salsa1877

Here are my new pictures with captions!

I love my protein bars! If you want an extra chewy treat that lasts a while, store them in the fridge. That is where mine are right now. Just stay away from the fruit ones...they are NASTY. Great job on the exercise...though you are making me jealous. I so desperately want to do something. I can't lift more than 5 pounds right now so I tried to convince DH that I could do arm lifts with my 5 pound weights...He disagreed. We went to a couple of stores today and I kept making park as far back in the parking lot as possible. That way I could walk more! A year ago we would have driven around until we got just the right spot. Now I am begging to walk! We went and saw Wall-E this afternoon and if you get a chance to see it...DO! It is a great movie. Though it was a little hard for me to sit in the seats for so long. My arse is still sore from falling in the bathtub and sitting that upright really puts some pressure on the ab muscles that are really tight. I am actually feeling pretty good today. I only had one really bad lightheaded spell and that was this morning when I first got up. I feel better when I eat. I have not been keeping track of calories at all because I think it would send me into cardiac arrest if I knew how much I was eating. I am not pigging out, but the damn nuts keep calling my name. Whatever is left after tomorrow is going in the garbage. Hopefully Monday the PS will clear me to go back to 1800 calories. I did take a shower this morning and I didn't pass out so that is a good thing! DH is making fajitas for dinner tonight and after that I am going to post my most current pictures. If I don't get them on here tonight I will tomorrow. They will be posted on my blog however. It is just tough to sit in my computer chair and I dont feel like uploading these pictures on to my work laptop. Probably not a good idea! Chat later!

I am going to ask this here because Frangi still has her drain and the rest of you used to have them. My drain is really leaking around the incision site. My PS said it happens every now and then. Today we went to the store to get some more bandages and by the time we got home the pad (thanks Kat!) that I had arranged around it was full and it had leaked onto my underwear. I am most likely having it removed on Monday so I don't want to be pest and call the doctor but I was wondering if you had this problem. Sometimes I will have it just run down my leg. I am feeling much better today. No passing out in the death trap...uh...i mean shower this morning!

Janet - Only bypass patients have to take the citrate. The calcium carbonate is just fine for lap-band patients. My lap-band doc and both my crazy nutritionist and the nutritionist that runs the in person support group I went to all said that any form of calcium will work for banded patients. Bypass patients need the citrate because it can be absorbed lower in the intestine but since we don't have the malabsorptive part we are just fine. I did much better with food today. I have NO idea how many calories, but I did find a huge trigger food for me. I can't have nuts around. I don't like Peanut Butter anymore, but nuts...BAD! I am not going to take them away from myself right now and I frankly don't give a damn what I am eating right now because for the first time in days I don't feel like I am going to keel over everytime I stand up. Once Sunday is over then I am going back to 1800ish calories. DH and my doc said that if I don't have any more dizzy spells that I can start walking 1 mile per day on Sunday. I won't try to push it too hard...but I can't stand sitting on my a$$ all the time. Well I am going to try and lull myself to sleep. Doc gave me permission to take tylenol pm so that is my next order of business!

Ahhh...I did get a nap and I feel much better. As for not liking certain foods anymore. I think it is because I just didn't eat them when I was losing. I think most people still used a little oil or sugar when eating. However, I never really did. I cut out most of it. I didn't eat Peanut Butter for 7 months. When i did eat it...I just didn't like it any more. Same thing with bacon. Well we are going to try and play a game. I will try to check in later.

I am feeling much better today. I had a lot more to eat today. We had pizza for dinner. It tasted okay. one of the few junk foods that I can still tolerate. I tried bacon yesterday morning and almost hurled. I can't stand peanut butter or bacon any more. I just never had them when I was losing weight so now they just taste ucky! Wierd. No lightheadedness at all today. No shower either. I was a bit nervous about getting back in that death trap...just kidding. I did get a nap in today considering that I didn't sleep all that well last night. I am pretty freaking sick of sitting on my a$$ though!

I was able to go back to sleep for a couple hours. It helped with the swelling a bit. NO the doc didn't give me any suggestions on what to do. I tend to have trouble sleeping during the summers normally as I am usually not as busy as I am at work, but this is getting ridiculous. I am really tired..but not sleepy. I just couldn't get comfortable last night. I was too hot...too cold...too hot. Physically I couldn't get comfortable because I was too full and too swollen. I am going to try and eat some lunch and then head off to try and take another nap.

