dawnstunes

Hey Carol- Good to hear from you. Sorry, I am not very tech-ish can't help you with the little box thingy. ;0) Yep, summer was rough, just have to keep my eyes facing forward....this too shall pass. Becky, if you want to get together give us a holler and we can make a date. I will try to keep in touch. Dawn

Hi Carol----Yes, life is truly very busy!! I think of you gals often and wonder how you are doing. I had the surgery this summer for the blood clot in the leg and am fully recovered from that. Besides having scars up and down my leg I don't even know that I had it. I take Coumadin now due to having the clot issues. I may have a factor in my blood that causes me to be "very clotty" but they can't test for it unless I am off of Coumadin and then if I have it, well, they will lots of times put you on Coumadin so...... It has been a rough last couple of months for me, I got an awful rash the last week of August. Long story short and spare the details, after 5 meds. and a referral to a Dermatologist I think I have developed an allergy to the Whey in the Optimum Nutrition shakes. I love these things, extreme milk chocolate is yum-O. This saddens me because of my hectic schedule this was usually my breakfast. I have cut it out of my diet for the last 2 weeks and for the first time since the end of August I have no rash. I go to the dermatologist on Wed. so I suppose she can confirm this or not but I have no idea and neither did my G.P. I am happy to report that I have lost a total of 88# since surgery. I was hoping to be at 100# this fall but this is good and I have seen many non-scale victories, and for those I am thankful!! Due to having the blood clot and surgery in July-Aug. I was not exercising and therefore not dropping as many pounds. I am probably due for a small fill but was going to wait another couple of weeks so that I can make it through the winter. My last fill was in June or July and it has worked very well until just the last couple of weeks. I don't want to get too filled, especially if I can't drink the shakes in the AM I will end up a gagging, slimming mess. :cool2: Let me know if you guys think we can get together again before the snow flies, I would love to see you and could come to Lincoln if you want. Dawn

Hi Everyone, How is you summer going? I haven't talked with anyone and was hopeful that you are all well. I had to have surgery last month for a blood clot in my leg, entire vein stripped from groin to below knee. I am pre-disposed to having problems and am taking Coumadin again, boo hoo. I had this big plan for the summer with my exercise routine and wanted to be more toned and fit but life happens!! I am happy to report that I have lost a total of 80# since surgery and am feeling much better otherwise. I am really getting lots of compliments anymore and it feels nice. Drop me a line and let me know how you are all getting along. We are in the midst of fair projects these days with the 3 kiddo's and so I am not sure that I can get away for an "yellow shirts" outting until the 2nd week of August. Busy Momma!!

congrats!!!!!!

I appreciate the encouragement, we are after all some of our own worst critics, I am sure of it. Thanks.

CONGRATS!!!! I too am waiting to be able to say that I have less than 100# to go!! I got a fill on Thursday in my 4CC band. I am now at 2.8. I have been very conservative in getting fills because I was working on modifying my habits. My practitioner that does my fills tells me that I am doing a great job in that I am working on it as a whole, she calls me her model patient. I don't see it. I am bummed that I haven't lost more than I have but I know we should not compare. (Perhaps I would be down a little more if I had been a little more aggressive in getting filled every 6 wks. or so over the last 6 months.) Of course we aren't supposed to drink every meal. ;0) I guess when we have this much to lose that we get impatient. The non scale victories of being able to buy clothing at the stores VS ordering from a specialty catalog OR the stamina/tolerance of working in the garden and being outdoors are wonderful!! Keep up the good work everyone.

