Dr. Gerald Kirshenbaum - Considering Dr. Kirshenbaum

[minidriver 0]

She is darling!!

thanks. I can't wait till Monday so we can bring her home.

[bahotmomma 0]

Hey Everyone, I'm back from vacation. Just trying to get caught up after being gone for 6 days... A lot has been happening here.

Adork -- you look AWESOME!!!!! There is big changes happening with you...keep up the great work.

Lotz, Bella & other newbies -- Congrats on becoming a bandito!!!

Well, i'm off to get caught up. I'll probably have to post as I go, sorry.

[bahotmomma 0]

Marcy -- You go girl, that is so cool that you are so self seficiant (Sp?). I loved seeing the pics and I love hearing about "your life in the wild". I don't think any of us could do what you do.

Mini -- The new furry friend is adorable. She looks like a "peppa" to me. Just my 2 cents.

Lotz, Gbear & Bella -- How are you doing today? Hope you are all feeling better.

Dee -- I haven't had a chance to weigh in yet. I will tomorrow and let you know.

Renee' -- How is everything going with you? Can you do luch on Friday?

[lotzasunshine 2]

Doing better Denise, Thanks for asking. I had trouble yesterday getting my Protein in, I tried much harder today. Also it will be easier when I get my tasteless powder, I can't stand the shakes. Then I'll be able to mix it in with smoothies, and Soups and such. I still have some pain, and have been chugging childrens tylenol lol!! Seriously though, I am doing better and even went on a trip to the store with DH.

[BellaPerdente 0]

I am feeling better today but I am still yawning sooo much. Can someone please tell me why???????????????

I was feeling a little hungrier today. I had one cup of Soup at lunch and one cup at dinner. I also had 1/2 of an Atkins shake in the afternoon and 1/2 at night. I don't think I am getting enough Water in. PLUS.....I just wanted to chew something and I chewed a very small piece of sausage and spit it out.....how pathetic am I????

Has anyone else been hungry this early out of surgery?

[minidriver 0]

I am feeling better today but I am still yawning sooo much. Can someone please tell me why???????????????

I was feeling a little hungrier today. I had one cup of Soup at lunch and one cup at dinner. I also had 1/2 of an Atkins shake in the afternoon and 1/2 at night. I don't think I am getting enough Water in. PLUS.....I just wanted to chew something and I chewed a very small piece of sausage and spit it out.....how pathetic am I????

Has anyone else been hungry this early out of surgery?

Bella, I wonder if you're yawning because you aren't taking enough deep breaths? Are you using your spirometer from the hospital? Are you able to get it to the required range?

I was a little hungry after a few days. Be careful with chewing . . . you don't want your tummy to start thinking it needs to be digesting something!

[PrtyAntOvrYt 6]

I am feeling better today but I am still yawning sooo much. Can someone please tell me why???????????????

I was feeling a little hungrier today. I had one cup of Soup at lunch and one cup at dinner. I also had 1/2 of an Atkins shake in the afternoon and 1/2 at night. I don't think I am getting enough Water in. PLUS.....I just wanted to chew something and I chewed a very small piece of sausage and spit it out.....how pathetic am I????

Has anyone else been hungry this early out of surgery?

I believe it's the vagus nerve that is causing your yawning. Yawning, sneezing, a runny nose and an involuntary sigh are some soft signs and they are related to the vagus nerve and the band. Your yawning should decrease after your swelling goes down. This is just my opinion from somethings I have read.

[minidriver 0]

I believe it's the vagus nerve that is causing your yawning. Yawning, sneezing, a runny nose and an involuntary sigh are some soft signs and they are related to the vagus nerve and the band. Your yawning should decrease after your swelling goes down. This is just my opinion from somethings I have read.

wow, that's so interesting!!

[PrtyAntOvrYt 6]

wow, that's so interesting!!

My nose runs every time! As soon as I have the appropriate amount of food, I get a runny nose. When this happens, I know it's time for me to put my fork down and stop eating! It's hard sometimes, because the food is good or I'm feeling my head hunger. But it's a difficult sign to ignore! AND I wouldn't because I did once and I got so full and incomfortable! It was the first and last time.

Does anyone else have a soft sign? Sometimes, I also get this strange squeeky burp/hiccup too. It's loud and kind of embarrassing!

Just ask my daughter! That comes after my runny nose!

[munchkin392 1]

Yeah, I've heard about those ICU nurses! I used to work with a NICU nurse who used to say the same thing! She'd say, "give me a vented baby anytime!" She hated the crying. But Babies cry! That's the way they communicate with us. It really doesn't bother me! Give me a feeder/grower anyday over a vented baby! It just makes my heart sad to see a tiny baby vented!

I'd love it if you could slip me a little lasix IV! It might just do the trick!

I remember while in nursing school, the Lasix and other diuretics were locked in the narc drawers because the nurses were taking them. I had never heard of such a thing! We had to sign them out with dual control.

It would break my heart to see a vented baby too, that is why I can't work in NICU (I honestly don't think I could even work on peds because of the abuse cases). However, there are some adults I like a whole lot better when they are on the ventilator than when they come off of it!:thumbup:

I can't believe Lasix used to be a controlled drug! That is crazy!!!!

[munchkin392 1]

That makes me want to cry! I remember when we were kids, we adopted this doberman that was being severly abused. Her name was Nina. We absolutely loved her. She was the best dog ever! She was loyal and such a good, loving animal. She had so many scars from her life of abuse. It made us sad thinking of what she had been through. I don't trust people who feel they must abuse animals. Something is just not right in their heads or hearts. It's truly a pre-cursor to more serious crimes -- like murder.

