Wheetsin

Oh and in terms of time vs, weight, definitely at least a full year. I found out I was pregnant when I was banded for 2 years (to the date, actually -- cute little coincidence). My surgeon actually had his patients sign a contract that you would not get pregnant for a minimum of 12 months (I hear it's now either 18 or 24), and part of the pre-op requirements included disclosure/proof of your current birth control methods.

I'm just under 6 feet tall. My personal weight goal to start trying was 250. It was out of the question before then. At 250 I talked with my doctor about it and she said I would be OK -- that she'd prefer to see me down another 20 first -- but that my obesity in and of itself was not a significant enough factor to delay conception. Byt he time I conceived I was down about 15 more. I don't know your height, but I'm fairly tall and was 70 lbs under your current weight -- so for me, 320 is too high and I personally would not have started trying at that weight.

Oh yes - ginger. A company called "Ginger People" makes natural dried and candied ginger that's great. Ginger is one of the better cures for motion sickness (medications don't fix you, they just help you be unable to puke). Fresh ground ginger in some oatmeal might be nice as well, and there's always ginger tea.

I lucked out. No morning sickness at all. I didn't even have nausea. Nothing. (knock on wood) But if I had, I would have gone for starchy foods in the am (acid absorbers), and peppermint tea. Peppermint is a natural remedy for nausea and stomach irritation. Try some peppermint tea, and/or sucking on a peppermint candy when you feel bad. They also have things at Babies R Us I've seen called "Preggy Pops" or "Preggo Pops" that a few friends of mine rave about. I never really looked into them, I just remember seeing them there.

I had horrible fatigue my first trimester, but not sleep fatigue, just worn out fatigue. Normally I can shop all day, and I would go to one store and be like, "Whatever, I need to go home." Then when I got home I would just want to sit on the couch. In the mornings when I was getting ready for work, by the time I was ready to leave the house I was exhausted. For me, it come on overnight. And it left overnight. Saturday I felt exhausted, woke up Sunday and felt fine and have felt fine ever since. So just patience, really. Maybe get up and walk at work, no matter how tired you feel. The additional blood movement should help you feel more alert. Splash some cold Water on your face, something like that. It should pass.

I got pregnant around 228 lbs (I'm just under 6 feet), so I still had about 45 lbs to lose. I'm in my 23rd (I think) week and my stomach sticks out farther, but doesn't look pregnant. It just looks like I'm getting fatter, which may well be the case. Who knows. I'm always naked around hubby and he says I'm showing, and this weekend my parents commented I had a "bump" (I was wearing a dress that normally hangs straight down, and now it catches on my pokey out upper stomach). During my first trimester I lost a size and I can still wear that size, no maternity clothes yet, but I don't think I'm too far from needing them. Now my stomach makes that ugly "under clothing bump" that happens when fat girls wear too tight pants, and get sausage belly. It's weird. Like the growing uterus has shifted my fat up or something. I also got an unfill and am eating noticeably more. My only food craving is fresh fruit, but I seem to have developed a very unwanted quantity craving. I constantly think about eating, even when I'm not hungry my mouth just wants to chew something. So far it's happy with broccoli & carrots, we'll hope that holds out. So back to my point, I'm not sure how much of what I've gained is baby vs. eating more, and how much of my "bump" is baby vs. more fat. I felt fetal movement for the first time this weekend, so I suspect that the growing will really commence any day now.

I would never presume to try and change someone's mind. Help them find information, yes. Try to convince them that "my" way is the "right" way - not a chance. Sorry, I really have to disagree here. For some, bypass is the best option. Take one of my family members. He was nearly 500 lbs overweight, and had multiple life-threatining comorbidities. He was in a position of, "Lose weight. Now. Or you will die." He needed to lose significant weight quickly, regardless of his intial ability to comply with a diet. For him, the band would absolutely not have been the right choice, IMO. I think for each situation there is a best option. I think the options may change order as the situation changes. Because this was right for us at that point in our lives does not mean it's right for everyone.

So we're trying to start working on putting a nursery together. We have a painter coming next week to paint all interior areas so I was hoping to know what furniture we were getting and let that influence my color decision for the nursery. I am having the hardest time. We had a whole suit of furniture picked out, but trying to get it is a nightmare and likely not going to happen. From very early on this is the suite we liked and had assumed we'd go with. Now it's last minute and we're trying to find something else. We find another wood we like and think will work well for a child (I'm not the type who would put black furniture in a child's room, nor super soft pine), but can only find a crib, no dressers or anything. So then we find dressers we like, but there's no crib in the same finish. So then we find a line that offers everything, but we hate the wood choices. So then we find dressers in a finish we adore, but can't stand the style of the (only) crib. And I don't like mismatchy in kids' rooms, I like it all to be matching, so white this, wood that, painted that isn't going to work. And I have a strong aversion to white furniture. Why the heck is this so hard? I've had bedding since week 12. That was easy. We already have separate stroller, carrier, and bases. That was easy. This is impossible! Right now we're at the "we could get this from this line, and these from this line, and hope the finish matches..." stage. Not to mention we'd be buying blind since, of course, none of the stores carry what we're looking at in the actual store, only online. how the heck did you guys do it?

Never had a UTI in my life, but - strange, after sex? I wonder why.

BTW, where in KC are you? There are a LOT of us in the area.

I know 3 people who lost 200 plus pounds within their first year of being banded, but all of them had 300+ pounds to lose. One had nearly 600 lbs. You'd probably expect her to lost at least 200 lbs in the first year, minimum. That's why it's important to see this as a percentage of excess weight, vs. number of pounds. Your goal in terms of percentage is about 66% of your excess weight. While not many lose 200 lbs in their first year (because most don't have that much to lose, among other factors), many, many, many people hit higher than 60% of excess. 200 lbs was my total goal. At my lowest (I'm preggo now, so weighing in a little higher) I was within 30-40 lbs of being there. I think in my first year I lost about 130 (give or take 15) lbs, so let's say 70% of my excess weight. Capitalize on the first 6 - 10 months. Especially with higher BMI patients, things really tend to slow down after that.

Fairy - I take back whatever I said was crazy. This weekend we tried to register. THAT'S crazy. DH's family lives about 6k miles away. They've been bugging us to register early so they could see online what we want, and then purchase local equivalents. To ship something like - a shoebox in a sane amount of time (within 12 days or so) might cost $30 - $80, depending on the weight. But to ship the same thing in a way that might take 3 - 4 months would cost - $15. So they wanted us registered early, to accomodate the increased shipping (we have told them we do not want gifts, but if they insist on sending something, you'd think money - as sucky of a gift as it can be - would be the best considering the whole convenience and cost factor). Holy crap, registering is like - hard. We were there over 2 hours, and managed 2 items. Then when I got home I deleted them off anyway. 80 billion kinds of bottles. Get BPA free. Get vented. Get the kind with the drop-ins. Don't get glass. Get only 8oz bottles. Get 8 oz and 4 oz. Get 1 of each kind until you find what works. So I gave up on bottles and went to look at bouncers and swings - how hard could that be? Forward and backward. Forward, backward and side to side. "Natural rocking". With MP3 player, without. With protective netting, without. Plastic or fabric. Batter, crank, or plugin. With a toy bar or without. *sigh*

Like most things messageboard, the resident "debate" forum evolves and changes over time. Perhaps it's the political year, and at least part of it is due to the influx of new people (after a year or so of fairly steady "regulars") but it definitely has a different tone than I've seen it have in... oh, 4 years or so. I was most fond of RnR when it served mostly for mental stimulation. Prior to that, it really wasn't even used all that much. We had good, honest, courteous and smart debates. The occasional feather might get riled, but for the most part it was a good time. Then it took a turn toward the personal side, and for a while became "Rant and Rave about this person or this group." Then it became mostly nonsensical for a while. Then general/personal gripes. I'm sure we'll hit a few more evolutions and then find ourselves full circle.

My clothes didn't fit tight but my pants did hit right on my staples. I can telecommute so I worked from home 2 days, then wore track suits (didn't worry about dress code) for 2 additional days. By then my staples were out and I was good to go. Do you have skirts or dresses? They usually afford a little more room.

Tell her you have the desk, and to be sure she brings your $20 when she comes to pick it up. If you're willing to write off the money, tell her the desk will be outside Friday morning. No need for you to take your time to deal with it. Make sure she knows you will not be lugging it back into your garage - that if she doesn't pick it up, it stays there with the addition of a "For sale $20" sign to make up for her unpaid debt.

NPR was doing a segment this morning on a very large Christian movement to have the new movie, The Golden Compass, boycotted. Of the three Pullman (a professed rejector of organized religion and atheist), this one (based on Northern Lights) has the least occurence of "anti-religion" themes - the last having the most. He is seen as being anti-Christian and anti-Catholic, but if you're familiar with him, he is much more anti-religion in the most general sense. People are trying to stop their children from seeing this movie, out of fear that interest in the movie will generate interest in the books and *gasp* expose their children to themes of anti-religion. I really don't understand this. Why would someone be afraid that their child might learn that there's such a thing as atheism or agnosticism? Why does the Harry Potter series terrify parents? Is it horrible if children know that there's a fantasy world of magic, or IF they can make the more cognitive connections, that witchcraft is out there? As an atheist, I would not prevent my child from reading books which presented religion or a diety as a good thing, or books that presented atheism as a bad thing, or books that taught about ideas outside of whatever. If my child wanted to go to church, I would not prevent it. If they wanted to read the bible, I would buy them one. I would hope that my child understands there are different things that are right for different people, and eventually gathers the information needed to make the decision that is right for them... whether it aligns with my personal beliefs is irrelevant. What's right for me isn't right for everyone, and everyone includes my own family.

