BJean

It's too bad that we have to learn so much of this through our own experiences. It would be nice if the medical profession would give nutrition, exercise and wellness as much study and attention as they do to medication and surgical procedures to remedy every symptom they see. C'sM: I'm impressed that you are getting yourself healthy, taking charge of your life and not depending on the lap band or medications or ridiculous diet extremes to take care of yourself. Good for you!! Btw, I did meet with my doc today and to get revision surgery to the sleeve, it will be $22,000 cash out of pocket. Doesn't seem like such a reasonable solution now. He does think that my band has either slipped or I have another hiatal hernia and wants me to get an upper G.I. Lots more thought and research for me.

P.S. I'm afraid that calling your post funny when we all know it's exactly how you view "liberals" doesn't earn you a pass on this.

patty no wonder you post the outlandish and hateful sounding things that you do. You believe that trash you posted about liberals vs. conservatives? No wonder you are so disrespectful of anyone who isn't a conservative. You obviously think those who don't share your ultra-conservative views are obviously that definition of liberal. Get this: Conservatives are book burning, gun-toting, war mongering, greed driven, misguided, women hating, homophobic, holier than thou nincompoops. How does that feel? It is no more outrageous that the hateful garbage you just posted. This type of posting is certainly not conducive to an enlightening and informative discussion of the topic of health care. It is divisive and serves no purpose other than to make one feel superior. You represent such a dichotomy of religion and whatever the opposite of religion is. Two opposed classes of real and unreal.

patty: "The ins. companies should be able to sell their plan, and if you are not comfortable with the one they offer, you have a choice to shop elsewhere or to not have insurance at all." That's downright hysterical. What part of monopoly do you not get? The rates do not differ that much nor does the coverage - unless you are quite wealthy and you can afford to pay out the nose for a decent policy. What most of us have is about the same across the board: extremely expensive health insurance that doesn't cover everything, has a cap on it, tells us which doctors we can see, which hospitals are acceptable, which medications we can buy (usually the generic, unless it's not being manufactured) and the negative list goes on. You can thank the insurance lobbyists for this indirectly and our government certainly has played a role. But we are to blame for allowing ourselves to be sucked into this scheme that started way back when it made sense to have some insurance coverage for catatrophic medical events. We jumped on that bandwagon and it later evolved into HAVING to have medical insurance to be seen by a doctor or admitted to a hospital. The insurance companies saw an opportunity for untold wealth and seized it. They're no different than the tobacco industry that got smart and made cigarettes more addictive. It's all about making money. And we the people have been sucked in by it all. And we had absolutely no protection from the government from the beginning. Now the people are making demands about our health care system, like they did with the tobacco industry, because it is so out of control. We are insisting that the government become involved because as individuals we have no chance of making a difference. If only it were as simple as just changing health care insurance companies! While that may have been the case in 1950, it is certainly not the case today.

patty: "440,000 people die annually from cigarette smoking, and the solution to it is very easy. Outlaw it like they do other things. That is 9X more than those without health insurance, yet noone gives a crap about those people who die. Absolutely NOTHING is being done about it. They force us to wear our seatbelts in the car, but they can't take away the cigs? And what about alcohol related deaths annually? There are so many people who die in the country from all sorts of things, that doesn't mean that the national government needs to make sure that these deaths don't happen. It doesn't mean that the feds need to take on the problem. To take on all that responsibility would be impossible. The national government was not created for these reasons." So what are you saying, patty? You WANT the Feds to control everything (taking away their cigarettes and your twinkies to save lives) or NOT ("all that responsibility would be impossible"). Can't you make up your mind? Or are you having a giant argument with yourself? patty: "I care about everyone. Jesus said, 'The poor you will have with you always.' This is just life." Sounds like you've interpreted that Jesus quote to mean that we shouldn't bother with the poor. They're here to stay and we can't be saving them all. Shucks, it's just too bad about them, but they don't work like everybody else so they deserve what they get. Jesus didn't mean that. You've taken something out of context to make your point. Jesus cared deeply about the poor. Far more than the rich people. You suggested that we give all the money that would be spent to the corporations. That's a telling statement, to be sure! At least you're open about your non-charitable views.

