Hello from WV

[jenniferinwv 0]

Elizabeth, how's your family?

[Elizabethdb 0]

Things are ok for now. It is still touch and go. Papaw wants to be home by christmas and as stubborn as he is, he will make it. My cousin from Colorado will see him Sunday so we will see what happens after that. After that, the whole family will have seen him. I noticed the other day that modling(spelling) has set in. You can really see it in his nailbeds. I actually saw it in his ears and up his fingers so that is not a good sign. Circulation is shutting down. He actually has urine in his cath bags instead of pure blood now but he is still requiring about a unit of blood a day so, where is the blood going? Like I said, everything is still touch and go. They did move him from CCU, to ACU, and now he is on 1 east room 123. Visitors are unlimited now, thank goodness. I couldnt believe how strict they were with visitors when he was in the unit and ACU. They are talking that when or if he is medically able, they will put him up on TCU. We are just taking it 1 day at a time. Thanks for asking :wink2:

[whitwolf81 0]

Hello I got my first appointment with Jeanne to get the process going on the 23rd.

[Elizabethdb 0]

good for you!! :mad2: Are you just starting the program?.. Good luck with everything.

Just a little update. Im getting ready to go see papaw. He has been moved to TCU. He wants to be home for christmas. I really dont see that happening, but who knows. I havent went to see him for a couple days. Im trying to come off some of my pills, especially the effexor, and Effexor causes withdrawel when cutting it down so I havent felt like doing much at all but laydown and keep my head under a blanket. I havent even gone to exercise this week due to that :blushing:. Ive been walking laps in the pool at the family fitness center ( I have a 3 month free membership) and I told mom if I would go right now during all this, I would probably drown lol. My sister and brother-in-law just went back to Idaho yesterday. They went from 60 degree weather to at least 2 feet of snow and -28 degree weather. Yes MINUS 28 degrees.. Thats COLD. Now we can get all the junk food out of the house and get back to normal here. Which even with all the junk in the house, I still lost 2 pounds this week so thats not bad at all... Anyway, Im gonna get ready to head to the hospital. Talk to you all later. if I dont talk to you by then I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas. I will see some of you at the meeting Monday :crying:

[jenniferinwv 0]

Is anyone else having problems getting motivated to exercise? I don't know if it's the hustle and bustle of the holidays or the fact that I come to work when it's dark and leave when it's dark. I'm just EXHAUSTED these days! Last thing I want to do is change clothes and head out to move...that's just CRAZY! I just can't make myself do it. I've heard the theory that if you're tired exercise will make you feel better...I don't feel like testing it.

Wolf, you'll really like Jeanne, she's a sweetie! Just be sure to be 100% honest with her. She asked me a lot of history questions and at first I didn't answer truthfully because I would have sounded like a whiner. But the truth is we NEED to have the co-morbidities for our insurance to approve surgery. By the way, we'd all love to know your first name...I'm Jennifer!:thumbup:

[whitwolf81 0]

Thanks Jennifer, I know the people at work helped talked me into this and so did my family doctor. The name is Matt btw.

[kdlee 0]

Hi Matt. Welcome and ask us anything that comes to mind!

Elizabeth- I'm sorry again about your grandpa. My grandpa was in the hospital at Christmas time right before he passed away. It was horrible.

Jennifer- You hit the nail on the head! I have no energy to enjoy exercise or even want to for that matter. It's simply because it's dark when I go to work and dark when I leave work. Yuck, talk about depressive! I was enjoying exercise, but lately it feels like I don't have enough time to get everything done, like I've slowed down. I'm sure it's the lack of Daylight. How do people in Alaska do it???

Update for me- I have really adjusted my eating habits the last 2 weeks. I had a fill last week and was disappointed with no loss. So...I started low-carb and it's working, taking me out of my stall. I'm down 5 last week and 2 so far this week. On a personal note, I graduated with my Masters in Public Administration last week! If you know of any job prospects, let me know! I'm interested in a change!

