Wheetsin

Yes. What you've heard is pretty much the opposite of the "going" talk. People who are morbidly or super morbidly obese are generally steered toward the RnY or other malabsorptive procedure, while those with lower BMIs are generally steered toward restrictive procedures.

I haven't had a fill in at least 8 months, and I'm tighter now than I was back when I got the fill. Thing that effect my restriction include barometric pressure/humidity changes, water retention, what my sinuses are doing (this may just be competition for the stoma's attention!), etc.

I told anyone with whom it came up. most of my family, most of my co-workers. The family that doesn't know, either I haven't seen them since banding (I'm not good at keeping communication up with family unless it's in person) or it just hasn't come up... several have seen the weightloss who maybe don't know I'm banded. Maybe someone told them, but it wasn't me... because we were at a wedding and when they commented on my loss, it wasn't an appropriate time to tell them. But if it comes up or they ask how I did it, I will tell them in a heartbeat. Wow, that's really random - sorry it's hard to follow. Basically I tell anyone who asks, anyone with whom it would come up as part of conversation, etc. No secrets here.

You don't need to give up alcohol with the band. Some opt to, because of the calories, but if you tolerated it pre-op you're probably going to be able to tolerate it post-op. Just keep in mind that after meal drinks may be a little more potent, since you'll have a lot less food in your stomach. :eek: negative/positive experiences -- just be careful not to drink too soon after eating, and be careful what/how you eat. And try to know where the bathrooms are, just in case.

I have unintentionally created many no-lidocaine converts and followers. :eek: (My surgeon now only uses it if you request it, and he doesn't tell the new patients it's an option).

Confusion one: food is supposed to stay in the upper pouch and slowly release down to the lower stomach. How should this feel? Do you feel the food resting up top?? Or do you feel it more like a regular swallow? I don't feel anything stay up top, and if it does, it's a PB for sure. I either feel nothing other than getting full very quickly, or I feel a bit of pressure. Not discomfort, but I can tell something is there. If I'm going to PB, it may start off like this feeling, but will get much, much worse whereas if it's just the food sitting there, it clears over time or sometimes suddenly (almost always with a hiccup, then a burp). Confusion two: If food sits up top like it's supposed to, why the PB? Food fills the pouch, nothing is supposed to slide through quickly, so how exactly does a PB happen? I thought something is stuck, and the body needs to get rid of it. But how can something get stuck at the top of the pouch if you've got food below it? "Sticks" happen at the stoma, not at the top of the pouch. If you PB and notice it's whatever you swallowed last, that's because it never made its way through, not because *it* was what was stuck. Just because your first 3 bites made it through the stoma doesn't mean bite 4 will. Perhaps the earlier bites were chewed better, or the food happened through at an agreeable angle. or maybe it's just being fickle. Does that answer what you're asking?

Something like this happened to me once. I needed am emergency unfill, and the only surgeon with the clinic who was in was new and had never done a fill/unfill before. Like usual I requested NO lidocaine. My surgeon gets it on the first try, no fluoro needed. This guy -- it took probably 10 minutes. And when he first missed it, instead of pulling the needle out and trying again, he was doing this combination of pushing on my abdomen from the right, and pulling it from the left, like he was trying to manhandle the needle into the port - hard enought that he was starting to sweat from the effort. He kept saying "That should be it... I dont understand..." and kept not getting anywhere. The nurse must have seen it in my eyes, because she kept telling him what to look her to know when he has it in the port. That was the only time a fill/unfill has bruised me, and the only time it has hurt (since I started requesting no lidocaine - first lidocaine fill hurt like a bitch). And the only time that for the next 4 days, I felt like I had been kicked.

Very interesting NPR segment on FARC and Betancourt this morning.

Oy yeah that sucked. Wasn't so bad with my band, but about 6 mos ago I had my gallbladder out and those incisions were the worst. I used Benadryll cream on the really bad days, and calamine lotion on the rest of the days, or at night when the itching woke me up. The calamine seemed to work faster - almost immediate relief, the cream lasted much longer but seemed to take longer to work. Once I figured I'd be real smart and use my Solarcaine for topical anesthetic - surely that would relieve the itching. Umm, don't do that. :eek:

Chill pill. We were asked our opinion, and I was just sharing mine. It wasn't a personal attack on anyone else, or trying to define a situation.

To be fair, there's still economic status, physical attributes we can't fix - at all or within reason, lots of personal lifestyle choices that aren't yet protected by law, etc. I experienced these things thin, and I experienced them fat. I don't think that when I experienced them fat, it was because I was fat. But I do think I might have *perceived* them as being because I was fat if I hadn't also experienced them while thin. Being fat is something we're constantly aware of, and it's easy to say "It's because I'm fat" because of that, whether it is or not. Just like hen you know you look crappy some day, you're probably going to attribute any negative experiences you have to looking crappy. Thin, I've walked into a Dillard's nicely dressed and had exceptional service, and I've walked in casually dressed and had not so great service. Honestly, if I walked in fat and didn't get great service, I would be more likely to think -- person is having a bad day, person doesn't perceive me as a commission, etc. than "person thinks I'm too fat."

