Oh Lord NO! Please Reenie, don't misunderstand what I ment when I typed about the one. I didn't say anything about cheating at all. What I ment was the guy in the picture that you had lost your virginity to. You had mentioned a couple of times that you were going to be seeing him. It was my curiosity at who that was. I know how hard you have worked at your marriage and am basing that on the past few years that we've all shared such personal information with all of us. You guys were with me during and through my break up with my ex fiance and now with the new guy I'm seeing you've all helped me at different times process all that I'm feeling.
I do agree with marilyn that you sound so much happier recently and that makes us all feel happy for you.
No need to tell which guy it is or if he's even in the picture.
That dress is lovely on you.

This is good news in that I don't have a bleeding ulcer, but not so good in that it doesn't explain where the anemia is coming from.  The average body is 7% blood and has has 14 to 18 pints of blood and 12 is considered anemic.  According to my doc, in April, I had 14 pints of blood.  Today I have 10.  If not from a bleeding ulcer, then where?  I was hoping it was a bleeding ulcer because that's easy to fix.  OK, maybe not for the person with the ulcer, but at least we'd know where the blood loss was coming from.  I had a CT scan of the brain a couple of weeks ago so it's not an aneurysm of the brain.  Again, good news. 

I saw my pcp today and he told me that the scope showed my stoma to be wide open, no restriction at all.  He thought it was a good thing.  Not so much.  I explained that it meant my food was sailing through the stoma and while I was absorbing the calories, I was still starving after eating.  I love my doctor, but he's sometimes clueless when it comes to wls.  I'll deal with that one later. 

During the scope, my ekg showed an abnormality so that was another thing I talked with the doctor about.  Again, he thinks it's tied to the anemia.  Anemia can cause a bizillion things to go wrong with the body so before he tackles anything else, he wants to get the anemia under control and see what clears up as a consequence. 

It looks like back surgery is probably out of the picture for a while.  You lose 2 pints of blood during back surgery and even if I had a transfusion of 2 pints before surgery, I'd still be starting at the low end of the scale. 

So more blood work tomorrow.  We'll bump up my iron, but doc doesn't think this is an iron deficiency.  He told me that iron is stored in the body and if he never got another molecule of iron, it would take at least 5 years for his blood work to show him as anemic.  Not only that, I'm still low 2 to 4 pints of blood and an iron deficiency doesn't account for the low hemoglobin and hematocrit levels that he's seeing. 

I asked my brother what the Gastric Cardia was and what it did and he sent me a link to Google.  Remind me to kick his butt. 

Ah Marilyn, thank you for the compliment! But I have to say I am not in a funk! And I'm not complaining about how I look - when a person is in the grips of an addiction -- and I am being strangled by this unrelenting compulsion to eat chocolate -- it doesn't feel good. I'm not depressed and I wish people would stop saying I am - I am hurting... and scared that I can't seem to get a grip on this. That's what this Board is for us, I thought. To share, to get support, and to learn from one another. And if I still look ok after more than 5 years, it's because I'm working damned hard at it!!! This is hard, hard, hard work.  I really do appreciate your kind words... thanks! Maureen

OMG, I'm married! I would never be unfaithful - not until we were to officially separate! Did I imply this in my post? I didn't mean to, I just meant I opened my heart and soul and felt so much caring - and lots of love back - from these wonderful, wonderful people! I DID come home and tell my husband that I will no longer move through my days like a Dead Woman Walking. He can step up or move out - we do this together or not, but things are CHANGING around here ... thanks for the compliments Pam. Means a lot!!! Gosh, I feel badly if people thought I was messing around - never, ever would I do that so long as I am married. Love you guys! Maureen

hahaah
Now Reenie when I'd make your afgan it would be in bright extravagant colors! Something that when you walked into the room you'd say O there is my afgan I need to wrap up in it!
I would do a pretty mauvey pink for Judy and marilyn would get a happy sunshiney yellow. Kim would have relaxing blues. Joy would be sparkly.
Of course this is how I would do it it might be that everyone else would think they were a diffrent color than I would pick.
Of course the colors would also depend on what was on sale in the amounts that I needed!