WASaBubbleButt

I'm pretty sure it was IE7. I switched to Firefox and everything is perfect now! Why do I even bother with IE7?????

Mark... I agree with you about all the prebanding stuff, psych evals, etc. That is one of the reasons I went to Mexico. After I did all my research, picked a doc, made the decision... after all that I called and scheduled surgery for six days from then. Did it and am glad I did. A surgeon should have at least a couple of hundred bands under their belt before you let them do surgery on you. Reason is, the technique is everything. There is a learning curve to banding people and you don't want to be part of the curve. After the surgeon has done 100 or more bands then his mistakes start showing up at his office and he has to take them back for repairs. Slips, erosions, etc. The band has to be placed just right, not too high and not too low. Sutures have to be just right, not too tight and not too loose, not too many or two few sutures, etc. This only comes with experience and learning from your mistakes.

<TABLE class=datatable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=selected>NORTH DAKOTA.- Dr. Mike</TD><TD>Schmit</TD><TD> </TD><TD>701-530-6000</TD><TD>Bismarck </TD><TD>ND</TD><TD>415.00 w/ and first visit..... 145.00 for visits afterwards</TD><TD>very good, They are just starting the Lap Band there</TD><TD>Christa Wells</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> I would go to the Mexican doc's websites, join their egroups and ask who everyone uses for fills in your area. This is from Dr. Aceves' boards. Here is Ortiz' website, you can ask there too: http://www.lapbandforum.com/index.php?showforum=4 And check out this link: http://www.fillcentersusa.com/locator/index.php We WILL find you a doc, if these don't work let me know. I'll help.

T.O.M. I agree, it isn't just the Catholic church today. But historically it was the Catholic church as previously, they had the most power. If churches would stick to providing a warm and friendly place for people to meet and worship their God of choice I would have all the respect in the world for them. But it seems that the bigger they are, the more politics and the more politics the less worshiping and more power plays.

Is this your best shot? Honestly? Let's look at the differences here. Ron attacks individuals because they don't believe in a god the right way. I support anyone to believe in their god of choice in whatever manner works for them. Ron claims everyone is going to hell unless they believe his way and he does nothing to back up his claims. I, OTOH, don't believe in a hell and I support my claims with examples. I have not slammed a group of believes for being believers, I have slammed a church for their politics. It is you that cannot see the difference between how a church is run and the individuals who have their beliefs. And you can't see a difference here? Really? Have I given you too much credit? If you want to communicate on an adult level I'd love to discuss the issues with you. However, if you are going to continue slamming and stomping your feeties, I'm going to learn about that ignore feature.

You are clearly not familiar with how the Catholic church operates. These are not hidden facts, these are long term, on going methods the church has used for a long time. Since when does the pope contact each Catholic and offer his views? HE DOESN'T! He informs those below him who inform those below them. Then it comes out in sermons. This is something just bloody obvious, it's not a secret. It's how any large organization works and the Vatican is no different and they don't claim to be different. Yes, I am quite familiar with the church. I was born and raised Catholic. I have provided links to explain exactly how this happens. If you want to continue stomping your feeties we are just going to go in circles here. If you want to discuss the issues instead of opinions, let me know. I have provided examples of my claims, I have done my job.

Since when is presenting the facts bashing beliefs? That pity pot of yours isn't working. I have made it clear in this thread and others that I don't care what others believe. When it comes to Catholicism it isn't the Catholics that I have a problem with, it is the CHURCH. I support the Catholics many times when they make up their own minds vs. depending on the church to inform them of their opinions. The church and a person's beliefs are two very different things and you know it. If you can't dispute the facts, fine. But to create straw man arguments isn't wise.

If you tell me your city and state I'll look on my doc's fill list and see who is available for fills in your area.

Actually, this is a better link. It's more comprehensive: http://www.catholicvote.net/news_releases/index.htm

Does this help? http://www.catholicvote.net/news_releases/releases/2004/102504Chaput.htm

I'm sorry you have to go through this. Don't you guys have socialized medicine? Why wouldn't they cover ANYTHING regarding MRSA? MRSA can potentially be life threatening. I can see banding, but dealing with MRSA is a whole different ball game.

http://www.priestsforlife.org/elections/parish.htm >>All legitimate authority comes from God and is responsible to God. Nations as well as individuals must follow his law. Protecting human life is no more a sectarian creed than the Declaration of Independence is a sectarian document. Because all rights depend on life, the right to life is the most fundamental issue in any campaign. The Church does not endorse candidates or parties. The Church does, however, urge us to look at every party critically, and to evaluate every candidate in the light of how his or her policies would advance human life and dignity. Loyalty to a political party is not wrong, but loyalty to Christ and His teachings must take precedence. The Church, moreover, speaks of the demands of the Gospel to voters, candidates, and public officials alike, and does not change her message because of who is in power or who is running for office.<< >>The Priests for Life website is one of the most comprehensive tools on the internet for information on abortion, and the Church's response to this evil. Please link your parish website to ours and publicize the web address in your bulletin and other parish literature. The section www.priestsforlife.org/elections gives specific focus to our political responsibility, and includes the following resources, among others:<< http://www.insidethevatican.com/articles/the-return-of-the-king.htm >>There are only three possibilities open for Americans who would see genuinely Catholic moral and social principles articulated and defended in public life: "re-take" the Democratic Party, expelling those interest groups which have taken possession of it in recent years, making it a party in support of many things Catholics cannot support complete the takeover of the Republican Party, so that Catholic principles apply on all issues, not just a few create and build a genuinely Catholic party, in alliance with as many other Christians, Jews and men and women of good will as possible.<< Looks like the church has something that is working: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-06-02-religion-gap_x.htm >>Republicans target the most faithful for political conversion so aggressively that critics say they skirt the law. At the White House, President Bush has courted people of faith with his policies and language. They are a huge group: In 2000, one in four voters said they attended church every week.<< Vatican tells church members to break city laws and follow church instead, however it didn't work. In the end of this entire ordeal the Catholics found a way around the Vatican that made everyone happy (city and Vatican): http://www.sfbaytimes.com/index.php?sec=article&article_id=4783 >>Two weeks ago new Vatican Number Two and former San Francisco Archbishop William Levada issued a directive instructing San Francisco’s Catholic adoption agency that it must follow church doctrine and ban adoptions by gays and lesbians. Gay Catholic Supervisor Tom Ammiano wrote, and on Tuesday the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed, a resolution demanding that the group give up the planned ban, which would violate both city and state law, or face a loss of city funding.<< Children are still being adopted to gay families but Catholic Charities (San Francisco funded, not privately funded) no longer makes the final determination on who gets to adopt the children. They were already adopting children to GOOD homes even though sometimes they were gay homes, they are still just as involved as they were before with the exception of making the final decision on which home the child would go. A million cheers for Catholics instead of the Vatican!

Anyone know exactly what a partial slip is and if the repair must be surgically corrected? Thx

::Edit, double post

Sorry, no can do. I tell the truth about the Catholic church and I won't cover for them.

Then there is also the San Francisco gay adoption issue. The city finally had to write the Vatican a letter essentially telling them to buggar off. Just like Kennedy told the Vatican in the 60s that he won't tell the pope how to run the Vatican, the Vatican will not tell him how to run the US. San Francisco had to do the same. One of the pope's buddies (someone under him) was telling the bishop over SF to tell a Catholic City official how to vote regarding this issue. It did not go over well at all as the city official (even being Catholic) disagreed with the pope and made it more than clear. He was one of the people that signed the letter telling the pope to hush himself. The Vatican has also instructed the bishops to pass on the word to the various churches that the US Catholics are to open their arms to more illegals in this country. Correct me if I am wrong but I don't see the Vatican taking in any of the poor dears. Then there was another one, if there is a law that goes against the Catholic church they are to disregard the laws of the US. That one came to a head - yet again - during the San Francisco ordeal. The Vatican really seriously needs to buggar off in a big way. Can you imagine the reaction if Bush (assuming he had the nerve) told the pope how to run the Vatican? Or better yet, can you imagine if Bush told those under the pope within the Vatican that if Bush disagrees with a Vatican policy those under the pope should ignore the pope? The pope would be throwing 20 different kinds of temper tantrums if the tables were turned and others started behaving like he does, and popes before him. The Vatican issues orders to the bishops. The bishops tell the various churches and the churches work it into their sermons. This is not some big secret, this is how the church has worked for thousands of years and they don't hide that fact. Seems to me the Vatican should be busy enough making Momma T a saint for keeping money from the starving people. Why they are trying to run the US is beyond me. JFTR, I have no problem with Catholics. Most are fully unaware of what is going on within their church. There is a certain level of trust they have for their church and rightfully so. My problem isn't with Catholics, I was one. I was born and raised Roman Catholic. My problem is with the Vatican and the way they do things. It's just too underhanded for my tastes.

MRSA is nothing to mess with, it is potentially quite dangerous. Sounds like the reason your band needs to be removed is because with an object such as that in your body the object (band) does not have a blood supply to kill off the MRSA. Can you have it removed and replaced after the MRSA is resolved?

Anyone ever tried this? http://www.bodybugg.com/

A lot, $400.00.

Actually, it was a pretty big issue (again) a couple of years ago. People were up in arms over this. Prez Kennedy even made it clear to the Vatican that he doesn't tell the Pope how to run the Vatican and the Pope doesn't tell him how to run the country. Another big issue came with John Kerry. This is not something new, this has been going on for a very long time.

Interesting. I don't play chess (it's on my list of things to learn) so I didn't realize the above. That is something worthy of noting.

Atheists often times use Hitler as though he is the Christian/Catholic poster boy and that's just not true. Although he was raised Catholic he was far from a Catholic or any brand of Christianity. Hitler used Catholicism to get what he wanted. If he would have told people the truth about his beliefs they would have never put him in power. In front of people he said one thing, away from people he had quite a different tune. He insulted organized religion every (private) opportunity he had. http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/mischedj/ca_hitler.html The above link is a pretty good example of what I'm talking about. His secretary wrote a book and that is an eye opener too. I was able to purchase a 1st Ed. sometime back. I haven't read the whole thing yet, there is some pretty dry reading between the good stuff but it is interesting. From all my research I really believe that Hitler was nuts, he viewed Nazi-ism (how does one write that?) as a religion where he was the God and Mein Kampf was his bible. Actually, he removed bibles from schools and replaced it with his book. How many Christians would support such a move? Hitler was as Christian as I am. ;o) Regarding the Christian Right, I fully agree with you. Sad, isn't it? With the pope telling Catholics how to vote in OUR elections, that isn't helping people engage in a few critical thinking skills either. I swear, the world today is problematic because we always have someone else to do our thinking for us. Employers dictate our work time, churches dictate free time, and computers cover whatever else is missing. People don't think through issues anymore. Snopes.com exists for a reason, it's for those that can't figure out when something is actually impossible or darned unlikely. Is it any wonder that people do as they are told and vote according to their church? To heck with the country, just be good doobies and follow the minister. What they aren't realizing is that sometimes their minister is an idiot. So between the religious right and the idiot ministers, top that with the Pope and welcome to the USA. ;o)

Are you writing to me? In one sentence you referred to me as a 3rd party and in your last sentence it appears you are writing to me. I didn't really think about if anyone would respond, it wasn't the purpose for writing what I did. If someone wants to respond they are free to do so but I was mostly correcting common errors out of frustration. Ever hear anyone make sweeping generalizations about Christianity? After time it gets mighty old? And the people painting with the huge paintbrush often times come off as believing they know what they are talking about and they aren't even Christian? Same thing with atheism. It just gets old. The old sorry crap about how we really believe but we are either mad at God, we don't WANT to believe, we are rebelling... it's all old and tired. I can only read it so many times before I have to give a small few a bit of an education in reality. If people are accepting of others, why should this jeopardize relationships? That would only happen with bigots, wouldn't it? Whether the bigot is a Christian, atheist, Pagan, or whatever. Personally, I'd rather know who the bigots are up front, makes life easier. I'm tired of not telling people I am an atheist in appropriate discussions. I can't well do it in real time and I usually avoid it on the boards. It's not socially acceptable to discuss atheism in real time. Someone else started a great thread on non-Christians and since I "came out" per se, I decided what the heck. Might as well air my vent. 42 posts... yes. Are you under the impression I have never seen discussions of religion or politics? Are you under the impression that most discussions of this nature don't turn into a war regardless of forum? I was kinda hoping this one wouldn't. Maybe it will or won't, I don't know. Most of all I'm just sick and tired of hearing a small few Christians speak of atheism as if they know what they are talking about. Sometimes it's just time for an education. That and I think people forget (from all sides of the debate) that we are all people living in this world together. We can get along and exchange ideas and concepts or we can be at war. It's a choice.

Technically it is supposed to be cold for a couple of days and then heat but a lot of docs are changing the rules to... whatever feels better. It kind of makes sense to do what feels better, the body is amazing at telling us what it wants. We just don't often times listen. ;o) Or, at least I don't. If I did I wouldn't be a BubbleButt! LOL

I thought you might agree with most of it. ;o) You are very cool.