ReneBean

Jaxson - I am sure that you love your doc and want everyone to know - but there comes a point at which we all just tune it out. Around here, a little bit of doc enthusiasm goes a long way and at this point you are no longer helping Doc Joya - you are just taking up board space. Sorry you think we are jerks - but I think that folks were just trying to tell you to lay off.

One has to assume that the skin moved around a bit in the PS. Maybe the port moved with it? Of course, if you're really a Pod Person replacing our Babs - that could explain it, too. LOL!

Talk about your BAD KARMA. I just try to remember that the person is obviously suffering if they feel the need to lash out at others. :/

50 lbs since March is FABULOUS! You certainly should feel good. Hope you feel just as good every day. :]

Take it from a big girl... DO IT NOW. Don't wait until you have become huge to take control. GO, GO GO! It's no fun to top 300lbs... no fun at all. I wish all of you the best success! This isn't some exclusive club. You won't get any dirty looks from me. (((Hugs!)))

Hi Ebony Navigating isn't too hard.... You can choose a forum from the main forum page and browse in a particular area: At the bottom of every screen there is a "Forum Jump" box with a drop-down menu of all of them. You can search a particular topic using the search feature: at the top of every screen just below the main LapBandTalk banner there is another bar that runs all the way accross the screen. The top right section of that bar shows you where you are. The top left shows you who you are and whether or not you have any Private Messages (PM's). In white letters accross the whole thing are places you can go and things you can do. Click around up there and experiment a little. The SEARCH function will let you type in a key word or two and find threads about that topic. I hope this helps with your navigating. You can send me or any other member a PM by clicking on the person's screen name and using the drop down menu that appears. Feel free to ask any questions. :]

Lots of suggestions and experiences available here... If you have specific questions you can use the search function. Otherwise, browse through some of the forums. I have found this to be a wealth or information in my research of the Lap Band. Welcome aboard! :]

Glad to hear you're feeling better, Karen. I am sure that everyone here is more interested in a Healthy Karen than a Skinny One.

It is surgery to help us battle an addiction that we have been unable to control. Its a tool to help fight a disease. The problem is that while the medical profession has recognized that MO folks have a disease, the rest of the world remains ignorant of this. It's not like a virus in the blood - or a malfunctioning organ, so it is beyond the grasp of the common thin person that this is a disease that must be battled by all means necessary. I don't know how to fix this when even we, the afflicted, forget and talk about things that we could or should do. I swear that some day they will find the "fat gene" that makes us all lose control in the presense of flavor stimulation.... In the mean time - I am all for the so-called EASY way. I know for me, it is probably the ONLY way that I will ever be able to maintain weight loss for more than a few months.

I know how you feel... I interviewed for a transfer to another dept and now the head of the dept won't even return my e-mails asking if he has made a decision. While I had no certain expectation of getting the job, I certainly thought I would get the courtesy of a response... I hope it all works out for you. Aside from a good heart and a responsible attitude - what "more" is there to bring to the position of Hall Monitor? That really bites. (((Hugs)))

Aliens unite! Yep - I always hated that smarmy little Donny Osmand. Nobody was ever really that good, were they? I was one of two "fat girls" in my class. I went to high school in Joseph, Oregon and my graduating class was 33 people. Talk about alien. I had come from the sunny shores of Santa Cruz, CA and been dropped into the back woods of Oregon. Not only did the girls dream of ridiculously distant boy-stars, but they dreamed of getting married at 18 to the star of the football team (whose main goal in life was to get a job with his dad at the mill) and having lots of children. They actually DID that. I think it has something to do with the proximity to Idaho. Maybe it just causes massive depression... LOL. Anyway, I think we ARE all out of place together. I don't have anything to say to most people. I don't have children of my own. My DH's daughter is only 8 yrs younger than I am so it's hard to think of her as my child. I can't commisurate about night feedings and diapers... I work in the Mortgage industry, which is alien to all except other Mortgage people. I love computer games - and dorky science fiction television like Star Trek. (Yeah, baby. James T. Kirk - now there was a REAL man). Shopping is like WAR - and War is Hell - it takes strategy and determination to find something that fits that doesn't make you look like a complete idiot or a sack of potatoes. Make-up is strictly utilitarian - not to be ooohed and ahhed over. DH is a house spouse - and I never cook... one more Woman thing I know nothing about. So, what do you talk about? Sex is pretty much taboo. Politics is too dangerous for polite society. I find myself observing, a lot. It's like Lurking in real life. (Vines, GO to VEGAS). I think everybody must feel this way to various degrees. Everybody really IS somebody else's wierdo (sorry, I can't recall who had that as her signature quote - but it's a good one). There's no cure except to accept that we are all aliens and embrace the strangeness. At least here, we all have a common bond.

