Marimaru

Joyce, I used to be 5' 7", but now I'm 5' 6"... I'm waiting to see if I am going to get my inch back. I just imagine that with all the extra weight, I just compressed down a little.

How much do you weigh? Rather, what is your BMI? The basic 'standards' right now are that with a BMI over 40, if your insurance covers the surgery, they'll cover yours. If your BMI is between 35 and 40, it can be a struggle to get them to cover it if you don't have any other issues caused by your weight. I don't believe I've heard of any insurance covering between 30 and 35, but there are doctors who will do it if you can pay for it.

"And I in the back of my mind I also know that it may be my only chance to live" That needs to go to the front of your mind. I don't know what your health is like right now, but the band can help you lose enough weight to cure a lot of co-morbidities, and if you don't have any, it can prevent a lot of them. If you have to, do this without your family's support. A lot of people here have, and once their family sees their progress, they change their minds. What is your family saying to you?

To Insure Prompt Service. That's what it stands for. Originally, tips were given before a dinner/event/whatever to encourage the staff to give you better service. Then you had to tip to get a good table/decent table/etc and I think it just slid down the hill from there. Kathy, I think what you are doing is beyond tipping, and I think it's wonderful. I went to a club with some friends, and we were across the dance floor from the bar. The poor girl had to go through the crazy dancing crowd to fill our orders. I think I paid $10 on a $15 tab. She thanked me and I said "Hey, I only had to walk through that crowd once". But, I've also left $5 on a tab over $100 because of really crappy service.

The movie Sicko aside, there was a case here in Los Angeles not too far back about a woman who went to an emergency room, who was seriously ill and they wouldn't help her. Someone called 911 to call an ambulance, and 911 responded that any ambulance in the areas would take her to that hospital, so there was no sense moving her. The woman died in the ER reception area because they refused to help her. Fortunately, this particular hospital is now in danger of being shut down, but unfortunately, it's evidently not as rare a thing as it should be. However it ends up, I believe that the healthcare system in this country is going to break down. I also believe that is going to be VERY ugly for the middle class citizen, as we wont be able to afford insurance, we wont be able to afford healthcare, we'll be 'too wealthy' for gov't assistance, and we're basically going to be screwed while whatever transition takes place, is taking place. I think the same thing for the gov't in general as well, but that's probably for another thread. Universal Healthcare may not be the right answer... but it's sounding a lot better to me right now than what we currently have. I pay high premiums on insurance, that only gets me 60% coverage on the things they decide to cover. It's demoralizing.

Jenna, I can totally see why you are unhappy with them. Symmetry is very important to me, whenever I can get mine done. I know they wont be *perfect*, but like you, I'll pay more than just the 'super savings' surgery. I do think I would wait until I was 6 weeks or so out before really demanding that they go in and fix it... and if they are going to go in and fix it, you might as well have them give you the size that you wanted to begin with, if you still want it. I'm nervous to have mine done because I don't want to end up with something I'm really unhappy with, but I'm unhappy with what I have now too, lol. I think they do look great with your arms down, and probably no one would notice without it being pointed out, but like you said, you got them done for you, and you should make sure you end up happy with them. I would not be willing to wait 6 months to a year to have them fixed, maybe I'd wait 3...

hehe, thanks everyone! I know I was lying on the first license, and it was renewed 4 years later with the same info, so by then it was WAY wrong. now mine is accurate, but it wont be by the time I have to renew it again My sisters found an old picture of me (one I actually use as my before picture) and they both say they can't believe I was every that big. I showed them my two licenses today (I have them both to use for changing my last name on all my stuff), and they were both shocked. hehe

Universal heathcare would make our taxes higher, but we wouldn't be paying for health insurance, or medications, and, and, etc, etc. To me, it would be worth it to have that money come out of my paycheck and never have to "pay" for any of that stuff, even though I am really paying for it, you know? Honestly, I am strongly considering becoming Green's neighbor.

I have dated a single dad. We broke up for other reasons, but he also didn't have custody of his kids, and didn't care to, which kind of bothered me. A single father who had an active interest in his kids lives is better. I have to say it would also depend on how well behaved the kids are (which it sounds like yours are). I firmly believe that for the most part (there are exceptions), that how a kid behaves is a direct result of how they are raised.

Jack has always been so eloquent. I'm very sorry to hear about your accident and the issues it has caused. Will your wife not walk with you? If not, honestly, sometimes with the right music, I'd rather walk by myself. If you aren't walking fast, and you can do this (some people can't, I've learned) walking with a book can make the time fast. I used to read on my way too and from school every day. Once you get the speed up, it's not so easy to read, but still. Something else you might look into, with the knee surgeries coming up, is workouts for people who can't stand. There are a number of videos out there with exercises for people who can't walk. It would be something to do while you are recovering (if your back can take it). My dad had his back severely messed up by a motorcycle accident. I think one of the most dangerous things about riding a motorcycle are the people around you. Anyway, I hope the antidepressants help. Being depressed at moments is a part of the human condition, but sometimes you get depressed and it seems like you'll never get out, which is what I think the medication is for. If you don't find it helping, tell your doctor so he can help you find one that does.

I'm a little late in getting to this thread, but what do you mean your parents 'wont allow' you to move? What are they doing to stop you? If you can't get a job in your town, and you have work available to you elsewhere, what's stopping you? Especially if your mother isn't being supportive at a time where you could really use it. It looks like you've accepted your bipolar diagnosis, but the medication only goes so far if you have a catalyst for mood swings (ie; your mom freaking out on you). If you are waiting for your parents to pay for you to move, then you need to stop that and just go. It will be rough until you get a couple of paychecks at one of the new jobs you say you have waiting for you, but you'll be away from your mom who is toxic to you right now, and where you want to be..

Congrats Gale!! I never would have thought of that as an 'amputation' but you are absolutely right!

My mom's boyfriend is 10 years younger than her. They've been together over 10 years, and will probably grow old together... I don't know about age difference being a 'trend' so much as something that is more acceptable...

I would have stopped that doctor right in his tracks, put my clothes on and left. And if he had the gall to bill me after that, I would fight it all the way to the end. What a horrible, horrible thing to put someone through.

Tell him that you can work as hard as he wants you to lose the weight, but the problem is KEEPING IT OFF. Anyone can lose weight. We lose heart when it comes back so easily!! And tell him he owes you something pretty for being an ass. lol

Yeah, you don't need to tell her anything you don't want her to know. In fact, if HR tells her anything, they could be in BIG trouble too.

"Severe depression" here, got through surgery fine. I take medication for it every day, and I never have trouble with that or my BC pill that I take at the same time. If you take time release medications, be sure to remember that you can't crush them, so if you ever have trouble swallowing pills, switch to the non-time release kind, because you can't crush or break the time release kind. I don't know much about Canadian Health Care (I thought it was universal?), but if you don't have a psych eval, I don't know why you'd have trouble getting approved.

Howdie. I am 3 years out, 85 lbs down with 55 to go. Sure, I'd love to be farther, but I've also had no complications, so I'm mostly happy, lol. I had done a bunch of research on the lapband, but didn't have any money and didn't have any insurance, so I'd kind of given up hope, and then my mom said she'd pay for it... from the day she said that to the day I had surgery, was just under a month. So, I didn't have much time to freak out, but the night before surgery I burst into tears out of no where. My boyfriend at the time (now hubby ) said it was probably emotions that were forcing their way out since I hadn't given myself anytime to feel nervous or anything. Anyhow... everyone feels nervous. The complications happen, but also keep in mind, that the people with no complications that get to goal, generally move on and live their lives, while the people with complications are seeking support.

I was allowed to shower the first day out, but I could only let Water go over my stomach. No soap or anything, and not for very long. That being the case, probably you could use the shower to give your hair a wash, but you probably shouldn't be doing too much else for the first couple of days anyway. Another thing I did was take a bath, but the water wasn't high enough to hit my stomach. It felt good to soak a little.

Well, even with a good fill, you shouldn't have any problems with liquids. If you ever do have problems with liquids, you need an unfill. Many people have had fill liquid mysteriously disappear. There are theories about where it goes, whether it's absorbed into the walls of the band, or kind of evaporates a little, etc. If you go back next time and ALL of your fill is gone again, he needs to check for a leak though.

Well, after Faith's post, this may be overkill, but I thought I'd add that one little bite leads to just one more bite leads to more. If you are on clear liquids, you should still be able to have jello, or fruit juice that isn't pulpy (no oj, or tomato juice). You could always call your doctor and ask if he has any advice. He may have some liquid idea we haven't thought of that would help. Also, ask him about protein shakes. Some doctors don't allow them on the clear liquid diet, and some do.

Well, you said it yourself, that everyone is different. Some people lose faster at first, then stall later, and start again, some people lose steadily, some people don't loose anything at first and start losing later. I myself, lose some weight, and then stall for a few months, and then stall again. Don't get yourself too down, and TRY not to let the number on the scale affect your mood every day, lol. I used to do that.

Quick note, while it's in my head; it seems to me that some people think that -feel bad for the person trying to get out of a bad situation- and -be upset with someone who is breaking a law- are mutually exclusive, but they aren't. I understand that they are trying to make better lives for themselves (at least, a large portion of them), but that doesn't me I have to accept their doing it illegally. mrspruett, that was great post!

For perspective, I am 3 years out, and down 85 lbs. I do not feel like a failure, and you shouldn't either.

I often get asked about my hair. It's really bizarre. One time back in school, I wore my glasses (I usually wear contacts) and someone said "something is different about you, did you change your hair??" I put my fingers behind my ears and pushed on the frames of my glasses to make them wiggle on my face and burst out laughing. I honestly thing some people see that something is different, they know things aren't the same, but they just can't place it (Like the bird in The Little Mermaid who was standing on Ariel's legs saying "I just can't quite figure out what's different").