marjon9

Did you ever see the movie "The Man In The Iron Mask" with Leonardo DiCaprio? When I had my sleep study, that was the only mask available. It weighed about 80 pounds and made me into a pathological claustrophobic with a severe twitch in left eyelid. At least I can say that I did not pick my mask at random. I picked exactly that specific mask - because it was the only one! The moral of my story is - the selection of sleep hardware you had is not always available. I started looking into masks when I received my equipment and realized immediately that there had to be a better way. I was not lucky

I just want to mention again something that makes a big difference for me, and that is the mask. If you have a mask that covers all or part of your face, I think it is pretty tough to sleep except on your back. There are quite a few lighter masks now. I use the Mirage Swift. Check it out on the internet. It's only one exampe. There are quite a few others. Respironics has a new one called "Opti-life." I have not tried it but it is another example of the lighter mask. Also, on the small chance you have time for additional forums, you might want to check out CPAP talk forum. This mask issue has been discussed so much on CPAP talk, it's starting to put people to sleep, which is actually a good thing in this situation. Har de har har.

I agree with Laurend (as I often do). And I would like to add something else. I also don't feel sorry for this guy for another reason. That is, there is nothing to feel sorry for. Being on the "hook" to take care of a child for many years - especially your child - is more of a blessing than a curse, even if you never see the child. Successfully meeting this responsibility is probably one of the best things in this guy's life. I think people should be grateful when they are given the opportunity to do the right thing in challenging circumstances. Meeting those challenges with honor and integrity is what makes us respect ourselves. It's what makes life thrilling, and it is what allows "fun" times to be fun. Without integrity and self respect, life is pretty much flat, boring, and not worth very much. These rich kids who party all day and night, with nothing to do and no responsibility, don't seem very happy to me.

I think the moderators are sending a message: "So, you like polls, eh. Here's you d*** polls, right here!"

Some masks are better than others for this. Have a look on the internet at the "Mirage Swift" mask. There are a few of this type that are light and just bring the air to your nose without covering your face. With this type of mask it is easier to sleep in positions besides on your back. The will probably not have one of these for your sleep study, but I'm not sure. Just keep in mind that there are better options if you find the mask intolerable at the sleep study.

"Creep" is my middle name.

While 2/3 of the people may want some type of "change," I don't think it is totally accurate to say that 2/3 would like "it" changed. People can vote for more than one category in this poll. I think many of the people who voted to "keep it the same" also voted to allow people the option of blocking unwanted threads. Reading what people have written in their posts, I think most people would like to have the system we now have stay in place with the added feature that allows people to block unwanted threads.

Here's an article about a Japanese hospital that has a "drop box" for unwanted babies. It's basically a "pro-life" solution. Anyone think it's a good idea? Would it work here? http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/05/10/japan.babybox.ap/index.html

By golly, I think you're right. Perhaps you're not so tired tonight after all.

I see nothing wrong with having a feature that allows people to ignore and hide things they are not interested in if they choose to do so. The thing I don't like is having those decisions made for "newbies" or others in order to protect them. To me that seems paternalistic and condescending. But hey, that's just me. But on the other hand, having extra options to hide and ignore things by choice. Now that sounds like a great idea. Unless, of course, people would rather reconsider my Clockwork Orange option.

I have sleep apnea. I don't know what a bipafor is. I use a CPAP. For me the hard thing to get used to was the mask. I now use the "swift" mask that just brings the air to your nose but does not cover up your face and give that claustrophobic feeling. If your problem is getting used to the mask, you might want to try some of the lighter masks that are out there now that don't cover your face. I will say that now that I am used to it I would not want to sleep without it. I had no idea how much the sleep apnea was harming me until I started using the CPAP. I would stop breathing at night for long periods of time, and wake up constantly. It was really hard on my heart. If there is any way you can get yourself to use that machine, you may find that you really start to feel better. I really do feel better from using it. Good luck

I see exactly what you mean.

Neal, I have no doubt that your intent was to help. But I do think that the problem of Newbies landing in some place that causes a big problem is really a teeny teeny problem. And it is usually fixed by people saying that, hey, we have a rants and raves section. It does seem to me that changing the structure of the forum for this very small problem is overkill, and I think there is a risk that people won't even find out about the rants and raves section for a while because it is being blocked in some way to "help" and "protect" the Newbies. I really think we are all grownups here, and don't need all this protection. But if everyone else wants it, then I guess we'll have it.

Neal, I'm disappointed that you did not offer the "Clockwork Orange" option in the poll. Did anyone see that movie? Do you remember at the end where they strapped the guy down in the chair and used these devices to hold open his eyelids so he was forced to view the presentation? I believe that each person on the forum should be required to use this device to view threads in the rants and raves section. Is it too late to add the "Clockwork Orange" option to the poll?

I vote for some Gregorian Chant.

Why don't you try saying what's on your mind and see what happens. I'm not interested in throwing anything in your face. I just think that in most cases, people who state "non-religious" reasons for disliking this bill are mainly uncomfortable with how the bill may be seen to "endorse" the "gay lifestyle." If that is not true with you, then I would welcome hearing what is on your mind.

The one who is pregnant absolutely must have the final word. With that I agree completely.

I, too, was a little surprised at that unfortunate turn of reasoning in this thread. Sad to see closed-mindedness in whatever form. I certainly understand and agree that men can never fully understand the woman's perspective on abortion. But ultimately I believe that no one can fully understand anyone else's position on abortion, because it is so personal. And ultimately, I believe that no one has the right to decide such issues for anyone else, man or woman. We just don't have the right to force others to live by a moral code they don't choose or agree with. But as for men having no valid opinions here, obviously I don't agree.

I've been stuck for a couple months after losing 35 pounds pretty quick. I'm afraid that the answer for me is going to involve the single most dreaded and despised word in the written and spoken forms of all languages: exercise.

There is one small section of this forum called "rants and raves" where politics, sex, and religion are discussed. People have fun debating these things and so they made room for it in this community. 95% of the forum is directed to issues relating directly to the Lap Band. You will find all the information you need on that topic. Many people do not like talking about these controversial topics and thus they stay away from reading the "rants and raves" discussion. Many people who are not interested in these topics just don't read the threads. That is probably a good approach for you, too because, like many others, you appear to be interested only the Lap Band part of this forum. And yes, there are moderators in this forum. You'll find them posting frequently in "rants and raves."

It would not be impossible, but it would limit the relevance of the discussion. We have two facts here: (1) a bill is being considered that would provide protection against hate crimes for gay men and women, and (2) the overwhelming majority of people opposed to the bill have personal religious beliefs that gays are "sinners" engaging in "abominable" acts. Statistically speaking, it seems fair to make a connection here: that religion has something to do with opposition to this bill. Removing God from the discussion leaves much less to talk about.

OK, if you'd rather not banter back and forth I won't comment further. It surprises me, though. I thought that bantering back and forth was the whole idea here.

I have a really hard time reconciling these two statements. It seems to me that creating laws that take away choice on this most personal, fundamental issue is really very much like "putting judgment on them." You say you don't judge women who make that choice, but yet you would legislate to take away that choice. So, once the choice is taken away through legislation, what difference does it make whether or not you might hypothetically "judge" someone for doing something that they are no longer able to do anyway? To me it is just a very tangled web when one set of adult Americans tries to impose its own morality on another set of adult Americans, through the use of legislation.

I respect your views completely, but your post does bring something up for me. You say that for you, life does not begin until the zygote attaches. Other pro-life people feel that life begins before that point. Yet many pro-life individuals feel like they have a right to make rules that everyone must follow, limiting the choices available to everyone, even if the others don't believe the same way. So, which "pro-life" point of view gets to be the one to set the rules for everyone else? Would it be OK with you if the "morning after" pill were denied to you or your daughters because the pro-life faction with the political power decided that life begins before the zygote attaches? I don't mean this as a personal attack at all. You have not said that you, personally, seek to make the rules for anyone but yourself. But in general, one of the standard positions for the majority of pro-life people is that abortion should be illegal, meaning that no one should have the choice to go that route no matter what they believe. That's the part that is so intolerable to me. I just don't think anyone has the right to make this decision for anyone else. And I'm just wondering if you would feel like I do if the morning-after pill were denied to you or your daughter, and you or your daughters were thus forced to go through with a pregnancy you did not want, because some other pro-life individuals thought that you should not have the choice to get the morning after pill?

I've used some of the