Wheetsin

I've seen many, many things that I think are more obscene or ridiculous, but it certainly deserves its share of scrutiny.

I love this topic. Start a new thread.

I've known one of the store managers (unfortunately not the store I shopped at yesterday) since I was in high school. She told me once that everyone in their ad wears their sizes. She said she met one of the models once, and she was over 6'5. Yeah, if I wore a 14 and was 6'5, I'd look that good too. You'll notice - they have relatively normal sized mannequins (not really plus sized) in the store, but will claim that those mannequins wear their sizes. But all you have to do is look at the back of the mannequins and you'll see where they used clips to pull the clothes taut and make them fit. I don't call that "wearing."

I just got off the phone with them again. Here's how it went (slightly abbreviated version). I started from scratch because the girl who answered wasn't anyone I dealt with lsat night: Me: Hi, I was in lastnight during the buy one get one free sale on bottoms, but two of the bottoms I bought rang up full price, so it looks like the sale didn't get applied to them. I know the sale is over now, but I want it applied to these pants. What do I need to bring? (I know damned well what to bring, but I'm trying to take the "demanding" edge off a bit) Her: The uh err... what? Me: Bottoms were buy one get one free. I bought 6, I got 2 free. I should have gotten 3 free. The sale didn't apply to two of the bottoms I got. I was charged full price for each. I need to have the price adjusted. Her: How was it not adjusted? Me: How should I know? Her: What's going on now? Me: I bought 6 pairs of pants. With buy one get one free, I should be charged for three pairs. With me? (she confirms) I was charged for 4 pairs. With me? (she confirms) I need to have an adjustment made so that I'm only charged for three pairs. Her: But the sale wasn't just for three pair of pants. Me: ?????????? ?????????????? ?????????????????? (this indicates silence while I try to figure out what she just said) Me: Yeah, I have no idea what you just said. I tried to figure it out but I can't. Look, I bought two skirts, two crop pants, and two linen pedals. I should have been charged for one skirt, one crop pant, and one pedal, right? (I think she's trying to write this down, perhaps I should offer to fax over an illustration.) Her: Right. Me: I was charged full prie for both pedals. Her: Ok... that sounds right. Me: No, it's not right, and you're just not getting it. Let me talk to someone else. Her: The manager isn't here. Me: I didn't say the manager, I said someone else. Anyone. Please. Her: Err... uh... yeah just bring your receipt in. *click*

Because they have clothes that fit me, plain and simple. And I'm hard to fit.

Oh and just me - I'll take my 5 little surgery scars over more stretch mark roadmaps any day of the week!

Oh, and because now I'm all worked up about it again... Regarding thw two pants they didn't include in the sale, I wanted two different colors, but they only had one of the colors in my size. So I told the lady, who was also the manager, "I want to get the darker ones in these, too, so I will get the buy one get one on these." She says OK, and calls three other stores to locate the pants for me. She finds them, and has the other store put them on hold. She then tells me about a way I could have them shipped to my house and it would still count in the buy one get one, but checks the warehouse and they're out. So I tell her to go ahead and ring up two in the same color so I get the sale, and I will just make the drive tomorrow (today) and exchange one of them for the other color at the store... and she says OK. So like 3 or 4 times I indicated I was buying both pants so I would get the sale. Wtf didn't she tell me then if they weren't included. Argh!

What exactly did you get for the $1450?? Was that your total cost, or did you use some kind of referral agency that charged $1450 for the referral? (Sorry I have no idea what Belite is)

Do I really need to keep the band in FOREVER? If and when I get thinner, I dont want some big ugly port-bump! Besides, having something artificial in my body forever kind of gives me the creeps. Sorry for the directness, but if you need the band to lose weight, why do you think you'll be able to maintain without it? I'm not saying it won't happen, but it's very unlikely. The lap-band isn't a "quick fix." It's not designed to be installed until, and then taken out like braces. Part of what you're doing when you're banded is agreeing to have a medical implant. Sure, you could find someone to take it out, but then what do you do if the weight comes back? Get another one? Live with regret? If the idea of a port bothers you (not all of them show, BTW), then ask your surgeon to use a low profile port from the get-go. Another question = (I hate sounding so superficial about this but hey I'm a teen!) Scarring. What is your experience with scarring and what should I expect?? The only one of my scars that are anything more than very faint, thin, pale lines is my port scar which had minor keloiding. I have no idea what you should expect, I know nothing about your skin type, family disposition, and how you will treat yourself after surgery (e.g. sun exposure can emphasize the scars). Oh yeah one more thing - I'd like some general stories/advice. Anyone willing to share is more than welcome...I'm a youngin' but I'm damned intelligent so anything is more than appreciated. Stories about what in particular? There are many aspects to being banded, many different types of stories to tell. And probably one of the best ways is to search for terms like "my story", or the specific topic that you're curious about. Also - foods/drinks that just DID NOT work for you and your band. Could be spice-wise, size-wise, consistency-wise anything really. Nothing known for me. Bananas, applesauce, scrambled eggs and processes eggs cause me pain when I have good restriction, but I can eat them if I want. My difficulty is more around time of day than food. Thank you in advance!! <!-- / message -->

Be careful doing this. If you're stuck enough, adding any fluids (for whatever reason, this does not hold true to saliva... perhaps because it's such a small quantity) can (not does, but can) really add to the pain factor. Ugh, gives me chills just to think about it. And for me, never expedited the process... just doubled me over.

Making oneself throw up is a poor practice and can (likely does, according to the research) contribute greatly to slipped bands. Letting the stuff come up on its own, which 99% of the time it will do, is still not great - but does not carry the same complication risks. Your body will get rid of it on its own, most likely. It's just going to take a bit longer. And in the meantime, it does hurt. A lot of people won't endure the hurt so they gag themselves. If your body can't/doesn't get rif of it on its own, chances are your esophagus will irritate, you will swell, get tighter, and end up needing an unfill. Everyone I know IRL who is banded for a year or more has had to have an unfill at some point -- it's really not that uncommon.

No baby experience but tell us about your daily menu, exercise, etc. and maybe we can help.

Probably (can't say for sure) what you threw up wasn't bile but thick saliva. The saliva can even be discolored if you've eaten something, taken medication, etc. The two are very often mistaken for each other. As for the other time, sounds like you were just dry heaving.Both situations sound to me like something got stuck. This can be a function of restriction, eating too fast, eating too much, not chewing well enough, etc. In your case it could be a combination of all of the above (well, maybe not the chewing, but the drinking). More than a few times I've been to the point where I have to bring up stuck food, but only wretch/dry heave. The pain increases for a while, then eventually subsides, and nothing ever does come up. It's like the internal spasms driving the dry heaves are enough to push the blockage through. What's your post-op diet?? Your surgeon should have specified foods that were ok for you to eat. A lot of what you described are considered "mushies" which normally ARE NOT ok the day after surgery. Plans vary by surgeon but mine was liquids for two full days post-op (meaning 48 hours form my release, not just two sunrises), then thick liquids such as "cream of" Soups and yogurt for four days, then very soft/moise mushies for a few days, etc. You do need to call your surgeon, and in the meantime stick with liquids. When you call your surgeon, have him verify that things like mashed potatoes and pudding are, indeed, ok'ed by him/her to eat immediately after surgery. If s/he confirms this, tell them you have too much swelling/restriction to keep them down.

Fills are a breeze. My advice would be to decline the local if they offer. IME the local hurt, just getting the fill does not. As for your questions, no one here can answer them accurately, unless they have a heck of a crystal ball. The best any of us can do is give you our experiences. I can't know if you will have restriction because I don't know what size your band is, how much fill your surgeon will give, and most importantly how YOUR BODY will respond to the band. Meaning, take 10 people with the same band who all say they have perfect restriction, and you're going to have 10 different fill amounts. Whether or not you go on liquids is up to your surgeon. Mine recommends mushies for the remainer of the day, then normal foods the next. Yours may put you on liquids. You said you were scared, but then asked if you would have to be on liquids and have restriction. Is this what you're scared of?

Fish, white meats, milk, etc. are all good sources of protein, not sweet and generally not yucky.

I need to let the presure build until I have no real choice other than to sit down and crank it out. (Back to the MBTI thread, that's a characterisitc of INTJ. We don't have to work hard to produce good results. Sounds bad, but it's true. I could get home, sit down, and whip out a 10 page paper, as long as the topic interested me, in no time whereas others have to sit and think and get inspired and research and get past writer's block, etc. This is a gift, enjoy it.)

My final project for this semester is due Sunday. It's supposed to be a toolkit for other practitioners... a "guide" to help someone through the subject matter (which happens to be the technology of human performance... technology as in the science of, not as in computers). Our profressor told us we could expect our final products to be anywhere between 300 - 700 pages. Of course, I don't have to write all that. I can use 2 papers I've already written, 2 that someone else in the class already wrote, and external resources. But I do have to write three sections on my own. Guess how many of those three I have written? Yup, big fat zero. I'll probably start on it during lunch tomorrow. Probably.

I know a girl who was banded by Malley in 2004. She speaks very highly of him. I've never met him so I can't give any of my own testament. I want PS "tokens" in exchange for referrals. Say every 5 people you get a token, and every token takes $1000 off your PS bill. I would be in heaven! 30+ people have gone to my surgeon's info night because of me, and at least 7 have had, or are scheduled for, surgery with him. Where's my damn bird dog fee?! You know, when you think about it, it's really against my best interest to refer people. More people = he's busier = longer waits in the office, more lead time to getting an appt, etc.

I can interact well and often play the role of entertainer, but - not with people I don't have rapport with. When I am around people for the first time, or first few times, I'm quiet. People think this is being disinterested, or shy, or disengaged... but I'm just being observant. I'm watching the people, gauging their interactions, and "figuring them out." That's just how I do it. Laurend, one way INTJs are different (as posted) are their relationships. When my husband meets someone, he sees them as a potential friend. They have to do something to change his mind, and it takes something very significant. Because of this he's easily manipulated and taken advantage of. As I put it, everyone he meets is an "A", and all they can do is work themselves down from there. In that way we're very complimentary, because I'm the exact opposite. When I meet someone, regardless of who they are, they start out around a C, C-, maybe even a D. From there, the can move up or down. And they move quickly. Once you're up you can move down, but it will take a lot. Once you're down, you're probably not going to be able to move back up. This is related to the lack of importance that interpersonal relationships have to me. I don't think twice about *poof* dropping a "friend" if they do something I don't like, or even if I'm just tired of them. And I never look back. I never regret it. My use for them is over, and I've moved on. That's why, after DH and I crossed the one year mark of being together, I knew I would marry him. I could never pass the one year mark and still be interested in someone before. I was lucky to get past 6 months before I just didn't want anything to do with them anymore. I'm the perfect one night stand.

The one I linked isn't the Meyers Briggs either. You won't find the MBTI online unless there's some kind of fee involved, because it requires certification to administer. Things like mood, recent experiences, etc. can impact answers. Generally what you tell people is to answer based on what's generally true, and not what's situationally true. For example, I'm a fully expressed introvert (which, contrary to popular belief, doesn't mean I'm shy. I'm FAR from shy.) Now, if I've just gone to a party and had a good time, I might be pulled to answer a question about my comfort in public settings differently than I would normally answer (normally I would abhor them). However, if I consider it on a "general" basis, I would still be uncomfortable and answer differently. People have tendency to try and answer based on one or two specific (either significant or recent) memories, and you have to try and discount those and focus on - years worth of behavior. We all move out of our primary types at times. This is often called "flexing." Even though I'm a fully expressed introvert, people (those who aren't familiar with the indicators) often think I'm an extrovert. This is usually because 1) they only have a colloquial understanding of what it means, or 2) I will often act like an extrovert in the workplace, even though I am not, because I learned early on that introverts are rarely rewarded.

ALl of it is very true for me, but three things in particular. 1 = having your confidence misunderstood for arrogance. In work settings I've been told that I intimidate other people into being quiet, because I'm the first to speak and don't really leave any room for doubt. People tend to perceive me one way or the other. Either I'm arrogant & self-righteous and they don't care for me or I intimidate them, or I'm just confident in my knowledge and they come to see me as a resource or someone to ask, "Can I run this by you" or "What am I not seeing?" Etc. 2 = Respect has to be earned, and it's one of the most important things in relationships with people. I'm never impressed or intimidated by a title. I'm not going to look up to a superior just because they're in a higher position. When they can show me they know their stuff, I will respect them. It doesn't take much to earn my respect, but if you don't have it, I don't even want to look at you. #3 - Wanting people to make sense. I focus on what I need to know, and I have no patience for miscellanous/excess information. Unfortunately my husband is really bad about this. As I put it to him, I ask him what time it is and he tells me how to build a clock. I also have very little tolerance for ignorance... e.g. "I do not suffer fools lightly." I work in the field of adult education - behind the scenes. This is why it works for me. It's my role to engineer the performance interventions. I leave the people stuff to someone else.

I don't sip. Pre-op I was a major guper and I can't gulp as fast/much now, but I'm still a fast drinker. The onyl time I can't is when my esophagus is a little full, and then you know right away you've done something wrong. I don't know that you can stretch the esophagus with fluids. I'd think they would back up before they would cause deformity. That is, assuming they do anything other than funnel right through.

It's not a PB if you make yourself sick, is it? And FWIW, I've *never* had a PB do anything like that. Were you able to breathe throughout the entire thing? Any pain to speak of? Did anything come up?

And I'm not fond of camel toe. Or mangina, for that matter. Har har. Congratulations MsDad! Does anyone get the idea that the reason we are all over weight is that we know way too much about food ! Thank you! It's refreshing to see someone own up to their weight problem. I'm fat because I put too much food in my mouth. Why is that so hard? :heh:

I've contributed a few times, so now I'm gonna take. Central vaccuum. We have been getting bids and it looks like we're right around $1200. I've heard great reviews on them. But it's hard to imagine something having good suction when you're on the other end of a 20ft hose. So - central vaccuum. Works? Worth it?