anonemouse

First, check with your insurance company to see if there are surgeons that they will or won't pay for. That was my biggest hurdle, since there are apparently only two bariatric surgeons in Tennessee that my insurance would pay for. Second, check out their experience. Anyone that has done more than 100 lap-band surgeries is considered to be an "expert" by the manufacturer of the band. Third, check out their complication rate and reputation. There are some doctors that some people will say are wonderful, but if you dig, they have massive complication rates and pretty horrible reputations. If they are experienced and you can't find anything negative, that's a good thing.

I've wondered that before, too. I think the Wishbone diet Italian tastes pretty similar to the regular, but in most cases, I use so little dressing that I just go ahead and use the regular. Unless you are absolutely drowning the salad in it, I don't see a problem with it. And I really hope I never have to eat protein bars. I can barely stand most regular bars, I REALLY don't want to eat fake chocolate crap.

I just want to be banded before August 2nd. I have to change insurance policies then, and if they schedule me after that date, I'll have to have all my stuff resubmitted to insurance. Right now, they have me meeting with the surgeon on August 1st, which means that I will be banded after the 2nd.

They are currently trying to get me moved up ahead of some other people (supposedly), but the earliest that I will get in would be mid to late July, regardless, just because the surgeon won't come back from maternity leave until then.

I'm not a moderator, but I can help you. Go to your control panel (the "UserCP" link at the top of the page. In the control panel, there is a link on the left called "Edit Email, Password, and Username." You can change your password to something you can remember when you log in from your new computer.

I might like them. There is a little brand of cheese straws that I can occasionally find that really isn't much more than flour and cheese. I love them, but the rest of my family thinks that they are absolutely disgusting. I can go through a box in an hour or so. They're one of my guilty obsessions, so I hardly even indulge myself. I think the brand is called Geraldine's.

That's exactly my problem. I eat a lot, and I eat way too quickly. I LOVE pasta, though. In fact, I just had No Yolks egg noodles with shredded parmesan cheese for lunch today. I am not a massive desert eater, but when I do, it is generally a not-super-sweet dessert, like Key Lime Pie or something like that. The only chocolate dessert I can remember getting is Applebees volcano cake with ice cream or Outback's sinful sundae (both were not super-sweet). Bread is my downfall. I literally rate restaurants based on the quality of the bread they serve. In fact, the only reason I go to some IS the bread. Red Lobster, for example. I don't eat anything that comes from Water, but I'll go to Red Lobster and get the cheddat biscuits, and either just a potato and salad or grilled chicken. LOVE bread.

Oh, I agree with you, Green. One of my friends had her first child when we were freshmen in high school. I saw her again at Wal-Mart last year and she had four or five kids with her. Another of my friends that I met my freshman year of college found out she was pregnant at the end of the school year, by a guy the rest of us didn't even know she was dating. She was intelligent, in the Honors Program, everything you could think of. I think the responsibility of birth control should lie on both people involved in the relationship. I think that some girls must feel that they are lacking something emotionally, and that they think a baby would fill that gap. Either that, or they just don't think that they would be so unlucky as to get pregnant.

Does your screen have a [More] link at the bottom of the list of emoticons? Mine does, so all I have to do is click on it and a new screen will pop up with the entire list of them.

My brother found out that his girlfriend was pregnant about two weeks ago (she had a miscarriage this past week, but that's beside the point). I don't think he knew what to think about it. They were (and may still be) going to get married this summer, because of the pregnancy. My parents and I never said it to his face, but the comment was made amongst us that, "If he didn't want a baby and didn't want to marry his girlfriend of less than 5 months, he knew how to avoid it."

To be honest, I have very little sympathy for people who should have known better. I have always been taught that, in cases like birth control, you don't trust the other person. If you want to protect yourself, you protect yourself. You can't expect other people to look out for your own best interests. Personal responsibility is a wonderful thing. If you don't want to risk getting a woman pregnant, wear a condom or get a vasectomy.

It won't let me edit the title.

Do we have a thread yet for people getting banded in July? If not, this can be it! :clap2: I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will be getting banded in July. My surgeon's office manager is seeing what she can do to get my date moved up so that I won't have to have everything resubmitted to insurance when I change policies in early August.

I was approved at the beginning of the month. I haven't gotten cold feet yet, mainly because I know it is going to be a while before I get banded. My surgeon is on maternity leave until sometime in July.

Everything but the name of the card was correct. Hopefully, it will go through with no problem, because I want my peaches and cantaloupe, damn it! I didn't even know you could get dried cantaloupe.

ACK! I just realized when I was looking over the email I got from them that I had clicked "Mastercard" instead of "Visa." I emailed them back to see if they could change it or if the whole order should be cancelled.

So, how long does the gas/swollen look last after surgery? I have heard some people say that they looked pregnant for a few weeks after surgery. Is that true, or does the pregnant look go away within a few days? I don't want to look any different (other than hopefully a little slimmer) when I start classes again this fall.

Okay, I placed my order! I wound up going with 1 pound of all the stuff I listed above.

Getting all the stuff I listed is just over $50. A six pack (everything except veggie chips) is about $20.

I feel like Scrat from Ice Age. You know, when he hunches over the acorn and squints his eyes and looks around?

Bubble, try them for me, please? I am thinkng about ordering some, if they are good. Right now, I have the following in my cart: Angelino Plums -1 pound Apple rings - 2 pounds Peaches - 2 pounds Dried cantaloupe - 1 pound Dried pears - 1 pound Veggie chips - 1 pound chocolate covered espresso Beans (I know, I know) - 2 pounds

Dried peaches? You can get DRIED PEACHES? *dies of pleasure*

I agree. I was a very self-conscious child. Being fat meant that no one noticed me. It's protection, as sad as it sounds.

It's possible when the "sin" is something the "sinner" chooses. If it is something that is integral, natural to the "sinner," you can't separate the two. Last time I checked, people weren't born with cigarettes in their mouths.

I agree with this. I also think that if it is used, it needs to be done when the parent is not angry. Spanking in anger can too easily get out of hand. If you are spanking hard enough to leave marks, you are going too far, IMO.