I would say, at this point, get a laparoscopy and hystersopy. That will show things that other tests won't. I was having similar issues and had 3 sonograms and saw nothing...went in to look for endo and lookey! A lemon-sized fibroid hiding right on top of my uterus. And tons of endo. So much junk in our food system mimics estrogen and cutting out that stuff has made a huge difference in cramps for me. I wouldn't be appalled at the dr. I'm frustrated with my internist for just rxing one med after another and never suggesting I just make some healthy changes in my life. You are free to go to someone else. But if it's really that you are now just confused why....I would do the other tests (lapro etc). The lapro/hystersopy have zero recovery time. I had a longer one due to getting the surprise lemon out. My friend just did this for your exact symptoms and they found "severe endo" and she took a week of taking it easy to recover (mostly from co2)...but she was able to do what needed doing.

I've lost 50 lbs by getting away from processed carbs. Bread, spaghetti, French fries, potatoes (yeah, I know French fries are potatoes...but for me they were a food group)....and "box food" ( hamburger helper, Mac and cheese,etc). This was a HUGE change for me. But I had to for my health. I was sent to a nutritionist who, God bless her, tried not to scare this carb-addict away but in the end she said 2 things that I "heard".... "If you eat one (carb), you will crave two." And "consider detoxing. You are addicted. It will take 3 weeks and it will be miserable. That night I joined Weight Watchers (mostly because I needed to track and their way made sense to me.) I cringe at all the members trying to find a fake chocolate cake that fits points and lament why nothing changes. I was determined to change food habits and eat my veggies etc. I also read Mastering Your Metabolism. The science of what was going on in my body when I ate carbs made total sense....not to mention other things. Carbs, especially processed carbs, mess with you. Period. And...I committed to exercise 30 mins at least 3 times a week. Eat "real food" as much as possible. Get 3 veggie servings a day. 2 fruits. Protein. Exercise. That's my diet. Eat right and exercise. Its still the best plan out there and free!!!

Has anyone found an app with this emoticon included? :banghead: It could seriously save me some texting time!!! I can't find it though. Help!!!

A friend of mine just got the Otterbox cover and really likes it. That's what I'll try next.

I was diagnosed this year at 39. Looking back now, I was pretty classic (no hyperactivity though). It wasnt until I was treated for a situational depression and moved past that, that my psychiatrist and I looked into ADD. My complaint was that there were lots of things I wanted to do but just couldn't seem to find a way to start and finish them. Depression was a symptom of ADD because I just couldn't accomplish anything even though I had a desire to. Enter Adderall. I don't remember why we started there. I think I had a gut feeling that I needed a stimulant. I started on regular Adderall. Very low dose. But my body just seem to metabolize it all too quickly or something because I would come crashing down mid day with exhaustion and blankness (not a word, but....). So we tried Adderall xr. Much better. But I was then having surges of agitation. Always right before lunch. But more so it was always 4 hours after taking it. So we considered changing meds, but then decided to cut the dose in half. Worked great. Both my doc and I were surprised that that worked but it has. I will say the rx, itself, is a pain in the neck. I'm not sure if it's my insurance or just the nature of the med...but I have to get it written for 30 days at a time, no refills. Such a pain. But worth it in the long run. I describe my before meds time as walking into a very cluttered kitchen without my glasses or contacts on/in. I could tell there was a mess but it was too blury to pick one thing to start with. On meds, I can see clearly (as if wearing my glasses) and I could pick one thing to pick up and put away and then the next thing. and I'm ok with only getting the table clean and maybe not the island. Oh, and while I know regular Adderall has been near impossible to get here, so far getting the generic Adderall xr has been fine. But having a back up plan is on my agenda for my January appt. Hth

Yes, it is possible through the special focus program. So there is now te traditional program, special needs, and special focus.

:iagree: This is the only one I've been able to use.

I guess I'm mean... I tell them to do it or I'll do it for them. I don't think it's ever come down to a toy they really like. No way am I going to be sensitive to making them let go of something they don't play with and have no attachment to. I kindof wish someone would come do that with my stuff...before Hoarders gets here. :0

Some maybe...but it's not easy to imagine asking a student to come over when there is a known language barrier. Many foreign students seem unapproachable for many reasons and most Americans haven't been alone in a foreign country to grasp that it's the simple things that the students want to see. Until we were in China and I realized how excited I was to look around their "7-11" I thought I'd need a fancy house to see or cool events to take them to. In China, I wanted to see the traditional homes and just be with a real family going grocery shopping. The fancy stuff didn't impress me. But...I had that experience to draw on with the students. I knew what held us up in spoken English, we could use written English. Instead of assuming nobody wants to do it (Americans) invite 1 or 2 along that thinks its cool you did it....then they will have experience to draw on. That's how our volunteers have come about. We didn't even get a student/visiting professor for thanksgiving because all our new volunteers got 'em!! A great thing! And our program doesn't involve having folks live or stay at our homes (though a few have when the family has something)...we just ask our volunteers to make a connection once a month or so. Have them for dinner, a ball game, a Wii game night, whatever. They love cooking for us! They adore our girls. Many times we just contact our Chinese liaison and say "hey see if any students want to come watch the ballet dress rehearsal." and we take whoever is interested. If you have a local college and they have international students they should have a liaison. So and so over international students. But talk it up with friends or whoever will listen. I promise there are willing Americans out there who just have no clue what to do if hosting for 9 months isn't an option. :)

We work with a local college and their Chinese students. Most of these students are here for 3 years and >80% leave without ever setting foot in an American home or get to know an American family. We hope to change that. Not because we have anything so great to offer but because they are great people to get to know. But honestly, most people don't know the possibility exists.

I had a great day today! I ran with a friend running her first 5k this morning. It was so great to see her "graduate" c25k. A year ago we were both saying we'd never exercise for fun. I'm already registered/training for my first half marathon to celebrate my 40th birthday. She's already looking at schedules to pick her next 5k and even said she'd consider a 10k! :) So it was an exciting 3 mile run today. Tomorrow....gym.... I hope. Will someone call me and get me there? :)

I'm an Apple-girl too and I *want* an iPad. But don't know if I can justify it right now (well, I *could*...but, you know what I mean :) ....) Is there anything it doesn't do that surprised you or bugs you? I can't imagine I do anything that couldn't be done on the thing, but....

I'm listening to the webinar now. I like what I hear. It's exactly what I was looking for!

ok, I'm biting the bullet!!

I'm sooooo glad I popped on here today and saw this thread! I was about to plunk down $100 for it on the Family Time Fitness website! *gulp* I just printed off the sample week too and we'll try it this week to see how it goes. And I'm watching the webinar tonight. I'm all about getting my kiddos moving but I just don't seem to have what it takes to create fun on my own! :001_smile:

Whew!! Glad I checked here again before I went to print! I feel like I've been granted high security clearance for some top secret project!! :) Weird. But thanks everyone for checking back in here and posting what you've experienced. I hope you continue to check in because I think I'm going to have some questions!!! I'm hoping to get started this weekend or at least this week so I know I'll wonder "how do we...." soon. Thanks!!

Awesome!!! Thank you!!! I'll be printing today!!!

T:iagree: that's me too.

Another MS-ian here. We have both "sweet" and "unsweet" tea most anywhere. I can't think of any place I go that the waiter wouldn't clarify which you want if I only said "tea". Maybe some non-chain, legacy places don't offer a choice, in which case they just bring what they have. Sweet tea has gotten sweeter it seems as now you can ask for "1/2 and 1/2 tea" and you'll get half sweet-half unsweet tea. :) It's not that uncommon for folks to get unsweet tea. I suppose if we thought about it we'd assume you are not from here. If you actually like adding sugar packets to unsweet tea we know you probably have never had good sweet tea. :) but it's unlikely we are actually thinking about your choice in teas. In my circles, those who can't have sweet tea for dietary reasons, we have water with lemon.

Did you try searching via Google? Weird, I know. But sometimes that's how I find posts. Is the term you are searching more than 3 letters?

I've been off and on it via my iphone since 7 this morning.

That does help! Thanks. You do have those answer sheets! Well, you at least have a master. I remember seeing it in one of the booklets. I think the testing booklet?? But it is there. I guess what I feel like I'm missing (I've used Horizons K-2) is something that says "drill the 9 facts" or little cues like that. So I just wanted to be sure I wasn't missing something. I just went and looked at my booklets...what I was thinking of is in the back of the testing booklet...pg 47-51. (47-48 look like what you are talking about). Now I know to make copies of that!!! Thank you! Thank you for taking the time to share what you did. I've been looking forward to switching to Saxon for a while (always knew I would at 5/4, so was even happier with this coming out!). But I'm glad to know someone might be able to hold my hand a little while I learn my way around.

I was just getting on here to ask a similar question!!! I'm new to Saxon so I wasn't sure if it was just something I didn't know or if I'm missing something. I got the kit as well. I can't figure out what *i'm* supposed to do for each lesson. (other than give the pages to them) I've looked through the text book (and read the how to pages in front) all the way through lesson 15. I don't even see when to give the test. I know the description online says every 5 lessons after 10, but I don't see any instructions like that in anything I have. PLEASE let us know when you hear back from the rep!!! I like what I see, I just feel like I'm missing something.

Last year was our first year to trellis them. Definitely the way to go!!! They will take over your bed so watch out!! :) On a side question...last year's cucumbers were sort of bitter tasting. Not cool-refreshing. Was it the type I had? Or is there a "right" time to pick them other than "big and green"?

Me too!! Me too!! I just started WWOnline 7 weeks ago. It's been life-changing. I was determined not to just eat less, but better. I had crazy high cholesterol ON medication...I was the pickiest eater in the world...I thought there was no way I could change things. I had a perfect storm of events and now I eat almost no carbs (my big vice and largest food group since I was 5!!) and shop mostly the perimeter of the store! Insane! Ask anyone who knows me! :) I started walking. I had to COMMIT to 30 mins a day. I had a million reasons that wouldn't work, but I decided to change things. We go to a local park and the girls play while I walk....FOR AN HOUR. Yes, I do more than required. Insane! Ask anyone. My husband has been great at the changes in food. Even the kids. I've lost weight but I'm more excited that I'm making better choices. Not because I have to, but because it actually more satisfying!!! The site mypyramid.gov has some incredible resources! I'm even making nutrition/pe part of OUR day. The site has check lists for the kids to fill out marking that they've gotten their daily amounts of fruit, veggies, etc. And it's very similar to what WW requires so it's been easy for me to take care of all of us. It feels so good to be doing something right for me. I'm glad to see there are others here doing the same!!!