It went great. The best place to read about it all would be my blog. The address is in my signature. Today is NOT a good day!

Okay I honestly didn't think it was that harsh. Maybe it is the drugs talking. I REFUSE to condone STUPID behavior. I teach high school...I see stupid behavior EVERY FREAKIN DAY...but it doesn't mean that I am going to condone it! I am too tired to post to those sites right now. Give me a couple of weeks and LJM and I can start up our own thread "Bash Salsa and LJM for good...but not wanted advice!" Now that could be interesting!

Funny how PIG OUT takes a whole new meaning when banded!

Been up since 4AM and only slept about 1 hour before that. I couldn't fall asleep last night because I was miserably full. Then I would sleep for 20 minutes at a time. I was so exhausted after all of my activites yesterday but not sleepy. I am off all narcotic pain meds as the PS didn't want to add to any complications I am having with the whole lightheadedness issues. I am actually in more pain today than I have been since I had surgery. I have to take a shower this morning and then I am pretty much going to TRY and sleep most of the day. Usually my binder is pretty loose in the moring from the swelling going down but not today. It is still tight and figure it is because I didn't get the rest that I needed last night. Well I am going to try and catch a nap before DH gets up. Don't know if it will work, but I am going to try!

I can't even eat bacon any more. DH made some yesterday morning and since I need to eat more calories I figured bacon would up it a little. I took one bite and spit it out. It was AWFUL! I couldn't stand the texture and I felt like I had drank oil. So...bacon and peanut butter...2 things I don't like anymore! Damn I miss them! It is funny when you get to the point that you miss the thought of eating the foods but you know that eating them now is just nasty to you. VERY weird feeling. Been up since 4AM and only slept about 1 hour before that. I couldn't fall asleep last night because I was miserably full. Then I would sleep for 20 minutes at a time. I was so exhausted after all of my activites yesterday but not sleepy. I am off all narcotic pain meds as the PS didn't want to add to any complications I am having with the whole lightheadedness issues. I am actually in more pain today than I have been since I had surgery. I have to take a shower this morning and then I am pretty much going to TRY and sleep most of the day. Usually my binder is pretty loose in the moring from the swelling going down but not today. It is still tight and figure it is because I didn't get the rest that I needed last night. Well I am going to try and catch a nap before DH gets up. Don't know if it will work, but I am going to try!

Marcy - You look AMAZING! I can't believe the transformation. It certainly looks like you have transformed into a whole new person. 50 pounds is a lot of weight and right on track with what my doctor considers a success! Congrats!

Oh I feel your pain on that one. I am pretty anal about what foods I eat so I refuse to eat any crap food. That being said they wanted my weight to plateau before my TT so I kept having to up, up, up the damn calories before my half. You can eat a LOT of food for 1800 calories. Fortunately I was unfilled for most of my training but I kept losing weight. I would always eat a PowerBar right before my runs and it seemed to be alright. I think I probably should have had some sport Beans (I can't handle the gel) on my half...but alas I didn't. I am not in the weight loss mentality right now, but I am certainly in the "please don't let me gain a single ounce" mentality. Good luck in finding something that works...I certainly could use some advice for when I get back to running. I WANNA RUN!!!!!! Put...ooooohhhh...it would HURT like hell right now! Seriously never thought I would miss exercise!

I found the thread (but still not the good drugs...and yet here I am back at this site!) Damn you LJM... you made her cry! How dare you...I don't know if we can be friends any more. How dare you tell someone that a big mac is a bad food choice. How dare you try to school someone even though you have made mistakes. HOW DARE YOU! OMG grow up and put on some big girl panties! I can honestly say that I never did stray from the diet. Sorry I am a goodie two shoes! But I just don't want a pissy email or PM! Apparently we have to justify ourselves when trying to help out! I will try to post my resume...but right now my beautiful, swollen, very sore, FLAT AS A PANCAKE tummy (which I got by NOT eating big macs...oh yeah...and a great surgeon!) needs to go to bed! Hope you feel better...but your blog post led me here and then to that site...so it made my night!

