Wheetsin

My initial response: Biden becomes president. I guess I'm not sure the context in which you're asking. Do you mean literally what happens - what becomes the next step in the presidential process? Or do you mean hypotheses about what happens to the nation/people? Or...?

Hehe. When I took my preggo test, I put the stick ont he counter and walked away because I KNEW it was a false alarm, no way I was pregnant, not even a remote possibility. I took the test to shut others up about it. I started cleaning house, dusting the bedroom furniture... long time went by. I went back in the bathroom and saw a positive, so naturally it was just that I had waited too long and the test had "expired." It took 9 home tests + 1 doctor test to convince me I was actually pregnant. It's kind of like fishing in that "when you least expect it" kind of way. There's a long story around my conception that I don't have the time to share right now, but the advice my parents received from their OB when they were TTC me: "Get her drunk." It seems there really is something to the whole "not focused on it" thing that works. :smile:

Foaming at the mouth I've not heard of, but it's fairly common - especially with prolonged sticks - to bring up a foamy substance that IME looks like really thick shampoo lather. You always want to be able to get liquids down, but a lot of people find that within 1-4 days their fills loosen considerably, even to the point that they no longer feel restriction when 3 days ago they were doing good to get down water. We dehydrate quickly, so always use doctor's advice/your intuition when it comes to getting in your fluids.

I would move myself, hubby and our dog to a remote location and disappear off the map because there's no way I'm dealing with the people who come out of the woodwork. Anything I did with the money would be done online or incognito. :smile:

What they do with the money is a big factor. Higher taxes isn't always a bad thing, if you're going to see long term benefits out of it, but people have strong knee-jerk reactions to those two words and immediately want to vote for whatever keeps their wallets closed. Too bad we can't allocate where our tax dollars go. :smile: I don't think the "rich" (talking on the level of individuals) should pay disproportionately higher than "middle class." The amount will be higher, the rate should not be. I've always believed this, and it's why I'm a strong advocate for a flat tax system. My 10% may be $25,000 and your 10% may be $250. I'm paying way more than you, but I have no problem with it because we're still paying the same 10%. My problems come in when I'm paying 46% and you're paying 13%, and come next year you're getting more back in EIC than you made. I have a nice income. Without having pursued my education and worked hard to reach this level of my career, I would not have that income. In the last 8-10 years or so I've been able to pay my tuition bills out of pocket, but prior to that I had to take out student loans. I'm still paying for my two degrees, two degrees later, and right now my student loan payment is my second most significant debt next to my mortgage. I pay more in student loans every month than most in our area pay for rent. It's true that as income goes up, debt usually does too, but often people attribute that too "expensive car notes" or "excessively large home mortgages" or "bad spending" -- and sometimes, there's just legitimately more debt. That's just the financial side of it. There are still the choices I made to give up the time with my family and other activities I would have much rather been doing in order to improve my situation long-term. So "you have more, you can pay more" doesn't hold much water with me. Yeah, I have more, and it has come at a cost that I'm still trying to cover, and some costs I will never get back. But it was my choice, and I deserve to enjoy the rewards of my work/effort, not hand them over to someone else who hasn't made the same efforts. "Penalizing" me by making me pay a higher rate of my money than someone who did not make the same efforts or made the same efforts but chose a different career or whatever ad nauseum basically says, "You shouldn't have put in the effort because you aren't going to see much in return" and IMO will go far toward lowering people's motivations to better their situations. Communist Marxist economic fundamentals aren't horrible, but they do require a certain skeleton of goods to be in place and a society that isn't "entitled to mine" -- which we just aren't going to have. :frown:

Have to respectfully disagree here - I'm fine with reading (or posting) someone else's explanation of something, and not assuming it's because they can't speak for themselves. I also don't consider it "back up." I consider it someone saying something in a much clearer, elegant way than I could. I tend to explain in analogy, and that just doesn't work for some people. What comes to mind are occasions when we're debating something fairly complex/scientific (used to a lot, not sure if that happens here anymore). I can hope that my own post full of typos and general mistakes that happen when my fingers move faster than my brain is coherent to someone, and take the 30+ minutes it might take me to explain, say, String Theory or M-Theory or GUT. Or, I can pull up a site I have bookmarked that provides a very clear, coherent and concise explanation and paste it, saving myself the time. I understand all 3 theories, but it saves so much time, effort, etc. Teachers understand their material, generally, but still use textbooks and lecture guides to explain the subject materials. A few years ago we were debating the idea of fundamental creationism. I asked how that concept would account for scientific "knowns" such as the speed of light and the oldest lights we can see in the universe. I really didn't know how the theory accounted for such things. Rather than take the time it would require to give me an explanation in her own words, the poster sent me a good article that went into the mathematics and physics to address the question I had just asked. I had no problems with that, as long as I knew whether it was just "an article" or "an artice that explained her thoughts." I also would never have assumed she "didn't know her stuff" if she had been unable to provide me with the calculations the pshycists used.

Yes, too late. The baby is well up into my stomach/esophagus area (baby belly starts to poke out immediately under my boobs) and even though the needle isn't going into the amniotic sac, they (in their words) would have to use fluoro to safely guide the needle to the port, and fluoro is not the best idea, so unless it's a true emergency they don't want to touch me with a 10 ft pole. I'm guessing that's driven by at least 80% potential liability concerns.

Not scientific, just from tons and tons of reading & stats I looked at. Most new moms recognize movement between weeks 20 & 22. Once they realize it for what it is, they also realize that maybe they'd felt it sooner but mistook it for something else. I felt mine and knew what it was right at 21 weeks, but I may have felt it a few times before and dismissed it as "weird gas bubbles." I remember - I was visiting my parents and had run into a store, was coming out with bags, and suddenly had this feeling like something flicked me from inside, but I felt it in my bladder. I got to their house and told my mom that either I had to pee and couldn't, or felt the baby move. All my friends had told me it would feel like butterflies in my stomach, like you're nervous and can't figure out why. I never felt anything like that. I remember 4 distinct feelings (what I felt for several months before there was enough size/strength to feel/see more)... 1) little "flicks" that felt just like a tiny person flicking me on the inside 2) little "somersaults" that felt like something about the size of a plum free spinning 3) "nudges" that felt kind of like someone putting their finger on your and doing a very slow & deliberate push (think like someone pushing a doorbell) 4) a somewhat uncomfortable feeling that I always likened to someone grabbing a string that's attached to my uterus and pulling it inward. Really weird feeling. Friends have hypothesized this was the baby kicking the cord. From that day on, every day has been a waiting game to feel or see more movement, because that's reassurance that everything is still ok. More than once or twice a day it's time to just lay down and feel until I feel some movement, at which point I know all is well and I can go on about my business.

Put it on a credit card? $1500 is not that much in the big picture. I know if you don't have it, it's the world, but maybe some out of the box thinking can help? If you can get a ~5% APR card, you could pay about $150/month and have it paid off in about a year. Pursue other financing? $1500 is not a huge amount to get, even most retail stores approve that much without very strict requirements. I don't know what avenues you tried, but if you tried medical financing, try personal or vice versa. Anyone you know to borrow from? Any med assist benefits at work? Anything you have that you can sell? (I know more than one person who funded their surgeries using hobbies, unneeded tangibles, etc.) Something you coud postpone 3 mos and use tax refund monies (assuming you're in a positive position) to help with, or pay off whatever loan you might be able to get early? Just some thoughts, best of luck.

Oh BTW because it's late, I'm bored & can't sleep... here are some things I've learned that may/may not help you out. Aside from going ahead and getting an unfill... (of course these are probably "everyone but me already knows" things...) It's fairly common to vomit during childbirth when your body peaks during transition. I still have restriction so puking is a bad thing. I've (unfortunately) already had to spend 3 nights in the labor & delivery area, and have visited them ~8 times, so I had them add to my paperwork that when I am in delivery, I want an IV antiemitic added. I was + for strep B and will need an additional antibiotic IV anyway, so I had them write it on the same note to make sure it wasn't seen and that I wouldn't go without should I forget to mention it. I had erronously assumed that an epi would take care of the vomitting because I associated it with the pain, but not the case. 2 yrs after my band I had my GB removed using the same main incision and I have significant scar tissue inside. This downright HURTS now that my uterus is trying to come out of my nose. It especially hurts during my Braxton-Hicks because it's in the same general area as the top of the uterus (which "leads" the contractions and generates most of the pushing... also didn't know that early on). Hurtd in oar with a muscle cramp - something I can't ignore. I have no idea what actual labor is going to make the area feel like. I see the OB Tue and I'm going to ask about local relief specifically for the scar area if it becomes an issue. Apparently it's just above the area that an epi will take care of, and I'm not sure that I want to pursue IV pain relief routes. If you haven't done your Glucola yet, and have restriction that interferes with your ability to drink liquids (I did in the a.m.) then make sure you schedule your appt later in the day OR make sure you're unfilled to a point that you can chug. That stuff is nasty sweet and you'll def want to chug it and get it over with. When I had to do my medical history I was asked if I had "bariatric surgery" but was never asked follow-up on what kind. THey'd never had a band patient before me, and assumed that bariatric = RNY. Finding out I didn't have bypass saved me a LOT of appointments and grief there, so make sure they know which you've had. (Also keeps the sonorapher from freaking out on you when your band comes up on the screen).

If you think you will need an unfill, get one now (my advice from my experience) and either deal with the gain, or be extra watchful of what you're eating. It will be worth it. I could really use one now, and can't get it. So around 1pm I will take a drink of something, and feel it until around 9pm when I will take another drink and it goes right through, and can then eat dinner as though I had no band. Of course by then I'm hungry and overeat and make bad choices. (I've chalked one too many pints of B&J or trips to Sbux up to "need some calories"... when I had fruit in the fridge) On your advice to maintain, is that factoring in your loss, so that by maintaining you're actually gaining, or is that "general" advice they tell everyone? I lost a lot in the first 20 weeks, most of it in the first 12 or so because I was crazy sick and severely dehydrated. I was told that after week 20 I was not allowed to lose anymore, and that if I did, they were going to put me on liquid nutrition like Ensure. After week 32 I was told it was OK if I maintained -- I didn't have to gain but they still didn't want me to lose. Now I've been told to expect some loss - very common toward the end before the baby drops. For the last 4 weeks I've gained 1 - 4 lbs per week (the 4 came after a carb meltdown and my fluids got all whacked out of balance). That really sucks, but I keep telling myself it will end soon enough and then I can refocus on losing.

LJM I'm a bit jealous. One constant thought I've had during the entire pregnancy was that I wish I'd had my pannus removed before I got pregnant. I know, skin stretches back out, yada... but I think it would have really changed the experience. Seeing & feeling more (if it's much below my belly button I can only feel it on the inside). And now that my abdomen has really pushed out with the uterus, my pannus is "suspended". Hard to explain. But imagine a flabby post-band pannus just hanging on the bottom of a rock hard baby belly. When I walk it makes little suction noises because it's swinging around & hitting me instead of just hanging there. I keep telling people it's my shoes making the noise...

Seeing the movements was kinda surreal. I'd heard it happened, but always thought it would be super creepy. Ok so it still kind of is, but it's also neat. What's creepy is that even now, there are still all kinds of movements that I don't feel. Big movements, like bringing a hand up to a mouth and sucking on a thumb. I've seen it on US, but I don't feel it. That weird me out for some reason. Imagine a half a grapefruit just under your skin that suddenly raises about 3" and slowly, or very quickly, drags over to your ribs. Or just pokes up and goes back down. That's most of what I see. My pannus is too in the way for any of the lower movements to be visible, but I can feel them. All I see are the movements around belly button or higher (which is a lot since I'm carrying high), and her bum is about 1" above my belly button. Actually getting a lot of movement right now (go figure, it's almost midnight) and it looks like undulating... almost like waves going back and forth between, well, about where my band is and about 3" below my bellybutton. I've seriously considered grabbing the camera & recording this a few times. (Heck, I haven't even taken the obligatory "look how big my belly is" 9 month picture)

I was told repeatedly that I could not worry about my weight during pregnany, and it made sense, but it was hard to accept because I was afraid of excessive weight gain. I had jut gotten within reach of my goal, and was terrified of having to take any steps back. You really do not want to lose fat during pregnancy. Not gaining is one thing, but losing fat weight is something entirely different and lots of research out there indicates it may actually be dangerous (excessive ketones in the blood, overall nutriitional health, etc.) On average the baby's "support system" will weigh about 20 pounds. The average term delivery weighs about 7.6 lbs. So that's close to 30 pounds just on the actual pregnancy. It's also normal for the body to try and hold some fat. My OB's office recommends 30 - 35 lbs as an overall gain to target through pregnancy. I'm right in that range, and honestly would not feel comfortable if I was under, even though I really fought gaining in the beginning. I can still wear pre-pregnancy clothes as long as they don't have closed fabric over the baby area, or are stretchy - shoulders, back, arms, etc. still fit the same... so I have no reason to think I've gained any sizes even though I've gained quite a bit of weight. Early on I told myself I would gain 15 lbs. What I based that on was just psychological/emotional, not medical/healthy. Eating well, that quickly got pushed aside. It seemed like every month the scale was up a few more pounds, regardless of how careful I had been. And IMO that's how it should be. Unless I go past term I will deliver this month and my "goal" (I hate goals, but for lack of a better word) is to be within 5 lbs of my pre-pregnancy weight by the start of the new year. We'll see how that goes.

Got tighter partway in and received a partial unfill. Have gotten really tight in the last 2 or 3 weeks and can no longer get unfilled, so I'm just eating really late dinners and lots of liquids. Makes sense for the added tightness when you consider the fetal positioning in relation to our anatomy.

LJM - it doesn't go away, at least not for me. I'm due in about 2 weeks and still expect something to go wrong. Now it's worries about problems in utero - cord wrapping around the neck, etc. and problems during delivery. One worry after another. I don't see how people do this more than once. :wink2: My first heartbeats were down in the pubic area. Now the best place to get it is mid-abdomen, near my bellybutton. Thank goodness they're no longer rooting around my pube. Except for the weekly pelvic exams, of course. The heart sounds thing - I bought one called "bebe monitor" or something like that. Can't get a heartbeat on it to this day. All I hear is the sound of my fingers (holding it) moving, digestion... no heartbeat. I have NSTs every week so I definitely know the sound, and I can't get anything even close. Waste of $. I can recommend the 3d ultrasounds. We had one done a few weeks ago and it's so cool to see little fingers, facial features, etc. Yeah, the pregnancy has gone quickly (especially when it's not yours, I've noticed). In some ways I'm ready for it to be over (early pergnancy was like not being pregnant at all, but the last few weeks are just downright uncomfortable/painful). But I think I will miss being pregnant. I hate the attention, actually, but I think I will miss feeling the movements as uncomfortable as they can be at times. I felt my first movement, and recognized it for what it was, 6/20. For a while now it's the huge visible movements that distory my entire abdomen. DH keeps telling me it's the most awesome creepy thing he's ever seen. In the last few weeks it has gotten pretty darn uncomfortable. The rib jabs literally take my breath away, there's some pubic nerve that keeps getting hit, and sleeping is a thing of the past because the baby is most active between 9pm and 3am, and there's no way I can sleep through the big movements. BTW, according to my OB's stats (tracking the last 3 years which is ~5k births) most first-time mothers go 1 week over.

Same as not caring if our president is black or transparent, I don't care if the VP is female or a hermaphrodite. As long as they are the candidate I think will do the best job, it matters not. Woman or not, Palin in the VP seat scares the crap out of me.

RE: vitamin, I ake Natachew. Large but chewable, doesn't taste horrible. When I forget to take it I take a Centrum, the RDVs are within safe guidelines. (insert new paragraph) I lost a lot of weight during the first... I'm going to say 12-16 weeks of my pregnancy. As in, I went from dropping a pound or two every few months to losing almost 30 pounds my first trimester, WITHOUT morning sickness. In fact my eating really didn't change much. Part of what was mild dehydration, but part was def. fat loss. My OB wasn't too concerned. I was given until 20 weeks to stop active loss, and was told I didn't need to GAIN until the end. Sure enough, right around wk 20 the loss stopped as quickly as it started.

Weightloss is rarely sustained and equal. Not sure what your weight is but I was banded at about 400 lbs, and could find exercises to do (even if they made me feel self conscious). Even if it was a low self esteem day and I stayed home and walked up and down the stairs, or cleaned the house with weights on. (enter new paragraph, my browser won't let me!) A month with no loss really isn't a big deal. I know it is to you, but it's quite normal, especially at this point. Most "super sized" bandsters I know experienced a stall shortly after month 6, hence our mantra, "I wish I had taken more advantage of the first 5 months." In fact, most of us at some point in our first 12 - 15 months went 3+ months losing/gaining the same few pounds. (another new parapgraph) Make sure you're adjusting your calories for your lower weight. Starting BMR will most definitely not be your current BMR. If you're doing that and eating good choices, it's a waiting game.

Chris - I know a couple that was banded about 2 months apart. It has put some strain on their (almost 40 year) relationship. It has causes a lot of competition on her behalf, and a lot of hurt feelings on his. She had more insurance struggle (despite using the same carrier) even though she had a much higher weight, and had a longer wait time to surgery than he did. He lost more in his first few weeks than she did in her first few months, despite not having any restriction and eating "whatever he wants". She very much resents this success and interprets it as a sign of her own failure. Is it hormonal? Not in this case, but it is psychological. And, band or not, sometimes couples just need to fight.

I caught part of that movie the other day and thought she was as unattractive as always, but didn't really think she looked any different. If I had noticed, I would probably attribute it to the role. Most of the time actors have to change something about their physique/appearance for the character they're being paid to play. Thinness and a degree of angularity would def. have fit the char so maybe it was intentional... dunno. On her weight, late 80s/early 90s I saw an interview with her, why I remember this I don't know -- she had played a role that was a size 12 and claimed it was really her size.

Oh... if you're still having an issue with pants Kmart sells online. (I can't believe I'm promoting Kmart, I hate that place). I can't post a linkm but if you go to their site and search on "new additions full panel" the jeans are the last item that comes up. Mine are darker, and more bootcut but that's the brand and style. I also don't see inseam/measurements listed, but I've checked mine for some kind of "tall" indicator on the tag and I don't see anything, but they're easily a 34-35" inseam, plus the fact that they're a little extra long b/c they fit kinda odd....

Oh, something I did for pants that I wasn't willing to give up yet. I used one of the elastic hairbands... looped it through the buttonhole (whatever it's called where you pull it halfway through, then loop it through itself so it can't come off) and just hooked the other side around the button. This gave me an extra month or two in my normal jeans. ETA** neglected to mention that I either left the zipper open and wore long tops, or locked it halfway up, just below where my stomach was bulging (I'm still pannus down low, I've carried high my entire pregnancy with her butt mooning me from several inches above my belly button).

I was told I would not carry through my first trimester, so until that milestone hit I remained unattached. I went home "knowing" I would lose the pregnancy. I was just waiting for the miscarriage pain to start, which makes it hard to try and think about names or nursery decor. Even into my 2nd trimester I was guarded. Hell, I still am, and I'm due this month. It wasn't until my diagnostic US that I started to feel a little better about things. I'm a pessimist, so some part of me has to expect something to go awry.

Mys urgeon used to require 1 year and now requires 2. Haven't read the responses you've received, but ask your surgeon about his/her recommendations on wait.