Hi Guys, Sorry I had every intention of coming to Morton but plans changed and I was in Bloomington when I should have been in Morton!! :tongue2: Just wondering how everyone was getting along. I had another fill on Thursday and I am now at 2.8CC. This feels like it's about right, although I have to remember not to take a large drink of water in the AM with my dry mouth. OUCH YIKES!! The morning starts out slow and then I am able to have a little more at lunch and then a small supper so that just might work. Girls, I am really struggling with that bad vein in my leg and am headed to the surgeon again on Friday to see about when we can do surgery. The whole superficial vein is just hardening and clotting here and there and it is inflammed and sore!! My mobility and lifestyle has taken a hit and I am more sedentary than I had been = less exercise= less wt. loss. The doctor seems to think that I am a good candidate for the laser method and so I will be more mobile after the procedure. Keep your fingers crossed........I just want it fixed so that I can ride my bike and get moving again. I have a few more pounds to get rid of to get to my mile marker and I want it gone. Let me know how you are all doing. Happy Summer!!

Just stopping in to say hi, hope all of you are doing good. Just wondering if we had a day in May yet. Wanted to get it on the calendar. Monday nights are out for me and on the 15th the kids have 4-H mtg. Gimmie a holler and will get it figured out. Still want to do a Tues. night?

Hi All- Just checking in to see how things went in Lincoln and how you are all doing. Carol and Becky I hated to miss but I am trying to save my voice for this weekend. I am singing with the Habitat for Humanity Choir to raise money for future homes in McLean County. I was so pumped and have gone to rehersals and then to have no voice the week of the concert. Arrgh!!! At least it is back now. I think it is allergy related because I have had a few rough days here as the pollen counts hit the "very high" mark. Had to pull out the inhaler, something I haven't done since losing 65#. Becky how is your fill working for you? I know you as I were both scheduled for the 10th, did you get one then? I never got that one on the 10th myself. I feel like I could use about a 1/2 cc some days I think but then on some days I don't need any more and am more "gaggy". So gonna save some gas $$ and just try and be a little more diligent with exercise and eating. The gall bladder deal could have something to do with that. So far so good, the meds are going down and no more attacks!! Carol, hope that you are off to a good start, can't wait to see you girls again I am sure you will look different and have stories to share. I have started walking again with my daughter and she is motivated right now too so maybe we can work to keep each other going. Don't forget exercise is one of the tools. I only have 11 more # to go and I will be back in the 2's!!! Guess that's all, they are going to edit my post. ;0)

YOU GUYS I'M SICK!!! I was so looking forward to coming to Lincoln but am not doing good. I too have a sore throat, cough and no voice. My hubby and kids are getting a kick out of that one. :tongue_smilie: Not sure if it is allergy related or what but as for coming down it is not looking too good. I hope that you have a good time and let me know when and where the next one is going to be. BECKY: Hope that you are feeling better soon also!!

Carol, I agree it was so nice meeting you gals. I had fun and was able to gather some good tips too. Thanks for the gas-x. Becky, I had forgotten all about papaya enzymes, gonna get some tomorrow!! I had to pull some of my info. out that I got from IBC and review it. Like I mentioned I was getting a bit sloppy and it was good to listen to you gals who are in the first few months (wks) out and pick up little reminders that I needed to help me stay focused. Hope the rest of your week goes good. By the way on thedailyplate.com there are 3 band groups, you find them by typing in lap band in the search section. That is as far as I got because I just stumbled upon it this morning but haven't had time to look any further at it. See you in a few weeks.

Here is my 10 cents worth. Last Monday I was in the ER with belching/burping, chest pains and nausea. My worry was that I had a blood clot in my lung or something since I have one at this time located in a superficial vein in my leg. All of my pain was in the left chest area and radiated into my back left shoulder blade and mid-back area. Needless to say I was worried. I had an EKG, cat-scan and ultrasound/sonogram done on my legs and stomach. No clots to worry about other than the one I have. The results were that I had "some gall stones" I am awaiting a call back from my PC physician as to just how bad it looks, he was gone the last half of the week. ;0( My pain lasted for 4 days and I was sent home with pain killers. The doc said since I was already eating relatively low fat foods and a smart diet that it could have something to do with some gall issues pre-banding that I didn't know about. I have also heard that as you lose weight it can be taxing on the liver and gallbladder removing all of the wastes in the body. As I have been reading and researching this past week I am finding that it appears that band patients do experience some issues with the gallbladder. My doctor also explained that the nerves are all interconnected in the abdomen area and that I could be having some "phantom pains" from my band. I thought it odd since it has been a year almost but as I am reading I guess that it is something that occurs. So, I too, am interested in finding out more about this gall issue and banding if any others care to share their stories it might help us out.

I DID IT I DID IT...I had to use the other code I was using the html code and that wasn't working.

Ok, so I am a dork I guess. I made my own ticker and cut and paste the code with my right mouse clicker then I also tried to cut and paste with the ctrl c ctrl v method....nothing works. It tells me that my signature has too many lines. I am even using a small font. Any ideas anyone?

My family and I were just at Denny's last night and if my memory serves me correctly Tuesday night is Tomato Basil and Chicken Noodle soup night. OK now you can maybe give me some help. I want to get one of those cute little tickers did you just put this as part of your signature and update it as needed??

Yep, this is the Tuesday that we get to meet. LOL on the "drink out". That's kind of what I was thinking. At this time you are still on liquid and softies right? You could bring your protein shaker and drink mix and order skim milk or if you have some protein soup powder get hot water. There is also good ol jello, applesauce or cottage cheese. Just as an FYI I will share with you some of my favorite little staples that I keep on hand and use. I drink Optimum Nutrition's Gold Standard Whey Powder in Extreme Milk Chocolate or French Vanilla Creme a lot in the mornings for breakfast. I also take it along when I have an outing or hectic errand day, it keeps me out of trouble. You can mix this up a little at the stage that you are in and add a bit of fat free yogurt, or a banana, sometimes the vanilla is good with orange juice as a dreamsicle. You can make it and freeze it for a bit and then you have a treat. I find that cold things are better later in the day or when I am really open as they don't go down as easy sometimes. Another couple of suggestions are Unjury chicken soup flavor and unflavored to mix with broths or cream soups as your protein. Lastly, Herbalife company carries a Shapeworks program that has powdered mixes for the on the go days or liquid stage folks. The mixes I use are the Peach Mango and Wildberry flavored beverage drink mixes and the Creamy Chicken soup mix. I look for bargains and will admit that most of this was picked up on ebay or amazon. I may have gotten the Unjury from their website due to the $ being pretty good. Know this is a long post but it is key to success to be prepared and have in your purse or car a few of these for just in case times so that you can stay on track instead of falling back into old habits. It is much easier to get hot/cold water or milk to mix things in than to try and choke something down and hurt yourself. :scared2:

Carol- Hope that you are feeling better by now. I know that when I had my surgery I too had the gas/bloat pains. I found it helpful to use a heating pad or rice bag on it to ease the discomfort. It would be fun to meet you on Tues. night but don't want you to overdo it, take care and keep us posted.

Cool, it would appear as though we may just have the makings of a new Bloomington area "band group." :biggrin2: I must admit that I am a Biggest Loser fan and like to watch that on Tuesdays, but hey, that can always be recorded. The kids have 4-H on every 3rd Thursday and so that week of the month is out otherwise I would be ok with the 4th, 6th, 11th or 13th of March. Six to 6:30 is about the earliest I can meet because of my job. I do know that the bypass group uses the North Main Street Denny's in Normal, it's right off of the highway and they go to the back room......just an idea. I think that they kind of have this standing appt. with the restaurant and as far as I know Denny's is cool with it. You guys can contact me via my email too at dawnstunes@yahoo.com

I too was banded in Clinton and it appears as though there is a support system in place down there and in the Champaign/Springfield areas but I, like you, would like to not travel so far. I had also heard that the Peoria group is a bit "Peoriaish" if you will. I made my concerns known to the practitioner Janine at IBC when I had my fill on Monday. She said that she noticed that there was a need in the Bloomington area and that she would talk to Dr. Rohrschieb about it. Until then......we could see what we could do about getting together on our own somewhere??

I live just west of Bloomington about 12 miles and would love to meet some folks who would like to have a Bloomington group. There is a support system for Bariatric patients in the Bloomington area but it is made up of mostly all bypass patients, similar, but it is still apples and oranges.