Devana

Superstore sells a whey powder called Dynawhey. It mixes easily and comes in Strawberry-Kiwi and Chocolate-banana. It has zero carbs and 30 grams of Protein per scoop. The beauty of this stuff is, is that it's cold processed whey which means that if you take a selenium tab with it you get maximum glutathione production. And remember, glutathione is kind of like the master antioxidant. It costs about $26 dollars for about 30 scoops worth.

Sallyjo, Pam has all my best healing wishes.

Thanks alex! No more scrolling from side to side for me!

Welcome CAWalsh, and congratulations on your upcoming date. I didn't experience very much pain after the surgery, except for the pain in my left shoulder that was referred from the diaphragm. I was banded the same time as a friend and she suffered much less with it. As far as being selfish, I don't believe that you are. See this as an investment in your family. Remember, what's good for Mom is good for everyone. I'm sure your kids will want you to be a grandparent to their own children someday.

Hi there, and welcome to LBT! The best way to find out about anything is to read everything you can here. Also you may want to check out the Local US support threads for information about surgeons in your area. Good luck with it.

Thanks for all the good tips and ideas, everyone. In my previous hippie-chick era the only thing I did was keep clean. First came a haircut - bangs. Then a bra. Then my eyebrows. Then perfume - Cinnabar. Then eyeliner. Then foundation. Then the pedicures. Then the lash tints. On and on it goes. Right now, I couldn't live without my eyeliner, tweezers and polish for my toes,

One time quite a few years ago my credit card was declined. I was going to our office Christmas dinner at a casual restaurant. I wasn't working that day so I went by bus with my baby in his stroller. It was kind of a cold and blustery night so I wore on of my older warmer coats, not the most attractive thing. I had a little way to walk after I disembarked from the bus and all the stores were about to close. I nipped into Marks and Spencers to get a couple of their delicious English Christmas puddings. As Christmas puddings go, they were quite expensive so I used my credit card. The young bimbo at the till ran it through and told me that it was declined. Impossible I say, please try again! Again she told me it was declined. So I got out my American Express Card that we used for the business. I know that you can get AE cards now that you can carry a balance on, but back then they had to be paid right off every month. There was no way that this could be declined. But she said it was. I was quite worried because I had intended to pay for the whole dinner on my Visa and I didn't want to suffer the embarrassment of having it declined in front of everyone. So I hoofed it over to the bank and withdrew a hefty wad of cash from the ATM before I went to the restaurant. After the meal I went over to the counter to pay discreetly rather than do it at the table. The server happened to be someone I knew, so I told her what had happened and asked her to run my card through. It was accepted. She told me that retailers have the ability to enter something to make the machine decline the card if they're at all suspicious of the cardholder. So I think the young woman at the store made a judgement about me, an obese and wind bedraggled mother in an old coat with a Dr. in front of her name on the card and decided it couldn't be so. I was so angry. I should have gone and raised all holy hell, but I was so busy in those days and the time passed.

I'm also in Canada and I don't get the calls. It took a little while, but here's how I did it: I would answer the call and ask in surprise "How did you get my number?" They would then tell me that they are just going down a numbers list. At that point I tell them that I have an unlisted number precisely because I don't want to receive calls like this, and to please take my number off the list immediately. It works. You don't even have to actually have an unlisted number to do it.

Yes, I agree, songs are hard. So this is my list for today, I know that tomorrow it will be different. Debaser - Pixies Fell on Black Days - Soundgarden The Band - King Harvest The Smiths - How Soon Is Now The Black Keys - Set You Free Clash - Ghetto Defendant Flamin' Groovies - Slow Death Pearl Fishers Duet - done by anybody Hendrix - Little Wing Tragically Hip - Courage UB40 - If It Happens Again Modest Mouse - Heart Cooks Brain Holly Cole - I Can See Clearly Now Sam and Dave - Soothe Me Robert Cray - Acting This Way John Martyn - May You Never

Way to go, girl!

The anger-free physical punishment does bother me. I don't advocate violence towards children at all, whether it be physical or verbal. I don't believe that a smack in anger or frustration is somehow more acceptable than a calculated smack. Smack, hit, spank, it's all violence. However, the "calm loving" infliction of pain I find extremely disturbing. In Canada, spanking is not against the law, but using an implement is. As long as your hand is attached to your body, you're not removing yourself from the act by attaching a stick or whatever to it.

Welcome, Snaggletooth, I'm glad you found us, too! I was private pay so I can't help you out with insurance issues, however, there is an insurance section with various threads you may want to check out. Good luck with it all.

Welcome, Hap-band! Congratulations on your decision to be banded. Hope you get your date soon.

Gadgetlady, I think this is an occasion where we will have to agree to disagree. I was so shocked when I read the above that I couldn't reply right away. I usually have a "question of the week" for the people who come to see me. Today I described your discipline methods and asked them what they thought. Of thirty people, only one thought it was ok. The majority, like me, found it scary. I only did this because I was curious if I was really "off base" in my reaction to it. I was not an abused child and I did get smacked occasionally, sometimes out of frustration and other times calculated like you described above. And I can tell you, I understood when my parents tipped but I sure as blazes didn't understand the calm, after the fact infliction of pain as punishment. I thought it bizarre then and I still think it's bizarre. I'm hoping that we live in a continuing evolving society. In the same way than it's no longer acceptable to abuse animals and act in racist and discriminatory ways, I can foresee a time in the future when physical violence toward our own children will become just as unacceptable. I am a parent and I also have been a professional parent. I believe we often tend to parent the way we were parented. I always thank my lucky stars that I did work as a parent and had the help and education to enable me to parent in a way different from my own folks. You can't just go smacking kids when they're in your care. Many years later, when my own came along I had the skills required to discipline in other ways. He's fourteen now and a great kid. I did smack him less than a handful of times when he was younger, twice out of frustration and once when he scared me. I don't believe the physical punishment served his development and growth in any way, nor do I believe that his character and well being has suffered for not being physically disciplined the majority of the time. There is much help out there for people to learn different ways to parent. A couple books I can think of off bat are ones by Barbara Coloroso and Gary Neufeld. Many community centres have courses and parent groups. There's a whole world of alternatives out there.

Calm and loving infliction of pain sounds just so bizarre to me.

Pinkylee, I just noticed that it's your birthday. Happy Birthday to you, girl, I hope you're having a wonderful day. And here's to a great year ahead!

Sissy, do you have your tomatoes in wooden pots or beds? I had a problem a few years back with my strawberries which were planted in raised wooden beds. They had these tidy little holes eaten in them by wood bugs. I've also heard them called wood lice. I was puzzled by the holes until I found a bug curled neatly up inside a nice ripe strawberry.

I mean the rules about eating and drinking. I know things work better and the weight comes off faster if you don't drink with meals, etc.

<p>My 14 yr old has been studying art history at school. He and a friend were so inspired by the "Group of Seven" (Canadian artists) that they wanted to emulate them. They decided to "go into the wilderness and paint".</p> <p> </p> <p>The "wilderness" is a little island just out in front of where we live. The problem is, is that we're on an estuary, right at the end of one of those mud bottomed fingers and are very dependent on tides. We can only get out to (and back again for that matter) the main Water at high tide. It's a very narrow window of opportunity.</p> <p> </p> <p>They couldn't get out to the island until 8:00 pm last night, and so they went, with the boat laden with camping supplies, art supplies and enough food to feed an army.</p> <p> </p> <p>It lasted until 5 am when I heard them coming into the house. </p> <p>It turns out that they got a bit creeped out by all the drumming that was going on nearby. There is a First Nations' longhouse on the other side of the bay where all night ceremonies are sometimes held. When we're at home, going out in the middle of the night and hearing the drumming is kind of nice, but I guess when you're kids sleeping out alone it can be a bit unnerving.</p> <p>Then they looked and thought they observed the tide going out and figured they had better get back. They loaded up just a few things and headed home, but couldn't make it all the way because there was not enough water. So they hauled the boat up on the estuary grass and walked the rest of the way.</p> <p> </p> <p>I had shown the knuckleheads the tide tables and I thought they understood that 6 am was the time they had to come home. They crashed out into bed and slept through the high tide. There won't be another one until 11pm tonight.</p> <p> </p> <p>So my husband helped them bring everything home. It involved some wading and mud and he said it was the continuation of the adventure for them.</p> <p> </p> <p>So they're home, dry, happy and fed and consider their adventure a success in that they stayed up most of the night and have some wonderful artwork to show for it.</p> <p> </p> <p>I love kids!</p>

I believe that movie was "Big Trouble". I just saw it recently and it was hilarious.

I have no regrets about going to Mexico. I went with a friend who was banded at the same time and it was a fun adventure. We have a surgeon up here to do our aftercare. It has still been a lot cheaper for us to do it this way. However, that was almost a year ago and I'm amazed at how many more options are available now for both banding and fills in this country and just over the border.

Hello Colette, I'm glad you found us. Hope you get a surgery date soon!

Try looking in the US local support threads or in the Doctors and Hospitals threads. There might be someone there who knows of him. Holy Smokes, I just discovered a new feature at the bottom of this page: "Similar Threads" and there are a couple about Dr Clark! There you go, if you haven't found them already. Good luck.

Wow, Lady J, you're doing well. I'll bet you'll be down to your goal weight soon. My friend Jane and I were banded the same day. She was a lot lower BMI and is already at her goal and looks fantastic. My progress is a lot slower and I have a lot farther to go, but nevertheless I'm going to get there. Good luck!

Hi Lori. You might want to try going to the "USA Local Lap band Support" threads near the bottom of the main page. You can also try the "Doctors and Hospitals" threads. I'm sure you'll find someone. Good luck with it all!