Wheetsin

Not a guy but no, the penis does not get larger. General shrinking of the pubic area (through fat loss) will increase the distance from the tip of the penis to the start of the abdomen, giving the appearance that the penis has grown. It's the same as with women's breasts. A lot of women swear their breasts grow larger when they lose weight. They just look larger, because as the body recedes, more shows. Not sure of an easy analogy. Maybe a straw in a wrapper. The straw is there the whole time, but you see it more and more as you pull the paper back. In this case, the paper is the decreasing body.

Surgery was on a Wednesday. Off that Thur & Fri. Took a road trip to visit fa,ily out of town Saturday. I telecommuted the next Mon & Tue because my slacks all hit right on one of the staple rows and I didn't want the area to get irritated.

I think some clarification might help you out. When you bring up the food that can't pass through the stoma, your stomach isn't involved. It's all happening at an "esophageal" level. Long story short. And drinking a carbonated beverage won't do anything to soothe that. If anything, I'd think the carbonation could make it worse. Carbonation always had a way of "burning" me. You'll have to rely on things that can help as they're on their way down -- lots of people swear by aloe vera gel. For me it's warm liquids. If you can eat meat, potatoes, and salad when you sit down, but things like sandwiches on the go come back up, then my first reaction is that it's how you're eating and not your fill. I have no idea what your habits are around bite size, how much you swallow at once, etc. -- but when someone is overfilled, it's much more likely that they'll get sick on meat but can (or sometimes can't if it's significantly tight) get liquids down. If meat and potatoes go down for you, but nothing else (which would include liquids) does, then I don't think overfill is your issue.

Two other ladies I know who were banded by my surgeon and I have agreed that once we're all at goal, or at least at the size we'll wear when we're at goal, we're going to submit for a group What Not to Wear. They've featured individial WLS guests before, and groups (like the group of girls meeting for their highschool reunion), but not a combination of the two. I've always declined being on TV, but I would do that in a heartbeat. And I'd die happy if Nick had his way with my hair. ** edited - I'm tired and apparently me no tipe guhd tonite

Ok everyone here is the thing, I'm being banded on 1/25/07, and I just have a few more questions to ask. Ok on the two week pre op diet should I A. Stop smoking until after surgery, and B. should I go on this 10 days or 14 prior to surgery date, because all I am allowed is glucerna weight loss shakes *very expensive* juice broths teas lowfat or plain yogurt not very exciting haha. Ask your surgeon. Each has their own pre- and post-op guidelines. Also what kind of anasthesea do they use is like gas or is it like the liquid valume stuff they pump in your iv. In the prep area I was given some kind of liquid thruogh my IV that made me a little loopy. They called it "happy juice" and "milk of amnesia". In the OR I was given gas. The last thing I remember before waking up was them putting the mask on... it was a little crooked on my face, and I thought - "All the gas will leak out and I'll never fall asleep..." Then I was waking up. Or does it depend. Also what I want to ask is some statistics like how many ppl have their band after years of having it in, Well, then you'd have to know specifically what you want to know. "How many people after years" is impossible to answer. I know two sisters banded in 2001 and both still have their bands. or how many have died from it None to date, that I'm aware of. Refererring to the band itself. or how many bands have eroded etc. The erosion percentage is something like - less than one percent (if that's now inaccurate, someone please correct me). So find some literature and get a number of how many people have been banded, and multiply by .01 and that's your worst case scenario. Just a few scary thoughts. One other thing guys I can't sleep on my back I have to normaly sleep on my somache is this going to be a problem? I doubt you'll be able to sleep on your stomach, at least in the first week. It took me (I think) 2 days to get into my own bed. Until then I was sleeping in a recliner. Once in bed I slept on my back propped up on about 5 pillows, or on my side with a pillow under my stomach to support the port incision. How much pain medecine do they give you is it all liquid, how much pain are you in when you wake up from sugery? When asked to rate my pain on a scale of 1 - 10, which they asked me before I was fully awake, I answered "like a half". I just didn't have any pain. Within the first 45 minutes of waking up I was given a dose of hydrocodone. And upon release they have me a rx for a week's worth. I took about half of it, then went to liquid Tylenol. I didn't have significant pain unless I was standing, sitting, coughing, sneezing... or hitting potholes in the road.

If someone experiences a slipped band, but is medically qualified for rebanding, why is the band removed and a new one put in place? Why isn't the original band just resecured back where it should be?

Yeah, like all they have to do is sew one of those damn sequins onto the tag. Isn't that warning enough?

Should probably put this in the Insurance forum but it's something that apparently can pop up at any time and I want to make sure people are aware of the possibility. All along I've kind of thought it was too easy, nothing went wrong... well, now it has. :target: Consider this a heads-up and watch out for something similar, because I'm now in telephone hell caught in between my insurance company and my anesthesiologist's billing service. My insurance company covered LB at 100%, and I used in-network everything. My only responsiblity was copays. Insurance company confirms this. Yet the other day, more than 10 months after my surgery, I get a bill for $$$ from the anesthesiologist office. So I call insurance company and they say that's crazy, we paid it, by law they're not allowed to bill you for anything, we'll take care of it. I call anesthesiologist office back (AO for short), they say, "Oh they're so stupid, they don't understand their own policy, we'll take care of it." This week I get a cc letter from insurance company to AO saying, "We have reviewed the claim and it is denied." I call AO back. Per their story, my insurance company requires anesthesiology services to be broken in half, with half billed under the anesthesiologist and half billed under the MD. Again, this is insurance company's policy. So AO sent the two half-bills out to the insurance company, but only received payment for one... even though insurance company seems to believe they've paid the full balance. I call insurance company and they say, "We paid that, here's the amount <they confirm the half amount, and it's half of what was submitted>, and if they keep billing you it's a breech of policy and they could lose their contract with us." So what it really boils down to is someone (my thought is the insurance company) not understanding their own policy. So I call insurance company back and say something like -- I think there's a confusion, I'm not getting a balance bill, I'm getting half of the actual bill because your policy requires a bill be split into two, but you only paid one of them. They say, "That's not our policy". Anesthesiologist billing says, "That's their policy." I call insurance company back and tell them I want something done about this, as I'm getting a $$$ bill that by law I'm required to pay, but I'm in contract with them to cover it and their contract with me states they will pay. They say, "You can't be held liable, don't pay it because we will not reimburse you if you pay something that isn't an agreed charge." *SIGH* Current state is that the AO called insurance company again, apparently made sure they understood they weren't happy, and demanded a claim be re-filed and escalated. They called me after this, told me about it, and gave me the person's name and a reference #. After this call I called insurance company again and told them that at current I'm the one responsible for the $, but it's in my contract that they pay it, so I need to talk with someone who understands what they're doing. I'm told "nothing can be done until a determination is made on that appeal, but I think it will go through just fine." And it's reitterated to me that if I go ahead and pay this amount, they will not reimburse me for it. So I talk to someone I know in the insurance field - granted this person is an underwriter and not in claims, but her advice is to call the insurance company back and threaten to make a report to the NAIC. But I hate operating under threats. Anyone out there familiar with the insurance/medical billing world? Any advice? Have you ever heard of something like this -- where an insurance company supposedly requires a bill be split, but at the same time is unaware of that being their policy? Crimeny! And for those out there not in the position to advise -- at least get a heads-up from this. I had no reason to believe I would have any problems, and now I'm responsible for $$$ that at the same time I shouldn't have to pay. And insurance company says "don't pay it or your loss" while AO says, "If you don't pay it they'll put it into collections, there is no pending status until this gets resolved". When you get down to it, if I have to pay the $$$ then whatever, I'll pay, my band is worth much more to me. But I'm not going to pay it when I really shouldn't be paying it, and someone's head being up their @ss is the reason why it's coming to me. So beware.

I read it and had a conversation about it at work, I just didn't post here. I can't even pretend to understand the mores of the black community, but I do know that homosexuality is particularly negative. Of course I'm speaking in general terms, I have no first-hand experience. But I do have a gay friend who is black, and I've heard from him for about 8 years how it's bad enough to be gay, but to be gay and black is damn near taboo. But that's really a sidebar, and being said it excuses nothing. Author's voice comes across a little... not sure naive is the right word. Definitely written with a bias, so I can make some guesses about the Nathan James character. I'm not at all familiar with him, never heard of him until I read this, but some of his opinions or statements give me the impression that his perspective is not entirely realistic - be it intentional or un-. I don't think children are necessarily conditioned to hate gays. If I had been conditioned to hate gays, I would hate gays. But I don't. "but now, to be in a house—someone’ s home—and be shot for who you are, is beyond contempt" - sorry, but that's nothing new. People have been in someone's home and shot because of who they are - well - probably for as long as home shootings have occured in recorded history. You probably know my thoughts about hate crimes, but I don't think the "it's the responsibility of all minorities to band together and fight oppression" is necessarily the right answer. I think it's a naive ideal.

Oh I should add, my process was a little different. My surgeon's coordinator handled everything. I had to fill out a bunch of paperwork and provide them with a copy of my medical records. Next thing I knew, I had a letter from ins that I was pre-approved.

I went to the info seminar mid-November. Decided to actually go through with the paperwork mid-December. My consultation was - I THINK - at the start of February and the surgeon was booked out almost exactly a month. I had surgery on March 1. So about 3.5 months, with a good chunk of that being my procrastination/ongoing debate. If I'd submitted my paperwork sooner, I probably wuld have had surgery in February.

Ok called today. I had some other questions and needed to schedule a fill so I went ahead and brought it up. And dammit, as much as I downplayed it, I was still advised to let Dr. H know what's going on so he can order a scan. *sigh* Does the gallbladder always have to come out? What she told me on the phone, as best as I can remember, is that it's best to have it looked at now because it starts off slow, and then before you know it you're doubled over in so much pain you can't stand it. I don't suppose there's any "take two and call me in a month" treatments, or "no attacks for 6 months and we'll consider you cured"? Because this really is an uncommon thing (was way more common when I was on Atkins, probably because of the fatty foods I was eating). And I really would like to consider surgery an optional thing in my life (I know, relatively good health has spoiled me). You know, band, boobs, belly. The "3 B's". (though I don't think I'd do the boobs, really... no starting rumors about my raisins).

I remember that story! You said he had a lot of skin tags! I'm with VQ, I can't really consider myself at nearly 400 lbs the same person as when I get to 180, or even now at 260. Every day we read stories here about someone finally having the courage to go on a date, or by a flashy outfit, or try something new in bed, or whatever. As of that moment, these people aren't the same people they were before. Yeah, the genetics are all still there and in a row, but there's a significant personality change, and that's our character.

Sorry VQ. Pitunia doesn't like to let you bitch about being between sizes. Pre-band I used to read the "Woe is me, I'm neither a 2 or a 4, and they don't make 3s... I have nothing to wear!" and think - you silly little idge, come here so I can sit on you. And now I do it. Only with an additional "20" in front of that 4 still please, thank you!

Yes, it can. For a few reasons. First - I don't know of anyone who lost weight, then gained back only to their pre-diet weight. Most people lose the weight, then gain back what they lost PLUS some additional weight. So it's harder in the sense that each time you erhm... "yo", you have have more weight to lose than you did the last time. It's also harder in your body's resistances to weight loss. And there have been studies done, though I don't know the results (my doctor once encouraged me to be part of them, so I know they happened) to determine whether or not significant weightloss in short periods can impact your hormones and metabolism in such a way as to make future weightloss extremely difficult. Common sense (mine, anyway) says yeah... but I can't point you to literature that conclusively supports it. I don't agree here. I'm obese, and the last thing I want is sympathy. Why would I want someone to feel sorry for me? There's nothing "wrong" with me. I'm fat, but I'm not "broken". I'm still obese. I'm not exceptionally cute, I have little boobs, and I'm not the most socially graceful person you'd ever meet. In other words, I'm not even a "partial package", let alone a "total package". But I still get attention from men (and women, come to think of it). I'm not "popular", at least I don't think I am, but I have a lot more people want to be my friend than I care to be friends with - if that makes sense. So for someone to say "obese people aren't attractive" isn't accurate... obesity itself isn't attractive (IMO) but by saying "people" you're having to consider a lot more than someone's body. And to say that obese people aren't popular... well for one, who cares. Popularity fell out of my fashion sometime around my sophmore year in high school. But to the point, I've never felt that I lost or failed to make a friend because of their reaction to my weight. I'm rambling, hope that makes some sliver of sense.

I don't know the rest of them, but I plan on being dead & gone. Unless they clone me. If they clone me, I'm whoring myself out.

I'm full on confused. When I read: ...I thought you were asking me, because I mentioned that I had not been obese/overweight my entire life. I didn't realize it was a question from somewhere else. I don't know who you're asking, but recognize the person who wrote what response? The respose that offended you? Personally, I didn't. For all I know the response could have been posted on another board, or could have come to you in an email from a penpal. I have no clue (nor do I care) who wrote the response. I have no idea how kids with ADHD or hunky husbands have come into the conversation. I think I must be losing it today. Either way, you asked if we found obese peope unattractive/unpopular, and then said you could have read the response wrong. We've given you our opinion, but it appears as though your mind is already made up about the poster's intentions (a poster we don't know, and a context we're unfamiliar with, nonetheless) made up. I think part of what NGAdams is saying is that - you asked, we answered, and you seem to be arguing against our opinions, even though you asked for them.

Experienced as in - I experienced the "happiness" of doing these things. Not experienced as in experienced the "sadness" of not doing them. But I could be reading it wrong, too. I was not obese my entire life. I know what it is like to live at a "normal" weight, and not have the extra challenges that come with obesity. So maybe I'm reading it with a bias, because I too have said that I feel sorry for people who do not let themselves experience things because of their weight. Not that long ago I told a fewllow bandster, who also was a normal weight for most of her life, that I felt sorry for people just seeing their real bodies for the first time. Sorry for them because, how weird it must be to not have any idea what you look like at a normal weight - to not know the shape of your hips, or whether you have shapley legs. I mean - if someone has been overweight their entire lives, they've never known these things, right? That's sad to me. And while I can say, "I'm getting my body back", they may say, "I'm getting a body". But while I do say that, I would never say that obese people couldn't be popular.

I don't read it that way at all. I don't think the author is saying "no obese people have done these things", I think the author is saying something more like, "I know a lot of you out there let your obesity keep you from doing these things, and I wish you wouldn't. I did, and didn't really *live* because of it". As for the emphasis on NEVER, I think that's saying, "I experienced it, then lost it. That's sad enough. It's even more sad to think that someone never experienced it".

Kind of depends. Star Jones was obese, and as far as I could tell, also very popular. If Ryan Gosling became obese I believe he'd stay hot as hell, but someone who's "ugly" is going to be ugly whether fat or thin. So I guess I'm not really sure what you're asking. Are you asking about "in the eyes of general American society"? Are you asking about whether anyone here, who is/was obese, has been popular or attractive?

Abortion aside, at what point do you believe babies "get" bodies? If it's a baby that gets aborted, but the aborted baby doesn't have a body, what exactly is it? You say you don't want to debate, but it never works well to just throw your opinion out there and then run away. "If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen" has a lot of merit to it. You seem comfortable, though perhaps a little confused and inconsistent, in sharing your beliefs and opinions... as long as no one questions them. When you're challenged it seems to quickly turn into "I don't want to debate" or "oh that's not what I meant". If you're firm in what you believe, why not be willing to stand by it? And if the answer is something like, "I don't have to explain myself" or "it's not worth the effort" -- then why post them in Rants & Raves?

Oh, there it is! I was looking through the Rate Thread, Didplay Modes, etc., and some things at the bottom, and had completely not even seen that option. I tried it and it took me to the main forum index. I'm not terribly familiar with troubleshooting VB but I'll make sure to put a link to this thread for the other mods to see.

I don't "flaunt" it. And by flaunt I mean - ok, I've had the Darwin fish on my car, back in college, but you won't find any bumper stickers. It came off when I got a good job at a conservative company. We're supposed to have religious freedom, but I didn't doubt for a second that having it on my car would somehow, someday, impact me at work. Perhaps people with the "WWJD?" bumperstickers there have had the same concern. Most likely they have not. I'm completely honest about it when it comes up. If asked I will answer. If the general topic comes up conversationally I will play it by ear, perhaps employing litotes or a generic, "Not really my cup of tea" if I sense it might be a volatile crowd. I sit near three ladies at work and we do talk politics, so inevitably (because there's such great separation there, right?) religion comes up. One is a minister's wife, the other teaches Sunday school, and the third is in her church's choir. They know I'm an atheist. They're ok with it, at least on the surface. Most people I've encountered are not ok with it. Most people react with an odd sort of personal offense - a sort of "how dare I not share their same beliefs" judgement that you can literally see wipe across their face. Many have reacted with shame. My parents aren't ashamed of me, per say. They are proud that I have forged my own path, and here they split - my father is glad I am who I am and leaves it at that, my mother is saddened because she believes that no matter how good of a person I am, I will not get into heaven. At the same time they have asked nicely that I not "announce" it to the family. Afterall they live near the family, I don't, and it would just make their lives harder. I can understand that considering my family. I went to my grandfather's funeral, in a catholic church, and remained seated with my father while everyone else stood, and remained quiet when everyone else sang. I'm sure that raised a few eyebrows, but the inevitable drama has not climaxed yet. If the ladies I sit near chose to tell someone else about my beliefs, it would not bother me. I'm smart enough not to tell someone something that I wouldn't tell myself. When the person they tell then comes to me and says, "So you're an atheist? Well what do you plan to do on judgement day? How are you going to raise your children?" - that bothers me.

Bitteroldhag, let me put it in record that sizes suck monkey butts. I used to know what size it was, it was "the biggest you have, and maybe it will fit." Now I'm afraid to buy a pair of socks without going to the dressing room first. I was looking for pants last weekend had took three of each size and cut with me, because it's no longer "jeans" it's "low rise gentle flare dark" or "natural waist bootcut stretch whiskered". I think I ended up trying on - seriously - 15 pair of jeans and bought nothing. And on the subject of size. Can I get an "argh"? I go to Kohl's, buy (wuthout trying on) a size 20 blazer, and it's too big. I go to Fashion Bug and have to buy a 3x coat, but I'm a size smaller on top. But I bought a 2x tracksuit at Kohl's that fits perfectly. But the 1x coat from Catherine's was falling off of me. The size 22 "stretch bootcut tall" jeans I'm wearing today fit very well, but the size 22 "stretch bootcut tall" jeans I tried on during the weekend were too big, but the size 22 "low rise flare" jeans I bought a while ago and just tried on last night wouldn't comfortably zip. I pick up two of the exact same jean in the exact same size. One is too tight to zip, the other is baggy. I'm giving my "amen" to mumus. Moomoos. Moumous. Mewmews. Whatever.

I'm one of them. I'm not in the heart of the bible belt, but I am on the northern border of it. And boy would I have some stories. I can tell you that here, even on the outskirts of the belt, the idea of religious freedom is an idea, not a practice, and not being mainstream in your religious practices can impact every aspect of your life, unless you're smart enough (haha) to keep it to yourself. Which would account for the fairly large number of closet atheists I know.