Wheetsin

I agree so much with what has been posted. I can't find the thread now, but a similar topic came up once upon a time. May have been archived by now. But in it, I asked self-pays (and others, but it was directed at self-pays - specifically ones who had a really hard time getting the money raised) how they felt that they couldn't afford the band, while Medicaid recipients had been banded on others' dime. The responses were very mixed, IIRC. Saying that it's not fair to make a Medicaid recipient choose between the band or optional surgery (I will use the word optional as a qualifier because no one who had the band would have died in 3 hours if they didn't, so we aren't talking about something that has to be done right now or you will die) -- why should people on Medicaid not have to make that decision, when working/contributing people have to make it every single day? I can guarantee you some of the self-pays had to make the decision between groceries or the band at some point, and they still did it because the band meant that much to them. People have sold their cars and walked everywhere instead. People have given up medications they needed so they could apply what they would have paid for their prescriptions toward the band. This is the akward position of the population Wasa brought up. Yeah, they work, they contribute, but they're barely making it -- IF that. And they have to make choices like that all the time.

I'm very, very much of a "no crap from no one" kind of person. The idealistic me says - report it, it's inappropriate, don't be objectified. But in this instance I can relate. I went through something similar my first year in undergrad, with 6 days left in the semester. I thought about doing smtg and decided to just ride it out. I had heard horror stories of people having to go through investigations, suspensions, sit out semesters, etc. -- and for 6 days --I just didn't want to deal with it.

I dunno, dare I ask where your fingers have been?

My comprehensive will be either summer or fall term 08, depending on how quickly I can get my last elective taken care of. I'm NOT looking forward to it. The one nice thing - I already know the questions that are on it. Ours aren't done by professor, they're comprehensive across the entire program, and they give you the questions after your 30th credit hour, when you officially have to have declared your emphasis (if you're carrying one). Do you know your questions ahead of time, or just the topics?

No worries at all - and I certainly did misread (still do!). Such is the nature of the online communication beast.

That's really disgusting. Again - we can hope that people are just mis-voting, but sadly, I doubt that's the case.

No, I only lost when my shoes were off. I used to be a reliable 12w. I just bought some Born (which run narrow to me) 11s Saturday.

Ah, as I read it, she thought kagoscuba's post was anti-semitic -- which would have made for interesting reading.

Anti-semitic. Anti-semantic would be "against the meaning of symbols." What about kagoscuba's post reads as anti-semitic to you?

I think I hit 100lbs somewhere between months 6 & 8. And of course is has been a slow creep ever since then. I'm now down about 160. I still consume within good calorie guidelines ( a little under if anything ), and can go months with no loss. But no gain, either. Which makes me happy. Your ability to lose large amounts of weight quickly will have a LOT to do with how much weight you need to lose, and as a percentage function, not a numbers function. In my first 10 days I lost smtg like 32 lbs, and by my first fill (5 weeks) was over 60lbs. But I had 200 lbs to lose. I would not have seen the same numbers if I only had 100 lbs to lose, though I might have seen the same percentage.

Can someone tell me about the port? Is it "hidden" under the skin? I hate to sound stupid but I am really new to all of this. The port is stitched to your muscle, so it's under your skin, fat, etc. Location of the port varies - usually it's a matter of surgeon's preference as well as patient composition or request. How long were you out of work after surgery? I work in the Premium Tax dept of an auto insurance company so for the most part I sit at a desk and work on a computer, I'm just wondering how long I will need to be off of work. I have a desk job. My surgery was on a Wed. I returned to work the next Monday, so I was out 3 work days or 5 days total. I worked from home for the first few days because a set of my staples ran right where all my clothes hit and rubbed -- very sore. My first day back was the day after my staples were removed, and it was still sore so I told them to deal with my wearing track suits for another week. Do you keep lap band forever or is it removed after a certain amount of time? The bands are intended to be permanent implants. They can be removed if needed.

Yeah, I don't know your husband, but I don't think it would destroy him. He would still be happy for you, and he knows that he hasn't been sticking to his guns due to the emotional uprisings. We know when we're eating well and when we aren't. If you having more loss than him effects him, then you know it's competition/ego, which isn't a healthy way for him to see it (no new news here). So just find other ways to stroke his ego. If it's going to be a huge huge issue, maybe just don't tell him? I'm to that point now. There are people who every time I see them, ask how much more I've lost. Umm, I just saw you Saturday? So I just say "I'm not sure, I haven't weighed recently." Would you have a similar way to just not tell him?

Do you pay the 10% based on the billed amount, or the negotiated rate your carrier has? THAT will determine whether you pay a lot or a little. E.g. the billed amount for my surgery was around $40,000. The network negotiated rate was something like $1500. If you're responsible for 10%, that's a matter of paying $4k or $150. Yeah, if you'd known sooner you could have taken advantage of a cafeteria program. That too might have made a big difference, but you would have had to have an idea what your total OOP would be.

What did you expect or assume you would see with the band, that actually isn't the case? This will be an interesting way to see how different our indiviudal "band realities" are. I expected that my restriction would be random in terms of the food it would pass at any point in time, but continuous throughout the day. In other words, I assumed I would be as restricted in the evening as I would be in the morning, but that sometimes I could eat chicken Mon but not Tue. That's soo not the case for me. My "sweet spot" seems to include extreme restriction in the morning & afternoon, and almost none in the evening. I used to try and combat this with fills - I need more because I'm too open at night, I need less because I'm too tight in the morning. Now I accept that my restriction has its own patters, and that by being careful in the early part of the day, and careful (in a different way) in the evening, I can accept some version of a sweet spot being different than what I had expected. I assumed I would have a soft stop. All the other stories I read about had them, so why wouldn't I? I don't have a soft stop. The closest I have is pressure in my chest. Food eotiehr goes right down, or I get pressure. If I stop at the first sign of pressure and wait for it to clear before taking another bite, I'm fine. If I keep eating after the first sign of pressure, I'm probably going to have a problem. The pressure feeling took me a while to notice - it's not very prominent. About 10 months in the concept of really listening to my body struck home, and I picked up on this tiny whisper. Life has gotten a lot easier since. I actually expected having something stuck to feel like a "golf ball," and that when the food needed to come up it would just come up, unexpectedly. I don't know what "golf ball" all you guys out there are referring to, because when something is stuck with me, it feels a lot closer to needing to burp but not being able to (in fact, that's exactly it - a burp tries to move but can't, tho occasionally a tiny one can squeeze through), coupled with a hand squeezing my esophagus. And that's before the straight-up pain kicks in. In my world there is no such thing as, "Oopsie, look, a PB!" My PBs HURT. From the time that I know I have to PB, until I'm done, we're looking at 20 - 45 mins (that's if I can clear the stoma on the first 1 - 2 tries... the last time I was stuck it was 8+ tries). I have a high pain tolerance, but in the last few minutes before I can actually get anything up, I'm nearly doubled over. I attribute it to esophageal spasms, which would make sense since I can have the same pain if I wretch but cannot produce. So what sort of incorrect assumptions did you have? What's different for you than the 98% of people you read about?

Words can bother anyone. Until the day we die words will be able to cut us deeper than any knife. But I see this is a moot point. Congratulations on your sudden and amazing tranformation, and best of luck in your future endeavors.

I had some fresh kettle corn this weekend. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. First time since banding I've had any popcorn. It just doesn't do that much for me generally speaking (but fresh kettle corn makes me a happy girl). I rarely eat popcorn. My teeth are close together and I hate getting anything stuck between them. Hence I cut corn off the cob, pull meat off the bone, etc. Plus unless it's kettle corn, popcorn just doesn't appeal to me that much. I don't like greasy foods. Never thought to ask my band doc about it, and don't remember it being on the no-no list.

The word fat doesnt bother me anymore. Im being serious too. I dont really let words bother me anymore, any of them. Whether or not it still bothers you is irrelevant. At one point it did - a lot, from the sound of it. So you're able to understand the power that a word can have, and you're able to understand the emotions that can be triggered by one single word. Because you personally claim to not be hurt by a word that once hurt you a lot doesn't mean the same holds true for everyone. You wanted people to stop using the word fat, so you're able to at least understand the concept of people not wanting to be called n-----. You wanted that respect, so pay it forward. The only recent post you guys have pulled for evidence is from the stereotype entry. In that entry I explained that I wasnt racist, but because of my past had issues that I had tried to work out with a therapist, but still have problems with. Huh? What the heck are you taking about??? I made one response to that thread, addressing something Laurend said, that had NOTHING to do with you. I don't know why "you guys" is supposed to refer to, but maybe you're confused about who's who? If you want to call me a racist thats fine. Umm, again... what the heck are you talking about? No one called you a racist. FFS - why would I want to call anyone a racist?

There are extremes you can go to with Protein, but you're no where close to being there. My surgeon advised to 60gm per day - sometimes I get it, sometimes I don't. If you're going to try and keep a protein minimum, then space it out 3 @ 20, 4 @ 15, not 1 @ 60. Bodies are good at adjusting for different protein intakes, but until you're adjusted there's only so much you can really metabolize and use as protein at once. The more protein you eat, the less efficient the body is at using it up. Unless your body has been "trained" to accomodate extreme (in either direction) amounts, 30g - 40g at a time is considered what the average body can use and an amount believed to be the range for healthy digestive function. You can eat more, digest, absorb, etc. -- you just can't really USE it, there's only so much your body can do with it. And we all know what too much of anything we don't need does to us. You might hear "you can only digest..." -- probably colloquially. There's a lot of science behind a statement like that so things can sometimes get oversummarized (*guilty*).

The pre-op diet isn't just for weightloss, it's also to deplete sugars from the liver, which will decrease its size. Having the liver smaller in size will make it easier for the surgeon to work in the area of the band. If the surgeon gets in there and does not have the room needed, or the liver does not move as he wants, etc. - you could end up with no surgery or an open procedure. You don't want an open procedure if you can have it laparoscopically. Do try to stick to the diet. I don't want to be too tough-loving, but this really is a change for the rest of banded life. Compliance is a MUST or you can damage yourself permanently, and can definitely actively avoid weightloss. If you can't do the pre-op, how will you do the rest of your banded life?

I really don't feel my fills. Here's how mine go: I lay on my back. The surgeon (AP now, surgeon quit doing the fills) feels/pushes around to find the port and once he has found it he makes a little markw ith a marker, goes and gets the needle, and plunges in. I feel the tiniest little prick (seriously less than getting blood drawn), and that's it really. You don't feel anything around the actual fill since it's all happening inside the band. Then sometimes when they pull the needle out - seems like they have to really pull, so you might feel this weird *pop* kind of feeling when the needle exits the port. I don't always feel this, and it doesn't hurt by any means - it's just weird. Then they wipe off any blood, clean you up and slap on a band-aid. Give you a little cup of Water to drink to ensure you aren't too tight, and off we go. Takes about 2 mins total. My surgeon used to numb you with a local before fills. This *hurt* me. It made my first fill uncomfortable enough that I didn't want to go back for a 2nd. So when I did go back, I requested he skip the local. They've been a piece of cake ever since.

I don't have a deductible to meet, and outpatient procedures are covered at 100% (inpatient would have a $250ish copay). I don't remember exactly, but my total OOP was something like $100 like this: Consultation - $20 (covered everything around the surgeon) Pre-admission at the hospital - $20 (covered everything around the hospital) Psych visit 1 - $20 Psych visit 2 - $20 Psych visit 3 - $20 My fills are now coded as office visits & still covered under my intial $20 copay.

I've never had a problem with crab, It pretty much just shreds up & dissolves. Chowder or other soup (normally places will have 2 - 3 choices). I've had trouble with crab cakes - more the non-crab stuff in them. There may also be non-seafood alternatives, e.g. the pickiest seafood restaurants around here will still have something chicken or steak on the menu.

Jodie_Warner06, it's not about ownership of a word. It's about tact. So given the above quote, I'm surprised you can't see n----- as more than "just a word." You've been called fat and it hurt you, and have said you would not put up with the word. And being fat is something you can control. Not the case with skin color or historical context. Why does fat bother you so much, but n----- is just a word?

Okay, I'm gonna damn well point out the OBVIOUS. Lizrbit and SweetHazel ARE indeed the same person and you can say or write anything you bloody please, it is not going to change the facts. They are one in the same and we all know it. Deny it if you wish, it does not change the facts. Wasa, I have a report from yesterday or Wednesday that you are also another handle. Hell, I have one that *I* am another handle - and that many people are other handles. I am saying/writing that I do not know for sure that they are the same person, and just because someone tells me they are doesn't make it any more true to me. There are things that strongly indicate they are the same person... there are also contraindications. I damn well have PMed you guys and provided specific links to problem issues. I'm sick and tired of being ignored by you guys. I devote a lot of time doing my thing here just as others and being ignored is quite frankly, without excuse. If you want to tell me to buggar off.. kewl Beans. I can take that. I may not agree with it but I can deal with it. Ignoring me is childish and/or unprofessional. There is no excuse. I have been a mod and it is no piece of cake. You will never please everyone, it isn't going to happen. I get that, I have no problem with that. Ignoring me is simply unprofessional. If you don't respond to me when I have legit issues, then it is your responsibility to make sure someone else does. Even if it is to tell me to buggar off. But to ignore me? That's just wrong. If you don't have time for this volunteer job it is your responsibility to find help. I can't speak for Alexandra or any other mod. I'm sure you understand that. What PMs Alexandra has in her inbox -- I have no clue. I know that I do not have PMs re: this issue, outside of the last few days. The messages I have received (all via reported posts I believe), that were not already handled by someone else by the time I saw them, I have addressed. I had no idea you had sent out specific PMs. If they were unanswered then I apologize on general moderator behalf, because that shouldn't happen. You are right, if you're reporting a concern, then even a generic "thanks for bringing it to our attention, we will..." is appropriate (though perhaps not immediate). I'm not going to speculate on what any other moderator has/did/thought/read/whatever because it's just that. I think on this point, if any more is to be said, we need to give people the opportunity to speak for themselves if that's what they wish to do. I cannot speak for them. *I* personally have not ignored you (more to agree with what you said than anything else), so I take this as a general "moderators" vent. I can direct the others to this post and make sure they're aware of your concern, but that's about it. I want to know specifics here. You suggest we deal with our own issues. As a mod of another forum I get that, I agree with that. But when it has gotten out of hand please let me specifically just what the target of those issues SHOULD do? If what we are doing isn't working, what should we do? I never said taking care of your own issues is ALL that should happen. And it isn't. I will be the first to admit that things don't happen as quicky around here as I sometimes would like. We don't have a perfect system by any means, nor do we have mods who are all around/available at the same time. But - because you aren't publically seeing action does not mean action hasn't been put in place. As I said above, I agree that you should have gotten acknowledgement on your concerns, and I apologize if you did not. As for specifics, I really don't have the time right now to search, pull up quotes, etc. -- but would rather respond in the time I do have, rather than leave this hanging. I hope you can understand that, and can model my paraphrasing into things that are familiar to you. I have seen a lot of "jab" type posts by you guys lately. Not ONLY you guys. I never once said that. And I didn't say "it's your fault" or "you caused it." Don't read that in. References such as "Oh no! You're posting here too! You must be a STALKER!" or threads started to say "I'm happy and you know why!" -- those may help you feel better, truly they might, but you have to admit they going to fan the fire more than supress it. That's what I'm saying. Some people have issues that are beyond our control and nothing we do makes a difference. It is my opinion that as a mod it is then time for you guys to step in and say enough. If it doesn't end there then you need to get rid of the trouble maker types. And again - because you haven't seen action doesn't mean action isn't being taken. As a mod, you'll understand that even more so. And as I already admitted, we don't have a perfect system and it does at times take longer than I would prefer. But by and large, when we agree that something is a problem, we get it taken care of it. That hasn't happened, instead you are passing out blame as though we have control of these issues. What is it that you want us to do, please, I'm begging... provide specifics. I don't know that I can agree completely. There are (at least) four parties that contribute to the outcome of an online (or real) situation: the parties on either side of the dispute, the moderating body, and the observers. ALL parties could have responded in more productive ways. I am not omitting the moderators here from any part in things going downhill. I have said that we as moderators cannot always act as quickly as we would like, and I have said that I do not think it's right if your PMs highlighting your concerns went unanswered. I have locked threads and given out warnings, and posted a heckuva lot about the topic that you guys will never see. With the above said, I do want to make a point of saying what little has been done has ONLY been done by you. I PMed Alexandra with specifics. I never heard a word. Yet I realize that you found the same issues I did and you did put forth some effort to confront the issues. You are the only one. I'm not downing Alexandra, I am asking why I was ignored. It's not like I PM you guys with every whim. I don't PM you guys on a daily basis, or weekly. Heck, I don't even contact you monthly. So doesn't that mean I should at least hear that you received my issues and you either agree or not? Com'on, ignoring me is fruitless and non productive. Same as above - I cannot speak for anyone else, but I can (and will) ensure the others are aware that this conversation is here and that there are concerns. At least I thought that was the case. As of late I'm beginning to question that concept. With all due respect, just where is the immaturity vs. the frustration? There really is a difference. Are we better than other boards? I don't know, I don't go to other boards, nor is it a status/competition point that I'm worried about. We certainly aren't perfect. There are things that we as moderators could do very differently. There are certainly things we could do "better" (or insert value statement of choice). We know that - we've discussed it - we don't have perfect solutions for it. There are always things that could be done differentlyby all sides. I mean - that's always the case with anything. I think there's a mature way to handle frustration, and an immature way, and all kinds of shades in between. But yes, I do understand that frustration and immaturity are different things. As for where it is - posting something like "Oh no, quit following me, you're a STALKER!" - I can see that coming out of frustration. I can also see how it might provoke someone and be a "jab." I think that when an entire thread is started with the (apparent) intention of saying "Woohoo I'm excited and you know why!" (I think that's the Snoopy thread Laurend mentioned earlier... and I don't remember for sure but I think she admitted to immaturity or a coulda done it differently... but I don't know without taking the time to go find it) - that might be frustration, but can you understand how it also reads as immature? It could have easily been a private conversation that would get any frustrations across just as well. (As could a lot of things). As I stated earlier, I will point the other mods here, to ensure they know this conversation is happening, and so that we can give them an opportunity to speak for themselves - I can't do it for them.

Headaches, minor pains, etc. Basically anything regular Tylenol is needed for. Most bandsters at restriction cannot (or are unwilling to try!) pass pills. So your options become to crush them and deal with the taste/discomfort/etc., or to find a liquid alternative. Bandsters elixirs.