Dr. Gerald Kirshenbaum - Considering Dr. Kirshenbaum

[Woofay 0]

Sidann~ forgive me, but I can't remember how long ago your surgery was...:scared2: I suck at remembering some things. I had a lump at my portsite for about 6 months. (then I had to have my port replace in Sept and had another lump for a couple of more months) Some people naturally make more scar tissue than others. And I believe it also has to do with your muscle mass on your abs...(I have none!) If your surgery was in the last couple of months, you may have a bit of Fluid around it too. And depending on your body shape and what you wear, ya you can see it. Some fill docs have you lift your head while you lie down for your fill cuz your muscles will actually make it "pop" up more so they can see it better. Also, the more weight you lose, the more you can see it depending on body shape.

Hey, here's a question...does it hurt? Is it red or warm? And part of this has to do with how long ago your were banded too....or how long ago your last fill was.

Anyways...I hope this helps. :smile:

[minidriver 0]

Sid- it's so funny that you just posted this cuz last night I was looking at my abdomen in the mirror and thought "what the $%^# is that weird lump below my center incision? It looks like a huge egg or something"! So I looked at some other threads on here and someone else had posted that they had the same thing and they went to the doc and the doc said "relax, it's your port". So I'm assuming that the tissue around the port swells up in the shape of the port.

PS- I just received my link for the EMMI video yesterday:cool2:

[munchkin392 1]

How is everybody tonight? I am bored silly. I am in one of those moods where I want to do something because I am bored, yet I have no motivation to do anything. I hate being in a mood like this!! (Especially when I have things I actually need to be doing!)

I went to the dentist today, and discovered why I probably have headaches all the time... and it is not because of my blood pressure. Apparently I am grinding my teeth quite badly when I sleep, to the point that I am wearing little notches into my teeth. Sigh. Now I need some plastic guard that costs $350. (That insurance will not pay for of course).

I met a local gal on the OH forum and went to her first fill with her yesterday. I have to say, I am thankful for Dr.K's port placement. My fill doc has never had a problem accessing my port, but he had a terrible time accessing this gals. He poked her three times, with progressively longer needles, was digging around, and had her bleeding. It did not look like fun. He is sending her to have it done under flouro next time. It made me want to send a big hug Dr.K's way!!

[minidriver 0]

I'm sorry you're bored Missy Munchkin. Before you spend so so much money on that mouthguard, try going to your local sporting goods store and buying a mouthguard that you heat in boiling Water and then put in your mouth to conform to your bite. Couldn't hurt and might save you some bucks.

So I have decided that I am now the puree gourmet. I can only stand so many Protein Drinks on full liquids, and I've been trying some different things.

Yesterday I made a salmon bisque that was just lovely. Tonight I made a cold cucumber Soup seasoned with dill. It was soooo good and I was so happy to have the taste of a vegetable in my mouth!! Woohoo!! DH even ended up having it for dinner and loved it.

And, of course, I made a watermelon granita the other night and have been having a bit every night for a treat. I must say, I'll be happy to reach mushies though. I would love to be able to chew just a little . . .

[Sidann 0]

Woofay - Thanks for the info on your "bump". I am just 2 months since surgery. It is just getting more and more noticeable and Natalie thought it would be gone by now. But if you had yours for 6 months (my goodness I didn't know you had to have your band replaced!) then I will relax about it. I haven't been overly concerned since it isn't red or hurting or doing anything but sitting there. Like Munchkin said - where Dr K puts our port means easier access for fills and that is more important than a weird lump.

Mini-you are being so creative with your 2 weeks of liquid. You should write a recipe book because I see people writing on this site that they are so bored and hungry. I just toughed it out but you are being very ingenious with your choices.

Thanks again Woofay! I knew you guys would put my mind at ease and have some idea what I was talking about. Can you imagine if I asked someone who hadn't been banded what this lump was? It makes me laugh some times some of the things we now talk about that the rest of the world is clueless about. We even have our own language.

[MissMom24 2]

Sorry that I have not posted lately. Things are nuts. I was getting on this afternoon when my husband called and said that my dear FIL had had a heart attack!!!! I am absolutely stunned, he just turned 59 and is the poster boy for Body for Life. Fit, muscular, athletic, you name it...

He was here at the local hospital in Brighton, and they ended up air lifting him to Aurora...right next to Dr. K's building!!! And did an angioplasty and placed a stent. He was 80% blocked in one artery. This was all done within 2 hours of getting the news. He seems to be stable and doing OK.

Just pray for my DH family. They are all VERY close (on the verge of creepy) and are all devestated.

I am going to bed!! I am pooped, I will check in tomorrow.

[Taynuh 1]

anyone evr use the chat room on lapbandtalk? I'm heading over now to check it out...

[minidriver 0]

brandy - sending lots of good vibes to you and yours. get some rest . . . sounds like the worst is over.

[adorkbl 156]

Thanks for the hugs and encouragement y'all. Means so much to me. Man, I go away for a few days and the thread explodes. lol. I skimmed through so I hope I didn't miss anything too crazy!!

LAP~ Congrats on getting so close to 200's. I am so excited for you. I am still about 16 away myself, and hope to see the 200's in the next month or two. I cannot even FATHOM getting back into the 200's!! So glad you, Dee and I will be heading there together. Yippeee!!! Keep up the awesome work1!

