salsa1877

Hi!!! I have been MIA for a while as I have had some major problems with medication, but I am back on track...though I found a few of my lost pounds. However they are coming back of. I just quickly wanted to tell Frangi that you might want to consult a naturopathic doctor about honey. It sounds weird but my mom had a HUGE gaping would that would not close after surgery. After 3 months of a wound vac and weeks in and out of the hospital she finally had a doc stop by who was substituting for her regular doc that practiced naturopathy. He had her fill the wound with honey (yep the one that comes out of the bottle looking like a bear) and within 3 days the wound was healed. I would not suggest trying this without seeing an actual doctor however as all wounds are different, but if there is a naturopath around it might be worth talking to them about and having them decide if it could be worth a shot. Okay...waaaaaaay behind at work so I will check back later. Karri

Thanks...I need the encouragement. My legs and hips were a bit sore this morning when I woke up...but in a good way. Probably going to do a very similar routine tonight. DH will be going with me to the gym tonight so I can stretch out my workout and go longer if I need to. I will get to the full 800 tonight! Phyl I will be looking for the wave...though it could be a bit difficult to see through the mountains. I have been eating some of the lean cuisines as well, but like Janet I would much prefer home cooked food. It is just with the hectic nature of my 2 jobs and MIL being ill I haven't had the time or the energy to cook. I am hoping to do some cooking on Saturday but I might just want to be lazy and not do anything so we will have to see. Well half of my digital thermometers are dead and not making my life easy so I have to run to the store during my prep and get some batteries. That should cost a pretty penny and because I don't have a week's notice to fill out a purchase order I will be eating this cost. Oh well...at least the lab will work then!

I was actually at the gym for 2:13 minutes. I burned 750 calories and I would have gotten those last 50 if I hadn't told DH that I PROMISED to be home no later than 5:15. It felt great! And while today is NOT an official weigh in day...the scale is moving rather quickly in the opposite direction. PHEW! This weekend should be interesting. I have a fill on Friday (driving to WA and back in the same day...12 hours round trip!), Saturday we are lounging around the house and I am going to go jog/walk for a bit to get ready for the race the next day, and then Sunday I have a 10K (6.22 mile) run. All of this while being on liquids. Should be an intereting run. All I know is that I am going to have to run like the wind because I need to get home in time for football!!! Got to get to work....running behind!

His mom is 75 I think. She was 40 when she had him so she was an "older" parent...though I don't think 40 is old...just older for having kids. She had her colon and half her intestines removed because they were decaying inside her and sending bacteria spreading throughout her body. I guess he isn't going in today because she is pretty much completely sedated. Well I am off to the gym. I need to burn 800 calories...I figure that should be about 2 hours but I am going to use all the cardio machines so that I don't get too bored! Later, Karri

Thanks for all the well wish I will make sure to pass them on to Lee (my DH). He is not an emotional guy but I could tell that it was bothering him last night. He is just concerned that his mom would not have wanted to surgery. But she has 2 kids that are very close to her that have power of attorney so they went ahead with the surgery. He is going to back to the hospital today. So I am STARVING! However I managed to substitute other food for my regularly scheduled program so I will still be within calories. It has been almost 6 months since I have had to be under 1000 calories so it is taking some getting used to. Not to mention that I am completely unfilled so this is taking some major will power. It is good for me though. My head is quickly starting to get back in the game. Okay now for a funny story. We got to bed REALLY late and the stupid street sweeper woke me up at 4AM so I didn't get a whole lot of sleep. Well I was trying to get dressed without turning on the light. I grabbed my shoes, put them on and headed out the door. In the middle of 1st period I realized that I had on 1 black shoe and 1 navy blue shoe!!!! How embarrasing. So now I have my gym shoes on with blue dress pants! I am the queen of style today!