I wonder why it was closed. Have to see what I can find out. It was a good thread.

I was banded at 382. I'm now between 235 - 245, fluctuating (but mot changing sizes). Was a size 32 or larger, now I range from 14 - 22. Mostly 18/20 on top, some 14/16. Mostly 18 or 20 on bottom, some 22. I had a thread specifically for people with starting BMIs of 50+. It was good and had a ton of experience/resources in it, but now for the life of me I can't find it. I hope that when the new forums were setup, that the old information wasn't just thrown away. :smile:

I came close to joining the Peace Corps one upon a time. I wanted to teach, and had this imaginary, ideal remote African village in mind. I spoke with them, and completed my app, but never submitted it. I would have, if either of two things hadn't happened: 1) I took a biology class that offered the chance to spend the semester studying rainforest & marine ecology. 2) I spoke with someone who had done Peace Corps service teaching in Africa, and his stories were more than enough to change my mind. I too, as suual, think Green is spot-on. It could easily be the most amazing, or horrible, thing you'll ever experience. Perhaps it's both. Do try to find someone who has been through it, from whom you can gain mentorship and anecdotal experience.

This is a huge myth that somehow always gets perpetuated. Protein-rich shampoos and conditioners can help the hair appear thicker, but it will not do anything about hair loss at the root (think about it - we can't all use protein-rich shampoos, and expect to have full heads of hair at 100 because of it). Hairloss occurs at the follicle, which is below the skin. The Proteins in a shampoo or conditioner can't do anything about what's below the skin, it can only effect the hair it can reach. At best it can help prevent exposed hair from breaking. It will not benefit the follicles nor will it impact true hairloss. Ask a hairdresser how the Protein helps, and see what they say. Chances are it's some BS answer they've heard through the grapevine. Hairloss is VERY common following surgery (or just anesthesia, or just significant body trauma, etc.) Most people here notice hairloss starting around 2 - 3 months post-op (give or take) and continuing from... a few weeks, to 8 - 12 months. I assume you're banded? If so, were you banded in the last 2 - 10 months? Diets severely lacking in protein for extended periods of time can see hairloss, but the chances that any of us here fit into that category are virtually nonexistant. If your hairloss is extreme and persistent, I would recommend a trip to your doctor. There are several more serious issues that hairloss can be a symptom of

Hmm, just searched Second Life to see what the show was about -- and now your post makes a lot more sense. So it's kind of like an old MUD or MOO, only with a GUI? And in this virtual world, you design "clothing" -- and the game is sponsoring a virtual design competition. Is that right?

Ok I'm so confused. There's a show called Project Runway, but you're not on it... but you are on Project Runway's second life? Is that like a spin-off show from Project Runway? But there's a game involved? What kind of game?

I would agree that well-balanced people do not want to be obese. There are certainly some folks out there who truly put effort into becoming and staying obese, but that stems from a lot more than "I want to be obese' -- much deeper issues there. I also think there's a lot more at play than bad food choices. Most obese people have skewed concepts of portions, and are consciously incompetent when it comes to planning good meals. Certainly that plays a role, and denial can be a very, very strong force. However, I think that most people who are obese are so because they get something out of it. When I say this, it's often misunderstood as "People want to be obese" -- but getting something out of some situation that makes it worthewhile, and wanting to be in that situation, are very different. For example, look at how many people stay in bad relationships. They know the relationships are not good for them, and want to be able to leave, but they just can't do it. Whether it's a relationship with a person, a substance, food, a belief -- doesn't matter, the same principles apply. Look at drug addicts. They hate their lives, but when given the opportunity to change it, usually decline or at least resist because they're so afraid of being without their vice. A lot of people use food and lifestyle, and therefore obesity, as a source of comfort, or a source of control, or of power, or of rebellion, and the list goes on. I think people are successful at overcomong obesity when the drive, desire, and perceived outcomes around the roots of their obesity no longer offer more than losing the weight can. Let's take someone who used food as a constant control, because human relationships were so unstable and unpredictable. Their doctor tells them, "Lost weight or you will die." At that point, the person needs to decide whether the psychological gains of food/obesity outweigh life. Sometimes it does, sometimes it does not. This is why having a good, experienced psychologist, with clinical background in addiction studies or weightloss, linked in to any weightloss effort can really, really change the outcomes. All just IMO of course.

We need a place where we can support each other through our "more than most" journey. Just as turtles don't get much out of hearing us talking about fast we're losing, maybe it would give us a nice break from "I'm getting banded because I need to lose 60 lbs". I think we have our own unique challenges, expectations, baggage, etc. -- and we need our own little niche to support eachother. We all have a very long journey ahead of us, and need to band together.

Nah, feel free to poke at my family -- I do. Well, I'm not sure there's any humor there to see. I don't see any, anyway. The kids don't have the most stable parents, but I will say that the grandparents on both sides (my aunts & uncles) have stepped up and are showing more sense & judgment raising their grandchildren than their children. Hopefully they learned from their parenting mistakes, and will not see fit to a repeat performance. In the case of each child, I can remember back to how they grew up, and I can see now how their current behavior was pretty much a predictable guarantee based on how they were raised. Anyway, what I meant to communicate, that didn't really come across, was the proximity of all these pregnanices and births to each other. There's only a handful of years separating all of the above.

BTW, "paying for it later" might involve a later, but will almost guaranteeably involve a right now. And if you're concerned that trying to hide your band when you order, wait until you're trying to hide your banding while you're stuck or if you've overeaten.

It's never an option to overeat and "pay for it later" unless a stretched pouch, impacted stoma, prolonged blockage, etc. are acceptable consequences to you. Tell people you're eating less in effort to lose weight. Tell people you're still full from a big breakfast/lunch/whatever. Order the Soup and say that it sounds really good. etc.

Click "New Thread". Scroll down past the "Submit New Thread" and "Preview Post" buttons and you will see an "Additional Options" section. The 4th option in that section is "Post a Poll." Click that option, set your poll options, and submit. You will then be able to set up your poll.

I see a trend. Here's our female offpsring make-up: Me (31) - married 10 yrs, good career, lots of professional accomplishments, lots of personal accomplishments, currently completing Master of Science #2. Would like kid, but not having much luck & starting to wonder whether or not it's medically a possibility. Female cousin 1 (27) - married about 6 years, ceremony when she was 7 months into unplanned pregnancy 1. She said she was done having kids after that one, but has since had 3 additional unplanned births, and is currently pregnant with unplanned #5. She attended 1 year of college, flunked out, and told her husband he would have to support them because she just didn't want to have to worry about work or school. Oh and one professional accomplishment - she has worked two jobs her entire life. On the second, she was dismised for suspicion of theft. Female cousin (25) - Became pregnant at 14 by a boy she had a crush on and came close to stalking, let use her. Claims it was her first time and they used a condom. Father has never been in the picture. Still lives with her parents because they're free babysitting. Works a steady job, but parties non-stop when work is over. Sometimes makes an hour or two to spend with her kids between work & party, but usually does not. Doesn't understand why she has a hard time finding "a good man." Sister of 27 y/o cousin. Female cousin 2 (19) - Unmarried, dropped out of high school due to unplanned pregnany. Never went back. Works part-time as a waitress, runs with the wrong crowd when she's not waitressing, and takes advantage of her parents who for some unknown reason are willing to pay her rent when they have a 5 bedroom house. Lots of mental problems with this one, she's currently in a stage of hating the world for her problems. Female cousin 3 (17) - Unmarried, no children, not pregnant. Academic suspension twice in high school, the result of skipping classes. Only graduated because her parents drive her to school, called the school every 30 mins to ensure she was still there (if she wasn't, they tracked her down), and picked her up. Just finished flunking her first semester of college. Is at least using pot and LSD on a regular basis, if not more. Last I heard was she broke her wrist trying to drunkenly sneak out of her parents house. We moved here, where everyone else already lived. I was always a black sheep to my aunts/uncles because they thought I was a troublemaker based purely on how I looked (yes, this is the depth of my family, sooo amazingly shallow in sooo many ways). I ran with the grunge/alternative/skater crowd when it hit, wore some pretty funky things, had some pretty funky hair colors, but was a good kid. That didn't matter, because I didn't look mainstream and the guys I dated were too "dirty" or "scary" for their taste. For about 8 years my parents had to listen to how they weren't good parents, how they weren't raising me right, how I got away with too much... how THEY were wrecking my future (this came after I showed up to a family event with "Deadly Nightshade" hair color, and when one of my aunts turned to my mom and said Can you believe she'd do that and embarass us all like that?? my mom responded, I'm the one who helped her dye it.), etc. It was a full lecture/argument every single time they saw my parents. Now my parents sit back and have good belly laughs, because they love the irony, and love people able to sit back and truly have nothing to say when the family gets together and everyone starts bitching about their kids.

Tuna salad, chicken salad, turkey salad, ham salad, salmon salad, egg salad... Anything microwave. Anything take and bake. Anything carryout. Anything crockpot. Anything canned.