LauraD

After a year of researching both band and sleeve, and different surgeons, I finally have a date to get my sleeve! September 25, not too far away!! I'm really excited, and looking forward to the changes in my life.

As more people become active in this forum, it will become more informative. I also really get a lot of info at OH, but agree with MacMadame about the software issues. I am also worn out on the Mexico doc wars.

So spit, then rinse your mouth out.

Aliciaj, are you getting treatment for your bulimia? If so, you and your therapist need to discuss whether or not WLS is a safe option for you right now. I'm not trying to be a "mom" or a downer, but I think it might be better/safer for you to try and address some of the issues you have with food before getting a band or having other WLS. When I was in my late teens and early 20s, I was bulimic, and I'm very sorry you are struggling with it. Take care of yourself.

Amazing......in less than an hour, this joker has spammed the board with over 40 posts. Everywhere!

Erikalyn, the Weekly World News got into politics? I thought Batboy retired? BJean, you are amazingly articulate and wise. I wish I could express my thoughts on racism against black Americans half as well as you have. I look forward to casting my vote in November!

I'm going through the same dilemma. Plus, throw in the fact that insurance will pay for a band, but not for me to have a VSG. Right now, I am about ready to toss a coin......

Unless Headhunter is willing to discuss his complications in a factual manner, I'd also like to request that this thread be locked. He is doing nothing but stirring up trouble and fearmongering. If not locked, at this point shouldn't it be moved to Rants and Raves?

Misspoke. What does that mean? Oh yeah, that's politician for L I E D!!!

Jennie, we are going to have to agree to disagree on....a lot. (I was going to put a wink here to indicate tone, but it seemed so inappropriate for this topic.) Respectfully, could you indicate to me which of your posts was the one about the laws in Texas? The only one I thought relevant was the age of consent, and that covered a lot of states. In retrospect, of course everyone looks at the tank and the guns and says "oh!the children!". Well, here in Texas well look at a walled up religious sect and think- Waco. Personally, I think the FBI made the biggest fustercluck in history, and are responsible for the death of every individual that died, including their own men. But this is a state where the gun ranges have ladies' nights. Do I want them to take the pregnant girls away? Yes. I see the forced statuatory rape, with parental permission or not, as systemic child sex abuse on a community scale. None of the marriages these girls are entering into are legalling binding, so none of the men or the parents are protected by law. Of course, it's not feasible, so it's better for them all to stay together, where they can at least not feel like freaks in the world. I can honor a lot of things, and I can find faith in a lot of different religions. I cannot find honor, faith, or any kind of god in a religion that requires women to submit en masse to bullies who basically use them for baby and f'ing factories. Who run off any young men because they know if those young girls have any choice, they won't look twice at their daddy's friends. To me, that "church" is nothing but a pedophile's utopia. They breed their own.

Uh, y'all? Who said sex with minors was legal in Texas? Statuatory rape is just as illegal here as it is anywhere else. Our legal age of consent is 17. Regarding my earlier question those little girls aren't given a choice about whether or not they get married, or who they marry. I don't know what religion the folks across the street from me are, but if I found out they were forcing their little girl to "marry" a middle aged man who already had other "wives", I'd damn sure call the police and report it as child abuse. The court hearings on this whole mess start tomorrow, I think. I'm sure that in the end, almost-if not all-of those kids, will end up going back into the compound with their mothers. The gate will get locked up tight. But now, they know it's not so far to town, and if any of them want to get there, they know which way to go.

Jennie, if you were a 13 or 14 year old girl, and one day your father brought home one of his friends (who you had probably previously referred to as "Uncle X") and told you that next Monday you were going to marry Uncle X and be one of his loving and obedient wives, would you be a happy and willing participant in that marriage? Would you, the night of your wedding, go with your 40-50 year old new husband to immediately comsummate the marriage and start work on getting you pregnant? Even if the state you were in permitted you to get married at 14, and you had the approval of both your parents? Because that is the reality of life for girls within this particular church. If you are an adolescent boy and not from one of the prominent families, odds are you will be "cast out" for some trumped up charge of sinning. There aren't enough young girls to go around. (As far as I know, there is no evidence to support anyone in this particular sect being on welfare. They are completely self supporting; they want as little outside involvement as possible.)

This is a "private religious world" where men take multiple (as in 5, 6, 7 or more) wives. Some of the pregnant "spiritual wives" taken out of the compound were barely teenagers. The "private religious world" frequently makes up reasons to "cast out" the young teenage boys of the sect, lest they become temptation for the young girls who will soon be wives for the older men. The 16 year old girl who phoned in the complaint that led to the raid was "spiritually married" to a 50 year old man who has, I think, 4 other wives. The leader of the sect, Warren Jeffs, has been convicted on conspiracy of rape charges for forcing a 14 year old girl to marry, and then consummate the marriage, to a much older man. He is serving 10 years to life. He is facing similar charges in Arizona another case. He has also confessed to having "unnatural relations" with one of his sisters and other family members. At one time, he claimed to be the return of the Savior. The compound at El Dorado was completely closed off to outsiders. Only the men left the compound; the women and children remained on the grounds. Any deliveries were received at the front gate. They have their own elecrical plant, their own Water wells, they grow or raise most of their food. They built their own church and dorms, with granite from an onsite quarry. There is a barbed wire fence around the entire compound. The only pictures that existed were taken by flying over the compound. Waco, anyone? I just got an email forwarded to me today by a friend who used to live in Alpine(far west Texas). She still has friends in the area, and they are asking for prayers for help with the families. They have been so indoctrinated against outsiders, and the CPA and volunteers are having so much trouble providing them with the organic food and simple clothing and plain entertainments that they are used to that the whole process is very complicated for everyone involved. Meanwhile, that cult has a whole lot of money at their disposal, and have hired some good lawyers.

Thanks Susan4794!!!! You're a gem! :huh2:

I fly quite a bit. In my experiences so far: The armrest only has to be down for the takeoff and landing Every airline that I've flown with has their POS rule stated on their website; you just have to look for it Southwest enforces their two seat rule only if they feel you will "spill over" into your seatmate's space (and I'd rather they say something to me before I get on the plane) Seatguru.com offers seat dimensions, legroom, and seat plans of every plane made, it's a good way to choose your seat. If you book online, you can almost always book your seat when you make your reservation. When the two-seat rule first came out, I was horrified. But now, I'm a lot more sympathetic. I hate the look in peoples' eyes when they realize they are stuck sitting next to me. I hate sitting wrapped up on myself for hours like a human pretzel. (I do buy two seats as often as I can afford it because I want to be comfortable) But I love to travel. Flying is never going to be fun. Even when we all reach our goal weight, it's still going to be cramped and noisy. You're going to breathe stale, recycled air; listen to crying babies and noisy kids. The person in the seat next to you is going to want to talk, or have on too much perfume. When you get up. you'll get thumped in the head by someone's carryon. (Please people, a carryon is not a week's worth of luggage!) You can hate the airline, you can howl about "customer service", but ultimately you either roll with it, or you take the train.

WasABubbleButt has also written a really thorough guide to researching bariatric surgeons in Mexico; there is a link to it in her signiture. It's a great resource for anyone looking at Mexico as an option.

Molly, you have my prayers. You also have my congratulations for getting through such a stressful situation without having regained any weight! I hope you are as proud of that as you should be! You've been having to focus on your emotional health; I'm betting that as soon as you are reassigned, you will get right back into the groove of focusing on your physical health! Take care, and kick his ass.

Watcher, I'm just curious-are you familiar with Leonard Pitts, Jr.? If not, he writes a column at the Miami Herald. It frequently touches on race and politics. He's won a Pulitzer; he also has a website Leonard Pitts Jr.. Actually, I would recommend him to anyone who appreciates good editorial writing; the kind that makes you think, even when you don't agree with it!

Laurend, look for two very offensive posts from "NoFatChix". I think that's the OP-both very hateful messages. The only questionable factor is the spelling. Both these new messages have no spelling errors. :tt1:

Just a suggestion, but you might want to visit the "Life After LapBand" forum. The folks in there would probably be better able to answer your questions and help you out.

I don't think America is ready for a black president in general but they are probably ready for Barack Obama. I think the article states it well, it's a case by case basis. Obama is succeeding because he isn't (and I apologize in advance to whomever I offend) overtly ethnic. Absolutely, race is still an issue in this country. Anyone who thinks differently, subscribe to the Southern Poverty Law Center's Hatewatch List. It's a list of hate crimes committed in the US-on a weekly basis. They're not just isolated incidents in the South, either. SPLC also has a map showing the locations of all active hate groups in the US. Pretty startling. For that matter, just take a drive to the "bad" side of your town, the poor side. I really can't speak much about racial prejudice, I'm a lily white WASP from the 'burbs. But to me, the most pervasive prejudice is quiet. And that's what could cost Obama the election. It's startling, how many people nurture a subtle and quiet prejudice that even they might not acknowledge until they have to face it head on.

She might lose 20 pounds if she got rid of the giant chip on her shoulder.

I'm just going to have to skulk into this thread......I've been in the restaurant business for my entire life. Sorry, but there is no great conspiracy to make America fat. We Americans are doing that on our own, by choice. Restaurants cater to the public taste because that's where the $$$ is. Admit it, you spent your life before band in the same restaurants you are now pissed off at. If you are looking for healthier restaurant choices, they are out there-just not on every street corner. I can't say why a specific restaurant wouldn't let you order off the kid's menu-but very few kid's menus are attractive. Ours consists of quesadillas, chicken strips, etc. Brown food, I call it. You can order any side dishes you'd like. Or hey, we'll be happy to do a special plate for you; steamed veg, broiled fish with a light sauce, plain chicken, etc. But it will be an adult price. I've got to make a profit to survive, and I can't do it on demi-portions. See, you'll order a "small" plate. We'll send you something tasty and pretty. The rest of your table will admire it. Hopefully, you will be happy(which is good). You, and maybe the rest of the table,will tell people(which is only kind of good). You will come back and order the demi-portion again, as will other people you've told. (Headed into not-so-good) Only, I'm losing money on the demi-portion. I need to sell you the plate for 28% cost, and I can't do it for that small a portion. It's taking extra time to make, because my cooks aren't used to doing it, so that affects production. I'm having to stand back there and make sure they do it right, because if I don't watch they will put extra butter on it. ("but chef, it tastes better") Your server is going to be mad, because he's not going to get a good tip-you're buying a "diet plate", there won't be any dessert, and you probably aren't having any wine or cocktails. And you're going to take up the table-the table with 4 precious seats-for an hour!! Sorry, I realize I probably sound like a crazy chef ranting.....and I'm headed way off topic. The whole card thing is pretty wacky to me. The restaurants that add in the surcharges are trying to recoup the losses that I was trying to explain in my crazed rant; having a card shouldn't exempt you. Same thing with restaurants that charge extra for adults who order childrens' or seniors' plates. That restaurant has made a choice about what kind of customer service it wants to offer, now it's up to you as to whether that place is worth the cost. The portions are large because that is the current expectation in America. In France, I expect a 4 ounce piece of fish, but here the "average" restaurant patron expects a 6-8 oz portion. Americans in general would rather have quantity than quality. Read either of Michael Pollan's great books about food, or any of Michael Ruhlman's books about chefs/food. There is a wonderful gastronomy website, egullet dot com, that talks in length about quality of food, etc. Thank you all for your patience.

Contamination is almost always going to be the result of handling and human error or greed. Organic or not, agriculture and meat production are hard work, and low wages for the most part. I'm glad to see that the Humane Society video got that meat recalled, and hopefully the production at that plant will be safer. I enjoy eating seasonally and locally. I try to buy organic or natural when I can. I do garden, and eat an insane amount of fresh tomatoes all summer long. But "natural" and "organic" and "local" aren't affordable for the majority of Americans. Which sucks. The cheapest foods are the very foods that keep us the fattest.

Robin, the only thing I could suggest would be to try Celexa instead of Lexapro-but sounds like you might have already done that. For me, that has been the antidepressent with the fewest side effects, including lack of sex drive/ability to orgasm.