winner

Simon's nice now, sortta.:rose:

Randy--not so much.

And Paula--stoned or drunk? I know she's got RSD, but hey, something's wrong here.

:faint:

black crows

cheap trick

twisted sister

men at work

:straight

U 2

?Hootie and the Blowfish?:rolleyes

Queen

Prince

Guns N Roses, y'all!

It works now, I think.

shout, of course!:heh:

I'm a Jax girl, getting banded on thurs, nov 9. i can't wait!:clap2:

i am a lil' nervous, though.:phanvan

Any thoughts, suggestions?

...shout, of course! :heh: Tomorrow night begins my clears. Any last minute thoughts or advice?

...But, he is always interesting.

Tom, I often agree with ya, often don't, but always enjoy the vehicle of your expression.

"Have you ever noticed? Anybody going slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac."

--George Carlin.

Hey you maniac, keep on driving your point home!

And yes, I do mean that as a compliment!

Many people don't understand how deep the loss of a pet can be. I am so sorry for your loss, and so happy for the great times you had together.

This is my--and my children's--first Halloween without me partaking in the consumption of:

Chocolate and gummies and Caramel--Oh my!

Halloween for me will be the first holiday that I will not be eating the treats that usually would have killed any diet I had been on before. But, so would Thanksgiving, vacations, Birthdays, office parties, etc.

My surgery is Nov. 9, and I've been on the Protein only diet as directed. My kids mean well, but they've been trying to get me to eat just a little piece of nondiet food. It's actually easier to stay on my diet when I'm alone than with someone, which is the opposite of what I had done in the past years: eat in secret.

I absolutely am on the right path with my new way of life, but I do miss some of the old yummies.

Anyone else out there, miss just a little bit, those treats of days gone by? So, how do you deal with it?

C'mon, Fess up--noone's lookin'!

Thanks.:phanvan :guess

Congrats! It's great to hear you're doing so well! Mine is Nov. 9, and can't wait!

Even with a few butterflies!

How many days off did you need prior to returning to full time employment? I want to take off as much as I really need, but can't afford to take off more.

You guys are awesome!

For those of you that work full time, how long after the procedure did you go back to work? I'm not sure if I took off enough time.

Thanks, as always.:rolleyes

I'm a PA (physician assistant), currently in Gastroenterology, and have published quite a bit on GERD (acid reflux). Even though my knowlege base relating to the LB is limited, I can shed some light.

As common as GERD is, it not that frequent that it becomes ulcerative esophagitis. Some patients with significant GERD can have a precancerous condition called Barrett's Esophagus. Even with Barrett's, only 1% of those turn into frank esophageal cancer, a deadly cancer, sometimes requiring radical treatments to include in some cases an esophagectomy.

Furthermore, it's not common in the nonLB world to see problems in the esophagus WITH peptic ulcer disease PUD: ulcers in the stomach (gastric ulcer) and small intestine (duodenal ulcer).

This is where it appears that more likely your friend suffered some complications where the lapband itself was a major contributing factor.

As far as LBS is concerned, like any other medical procedure, risks are always there.

Every day I explain that to my patients.

For most of us, that risk is small.

Best wishes to your friend.

I'm forwarding some laughs that were sent to me.

Because silliness is highly underrated.

Jokes anyone??:biggrin1:

President Bush said that the government would do everything to help the people of Hawaii out. He went on to say that he considers

Hawaii to be one of our most important allies." --Jay Leno

"An 83-year-old was caught trying to cross the border with ten pounds of meth. Border Guards became suspicious when the

man swam the river, leaped the fence and dug a tunnel all in less than ten minutes." --Jay Leno

"Earlier today at a press conference, President Bush said he will not attack North Korea. Well, of course not. They actually have weapons of mass destruction." --David Letterman

"Yesterday a man from Mexico was arrested because he was trying to sneak into the United States, and he was so fat he

got stuck in the tunnel he was using. Which is unfair because if the man is that fat, he belongs in the United States." --Conan O'Brien

AVIATION 101

Takeoffs are optional. Landings are mandatory.

Flying is not dangerous; crashing is dangerous.

The propeller is just a big fan in the front of the plane to keep the pilot cool. Want proof? Make it stop; then watch the pilot break out into a sweat.

It's best to keep the pointed end going forward as much as possible.

The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

Flying is the second greatest thrill known to man - Landing is the first.

The probability of survival is equal to the angle of arrival.

Trust your captain .... but keep your seat belt securely fastened.

There are three simple rules for making a smooth landing: Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.

The only thing worse than a captain who never flew as co-pilot is a copilot who once was a captain.

It's easy to make a small fortune in aviation. You start with a large fortune.

A fool and his money are soon flying more airplane than he can handle.

Remember, you're always a student in an airplane.

Try to keep the number of your landings equal to the number if your takeoffs.

Asking what a pilot thinks about the FAA is like asking a fireplug what it thinks about dogs.

Gravity never loses! The best you can hope for is a draw.

Caught ya laughin'!

My kids are in accelerated programs as well, which may actually be part of the problem. Instead of acknowledging the bully for what he/she is, they treat the situation as if both kids are at fault. With this in mind, I feel that if your kid does his best to avoid a physical fight, and the other kid makes it physical--he has to stand up for himself! Otherwise he just stands there and gets beaten!

Of course, the school staff will probably treat this as 2 kids in a fight, and, punish both. That, I'd fight--in a non physical way, of course.

One example: my daughter was being pushed by a kid on many occasions. She held her hand up in front of the kid that was doing the pushing, without touching her. Yep, both in the office. Treated the same.

Equality isn't always equal!

Good Luck!

Thanks!

I'm in Jacksonville, FL.

The insurance is Humana PPO.

I'm so thrilled!

I'd be happy to help in anyway I could. Until I got this approval today I was on pins and needles awaiting the Imperial Insurance Company's verdict.

:clap2: After months of insurance tango, I have just received my insurance approval!

November 9, 2006.

To say I'm excited would be putting it mildly.

Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get lucky!

YEE HAW!

I thought I should add the little part about the lapband surgery.

Thanks for your support.

:nervous

Ok, so, like, how should I put this?

Oh, yeah,

I JUST GOT APPROVED!!!!

After months of insurance tango, today I got the approval!

November 9, 2006.

Yeah, oh yeah.

That's right.

YEE HA!

:clap2:

P.S. I'm a little excited about it.

That is a quote from one of the docs I work with daily, when I discuss a patient with him.

Me? I'm healthy and pushing to a BMI @ 35 to get coverage for the band. My motivation is largely (pun intended) my looks. I had been a model in college, and took looks for granted until I felt I had lost them.

BUT,

I'm not Crazy! (mostly not, anyway)

My family history is riddled with Diabetes and heart disease. My number will come up sooner or later if I don't gain Control now.

So, I wouldn't do the band for looks alone.

But, I won't mind feeling better about the image in my mirror.

(And I would never admit to any of this to most anyone in a non-anonymous manner.):girl_hug:

What are your family member's reaction to your decision to get banded or post banded reactions?

My kids want to be supportive but have their own issues as well.

I'm not banded yet, but hopefully I'll get approval soon!:girl_hug:

What's the deal?

Can it be fixed?:help: