LynneB

Last time I went to gynecologist he put me on estrogen because of 10 yrs of being on the depo shot I hadnt had a period in that many years. The estrogen didnt work so he sent me for alot of other tests (blood work, ultrasounds etc.) He said everything was fine & I should have a period after stopping depo for 6 months or so. So after 8 months of no depo, still no period. This time he contributed it to me being overweight. It has now been over a year since I had a shot. So, suddenly yesterday I had these awful cramps like I might start one, but so far nothing. I now remember why I loved the shot so much, those cramps hurt like hell!! So my questions are: Are any of you ex depo provera users? How long on & off of it? How much weight did you lose before your cycle returned? Any non depo users that did not have a period due to weight? How bad were the cycles after they started again? I know everyone is different & none of you are Dr's, just looking for a generalized idea. Thanks girls!

I voted every other week since my doc told me today that is how often I am supposed to do it, but up till today I weighed every day or every other.

nope nothing at surgery. 1.5cc total & I have a little restriction, I couldnt finish a soup at hand today & that is all I have had

Hi guys, this is formerly "Countingthedays" I changed my login name to just my first name since I am no longer counting down the days till surgery. My surgery was done 4/17 & I have lost almost 30lbs since then. I have gone down 2 bra sizes, from a 22/24 pant size to an 18/20 (almost 16's a little snug but almost there!!) & from a 3X shirt to just an XL, I can wear my moms shirts & my sons!! My biggest victory though is my diabetes meds. I was on 4 glyburide a day & now I am down to only half a pill a day at bedtime. 2 more weeks & I go back to the endocrinologist & hopefully I will be able to stop the diabetes meds all together!! My weight loss has pretty much stopped this last week or so since starting solids, but I go for my first fill in 2 days. I am so psyched about this whole process!!

Name: was Countingthedays, now LynneB Date of surgery: April 17th Weight Loss to date: Pre op 10lbs, since surgery 28 for a total of 38 lbs. How am I feeling: Awesome! I still get tired easily, but I sweat way less & things that used to take alot of effort are now happening much easier!

16 days post op & down 15lbs. Total of 32 since preop diet. (need to update my ticker lost another pound since day before yesterday)

My doc says no exercise for 4 weeks so my Shapes membership is on hold till then, but I cant wait to go back to water aerobics!! Right now all I am allowed to do is walk & I have been walking about a mile a day w/ my kids. I dont own a bike but I really want to buy one soon.

my dr in Bradenton charges $13,000 for cash pay. Sorry its not $10k but thats as close as I know of to it in the states.

Brandy, since you have 2 other birds already you may want to consider getting the grey tested before you bring it into your home. At the very least for psiticossis and chlymidia if nothing else. Once you expose your current birds to the new one it is too late if the new bird is a carrier of either disease. Quarantine is super important if you dont test first. That means everything from changing clothes between birds, washing hands, and separate air space from the other birds. You also might want to get a good air purifier if you keep the grey in the same room as the tiels, tiel dander can cause major allergies (skin and breathing) & plucking in a grey. The heat lamp shouldnt be too much of a worry unless you plan on opening a window in the winter with no chance for him to acclimate to your climate. Greys are very resilient & can adjust to temps if given time to get used to them. The only other thing I can think of to tell you is learn to handfeed if you dont already know how. Its super important to know even though the bird will be weaned before you bring it home. Alot of times, babies will regress when taken to a new environment & will refuse to eat till it calms down in a week or so. Also if they get sick or injure their beaks or crop in any way. Handfeeding is easy once you learn it, but the dangers of aspirating or burning a baby are very real & I have seen birds w/ burns right thru their skin from formula being too hot, and many other horror stories at the rescue. Get a gram scale w/ a T-Perch & weigh the bird every day for at least the first month its home & then once a week after that. Weight loss is the first sign of illness in any bird. Birds instinctively hide being sick till its too late to help them. If I think of anything else that will help, I'll let ya know. I'm so excited for you! I remember that waiting feeling for my babies to come home.

All of my birds are rescues except for the macaw & grey. The other 8 are from the rescue & the are wonderful once they realized I was their forever home, they had been discarded so many times that they all came w/issues. But now they are all loving. The U2 is my only screamer & she has only been w/ me for about 2 months after having 12 homes in 3 yrs just that we know of. Its so sad. They are huge commitments, macaws, toos & greys can live up to 80+ yrs.

What is not to agree with? I dont want my daughter to think that just because mom did it that its ok to eat any way she wants till she is old enough to get banded. She is 8 yrs old, not 15 or 16 & she should not expect to be able to just not "worry" about her weight just because someday she can get banded. Banding is not by any means an easy way out. There is nothing wrong w/ educating her on healthy ways to eat to possibly avoid being overweight as she grows up. If there ends up being a thyroid or other issue then of course that will be addressed when the time comes. She has been tested for thyroid and anything else that could effect her weight & it is not medical. It is because of years of unhealthy eating on my part, and rewards of food for report cards, etc. by me and my family. I dont view being banded as any type of failure, so I dont know where that came from. Quite the opposite, its my life saving tool. But do I want my child to think that she can just fall back on surgery later in life if it can be avoided? Hell no. I dont want her to go thru school being teased, or not being able to participate in sports or whatever her heart desires because of her weight. Education of a healthy lifestyle is important. I wish I had been taught that. I believe that if I had not grown up in a "clean your plate" family mentality that I would not have had the weight problems that I do now. No one ever read labels or counted calories when I was growing up so no one ever taught me about eating healthy or exercise being important, I want my daughter to learn that WLS is not the answer if you learn right from the start, it can be avoided. WLS does not fix your "hunger thermostat". Your mind telling you that you are hungry is mental and is about control. Thats why so many ppl learn to eat around WLS. Whether its bypass or band, if you eat everytime your brain tells you to, you arent going to lose weight & you are going to cheat the surgery. You have to mentally re-train that thermostat, your band is not going to help w/ that. Nothing wrong with wanting better for my child than what I have had.

Congrats!! I have a congo grey too. She was hatched on Halloween so we named her Casper. They are great talkers. Just today she told our umbrella 'too to "shut the hell up" & I have only said that 1 time when the kids werent home. Altogether I have 10 birds, Casper, Frosty (the U2), Ariel (b/g macaw) Snow White (Tiel), Jocko (tiel), Kiwi,Spirit,Lucky,and Daisy (all budgies)and Peek-A-Boo (or Gator whichever he feels like answering to who is a quaker) He got the nickname Gator cuz he goes nuts over anything Florida Gators & screams "Go Gators" when he sees anything w/ that logo. Tell your daughter to be prepared for this bird to possibly not be "her bird" Greys are notorious for being 1 person birds so make sure she spends the most time w/ him/her. It's really hard to give name ideas cuz after the bird has been home for a few days his personality will give you the perfect name. Let me know if you need anything, I work for a bird rescue & I know tons about birds & I would love to help you out if you need anything. Good luck, you are in for a world changing experience w/ this bird, they are like no other & will keep you laughing for hours on end. They are really big comics & very acrobatic so make sure he has tons of toys, especially shredders. But they love to hang & pull off a whole "rescue me" routine that will have you rushing to their aid just for them to jump down & laugh at you. Make sure you post pics when he gets home!

I know exactly how you feel. My daughter is 8yrs old and slightly chubby. I can tell she will be just like me & ALL the other women in my family. We all have had to struggle w/ our weight our whole lives. I was banded 16 days ago & everyone knows I am banded, including my 2 kids. My son is only 14 & he is 5'11'' tall and weighs maybe 160 soaking wet so he is the lucky one. My daughter however, excersises, does dance, acting, and singing and is a member of a very prestigious dance troupe and theatre company, so she is constantly surrounded by "ballerina" types and she is already very self conscious of her weight. I tell her all the time that she is beautiful and talented, and that over 200 kids auditioned for this troupe and only 25 made it, so she should not worry about her weight. I have taught her about the food pyramid and what is healthy & whats not and how to read labels and count calories since she was interested from watching me prepare for my surgery over the last 6 months. It is very tough for a child to lose weight, even being so active, she still has trouble losing. The group spends so many hours a night practicing that most of them bring frozen dinners to the studio for dinner or drive thru a fast food place on the way there, we have started bringing in either lean cuisine meals or fruits & veggies for her dinner/snacks, but then the other dancers notice that more than they do her weight. She has made the comment a few times that she will just have the surgery when she gets older & I have told her that is not the answer. Even though thats what I have done, had I known at her age how to control my eating habits I would not have had to put myself thru all the diabetes and other health issues I have had to live with to cause me to need this surgery. This past Monday my son, who will be a freshman in high school next year, made the football team & we have now started walking every night while he jogs to get in shape for training which starts June 2nd, so hopefully that will help her lose weight too. Like other posters have said, without singling her out, change the whole familys eating habits & get everyone moving. Go for walks w/ her & make it a special mommy & me time even if no one else wants to go along. We have to do it for their futures and ours. Good luck sweetheart, you are a great mom!!

