Considering Dr. Kirshenbaum

Hi ladies (and gentlemen, I know there are a few of you)! Life has slowed down considerably lately (I work for a university and we're between semesters; summer should be slow in general) so I hope to be around more.

I'm doing well still. My third fill is scheduled for next week, and I know I need it. Once again getting hungry between meals, needing more food to fill up, etc. Weight loss has slowed, but I did hit 40 pounds this week. So happy! My size 24 jeans are getting loose, which means I'll finally have to buy some more pants. I have no nice pants that fit me anymore. My favorite wide-leg gray slacks fall down and they don't have belt loops. For some reason I still have some 18s and 20s from several years ago, but no 22s. Time to hit the thrift store or consignment shop, I'm not shelling out big bucks for clothes that won't fit for long. So far I've only bought new clothes when I needed them, like my brother's wedding.

I was bemoaning this to my DH who said, "I thought your clothes falling off is a good thing!" Oh, it is. But I don't like clothes shopping and I can't help but be sad that some favorite clothes don't fit. I will have to make new favorites!

My boss said yesterday while I was at the printer, "I hope you don't mind me saying this, but you have lost a lot of weight!" I said, "Oh thank you. Not at all." I hate it when people say that you look "great" sometimes because it implies that you looked hideous before. But she gets that, she lost 75+ pounds a few years ago.

Exercise. Taynuh, I know what you mean. I always hated it. But now I am doing it every day (I am on SparkPeople and doing a bootcamp there -- 30 mins of cardio 5x a week + a 7-10 min strength training video on the site). Who is this strange person who has to exercise? My absolute favorite type of cardio is dancing. It's so much fun and I enjoy learning the moves, so I forget that it's such hard work. I have DVDs, but I know that there are classes everywhere. I hope you can find something that works for you.

My challenge at the moment is getting up earlier to exercise & eat breakfast. I like to sleep. But with everything else sometimes that means going to bed late (can't go right to sleep after exercising). I usually grab something for breakfast I can eat in the car, or I eat at work.

Another challenge is keeping my damn mouth shut about what DH eats. I had the surgery, not him. I am very worried about his health, because he has type II diabetes and HBP, but he has to want to change.

Hugs to all & I hope all mothers had a Happy Mother's Day! I got a new Wii game because, my DH said, I am the "kitty mommy".

Don't forget Red Robin tonight!
I-25 and Arapahoe
7pm!
Tonight, Wednesday, May 14!
Can't wait to see everyone!

So I'm assuming that many of you had health problems when you had your surgery. How conservative is Dr. K. when it comes to operating on people with underlying health issues? I keep worrying that he won't do my surgery because I take a bunch of meds for various stuff. I have my phone appt with him on the 29th and I know I can ask him all about it then, but I am really making myself nervous about it. Now that I've decided to take the plunge, I really want to do it and I'll be so bummed out if it doesn't work out.

I don't know about others here, but let me tell you my situation.

I weighed over 400lbs when I went to see Dr. K the first time. My BMI was extremely high. I feared, I weighed too much for the surgery, but he assured me that he would be able to place a band.

I also had mild hypertension, polycystic ovarian syndrome, pre-diabetes, and high cholesterol. I was on Metformin for my PCOS and pre-diabetes,
I was on Lisinipril for my HTN and Lipitor for my cholesterol.

If you looked at the full picture, I was a very bad candidate for any type of surgery requiring general anesthesia.

Today, I am off the Metformin and I'll take my blood test in June to see if I can stop taking the Lipitor. My BP's are normal now. My blood sugars are totally normal and I can't wait to see what my A1C is now. My A1C has never been higher than 5.8, but I had fastings that were in the 110's - now my fastings are all in the 90's.

Getting the band was the best thing I have ever done for myself. Don't worry until you talk to Dr. K. Things will be okay. You want to be safe too and if he thinks the surgery wouldn't be a good option for you, he'll tell you. Trust that he will have your best interest and safety in mind.
Okay?

Good Luck Dear!
dee~

Thanks, Dee. I'll try to calm down. You are so helpful.

minidriver, I'm having my pre-op consult on 5/26 and my surgery is on July 2, isn't that cool, i mit see you in Denver.

Cool! What time is your surgery? Mine is 1:30 (I think).

Hey Mini -- Love the name, by the way -- I have (had?) high cholesterol, PCOS, sleep apnea, depression. He operated on me, no problem, and I had a very easy recovery. No worries -- he'll tell you right off the bat what he will/won't do.

Thanks. I drive a MINI and it's a blast. Yes, I have all that stuff that you have (except PCOS), plus am pre-diabetic and have joint problems. Has your apnea improved?

My apnea has improved tremendously! I have been sleeping without my CPAP recently and am feeling good/rested. Husband says my snoring has really decreased dramatically. I have my annual physical scheduled for July and I can't wait to get my lab results to see how my cholesterol, triglycerides are.

I dream of the day I can sleep without my CPAP (no pun intended). Not that the "fighter pilot in bed" look isn't sexy and all, but . . .

Argh.... I am having a bad food day. I had a HUGE bowl of ice cream tonight. HUGE. I knew better when I was eating it but I wanted it. Then when I was done I felt soooo horrible. I am so mad at myself.

I HATE food addiction. Sometimes it is soooo hard.

Tomorrow is a new day.

Yes, Honey!
Today is a new day!
I had a horrible bad ugly terrible weekend!
I beat myself up about it - then I finally realized
it's not worth it.

I'm PMS'g so right now I could eat a horse, a squirrel and a small dog.
I'm not sure they're all band friendly, but I'd try!

Take care,
dee~

Brandy, where are you?
We missed you last night at Red Robin's.
I hope I didn't say something to offend you!
I know you had confessed to a bad day... we've all
been there, Dear. I was there big time this last weekend!
Yesterday, it seemed, I struggled all day, my emotions were on a roller coaster and I was either nauseous because
I was upset or I was stuffing food in my mouth.
PMS sucks! Families suck! Mean people suck!
Cookies don't suck!
or do they?

I love you Brandy-girl and missed you last night!
dee~

Hi, I am new to this site, but wanted to say hello. I am excited to say that I am scheduled for surgery with Dr. Kirshenbaum on 6/4/2008. It's been a long time coming - I've been researching the Lap Band procedure for about 4 years, and kept running into roadblock after roadblock. But the wait is finally over....or almost over. Less than 3 weeks to the big day, and I can hardly contain myself!

I can't wait to start enjoying life again :biggrin2:

N