TAVIA WHERE ARE YOU?????

Hey Tavia how are you??? Please let us know how you are doing...... LisaMarie

Helloooo! Some of my "medical entourage" feel that I am getting "too skinny". I have lost another 5 pounds since I was weighed last on the surgeons scale. I know I told a couple of you guys how little I weigh(and it is getting a little scary) but I'm trying! I saw my PCP yesturday and he agreed that I am skinny but not "too skinny". He felt my legs and arms and said he can feel I have good muscle tone so he thinks I will be "ok". He says as long as I do the 5 protein shakes and vitamins I will be alright. I got some blood taken so hopefully those will come back halfway ok. He just feels that the malabsorption factor is taking into place here and I should try to get a couple more protein shakes in if I can to try to stablize. He said, "You look happy but then again you always look happy." I am suppose to see the surgeon on friday but I do not think I am in the mood. Nothing against him but my new rule is one doctor visit per week!(if needed) I know the PCP put a call out yesturday to the surgeon so that is good enough in my book. Anyway, my son will be 4 in a little over a month! I can't believe how big he is! I can't believe it was just four years ago when I was preggo and gave birth. I was looking at pictures of myself when I was nine months preggo and I just look like I am going to explode!(b/c I was about to) I remember being so miserable those last couple of months. I hated Dennis b/c he would fall alseep in two seconds and I would be up for all hours wabbling to the bathroom(sometimes not making it in time) and choking on acid that was coming up from my son pressing on my stomach. Lord have mercy, why oh why does anyone want to do that to themselves again! I have much respect for women w/more than one child that is for sure! I bought myself a juicer and I made some carrot juice this morning. It was quite yummy! Who would have ever thought I would be drinking carrot juice let alone thinking its "yummy". Ha! Have a good day. Take care.

Tavia, glad to hear, as always, your spirits remain up! I, on the other hand, am feeling it's not been worth it to feel WORSE. I never really cared about being skinny, I wanted to be healthy, and well, that's not going as well as I hoped;) I was at the office today seeing some doc I've never seen before because I am having horrible pain, but no sign of infection, no problems eating or voiding, no change on the scale, no fever, just PAIN [feels like I just had surgery, hurts to laugh/cough/sneeze/use my stomach muscles and my back hurts]. He [Dr. N something I couldn't pronounce, said, "I don't know," gave me some pain meds and sent me on my way. Yvonne said, sorry honey, these things take time to heal [why am I worse, not better?!?]. Gee, thanks! I will be there on Monday to follow up with Dr. Gadaleta - if it doesn't get better, well, I don't really know what they will do next. Blah blah blah. It's all about me, isn't it? Really, so happy to hear the SMILE in your words. You are still my inspiration. xosm

Hey you, I think you saw dr. nadjari. He is funny b/c he is like three degrees louder than he needs to be. ha. What is wrong, your incision hurts more? I remember being my open incision hurting so much for a looong time. The fruit loops in training had to come pack the wound couple times a day for over a month(mind you I was still in the hospital at this time.) It kept on opening up alittle and oozing. Then it became so ITCHY! But that means it was getting better and healing. I think it you get better and does need time to go away. If he says there isnt an infection than you will be alright. Try not to worry about it to much b/c the worry is what will get to you. Take care and feel better!