4pyes, I'm impressed with your attitude, especially after all you've been through. I get so tired of hearing people be judgemental about overweight people. No one has a clue why someone eats so much that they become obese. No one does it because they want to be fat and unattractive. And many of us have more discipline and patience than they can imagine. Every obese person I have ever met got there through doing nearly every diet in the book. Those diets took a ton of discipline. So what happened? I was listening to a public radio station yesterday and a woman (doctor) was being interviewed. She has done significant research and wrote a book that has just been released. I wish I could remember the name of it. I was driving and couldn't write it down. In it, she says that people should never diet to lose or gain weight. Diets don't work. That's not news, really. Most of us know that for a fact. But the part that I appreciated hearing was that she has learned that for a person who is overweight or underweight, it is one of the worst things in the world to eat to either lose or gain weight because often the result is that it wrecks the natural matabolism. She went on to say that we should all only eat to stay healthy. If we focused on our health instead of our appearance, our appearance would be what nature intended. And that we absolutely must learn to accept that we are not all designed, genetically, to be the weight that the insurance companies have decided is healthy for everyone. And she said, there is no magical weight for height that should be accepted by society. Some of us are meant to be big teddy bears and some of us are meant to be giraffes. The worst thing we can do to our bodies is to fight our genetic makeup. That is what has put most of us in peril with being obese and developing late onset diabetes, hypertension and a host of other medical complications from obesity. And there are just as many problems that arise from dieting to lose weight. Anexoria and bulemia can ultimately kill you. And underweight people have a shorter life expectancy than overweight people. Listening to her made me wish everyone in America could take lessons from her on not judging others and accepting people and loving them no matter what size they are. Listening to her helped me put everything into perspective. It's too late for me. My metabolism was wrecked from extreme diets from the time I was 42 until I got the band. Long liquid fasts, church encouraged week-long fasts, the Stillman Water diet, the Beverly Hills Diet, the Blood Type Diet, the Body Type Diet, the Adkins Diet, the West Point Diet, the egg diet, the cottage cheese diet, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, Weight Watchers, Overeaters Anonymous, diet pills from the weakest over the counter ones to the strongest amphetamines, the 1000 calorie doctor prescribed diet, a month-long horrible experience at a fat camp when I was 48, and probably more that I can't even remember. You might think I'm making all that up. Well I am not. I've done each and every one of them and some for extended periods of time like the Adkins Diet. Some for only a week or two, like the cottage cheese diet. All of them resulted in weight loss. Losing the weight was not the problem. The weight I regained when I started eating a normal diet was the problem and what got me where I am today. I'll bet many of you have the same story - although I'm older so probably just did more years of it. Americans have it wrong and we're led by a group of doctors, insurance companies and an entire multi-billion dollar industry selling us on all those weight loss gimicks. We need to learn something from all these colossal failures. We need to understand that we're not all model material and accept it. Models are unique, not the norm. That's why they get the big bucks. Doctors are beginning to understand how wrong they've been to put us on 1000 calorie diets instead of encouraging healthy foods and exercise. As for insurance companies telling us what we should weigh, well it's one more instance of how the insurance companies rule our lives and we're stupid for letting them do it to us! We need to form a movement for health. We need to get the word out that dieting leads to bad health! We need to focus on extending our lives through healthy behavior. And healthy eating would probably help with getting us off all the antidepressants and certainly off all the meds we take because of a lifetime of unhealthy dieting. Ok, I've gotten carried away, I admit it. But if this lady doctor's book becomes a runaway best seller, just remember you heard it here first. LOL

You are so totally right on!!! There has always been this element in our society, but the Bush legacy is that they have been empowered and emboldened by Bush's administration's and the Republican dominated Congress's fine tuning the rules and regs that allow them to run roughshod over everybody else in this country. And their freakish public relations campaigns that make outrageous claims about Democrats and our President and the current Congress only adds fuel to their fire. People always tend to respond to their scare tactics and fear mongering. From the Richard Nixon era on through the Reagan years, through the thorough bashing of Carter and fiasco of how they used government resources to trash Bill Clinton from the moment he took office, they have proven themselves to be willing to do ANYTHING, whether it is illegal, immoral or just plain wrong for the country, to further their personal agendas. And I am constantly amazed at how regular folk have fallen for their dishonest claims over and over and even jump on the bandwagon to become full-fledged followers. My only hope is that, even though it is a very slow process, Americans will continue to see them for what they are. The current president has the power to change it and set this country right. I always worry though that power is corrupting and that he may fall into the abyss of personal gain above all else. It is very hard to avoid and although he gets some of the most criticism of any past president, I believe that Jimmy Carter has personally been able to go on to actually do some good things for our country and for the entire world from time to time. I believe there is hope.

Cleo's - I remember reading posts like yours when I was early into having my band. I was convinced that they just weren't doing it right. I was banded in September 2006. Now I understand how your experience can happen for anybody. There are some people whose bodies and temperament are well-suited to the band and they become extremely successful. Then there are the others. They come in many shapes, sizes and ages. It's frustrating to see a post like yours and many times in the past reading people go off on you claiming that you're cheating, not exercising or other things that they've decided you've done wrong. (I'm not talking about the sweet post that minimeme just posted.) We're not all made the same way and it isn't surprising that we don't all have the same experiences and successes or failures. My story sounds so much like yours though, it's amazing. My family has watched me work very hard at doing everything right. They've watched me eat slowly, only eat certain things and still suddenly leave the table in extreme pain. Sometimes what has never been a problem before, now suddenly at one meal can cause so much pain that it is nearly unbearable. I've had more than one evening at a nice restaurant with friends or business associates, that wind up with me spending most of the evening in dire pain in the bathroom, praying that I can just vomit and get it over with. It isn't as if I don't know what to do. I've been through this for years. Getting something stuck is just so random and my guess is that often it is caused from stress and/or adrenalin from the situation. That's the only variable that makes much sense. Having a prosthesis that is causing me pain and isn't helping with my appetite or weight loss, seems to me to be a worse case situation. And that is why I am seriously considering getting it out and possibly resvising to a sleeve. I just don't think that the lap band is healthy for me. For others, it is the perfect answer. And they are to be comended for being able to make the thing work for them as it is designed. But all bandsters should be supportive of each other whether we've been successful or we haven't. Because there are no guarantees that one day, they won't face the same problems that you and I have today.

It seems to me that for the right wing extremists, although they claim it's all about being Christian and God's plan, it's actually quite the opposite and is all about greed and self-aggrandizment.

Right wing extremists' idea of unnecessary waste and mine are obviously quite different. The right wing extremists think that corporations should go unchecked and allowed to be run however they can to make the most possible profit. It's the American way - capitalism at its' finest, eh? Don't put restrictions on the companies in America - don't allow people to sue doctors or hospitals either. Allow them to operate however they can to make the most profit. All across the board they choose the health and well-being of companies over the health and well-being of individuals in America. Right wing extremists don't think that corporations should even pay their fair share in taxes. They don't think that a negligent doctor should be held financially accountable for a wrongful death or maiming that he committed. And all because they think it will spare them from having to pay more taxes. Right wing extremists have it all backwards in this country. Our government should be in the business of helping its' individual citizens be safe. Not just by protecting us in times of war, but also in the times when our lives are at stake from disease and famine. And that necessarily includes jobs and health care. Corporations should have the opportunity to form and make money and grow and make a profit. But they shouldn't be allowed to get tax breaks and incentives and be allowed to take advantage of their employees without any government oversight to keep them honest. Corporations should want to pay their fair share to help keep this country healthy. Unfortunately many of them become too greedy. There must be some transparency and oversight and some fairness if we are all going to enjoy living in America and be safe and healthy. We should ALL enjoy the benefits of building not only the best military in the world, but also the best health care in the world. And we should be treated fairly in our jobs and we should be treated fairly by our banks. These are the things that good Christian Americans should want and expect from their government.

123crod, if we had plenty of discipline, why would we need a lap band? I, like many others, thought it would help curb my appetite. For me, it's only made it worse.

Good for you 4Pyes. Sounds like you're doing great.

Certainly not ALL churches split away from the Catholic Church in the beginning because they decided they wanted to live without the confines of the Bible's teachings. Mostly they started new churches and in the case of the Pilgrims even new countries, because of religious persecution and politics. You've been quick to say that all people are sinners and far from perfect. Well leaders of those organized religions then, and now, are imperfect and motivated by greed, the sin of being proud and so many other wicked, wicked behaviors and beliefs that human beings are capable of. But it is folly to say that all organized religion is impure and untrustworthy and not interpreting the Bible the way God intended. There is no doubt however, that deep within the core of many churches today, runs a vein of corruption, hate, greed and evil.

Good question, Cleo's. The poster will quickly tell you that all organized religion is lousy. She's found one she can live with, but it is far from perfect. So I think that only the all-knowing Church of Patty is the only one we can all trust to interpret the Bible and tell us how to live.

AMEN, Kartman!!

Except for guilt-ridden thinkers, the majority of Americans understand the necessity for our laws to allow women the right to choose.

pg you have really stepped over the line this time. I'm beginning to think that you're some little kook in a back room getting a huge laugh out of all of this. Because you defnitely cannot be serious about this "kids taking care of their aging parents" thing as a real answer to the huge problem of our aging and infirm population. It is so wrong on so many levels that I can hardly begin to list them all. But the basic assumption that all people have children is the most obtuse thing I've heard. Once you've taken that incredibly idiotic posture and go on to assume that both of the kids work, who have these elderly ailing parents, you're merely digging the failed logic hole you've dug for yourself, even deeper. And if those mindless absurdities weren't bad enough, you suggest that one of the working kids just quit their job to take care of the elderly and ailing parents. And it just keeps getting better... Ad absurdum, ad infinitum.

I'm glad you're finally citing your sources, patty. As for Mr. Dunn, he's preaching in the same tone and saying the same kinds of things that make good people live under a heavy cloak of guilt. That guilt has nothing to do with goodness. It has everything to do with being judgemental and condescending and holier than thou. If Americans are beginning to think for themselves instead of having preachers and politicians and the Pope telling them what they should think and believe, then it is a very good thing. The extremist right wing seem to believe that intelligence and independent thinking have no place in the world today. We must all follow the path that some PEOPLE have laid out for us because they say they are guided by the Lord. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) through their actions and their words, we see that they are not divinely inspired and not worthy of our respect.

You think that if someone in the United States of America can't make a living or pay for health care or work because they are disabled or take care of a special needs child or afford medication because they do not have enough education to get the kind of job that will pay enough.... that they should just buckle down and get a roommate? Or devise some craft project to pay for the necessities to survive? If all Americans believed this, we wouldn't be the strong country that we are. Using your logic, if you can't afford to pay for the highway to get you out of your neighborhood patty, then you should just put a few coins away until you can pay for it. The government sure doesn't owe you a road! Tough Beans on you. We don't guarantee you a road, or electricity or clean Water. You need to get out there and dig a well.. oh yeah, it is probably contaminated with chemicals from the huge conglomerate corporations that can do whatever they want in order to make billions of dollars. It isn't up to them to see to it that our water table stays free of contaminants. They are in it for free enterprise and that's what capitalism is all about, baby! If people lived in the United States by the formula you espouse, this truly wouldn't be a place you'd want to live. We have a government that we set up to build a country that is a desirable place to live. One that has clean air and water. One that refuses to allow people to die from lack of medical attention. One that insists that children grow up with a basic education and hopefully affords them the opportunity for a higher education. We are a country where the people can depend on the government to oversee greedy corporations with no conscience and no qualms about polluting the country and taking advantage of their workers. You only see the government as bad and a vehicle for taking your hard-earned money away. Fortunately most of us know that the government is necessary and we are grateful for it. We understand that we should all pay a fair proportion so that the government can do all of the things that must be done, by the government, to ensure that we enjoy the best possible place on earth to live. You seem to want us to run the goverment on donations or just abolish the government altogether. Your idea of government boils down to the fact that any taxes that you must pay to run it, smacks of socialism. You're one strange character.

Speaking of all that is holy... holy frijoles kartman! 15% body fat??? Whoot! You are something special.

Adam is right on!! It is very important that you get some of the restriction removed - ASAP. Not trying to worry you, but there can be some bad consequences for having the band so tight you vomit that often. Vomiting is never a good thing anyway, but while occasionally is somewhat acceptable, vomiting every day is not. I don't know if your doctors aren't aware of what you're experiencing, or if they are inexperienced doctors. But you need to read up on what can happen if your band is too tight. There are threads here at LBT that discuss slipped bands, reflux and all that. You need to take good care of yourself. Losing weight is great, but you should not be experiencing the kind of problems you're having in order for the band to work properly.

Right on!! We have a health care system where COMPANIES, strictly motivated by profit, are making the medical decisions that we and our doctors should be making. It is not in the companies' best interest to give us the best possible medical care. It is in their best interest to see to it that we have the medical care that costs them the least amount of money. So who suffers here and who profits? We individuals suffer and the companies make huge profits. And we pay exorbitant sums of money to be told which doctors we can see and what treatments and drugs we can use. Americans are getting the short end of the stick with the system that we have. Our health is the most important component to our survival and we depend on a purely for profit business to make life and death decisions for us. What could be worse? Well, having the government intervening on our behalf sure isn't worse! Right now, it's our only hope out of this mess we have allowed ourselves to be sucked into.

Tort reform has no business being in the proposed health care legislation. It is a separate issue. And it has many implications and problems that will need to be scrutinized and resolved before it could be a good thing for Americans. Even though we may agree that there is some value in tort reform, the difference between you and me is that you believe that tort reform is the answer to all our problems in the medical industry and I know that it is not.

You don't need the band if you are disciplined enough to go on a liquid diet. I was on a liquid diet (Optifast) for 9 weeks when I was younger. A liquid diet will obviously result in a weight loss. Losing weight is not always the problem. Keeping lost weight off is often the major problem for obese people. I thought that the band was the answer. It has not been the answer for me. I'm afraid of getting the sleeve, but it may be the best hope for me at this point in my life. I followed my doctor's and dietitian's program to the letter for over a year. Just over 40 lbs. lost and then plateau and lots of Pb'ing. Constant doctor's appointments with constant restriction fluctuation and adjustments. I do not understand how having irritating restriction in that specific spot will not wind up causing some kind of health issue over the long haul. I believe I am ready to get the thing removed. Whether I also get the sleeve will be something I will need to fully understand before I go for it. I thought I was fully informed when I got the band. I realized later that I was so desperate that I wasn't hearing everything or comprehending everything I read. When Sharon Osbourne got hers removed, I was shocked. She had been my role model. It was so disappointing and I couldn't understand why she would have hers removed. I couldn't even stand to listen to her reasoning at the time. Now I completely understand. Unfortunately.

As for Cleo's post... what about it is bull? Why do you have such a hard time seeing the truth? Are you in the insurance business yourself? That would certainly explain a lot of things.