Gosh darnit you all need to stop talking about elephant ears and cinnamon rolls. I just got back on this bandwagon!! I did really well with food today. And the funny thing...I had WAY less calories today then I have the last several weeks and I actually had WAY more energy. Go figure! This was my food run down for the day. Breakfast - Sandwich with lunch meat and FF cheese on Sara Lee Low cal bread (165 calories) Snack - 1 package beef jerky (120) Lunch - Swedish Meatballs (310 calories) Snack - 1 package beef jerky (110 calories) Dinner - Parmesan chicken and salad (305 calories) Total 1010 Now I am 10 calories over what I would have like to be, but I am not freaking out about it! That is the new me I guess...or the part of me that still doesn't care! Well despite my efforts to get to the gym tonight it is not going to happen. MIL is in CCU right now and not expected to make it past tonight. They are going in and removing her colon in an attempt to slow down the bacterial infection that is killing her. They figure if she makes it through surgery that she could potentially survive. Without the surgery they gave her a 5% chance, with the surgery we are up to a 40% chance. Not good odds either way. But I told hubby that I would go sit with him at the hospital so that he doesn't have to be there with his brother that he doesn't really like. I will however be back at the gym tomorrow. It isn't too bad since Mondays are typically my day off anyways.

Thanks for the welcome back. It is nice to be back. As for the spinach, it was raw and apparently I didn't chew one whole piece. It managed to slide down with ease...just didn't want to come back up. It really was awful. I guess that is the downside to having been so loose this whole time. I never really learned to chew very well. I do have my determination back...and I am going to need it today. Mondays are the days that I teach my college class so my days are 14 hours long and that doesn't even count going to the gym. Normally I take Mondays off but I will be going to the gym everyday until I get these extra pounds off. My workout tonight will not be as grand as the other days, but I want to make sure that I am doing something. As for changing my ticker...that was really hard to do. But I also changed it to reflect my new goal. Fortunately all my clothes still fit so it isn't as disasterous as it could have been. Well best get my behind in gear. Only good thing about not being on the boards all the time was that I got a lot of school work done! But I really did miss you all!

Nope it wouldn't come up. They figured that it was laying flat over the stoma. It took them to unfill me and have me drink barium before it would go down. Make sure you chew spinach very carefully!

okay...I am back...for good now. Here is what has been going on in my world! 1. Weight...As you can see from my ticker it is up....WAY up. I have had some major issues with medications, being sick, and just making poor choices due to some major stress at work and with my band. But things have been back on track for the last few days and I am feeling better. 2. My band - I got spinach WAAAAAY stuck the other day and ended up going in for a complete unfill. I slimed all the way to Washington last weekend. I slimed for a total of 14 hours before I finally got the unfil. It was AWFUL. So the totally unfilled me which turned out to be horrific on the weight front! I was totally upset with everything that had happened. Then add to that that I got back home after sliming all day and nly got about 2 hours of sleep before I had to be at work. As a result I haven't watched anything that has gone in my mouth. I have just eaten what I can get at school and that is NOT been a good thing. I am going in on Friday to get another fill. When I met with my doc that evening he told me not to worry about the weight. I needed to get my head on straight and when I come back to get the fill it will be like starting over. I am going to start the "starting over" process a little early. I finally feel like I am back in charge of my life. 3. Meds - I am off of them. TOTALLY and I refuse to ever go back on them. The first one made me pass out, the second one made me feel like a drug addict, and the last one made me feel like I didn't give a crap about anything. So I stopped taking them all together. We got a substantial raise at work this year and with DH working it will allow me to go to a therapist. I already have an appt scheduled for Wednesday. I am hoping she can help me deal with the obsessive feelings that I am sure to have when the meds wear off. Right now I really need those feelings to come back with a vengence! 4. Work. My kids are great but the teacher that I am working with is a total A$$. He does nothing and we have already had to have a meeting with my asst. principal because he won't do anything. There is a constant flow of kids from his into mine and my numbers are crazy. For one period I have to meet in a different room because my room just isn't big enough. The kids are well behaved though because they know the alternative is to go back to him. I guess in that case it is good. 4. Family - My DH's mom is very ill and is not expected to make it for more than a week. This is her 3rd time in ICU in less than 2 months. 5. Running - I have my first race next week. I have been running consistently and not doing to bad. I know my real personality is coming back because I am getting mad that I am not at the same level as I was before surgery. I want to be able to run as fast and as far as I did before...and of course that is not possible. I was running and lifting weights for the last couple of weeks but I decided that I could not handle be "sub-par" at both so I backed off the weights until I can get my running back to where I want it to be. Then I will ad the weights. I figured that was the best thing to do for my mental state! All in all it sounds like my life is miserable right now, and for the last few weeks it has been. But I feel it turning around and I have a much better attitude and outlook. The beauty of the band is that you can always have a fresh start. I look forward to being back on the boards. Not that I ever stopped caring about any of you, but I just didn't care about anyone or anything really. I had 11 voice mails that I never listened to on my phone...cause I didn't care. It was a HORRIBLE feeling. Well I have to finish my power point for tomorrow's class...but I wanted to check back in and let you know I am still alive and ready to get rid of these 11 pounds that I seemed to find!

So as if the whole world did not already know, my surgery is set for July 3 at 7:30AM. I will have to be to the surgery center at 6:30. To the dismay of many around here, this will be an outpatient surgery and is scheduled to last 6 hours. Here is what the doc said yesterday. 1. I will have 2, (possibly 3) incisions. One that runs hip to hip (about 3/4 of the way back on the hip), 1 that runs vertically from groin to breast bone, and then possibly one that is horizontal just underneath the bra line. She won't know until she sees how much puckering there will be at the top. I really don't give a CRAP about scarring. I just want to see my belly button!:sneaky: 2. She has no idea how much muscle repair I will need. She said she wouldn't know until she gets in there. 3. She may or may not move my port. It depends on how much of a fat pad there is between my port and the muscle. If there is not a lot, she will leave it. If there is a fair amount, then she will unstitch the port, remove the fat, and resecure the port to my muscle. Lovely...port pain again! :thumbup: She will not be changing the location of the port and has the complete support of my lap-band surgeon. 4. She will lipo the mons area and lift as well. This is being thrown in as a bonus. She said she is not going to charge me for the lipoing of the mons area because she didn't originally think I would need it, but now she thinks it would be better. She said it is not enough to justify recalculating the fees. 5. I will be receiving a pain pump that will last for 48 hours. She gave me the option of showing me how to remove it myself (WTH!):rolleyes2: or to move up my post-op and come in on Monday and have her remove it. I opted for the second! I am not a biologist/doctor...that is what I pay them the big bucks for! 6. She is so excited that I am running the half-marathon before surgery because it will cause great circulation and put me in the best shape of my life. She was not concerned about the weightloss because of my muscle tone. She didn't want to see me losing a lot of weight just due to low calories and poor nutrition which can be a problem for healing. But after seeing the muscle tone in my arms and legs she is EXTREMELY confident in my ability to heal quickly. They took a bunch of pictures and I got my prescriptions for surgery. They are all liquid as this was the only thing that my lap-band surgeon suggested. I did not want to get a pill stuck and be throwing up! So I will just gag from the flavor instead.:tongue2: Liquid pain meds and liquid antibiotics. Sounds like a party. I can sit in my recliner like chair with a straw and party umbrella in my medical cocktail and feel like I am sitting on the beach...with my new "bikini body"!:rolleyes2: And now...what everyone has been waiting for... the pictures...as hideous as they may be! I know a lot of people like to see before and after pictures and I will be posting a lot. There are not a lot of people that have the vertical incision and it has been very difficult for me to find before and afters so I am going to do the best I can to provide this information for other's searching.

