Jen! you are doing wonderfully well! congrats and keep up the good work--you are going to fit just fine in the rides......go and enjoy yourself......i am so proud of you! r

HOW IS EVERYONE DOING? I FEEL GREAT... STILL HAVE A LOT OF WEIGHT TO LOSE BUT I FEEL OUTSTANDING. I AM GOING TO FLORIDA NEXT WEEK AND ALSO UNIVERSAL STUDIOS. I AM PRAYING THAT I FIT ON THE ROLLER COASTERS BECAUSE I AM PUMPED TO GO ON THEM!!!!!! STARTED MY JOURNEY AT 352 NOW I AM 230... I HAVE BEEN BATTLING A COUPLE OF POUNDS... GOES UP AND DOWN.. BUT I KNOW IT WILL BREAK. GONE FROM A 5x TO A 2x AND A 50 ddd BRA TO A 42 dd BRA! I LOVE THE FACT THAT THE BOOBS ARE SHRINKING BECAUSE THEY WERE KILLING ME. HOPE YOU ARE ALL DOING WELL. LET ME KNOW HOW WELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JEN RNY 11/29/04

Thanks again to everyone for their responces and well wishes I don't believe it's Fibromyalgia and won't accept that diagnosis because I don't have any muscle pain or trigger point pain. And as far as aspertame, I don't eat it. I have been to the chiropracter and a masage therapist with no releif. I will find out a diagnosis this week when I go to the Neurologist and the Rheumatologist and will update you then. Thanks to all Hugs, Dru

Hi Dru, As someone who suffers with this illness I just wanted to give you some information on the topic of Fibromyalgia. Please don't hate/ban me for this post! BUT.. Fibromyalgia gets mis-diagnosed SO many times. As of today there is not a blood test that 'proves' you have Fibromyalgia although they are researching a specific ANA test. Please review the symptoms of Fibro as I'm not trying to discount any pain or other symptoms you are having or saying you do not have Fibro, but I also don't like the fact that just because you are having pain in areas you didn't prior to surgery that that means you have Fibro. Believe me it is not something you want to have on your medical record as any creditibility you have with your doctors can go right out the window as there are still several doctors who feel Fibromyalgia (as well as CFS, etc.) are all in your mind. Also, unfortunately I've seen that doctors just diagnose a person with Fibromyalgia (like a catch-all diagnosis) when they can't figure out what's really causing pain or when they don't want to take the effort. Unfortunately this is more common than you'd want to know. Here are some questions to think about: Are you highly stressed? Do you lack sleep? Are you getting in all of your liquids? Are you getting in your protein? Are you taking all of your supplements? Are you exercising? Here's what I was told regarding joint pain (in areas that I didn't have pain prior to surgery or in areas where the pain was greatly reduced), light-headedness, dizziness, etc.: I consulted my doctor who informed me that due to the dramatic, speedy weight loss your body's center of gravity is off so body parts that weren't hurting prior to surgery now is constantly in pain as your body is trying to compensate for the changes. I highly suggest seeing a chiropractor or bio-mechanical doctor and get adjusted to see if that helps. Since I started having adjustments my body parts have gone back to more of my normal pain. If you blacked out and you are having joint pain in the joints you use the most it can be a nutritional deficiency. Even though your blood results came back 'normal' I would ask to see a copy of your results. Look to see if you are on the low side of any nutritional levels. I was on the low side of Iron at 3 months and later had an iron deficency. Dehydration and lack of food can make you pass out too. Also, you may want to see about your bone density as I've read about folks who for one reason or another are not absorbing the calcium they need to maintain strong bones. Good luck to you! Jennifer

Thanks George! You've done a wonderful job yourself! I think that is so funny that you don't like golf knowing where you work. Alice From Dallas 11/10/04 285/184/?