TQUAD64

My doctor offers a low profile port for the LapBand, so if your selecting the Realize Band for that reason just know that LapBand comes with a low profile port too. I am not sure how helpful the website will be, but I know there is thread for Realize on this websire that might be helpful. Realize Band Surgery (NEW!) - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum Comparison link. Compare Adjustable Gastric Bands - LAP-BAND vs. REALIZE Band

I have heard of people getting stretch marks from gaining weight and losing weight and back and forth with weight. But I have not heard of someone getting stretch marks from surgery. Have you had a fill yet? Just wondering if your doctor has seen this when giving you a fill and what their feedback was.

It is normal to have mixed emotions. Good luck with your journey and welcome to LBT!

I could never do this. I would become so attached that I would not want to give the babies back. Your friend has a big heart. Being a foster parent is one of the hardest thing a person can do.

Yep, so true. I have seen worse in the judicial system. We have parents in homeless shelters with their kids, which are under CPS monitoring. We have drug addicted parents going through the system who still have their kids. I agree, if she can get her living arrangements in order, she will keep her kids. Let's hope that if CPS presents the case to the judicial officer for consideration, that the case plan includes some serious individual and family therapy.

Yes, I agree that surgery does cause stress to the body and can affect hair loss. But my other symptoms in combination with the dramatic chemo style clumps of hair loss reflects a hormonal issue. Anyway, I see my bariatric doctor next week and my OBGYN doctor. The OBGYN ran and whole bunch of hormonal tests, which took 8 viles of blood. We discuss the results next Friday, so hopefully the mystery will be revealed. :thumbup: All I know is that I want my life back.

I am undecided on this one too. Now if octo-mom does not have the resources available to support her children and this causes neglect then yes, place the children. Let's be clear about resources; food, clothing, diapers, car seats, doctor's care, transportation, housing, nannies/care providers, volunteers to help with the kids and house work and the list goes on and on. However, if octo-mom some how comes up with the donations and volunteer crew needed to support and nuture the children, then the children should stay with her. I have no doubt, that there are plenty of religous and non-profit agencies that will help her out. I also believe people will send money to help support the children as long as the money goes to a foundation or trust fund for the kids. I work in the judicial system and see dependency actions all the time here in California and our elected local judges will not take children away from their parent/guardian unless an alegation of abuse or neglect can be substaniated.

Wow, sorry to hear this. Thank you for sharing your story. I hope you start feeling better.

Personally, I believe a conservatorship should be established through the court for the children. In this way, it becomes public record as to how the money is spent. And the judge can require the conservator to report to the court hearing monthly, quarterly or yearly. I think monthly inititally followed by quarterly, but never yearly. This will cost more, but it is well worth it. Too many things can disappear in a year. I believe a conservatorship was set up for Anna-Nicole Smith's daughter.

Okay, just finished watching part two of Dr. Phil and he has set up his foundation to accept donations on behalf of octo-mom. Funnt thing is he stated that he and Robyn are really worried about the kids, yet he did not state how much he and Robyn donated to her. At least the funds will be collected by Dr. Phil and he will make sure that the babies have food and diapers. At least I hope his foundations CPA will over see the funds collected. I had not heard about her kids going to private school. When was that mentioned???

Yes, I have seen this at the bariatric center I went to. They let us handle/touch/play with the Realize and LapBand. Additionally, I had read about people eating hamburgers and Subway sandwiches after being banded but before a fill, which totally confused me. So I took my confused mind to the center and asked my doctor and the nurse what is up with that. I sure as heck don't want to go through this procedure and be able to eat a Subway sandwich and big old whopping burger after the procedure. So they brought in the LapBand and placed it around my finger unfilled and then they gradually added Water through the port, which mad it get tighter and tighter around my finger. This odd demonstration helped me understand the importance of fills and how they limit the amount of food you can consume.

Yesterday on Dr. Phil, she stated she was done having kids. But Doctor Phil was not believing her. She said if she had any more fertalized eggs she would not use them. That she would just leave them in storage and pay the storage fees. But again, Doctor Phil was not so sure about that.

I am surprised that someone has not established a trust fund for each child. The trust fund would be monitored by a court appointed conservator who would make monthly or quartley reports to the court at a hearing. The conservator would have to account for all the money. I think more people would be willing to help if they knew octo-mom could not get her paws on the money that the kids needs were taken care of.

I got the same impression with Dr. Phil. It was mostly a show seeking donations to help all the babies and children octo-mom has. I cannot wait to see part two day.

Well, when I did work full-time and lived away from home with my then hubby, I would take my little girl to day care an hour early, so I could get my workout in and go to work. Back then I worked 12:00 pm to 9:00 pm (odd shift). We were stationed down in Southern Cali at that time and I would use the base child-care center. My hubby worked a grave yard shift, so our daughter spent part-time at day-care. We placed her at the base child-care when she was two-months old up to two-years old and then we left military life. After that, and our daughter was still little, we moved back home and had family available to assist us. And again hubby worked nights and I worked days, so that we used less day-care and both of us had time to work out. It was really hard though and when our second child came along, 4.5 years after the first child, I gave up on exercising. I was no longer a priority. :-(

Oh yeah, Dr. Phil mentioned that on the show today. He stated he no way no how bought a house for her or rented a house for her. That they just did the interview in the house. She has new PR person. Some guy.

Oh gross me out!:thumbup: I just watched part one of Dr. Phil and it was interesting. Octo-mom states that the social workers are in touch with her to figure out where all the kids are going to live. Thank goodness CPS is reviewing the case. Plus, octo-mom stated that three of the babies are coming home in a couple of weeks. :tt2: Dr. Phil, was being nice to her and trying to get her the help she needs, but you can tell he is frustrated with her.

Alright, I saw my new gynecologist yesterday. Finally, I female doctor who knows about female hormones. Anyway, I spent over an hour with my new doctor discussing my concerns and medical history. Plus, we did the pap exam, breast exam, heart, lungs, and lymph nodes exam. It was to funny, when she was pressing on my belly to see if I was hurting anywhere. I always forget about the port. So she is pressing and pressing. And she says, what on earth happened here and she was pressing and pressing. And truly it took me a couple of seconds to figure out what she meant. Then she says what is that lump and I say ohhhhhhhhhh that is my port and really you shouldn't pressing it like that. Anyway, she knows it is my hormones. So I did blood work this morning for FSH. Follicle-stimulating hormone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Plus, Thyroid again. Plus, sugar test and several other tests. And it appears the cysts are back on the right ovary again and the cyst on the right breast needs to be checked again. So my mammo and ultrasound are scheduled for next month. Bloody hell old age is hard to deal with! I see the doctor again next week to discuss the blood result tests.

LOL!!! This is the truth. We will see how much love is flowing when she has 14 teenagers all hating her or wanting stuff.

Okay, I confess...it was me yelling at her. Me from California. A California tax payer who is pissed off at acto-momma.

OMG! Did he really board the school bus with one of the daughtes and then go to school? That is just crazy!

LOL!!! Too funny!

I was totally on the fence when I first started the process. I started January 2008 and thought I want gastric banding. But as I read the posts on this forum, I thought I better go with gastric by-pass. Then I started reading medical journals on WLS procedures and from those reports, I thought I would be better off with the band. I was going back and forth with my decision. Talk about being scared about my decision. With my insurance you get one procedure for life. So if the band does not work for weight loss, my insurance will not cover the expense to have another type of WLS procedure. And vice-a-versa. I attended support groups and informational seminars too! When it was all said and done, I decided I wanted the band for several reasons: Less evasive Quicker recovery Slower weight loss No issues with Vitamin deficiencies No cutting up my insides I am very happy with my decision and I have no regrets so far! Good luck with your decision!

Yep, I get at least 1,400 to 1,500 calories in a day. I really think it has to do with hormone levels. There are just too many symptoms going on all at once. I cannot wait to meet with the gynecologist tomorrow morning.