May Chat for NJ!!!!

[piercedqt78 658]

Here is my list:

lab-band shopping list

heating pad

flexible ice pack

liquid tylenol (they make adult strength)

chewable or liquid gas-x

a few books or movies

comfy clothes (loose waisted shorts or jumpers)

squishy pillow for car ride (guard against seatbelt)

a sports bra (doc said no underwire for a few days)

protien shakes

flavored Water

make sure you have a good blender

I bought a drink mixer for the protien mix (cost $10 at walmart)

broth or stuff to make broth

sugarfree popsicles and Jello

sugar free gum (ask your doctor)

sugar free breathmints (ask your doctor)

*Ask at your pre-op for the pain med prescription so you can have it all ready to go when you get home, our walgreens has to order liquid pain meds and it takes 3 days to get them.

[Dutchgrl59 2]

Thanks you guys!

I have checked and double checked my list and I think I gots everything. Mandy, whats the icepack for? I have a heating pad.... thats for the shoulder, but ice? I gonna ask the doc for pain meds and the nausea medication. I discovered a new Protein thing on another thread but I don't know where to get it. Bodybuilders use this test tube called IDS Liquid Protein. Anyone ever hear of it? I'm interested in taste testing it, and its a bit expensive to buy the 12pack. Ohhh, gotta take kids to school, check back later! bye.

[piercedqt78 658]

Patty, I used the ice pack for swelling around my port the first few days. I would check the vitaminshoppe.com for the Protein. Or do a google shopping search. ~Mandy

[NJChick 3]

You Go Girl !!!! *yeah Patty*

[Kat817 19]

Hi everyone---sorry for the sporadic reporting. I feel so bad---I KNOW you are always there for me, and then I just flake....it has been a rough week. Rick has not made much of a change. The Dr. situation is not acceptable. We are in a catch 22, and totally unsure what to do about it. All of our local cardiologists, hace recinded their hospital privileges. Yep, there is not a single cardiologist in our area, who can practice in the hospital, this is a hospital with a new state of the art cardiac care center. The dr.'s do not like the hospitals guidelines, so are pulling out. So the day the cardiologist sent Rick to the hospital, he went to ER---then he had no Dr. His PCP is out of town.....so they admit him, without choice, he is in A-Fib (atrial fibrillation). The top part of his heart is not beating correctly, it is quivering, as opposed to beating. His heart rate is not going down below 100, and hasn't for 2 months, and has been as high as 186. That is higher than mine when I am doing cardiac training exercise! So once he is admitted, he has no heart Dr. So the Dr, filling in for our PCP for the weekend, comes in ,and he studies the situation, and puts Rick on blood thinners, despite the GI bleed he had. Says that is the best option. So we are stuck in the hospital---no way to leave other than AMA---which would trash our future insurance coverage of this. No one wanted the responsibility of letting him go. Finally Monday morning our PCP released him with STRICT orders concerning the blood thinners. The PCP is the one who saved his life with the experiment he did. So we go see the cardiologist, who is less than helpful---and schedules him for some tests----on the 30th of May! He keeps his blood thinner on a VERY high dose. The PCP wants his PT/INR checked every 3 days---the cardiologist says it is ok to go until today. Ignoring the PCP's orders, who we trust implicitly with the bleeding issue. Rick felt crummy all weekend, no energy, we are afraid his blood is too thin, his heart rate remained in the 120's. So he goes today for the check on his blood, and they cancelled him, there was no one to do the check, the girl had to leave to have a tooth pulled. Their response---maybe tomorrow, they would call. So we go to the hospital, and were turned away, we had no orders. I tried to get the PCP, he was in surgery (he's a gastro--and does back to back colonoscopies all day on Mondays she said), I even ask the cardiologists nurse for a prescription for a blood draw at the hospital for PT/INR, and they refused. I was a basket case! I come home and sat down with the phone, and called his original heart surgeons office, at the Heart Hospital of NM and told my story several times, finally getting to talk to his cardiac surgeons nurse. Bless her! She actually had me talk to the Dr. who set us up with the cardiac electrophysiologist---he said if he needs electro shock or ablation she is the best. And she would know best if he needed either. He said if he had problems of Rick's nature, she is the Dr. he would choose for himself. She is going to call our PCP, and send him a holter monitor to hook Rick up to for 48 hours, then she will have some info when she sees us next week. I got off the phone and just cried. Relief...... someone is going to at least take concern!

I had it out with my SIL over this, and family relations have been very strained. It has been a difficult time. We live here, our lives are here, his job is here, but we have health issues that are only able to be met now 300 miles away!

So......that's been my life!

Weight is stuck.....food is not, it is going down real easy!!! And right now with all the other stress, I am not even going to consider a fill. If it takes another year to get the rest of, then so be it!

Will be back to catch up with each of you!!!!

Kat

[Dutchgrl59 2]

Oh Kat,

This is Sooooo unfair. Dear God,

Please hold Rick and Kat in your arms and comfort them. I pray for physicians that know and understand the human body, and for honest answers to this situation. In your name we ask. Amen.

[Kat817 19]

Patty---you are so sweet, you made me cry! Thank you more than I know how to say!!!!!

Kat

[piercedqt78 658]

Kat, I know that Rick is in good hands...yours and God's. Please keep us updated. (((hugs))) ~Mandy

[Iluvharleys 15]

Awwww Kat, I am so sorry you are going through all this. The medical field sucks anymore with all the fine lines they have. What happened to the days you just went to the hospital and they helped you? Give me back the good old days! Sweetie you know you and Rick are in our prayers. I am sure things will work out just fine for you. Don't worry about family members, they aren't the most important thing in your life right now. If they get nasty, tell them to come and take care of him and sit at the hospital, you are done. I bet they back off real quick! Don't worry about your w/l either, your day will come and your band will be waiting for you. Just take care of yourself right now so that you will be able to go through all the things you will have to go through to take care of Rick. Hugs to you sweetie, and don't forget to keep us posted when you get a chance to. We understand you can't be here when you want to be.

[piercedqt78 658]

I'm no longer getting e-mail updates for this thread, is it only me? ~Mandy

[mousecrazy 2]

Kat, you and Rick are in my prayers, and the doctors, of course, are too. I think doctors/nurses would do what is right, if the insurance companies would get out of the way. Still, can you imagine how it would be if the government were in control of the medical field? Shudder. Take care, Kat, and don't even worry one pretty little hair about your weight. That's not the thing to think about now, even though I know you do. Just get some good nutrition and rest. We're all worried, and you check in when you can. Hugs.

Mandy, I don't subscribe to email notices, because they clog up my inbox, so I don't know how that's going... maybe others do? I'm just trying to resisit the Rants and Raves section...never again. LOL!

Right now the weather is nice, but there may be more storms this afternoon...hope everyone is doing good today, or as good as they can!

Hugs, Cindy

[Kat817 19]

Mandy---it is hit & miss on the email notification----some I get others have quit. Soon it will all be back to normal!

Thanks so much for all the support guys! As we feared, Rick's blood is now too thin. They want him between 2.3 and 3.3 to be considered therapeutic. As of this morning he is at 6.4. It is extremely worrisome with his bleeding history, but he is not overdoing, and not having any stomach upset---so we will taper off the high dose coumadin, and let the numbers drop again. I am only mad about it, because we told them, it was too strong of a dose, we have been here before, but did they listen??? Nope. Now not only is he too thin, I will have to fill another prescription for another dosage amount. Oh well, I am going to go to Walmart or Target and fill it. I used our usual pharmacy for his last one, and they charged me the full co-pay of $15.00----Walmart and Target advertise it for $4.00! If I have to change this everytime I turn around, it will make difference!

I am so sad-----my inlaws left for Texas today---I should be going to meet my friends! I will....it just won't be now. I was so excited!! As soon as we can, I'll be letting you know! We tried to get them to wait it looks as though they will be driving directly into some pretty severe storms at the state line, and over into the Lubbock area. Hope they are careful. We actually have beautiful weather outside right now, they say a possible thunderstorm tonight, but it is gorgeous out right now---thinking I may go for a walk, and destress a bit.

Thank you all SOOOOOOOOOOO much. I cannot imagine my life without you my friends!!!!!

Kat

[nightingale2u 42]

Hey Guys... Sorry I have been absent! We close on the cabin this Friday and had to regroup after the mortgage company we chose and were supposedly preapproved with came back with a "no go" after we were under the impression that it was an all clear. We secured through our long time bank... it was worth a wee higher interest rate. I've already pretty much moved in...lol. I am also packing all of my sister's stuff so it has been pack it up ...unpack... then pack some more! Chuck's Dad is really sick now... they are placing a g-tube today as he can't keep food or fluids down. He is literally skin and bones. He has 7 more days of treatment.

Kat... I am so sorry for what you and your hubby are going through! My prayers and many (((hugs))) are with you!

Betty... Yikes...I swear... the storms in the US are just getting worse and worse! I am glad that you didn't lose any trees!

Patty... I am so happy for you! powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury is a great Protein powder... honestly... it is the best. You can find it at unjury.com. We have a special place in Bandland just for you!

SHerry... Glad your son is healing... and hope you are okay through all of this!

Whoops... have to go pick up my DD...will have to catch the rest later!!! (((hugs)))

[mousecrazy 2]

Yeah!

Darcy's here!

[nightingale2u 42]

Morning All... I will be rushing off here in a minute... need to shower and take the kidlette to school... and then to a class... and possibly up to the cabin to take a load of stuff.

Cindy... Thanks for the Yeah! I imagine I am going to be scarce around LBT town now that the weather has warmed. Wisconsinites try to get out when the weather allows! Besides... our town here looks really different. I hate change...lol.

Eileenie... Hope you are happy and Sassy... and that someone sticks around to chat with you on the weekends.

Irene... Hey... where is Irene????

Anne?????????????????????????? Pop in to tell us how the job is going. I miss ya.

To everyone else... Mandy... Chrispy... Pat...Mr.Pat... new NJthreaders... Dianne... Crap... my brain fails me... well... if I forgot ya... you know I love ya anyway. (((((hugs)))))