LittleBill

On every other forum I have ever been on in the past 20 years, private messages have been inviolate. If they were shared by one of the parties to the message, that is one thing. To have someone not party to a discussion reading it without permission smacks of intrusion which has been considered abhorrent by virtually every generation preceding ours.

@@Aggiemae Interesting. I am about as conservative as one can get in some ways, and a classic liberal in others. I describe myself as a conservative libertarian. I have a number of friends from across the political spectrum. The same goes for religious and social spectrums. The main requirement is that they are thinking people. We don't always agree, but we do stay informed, and we are usually pretty good at articuling why we think and believe as we do. I have never come across conservatives who did not know the ACA was Obamacare, in my personal associations or otherwise.

@@WLSResources/ClothingExch - that's fair, Red-Neck-Right and Social Justice Warriors are two sides of the same coin. They are both highly anti-intellectual and spout someone else's bumper sticker pablum.

Excuse me. I missed my Oxford comma.

I pushed the eject button on a number of idiots who are incapable of intelligent/civil/polite discourse. You cannot have an intelligent exchange with an idealogue. It is like trying to dig a hole in Water.

@@Aggiemae I installed one of these on my machine. It is a big help.

I am trying to explain how insurance works to the billing people. I am getting bills for stuff "not in network" even though everyone I have seen has practically been in the same $&@%# building, not to mention the same network. I am being billed for stuff the insurance has already paid, and of course I have to submit copies to the people in the office. Apparently they aren't able to locate any of it.

I am glad to see someone just added a zero, although I can well imagine your panic.

To a certain extent the feeling is going to be subjective. Different people will notice it different ways. For me, I can tell by a bit of pressure, and a feeling like there is food or liquid in my esophagus.

My philosophy is that it is better to eat a little less than you think you can/should, and build up very slowly from there. When you get to feeling uncomfortable, back it off for the next time and that should serve as your measurement.

This is uncharted territory, this WLS stuff, when it comes to most people in my family. So far with one notable exception, it has all been good. But dealing with my grandsons has been a bit challenging.

"Why aren't you eating very much food, Papaw?"

"How come there's no bread for your ham and cheese?"

Then when snack time came, and they started circling me like jackals on the Serengeti, I told them it was my special food. They wanted to know if the doctor told me I had to eat it. Then they wanted to know if my peanuts were made of Peanut Butter.

Simple answers are working well, with the occasional outrageous one thrown in for spice. At one point when they were all determined to wrestle with me, I told them I had to sit quietly and "digest". The oldest, who is seven, disappeared, and returned shortly thereafter with a drawing he had made. He said it was my stomach and the food going down. It took me aback somewhat, but if he doesn't end up as a mechanic (like his father) he just might become a surgeon.

I asked my doctor about pork skins hence the word skins he looked at me like I had 12 heads. His look alone told me my answer.

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Is he Jewish, maybe? That would do it.

@@LittleBill they've heard it all from bariatric patients. It's in their FAQ. They know that some people, including WLS patients, are under doctor's supervision and are cleared to eat VLCD, but they will not change their program. It's not worth anyone's time to bug them about it.

What a surprise. Thanks. You saved me some time.

I grumbled about this a while ago. The funny thing is, apparently every now and then I eat enough that it thinks I'm okay for the day. But most days I get the finger wagging "you're not eating enough!" Maybe if we organized a write in campaign, they would create a Bariatric solution.

I tried Baritastic, but it was very cumbersome and frustrating, so I just put up with the warnings. I thought about Bufflehead's idea of fooling it, but then I wondered about the accuracy. So I just use it to keep track for the day itself. I never was much of a record keeper.

It's not dumb at all. I remember tossing my seat belt extender. It was one of my first NSVs. Congratulations on your progress!

@@50yearoldme A good marriage is not one that never has problems, but one where the two people work those problems out successfully. It took me many years to get to the point of surgery because Mrs. LittleBill was adamantly against it. We had two friends die as a result of surgery, or complications, years ago.

When I finally approached her with it, she wasn't completely sold, but was determined to support me. At some point, I don't remember exactly when, she came over completely and is now very enthusiastic.

You've got the power of prayer and what sounds like a strong marriage both working for you. That combination will serve both of you well in the days to come. I hope things go well for your surgery, and will remember you in my own prayers.

@@shedo82773 This brings back memories! Way back in 1991 we planned a trip from PA to WV to visit my grandparents. The morning we were to leave, our younger daughter (No. 3 hadn't been born yet) got sick. We didn't want to expose my grandparents to any viruses, so Mrs. LittleBill stayed home with the sick one, while I took off with our older daughter.

Now this is an old expression some of the young'uns might not understand, but our oldest daughter is what we would say was vaccinated with a phonograph needle. She talked CONSTANTLY. You would think she had a hole in the back of her neck so she didn't have to stop to breathe.

She talked nonstop for 6 1/2 hours into a 7 hour trip. I was ready to put her in the trunk. I was tempted to drive around aimlessly after she FINALLY fell asleep.

@@LipstickLady

This brought back memories back too. We would start the game, and then our oldest would yell "TIMES!" Then she would make a few comments, try to amend the rules, and then say, "Okay, 3,2,1, Goodbye!"

And here I thought I invented it! I guess this is common to all parents.

My actual sign that I needed to do this was when I got too tired out to play with my grandchildren. I want to do a lot of things with them for a long time to come.

Today, I was reunited with Mrs. LittleBill after a long week of separation. Actually, it was a seven day week just like any other. It just seemed longer. But anyway, I got to spend some time with four of my grandchildren, all boys and all 7 years and younger.

The initial contact for as long as I can handle it, is tag team wrestling. And there is ventriloquism involved when various stuffed animals appear. There is lots of carrying on. It wears old people like me out. So I resurrected a game from when their mother was small, called the Quiet Game. The rules are simple. Whoever stays quiet the longest wins a quarter. All four of them will sit on the couch with their lips sealed and hands folded. Someone breaks eventually, and the others follow, but it is not unusual to get as many as 15 minutes of blissful silence, and for the low low price of 25 cents. It's almost evil. But I'll take it.

Thank you, ladies!

There are a lot of nurses on this board!

Things have gone from bad to nurse!

@@Hiraeth it probably does. Mrs. LittleBill would do a Lorena Bobbit move on me!

@@Redmaxx You laugh, but I remember where you wrote that you work for DoD, so I just might believe you.

It's all fun and games until they turn the tables on you and wear one of those clasp-in-the-front bras!

I have a story there, too!

You ain't living until you've bent over in pants just a tad too tight and split the ass out when you're at work.

Good times.

This might be hard to believe, but I have a really funny story about an event such as this.

@

I had to get rid of my Wilderness Tactical belt because it was just going so far and no further. I bought a couple of leather belts from Springfield leather that are identical but different sizes, and not real expensive compared to other belts of the kind we need. I figure when I arrive at my terminal weight, I will get a real nice one again - maybe alligator to go with the alligator holster for my Colt 1911.

@@Detroit_25

Ob la di, ob la da,

I take off bras!

La la la la la la la!

Well, only one person's bra these days, but I am allowed to. But back in the day when I was still young and a bad man...

@ When you think about it, its a snap!