Wheetsin

I didn't mean to be so secretive about "the thing" - it's not secretive at all. I just keep thinking of it as that. (I *wish* it was a sex toy!!) It's this camera. Which -- back long ago photography was a hobby of mine, and maybe once a year I get a chance to do it. For anything other than hobby time I prefer the little ones that I can throw in my purse or pocket, not something with big lenses I have to wear around my neck like a tourist. So it's a sweet thought, but totally impractical and totally wrong time, and of dubious intent. He, on the other hand, has all the free time in the world and is quite fond of photographing things like our ceiling fan. His computer monitor. The grill. The tchotchkes on his desk. The dirty laundry on the floor. I think the idea of him truly having no clue is spot-on. One year for our anniversary he bought me a gift certificate to Target. And for xmas I got a blender. A few years I've gotten nothing because he didn't know what to get me. He is a sweet man, he's just not creative or romantic. If he had to plan a romantic evening we'd end up at a restaurant because that's all he'd be able to think to do. (We are total opposites here, so I just need to learn to keep my hopes low!) And thank you for all the birthday wishes. My coworkers have really spoiled me today, so it's not a total loss. :mad:

Moving this to the lounge since our surgical forums are specific to the lap-band. You may get better responses here re: VSG.

A hair shy of 2 years out and even at my worst (which has to be hunched over a public toilet spewing out what looks like shampoo lather... or maybe it was having to have a virtual stranger co-worker pull off the interstate 20 times, en route to an emergency unfill, so I could yak gallons of egg white out her car door...or...) I have truly and with all serious never once regretted my band. I've never even wondered if I regret it. My only regret -- not capitalizing more on the first 6 months.

BTW, I know this doesn't apply to everyone, but there are a few things I can do to help me figure out if I'm going to have to PB again, or if I'm just having residual "stuck" misery that will eventually subside. One of them is take a deep breath. When I take a deep breath, if it hurts in the area of my band, I pretty much know I will need to PB again. If it doesn't, chances are I do not. Another is swallow something very small, like an enzyme tablet (never does me any good, but it's something small that I can swallow). If I have to sort of force my body to swallow, I probably have to PB again. If I can easily swallow it, typically I do not. Remedies - these do not work for me, but a lot of people find relief with one or more of them. pineapple juice (tiny sips), meat tenderizer (dissolved in warm or hot water), papaya enzyme tablets (well-chewed), taking a deep breath and holding it repeatedly, etc. The one thing that on occasion works for me is to hunch over something, such as my kitchen island, and arch my back. Not always, but more than once, after doing this for a minute or two I will get my signal that the stick has cleared.

Sounds like a PB, especially if there was pain involved. It is like throwing up in the sense of the wretching, the noises you make, etc. It is not like vomitting in the sense of what comes out and where it comes from. What you brought up - was it burning, acidy and smelly like when you vomit? Or was it more "slimy" - saliva, thick, with perhaps some small pieces of recently-swallowed food? Vomiting involves stomach contents, so you get all that acid and partially digested food (usually, not always). PBing involves thich mucusy saliva and possibly whatever was stuck and/or whatever you've swallowed since. My money is on PB. PB's can bring immediate relief, but if it's a significant stick, it can take a while to clear. When it happens to me, there is maybe some immediate relief, maybe not, and then the pressure/doscomfort slowly begins to grow again until I need to revisit the sink. If it doesn't clear for me the first time, the average is one more time. However, it has taken up to 5 - 6 times (yaks) to clear. A heads-up: because of all the churning & stuff that's going on inside you, with a prolonged stick you may find that you're yakking something that looks like thick shampoo lather. Don't panic if you see this, it's "normal" for the circumstance. :cursing: For me, 6 hours is my threshold. I've only hit it once. So if something hasn't cleared within 6 hours of trying, at that point I'm probably too swollen for it to get much better on its own, and I'm calling for an unfill. Most of the time, if it'sg oing to be a repeat episode, I'm clear in 60 - 180 minutes.

Do you know if Linda is there in some capacity, or if she is gone completely? She really helped me out with something, and I didn't even know she was gone until I sent her a "thank you" bouquet and it was returned to me. ETA - Linda the coordinator, not Linda the office nurse.