Shesha~ Congrats on your new addition. I absolutely ADORE the name Owen. Great choice. =) =)

So I had my fill on Monday. Dr B only gave my 1cc. He said I am still refluxing heavily so he does not want to give me any more. I am glad I have my fills done under fluro. I could see the contrast just sitting in my esophagus. He is concerned I will stretch it out if he fills it any more. So I am now at 5cc in my 10cc band. Hopefully this gives me some restriction!

I discussed my gallbladder concerns with Dr B and he agrees that I should have the HIDA scan done. He also thinks I should have a follow-up endoscopy done to see if I need to stay on my nexium.

I decided to get a new PCP Dr and I have an appointment with him tomorrow. I am tired of fighting to get tests to figure out what is up. So hopefully my appointment tomorrow goes well. My MIL sees this Dr and he seems very thorough and I liked him when I went in with her.

I pulled my back or something and have been in a lot of pain the last few days. I have been popping pain meds and using Icy Hot Patches to no avail. I hope this is just a strain and is not related to my abdominal pain. I will mention it to my PCP as well. I feel like I am falling apart! lol.

My lunch with my band buddy went really well. I feel a lot better about where I am in right now. I just needed a mental break from the "dieting" I felt I had to do since I am still restriction less. I really need my band to help me out a bit; I am hoping this last fill will do the trick.

Sorry so long.

:redface:

[GBear 0]

Wow, you folks are wonderful! Not to mention prolific. :smile2: It's hard to keep up with this thread. (I guess it doesn't help that I have a deadline at work this week... which got slipped until the week I'm in Colorado, but oh well.)

Thank you everyone for the welcome and kind words. Everyone is too kind. And a special shout out to GreenChrysalis whom I've known online for... what is it now, 13 years?? She's met my husband (I met him from the same group) in person before, but not me. That's something I have to fix!

Depending on how I feel and what my family plans are on the 16th, I'm going to try to meet everyone at Round Robin. I'm staying with relatives in Denver and my parents are going to be there, too (to support me), so I'm kind of at their mercy. And our relatives are very close and love all spending time together. So, I don't know if I'll be able to sneak away. But I'm going to try!

Lotza and FW, I am SO with you right now on struggling on the low carb diet. I did a low carb diet to lose weight in 1999 and I remember the initial adjustment period being tough and awful, but for some reason, the last two days have been killing me. I keep on thinking I'm eating enough to satisify my hunger, but I have been hungry a lot, so I don't know what is up with that. Maybe I need more cheese. :redface: (Ack, but cheese is so much better with just a little bit of bread, meep!)

Anyway, as a friend of mine said "the stakes are higher this time" on my low carb diet, so I will not take a single bite of bread (or similar). But man oh man, this is TOUGH.

Night night!

[ShelbiCallie 0]

Sorry that I have not posted lately. Things are nuts. I was getting on this afternoon when my husband called and said that my dear FIL had had a heart attack!!!! I am absolutely stunned, he just turned 59 and is the poster boy for Body for Life. Fit, muscular, athletic, you name it...

He was here at the local hospital in Brighton, and they ended up air lifting him to Aurora...right next to Dr. K's building!!! And did an angioplasty and placed a stent. He was 80% blocked in one artery. This was all done within 2 hours of getting the news. He seems to be stable and doing OK.

Just pray for my DH family. They are all VERY close (on the verge of creepy) and are all devestated.

I am going to bed!! I am pooped, I will check in tomorrow.

Oh, Brandy! I'm sending you a huge hug and prayers. I know this is a scarey time for all of your family. Keep us posted.

Man, the thread is growing by leaps and bounds!! I'm busy working the last couple of days, so I'll post more when I can read everything. Hurry up, weekend!

Dee, no red-check; exercise-check; oats-check! How 'bout you?

[munchkin392 1]

Mini-thanks for the mouth guard suggestion, I will try it.

Brandy-I am glad your father in law is ok. All in under 2 hours, impressive! (Our goal at our hospital is to have a pt from ER door to cath lab in under 30 minutes for an MI, we usually accomplish it, they are usually in the ICU by the 1-1/2 hour mark!) It is great that they caught it so fast and got him to the cath lab. And in my experience, while diet/exercising/etc does make a difference in risk factors for an MI, some people just seem to draw the short straw and are predisposed to it anyway. Tell your FIL to make sure he takes his medications and goes to cardiac rehab!:redface: No skimping on the Plavix! (If they put people on Plavix there, I can't imagine that they don't!)

[Mal 0]

Brandy~What a scary situation. I'm praying for your FIL.

GBear~You can do this! Hang in there.

Adok~I hope this fill gets you to a good spot. I am in need of a good fill. I have 2 weeks!

Mini~Your liquid diet DOES sound yummy! Good job.

[deboregon 0]

Also, at the drugstore there is a product called Nightguard, a plastic, moldable piece. Costs $22.

[deboregon 0]

Mini: good ideas for liquid stuff:smile:Brandy: my thoughts are with you. as mentioned earlier, sounds as if the worst is over.

Question: how many of you on here are in medical field, nurses, techs, etc? Seems as if i run across hospital references all the time! Just curious.

I have to have a potassium test done a couple of weeks before surgery. Since I am self-paying, I will have to pay for this too:angry:. Does anyone have a clue about how much such a test will set me back?:confused2: