anonemouse

I think you can get a fairly good idea about whether or not a report is likely accurate, based on how common similar reports are. For example, if I see somone talking about the absolutely horrid experience they had with surgeon X, but can't find any other similar reports, it's a fair guess to say that either that person's experience was out of the norm for surgeon X or that the person was just trying to discredit that surgeon for some reason. If, on the other hand, I research the report and easily find multiple similar reports, it's fair to conclude that there is likiely some basis for the negative report. It's not unusual to see negative reports about Dr. Huacuz. I remember seeing many of them, both here and at ObesityHelp.com when I was a member there. One or two, sure, you could probably pass off as a patient coordinator for another doctor, trying to get rid of the competition. But to have many negative experience reports, that sends up a huge red flag for me.

When I was 10, I shaved half of one of my eyebrows off because they were were so thick. Why half, you ask? Well, I cut my self pretty badly and stopped. Now I've got a scar on one of them and the eyebrow doesn't grow right, making waxing it tricky.

Has anyone here ever been in the Peace Corps or know someone who has? I'm seriously considering applying, for when I get out of grad school. I've thought about it before, but always thought I was too fat to attempt it.

It used to be under "edit options," I think, but I can't find it anymore.

You know, I have no idea. I'm certainly not yet at a "healthy" BMI, but even I can see that overweight is overweight is overweight. Is it healthier than "morbidly obese?" Sure. But it still isn't as healthy as "healthy," no two ways about it. It's why you get told by your doctor that you need to lose a few. It's why, all other things being equal (family disease history, smoking habits, etc.), an overweight person will pay more for health insurance than a person with BMI in the healthy range. It's 'cause overweight people are statistically not as healthy as people with a "normal" BMI! Why is it apparently so hard to recognize that and own it? Thinking you look best with a BMI of 28 is great, but it doesn't change the fact that those extra pounds are likely to carry with them a few extra health issues that a person with a BMI of, say, 23, isn't as likely to have.

Thanks! I don't want to scare you, but if you had restriction before you went for the fill, you should have more restriction now. With a sudden lack of restriction, I'd worry about a slip. Definitely call your doctor and have them check you out. They may have made a mistake when they were giving you the fill, but you definitely want to check and make sure that nothing else is going on.

I don't think Chickie and Jachut are implying that at all. The simple fact is that, statistically, someone with a BMI that places them in the "overweight" or "obese" range is much more likely to have health problems as a result of their excess weight. There is no way to get around that. Now, of course, BMI doesn't paint the whole picture. Yes, people with a "healthy" BMI can be unhealthy. Yes, "overweight" people can be healthy. And yes, BMI can be misleading, depending on how much muscle weight you carry (but honestly, unless you're a muscle-bound body-builder, it isn't grossly incorrect). But the plain likelihood is that an overweight person - whose excess weight is fat, not muscle - has a much higher chance of having health problems due to their weight. The girl is beautiful. But she is overweight. Not severely, but it is there. And at her age, like Jachut says, that's not a good indicator for her future weight. So, IMO, that's not something our children should be aiming for.

DO IT!

It's Huacuz. If you've seen his reputation, the whole damn thing makes SO much sense, unfortunately.

Christ. Hell, it's no freakin' wonder, considering who her surgeon is, though. The stupidity makes my head hurt.

You can get TGIFriday's spinach dip in the freezer section of your grocery store, too. It's not as good as Ruby Tuesday's or Chili's but it's nice and hot in about 3 1/2 minutes and it can satisfy a craving.

I've got a yummy white cheese dip recipe (like the Mexican restaurants serve), if anyone's interested. It's super-simple to make, too. 8 ounces white american cheese from the deli section of your grocery store (some also sell pre-packaged white american in the cheese section) 1 4 ounce can of diced green chilis or jalapenos (chilis are milder) 1/4-1/2 cup (depends on how thick you want the dip) half and half or cream Combine in a saucepan and cook on med-low temperature until smooth.

I need another job. My parents are having to help me out because I can't pay all of my bills. After taxes, I'm only getting paid $300 every two weeks, for crying out loud! It's killing me! I can't sleep because I'm so stressed out about finding extra work. And I'm darn near unemployable because my only work experience is teaching labs/classes and one internship from 2004. I can't even look for stuff in my field right now because I can't move anywhere until the semester's over in May. :drool:

I actually started a part-time job as an office assistant last week, and I'll be starting a part-time job at Linens n Things this week. Busy, busy, busy! But it'll be good. I've found that I work best under pressure. If I have too much time on my hands, I wind up procrastinating and getting absolutely nothing done.

Thanks! Good to see you back!

I wanted to see if I qualify for one of the credit lines that they offer. I do, and the one I qualify for has a limit that is within a few hundred dollars of the quote my PS gave me, with an interest rate as low as 10%. I think I'm still going to apply for the Care Credit financing program, just to see if I could get a better deal with the interest rate. I'm tempted to just go with the credit line at the bank, though, because if I pay in full with no financing, my PS gives a 10% break on her fees. And the limit is close enough (within $400) of the quote she gave me that I know without a doubt I can get the extra money by the time I'm wanting to have surgery. It's something to think about, anyway. Edit to add: If I decide to go with the bank, I plan on applying officially closer to my surgery date and seeing if I qualify for a higher limit at that point. I don't think I'd need it, since like I said, the credit limit is very close to the quote I was given, but at that time, I'll have a much higher monthly income (I just now got a 2nd part-time job in addition to my teaching, and I'm interviewing for a 3rd tomorrow).

Nah. If the OP comes back under a new name (which she will, if she's who I think she might be), it'll just show that she isn't important enough for us to continue to talk about her, even in the post she started.

I'm already banded. I'm preparing to have a tummy tuck and breast lift sometime this fall, and I've been looking into funding that.

I'm not a full year out yet, but I've only had to have three fills so far, only one of which was after the 6-month period, and I have perfect restriction right now. The number of fills you'll need will vary with each person. Some people need fewer fills to get restriction, and some people need more. It'll also depend on which size band you get.

Ditto. Alex has created a great resource for all of us.

Yep, we've got a Ver-sales, KY, too, along with an Ay-thens. There's a My-lon, TN, too. My dad was born there.

The only thing I like at Red Lobster are the baked potatoes and the biscuits. Well, their cheese sticks are yummy, too. I've only been there twice since being banded, and not at all since I've gotten good restriction, 'cause I can't eat my favorite stuff there! Seriously, you'd probably LOVE my SIL's family's restaurant.

Applebee's spin dip is SO good. I was there just the other day for French Onion soup and the dip.

If you are going to copy someone else's assignment because you did your own assignment incorrectly, at least do it so that the instructor/professor doesn't KNOW that you copied the other person's assignment. And if you're going to let someone cheat off of you, make sure that the person is smart enough not to get caught. Now you've BOTH failed the assignment, geniuses. :huh2:

I was just grading an assignment that I had my students do over Spring Break as part of a quiz grade. It wasn't hard, basically just giving the scientific definition of several words and then contrasting the usage of the words in science, compared with how they're used in every-day language. If they did it, I gave them credit. I was just reading what one guy handed in, and I think I could recognize maybe one out of every three words. Enough to know that he didn't do the whole assignment, but not enough to actually read what he wrote, you know? At the end, I was just thinking, "WTF did that say?" I think that in the three years I've been teaching this lab, that's the worst handwriting I've seen. I seriously just read it just long enough to realize that it wasn't all there, and then stopped because it was starting to give me a headache. :thumbup: