I had to see my gastric doc today even though I've been avoiding her since I had my first colonoscopy 2 years ago, a colonoscopy that was never satisfactorily completed. This was the colonoscopy from hell. It appears that I have an unusually long and twisty colon and the team that was hanging out inside my butt was not at all generous with the kind of meds that are supposed to keep the whole experience light and fun. Anyhow, they never did manage to see the end of my colon even though they made a number of runs at it and kept me in the colon room for a really long time. (I know that they kept me there for an abnormally long time because the recovery nurse told me so.)

The upshot of the failed colonoscopy was that she wanted me to have a barium enema. Her office made the appointment. I cancelled. I was traumatised, you see.

So since my last visit my kid brother has died of bowel cancer and that increases my own odds exponentially and I have an enlarged liver to boot.

I had to see her today and I had to tell her about the lapband. Turns out that I am her first ever lapband patient. She knew nothing much about it. And because I am not morbidly obese, she wanted to know why I didn't just diet and exercise. Why did I spend 16Gs on surgery? She was starting to treat me like a nut. I was starting to feel like a nut and defensive as well.

Then she feels my liver and boy does it feel fat! It seems that fat people often have fat livers. Mine is a monster! It is almost a third over sized. I am horrified by the news about my liver. As for my bowel, I feel kinda casual. This doc is interested in 'em both but more interested in the bowel.

Going to a specialist is always stressful but I guess I found that I was extra stressed by having to both explain and defend my choice of weight loss surgery over simple diet and exercise. To tell you the truth, this left a bit of a foul taste in my mouth. I did let her push my port though. :rolleyes

HEHEHEHEH good one bjean!!!

well, she had to raise the $$ for surgery somehow!

Awe man, does that mean, back on my knees for the tummy tuck??? I just nursed them back to health, not to mention the jaw muscles.

Yes, thanks for the recipe green, sounds yummy.

LOL, that was vulgar of me, I'm sorry green for putting smut on your thread.

LOL, that was vulgar of me, I'm sorry green for putting smut on your thread.

Green loves smut! *Teehee*

Oh so Green, you're a "working girl"?

Yep, just a very lazy one.... When you can lie down on the job and still make money you know you've got a good job!:kiss2:

LOL, that was vulgar of me, I'm sorry green for putting smut on your thread.

oh, it's not like its the first time Cloe!!!

Ummmmm, Yoda, Im pretty sure if I go back a few months in posts, your the one in horns, I'm in the halo, No??

Green is going for her third fill tomorrow. I need it! :help: This past weekend we went to the in-laws' cottage and on the way up and on the way back we stopped off at restaurants and I ate real meals really easily. :hungry: That I didn't quite finish them off is only due to my new smaller appetite.

The great outdoors was cold and gray and as a result I drank too much scotch.:faint: Normally I like to keep myself busy doing chores, especially yard work, but the leaves were wet and frozen to the ground. It was too cold to move stones and besides, my bad shoulder interferes with that. If I am inside and don't have my own toys around me I get bored and restless. I did go for a frosty walk and spent some time hanging out down at the lake. In fact I spent a lot of time staring at the lake and at the mickey of scotch.:heh: I have had healthier weekends at the cottage!

Poor Green. But then, poor BJean (yes, you can use my initials if you deem them appropriate, BJ). I'm not anti-smut either. Bring it on!

Anyway, I didn't hit the Scotch this weekend. I never hit the Scotch. But for the first time in YEARS (yep, YEARS) I decided to entertain my dinner guests by imbibing in too many glasses of Champagne laced with a little Chambourd. I'm so much funnier on my alcohol of choice. In my mind.

Some of us may have even jumped into the hot tub buck naked. After guests' departure, of course. The neighbors can't see over the fence (I hope). But I NEVER run naked in the backyard for the entertainment of anyone because even in my stupor I know that isn't entertainment, just a frightful display of a chubby woman gone amuck.

I have strange bruises on my inner arms. And just in case you're accusing my wrongly of having a bad hangover - I was tired but didn't have so much as a headache on Sunday. Hence champagne being my drink of choice.

Green's picturesque walk in the woods and kicking of frozen leaves made BJ misty for Canada and white winters.

Over the years I have done some funny things while naked. I got first into the habit while I was living in France. Lemme say that those Frenchies sure are relaxed about their bodies compared to us. And my mother-in-law is German and very relaxed about her body. She likes to get the gang going into the lake for a skinny dip. Of course this activity is mostly carried on after dark but I guess not always.... My husband and I recently learned that their cottage is known as the "naked cottage." :faint:

As for white winters, I am kinda getting sentimental over these, too. The truth is that thanks to global warming Canadian winters are getting milder and shorter. And to top things off, my city - Toronto - is now so large that it has created its own mini-climate. American cities to the south of us, such as Buffalo for instance, and Canadian cities to the west of us may be suffering from a blizzard and we will be left high and dry.

Nevertheless, I love the change of seasons. I really do.

As for champagne and Chambord, I envy you! Oh, how I envy you!!

Ummmmm, Yoda, Im pretty sure if I go back a few months in posts, your the one in horns, I'm in the halo, No??

Ahhhh so true Cloe...but me thinks YOU were the source of those lil' icons; hence I do believe it is prejudiced in your favour!!!

Green.....we would have had some wild times together in the past!!! LOL...

I have met very few women who love scotch as much as I do. I no longer drink anymore (gave it up about 6 yrs ago)....(it just made me feel to icky and with certain meds I was on, it wasn't wise)...but my #1 drink of choice was always scotch....on the rocks. Mmmm Mmm mmmmm....my fave was O'Ban. *licks lips at the memory*.

As for TO having its own climate....ya got that right....it always amazes me (& makes me jealous) that I will leave Barrie where there is like 12 feet of snow and just one hour south in TO, there is nothing but bare pavement.....blows me away. Count yer blessings though is what I say!

On one trip that we made to Germany and Paris I was shocked at the nudity and "games" that were shown on regular TV. Oh yeah, I remember that I was fairly shocked when I lived in Montreal at the daytime shows that revealed a fair amount of nudity. They were nothing compared to the shows in Germany though. Those were more like what we'd call porn. Saw some things I hadn't ever seen before. Quite educational. But shocking.

The beautiful German women that we've known over the years have been very open sexually and with regard to nudity. I was always too hung up to relate in a personal way. Looked like fun though.

Most Bible Belt Americans that I've grown up with have so much guilt when it comes to their own sexuality that they aren't really sure what is all right and healthy and what is verboten. So they don't explore much and in fact have trouble sometimes with just the basics. Skinny dipping, for instance, can only happen if one has some help with some uninhibiting drug or other.

This morning I went in to the TLBC for my third fill. I have been feeling no restriction at all, as you all know, and one night I even ate a banquet burger that my husband brought home. I had totally forgotten about this stunt until today. And I have never, ever PB-ed although I had a weird experience with water after my first fill which resulted in me asking to have a cc taken out.

Since then I have been lagging behind the other women in my graduating class with respect to the amount of fill. They are all up to 7 to 7.5 cc and I am only now at 6 cc. Nevertheless, the fill tech won't give me more than 1 cc at a shot.

At my weigh-in today I learned that I had not lost a single pound since my last fill and that was 3 weeks ago. The good thing is that I haven't gained. So, I am in onederland and my hair isn't falling out, and that is good. I would have liked to have lost a couple of lousy lbs, however....

One of the members of my graduating class is not doing so well. She has lost no weight at all since being banded although she has had incidents of PB-ing and she is now losing her hair. It is because I heard her story that I am able to deal with my own lack of weight loss over the past 3 weeks.