I am craving a spinach salad, you know the good ones w/ berries and walnuts and some vinegarette dressing. Or a good chef salad w/ some croutons & blue cheese dressing. I am starting solids on Monday. Are salads hard to digest? Please say NO!! LOL

How is everyone who had surgery so far? I want details...everything... from length of surgery & how u are all feeling tell me all you can please! I am getting nervous now! 7 more days!

My port was swollen because for some reason I had alot of internal bruising. Just they way my body reacted I guess. I was tired the first 3 days but not really weak. I was hurting pretty bad (general soreness) the first 4 days, but you may be different. Good Luck!!

OMG I LOVE THEM!!! I had no gas pains at all, I specifically asked them to get out as much gas as possible & they went above & beyond my expectations. My surgery day was a little screwy, they had a fire in the hospital that same time so I was delayed a little bit. I was there at 7:15 & in recovery by 10am. Surgery only took about 30 mins. Dr Fleck was my anesthesiologist, she was super sweet. The nurse anesthesist (dont remember his name) was a MEGA HUNK!!! What a wonderful face to go to sleep to!! LOL Are you going to Blake Hospital? They have the BEST support group here, I just love them, very small & informal but very informative. Its the 1st Monday of every month at 6pm. I'd love to meet you, try to come if you can. You will love both docs they are so wonderful. I dont work but I would have felt like going back by about day 6 or 7 if I did. Days 3 & 4 were the worst for soreness. I am a single mom so I stayed the night voluntarily, but they would have let me go home by 2pm if I hadnt.

It is totally normal. My doc warned me today when he told me to start mushy/pureed. He told me to expect to gain some back & that I may not start lose again till after several fills when I finally get restriction. Dont freak, its a time for healing not losing. Just watch your calories & carbs & u will be fine.

I had the best dinner for my first time on mushies!! Went to Red Lobster & had clam chowder, applesauce & lobster sauce topped mashed potatoes!! I could only eat about 3 bites of each & I am sooooooo stuffed!! Brought home leftovers for tomorrows lunch & dinner though!! OMG IT WAS SOOOOOO YUMMY!!!!!!!

Good luck tomorrow!! Make sure you have throat lozenges, I used Halls Breezers & they were wonderful for the sore throat from the tube. They also helped the dry mouth issue too. My throat hurt really bad the first 2 days. Also ask your Dr & anesthesiologist to get out as much of the gas as possible, I had zero gas pains because they went overboard making sure to get it all out. My doc said they wouldnt go the extra mile if they arent asked.

Wow you were really pretty before, and now...wow!!! I wish I had your face, you are gorgeous!! Congrats & keep it up!!

I was on clear liquids for 1st 72hours then full liquids. I have also been walking every night up & down my street, probably about a 1/4 mile a night. My meals were 1/2 a packet of very thin cream of wheat for breakfast, a small can (Campbells soup at hand) cream of broccoli or tomato, and for dinner a 1/2 carton of Campbells Gold Select creamy tomato parmesean, or butternut squash soups. In between I have protein shakes. I have not been hungry at all. So far it has been really easy except for my cravings for hard pretzels, I want something to crunch SO BAD!!!!!!!!

I am 11 days post op. So far I am not hungry at all. What is getting to me is not having anything to crunch or chew. I am so sick of eating meals that are drinkable. I desperately want some hard pretzels!! But I know its all mental & I am strong enough to beat the cravings. Luckily I can move on to pureed/mushies today so hopefully that will help the need to chew. As far as hunger goes, I have to force myself to eat & drink & I feel super full after 1/2 a can of cream soup or 1/2 a packet of cream of wheat. I have no fill yet.

Did anyone else have their port swell up and get super hard? I am day 9 (been swollen for 3 days now though) post op & my port site is super swollen & hard as a rock. No redness or pain (just typical soreness), just hard & feels like a baseball cut in half & put inside me. I have also been sneezing like a lunatic for some reason today & man does that HURT!! Thank God I didnt start sneezing before now!

Swelling is down a little bit today. More like a large golf ball now but it is still extremely hard. I am going to call my doc in the morning. Overall I feel alot better today (day 10) But the hardness and swelling is odd & I am going to go get it looked at tomorrow for sure. I will let you all know what happens.