loserbob

I appreciate the responses. My surgery was supposed to be on March 3rd, they called today to inform me that they are rescheduling it for the 10th. Im a little upset but I guess this is whats meant to be. You both sound like your doing well with it. I know for me, Im in it for health first. However when I think about the procedure I try to think about a year or two down the road, buying normal sized clothes, wearing whatever I want and feeling comfortable. Thanks for the responses, its nice to hear youre still happy with it because the closer it gets for me the more doubts I have.

Not to change the subject but Im having my surgery on March 3rd. Im interested to know how long everyone has been banded, are you happy, and is it working for you? thanks, I think Im done for the night.

How do you explain the stockmarket hovering around 10,000(it was around 7000 when Bush left office)(The last time I paid attention to it, a while ago), Retirement recovering, Job growth(minimal but better than no growth) home sales, new home construction(again minimal but its a start). No matter how much you disagree with how its done, proof shows its getting done. And you keep saying private sector and temporary jobs, I dont know where you here this but jobs are jobs. Do you honestly believe Glen Beck has the answers? Do you honestly believe he knows more than the experts who trained and studied in these field who are saying different? Thats like you coming on here saying what he says. I dont believe you or him, i believe the experts who have proof to back it up.

Wolf Blitzer said today on cnn that a recent poll showed that the people who oppose the healthcare plan tend to be elderly, more well off. He said it was the same as majority of Tea Party. Again rich people who dont need it but have the "priviledge of medicare".

The key here is youre lieing. Liars dont have morality, integrity, or character!

Arent you being immoral by lieing. You lie about being rep just so you can vote in primaries. then you admit you are actually independent. That doesnt sound very moral or Christian like to me! I have a hunch youre born again.

(About you reg. rep.) Now thats what Im talking about, another rep. "hangin his party out to dry", Cut-n-run! You can say what you want as to why you registered the way you did, The truth is you ran out of answers(ill let you in on a little secret, you never had answers) so now your defecting, deserting the rep. party. Typical again!

You are so wrong. If you dont support the stimulus, dont accept the rewards from the stimulus. Republicans will not support the stimulus(some are coming around) but still accept the rewards because they talk out of both ends! And yes the states are wrong for accepting it. The senators from each state agree or disagree with the stimulus. If a senator from a certain state disagrees with it he or she should not accept it, plain and simple. He should figure out his own plan to solve problems. AND ACTUALLY IT HAS TO DO WITH THIS, Theyre supposed to be politicians standing up for what they believe in. If you dont believe in the stimulus dont accept money, help,or whatever is associated with it. How hard is it?

Your party is in trouble, face it. Joe the plumber was on CNBC(IM not sure what channel, one of the NBCs)last week talking about how hes not voting rep anymore because Mccain ruined his career. Fox news was playing footage on Glenn Beck today, (come on Patty your a Beck worshiper, is he lieing now?) He was saying the reps spend too much money and support big gov. Ya thats right the republican party. The Fox analyst disagreed with him, of course. Reps. starting to support the stimulus. Reps. are fighting between Ron Paul(Lib leaning rep) and "dumb shit" Sara Palin. You guys(reps.) talk about how this country was founded on GOP ideals. Sorry, not the GOP of today, two different sets of ideals!!! You guys are going all different directions, who are the reps. and what do they stand for? No one really knows anymore!

Ya, Arnold Schwarzeneger(REP.) is lieing about job growth in California to help Obama. Come on Patty, you can do better than that. Where did you pull that from anyway? What does that have to do with the issue we are discussung here, NOTHING as usual. Typical rep. response, babble on about a totally different subject. Besides, $400.00, thats another day I can sit on my ass(ok, big ass, or I wouldnt be on this sight)and collect gov. handout.

Bjean, the other day the NRA called me to ask my opinion on the law(Pennsylvania, Im not sure if its other states or not)which requires you to wait a certain period of time,(Background check)before you can buy a handgun. I told them I approve of the law and they hung up on me. Typical!

Yesterday(Sunday) I tried to get into 3 different resturaunts, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Texas Roadhouse. I finally settled on Bob Evans because the other 3 had average wait times of 70-90 minutes. People are spending money. The stockmarket is up a couple thousand since Obama came to office, and peoples retirement funds are recovering alot faster than anyone expected. Imagine,at the end of Obamas "terms" 1-Economy back to pre- recession highs. 2-Afghanistan stabilizing. 3-Bushs quagmire in Iraq ended with stable democratic gov. in place. 4-Healthcare reform. All without any help from reps. May not even be a rep. party at that point!!!

Its 1:04 pm. Im watching cnn as Im reading posts. Flashed across botton of screen"Economists agree, economy firmly on track". I guess the only people who dont see it are Patty and a few other, the experts opinions dont matter.

In this mornings Pittsburgh Tribune Review there is an article about the stimulus(this is known as a republican leaning paper). "California governor rips GOP hypocrites" speaking on ABCs this week,Schwarzeneger accused reps. of being hypocrites for bad mouthing the recovery act championed by pres. Obama while eagerly accepting stimulus funds for projects in their states. He said "I find it interesting that you have reps. running around pushing back on the stimulus money and saying it doesnt create any new jobs, and then they go out and do photo ops and they are posing with the big check and they say "isnt this great" he said look what the kind of money I provide here for the state, and this has created 10,000 new jobs. It doesnt match up". "I have been the first governor of the republican governors to come out and support the stimulus money. Anyone who says that it hasnt created jobs, they should talk to the 150,000 people that have been getting jobs in California". Arnold hasnt supported anything Obama until this stimulus, in fact hes always gone out of his way to put Obama down until now. WHATS THAT TELL YOU? Most people(except reps.) knew it wasnt going to happen overnight. Here we are, reps. jumping aboard. James Baker was on Farid Zakaria(not sure of the spelling), He did the usual rep. put down of everything Obama. He didnt have answers when Farid asked him for reps. plan. He did the usual, babble about something totally different, hoped Farid forgot what he asked! Come on you republicans, admit it the signs point to yes, the stimulus is starting to work.

Hi Im BOB. Im by no means an expert on the issue, I havent had mine yet. Im being banded on March 3rd. However I have been researching for a long time on here and other sources. Everyone who goes through this has similar problems, thats why we are here, so your not alone. The same thing has happened to me in the past. The difference is, when you get off track the band wont allow you to "over do it" because it controls the volume of food you eat. And my problem has always been, I never lost fast enough to stay motivated. The band offers portion control but does nothing about emotional eating. I think everyone with an eating disorder has problems with emotional eating otherwise we would only eat when we where hungry. Good luck

See Patty, I told you there are probably things you and I would agree on. Once in a while I work in "projects",(low income houses). People cry to me and tell me all about their hardships,low on money, health problems. But theyre driving brand new cars, most of the time 2, Big screen tvs. People are more concerned about buying video games than they are about sewage all over their basement floors. It drives me crazy that people want and some even expect this kind of living when they cant afford it. Theyre happy to be living in HUD housing and collecting welfare. Alot of them are younger than me and appear to be capable of working. Thats where the problem would be as far as universal healthcare. People who could work but choose not to would get it but wouldnt have to pay for it. Alot of these people know how to work the system. Im not talking about all people on welfare or HUD, because there are people who probably need it. I just dont see how people choose to live this way. I believe in always trying to better yourself. Thats why I started my business. I didnt want someone telling me how much i was going to earn or how and when i was going to work, just to make someone else money. I know I complain about healthcare costs(we do need some kind of reform)but Im only 4 1/2 years into my bus. and someday Ill get to where I want to be financially because I work hard(Ive always gotten compliments about my work ethic from employers) and I see improvements every day. I guess my point is, I agree with you to a certain extent about "free handout programs". Your life is what you make of it. Youll get out of life what you put into it. But there are issues we have no control over. Healthcare, they make record profits and still raise costs. Our choice is, we either pay them or have no healthcare. Switching to another provider isnt the answer because theyre doing the same thing. Thats why " I agree with you to a certain extent." Its late, have a good night.

I have a feeling my family and friends will be giving me advice all the time(at least for the first couple months), theyll all be experts on it. (not in mean way). For instance, my dad told me he supports the idea "but" hes worried my stomach will burst if I eat to much. He hangs out at the local firemens club and there are a few people who have had bypass.He doesnt understand theyre 2 different procedures. Whatever these people tell him is the "gospel". Even though ive researched this extensively, what I say means nothing because I havent done it yet. Im sure when we meet for dinner he will be watching my every move, waiting to give his advice. The scary thing is,he does this on alot of different issues and he is usually right. Its very possible some may act like your handicapped because they dont fully understand. People, sometimes dont know how to respond to certain situations. I dont think people necessarily do it on purpose. I think because you had a drastic procedure done to yourself they subconsciously treat you different, I dont think its always on purpose. I also think to a certain point we become more sensitive about the situation ourselves. I think after a period of time, your life will return to a certain normalcy and things will change. Just remember, you did this for you first, to be healthy and happy. Good luck, everything will work itself out.

Hi, Im Bob. Im from Greensburg Pa.(30 miles east of Pittsburgh) and having surgery in Pittsburgh Pa. on March 3rd. I would greatly appreciate if someone could tell me what to have on hand before and especially imediately post-op,Gas-x strips, Heating pad, protien powder etc. Thanks and good luck to all.

Im sorry, I keep thinking of new things to say. Your blog (Catherine)has really helped me realize I will still be able to socialize(not deprive myself of foods i like and social drinking once in a while). I get all caught up and worried about how Im going to have to cut my food small, chew alot, which is not what Im used to. After reading your blog it helped me realize that even though alot of change is required to be successful, there is still alot on normalcy in your life. I think this is what alot of people wonder about when considering something like this. Thanks again.

Catherine is right. Catherine, Ive read your blog and it has really helped me understand what to expect. When im having doubts about this(especially since its coming so fast,March 3rd) I like to come here to read about how successful people have been. This reassures me that Im making the right decision. Thanks to Catherine and everyone else on here for giving your perspectives on this procedure every step of the way.

Im having mine done on March 3rd and Im very nervous, to the point Im waking up at night thinking about it(everything seems magnified 10-fold) when I wake up in the middle of the night). That being said only you know whats right for you. Your still young, I believe you said 23. You have alot of time to research and think about it. To me it sounds like you have given up on losing on your own like the rest of us. Im 38 and I wish they had this procedure when I was 23. I dont feel qualified to give you advice, I havent had mine done yet so I have no idea what to expect myself. But I say if you feel you have exhausted all other means then have it done and enjoy your life,be happy like your sister. Also be happy for your sister for making a HUGE decision and being successful and happy herself. Most people on here say their only regret is they havent done it sooner! Take my advice for what its worth. Good luck on your decision.

My apologies, I confused budget deficit with national debt.But I just looked it up. When Clinton left office there was a $350bill. dollar surplus, a known conservative sight said it was somewhere around $230bill.Bush left with 1.85trill. Budget deficit. The question is how much did Bush contribute to national debt? When Clinton left it was between 4.5-5.6trill. Part of Obamas contribution is going to the 2 wars Bush started, he has no choice now!

Dont know where this is from. Clinton left office with no deficit, now we are at around 12-14 trill., Obama makes 1.75trill. which some has been paid back already. Bushs treasurey sec. was on fox yesterday(SAT), he said we needed this stimulus, the results would have been catastrophic. He said if we allowed AIG etc. to collapse we would not have recovered. Yes Bushs treasurey secretary said this.

If your feeling up to it, please update how your surgery went on 2nd. Im having mine next day, any info will help. Good luck

Im just wondering now that my surgery date(March 3rd) is coming so fast. When they say cut food into small bites, what does small mean? Steak for instance, 1/4" squares? Im so used to being very hungry by the time i eat(most times i don eat until 1-2:00 pm) but i eat alot of food, pretty fast. The other day i was eating pizza, i think i only chewed a mouthful 3 times at one point! Can you drink big gulps of water(after a period of time)or do you have to just sip forever? If you chew your food to a (basically puree), why do you have to puree it during that stage of post op? Im not being funny, i intend to follow all guidelines, i was just wondering?