vinesqueen

When my husband was told that he had to lose weight before the surgery, it wasn't to prove that he was serious, but so that there would be room to do the surgery. It was more about his safety and the fact that they had never opperated on someone so large. Donali, were we thinking the same thing? It is almost like we read each other's long rants before we posted our own.

I’ve believed several truly ridiculous things in my life. When I was very small, I didn’t like the crust off bread. My Dad told me that just like fruits and vegetables, the crust of the bread held all the Vitamins. This is not the most ridiculous thing I’ve believed either…. When I was about 6, I discovered/ realized that my mother had a tattoo. You have to understand something about my mother. She portrays herself as a paragon of virtue, the panicle of dignity... Her tattoo is her name written in cursive just at the stocking line. This was done in the 50’s, so you know she was a wild child, and not a paragon of virtue… She told me that everybody has their name on them; that was how mommies and daddies knew how to name their child. When they were little, their name was invisible to all but the parents. It was only as people got older and turned into grown-ups that their name darkened to the point where everybody could read their name…

I don't know if it is body dismorphic or not. I know exactly how big I am, and how much space I occupy. Some days I'm acutely aware of it, like when I stuff myself into desks for class.... When I was thin I thought I was fat. Then I did have body dismorphic. I was told I was fat, the scales said I was fat, therefore I must have been fat. (Size 11 is not fat, not for my frame.) One of the things I learned from belly dancing is the secret. You just have to believe that you are hot stuff and you will be hot stuff. Two of the folks who are in my program at school are bulimic. The woman really thin and the guy is thin/normal, but they think they are fat. Another friend was talking to me about someone she knows who is fat, "like a size 26, you know, really big." I just looked at her. She had no clue that is the size of some of my shirts...

I think this would also apply to those of us who are getting their band in one state while living/staying in another. I'll be getting my band installed in the Seatle area, but I spend most of my time in SE ID. Of course, I'm not too sure of the medical care in this area anyway, judging by my experineces in the ER with my asthma... But all my after care will be done in Seattle, so it means either a flight or having my DH come and get me...

The surgeon required that my husband loose about 50 pounds before they would install his band. Of course, he is the biggest person they had ever done... The last diet program I tired used this same food method, after putting us on liquids for a week, we were alowd to add one or two new foods a week, and we had to count everything, watch how every new food affected us. That's how I discovered my sensitivy to corn...

No help for us. We are fat, we are gluttons, we are weak and undeserving of help, sympathy, or adequate medical care. Like Orson Wells said, “Gluttony is not a secret vice.” Do I believe that? Some days I do in fact believe it, when I’m down, and lately more because of how ill I have been. Mostly it is a load of hog wash. Fat does not equal ugly. There has long been a weird relationship with food, the body and the Christian church. And of course, we all know the impact that both Protestant and Catholic sects have had on Western Civilization… Some of the Christian based weight-loss schemes are screaming “fat people don’t go to heaven,” and “use our program based on Leviticus and you will loose weight and be closer to God!” Sorry, I’ve read Leviticus, and I am NOT eating bugs…. (I call them schemes because I think we all here have come to the understanding that “diets” are just schemes…) If you had better self-control, more self-esteem, more will-power, were a better person, loved God more…. You would lose weight and be a better person. There is no understanding for the overweight from most doctors. Before my husband had his band installed, the cardiologist said “Have you just tried cutting out sweets?” Now, on the face of it, this is good advice, advice we could all use. However, this showed a complete lack of understanding on the part of the doctor. You see, before my husband had his band installed, he weighted 596 pounds with a BMI in the high 80’s. Cutting out sweets would have certainly helped, it wouldn’t have stopped my husband from eating two or three fast-food meals at one sitting, or any of the other overeating behavior some of us know intimately, and other behaviors we are only starting to understand in ourselves and others. I am currently having difficulty with my asthma: hospitalizations, steroids, greatly reduced lung function, other things as well. What am I told? Well, just lose some weight, we aren’t going to help with this, we are just going to pass judgment on you. Sudden and unexplained weight gain? Well, just don’t eat as much… (never mind that I gained 10 pounds overnight with severe edema…). I have to suspect that part of Delarla’s current adventure with gauze might have been caught earlier if she was thin. I was told by my doctor that I just need to take up running. Yes that’s right, take up running. Can you imagine a woman with a BMI in the high 40’s running? (Please see the thread about giving one’s self black eyes…) Being fat or overweight or big boned, or under tall, or metabolically efficient or famine resistant doesn’t make us failures, bad people or jerks. We might be over sexed (skin is the largest sex organ…), but we are not failures, or bad people or jerks. If we are failures or bad people or jerks, it is independent of our weight or size.

exactly! It is the month of birthday presents! I have found that since moving to ID, that Feb isn't so bad... In Seattle, Feb is the heart of the rainy season that startes in late September and ends in early July.... SE ID doesn't seem to HAVE a rainly season. But all that said, W-Daddy, you are most eloquent!

okay, how weird am I? The pictures of Lisa open wound in her tummy didn't phase me, but this thread has me very queasy... AAAARRRR! This makes me very nervous about getting the band. My DH seems to BP lots, probably a few times a week, is this a high rate? ***Queezzzzyyyyyy*** Just the thought of throwing up makes me want to, well, throw up. I'm a sympathetic barfer...

Asthma can indeed be made worse by acid reflux. You can in advertently inhale some of the acid and burn your lungs... Bad mojo. If your asthma is worse at night, they might suspect acid reflux as well. This is one of the things they think is making my asthma worse.... Innuendo can be too much fun. Maybe that is why the thread was deleted? Shakespeare is full of naught bawdy stuff...

I think that is a great suggestion Zoe, and I second it.

Poor Lisa! Sure am glad you were there to hand her the pillow! I only have a difficult time dealing with something like this if it was my baby! Other people and myself, no problem! Thanks again for being there for her. She's in a difficult enough spot to not have a someone there for her. Hope that made sense...

I'm down 9 pounds since last week, all of it water I'm sure. But hey, I'll take it.

unfortunately, not every AV or spyware killer catches every little bit of malware. We have found that Ad-Aware and Spybot both catch things that the other missed. There are something like 4K new bits of malware released everyday, and it is very important to do frequent scans. A software company I used to work at uses no less than 9 different AV packages to test their software before it is relased to the public. Using a pop-up blocker works well, I currently use the Google bar, and I have switched from IE to FireFox, and while I have lost some usablility, I don't have any anoying pop-ups to deal with since making the switch. Letha, you may not have that option since you are using a company box. Please don't heasitate to ask me any questions about computer security, it is what I live for.

update your anti-virus signature files, it shouldn't be more than just right clicking on the AV icon in your systray, and then choose "update." Since it is a company laptop, you might need to call your help desk, or if your security people are on top of things, your sig file should be updated automatically everytime you connect to your network. When you get random pop-ups, you probably have a bunch of spyware on your system. Ad-Aware from lava soft is good, www.lavasoftusa.com/ as is Spybot security.kolla.de/ Your AV will not detect or clean up sypware. Why? well, that is a little complicated, and there are currently debates on why this is in the security community. I can go on adnasium on security, it's my passion!

Hey Kibuluna, you are in a sucky place right now, and boy, I think broken hearts hurt worse than broken bones. But like Donali said, you will get better and then you will be able to do the "nya-nya thing" with your fingers waggling in your ears... The best revenge is living well, and you are definately starting down that path. When I'm in danger of really blowing through the food (unless I get into some corn...) I try to do something that is a bit messy and keep my hands engaged. It is hard to eat when you have paint or clay or SOMETHING else in/on your hands. It isn't always practle go excersize, especially in the cold winter evenings, so you might pick up a new art project. You might go paint your bedroom, or strip an old piece of furniture if you have the space.

Lisa! you poor thing! I am so glad you have someone at home who can take care of this for you. I wish there was something more I could offer than my prayers and white-lighting you.

I seem to do okay with it in small ammounts, like a squirt of ketchup or so, but I normally only eat ketchup with protein... and just like I only have french fries with protein... :cheeky It is when I have a large ammount, such a an entire soda. (I'm not much of a soda drinker.) For me, it is about being prepaired.

Does anyone have any information about how altitude affects the fill? I will be having my fills at home in Seattle, which is at sea level, and then returning to SE Idaho for school. The altitude in Pocatello is about 4.5K above sea level, and trips to Utah will have even higher altitude. I am concerned that I will have too much restriction when I am filled at home. There are currently no fill doctors in my area, which is just as well, it gives me another excuse to go visit my DH, DS (dear son) and DD (dear dog). I know that my doc had been making trips to Salt Lake to train docs there, so that might be an option too… I couldn’t find anything that address this, so any input is greatly appreciated. I know that many people go to other parts of the world to get their surgery done, and just wondered about any altitude experience. Also, I am a bit nervous flying after a fill. Yeah, I know, I am a long way off from getting a fill, especially since I haven’t even had my band installed yet! Cheers!

HEY! I have big poofy hair....

my son was on this for a while and it helped greatly. He is older now, and has been much more mellow for the last few years. He did not like taking the meds, however.

Wow. Simply wow. Do we have any thread dedicated to the before and after (or during)? It is such an amazing thing to see, and such a message of hope and encouragement.

you might also want to check out the Extraordinary Bandsters group on Yahoo. I believe that the requirement to join is a BMI of +53. (don't quote me one that.) Because you are so large, you will have special extra considerations.

Modern version of Birds & Bees Bobby SAYS: Daddy, how was I born? DAD SAYS: Ah, my son, I guess one day you will need to find out anyway! Well, you see your Mom and I first got together in a chat room on MSN. Then I set up a date via e-mail with your mom and we met at a cyber-cafe. We sneaked into a secluded room, where your mother agreed to a download from my hard drive. As soon as I was ready to upload, we discovered that neither one of us had used a firewall, and since it was too late to hit the delete button, nine months later a blessed little Pop-Up appeared and said: You've Got Male

so, I guess at my largest bra size it would have been "Mama Mia!"?

I am so very proud of him. Before he had his band installed he couldn't even walk through a doorway--he had to squeeze his way into every room. He couldn't walk more than a few steps before needing to stop to rest. I cried when I read the article when it quoted him. It was sort of that frog in the boiling Water thing--I'd forgotten how painful it was to live with him at his peak weight. He met the boy in the article at the support meeting he goes too. Mike made sure that Stuart felt as at ease as was possible. They are now corresponding via e-mail, and so he is continuing to provide encouragement.