secretstolen

Hey Boo Boo Kitty! I think the pin-up girl photos are an awesome idea! I have a photographer friend who has taken pictures of me before who's been talking about doing some Bettie Page-ish photos this summer. It's so much fun. I'm waiting until I'm at least down 40 pounds before I do it, so I can understand why you're waiting until after your PS stuff. I thought maybe you would be interested in this photographer, Anne Ruthmann. I'm a fan of her work and I read her blog, ANNE RUTHMANN PHOTOGRAPHY, all the time to see what new engagements/weddings/etc. she's been photographing. She works frequently in Michigan, which I thought would be convenient for you! Check out these photos she's done.. Pin-up girl style: ANNE RUTHMANN PHOTOGRAPHY: Krystal: Pin-Up Girl And for the girls who were into the boudoir shots, check out her variation on them: ANNE RUTHMANN PHOTOGRAPHY: boudoir I love her work. Her prices seem very fair, too.

I was just banded and I have no restriction currently. I get little pangs of hunger from time to time, but that's usually a sign to have a Protein shake and then I'm good. I've been tempted to drink/eat things that I'm not supposed to what with Christmas and all the goodies this time of year, but what's kept me from doing it is the reality that now it's not as simple as saying, "Oh, I messed up today. I can be good tomorrow." There's a real health risk involved if I mess up and sabotage the band. Even though I probably could eat a cookie, the reason why I won't touch one is because the risks of that cookie coming back to haunt me later are greater than ever before. *LOL* (And even if having one cookie wouldn't hurt me, don't tell me that. I'm happy and content believing that it would be my downfall. Haha!) Plus, I have this irrational fear of being scolded and shamed by the surgeon and his staff for not following their instructions.

Hey there! I had a horrible headache on my pre-op diet, too. I decided to go cold turkey on coffee which is what set off the headache. After 2 days of fighting it, I fixed myself a small cup of coffee with a little bit of cream and sugar and sipped it for a few minutes. The headache went away. I didn't have to drink coffee for the remainder of my pre-op liquid diet, either. I also used to suffer from migraines.. at least one a week or one every 2 weeks. I was banded on 12/13 and in the 2 weeks since then, I haven't had a headache/migraine at all. I'm thinking maybe they were triggered by my daily caffeine/carbonated beverage intake. Good luck to you tomorrow!

Oh, I love the squeezed lemon. I actually found this great recipe online somewhere for roasted cauliflower topped with squeezed lemon and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. It tastes so good! As for pasta, I'm praying that I'll be one of few who can tolerate pasta once I'm back to eating solids in about a month. We'll see. I don't want to down a whole plate, but just a taste or two would be fantastic. Only time will tell!

I'm with you on the Sandra Lee thing. I'm not buyin' it. Plus, the fact that her kitchen changes colors every episode is fine - but that she has a matching KitchenAid Artisan mixer for every kitchen color scheme irks me. I've wanted a pistachio one for about 2 years now and every time I get the money together to buy one, something happens and that spending money turns into emergency money. I have mixer envy. As for the brownies for the troops, I would gladly whip up a couple hundred batches of them.. especially for some Marines in digital cammies. I'm a Marine Brat, so I'm partial to Jarheads. And whipped cream? That made me giggle.

I had 3 things make me do it. -In May, one of my great aunts died and when I went to the funeral, another great aunt was so morbidly obese that she was riding on a motorized chair and she had a tank of oxygen with her that she couldn't breathe without. She had developed diabetes in the last couple of years. All I could think was, I don't ever want to get to that. -In July, I started becoming envious of my best friend (not in a mean-spirited way) because she could wear the clothes I could only dream of wearing. I wished I could rock the Famous Stars and Straps tees and the cute tank tops, but I knew they wouldn't be flattering on me. She was always so supportive of me pursuing the lap-band, so her support was a big factor as well. -Sometime around the spring, I came across a show on TLC or A&E where they profiled individuals who were so morbidly obese that they were unable to leave their homes and care for themselves. The one story that really scared me was this man who laid in bed all day it seemed and his family would come over to cook for him, and they said they couldn't cook healthy and reasonable portions because he would refuse to eat it and then just order take-out from his room. It was just eye-opening. Those were it for me.

Congrats on your band! I'm so excited for you! How are you doing a week out?

Hey, just a question for you guys about drinking.. I was banded on 12/13 and for the first couple of days I was taking small sips of fluids, but now, I feel as though I could take bigger, large gulps. I haven't because I'm afraid that this will ruin the pouch/band. However, is it normal that I'm not having difficulties drinking more than itty bitty sips? It's just one of those things that I'm contemplating.

Hey, no problem! That's what we're all here for. That's a very good point your mom makes. Like you, I'd be hurt if my friend didn't tell me he was having surgery. Maybe, in that case, it would be a good idea to just let him know. If he's anything like my friend - the type who doesn't sugar-coat anything and he's brutally honest - I'd tell him, "I am merely sharing this with you out of respect for our friendship, but I am not looking for you to persuade me out of it or address it as if it's a problem I need a solution for." My friend would probably go, "Okay, gotcha." And that'd be the end of it. So in that case, yeah, I think it's good that you feel comfortable enough to share it with him. Hmm.. I feel pretty good! I won't lie - the day of surgery and up until about Sunday afternoon I felt like I had been hit by a truck. I've never had any health problems or any surgery before, so the whole experience totally drained me. For most of the week, I've felt pretty good. Still, I can understand why the doctors suggest that you take time off. I've taken short naps for most of the week. Tonight I met up with my best friend to go shopping and it was the first time she'd seen me since the day before surgery and first thing out of her mouth was, "You can already tell you're losing!" The day of surgery I was 246 and today I weighed in at 238 or 239.. so I think I'm doing pretty well. No cravings, no hunger. In fact, I'm having to force myself to drink the protein shakes and sip on soups and broths because if I didn't, I'd spend the whole day sipping water and diluted juices and not think twice. *lol* As for the cousin's girlfriend.. I hate to say it, but she's a really hateful person and it didn't surprise me that she ran her mouth. However, she's been doing things like that to family members for years and no one's ever stood up and told her to knock it off. That's why I pursued reporting it, and of course, I got backlash from her, her boyfriend, and even some other family members because they felt I was stirring up trouble, but I felt it was the right thing to do. Even now, I'm glad I did it. So your surgery's on 1/7? Are you getting excited? Have you started your pre-op diet yet?

That's awful that that happened to you. The sad thing is that situations like that make us not want to share our personal experiences with WLS, and I'd like to think that by talking about it, it helps dismiss the stigma associated with it. Plus, you never know who else could be quietly wondering about it themselves and could consider your experience the inspiration to pursue it on their own, y'know? It sucks when closed-minded and judgmental people have to open their mouths and be mean.

When I was going through the pre-op stuff in October, I sat down with my closest friends (who are mostly co-workers) and told them about my decision. Everyone was pretty supportive. I hadn't planned on telling my boss, but when my surgeon wouldn't bend on wanting me to take 2 weeks off, I had to discuss being off with her and when I danced around disclosing what for, she shared with me that she had had liposuction a couple years before and I felt comfortable enough to tell her. She was very sweet about it, even asking me to have a family member call me after my surgery to let her know that I was alright. I also hadn't planned on telling family outside of my mom and my younger brother, but that plan went downhill when one of my mom's cousins' girlfriend came across my paperwork at her job working for my surgeon's billing company. She blabbed her mouth about it to family members back in November and I had to report the HIPAA violation and privacy act violation to the surgeon's office and her employer. She and my mother's cousin, her boyfriend, ran their mouths some more and threatened to take me to court to sue me for harassment for complaining to her employer. It didn't go anywhere, obviously, because the lawyer they talked to advised them that they broke federal laws, so they didn't have a leg to stand on. Triflin'. comepickmeup: I know exactly what you're going through when you talk about your friend. I dated a guy last year for about 10 months and we've remained very close friends. We care a lot for each other, but we're too different which is why the relationship didn't work. He's very blunt and straight-forward with his opinions and that's the reason I chose not to tell him about my surgery. I figure that if it comes up, I'll address it then, but I chose not to make a statement and "come out" about it to him. He'd most likely take it as an opening to give me his opinion about it, and I'm not sure about how he feels about WLS. As for dating, I was with a guy in a somewhat serious relationship when I started doing the pre-op stuff and I didn't tell him about it. It was a long distance relationship and although I mentioned some of my pre-op stuff, he never asked what it was for. It was a good decision on my part because our break-up was ugly and he threw a lot of things back in my face, so the fact that I didn't give him this as ammo was good.

Ooh, I like the Food Network folks, too. Paula Deen doesn't bother me much. I'd love to be fixing up some soul food in the kitchen with her and gossiping like two hens or something. I love Giada De Laurentiis, though. She's my favorite. I can follow her recipes much easier than others. (And I love Italian food.) Plus, her kitchen is my ultimate dream.. and she looks like Liesl from "The Sound of Music," and that's my favorite movie. Plus, Giada made those amazing croissant panini and they looked so good that a friend and I made them for a get-together with others and they were a hit. So good. And I've got a crush on Bobby Flay. Seriously. But as for who I've had enough of? In general, I'm burnt out on Katherine Heigl and Keira Knightley. Whenever Heigl opens her mouth, she either sounds like she's whining or like a pretentious hag. As for Knightley, I just don't get the appeal. (Admittedly, I am going to see Atonement this weekend on a date, so..)

Hey there.. never talked to you before, but just wanted to tell you congrats! That sounds like such an awesome career. I wish you the best of luck!

bert99: Thanks. It's a good point you make about the picture. I'll sleep on the thought of taking it down, though. Elena M: Your post is incredibly touching. I'm sorry for all of the pain your family had to endure.

Thanks, Amy. Yeaaaah, I was a little angry. Venting about it made me feel better though.

(This is long. Sorry. This break-up just happened on Black Friday, so it's still a fresh wound. And it's very angry and bitter. Just a warning. Heh. Also, the girl he cheated on me with knew of me and was aware of my presence.. so it's not like, "Oh, don't attack her! She's an innocent victim!") Dear Ex-Boyfriend, After the year that I spent in a stressful, draining long-distance relationship with you, all I can say that I know about you is that you're a liar.. and that you're a piece of sh*t. I'm glad that I stumbled upon the baby registries online and discovered that you were sleeping with that hateful, sloppy whore while you were professing your love to me, and that it lead to the daughter you'll be welcoming together as a couple on February 15th. I'm glad that the teller at Bank of America slipped up and asked me if I was her when I went to deposit that $175 for the MacBook you sold me into your acount. As it turned out, you moved out to California in February and never told me. You've been living with her for months and you were still lying to me about how you were in New Jersey. I'm glad that I broke things off with you days before I found the registries and you made me feel like shit by calling me an unsupportive girlfriend and blaming our break up on my temper, especially since I got to call your voice mail and let you know that I knew all about the baby.. for no other reason than to make you aware of the fact that you could no longer blame our failed relationship on me when you were the one f*cking this b*tch, living with her, and having a joint bank account with her. I'm glad that one of your ex-girlfriends stumbled upon my information online and sent me an email, enlightening me on your trail of deception and abuse, including the revelation that you never worked at the NYSE (which means all the excuses about working late and that big promotion in May were BS), that you made up a friend to set her up on a date with after she rejected you, and that you didn't even own a car and you spent all your time hanging out at the Menlo Mall like a loser. She and I have spent hours chatting about you and the things I know now are astonishing. I'm glad that I only had to spend one weekend with you during our entire relationship and because of it, there was only that 5 minutes of sex in which you were barely bringing any game, much less your A game. That's made it much easier on me because I don't have to mourn the end of closeness/intimacy (since there never was any) and I'm not missing out on any fireworks in the bedroom (because there's more chemistry between me and my underwear than there was between us). I'm also glad that I didn't burn bridges with the guy I dated before you, even though you insisted on me doing so, because to this day he's been more of a man and more of a friend to me than you ever were. I told him all about what happened between us and he reminded me that in the beginning of my relationship with you, he warned me that you were a douche. I wish I had listened. Most importantly, I'm glad that I saved this picture so I could post it on all of the social networking sites where you frequent, including message boards and chat rooms, just to inform everyone that they are in the presence of a player.. a player with a nicer rack than the broad he knocked up. Have a nice life lying to your daughter's mother and trying to pretend to be "Father of the Year" when deep down, you and I both know that you're no better than your disgusting pig of a father who cheated on your mother and supposedly destroyed your family. Looks like history repeats itself, huh? Have fun explaining it to your little girl, Joy Kathleen, when the time comes. I'm sure she'll be proud to have a father like you who was f*cking around with her mother while he was in a serious relationship with a girl on the other side of the country. Drop dead and I hope your d*ck becomes infested with a flesh eating bacteria that renders you sterile and unable to curse the world with anymore of your spawn and gives you the anatomy of a Ken doll. -The girl formerly known as your "Punkin" who just wants you humiliated to make up for the year of my life wasted on you PS - I'll just assume that the $175 that you stole from me went towards a gift for the baby. Glad I could help you two out. Too bad distance prevents me from doing a real favor and beating both of your skulls in with a baseball bat to render you better people and role models for your child (even in vegetative stages!) than general consciousness and your collective upbringings have made you thus far.

I second to what OnmywayJenn said. I had my surgery done just last week by Dr. Brian Mirza (who is in the same office/practice with Dr. Stelmack) and I am so impressed and happy with my decision. No complaints at all about their staff - from the receptionists to the nurses to the dietician to the surgeon. Everyone has been wonderful. In my own opinion, Dr. Mirza is incredibly professional and still very friendly and he makes you feel comfortable in his presence. During my overnight stay after my surgery, he came by 3 times to check up on me and he wasn't rushed or at all bothered by questions. He even laughed and joked along with my weird family members who were cracking stupid jokes and being down-right embarassing. One of the RNs in their office, Lynette, popped by numerous times to check on me while I was there also. About 45 minutes before my surgery, she came by where I was being prepped to make sure I didn't have any questions or just in case I needed to talk to calm my nerves. She came by later that evening before going to a conference just to see how I was doing. Then she came by the day I was discharged, too. I know that they have certain amounts of times that they routinely check on their patients, but I was thoroughly impressed. It was reassuring to know that if I had concerns, they were always nearby. (Also, my entire experience with not only the surgeon and his staff but also with the hospital and their staff was excellent. Every single individual who assisted me or had a part in my care was just as helpful and friendly as the last.)

I was just banded on 12/13. I was in a lot of pain the day of and the day after. Not constantly, but for the majority of the time. I've never had surgery before this, so the entire experience was new to me. I'm drinking constantly, trying to stay hydrated. I've only been nauseous once and that was hours after. Once the nurses started me on small amounts of fluids, I was given pain meds in pill form. So that was fun, swallowing those, which set off the nausea. I've been advised that if I get dehydrated, the nausea will set in again and I'm not looking forward to that. I've had a cup of coffee today. I diluted it heavily with half-and-half and left out the sugar. It felt nice after 2 weeks of pre-op prepping with no coffee at all. I've been nursing this normal sized cup for at least 2 hours now. Farewell to the beverage portions I used to drink. On average how long do you think it takes before the gas bubbles are all gone? I feel like I have a constant rumbling in my stomach, but I'm not hungry. I think it's just the gas bubbles.

Mine's December 13th! Yay!

Hey there! My surgery is on Thursday, December 13th. Don't worry; like everyone else said, you're totally normal to feel like that. I haven't started having the "what if I don't make it" thoughts yet, but I have been wracking my brain to make sure I remember to do silly little things before hand. I'm paranoid that I'll forget to do something like shave my legs the morning of the surgery (and it'll gross out the surgical staff), or that I'll be late to pre-registration that morning and they'll cancel it. The fact that you're a mom, too, is definitely a factor. I don't have any kids, but I can't imagine not having those thoughts if I did. Good luck with yours! I can't wait to hear how it goes for you.

Oh, crap! Sorry! Didn't realize I might trigger cravings! I'm drinking my first Slim Fast of the AM.. woo.. :help:

I start my pre-op diet tomorrow morning. Fourteen days of Slim Fast Optima and Water.. deeeeeeelish! (Sarcasm.) I had my last sweet tea and Chick-Fil-A sammich tonight. And yeah, I'm gonna be sending out the office email to "my girls" at work to let them know my behavior over the next 2 weeks is only a by-product of my prep. Good luck on your prep! If you need to vent, send me a message and I can be a friendly ear for you.

Congrats and good luck! Keep us posted on how it goes.

After playing phone tag for a week with one pre-op physician's office to fax results over to my surgeon, I finally have a surgery date! The office manager called to tell me that they were ready to give me dates. I go in on 11/29 for the nutrition session, and I have an all-day appointment on 11/30 for x-rays and so forth. Then on 12/13, I go in for surgery! Since I found out at work, I ran down the hall to tell my best friend (who's also a co-worker). We both jumped up and down and cheered (quietly), and I am so excited! I've been on the board lurking since I started looking into this around August, but this was one of the first places I wanted to share the news about my surgery date. Hope everyone's having a great day!

Thanks, you guys! And congrats, aubrey! You're gonna be fine! I can't wait for Monday for you!