faithmd

Hello and congrats on being banded! Just above your thread in the very forum this was posted in (Food) there is a sticky with mushy stage recipes, here's the link: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/mushies-stage-recipes-t17637.html You may also want to use the search function found on the blue toolbar about 1/3 way down from the top of the page, click on "Search" and then advanced search, and type mushies, then use the pull-down menu and select titles only. You will then get a listing of alllllll the other threads (and there are many, so I hope you can get some good info) whose title has mushies in it. Good luck!

Welcome to LBT, look around and have fun. There is a Search function on the blue toolbar about 1/3 of the way down from the top of the page. You can search for lots of things. There's many, many threads about carbonation around here. The latest take on it is: still no carbonation, at least not for the first year or so. Some surgeons are now saying that you can have a little in moderation after the band is well seated and healed ( I have read six months I have read a year). But it has to depend on what your surgeon says. You can leave it out and let it go flat and drink it. The thought is that the carbonation could possibly stretch your pouch. Many banded folks say that they don't even want any after being banded. Yes, that's from the formerly die-hard addicts, too Here's some links to other threads about it (and these are just a FEW I've found): http://www.lapbandtalk.com/drinks-soda-t32110.html?t=32110 http://www.lapbandtalk.com/miss-my-pop-t32106.html?t=32106 http://www.lapbandtalk.com/do-you-drink-t32043.html?t=32043 http://www.lapbandtalk.com/diet-coke-lovers-t31005.html?t=31005 http://www.lapbandtalk.com/coke-drinking-poll-t22906.html?t=22906 http://www.lapbandtalk.com/do-really-have-t30646.html?t=30646 http://www.lapbandtalk.com/coke-really-off-t30277.html?t=30277 http://www.lapbandtalk.com/soda-pop-t30051.html?t=30051 http://www.lapbandtalk.com/dr-c-question-t26776.html?t=26776 http://www.lapbandtalk.com/pop-not-t25715.html?t=25715 http://www.lapbandtalk.com/soda-forbidden-fruit-t22606.html?t=22606

There have been a few folks who have used baby foods. I plan to. I went out and bought one jar of each type of food that interested me (meats, veggies, fruits) and have been trying them. They're really not bad. And VERY convenient. You don't have to clean up the processor/chopper after grinding up something you cooked. It can get pricey, though. I have found Walmart and Target run just about neck and neck in pricing. I also have heard the baby juices are in perfect sized bottles for drinking if need be to get things "going" (i.e. baby prune juice)

At least one other person... But if you want to get creative, you could add more than that, I think. I've seen pictures somewhere Here's the bad part...I'm married!! And it's not me... :omg:

Here's the link to the whole forum about FAQ's and technical issues, you'll find questions to ask the surgeon there as well as checklists for items to have. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/lap-band-faqs-f73.html?s=&daysprune=&f=73 And here's some of the many other threads that are similar to yours, I thought you might like to check some of them out, too. The Search function along the blue toolbar about 1/3 way down from the top of every page is invaluable. Welcome and best of luck, hope these all help! http://www.lapbandtalk.com/questions-ask-consultation-t32224.html?t=32224 http://www.lapbandtalk.com/pre-op-questions-t31866.html?t=31866 http://www.lapbandtalk.com/pre-op-questions-t31865.html?t=31865 http://www.lapbandtalk.com/questions-ask-t28945.html?t=28945 http://www.lapbandtalk.com/some-questions-ask-t12541.html?t=12541 http://www.lapbandtalk.com/questions-ask-your-t20287.html?t=20287

Glad you are home! And Stephs right, it's not that we don't like your thread, but I do think that wearing a bikini is sooooo foreign to so many of us, we just don't know what to say. I do wear a one piece without the skirt already, but then again, I don't embarrass easily. I figure a skirt isn't going to hide much, it may just draw attention to my fat butt and stomach, but then again, at 3 and a half bills, I'm really big.

You're very welcome! I am going to PM you with my list of questions to ask the surgeon and the center. There are a few duplicates in the three documents, but you can pick out the ones you want to ask. Good Luck!

Welcome Shermy! This is a great place to be. I hope your appointment tomorrow goes well!

You still need to call NJ Plus yourself and ask about YOUR specific policy. Different companies can take different riders on their policies. You may or may not have a weight loss surgery exclusion. I'd hate to have you get excited about it and find out your company just started excluding it. Call tomorrow morning, then get them to send you the requirements and policy statement so you have it in writing. Good luck!

Arabic is tough, it was my language in college. I was engaged to a Jordanian and hung around exclusively Middle Eastern men (most of whom would call themselves Palestinian) for a couple of years. Today i'm lucky if I can order food in a restaurant. It's one of those very tough languages that if you don't use, you truly lose. And it doesn't come flooding back like Spanish or French did for me.

I have not yet had surgery, but they also pump your abdominal cavity full of gas so that they are able to visualize what they are doing in there. Did this not get explained to you?

And have them mail that part of the policy (with the requirements) to her so that she has it in writing.

Another question to ask is what he means by places the band at an angle to reduce slippage? The acceptable technique is the pars flaccida technique/approach. I would ask specifically if this is the approach he uses. This approach has been documented in the literature: http://thinforlife.med.nyu.edu/asset...pdf?RCD=J53039 to be a very successful surgical technique. If he is doing something different, I would have to question how he came to doing it that way, and if it was approved by studies or Allergan. If he meant he uses the PF approach, then I kind of wonder why he'd say he places it on an angle to reduce slippage. He should have said something like he uses the approved and proven best surgical technique for placement that we have today. It all has to boil down to if you are comfortable with him. I'd also ask him some very pointed questions and see if he squirms or dodges them. Things like: How many LapBands have YOU personally placed? What is YOUR rate of slippages, erosions, infections? How many complications have you encountered? What do you do about them? What if you get in and for some reason have to open me, will you just choose to convert me to a RNY? (If you dont want one, you need to make sure this is discussed up front, especially if he is very RNY positive.) How many infected bands have you had? Have you had to remove any bands, and why? Would you always choose to remove an infected band, or would you attempt to determine the severity of the infection and then perhaps just treat that aspect (antibiotics, perhaps port removal only, etc)? Remember you are hiring him to do work on your most valuable asset, your body. You wouldn't hire a contractor to work on your house without checking him or her out fully, first. So try not to feel funny about asking these questions, it's you that you are protecting.

You have some natural restriction from surgery and simply from the band being in place, so it would follow (to me) that you certainly could have a PB before a fill.

You could always also go over to Dr. C's site and ask there. He is always encouraging us to do that if he's not around. http://www.thebanddoctor.com

Gosh, I'm not banded yet and am struggling with this same feeling. I've changed my eating habits about six weeks ago and though I have lost about 22 lbs, I have only lost 13 lbs in the past month. Now I KNOW that is a very good loss. better than 2# per week. But I'm doing everything right, I'm exercising, I'm logging every bite on fitday.com, I have found I'm averaging about 1700-1900 calories a day (again, pre-band), my basal rate should be about 3800 according to fitday. I know that is just an estimate, I'm probably much closer to about 3000 as my fat % is 55.4, I think I'll ask my exercise physiologist to work my real basal rate out for me this week at rehab. In any case, I am finding it difficult even losing 2# a week because I feel like it should be so much faster, given my significant lifestyle and eating changes. I do keep reminding myself that I did not put it all on in one year, it's been over a lifetime. I just don't want to wait a lifetime to get it off. I guess I'm glad that I am experiencing these feelings now, so that I will know what is coming post-band when the weight loss is slow (but hopefully steady). I tell myself that every authority says slow and steady (1-2# per week) is the safest and most successful way to lose weight...but still! I think, then it will be 200 weeks, that's four YEARS! The flip side of that is it took well more than four years to put it on... So I hear ya, and I concur.

You are not supposed to expose surgical incisions to sunlight (UV rays) for a year. They will get reddened and sometimes raised. Efricka mentions it from time to time. she exposed her incisions to the sun and got reddened scars.

