Dr. Gerald Kirshenbaum - Considering Dr. Kirshenbaum

[minidriver 0]

That is a fab story. It is my female lab that is a bit selfish (go figure). She often greets me at the door with THREE bones in her mouth. She is just not a one bone kind of gal I guess!

That's so funny. Hee hee.

[Snowgator 3]

If anybody's interested I got the difference in dimensions between the Allergan standard port (1) and the low profiile one (2). Dimensions are in inches:

height 1: .585 2: .515

base 1: 1.2 2: .990

top diameter 1: .865 2: .650

Edited September 17, 2008 by Snowgator

[munchkin392 1]

I just got off the phone with my mom, and she said that given the course of her breast cancer and where my new "density" is located I am not being paranoid, that I should have the films looked at by one of the surgeons I know just to be on the safe side. She said hers hurt just like mine has (my left breast hurts after I have been wearing a bra). And hers was in almost the same spot they saw this density at. And her gynecologist told her hers was a cyst for five years until she finally pressed the issue. She told me I am right to not want them to dismiss it so easily because of the birth control pills.

Any thoughts from the peanut gallery?

[9pdmnm5 0]

I don't think that's too bad. You do what you have to do to get healthy, right?

I used Capital One check loans to purchase my Highlander from Cost Co. and it was extremely simple. Others might want to look into that. I was approved online within an hour and the check was in the mail. For my surgery, I used the monies I got from my divorce. After 22 years of marriage, I felt this was the best way to end it!

I didn't think that was so bad either. Its funny b/c you wouldn't even think twice about spending 10+ grand on a new car but when it comes to your health it sounds like a lot. I'm tired of feeling like crap and can't wait to feel "normal" again. Only 11 more days...

Wow...22 yrs. of marriage! What a great way to start this new chapter of your life. Congrats to you!

[PrtyAntOvrYt 6]

I didn't think that was so bad either. Its funny b/c you wouldn't even think twice about spending 10+ grand on a new car but when it comes to your health it sounds like a lot. I'm tired of feeling like crap and can't wait to feel "normal" again. Only 11 more days...

Wow...22 yrs. of marriage! What a great way to start this new chapter of your life. Congrats to you!

You are so right AND I have to tell you the feeling that I have now after losing this weight, (even though I'm not near goal) is greater than any feeling I ever had driving a brand new car! AND I'm a real car snob. I love me a new car! BUT this feeling is a million times better!!!

Edited September 18, 2008 by PrtyAntOvrYt

[minidriver 0]

I just got off the phone with my mom, and she said that given the course of her breast cancer and where my new "density" is located I am not being paranoid, that I should have the films looked at by one of the surgeons I know just to be on the safe side. She said hers hurt just like mine has (my left breast hurts after I have been wearing a bra). And hers was in almost the same spot they saw this density at. And her gynecologist told her hers was a cyst for five years until she finally pressed the issue. She told me I am right to not want them to dismiss it so easily because of the birth control pills.

Any thoughts from the peanut gallery?

Do you know someone who can look at it for you? If so, go for it! Being safe is a smart thing to do and sure can't hurt.

[PrtyAntOvrYt 6]

I just got off the phone with my mom, and she said that given the course of her breast cancer and where my new "density" is located I am not being paranoid, that I should have the films looked at by one of the surgeons I know just to be on the safe side. She said hers hurt just like mine has (my left breast hurts after I have been wearing a bra). And hers was in almost the same spot they saw this density at. And her gynecologist told her hers was a cyst for five years until she finally pressed the issue. She told me I am right to not want them to dismiss it so easily because of the birth control pills.

Any thoughts from the peanut gallery?

I say go with your Mom's advice. Get a second and maybe third opinion. This is your life and you need to feel okay with the diagnosis they are giving you. We both know that medical providers can miss things. They are human. We both also know that sometimes the patient has to be their own advocate.

If anybody's interested I got the difference in dimensions between the Allergan standard port (1) and the low profiile one (2). Dimensions are in inches:

height 1: .585 2: .515

base 1: 1.2 2: .990

top diameter 1: .865 2: .650

Did I remember that you got the low profile port? Lucky you!! My friend who is at goal can feel and see her port. She's ultra skinny now and buff. She's the one who did BFL.

[adorkbl 156]

We'd love to have you on the BFL challenge with us. I think it's going to be more an accountability of getting to the gym 6 days a week and keeping on track with eating well. It's 84 days. I plan to post every day, so we can all be responsible to one another. I know that really helps me with big challenges like this.

You are so brave! I don't think I could do it with a trainer! I'm a wuss!

I am going to check out BFL site tonight. It has been a hectic week for me. I think I am in on this challenge. =) Will post for sure one way or the other later.

I am having that stupid pain again. I did sit ups on Friday and ever since then, my port area feels bruised and so I called. It IS a possibility that it slipped (PRAY HARD LADIES). I could have gone in tomorrow, but DH is having surgery, so the soonest I could get in is Thursday am.

I am doing all liquids until then. PRAY PRAY PRAY that there is no slip. I would be devestated to say the least.

PRAY!!!

Brandy... I hope it is nothing!! Hang in there girly.

NSV - my underwear are getting too big.

Awesome! Save money on new ones... go comando. Bwahahaha.

Each of my pets have different voices. One of the cats (Scooter Bug) has a speech impediment. Fatso uses really bad grammar. Bitten Marie is very soft-spoken but rather haughty. Sophie Bean is quite enthused. Keeley Anna is earnest. Gracie May talks really fast and kind of has ADD.

Yeah, okay. I'm really freakin' weird.

Ok girl, you just hopped aboard the CRAZY train with this one. :cool2: lol!

First of all, if you haven't been to the website yet, it is www.bodyforlife.com. There is tons of info on that site that will be of great use. For tracking food and workouts, I love the journals they provide a free down load of at Body-for-LIFE Exercise Journals

Shelbi is doing something called bfltracker....and Im not sure what it is, but I'm assuming it's an online version of the journal pages. I also highly recommend that you buy the book or check it out from the library, etc. I have an extra copy if someone local wants to borrow for the next 12 weeks.

Getting started. I highly recommend that you take pics (bathing suit, or limited clothes) to start and then every week after. Because you will be building muscle it will be important to not totally rely on the scale. The week by week comparison of pics will be very motivating and will absolutley give you the evidence that what you are doing is working. BFL is about changing your body. I also recommend that you take your measurements before, at 4 weeks, 8 weeks and then at the finish line. You will be astounded by your results. I don't think it's a good idea to measure our success on this challenge by the amount of weight lost. I would rather just count success as completion of the challenge. We can post daily or weekly about if we got our food in, if we hit our 10's, etc. I will do a post that has a happy face for the weeks that we are complete. My free days will probably be one of the weekend days. You are welcome to pick whatever day works for you. Sunday is usually a winner. Free days are just that. Eat whatever you want and do not work out. Your body really needs this. It's partly to let it rest, and the other part is shocking it with totally different nutrition.

Workouts. Shelbi, you can use any kind of weights. weight machines, body weight, etc. The trick is to make sure you are doing the exercises based on the intensity format they describe. For the first week or two you will be unsure of what a "10" is, but over time you will need to make sure you try and hit your "10's" on each exercise. This helps to keep you from plateauing. For me a "10" is "if someone was going to give me a million dollars to do one more rep, I still couldnt do it"....or for cardio, a 10 is me feeling like I need to throw up:-) The workouts are so short (20 minutes for cardio) that you must, must, must get the intensity in. It is not fun, but it's over fast. What I say to myself is that "I can do anything for 20 minutes". Once you are into your groove, the weight workouts are only 40-50 minutes, MAX. You will be, and should be, SORE a great deal of the time. This means that you are building muscle and is a good sign. Do not over-do it and injure yourself.

Food. The food is really important because you MUST give your body all of the fuel it will need to build the muscle and keep up with the workouts. Becasue we can't eat as much as BFL would have, I am going to modify my diet to get in 4-5 small BFL meals in (BFL recommends 5-6 which I'm not sure I could do....if you can, I highly recommend sticking to their plan exactly). Each meal should consist of a serving of Protein and a good carb (Oatmeal, brown rice, whole grain anything, sweet potato, potato, corn, etc). Try and throw veggies in a couple times a day also. For the most part you should be used to eating this way. The trick will be getting enough nutrition in. It is vital!!! Your body can only change as much as you give it the fuel to do so. There are recipe ideas and shopping list suggestions on the BFL website or you can ask me. Preparation is the key. Don't ever find yourself hungry without a healthy BFL option close by. I also have found some fast food items that I use in a pinch if I am out and about without any good food. You do not want to go more than 3 hours without eating. And you must drink a ton of Water. This could be tricky with the band and not drinking with meals so I'm curious to see how well I will do. Since there is water in Protein Shakes, I might be drinking several of those a day to kill two birds-one stone.

IF you complete this challege and document your progress with photos/measurements, you will have amazing results...I promise! The goal is just to complete. If you are craving something, just try and remember that you have a free day coming so you can eat anything you want. If you don't feel like working out, do it anyway. THis is only 12 weeks of your life. You will have a new body by Christmas!

How do you girls want to do check ins for this challenge? Do you want to post once a week about your progress? Struggles? Victories? I think Mondays are a good day to do that....since it will be after our free day. We start tomorrow and can start checking in the following Monday. Of course if there are any questions or things you want to share on a daily basis, feel free. Let me know your thoughts.

Now, get your butt to the grocery store and stock your cupboards. Print out your journals and take some naked pics!!! I would love to hear everyone's plan for getting started.......

Thanks so much for all the info!!! sounding like something I definitly want in on.

Ladies, a quick question. Is it really necessary to get fills so soon after being banded? In my research, I have read that you would need a fill ideally every 3 to 4 months until you hit your sweet spot, but some people's signatures show them getting a fill every month after surgery for at least 3 months. That's just crazy expensive for me, and I'm hoping that's not normal??? :w00t:

My first fill was about 6 weeks post op (2/29 2cc's). My second fill was 6 weeks after that (3/16 2cc's). Third fill was a bit longer at almost 4 moths later (7/7 1cc) but I had gallbladder complications that they weren't positive the source for awhile. I just had my 4th fill today (9/19 1cc).

So no... you do not need them every few weeks. Everyone is different however, and you will have to see how you feel as you go. I had a hard time scheduling fills with my follow up surgeon because it was an all day ordeal due to the long frive, and he only did them a few times a month. Now my follow up surgeon is local and a lot easier to get in for fills.

Please pray for my hubby today. Surgery is at 1. They are removing at least 18 inches of his colon, the mass (that we are hoping is NOT cancer). He will be in the hospital for a week. I am a crying, scared nervous wreck. Hoping that I don't have to hear the "c" word.

My thoughts are with your hubby. I hope that everything goes well and he gets the all clear on the big "c".

Got my blood tests back . . . electrolytes are great. Kidneys and liver are swell. My glucose was 156!!!!! I am soooooo bummed. So so so bummed. It's never been that high! I was sure it would be down since I've started losing weight. So now I have to go in and have an oral GTT . . . diabetes is rampant in my family and I have been teetering on the edge for several years. Damn.

Aww man. bummer. Please keep us updated on your GTT results. :hug:

I just got off the phone with my mom, and she said that given the course of her breast cancer and where my new "density" is located I am not being paranoid, that I should have the films looked at by one of the surgeons I know just to be on the safe side. She said hers hurt just like mine has (my left breast hurts after I have been wearing a bra). And hers was in almost the same spot they saw this density at. And her gynecologist told her hers was a cyst for five years until she finally pressed the issue. She told me I am right to not want them to dismiss it so easily because of the birth control pills.

Any thoughts from the peanut gallery?

I would press the issue. It is your health. You know how YOU feel. Not to compare my gallbaldder experience with cancer... but I will... I kept getting the brush off from my PCP about my pain. I kept persisting, finally changed PCP's, and finally got my answer. If I listened to her, I would still be having attacks right now with no answer. Oh I am sorry, with her answer... "It's just reflux." Pffft.

PRESS THE ISSUE.

[adorkbl 156]

Well ladies I had my 4th fill today. First one without fluoro... and it was a bit rough.

First off I HATE laying down to get filled. Sucky. Second he had to poke me twice to find the port, then said it was tilted a bit. *shrug* Not sure if it was because I was laying down or not, but never had a problem with my other fills.

So he gave me 2cc's. He was willing to give me 3cc's... but I felt that would be way too much since I was already at 5cc in my AP standard. Also I still feel a teensy bit of restriction when eating chicken or salmon... so I said I was ok with 2cc... would rather be a bit loose than too tight.

So I sit up. Drink a bit of Water and it goes down slow. He counts how long it is from when I feel it, to when it goes through and says it should be good. YIKES. I DO NOT like that guess work. I want my fluoro back. Waaaah!

So I left and went on my merry way. I stopped by hubby's work to say hi and STILL felt the water sitting in my chest. I was gurgling, burping, and having all kinds of fun with the water refluxing up. I had 2 SMALL sips and couldn't handle it. Oye. So I called the office and headed back.

He took back out 1cc and I had immediate relief. I drank more water and he said it was now going through at a very light restriction pace, but I was too nervous to add any back in right then. So I am now at 6cc.

I am able to gulp water again! Yeah. I will be on mushies tomorrow so it may be a day or two until I figure out my current restriction level. I am thinking I am now too loose again... but that is WAY better than pain with water.

I still really like my new Dr... he handled it well I felt. I just am NOT comfortable about having fills without fluoro. I was afraid this would happen and it did. *sigh* Has anyone else had this problem?

I am bummed because like I said I really like Dr Monash and want to stay local. Does it get easier as time goes on. I am not really "in tune" with my pouch and had a hard time judging how water was passing... is this my fault???

Oh and he didn't use a cock block... stop cock??? So I would have had to get poked again had I wanted another .25cc or .5cc added back in... another reason why I said I will see how this level goes.

[minidriver 0]

Well ladies I had my 4th fill today. First one without fluoro... and it was a bit rough.

First off I HATE laying down to get filled. Sucky. Second he had to poke me twice to find the port, then said it was tilted a bit. *shrug* Not sure if it was because I was laying down or not, but never had a problem with my other fills.

So he gave me 2cc's. He was willing to give me 3cc's... but I felt that would be way too much since I was already at 5cc in my AP standard. Also I still feel a teensy bit of restriction when eating chicken or salmon... so I said I was ok with 2cc... would rather be a bit loose than too tight.

So I sit up. Drink a bit of Water and it goes down slow. He counts how long it is from when I feel it, to when it goes through and says it should be good. YIKES. I DO NOT like that guess work. I want my fluoro back. Waaaah!

So I left and went on my merry way. I stopped by hubby's work to say hi and STILL felt the water sitting in my chest. I was gurgling, burping, and having all kinds of fun with the water refluxing up. I had 2 SMALL sips and couldn't handle it. Oye. So I called the office and headed back.

He took back out 1cc and I had immediate relief. I drank more water and he said it was now going through at a very light restriction pace, but I was too nervous to add any back in right then. So I am now at 6cc.

I am able to gulp water again! Yeah. I will be on mushies tomorrow so it may be a day or two until I figure out my current restriction level. I am thinking I am now too loose again... but that is WAY better than pain with water.

I still really like my new Dr... he handled it well I felt. I just am NOT comfortable about having fills without fluoro. I was afraid this would happen and it did. *sigh* Has anyone else had this problem?

I am bummed because like I said I really like Dr Monash and want to stay local. Does it get easier as time goes on. I am not really "in tune" with my pouch and had a hard time judging how water was passing... is this my fault???

Oh and he didn't use a cock block... stop cock??? So I would have had to get poked again had I wanted another .25cc or .5cc added back in... another reason why I said I will see how this level goes.

Okay, first of all you are a naughty, naughty girl!!!

Well, it sounds like you did exactly the right thing to go back and have some removed. I agree that it's better to be too lose than too tight, although as I'm sitting here STARVING right now I wish I would have pushed for more with my last fill, and it was under fluoro!

I'm with you about not really being able to tell when the water passes. I don't know why I have such a hard time with it. I just can't seem to tell, so I think I am too conservative. I don't know.

Hopefully you'll have a good level of restriction with this and it will be a better experience next time you go in . . . .

[lotzasunshine 2]

I use Fitday religiously. I'm eating between 800 & 900 calories a day. Is that too many? Too little? I just don't know. My fat intake averages 27%, carbs 24%, and the rest Protein. I feel like I'm doing the right things, but MAN am I a slow loser. And I'm a scale addict too. I'll admit it. Every morning as soon as I get out of bed. It's pathetic.

L

Maybe you aren't eating enough calories. For some people it differs, so maybe add up to 1200 once a week and see if it helps. I heard that they kinda do that on biggest loser. They have a big meal once a week and it jumpstarts their bodies into not thinking they are starving. Just a suggestion

Edited September 18, 2008 by lotzasunshine

[minidriver 0]

Maybe you aren't eating enough calories. For some people it differs, so maybe add up to 1200 once a week and see if it helps. I heard that they kinda do that on biggest loser. They have a big meal once a week and it jumpstarts their bodies into not thinking they are starving. Just a suggestion

I think I might try it. Couldn't hurt.

How are you doing with this latest fill?

[lotzasunshine 2]

I think I might try it. Couldn't hurt.

How are you doing with this latest fill?

This fill helps with restriction, but I'm still not losing. I have had a hard time getting in my Protein and calories lately, guess I'm still getting used to it. I am very proud of myself, I hiked Ensign Peak with a friend on Saturday. Thought I was going to die a couple times, but I made it!! Also, maybe figuring this hypoxia thing may help later too.

[minidriver 0]

This fill helps with restriction, but I'm still not losing. I have had a hard time getting in my Protein and calories lately, guess I'm still getting used to it. I am very proud of myself, I hiked Ensign Peak with a friend on Saturday. Thought I was going to die a couple times, but I made it!! Also, maybe figuring this hypoxia thing may help later too.

WOW, good for you! that's fantastic!!!

I'm sure you'll start losing soon. And you'll feel so much better when you start getting some oxygen while you sleep!!

[Snowgator 3]

Lotza, congrats on hiking a mountain! you gals on here are sooooo athletic it is impressive

Adork, sorry about your bad fill experience. You were so smart to head right back to the office. I'm a little anxious, but overall am looking forward to going in for my 1st fill.

Brandy, how is your band? and how is your hubby doing?

Munch, I agree 100% with adork, you know your body, and if you think something is wrong keep chirping until somebody hears you and does something about it

Prty, yes I did get the low profile port. Dr. K's wasn't thrilled about the suggestion, but reluctantly agreed with the understanding on my part that the this port is harder to find when it comes time to do a fill

Well gang, I have an unexpected visit to see Dr. K tomorrow. After my surgery, my right upper arm was bruised, but I didn't think too much about it. They had to take my blood pressure about a million times, since the nurse could not hear it, and also that arm had my IV. It was still bruised when I went in for my 1 week follow up visit, but I didn't mention it because who cares about a stupid bruise. Well, now it still hurts, even more, and you can feel a hardened area underneath, and the skin is red on top. So, I called the office today and they are getting me in tomorrow to have him look at it. This is just my luck, some dumb thing happening. So wish me luck on whatever this stupid thing is under my skin! I am also not a happy camper in bandster hell or bandster purgatory or whatever I am in. Some days I am stuffed, some days I am starving, and I am not losing weight. Grrr...