Wheetsin

Hi Diane, I've had similar things happen -- fortunately not in this particular board. I actually had a guy use the info available when you post a picture to get my phone number, and CALL ME at home, to ask what I would do if I went to check my mail one day and found an engagement ring and a place ticket to where he lived. I don't think he liked my answer very much! That didn't keep him from calling me on my cell phone (don't ask how he got it, because I'm still not sure) 30 mins from where I live, asking me to meet him for lunch. And even worse - once I got him to stop bugging me, his best friend started in. If you let a mod (who can let the admin) know who the person is, then there are protective measures to a variety of degrees that can be taken. But if no one knows who the person is, there's not much that can be done. I guess from my story, take away the knowledge that things like this can escalate, and that for someone who knows how to manipulate the www's resources, there are surprising amounts of information to be accessed. If you find the situation questionable, act on it before it has a chance to escalate.

Robyn - that's what we're here for. And if you're having a hard day, give one of us a call. Did I PM you my contact numbers? When you're around people who are sharing your struggles, an hour can do an amazing amount of good! If you get to a "point" - call me, and we'll meet up for a bit over some coffee or tea.

Robyn - just remember that as far as the scale goes, the jazzercise might well "mask" fat loss, because of muscle mass, because of your increased Water intake, etc. Make sure you drown yourself in fluids, b/c your body won't let go of them until it's confident that there will be more coming in. :confused: I almost PBed my bfast this morning. (Go figure - it was the same thing I ate lastnight w/ no trouble at all). Uhhhhh. This is the only time I've gone beyond "stuck", that I didn't have to PB, but it was DARN close. I was standing at the sink, spitting the slime out into paper towels, just waiting for the wretches to come, knowing the bite was going to have to come back up... man, I got away by the skin of my teeth. *phew* Weighed this morning at a consistent 303. Last night the scale actually read 299.7. So I think another week or two and I'll be there... Cate, you're doing great! Low carbs seem to agree with you in a lot of different ways

Great!! I'm glad you disagree with me. It's only when divergent opinions come together that new discoveries can be made. We wouldn't have as many views/responses to this thread if all that ensued was a series of "I agree"s, so something is happening: thought, positions, etc. -- and that's fantastic! NewSho, everything I stated was a matter of my personal beliefs/opinions. I don't have time to separate everything into individual statements, so in an overarching way, I never said my thoughts were "right" (that would require a single finite reality, which by definition is impossible), nor did I ever insinuate it to be indicative of what people feel. I never made generalizations, etiher, because it's what I think, not what is. I'm not at all offended that you believe differently from me, so truly - don't be upset because I have different beliefs than you. Tommy...JenMomto3, etc... ...please note that I did not say what you're claiming I did. I did not say people want to be fat, I said they get something out of being fat. There's a huge world of difference there. For example, I don't think many people want to be in an absusive relationship, but I know for a fact that many people are. Perhaps just one of the many reasons why they might stay in a situation they don't want to be in is because they're getting attention, and when attention is what you need most (a.k.a. your perceived gain), then the negative attention of a punch in the face is better than no attention at all. (This goes beyond hypothetical - I've counseled an awful lot of women for whom this was the case - and my own mother lived it for nearly 3 years before she met my father). This predicament goes far toward to helping make sense out of the vicious cycles & self-fulfilling prophecies we see every day. A feeling of safety can be exactly what a rape victim gets out of their obesity. For some it may be control. For some it may be companionship. For some it may be a barrier of protection. And on, and on. So... quite contrary to the words that are being put in my mouth, I don't think people want to be fat. I know of very few people ever who have sat down and made a conscious decision to gain weight, or made it their New Year's resolution to gain fat (I personally only know 1 person who has ever done this). Cheers! :confused:

DBarrett - I don't think that's quite it. This was definitely baked, not griddled, and not something I would consider a bread - it was the main dish. (So in my determination to figure this out I tried spelling variants of what I perceived phonetically, I may have found it. Patra - made with spinach leaves. Will have to try the recipe and see how close it is to what I remember)

I don't think it's anything to get upset about. Most fat people do have losing weight on their top 5 list. But there's also the belief (I personally do believe this) that people do everything they do because they get something out of it. That includes being obese (you can see previous posts for examples or reasons). I believe that an awful lot of obese people do not lose the weight because, deep down there somehwere, what they get out of being fat at any particular moment sort of outweighs what they perceive getting out of being thin. That can be on conscious and subconscious levels. And it can change throughout time, depending on what the perceived gain or loss would be, as compared against what you need in your life at that particular time. It's also a reason why I personally would advocate for mandatory counseling during weightloss efforts. I also believe fat = depression. You can't be significantly obese and not have experienced at least situational depression, workplace depression, etc. at some point. And when you're in a state of depression, it's easy to not care and go "frumpy". Again - please don't see this as something to get upset over. Everyone has different opinions and perspectives. If there were no differences in beliefs, the world would be a pretty static place.

Hey Meow, that sounds familiar to me. My friend's family made a mango drink with crushed cardamom. It was thick, and perfect on a hot day. I believe it was a type of sweet "Lassi". If that's it there are tons of variants, but see if this looks familiar at all.

Let me throw in a few questions, and feel free to ignore them as much as you want. I'll say up front that these questions do not necessarily reflect my personal opinions, but I want to ask them because I think they might make for interesting conversation. 1. Should people on publicly funded insurance, e.g. "my tax dollars pay for their medical care", have WLS covered? I think the self-pays' responses to this will be particularly interesting. 2. Should insurance companies be able to impose a time limit before something with debatable medical necessity is approved? I see the "it saves them money in the long run" argument -- but the numbers don't back that up, at all, and that's why there are more and more denials coming down every day. The average person doesn't stay with their insurance company long enough for the business to see the fiscal benefits. For example - I started with my new company in June of last year. I had surgery March of this year. I had 3 office visits not related to surgery, but surgery related billings in excess of $35,000. (Meaning, if I hadn't had surgery, I would have cost my insurance company a couple hundred dollars). I can change policies in November when we have open enrollment. If I change carriers, I just cost my insurance company a LOT of money, because they'll never get enough premium from me or my employer to come remotely close to what they paid out for my surgery. So back to the original question -- should insurance companies be able to impose a waiting period before they'll approve surgeries of questionable necessity, to ensure they're not out a ton of money on an elective procedure? (I think the necessity of all WLS is debatable, when compared to things like trauma surgery) 3. On the flip side of that, if someone has WLS, and does not lose enough to get off their medications, or stop their pain, or whatever - AND it can be attributed to much of their own doing - poor eating habits, refusal to exercise, etc. - should they have to pay back any money to their insurance? E.g. the situation is such that - the insurance company did their part, you did not do yours and are costing them as much if not more as before... should they be entitled to any kind of "refund" from you? (Note this is not band-specific...)

Hey Duddies - sorry to hear the bad news. Since it's a matter of comfort (among other things) - have you tried using deodorant under your apron? I had some troubles last summer, kept getting a really uncomfortable rash where the skin rubbed, and someone from a weightloss board I was on suggested using deodorant. I figured... ok, anything has got to be better than this, and it did wonders! I just wiped it on, like putting lipstick on a big old smiley face. I don't have the same issues with my apron now that I've lost a chunk of weight, but I still do the deodorant daily - preventatively, and just for general hygiene (it sweats as much as anywhere else!) Granted - it's not surgery :eek: but it might help you stay comfortable during the muggy days ahead.

Sunta - can I ask a favor? Can you ask your friend about a dish for me? I had a friend in h.s. who was Indian, and looked forward to every meal I was invited over for. We've lost touch since, but to this day I crave a particular dish her grandmother used to make for us. I absolutely loved it. The dish was "Pothra" or something that sounded like it. That's not the right spelling because I've tried Googling for a recipe and can never find anything. This was a loooong time ago, but from what I remember it was a yellowish dough/bread with some kind of greenery/leaves like spinach or something mixed in it...baked... mildly spicy, always eaten with chapatis and ghee (which probably doesn't narrow it down much!) If your friend (or you) recognize that dish, can you give me the right spelling so I can find a recipe? :eek:

Sure, which one? I'll head right over...

Wait -- you remember last night? :eek: BTW - I got .5 cc today, and I'm already feeling it. I gurgled on my Protein drink (I've NEVER done that). I decided to do some homemade applesauce about an hour ago (I'll be up LATE tonight) and I'm feeling each and every bite. Not painful, just a weird pressure... like I have to burp or something. I'm assuming that's what it feels like when you're restricted enough that food sits in the pouch...?

Holli and I caught eachother on messenger tonight - chatted for a bit - she too had company during her unfill, and she too felt very uncomfortable with there being non-medical staff in the room during something we like to think of as a private procedure. I don't see a connection between "advocate" and "fill". It served no purpose that I could see other than to make me feel uncomfortable enough that I opted not to ask Dr. H questions that I had been waiting nearly 2 months to ask. Can we get an "advocate" for privacy during our appointments? Or how about only having medical staff in the room when I have to lay there with my shirt under my neck and a 3" needle being probed around in my chest?

Granlady - click the User CP link, then "Edit avatar". You'll see a lot of little icons. Scroll down and you'll see a "Custom Avatar" box. If your pic is on a webserver, enter the URL. If it's local on your computer, browse to it and you can upload it.

I'm working on it. I'm fewer than 10 lbs away and I can't wait. I got a small fill today so hopefully that will be just enough to push me over. I need to start packing my bags 'cause I'm moving to Twoterville!

Scared to ask because of some of our things you read earlier tonight, or just some things you read about the band? If anything we've written has scared you, know that it's all in fun, and our bark is way worse than our bite. :eek: Please keep in touch, here, chat, whatever. dinner was fun, once we figured out where to go!!! You should join us next time!

Any chance you're overfilled? Search for "first bite syndrome" and see if that sounds like you.

I've lost around 70 lbs since March 1. This is the closest I have to a "before" picture, and DH took the "durings" today while I was watering the flowers on the deck.

As for the other issue - here's my "both sides of the story problem" I was talking about lastnight. On one hand - I would not do it, and don't necessarily appreciate it being done. It never feels good to say something in jest, and not know how it was taken or delivered beyond the original message. On the flip side, we can never assume that a discussion on a public board is going to remain private. Even in a chat. H With that being acknowledged - I would hope there'd be an element of tact, or at the very least discretion, between realizing people are saying something in jest among themselves, and taking it beyond the group having the discussion, and possibly beyond what it was intended as. There's now the possibility for some people to become quite embarassed, because inside jokes are not apparent to outside viewers, and that's really too bad. Uhhhh... can I turn my brain off now? :eek:

I was surprised to have someone in the room, while getting my fill, who is not a medical professional. It was very uncomfortable to me, in a few different ways, but I don't plan on staying silent about it. I'd be more than happy to join you in a discussion. I have no right to complain if I'm not willing to do something about it, right? My patience "grace period" started when I had to lift my shirt up with "visitors" (e.g. not a nurse) in the room, and ended when I left the office today. It definitely did not make for a comfortable experience. There were questions I wanted to ask Dr. H - about things I'm experiencing - that I did not ask because I did not feel comfortable. To have that be the situation disappoints me.

I'm not trying to just get technical, but do you really *choke* on the food, as in it cannot get through your throat, or do you get stuck/PB on the yogurt, as in it cannot pass through the band?

I'm the total opposite. I will probably not eat or drink anything before my fill... for one because my appt is at the time that I'm usually starting to get hungry. I really need to get better about eating breakfast, but I've never been a morning eater.

Ok guys, I've been hovering between 307.2 and 306.8 for a week and a half now. I have a fill scheduled for today, so I'll also get an "official" weign in on the surgeon's scale. I'm officially in all of my 26s now, and some are too big, so that's another half a size or so down - but I still cannot wait for the terribly shallow thrill of seeing Twoterville on the scale...

I know one person who was de-banded after a significant (by US standards) time of being banded - just over 5 years. Her anatomy appears to be back to normal according to all the tests they have done, and there is no obvious deformation, but she still feels restriction. They aren't sure if there's something going on inside her that they can't see, or if it's a phantom symdrome.

Hi Cynthia, we're happy to see you here! You came up during our conversation post-meeting lastnight -- and I wanted to let you know that we were all extremely impressed with your determination and persistence. Many people have given up under the pressure of many fewer obstacles. We're all hoping your challenges are resolved quickly! Angela