Devana

Wheetsin, I'm picking up this post late. However, I just want to say congratulations and I hope your pregnancy is going well and that you're enjoying it. I can remember reading some of your posts way back when and thinking that you'd be an awesome parent. All the best in your new adventure.

Oh, I can see her now! Because I couldn't see any facial features the picture looked like a black hole surrounded by hair. Believe me, I looked at it a long while before asking.

Minor hijack here and I apologise, however, I need to know: Turler, what on earth is your avatar?

BJean, thankyou. I always enjoy reading yours as well. I don't have the time to post as often as I used to. I've had multiple extra things to do, however, I'm hoping things will settle down with summer coming. I've also realized that I really do need this place for support. I can get into a real funk about my lack of success with the band, and coming here daily can kind of keep me on track. Also, I'm having a bit of trouble with the new site features, which I'll post in the forum suggestion area. I feel like old Abe Simpson..."I'm confuuused!"

Hi Gloria. There is a really neat book called "The Joy of Sex". It's been out since the early '70's and has been updated a few times, I believe. It's full of all sorts of good stuff with artistic pictures, the whole thing presented in an erotic rather than a porno way. We often gave copies as wedding presents.

Hi Belle, and welcome to LBT. Well, I have to say I'm really surprised by what your PCP told you. I don't understand how your joint problems would prevent you from having the band. First of all, reduced weight would greatly reduce the stress on your hip. Many obese people, in the process of losing weight in preparation for their hip or knee surgery find that they don't need it after the weight is lost. Secondly, what does he/she mean by "taking care of" your spinal stenosis? Does this mean surgery? Surgery is always safer with non obese patients. In many cases spinal stenosis happens when one of the lower vertebrae slip forward, causing a bend in the spinal canal, effectively narrowing it. This can happen for a number of reasons, but it is certainly aggravated by excess weight on the belly. The only reason I can possibly think of that having the stenosis will prevent you from having the surgery is that lying on your back during surgery may possibly cause further narrowing of the canal, however I've never heard of this happening. I'm thinking that your PCP may be lacking knowledge in both stenosis and banding matters. I would think that losing weight through banding would be of great benefit to you. There would be less stress on both your hip and lower spine. Eating much less means eating much more carefully to get proper nutrition, and usually this means less carbs. Less carbs means an anti-inflammatory effect on the body which will help decrease overall pain levels in all your joints. If you're refused banding, ask questions. Make sure you're able to accept their answers. If you don't, make a case for banding. You may be able to save yourself a whole pile of other procedures down the road. Good luck with it and keep us posted.

Debbie, welcome. Glad you posted. If you've just discovered this site you'll find it full of fun and wisdom. It's also good to have someone to talk to face to face as well. Just remember that so many of us have different experiences from each other. Good luck and I hope you get approved and a surgery date soon!

Hello Sunshine. Congratulations on your decision to be banded. A whole new life awaits you!

Holy smokes, Chocolate. I'm figuratively putting my arms around you right now and giving you a hug. Behind everything you said what I hear is that you need love and respect. Am I close? You deserve to be loved and cherished and certainly not made fun of. (Who is making you the "joke" anyway? I hope not your friends.) I love affirmations. Something like "I have a wonderful new relationship that meets my needs." And your needs could be anything: respect, romance, faithfulness, playfulness and maybe just plain old getting your rocks off. Hang in there, girl.

DeLarla was indeed a hoot. Things are a little less colourful and sparkly without her. Also miss Vines, Jenna (Princess'nthepea), Carlene, Tom and probably a bunch of others I'll think about soon. Haven't seen Derrek or Marjon around for awhile, either.

So you're a long term bandster! I, too would be interested in hearing your story. Welcome to LBT.

Way to go Tina! Hope you get your date soon.

Welcome, future skinny person. Good luck with your band journey. I know you're some distance from Burma, but did you get any of the big wind?

Welcome. So you're an experienced bandster. You're input will be welcome, that's for sure!

Hi km. The latest research does indeed indicate that surgical weight loss can indeed get people off insulin. As far as finding a surgeon close to you........try the Nevada threads, I'll bet you'll find someone. Good luck!

I haven't heard of anyone getting it done in the Yukon. There are a couple of surgeons in Vancouver doing it. And you could always go to Mexico. Keep exploring this forum and asking questions. Good luck!

Congratulations on your banding mckenna. So you don't look 72? Wait till you lose more weight and you'll feel much younger, too! Good luck with your fill.

I can't believe the College would stop allowing bands to be done in BC without showing evidence of it being an unnecessarily dangerous procedure.

Hi there and welcome. I picked your post up late in the unanswered posts section. I imagine you've had a fill by now. Hope things are going well!

Holy smokes, Andy, what an ordeal you have been through. I'm reading your post late, I picked it up in the unanswered posts section. So you will be banded by now. I hope all is going well.

This gets into that old "head hunger" thing. I battle with this every day. Just go one day at a time, I guess. Good luck, I hope you're losing well.

Good luck with jumping through all your hoops. Probably seems like a pain in the neck, however the alternative is private pay, I guess.

Hi and welcome, jonkimbe. My band buddy Jane had hers done the same time as me in Mexico. I had a high BMI whereas hers was low and she had only about 50 pounds to lose. She has been at her goal weight for over a year now and says it was the best money she ever spent and well worth it. I think that if you have tried everything or have yo-yo'd you might as well go for it. There used to be threads on this site for low BMI bandsters. I'm not sure where they are at the moment, things have changed around here lately. Take a look for them and I'm sure you'll get a lot more information from people like yourself. Good luck with your decision.

We hadn't given the issue much thought when our son was born until a friend of ours, who we respect and who is an MD, told us that his children weren't vaccinated. We decided to hold off on getting our baby done until we had researched the whole thing. I have to admit that at first I was scared to even consider not vaccinating. There was a whole fear mentality out there and it was really difficult at first, to overcome that and look at things without the big emotional charge. After much research, we decided that we weren't convinced that vaccines were safe or effective. We also felt that they may interfere with the development of our baby's immune system and indeed may possibly an assault on it. I have to say that after what we learned, the decision was an easy one. I am in health care and was asked to give vaccine awareness workshops for several years in the early and mid '90's. I'm sure there is new information out there that I'm not aware of as I haven't been actively involved in the issue for some time. I do know three families who have brain damaged children after they developed central nervous system irritation and massive seizures after vaccination. I know three families who associate the onset of their child's autism with vaccination. I also have one friend whose autistic child was never vaccinated. When I dug into the statistics for the outbreaks of whooping cough that occasionally broke out in our area, I discovered that of those that had it, 40 to 60% had been vaccinated. Also, I suspect that the apparent increase in autoimmune disorders may be linked to early childhood vaccinations. I hope I'm wrong about this. Our son is almost 16 now, and he may decide to get vaccinated some day. I would feel a lot better about him doing it now than as a baby. What I hope for is that parents make an informed choice, whichever way they choose. We all want to do what we believe is best for our children.

Linda, I loved that book. It explains introverts and extroverts in a way that's different than I had previously understood. My husband, son and I appear to be very extroverted; we're comfortable with people and public speaking etc. However, doing the tests in the book showed me that despite our ease with people, our energy gets depleted quite easily and we need a lot of "recharging" time alone or just with each other. As for making friends, I have always found it easy. I know what I do, but I don't know how to describe it other than that I have an ability to create a sense of intimacy. We have moved a lot and I have several very good friends in every place we've lived.