We crate-trained our dog. It was heart-breaking at times, but it worked. It's truly not "mean", even though you will feel mean. In the wild dogs will seek small & confined spaces because it's what lets them feel protected. (Ever notice how most of the time when dogs lay, they lay up against something? That's not coincidence!) Crate training works because - long story short - dogs do not like to mess their living areas. Once the dog can associate the crate to its living area, accidents will become fewer and fewer. But you have to be patient. Some dogs get it in 2 weeks, and some (like ours) took 5 - 6 months. It was frustrating. It got to the point that we quit lining the crate with the woolen pads, and just went out and bought some towels and would use those instead. Everyday like clockwork he would have one pee spot when we got home. Then suddenly he didn't and it progressed quickly from there. One mistake we made was -- change of direction. Our house is a tri-level. I *rarely* set foot in the lowest level, other than to walk in the house from the garage. This shows, because if our dog is going to sneak away and have an accident, he will do it in this room. It's fairly clear that he does not have the same sense of that room as his "turf" as he does the others. With 20/20 hindsight, I wish I'd spent equal time here to help him develop that sense. As for crying the whole time, probably not. At first, yes - eventually they will go to sleep. Maybe cry more when they wake up. But over time they will learn it as a routine. We took a stepped approach after the crate. So he went from crate to a small area of the hallway, to the whole hallway, to the hallway + a room, to a full level of the house, etc. I can remember when we first started doing this, as soon as the gates went in place he would BAWL like there was no tomorrow. We heard it until we were in the car and backing out of the driveway. It was a very gradual transition away from this. Now, when we pull out the gates (for reasons not related to housebreaking we keep him in the kitchen during the work day, if it's a day I have to be in the office), we don't even have to touch the gates for him to automatically go into the kitchen and lay in his bed. All it takes is me stopping by hubby's bathroom and turning out his light (which he always leaves on). Dogs are very keen to routine, because routine is nothing more than repeated behavior. This is enough to cue him to go down and get ready. In fact, he knows pretty much my entire morning routine, and will do different, predictable actions based on what, exactly I'm doing. So long story short - you will feel like a bad person, and you will feel like you're somehow abusing your puppy, but you aren't -- just be tough, hang in there, and it will get better over time.

Weight Watchers won't count as a medically supervised diet, and shouldn't count, because it's not medically supervised. Medically supervised means that you are going to a physician for the sole purpose of weight management, in which case you will have a lot of medical paperwork to back you up (even when the physician refers you to a dietician). A lot of people think having gone to the doctor in the last 6 months, and have a record with their weight on it, will satisfy this requirement but unfortunately they find it does not. In fact, believe many insurance companies look for specific coding related to treatment of morbid/obesity. I understand what you're going through. You've made up your mind and want an instant reward. I don't know too many people who haven't been there in some way or another. I was very glad when I learned I didn't need the 6 mos (assumed I would), but looking back -- it's really not a bad requirement to have in place.

I would like to see Billy again. She was a hoot. I wonder if I could just show up there with some margaritas...

Only Bean I know of is an MP3 player...

I love Facebook. I only have like 5 friends there (most of my friends aren't really internet savvy beyond being able to Google something), and my husband is one of them, but all the challenges & quizzes can be fun. I was able to find some people that I'd given up being able to reconnect with, so to me it's already a win. If you enjoy Facebook, maybe try LinkedIn, which is more of a vocationally focused "community." Never had, or even wanted, anything to do with MySpace.

It's not a news flash, but the band cannot do its job until it is able to restrict. Until that point, it's all on you and for many people, that's the same as not having a band. You probably won't have a lot of restriction after your first fill, so you will need additional patience. It's very, very early in the process to have feelings of failure. Why? If someone looks at you, and you perceive their look to be saying "something should have changed" - so what? What does that mean to you, and why does it matter? Maybe they're looking at you and thinking "cute shirt" or "I can't believe you betrayed my trust" or "what's your name?" or "I need to get milk, eggs, broccoli..." Never assume you know what's on someone's mind, it just makes you paranoid and messes with your self-esteem. If you really need to know what others think (do question this need, a lot), then why not just ask them?<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

BTW, on Feb 11 Peggy Riley, an IRS media relations specialist, was asked about the '08 taxable status of the rebate. She replied, "We still do not have information available about the economic stimulus checks yet, be sure to check Internal Revenue Service for updated information." Everything I've read indicates it WILL be reportable on '08 taxes, but oddly enough I couldn't find anything at irs.gov to verify or refute this.

Full article at Atlanta News, Sports, Atlanta Weather, Business News | ajc.com. I've shared my opinion here before that while I don't mind paying more taxes than someone who makes less money, I do mind paying a higher percentage. My husband and I will be some of the other ripped off people receiving only a partial rebate, and as a matter of principle, it really pisses me off. REALLY. We have worked hard vocationally and educationally to get where we are today. My student loans (which I only took out my first four years of college) are my second largest debt next to my mortgage. Of course, I don't get jack of a deduction from the interest - income is too high, even though I paid more in student loan interest ALONE than many people made this year. Another place I'm ripped off. It truly feels like we are penalized for having an income above the magical cutoff. We have worked hard to get here, and work hard for our money, we have tried to better ourselves and strive to be top producers in our fields, which happen to be well-paid fields, and because of our work, we get penalized. While others - including (I fully recognize there are lots of degrees in "others" and this is just one part) those who don't work hard, don't worry about furthering (or even having) careers, etc. get handouts. "Well, they need the money more than you do." (What I've heard countless times that discussion on this has come up)... ... Maybe so, but there are people out there who need the money less than I do, and I would think it unfair if I received something and they did not. And I really have to question "need." No one will convince me that most families will spend this money on things that are truly needed like...what... groceries, utilities, medication. I observed about 12 people at work talking about this rebate, and the consensus purchases were things like bigger TVs, game systems ("rock band" - whatever that is), jewelret... you know, the things that will put the money imemdiately into the economy. People don't need those things. If $600 makes or breaks you financially, then you NEED to pay off some debt or rearrange your financial situation, a higher paying job... lots of possibilities here, but you don't need a freaking XBOX. That's not what most people are going to do with this money, so it has jack shit to do with need and that's admitted freely in the purpose statement for this rebate. Where oh where is my consumption-based tax?!? Oh yeah, not one of the forerunners, that's where. :biggrin:

Here's irony - a few lives ago I worked at the H&R Block corporate offices, and the CEO (at the time at least, couldn't tell you if he's still there or not) used to always talk about how his, and therefore our, only responsibility was to deliver profit to the stakeholders. They just laid off a few hundred people, and let's not even try to count the lawsuits. Coincidence?

I've been thinking about this (stuck in traffic on the way home). I could go to a thrift store (if I could get past the smell, everyone I've been in smells like old laundry sprinkled with toenail clippings or smtg... not that I've smelled that) and buy -- a lamp. Or a purse. Or a book. That wouldn't bother me at all. I could not go and buy, say, bedsheets unless I was going to cut them up and turn them into washrags or something. I don't think I could sleep on them. That's really not saying "I'm too good" or anything, it's just... well. It's the same thing as why midgets creep me out. Just a "thing." :tt2: I know yucky people try things on at stores, and I know that not everyone in a thrift store is yucky. But to me there's a long-term vs. short-term difference. Buying a jacket that someone else tried on, vs. buying bedsheets someone used until they were faded & pilled. Now if I walked in a thrift store and saw a brand new with tags on jacket that I loved... that might not bother me so much because probably no one wore it, and probably they didn't wear it naked underneath. I'd still have to get it dry cleaned. If I walked in an saw a used shirt, still in good shape -- don't think I could do it. I'm not even a germ phobe. Maybe it's some kind of lasting trauma from smelling a real bad thrift store as a kid or something.

Great point, Alexandra. Did we see much difference in '01? Not that I know of. I didn't even get into the "makes sense" side of it. They want to inject this money so people will spend, therefore creating more jobs. Higher employment rates are their short-term goals. I'm no macro economist, but I just don't see $600 p/p doing that. It's going to be so spread out in so many areas, I think it would just diffuse away.

It's a 75,000 cutoff that applies to AGI. Contributions to 401k and health savings do not count toward the limits. The bigger kicker -- once you pass $87k individual/$174k couples, you're beyond the maximum for any rebate. So you can automatically count on getting ZIP.

I can't do thrift stores. It's not about being snobby or having to spend a lot, it's more about not being able to get over the smell of the places, and the "how many people wore this before me?" idea. Have never worn a thriftstore piece because of this. It gives me the creeps. It's weird. I can borrow a pair of jeans from a friend, but I know her and where she's been... kind of thing. *shrug* I'm glad you can, and that you're finding good deals. You're saving a ton of money. And gas, and time, and don't even have to worry about sales.

See this thread: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/just-wondering-2304/ Good starting info.

I can't say why, but I don't think it works that way. Laws of some kind or another. And I could be completely wrong. Portability would also probably be a challenge for you. And I'm not sure you'd save anything being self pay vs. individual coverage.

In metrosexualese, that would be "guyliner".

My port is 1 - 2 inches below the incision, and to the right. Palpatating is sore to me, just like if I push on my own port, which I don't often do. Not terrible pain, but uncomfortable, maybe like pushing on a bruise (but a very different sensation). My first fill hurt because I let him use lidocaine. That lidocaine shot was a doozy. The fill itself did not hurt, and I did not have any sensations as the fill was being put in (nor have I sense, without lidocaine).

No problem. Just didn't want you wondering why it was suddenly missing. :smile:

I think everyone should either be taxed at an equal rate (e.g. flat tax) or based on consumption. Which isn't that far from equal. Either way, you're going to pay in more if you make more money, but you aren't assigned a higher percentage. The whole higher percentage thing is the kicker for me. That and salary-based disqualification for deductions. Either everyone can claim their student loan interest, or no one can. I can't really subscrine to either party. :smile: