AmberWaves

You're right. I guess I am putting more of the blame on the celebrities than I actually should. People should speak out for what they believe in. I just think it's wrong to vote for someone just because someone else is, no matter who it is. And in the end, that lays on the general publics shoulder to use our voting privileges the right way. People shouldn't let a celebrity or anyone else sway their vote just because of who they are.

I don't feel sorry for them, those people have the potential to destroy our country even more. It's a ploy just to get votes, the candidates KNOW that people will vote for them because some celebrity says they're voting for them, whether it's Oprah or King Kong, it's still wrong. It's wrong for the celebrity and it's wrong for the candidate, to take advantage of the ignorant people. I would rather win knowing people voted for me because they know what I'm about and want that. As far as talking black, i don't know what to tell you on that. I think you're beating a dead horse, because I doubt very seriously you're going to get an answer to than one.

Wow, I think there needed to be a bit more of a warning for those photos. how about a link to the photos instead of posting the actual photos so the people that don't want to see that don't need to see it.

What I find offensive is that Obama thinks that just because Oprah "endorses" him that he'll get more votes, and what is even more offensive that he will just because of her. Why do they need to get celebrity endorsements? I'm sure it has nothing to do with them thinking the American people are too stupid to make up their own minds huh? Oprah is a one of the biggest names in TV and people worship her, so if Oprah says it's okay, it MUST be. I couldn't give two shits less who Oprah votes for, and neither should anyone else. we should make up our own minds by what they can bring to the table to make our country better, not who they bring to the table with them. It's rediculous and it insults our intelligence. If you have to have Oprah or any other celebrity tell you who to vote for, then IMO, you shouldn't be voting because you aren't voting for the right reasons. I also agree with the others that say that everyone changes their mannerisms depending on who they're around. I have a very strong southern accent, but if I'm around a lot of people that don't, my accent isn't quite as bad. I don't know why it happens but it happens without me even thinking about it. So that I don't see it as a big deal, I wouldn't even have noticed if it wasn't brought up here.

Tomorrow will be a week for me and I haven't heard back yet, HOPEFULLY I'll hear something this week though. I good friend of mine had it done back in August and got her insurance approval before she left her consultation, I guess it just depends on how much paper work, etc. your insurance company is.

My doctor prefers the band over gastric bypass. He basically said that it was our choice but if he had his choice he would never do a gastric bypass again.

I'm really starting to get anxious about it. I'm not really nervous about the appointment itself, I'm more so nervous that my insurance won't approve me. I'm so scared that my insurance is going to turn me down. I really hope to be posting that I got approved by Christmas so I can set my surgery date, that would be an awesome Christmas gift, that's all I want. So, wish me luck so I can be a January Bandster with ya'll!

I voted with in reason. I like Big guys and I've always been attracted to big guys.

Wow, that's pretty cool, you know, in a gross kind of way...lol.

Thanks Jim! No, I wouldn't be able to pay out of pocket. I might be able to do some kind of financing, but we'll see. I had my consultation today and it went really good. I love my surgeon and his staff, everyone is really nice and helpful. I have an unofficial date, January 28th. YAYAYAYAY!!!!! It'll be official after the approval comes through, which they seem very optimistic about. I should know by the end this week. I'm so excited and anxious. This is really starting to get real now...lol. This week is going to go by so slowly that's for sure. I'll do all of my pre-op testing the week before the surgery, I don't have to do a psych evaluation unless my insurance companies wants me to, but the insurance woman said she didn't think they'd do that. I do have to see a dietician though, I'll probably try to call tomorrow and get that set up soon. I'm just so excited right now,I want to tell everybody I know, but I'm really trying to wait until it's OFFICIAL!!!!!!!!

<p>Yeah, I call myself fat. I'd rather use the word fat than obese or morbidly obese, to me obese is a horrible word, I can deal with "fat" though. I don't want anybody else to call me fat though, I don't want anyone saying anything about my weight period!</p>

Was there something about him that made you not go to him?

I am a very avid (obsessed) scrapbooker. I haven't had my surgery yet but I plan on making an album just for my weightloss and journey.

*Hopefully* I'll still be 26. I'm hoping for a Feb. surgery date but my bday is in March.

I'm sorry you are feeling so overwhelmed right now. I know that's probably a lot to handle right now, especially so close to the holidays, the holidays in itself can be extremely stressful. You can do this, I know it seems crazy right now but it'll all calm down after it's over with and I think you'll be happy you did it. Just try to take some time to relax this weekend if you can, it'll be alright!

That's really not a bad idea, McDonalds does that now, why shouldn't ALL of the restaurants have to do that?

Holy crap! What's sad is I've eaten several of the things on that list, THINKING it was a healthier choice. Wow! I love the taco salads at On the Border, that's depressing!

I don't have any advice to lend you, I'm not a nurse nor have I had any experience with a premie. I just wanted to tell you that he's in my thoughts and prayers, your whole family is.

Congrats Missy! I hope everything goes well with the surgery! Don't forget to come back and fill us in on your progress!

Thanks for all the wonderful advice, I am definately going to put it to good use.

I'm not scheduled yet, but I'm hoping for a date at the end of Jan. or beginning of Feb. I'm currently around 250 give or take, and my goal is 140 to 150, somewhere in there. I don't have any co-morbidities, but I'm certainly hoping to prevent them. My Mom is a diabetic and so was my Grandmother so I'm at higher risk for that. Honestly though, I think at this point I want this more for vanity reasons. I want to feel good about myself. I have been overweight for 20 years, since I was a kid and I'm just tired of it. I want to have the energy to play in the yard with my kids without getting winded from just walking down the damn stairs. I want to go in a store in the mall that has clothes that fit me and don't have an X in the size. I want to walk hand in hand with my husband and really feel like his Trophy wife...lol. I want people to say "Wow" when they see me and I never want to hear "You'd be so pretty if you lost some weight" or "You have such a pretty face" ever again. I want to be HOT! lol Don't get me wrong, I want to be healthy too, it's about 50/50, I want to be healthy and I want to be hot...lol. I go in for my initial consultation on December 3rd...I'm counting down the days (12 incase you're wondering;) ). I've done the seminar, they've verified my insurance, I'm picking up my medical records next week so I can take them with me, I have a babysitter lined up so hubby can go with me, I've researched this thing like crazy for almost a year, I'm READY TO GET THIS BALL ROLLIN'!!!!!!! :whoo:

HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL NO!!!!!! If I could get away with it I wouldn't leave my house until after New Years at this point...lol. I had to go to Wal-mart today to get some last minute Thanksgiving fixings and I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown before I got out of there, it was a mad house. I can only imagine what it'll be like on Friday. No way, no how! lol

I had a membership last year, I really enjoyed it at first and I was losing weight pretty quickly at first too (I haven't been banded yet) But I got bored with it after a while because it's the same thing every day. I like the machines though because you can workout however hard you want to, they work with you.

Congratulations! How long did it take to get your approval??

Hi all! If you have United Healthcare I was wondering if you could tell me a few things. My first question is, did you have to go through a supervised diet before they would approve you? And my second question is, how long did it take you to get your approval? I'm very anxious about my consultation coming up on Dec. 3rd, i'm just so ready to get this ball rolling so I can KNOW, I'm not good at being patient...lol. I've talked to the customer service people at UHC several times and have never got a straight answer to the supervised diet question, one person said it wasn't likely, one person said he's never seen a person have do one, and one person said it's case by case, and then someone else that doesn't work for UHC said they don't make you do one. How did it go for YOU??? Thanks!