Wheetsin

Ok guys, Thursday was my one year anniversary, but Sundays are my weigh & picture day, so postponed any updates until today. I'm now officially an 18/20 top and 22 bottom. That's down from a 34+ top & bottom pre-op, and a total loss in my first year of 130 lbs. Here are my progress pics. Note: NO, I don't wear camis alone, only under things but it's one of the only things I could find that's "clingy" and would show my current shape.

Ok guys, Thursday was my one year anniversary, but Sudays are my weigh & picture day, so postponed any updates until today. I'm now officially an 18/20 top and 22 bottom. That's down from a 34+ top & bottom pre-op, and a total loss within a pound or two of 130 lbs. Here are my progress pics. Note: NO, I don't wear camis alone, only under things but it's one of the only things I could find that's "clingy" and would show my current shape. Here's how one year with the band changed my life!

Laurend, I do this "thing" to my back sometimes... I say "thing" because doctors tend to dismiss it, but it causes SEVERE pain. It will come out of no where, but is usually associated with an arm movement. Once it was while washing my hair, once while sitting down on a bed... once I even did it in my sleep, and woke up to the pain. The pain is so intense I freeze. Generally I can't move my head either... even the bumps in the road on the way to the ER cause agony. But it doesn't hurt constantly, only with certain movements. E.g. sometimes if I walk holding a pillow between my body and my arm, it's a LOT more comfortable. Weird that it would matter that much, huh? But only sometimes. Sometimes I feel like Quasimodo because I have to walk with my back hunched and my neck cranked or endure searing pain... but at rest I'm ok. If I had to diagnose myself, I would say it feels like a ripped muscle. It hurts that much. But when I tell them the antecedent activity, they dismiss it and want an xray. It usually happens in the trapezius area... and one in my lower infraspinatus. (I say "usually"... like 4 or 5 times in my life). It will kill me for a day or two, then over the span of about two weeks gradually taper off until I'm fine. The most serious I've been able to have a doctor take it was an Rx for vicodin and flexeril. All that did was give me a lot of gastric distress, and take the pain away temporarily. Oh, and one doctor said, "I don't know, maybe a trigger point? You feel a little balled up." And wanted to give me steroid injections. No thanks! Anyway, I don't know if this is at all what you're feeling/experiencing, but if so, maybe we need to join forces and figure out what's happening once and for all. :myscared:

A socialist and a communist at the same time? That's pretty impressive!

Never feel bad or guilty because things - on either side of the spectrum - aren't clear to you. And never feel bad because just maybe, your ultiamte direction is not in line with the direction your family would prefer to see you follow. My family is very religious. Particularly devout Catholics, with the exception of my parents. Mother is a "relaxed catholic" (by choice and by force) and father is a methodist, technically, but really one who prefers to manage his beliefs and relationships on his own, not with a church. This is not going to come out sounding the right way, but I don't know many other ways to say it. So you'll just have to trust me when I say "I don't mean it exactly like it will sound." I think very often christianity is trained. I know it is. An awful lot of people are told, from birth, that this is how it is. Now from that training you can, when you're old enough and mature enough, apply your own critical thinking and either accept it or not accept it, or kind of accept it. Some people (I do truly believe this) will never look it at critically, but will blindly follow it because it's what they're taught. Think of all the things people absorb from their family, friends, society, etc. and it never even dawns on them that there's maybe a different way of being, because - they're never around anything different, they never experiecne something that makes them ask questions, etc. It's not a bad thing, because obviously it gives them something in their life that they need, and there are worse things (esp. physically) that someone could turn to. A lot of my family knows nothing about my atheism. I think. To be honest, I don't really know - maybe they do, it just never comes up. They know I don't go to church, and they know that when I've attended the (Catholic) funerals of family that has died, I remain seated while everyone else stands, I don't sing when everyone else sings, etc. I know people noticed that when my grandfather received his last rights, my head remained up, my mouth didn't move, and my eyes remained open while everyone else was bowed in prayer. They don't ask, and I've been asked not to bring it up. (By my parents, and I can understand why they ask me that. I live away from my family, the rest of them all live in the same city. I'm not the one that would have to sufffer the "consequences", my parents are). If you feel a spiritual connection and feel that christianity is the answer for you, don't let people's or a church's greed get the better of you. There is a church by me (one of those mega warehouse churches) that gives you a payment book when you join. Seriously - like the payment books you get for a mortgage or car loan, only for tithing. Our neighbors belong to this church, or did anyway, and told us that while she was in the hospital (cancer), they were left messages from one of the church coordinators wondering if they'd "forgotten" to submit their tithing coupons, because they "just happened to notice" that their payment stub hadn't been sent in. But the point to realize is -- I would doubt most churches operate this way (really can't say for sure, obviously :myscared: ). As a previous poster said - don't let a few apples turn you off to fruit, if fruit is what you're craving. I think sometimes the best you can do is a lot of introspection, and a lot of asking yourself why. Why does something make sense, why does something jive or not jive with you. What is your life like with or without something in it, etc. Whatever the right path is for you, you'll know it when you find it.

Maybe if instead of the "ego" type, or the "muscular" type, you focused on the "smart" type, or "ambitious" type, or maybe even "gentle" type or "caring"... you'd find someone who could give you the settling you're wanting. There's a lot more depth to be found than "doesn't treat me badly" (which is NOT the same as "treats me good") and "muscular". :myscared:

When "communism" or "socialism" are used negatively, it's usually by someone who doesn't know the difference between communism, socialism, and fascism. Or just someone who straight up doesn't know what they mean, but thinks they do. There's a real definition, and there's the "What lots of people think it means" definition. Outside of primitive man, we've never really seen pure implementations. Let's talk -isms. I'm tired of religion.

That's not entirely accurate. What you asked was: If you had asked "is she investigated faith", my answer would have been much different. But that's not what you asked. Not only were the words different (which who cares), but the meaning - or at the very least the tone - were completely different.

Ok guys. I'm out of Disaronno (I just bought the little bottle, it only made 3 drinks), and I'm out of sour mix. But I do have some generic amaretto and Crystal Light lemonade. Think it will work the same? There's plenty of bear, my dad's homebrew actually - stout - but... yuck...

Still waiting for an answer on this one. Emphasis mine.

I see how being called pathetic, disgusting, vile, bitter, having your alleged behaviors being attributed as "from the bowels of hell", being told you hate christians (which would include your parents) - even though that was later retracted, and a host of other names could be hurtful, but honestly I wasn't hurt at all. Even though it came from someone twice (at least) my age. Some people resort to name calling, and some do not. When it happens, you just have to realize - that's how they're able to handle the situation. And I'm fairly sure you weren't really referring to all the names I was called, but you have to understand it's a two way street. Actually no, it's not, because I didn't call anyone names (to the best of my memory anyway - granted it's fading fast). It may have happened, but I don't think it did. Yet I took it. Perhaps I shouldn't have, but by and large it's just not significant to me. And I don't think the people or person who called me these names should be ashamed. Again, it's how they're able to handle the situation.

I keep wanting to call you "BJ". My surgeon never specified. I gave up carbonation because - well - I was down to caffeine free Diet Coke anyway, and what's the point other than eroding my organs? I have had the occasional sip of DH's Route 44 strawberry limeade. On flights I always go with apple juice. More carbs than I'd prefer, but have them fill the cup with ice so I'm not really getting more than a few ounces. The calories are one reason. Some people also have reduced tolerance for the carbonation, and (I perosnally have not come across any evidence of this) some surgeons believe the carbonation can expand and lead to stretched pouches.

Serious question here. Emphasis mine. When I read that, every time it is stated, it sounds like - "The bible MUST be literal and true in all areas because if it is not, then the basis of my faith is on shaky grounds and I would lose one of the things I hold most dear... so I'm going to close my eyes to any other possibility because if I open them, I might see some scary things out there." Is that how it is meant?

yeah, I do have to agree with that, to a degree. A lot of the questions I've seen posed have left me wondering, "What the point? Because if there is one, just get to it." If it were me, that's what I would prefer.

