Carlene

Muggle... I'm so sorry you have had such a rough time of it. I agree that you need to have your band unfilled ASAP. A complete unfill will relieve most of your symptoms and you will be able to eat normally again. After you have the saline removed you can work on getting your band out, if that's what you want. As far as revising to bypass, be advised that the bypass has its own set of problems.

Thank you, Mandy. You're my new best friend! Today I bought a beautiful, perfect, 100% silk summer pants suit at one of my favorite thrift stores for........(you're not gonna believe this)..............$2.50!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was "clearanced" at 75% off!

I have a very good friend who is a very good Republican. Between them, she and her DH earn over $200 K per year. Their college educated, single, unemployed daughter got pregnant. They had 3 choices: (a) mom and dad could foot the bill, ( county prenatal clinic and county hospital for delivery, or © Medicaid. They chose Medicaid. Their grandchild was born very early, with a heart problem common to premature infants. She spent a month in NICU and required coronary surgery, performed by a very expensive pediatric specialist. The bill was staggering. Medicaid, meaning the taxpayers, paid every dime. My friend is still a Republican. However, she no longer delivers long, raging tirades against lazy women who produce babies they can't afford to take care of. She has developed a great deal of empathy for children unlucky enough to be born to people who suck at parenthood. She is a huge proponent of children's health care. My point is that people who favor specific spending programs, or tax reforms, only support the ones that benefit themselves, or someone very close to them. People rarely vote to raise their own taxes. People who have never had a child or grandchild go without dental care are generally the only ones in favor of limiting Medicaid benefits. My friend never in a million years would have thought that her daughter - educated at a small private college to the tune of $24,000 per year in tuition - would end up on the dole. Just goes to show you....never say never.

When I said I support a flat tax, I meant it. But I also meant corporations, too. Of course, you have to give them deductions for their manufacturing costs. Otherwise, service only businesses would have a huge advantage, as would all non-manufacturing corporations. But no more deductions for corporate jets, etc. I also would only support a flat tax if it applied to SS and Medicare tax, with no ceiling. If you make $100 K you would pay your 10% income tax, your 7.5% SS tax, and your Medicare tax on your total income. That would make your tax bite approximately $19,000 on your $100 K income.

Thrift and consignment stores have become my new best friends, along with E-Bay. When you go thru 5 or 6 sizes on your weight loss journey, it can get expensive. I bought a gorgeous royal purple blazer the other day, 100% wool and in perfect condition, for $5.00.

You will still be able to binge on the slider foods...ice cream, candy, chips, etc. You will have to keep far, far away from those. Other foods won't be much of a problem. You can't over-eat on solid food with the band.

We ended up throwing the oven racks out and didn't replace them until my mom died and we sold the house. We scraped the plastic off the bottom of the oven with a razor blade scraper. But the SMELL was AWFUL and took FOREVER to get rid of!!!!!!!!! Yesterday morning my MIL decided to "toast" her Cereal in the microwave. I have no clue why she thought boxed cereal needed to be, or could be, toasted in a microwave, but anyway...she set it for one minute (she thought) and burned the cereal. Smelled up my house for the entire day! I swear, it's like raising kids all over again!

Would you prefer children begging in the streets, like third world countries? That would say a LOT about our great "Christian" nation, wouldn't it? IMO, billions of tax dollars spent to wage war on Iraq is forced manslaughter, and no one should be forced against their wishes to kill other people.

My insurance (UHC) is very strict about their BMI requirement. I think most of the others are, too. But they usually accept a BMI of 35 with 2 or more co-morbidities. Sounds like you have plenty of other stuff going on to qualify.

My doctor says it's not liquid unless you can suck it thru a straw.

It's called Body Dysmorphia. Virtually all anorexics suffer from it. I think a great many WLS patients do, too. I don't know what the treatment/cure for BD is. I'm usually convinced of anything by common sense but that too fails me sometimes when I look in the mirror. I just keep asking myself how fat can you be if your jeans are a size 4?

Karen: Sorry....I thought this was a different thread. I didn't go back and re-read all the posts in this one but as I recall, it got off politics in general and onto abortion.

I stopped letting my mom cook (except for the microwave) after she mixed up a meatloaf in a plastic bowl and put it in the oven to bake....in the same plastic bowl. You have never seen such a mess.

Tomorrow night (6:30) is the DFW Bandsters support group dinner at Mercado Juarez in Arlington. PM me for directions if you are interested. I am this month's host as Virginia and Cynthia are both recovering from surgery. Everyone is invited: Bandsters, wanabee Bandsters, spouses, friends, etc.

My DH's cousin doesn't "care" so much as her feelings are hurt. She thought she was giving them (DH and his brother) good advice, but my BIL recoiled in horror at her suggestion. So things are kind of strained between them right now. My BIL will never, ever agree to spend down their mom's assets in order to get her into subsidized nursing care. He finds it morally offensive to even consider such a thing. They don't like discussing this stuff with my MIL, either. She has a will, fortunately. It's very simple...she has two children and they each get 50% of her estate. My DH doesn't get one dime more because she lives with us and we are okay with that. My MIL says she hopes she dies before she has to go into a nursing home - any nursing home. I tend to agree with her. Even the best ones are lousy. We will keep her in our home as long as we possibly can. I hope the nursing home thing is never an issue we have to seriously consider.

Karen... If you go back and read all the messages in this thread you will see as much badgering and name-calling by Republicans as Democrats. It's true...we ARE passionate, but we are no nastier than our GOP brothers and sisters when it comes to expressing our viewpoint.

Follow the rules and you'll do great... Good restriction Solid Protein first, then carbs, etc Don't drink with meals Chew your food very thoroughly Eat slowly Avoid "slider" foods: chocolate, ice cream, chips, etc Exercise

Adam Smith was my surgeon, too. Isn't he awesome? There is a Bandster support dinner tomorrow night in Arlington, if you're interested.

Sue... I wish you'd stop beating around the bush and just tell us what you think....LOL

If you have nocturnal reflux (fluid coming back up during the night), you have a potentially serious problem. You may not be over-filled, but you could have a dilated esophagus. You need to go for a swallow test under fluoro.

The seminar I attended was a presentation by the surgeon and question/answer session. Also they handed out information flyers. There was no one-on-one at all, as far as weighing, filling out forms, etc.

This is going to be an uphill battle, since WLS, even for morbid obesity, is specifically excluded. I don't personally know anyone who was approved when the policy contained a specific exclusion like this one. But the appeal process is free, so I would definitely take advantage of it. I had to appeal twice to get my DH's fills paid for (UHC), even though they paid for the surgery and the first year of fills with no problem. Sometimes the people you get on the phone are morons. I had one young woman "explain" to me that my husband's fills were no longer covered because "he is no longer morbidly obese". "And you would know that how?" I asked her. Her answer was because he had Lap Band surgery! Somewhere a villge is missing its idiot...obviously.

That's a HUGE amount for meds. Are you paying that much while she lives with you? I would talk to her doctor about generics. Also, is that after her Medicare Part D pays, or before? If she qualifies for Medicaid they will pick up her entire drug bill but it has to be on their formulary, or pre-approved. They won't pay for just any prescription the doctor writes. My DH has a friend who just put his wife in one of the nicest nursing homes in our area. It is $5000 per month and she has to have total care as she recently fell and broke her pelvis. Medicare is paying for the first 90 days 100%. She has only been there a few days and is already going downhill. She has suddenly become incontinent (according to the home) and now they have her in diapers. They also have her totally drugged up. Her husband thinks this is the "beginning of the end" (he hasn't visited her yet, at the home's suggestion) but I think it's just typical of nursing home care - drug them and diaper them so they are less trouble. She's only 74.

Close....they are capiz shells.

Stephanee... I'm afraid there is no way around the minimum BMI unless you have co-morbidities (usually at least 2). Do you have asthma, high cholesterol, back or knee pain, sleep apnea, pre-Diabetes, PCOS, COPD, or anything else you can think of? If not, you may have to wait until you reach that magic 40 BMI.