means Music TV..... On August 1. 1981, the first music video played was Video Killed the Radio Star by the Buggles. The first one I remember seeing was Paula Abdul's Cold Hearted Snake.

It just means your new tummy doesn't feel ready to tolerate that just yet, and is giving it back for re-consideration.

Geeze, I really can spell - I just can't type. I meant co-ordinator.

Hopefully you will get a quick response. Mine was approved in two days, but I had to call the insurance company to find that out. My surgeon's insurance coordinator went on a two week vacation right at that time, and the doctor's office wouldn't have known for two more weeks. The insurance company sent me a fax approving a five day stay, so I faxed that to my surgeon's nurse cordinator and she set my date right away.

10 days

174.4

Oh, I forgot to add.......Sweat is fat crying.

All of these suggestions are good and provide you with a variety of options for getting out of the rut of immobility that you are experiencing. You have to come to the conclusion that your quality of life is more important than the TV. But in the meantime, use that TV to help you get going. You can go to MTV and move to the music. Like the previous suggestions, it may be all you can do to get up and move around your room during the commercial breaks. I started with Leslie Sansones WALK YOUR BELLY FLAT dvd. I put it in my dvd player of my laptop and ran it simultaneously with what I was watching on TV. My movement was limited due to post-stroke balance issues (caused by my overweight issue. So I would stand in the frame of my walker and walk and march in place to the DVD while I watched the TV. Then I got to where I could march and walk around my room...then through the house...then outside in the backyard to music from my MP3 player. Speaking of outside: by staying in bed, you are missing out on fresh air and sunlight. The sunlight itself would brighten your spirit and raise your Vitamin D levels. Check out www. Pandora.com. It is free internet radio and you can design your own channels and music mix. You just start a station naming a few of your favorites, then Pandora generates similar music. You can give each song a thumbs up or thumbs down to tell Pandora whether or not they are getting the music mix right. You can create as many stations as you want. Then you can diddlybop to the music while you watch TV. If I am doing housework, I will crank up a TV music station that plays Classic Rock Workout with each song having at least 100 beats per minutes. How can you sit still to music like: Gonna Make You Sweat by C+C Music Factory Pump Up The Jam by Techtronic (I Got )The Power by Snap I'm Too Sexy by Right Said Fred Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson Rhythm Nation by Janet Jackson Womanizer by Britany Spears Brick House by The Commodors Another One Bites the Dust by Queen Hips Don't Lie by Shakira Or hundreds more.....When the beats stirs you up, then get up and shake that thang. Don't let you current weight make you bedfast and shut-in. I think that going into this process, I was addicted to Tv as much as I wasto unhealthy food. If nothing else, don't watch the food channels. I am rooting for you!

1. At my last pre-op meeting with my surgeon, I asked him about pain management and how he handles that shoulder gas I was hearing about. He said it comes from CO2 pumped into the abdominal cavity to expand it and allow more room to work with his surgical instruments. This is the gas that rises post-op into the shoulder area. (Personally, I don't see how Gas-X strips would help with gas that is not inside the stomach or bowels, but many swear by it). Doctor said he would extract as much as possible before closing up. For what it's worth, I did not have any shoulder post-op. 2. About the value of a notebook: good in case you just want to write something down. My best example is when I had ro go to a rehab facility after my knee replacement since I lived alone and could not take care of myself right away. The first night, my pain meds were delivered over two hours late, so I wrote that down and names of every nurse and nurse-aid who promised me I would get my meds in a few more minutes. Every time anyone came into my room for anything, I wrote down their name, what they did to me, what they said to me, and how they teated me. About midway through the second shift on the second day, a nurse came in and asked me if I was a journalist. Well, I like to write things down and was midway through writing a book about surviving domestic violence, so I said yes, I am a journalist and I am logging my experience so that I can write up an article about it later. From that point on, every med was on time and I was treated like the Queen of England! I thought is was hilarious. Since it was working, I just rolled with it. So anytime I am in the hospital, I write everything down - just in case.

Glad to hear that you are OK and hanging in there with us. Yeah, that mirror thing is a bummer. Mine is a circus mirror, too.

One day I asked my primary physician if he thought I might be a good candidate for a lap band. He gave me a referal to the Bariatric Clinic at Loyola University Medical Center. I called as soon as I got home and the nice lady told me to go to their website, watch the 30 minute presentation, take the quiz, and then call her back for an appointment if I still wanted surgery. The next afternoon I called her and made an appointment for a couple of weeks away. One thing I wanted to ask her about was this "sleeve" surgery - as I had never heard of it. When I got to my appointment they set me up with the bariatrician, psychologist, and nutritionist who started me on a three month supervised diet required by my insurance. Fast forward through those three months during which I had blood tests and the other imaging and tests required. As soon as my packet was submitted to the insurance I was approved two days later. At that point I was scheduled for sleeve surgery three weeks later, which during the last two weeks was my liquid diet. The whole process took from Mid August to late December.

Tell us about you worst stall during the past year. Please please pleeeease!

I understand the temptation. While I was still at the stage where you are, I think I missed flavors and chewing more than I missed actually having something in my stomach. This part of the process is a right of passage and will be over soon enough. Resist and resist some more. Walk away from the food if you have to. If you were to accidently swallow whole foods at this point, bits could get caught up in your staples and create a whole 'nother problem you don't want. Walk away from the pizza. Hang in there.

Here is a list of co-morbidities that you may not have thought of. The list is from www.nih.gov , the National Institute of Health which is a government affiliated entity. I also submitted a letter outlining all of my co-morbidities and how each one had a negative affect on my quality of life. Don't give up. Be a woodpecker and peck at this relentlessly until you get what you want. Obesity Comorbidities To follow is a list of comorbidities (additional conditions or diseases) related to obesity which may help you in qualifying for weight loss surgery. • Family history of heart disease • Family history of stroke • Family history of diabetes • Family history of heart attacks • Hyperinsulinemia • Diabetes • High blood pressure • Coronary-artery disease • Hypertension • Migraines or headaches directly related to obesity or cranial hypertension • Congestive heart failure • Neoplasia • Dyslipidemia • Anemia • Gallbladder disease • Osteoarthritis • Degenerative arthritis • Degenerative disc • Degenerative joint disease • Recommended joint replacement from specialist • Accelerated degenerative joint disease • Asthma • Repeated pneumonia • Repeated pleurisy • Repeated bronchitis • Lung restriction • Gastroesophageal reflex (GERD) • Excess facial & body hair (Hirsutism) • Rashes • Chronic skin infections • Excess sweating • Frequent yeast infections • Urinary stress incontinence • Menstrual irregularity • Hormonal abnormalities • Polycystic ovaries • Infertility • Carcinoma (breast, colon, uterine cancer) • sleep apnea • Pseudotumor cerebri • Depression • Psychological/sexual dysfunction • Social discrimination • Premature death in the immediate family

Put a treadmill or exercise bike in your living room and start using it pre-op. When you start your pre-op diet, you can just tell her you are tired of being overweight and have decided to be more responsible about your health and lifestyle. Then after your surgery, she will aready be used to your effortsand not be so surprised that you are losing weight. I heard this said from a pulpit a long time ago when media was hanging around because of an issue with some members. The pastor said that when the media comes around snooping for details just keep in mind that "You don't have to lie; just don't tell everything you know!"

I will be eternally grateful to RJ's Beginnings. RJ has been through more complications than all of the rest of us put together. And everytime she gets knocked down, she gets right back up. RJ, maybe your nickname should be Weeble (as in Weebles wobble, but they don't stay down). I was thinking of Madam Reverie the other day. When I first came on this site about a year ago, she was one of those always chiming in. Boy, I tell you what (or wuhhhht - as some of my people in Westport, Indiana say)if you wanted the cold hard truth, you go to Madam Reverie.

Wellbutrin did not influence my approval. As a matter of fact, my primary physician had me on Sertraline for post-stroke anxiety, and the bariatrician swtched me to a Wellbutrin generic Bupropion and then before surgery doubled the dose. I am not well-versed in the advantages or controversies of methadone, but I can tell you something I did that may have helped with my approval. I submitted a heartfelt letter about how obesity runs in my family and has had a negative impact on my quality of life. I mentioned all of my co-morbidities (I will attached a list) and how each of those have affected me. At the end of the letter I thanked the insurance company for the pre-approval and let them know that I am looking forward to the changes in my health and happiness. Just be as honest as you can, and fess up to the methadone treatment, emphasizing what your plan of action is for weaning of that medication. I don't know if the letter heled, but it didn't hurt. After my final packet was submitted, I was approved in two days. My insurance is BCBS Federal Employee, and the coverage was outstanding. Here is the list of co-morbidities from the National Institute of Health, a government agency. www.NIH.gov Obesity Comorbidities To follow is a list of comorbidities (additional conditions or diseases) related to obesity which may help you in qualifying for weight loss surgery. • Family history of heart disease • Family history of stroke • Family history of diabetes • Family history of heart attacks • Hyperinsulinemia • Diabetes • High blood pressure • Coronary-artery disease • Hypertension • Migraines or headaches directly related to obesity or cranial hypertension • Congestive heart failure • Neoplasia • Dyslipidemia • Anemia • Gallbladder disease • Osteoarthritis • Degenerative arthritis • Degenerative disc • Degenerative joint disease • Recommended joint replacement from specialist • Accelerated degenerative joint disease • Asthma • Repeated pneumonia • Repeated pleurisy • Repeated bronchitis • Lung restriction • Gastroesophageal reflex (GERD) • Excess facial & body hair (Hirsutism) • Rashes • Chronic skin infections • Excess sweating • Frequent yeast infections • Urinary stress incontinence • Menstrual irregularity • Hormonal abnormalities • Polycystic ovaries • Infertility • Carcinoma (breast, colon, uterine cancer) • sleep apnea • Pseudotumor cerebri • Depression • Psychological/sexual dysfunction • Social discrimination • Premature death in the immediate family

You can go to the top of this page and type CHAPSTICK in the search box. Then click the little down arrow for a drop down menu. Then click on Forums. Click the search magnifying glass. The search will bring up several threads on what you need for the hospital.

Baby food did not go over well here either. My significant other is an outstanding home chef, and since he is from Malta, he cooks in the Medterranean style. For my puree phase, he took what he made for his meals and put it in thhe food processor with a little broth, milk, or Water - whatever was suitable. I think my favorite was the Italian beef. He made a sandwich for himself and some pureed beef and pureed home cooked green Beans for me. He fixed a lot of stuff for me that way. He made homemade chicken Soup and took some meat and veg out and smooshed it in the processor for my meal. For the puree stage I was told that it could be real food, but had to have no chunks and be able to slide off the spoon. The consistency of baby food or cream of wheat is a good enough example.

Yep. Stalls are like lovers. Your first will probably not be your last.

Just think of it as going on strike and let him help you for a while. It might even help him bond with her even better.