Kat817

Jane I think you are right! It might be it that has killed my appetite totally. It is a relief to have an idea of why.....know what I mean? Ok I am really off to bed now! Nighty-night! Kat

I'm gonna trim up my hair....because it is time....and I wanna look good!!! Might find time to do a pedi----but not wastin' my money on a mani-I know I cannot have polish for the surgery---so why bother??? If I paint them, I will do it at home..... I tried on a shirt from my last years wish pile---it fits. I tried it on for my DD----her words were "Holy Crap Mom, you need to wear stuff that fits more often, that looks awesome!" Made me so happy. I told Rick, he said to let him see, I put it on, he tells me "I agree with Manda, you look incredible"-------------needless to say, I'm bringing it! LOL I managed to eat a small bit of pork chop for dinner ---to be honest, I could have eaten more, but Rick is so cautious with pork, it was over grilled, and dry! I ate a bite of potatoes, some corn, and one of the little lunch box things of mandarin oranges. Everything was just so so-----but the oranges...they tasted SOOOOOOO good and fresh in my mouth. I wanted more, but had no room!!! Scale dropped again---this is too wierd. Thinking I might be stressing a bit about the surgery---which in 2 weeks will be over with!!! OMG! Anyway, the stress might be making me more restricted. I CAN eat, I simply don't want to. Nothing appeals, and when I eat, nothing tastes good....til the oranges. I am eating them for breakfast too!!! LOL I am off to bed early. On a Zyrtec blah-----oooooohhhh that may be the cause too, now that I think about it, the appetite has been gone about the same length of time I have been hitting the allergy meds. AHA!!!! See ya in the morning! Kat

Wow!!! I'm so excited!!!!! Kat

I believe it to be like hair cream..... Used some bed head stuff when mine was falling out so bad--to thicken up each strand was my thought--it just made it feel dirty---then Lori told me I was using too much then!! LOL Kat

Going out to eat is not such a big deal as we all assume it will be. If you do not want to share the news of being banded, I would begin now talking of your new diet.....so the thought is in their heads, that you are eating less, because you are dieting. When you actually go out with them, do you watch them eat? You are usually so focused on your own food or the conversation, you don't watch what they eat (other than to naturally compare dishes!), or at what speed they eat it. The thing about that is, they are not watching you eat each bite of yours either. So....you have options. You can order as usual, a full meal, and plan to eat maybe a quarter of it, and take home leftovers, or just figure you would have spent that much before, and not worry about it--just enjoy the companionship--or you can order a la carte---sides. Whichever you choose, when the meal comes, and everyone starts eating, you do too. You just take small bites, chew them very well, and sit your fork down. When you determine that the bite went down, and you are not done yet, you take another small bite. About the time you feel like you are done for----you cannot eat anymore, others will begin getting done too. But their entire plates will be gone. They take big bites, chew a couple of times and move on!! With your abbreviated way of eating, you all end up done in similar time. You will want to wait awhile after eating to drink---the longer you wait, the longer you will remain full feeling. But if they make a night of it, after 45 minutes or so, order yourself something to sip on, and enjoy the people you are with. I was surprised how little attention people pay who are really eating! Now I pay much more attention, the men who stick half a steak or burger in their mouth in one bite appall me! I see people stuffing food in their cheeks like little chipmunks, and know I used to! I pay attention now, I did not then, and most do not. Going out is really easy---not the worry I made it out to be. The first stages post op are more of a challenge, to find liquid, or mushie band friendly food--soups, chili's, mashed potatoes, it can be done. But like I say, you might start building up the diet you are going to try---the first stage being liquids....yadda, yadda, yadda---- The best thing about it is, when the group wants to go dancing, or even bowling, or hiking--------you soon will feel like going, and look forward to those outings instead of dreading them....at least I do! Good Luck! Kat

My DD's reaction was also to the MMR. It happen almost 2 weeks after the shot! We had gone to a local Drive In movie (yep she is 26---was a looooong time ago!!!), during the movie she got fussy--- so since we were stopped of course watching the movie, I reached back, unbuckled her from her car seat and as I picked her up to bring her up front with us, she screamed....not an unhappy scream, a hurting scream, I got her on my lap, and she settled down, but when I would go to move her to another position, she screamed in pain again! Well I being a new Mom had heard all the stories of babies who have bones that break so easy and all, and we knew something was wrong with her, so we took her to the ER. As usual with ER's we waited awhile, and she began running fever--but every time you moved her she hurt. Finally we saw a Dr. and in taking her history, one of the questions was if she was up to date in her immunizations, when I said yes, she just had her latest a couple weeks ago, they all visbly relaxed....they knew without me telling them which one it was---partly I am sure based on age, but also the reaction. He explained she was reacting to the mumps part of the vaccine, and her lymph nodes were swollen and tender, and sure enough, her little neck, when she would close her mouth from screaming, was puffy. He said there are lymph glands under her arms, and each time I picked her up, I squeezed on the painful swelling. So he had me scoop her, rather than the under the arm pick up, and she was much happier. He said there was a 50/50 chance she would follow the swelling with a rash of measles, that should not last over 12-24 hours, and the reaction would ease, but they hospitalized her in a quarantine room, for the next 24 hours. Her DD has had the MMR shot, without issue. With my DD we watched her intently during the tetanus shots, (DPT) because her Dad, my ex-husband is allergic to it. But the only shot she reacted on was the MMR. The pediatrician has not commented on any other than the chicken Pox to her. Besides doing a delayed schedule basing them more on her weight than her age. She said age 3 is common for catching kids up to size--------so we keep waiting for the growth spurt to hit her!! Kids--they need some serious instruction books!!! Kat

Not sure what's up with my eating, or lack of. NOTHING at all sounds good. When I eat, I feel like a few bites in, I am done---just do not want anymore. Drinking pretty good---so just gonna ride along and see what happens, it is pretty wierd. Was hard at lunch today---my Mom was upset, saying I am not eating enough, that when 3 year old out eats me, something is wrong. Well y'all know how it is, we always worry that there might be something wrong with your band---but she had to SAY it!!! LOL, I feel fine, a bit tired, and run down---thinking it is time to run my new thyroid check, I could sleep most afternoons away, and I am not a daytime sleeper. I have never in my life, outside of following surgery or such, slept in til 4 in the afternoon!!! It would waste my natural body timing! When I sleep in, I can make it til about 9----and that is only if I can fall back to sleep at 5 and again at 7:30----both times I naturally wake up. I bought a really cute top at JCPenney's today---not so much for the trip, but for after my surgery, it is cotton, and looks sooooo cool. Something I will be needing, wearing the compression garment. Today Kinsey and I took Flat Stanley to the Aztec Ruins. She loves going through the little rooms. We took pictures of her holding Flat Stanley---and will get them mailed back off to one of our bandsters DD's. Her DD is in 1st grade, and they are reading about Flat Stanley, he was flattened when the bulletin board fell on him, and he got mailed on vacation. So each student sent Flat Stanley somewhere----and wherever he went, they were to do something with him, document it, write about it, make him clothes.....whatever. So today, both he and Kinsey became Junior Rangers, and I got the pics developed so I can slidehim in his envelope and send him back to the school. Knsey had such a great time with it------------she has been to the ruins before, my DH loves it...so she told him all about how Indians lived there. We made him some clothes hoping they look like leather clothing the indians might have worn. Well, I am exhausted, and I have tons to do....so guess I better get on it. Y'all take care, I'll check in afterwhile. Kat

I have been spending time with a new bandster, and through her reliving some of these feelings you describe. It feels like such a cop out when she asks me a question about how much to eat, or what to do about hunger....because my answer to her is that eventually your thought process in regards to food changes----drastically! I have the smaller band, so of course less fill---but I no longer feel hunger to speak of. I still enjoy food, but it no longer occupies such a huge part of my life. If I don't eat for hours, I don't care! I would have laughed you out of the room if you ever told me that someday I would forget to eat----but now it is the honest truth! When you are not hungry all the time, food takes on a different appeal. You approach it with health in mind, as opposed to just filling the void! My family---big extended family---meets once a month at a local buffet for Breakfast. That way we actually all touch base, and no one has to cook or clean, and then we can all go on about our weekend, and do our own family things. It was hard in the beginning. I eventually learned to take a teaspoon size of all the different things I wanted to taste, and even that was too much---but I did get around more of the items than if I were to take a larger serving! Then teeny, tiny (chewed very well) bites---one each of all the offerings, until I was full! I kid you not! My plate looked like the plate of a picky 1 year old!!! I would dip my spoon in the corner of a bit of quiche on my plate, then move on to a tiny nibble of cheesy hashbrowns!!! Nope it was not all healthy food--but as I say it was once a month....not every day! Now we still meet, I am comfortable in my level of restriction, and I am no longer tempted by each thing on the buffet, I put small servings on my plate, and still seldom finish it.....but it is no longer the torture it was at one point!! Used to be the cinnamon rolls called my name......oh my how I wanted them! Then I got stuck on one....not so much my favorite any more! Plus, when you chew something like that, with that much shortening in it, really well----it is not so good! Hang in there, and do the battles as they come, some you win, others you don't win so big---but consider how much less you ate than if you were not banded---and you still win! As time passes, things do change, and your tastes change---and passing those things just gets easier and easier.....at least in my experience. I wish you the same success in getting past this stage!!! Welcome to LBT both of you! Kat

Yay! Yay!! Yay!!! If possible Steph----you have made me more excited for mine to come~~I am SO glad you are doing so well. You and Julie have me so psyched up I can hardly stand it! 2 weeks from tonight---I will be bouncing off the walls!!! Keep doing what you are doing, it sounds like you are doing AWESOME!! Kat

Personally, I have had trouble eating all day----everything is moving sooooo slow, I feel like I had a serious PB.....and I didn't. Think the salad was just too hard to digest, and irritated me. So I am drinking mostly today, just taking it easy. I don't have much restriction, but eating 2 eggs for me in the morning, would be a total impossibility!!! By evening that would not be an issue though!! Well, I am off to see what Rick's plan is next...... Kat

My neighbor has 4 birds, her AG are Teeso (although I think she said it is spelled Tiso), and Molly. Molly was her DH's gray mares name..... I seldom hear them, but the other big green parrot--no idea what kind, although I have been told---screeches loudly, we hear it in the back yard!!! She says it is because he throws a fit when the TV plays certain commercials! Kat

My band size shrunk, but my cup size has not. I have always had an issue with underwire bras---My breasts are not excessively saggy even now, but it is because they are big around-------not long, if that makes any sense, the underwire was always too narrow in even a DD cup to fit the circumference of my breast. With weight loss, I can now wear them, but they literally reshape me. With the weight loss, I now have some extra skin, so that is possible without being painful, thank goodness!! As for my port, it has never been a real issue with the bra band, or now the underwire even. It does sound as though possible this surgeon does place them higher, so you might visit with him over port placement options, and explain to him, that you do not want to have it high.....might help! Kat

I agree.....sounds like you are doing wonderful!!! So many people do not take into consideration how this affects others, that your acknowledging it, and working to deal positively with it, tell me you will succeed. I have a nephew whois 13, and has weight issues. My SIL said that the pediatrician suggested high fiber for him, as it is more filling since that is his issue. Now when you see Avery snack, he is often snacking on Mini Wheats cereal-----and his Mom says a handful then will hold him till dinner. I keep waiting for him to hit that point that he shoots up height wise.....but so far we are still waiting! Good Luck in your upcoming surgery, and I feel confident that you can handle things with your DD-----you seem very attuned to the situation, and that is the most important thing!!! Kat

I Loved, loved, loved (!!!!!!) talking to Pamela!!! I read her message of distress, and was getting ready to post an answer, and I thought---what the heck and just called!! I am so anxious for this trip!!!! I met my bandster friend Sofi in the mall today, and we shopped, found me a new Fossil purse I am seriously thinking of going back and buying!!! LOL Other than that, I bought some sunglasses, and Mother's Day cards......big spender that I am! I too had bet on the race with my DH-----he won. I had bet on Eight Belles, I kept telling him she was gonna go out there and show those boys how it was done. Poor baby, died trying. I cried. I cannot imagine putting mine down while they scream in pain, that was what was the saddest, is that was a painful injury. I just hope she had enough adrenalin still running through her, that she did not feel it as strongly. Compound fractures, would have been serious pain. Tragic end, spoiled the win, I am sure to a point for Big Brown------but man did he smoke that race or what???!!! He can make this a triple crown if he runs like that again, and from a 20 pole!!!!!! We were actually going to go to the races here today--we have live horse racing combined with our casino. But yesterday left me feeling kinda raw about watching them pound the track so hard----so I opted to shop with Sofi. Rick stayed home and played motorcycles with the boys!!! LOL Contest is over, so I am losing weight!!! Go figure! I have lost a pound and a half---will change my ticker when I remember to--3rd day now, so I am claiming it! It must have been a busy weekend for everyone, it was quiet in here---everyone out shopping for our vacation!!! Wooo Hoooo Catch y'all later! Kat

Welcome home....so glad to see you up and about, and doing well. Thanks for the breakdown---it all helps to know what we are headed for!!! I have less than 3 weeks now!!! In fact 2 weeks from tomorrow-YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!! Keep posting when you feel like it--------I know you will feel better when you can wash your hair and shower---that is the worst thought! How is the hunger hitting? Hugs....really careful ones!! Kat

Anybody remember that kids game called Cootie? I think someone played a joke on Jachut and I, and mixed up our parts, she is totally opposite of me!!! I have fairly broad shoulders, heavier arms, larger breasts---not really pendulous though--------and a huge belly. From there, I had a thin build--narrow hips, not much extra flesh on my butt, legs have remained thin.... It has all gone away but the belly.....and soon it will be gone...not a minute too soon! LOL I have No worries what so ever that my port will be visible---like I say I would have to decompose for it to be visible!!! Ask for a low profile. Kat

I agree with Wheetsin----approach it from a health aspect. Let the entire family know you are having some issues, that will worsen if you do not take control now. And in order to do that, some things will be changing in the house. Even the normal weight children do not need the sugar laden Snacks....and could benefit from family outtings built around activity. I would look at it, as though you and your child perhaps had been diagnosed with diabetes---changes would HAVE to be made, they would not be optional. Doing this for her, now in a family manner, rather than singling her out, might very well save her humiliation, as well as her own health issues down the road. Being active, and eating healthy is not going to hurt any of us!!! My DH was not obese---he was mildly overweight---but he has dropped close to 25 pounds, just in the change of habits I have made in my cooking. Ask all of them for their help in keeping you on plan--at her age, they love to help. You will be teaching her things that will be so good for her! And now summer is here, so you could plan bike rides together, evening outtings to putt putt golf---you can make SF koolaid, and make your own popsicles, so treats are not off limits. Involve the entire family, teach the entire family----you will ALL benefit! My DD is on a slim down contest at work, and we were discussing it, and she said she got into a conversation with her boss, because she does not use the word diet around my granddaughter, she just tries to eat healthy, and so far my granddaughter makes good choices....she is only 3 though. But it made me wonder if all my years of "dieting" is what made her so opposed to the word, and the action!!!! Good Luck! You can both do this! Kat

Sooooooo glad to see you home and well!!! Check in and give us details when you feel like it. Congrats on the new lesser you! Kat

We travel by motorcycle----so even a small dog is not something I would consider doing---although I have seen many who do ride at the rallies!!! Kat

I'll use your share of sunscreen then....I really don't want to deal with sore sunburn while I try to heal from surgery, ya know? Kat

DD's pug, Potter, does not yip....he is a quiet, well behaved young guy--------but when he gets excited, he is impossible to hold, he wiggles in 20 directions at once, and snorts----sending dog spittle and likely snottle too--everywhere.....he is hilarious!!!! I really like him. My son has a French Bulldog----huge pup. I always wanted one----but after interacting with the 2, and the size issue, with me getting older (!) I think I am leaning to the little pug. I would never have expected that of myself either. Right now we have none, but we take lots of little trips in the summer, so we have declined having one.....but one of these days!!!! Kat

I don't have any kids young enough to make this decision myself, but only spoke on what I was witness to with my granddaughter---who was a preemie. Her pediatrician doled her shots out based upon her weight, not her age---and they withheld the chicken Px. So that led me to believe that was where the problems were---I am finding it interesting that the other immunizations/vaccinations can be problematic as well. I wonder why she (pediatrician) chose the way she did. Kat

I'm getting my hair cut next week---she ask me if we were cutting any length---and I said I think so----what did I get myself into???? I just put some rib eye steak in to marinate---the wind is supposed to finally stop for awhile today. I love spring in the new growth, and coming back to life after winter, but I hate it for the wind. Kills me this time of year, I live on Zyrtec----damned lilacs!!! So, going to add a couple of skewers of shrimp to grill, make a salad, eat about 3:30----and call it a day! We are thinking of catching a movie later....so we could do that - if it goes as planned......LOL, I crack myself up, it never goes as planned! Don't know if I told you that the office called Manda about her cardio appointment, and echocardiogram---they scheduled it for her----the end of July! I told her BS-call and schedule yourself, talk to them, explain what is going on, ask to be put on cancellation lists, be nice, you will find one willing to work with you---I know it! I am seriously thinking, since she is trying to do this from work.....taking down all the info, from her, about dates, etc., insurance info------and calling myself, pretending to be her-they would never know when she showed up, having never seen her before. I have the freedom of holding for 15 minutes if need be, and not having to interupt them for incoming things. Well I say there would be no interuptions---but yesterday, I was on the phone with the cable company, they messed up my bill--and I have told Kinsey when I am on the phone she has to be quiet. LOL---a conversation we had actually after me talking to Jenn, and her interupting!!! Anyway I am on the phone trying to discuss service change dates, and amounts, and she is trying to mime something to me. She wants a cookie----and she is pointing and moving her mouth with no sound....the woman at Comcast is being super nice, and I burst out laughing---I apologized told her I had a 3 year old miming at me....she laughed and ask me could I teach her 6 year old not to interupt when she was on the phone?!! I tried to maintain, but she was so hilarious in her facial expressions!!! She takes after her Dad doing that, he has ability like Jim Carrey, to make strange rubbery looking faces---Kinsey can too! Well....guess I will go get some housework caught up, and find something to keep me busy. Might meet my new bandster friend at the mall later. If I wasn't doing that I would be going riding--beautiful day, but walking the mall in smelly sweaty riding pants is not my thing!!! Someday---I am going to have a room off the barn, so I can change, and clean up....when it is mine to change! TTYL~~ Kat

Tan for me Jenn--I am whiter than the screen you are reading this on!!!!! I thought about going, but my PS commented on the fact that my skin not being tan was such a good thing.....you know how Dr.'s are! I thought I would stay pearly white til after my surgery, then do some of my recovery time in the backyard!!!! LOL So I am going to have to bring a vat of sunscreen for the river!!! Kat

I was given a low profile port at almost 286 pounds, and most of it belly--- and it is deep----I am having a Tummy Tuck later this month, and you still have to push hard to find it. It has not however been an issue with fills. So low profile ports CAN be done. Mine is almost centered, just a hair to the left----about 5 inches down from my chest bone---where the ribs separate. Occasionally, DH will put too much weight on me---and I have to have one of us shift, but not even really change positions, just weight distribution. It is out of the way---and not an issue, it will NEVER be seen by the naked eye--I would have to be decomposing!!! LOL Kat