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FWIW, I'm into BodyMods, specifically piercings and in that realm titanium is regarded as the best materia to place in a fresh piercing as it so rarely causes an allergic reaction. It's almost entirely hypo allergenic.

I'm supposed to eat 4 oz every hour. I can't, it's too much in one shot. So I eat 2 oz every half hour. For the food portion, I Water down Campbells broccoli and cheese. I make a big pot (1 can-skim milk based) and put it in the fridge. Then when I need some, I just measure out my 2 oz. Because it cools quick, I make it nice and hot and eat with a spoon. For my powder I do: 8 oz skim milk 8 oz Crystal Lite Orange (sugar free Tang is even better, if you can find it.) 2 scoops whey vanilla (contains 60g protein) purchased at Walmart. BLEND WELL. Chill a tray of orange ice cubes. Either drink (or nurse )4 oz ever few hours, or nurse an 8 oz glass half the day, and the other, the second half. The orange ice cubes help keep the taste going, and it really takes like an orange smoothie. I'm sure other Crystal Lite Flavors would substitute well, like strawberry. OH and I keep a diary so I don't forget. Weird, before the lapband, I could get up in the morning and not even think about food until 6 hours later. Now, I'm HUNGRY. I guess it's completely psychological. As a large person I knew I was supposed to eat three meals a day to keep up a good metabolism (and mind is sluggish and hypo), but I just couldn't bring myself to doing it. BUT was forced to to keep that diary and eat all those meals to prepare for the surgery. Now that I'm used to eating all day, going liquid sure is hard. I feel that I just need to immerse myself in some work and I'll forget how hungry I am all the time. So that when I set the timer to remind me to eat, I'll be pleasantly happy OR maybe disillusional.:eek:

Hi again - its me with the interesting questions! My friend who is also considering surgery has Hypo- Thyroidism - does anyone know if she is a candidate for surgery or not? kind regards M:)

Getting effective restriction is something that is really hard. First off, many doctors do not use INAMED's recommendation to use a fluoroscope to obtain a visual confirmation of the effects of the fill. Plus, some patient's stomachs have a very dense fat-pad which resists the pressure from the fill at first, then it gives way, resulting in a delayed-action fill. Plus some patient's stomachs are more reactive to the pressure cause by the fill, and those people will experience reactive swelling caused by that irritation. In those people, a fill that would provide normal restriction in another patient will completely swell the stoma shut, sending them back to the doctor for an unfill. Some doctors use an arbitrary number for a fill amount. Like the INAMED standard of a 4CC fill in a Vanguard Band, followed by 1.0CC fills. Some doctors use the amount of resistance the feel on the plunger of the saline syringe to determine fill level. Some doctors fill a band to obstruction, then have you swallow Water, which pools in your esophagus, then they slowly back out the plunger in the saline syringe until you feel the water going down your neck. Some doctors have you drink water before you leave the office after a fill, and some don't. Some doctors tell you no solid food before a fill, some don't. Some doctors tell you to go back to solid food immediately after a fill, some say take it easy or put you on a Clear liquids or full liquids diet for a number of days. Some doctors will fill as close as 2 weeks, some will not fill unless 12 weeks or more have passed. Some doctors will not give a fill if you are still losing ANY amount of weight. So yes, getting to a "Sweet spot" (What I call "Effective Restriction") is not only tedious, time-consuming and expensive.... IT'S FRUSTRATING, AS WELL.

Kat - Hi! I'm doing good since last fill. Just staying quite and trying to stay caught up with all the posts. I had red spots on my tongue before - they said I had strep throat that wasn't treated and spreads - I have a thyroid condition - hypo (under-active) -all they ever did was blood test to check hormone levels -- I hope all is okay there. Judy - Fantastic pictures - WOW the boat is HUGE! Pamela - WOW - you look fantastic! Terri - hope you are having fun! Have a good day everyone!