Like anti-semitism? It's not semantics when you say that you have backed up "everything" you have said, when in fact you have not. And then say you do not tell lies. Funny how when something does line up for you, it's semantics. Or nit-picking, or rubbish, or "whinning", or lies, or pathetic, or below the belt, or... ad infinitum. The point being, what you said was (apparently) in the context of "theologically and biblically". But you didn't say that. At least not until after the fact. And I seem to have left my crystal ball at work today. So I took you literally. And maybe sometimes I shouldn't do that, because - wow - look at all the things that I might be missing out on.

But then you can't stand by everything you've said. That context that has a pretty sharp ring sometimes.

That is very respectable, and I have a deep passion for conversations like that. Generally when you mention you are an atheist, you can literally see the offense wash over someone's face. You've probably experienced it and know what I'm talking about. It's something you can literally see happen before your eyes, like a shade being pulled. A frequent response is, "Then let me ask you this... <insert "about to have an upper hand" smugness here>... what are you going to do on Judgement Day?" Hello... McFly... When I read "in ministry" and then "are you serious?" and then "have you done your homework?" -- I knew which direction we were headed in. There was no desire to share just for the sake of sharing. If there had been, all of you non-believers might have had a chance of sharing your story without getting the "I was there too, until I..." responses, that weren't asked for. Maybe your story could have been your story, and ended there.

Really? Because I pretty distinctly remember you spreading lies and misinformation, and then having to double-step to try and talk your way out of it. E.g.: 1. Atheists hate god. 2. Well I don't mean atheists hate god, I mean they hate christians. 3. Well I don't mean they hate christians, I mean they abhor christians. 4. Well I don't mean they abhor christians, I mean they generically display disdain for god and christians. So which one of those statements does not count as "misinformation" or "lies"? 1? 2? 3? All of the above?

Forgive the misspells, I have a headache and don't want to edit.

I personally can't believe anyone would choose to be gay. For a while it was trendy to be gay or bisexual, and maybe there were some choices made then, but I doubt that's true homosexuality as much as temporary attention, like someone would choose to have purple hair, or a girl will kiss her girlfriend in front of a group of guys just to get the gyus' attention, not because she is truly attracted. Choosing to be gay would be like saying, "Please hate me! Please give me a difficult life! Please treat me as less of a person because I am attracted to the same sex! Please cut my civil rights off at the knees because I do not live my life in the same way heterexual do!" Who would ask for that, and make it a choice? Gadget, do you have any gay friends? Truly homosexual. And true, know them inside & out friends - not casual acquaintences or "chums" from down the block. It's fine if you do, but it would surprise me. Because I persinally don't understand how someone who is really tapped in to what it's like to be a homosexual in our society could believe it's a "choice".

Then you concede that could have occured on your side too?

Is yours bing done in- or out-patient? My surgery was on a Wednesday. I went shopping Friday, and took an out of town road trip Saturday, worked Monday. And I'm lazy.

Now that I'm the wise old age of 30... It's easy to look back at my younger days and think, "Boy you REALLY had no idea..." But at the time, I really thought I did. Oops, I lied, I was 31 two weks ago. Dammit!!! Jody - honestly - every post you make sounds like it is full of so much pain. "I'm happy" just seems so empty when you look at what's creating that happiness. Part of me wants to tell you to live it because you will learn from it, and part of me wants to tell you that LV and Prada don't mean anything other than "I spent way too much money on this, hopefully it can make me feel better." So I guess the two will cancel themselves out, and I'll say nothing. But like someone else posted - damn, I'm glad I'm not there anymore.

Yeah, scrambled eggs hurt me, and those processed eggs, but I can do over hard just fine. And bananas hurt me, and applesauce. Other than that I can do just about anything as long as it's after 12.