WASaBubbleButt

Hmmm... lots of thoughts running through my tired brain at the moment. When I originally wrote the cheerleader comment it really was true. I was asked several times specifically who the cheerleaders were and I refused to come up with a specific list. I really felt that those that behaved as such knew who they were and if they didn't, my telling them wasn't going to help. The list was actually created by someone else, I just coined the "cheerleader" and "coven" names. The "coven" term I retracted. It never really mattered to me who they were, just the ultimate behaviors that were annoying to me. There were just too many people (most concerning were the newbies) that were being chased away for a variety of reasons. One gal recently PMed me (just 2-3 days ago) telling me that due to all the BS on OH she just couldn't stomach the band board anymore over there and she started hanging out at another section of OH and she either ended up getting a different procedure or she's going to. I forget if she had surgery or not. But instead of banding, she's getting a sleeve. Now, I realize that the type of surgery is clearly her choice but honestly, I hate to see anyone choose a more invasive and risky procedure just because she couldn't stand reading the band boards. She went to the sleeve board, got to know a few people, and they convinced her that a sleeve was better. She never really got a good dose of what banding can do. Her choice, yes. But I don't like that people don't feel comfortable posting there. I don't think anyone has claimed that LBT is all sweetness and light and OH is evil, but there are significant differences between the two forums. On OH I think one problem is that people are not permitted to work out their differences because the threads are deleted at a whim. I mean com'on, your mods really really suck donkey dicks over there. Our mods are pretty cool, I don't think we could have better mods over here. Perhaps if people were able to duke it out to the end they would resolve issues and instead they stew in their issues until they are out of control. There really is a pack mentality over there. Protein shakes? Anyone?? Rules vs. guidelines? I double dawg dare you to go over there with a dreaded sock puppet and go up against Sandy on an issue. Protein Shakes are a good example. Watch your PMs grow... oh my goodness, the PMs you'll get from newbies and lurkers are amazing! They are afraid to post their thoughts and opinions if they disagree with Sandy. Why is that? Don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself. Just try it. Granted, it would be sneaky and a bit underhanded but see for yourself the sheer number of people that will thank you for doing what they don't have the guts to do. To go toe to toe with Sandy. Obviously, that has never been a problem for me. I kinda enjoyed it and especially when I knew full well I was right and she was merely trying to discredit me. Better yet, make your sock puppet a nurse that goes up against Sandy. Then she'll really attempt to slam dunk you. Of course, she's reading over here so she'll be on to it. But if for no other reason just see the lurkers that PM you thanking you for daring to disagree with Sandy. BTW, what is the disclaimer Sandy has under her sig? She's not even licensed, what does she need a disclaimer for? If anything the disclaimer should be that she's unlicensed and a pain in the ass so take her attitude with a grain of salt! Back to the topic. There are certain problem issues within OH and there simply is no denying that. Everyone blames a single individual but really, if you look at history that doesn't prove to be true. When Sandy goes on vacation and really DOES leave the boards for a few days the drama would always die down. I'm not talking about when she claimed to be gone and really had sock puppets posting instead but when she truly wasn't posting. The drama dropped to almost nothing. She comes back and it starts all over again. She is a bit too rigid in her thinking and groups all bandsters in one group and they all have to do it her way or they won't lose weight and keep it off. Quite frankly, that's just an egotistical load of crap. Plenty of people do things and they aren't her way and they do quite well. I'm an example. My biggest complaint about her is that she doesn't consider that people are unique and individual and they have different needs than everyone else. All those things need to be taken into consideration before posting rigid rules that she has. She posts these studies and let's face it, a study depends on the one doing the study. I can point you to tons of studies that completely disagree with one another. One study says NutraSweet is an evil horror and you'll die using it and the next study says they can't find a single problem with it. Sandy posts a study to defend her claims and then states that "most" doctors agree with that study. Well, most docs agree with a given study.... says who? Who is calling these docs and verifying this information on what they do and do not agree with? She just makes wild claims to defend her stance on an issue. But Sandy isn't the only problem. Her cheerleaders agree with everything she says. If they do disagree, I never saw it on the boards. A cheerleader will disagree with me in public but if they disagree with Sandy they take it to PM. Why is that? Why not disagree in public like they do with everyone else? I've posted wrong info before. Everyone who posts any amount of time does. When it's brought to my attention or when I realize I gave wrong information I have no problem going back and explaining that I screwed up. I post the correct info and admit I learned something. Do you think Sandy could do the same? Most can, but Sandy can't. Yet the cheerleaders still take disagreements to PM with her and it's public with everyone else. I don't get it. We are all human and we all screw up. So be it, that's life. I've never been a follower before when it comes to my opinions and thoughts on things. When I go to OH I make it clear who I am regardless of ID, I'll agree with people if I happen to agree, I'll disagree when I happen to disagree. I don't care who they are. There was an issue a long time ago that Sandy was getting blasted for and in fact, she was right. Someone emailed me a link to the thread so I could watch Sandy get beaten up and it was wrong, Sandy was quite correct. I defended her. I don't do a bloody thing because Wendell tells me to. Quite frankly, Wendell knows me better than to even suggest telling me what to do. He doesn't even ask me to do things. I make my own decisions and my own choices in life. Sometimes they are right and sometimes they are wrong but I own them, they are mine. Dee is another example, she annoys the snot out of me but I disagreed with how she was being treated. I've explained that one before. But the point stands, I don't like her and I don't agree with her but what was happening was wrong. I am my own person and I do what I believe is right. I hope that never changes. I have a hunch that if we all met in real time (over Mexican Rum and yes, I share!) we might end up having a lot of really good laughs and a little fun. There is something about disagreements and the internet, sometimes it is hard to work through them. In person things seem to work a little easier. Maybe what we need to do is have phone chats here and there. Really get to know one another. Sometimes you understand a person better if you see or hear them vs. their words on a computer screen. I don't know, I guess I just did it again. I wrote another book. I'm tired and wordy tonight.

I don't really blame your Dad for refusing treatments for lung cancer. Many times the treatment is much harder than the cancer and it can sometimes speed the death process. The final days are not very fun on chemo. As for the ways your Mom treated you growing up... I have this theory. If I had a chance to change things and not have been raised by alcoholics, I still wouldn't change a thing. It wasn't easy but I learned a great deal from it. I have skills and abilities I wouldn't have had I not been raised exactly as I was. My sisters whine and complain and blame every issues within their personalities on the way we were raised. I guess I just see things differently. It gave me a great deal and I learned from it. Question... what in the world made her quit drinking at 70? That's a long time to be drinking and suddenly quit. I'm sorry about your Dad. Treasure even the frustrating times. If I could have my Dad back in ANY way, with any personality, with any issues... I'd do it in a heartbeat. Just get him to tell you stories that he remembers about when he was growing up. Or have him remember the times that were fun and tell about it. Just be honest, tell him that with his cancer nobody knows what kind of time he has left and you want the stories. People LOVE to talk about themselves. They love to tell stories, they love to talk about funny things they remember. If he is still grumpy and grouchy talk to him like his little girl and explain to him what you have told us here. Just be honest with him. Try it, tell him you are going to miss him *so* much and you really need some Dad/Daughter time. What do you have to lose?

I used to make the clone Wendy's Chili recipe and really like that a great deal.

Heh... I finally found a lawyer I like. Did the lawyer hear what they did that caused the accident? The universe does have a way of balancing itself out, eh?

One thing about banding is that your newly created stoma acts like a one way valve. Air goes down and with your swelling it doesn't come back up. Between that and the natural feeling of swelling you are going to feel the need to burp. You might be able to or you might not. Be super careful not to swallow air. You probably don't even realize you are but most people do without realizing it. Being banded means you want to do this as little as possible. Think each time you swallow and make sure you aren't swallowing air. It will make a big difference. And as Lauren suggested, GasX works wonders.

Ditto to what Ang wrote.

Don't fill out the form on FillCentersUSA. Don't do that, call the provider directly and schedule through the provider. You might get a HUGE discount. If you go through FillCentersUSA you have to pay something like $300 for the first visit and $150 for each one after that. FillCentersUSA pays the provider $100 of those visits and keeps the rest. The person here in Phoenix is a banded midwife. If you don't go through FCUSA and call her directly as a private patient she just charges the $100 she'd get anyway. It's just a way to save quite a bit of money.

I think there are two different kinds of clots being discussed here. A clot at the incision site is different from one in an artery where it can travel to the lung. Another thing that is really common is scar tissue at the port site. It's hard, people swear THAT is their port and it isn't, it's scar tissue. It usually goes away for most in a few weeks.

It feels good. You feel so much better the sooner you start walking. Besides, right out of surgery you want to walk anyway to avoid blood clots. But yes, it feels good. I wouldn't go power walking right out of surgery but just a stroll around the block? Absolutely.

Yep, it's done all the time. You'll feel tugging and pulling but you shouldn't feel any actual pain.

BTW, I haven't looked at that photo since the day it was mailed to me after my Dad died. I really don't want to see it again. I do have photos of us but they aren't my fat photos. That's good, I guess.

My parents were both alcoholics. My Mom died from alcoholism and my Dad was sober for 20 years before he died of cancer. So growing up was a little creepy at times but after I became an adult I moved out of state. My Mom and I never did grow close again but my Dad and I became very close. I was such a daddy's girl. I know what you mean about your Dad. I wish I hadn't known the creepy side of my Mom but I am glad I got to experience my Dad for the first time as an adult. Without alcohol he was pretty damn cool. Not sure if you want to hear this or not, not sure of the appropriateness of writing it but I'll throw it out there. Just my experience but 9 times out of 10 when someone is nearing the end of their life you kinda get the old person back. The better personality. Manage the pain and you might just get to see the "old" Dad once again. I've had so many patients that were demented, dying, in pain... they were difficult at best to care for. But I knew when the end was coming because suddenly they are aware of what is going on and their dementia goes away temporarily and you get to say what you have to say. It might happen.

Damn! Well, I tried.

Hey Lauren, you can have one of my sisters! Of course it's the one that tells everyone I'm dying of WLS. But you can still have her!

HA! Your roadrunner story reminds me of my Dad and sis. My sis never was super bright, sweet but not really bright. You know how automatic windshield wipers work? My Dad convinced my sis that he made them move with his mind. He would "think" wipe and they would move. OMG, she was 14! About 15 years ago I went to ground school and passed my FAA exam for my private pilot license. I called my Dad daily to help me study for the test. (From Phoenix to Iowa) He was an aeronautical engineer. For weeks he tried to explain to me how it is impossible for a bumble bee to fly, it's absolutely impossible yet an airplane can stay in the air. (The bumble bee story is something usually only an engineer would understand) Anyway, I passed my test with an 88%. It only took 70 to pass. I was thrilled, I never did understand a lot of that stuff about engines and maps so I just memorized it instead. When I called him to tell him I passed the test he called all his friends and told them. Of course, most of his friends were pilots as he was. I was in my 30s and he was calling his friends about passing my FAA test! He was that proud. I'm the rare atheist that does believe in an afterlife. No God running the show but certainly an afterlife. I do believe he's been around before. It's nice to believe it anyway.

Thank you. Yes, we were quite close before he died. People don't understand why I don't post my fat picture. Even if I could I don't think I would. The only "before" photo I have is with my Dad the day before he died. He looked pretty bad (colon cancer) and I wasn't a happy camper either. My sis insisted on the photo. I really wanted to give her the finger but the timing... just wasn't right. I don't think I could miss him more than I do.

I woke up with two zits on my chin this morning. Did I mention I am 45??? How embarrassing. At least it doesn't happen often.

I still remember the routines, going outside and moving snow around to get to the dead brown grass and picking it for the reindeer, putting carrots and such out for them as well. Then Cookies and milk for Santa. Next morning waking up and seeing the tree lit up, the gifts, the dead grass, carrots, cookies, and milk gone... It was the best feeling in the world. SO much fun! To this day the one thing I cannot figure out and my Dad always refused to tell me how it happened. We would go to church on xmas morning and there were reindeer tracks on the roof of the church. It was fenced off so nobody could mess with it but you could see the reindeer tracks through the ground and up to the roof and across the roof. No human tracks at all. Just one set of "Rudy" tracks. Even when I was older and we would go to church on Sunday's I'd ask my Dad how they did that. I was 43 when he died and he STILL refused to tell me. (He was one of the volunteers that did it) He swore "Rudy" did it. I should have crept out there some xmas morning and watched to see how they did it. Never thought about it.

Beautiful post, I soooo agree with you. If someone is not losing, they have restriction, they are exercising... then it's time to start counting what is going in your (general you, not specific you) mouth.

Oh yeah! I realized I wasn't getting any fat in my diet at all so now I use olive oil on my salad. About a tablespoon total daily.

See post #107. LJ doesn't feel parents should lie to their children, Santa, tooth fairy, etc., it's all dishonest.

Please don't add to my quotes, it's a big thing I have. If *I* can't remember what I wrote others won't be able to either. I agree somewhat about parents passing on information but the thing is, they really believe it. Things like Santa are just fun and enjoyable for kids. I doubt too many children are harmed for life because they believed in Santa or the tooth fairy. But religion... they are teaching what they believe to be true. Probably if parents waited until children were teenagers before passing on that information they wouldn't be believers. But it's a parent's choice.

Just don't tell her. It's really between you and your doc anyway.

Oh, I have no doubt she's been reading. I'd bet money on it. I agree, I'm surprised she hasn't come up with the usual fake IDs to post and defend her.

I know my doc's post op diet is the same for bypass as it is for banding but I'm not sure about other foods. (I need to familiarize myself with more bypass diet issues.) I wonder if bypass and banding have the same issues, I don't know. Anyone know? There is one place that you can enter a list of stuff you have in your kitchen and it will list the recipes on the site that you can make with what you already have. That would be a cool feature. It would be cool to have a link to NutritionData.com NutritionData's Nutrition Facts Calorie Counter so that people could enter the complete recipe and get a total food label for it with healthier alternatives (such as using ground turkey vs. hamburger in chili). Stages for the diet. Pre op for those that are on a low carb, low fat, adequate Protein diet vs. a liquid diet where recipes don't matter. Then a section for clears, full liquids, soft foods, then solids. Just my thoughts.