Okay, shoot... The very FIRST forum at the top of the list under "Main Lap-Band Forums" should be "Newbie Info"!!! Name it with an underscore if you have to to make it be the #1 section in that list.

I was just trying to find a sticky post that listed all the acronyms and newbie-type info that we give out so often, and I could find NO newbie-specific stickies!!! WTF?!?! lol

'Cause, gosh, I would SO love to have the basics ALL written down and available in ONE place, in ONE post, so we can just link newbies to that info.

Do I have any seconds on this suggestion??

Please say yes... I'll help draft the main post... Please, pretty please??? :bats eyes (very seductively... ):

Second!! Go for it!

THIRD!

~how to do a search and an advanced search

~PB, IMO, IMHO, ROTFLMAO, LOL, et al

~how to add babanas and smiles

~"rules" of polite posting eg:capital letters is yelling, etc. and any other rule I have personally inadvertently broken

~how to organize threads...avoid hijacking, etc

~how to use your user CP

~Oh!Oh! How to make your ticker thingy!!!!!!!!

~Appropriate info for your signature, editing your sig.

~go to New Posts for, uh, new posts? and 'splain how that works

~first stop, post an introduction and tell what basics should be listed there

any more? anyone else?...great idea Donali!!!!!!!!

Donali, I think it's a fabulous idea since so much information is duplicated and criss-crossing all over LBT.

I think I started a "definitions" thread awhile back, for starters.

- What to bring to the hospital

- Post surgical pain, gas,

- Insurance

- Grocery shopping list for liquid/mushy stage

- What's a PB and rules to follow after having one

- Port issues

- Fills

- pills, Vitamins

- Going to Mexico, need of passports, language barriers, phones

- How many days expected to stay in hospital, how many days for recovery

- Blind vs. Fluoro

Kathy and Lisa, those are GREAT lists!

You've given me an idea on organization - The first post, that will stay at the top, will have a brief welcome and explanation of this section. Then there will be a list of topics within that first main post that are hot links. The hot links will link to the other posts in that section - we'll have a seperate, clear, on-topic, locked post for each item in the main list.

As we add to the main list and the posts it links to, the moderators can edit the effected posts and leave them locked.

What do you say, guys? I'm thinking we have all the info we need scattered through almost 2 years worth of knowledge...

I'm sure the newbies will thank us, too.

I really like the idea of being able to refer new people to one centralized place. I always wonder when the owner will tell us we used up all the computer space or something crazy, so that would really clean things up. Good thinkin!

Sounds like a GREAT idea.

Yeah man, this will be very handy...maybe you said this, but the post with the link, could they link to existing threads already out there...eg: PBing, ticker thingys, etc. or would the post only link to posts within the newbie thread? I like the idea of locking and still keeping it at the top...it will take some maintenence but YOU will do great! (I say YOU because it's all a little over my head. My 5 year old is impressed with my typing...she's 5)

I think the links for the Newbies should be to clean Q&A threads that are locked within that section, as opposed to links to existing posts, as oftentimes one must read through 5 pages of replies to glean all the info in that thread about that particular topic. And we all know how easy it is to get "Off track" when we hit a thread hijack, and then we forget what we were trying to learn in the first place. I personally like the hijacks, that wasn't a criticism, but it is easy to get distracted...

I also think that underneath the "Newbie Info" group, there should be an "LBT Index" group - that would be just one post with hotlinks to existing threads - an example of a list that would have links in this section:

PB stories

Slippage stories

Erosion stories

Fill stories

Surgery stories

Port revision stories

Re-banding stories

Things like that. Then, as we come across these interesting/informative threads, we can send the link to a moderator and ask them to add it to the index page under the appropriate list group.

I don't think EVERY story needs to go on the index page, but I think we'd all agree that some people have written in more depth about their experiences than others, and those threads could be helpful to others. And frankly, some of these old posts are almost impossible to find - I was looking for Leatha's slippage story for a friend, because I KNEW it was here somewhere, and it took me over FIVE searches to finally find it, and I don't think I even found the original post about her symptoms - I could only find the post about her diagnosis.

I've searched for my own posts re: my erosion, and even knowing some of the phrases I used in the post I had difficultly digging some of those back up, which is why I post those list of links now - telling someone to search for the info isn't necessarily going to help them find some of this stuff.

EXACTLY! That sounds perfect, I'm so glad you have a vision for this! It's gonna be great!

Excellent suggestions, all! Thanks, Donali, for thinking of this.

How about a thread on the emotions one might experience just before and after surgery? A lot of newbies (and I oughta know, I was one of them) are scared about being scared and worry a lot about how their relationship with food will change.

First bash at the "Newbie Info" main post (each item or group of items will link to a post below specifically about that topic). Please add in stuff I forgot, make suggestions on organization, etc.

Getting Started

How to Navigate this site (LBT)

Terms of Agreement/User Guidelines

U

ser CP

Profiles

Safety on the Internet

Avatars

Signature Lines

305/205/135

Weightloss Tickers

First Stop

Introductions

Who are you?

Where are you in the process?

What are your questions?

What are your fears?

How much do you want to lose?

Searching

Regular

Advanced

Etiquette

"rules" of polite posting eg:capital letters is yelling, etc.

Posting areas

Hijacking

Posting New Threads

Replying to Existing Threads

Posting Photos

Jazzing up your posts

Bananas, smilies, etc.

Color

Fonts

Font size

Quoting

Bold

Italics

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Acronyms, Abbreviations, Lingo

Various common questions

Resources

Personal Site Links

Professional Site Links

books

What is the Lapband?

Inamed site link

Lapband vs RnY

What Can Go Wrong?

Leaks

Leak Stories

Reflux

Reflux Stories

Slippage

Slippage Stories

Erosion

Erosion Stories

Blockage

Blockage Stories

Complication Stats for the Lapband

Weightloss Stats for the Lapband

Who Usually Qualifies?

Insurance

Jumping through hoops

General requirements

Fighting denials

Insurance stories

How do I decide where to have it done?

Inamed Link to Approved Docs

Your Insurance Pays

Available Docs for your Insurance Plan

Your Insurance WON’T Pay

Price

Experience

Location

Considerations for Surgery outside of the country

Hospital Used

Follow-up Care

Maintenance

Getting Fills

Additional Costs

Mexico Info (need of passports, language barriers, phones)

Europe

Info

Keys to success with banding

The bandster “rules”

Changing your lifestyle forever

Water

Exercise

M

indsets

Before Surgery

Research, Research, Research

Site Links (individual sites and informational sites)

Emotions

How are my emotions tied to my eating habits?

Exercises in separating emotional hunger from physical hunger.

Preparing emotionally for:

Reduced food intake

Changing relationships with food

Shifting of relationship dynamics

Losing weight

Receiving compliments

Buying smaller sizes

Letting go of stuff that’s too big

Jealousy

Sabotage

Self

Others

Society in general

Challenges in the workplace

Getting “personal” Attention

They’re hitting on me!!

I can feel them looking at me

Now everyone wants to be my friend

Everyone wants to know how I’m doing it

Backhanded compliments

Fears

I won’t be able to eat my favorite foods

I won’t be able to eat in quantity

I won’t be able to eat out

People will notice how I eat

What if something goes wrong?

My relationships will change

I will change

Support

Why do I need support?

Who do I tell?

Where do I get support?

Shopping

Stocking up on liquids for the first 2-4 weeks

What’s a clear liquid?

What’s a full liquid?

The eating stages

Clear Liquids

Full Liquids

Mushies

Back to “normal”

The Surgery

What to bring to the hospital

Expected Length of Hospital Stay

Surgery Stories

After the Surgery

Initial diet restrictions, and why

Clear liquids

Full liquids

Mushies

"Regular" food

Is this normal?

I’m hungry

I’m not losing weight

I make new noises

My shoulder hurts

THIS is “natural” gas???

Expected Recovery Time

When Can I:

Shower

Drive

Pick-up my Children

Have sex

Eat real food

Swim

Soak in the Jacuzzi

Go diving

Exercise

Go back to work

Take my vitamins/medications

Post surgical pain, gas,

Food

Shopping list for Liquids

Clears

Full

Shopping list for Mushies

recipes

How much water?

How much Protein?

Vomiting (Productive Burping, Productive Belching, “PB”)

Why to avoid at all costs

#1 cause of slippage

Stomach trauma and resulting restriction

After the PB

When “normal” life resumes

General Do’s and Don’ts

How much should I be eating?

How can I tell when I’m full?

What should I be eating?

Tubing issues

Leaks

Poking out

Repairing

Tubing Stories

Port issues

Flipping

Hard to find

Uncomfortable

Port Stories

Fills

When can I get one?

How much?

How often?

How many?

How do I know when I need one?

Price?

Blind (non-Fluoro) vs Fluoro

How’s it done?

Pain

After the fill

When does it kick in?

Am I too tight?

Am I too loose?

Fill Stories

Should I wear a medical bracelet?

pills, Vitamins

Aftercare

Problem foods

Dry

White meats

Clogging

Breads

Breading

Nuts

Fibrous

Asparagus

Fruit skins

Swells with liquid

Rice

Noodles

Bulking Laxatives

Chunky after chewing

eggs

Rubbery Shellfish

Carbonated

Soda

Beer

Champagne

Seltzer

Food Stories

Can I still:

Fly?

Dive?

Bungee jump?

Diet?

Have healthy pregnancies?

Etc.

All sounds good to me... ROCK ON DONALI!!!!!

Excellent. Someone could actually get an accurate impression of Bandland by reading only the list! Well done, D.

WOWZA! (that was said kinda loud) What an awesome list! You have not left anything out...this will be so great, thank you!!!!!