ReneBean

More on the inner workings of Blue Cross... Any written communication that you send them, either by e-mail, fax or post, gets scanned and linked to your computer file at Blue Cross - so anybody who accesses your file can actually see what communications have been received. This process takes from 2-3 days - which means that you cannot get anybody to acknowledge receipt of anything specifically for that time frame... So, you can tell that SOMETHING has been sent for imaging - but not what that something is. With written communication, less may be more at Blue Cross, unless you are EXTREMELY patient... grrrr

Hey Blaze; No, I don't think it is obvious - some people tell and some people don't. Check out this thread. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=10035&highlight=closet Welcome!

Lisa - You're on Day 14. :] I am on day 11. No eating after 9pm.

Welcome!! Great to meet you. :]

Wowza! You look Great!

Stealth Abs - ok. I want those. Even if they don't show, they will help with the horrid back pain that I have today. A little gardening can be dangerous if you have Ghost Abs, like me. I bet those little 20-somethings are seething with envy. Have any of them ASKED for help? I guess if they can't bring themselves to admit that you are better than them, they don't deserve your great teachings. Hmmmm. I can feel the music. I wonder whether there are any of those classes offered round these parts? I will have to find out. 19 credits is pretty energetic... but I guess you are trying to get DONE so you can be a Stay at Home (as in your own STATE) Wife. Good luck with everything!! :]

Oh, Wow.... Did you actually get a copy? It would be incredible if you could scan and post it for us. I feel so horrible for you - I would have died on the spot - but I can't stop laughing, either... Hope you're doing ok. :]

Hey Jack? You If I am counting correctly, you should be banded, now. How are you doing? Hope you are doing great. Please give us a shout.

Miss Vines - I was wondering about the Belly Dancing (eh-hem. Excuse me, Middle Eastern Dancing) classes. How is that going? Are the skinny dance majors being nice? Is your teacher good. Have you got Rock Hard Abs yet? And, yes - I also would love to hear any story behind the screen name, Oh Queen of the Green & Twiny. :]

Good Morning Eye Candy Connoisseurs - We have closed the nominations and the voting begins today. Choose your favorite Eye Candy and we will tally the votes to elect the King of the Eye Candy. Nominations: Mark Harmon Mel Gibson Dean Caine Rodney Grant Pierce Brosnan Tom Cruise Bruce Willis Richard Gere Antonio Banderas Vin Diesel The Rock However is a girl to choose? I saw pretty woman this weekend... *sigh*. Who would have believed that a film about a jerk and a prostitute could possibly turn out so well? Anyway - here they are, the final nominations. Vote Away, Ladies.

King me, Baby.

I almost missed this important nomination... Yikes!

AAhhhh. DH is a big fan of the Roe. He might really appreciate this recipe for his arsenal. Thanks, Pat! As for me, the sizing is pretty easy - I just grab the biggest size they have at the store. Some of it fits, some of it doesn't. Of course, I haven't bought any clothes for a bit, since it is my plan to be wearing a different size SOON. I understand why the petrol price is going so high - I mean our boy George's whole family is in the Biz. I wonder if he is hooked into the Electric company, too? Grrrrr. I am off to call the insurance company. :]

Mastectomy Bill in Congress http://www.lifetimetv.com/reallife/bc/pledges/bc_mast_pledge.html Please check out this web-page to vote for important legislation. Thanks.

Well, Trish, you are the person we are being Naughty WITH. Perhaps I should have said ANOTHER Bandster from NM - we thought you were the only one... :]

Alll right Cindy!! Way to Go with getting under 250. **smile** I could probably live with that as my goal!! Truly, if I get to 250 and never drop any lower, I will still count that as a success!! I will definitely let y'all know what happens with my appeal! I would be happy at this point just to find out that they actually have officially received the stupid thing. Oh well, tomorrow is another day. 'Night Cindy. 'Night Eileen. 'Night Pat. 'Night Karla. 'Night Betty, Ira, Ray, Seppi, Alex, Lisa, Lisa. (ok ok, I know, too much TV Land...)

The doctors are guilty of spreading misinformation about the band, also. Just think, there is a learning curve for the surgeon of 50-100 surgeries. Those first 50 to 100 people are just going to have more problems than the later ones due to the doctor's inexperience. Most all of the studies agree on that. Complications like erosion, slips and port problems grow fewer with the number of surgeries the doc & or the surgical center has performed. It's too much trouble for the doctors to change what they do, so they keep on selling the ByPass. There are down-sides to both surgeries - but I feel that I can live with the down-sides of the band more easily should any complications occur. Besides - IF for whatever reason, the band is not effective for me, do I not have the option in the future to get the by-pass done? Yup, I do - because I haven't done any PERMANENT damage/changes to my body, I can still make that choice. (I don't think that I ever would - but I COULD) ONE of the abstracts I read last week ACTUALLY stated that the band should be the surgery given to ALL bariatric patients First - and by-pass only used on the people who can't make it with the band. (I used that one in my insurance appeal letter.) So, in the end, the choice is up to each of us to make. It's no surprise that the RNY site would talk up their procedure and down the band - that's just human nature.

Omg - an actual bandster from New Mexico? Does this mean we have to be naughty someplace else? Of course, you could join in our naughtiness, Shaz... Monday we start the voting on the Eye Candy... Check out Hello Hello Hello. Welcome!

Oh geez - I think that's what you have to do the insurance company to get approval!

Ok, I have gotten so far out of shape that the words "fun" and "planting" do NOT belong in the same sentence... I only planted 1/2 the stuff before I got too punked to plant. What I did looks GREAT - but the other parts will have to wait until next weekend. Prepping the beds here is a major undertaking. Massive globs of clay with rocks in between does not make for plant success - so you have to dig, break up the big clumps of clay, pull out as many rocks as you can and add in some potting soil to give the plants any chance at all... Then you have to bury the whole thing in mulch or it will be all over crab grass in about 15 minutes. ***sigh*** It will be a miracle if I can walk tomorrow. I have GOT to get a band and get some of this lard off my @$$! Hope everybody has a great evening.

Hey John!! One of the sexiest things about the "new" John is that big smile! Keep on smiling and give yourself some time for your brain to catch up with your body. You are one HOT Daddy. Take care of your family and take care of yourself. ((hugs))

All Right Dan!! Congrats on the weight loss and on the successful fill. Keep on Keepin on! :]

Somewhere in the deep dark recesses of our subconscious minds, we all think we need or we deserve to weigh whatever our individual cut off weights are... It's all about our own little twisted psyche's... If you find yourself eating like a mad woman, and you have trouble fighting it alone, get a counselor. Talk to somebody. I know where it all began - I pretty much know that I have feelings of insecurity due to massive childhood trauma. But I am not a counselor, and I have never been able to wrap my head around the issue of how to STOP with the self destructive behavior of eating all the time. It's just too comforting to give up without help. So, I am getting the band as a first defense. If I can't manage myself with the help of the band, then I am going to spring for the counselling. It's clinch time for me. If I don't get this weight off NOW, my body will only get more messed up and less mobile. You are younger than I am Jess. You have the opportunity for another 9 yrs of healthier living. Use the band to it's best advantage - but if that isn't enough, do what it takes to spend some time with a counselor. :] :]

Welcome! I have no band, yet... so my only suggestion is to go to each forum and start reading... There is so much information here from folks who have been through it all - and the people are helpful and great! :]

She-Crab? Is the She-Crab more special than the He-Crab? I haven't heard of She-crab soup... I bet it's yummy. Hey, Karla? How many days did you take off before you went back to work? I am just trying to guage how long it might take to feel human, again. And, yes, jury duty was a waste. So far as shopping goes, the only thing I LIKE shopping for that has to actually FIT is shoes... clothes shopping is my little hell on earth. Bleauck! DH is calling me for coffee - so I have to run. :]