Turler

Deoderant is fine! They don't want you to use powder, lotion and makeup. Those items make your skin slippery and that makes it difficult for the ECG patches and grounding pads to stick to you. If you aren't sure, call your doctor's office for reassurance. They usually will give a list or someone will review the info with you. Good luck! ~C

Hi everyone! JC- Sounds like you have lots of help in the B12 area! Your doctor's office will show you how to do your injections, so don't worry too much! They won't make you figure it out on your own! The hardest part is the first time you stick yourself. ZZ is telling you right though, slow=pain. You'll want to insert the needle like a dart. Quick and purposeful (just don't throw it or be forceful! lol). The size of your needle sounds a little short though for IM. If you just don't think you can do it, let them know..they can always do them for you with an appointment with the nurse. HP/ZZ- Good luck on your race!!!! TX- Go to iTunes and click on Podcasts. Most (if not all) are FREE!! I have a few that are awesome! You can get some for bicycling (sorry, I mean bycyling) as well as running. The music is set to cadence, or heart rate. So cool! Once you choose them, click subscribe. You will need to click on the episodes you want the first time. Once you connect your iPod, it will down load those episodes (unless you tell it you want all of them). It will check for new episodes each time you connect and based on what guidelines you told your iTunes to do it will download them. I have Cadence Revolution, PodRunner, Motivation to Move and some others. I think you can get them from other sites too, but I've never done that. There is a tab in your iTunes that lets you manage your podcasts. Hope that helps! BG- Justice is always a good thing. :wink: J- How's it goin? Are you ready for Spring Break? Well, today I am officially cancer free!! Today is a good day. ~C

There is another April thread where everyone is submitting their dates to a list that we can all watch. Check out the April 2008 forum and there you will find a few sub-forums/threads to be a part of if you want! Also, one of the girls made a really nice spreadsheet that we can all add our names to and track our progress. Here is the link to that: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?k...ycNCaJXg&hl=en ~Carol

I feel like posting just to post!

LOL!! Don't cha love it?!?!? How adorable!

Will somebody tell me where to view this?? LOL I've been trying to figure it out for hours now!

scarlettbegonia: WELCOME!! Kat: Thank you for the offer!! Where is your group meeting? Are a lot of you from the same area? That would be fun!

ZZ: How is the shifting gears going???? I hope my instructions were helpful. I know it stinks to have to look down at your chain rings, but unless you have GripShift or some other numbered gear shifting system, you just have to get a feel for it! ~C

ME! ME! ME! I'm ridiculously excited! LOL I think I've waited so long now, that it almost seems like a fantasy! I don't think it's real yet to me. I need to get back in the game because it's coming in 3 weeks!!! WOW!

You can also google Target Heart Rate Calculators. Some of them will do all the math for you...all you do is plug in the numbers. Write down all the numbers and the formula used. You should be shooting for 75-85% of your THR (target heart rate). You'll burn the most calories at that rate. Do not go above 85% as you will be working anaerobically which is not what you want. A monitor is a good investment and can be found cheap. Saves you the trouble of stopping during your workout and having to time your pulse. ~Carol

Hey All! Natasha started a thread under the April 2008 subforum with a list for me! Thank you Natasha, you beat me to it! All you need to do is follow the instructions on how to add your name! There is also a Calendar on the LBT site that you can add yourself to. It will announce your surgery date, bandiversary date or whatever you choose to add to the calendar. Just go to the top of the page, click Calendar, and add. It lets you write what you want. When you are finished, save it. You will see other up coming surgery dates listed on the bottom of the page on the left! Another cool way to keep track! ~Carol

List of Surgery Dates Not sure if this is the best way to start a surgery date post, but we can try. Copy/Paste the ENTIRE LAST post into your post, add your name next to the date of your surgery and repost it for the next person. April 1-- April 2-- April 3-- April 4-- April 5-- April 6-- April 7-- April 8-- April 9---Natasha April 10-Turler April 11 April 12 April 13 April 14 April 15 April 16 April 17 April 18 April 19 April 20 April 21 April 22 April 23 April 24 April 25 April 26 April 27 April 28 April 29 April 30

Good morning everybody! Welcome Brenda! I've been 'de-cluttering' my house this winter and gearing up for a huge garage sale...well, yesterday by sheer luck, we sold 3 mountain bikes we had held on to (2 Treks and 1 Gary Fisher), then we sold a road bike (Fuji-Sagres)!! WOO HOO!! I am so excited! We only have one left to get rid of and we'll only have to worry about the bikes we currently ride! Now to get out there to ride!! I'm on call this weekend, so I can't really go outside, so I'm staying in to get more housework and laundry done in between working! Ugh! You girls will get better with the clips! LOL And yes, J, you will find yourself still clipped in when you fall. But hey, at least your bike was spared the bumps and bruises! ~C

Hi everyone---Welcome to the April Avengers!!! In the beginning of this thread, we all voted for a name and that's what was agreed upon! It's great to hear a little about everyone and even better when you find a surgery date buddy! I too am an RN. I am being banded on April 10th. I'm sooooo excited about this! I've been waiting for 1 1/2 years to get this far. I can hardly wait for this journey to come full circle and start worrying about fills, pb's (hopefully not!) and which new jeans to buy! Do you all want to compile a list of who is being banded on what date? It'd be nice to have that to refer to so we can support eachother better. Let me know! ~Carol

Hi Massa, Most doctors want a follow up EGD to confirm that the H. Pylori is gone. I would definitely ask your doctor about this. Shouldn't hold you up unless you don't have time to complete all your meds and have another test. Let us know how things go for you and what the doctor says!

ZZ: can you take another picture of your bike that shows the levers better? I'm going to call my LBS guy for you! PM me if want me to send the pic to my cell phone!

I would hope that since your surgery is so soon, that you would've had a consult with anesthesia. The type of anesthesia they will use should have been discussed a LONG time ago! It's normal to have fears about this, many people do. They are very skilled at their job, and don't want you to be uncomfortable. The tube will not be inserted until you are asleep (all done very quickly) and removed before you wake up. You won't even be aware of it. If you are worried about the size of it, it's not bigger than your finger or a bite of food. Most often patients are given ice chips in the recovery room. The ice will help if you have any sore throat, but usually a dry mouth is what motivates patients to want it!

Welcome! Wow, we have a few 'Carol's' in April!! I went to a seminar last night and my EGD this morning. One step closer with every appointment!! WOO HOO!

WELCOME Carol! Congratulations on your surgery date! You will learn so much from this site. Feel free to ask anything. Someone on the forum will most likely know the answer or have some good advice!

ZZ: I think that would be a perk to have a doc specialized in LB. My family has been supportive, but one said, "hmmm, we'll have to see how well it works". NICE!

HP: You look great! Cool bike too! Your smile says it all! ZZ: You are too much! Hats off to you! Kudos for all your determination this week! LOL BG/ZZ: Isn't it strange that ppl have so much energy and free time to worry about what everyone else is doing? I mean, if you don't want to eat meat, so what? That's got to be frustrating!

J: I agree! That's why I'm asking all of you! :drool: I think I've got a situation like many of LBT'ers with most offices focusing on RNY over LB. I think my doctor is great, but there is a language/culteral barrier that might be causing us a little difficulty in FULL communication. I think he just doesn't understand what I am asking. At some point, he and I will get this sorted out. It sounds like you and your doctor have a good relationship. I'm worried about getting to a point where I would eat a lot too. They scared me to death with the whole stretching out the pouch thing!!! Well, hopefully I will at least feel 'normal' in the temperature department!

TX: Thank you so much for that info! I too believe that there are different requirements for these rides. I don't really think my surgeon understands the kind of riding we like to do. I think he thinks it's a little ride around the neighborhood. Your body has different demands when you ride these bigger rides and it's important to re-fuel. I just want to make sure I do it right, without adding unnecessary calories/fat. Good for you that you are so good at the planning! Your rides sound cool!

BG: Thank you for your input. Yes, I wondered about the cold. I am always hot...even in the OR! Everyone else is complaining and I find it a relief to be in there! I was curious if that would change after surgery...kinda hope it does. I'm tired of being hot. It doesn't feel "girlie" to be hot all the time and not wear coats! I asked my doctor about caloric intake when riding. I was told, "well, maybe in 2 years you can be athlete and we'll talk about having more food, but right now you must lose weight and not eat like athlete"!!!!!!! So, I dunno what I can have (other than sugar-free everything according to him) when I'm on a ride (30+ miles).

Went to another required seminar for LapBand today. 3 hours long! Dietician, Nurse, Support Group. Everything was pretty much geared around RNY, but since I was the ONLY LB patient, they mentioned my surgery a few times. The support group was only 3 ppl strong, all RNY. I liked their success stories, that part was pretty cool. Two of them had surgery a few years ago and have already started gaining weight. The other one only had surgery in September so she is still losing. I was surprised to hear how much they said they struggle to keep losing, struggle with their diets, struggle with hunger. All of them said they cheat though, what dumping syndrome feels like and how cold they all are. So now that I've bored you all to death, I want to ask, are any of you cold now? If yes, is it because you are skinny now? or what? The two 'older' RNY patients picked up exercising, one did a 5k run and the other did a Triathalon. No one addressed nutritional needs of the more intense exerciser. Do any of you change your diet for triaining for events? Sorry I'm so full of questions! ~C