dallasdoll

after surgery, were you given a little plastic device with a ball in it.. and told to exhale into it and blow the ball up? every hour? During surgery, sometimes the lungs can be affected by the ventilator and will deflate or in rare cases can be overfilled... usually these problems are more common with long lasting surgeries. After major surgeries, patients are told to practice with the little device so that your lungs re-inflate with air. You are exhaling out as hard as you can, but slowly, so that when you breathe in it fills up the air cells in your lungs (alveoli) and your lungs regain their full capacity... and your lung elasticity is regained in parts that werent filling... gotta pump the lung muscle. so.. if you dont have the device, i guess you could do it on your own.. blow out as long as you can.. and then even a little more after that until you feel like there is nothing in there... a few times over the day... each time you do it will help to reinflate the babies and fix your gas exchange. this should help ya i would think. (i know this because when i had major open surgery in my abdomen i went through the same thing). i mean it couldnt hurt right?

i have polycystic ovarian syndrome.. lovely but means i have funky hair on my cheeks.. like long sideburns.. and it grows on my chin too.. i have been having laser treatments for a long time actually... it hurts at first because you dont know what to expect.. then you really get used to it.. and think of the smoothness for the next 6 weeks. they say it is permanent hair loss.. but what they dont tell you is that you will always have new follicles forming.. so they may zap the hell out of the 10 you have but there are 10 more waiting in the wings to start to grow... and if your hormones change, like mine do, there will always be more to combat. i use EMLA cream... you put it on your face and it numbs the hell out of you... actually.. i have only used it a few times.. kinda a pain in the ass and if you have anywhere to go after the laser it is odd if you cant feel your face! as the treatments progress, they will turn up the voltage on the laser to really burn the follicle... it hurts... feels like a rubber band snapping on your face.. but it is fast. one word of advice.. try not to chat it up with your laser lady while she is doing it... mine stops paying attention and she applied the laser, at a high voltage, to a portion of my neck never lasered.. i was left with a burn that hurt like hell for a few days and was red. what else.. its great.. plucking leaves pimples in a few days or bloody spots... waxing does that too.. not so with the laser.. plus you dont have to worry if you got it all... the laser gets it. i actually go to renaissance hair removal.. they have a package discount. i paid 800 bux for like 12 treatments...this was a year ago so i dont knwo if they still have that deal.. and at one or 200 bux a pop, that was a GREAT discount. (plus they do botox there... ok i am a bit vain) i have gotten laser removal since they first started doing it.. years ago.. the machines have improved so much and the latest laser has a COOL TIP on it that minimizes the pain.. you only feel the cold mostly... ok half... ok 25% cool and 75% pain.. but whatever... make sure you ask them if it has the cold tip!! it helps. i remember back in the day, my derm had one of the first ones.. it had a vacuum hose and a male assistant sent by the manufacturer standing over me sucking up the burnt hair smell and whatever else... they dont have that anymore i dont think!! haha.. it was wierd thats my shpiel!

no chance. the heart is surrounded by a cool sac which keeps it from touching any organs. it forms a pouch that the heart sits in.. very cool to look at actually.. the heart is also located in the chest cavity, which is closed off from the abdominal cavity by the diaphragm... the only thing passing through there is the esophagus. the diaphragm is the big muscle that allows you to inspire air... its pretty big and dome shaped and is like a 50 yard line... separating the lungs and heart from the yucky innerds below. also.. the liver cutting isnt all that horrible.. portions of the liver are known to regenerate (strange but true)... so i wouldnt worry about that... plenty of liver lobes left! people can survive with half a liver.. or one lobe donated from somebody else... its better to have the necrosed piece removed. thats the extent of my anatomical knowledge... i took gross anatomy and was a tutor in my second year of school... hope that helps

Thanks!! I love this board. I am getting nervous! But so excited!! Summer is coming and I have a cute bathing suit that I will be sporting in Puerta Vallarta in June... Hopefully there will be LESS of me to fill it out!! thanks all!

Hi everyone... I suppose I will introduce myself. I am 28 and my surgery is scheduled for next Friday, April 15th. I start my liquid diet tomorrow... bummed out about that one.. but I will suffer through it. I have finally decided to take charge here.. My 29th birthday is next month, and I am giving myself this birthday gift that will last a lifetime.. i hope. I am 5 foot 2 and weigh in at a staggering 224 pounds... My goal weight is 130.. My doc is Dr. Barker from Mesquite, TX... sooo nice.. i almost choked on air when he said, "I think we will stop when you get to 130"... just the thought that 130 is a stopping point... that 130 is even attainable.. wow. I also have 49% body fat... O M G.... just a chub on 2 legs currently... yikes Currently, I have no other comorbidity problems... and that is a blessing. But, before I get some, I am having the procedure. I am nervous and excited at the same time. I wonder how long it will take to lose 95 pounds? anyway.. just wanted to say hi and I will be around more!! I need some moral support and I think I found the right place!! See you soon! My new exercise regimen begins too... dont laugh but it consists of Dance Dance Revolution on Playstation 2.. you would be surprised how much FUN it is to exercise with that thing.. it even counts your calories! I am just an old child i guess. Anybody have any suggestions for my week of liquids?

just my 2 cents... Dr. Barker's Lap Band costs a total of $10,100 including an overnight stay in the hospital in Mesquite. Then each fill is $100. Pretty darn good. Part of the reason I picked him. I am paying out of pocket for the whole shebang... and his price was to die for.

Hi Tammy! My doc is Wade Barker in Mesquite. He is very nice and we chatted it up a bit.. we have some things in common and that made my experience easier with him He didnt really direct me to anything in particular. What exactly is Myocel? is it a powder or what? is it at GNC? I have been reading all these sites on obesityhelp about people with the AGB... I am wondering if anybody actually gets to the goal weight after this surgery? Dr. Barker seemed unphased and like I was totally going to be 130 pounds... but now i wonder. The gastric bypass people seem to lose tons of weight, and I know that they lose it faster and 5 years out the AGB folks are comparable... but... do people really lose all their weight with the lap band or just around 60% excess weight?? just curious... i really want to reach 130 pounds but i am afraid of being stuck at 156... i got that figure off of the graph dealie on that website.. anybody have any ideas?

ok... its official.. im freaked. my surgery is scheduled for next friday.... i am officially on a liquid diet and i have already cheated by having a sandwich... i wasnt really doing the liquid diet right anyway... im sorry but tomato Soup and a pudding just wasnt doing it... i caved.. i cant even make it through DAY 1 of the pre op diet... now i am wondering if i can do this!! clearly i have a problem with self control here. it also doesnt help that my parents call me every day with the same questions... "are you nerrrrrrrrrvous? are you excited? are you scared? are you sure?" AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!! the more they ask the more i freak out. my friends are all behind me and my folks are too.. they are coming with me to the surgery and my mom wants to spend the night in the hospital with me...support is good... My mom wants the surgery done too but is waiting to see my results. I am her guinea pig of sorts. sigh... it is 2:30 AM and i am clearly in panic mode. i am also nervous about the end of this deal.. when i am close to goal weight at 130. see.. to be honest, i have already had extensive plastic surgery PRE lap band. I have had a tummy tuck (and my tummy is flat as a pancake currently) and I had my boobs done.. I had the lift and they are like something out of playboy... and i LOVE it... (ok i had my nose and some lipo done too but dont tell anybody)... anyway... i am worried that after I lose the 94 pounds that my chest will sag again... i dont think i will need another tummy tuck because there is nothing that is hanging right now... (note.. when you gain weight after a tummy tuck it goes to your BUTT and inner thighs!) but I dont want to do the breasts again! although it did not hurt a bit.. surprisingly. I just want to get to a happy place where I look like an average jane in a crowd, not fat nor skinny...ok maybe closer to skinny... and dont have to fixate on food or where can i get food or i ate too much food or food food food food.... i just want to have a normal life with other distractions... HELP gawd... somebody send me some positive vibes or something.

Congratulations! I am excited for you... glad to hear you are doing alright. You seem to be up and at 'em already!! Way to go.

WHAT? i had no nose tubie things... that sounds aweful! ewewew wow you are 22!! congrats on getting this early. maybe we can finally enjoy our twenties the way they were meant to be! yippee!!

well... my doctor never said anything specifically about the liquid diet or how long i should do it. this has all happened so fast.. i went in for my consult and since i am a cash payer we scheduled surgery as soon as he had an opening for me... so we talked about a million things and the exact diet never came up... in the hospital paperwork, it said liquid diet 3 days. in the doctor paperwork, it says liquid diet 7 days but doesnt say what that means. he gave me a grocery list of things to have on hand after surgery, so i am just assuming it is that stuff.... its just not really clear. believe me, i would rather be doing 3 days.... i read online somewhere that it should be just 1 day... but i figure i will do the week like his paperwork says.... so far today is better... after being up most of the night, i slept most of the day.. and have had 1 advantage edge drink and 1 pudding cup. my panic has turned into fear and that has made me not hungry. well.. thats one way to fix my control problem!

i think i am late joining this topic and i also posted elsewhere.. but just in case.. My surgery is April 15th in Mesquite with Dr. Wade Barker. He is really nice and i tend to flirt with him... is that bad? I have no idea if he is single or not.. but... he is in my age range and he is a surgeon after all... this could work out in more ways than one.. if you know what i mean!! haha anyway... i am in for April!

I am a performer... I did like the test on spotting fake smiles.. i got 18/20!! that was fun.

Some of my best friends live in Orange... and like 3 generations of all their families... anyway.. hope your liquids go down easier... Good luck and I will be watching for your results!