Manatee

See http://killthefatman.livejournal.com/27690.html

I had the sleeve after two slips, a revision, and a band removal. I strongly recommend those considering the band to go look at the 2005,2006,2007 etc forums and see how the thing holds up long-term.

I had the lap-band done back in 07, and while I don't have it anymore (long story) I was blessed with a good doctor and support function. My friend got one in 06. He hasn't seen as much success as he would like. The doc and support staff are inaccessible and refuse to admit there may be anything wrong despite years of adjustments, pain and disappointment on his part. We have found it impossible to get any other physician to take him on as a patient. We get the same story everywhere: if we didn't put the band in, we cannot touch it. "Liability, don't ya know." Right now he's having all the symptoms of a too-tight fill (reflux, vomiting, coughing, etc). We contacted the emergency rooms of the two local hospitals. Both do bariatric surgery. Both told us that their bariatric doctors would NOT do an unfill on someone who hadn't been banded there. God help you if you get a physician who moved, closed, is incompetent or died.

Did anyone else receive an email via LBT from this guy/company?

Why the red hate? They are playing the game. Remember? This. is. a. game. With $$$ waiting at the end. Hell, if they had really played it right, they should have both laid up this week. I think green has had a piss poor attitude the whole time, and them attacking red when the extra weight made absolutely no difference just looks bad. I also don't like Jillian's attitude this season. Maybe she's burnt out or something, but I'm rapidly losing my Jillian Love, and I've never really liked Brother Bob.

Well, it -is- edited for TV. How do we know there wasn't a team that simply doesn't show up in the final cut? (*shhhhh* everyone, here's some $$$)

Interesting. To me it's the exact opposite; these folks are so big that even massive weight loss doesn't come across as that dramatic. Sure, they lost 150 lbs on the show, but they're still morbidly obese. Is that success? Is that inspiring for the mass majority of the viewing audience that is likely overweight/obese, but not at these extreme levels? I think they've gone too far in casting, IMHO. This was a better show when it was a little closer to most folks' real circumstances.

Well.... Nasty gimmick to play on the teams early on. As far as eliminations go, they might as well flipped a coin. Freaky though that both twins weighed within a pound of each other and lost the same weight. Crazy losses this week, but you know everyone was waterloaded like a camel. Besides, I haven't run the numbers but I suspect those high numbers actually translate into similar % losses as earlier seasons. How long before a 600lb contestant shows up? Jillian's right, these folks are starting to be too big to safely 'beat on them'. Wasn't Allen from Big Medicine just a bit bigger than some of these folks?

Here they go again, on Jan 5. Place your bets: The Biggest Loser - NBC Site Frankly, last season was a bit of a bore after the Tara Machine and Ronfather, but hopefully it returns to form. The great thing is that the show only takes 15 minutes to watch, once you skip the crying

So... I thought Rudy had won this thing, and Danny thought that too. He looked ready to cry before the weigh-in. Danny turned out to be really handsome under the fat suit. Rudy....not so much I think Rudy's in better shape overall though. Liz obviously gave up, she didn't lose much of anything at home. Wonder how that bad marriage is doing? Oh -- and get some hair dye, lady. Speaking of, Rebecca looked really bad in that hair color and streetwalker outfit. I wonder if she's going though the post-weight-loss promiscuous phase that is so common? Still, congrats on the win. I think Tracey looked -better- than Rebecca, certainly more toned, but gaining muscle is bad for your chances of winning this game. A lot of the contestants were flat unrecognizable. I wonder sometimes if this is all a scam. Get fat people for the start, and then hire other folks to play them at the finale. Too paranoid? Amanda? Meh. Still Anonymous Blond, and she'll be back to 280 by the time she pops out the third kid.

Danny already looks sick in the face, but I guess he needs to thin out and impress the girlfriend Liz. Those two still creep me out a bit, so I guess I'm hoping for Rudy. Amanda is still Yet Another Anonymous Blond, and will no doubt plump back up after finding a man. This season has been pretty boring, after the Tara Machine and Ronfather last season.

Maybe 'Amanda' is a dude...that would be a twist!:confused:

You might call your local big hospital and see if they have a bariatric division. If so, they can probably pull a little bit out.

Get some taken out. Too tight can be dangerous to your health. Too tight cost me my band. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

Buh-bye Rebecca. At least she turned out to be a hottie. The best revenge is living well. Nothing can help Liz, not even the makeover. Rudy looks a LOT younger without the beard. Unlike others, I have no problem with his gameplay. Take out the threats. I do wish we had been able to see the trainers' reactions to Shay and Daniel being gone. I wanted to see that vein burst in Bob's forehead. Ah well. The nice thing is that this episode only took about 15 minutes to watch via DVR.