[juliemarie]

Hey chickas! My surgery went well and I should go home late this afternoon (I hope!) The pain meds work well and the only real trouble I had was that I didn't sleep until just a little while ago. My cpap works great at home when I'm sleeping on my side-however, I guess the pressure wasn't high enough to keep my airway open while on my back. It was a horrible night-no one could adjust the machine (only my sleep clinic could) and I ended up crying uncontrollably and yelling at a cna at one point. I could only doze and would wake up every minute or two.

So-they upped the pressure and i just took a little nap. Now I'm having the best chicken broth I've ever had in my life!

[Kimphin]

JM - so glad to hear that things went well. I hope that you were released and are now resting (and sleeping!) comfortably at home.

Nicole - I am not sure that I am getting any more work done now....

Barb - I noticed that the gym has been less of a mob scene lately too, although our weather here has been total cr@9 this past week, so maybe that is keeping them away. My gym has a 12 week "biggest loser" thing going on, but there are staggered starts to it, maybe people are waiting to sign up for the Feb starts.

I tried cooking fennel for the first time last weekend - I liked it. DH even liked it. I also made bok choy, which I liked and DH did not. And so goes the great veggie experiment. Up next: turnip greens.

[aguerin]

Hey Chickies. Still lurking around.,

Not much to report for me, other than I am planning a trip to Key West this summer, but I don't have dates set yet. I guess this will be the motivation that I am looking for to get focused.

JM: Congrats on having the surgery behind you. Good Luck with working the program.

Still no Eliptical. I got some notice that the one they promised is not available so they offered me a replacment, but will probably take another 1-5 weeks for shipping. UUUGGGHH. Do I wait or spend the $300.00 myself to get it sooner?

[Kimphin]

Amy - I was only in Key West for one day, but it was a blast!

[BarbaraB]

Amy, Wow, still no elliptical? 1 to 5 weeks is quite a range, what's up with that? Where in heck would it have to be to take 5 weeks? Like not built yet maybe or in China? I would love to visit the Florida keys. I guess that is a whole lot easier when you live closer. Summer in florida does seem like a time and place where you'd not want to be well insulated with extra pounds.

JM, I'm glad that the surgery went well, I think we were all just a tad nervous for you. Its almost impossible to not get emotional when you are sleep deprived, so you are just human. My grandma always said that hunger is the best sauce, so that broth probably had that sauce all over it. Do you have to have an all liquid diet for awhile? What happens now? How fast do they expect you to lose? From TV shows I've watched, it appears that the first couple of months after the bipass that the weight comes off quickly.

My DH called me skinny yesterday... LOL! It did make me smile and made me feel like I'm making progress.

[juliemarie]

Barb-I am on a liquid diet for 3 weeks and then I transition into soft/pureed foods. So for now-I'm just trying to heal and get out of the first 2 weeks okay (this is when leaks would happen-and that would be very bad . . ) Once my body heals-i should lose fairly quickly from the 6-9month time period. Average weight loss is 50% of excess body weight -but i sure hope for more!

It's going okay right now-I'm really sore and uncomfortable. Sleeping is a challenge. The meds are nearly as good as the stuff in the hospital. I'm not feeling hunger yet-not sure when that will return.

[BarbaraB]

JM, How different to not feel hunger. I guess that is the magic of the bipass. Hopefully the pain starts rapidly dropping off so that you can rest and feel much better here soon. Oh my gosh, leaking sounds very bad. That would be very motivating for me to stick with the liquids. I just would not want to take the chance. I'll say a few prayers for your swift recovery.

[Linn C]

I have been a member on LAWL since 2007. back going strong again.

[Kimphin]

Welcome Linn C! Glad you are doing well back OP.

JM - Do they doe the surgery laproscopically (sp??) - that should take a little over a week to start feeling better. Are you going to do any progress pics? It's going to be a really cool 9 months for you!

More snow here today - we had a 2 hour delay, but I came in on time anyway - I was up and ready, so I just hopped in my trusty Murano and mushed over here. Well, my workout this afternoon will be MORE shoveling.

[juliemarie]

Barb-the whole "not hungry" thing has been a blessing-but it's not the standard post-op feeling. The hunger will return at some point. So-I'll embrace it while it lasts. I worked hard to get my fluids and protein in yesterday. Managed almost 80 grams of protein (largely due to protein powders) and almost 600 calories .. ..

Risk of a leak is why my mom is here with me 24/7-i will need to get to the hospital immediately if I start showing any symptoms. When someone dies due to WLS-it's almost always due to leaking. Other complications can occur-but they are usually easily fixable.

Kim-i forgot to take a pic right before the surgery. I should do that in the next couple of days. And yes-it was a laproscopic surgery-I have 6 incisions. I feel quite good if i take the pain meds-just a lot of soreness, tenderness and pressure in my upper abdomen. i'm not supposed to be bending over at all-though I have to some degree-just very carefully. And i can't lift over 10 lbs for several weeks.

I'm jealous of all the snow! Since I'm stuck at home anyway-it would be awesome to have several inches of the white stuff!

[aguerin]

JM: Your journey will be very interesting to us. Keep us posted often. You will probably need to take a pic very quickly as you would be surprised at how fast this will start to shed. I have had two friends in my life that have gone with either the gastric surgery or the lap band and lost it quickly at first. I think I would have trouble with the whole liquid diet thing. I wish you the best of luck and hope all goes well.

My elipictal was a selection gift for my 15 years of service award for the company I work for so its not like I call them and demand my money back. LOL . I just don't understand why the place they were getting it from waited until the 5th week to notify them they couldn't get them anymore to offer an alternate item. You would think they knew it sooner. So that started the clock ticker all over. (

Its the weekend and I am getting refocused. Scale is showing it again so I am back in the zone. I don't have a goal weight in mind for tTe Keys, but something around 140ish.

Welcome Linn. Join in at anytime and good luck on your WL journey.

[Mama Nicole]

So happy to hear you are well, JM. I was worried about you. I still am, but I now you are in good hands with your Mom there I am suprised a resp. therapist couldn't help you adjust your CPAP machine. When my Dad was in the hospital we had a couple of excellent therapists that worked with his CPAP, masks, pressures, etc. until he was ok. In any case....glad you are home and able to keep your pain under control. Is Josie home with you too?

I made the french fry casserole tonight for my family. I forgot just how yummy it is Thanks for the reminder, Kim
XOXO

[Mama Nicole]

Oh, and I almost forgot...I made these sticky buns from the food network website....i posted a picture on FB...anyway, I figured out on the weight watchers website tonight that they are 23 points EACH...or just under 1200 calories a piece. Darn good thing I only had 1/8 of one yesterday!

Hey, where the heck is Joni?

[JLem311]

just thought i'd stop on and say hey and it's good to hear that you're doing well, JM. can't wait to see pictures!

where's kim #1 (TN kim, not NY kim) i can't remember who is #1 and who is #2..

anyway..welcome to Linn and the rest of the new peeps that have been stopping by. chat away!

[Joni135]

Hey, where the heck is Joni?

I'm here Nicole....just busy and trying not to sit in front of the computer too much! Plus, nothing too exciting to report on the W/L front! I just need someone to come slap some sense into me. I'm good for two weeks, and then lose my mojo.....BUT, enough about that!

Kim - I actually have that tilapia recipe on my fridge...I'll plan that for dinner tomorrow! I hear the northeast is having some super frigid temps...hope your Murano can keep up with the cold!

Jillian - I wonder what goal Nicole has planned for you?

and finally, JM - thinking about you and hoping you get stronger each day.