Alexandra

My heart goes out to you Jeanne, and mrp, with your slip stories. My first band was removed last year after being filled and unfilled a couple of times; I was unable to tolerate even .25 ccs of Fluid near the end. I think my band (the original 4cc size) was too small from the start, and that's ultimately what led to it slipping. When they diagnosed my slip it wasn't actually an emergency, but I had surgery within a couple of days. Luckily, and thank goodness, everything is OK inside and I healed right up. Four months later I had a new band installed, the new APL type, and have had two fills so far. Haven't lost any of the weight I gained since the band was removed, though, but I'm hopeful I will find the control again that used to be second-nature. Fingers crossed that you both have total healing and great success!

I tend to agree with you, Laurend, but the Scientologist organization is truly out there, and kinda scary. Back in the late 1980s the organization I work for gave an award to a journalist who had written about Scientology, and we received literally hundreds of calls asking us to rescind the award. It was a terrifically orchestrated movement (and this was in the days before e-mail) that almost crippled my office. I shudder to think about the personal hell Andrew Morton is going through right now, having written this Cruise biography.

I looked for that setting, but couldn't find it. Was it in Edit Options? (But now I can see the new skin--I went in as admin and changed it, since you reminded me that I'd earlier played with that setting. Thanks!)

I'm having a very strange problem. The only way I can see the new skin is if I log out and just view things as a guest. The moment I log IN, the screen changes to the old skin. Thoughts?

Allison, wow, what a nightmare! I'm so sorry you have been having all this trouble. It certainly seems as though someone should be able to address your healing issues--though this time it's related to your band, it seems to indicate a more serious systemic problem that needs attention. Unless you're somehow sensitive to the materials in the band or used in the surgery? I don't know. I wish you the best of all possible resolutions. :hug:

But the Pledge of Allegiance, which now contains the phrase "one nation under God" did NOT contain those words until the 1950s. Our money has looked different from time to time, and "in God we trust" doesn't bear the weight of a national motto or anything. Our only official national motto is E Pluribus Unum (Out of Many, One). That has nothing to do with a creator or higher power. We were emphatically NOT "founded" as a nation under God--the precise opposite is true. No religious test for leaders, no laws respecting the establishment of religion, separation of church and state: these are the founding principles of the United States and it seems we are forgetting that.

A vasectomy. I've never used hormonal birth control--the whole concept always seemed too risky and unwise to me. I used a diaphragm for almost 20 years before deciding I wanted to get pregnant, and then after our second child was born hubby went and got snipped. Speaking of diaphragms, it's important to know that you should be re-fitted after losing 20 or 30 lbs. Internal anatomy changes too. Stay away from the sponge. It is not reliable, even if used correctly.

Terasajo, that's a lovely sentiment and I'm sure anyone would be thrilled to get it. The organization I work for is not a charitable group; it's a professional trade association that relies mostly on its members to keep it going. There is a small paid staff (of which I am the boss), and everyone else is a volunteer. I don't get people in our group saying they want to be thanked for serving on a committee (for example)--who, exactly, would thank them? Themselves? The Board of Directors should be thanked by the members, if you ask me--it's a demanding job and they get very little in return besides the credit on their resumes. Sorry, I guess I'm venting. It's a perennial topic of conversation and there is no one right answer. For now we've settled on sending an e-card to various committee chairs and board members. The card was "signed" by the Board of Directors and me, the executive director, so quite a few got a thank you from themselves.

When you devote time to an organization, how important is it to you to get some sort of official "thank you" from the group? Is it something you think the organization should be spending its time/resources on? Or would you be satisfied with the personal thanks from people you actually come in contact with through your service to the group? Or do you expect both? I have no personal axe to grind but I'm wondering what other people think. I am both an employee of such an organization and a volunteer for a different one, and so am on both sides of this equation. I've heard a lot of different thoughts and am trying to get a larger sense of the issue. What do you expect in return when you provide unpaid services to an organization you care about (and probably pay into)? Anything? Nothing? Preprinted thanks from the faceless administration? A personal note from a staffer you may or may not have ever met or communicated with? A personal note from your direct supervisor? The president of the group? A gift? Would an e-card send the message effectively while saving the group money (essentially, YOUR money), or would the tackiness of that overwhelm the sentiment? What say you, wise peeps?

TommyO, I hope you enjoy your break. When you come back, please know that this sort of language/sentiment will not be tolerated. Denise, you can manage your "ignore" list by clicking on "Buddy / Ignore list" in your User CP. Anyone you put on your "ignore" list will be invisible to you and you won't have to see their posts.

I rely on Eddie Bauer and Lands End, pretty much, because I'm so tall. LE has free return shipping and can also be returned at most Sears stores. Eddie Bauer has a store in a mall near me so I do returns, if I have any, there. For girlie stuff Kohl's has been wonderful, and they carry Lee slacks and jeans which are my favorite brand. (Great for long legs and a curvy butt!)

I'm locking this thread.

I think what's driving that is the media's feeble attempt to address the rampant obesity in our culture. They're trying to send a message that "anyone" can do it. But of course, it will take a lot more than a few miracle successes to wean this country off of fast food and mega-portions.

Chopstickgirl, this varies from place to place. Many US doctors do it as an outpatient procedure nowadays, but you'll have to check with your surgeon to see how it's done in his or her practice.

Congratulations, Rainer!!! :whoo: :whoo: It's so great to see the joy. How's Squale doing?

It is so cool that you are here and asking these questions, Dr. Watkins. I'm really impressed! My doctors are among the most experienced band surgeons in the Northeast, if not the country. Here's my answers as they relate to this extremely busy and crowded practice: What do you love about your band surgeon and their practice? I love the way the doctors are all about the medical aspects. This is not an elective, cosmetic procedure we are undergoing, and they are not lancing a boil. Though they do banding as outpatient surgery the procedures are extremely thorough from pre-op seminar to post-op support groups and nothing is left to chance. Every question is answered, every step of the way. What do you hate? "Hate" is too strong a word. The practice is so busy it can take a while for an appointment, and of course there are insurance issues. But they do the absolute best they can, and have a crack team of insurance people to boot. What do we do well? I'm not sure who "we" is, but I've been very impressed by Abkin/Bertha's responsiveness over the years. When I was banded in 2003 I went to the first bandsters-only support group meeting--there were only two of us there and it was essentially a fact-finding mission for some Inamed staff who were on hand. Now they have two banding support groups a month, at least one is run by a nurse practitioner. Nutritionists and mental health professionals attend these regularly.

I'm really glad to see this thread (though I'm the FIRST one to remind everyone that fill amounts don't mean anything and there's no point comparing). I had my first fill a couple of weeks ago in my APL band, of less than 5 ccs. And I don't feel any restriction to speak of.

The (very experienced) band doctors and nutritionists I know have all said Benefiber is fine to take, and recommend doing so. There are indeed fiber supplements that bulk up and can be uncomfortable or even dangerous in the pouch (like Metamucil regular, for example) but the colorless, tasteless ones that dissolve completely will not do that and are just fine to take.

People, please stop with the accusations and attacks and conspiracy theories. Thank you.

Andie, if you're two weeks out of surgery you're doing GREAT. This time is especially difficult for people who are feeling normal hunger and very little, if any, restriction or effect from the band. Look again at that list of what you ate, and compare it to what you would have eaten in a day before getting banded. It's extraordinary! Congratulations! :biggrin1:

Lita, everything depends on the laws of the state where you live. In some states, if you're even eligible for group coverage you can't purchase an individual plan. In others, individual plans have all sorts of medical underwriting and pre-existing condition clauses that make them difficult to buy and use for people with health conditions (such as morbid obesity). Before you come off the plan you're on, check your state's department of insurance website to find out what your rights are. Don't make a wrong move that could get you in lots of trouble later on.

Our hearts are with you, Derry, and I'm so sorry for your loss. What a horrible shock for your family, especially because it was in the pursuit of greater health and longer life. I know this postop test is standard in the U.S., as well. When I had my band replaced this past August I was horribly, horribly thirsty while waiting for the swallow test, but traffic in the testing room was such that I had to wait more than an hour. Not even ice would they give me while I waited. It was torture, but for a very good reason.

Please let us know how it went when you get a chance, Shewhoknits. I hope you're healing up well!! The question of whether insurance will pay depends on your insurer and how they look at banding. When I lost my band my BMI was just about 30, and the insurer denied me a new band on the grounds that I was no longer medically qualified. But a different insurer approved it right away, on the grounds that it was an implanted medical device that needs repair. Go figure.

Today I didn't do squat. Does that count? :confused:

Hi Crazy Ates!! On 11/29 I finally went in for my first fill since being rebanded in August. I was nervous going in because this involved a fluoro test and after so many months of being unbanded and then having no fill, my eating habits are definitely not what they should be. A part of my mind was worried that the new band might already have been compromised by my mindless hand-to-mouth, or that I may have lost so much sensation in the band/pouch area that even restriction won't help (and could hurt). The good news is that it's fine. Whew! Dr. Bertha did his familiar trick of tightening the band all the way and having me drink Water, and I was relieved to be able to feel the water just sitting there. The not-so-good news is that my esophagus is definitely not working as well as it should be, and when I drank barium it was actually sitting above the gastro-esophageal sphincter before heading down into the pouch. Then the band itself added only a little additional restriction. He gave me 4.5 ccs in my APL band (which holds 15 ccs altogether), reluctant to make it tighter until we see if this gets any better over time. I go forward now knowing that I have a situation that needs to be managed. I CAN eat too much, but if I do I think I run the risk of further compromising my system. It will be up to me to remember that I have to eat like a bird, since the effects of the band are just not the same when you've had one for so long. Dr. B was very encouraging, and reassured me that this isn't a medical condition that needs to be treated, and I don't need to be alarmed. It's just another facet of my medical treatment. Two days out, though, I am VERY happy to say that the effect I missed most is back. I definitely notice a dampening of the hunger that has always prompted me to seek food. And THAT'S what it's all about. :biggrin1: These months of unbandedness, though, proved to me that my brain-mouth connection is as flawed as it ever was. Nope, they definitely don't operate on our heads.