plain

Respectfully, these are the types of questions you should be asking your doctor, not people on the internet (even well-meaning people such as us).

Hey step......The reason for the prolonged liquid and mushie diet is not to "flush" the body, but because if you eat substantial food, the digestive movements of the stomach can potentially mess up your band. So stick to the liquid diet. I know it sucks, but it's not worth maybe having band problems down the road......so let your band "heal in" and stick to the liquids!!

I see this as "the man" trying to hold me down. Ah well......I suffer for my political convictions.

Hahaha....So you do "got some game", eh? Yeah, I can see it. Prayers still coming. It's difficult to see them in the NICU, but hang in there. It sounds like he's in great hands.

Eh, that's actually quite common.......AMONG SERIAL KILLERS!!! Ok, I'm not sure about your university, but every adult job I've ever had (except the "stand in genital guy" for less-endowed porn actors.....but I digress) has a very specific policy that maps out discipline progression. Things like verbal counciling, written reprimand (x3), suspension, termination.....stuff like that. Now here's the thing: If you did recieve one of those reprimands over the past events, then it's effectively over. . You can't be "re-counciled" for the same event unless you committed the same wrong (Am I making sense?). If you did not recieve a reprimand back then, then it is inappropriate and unprofessional to bring it up a year later (Your cue to say "I would appreciate somebody letting me know of my mistakes in a timely manner so I can correct them.....I can't read minds, ya know). Yeah, that's the downside of my advice......Once you make your supervisor look foolish in front of HR, it can become "personal" sometimes. It might be better for you to disregard my advice and "play nice"....Only you know what best fits your situation. Hey, I hear ya. I'm a big dude, always have been, and I fully realize that. In an effort to counteract that, I use humor and tend to speak very softly. In spite of that, I once had a doc write me up for suggesting ventilator changes to him. His reason? He told my boss (who loves me, BTW.....I'm the golden child of my workplace) that I was trying to intimadate him and was being vaguely threatening.....When my boss asked what I said, doc replied "Well...It wasn't really what he said, but his body language". We laughed and laughed and laughed about that. Later, when my boss' back was turned, I caught the doc's eye and made that "draw the finger across the throat laterally" move and smiled. Ok, not really.

Agree. Christians believe that God created the world and life on it (though the method for that creation is open for debate), and if God created one world, why not many? Agree with the statement in general and RE: Buddha, I think he was extraordinarily wise. When the Buddha was alive, he never claimed to be a diety (that was done by his followers later). There is room for a lot of Buddhist philosophy in my Christianity. My denomination believes that this was the time when God placed the burden of all mankind's sins upon Jesus, because he was the ultimate sacrificial lamb. We believe that these words are not so much Jesus doubting God , but reflect the despair of his human side at having, for the first time in his life, sin in his life. Other opinions may vary.

Well then, there should be no trouble in you two vets debating this here newb. I'll keep things factua and non-emotional. Let's do it (said in Dr. Phil voice)!

But....neither would the contractor expect the hammer to build the house on its own. Now, it sounds like you are doing everything right, Gus-Gus. I would only add that maybe you are more sensitive to fills that most and maybe you should go verrrrry slowly. Good luck!

Hi rumraisin. The one thing I'd ask at the first consult is how many bands your doc has placed. Obviously, the more experience, the better. Most everything else should be covered in the consult itself! Good luck!

Welcome to lapbandtalk, BandedMarch. I have my fingers crossed that your band is ok! Good luck!

Hi there Armywife. Welcome to lapbandtalk. Here's hoping the process of getting approved goes smoothly, lol. Good luck!

Do you mean to say that, if you had known your surgery would lead to complications, rebanding and reflux, you might not have gotten it? I think that's a pretty normal conclusion, lol. If I had known that I'd hit a deer and total my car, I probably wouldn't have bought it, either!!

Hello there Janet! Welcome to lapbandtalk. There are a lot of things to read and a lot of people to meet, so get started already, lol.

Perhaps an informal agreement among the regulars not to quote some sources would help?

Patty, I removed quite a bit of these political posts from your religious threads. Please do not bring the religious posts to this political thread. I understand that, for some people, politics is intertwined with religion, but the past couple of posts are getting majorly off-topic.

For me it was the hardest adjustment. During the pre-op diet, all my social activities screeched to a halt. I realized then how vital a role that food played in my life. It is a slow (and difficult, at least for me) process to adjust your brain to your new banded stomach. Just don't give up.

I'm from East Texas....the question should be "Do I floss my tooth".

Ladies puh-leeze! Quit with the dreaming and fantasizing about me. I know it's tempting....But I'm just too damn sexy! *wets fingertip and places on hip, then makes sizzling sound* Because you might find out that your family legally changed the family name from "Hitler"? My mother's side: German and first generation Australian immigrant My dad's side: German and Cherokee Go in there with confidence and don't let them intimidate you! You're a pretty sharp chick.....you can seperate the bullsh*t from the legit. It would make me feel a little better knowing my meeting was with the head of HR. They generally know how to avoid the landmines. Hey, aren't you from Oregon? I thought everybody up there only drove hybrids? lololol It's pretty common. My family had to change the surname from DerHugegenitals. It sounded too ethnic, so they changed it to Massivedaddyparts. Much better.

I'm a little torn on medical malpractice reform. On the one hand, I know it's one of the big culprits in driving up healthcare costs (insurance costs are why all the docs are getting out of the OB biz). But I have also seen many, many cases of horrible malpractice swept under the rug, leaving the doc free to continue to butcher unsuspecting patients. Surely there has to be a middle ground somewhere? Uh, thanks, I guess? I try to truthfully answer all questions put to me without getting distracted by emotional arguement. I also feel (but I guess I could be wrong) that I will own up when I've been proven wrong about something. Honestly, I cannot remember giving a single dodge ever. If you will point one out I will rectify post-haste. I know! Where's your homies? I know you're not the only lib on here. Maybe you're the only one who has the bells to debate? Mmmmm....I love raspberry pop torts for breakfast.

Decades ago, men were expected to make more money simply because they were the breadwinners for the family. Now that it is acceptable for women to work, there should be no difference. Personally, I feel that the pay grades should be based on seniority plus performance. If, as in your example, one person is doing more work for the same pay (and they are unhappy about it) then they are always free to try and negotiate a new deal, or find another job. I know I sound like a hardass here....but in the medical field in Texas, there really are no unions. All employment is "at will", which means that you can get fired for any (or absolutely no) reason.

Admittedly, I'm a big dumbass for bringing this up, but there isn't any other reason for blood to be in your urine, is there (period, tramautic catheter removal, kidney stones, etc)? I know you're not an idiot, but sometimes right after surgery we tend to lose some perspective on things.....so I thought I'd bring up some of the more simplistic things. Having said that, if you've ruled out that kind of stuff, you probably need to see a doc pretty quickly. It's a big deal to have microscopic amounts of blood in your urine.....frank blood is something you need to get checked out fast! Good luck!

*applauds Brad's post. Well said, my friend. Jennifer, I've never had anybody tell me anything like that, but I think your method is perfectly acceptable.

Hi Just banded. I'm going to just throw out my opinion and everybody can agree or disagree (disclaimer - I admit that I've been influenced by my surgeon's very conservative outlook). It sounds to me like maybe you've been relying on your band to act as a physical barrier. The band was never meant to do all the work like that......to stop you while you mindlessly eat. The band is really a tool that makes us take deeper stock of ourselves. Sure, in the beginning, there is that "get to know you" time with our band where we are learning just how much we're able to eat. During that time, it's pretty easy to overeat, to PB, to not chew well, or whatever. But eventually, you should get a sense of how much you can comfortably hold (note I said "comfortably" hold......I don't mean how much you can pack in without it all coming back up). After you get that sense of how much you can eat, things get a lot easier. A lot of us struggle with head games (or head hunger, or whatever you want to call it) where we want to eat even though we are not physically hungry. The band doesn't do much to battle head hunger. That's where you come in. This is why they say the band is just a tool. You have to do some of the heavy lifting......especially at the start of things. So, having said all that, I would advise you to "start over" right now. First, do not eat crap......don't even have it close by, if possible. Second, with each meal really concentrate.....don't watch TV or read.....make detailed mental notes on how much you're eating, what size bites you're taking, whether you are chewing throughly, stuff like that. Third, do not eat until you're "full" (stuffed). Eat until you're "not hungry"...Your eventual goal should be to see how little a portion size you can eat and not be hungry 4 hours later. Fourth and last, drink plenty of Water and exercise, exercise, exercise. The importance of exercise can NOT be over-stated. So, that's my advice. Take it (or don't) for what it's worth. Remember, it's not too late to turn things around again.

Congrats, Kristine! That's an exciting time!