Karey - One thing you might want to ask your doctor about when it comes to your revision is a reverse tummy tuck. Instead of a vertical incision it is a horizontal incsions that falls just at your bra line. Then they pull the skin UP instead of down. That is what she will be doing whenever I decide to go in and get a breast lift. She said that was the best thing to do when you have extra skin up top. The reason I had to have the vertical incision was because I had so much extra skin on the sides. Just thought I would give you that info! Thanks for all your support on my thread!

Food SUCKS. I hate eating this much. I am so full I feel like I am going to die. We bought some peanuts so that I can eat quite a few calories with little volume. Dr. suggested those because they were nutrient dense and still high in protein. I never thought that I would actually be complaining about eating. Also she said I might have to break the rules about eating and drinking together in order to get in as much as I can. I refuse to drink while eating but I have cut down the time that I wait. I now only wait 20-30 minutes. Well I just downloaded a new book on tape so I am going to transfer it to my ipod, get my meds spread on my tummy and head to bed to lay there for hours and PRAY to fall asleep by midnight. I am exhausted physically...but not sleepy. GRRRRRRR

Okay...I missed the big mac thing! But..I don't get those people either. ummm...I think it takes a major surgery to get the lap band implanted (If there is another way that wasn't painful or required anesthesia...I'm pissed and want my money back) so WHY the hell would you even put yourself in a position to eat a Big Mac!! I always get some snotty assed PM when I post on those sites and tell people to pull up their boot straps and pour their protein drink in a Martini glass and say cheers. Apparently I don't understand the struggles they are going through. Apparently I have forgoten how hard it is to be fat. Okay I just had to say that this was the funniest thread that I have read in a long time. However, I am recovering from my TT and it hurts to laugh. So next time I will take the good drugs before logging on here so that the pain doesn't set in for a couple of hours!

My plastic surgeon called me back and left a message as we were out "trying" to buy air conditioner (more on that later). She seemed as dismayed as I was and told me to call her night or day if anything happened. She agian reiterated that I need to eat, eat, eat and drink drink drink. She did give me some antibacteria cream as there was one small part of the incision that looked a little iffy. But I don't have a temp and she thinks it is more just a little irritation from the fall but didn't want to take any chances. Have I mentioned how much I love her! I do think that it could be a food issue because I don't have any issues of light headedness for 1-2 hours after eating! Okay as for "buying" the air conditioner. This will tell you how DUMB Wal-Mart employees can be and how out of it I am. We went to Wal-mart today as my plastic surgeon REALLY wanted me to get an air conditioner as she was concerned about the heat. So my brother (who owes me 4500$) said that he could give me 200$ of that money so that we could go buy one. So...I gave in and we picked one up when I bought my meds. We bought some other groceries but we obviously didn't put the air conditioner on the belt and just left it in the cart. She rang up our groceries and then hit total...she never rang up the a/c. So we got a 157$ a/c for...NOTHING! The total came to 32$ and I didn't even think anything of it. DH was loading the cart and I ran my debit card through and we left. As we were walking out the door he asked how much the a/c rang up for cause there was some confusion in the signs by the units. That was when I realized that she never scanned it. I said..."well according to my reciept it was 0.00$" I figured if she was lazy enough to not see the large a$$ box in my cart then I wasn't going to turn around and pay for the thing. So I am thoroughly enjoying my new air conditioning unit and my bank account! Probably should feel guilty but the cashier was in a bad mood and complaining about her job and how miserable she was...sooooooo I don't feel bad...just nice and cool!

