Cleo's Mom

The right wing is using violence to suppress opposition: This from Rand Paul's event: I just argued loudly on the phone with Rand Paul's campaign office Wed Oct 27, 2010 at 10:32:36 AM PDT I just got off the phone with one of Rand Paul's campaign staffers. Rand Paul is a vile, degenerate sociopath. But I had a few things to get off my chest. So disgusted am I at Paul's supporters and their violent, Gestapo-like, and completely misogynistic behavior, I just called Paul's campaign headquarters to express my disapproval. I recommend others do so. The number is 859-817-1462 A guy with a Southern accent picked up, and I said, immediately, my name is Tom and I am calling because I was physically sickened by what I saw on the news. Immediately, the staffer tried to (a.) downplay the incident and (b.) blame the victim. Basically, he referred to Lauren Valle, the victim of Rand Paul supporter mob violence as a "convicted felon" who has been showing up at (i.e., "stalking") Paul events. I replied that that is irrelevant and that that is her right. He said that she can "take a punch," and aghast at such a comment, I said that that is itself a sickening comment. And then, this loon, amazingly, started comparing her to Squeaky Fromme, the former Manson Family member and would be political assassin. I was flabbergasted by such a comparison! In trying to get the Paul people to fully own up to what happened, I kept getting lies and excuses by this pathetic Paul supporter. The conversation got much more heated. I wound up telling the guy that I thought that he was full of shit and that Rand Paul is vile. We then sort of went back and forth for about 20-30 seconds, where we were both trying to grab the floor so as to say what we each wanted to say. When I finally moved to saying that it was not just one assaulter but a whole group of them, and that Rand Paul is doing a disservice to the truth with his false equivalencies, the guy cut me off, saying something like "get over it Pal" and then hung up. Rand Paul is despicable. However, I think that I did learn a thing or two from this call. Hearing a non-violent political activist being compared to a psychotic member of the Manson Family tells me just how far removed from reality Rand Paul and his hardcore supporters really are. And hearing a male staffer referring to a 24 year old woman who deserves to "take a punch" (not to mention a concussion inducing headstomp) ought, in a saner society, to delegitimize the political campaign that allows for such references to be made. Anyway, I encourage people to call this number and speak out against political thuggery. dailykos AND Add to this that Joe Miller, the teabagger darling of Alaska, had thugs who traveled with him and who put handcuffs on a reporter trying to get Miller to answer questions. And these are the people we should elect more of?

Corporate America is sitting on 2 trillion dollars in assets and their profits are up but they won't hire. Why should they? They are making their existing workforce work more hours and longer weeks. And these people can't complain lest they get fired. Corporate America won't be satisfied until they pay no taxes, don't have to provide healthcare for their employees and have no regulations. People shouldn't be anti-government they should be anti-corporate America and the influence they have on our government. That is the problem. Think about it. It isn't the government that pollutes our air or Water. It isn't the government that makes our work place unsafe. It isn't the government that hides profits in offshore accounts. It isn't the government that ships our jobs overseas. It isn't the government that makes unsafe drugs or food. It isn't the government that tries to bust unions. It isn't the government that is trying to buy our elections. But the conservative media just keeps beating that anti-government/anti-tax message over and over again. We actually pay lower federal taxes than most industrialized nation and lower federal taxes under Obama. But you just can't reason with stupid, uninformed people. Rachel Maddow was up in Alaska interviewing pro-Miller people asking them why they support Miller. They said it's because Eric Holder is anti-gun. When asked to explain how - they couldn't answer. They just knew. It's like those who interviewed teabaggers with signs at protests and they couldn't explain what their signs said. Stupid, uniformed people - and they vote. :laugh:

Your basal metabolic rate, or BMR, is the minimum calorific requirement needed to sustain life in a resting individual. It can be looked at as being the amount of energy (measured in calories) expended by the body to remain in bed asleep all day! BMR can be responsible for burning up to 70% of the total calories expended, but this figure varies due to different factors (see below). Calories are burned by bodily processes such as respiration, the pumping of blood around the body and maintenance of body temperature. Obviously the body will burn more calories on top of those burned due to BMR. BMR is the largest factor in determining overall metabolic rate and how many calories you need to maintain, lose or gain weight. BMR is determined by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, as follows: Genetics. Some people are born with faster metabolisms; some with slower metabolisms. Gender. Men have a greater muscle mass and a lower body fat percentage. This means they have a higher basal metabolic rate. Age. BMR reduces with age. After 20 years, it drops about 2 per cent, per decade. Weight. The heavier your weight, the higher your BMR. Example: the metabolic rate of obese women is 25 percent higher than the metabolic rate of thin women. Body Surface Area. This is a reflection of your height and weight. The greater your Body Surface Area factor, the higher your BMR. Tall, thin people have higher BMRs. If you compare a tall person with a short person of equal weight, then if they both follow a diet calorie-controlled to maintain the weight of the taller person, the shorter person may gain up to 15 pounds in a year. Body Fat Percentage. The lower your body fat percentage, the higher your BMR. The lower body fat percentage in the male body is one reason why men generally have a 10-15% faster BMR than women. Diet. Starvation or serious abrupt calorie-reduction can dramatically reduce BMR by up to 30 percent.Restrictive low-calorie weight loss diets may cause your BMR to drop as much as 20%. Body Temperature/Health. For every increase of 0.5C in internal temperature of the body, the BMR increases by about 7 percent. The chemical reactions in the body actually occur more quickly at higher temperatures. So a patient with a fever of 42C (about 4C above normal) would have an increase of about 50 percent in BMR. External temperature. Temperature outside the body also affects basal metabolic rate. Exposure to cold temperature causes an increase in the BMR, so as to create the extra heat needed to maintain the body's internal temperature. A short exposure to hot temperature has little effect on the body's metabolism as it is compensated mainly by increased heat loss. But prolonged exposure to heat can raise BMR. Glands. Thyroxin (produced by the thyroid gland) is a key BMR-regulator which speeds up the metabolic activity of the body. The more thyroxin produced, the higher the BMR. If too much thyroxin is produced (a condition known as thyrotoxicosis) BMR can actually double. If too little thyroxin is produced (myxoedema) BMR may shrink to 30-40 percent of normal. Like thyroxin, adrenaline also increases the BMR but to a lesser extent. Exercise. Physical exercise not only influences body weight by burning calories, it also helps raise your BMR by building extra lean tissue. (Lean tissue is more metabolically demanding than fat tissue.) So you burn more calories even when sleeping. Hopefully you can find something useful in all this information.

This is about healthcare and those who oppose the healthcare reform because you say you don't want the government controlling healthcare or the government to come between you and your healthcare. Well, I just came back from seeing the PA in my PCP's office because of my chronic back pain and conditions (spinal stenosis, buldging and herniated disks, etc..) because of recent flair up of problems. In the past they would have been able to order an MRI. Not now. Why? BECAUSE THE INSURANCE COMPANY IS COMING BETWEEN THEM AND THEIR PATIENT CARE. THAT'S RIGHT THE INSURANCE COMPANY. The PA told me they can't even get a CT scan or MRI for a cancer patient. The insurance companies won't approve them. In order to order these tests, they must send the patient to a specialist who can then order the test, but the PCP can't. What do you think THIS is adding to the cost of our healthcare? The extra time and step of having to go to a specialist? Of course when the insurance companies raise your premiums they'll be sure to blame Obama and the healthcare reform. I said to the PA that people say "I don't want the government to come between me and my healthcare" and she said , yes, I wish the government would. So, here is someone in the medical profession who wants the government to reign in the insurance companies. WOW. I certainly second that.

I'm not fazed in the least. I have been on these boards for a long time. However, I am confused about the OP of this thread. When it was first posted the OP name that showed up on the thread was peggycas, now it's showing up as justwannabeme. How did that happen? :huh2:

Well said. That's what it's all about.

Thank you, Wren Bird. I actually am a sweet person but I will not be intimidated. And I suspect the OP didn't so much have a problem with Rants & Raves being off topic and not about weight loss and the band but that the Election Issues thread postings didn't mesh with her political views.

Since the OP is on my ignore list now, I will tell you that she went on Election Issues (not any of the other threads) on Rants & Raves and questioned that this was supposed to be about weight loss and the band not election issues. BTW, I started the Election Issues thread. Both another poster and I told her it clearly states that this forum is OFF topic - and what doesn't she understand about that and that if she doesn't want to get involved in off topic debates to stay out and stick to the MANY threads that deal with the band and weight loss. That is when she sent me and the other poster a private message using stronger, insulting language and that is when things heated up and the moderator told everyone to get back on topic. She is welcome to come into rants & raves and post opinions that relate to the topic but if she is opposed to the very idea of a rants & raves forum then just stay out. Pretty simple to me.

Just put her on your ignore list and that way she'll know that we won't see her posts. I just think about all the mega-rich laughing at all the duped people (who probably don't make more than $50,000-$60,000 a year) protesting wall street financial reform, estate taxes, capital gains taxes, etc.. while remaining silent about wall street bonuses, foreclosures, unemployment (except to say the unemployed don't want to work), etc.. These duped are doing all the work for them while they laugh all the way to the bank.

Eight False Things The Public “Knows” Prior To Election Day By Dave Johnson Created 10/22/2010 - 1:07pm There are a number things the public "knows [1]" as we head into the election that are just false. If people elect leaders based on false information, the things those leaders do in office will not be what the public expects or needs. Here are eight of the biggest myths that are out there: 1) President Obama tripled the deficit. Reality: Bush's last budget [2] had a $1.416 trillion deficit. Obama's first reduced that to $1.29 trillion [3]. 2) President Obama raised taxes, which hurt the economy. Reality: Obama cut taxes [4]. 40% of the "stimulus" was wasted on tax cuts which only create debt [5], which is why it was so much less effective than it could have been. 3) President Obama bailed out the banks. Reality: While many people conflate the "stimulus" with the bank bailouts, the bank bailouts were requested by President Bush [6] and his Treasury Secretary, former Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson. (Paulson also wanted the bailouts [7] to be "non-reviewable by any court or any agency.") The bailouts passed and began before the 2008 election of President Obama. 4) The stimulus didn't work. Reality: The stimulus worked, but was not enough [8]. In fact, according to the Congressional Budget Office [9], the stimulus raised employment by between 1.4 million and 3.3 million jobs. 5) Businesses will hire if they get tax cuts. Reality: A business hires the right number of employees to meet demand [10]. Having extra cash does not cause a business to hire, but a business that has a demand for what it does will find the money to hire. Businesses want customers, not tax cuts [11]. 6) Health care reform costs $1 trillion. Reality: The health care reform reduces government deficits by $138 billion [12].. 7) Social Security is a Ponzi scheme [13], is "going broke," people live longer, fewer workers per retiree, etc. Reality: Social Security has run a surplus since it began, has a trust fund in the trillions, is completely sound for at least 25 more years and cannot legally borrow so cannot contribute to the deficit (compare that to the military budget!) Life expectancy is only longer because fewer babies die; people who reach 65 live about the same number of years as they used to. 8) Government spending takes money out of the economy. Reality: Government is We, the People and the money it spends is on We, the People. Many people do not know that it is government that builds the roads, airports, ports, courts, schools and other things that are the soil in which business thrives. Many people think that all government spending is on "welfare" and "foreign aid" when that is only a small part of the government's budget. This stuff really matters. If the public votes in a new Congress because a majority of voters think this one tripled the deficit, and as a result the new people follow the policies that actually tripled the deficit, the country could go broke. If the public votes in a new Congress that rejects the idea of helping to create demand in the economy because they think it didn't work, then the new Congress could do things that cause a depression. If the public votes in a new Congress because they think the health care reform will increase the deficit when it is actually projected to reduce the deficit, then the new Congress could repeal health care reform and thereby make the deficit worse. And on it goes. Back on topic!

No, you said it in a private message to me since you didn't have the guts to come on here and say it. You have been put on my ignore list as you should be. :blushing:

Don't worry, I will. Anyone who comes on here knows I won't be intimidated. She didn't have the guts to reply here so she sent me a PM. She does the complaining and then complains about you and me. :blushing: Notice she didn't complain on the other non-weight loss threads that weren't political in nature - like "should we pay drug abusers to be sterilized" or "polygamy". She's just someone of a different political opinion trying to mask it as being upset that there is an off topic thread, much like the teabaggers try to mask their hatred of Obama behind the deficit and spending. Yeah, right!

I don't understand why you would enter a Rant & Rave Off Topic Forum to begin with. Off topic meaning off the topic of weight loss and band, etc.. It is right there on the LBT main page - Rants & Raves - "OFF topic". That means it won't necessarily be about lapband and weight loss. As BJean said, if you don't want to enter into off topic discussions and prefer to stick to lapband/weight issues, then why come here? There are plenty of forums and threads on LBT to satisfy anyone's need to discuss weight loss and the band. I can post here and on other websites, if I choose, and again, if you don't like off topic threads then don't come on here. The LBT administrators set it up to be off topic and it is a legitimate forum. Stay off it if you don't like the topics or opinions expressed. I have no plans to stay away because I didn't complain about this forum to begin with. :smile2:

LBT Rants and Raves *** Off-Topic DEBATE AREA *** Want debate? Get it here. Gripe, complain, moan, fight, rant and rave. Enter at your own risk! What part of "Off Topic", debate, etc... don't you understand? Stay out of here if you don't want to read/debate off topic threads. There are plenty of forums and threads about weight loss, so why come here at all?

I was on a liquid only diet for 2 weeks post surgery and I told them if they aren't going to feed me, I'm not going to exercise. :blushing: I started exercising after that - when I went on the mushies.

I meet with my doctor next month. Andy and Opie Taylor from Mayberry, NC always said pop. Soda is something with ice cream as in ice cream soda. I was told the food stays in the pouch for a long time providing a sense of fullness and also why you shouldn't drink so as to wash it all out. But like I've said - the doctors are all over the place. I believe there should be a set standard of care and a research-based explanation for everything we're told from why we have to go on liquids for 2 weeks before surgery to how the band works with restriction, etc.. and everything in between.

If I were you I would get copies of all test results, including operative reports from both surgeries, all upper GI's, etc..and then take all of this to another surgeon for a second opinion. Whatever you do -DO NOT GO BACK TO THIS SURGEON - anyone who says don't call his office if you get stuck is irresponsible not to mention unethical. It is his job to help you when you have problems. You've already had several problems while under his care. You are asking for more trouble if you continue any relationship with him. Don't even call his office except to ask for all the test results. If there are any CD's of the upper GI's available (from hospital records) get them. When you call and ask for this they will know you have a reason. Don't tell them why. It is your right to have access to them. Good luck.

I agree with much of what you have to say, but most of all I want to say thanks - it's pop - not soda. Thanks for being a fellow pop person. Although I don't drink pop I am glad you are using the correct term. :thumbup: (This ought to open up a whole pop vs soda debate) :w00t:

I think it's fine that you posted the article. I think it validates what I've been saying about WLS doctors - that they are all over the place in their approach to the band, their pre-op and post-op recommendations, their knowledge (or lack thereof) of how the band works, their expectations (often unrealistic) and their general follow up care. Too little of what we're told is backed up by research. I mean why can some eat full meals right up to the day before surgery and others (like me) be put on a liquid only diet for 2 weeks before? Where is the research to back up either approach? I think many of the doctors jumped on the WLS bandwagon for the money without a full understanding of the follow up care which is the most important part with the band. When I read articles like this, they just don't make sense. -Eat 1/2 cup of food, which will pass through the pouch and band within minutes, but will somehow trick your brain that you have eaten enough and are full. -Eat 1/2 cup and stop even though you can eat more and you will lose weight. Well, duh! Of course you'll lose weight if you only eat 1/2 cup of food - it is that feeling full part despite the ability to eat more food that is a little fuzzy. I think most on here know better, or should, not to shoot the messenger. So don't worry about coming on here and getting bashed. If you do, you will have your defenders. Like me.

That's possible because my idiot former surgeon filled me wrong for a 4cc band (he told me I had a 10cc band - I don't) - he did 2cc's and then 1cc (too tight) and then 1cc unfill. With a 4cc band the fills are much smaller and refined. But keep in mind that I am not looking for weight loss at this point. Just a feeling of satiety/fullness/lack of hunger. I am not interested in the terminology. If I get that, I will take care of the rest because I eat healthy food and exercise every day. Something else to discuss at my doctor appt.

The band was promoted as helping to reduce appetite/hunger. Period. It has never done that for me and from the many posts I've been reading, it hasn't worked that way for a lot of others. Sure you can be so tight that you are unable to eat much but if that doesn't translate into reducing your appetite and take away your hunger, what is the point? All of us could eat less and be hungry before the band on every diet we were on.

You are definitely not alone. I have never had a feeling of satiety, fullness or lack of hunger or whatever term people want to use. When I was too tight, I would get pain and pressure with small amounts of well-chewed food. And I would stop eating. But still I felt hungry. When some fill was removed, I didn't get the pain but I never felt satisfied, full or not hungry. The hunger can vary - sometimes it's not as bad, other times it is. I am totally unfilled now and I still have some restriction - especially with cold items (like decaf sugar free iced tea) - I will feel them sitting there until they go down when the steak went down just fine. Go figure. Anyway, I think it is different for every person. Some would call that pressure feeling being full. It never translated to that for me, or you, obviously. My empty stomach below seemed to want food in it - it felt empty. Just like before the band when I would diet and eat small quantities. I have a doctor appt. and will discuss all this with him. I am not about losing more weight at this point but about addressing these other issues.

You're just another example of the band not working as it should for many of us. I am glad you are addressing this issue and getting it taken care of. Too many suffer with all kinds of problems thinking that is what they have to do to lose weight. Or that they have failed the band. Not true. Good luck with your revision and come back and let us know how everything goes.