Elisabethsew

I think it's a no win situation. Your sister is having a 4th child and then she'll have your child which will be biologically not yours but 50% hers and 50% your husbands. Her four children will be half sibling to this child and cousins to your present child. What will your sister tell her children? How will they feel when "the new baby" is given to you? At such young ages, hers and yours, there is really no way they can fully comprehend this situation. How will the extended family deal with this. Will you all be open and "tell"? Will you tell eventually? What happens if your sister's bipolar disease flares up and she is forced to go back on medication while pregnant? What happens if she has a manic episode and "tells" before you are ready to be "outed"? There are so many things to consider and it's hard to let your head rule when your heart is breaking to have another child but it seems to have a lot more negatives than positives.

Can you please explain to me the significance, if any, of "thickening of the gastric wall" in relation to the band? I was having some ache-like pain in the L chest region and, because I have a Hx of PEs, a chest CT angio was done. I just now left the ER and was advised to take 2 Nexium a day. Is this cause for concern? Thank you.

Robotics is the wave of the future and we're actually doing open heart surgery this way. Before agreeing to it, ask: 1. How long has the surgeon been doing it? 2. How many cases has he/she done? 3. Is it a longer operation (means more anesthesia time)? 4. Have there been any complications? Good luck on your surgery!

The answer to your question has to come from you. How do you feel about going to surgery for Mexico? Do you have a surgeon in the states who will do your fills? Do you have any medical issues besides obesity? I have a heart condition and had bilateral pulmonary emboli (blood clots in the lungs) so there was no decision for me to make. I HAD to have surgery in the states because it was the best choice for me given my circumstances. Do a lot of research before you opt for one place or another and consider all the options. I was denied twice by my insurance but appealed and won. You might also consider getting your own insurance for a year that does cover the procedure. As you can see, there is A LOT to consider.

I am currently writing my PhD dissertation and my specialization is post-secondary and adult education. The average grade of 65 (failing) is a bit worrisome. Perhaps the teaching methodology could be evaluated or the "dry" material could be better planned? When the "average" is failing, it's often a duel problem between teacher and learner. As to late submissions and extra credit, I'm with Bitter. I give a written and verbal explanation of the course requirements. Unless there is a very valid excuse (MD note of an unplanned surgery/illness), I don't deviate from the course outline. Research shows that when you hold people to high standards, they either rise to the challenge or fail. If you set low standards, excellence is never realized.

Do you also use pets? Laughter and pet therapy have been shown to be VERY effective in the healing process. You look WONDERFUL in your after photos and the world is a better place when people volunteer to help the less fortunate.

Before addressing the issue of her birthday, I would make sure that her mental health is OK. Clinical depression is nothing to be taken lightly and it sounds as if your wife has isolated herself to a few family members. Could it be that her turning 60 is just the "event" that brought to light what has been brewing for awhile?

Welcome Lizrbit. You're doing wonderfully and are well on your way. Lapbandit, I can relate to "unchartered territory" since I was a fat kid, fat adolescent and fat adult. I do remember going to weight watchers when I was 12 or 13 and weighing 218. THAT I will never forget because the WW woman told me my goal was 109 and that I "had to lose half of myself." You'll get to onderland soon. Look at how far you've come already!

Crystal, go and see an MD who specializes in infectious diseases. MRSA usually responds to a 6 week course of IV vancomycin. It's given twice a day and patients can self administer it with a PICC IV line and home care follow-up. I am assuming you had cellulitis of the lower legs. As long as your cultures are negative, surgery won't be a problem so check out the ID MD as soon as you can.

Lee, I think you are making a wise decision in focusing your attention on yourself and your personal goals before getting involved in a relationship. I am taking the same apporach and have learned that being alone does not translate to being lonely. My plan is to get me where I want me to be; a place where I am happy inside and out. Once that occurs, I'll be able to share that me with someone else and be a true partner in a meaningful relationship. Good luck with the surgery.

Hit a road block? You lost 7 pounds already and that's great!

You're definitely doing it right. Look at all the weight you lost! My problem with bread is that I LOVE it. If you give me a choice between hot bread and butter or cake and ice-cream, I'll take the bread hands down. Because of that, I can't eat bread slowly. I have to consciously chew it before swallowing. My surgeon was the one who advises toasting all breads before eating them as it helps to prevent it from getting stuck. I'm going for my next fill on 3/26. The ONLY thing I can't eat is shrimp and bread and the only reason why is because I simply can't chew it enough. So, I try and stay away from those 2 foods. I got 0.2 cc's on the last fill and that did little but my surgeon won't give fills more than 0.3-0.5 cc's after you reach 8 cc's. Sigh! I hope to feel better restriction after the 3/26 fill.

I can only do half an English muffin and I toast it VERY well. I put the PB or cheese on to melt but I don't eat it for a minute or two to allow the muffin to "harden" a bit. Often, I have this for lunch with a cup-a-soup and am filled until dinner time.

Give it 2 weeks to see how this fill does with you at 10 cc's. You might need another fill and the band can be filled with quite a bit more than 10 cc's so you're not at full capacity.

You will need a cardiology consult before you have surgery. He/she will likely order a stress test and also do an echocardiogram. This consult will be sent to your surgeon and appropriate medications (if necessary) will be ordered prior to the actual surgery. I was on coumadin and had to stop the coumadin and administer Lovenox injections 3 days pre-op and 5 days post-op. Most surgeons now administer a prophylactic antibiotic as you're going into surgery so you should do fine.

It's way too early in the political race for the White House for me to have formed an opinion. I vote my conscious and so far, I'm still researching, listening, and forming opinions.

OUCH! I want HER boobs (and body) minus the lobster PINCH!

It's soooooooooo easy to sneak food and I assume your daughter either goes to school or has a job or both. She must go out socially with friends and I don't think you're with her at these times. She's also old enough to buy her own food and stash it. Have you considered bringing your daughter to a registered dietician? If you accompany your daughter to the surgeon's office, let her go in alone. She might be more willing to be open and honest if you're not there. It can be very hard for a daughter to compete with her mother in losing weight so maybe some therapy might also help.

Tell your boss that cake makes you soooooooooooo tired that you can't eat it during working hours. No boss wants an unproductive employee. You can also bring in a fruit salad to share when the announce the next party. Many people are pre-diabetic/diabetic and others don't care for sweet cakes and would welcome the healthy addition.

You might find more responses to this post if you select a different place to display it. Belching is very common after a fill and it subsides once the swelling from the fill goes down... a few days. Try to eat smaller meals... even if it's 5 small meals a day. Some people use Beano to help with the belching and gas. It's wise to stick to fluids and a soft diet for the first 1-3 days post-fill.

All I had to do was fill out a diet history and that's what we discussed for about 30 minutes. Just about EVERYONE passes and it's a requirement by most surgeons as this surgery is elective. Hmmmm... I suppose if plastic surgery were covered by insurance, they might want one too. LOL.

I was prepared for the fact that the surgeon stands between your legs. In the patient handbook that his office gives you prior to surgery, the positioning was described as nearly everything else one could expect pre, intra, and post-op.

The rice cakes sound delicious. It's temping to get on the scale often but I find I have to limit it to 1-2 times a week and also to days I am off. I work 12 hour night shifts as an RN and am often on my feet for 14 hours. When I do 3 shifts in 3 days, I find I hold water and show a gain. After a day off a a good night's sleep, I weigh-in. Since my work days vary, I weigh 2 different days of the week.

What are some of your favorite snacks? I'm always looking for new things but I'll share some of mine and would love to hear what other people finds "fills the void." Mine include: - 60 calorie jello pudding (I put it in the freezer and it tastes like ice- cream and tastes longer to eat) - 100 calorie individual microwave popcorn packets (Orville Reddinbocker) - apple slices with 6 almonds - 100 calorie cheese ball packets - 100 calorie sunchips - 100 calorie pretzels - cup-a-soup - an orange (it takes a while to peel and you have to eat it slowly) - goat cheese spread on 1/2 (50 cal) of a low calorie English muffin - peanut butter spread on 1/2 (50 cal) of a low calorie English muffin (toasting allows you to "melt" the PB or cheese assuring you don't take in too many of those cals).

An endoscopy won't diagnose a gallbladder problem because it doesn't see into the abdominal cavity. You need an ultrasound or a HIDA scan so you'll know tomorrow. Based on your weight loss, sex, age, and symptoms, it's a good bet that the gallbladder is the problem. I developed HORRIBLE pain in the left chest. It was under the breast and went right through to my back. It felt like a heart attack. I was uncomfortable standing, sitting, bending... no relief from the pain and yes, the nausea is terrible. I feel for you because I know what you're going through. By the way, in the medical field we refer to the 4 F's with gallbladder problems, Female, Forty, Fertile, Fat (with/without significant weight loss). You're no longer fat but your very significant weight loss places you in the "at risk" category. Keep us posted on your progress.