~*Roll Call*~

Good Morning Everyone! Sorry I haven't been around much - My parents were out of town, so I spent alot of time @ there house watching TV and just enjoying the quiet time around here. Something about being in your parents house is comfortable. Go figure! How was ya'lls holiday weekend? How's all the new Post-Op people doing? Hope to hear from you soon! -Katie

Good Morning Miss Katie, I had a very good holiday weekend. How was yours? I know what you mean about the quiet time. I ended up not getting to go to the beach because a family member was in the hospital, however, as you say, I got to enjoy some quiet time. Those are rare moments for me. You are such an inspiration to me each time I log on and see your smiling face. I talked to my insurance company yesterday and by the time I meet all of their requirements, I am not going to be able to have my surgery until next Feb. or March. I was so bummed out by that, but I am trying very hard to stay positive and upbeat. Keep smiling. You are helping others more than you know with your happy attitude.

Good MOrning Debbie! Your so sweet! Thanks for the lovely comments! *blushes* It actually helps me ALOT to be helping out others, especially when it comes to this surgary and staying on track. However, what sort of requiements are you needing to meet? Care to share with us? Maybe we can help you out a bit to get the ball rolling a bit faster.... Is your family memeber in the hospital - doing okay? What happened? Hope you enjoyed your quiet time - I enjoyed mine until my fathers cows got loss. Ugh. I keep wondering how many calories I burned walking around the barn, making sure they didn't walk up to the main highway. What a weekend.... LOL! -Katie

A big cheery good morning to you! My oldest stepson got sick last Tues with severe pain in his stomach. When they started running test on him they found a large mass which they thought was in his colon. They decided to do surgery and when they got inside, they discovered that he had been bleeding and the mass was actually a clot of blood the size of an orange. They removed the clot and the dr. said he felt like he would be fine now. He came home from the hospital on Saturday afternoon. They think he could have fallen or injured himself somehow without realizing it and that is what caused the bleeding. I did enjoy Sunday and Monday. I just sat around the house and watched Lifetime Movie Network. My favorite. I know what you mean about chasing the cows. My parents own a hugh farm and they use to run a dairy. Now they just have beef cattle, but those suckers still manage to get out and then you have to run them down and fix the fence. As far as the requirements for my insurance company, they pretty well told me there was no room for negotiations! I have to be on a physician supervised diet for six months and three months prior to surgery. Weigh****chers or any of those diets don't count! I have to go to my PCP for six months and he has to document in my chart that I have been on a diet and excersise plan that he gave me. Lucky for me, my PCP is having a diet and nutrition class every Tues. night for one hour. So I will be doing that for the next six months. In the meantime, I also have to get my psych evaluation, my upper GI and see the nutritionist. Which by the way, the insurance company will not pay for. They will pay for every test I have to have done except the nutritionist. Isn't that weird? Oh well, such is life. I will just keep plugging along until the big day. I am just going to enjoy the summer and fall and the holidays and then maybe time will pass by faster.

Hiya Katie, I guess I was out of the loop. I thought you were going away for the holiday. We stayed at home and my best friend and her family cam over. They all grilled out and I ate my pureed stuff. I really didn't feel like I missed out on anything. I go to the doctor for my first post-op visit on the 14th. I hope it will bring good news. Can I ask something? Did you feel like you were losing weight the first two weeks? Also, any clues on getting in all the protein? I'm having trouble with dairy products so it's making it hard. Well have a great day..... Anne

Good Morning Anne! Your not out of the loop hon! It's a long story but I felt it was best for me to stay home rather then going all the way to Michigan! Turns out from what my parents told me - It was a wise decision! However, glad to hear you did well even with company and food around! I remember my first holiday with family after surgery - It was much easier then I thought but they worried about it more then me! LOL! Anyways, about your protein... have you tried instant carnation breakfast? That has about 12 protein grams, you can even buy it pre-made already and there ALOT better then any protein shake I've came across... http://www.carnationinstantbreakfast.com/CarbConscious/default.aspx If you buy this - make sure its the carb conscious in the blue box, its the same as 'no sugar added' - they just changed the label to get on the low-carb band wagon *rolls eyes* Another way to get in the protein - Have you tried soy nuts? or any sort of nuts? They usually have about 10 grams of protein, sometimes more! I also find that FISH, tuna fish, salmon, shirmp have ALOT of protein compared to other meats. However, I'm not sure what stage your on! If your on the pureed diet still - try eggs or egg beaters. I totally understand about dairy product thingy! One day they'll be fine on my stomach and the next I'll be running to the bath room. Although, I thought it was because of just having a bad stomach. I come from a long line of family members with Crohns Disease, so I try to becareful with some foods. Also try some cheese, try not to eat this everyday because it can block you up and its not the healthiest food to be eating either! Also have you tried maybe oatmeal or cream of wheat? I'm pretty sure theres SOME protein in them.... Hmm if I think of anything else - I'll let you know! Getting the protein in gets easier as you get off the purred stage (which I'm guessing your still on?!) Good luck and if you have any question about anything - Just let me know! -Katie