Cleo's Mom

Because most of what comes from the extreme right smacks of hypocrisy. Were you on these boards, or any boards, bashing bush about his excessive vacations or spending a trillion dollars on Iraq? No. And I'd rather have the money spent here than abroad for an unnecessary war. Just like all the others, you didn't complain about spending or the deficit under bush. When asked about the huge deficit during the bush administration, cheney said: "Reagan proved that deficits don't matter." And Reagan should have known - he rang up the biggest deficit (at that time) in history. Now, all the people who didn't want Obama to be elected and are still bitter are suddenly concerned about spending, deficits and images. Where was all this fiscal concern then? All this concern and anger about health care reform, spending, vacation and deficits is just a smoke screen to cover up the fact that the basis behind all of it is this: PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T WANT OBAMA TO BE ELECTED ARE BITTER AND ANGRY AND ARE LOOKING FOR ANYTHING TO LASH OUT ABOUT. THEY WANT OBAMA (AND THEREFORE THIS COUNTRY) TO FAIL. RUSH EVEN SAID SO. SOME SENATOR (I FORGET WHO) SAID HE WANTED THE HEALTHCARE REFORM TO FAIL BECAUSE IT WOULD BE OBAMA'S WATERLOO. THIS IS THE MENTALITY OF THE PARTY OF NO AND THE NEOCONS. IT ISN'T ABOUT CONCERN FOR THIS COUNTRY OR THEIR HEALTHCARE, IT IS BITTERNESS AND ANGER AND IT SHOWS. SO DON'T INSULT ME WITH PHONEY REASONS BEHIND ALL THIS (LIKE ALL PRESIDENTS HAVE DONE BAD THINGS...)

If you don't think you are getting good follow up care, then by all means change doctors. Just make sure you find one who will accept you. Go for a second opinion and take all your medical records pertaining to your band and all test results. Don't burn any bridges until you find a new doctor. Also, I'm not sure what you mean about not being told you have to come in for a 6 month and 1 year check up. Shouldn't you be seeing your doctor on a much more regular basis? I see mine every 8 weeks. And by the way - I changed surgeons. I was banded in Sept. 2008 and changed doctors in April of this year. My former doctor was too inexperienced and he overfilled me and really didn't understand how the band works. I am happy with my new doctor and maybe you will find one too. Good luck.

Of course he flies everywhere, Einstein, what would you expect him to do? Hitchhike? And his "vacations" have been small side trips as part of his presidential duties. Except for Martha's Vineyard. That was his first real vacation - for 7 days. Oh, perish the thought!!! Bush spent 490 days at his Crawford ranch clearing brush for the cameras so as to try to boost that cowboy image and accent that no one but him in his family has. How is that? And he spent another 487 days at Camp David - a presidential retreat. So that's 2.7 years on vacation. But I'm sure you didn't begrudge him that time because he was probably working hard even then by not reading memos entitled: Bin Laden Determined to Strike inside the U.S. (that during August 2001 when he was 4 weeks at Crawford). Well, we all know the consequences of that slip up. And I think before he became president, Obama managed his credit card debt quite well, otherwise we would have heard about that from the right wing's gurus - rush and glenn. But feel free to start another internet rumor about that one. Maybe how Michelle used $150,000 of the DNC money to outfit herself during the campaign. Oh, no wait, that was Sarah Palin and the RNC. My mistake, sorry. :thumbup:

I'm a retired elementary teacher and I ran a tight ship but I think kids need to let off steam - and no talking at lunch is going too far. We all need an opportunity to talk to our friends over food - that is part of growing up - learning table manners, socializing, etc..The red, yellow, green light can work. And the noise should not be allowed to get out of hand. Unless they eat for a certain amount of time and then are given outdoor recess to let off steam, I would talk to the PTA and ask how other parents feel about this. Then approach the principal if you all agree it is too restrictive. I doubt all 600 students eat at the same time. They probably have at least 3 lunches. So they have about 200 students at a time. That can be difficult to handle, but with lunch aides and teacher supervision (usually the special teachers - art, music, etc..) it should be doable. Perhaps split the upper grades so that they don't eat together. Put grade 5 with K, grade 4 with grade 1, and grades 2 & 3 together. The older kids can help the young ones too.

SwanGal - It is imperative that you get a copy of the EGD and the biopsy results. This is the beginning of your journey and it would be good to start here with keeping a file of all your tests results. My motto? If the doctor sees it, I see it. Good luck.

Queeny - please make sure to get everything checked out. Get complete bloodwork done and your thyroid checked, too. It does sound like this is all band related but there could be something else going on too. I am glad you are getting a second opinion. That is smart. Maybe an endoscopy might shed some light on this situation. But in the end, if they find nothing wrong, then you might just have band intolerance and have to have it removed. I wish you well.

I am sure you will discuss all of this with your doctor next week and he/she will be able to give you some advice. You might still be healing from the port re-attachment and the fill will have to wait. How many cc's do you have in your band? What size band do you have? It sounds like your eating is okay. You might just need a little more time and to step up your exercise when you are healed. Good luck.

What do you mean you had a revision? That refers to a change to a different WLS. Or maybe a band replacement. Why are you on limited exercise and if you have quite a bit of restriction why are you going in next week for a fill? What are you eating each day? Are you on a full diet? Sorry for all the questions but your post doesn't provide a lot of information.

To JennRobb and all those who have posted about their or their loved one's cancer - you have my sympathy. I know first hand the cancer journey. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002. 11 months later my husband was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. This was the result of years of heartburn & GERD that eventually resulted in barrett's esophagus and then esophageal cancer. He was scoped yearly and it was caught early. Didn't matter. He died in 2005 at age 56. That's why you will see me posting on here to those who dismiss heartburn and reflux as the price to pay for being tight enough to lose weight. When he was undergoing cancer treatment there was a sign on the desk at the hospital that said what cancer can't take from you. Oh, yeah. Well, let me tell you what it took from me. It took my beloved husband, it took our future, our retirement that we were looking forward to. It took him from walking our daughter down the aisle. It took him missing our son's wedding, too. All he wanted was to retire and play golf after working hard all his life and play with future grandkids. Cancer took that from him, too I am a baby boomer and I don't remember one person having much less dying of cancer while growing up. Later when I got to be college age there were a few people my parent's age who had heart attacks. My mother smoked cigarettes, my dad cigars. Both were obese. Neither exercised. My mom lived to be almost 86. She had heart surgery and a stroke, but no cancer. My dad died at 78 of congestive heart failure. I have the distinction of being the only person in my family to ever have cancer. And I am always waiting for the other shoe to drop. The death rate from cancer might be falling slightly but in absolute numbers more people, especially young people (under 65) are getting cancer. I read the obituaries everyday. When I see someone young, I know the cause of death before I read it. When I was in high school there was not one teacher who died. But my husband was a teacher and there have been several from his school who died of cancer while teaching. We do a better job with screening for cancer and catching it early when it is more treatable but just with breast cancer - the rates are increasing from one in 14 in the 1970's to about 1 in 8 chances now. What's changed? I don't know. All I know is that if your life hasn't been touched by cancer, it will be. Someone in your family or close circle of friends will be diagnosed. It just seems like it is everywhere. Again, my sympathies to the OP - you've been hit very hard by this. I wish your Mom the best and hope that everything turns out well for her and continued good health for your daughter.

I saw this article by Geneen Roth (who writes some good stuff about weight, dieting and body issues) and it helped to put things into perspective for me. It might help you too. It's entitled: Worrying about weight doesn't help you lose it. Worry About Weight Loss - Stop Worrying About Losing Weight - Goodhousekeeping.com

You risk dehydration and your doctor should not have made you wait but had you come in right away - regardless of the time of day or night. You need to address this with him when you see him.

I just heard about this article today on CNN. Just thought I'd provide it as food for thought. Pun intended. And remember - please don't shoot the messenger! :wink2: Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin - TIME

I heard about this on CNN this morning and also posted it on the exercise & fitness forum, too. It's an interesting read. Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin - Yahoo! News

Have you called your surgeon? If not, you need to and explain how you feel. Having Fluid coming out of your ear is not normal and dangerous. What are you eating at this point? Did you have any fill during surgery? Everyone heals at different rates. You can't compare yourself to your relatives or friends. I remember I felt lousy for a week and not myself until after 2 weeks. The port pain lasted longer. Your stomach is still swollen and your body healing. But definitely call your doctor. And by the way, was your doctor called when you went to the ER? And if so, what did he say, if not what did they say? And make sure your are not getting dehydrated. All the more reason to call your doctor.

How long ago were you banded? Ask your doctor for anti-nausea meds. It's not unusual to be nauseated when first banded but it should go away. If you don't improve, call your doctor and discuss this with him.

What have you tried? Did you try Prilosec? Since you had heartburn before being banded were you treated for it with precription meds? Vomiting to get rid of heartburn is not healthy. With or without the band. Have you added any new food recently? Doesn't your doctor have someone who is seeing his patients while away? You need to call them and demand some relief. Good luck.

You say that your husband really doesn't notice you much anymore and that he would freak if he found out that you were planning this surgery. Sounds like you need to work on these problems before you get your surgery. He will certainly pay attention when he finds out others knew about this but he didn't. But it won't be the attention you want. Discuss with him your feelings of being unnoticed and why you didn't want to tell him and then take him to a seminar. It might help get him on your side.

I would say your gut instinct is to find someone else. Remember that the actual surgery is perhaps the easiest part of the journey. You will require life long follow up care and it doesn't sound like you like the attitude of these doctors. Do you really want to go to someone who you thought was being a jerk? I switched doctors back in April because mine was inexperienced, had unrealistic expectations for weight loss and he overfilled me and then blamed me for the problems. He had only done 22 lapbands before me. If I were you, I would keep looking.

Here are samples of other people who supposedly "get it" and would support "this guy". These are the supporters of what is left of the republican party/conservative movement. Daily Kos: Umm, GOP? You got a second? I want to show you something..

Gore did win. He got 500,000 more votes nationally and he won Florida. Many, including me, believe Kerry won Ohio, too. But these are a whole other forum. And speaking of polls, Gallup is considered very reputable. The latest Gallup poll shows 30 states solidly democratic and only 4 solidly republican. That shows that people have rejected what it is that republicans stand for or more importantly what they oppose.

Me looking at the world with rose colored glasses after 8 years of bush? AU CONTRAIRE!! It is highly unlikely that you talk to people outside of your comfort zone - i.e. those who think differently than you. Therefore, your views are the ones skewed to the right. I'll trust the polls over your limited opinion sampling. Now, back to the rose colored glasses. During the 2004 presidential campaign between Kerry and bush - you will remember that the swiftboaters savaged Kerry's war record and people at the RNC wore purple bandaids to mock the war wounds that earned Kerry his 3 purple hearts. During 2004 the Iraqi war was going very badly but bush kept telling the American public that things were going well. I dubbed that looking at the world through rose colored glasses and called Terry McAullife, then chairman of the DNC, and told him the people at the DN Convention should wear rose colored glasses in response to bush's vision and the purple bandaids. If you watched it, you would have seen that they did. So, no, my vision is crystal clear. It was the neocons who lived behind the rose colored glasses for 8 years of bush.

Whether or not the users like it is inconsequential. The fact is, many doctors will not accept Medicare because it takes them forever to get paid -- and when they DO get paid, they don't even get enough to break even. Many times they don't even make that much. You're the one who said you hadn't talked to anyone who was satisfied with Medicare. Obviously this poll says otherwise. As for doctors, well, they can eliminate a large pool of people and just not accept Medicare patients. And frankly, if the government would get the hell out of the way and quit dictating what insurance companies can and can't do, the insurance companies could combine efforts and save us all a hell of a lot more money. But as it is, they can't do that. Now I'm ROFLMAO - that's just what we need - one giant insurance company unregulated. No competition. I can only imagine how well that would work out for consumers. It could be called Monolopy Insurance for the stupid. Remember that insurance companies want to do four things: 1) sell policies 2) collect premiums 3) maximize profits 4) deny as many claims as they can get away with Now imagine that all under one roof. :thumbdown:

Why is your doctor completely unfilling you when you get stuck at 5cc? Why not just take out 1cc and see how you do? It seems like his approach is all or nothing. I always agree with the advice to get a second opinion about things. I did and changed doctors back in April. I was banded close to when you were. I was banded on Sept. 22, 2008. I have only lost close to 15 pounds from then. But from my highest weight until now I have lost 75 pounds. I am about 20 pounds from goal. But the band has not worked for me the way I thought it would. I have a 4cc band with 2cc fill (3 was too tight) and I have never achieved satiety and hunger has always been my biggest problem. Not any particular food or even bad food choices. Just enough food to feel satisfied and that, of course, was always too much. I agree with HH about the need to confront your food demons. There is a lot in our histories and experiences that when uncovered can explain why we are addicted to food. Please find a qualified phychotherapist. It might help. But you are doing well and are taking the next step by reaching out for help. Good luck.

You need an upper GI to see what is going on. Otherwise, it is just guessing. But frequent vomiting is unacceptable and not part of what you (or anyone) signed up for. Some (maybe many) will put up with these kinds of problems to reach some elusive weight goal. When what they are really doing is jeopardizing their health. Don't be one of them. You got the band to be healthy not to vomit.

Says this survey which I think carries more weight than your anecdotal "survey". Meeting Enrollees' Needs: How Do Medicare and Employer Coverage Stack Up? - The Commonwealth Fund People on Medicare are more satisfied than those with private plans. And the concept that private plans are 100% private is a fallacy, too. Most people who have health insurance get it through their employer and don't buy it directly. There's a big tax advantage to doing it that way since the employer contributions to health care aren't considered taxable income. But to get that tax advantage employers have to follow a number of (gov't) rules - they can't discriminate on pre-existing medical conditions or restrict benefits to highly paid employees. So, to the extent that we have a working health care system at all right now is because the government provides regulations for employer based health care and medicare for those 65 and older.