So what you're saying is that the US wanted Saddam in power in order for him to commit mass murder and genocide and steal money from his people? We wanted him in power because we knew he was capable of attempting to dominate the world, one country at a time? Because you say we knew all this, you think that's "WHY" we wanted him power? Sorry, don't buy it. We believed he was the lesser of two evils at the time, and he made certain promises. We f*ked up, we trusted him, and so we made the choice to help install him. That situation was rectified in 1990, and again we chose to go the diplomatic route (as touted by so many of you) and believe him again. Look where that got us and his people. First, we did not ONLY join WW II because we were attacked by Japan. We were actively supporting Great Britain from early on. Had we not supplied money, pilots, aircraft, ships and supplies to GB, they would have lost the slim toehold they had and we would all be speaking German or Japanese right now. To be technical, we declared war on JAPAN after they attacked us, Germany then declared war on us, three days later because of our declaration on Japan. Why do you think Japan attacked us in the first place? We weren't just sitting on our hands, we were involved already, just not with ground troops and personnel (other than American pilots who volunteered to fly for the RAF). Roosevelt pretty much was going it alone supporting GB, Congress didn't want to be involved, the political infighting game was going on. In the meantime, Europe was falling fast to Hitler. Roosevelt had to go it essentially alone, against what Congress wanted to do and because of that, we were able to defeat the Axis powers. If we had ignored it all, GB would certainly have fallen, and we would have been fighting (more than the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor) on our soil. Deja Vu?? Now, I'm NOT saying Bush is ANYWHERE in the same league as FDR, I am merely drawing some loose parallels between Hitler and Saddam. Both madmen who would stop at nothing to take over the world. So if we should have stuck our nose in and helped the Jews (and we admit that we made a big mistake by not helping), why shouldn't the innocent civilians in the Middle East, and those of us who do not believe as the extremists do, deserve help? Hitler was killing his own countrymen, declaring war on his own people, which basically is a civil war. Saddam was commiting genocide as Hitler was. We turned away Jews who were fleeing from Hitler, should we have repeated the mistake that our grandparents made and ignored the plight of the Iraqi's? So you're saying we should be the world's police? I thought the liberal view was that we can't keep being the world's police forces. At any rate, no matter what you think or believe to be true: Yep, wecome to politics. Certainly you can't look at the world with such rosy glasses as to think we can all sit at one metaphoric table and break bread. Just as we on LBT can't agree on this (and that's fine, it's what makes this interesting), can you really imagine that world powers and those wanting to be world powers can come to an accord? How about extremists who want everyone to conform to their views? Can we extend the olive branch and by leaving, will they stop killing those who do not believe as they do? If we leave, they'll behead someone else. I'm very willing to read anything about this that you can find. I cannot say enough that I am NOT a Bush lover, and I would be very interested in reading the statements you mention: "It was stated when he first came into office that that was what he wanted. He saw 9/11 and took advantage of it to get what he wanted" Who stated it? It was stated, but stated by who and what did they say? I will accept that his whole impetus was to go in if you can find where GWB actually stated it. Just because somebody said he said it, isn't good enough for me.

:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: My former military (11 years) husband (who spent time shaking Iraqi soil out of his boots in 1990-91, and some before that) and I completely concur. You summed it up VERY well.

Yep, I did in fact mean that in the case of attempting to change someone's mind it is fruitless (not pointless). "...It's fruitless, one is not likely to change the other's mind. And that's okay. Differences is what makes the world go 'round." I agree with you completely, I think it is good to exercise our minds, like you said, even if just killing some time :clap2:

So here it appears you are saying that you agree they should not have to remove thier hijab/abaya/burka/burqa/veils? Yet here it appears you are saying that when we are in their country, we shouldn't have to abide by their laws. And here it looks like you are making the point that in their country, we are asked to abide (or told to abide) by their acceptable and usual laws and customs, even if they are not our own. So go back to the Muslim women who would not remove their face piece for ther DL photos, and the woman in Michigan who is suing a judge because he threw her small claims case out of court for refusing to remove her veil so he could see her face to ascertain if she was telling the truth or not: Aren't these women IN OUR COUNTRY? And if we were in their country, wouldn't we be compelled to follow their cultural and societal norms? So why is it then okay for them to NOT follow ours???????

The issue of pulling out from Iraq will mostly likely be a moot point because Iran will be detonating (or at least attempting to) nuclear weapons on the West. We all know (or should know, and if you don't then wake up and smell the Folgers) that they will not be stopping with Israel. Half of the Jewish population resides in the US, so to Iran, we are Israel. But again, that's another thread...

Eeeegads! Sounds like you are not going to be having any fun anytime soon... Good luck plowing through it all and drink lots of caffeine.

I'm missing where I said Iraq was going to invade us, in my earlier post I think I mentioned the fundamentalists (you know, the insurgents-not Iraqi civilians). I certainly do not think the Iraqi civilians will be coming over and starting a war with us. What WILL happen is the slow and insidious infiltration of terrorists into society (either ours or anywhere else deemed not to be living the way of fundamental Islam) and when you least expect it, there will be a dirty bomb or another terror strike like 9/11 (yep, I mentioned 9/11) or the London Bombings or the first WTC, or the USS Cole, or the Marine barracks in Beirut, the discotheque in Berlin, the bombings on Fiji, the cruiseliner that was hijacked in the Mediterranean, the bombing in Manila... Excuse me, but I never said Iraq had ANYTHING to do with 9/11 You quoted me, as stated now for a third time:"Us being over there trying to get the situation stabilized (which is sadly become fruitless because I fully believe our enemy was not only underestimated, but largely unknown) is largely the reason we haven't had another 9/11. That and our improved intelligence." I sort of miss where I said Iraq or Saddam perpetrated 9/11? What I said was that our attempting to stabilize the situation (and perhaps I'm globalizing our troops in the Middle East, as opposed to in Iraq only) and our improved intelligence (I believe) has helped to prevent another occurence like 9/11. I suppose I could have said London Bombings instead of 9/11, interchangeable really. Sure, we could have done nothing and maybe we should have. Maybe he would have just continued along happily pillaging his people and by now he would have just been a washed up dictator, but consider the possibility that he could easily have been (and very likely was) planning to take over the world by any means necessary. (Kuwait was just a first stop for him in 1990-91.) There have been many comparisons to Hitler made, and I don't think they are too far off. But we'll never know, will we? So those who oppose the war (let me clarify, in Iraq) and those who do not (I would never say I think it's great we are there, and do NOT think I'm a Bush lover, because I am NOT) will be able to spin the possibilites any way they want to. But then again, I am not at all convinced Saddam is dead, anyway. But that's another thread altogether. That just doesn't make any sense. If the thought is that Bush is an idiot, then what you are suggesting is that he is an absolute genious to come up with a way to tell his advisers what they are to then tell back to him, and then he somehow single-handedly was able to convince Congress to declare war, all based on his own personal agenda? He made all this up and somehow created all the intelligence reports, too? He fed them himself to his advisors? What, is he a hyponotist, or did he use some kind of Jedi mind trick on his Cabinet, the Joint Chiefs, and Congress? He convinced all these people? People can't have it both ways, he can't be so smart as to be able to do all that, yet be as stupid as some folks believe. What propaganda? Bush is not keeping us informed enough to create any propaganda. (Which is one of my many beefs with this administration.) The only propaganda I've been hearing is from the enemy and supporters of the enemy. Lots of stuff from former anti-Western clerics, former Iraqi officials (many of whom are now supposedly dead) and insurgents (Al-jazeera anyone?). The fighting is not with Iraqi's, it is with insurgents, they will go anywhere to defeat us. They tried to bring that fight to our soil on September 11, 2001, and to Britain's soil on July 7, 2005. That's just to name a few. The way our troops protect us here is by being over there. It is illegal for them to perform policing action in the States. That is the function and purpose of our police forces, Homeland Security and National and Coast Guard troops. First of all, Pearl Harbor was not "the war," it was a sneak attack that drew us into the war (US declared war on Japan on 12/8/1941-on Monday, Pearl Harbor was 12/7/1941-a Sunday, why? Because the politicians did not want to come in on a Sunday, they had to wait until the work week to declare war). And by the way, it did not occur on American soil, Hawaii was not a state until 1959, Hawaii at the time had a monarchy and its own King, we were there as a guest of Hawaii. The last war on American soil with a foreign enemy (for the record) was the Mexican-American War from 1846-1848. No one touched on what I brought up earlier and I have to believe that is because it doesn't help the case of those who want us out: The fact is that this conflict, though sad because even one life has been lost, is statistically (for the length of time in the conflict, and for the amount of firepower expended and territory covered) the least in troop causalties than any other conflict in the history of mankind. Again I bring up: Nearly 4,500 Allied and American troops lost their lives in mere hours on the 6th of June, 1944 alone. There have been 3,503 coalition deaths in the war in Iraq as of March 29, 2007, according to a CNN count. WWII, which was from 1939 (but the US wasn't in it immediately) to 1945, resulted in a loss of 407,000 US troops. During the first two days of Iwo Jima 3,650 soldiers were killed and that was taking an island so tiny it barely held an airstrip. Iwo Jima was invaded after 74 days of continuous naval and air bombardment, and STILL when we arrived, there was a loss of more lives in the first two days than have been lost in the entire Iraq war. We are not protecting every nation from themselves, we are protecting our nation from those who want to destroy us and our way of life. Those people are and/or were based in that region (Iraq, Afghanistan, etc...). People tend to forget that us going in this time was round 2 with Saddam Hussein. Lest we forget that at the time of the first war he had the number four military in the world and was invading other countries (sound familiar, Hitler anyone?). We went in because he was again saber-rattling. He did it once, there was no reason to believe he was bluffing this time. He was even defiant to all inspections after Desert Storm. We knew that at one time, he had a shitload of weapons and believed he was working on nuclear capability. That was the intelligence we had during the Clinton administration. Remember weapons inspectors and Iraq? It is being made into another Vietnam by folks who protest the war just like they did then. The men and women who came home from Vietnam were spat on, we are metaphorically spitting on our troops with every protest and outcry against what they are there doing. Sure we have free speech, and I'm not saying we shouldn't be able to express our opinion about the war, but I also have to believe that our protests are not helpful to our troops. During WWII, American people did not protest the war, they supported the troops by not protesting the war. By protesting the war, you are comforting and aiding the enemy. You are encouraging those who want to kill us. DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? The fundamentalists will NOT stop until everyone on earth conforms to their view of Islam. Everyone must follow their laws and think the way they want us to think. And those of us who were not born of Islam will be enslaved. Yes, as in slaves. It doesn't matter if it's Iraq or Afghanistan or Israel or Syria or anywhere, the fundamentalists want everyone who does not believe as they do, DEAD. Iraq is just perfect for them. It has divided our nation and played right into their hands. We are giving them exactly what they want. They are using a millenia old, very effective tactic: infiltrate, divide, confuse and conquer. We're already well into the confused part, way past divide. They are frighteningly close to conquering us. But if choose to not believe that, then I do wish you luck. Oh yes, and we supported Hitler (Hitler's great Hindenberg was in the US when it blew up) and Noriega, too. But that, like our support of Saddam, was before we knew exactly what atrocities they were capable of. When we knew, we took them out. We also supported the Soviet Union all during WWII, until they turned on us. You know, just because someone is once your ally, doesn't mean they will always be your ally. So your argument about us supporting Saddam at one time is pointless. One last thought: Like it or not, we are in the situation. If we pull out without a victory, do you realize that everyone who has died there, and who will die, will have died in vain? Our troops and the civilians. All for nothing... The fact is that we are a world power and there are responsibilities and consequences that go with it. One of those is to stay a world power. Now I really am done. I have to go to bed. And I wore I would never get into one of these discussions. It's fruitless, one is not likely to change the other's mind. And that's okay. Differences is what makes the world go 'round.

Mmmmmmm Ham flavored jelly Beans. Wait! No! Mmmmm, ham MMmmmm jelly beans that's better