thistle

Thanks for the e-mail and the post, Aly. I'm glad you got it! I haven't received mine yet...anyone send something to Diane in Wisconsin? Thanks!

You are such a sweetheart! I love boxers. My little boxer boy, Dave, is such a honey. However, he has very little fur and can't be outside for long in the winter. Thank you, thank you, thank you for taking that boxer and his retriever pal into your home. There is no way a boxer can stand to be out in the cold for long. Oh, the poor dogs. I'm going to go hug my dog right now...maybe bake him some Cookies. Hey, maybe I'll make a double-batch of his favorite cookies and send some to you for your houseguests. I'll PM you.

I'm new here, so like many, I'm confused about the exodus from the board--I don't understand the underlying issues here. I believe that, even among the best of friends, conflicts are inevitable. In the physical world, when we have conflicts with co-workers or friends, we have the benefit of seeing the person, reading body language, knowing about their actions outside of our conversations, seeing how they interact with others. Virtual communication is limited to our typed words with no benefit of tone, body language, and eye contact. Alone with our computer, this medium makes it easier to write things that maybe we wouldn't say to someone face-to-face. That's a pity. I'm sad to see that people are leaving and are uncomfortable here. I am going to look on the bright side, though. The positive side: 1. What we're discussing on these boards is relevant and meaningful. 2. People care enough to want to establish guidelines--XXX threads or not? Qualified opinions or not? 3. People are passionate about the topics. 4. When someone leaves, members wish them success and shower them with affection. 5. The public forum is successful--people are expressing diverse opinions and controversial opinions. No one is censoring or filtering information. Human contact is messy--there are always jerks, blowhards, and know-it-alls in the world and so far no one's managed to create a utopia. (I once belonged to a "utopian" board that required an application for admission. The moderators were so fierce about their "friendliness" and "on-topic" guidelines that they would delete anything that didn't meet their standards. How worthless was that! Grrr...censorship...) I'm sad that people are leaving this board. However, I am glad that this place is still open for those who remain and want to exchange ideas--good or bad. Thank you to everyone who has been supportive and helpful--I read the threads and gain your wisdom.

Oh, DAA! Good luck with your surgery! I am a stomach sleeper, too. I remember that it took me a week to be able to sleep on my stomach. That first week I slept on my side with pillows. It's not sooo bad. My best pre-surgery purchase: a KitchenAid food processor. I've run through three cheaper food processors in my adult life and they all sounded so loud and scary. This one is a quiet whirrrr. I love it. It's great for making purees. Me, I tried to eat "meals" of puree. I didn't have much trouble staying satisifed with drinkable yogurt, Protein drinks, cottage cheese, and pureed Soups. As for Protein Drinks, I love J Robb's whey powder (chocolate). Very tasty and not gritty at all. Best wishes, Diane

Happy thought: I feel so much less hungry after my first fill! Whee! Lap bands!

Every time I have a medical procedure, I lie to myself and tell myself I'm just waiting for someone else to have it done. I only freak out the last five minutes before any medical thing. If I didn't procrastinate/lie to myself, I would be locked in my bathroom for days. I had my appendix out seven years ago--emergency surgery. I went in at 6 p.m. and it was out at 10 p.m. I didn't have the two months of education and worry that I had with the band. In the end, I think that kind of surgery is kinder--I didn't have the build-up of anxiety that I had with the band. However, the band surgery was much easier on my system. Really, from one chicken to another, it's not that bad. Once they get that IV started in pre-op--the one that contains the calming drugs--I didn't care what the heck they did with me. Best wishes. Just think about tomorrow and how glad you'll be that you did it and it's over!

I love my band. Love it, love it, love it. I had surgery on 1/9/06 and have lost 15 pounds. However, I have rheumatoid arthritis and migraines. I take a cocktail of about 20 pills a day. Crushing my pills and taking them is awful. I have switched some to liquids. **shiver** liquid prednisone is just awful. Other than that, no regrets. Reading about slippage and erosion does give me nightmares, I'll admit. However, I keep my fingers crossed, say a prayer, knock on wood, and eat cottage cheese. So far, so good.

Whee! Springtime! I want to have a gift for spring! Sign me up, please!

Francesca, this is my worst fear. The surgery is sooo expensive. Then I read about erosions and I have nightmares. I need to stop worrying about erosion and just get on with living my life, but I fret. I'm so sorry this happened to you. Hell, I'd get an attorney, too. You've got a lot of money at stake. Best of luck to you.

Wow. I had the exact opposite problem--mine problem was liquid in, liquid out. All of my stools were...liquid. Eeew. I'm with the best me glycerine suppositories work well and they're cheap. We call them "magic bullets" in my house. Good luck.

Oooh! Oooh! I can answer this one! My surgery time was for 12:00 noon on a Monday. midnight the night before--last drink of Water 8:00 a.m. the day of--report to hospitalregister pay huge amount of money walk up to my holding room change into sexy hospital gown--the kind that lets your butt hang out the back [*]9:00 a.m.--visit from hospital pharmacist [*]9:30 a.m.--visit from hospital vampire (blood work) [*]10:00 a.m.--visit from hospital clergy talk about living will husband pretends to be unsure how to answer the question "how disabled is too disabled" Not funny. husband practiced "pulling the plug" by unplugging my hospital bed with a flourish priest seriously freaked out and left with an awkward goodbye nurse comes in to scold us for unplugging the bed, but ends up laughing, too. nurse tells me they'll come for me at 11:15 a.m. to take me to surgery [*]11:15--no one shows up [*]11:20--still no one. Worry. [*]11:25--where are they? Maybe I should hide. [*]11:30--ah, there they are. Crap. I have to go to the bathroom. Bad. Maybe I won't return. Perhaps I'll lock myself in the bathroom. [*]11:35--see Dr. Heupenbecker smiling and bouncing down the hall like this is the favorite part of his day. [*]11:36--I melt in a puddle of tears when he says hello to me. He pats me awkwardly and tells me it will be OK. [*]11:40--The nurse tells me that once they start the IV I'll feel so much better. [*]11:45--second IV attempt. [*]11:50--ahhh. Whatever they put in that IV must be good because I feel fine. Mighty fine. [*]12:00--wheel me off to the operating room. They tell me I probably won't remember moving down the hallway--but I do. [*]12:10--The operating room is green. Why is that? [*]2:00 maybe? Damn, am I thirsty. I think someone came in to give me a shot. Whatever. [*]5:00--my daughter and my husband are going over spelling words in low voices. No one's cracking any stupid jokes now. [*]6:00--some college student wheels me down to x-ray for a flouroscopy. An x-ray tech mixes up some gastrograph and warns me about the taste. I don't care what it tastes like--I'm thirsty. Give me anything to drink. [*]6:10--Well, anything but that crap. It doesn't taste like licorice, it tastes like...crap. But the doc's happy, so I guess I should be, too. [*]7:00--back in my own car and off to the pharmacy for good, liquid drugs. [*]8:30--sleeping in my own bed, heavily medicated. My surgery went well. I went home the same day. At the end of the week I was tired, but moving around. I attended a cookie construction contest the following Sunday with my Girl Scout troop. I had more trouble with freaking out before the surgery than anything after the surgery. Good luck!

By the power vested in me by the company of Inamed, I absolve you of any guilt you feel. Everyone on this thread is right: you don't have to tell your boss anything. If anyone should be feeling guilty it's him/her for asking you in the first place! Me, I told my mother, a health care professional. She then blabbed to my aunt, some waitress, and her own doctor. Thanks, Mom.

Date banded: 1/9/06 Country: U.S. State: Wis. Doctor: Heupenbecker Eroded: No (knock on wood)

I tried to go to the Barix Clinic in Northern Illinois. I was really pumped for the surgery and the cost beat the local hospital that I was researching. I have rheumatoid arthritis and no one at Barix told me it was a rule-out for the band until I'd made the 1 1/2-hour trip south. There the doctor told me they don't operate on people who are "steriod dependent." Nice. I'm sure it was a clinical term, but his comment made me feel like my prescription prednisone was similar to a street drug. The doctor regretted that no one on the phone told me or asked me about my steriod use. OK, but I drove the 90 miles home in tears, worried that I couldn't get the surgery at all. The doctor who banded me three weeks ago told me that prednisone wasn't a rule-out for him and that many of his patients who are on immunosuppressants do very well with the lap band. I can't speak about the quality of Barix, but I can tell you that I had a terrible limited experience.

I had surgery at noon on a Monday and drank that gastrograph crap at 6 p.m. that night. After 18 hours with no fluids, gastrograph is a cruel joke. I wanted water and they gave me a big cup of that stuff. It tastes kind of like a licorice-flavored cough syrup--blech. However, watching the fluids pass through the band on the T.V. screen was fun. I was released from the hospital at 7 p.m., went to the 24-hour Walgreen's for my liquid pain meds (tasted surprisingly similar to gastrograph), and was sleeping in my own bed by 8:30. I'm lucky; my husband is an RN (doesn't work as one, but still keeps up his license). He worked from home for two days and brought me water, meds, fluffy slippers, and warm dog. You don't get that at the hospital (well, not the dog...).

Rheumatoid arthritis is awful stuff. RA and a low back injury have sat me firmly on the bench. My jersey's been clean for five years now...but I can't fit in it anymore! I used to do all sorts of exercise, but the last few years have been a challenge--it's hard to play at the dog park when my feet and knees are aching and painful. It's tough--I want to exercise, but I can't move! Oh, and prednisone is not a weight-loss steroid. It's great stuff for RA, but it's hell on the scale. Thankfully, the surgery I had three weeks ago has helped me lose over 30 pounds (since the liquid diet before the surgery, too). I'm hoping that losing weight will help me become more active and improve my RA and back, too!

My favorite chef is Alton Brown, but he is skinny and goofy. I followed his recipe for brined turkey at Thanksgiving and everyone told me not to change a thing about the dinner--it was perfect. He's so scientific--I love that. I don't know how those chefs stay that skinny...maybe all the good smells in the kitchen overwhelm their senses and they don't crave those lovely dishes like I do...

Yeah, I have a problem with head hunger, too. I find that the worst times for me are: the afternoon, around 2:00; when I'm bored; when I'm lonely or sad. Telling myself "no" doesn't work with me. I'm defiant and spiteful... So, I tell myself, "You should really go paint your toenails now that you can touch them." Or, "Wouldn't a trip to the bookstore be great right now?" Or a bait-n-switch, "How about a cup of tea?" Sometimes these even work.

I don't have lupis, but I do have rheumatoid arthritis. I only have so many spoons to spend, too. My husband and child understand, but it's hard to explain to my mom, sister, friends, that I can't keep up because it feels like I'm walking on bone shards in my feet sometimes. I'm lucky that my husband and daughter understand. I did a lot of walking and standing today and I can feel my feet and knees flaring up. Robert and Emily (husband and daughter) made plans to go to a movie tonight and didn't even think to ask me. Most people would be upset about not being invited. They saw me come home and realized I have no more spoons. Robert told me to relax and enjoy myself--not even fold laundry. Emily told me to take a bath and read a good book. On the one hand, I'd love to go out with them, but on the other, I am touched that they understand me and my needs so well. Plus, I've already seen the movie once...

I have eight more days until my surgery and I'm so hungry I could eat wallpaper paste with a side of sawdust. I'm on a liquid diet and I've been very, very good. Thus I am very, very hungry! B: low-fat strawberry yogurt, applesauce, caffeine-free tea L: low-everything Protein shake, applesauce, caffeine-free tea D: Manhattan clam chowder, applesauce, caffeine-free tea Feed me!

I'll be banded in 12 days--January 9. I'm new here; I'm hoping that reading these boards will help stop the weird dreams I've been having. I keep dreaming that I go to my surgeon's office and my nurse puts me in a small, gray, wood-paneled examining room. In my dream, she never returns. I'm left to look out the window at the cold, gray sky, pace the floor, and read dog-eared children's books. Well, at least I'm not dreaming of chocolate! So, I guess, to match the title of this thread...(**hums**) on the twelfth day before banding I enjoyed: a grapefruit and a left-over candy cane. Tomorrow, on the eleventh day before banding, I will enjoy: a dinner out with family, a grapefruit and a left-over candy cane. On New Year's eve, the tenth day before banding, I will enjoy: a fat-free yogurt, a delicious Protein shake, and a broth-based, fat-free Soup (of my choice). Sing along if you know the words!