leatha_g

Were you guys here to witness all that is being referred to or are you just falling prey to the pack-like behavior yourselves? That medication question was very very insensitive. I wonder how many of us obese people here might be taking medications everyday to hold onto to our very lives?

Bless your heart! As if surgery recovery isn't enough to deal with! I sure hope you get over this quickly! Welcome to the banded side!

I don't have multiple accounts, but can you tell me how to get rid of the one I have along with all the 3000 posts, pictures, etc?

Yes, but tragic in humans, unfortunately.

The Social System of the Pack There are two separate dominance orders within each pack: a male order and a female order. The highest ranking member of each order occupies the "alpha" position. "Alpha" is followed by the "beta" individual and so forth until the last position which is called "omega" (as in the Greek alphabet). Very few individuals are considered "equal". Alpha positions are usually occupied by a mated pair. The ultimate dominant individual can be either the male or female and that individual directs the activities of the pack. In studies done on wolves, however, it is interesting to note that sometimes the alpha male refrains from breeding the alpha female. He will allow a lower ranking male to mate with her instead. In Wolf packs the alpha male and female are usually the parents of the subordinate pack-mates. Very rarely are strange wolves allowed to enter an established wolf pack. As canines are "first cousins" to Wolves this may help to explain why the entry of a strange dog to the pack can result in an escalation of fights. In well-established packs there are other possible classifications of social ranking : 1. mature subordinate animals 2. outcasts or dogs who rank so low that they avoid the main pack members and 3. juveniles who do not become part of the pack nucleus until they are much older. Dominance orders cross sexual lines in immature animals and do not divide into male/female orders until sexual maturity. The older a pack is ... the more stable its social structure becomes. When the alpha male dies, grows old or weak the resulting competition for the alpha position may disrupt the social stability of the pack. Most conflicts within a pack are not severe. Some behavior may appear severe as the animals display ritualistic threatening postures, noise and fighting. Occasionally the fighting may escalate causing serious injury or death. Often several animals in the pack will "gang up" on one of the dogs involved. An interesting note... in Wolves the dominant alpha will usually break up the fight before such serious problems occur. Most of the time this happens when the dominant male places himself between the two fighting parties but doesn't participate in the fight itself. Leadership within the pack is a matter of supreme importance. The leader of the pack initiates the play pattern, which direction the pack will travel, when to rest and when it is time to hunt. A well established leader rarely has his authority challenged. He/she directs pack activities and also takes the initiative in reacting to intrusions. The leader is neither despotic nor democratic but a combination of both. Because dog packs are highly organized ... order is the rule. Dogs within each pack generally interact predictably and the social structure of the groups is maintained. Much of the behavior is directed toward the goal of either maintaining ones social status or possibly raising it. A dog's social status is unusually established early in life but circumstance may change this position. Any drastic disturbance such as the loss or addition of pack members can trigger a status rearrangement. Each and every member is constantly watchful and interested in all socially important happenings within the pack. In particular, status quarrels are never private affairs between two individuals. The whole society may participate in the final outcome. The role of the omega dog is crucial to the stability of day to day pack life. Usually this animal is the outcast and is not allowed to join in pack activities. Some scientists believe that the omega position offers a way for wolves to disperse energy. If the omega strays from allotted territory or attempts to join in on a feeding the pack will persecute the omega until order is restored. Energy is released during the confrontation and this is immediately followed by a period of peace.

I too saw the whole thing play out.:deadhorse: This is not about today or yesterday, or even last week. It's not even really about one single person, although our dear Delarla :hippie: takes the brunt of it because she's got guts enough to stand up for herself. lol. :fencing: I've never seen the movie 'Mean Girls', but from what I've heard, we have our own little group here who play up to people, then mock them behind their backs and manipulate and 'try' to control threads to suit their fancy, then put on the smiley face and say 'who me?':angel: as if nothing ever happened. Talking about losing faith in people or being in a toxic environment. Wow.. Today, instead of trying to read all the posts and conversing with new folks with encouragement and experience, I'm more often checking the threads to see when I've been disputed or reprimanded or debated or invalidated due to this group hovering about who is obviously:rolleyes: so much smarter intellectually, seem to have more experience with the band :first: than anyone here (although I've seen my own posts plagerized more than a few times), but what it really boils down to is they've set up camp here :ranger: for lack of anything better to do with their time - or so it would seem. Otherwise, how on earth could ANYONE post on every single thread with such detailed manuscripts of how intellectually and morally superior and 'all-knowing' about the band they are? So, yea, to know Delarla is to love Delarla. She's one high-spirited, magnetic, FUN woman and as much as I like most everyone here, I can tell you, if I were in a room of 'mean girls', no matter how much 'better' they were intellectually, morally, or even if they were the top experts in the field where the band is concerned. I'd rather hang out with someone like Delarla, 1.because at least I could trust her to tell the truth, no matter how bad it hurt and 2. her life is not about proving how she can manipulate a situation or others into liking her, it's about living in the NOW with a fervor most of us only dream of. :first: That being said. I would like to see the board get back to the task at hand. Those of us who were here and saw it happen, know what happened and that it continues to happen. We can see through all the 'nicey-nicey' as well. So why can't we just stay off of each other's posts? It's simple. I avoid those posts that I can see are already being dominated by those who seem to like that sort of thing. It seems that should be an easy enough thing for them to do as well.. Like someone else said.. if you're slowing down to look at the wreck, you're helping to cause the backup in traffic. Move on or take a detour to avoid it. Please...

I'm so terribly sorry to hear this. Poor girl. She has been through hell. Please send our love and let her know she is definitely on my prayer list. Bless her heart. Thank you so much for letting us know!! Take care..

If I were guessing, I'd think that might have some impact on how many bands they did.. lol.

I have 3 yrs - and I only lost 20 lbs in my second year. I also had a slip and replaced my band, which was never the same as the first. Many people who had higher BMI continued to lose. Keep doing what you're doing as long as it's working!! Great job!!

Mandy, I certainly understand as well. I'm very sorry, but I understand. Perhaps you could try the Ignore feature - although it's very inconvenient and hard to follow threads, because so many of the posts are those you've ignored...:huggie: Please do check in from time to time to let us know how you are doing. Hugssss..

Well, IGNORE does work.. however, it makes the threads seem a bit one-sided. Hiya Michelle/LaMadam!!! Looking good gf! Lisa, still here? lol.. 3 Loves. Great post Momoftrips!! and you're right... I'm really glad you're here! Post away!

Awesome!!! Congrats on a great year!!!

Pre-band I also would get the shakes, headaches, even nausea if I become too hungry. I've been banded over 3 yrs and I can honestly say this simply does not happen to me anymore, unless I absolutely go all day long without eating (which is one of the reasons I wound up banded in the first place.) It's a great relief to no longer have this - whatever it was. :mad:

Yay!! Welcome home!! So glad all went well and I hope you're extremely happy with your journey!!

Thank you! Beautiful!

I agree with this completely and I, for one, don't need a group of people who've appointed themselves thread monitors/approvers/whatever diverting what I'm reading. And, some of us actually DO get an email for every addition to a thread for which we've subscribed. As has been stated many, many times on this board. Please, if you don't like the thread, you are not required to post on it, read it, believe it or approve of it, but you also have no right to come in and 'change the subject'.. if so, I would like to know who appointed you 'hall monitor' and censor?? Geez...

I definitely agree that those with lower BMI seem to have a harder time with the band. I was not what I consider low BMI at all, however, it's those last 25-50 lbs that seem to have most of us stuck. It seems the statistics are clear, some only lose 50-60% excess weight, some lose more.

I definitely raise the scale if I eat things that are high carb or drink alcohol etc. The only way I lose is to strictly adhere to the protein, protein, protein rule..

I'm sorry Shelly.. I'm at the exact same point and that's exactly what my dr said to me. You're considered 'successful'. From here on out, it's a matter of staying 'just a little hungry' all the time.. lol. And yep.. I think the esophagus has taken a beating. I've been 'maintaining' now for 2 yrs - which is still a miracle, but getting harder everyday. Please keep us updated!

I threw my shoes out the window... But, I'd be interested to see if this guest has a point and/or the guts to say what their insinuating..

Just when I'm sitting in the airport waiting on a DELAYED flight. I SO would love to enjoy that from my back door. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send rain!

Since it's donated space, I'm just grateful we have it! Thanks Alex for getting us up and going!

Sounds like you are overfilled. You should be able to eat hard Proteins with your band. My only other advise is that you absolutely masticate the food before swallowing. Does it help to drink hot fluids before trying to eat? How does things like tuna, chicken salad etc work? Sorry you're having such a time of it. Some of it could still be the learning curven involved with re-learning how to eat. I hope you get better soon!

Or.. perhaps someone is trying to prove a point?? hmm...

Thank God!! My mother had a stroke the day before you and her speech has not yet fully returned. It could have been so much worse, however. We're thankful to still have her with us and LBT is so grateful to still have you!! I suffered clots in my legs and lungs several years back and I too was told to take my hormone patch off IMMEDIATELY!! Sorry I missed this thread last week, but I'm so thankful you're doing well!!