Malaika

Thank GOD He put people on earth like you ... I wouldn't have the patience for 9 children ... when my kids were little and went to a private sitter, she had so many kids and her house was immaculate, lunch was at a certain time, nap at a certain time, Snacks at a certain time and all the kids were happy and loved her to death ... she and I are best friends and my children are now 26 and 30 ... and she's STILL doing it!!! There is definitely a special place in heaven for people like you... and her And I was talking to Rosebud2 today and we were saying how lucky we are we don't have children or others to have to cook for ... my fiance is totally capable of fending for himself. The only rule I had to establish during my recovery in the hospital is that he absolutely CANNOT bring any ice cream into the house ... that is the one thing that even if I was never hungry, I would eat ... actually frozen yogurt because I am lactose intolerant, but you get the drift! Hang in there and keep at it ... and as for exercise, why not take the older ones outside while the younger ones are napping and play some kickball or basketball or something that will help your stress and get you moving a bit? Just a thought.

Do they give those cards for the sleeve? And your evil stepsisters were probably too busy stuffing their faces with desserts to even notice ... or were happy you weren't eating them, as it left more for them.

Yeah, the two things that stick in my mind is the kid down the street calling me TANK (and he was no small thing himself let me tell you) and my dad saying he didn't want to move from California to Indiana because he didn't want his daughters marrying someone from the midwest and getting fat... to this day that rings in my head EVERY time I see my dad. I don't think he even remembers it or knows how it affected me and he never mentions my weight at all. It's amazing how the self-conscious can affect your self-esteem.

That sounds REALLY safe -- NOT!

and oh yeah .... We actually have been buying english cucumbers over the others - they seem to have more flavor, at least this time of the year. As for the eggplant - couldn't you slice it and grill it with a bit of garlic powder or salt & pepper (like I do my sweet potatoes)?

How funny WASa I used to do the exact same thing however, I got out of the habit -- I think once I'm back to real food, I'll pick it up again. Most of my items were fruit and a few veggies -however most I knew how to cook ... I'm sure you could go online and google recipes for those items. Will be interesting to see how they turn out/taste. Keep us posted.

I can't even phathom losing 100 lbs -- and if I try to "see" it I don't see it as happening, so I think I am going to be one of those that sets small goals and be happy when I make each little hurdle and not look at the big hurdle - it's too daunting to me right now. It will probably take me awhile after I do reach it to even believe it. I am not one to lose fast, so I am sure I will be one of those, too, that loses 2-3 lbs a week ... and that is quite okay with me. It's 2-3 lbs of LOSS and not GAIN and I can handle that. I have lost 7 lbs. since my date of surgery; however, I've always heard that the first 9 lbs are fluids. We'll all get there. After all, we didn't get fat overnight, so I'm sure we're not going to get thin overnight either. (DARN IT)

I know for a fact that the TT is going to be the first thing I am going to want to have done - heck, I've been wanting that done for several years; however, was going to wait until I lost my weight ... well here I am several years later and guess what? No TT and not enough lost weight. I will probably need the boob job too as I've wanted a perk job and once I lose the weight, since my boobs always seem to be where I lose first, I will probably need not only a perk job but implants as well. I'm going to see if the PS that I hope to use in LV will be able to write it in such a way that insurance will help cover the cost -- they won't cover any WLS and I don't know if they will consider this due to WLS and deny it as well. If so, I will check out the doctor in Mexicali. There was a gal that left Mexicali with us yesterday morning who had had a TT and boob lift/implants several months ago and she said her implants were something called gummy implants -- not yet available in the US ... she said they feel very real and they certainly looked real ... I'm sure a Bob would have been willing to test them himself if he hadn't been sitting in the back of the van...LOL I won't need to do anything to my arms except weight resistance, I am lucky in that my arms have never really carried much fat ... it's mostly all in my tummy and my inner thighs ... built in pillows is what I call them... LOL (If this is a duplicate post, I apologize -- I thought I had posted something along these lines on this thread; however, nothing shows up ... I'm so ditzy today I probably forgot to hit the right button)

Well I didn't go to school -- I started out as a legal secretary straight out of high school at 18 years of age and didn't know much at all ... everything I have learned, I have learned through hands-on experience and I think that you learn more that way than you do in any school. I know when attorneys get out of law school, they know the law, but nothing else and was once told by a new attorney that the best thing a new attorney could have is an experienced secretary. I have been in the legal field for 34 years so I have learned alot; however, every day I continue to learn. Stick with it and as your experience increases, make her pay you more or move to another firm ... if I can help in any way, let me know - although the laws are different in Oregon than in Nevada, some stuff is just the same all the way around ... and also, we often need referals in other states, so I'll keep in mind that you are in Oregon ... "talk" to later.

They seem to be selling it everywhere - Office Max, Best Buy, Wal-Mart ... it's working pretty good so far -- although he was just on a call and our internet went out and he dropped the call .. not sure if it's coincedence or not. Doing much better today ... barely sore at all ... did get the peacock poo today though ... LOL

IMO I think I'd start researching other surgeons too ... doesn't appear his stats are very good ... good luck with your final decision.

You don't even have to order majicjack - my fiance picked his up at Office Max - $39.95 - which is the cost it is everywhere and that includes the first year of service of $19.95. We didn't realize it would have worked if we had taken it with us to Mexicali or we would have done it in a heartbeat ... NOW we find out ... well, we're going on a cruise in September so you can bet we'll pack it then. We didn't have any luck getting Verizon service over by the border wall either ... although Bob did find that if he went up to the 2nd floor he was able to get limited US tower service.

I'm a paralegal. Up until 2 years ago I had always worked insurance defense; however, things have changed so much in Las Vegas with a lot of California firms coming in and "merging" or buying out Las Vegas firms, that I decided to make a change ... so in October 2007 I started working for a personal injury law firm ... probably the ONLY one that I would ever work for in Las Vegas as they are not ambulance chasers and truly care about their clients ... most do not, are only in it for the money. It's a well-established, small firm and I love it. Although working Plaintiff is quite a bit different than defense, so it is a challenge at well - but then that keeps my mind active, which is good. What do you do?

Hi Lib - glad to hear you found out what the problem was and that you're feeling better -- wonder why it got stuck? Maybe not cut small enough or chewed enough? Or was it due to the scratch? Important thing, it's not there now.

You guys will do GREAT! Ernesto is quiet; however, if you talk to him, he will talk to you -- ask him any questions -- he had the sleeve done 10 weeks ago and has lost 50 lbs. He has his before pics in the glove box. You will LOVE Lucy she is like a gattlin gun - she moves you in and out of each phase like a whirlwind. The gal who took my blood did a super job, you can't even see where she took it from - and that's unusual for me. The anesthesiologist is great, informative, and very easy on the eyes. EVERYONE is superb and puts you at ease ... then you're off to the resort which is gorgeous and everyone there is incredibly nice and helpful. Don't forget to take the antibiotic and sleeping pill they give you the night before! The next morning everything runs like clockwork and you'll be back in your room before you know it ... and you will absolultey LOVE Dr. Aceves ... he is a truly warm and compassionate man. I can't say enough good things about the entire experience, considering it was major surgery ... tell everyone Susan from Las Vegas said HELLO ... if you have Francisco as a nurse, he's great too. TRUST ME, YOU WILL BE FINE -- LOOK AT THE PICTURE NEXT TO THE SCALE BEFORE YOU ENTER THE AREA WHERE YOUR ROOM IS -- IT SAYS IT ALL ... JESUS WITH HIS HAND ON THE SURGEON'S HAND ... KEEP US POSTED (and if you like to use kleenex, bring some, they don't have any at the hospital)

Seems like an awful lot of work ... I'd just wear a top that covers up the marks until they go away ... you should see the bruise I have from my IV -- I bruise very easily ...

Being in the legal field, I strongly suggest you find a good and reputable probate attorney that can handle all the matters for you and all you need do is sign the paperwork ... I used to work probate/estate and there is a lot of work involved ... you're better off to pay someone to do all the leg work/court work for you.

Hey Denise - glad you made it home safely and hopefully can settle into some "normal" life and focus on you. We missed you!

Yes, I am home and doing okay. I feel one of the lucky ones, too, actually. I know the pain could be so much worse and that there could have been complications and there weren't. That makes me lucky. Yes, the trip home was a bit wearing; however I think that is because I didn't plan ahead enough and forgot to pack anything protein-wise for the trip home ... luckily we stopped in Baker at Big Boys and they had Soup that I was able to convince the manager to give me mostly broth and I was able to "nurse" that on the way home and that helped ... I'm hoping the massive headaches I have been having will dissipate tomorrow ... then I'll feel great! I'll got your Nexium, I'll get in touch with you tomorrow and figure out a good time to deliver it.

Welcome - and we're great "listeners" and you can "talk" to us about ANYTHING ... so far nothing is off limits that I've discovered.

And one more thing on exes .... when I finally told my ex I wanted a divorice and told him all the reasons (which we had discussed a zillion times) his one and only response: WELL AT LEAST I NEVER TOLD YOU YOU WERE FAT! (As though I couldn't look in a mirror and see that for myself?) Talk about NOT GETTING IT!

Ruthi was a trooper -- I thought I had a high pain threshold - natural childbirth - my second son being 8' 14 oz. 21-1/2" long - sounds like a high pain threshold to me ... UNTIL I met Ruthi the wonder woman. I was in my room in recovery; Eyfura was talking to me (she had surgery on the 10th) and we see them wheel Ruthi to her room down the hall ... about the time the attendants went by my room - there was Ruthi in my room seeing how I was doing ... day 2 -- blue test ... it took me most of the day to get through 2/3 of it ... Lucy had to keep prompting me ... Ruthi had that and was on tray 2 of juice and hot tea by the time I finally got the OK I'd drank enough. She was just amazing ... we would go out walking and point out I was "leaning" (to my left side where the drain tube was because it hurt -- I didn't even realize I was doing it) and she was running circles around me. I am doing better today; however if you'd seen Ruthi you would never have known she even had surgery ... she's back to work tomorrow and I'm HOPING I feel well enough to go back on Thursday ... everyone is different and I am SO GLAD that we went together and that Eyfura was still there ... plus there was another gal that had surgery on Sat. that is from Henderson NV so we made another acquaintance Thanks to everyone for their well wishes and thoughts!

Good luck on your decision and if you're not sure you're ready - then don't do it -- it will be there when you make a decision.

Cool. I'm already looking forward to full fluids ... and like everyone else seems to have ... am craving tomato soup! Bob did pick up some cup-of-Soup tonight and it was beef .. nice change from chicken broth ... I also put some chicken broth in the crock pot and added a bunch of veggies for flavor (suggested by another poster) and I will eat on that while Bob eats the veggies :-) ... I am already tired of Clear liquids I can tell you that!

CONGRATULATIONS ... as to what to buy, what to pack, etc., I can PM you the list that my doctor's nurse sent me -- it would at least be a start and give you an idea ... let me know. I still have it handy and refer to it upon occasion.