Oh I should add, because I sound psycho insisting on having furniture now when I'm only 20 weeks... I'm being so "right now" about it (which really isn't right now, I've been looking daily for nearly 2 mos) is because we have a painter coming next week to paint our interior, including the nursery. My chosen nursery color would be very different if we ended up with a natural set vs. a white set or espresso or cherry or glazed or... And as a matter of principle, I refused to have him paint some color, only to have to repaint it to match whatever furniture we ended up getting in two or three months. Our solution = have furniture selected in time to get the color right the first time.

We went to USA baby tonight and bought a crib and combo. Hubby likes it more than I do, but I keep telling myself - "it's only for 3 years, and I won't care if it gets pooed on..." We shall see. Crib is downstairs in a box, combo we'll pick up tomorrow. We do have a bassinette - several good friends have had babies in the last two years so I'm lucky - we can borrow many, many things that get outgrown quickly (basinette, baby bjorn, etc.) quickly. Look at me, sounding all cheap...

brandyII, it's from evolvefish.com I believe. Don't remember off-hand. You don't "know" me but I'm an atheist raised by a Catholic and a Methodist. There are "traumatic" (not really, but ok) things that have happened, but they were not defining moments. The lack of belief is there as far back as I can remember, despite having gone to a private, religious-based daycare (which was also my preschool and kindergarten). And despite having tried to believe, so that my friends there would not make fun of me.

BJean, don't forget about the more day to day. Politics are notorious for person X imposing their religion on person Y, and if that isn't the epitome of shoving in the general throat direction, then nothing is. We get it weekly, weekends at a minimum, to our door, on my property, DESPITE a "no soliciting" sign that churches apparently believe doesn't apply to their proselytizing. (We're repainting our front door and trading out storm doors so my No Bible Thumpers plaque is down temporarily. The plaque has helped, but we have people who opt to ignore it. To me the act of opening the mouth and spewing the spiel on our doorstep is no different from the neighbor who allows her dog to open his rear and deposit dump on our lawn (despite "no doggie poo" signs... and general courtesy). Making it clear we do not want these people at our door, and having them come anyway, and even acknowledge the sign and their choice to disregard it, classifies as some pretty serious shoving in my book.

IKEA was our original plan all along. I plain like it, and I like the variety of pieces you can get. That was actually the "whole suite" I referred to. Then I realized how impossible it would be to get ahold of it. We're about 7 hours' drive from the nearest store, they won't hold items they're strictly first-come-first-served. Shipping on $700 of funiture is over $1800. Etc. I bought a set Friday. Took it back yesterday. Once you put the drawers in the combo, you had to fight to get them open. Unfinished furniture was actually our most recent venture, out of desperation, yesterday afternoon. About $450 for a crib I can't "check out" until I've already paid a non-refundable 30% deposit because they don't stock cribs in the store. I've submitted a list of questions for them to get answered and hope to have answers today or tomorrow $450 for a combo I can check out and that is ok, not super. Need I mention both are pine so if you look at it too hard, it will be dented. Plus 60% of total order if I want them to finish it, the stress of messing it up if I don't. A hammock and a couple of Rubbermaids is looking really good about now.

It's been a while since my surgery, but thinking back, I would not have been ready to go out of the country 2 weeks post-op. For one, international (usually) means a lot of walking, and even though I felt good at two weeks, I'm not sure I could have handled that much energy and movement. I was also restricted, so I personally would not have wanted to go out of the country for fear that I didn't yet know how to eat, and wouldn't want to be thousands of miles from my surgeon with potentially no way to get band care if something happened. It will probably depend on things like - how well you heal. I felt pretty good just a few days post-op, but I've known people a month out who were still miderable. I went for a walk 2 days post-op (assisted my a shopping cart), but know people who didn't dream of leaving the house until 2 - 3 weeks out. There's also an element of what you're doing. If you're going for work and will be in an office/desk for most of the day, that's different than a leisure trip where you're more likely to need to do a lot of movement.

Not a coffee drinker, but I am quite fond of my venti low-fat green tea frappucino, no whip!

I'm not big on forgiveness, nor the idea of needing to forgive. And it's not something I'm good at, even when I want to be. If I could forgive, I would forgive my mother for being a gigantic, shameless hypocrite over my band surgery. I try to be supportive, but since I'm still stewing about it, it's hard to try and act positive. I'm not good at faking, and it's virtually impossible for me to feel one way about someone, but act another in front of them. If I could forgive her, I could be there for her in a different and probably better way, and just accept things for what they are instead of fuming over the situation (for several months now).

Remember that the number of fills aren't what's needed, it's how much fluid you're given. Using extremes as an example, you could get 100 fills of 1/100th cc and not have restiction, or 1 fill of 10cc and be too tight. Surgeons approach fills with different levels of aggression - some will do big fills, some only do tiny. I am tight with about 2.75cc in my 4cc band. Right now I have 1.75cc and I have some restriction, but not a whole lot. It happened to take me 3 fills to get good restriction, a combination of large and small fills.