Yeah, that was his name, he was nice, but I hate that he didn't have an answers. Relax is not an answer in my book, at least it's not comforting to hear, I just took a Xanax, how more relaxed could I be;)??? The big open incision [as opposed to the lap ones] opened up weeks ago, it's varied between the size of a pencil point to the size of a dime. It never hurt, well, thinking about it hurt, but that's my issue, it never hurt when they poked around in there like I expected it would. About 2 weeks in my PCP convinced Dr. Gadaleta to have a nurse come in daily and pack it, her thinking it might heal faster and keep the top from closing before the bottom [which it did once and Dr. Katz had to cut it back open]. The nursing was a huge relief to me because I didn't have to trek to the office ever 3rd day or so, and from a nursing standpoint [where my background and training lies], I knew it was standard wound protocol. The packing was going along for about 2 weeks now, the wound used to be about 2-3 inches deep and then a sideways channel that was another inch. It seemed to be getting more shallow and the regular nurse could no longer find the sideways channel. Good, right? Friday I thought the bandage looked different [I shower in the a.m. and remove everything myself right before she comes] and that there was more discharge ... showed it to the nurse who said it looked fine to her. Enter weekend nurse on Saturday, now I think the discharge looks THICKER. Again, she is not concerned. I have no pain, no fever. Sunday same, but the bandage smelled 'sour', not like puss or infection would usually smell, if you know that smell, just sour. Again, no concern from the nurse, but there is now a ulcer looking hole right about the open part of the wound [which is at the bottom part of the scar towards my belly button]. She probes it and it's shallow. Monday morning my regular nurse calls in sick or something, so I have another covering guy, the bandage still smells weird. The shallow hole is still there, I still have no fever, but I feel sort of sore, not in a big way and we both thought it might be from the way the weekend nurse irrigated it. By Monday night I'm in pain. Not in the wound area, per se, but at the top of the scar by the breast bone. It feels like I just had surgery, I can't laugh or cough or sneeze and it hurts to use my stomach muscles [I think I'm starting to repeat myself, sorry!]. Tuesday my regular nurse can smell that the bandage is sour, but agrees with me that a) the open part of the wound doesn't look infected, and b) besides pain, I have no other symptoms of infection - the smell is definitely not typical. But she says she will call the doc [who I know isn't in on Tuesday] and call me back. By 4:45 she hasn't called and I'm in PAIN, so I call Yvonne myself, who set me up to see Dr. N on Wednesday but says she can't call in any pain meds without me being seen. I'm not sleeping well because it now hurts again to lie on my side and to move around in the bed is really hard. So you know the doc said, well, nothing much. I came home, took some Xanax and pain meds and slept till 6pm. Tried to space out the pain med to my advantage last night, and had to get up and take it twice. Today the regular nurse was here again today and still, no signs of infection, no fever, and I have Tylenol with Codeine liquid, but it only relieves the pain a little for about an hour and then I'm just counting the minutes until the next dose. HOWEVER, while she's irrigating the regular opening she decides to put the thin irrigation tube into what was supposed to be that shallow ulcer looking thing, and guess what? IT goes down about 2 inches and is BLODDY. So now the wound is sort of like a 'V'. Of course, she can't say for sure, she's not even supposed to speculate, but PERHAPS there is an abscess in the top part of the scar and it's now breaking it's way thru the bottom. Which would be good for me, because it would be something that causes the pain and once it's drained, the pain should go away. But she can't say for sure, so I can only HOPE. It's hard for me not to worry when I didn't even have a guess as to what is causing so much pain, but today I feel a little more relief that it could just be an abscess and that maybe it will GO AWAY. I don't know how you always have such a good attitude, I admire you, I surely do. I just feel so beaten down, and then I feel selfish and petty when I realize how much you've had to go thru, my stuff is pretty darn petty. Well, that was provably TMI. But that's the scoop. Are you still going to the office Friday? [or maybe MONDAY so we can meet up?]. Either way, YOU TAKE CARE and thanks for your support. You telling me it will be all right is worth a thousand times them saying it! xosm

Hi Tavia, So glad to hear you are o****pt checking the post Lisa made for your reply...I was worried... Anyway, protein shakes, carrot juice and vitamins sound pretty healthy to me. Its good to hear you are tolerating that. BTW, I know just what you mean about pregnancy. I had a terrible time with pregnancy, and although I adore my kids and am so glad they were born to me, I look at pregnant women and shudder. Women are truly amazing. Hugs to you, Amy

Amy! I am drinking a carrot drink right now and loving it! ha. Thank you so much for your support, you are super! Hugs back Tavia

Hi ALL ~~~HUGES~~ I just went to the Doc on Tuesday 4/4/06 and I am down 31 lbs in 8 weeks. The Doc said good job!!! I also got my 1st fill and I can tell a difference already.. My husband has the FLU and he is down and out for the 2nd wee****ep telling him PLEASE do not Breath on me. I am going to CURVES and I got my twin daughters to join with me and they like it. I feel good and everyone tells me how GREAT I am looking..I love the feed back.. Beth