anonemouse

Believe me, I understand that. By the time I went for my second fill, I'd gained back all but 7 pounds of what I'd lost during my pre-op diet and immediately after surgery. I definitely had a lot of periods where I was REALLY scared that I wasn't going to be successful at this. I do agree with something that WCFG said in his last post, we all have to have willpower at some point. Maybe not the willpower to say "No!" entirely to a bowl of ice cream or a platter of cupcakes, but maybe the willpower to only eat a single serving of ice cream or one cupcake. Believe me, it's something that we all have to deal with, whether or not we're currently successful bandsters. Recently, I even gained back almost 10 pounds of what I'd lost, simply because I'd found a recipe for home-made cream sodas that were literally about 800 calories each. And I was craving them HARD. I'd drink at least one a day, along with eating a lot of full-calorie mozzarella cheese that I'd melt and brown in the oven. So yeah, that weight came back. I had to find the willpower to pour my ingredients down the drain and not buy any more. It was hard, but I still had to do it, because I'd rather lose weight than drink a very yummy cream soda. It took me a while to lose those pounds again, and then I plateaued. I've only recently started losing weight again.

Whoops, I went and opened my mouth about the stuff I said I wouldn't in another thread here in RnR. Let the fireworks begin.

Not sure how you read into my post that I was taking it personally, because I wasn't and I'm not. I was simply making a statement in agreement with the gist of what another poster said. In fact, I wasn't even talking to the other people that posted in the thread, I was talking to you, based on your past posts in this thread, the posts where you said you were considering a revision, that you like to eat things that the band doesn't really restrict, and that you aren't exercising. I wasn't saying that you were taking that possible revision lightly, but I was warning you that you were likely to run into trouble if you revise and go into that surgery assuming certain things, like you apparently went into lap-band surgery with certain assumptions. And I'm sorry if you think it's an attack on you, because it's not. The fact is, you've admitted in this thread that you had certain assumptions about what lap-band surgery could do for you, assumptions that weren't accurate. I do want to pull one comment you made in the above post out and go over it, though. "No one jumped into this lightly, it was well planned out, we were all screened, we all researched and we paid a lot of money for something that has disappointed us." (emphasis mine) Can you honestly say that you really researched this surgery, though, if you continue to blame your surgeon for not telling you certain things about the lap-band? For example, I believe you've said in the past that your surgeon failed to inform you that sweets-eaters might not do as well with the band as they would have with the bypass. That's something that could have been found very easily through research. And yes, that was my exact point, when I mentioned the member here that has Cushing's Syndrome, that not everyone has it. In fact, it's an extremely rare condition. That was my point. Those people that DO have it, like Vinesqueen, have a reason that they aren't losing weight that is truly out of their control. They can't help the fact that they've got a brain tumor that prevents them from losing weight. That is why I said that it was "legitimate." I have a lot of sympathy for you, I do. This road hasn't been all roses for me, either. I've got quite a bit of acid reflux that I deal with, I had a very hard time losing any weight in the beginning, and I've plateaued and even gained weight (now losing again) since being banded. But you know what? I also don't consider you "a band failure." Why? Your band hasn't failed. You may have been using it incorrectly, due to being overfilled, but now that you've had an unfill (I think you said that, anyway), hopefully it will be working correctly. But you also have to take responsibility for doing half the work and exercise and NOT eat stuff that goes right through it. And honestly, I have no problem with people that are really having issues with their bands supporting each other. In fact, I think it's awesome. That's what the complications forum is for, after all, to be that safe place you mentioned. But you didn't post in the complications forum, you posted in the rants and raves forum.

I agree with this. I wouldn't have phrased it quite so strongly, lol, but I do agree with the gist of much of what was said. Complaining of plateaus is legitimate. A plateau isn't the band's fault, though, and in many cases it isn't the person's fault, either. Sometimes, our bodies just have to take a while to adjust, and we may have to reevaluate what we're doing. Those people's bands have not failed, and those people are not generally band failures. Yes, some people do have underlying undiagnosed medical issues that prevent them from losing weight (Vinesqueen, for example, had Cushing's Syndrome). But, those people are going to be in the very tiny minority, as such difficult-to-diagnose diseases are pretty darn rare, in most cases. For many people, it really does come down to what you put in your mouth and what you make your body do. I can understand being upset about not losing weight, but it really isn't legitimate to place the blame for that on the band if you admit to eating the wrong foods and not exercising. Now, again, I wouldn't have phrased things in quite such an inflammatory manner as WCFG, but he has a point, if people bother to look past the rest of it. And I know most of us hate the word I'm going to use, as we have all had it thrown in our faces too many times by thin people. Some times, it all comes down to having some self-control. I know it's not easy. But that's really what it boils down to at the very end, having the self-control NOT to do things that will just harm you in the end and to DO the things that will help you. Believe it or not, we will ALL have to use it, at one point or another, to be successful at banding. Experienced bandsters know how to eat around the band. They know what happens if they stop exercising. The ones that have been really, really successful have learned that they have to use self-control to stay away from "cheating" foods (or at least, limit their intake) and that they've got to exercise a certain amount. They probably don't like it, but they've got to do it or they'll start regaining weight. If it would help you retain some self-control to have a revision to another surgery, maybe that's the best course for you to take. But there is no guarantee that you won't be in the same situation after having that surgery. For example, not all bypass patients experience dumping syndrome, so if you revise to that surgery, don't go into it thinking that you're guaranteed to start feeling really icky if you eat something that you shouldn't.

I agree with you, to a certain extent. I personally feel that the onus lies on the patient to make sure that they are educated. I think the doctor and his/her staff should do their best (from an ethical standpoint, if nothing else) to inform the patient, but I think the patient should make sure that they are informed, especially when it comes to elective surgery. With emergency surgery, it's understandable when patients aren't sure what's what when they're recovering and getting back to the life they lived before surgery. But I honestly don't think there's much of an excuse when it comes to an elective surgery that usually takes weeks, if not months, to arrange. So, I have to admit it quite irritates me to see so many people on the board blame their surgeons for not informing them of things, when the majority of the information is so easily accessible. I really want to ask them if they bothered to do any research at all before jumping on the surgery bandwagon. I generally manage to hold my tongue, though. But I also won't make posts that commiserate with them and heap more blame on their surgeon, simply because I feel that the ultimate responsibility for making sure the patient is informed about everything that comes with banding was the patient's.

Yep, my doc was one of those that let her patients skip ahead on the diet. I ate pureed stuff while I was in the hospital, and I had scrambled eggs the day after surgery. Now I really wish I'd paid more attention to the stuff that was said on the board about the post-op diet. If I'd known then what I know now, I would have said, "No thanks!" when the doc told me I could eat solid food whenever I started to feel hungry again.

Extremely well said, Wasa. I went to church every Sunday for 18 years. I WANTED to believe. The problem was, I didn't, and nothing I did or hoped or thought was able to change that. It's very difficult to be a non-believer in this country, and I don't think many believers understand just how difficult it is. People think nothing about talking about God, about their disgust towards "perverted" lifestyles, about their disgust towards or dislike of non-Christians, etc. because they automatically ASSUME that the person they are talking to is just like them, a Christian. How do you think that makes the person they're talking to feel, if they're an Atheist? It sure doesn't make us feel like saying, "Aww, that's okay. You just feel strongly about that because you're a Christian." It sometimes hurts and it's honestly scary, in some cases. In most places in this country, if you admit that you're an Atheist, you get "the look." You know, the raised eyebrow, the slight (or in some cases, more than slight) look of disgust. Living in the Bible Belt, I don't publicly proclaim my Atheism, unless I feel like I am surrounded by like-believing people or otherwise feel safe. Yet, I'm supposed to feel less offended by having my very personal, very strong beliefs attacked because I'm not a Christian?

I wrecked my car tonight. It has rained cats and dogs all day today. I was just getting off the interstate on my way home from work, and I thought to myself, "I'd better be really careful exiting. Between the sharp curve and the rain, it would be really easy to hydroplane." What did I do about 5 seconds later? Hydroplaned into the guard rail, of course. I didn't do too much damage (and luckily, I wasn't hurt at all), but I did enough that I shouldn't drive my car any longer than necessary. I bent the front left quarter panel enough that it rubs on the tire really badly, broke the light, and damaged my bumper pretty well. And of course, this all comes about a month before the car's paid off entirely.

I've got a $500 deductible, so at least I don't have to pay the whole quoted price. But still, I would have liked to save that $500 to either use for plastic surgery or for stuff that I can use my employee discount on that I decide I can't live without (so far I've been really good, just bought a tea kettle and some candles). At least I've got some extra cash at the moment, which is more than I could say before I got my extra jobs.

I spent this entire morning and part of the afternoon getting everything done. The repair quote was almost $1900. *sigh* Guess I won't be getting that Caphalon cookware set I was eying at work anytime soon. I've got rental coverage as part of my insurance, so I'll be driving a bright red Chevy HHR for the next several days. Horrifically ugly car, but it's really nice on the inside. It's not that much bigger than my Civic, really, but it feels massive.

Yep, I'm fine. Just dreading all the crap I have to do tomorrow morning. I'm hoping that I can get everything done (call insurance, drop my car off at a body shop, arrange for a rental car, etc.) and still get to work on time. I don't think it's going to happen, honestly, since my insurance company doesn't open until about 9:00 (I have to call them to get a list of approved body shops), and I have to be at work at 10:00 with a half hour drive.

Why is it apparently so freaking difficult for some of my students to use good email etiquette when they email me? Are people just not being taught the stuff anymore? Do they just not really understand that they are "talking" to an authority figure, one that controls their grade? How hard is it to run a spell-checking program, or at least capitalize a word or two and use one or two punctuation marks in your freaking paragraph? My god, these are supposed to be college students. And the complete lack of respect some of them show! A few semesters ago, I had a student that literally sent me five emails in a period of less than 36 hours. It got to a point where I was VERY tempted to just completely ignore her. I didn't, though I would have loved to. This semester, I've got a student that insists on calling me "Lauren" in his emails to me, and it really rubs me the wrong way, even though I've not said anything to him. Now, don't get me wrong, I've got a lot of students that are really, really great, and they're a lot of fun to teach (they actually ask questions and want to understand the material). I don't talk about them as much on here because, well, who wants to hear me gush about my favorite students? But damned if those few bad apples don't ruin the experience sometimes. :blushing:

Oh, I agree. That's one reason online communication sometimes drives me nuts. To me, laxity in one type of communication creates a tendency to be lax other types of communication. The more you do something, the more likely you are to slip and accidentally do it at a very inopportune time. But other people don't always get it. Go figure, huh?

Lol, that's what I'm dreading! My spring semester actually ended a little over a week ago (the labs end earlier than the lectures do), but I'm teaching a biology lecture class and a couple of labs during the summer term, starting in June.

Personally, I love Target and Kmart. Well, I'm a fan of any place that isn't Wal-Mart. I DESPISE those stores. And yeah, Target doesn't have anything against vets. They don't let ANYONE solicit for money outside their stores, not even the Salvation Army Santas. If they make an exception for one group, they'd have to let all groups do it. And then the Targets would turn into Wal-Mart, with every group imaginable asking for a hand out.

Oh, I know. And I probably wouldn't have a problem with it, if they had asked first. It's the assumption that I wouldn't mind that bothers me. To me, a student just shouldn't automatically assume that every instructor/professor would like to be referred to by their first name just because they had one that likes it.

Perfectly said. I'm going to be worm food when I die, so I better make the most of the life I'm living now.

Thanks for the heads up, Wasa! Yep, I have definitely given up on attempting to explain the difference between a scientific theory and a layman's theory. It's just like slamming my head into a brick wall, repeatedly. Nothing gets accomplished and everyone gets pissed off, including me. As a biologist, it's extremely frustrating. Fact is, creationism is religion-based, whether you're talking about creation stories from Christianity, Buddhism, or Wicca. Teaching it is fine, as long as it stays in a theology class. It doesn't belong in a science class.

As some of you know, I've currently got a couple of part-time jobs, one as an office assistant and one at Linens N Things. I was also teaching college biology labs part-time this semester (today was actually my last day of teaching for the semester). A couple of weeks ago, I had a very good interview at the local Dressbarn, but when I didn't hear back from them, I put it out of my mind. Well, guess what? The Dressbarn manager left me a voicemail today, wanting me to call her tomorrow, so I'm assuming that they are hiring me. And I also found out today that I will be teaching a biology lecture class and two labs during the summer term. So now, it looks like I really will be juggling four jobs. Luckily, the summer term doesn't start until early June, so I've got a little leeway to get adjusted. So why did I post this in Rants and Raves, you ask? Well, I'm ticked off because I'm having to consider dumping the office assistant job, even though it pays the most, other than teaching. The problem with it is that it has very irregular hours. I'm supposed to be working there every Tuesday and Wednesday and every other Friday, but half the time, the hours fall through. Either they don't need me entirely, or they only need me for a couple of hours. For example, this week, they didn't need me on Tuesday or today, and I only worked for about an hour and a half on Wednesday. I'd hate to drop it, because it's SUPER easy stuff (mostly just data entry) and I like the people. Plus, like I said, it pays fairly well for an entry-level part-time job ($10/hour) when I actually am working. It's just getting the hours that's seeming to be a problem.

I teach college-level biology labs (and occasionally lecture classes, when my department needs me to), and you aren't kidding! I usually have a mix of four kinds of students: 1) direct-from-high-school freshmen; 2) upperclassmen that put off taking some of their gen-ed classes; 3) non-traditional (read: older) students; and 4) students repeating the class due to previous failure. Usually, the older students are by far my best students, then the upperclassmen (as long as they aren't Greek or athletes - those are usually fairly bad, in my experience). The first-time freshmen are usually terrible, unless they were over-achievers in high school. The repeat offenders will usually at least make an attempt to study, and in many cases, they'll try not to repeat the same mistakes they made in the past. My freshmen, though, have really destroyed my faith in the public school system (and some private and/or home school systems - the ones that utterly fail to teach modern, widely accepted scientific theory). Unless they were the cream of the crop and taught to strive for educational excellence, many of them are lazy and expect to be given an A on a silver platter (do the bare minimum or less of studying, don't bother to attempt extra credit, don't ask questions, etc.). The students I really love are the international students. They may not make the best grades because of basic language barriers, but they generally make a genuine attempt to apply themselves, ask the most questions, and really try to understand the material. This semester, I had the most international students that I've ever had. I had one from the Middle East, one or two from India, a couple from Africa, one from Japan, one that I think was either Portuguese or Filipino, and one from an eastern European country.

No, I'm not, and I'm not sure how you got that. My point is that it's useless to apply "might have, could have, should have, would have" to abortion, because we DON'T KNOW. Yeah, an aborted fetus might have grown up to cure some disease. It also might have grown up to be a serial killer or rapist. It's an equal possibility.

And maybe the person that would have become the next Hitler, Stalin, or Hussein was one. That's just as likely as a researcher that could have cured cancer or AIDS or obesity.

Yep, we English/Irish/Scottish girls definitely burn easily. My dad's side is Scotch/Irish, and my mom's side is English. And yet I look like I'm part Italian/Greek (very dark brown eyes and LOTS of dark, curly hair - much of it in places that I don't want it in), and I have absolutely no idea where that comes from.

Yeah, I'm really wanting to get a swimsuit now, but I don't know when I'd use it! My parents have a weekend/vacation house at a lake, and I'd usually be spending my weekends there, but since I started some new part-time jobs recently, I'm swamped. My apartment complex has a pool, but I've never been much for sitting around and doing nothing in a pool. Plus, I burn like nothing else, so with my luck I'd get skin cancer. Seriously, when my brother got married, the ceremony was less than 20 minutes long and I came away from it with pink shoulders and cheeks.

Yep, from what I've heard, most people find that it's incredibly painful.