I thought about having that also, not sure if it would work with both rings together now.. but my husband told me (the jeweler said it was 10 bucks), the metal they use is 'fake metal'.. which I'm highly allergic to, I break out in rashes unless it's real gold. Do you know the content of them? If they are hypo-allergenic I wanted to try those. Otherwise, I think I'm going to end up tying a string in there.

Make sure you're taking a daily. Potassium is the culprit for me. Other elements can be a cause, too. Also, don't go out and start takings lots of supplements. I've seen people do this reactively - bad thing. Take what you need and what's within safe guidelines, nothing more. Bad, bad things can come out of "harmlessly" taking too many Vitamins, potassium supplements, etc.

Well, have to tell you all ... my baby turns 21 at midnight!!!!! YIKES!!! Talk about a restless and nerve racking night!!!! She just left for the evening and I am a bundle of nerves!!!! I can't wait til these next few days are over!!!! She just thinks her dad and I are way to over reactive, but man, it scares the daylights out of me!!! She did promise not to drive and will stay at a friends, but nonetheless, they are going out too!!!!:nervous Oh well, besides that, we took her to Red Lobster tonight, because that is where she wanted to go ... I'm thinking well, what am I gonna eat there? ... it wasn't bad, I had about 3 bites of salad, 5-6 bites of mashed potatoes, probably 1/4 cup of cooked veggies, and 1/2 of a haddock broiled and lightly seasoned haddock fillet. So wasn't bad, no problems and I am feeling great this evening!!! So there is life after the band!!!! I do enjoy going out once in awhile, it is nice to know we can!!!

Hello, I had my first fill on the 19th. I have a total of 5.6 cc's and it's taking some getting used to. I didn't have a problem with any foods prior to the fill, now I'm hungry but can't eat much. I've done the whole Pb'ing etc..... even with mushies. Tuna was the only thing that worked today. I'm happy that the weight loss has been reactivated, but it's hard to keep enough proteins in me so that I don't feel light-headed.

I was on Lactated Ringers IV fluids (contains some glucose) so no worries with going hypo. Then they monitored my blood sugar and gave me a small dose if insulin when it was too high. Post-op you may find that you have to decrease your dosages of diabetes meds. Check with you doctor and see what s/he says. I stopped taking one of my meds about a week pre-op with the intent of going back on it after surgery, but not only did I not ever get back on it, I was completely off ALL DM meds about three weeks post-op.

As a bandster, I have to disagree with this statement. I'm not saying we need to rigidly schedule our meals and never deviate from that routine, but I've found that if I let myself get too hungry I almost always eat too fast and make myself sick. As a diabetic, here's what I have done (and I'm now off ALL diabetes meds since about three weeks post-op). I follow Supreme Band Rule #1 (I made that up, like it?) and eat my Protein first, then my green veggies, then any low GI carb source last (only if there's room). I am eating very low-carb by default. I also eat a little something every few hours, for a couple of reasons. First, until I am off meds for at least a year I still consider myself diabetic and try to avoid hypo episodes at all cost. Second, that helps to boost your metabolism and keeps the weight loss going. As for your original topic of head hunger, I think we all have to deal with that to a point. I haven't found any magic bullet for it yet. :phanvan

Really do get the Thyroid checked. I have hypo thyroid and it can REALLY affect your weight loss/gain, hair loss, nails, sleeplessness, fatigue, etc. But, with medication it can be easily cared for.

Hi everyone---once again, thank you more than I know how to say for the continued prayers for my family and my little Kinsey in particular. It seems that is was just an everyday gastro intestinal virus that was especially vicious, and contagious, as it has now taken 4 generations of us (my Mom is now sick) down in less than a week. No one else who was at the anniversary has been ill, so thankfully I did not poison everyone. Most of us have been hit hard, and recovered about as quickly, not so with Kinsey. Her case has left her with issues in the colon. Her colon is inflamed, and non reactive. It is not allowing food to enter, so there is no absorption taking place. She is failing, bit by bit, and they have continued to tell us to wait it out. Today, they finally decided maybe that isn't working---and we had a surgical consult. He sent off yet more specimans for culture....and if it warrants it, we will be flying her to either Albuquerque to the University Hospital, or to Denver to the Children's hospital, depending on what type of issue they think we are dealing with. They have downgraded her condition to critical. She bounces from sleeping, which we found out was caused by her blood sugar being below 40! To being so irritable as to not be recognizable--a screaming raging child....to one sobbing for food. It absolutely has broken my heart into a million, million pieces. She tells us point blank she is hungry, and asks for any and all kind of food she can think of...with giant tears in her big blue eyes....then she just goes limp, with the look of total dejection. She is 2, she does not understand why we keep letting them poke her, why we will not feed her....why we don't help her when she tells us her tummy hurts. She begs, Please Granny. And repeats "no pokes, no needles, please" everytime someone new enters the room. Add to this heartache (and it is TRUE heart ACHE), my DD's ex, Kinsey's father, is there trying as usual to be the funny man---and his mother an OR nurse at the hospital we are in, going behind everyones backs and putting down Dr.s and nurses, and questioning them and ultimately pissing them off--- and causing problems....I do not know which way to turn. The ex, and his Mom were arguing with my DD about whether the Dr. might want to run a blood test that might tell them about a disease that my DD's grandma on her Dads side had called Celiac Disease. The nurse dislikes the former MIL anyway, so ordered everyone except the 2 who have been staying the night with Kinsey out of the ward. Now this being said....the arguement was not loud, it was out of the room, and Kinsey is the ONLY patient in Peds. She saw it as a chance to get rid of Renee (former MIL) and did it. So we all were banished. My DD was there with her bf/fiance....they had not had a chance to eat...well we are fighting to get DD to eat, she refuses until her baby can eat....it is more than I know how to handle. Rick waited until shift change, and took some dinner to the hospital, and they were going to take turns going to the waiting room---I just don't think my DD is eating at all either---I keep telling her Kinsey needs her strong. It is very hard to put anything in your mouth knowing she is begging for the same. There were 3 nurses on the floor today, with Kinsey the only patient. At one point, she had a blow out---we had her in a diaper, due to this happening...but she went through the diaper, all over the bed, all over her Mama, her gown, the whole 9 yards. I sent my DD to change, and I proceeded to clean Kinsey up after telling the nurse. They were each on a computer comparing prices of the new Harry Potter book. I got Kinsey cleaned up, walked her out to the hall, found her a new gown in the shelf, took her in and dressed her. By then her Mama was back, and she sat down and held her, while I stripped the bed. I went walking out into the hall with this wad of smelly sheets and ask what they wanted me to do with them, she POINTED to a soiled linens hamper thing. Then she got up, walked to a closet, and handed me linens for the bed! They did not come in and disinfect the mattress----nor did she make the bed! I did. Our baby needed to lay down. They come in 2 times today and did vitals----nothing else. She is still casted, it was due to come off today, the nurse never mentioned to the Dr, we needed a ortho consult until after office hours---now she is stuck until Monday. They did not offer to help bathe her----NOTHING!!! Changed one bag of IV fluids....took 2 sets of vitals.....and surfed the net all day. Now this is the first day for this set of nurses....all of the other shifts, and sets of nurses we have had, have went out of their way to make us comfy, and help our little one in any way---today they were absolutely worthless. Tomorrow I intend on finding out who the nursing supervisor is, and filing a complaint. I have no way to make our baby better.....and I have emotions pent up that those worthless women know nothing about----but are fixing to find out about! While I am there seeing the supervisor or charge nurse or whoever....I will also mention, that we had Kinsey in a wagon pulling her around and around and around the 3rd floor......anythnig but her room, she was so tired of her room....and on one of our turns we passed the ICU entrance. There was a male nurse there Julian, who teased her every time she passed, he would hand her a new crayon.....then a piece of paper....and finally a stuffed doll (out of one of the claw grabber kind of machines it seems). She was so listless, but she would spark a little knowing we were coming up to where he was....he helped our day immensley....I will commend him, as I do my best to take the others down. Amanda said he even come by to tell her to get well, he was going on his 4 days off, and he hoped she was home and well before he come back to work. Her nurse.....never even walked into the room before she left. Thank you all for listening once again---all these things are boiling inside me. I am scared to death for Kinsey. Latching onto the anger I can control. The plan as it stands now is to begin introducing good bacteria into the system tomorrow...similar to what is found in yogurt. IF the tests do not show a total shut down. If they show a total failure, we are off to a bigger hospital for surgery. She has lost weight, she is under 17 pounds now. She doesn't show it much because she is really swollen from all of the IV fluids. They are also watching her blood sugars every 3 hours (which is just another poke----and was NOT done on schedule today), and adjusting the glucose in her IV. They finally gave her some Pepcid type of stuff in her IV for the acid in her stomach, since nothing is passing normally. She has complained less of her tummy hurting with that. And that is all----we wait now....and wait....and wait....and wait. I have my lap top, and I have connection. I just cannot sit in her room with these tears streaming down my face. You guys are my release in so many ways....thank you so much. I will let you know something as soon as I can. Please continue the prayers. Rick has avoided the vomiting....we got him some Kaitrel or something like that....so he is hanging tough. Being right there holding her like her Papa always does. Hugs to you all! Sounds like the food issues continue---I promise you girls---it gets easier, it becomes normal dare I say? Kat

Hi everyone---once again, thank you more than I know how to say for the continued prayers for my family and my little Kinsey in particular. It seems that is was just an everyday gastro intestinal virus that was especially vicious, and contagious, as it has now taken 4 generations of us (my Mom is now sick) down in less than a week. No one else who was at the anniversary has been ill, so thankfully I did not poison everyone. Most of us have been hit hard, and recovered about as quickly, not so with Kinsey. Her case has left her with issues in the colon. Her colon is inflamed, and non reactive. It is not allowing food to enter, so there is no absorption taking place. She is failing, bit by bit, and they have continued to tell us to wait it out. Today, they finally decided maybe that isn't working---and we had a surgical consult. He sent off yet more specimans for culture....and if it warrants it, we will be flying her to either Albuquerque to the University Hospital, or to Denver to the Children's hospital, depending on what type of issue they think we are dealing with. They have downgraded her condition to critical. She bounces from sleeping, which we found out was caused by her blood sugar being below 40! To being so irritable as to not be recognizable--a screaming raging child....to one sobbing for food. It absolutely has broken my heart into a million, million pieces. She tells us point blank she is hungry, and asks for any and all kind of food she can think of...with giant tears in her big blue eyes....then she just goes limp, with the look of total dejection. She is 2, she does not understand why we keep letting them poke her, why we will not feed her....why we don't help her when she tells us her tummy hurts. She begs, Please Granny. And repeats "no pokes, no needles, please" everytime someone new enters the room. Add to this heartache (and it is TRUE heart ACHE), my DD's ex, Kinsey's father, is there trying as usual to be the funny man---and his mother an OR nurse at the hospital we are in, going behind everyones backs and putting down Dr.s and nurses, and questioning them and ultimately pissing them off--- and causing problems....I do not know which way to turn. The ex, and his Mom were arguing with my DD about whether the Dr. might want to run a blood test that might tell them about a disease that my DD's grandma on her Dads side had called Celiac Disease. The nurse dislikes the former MIL anyway, so ordered everyone except the 2 who have been staying the night with Kinsey out of the ward. Now this being said....the arguement was not loud, it was out of the room, and Kinsey is the ONLY patient in Peds. She saw it as a chance to get rid of Renee (former MIL) and did it. So we all were banished. My DD was there with her bf/fiance....they had not had a chance to eat...well we are fighting to get DD to eat, she refuses until her baby can eat....it is more than I know how to handle. Rick waited until shift change, and took some dinner to the hospital, and they were going to take turns going to the waiting room---I just don't think my DD is eating at all either---I keep telling her Kinsey needs her strong. It is very hard to put anything in your mouth knowing she is begging for the same. There were 3 nurses on the floor today, with Kinsey the only patient. At one point, she had a blow out---we had her in a diaper, due to this happening...but she went through the diaper, all over the bed, all over her Mama, her gown, the whole 9 yards. I sent my DD to change, and I proceeded to clean Kinsey up after telling the nurse. They were each on a computer comparing prices of the new Harry Potter book. I got Kinsey cleaned up, walked her out to the hall, found her a new gown in the shelf, took her in and dressed her. By then her Mama was back, and she sat down and held her, while I stripped the bed. I went walking out into the hall with this wad of smelly sheets and ask what they wanted me to do with them, she POINTED to a soiled linens hamper thing. Then she got up, walked to a closet, and handed me linens for the bed! They did not come in and disinfect the mattress----nor did she make the bed! I did. Our baby needed to lay down. They come in 2 times today and did vitals----nothing else. She is still casted, it was due to come off today, the nurse never mentioned to the Dr, we needed a ortho consult until after office hours---now she is stuck until Monday. They did not offer to help bathe her----NOTHING!!! Changed one bag of IV fluids....took 2 sets of vitals.....and surfed the net all day. Now this is the first day for this set of nurses....all of the other shifts, and sets of nurses we have had, have went out of their way to make us comfy, and help our little one in any way---today they were absolutely worthless. Tomorrow I intend on finding out who the nursing supervisor is, and filing a complaint. I have no way to make our baby better.....and I have emotions pent up that those worthless women know nothing about----but are fixing to find out about! While I am there seeing the supervisor or charge nurse or whoever....I will also mention, that we had Kinsey in a wagon pulling her around and around and around the 3rd floor......anythnig but her room, she was so tired of her room....and on one of our turns we passed the ICU entrance. There was a male nurse there Julian, who teased her every time she passed, he would hand her a new crayon.....then a piece of paper....and finally a stuffed doll (out of one of the claw grabber kind of machines it seems). She was so listless, but she would spark a little knowing we were coming up to where he was....he helped our day immensley....I will commend him, as I do my best to take the others down. Amanda said he even come by to tell her to get well, he was going on his 4 days off, and he hoped she was home and well before he come back to work. Her nurse.....never even walked into the room before she left. Thank you all for listening once again---all these things are boiling inside me. I am scared to death for Kinsey. Latching onto the anger I can control. The plan as it stands now is to begin introducing good bacteria into the system tomorrow...similar to what is found in yogurt. IF the tests do not show a total shut down. If they show a total failure, we are off to a bigger hospital for surgery. She has lost weight, she is under 17 pounds now. She doesn't show it much because she is really swollen from all of the IV fluids. They are also watching her blood sugars every 3 hours (which is just another poke----and was NOT done on schedule today), and adjusting the glucose in her IV. They finally gave her some Pepcid type of stuff in her IV for the acid in her stomach, since nothing is passing normally. She has complained less of her tummy hurting with that. And that is all----we wait now....and wait....and wait....and wait. I have my lap top, and I have connection. I just cannot sit in her room with these tears streaming down my face. You guys are my release in so many ways....thank you so much. I will let you know something as soon as I can. Please continue the prayers. Rick has avoided the vomiting....we got him some Kaitrel or something like that....so he is hanging tough. Being right there holding her like her Papa always does. Hugs to you all! Kat

Thanks bigsexy! But help me too, my TSH was .005 Which is that? Hypo or hyper? If I remember correctly that is low TSH so therefore you have HYPER - or overactive thyroid. MY TSH was somewhere like 15 for reference. I don't remember what the normal range of TSH was but for some reason the numbers 5-8 are sticking out in my head. EDIT: Sorry just realized i put hypo rather than HYPER

Thanks bigsexy! But help me too, my TSH was .005 Which is that? Hypo or hyper?

I am hypo - mom was hyper and had to ahve her thyroid removed. I have seen a dr. who does not believe in the standard guidelines for hypo and hyper meaning that with meds I was considered normal (borderline)but had all the symptoms of still being hypo. He changed my meds and I feel so much better. I guess my point is that if you are borderline, I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you start feeling a rapid heartbeat or feel really hyperactive then I'd get it rechecked. My mom was a basketcase when she was hyper - ate whole apples pies adn was a bean pole too! Didn't make me happy since I've always had a weight issue! By the wasy the doctor I saw is an MD, but practices functional and intergrated medicine. He's really helped me a lot with some other medical issues too. Good Luck!

I'm confused. I was told Hyper was a high TSH level and Hypo was low. I'm Hypo, low.

If you don't want to read the whole post, skip to the end for the questions. Thanks! Does anyone have tachycardia or did you have it before your surgery? I am so frustrated. I have been on a beta blocker for tachycardia for a few years now. I have had all the tests (echo, stress, ekg, nuclear imaging) and my heart is healthy. However, my tachycardia seems to be getting worse. I went to my cardiologist a few weeks ago for cardiac clearance for surgery and my resting heart rate was 112....he put a holter monitor on me and it got up to 150 at some times over the next 24 hours. He belives some type of hormonal problem is causing this so he tested my thyriod (which the levels were a bit off, some indicating hypo, some indicating hyper....I have symptoms of both...go figure), my cortisol was a little high but not high enough to indicate Cushings and he has referred me back to my regular dr for a catecholemine test (these are the levels of adrenaline, epinephrine and norepinephrine). I'm so frustrated. I feel that if I could just have the surgery and get some weight off, a lot of my health problems would start to diminish. I know there are people on here who have had surgery who were in worse shape than me. I know that I can't go into surgery with 110-150 beats/minute heart rate because they won't put me under but I'm just so irritated about having to wait. He has increased my beta blocker which has helped some but probably not enough. Sorry this is so long. My question is basically did anyone have tachycardia before your surgery? Did it cause a delay or did it cause problems in your surgery? What did your surgeon or anesthesiologist say about it? Thanks.

Hi there from Campbellsville, KY. Hopefully your insurance co will tell you everything you need. I did not have to do the pre-op diet as my health records showed that I had continously been trying to lose weight via, pills, slim fast, med-fast, Jenny C., weight watcher, Healthy heart diet, Atkins, South Beach, Mayo diet, etc.(I always told my dr. what I was trying so it would be charted). I had documented back pain, arthritis, reflux, high BP, hx of blood clots, and hypo-hyperglycemia. So instead I just had to have the x-rays, bloodwork, stress test, sleep apnea test, ultrasound and H-pylori test done. I had to have a letter of referral from my family physician but, I also submitted one from my neuro dr that I saw for my back problems. Hope all this info helps...

ivonea No I haven't had the surgery yet. I am still in the process of all of the pre op testing and all that. I should be done with all of this in the end of June or Mid July. After that we will submit to insurance and I am hoping I can have surgery in August. I just did my second night in the sleep clinic to titrate to the machine 2 nights ago. I honestly have to say that I slept ALL night. I haven't done that in years. I was not uncomfortable with the machine or mask and I felt very rested the next morning. They told me that t hey will send the results to my doctor and he will prescribe my machine at the setting that it needs to be set at. I am hoping that I can get the same kind of mask and that it goes as well at home as it did there the other night. I asked the tech the other night if sleep apnea is pretty common and he states it is. He told me everyone has some sleep apnea but the 'normal' number of apnea episodes in an hour are 3-5 and I had 7 so really mild is VERY mild. He told me that I will probably not need the machine once I have the surgery and loss so weight but he couldn't guarantee that and I understand that but I can hope. HAHA. Anyway he also told me that even though my apnea is so mild the surgeon that I am having requires me to have a CPAP because it will help with the healing process and the already high risk because I am obese. I don't mind that either because I am thankful my surgeon is being so proactive instead of reactive if something were to happen or go wrong. He told me to think of all the pre op testing as the most invasive medical physical I will ever in my life have. He said they will look me up and down, inside out and around and around. I guess I am very thankful that he is being so careful. Good luck with your apnea and hopefully after some more weight loss you will not have to wear the mask anymore. Have you tried different masks? I started with a mask that just covered my nose but I couldn't use that because I am a mouth breather at night so then I used a mask that covered my nose and my mouth and I was fine.:clap2:

BJean, I'm still trying to figure out why I bought the scale but it is fun to use! It has one function where you can calculate whether you have "average" muscle mass related to your age and height...as some people can be at ideal weight but undermuscular or over fat. I liked that even though it describes me as overweight, I am also overlymuscular, or have more muscle than the average person for my age and height. It describes me as "stout".....but I'll take that as a compliment! Great news....I went to my regular doctor for a follow up on cardiac concerns....had what's called a highly specific c-reactive protein drawn pre-band. It is an indicator of arterial inflammation and was off the charts. My bad cholesterol was high and good cholesterol too low. Well, the bad cholesterol is still high (they want it under 100 since I have a bad c-reactive protein) but the good cholesterol is still high. So...I start on Zocor. Seems it is genetic and even though I run about 10 miles/week now and have lost weight it hasn't changed it enough. But the good news is that my blood pressure is that of an athlete's.....90/60 and my pulse is at 60 while sitting. That means my heart is in such good shape that it doesn't have to pump hard to get blood out to the extremities. The doc says I can eat all the salt I want! So.....I am genetically predisposed to arterial disease but I have strengthened my heart significantly. Frankly it is nice to hear that even though I will have to take a pill to reduce my cholesterol, it is not entirely my fault No weight loss for me...still at 183. Had another NSV this week though...I went out and bought some size 14 clothes in resale shops and most of them fit nicely. THAT was a huge motivator and reaffirmation for me. I can now say that I really am losing inches, even though the pounds aren't dropping. I may have to reconsider my goal weight of 138 and move it up to 145 or 150. I would like to be in a size 10, maybe an 8 but don't want my face to look too drawn either. What a dilemma :mad:

Kat - thanks for the info. I think I will try and switch the training session to either the morning or to Friday. I am not concerned with on the tummy exercises, don't do those, I am concerned with being able to hydrate enough to workout hard. After this first fill then I will see how I react. You sound like it is great fun. I like the whole diversion thing you do. Good luck with your hubby. Tekymom - sorry about the port incision. That ususally happens to me, but I was fortunate that I wasn't allergic or reactive to the glue the doc used. In fact many other surgeries I have had to have wound care nursing. Good luck with the healing. Have a great night all you beautiful violets! Michelle

Great info. I had a dr test me for Hosimoto (Spell?) and told me the history about the name - but I forget the entire story now..something about Chicago and a chemical or something pregnant women took during the 50's or 60's??? Anyway, with your new info, I think I will ask for these tests when I go for my exam next time. I have hypo and I will NOT take synthroid...man, that stuff made me so moody, angry, etc. I switched to unithroid (levothyroxin) and much better with moods...but if I miss a dose or two, I get terrible body aches and soooooo sleepy!!! :bored

they are general health readings. if things go as planned, this is virtually bloodless surgery but it can be lenght surgery and put you at rsk for clots in the leg etc from lying in one spot. they need to know that sodium, potassium and other electrolytes are in a good range as all this can affect the amount of fluids and drugs they use in OT an post op. they may not do as many tests for smaller ops but this is classed as major surgery and we are slightly higher risk patients simply because we are bigger. the chest xray is saftey too. you will be ntubated ( tube into lungs to breath for you while you are under) and they simply want to make sure you lungs are in good nick before OT, no chest infections etc that they did no know about- not worth doing that too soon before surgery date though as it is like a snap shot only. the tests you have donein the assessment period are to make sure there are no major reasons why you are not a good candidate for this type of surgery. the next round of tests are just so they have enough information to hopefully avoid any problems but also so they have the information in the case that something did crop up. its all about being prepared rather than being reactive- a sign of good management. try not to get too anxious about t all. talk to you surgeon or his support staff if you have any specific worries too. they can get into a real routine about taking these tests and may not stop to realise how anxious you may be going through all this, particularly if you have not had much surgery in the past. good luck