[Elizabethdb 0]

Just sending a Reminder for you all who already have been banded. Support Group is Monday, the 22nd at 6:30. Im hoping to be there, just depends what all goes on with papaw. I didnt go see himtoday but my aunt called and said that he no longer has any goals to live to. His goal was to make it to Christmas, but I guess he isnt looking at making it to then now. Who knows. Only God knows when it is his time to go. Just a bad time of year to be going through this.

Any of you take Effexor and tried to get off it?? It is making me down right sick. I mean Head in the clouds spinning, my insides feel like they are quivering and I just fill down right sick like Im getting the flu. Any suggestions on how to get through this?? Im taking it every other day right now but it is time to try to go to every 3 days. Mom just keeps telling me I gotta get through it there is really nothing to do.. Any suggestions??

I dont know if I told you all but I went to my regular doctor last week and he was very excited about my weight loss and we are trying to get me off of some pills. I am taking half my blood pressure pill now, I did come completely off of them for a month then my blood pressure crept back up. So I take half that, I have gone from 200mg of toprol(heart pill) a day which I am told is a very high dose to just taking 100mg a day, my doctor said he wants to see me come off that before I come off the blood pressure pill, and I am trying to ween myself off the effexor. So, I am already seeing results health wise with the band. Unfortunatly, I have had to go back on Advair, which is for my asthma but I think it is just the time of year, the cold air hurts my lungs, and I have tried to cut down another pill that is a very high dose that I take for my PCOS, but after 2 weeks, I could tell I was full of cyst again.. But hey 5 months after this band I am already coming off some pills, that is AWESOME! Well just had to brag onmyself a little bit. I think my compazine is kicking in right now so sorry if there are any typos or if something just doesnt make any since. Talk to you all later.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

[whitwolf81 0]

Hello Candem Clark called yesterday to get me preregisterd and a representive from my insurance was at work a little bit ago and I talked to her she told what to expect payment wise so I know a rough estimate on cost for me.

When and where is the support groups held at? I know that is one of the things in the program, but I work odd hours where I work. Does anyone have any info on the fitness centers I should go to after surgery and how long do I wait?

[Elizabethdb 0]

Well I think that the support group meetings are mainly just for the people that are already banded. I think it would be nice for a support group for the pre band people, but I dont know if they would ever get one going. Anyway, once you are banded they are every 4th monday of the month at 6pm at the banding clinic.

Good luck with everything. Do you have to do 6 months of dieting? It will go by really fast.

[Froggi 4]

I get my first fill tomorrow. I can't make it to support group...too much holiday crap. :tounge_smile: Meh...I finally started losing weight not much though and I am wanting to eat too much...I'm supposed to start softs tomorrow but due to the fill I'll be on liquids then mushies...my weight keeps jumping round i lose 3 lbs gain that same back lose it again so on lol so frustrating. Hoping this first fill jumpstarts more.

[Elizabethdb 0]

you know. Im doing the same thing. Its so aggrivating. I went for my unfill about 3 weeks ago and I have only lost maybe 3 pounds since then and then Ive gained those 3 pounds, then I got on the scale today and Ive lost them again. WHAT GIVES!!!???? I thought about going back to get another fill even though I really dont think Im ready for one, but I know I will get chewed out by dr kaplan because Im not losing as fast as he would like UHG!!!!! Does anyone else have this trouble??

Mom is having trouble with her band. He would fill her when she was a month out because she still wasnt hungry and had lost 9 pounds. So she hasnt had a fill yet but she is having trouble getting food down and keeping it down. I told her that she might need a little taken out that he put in when he put the band in.. Who knows. I hope she mentions it to Jeanie tonight. She is pretty much back to liquids, I put her on them, do to vomiting.

I'll see some of you tonight at the meeting. Mom and I will both be there. Im going to try to drag my friend who was the first one to have it done. I dont know if she will come though, she is considering having the band removed. She should have never had it in the first place. I would love to look at her and say "I TOLD YOU SO" but that would just be mean lol.

[kdlee 0]

I bounce around alot. I find that if I don't exercise as much, it happens more. God forgot to give me a metabolism....:biggrin:

I went for a few weeks bouncing around the same 5 lbs. It's pretty frustrating, but I know it's my fault because of the foods I've chosen. I've been doing low carb for the past week and I'm down 8 lbs in one week! I have been getting roughly 900-1000 calories and 80-100g of Protein. I'm going to do it through Wednesday and then take a few days off for the holidays and my birthday, but will get right back to it after my B-day on the 26th--it just works too well not to. I want to be at goal by my one year mark and that's the only way it's going to work! Passing on all the treats at work over the past week has been pure you-know-what, but so worth it! My Mom and I went shopping Friday night and I got a pair of size 14 jeans at Christopher and Banks that fit perfect! Granted, they are stretchy, but the tag says 14 and I'll take it!!!

Froggi- You should see my husband today. He has a fill appointment, too. His is at 12, I think.

[Elizabethdb 0]

HAAPY EARLY BIRTHDAY!!!! That had to suck as a kid having a birthday the day after Christmas. lol

I havent been exercising since I have been trying to come off the Effexor. MY head is spinning so much, I almost fall just walking I can imagin what I will do exercising lol. I joke saying I will drown in the pool if I do laps right now. I havent taken an Effexor since Wed night and my head is STILL spinning..

Thats awesome that you bought a pair of 14 jeans. Im still in the 20s :biggrin: but I will be down there one of these days .. I bought a shirt this weekend at Catherines that was 2 sizes smaller then what I wore this summer. I dont even remember the last time i wore a 2x shirt and it is still a little baggy... I just wish Kaplan would see it the way I see it :scared2:.. Is it bad to go on diet pills with the band??? Ive thought about trying Slim Quick "how women lose weight" Everytime I think of how Kaplan talked to me, I want to go take them but then I think about how diet pills scare me so that is what keeps me from going to buy them. When I was younger I took Redux, I can now sue if I wanted to, but I dont think I took them long enough, they made me way too sick within just a matter of days. Then I took this one, I forget the name, but I was working at a daycare at the time and I scrubbed that daycare down in just 1 day lol, then the next day I decided I wanted to paint the daycare, then in a couple days I crashed, energywise, so diet pills kind of scare me, but I dunno.. ANYWAY, I got way off topic lol.

Maybe after Christmas we all need to get together and do some "last chance workouts". Ive been watching too much Biggest Looser. I wander if they would let me on the show, I dont have to tell them I have had the band lol. I think this is just a bad time of year to be on a diet. I will say, I am so glad I dont work at the hospital anymore right now because SO MUCH junk food gets brought in at this time of year. We had our church christmas party yesterday and all they had was pop to drink. I did find a drink that was non carbonated. LOL it was good... After about my 3rd cup of it I decided to check the nutrition facts..... 37 carbs!!!!! OOPS!! lol no wonder it tasted so good. I think I will start checking the facts before I drink now lol.

Just got a call from my dad from the hospital as I was typing this. They had a family meeting today to talk about papaw and his care. He will be coming home Wed, Christmas Eve. He seems to be doing well right now. I think the doctors of learned not to give a time frame on his life because he will out live it lol. He is the only known "Graduate of Hospice". He graduated from Hospice about 3 years ago. Then this time around they said only a matter of days, well that was about 2 weeks ago and now he is going home. Only God knows when it is our time. He isnt ready for papaw yet.

[WVU-FAN 0]

Hi Everyone!!! Its been forever since I've been on here. I've been so busy with the holidays.

I have actually had the opposite with exercise.....I have been exercising so much...........im beginning to get a little burnt out.

Mon - Zumba

Tues - Bikram Yoga

Wed - linedance

Thurs - linedance

Friday - free day..........thank goodness

Saturday - dance or an exercise tape

Sunday - weights

And with all that.............you'd think I'd lose more than a pound!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :smile: So frustrating!!!!!!!!!! I guess that is why im getting the surgery............obviously something is wrong with my body. I am only eating 1200 calories......and still................barely any weight loss. With results like this....it makes me want to give up. :wink: Im not..........but im struggling not to.

If I dont talk to everyone before Christmas.......... Have a Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :wub: