comepickmeup

KissMyGrits: Congratulations! Having such great results only one month out, just think what's in store over the next year or so!! That's definitely enough motivation for all of us!

I was in the habit of clicking on the "most recent posts" link...or whatever it was called. I liked seeing the new posts without having to go to each forum. I can't seem to find the link anywhere. Am I blind or has it vanished? Take a look, let me know if I'm overlooking it. Thanks!

Apparently the style of the dress is new and in high demand. They estimate approx 16 weeks to deliver. Which then leaves time for alterations and such. I might be able to wait until April at the latest to order, but it's still got to be early. Ridiculous, I know.

I always say I grew up in Little Rock, but technically we lived in Benton. But I went to school in LR/NLR so it's all the same to me. What about you? Do you like your doctor there? I'm only familiar with Dr. Luttrell there. Happy Birthday to your Miracle Baby!!

Le sigh...I moved from SF to NYC almost 2 years ago. I love the east coast, but I sure miss the west coast! Sorry, I realize this is NOT the response you were looking for, but I couldn't resist.

I was about to edit my response to ask about fills...ha. SO yeah, if you got another fill and are feeling more restriction, hopefully you'll be back on track. It seems to be quite the trial and error situation when it comes to these fills. And some docs are more aggressive than others. Either way, I hope the latest fill works for you and you start losing! As for gameday attire...not dumb at all. We are a prideful state when it comes to our Razorbacks. I'm glad to hear that even if you don't follow the sports, at least you dress the part. lol. Gamedays...that's when I miss home the most! Especially, tailgating at War Memorial. Good luck to you!! Keep us posted if you go to your OB/GYN and get any sort of official PCOS confirmation.

Bandster_1007: Definitely sounds like a lot of the PCOS symptoms...with the exception of how on earth you got pregnant without trying! lol. Miraculous little baby you must have. Have you ever discussed PCOS with your doctor? When I was diagnosed back in 2000, a lot of doctors refused to acknowledge PCOS. Today it seems to have gotten more recognition, so hopefully you have a good doctor that can help you get the treatment you need. As for not losing much weight yet...are you sticking to the recommendations of low fat, sugar free stuff? I'm new to this banding thing...just had my surgery on the 7th. I had an appt with my surgeon today and brought up PCOS. She has many PCOS patients and said that when they follow the recommendations, they lose at the same rate as everyone else. Of course, every body is different. But maybe if you speak with your doctor you can get a plan of action. Because many people seem to think that drugs like Metformin aid in their weight loss. PS....I'm originally from Little Rock!!!!! Woo Pig Sooie!

Hello Everyone! There are a couple of other PCOS threads on here...search them out. They all have some good points, information, and inspiration. I've had PCOS for 8 years. I've never had a regular cycle, have the facial hair, hairy arms, allllll the fun stuff. ha. I've been on Metformin, Spironolactone, and Provera. Metformin made me sick regardless of the dose, so I stopped taking it. Now I only take the Provera to help regulate things. I was just banded on Jan 7th. Lost 20 pounds on the pre-op diet. And like what some of the others stated...I ended my period about a 2 weeks before surgery. Then voila it came back on its own the week before surgery. Luckily, it ended the day before surgery. So perhaps the pre-op diet is having some crazy effect on our bodies helping our cycle jump start on its own. Boogitas: I just went back to my surgeon today for a follow up appt. I was specifically asking about PCOS patients and their success rates. The way that I had understood it, was that those with PCOS were often successful but the rate of loss may be super slow. My surgeon told me that she's had many PCOS patients and they are just as successful as anyone else and lose at the same rate. Of course, she stated, it's a matter of following their rules....if we chow on milkshakes and other high fat/sugary foods that slip through the band easily we will not lose...this is true with PCOS or not. So that's my two cents. When I was weighed today, I've lost a total of 30lbs since starting this journey. Of course, I'm still on liquids. I start mushies on Monday and expect to gain a couple of pounds back once I incorporate "real" food in my diet. The current loss has already surpassed my expectations though. Just hang in there everyone. I'm convinced this will be the solution to help reverse these PCOS symptoms! Good luck to all of you!!!!!

I've been MIA since my surgery on Monday, my apologies. I hope everyone that has been banded thus far is doing well and best of luck to those going in this week!! So let me run through my story with you all. I suck at writing in paragraph form, so just bear with me. I arrived at the hospital at 1030am and was told surgery would be roughly around 12. Luckily, I wasn't made to change into the gown until it got closer to the time. I am not a fan of the gown and booty(both feet and derriere variety) look so I enjoy staying in my clothes as long as possible. Finally around 3pm the anesthesiologist came in and asked a bunch of questions. He was super nice and had quite a sense of humor, which always puts me at ease. Then the nurse anesthesist came in and asked more of the same questions. Then the OR nurse came in, asked more questions and told me I could put on the gown and the doc would be in within 20 minutes or so. The Doc came in and ran through what she'd be doing and how long it would take and went over what to expect afterwards and all that jazz. Then the nurse came in and told me we were ready. So I gave my mom a hug and kiss and off we walked to the OR. I hadn't been nervouse up until this moment. I've been in an OR before and I don't have a real fear of hospitals or anything, but there is just something about walking into that room and hopping up on that table for my own surgery kinda got me. The anesthesiologist was there and was making me laugh and then they were prepping me. The doc walked in and asked if I was ok. I told her that I was a little nervous now that I was all spread eagle for everyone and their grandma on the table. lol. She grabbed my hand and held it while they were starting the IV and such and kept saying such encouraging things to me. The doctor actually held my hand until I went under. I really thought that was sweet...I've had surgery before and I've never had a surgeon who really tried so hard to put me at ease and not rush me. Anyway...the next thing I know, I'm waking up in the Recovery Room. Some nurse is commenting that I'm southern and says that people always refer to him as southern...he was from SOUTHERN MARYLAND. I don't remember much, but I did explain he was not southern at all, Maryland is still a yankee state. lol. Then I hear them chart the time...it was now almost 8:30 at night! This disturbed me cause I went in shortly after 4 and they expected me out by 5:30 or 6pm. The Doc comes over and starts explaining something to me but I'm so out of it, I can't put it all together. She asked if I understood and I said No and told her to make sure to tell my mom. Apparently once they got in, she repaired the hiatal hernia. I know this is common and was told that it was a possibility before the surgery. But in all honesty, I REALLY thought this wouldn't apply to me. I've never had acid reflux or indigestion or any of the other warning signs (and yes, I realize not EVERYONE has signs...but still). So she was putting a stitch in to repair the hernia and noticed all of the sudden this other portion of my esophagus began to balloon. Turns out that I had an esophageal hematoma. My surgeon had never seen anything like this before (leave it to me, to have something not seen before!). So the thing starts bleeding and they couldn't get it to stop. It finally did, and they continued to observe me for an hour. They injected some sort of dye to ensure that the internal bleeding had stopped. So this caused some issues for post-op. I've had a DVT in the past so they had started me on Heparin. Now they were going to do blood tests every 3 hours to ensure no more internal bleeding. Meanwhile, if there was it would be made worse by the heparin. But there was no choice but to give me the blood thinner. Luckily all blood tests were good throughout the night. I was moved to a Step Down Unit for the night. But my heartrate would get so high when I moved, they wouldn't allow me out of bed. Even though, I felt ok in the stomach area and wanted to start walking. In fact, they wouldn't even let me go to the bathroom and offered me a bed pan. I tried the best I could, but the bed pan was not going to work. So I was finally allowed a bathroom trip! Of course they measure evertime you void...my pee was BRIGHT, ELECTRIC GREEN! I asked the nurse if it was normal and told her to look. The shock on her face was priceless. It was NOT normal. I thought I was suddenly radioactive. lol. She called the doctor and that's when the dye was explained. The blue dye that was injected caused my urine to be green. Thank goodness that was all. STILL...5 days post-op, I'm still peeing like some jolly green giant. Also, I should mention that because of the esophagus fiasco I was not allowed ANY liquids....not even ice chips. Because I had to have another esophagram done. So I had been without liquids for something like 38 hours. I was dying for some ice water! I was allowed to go home that next night, a little later than usual cause of the esophagram and the blood tests. To be honest the pain in the abdomen/torso wasn't bad at all. Sure it was sore, but I didn't have any real problems getting out of bed or anything. I thought things were just dandy. Then all of the sudden after walking the halls for a bit on Tuesday...I get this major pain in my shoulder. It came on so fast and so severe I was caught off guard. I couldn't move my arm in a way to alleviate the pain. It brought tears to my eyes. Of course, they said it was referred pain from the gas...yadda yadda. It has not gone away! Well, I'm home and again, the stomach pain is fine. Sore when I laugh or cough. But the shoulder pain is still quite severe. I felt like I didn't need the pain meds so I just took some tylenol hoping that would help the shoulder. It didn't. I cannot believe how much it hurts. I have a pretty high pain tolerance (or so I've been told...I broke my ankle and insisted I could walk on it once) and I'm a little discouraged that I don't feel better than I do. Like I said, if it weren't for the shoulder pain, I'd be FANTASTIC! But the shoulder pain overwhelms me. My question for you guys....How long does the shoulder pain tend to last? I know every body is different. But I've GOT to get some relief soon. I just can't believe everything else feels so good but Ihave this lingering. The good news...I've not been hungry at all. I even had to ask the nurse if it was normal. I've been focusing on drinking Water to avoid getting dehydrated. And she encouraged me to eat a couple of tablespoons of something other than water...and that would be okay. So I've had some Soup off and on and a couple swigs of Slim Fast. But honestly, I'm just thrilled to be able to have water! lol. And as for the stitches/scars. I'm pleased with how good they look through the steri-strips. I have very little bruising and the port incision looks so clean...very little bleeding. I had far worse brusing and such when I had my appendix removed laproscopically. OH! As for that pre-op diet that nearly drove me insane the first week. It was well worth it...I had lost 20 pounds at the time of surgery. I've lost a couple more since then, but I've resisted the urge to weigh myself. Don't want to become too obsessed. lol. Whew...so that's that. Everyone send their happy thoughts my way that this shoulder pain gets better!! I'm downright miserable. Hope everyone is doing well!!!

Thanks for all the encouragement! I got out today and forced myself to walk around the block. The gas pain is still tremendous, but hopefully, it's coming to an end soon! Greeneyez: I was fortunate and never got too nauseous. The first time I got up, I think the pain lended itself to me starting to feel a wee bit sick. Didn't want to chance it, so I asked for some anti-nausea medicine. Luckily, that did the trick. The key is just to stay on top of and ahead of the pain. And make sure you sip on the water!! Dehydration will only make you feel worse....but you know this. :smile: Mamato: How's the gas pain for you today? I feel more gassy in my stomach today...so maybe it's working it's way out. lol. Who knew I'd ever be so excited to pass gas?! Gingerbug: You look to the nurses to calm you in times like that...her expression sent me in a panic. lol. Green is my favorite color though, so at least if you're going to pee in color, might as well be one you like! Someday soon, I will be gas free and have yellow pee. Ahh, aimin' high in life. lol. Thanks again for all the kind words everyone! Hope you all are doing well!

I was banded on the 7th too! I've got to be on liquids for another week. I don't mind it so much cause I haven't been hungry AT ALL. Today is the first day that "real" food has even sounded good....I have a craving for a chicken taco! Even the thought of pintos and cheese sounds good! lol. I've been walking and walking but I'm still full of gas. That's my only complaint. My stomach rumbles all the time. I'm assuming its just gas and not hunger pains though. I take sips, but still kinda feel tightness when I swallow. It's not really uncomfortable, it's just more paranoia. I can't tell if I'm full or not...and I don't want to keep sipping and stretch the pouch. I'm with you...I overanalyze everything. I'm just ready to know what is "normal" and get on with it. And the sooner I can have a bite of a taco...the better! :smile:

Good Luck ladies!! Make sure to stay on top of the pain, so it doesn't get out of control. And at the first sign of nausea, ask for some meds. That's what I did...and I was lucky enough not to experience any sort of dry heaves or anything. And sip, sip, sip that Water to keep from dehydrating!!! Best of luck to yall!

Lovely meeting some more NY'ers on here!! Originally from Arkansas but living in downtown NYC. Talk about a switch! :wink: Was just banded on Monday by Dr. Kurian at NYU. The stomach pain hasn't been bad at all. But the shoulder pain...Yowzer. I'm ready for it to pass so I can get back to the usual routine! Hope yall are all doing well! Have a great weekend.

A friend gave me my elliptical machine (she preferred a treadmill) and I LOOOOOOVE it. I'm not even sure what brand mine is, but I'd say getting an elliptical (any brand) is a good decision. It's so easy and I think it's even a little fun. Definitely low impact if you have knee issues. I've had stair steppers and treadmills and this is by far my favorite exercise machine!

You girls are complaining about DD's...while I wish I had more up on top! I'm big around, but a small cup size (B...but if they made 42A, it'd be better!). lol. I'm getting banded tomorrow and it's my fear that I'll lose what little boobs that I have! ha. Oh well...the "chicken cutlets" are already my best friend...maybe I'll just double up on them. heehee. All of you are doing great!! Keep up the good work! I look forward to sharing my NSV soon.

By this time tomorrow I will be banded. Can you believe it?! I'm excited but anxious to get the pain over with! Good luck to all the fellow Jan 7th bandsters!!!

Congrats Apples!!! So happy you got approved! I go in tomorrow at 10:30am (surgery sometime around noon) to get banded! I'm excited, but anxious to get the healing process over with. And even MORE excited when I think that some of these nasty PCOS symptoms may be reversed! Keep me in your thoughts tomorrow, ladies.

So sorry you are having difficulties right after surgery! I hope you are feeling better soon! Just take it easy these next few days. Thank you for updating us.

Yay! The first of the New Years Knockouts!!! It's all getting underway. Looking forward to hearing about your experience!! Good luck!! :whoo: So excited for you!

Wooo Hoo New Years Knockouts!! I love it!

haha...frozen meat or furniture! Love it. That is how I feel! It really has been a little more difficult than I anticipated. But nice to know next week will be a little smoother. I will definitely be stopping by smoothie King while I'm out tomorrow!!! And your broth does sound good. I might give that a go as well! I know I'm nuts, but I'd never had just broth before! I was just feeling lazy tonight and didn't want to put forth too much effort. Thanks for the suggestions!

How's everyone doing today?!?! I just finished a Slim-Fast, some green Beans, and some low sodium broth. Blah. The broth was no good at all. I think the pre-op diet is more difficult than the post-op!! Chrisann: you're almost there!!!! Are you so excited?! I went for all the presurgical stuff today. I'm still hungry these days and want some meat! lol. Is week two ANY easier? What is the smoothie you've been having midday?

Julie! I was so worried about you...I had no idea a new thread had been started!!! lol. I'm glad things went well for you! I've been wondering about you for a week now. So excited that your surgical journey is over! You already look fantastic. Hope you had a great holiday! Take it easy...happy healing!

I found it much quicker than expected.... RACHEL STEPHENS PHOTOGRAPHY SIRENS GLAMOUR PINUP BOUDOIR NUDES PHOTOGRAPHER PORTLAND SEATTLE SAN FRANCISCO LOS Angeles LAS VEGAS And my 2 cents...you look fabulous now! If it's the motivation you need now, go for it! But what an even greater treat it will be for yourself once you reach goal! Cause once you reach goal, you're going to have to go back and get new ones taken!

Yeah, I really was all psyched up about starting the diet on Christmas Eve. But then getting sick the Friday before, just threw me all out of whack. Not necessarily the great start I was looking for. I'm sure the TASTE of cake won't hurt you...stay strong! Put the rest on the sons plate. haha. Mmmm cake. It's on tv all the time! lol. See, I feel like a crazy person these past two days. I never even noticed food on TV before yesterday. I'll be banded on Jan 7th in New York at NYU. How about you?