bitteroldhag

You'll get less hungry after the first fill. After the 2nd fill, you will lose a whole lot of weight. Actually this will happen after the 1st fill. Relax.

I learned the trick to red meat. Cut the meat in chiclet size and chew a whole lot. That's for steak. I also steam meat a whole lot. I put pork chops in a pan with about 1/4 inch of Water and bake it for 1 1/2 hours and then just broil it to get it brown. This works well for me. For round steak, I brown it in fat and then add water and boil it for about 1 1/2 hours adding water as necessary. This is called smothered steak and it makes its own gravy. We eat this a lot. Put a whole lot of garlic powder, salt and pepper on it. It's good. Hope you like this. It's southern cooking.:biggrin2:

Laurend -- One of our students, who is very bright, got a job on the night shift at the local Holiday Inn. He doesn't have much to do so he could work on his thesis. He just finished an excellent thesis. So you might try finding something like that. He arranged his classes early in the morning when he was still awake and slept in the afternoon. It worked very well for him, and he could pay the bills. Also you might check on food stamps for grad. students. I understand that a lot of grad. students are getting food stamps these days. We are going to suggest this to our grad. students.

As an English professor for 20+ years, I have a lot of students who think they deserve A's and get really bent out of shape if they don't get them. In my classes, students have to earn an A by doing superior work. Without superior work, the student earns a lesser grade. But I always tell my students that they are fools if they are only interested in grades. When you get out of school your employer won't give a poop what your grades were. He/she will be interested in what you can do. Because you can memorize material doesn't make you a good employment prospect. If you can't put a really good essay together, it indicates several things: you don't pay attention to details, you can't understand the overall thesis, you are not very good at critical thinking, you are bad at organizing an argument, you fail to provide adequate examples for your points, etc. Blaming a teacher for your own inadequacies is very immature. I don't think I know of any professor who doesn't give A's. I suspect some students in your class have gotten A's. So the trick is to figure out what you are doing wrong and I'll bet you can get an A. But thank God I am going to retire in about a year and a half. I'm getting sick of students who just don't understand why they don't get an A just because they worked really hard on an assignment. The way to get good grades is to understand the assignment and deliver what is required. Personally, I think you should appreciate a professor who maintains high expectations. They are usually the best.

Laurend -- I haven't been on this site for awhile and you were preparing for surgery the last time I was here. Now you weigh 165 pounds! Congratulations. I wish I weighed 165 pounds.

But if I had, it would be pro-choice. However, I have a plan for those folks who think they can control a woman's body. If you force a pregnant woman to have a baby, then I think she should be treated as a surrogate mother and she should be paid. My price would be One Million Dollars plus pre and post natal care. Then when the baby is born, the right-to-lifers should adopt the baby and raise it. This makes forcing women to have babies a simple business deal and removes all the moral problems. No one seems to take my plan seriously but it would do away with a lot of the crap involved in people who think they have the right to determine what others do with their bodies. Of course, I have long agreed that if men could get pregnant, abortion would be available on every street corner.

My friend got the 16 cc. Her doc was incompetent. But I will see a doc about this problem. Thanks for replying so soon.

I am almost 2 years out and I have had the pb's and other irritations, but lately it hurts when I eat. I cook meat so long that it falls apart, but it still hurts. I chew until the food is mush, but still have trouble getting it to go through the hole. I'm afraid I have an esophageal ulcer or something is wrong with my band. If I have an ulcer, could it be because the band is too tight? I have 4.5 cc in the 11 cc band, but my friend who had the same size says there should never be more than 7.5 cc in this type of band. Her fill doc put 16 cc in an 11 cc band and it nearly killed her. She gave up and got gastric bypass. Is it possible that if food gets stuck in the esophagus, esophageal ulcers can result? I had a some esophageal ulcers before I got the band despite taking reflux pills for years. They cleared up quickly with treatment. I would like to go to my regular doctor since I had the band done in Mexico and have to drive 100 miles to see the nurse practitioner. What do you all think I should do?

I thought you meant the F-word. I use that a lot. I never use the N-word. How nasty. I think only uneducated people use the n-word. Shame on me for getting it wrong. But I use the F-word a lot.

Lord, I hate you people. I have only lost 40 pounds but have maintained it for 2 years. Okay, two and a half years. I'm glad to know there are more bandsters who are 60. I turned 60 about 6 months ago and I'm not enjoying it. I don't want to exercise. I don't want to pretend I'm twenty. I'm 60 and grouchy because I have a bad back and it's been killing me. I also take care of my mother who is 87 1/2 and doesn't appear to be dying yet. I think a person who is 60 ought not to have to worry about what one's mother thinks. Clearly I'm grouchy, but I got to the eldercare website and they are all such wonderful people that I feel like a heel. I'm glad this site is here so I can gripe. I have to stay up most of the night to get some time alone. Tonight, Mother went to bed at midnight. Lord, will I ever get some sleep? I apologize, but I'm grumpy.

I have many customer service stories, but as a teacher, I have had a couple of students just lay me out verbally. I was so upset the 2nd time that I was on my way home and saw a couple of guys who had a flat. I decided I might just as well die then since I was scum according to my student, so I stopped and offered to help the guys. They were afraid of me! I have never scared men before or since, but I was so distraught that I scared those guys. Hahahaha!

Thanks, folks. My back has suddenly gotten better. I suspect it knew that I as going to have cortisone shot into it and it decided to get better fast. But I have never had such pain. God, it was awful. Green, I'm keeping my Percocet.

I have a bulging disc which is causing extreme pain. I have been sitting on the floor for almost a month and have taken a whole bunch of pain pills. I've had open heart surgery and :confused:it wasn't this bad. I started with hydrocodone but when my doc heard I was taking them every two hours, she gave me Percocet. It knocks me completely out. I have missed a whole lot of work and my next step is to visit a pain doc who will shoot cortisone into my spine. I'm really worried about this. Anyone have any advice or experience?