Looney Tunes Science Fiction or Biography?

Wow. I would be thrilled to peices with 188 lb after 2 yrs. I figure it's going to take at least that long for me. I am so happy for you. Thanks so much for posting! (And post pictures, soon!) :]

Can't have too many. :squareeye (((((HUGS)))))

"She was afraid to come out of the Water She was afraid that somebody would see..." Oh, wait - that was me. VERA was the one WATERSKIING!!!!! Wow! Great Job!! :]

There's always ObesityLaw.com... Sounds like your insurance company needs a boot to the petute. http://www.obesitylaw.com/surgery.php

Someone in another post likened the band to a pace-maker. It's a medical tool, one that you will keep for the rest of your life - like an artificial heart or a titanium knee replacement. I hope and pray that I will be able to get the band and keep it forever.

Oh Yeah. I have arthritis in my left knee & ankle. Same story. Walking like a Granny at 40 yrs old. Every once in a while it would cross my mind that all the women in my family live into their 70's or longer - and I didn't think I could take another 30-40 yrs of ever-increasing pain. Thank God for the Band. Now we have hope for a healthy future. (AND, if unfriendly aliens land in our backyards, we MIGHT be able to get away! LOL) We're all rootin' for you. Good Luck!

My understanding is that the surgical shoulder pain is a result of gas - they puff you up so they can get to all the parts during surgery. It takes a while to get it all out of there, and that's part of why they want you to get up and walk after the surgery. For a short term solution, you could try Gas X or something. I would still have the doc check it out, though. Hope you feel better, soon.

OK folks - You may or may not have seen reply posts from me regarding the evil insurance company - Blue Cross. I called prior to starting the pre-work for the band to be sure that there was no company exclusion - and was told that there was not. When my Lap-Band coordinator called, SHE was told that there was. GRRR. OK - the point of this post? It's all in HOW you ask the question. The following is an excerpt from the e-mail I got from Blue Cross of CA: "I've looked into the ... contract further and their is an exclusion but their isn't. Please see below explanation. I think the customer service rep the provider spoke to didn't go into enough detail or perhaps there was a misunderstanding. Per the group's EOC, page 26, Obesity is listed as a exclusion, however, if you read further, it's clear that the exclusion does not apply to morbid obesity. **************************************this is the eoc******************************************* Per EOC: OBESITY. Services primarily for weight reduction or treatment for obesity. This exclusion will not apply to surgical treatment of morbid obesity as determined by us if we authorize the treatment in advance as MEDICALLY NECESSARY and appropriate. *********************************************************************************************************** So the first sentence is the exclusion = Services primarily for weight reduction or treatment for obesity. But then the next sentence says; This exclusion will not apply to surgical treatment of morbid obesity ..and so on. This means that going to a weight doctor is not payable just to lose weight. But if surgery is involved, then we determine if medically necessary and then approve or deny the surgery. And yes lab band surgery is payable now as long as member meets criteria which I believe in part means the member's BMI is 35 or above (don't hold me to that)." Obesity = NO. MORBID OBESITY + Medical Necessity = Yes. So, I am back on track and REALLY excited. Of course, I still have to wait for the paperwork to clear and get that first decision.... *sigh*

Oh well - I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. I guess he's just an @$$! :]

Well, if Slapping him Upside the Head is out of the question, then I suppose you will have to kill him with kindness, sort of. Smile sweetly and ignore his petty outbursts - just be professional and polite. After a while, he will start to look even more like an @$$ and your other co-workers will begin to exert some peer pressure on him to grow up. Remember, you don't have to like him and he doesn't have to like you - but you DO have to work together. Maybe he thinks you are coming on to him??? Turn down the warmth factor just a little and Rise Above. Just my thoughts. Good luck.

Thinking Good Thoughts and wishing you the best! Just remember - Deep Calming Breaths... and think positive! :]

They have that stuff you can shoot into a flat tire... lol

I'm a Mortgage Underwriter at a Wholesale Mortgage Company in Addison TX.