bitteroldhag

I only score high on the language part. My musical part was almost non-existent which is true. But I guess I'm not very smart overall. I wonder how I got that Ph.D. and have been such a popular teacher for so many years. I guess other people are just as dumb as I am.:biggrin1:

Painting is a drag, but it's the cheapest way to beautify a house. My living room is painted a copper color and people just love it. I got a new comforter and junk and I'm going to paint my bedroom which has been maroon for years. I love the maroon, but it's getting pretty crappy, so I'm going to pain the room an old gold color. I'm not looking forward to it, but it has to be done. There are all sorts of websites about painting, but once you do it, you'll know a whole lot. If you are very careful, you can use a paint pad to cut in the top of the wall. I use a good cut-in brush and take it very easy. It works pretty well. Good luck with your painting.

Thanks for all of this advice. I will take it to heart and do something. I notice that my pouch empties pretty fast so I'll try to quit drinking during meals. But I may need a little fill, maybe 2 cc. I'll call my nurse and check it out. Also I will try to get some liquid medicine, though I have to take so many pills in the morning, it's ridiculous. Heart trouble, high blood pressure, many, many allergies, etc. But I really appreciate you all.

Panic attacks are not caused by a fill. Try Zoloft. It blocks panic attacks and I've been using it for 14 years. I went off it for a little while and had panic attacks in class. I can't recommend Zoloft enough for panic attacks. I never, never want to have another one.

That's about it. I have had about 4 fills and was well restricted until just lately. I wonder if one's stomach adjusts and allows one to eat more.

<br /> <br /> Naturally I don't do all of these things. I have to drink during meals or nothing goes down. I can't eat 3 meals a day because my pills stop up the hole and I can't eat until about 2:30 p.m. That's one of the problems. My pills haven't been stopping up the hole like usual. I figure I have a bigger hole there than I did. I have been eating in about 20 minutes though I always eat protein first, etc. I do exercises for my back and take vitamin supplements and I drink a lot. Maybe I do need a fill. Rats.

I put a thread on this board but no one answered me. Thanks a lot. So I'm going to try again. I have been banded for 16 months and lost 40 pounds which is not as much as I wanted to lose but is better than nothing. The problem is that my band which is a larger one has 4.5 cc in it. That has worked for almost a year but lately, my pouch seems to empty awfully fast and I get hungry. Also I seem to eat more than I did to fill it up. I suspect it is stretched a bit, but if I don't eat exactly right, I throw up. Yesterday, I was so hungry that I ate the wrong way and threw up 3 times. Today, I ate prime rib, baked potato and a piece of bread!!! That is three, count them, three, exclamation marks. Do you think I should get another fill? I don't know what to do. I didn't think I'd have to have a fill 16 months after I got the band. Help!:rose:

My nurse practitioner must have poked me about 20 times on one fill. She kept sticking my stomach muscles and that hurt. Finally, I suggested I get an xray so she could find the stupid port. I did, to the tune of $800,but it worked. Now, after losing 40 pounds I can feel the port really easily though it has moved. I just hope it hasn't flipped over. Good luck with the fluoro.

I have had the lap band for about a year and 4 months and lost 40 pounds with no problem. I haven't lost anything in at least a year, but that's okay. But lately, I've been getting hungry. I have 4.5 cc in my band which is supposed to max out at 7.5 cc. I often throw up, but that's my fault for eating too fast or taking bites that are too big. What I'm wondering if is I should have another fill. I've done well with the 4.5 cc until recently. Is it normal for one to have to have a fill after over a year? I often have problems with my pills, some of which are big. But now, they go right through and I get hungry. Any suggestions?

kacee -- You lucky devil. My hair is also white, but it looks terrible with my skin so I dye. Everyone else in my family had dark hair that grayed beautifully except for my cousin. She and I had crappy hair and look terrible with white hair. Of course, she doesn't look terrible anymore since she's dead. O.D.ed on cocaine. But I guess I'll dye forever or at least until I retire.

Green -- Thanks for the book ideas. I will check them out. I still need another book or two for the course. I got a couple of novels, one from Africa and one Japanese one, but they are too old. I wanted this course to cover the last 30 years or so. I have tried just about everything with mother, but maybe she would like a tape recorder. She seems bored with telling how things were when she was a child, but her stories are fascinating. I particularly like the one about the gasoline stove they had which caught on fire and they had to throw it in the yard. I will keep working on it.

I can't eat in the morning due to my pills getting stuck though I have an Unjury shake. I get really, really hungry about 2 p.m. so I have breakfast. I don't seem to have head hunger. I'm really hungry. So I eat breakfast at 2-3 p.m. and then dinner at about 6-7 and then I'm hungry about 3-4 hours later so I snack late at night. I eat nuts, cheese and protein except for the ice cream cone I have every night. I love that ice cream cone. I don't care if it's fattening. But that may explain why I lost 40 pounds and stopped. I have weighed the same for a year--no further weight loss. I figure it cost me about $250 per pound so far. I'd really like to lose 10 more pounds so it will only have cost me $200. But on the bright side, I only take 1/2 of my diabetes pill now. If I take a whole one, my blood sugar drops too much. Things are better.

Twenty pounds 5 weeks post-op is Good!! I also hate exercise, but I've been doing some exercise that the physical therapist taught me for my back. They flatten out my stomach. I did them for a while and then my back quit hurting. But it has started hurting again so I'm doing them again. Amazing how a flatter stomach makes a difference in clothes sizes. But you are not alone. I absolutely hate exercise. Rather than worrying about that, congratulate yourself on your weigh loss. You are doing very well.

Boy, I wish my post-nasal drip, which is really a river, would do that. I've had allergies all my life. But if your allergies are really terrible, see an allergist. I find that steroids help with my allergies when they're really bad and I'm sick as a dog. But I only do that maybe twice a year. But I don't think your allergies have anything to do with your lapband. Some people develop allergies later in life and they can be a real pain. Hope you get better soon.

And go to my bedroom. This is sort of odd since I own the house, but I can get away. She is so bored. It worries me, but I have tried all sorts of things to get her interested and she won't do anything. My latest idea is scrapbooking. So I bought about 20 scrapbooking magazines, hoping to get her interested. It won't work, but I try. Mother told me today that when she dies, assuming that happens in this century, I shouldn't think I haven't done all I can for her. Of course, I've done all I can! She implied that she's bored but I've at least fed her well. God. I've only been doing this for over 6 years. My life has been on hold for that long. But there are good things. I have great house paid for with her money. That's about it. I still love my bed. I was sick for 2 days this week with some sort of virus that is going around school. Well, everything has suddenly become italic. At any rate, I slept a lot and read "Smilla's Sense of Snow." It's okay. Aha! I hit something that returned everything to normal. Anyway, I intend to cover that book in my new class on Contemporary World Writers. The problem is that most world writers haven't been translated into English which limits my list of world writers. I'm going to do "Alias Grace" by the wonderful Margaret Atwood. Thank god for Canadians. Not that you are interested but I'm also going to cover "The Bone People," "Satanic Verses," "The Kite Runner," and a Chinese novel about bound feet. Also I'm doing Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart." I was going to do "Life of Pi" which is really strange, but I ran out of time. And I'm going to cover the great Isabel Allende's "House of Spirits." I just love Isabel Allende. I have read all of her books and they are a gas, even the one where her daughter died. The only problem with her is she's really petite and thin. I hate that. Well, I've bored you enough. I'll go away now.:clap2:

I am in love with my new mattress. The only problem is that I go into my bedroom to escape from my mother and the mattress is so comfortable that I go to sleep. I have slept a lot lately. God bless latex.

Well, hey. I'll look up the Brennan's recipe. It's good and does NOT include a bay leaf. No good shrimp creole contains bay leaf. Good French scalloped potatoes contains about a half a bay leaf. I'll look up the recipe and send it on.

Well, I have gotten used to the new RAV. It has electric everything like the Cadillac. I wonder when I got so lazy. But I like electric everything except the driver's side window which winds all the way down it you press the button too hard. That's a serious drag. I finally figured out how to get the rear seat belt to retract. It doesn't retract all the way but at least it's not in the rearview mirror. By the way, the rearview window fell off the Cadillac, so I had to glue it back on. One wonders why anyone buys American cars. Still, the poor thing is 13 years old and I guess it's normal for stuff to mess up. The tires are low so I have to fill them up. Luckily my dad left me a little air pump thing so that shouldn't be a problem. If I can just fix the mirror, I will be happy.

God, I really want to move to Canada. Is there a warm spot there? Or a spot where anyone other than a Californian can afford a house?

Ah, yes, don't you love the bigots? I have never had anyone dare to tell a fat joke to me. I think people know I wouldn't take that well. But I've had thin people criticize other fat people with me. I don't like that and have tendency to tell them I don't like that. But it's okay to tell fat jokes these days. But no one tells them to me!

Use his schnozz when his you-know-what give out? That's classic. I sort of wish I had a husband with a big schnozz. My own schnozz is short and I look like a pig. It's a serious drag. I always wanted to have a hooked nose, but alas. You all are hilarious. It makes me feel much better about being 60 with acne rosacea among other problems. It's currently nearly 2 a.m. and I'm sitting up with the dog who is afraid of rain. It's been thundering and raining and Jasper freaks out. He's really old but now deaf unfortunately, so maybe sleep is in my future. We can only hope. I did get a new mattress since I have spinal stenosis which means my backbone is narrowing and mashing on my spinal cord. That isn't so bad, but the spots where the nerves stick out from the spinal cord is also narrowing and that hurts. The new mattress is foam rubber and I can actually sleep on my right side for the first time in over a year. It's wonderful. I'm poor since the damn thing cost a zillion dollars, but I'm happy.

What sex drive? I haven't had a sex drive in years. I guess I'm too old for that stuff. It just takes too much energy. Luckily, I'm single. It would be a major drag if I were married since many men sort of expect that sort of thing.

I was informed that I have acne rosacea when I was in England. I hate it. My nose is going to be deformed someday. What did you get for it?

I don't agree. Most of us are the children of immigrants and not all of them came legally. This is just racism dressed up. Shame on you.