BJean

Devana! Long time no read...you. How in the world are you? Thanks for your note! Yeah, I think I'm gonna make it. plain: Actually they're pretty certain that it was a blood clot that cut off the blood supply to my colon on the left side. I didn't have any indications of plaque build up - no high cholesterol, etc., and with a little research they came up with an obvious answer. Although I am way too old to still be taking hormone replacement therapy, I thought it was keeping my skin young, among other things, and didn't really pay attention to the stats or recommendations of not taking it after age 35, if you smoke. I had quit smoking for a long time, but recently started again. The GI guy said it only takes one cigarette combined with the propensity to produce blood clots to generate an attack like mine. It could have happened elsewhere in my body; like my brain, my heart or legs. Needless to say, no more estrogen and no more stinking cigarettes. I was axing for trouble, dang it, and I got it. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I am hoping that getting rid of those two things will prevent another attack elsewhere. Man after something like that you feel all raw and vulnerable. Everyday I get through brings me closer to feeling like I can function normally again and not live in constant fear. Thanks for your feedback, plain. You sound highly qualified to dispense medical opinions. Honestly, all kidding aside, sometimes using common sense is all it takes. There's so much info on the web today and so many books that are available, it's easy to at least understand the questions you need to be asking your doctor. Or your nearest qualified Doctor of Sexiness. Speaking of which, how long do I have to wait???

Yeah, so far I'm a lucky one. The attack started late Friday afternoon, went to the hospital Sat. AM, had a cat scan which made it quite obvious that I had a serious problem, Sunday AM had a colonoscopy revealing the dying section of my colon, Monday AM had resection. In the photos from the colonoscopy, there was an area that they said had already died. My doc had reasons for not wanting to operate on Sunday and I trusted him. I am glad that he didn't make a judgement call that ended with me with a necrotic perforation in the morgue. plain I really thought I was a dead man. (girl) A couple of times I begged them to let me die - including when they brought me out from under the anesthesia after surgery. I am still living in fear that it will happen again somewhere else in my existing colon. Although every day I feel better and have some faith that I will survive this. (And get to go on our planned trip to Italy in Sept.) Friends that we are supposed to travel with were in shock about this event and I think they realized what the outcome might have been if I had been on a small cruise ship off the coast of Portofino or traipsing through some little remote Italian village. Let me axe you, now be honest with me... is there a good chance that it will happen again? That's something that I was too wigged out to ask the doc. But I'd like to know, for sure. And btw, thanks for asking about me! It is theraputic to talk about all this.

Hi Ele! I'd send 'em but I'd get busted for sure! I'm actually quite a lot better. It is so hard to believe that I just came home a week ago. I never would have believed that I could improve and change this quickly! Not having a 12 inch midline incision is a large part of it I think. Thank goodness for that! The dude went directly through my belly button. It is wierd to think about and odd to see. But the scars are really looking good. Not so much like wounds - just scars. I am eating real food again. I'm nervous about regaining the 10 lbs. I lost! I am going to continue to eat very small portions and stay away from bread and sweets. The temptation is there because I have no restriction, but the one thing that I am enjoying is being able to drink lots of Water whenever I want!! Have a great trip. Thanks for checking in on me - you're a cool dude-ette. bj

karey: I'm glad you're feeling like being up and at the computer. Darn! 6 new holes on your new flat tummy. Well as they say, nature isn't perfect. No perfect trees, flowers, etc., you're just a product of mother nature with a few slight blemishes. Otherwise, perfection! One thing that I have been concerned about since my really too tight episodes of last summer, is that not only do we bandsters have a "tighter is better" mindset, many doctors and related professionals in the field of LB surgery do too. So the answer has always tended to be if you weren't losing weight or not losing fast enough, was to add more fill. When I told my experiences here last summer and continuing into the fall, I could tell by the responses that people were saying basically: ok yeah, whatever. And really didn't think I had a clue. Everyone figured me for just having no willpower and not enough commitment to the band working. Your problem is very regrettable and unfortunate, but if you are listened to and your message reaches more people, it will have at least served a good purpose for that. Folks, PB'ing is NOT a good thing. It is a bad thing. You might get away with it for a while, or you might not. There's no reason to take those kinds of chances with your band. The stakes are too high. We should all stop trying to have quick weight losses with the band and do ourselves a favor and love ourselves for a reasonable 1 to 2 pound loss per week. I'm not absolutely NOT criticizing you karey. I'm not suggesting that you did anything incorrectely. I'm just saying that being too tight can cause slippage and erosion and those are both seriously threatening to our health and our success. Number II in my lecture series is now over. You can now return to your previously scheduled fun thread. :crying: P.S. Praying for your speedy recovery, karey!!

Why thank you, Susan. I sure appreciate it. I've been much more active today and I've been able to eat more. I'm beginning to wish I could have some restriction. But first things first. I should just be glad to get my appetite back. I couldn't force myself to eat anything for days. I had a thought at one time when I couldn't even eat a bite of Jello, wouldn't it be ironic if I wound up anorexric. Not a thing funny about that. Wish I could send you some Vicodan, elenation. Turns out it doesn't agree with me and I have a bunch of expensive pills just going to waste. Maybe I should stand on the street and look for buyers. You know I'm joking I hope. Hope you have a great vacation from the job. BJean

Elenation I'm glad to know you missed me. I have been off to hell and back. I had an attack of ischemic colitis that almost left me dead. I lived but I am minus half of my large intestine. Strangely enough I'm learning that I can survive without it and I'm beginning to forget the indescribable pain that went on for days. Are you feeling sorry for me yet? I seem to be milking it. But for cripes sake I deserve just a teensy bit of whining - a person doesn't have near death experiences every day. Gotta get some mileage out of it. My DH brought me home last Sunday and here it is Friday and I'm still just posting a tiny bit here and there at LBT. I've decided that maybe all that debating I was "enjoying" might not be the healthiest thing in the world for me. I don't like gratuitous mamby pamby threads, but rage is overrated. I've enjoyed getting to know you a little in this process. At first, I sure thought you were a nut. But you seem like a cool person that I would love to have as a friend. Yes, I do remember our talk about your job and its' political influences. I am not quite clear headed - if I ever was. I am sure I'm still sloughing off all the drugs though so please bear with me. In any case, the doc says I'm going to be able to march down to the voting booth and cast my ballot in November. So you conservatives better watch out! :thumbdown:

karey, as mcgreen so eloquently put it HOLY HELL! My gosh I knew something was wrong, but I sure didn't think you'd have to get some new holes!! I too was so glad that I didn't have to have my band removed. I have no fill yet but yesterday the doc said I might be able to get some in 2 weeks. I hope you will rest up, give your bod some TLC and get back at it too. What a lousy birthday present. But you're a gift to all of us here and we are thankful that you're on the mend. :thumbdown:

elenation: Now I'm not saying that I'm unobservant, but I just noticed that you live in Paris. I never noticed that before. You talked just like your typical American conservative leaning a bit to the right. I am really surprised that you feel so passionate and are so opinionated about what's right and wrong for America. Are you an American in Paris? It seems like Jesus can be defined as being a liberal. It's easy to count the ways. Can you list all the reasons why you think Jesus was a conservative or a liberterian? I'm trying to keep an open mind. :wub:

karey if I could come get you in my car and take you to the doctor, I would do it. And I'm not even supposed to drive yet. Dang it girl, you have to have an unfill. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt, you know. You are going to hurt something and then where will you be?! Seriously, just before my attack of ischemic colitis, I had gone for an unfill because they insisted on it. I happened to mention that I was coughing a little after meals and not able to eat much. They are learning that they have to spend more time counseling their LB patients on the dangers of being overfilled than on explaining about too little fill. They have made a believer out of me. When I was overfilled it was practically impossible to lose weight. I know that is contrary to everything we tend to read here. But for some of us it is absolutely accurate and we can't be so stubborn as to ignore the symptoms. Karey it is dangerous! Don't be a martyre!!!! I know you care about yourself, so dang it girl, insist on getting in today! Otherwise, Happy Birthday young lady.

Hi ya'll. I'm back. Good news: 10 lbs. lighter. Bad news: almost died. Aw I don't mean to sound grim. It was an awful 8 days, but I'm gonna be fine, they tell me. One interesting aside is that my LB doc was my colon resection surgeon. He's an expert in laprascopic surgery so I lucked out, big time. I can't tell you how great it feels to be home and pecking away in front of the keyboard. They released me a few hours ago and here I am at LBT. Think this is addictive? Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers! Jacquie, my heart goes out to you hearing about your colon problems!!!! PM me anytime if you want to swap stories! MinMi: It was great to read that you're getting back in the groove. And darlin please enjoy every minute of your life today. You're gorgeous and wonderful and do everything you can from here on out just being healthy and having fun! Sounds trite, but things can slip away in a blink and you have so much to be grateful for and so much life to enjoy. Best wishes to all of you on your road to health and beauty. You are worth every bit of effort it takes and if you're taking care of yourself, it's all good!

tink, I appreciate the positive feedback. It occurred to me while posting on this thread that we're probably all very good people, with honorable intentions. Yet we seem to lose it over this extremely derisive issue. The whole country is at odds over it. And maybe we have never really tried to solve the real problem. We've just argued about the perceived problem. I believe that we actually could work together to bring about a real change in our thinking and our approach to the problem. We could serously help women and children if we worked together instead of fighting each other. Let's face it. We are never going to help those who need the help if we just dig in our heels and continue the bitterness toward each other. tink, you're a good example of how it can come about!

This is exactly why I haven't told anyone but some, not all, family members and a couple of friends. Everyone sees articles and ads for WTS and lately a lot about the band. People have preconceived ideas about what it all means. The most important thing they think is that it is a revision that will keep us from getting hungry and it will keep us from eating the wrong foods. That's understandable. Many of us thought the LB would do just that. Even though we were told that it is a tool, just a tool, not a miracle, it has taken a surprising amount of work. We have to really work at not eating the wrong things. We have to work at keeping exercise in our daily routine. We have to do almost as much to lose the weight as we did before WLS. But you'd never convince them of that so we really shouldn't be surprised that their eyes glaze over and they lose interest when we don't respond, "Jenny Craig" or "Weight Watchers."

These responses to babygirl's question really surprised me. I thought I'd be reading lots of posts saying that the guys got what they deserved. One day I watched one of those feisty talk shows. The host was interviewing some gangstas (love that term) who made a living by taking other people's things. The one statement that stayed with me was when one of the gangstas said, "I don't understand it. It's too easy. People just let us take their stuff. If it was me, I wouldn't let nobody take my stuff." Ever since then I've felt that as long as ciminals are going to threaten my safety and threaten to take my hard-earned possessions from me, I think it is good that I have the legal right to defend both my body and my castle. That being said, I don't own guns. I wish nobody did. It's too easy to kill someone quickly in the heat of the moment. I'm like plain, I wouldn't want to be Jay Horn and have to live with having killed two people, no matter what the reason was. The truth is, if I found bad guys in my house, I'd probably just lecture them so long they'd hang themselves so they didn't have to listen to me anymore. :thumbup:

aw shucks, we could do some serious WWL chair throwing (or WWF, or whatever the pro wrestling show is) and then have hot, sweaty sex. Wait a minute, did I get this thread mixed up with a different one? Hmmm, my testosterone level might need to be checked. Seriously, Susan I do understand the need for intervention sometimes. I've seen some rough posts occasionally that were very hurtful. That's uncalled for and you're right to put a stop to it. But for the most part, a little venting of the spleen now and then is good for what ails us. (Usually hormone power surges for the women)

You know the funniest part of the story was that, get ready... she said it went all the way down into her shoes. I didn't have the nerve to ask if she was able to save them. To make matters worse, she was in her office attire. Bless her heart is right. Guess it's a good lesson for all of us: leave them hot fudge sundaes alone.

Feel sorry for the police officer, huh? An acquaintance of mine who had a surgery that left her with the dumping syndrome drove home one day (out in the country, 20 minutes from town) and her big ice cream sundae dessert for lunch kicked in. She had no choice, she pooped her pants. Said it was pure-de-awful and knew it was all over the car seat under her. She was so anxious to get home and so preoccupied that she didn't see the little highway patrol man on the side of the road holding the radar gun. Yep. She was speeding. He pulled her over. She started crying and almost refused to roll down the window. When she did, he just tapped the side of her car and told her to get on home. Insult to injury, huh? :thumbup:

snowbird- awesome post. I totally agree with everything you said. I hate it when they shut down a thread because I've seen this happen many times. And when the anger is spent and reasonable heads prevail, we can go to bed feeling better instead of mad, just as you said. It's like having a spat with your spouse. If you are stopped in the middle of an argument, the anger grows and the next round gets worse. If you're able to talk it out, you can go to bed and have sex. :thumbup:

Elenation, you win! Whew! I thought I was long-winded. You win in the longest posting of personal thoughts category. Go girl. I have no desire to take each point and offer up rebuttal. But I will say, with all due respect, your powers of reason and logic astound me.

My opposition to banning abortion is based on the idea that the government can interfere in a woman's life. This right to rule a woman's life is is based on the belief of some people, that the government should control a woman by telling her what she must do under any (or practically any) circumstances in the event that she becomes pregnant. Some people believe that it is correct for the government to intervene in women's lives because it may protect the life of the fetus. In fact they believe that in each and every case of pregnancy, a woman should be forced to continue the pregnancy, no matter what the circumstances or conditions are that could endanger the life of the woman. (Although some believe that certain exceptions should be permitted, i.e., rape or incest.) The people who believe in taking women's right's away in this matter, want to be the decider in any and all cases. This faith driven belief is understandable since they believe that they are saving lives. Innocent lives. However that belief is not shared by everyone and not even shared by some scientific studies. There is huge controversy surrounding when life begins. But that is not the issue as far as I am concerned. The issue is that the government is a faceless entity, that has no powers of reason or reasonable thought or ability to determine whether the fate of the woman is truly in jeopardy or not. It is unconscionable for us to think that it is right or fair for this horrendous decision to be put into the hands of the government. In fact, a decision of this magnitude, of this importance, of this complexity, of this extremely personal nature, has no business being made by the goverment, the right to lifers or religious leaders or the Pope or anyone else but the people who are directly involved. Some of you say that you have no desire to take women's rights away but that is exactly what you are wanting to do. You are wanting to make this hugely personal and life changing decision for all women to in effect, be yours. Never mind the situation or the people who are actually involved. You believe that you are saving lives and that saving the life of a baby trumps everything. If your issue is truly to save lives, then I say go help these women you want to control. Help provide thousands and thousands of women the needed education about sex and birth control. For those who unintentionally become pregnant, convince them that you have a way to save their lives and the lives of their babies. Then come through on your promises. Once you do that, and you have provided clear and meaningful ways to help the thousands of women who find themselves in the unfortunate circumstance of not being able to handle an unwanted and unplanned pregnancy, then you will be able to actually back up your beliefs in a very real and viable way. Thousands of babies lives will be spared due to your assistance. It will be a new day in this country and one where we can all hold our heads up high, a day where no one is casting aspersions on the unfortunate women who are pregnant without any kind of support. Those women who are desperate and in deep dispair. Yes, lives can be saved. But if you believe that making abortion illegal will stop all the abortions, you are wrong. It will prevent some abortions and save some lives, but they will be a drop in the bucket compared to what the number is that you could save if you actually worked out financial, educational and practical ways to help all of these women. Organize a movement. You can even get the government involved. You can help women and save unborn babies and both will save lives. Outlawing abortion does not accomplish what you say that you want. We know that. We've seen the babies in trash cans. We've seen women who have committed suicide when abortion was illegal and was not readily attainable. We've seen the millions of cases of horrible child abuse heaped on innocent children by the emotionally unstable parents of children who were not wanted. Let's get real and help women. Let's stop treating pregnant women like they are carrying a commodity that the government can make decisions about. If you really want to save lives, this is how you'll do it. If you just want to control women and make them do your bidding, with utterly no regard for their personal circumstances, then keep on opposing women's rights. Keep on trying to make the medical procedure of abortion illegal.

Elenation: That's what McCain said when? I remember him saying that type of thing too. It is my understanding that he is now equivocating on the issue.

Wow, tink. I am flattered. That means a lot to me. I am very thankful that we are able to say what we think and be able to express our feelings without being censured. Wouldn't it be horrible to live in a country like North Korea, where the government literally tells them what to think and how to behave? Or China where they actually believe it is acceptable to govern reproduction.

What a turn on. Black ooze seeping from your mate's backside. Be still my heart.

Thanks for all the support! When you lose enough to get out of the original pain you're in, and you're feeling amazingly better, it is too easy to go on cruise control. Especially with the band since it is not as hard to overeat as it was before the band. I'm finding this next step on my journey to be very hard. The motivation isn't as strong much of the time and so I fight that. I look so much better but when I see myself in a really honest mirror, I am surprised to see that I am still fat. Then I think about what I weigh and I know there's no way that it's acceptable! And I remember how much I've lost and I know that if I lose the rest, I will feel even that much better than I do now. I need to strap on that Body Bugg again. That was really helping me and I need to do what karey said and restart internet prescription. Okay! I'm doing it! Good luck to you all this week! Thanks for your push in the right direction Wasa! Cori there's a lot of wisdom in your post. Karey if you are able to stick to that diet for even 2 weeks, you will see a significant loss. All the fruit reminds me of the Beverly Hills Diet that I did a couple of times. I had trouble processing that much fruit, but I wasn't hungry. I'm like Cori, if you start feeling the least bit weird, check in with the doc. I know you're smart and you won't take any chances!

I actually was remembering a song when I wrote "two hearts beat as one"... in the context of my post, it was a figure of speech, a romantic ideal and a sweet thought. I've had babies. I have had the initial guesses of whether it's a boy or girl based on whether the heartbeat is rapid or slower. I didn't just fall off the turnip truck. It's interesting that you would choose to defend against the meaning of that figure of speech but you want us to expect "separate" to mean whatever you and them good ole' boys think it should mean. Whatever. tink: There's no doubt that you and I disagree on this topic. It's obvious that you are as passionate about your beliefs as I am mine. That's okay with me. You have the freedom to make the choices you believe in and so do I, right now. However, you feel it is the right thing to do to take mine away when it comes to what you believe in. I think you should not have that right. And it is just as important to me as it is to you. Or maybe even more so. We are hardly a pen stroke away from changing the law on abortion, but with the Supreme Court that we have now, it is probably only a matter of time. Trust me, I will organize the troops, march on Washington, lobby Congress, and do everything in my power - short of killing those who disagree with me - to keep women's right to choose, the law of the land. kimaly: I am very offended that you have accused me of just wanting to argue. I hate to argue. But I do believe that I have rights that I absolutely must fight for. And this issue is not the only issue I believe in. Obviously whoever is president and the majority in congress have a lot of power and I will also fight to get people elected who share my beliefs. It may be offensive to you, but it is vital to me that my rights and those of other women not be taken away. Please understand that I will would also fight just as hard if the government wanted to tell women, under any circumstances, that they had to have an abortion.

You're really smart for your age, RSG! tarheeluv: What do you think Obama will do as president? I'm curious to know what you think we should be afraid of. I'm not being cute. I'm serious. I know you may not be a registered Democrat, but I did notice that N.C. didn't go all out for him in the primaries. A respectable showing, but certainly not a landslide.