My plastic surgeon called me back and left a message as we were out "trying" to buy air conditioner (more on that later). She seemed as dismayed as I was and told me to call her night or day if anything happened. She agian reiterated that I need to eat, eat, eat and drink drink drink. She did give me some antibacteria cream as there was one small part of the incision that looked a little iffy. But I don't have a temp and she thinks it is more just a little irritation from the fall but didn't want to take any chances. Have I mentioned how much I love her! I do think that it could be a food issue because I don't have any issues of light headedness for 1-2 hours after eating! Okay as for "buying" the air conditioner. This will tell you how DUMB Wal-Mart employees can be and how out of it I am. We went to Wal-mart today as my plastic surgeon REALLY wanted me to get an air conditioner as she was concerned about the heat. So my brother (who owes me 4500$) said that he could give me 200$ of that money so that we could go buy one. So...I gave in and we picked one up when I bought my meds. We bought some other groceries but we obviously didn't put the air conditioner on the belt and just left it in the cart. She rang up our groceries and then hit total...she never rang up the a/c. So we got a 157$ a/c for...NOTHING! The total came to 32$ and I didn't even think anything of it. DH was loading the cart and I ran my debit card through and we left. As we were walking out the door he asked how much the a/c rang up for cause there was some confusion in the signs by the units. That was when I realized that she never scanned it. I said..."well according to my reciept it was 0.00$" I figured if she was lazy enough to not see the large a$$ box in my cart then I wasn't going to turn around and pay for the thing. So I am thoroughly enjoying my new air conditioning unit and my bank account! Probably should feel guilty but the cashier was in a bad mood and complaining about her job and how miserable she was...sooooooo I don't feel bad...just nice and cool!

What a day. I am very tired and sorer today than I have been because we have been running around since 10:30 this morning. I went to the plastic surgeon and she checked out the scar to make sure that I didn't hurt anything during my graceful (NOT) fall yesterday. She was very concerned that I was still light headed and that my pulse was at 90. Normally it is at 60. She didn't think that it had to do with the surgery however. She said I lost VERY little blood. Her best guess was that it is a combination of the heat and low blood sugar, but she wanted me to get checked out by my primary care physician. The she removed the drain (will take pictures tomorrow) which didn't hurt too bad. I now know what it would feel like to have a moving snake under your skin though. It felt kind of weird. Then she gooped me up with neosporin and sent me on my way with the promise that I would see my other doc. Alright...back in the car and headed back to our town. Called my doctor and described my situation. When the receptionist took the info back to the doc and the nurse they said there was NO way they could fit me in today and that I was to go to Urgent Care or the ER immediately. They were not happy with the fact that my pulse was so far away from normal. So we drove to urgent care where I had the DUMBEST doctor in the world. He said that your pulse being 30 beats per minute higher was not a big deal. He said it was just a big combo of everything culminating together that caused me to faint and that he feels that anyone that faints within 20 feet of bathroom has nothing to worry about. I still don't know how that can be true...just ask my very sore heiny, shoulder and back! So he did decide to run a few tests just to rule out anything substantial. (Great I should just start a tab at the local lab...just got a pre surgery bill for 138.00$ today) They did a urine analysis to check if I was preggo (he wouldn't take my word that I couldn't be even though they did the day of surgery...go figure...this guy was a real creep) and to see if there was blood in the urine. Both came back negative (yeah...coulda told you I wasn't pregnant) Then they did an EKG which turned out perfect. Finally they were going to do some blood work to check for anemia, electrolyte imbalance and Protein levels. This is where things got FUN! I have pretty tiny veins so they had to poke me 4 times. Now I am not afraid of needles at all. The problem was the way they had me seated. My muscles were burning. I could literally see my belly swelling as I was sitting there because my PS doesn't want me in my binder except at night or if I am really sore because of the heat fact...so it was in the car. After almost 2 hours in the urgent care office...we were starving. So we finally got something to eat. I can't be below 2500 calories so I am going to have to drink some calories for the next couple of days. Well I am tired and going to go take a nap with DH! That guy is amazing!

What a day. I am very tired and sorer today than I have been because we have been running around since 10:30 this morning. I went to the plastic surgeon and she checked out the scar to make sure that I didn't hurt anything during my graceful (NOT) fall yesterday. She was very concerned that I was still light headed and that my pulse was at 90. Normally it is at 60. She didn't think that it had to do with the surgery however. She said I lost VERY little blood. Her best guess was that it is a combination of the heat and low blood sugar, but she wanted me to get checked out by my primary care physician. The she removed the drain (will take pictures tomorrow) which didn't hurt too bad. I now know what it would feel like to have a moving snake under your skin though. It felt kind of weird. Then she gooped me up with neosporin and sent me on my way with the promise that I would see my other doc. Alright...back in the car and headed back to our town. Called my doctor and described my situation. When the receptionist took the info back to the doc and the nurse they said there was NO way they could fit me in today and that I was to go to Urgent Care or the ER immediately. They were not happy with the fact that my pulse was so far away from normal. So we drove to urgent care where I had the DUMBEST doctor in the world. He said that your pulse being 30 beats per minute higher was not a big deal. He said it was just a big combo of everything culminating together that caused me to faint and that he feels that anyone that faints within 20 feet of bathroom has nothing to worry about. I still don't know how that can be true...just ask my very sore heiny, shoulder and back! So he did decide to run a few tests just to rule out anything substantial. (Great I should just start a tab at the local lab...just got a pre surgery bill for 138.00$ today) They did a urine analysis to check if I was preggo (he wouldn't take my word that I couldn't be even though they did the day of surgery...go figure...this guy was a real creep) and to see if there was blood in the urine. Both came back negative (yeah...coulda told you I wasn't pregnant) Then they did an EKG which turned out perfect. Finally they were going to do some blood work to check for anemia, electrolyte imbalance and protein levels. This is where things got FUN! I have pretty tiny veins so they had to poke me 4 times. Now I am not afraid of needles at all. The problem was the way they had me seated. My muscles were burning. I could literally see my belly swelling as I was sitting there because my PS doesn't want me in my binder except at night or if I am really sore because of the heat fact...so it was in the car. After almost 2 hours in the urgent care office...we were starving. So we finally got something to eat. I can't be below 2500 calories so I am going to have to drink some calories for the next couple of days. Well I am tired and going to go take a nap with DH! That guy is amazing!

I can't answer the question on oranges as that and rice make me stuck EVERY time. But I usually try to eat watermelon by itself as a snack or a dessert about an hour after I eat. I was afraid because it has such a high water content that it would be just like drinking. I suppose it depends on how much you can eat. I think I could eat a whole watermelon right now as I am unfilled!:redface: I think some of the others do eat their cereal with milk, but ever since surgery I can't do milk. Therefore I mix mine with dannon lite and fit yogurt. I love it. It is the staple to my meal. You can actually do it with any flavor but I am boring and just stick with vanilla. It almost tastes like dessert. In fact now that I have to eat such high calories I often mix it with the honey and almond flax crunch Kashi FOR dessert.

Oh by the way on the protein/carb thing... Yes, protein will turn to sugars through the digestion/metabolism process...but it is a VERY LONG process and most of the proteins are broken down into amino acids(building blocks of proteins) to help form DNA, enzymes, and muscle fibers in the body. Once the body has reached the level of amino acids that it needs it will then convert the excess nutrients in to sugars which are stored in the liver. Here is the thing though...it takes a LOT of energy to break down proteins and even more to convert them into sugar so your body is using more energy than it would need to break down carbohydrates. Fat is the only thing that can't be converted into sugar. That is why when you plateau on Atkins they tell you to increase your fat levels and decrease your protein levels. My opinion based on biochemistry is that proteins should be eaten with carbohydrates as it slows down the digestion process but proteins can be eaten by themselves. Hope this wasn't too technical. Please feel free to post this on the other site.

The doctor did call me back and I am going into see here in the morning. She believes that it is a combination of heat and low sugar levels. I haven't been eating much cause I haven't been hungry so everything that I have been eating has been HIGH protein. So she things that what happened is that the heat (it was 100+ here today and we dont have AC), being wrapped in the binder and the lack of carbs/sugar in my diet was a bad combo. So I am ordered to eat a VERY high calorie diet. She doesn't want me below 2500 calories for the rest of the week. I have to have a fan on me at all times and I have to put a cool cloth on my forehead and wrists every hour. right now I am out of my binder until I see her tomorrow. She is afraid that the heat is my major problem. We are going into see her tomorrow morning and she will do a reevaluation then. She said that if I pass out again or I get shortness of breath or start throwing up that I have to go to the ER immediately. We live MAYBE 2 minutes from the hospital so we are good on that front. I will keep you all up to date tomorrow. Denise - Thanks for the concern, but I actually asked my doctor if I could go to the store and walk around and she was very happy that I could get up and around. In fact she said that I could walk for 20 minutes at a time twice per day. I wouldn't slap you anyways...I know that we all care about each other here. I felt great all damn day...that was the frustrating part! I don't feel the greatest now, but I just keep drinking and eating. Yep...have to break the rules right now. Phyl - Thanks for the Target heads up. We went and got 6 boxes of cereal.