Round 2....HELL no!!! I struggled with weight issues during surgery because of medications that I was on. Besides I have a lot of money to pay back so it is going to be a while! I am back and school and much happier to be back on a schedule. It makes food issues much easier to deal with. Thank you for the compliment. Nope...insurance didn't cover a thing. That is why I am working 2 jobs and picking up all the extra duties I can at work. But I wouldn't trade it for anything. I feel great!

Okay...I deseperately need to get back on track. So I am starting a new thread here to start logging my exercise again. You do not need to be a Crazy Ate to join. Just list your goals for this month or longer (in my case!) and check in here to be accountable. As some of you can see...my ticker has changed...and not in a good way. I have to get it back down to where it is now.

Nana, I have heard that heartburn after a fill can actually be a sign of being to tight. I would definetly call the doctor!

Okay I wanted to let you all know that I am still alive. Just trying to keep my head above water. Life should get easier when the kids come back. I know...sounds backwards!

Sorry I have been MIA. Work is crazy. This is by far the worst week of the entire year. I know it doesn't always sound like it when I am complaining about my job midyear, but I seriously HATE this week. I feel like I am working with 2 year olds instead of adults. Pretty certain that my high schoolers act more responsible and mature than any of these so called adults that are here this week. Yesterday I worked a 15 hour day because we were in meetings trying to get standards figured out for science. Now mind you, mine have been done since the end of last year. But the biology teachers are bickering over how many of the chemistry standards should be included in their class. So my asst. principal asked me to sit in on their meeting to help out and be a voice of reason and logic. Well...you can't reason with unreasonable people. It all has to be one way or the other. So after sitting in this meeting which was probably as heated as any debate you will see in politics we got NOWHERE. We are in the exact same position that we were at the beginning of the meeting. 3 teachers vs 1. But the one is the most senior teacher and the one that our principal is more likely to listen to. That is good most of the time, but in this case she is wrong. So there is a final meeting today and a consensus will be reached even if it is mandated by the administration. As for the food issues. Mine are getting better. There is still a little of the lingering effect from the effexor but I am doing better. Not great because my days have been so sporadic, but I am slowly losing the extra pounds I put on. I will have to go back and read what everyone has written, but I may be quiet for a bit as I try to not drowned in all this work.

Please pass on my best wishes to Frangi as well. Karey - I had minimal muscle repair and had almost NO pain. My PS said the pain from the TT is mostly caused from muscle repair. She said with out the MR a TT is one of the least painful surgeries and I would agree. My lapband surgery was much more painful than my TT.

Just my opinion but I think the reason you may want to be eating all day is because your body is actually hungry. That is VERY little food. Also, it is probably the bread products that are causing issues. Okay food cop coming out here. I haven't been on the prowl lately because, well frankly my food choices have sucked. But you are NOT getting enough protein. Yes the Kashi has protein and the bacon:confused2: but otherwise I think you are lacking. Are you having a hard time getting them down? I will tell you that it is CRITICAL to get more protein in as you get closer to goal. Okay off my high horse. Have fun with your little one tomorrow!

Well I was at training all day. Okay, I am supposed to be working with a bunch of highly intelligent adults that are specifically charged with educating our youth. So tell me WHY they would ask these questions during our training on the new phone system. Q. It says to answer the phone that you can press the speaker button. What if I don't want everyone to hear my conversation. A. Uhhhhhh...pick up the phone receiver. WHAT AN IDIOT!!!! Q. SInce our laptops internet connection plugs into our phone does that mean that we still have to charge them with the plug in. A. Yes. The phone line does not charge your lap top. That requires electricity. WHAT AN IDIOT! Okay what makes this worse is that it was asked by 2 fellow science teachers. No wonder our country scores so poorly on science testing. Yes...expect to get these little quips all stinking week. Y'all didn't know me during the first week of school last year! THough this year is turning out to be more entertaining...if you consider working with total morons entertaining.

Can someone please explain the point of a 2.5 hour presentation on Sexual Harrassment Prevention?????

Good luck Frangi! Hope to see your "smiling" posts back soon. I swear everytime I read your posts I just picture you smiling. Don't know why, but I do!

I am feeling much better today. No cold sweats and withdrawls from no sugar, but yesterday was NOT a good day. I took my zoloft and the meclinzine that is used to counteract the nausea on Friday night and frankly...I don't remember yesterday. I slept the entire day. I was up for a total of 3 hours. I wasn't up enough to cave in during the sugar cravings. As for the run...I haven't gotten to go. Yesterday I slept all day and today we have been out running errands and finishing things up in my classroom all day. I have been up since 8AM and am just now getting home! As you can tell...I didn't take the nausea med last night. I seem to be okay today though. Tomorrow I start training for my half marathon so I will be back on a regular schedule. DH told me tonight that he wanted to join the gym. I am still picking my jaw up off the ground! We will see if he still feels the same way when I go back to the gym Sept 3! Well I need to take a shower and figure out what I am going to wear tomorrow. It is our first day back and we have to sit through 2 FULL days of districtwide inservice. I want to know what administrator thinks...YES this year they will LOVE LOVE LOVE the HOURS and HOURS of meetings that we make them sit throught. This year they will be meaningful and productive. Well this is my 5th year in education and I haven't found ANY of these meetings productive. UGH...oh well. I will survive.

BBK...my doctor was actually happy to see that I had gained a couple of pounds. She was sorry that my medicine made me a raving lunatic that craved sugar like a cocaine addict. I was NOT happy to see a weight gain. I think you look gorgeous. Now if I could see bones sticking out of everywhere including your ears....I would say too thin. But you look radiant. I think they are jealous!

No problem about the question. I am actually not on it for depression but rather for anxiety which is weight related. I have obsessive compulsive personality disorder (not OCD but sort of related) and I was obsessively counting calories and freaking out over any weight gain. I had lost 100 pounds and had a total melt down (if you go to my blog and go to older posts...i think in early June...you can read what happened). Anyways my PCP thinks it is a chemical imbalance and wants to keep me on them. The anxiety and obsessive behavior was greatly interferring with my life. I was constantly hyperventilating and throwing turkey sausages across my kitchen. As for the depression...mine is pretty much gone. However I haven't felt the same since I had my TT and have been unable to exercise. But that should all change tonight when I have been given the clearance to return to full exercise with NO limitations. That is right i can do ANYTHING. :eek: So you are very much correct that exercise can help with depression but unfortunately for me it didn't help with the anxiety. I wish you the best of luck with your band. I was banded in August 2007 but was lovingly adopted by the lucky#7's. They have been there for me every step of the way...through the good, the bad and the UGLY! This has been an amazing journey for me, which is why I freaked out about the cravings!

Just got back from the doctor. She is putting me on Zoloft (very low dose) and gave me medicine to counteract the nausea and dizziness that will come from going off the Effexor. Fortunately I don't have kids next week and just have to sit through pointless meetings so hopefully I will be over everything in a short time. She said the cravings should be gone within a week. The last time I was on Zoloft I didn't want to eat for about 2 weeks so hopefully that will be the case now!! I did get permission to start running today so I will be off for a run this evening. Janet - Huge hugs. I hope that everything goes alright for you and Andrew. I will be thinking about the both of you.

Don't be too scared. It really isn't as bad as it seems. I was completely unfilled for 3 months before my TT and I still managed to lose 15 pounds during that time. You have come so far so you learn to take this one day at a time, just like you have done before. It just isn't fair that you have had to go through so much. I want to scream for you. Right now I am going through some rough medical problems with my medications but I feel lucky to not be in your shoes. You have my highest admiration and total support. You are well loved on this board and we won't let being unfilled derail you. You HAD to have learned better eating habits to get where you are... so I don't think it is as scary as if you were unfilled shortly after starting this journey. I will agree that it definetly is a mental challenge (especially after all you have been through), but now is the time to let that strong, beautiful woman shine!