Dearest Sherry,
I know you're just across town right now starting your new life. You'll
never regret it. We'll all be praying for you and looking forward to seeing
you real soon. Maybe you'll even feel like coming downstairs tomorrow night
for the meeting!!! We love you!!
Rona
Hey All,
Angel here!!! Please don't forget that tomorrow is Sherry Preston's big day. She will be at MCE with Dr. Miles.Sherry is a wonderful person and we all need to keep her in our thoughts and prayers as she makes her transition. Thanks in advance, Cecelia
Hi all! I made it home and through the biopsy. There are some
complications and I have to have surgery this Friday morning. If all
goes well, I will be home late that evening, if not a day or two
later. I'll have my sister post for me as soon as she can. My hubby
would but he'll have his hands full between me and our son. I will
try my best to be at the Thursday meeting. If not, I'll see ya all on
the 8th.
Take care,
Kara
P.S. There may be a delay in next weeks recipe newsletter. If so,
I'll add a few more to the following weeks.
Has anyone heard how Denise Copeland is doing...I know she has surgery today?
Hi everyone! I just wanted to let you know that I'll be out of the
loop of things for a couple of days. I have to go out of town bright
and early in the morning to have the "dreaded biposy" I've been
looking forward to(NOT)for a few weeks now. I should be home later in
the day, but will be alittle on the ill side for a couple of days. Oh
who am I kidding... I'll be gripey as all get out! LOL I also want
you all to know something. I think your all some of the greatest
people I've had the pleasure of getting to know and I'm so proud of
you. It makes your heart feel wonderful reading some of the posts.
Especially when you see the excitment in a new post-ops first post
after they've lost their first pounds. And the post after someone
just found out they've been approved for their surgery makes you so
happy for that person. I thank you all for letting us share in your
joys and even your disappointments. Remember...This group was created
with much love and caring and we thank you for letting us share in
your journeys. Love to all....Kara
I have a question. Did any of you have problems with your families not
wanting you to have the surgery? My husband supports me 100%, and when I
first told my mom about it, she was supportive. I talked with her last week
and she was still supportive until she asked me when I might have it. When I
told her that Dr. Clements had said September or October, she started saying
things like 'You won't be able to eat at Thanksgiving or Christmas. I've
never had one of my kids not eat during the holidays.' like that was a bad
thing. She says that I'm only 22 and what if this messes up the rest of my
life. My dad told her that she doesn't need to try to talk me out of it.
That it's better to do something about my weight now than to wait until I
have serious medical problems. Mom said that she would support me no matter
my decision, but she wants me to think about other options. I've tried
dieting with few if any results. I'm going to Mobile to visit them this
weekend and I'm going to print out some info from various websites to take
with me. She doesn't really know much about the surgery, and I think when
she does, she might feel better about it. Any advice from you guys as far as
what to tell her or show her would be greatly appreciated.
Thank,
Karen
Karen Parden
Vesta/Shelby Insurance Companies
Statistical Analyst
(205) 970-7209
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Karen
My Mom also had the but honey why don't you just try dieting one more time.
She even said "You have never really tried dieting and exercising together."
Well, my answer to her was Mom I have been dieting for 28 years and have
dieted my way up to almost 300 pounds. I also told her that I couldn't
exercise. And of she said of course you can. I said Mom I want you to go to
Walmart pick up three 50 pound bags of dog food and try and walk around all
day just doing the normal things you do and then try and exercise. She said
well I guess your right. I then told her that I was going to do it with or
without her help. She said of course I will help and support you it just
worries me. Now that I am three months post op she is so very glad I did it
and is very proud of my 48 pounds loss. So your Mom is just worried she will
come around. And tell her that you will be ably to eat at Thanksgiving and
Christmas you just will not eat Half the turkey and all the pie LOL you will
actually eat like a normal person. Good Luck
Love,
Robin Connell
I know this is off topic but, does anyone watch Big Brother ? I am a reality tv junky. Cecelia [INLINE]
I have the above "walker" for sale. Kathy Rigby endorses it. I purchased it
after my baby was born 4 years ago and have been on it maybe 6 times. It is
like a treadmill, but the base is curved so that your legs move "naturally" and
there is less "pounding" on your limbs. It is in perfect condition and I paid
$300 for it thru' the Fingerhut Catalog. I am wanting to sell it for $100. I
have tried to use it since my surgery and due to my posture and lower back
problems prior to surgery....I can not use it. If anyone is interested, please
email me (morris63@...). I live in Fultondale, AL. Please feel free
to contact me if you have further questions 205-841-1388.
Laura Morris
I must tell you how funny it is to see this ridiculous advertisements at the bottom of everyone's posts for weight loss on eDiets ....give me a break...lolol
Michelle
Hi All,
It's me, Rona, your fearless leader. I hope I am doing this correctly as I
have never been computer literate enough to participate in an e-group.
Anyway, I've been reading the posts about Dr. Miles, Dr. Clements, etc. You
know me, I have to put my two cents worth in. As you know, Dr. Clements did
my surgery and I will owe him a debt of gratitude for the rest of my life.
He is a skilled and competent surgeon. I have known and dealt with Dr. Miles
for several months. He is also a skilled and competent surgeon with over 17
years experience. I would not hesitate for a moment to let either of these
gifted surgeons operate on me. Birmingham is a very fortunate city in that
we have several good bariatric surgeons located throughout our city. There
is Dr. Stahl and Dr. Sherer in Alabaster, Dr. Glysteen and now Dr. Clements
in the downtown area, Dr. DeWitt in the Bessemer and North Birmingham area
and Dr. Miles in the eastern area of our city.
There seems to have been some debate about "who is better?" Dr. Clements or
Dr. Miles? Dr. Clements has recently moved from Norwood Clinic to UAB. This
move has been in the process for many months. In considering this huge move
for Dr. Clements it is reasonable to consider that it would take several
weeks for Dr. Clements and his staff to become acclimated to one another and
for things to fall into place. Scheduling difficulties and frustrations with
his staff do not seem out of the question considering all of the changes
going on. My suggestion would be to discuss this issue directly with Dr.
Clements if you have access to him. If not, consider writing him a letter.
You may also want to consider writing a firm yet professional letter to his
Office Manager. It's not out of the question to consider that Dr. Clements
and his Senior Staff are not even aware that problems exist. If you feel
that your waiting period is excessive or unreasonable don't hesitate to work
hard to change things. IT CAN BE DONE!!! Dr. Miles has been so generous
with his time with regards to attending our meetings and talking with WLS
patients and their families for as long as necessary. It seems that there
may be some question regarding why he is there, such as "Is he there simply
to generate business?" The answer is unequivocably NO. The bulk of Dr.
Miles patients who attend our support group meetings come because they are
his patients. They are not his patients because they come to the support
group. I'm certain that there have been occasions where people have chosen
him as a surgeon after meeting him at a meeting but I'm equally as certain
that the number is considerably fewer than you think. As far as his
expertise as a surgeon goes, after 17 years experience in the field, fine
tuning his skills as a "bariatric" surgeon is basically a technicality. He
didn't graduate from medical school yesterday. To make disparaging remarks
about Dr. Miles ability as a surgeon is to suggest that we don't appreciate
everything he's done for our group. I'm sure you'll all agree that nothing
could be further from the truth.
I'm delighted we have this e-group that enables us to stay in touch and
communicate easily with each other. However, I hope we won't allow
ourselves to get caught up in trivial debates such as "who has the best
doctor?" I think we all think "I HAD THE BEST DOCTOR!!" I am so fortunate
to have had the opportunity to interact with several of the local bariatric
surgeons and I can tell you that they're all GREAT! Please remember that one
negative remark about surgeons made here, even if done with only the best
intentions, can plant a seed of doubt in a pre op's mind. I know that none
of us want to do that. I would never, ever suggest that we don't openly
share our thoughts and feelings here. I would just ask that we think
carefully before we speak.
And as far as who's the best surgeon between Dr. Clements and Dr.
Miles.................................................
I'LL NEVER TELL!!!!!
Love to all,
Rona
Has anyone heard how Debra McCloud is doing? I thought about her
tonight and thought I would put out a post asking.
Thanks
Lisa
FOWLSangel@...
There is a show on discovery tonight at 9 and again at 1 am about the lives
of an overweight person.
Just FYI in case you want to see it.
Huggs to all. Have a great evening
Wes & Lisa
Hi Guys,
I got home about 11:30. (Had surgery on 08/21). I am doing GREAT! 1st day was rough (but no pain, just couldn't wake up). Had surgery at 7:30, was out within 3 hours. They even went out and told my family 1/2 way through that I went in late & everything was fine. That made them feel so much better. Came out of surgery, went to a semi-private room, then they moved me to my private room. I could not wake up long enough to smile, just clamp my teeth together & part my lips. They all laughed, knew that was supposed to be a smile. I kept worrying that I was supposed to be up and walking, etc. but they said no, just sleep. So I did. I could not hardly lift my arm or mumble words, but I was ok. Then about 10:00 p.m., I started waking up, after they took the catheter out at 4:00. they kept tellling me to get up and "pee", but hours of trying, I couldn't. I was swelling up really bad, hands, feet, everything, from all the liquids they were dumping in my IV. they went
and called the surgeon at midnight for permission to give me fluid medicine (lasex), and that did not work either. So at 5 a.m. after calling the doctor again, they had to re-catheterize me. They had done two bladder ultrasounds, first one, no fluids, second one, bladder was full. I found out this is pretty common, they said the anesthesia sometimes "paralyzes" things. So they decided to leave me on catheter until today. That was fine, just hard to maneuver with a bag, etc, attached.
I never had any pain from the surgery. Never had any pain meds for it, did not use the morphine pump for it at all. I did have massive pain in my upper chest & back from my muscles/fibromyalgia, and had to use the morphine pump for that. Then yesterday my i.v. hand swelled up huge & started hurting so they had to take it out. Meant no more pain meds. But I did fine. They brought me Loritab liquid one time for a massive headache (still have it here & there). On the second day, I got up at 6:00 a.m. and stayed up "active" all day until about 9:30 p.m. I got wore out when my Angel, Denise, came to visit, sorry Denise. I slept through the night, they removed the catheter this morning and discharged me at 10:00.
The first day I was on oxygen, but I got them to take that away that night. I heard them say "icu" after surgery, but they never took me there. I got rid of the "leg" things that the air machine blows up on your legs to keep them circulating. I wore it first day & then a couple hours last nite, that was all. I have 6 little incisions, sewn togther great, they are SO tiny. You will never see them in a year. No pain, just soreness. The left lower side hurts more than the right, but I think that is my weak side, those muscles got more pulling when I got up & down. But it is not bad. I could not eat the hospital food. Just drank water & the cranberry juice (diluted by 1/2 with water for the sugar). I walked the hallways & got my exercise, took a shower this a.m., washed my hair, got dressed. Doing great. I took a nap when I got home, it does wear you out. But I had alot more energy than I expected. There is a world of difference in day 1 and 2 & 3. Everytime I
layed down in bed I would want to sleep, so I sat up alot. That helped keep me awake. That and all the family & visitors. Thanks to Robin Connell for coming to see me too.
I did get really sick after the leak test. They left me standing up too long, then drank nasty stuff & moved the table around. That was rough. I heaved & that hurt. The two days without liquids was awful. Got real horse, could not talk, my mouth was foaming. Getting liquids was the best.
I am watching what I eat, eating small amounts, nothing sugary. Only ate twice. Don't have much of appetite (thank you). I eat about a tablespoon of food & quit. Even if I still think I am hungry. Then I feel full soon after. Not drinking with meals. But I forgot about that part at first. Tommy (DH) had to remind me. Once I started drinking, eating, my stomach went haywire with the noises (or at least what used to be my stomach). I have burps quite often, but I am at home not bothering anyone.
I go for my check-up next Friday. I am not going back to work until Sept. 4th, day after Labor Day. I took vacation time, and want to take my time to recouperate and get my eating worked out. I am going to get a sippy cup & baby silverware, since I am one of those that forget to sip and eat small bites. I have forgotten a couple of times & caught myself.
Enough for now, going to rest. Will try to be at next Thursday night's meeting. Good luck to Denise, my angel, she is having surgery next Tuesday.
[INLINE] Lisa H
Website: http://www.geocities.com/workingbox/
I just wanted to say Congratulations to all of our members that had surgery
this week and Good Luck to all of those are waiting for their surgery. I
also wanted to thank everyone for being such a positive light in this journey
we all are on. You are all angels to me.
Hi all I saw Lisa in the hospital today and she looked great. She had
Lap rny on Tuesday. She passed her leak test and will go home after
lunch on Thursday.
My paperwork was sent to the insurance company today...and I am approved!! Still cant believe it...and my date is set for Sept 18!
I am soooo very excited,
Michelle
I dont know if this posted but forgive me if you get this twice. If
you have aol here is my little web page--Im new so dont laugh
espically Wes your so good at this stuff!
http://hometown.aol.com/cemt1/mywebpage.html Thanks Maria
If you have aol here is my webpage attempt! Very new just the basics--
Dont laugh Wes! Ok you can laugh Im
learning!
http://hometown.aol.com/cemt1/mywebpage.html
I visited with Laura Colley and Jerry Goodwin and they are both doing
FANTASTIC!!!!!! They both look great!!
Thanks & Hugs,
Rona
Has anyone heard from or heard about Sandy? I am really concerned
with how well she is healing? I haven't heard anything lately and I
am still praying for her to feel better real soon. She deserves it.
Sandy If you read this----I care--let me know how you are.
Love,
Cecelia
Barbara at Dr.Glysteen's office said that Dr.Clements will not begin at UAB
until September 4th (I think) That may be why you guys have been having
problems. I will try to find out the new number for his office at UAB if you
don't have it. Just let me know.
Nikkia
I just signed up for the group e-mail, so I thought I would try it out. I wanted everyone to know that Lisa Hyche's surgery today went very well. I spoke with her mom and she told me that Lisa was in very little pain and if she continued doing as well as she is -- she will get to go home on Thursday! Lisa is at Shelby Baptist. If you have a moment, please go to the obesityhelp.com site and post to her surgery page (she is Lisa H in Hoover).
Denise
Sherry-
That is great that you got a surgery date. You sure don't have to
wait long for it either. I got your request for the angel, and I am
working on it.
Lisa
FOWLSangel@...
Has anyone heard anything about Lisa and how her surgery went?
Laura is in a room now at MCE. Her husband said she did fine...done
LAP. Everyone be praying for a speedy recovery for her.
Laura's # Angel - Laura Morris
Does anyone know of a place in this area to buy Extreme Pure Protien (grape)
in the single bottles (besides GNC-they are out and on back order)? Thanks!
Linda
I talked to Rona today. Jerry is in ICU. He was having some irregular
heartbeats, but Dr. Miles thinks he'll be just fine. I am going to call Elise
tomorrow before I leave for the Eye Foundation Hospital. Erik has a check up
appointment at 2.
Kara
Has anyone heard anything about Jerry Goodwin? He had surgery today
at MCE.
Lisa
FOWLSangel@...
Everyone please remember that Lisa Hyche & Laura Colley will be
having surgery tomorrow. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers as
they journey to the other side.
I wish you both a speedy recovery.
Lisa
FOWLSangel@...
Hello all my name is Cindi :o)
I had surgery on May the 22nd of 2001 and am doing pretty well.....I have
never written to this group so I thought since I had a question I would tell
you who I am first.
Well I keep getting all the empty emails from this group.....they only have
In a message dated 08/19/2001 4:07:22 PM Central Daylight Time,
mhagan@... writes:
I am new and looking forward to being a part of this group...
We look forward to having you. Welcome.
I am new and looking forward to being a part of this group...
I finally made it here! I think this is great. We needed a place of
our own so we could keep up with each other easier. Thanks bunches
Lisa for doing this.
Amy Shelton is heading up the Clothing Exchange for our group.
(Thanks Amy !!) She was not able to be there yesterday and there were
alot of nice items on the table. A few of us noticed that several
folks who were not "post-ops" - did not even have dates yet, went
thru' the clothes and took most of the items. I believe these items
should be for "post-ops" and I think that was the group's intention
when they set up this "clothing exchange".
I just wanted to welcome all new members to this site. I think this
will be a real good way for the angels to update us all and for
everyone to communicate together.
Let me know what you think!!
Lisa
FOWLSangel@...
Hey everyone! Just introducing myself. I am Lisa Hyche, live in Hoover, been going to support group meetings since June. Have met SO many wonderful people. I am scheduled for surgery this Tuesday, 08/21 at Shelby Baptist, in Alabaster with Dr. Stahl. Lap RNY. I am currently 320-325 lbs, depending on the day. Many co-morbidities, looking to be much healthier after surgery, tired of being sick all of the time. Denise Copeland is my Angel, & I am hers one week later for her surgery, same hospital, Dr. Sherer. Want to get much more involved with the support group after I recoup after surgery. Thanks to Rona and everyone that puts so much hard work into it's success. Will get back with ya'll after surgery. Good luck to all of the pre-ops, those seeking surgery/approval, and congrats to all of the post-ops. You are surely an inspiration.
P.S. Please everyone go to Denise's surgery page and wish her good luck while I am in the hospital. http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/status.phtml?N=C991189793
Thanks.
[INLINE] Lisa H
Website: http://www.geocities.com/workingbox/