ROLL CALL!!

Have you had any plastic surgery? I was unhappy with my wls journey but in talking to my PCP he assured me if I had my tt that I'd be happy. Since I couldn't seem to lose any more weight I went to the plastic surgeon and set up an appointment. I had a huge hanging panni before my tt, which was no surprise because at 410 lbs I had a huge hanging panni. At 210 lbs I was wearing a loose size 18 (probably a size 16 would have fit) pants. Six months after my tt I am wearing a comfortable size 10 in most pants, with no additional pounds lost. The surgeon removed 22 lbs of skin/tissue during the plastic surgery. I am 5'6" with a large frame (per my doctor, not my imagination). I will never be skinny, still weigh 188, but I am healthy and look good. We aren't all made to be size 4, but there are things we can do to look our best. I consider my plastic surgery the best money I've ever spent.

If you are a size 10 you ARE skinny!!!!! the average american women is a 14.

Hey Karyn! 1)How did you choose your OH screen name/what does it mean? Mine is my name! 2)How many of us think we are great detectivea and will figure out our secret pal before the end of the year?(thanks again Jen!) I think I can figure it out. I have a secret pal for the Bama Board my home state and we reveal next month but I think I already know! But I've had soooooooo much fun doing it! 3)What is your next goal(what and when)? My next goal is actually to be as close to 200 lbs by July as I can get when I return to my doctor. I want to surprise him. He says most patients only lose 70% of their body weight from this surgery which would put me at a realistic goal of 190 - what he says! So by July he said I would be at around 240 (I am now at 247) and to be lower than his expectation would thrill me!! I must work hard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Julie! Isn't the secret pal thing fun? I love trying to figure out who it is. you are doing awesome and will definitely exceed your dr's expectations! Karyn

I have found that the calcium citrate I get from vitalady.com is pretty good and I don't have any problems with it. Tums is calcium carbonate. You are tossing money to the wind along with your health if you are using it for calcium.

It may be your pouch needs the Tums for gas? Don't know what about the calcium citrate would cause spasms, unless you're taking gigantic pills that get stuck going through your stoma. Try the UpCalD (you can find it on vitalady.com or Google it to find other outlets). It is calcium citrate with Vitamin D in powdered form. They just recently came out with a new formulation that makes the powder even finer, so it dissolves in food almost instantly. I take it in yogurt or sf pudding, also I just put in in my mouth and wa**** down with water. It has no real taste to it. I really like it, because I can't take those giant horsepills either. Carole

Have you considered cutting a large pill in half and then taking it at night so you can get through the icky feeling?

Tums is not calcium citrate. It is calcium carbonate. Most docs agree that we do not digest carbonate as well as citrate.

I think you should try an experiment. Go buy some over the counter prevacid or zantac..for acid build up/GERD, without the added calcium. Take it AND your Citrical. Me thinks your Tums was coating your tummy and when you took it away it gradually got crankier, the Citrical just happen to be the only other kid on the block to point at. If this works for you. talk to your doc about maybe getting a scope to look for an ulcer, and/or going on something like Nexium. I had GERD pre-op. It went away. At 6 mnths I had a bowel obstruct due to scar tissue and after that my tummy was yuck and my PCP and Surgeon agreed I needed to go back on my Nexium. Been on it ever since, no grumpy tummy. Good Luck Mic

what movie is that? your birthday is coming up soon too! how far to get to your goal? Karyn