Nina would have done anything for us. She understood how we valued her and she valued us. Dogs are so smart!

I don't trust people who simply do not like animals, let alone abuse them. I cannot even fathom how anyone could treat Jake and Brutus they way they did, because they are both such wonderful, loving, smart dogs. Brutus is finally figuring out that he has it pretty good here, that no one is ever going to hit him here, and that he will always have enough food in his large belly. I think he is pretty happy now that he has figured these things out!

[minidriver 0]

It would break my heart to see a vented baby too, that is why I can't work in NICU (I honestly don't think I could even work on peds because of the abuse cases). However, there are some adults I like a whole lot better when they are on the ventilator than when they come off of it!:thumbup:

I can't believe Lasix used to be a controlled drug! That is crazy!!!!

Okay, I have a funny Lasix story. I was in the hospital 10 years ago with Legionnella. They had given me lots of IV fluids and I was swollen and huge, so then they gave me Lasix. About that time, the decision was made to take me to ICU. They pushed me into the elevator and then went to ICU, but my bed wasn't ready so they just kind of had to leave me out in the hall. I had to pee and told the nurses. They told me to hold on till my room was ready. I told them that I REALLY needed to pee. They brought me a bed pan and I started to pee. and pee. and pee. Overflowing the bed pan, soaking the sheets, pouring onto the floor. I started laughing. I couldn't help it. It was just so absurd. And then I said, well, I told you I had to pee.

[GBear 0]

Deb: I hope you have a FANtastic time at the Shakespeare festival in Ashland! I'm jealous because I still haven't been. I was hoping to go in my senior year in high school (in the SF Bay Area) with a club I was in, but it ended up conflicting with the band trip. Sigh. Still haven't been. A friend of mine is finally going soon with her husband and they have been planning to go for 12 years now. Also, don't be scared of being banded based on the newbie stories... I'm a newbie and as far as I can tell, I'm doing fine so far. And for Bella and Lotza, they will get be fine soon enough, I have faith!

Party: Wow, that's the first first I've heard of the vagus nerve. Time for me to read more on wikipedia! Even though I have less swelling now than last week (and therefore less restriction), I can still feel some tightness. But I'm so curious as to what my soft signs will be when I eat actual food. I admit I'm a wee bit scared of the process of finding out, but hopefully I'll be smart about it.

Bella: Yeah, I get a little bit hungry every now and then, but I really don't have to drink much to make the hunger go away. I'm thankful for that! I hope it's not too bad for you.

Mini and others: How long did you use your spirometer after surgery? I used it mostly consistently through Saturday (banded on Wed), but I have only used it a few times at night before going to sleep since then. Should I still use it all the time?

I tend to read most of the updates in the daily digest email because it's easier for me... but it means I miss out on most of the photos! I just wish the website were quicker to navigate instead of taking forever to download each page. :cursing: I'm going to have to go back and look for the RR picture and the furry picture. =)

So, I guess I'm doing all right. Today I experimented with pureeing more substantial Soups to get more flavors in. My favorite sourdough bread bakery place makes an "Indian curry" Soup with some chicken in it. I bought some and pureed it at home and had some for dinner. I thought I would end up eating more if it, but didn't eat as much as I thought. So that's good! But boy oh boy, did I want some of that bread to go with it.:thumbup: Maybe someday I'll be able to tolerate a bite of it... The tooting is also going down some (thank goodness!) and I'm able to get more Water in, so I feel better about that.

Oh! I feel good about another thing today. A couple years ago I bought a juice for juicing veggies and fruit. It was in an effort to eat more raw food. This thing has the engine like a jet, it's kind of funny. But anyway, I bought some swiss chard and an apple and juiced them last night. This morning, I made my own smoothie recipe like I used to do of just fresh strawberries and a few slices of frozen peach and instead and blended them in the blender. I used to add either carbonated water or a little bit of juice to thin out the smoothie, but this time I used some of my veggie juice. The smoothie looked awful, but tasted good! And it felt SO good to get some "real" food in me. Low cal, good Fiber, raw, and nutritious. (Oh, I also added some Benefiber, just in case.) It was nice to eat something that wasn't so processed. (Benefiber notwithstanding.)

Two last questions before I go... Did anybody here stretch a muscle in their far side from trying to take deep breaths? Or maybe from having a coughing fit? (I get "phlegmy" and sometimes have to just get out the phlegm by coughing. It's been hard since I can't use my stomach muscles.)

And lastly, behind which incision are our ports? :thumbdown:

[minidriver 0]

I don't trust people who simply do not like animals, let alone abuse them. I cannot even fathom how anyone could treat Jake and Brutus they way they did, because they are both such wonderful, loving, smart dogs. Brutus is finally figuring out that he has it pretty good here, that no one is ever going to hit him here, and that he will always have enough food in his large belly. I think he is pretty happy now that he has figured these things out!

Yes, it took Keeley a long time to finally learn to trust us completely. I'm sure the new little one will be the same.

[munchkin392 1]

Okay, folks! The picture is pretty bad (took it with my cell phone) but here is our new furry addition! She and Keeley did just fine (sniffed each other then ignored each other, but were lying on the grass together). She is the cutest little pumpkin. She looks like a Scottish Deerhound who was shrunk in the dryer.

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Awwww!!!!!!!!!! Love, love, love her!!!! Such an expressive face, and it sounds like her and the Keeley meister will get along ok!! :thumbup: