lisah25

So much that goes on is pure politics. in 1994, Cheney was against going in: http://www.infowars.com/articles/iraq/cheney_video_1994_warning_of_iraq_invasion_quagmire.htm “Here is the transcript. The YouTube address is at the end. * Q: Do you think the U.S., or U.N. forces, should have moved into Baghdad? A: No. Q: Why not? A: Because if we'd gone to Baghdad we would have been all alone. There wouldn't have been anybody else with us. There would have been a U.S. occupation of Iraq. None of the Arab forces that were willing to fight with us in Kuwait were willing to invade Iraq. Once you got to Iraq and took it over, took down Saddam Hussein's government, then what are you going to put in its place? That's a very volatile part of the world, and if you take down the central government of Iraq, you could very easily end up seeing pieces of Iraq fly off: part of it, the Syrians would like to have to the west, part of it -- eastern Iraq -- the Iranians would like to claim, they fought over it for eight years. In the north you've got the Kurds, and if the Kurds spin loose and join with the Kurds in Turkey, then you threaten the territorial integrity of Turkey. It's a quagmire if you go that far and try to take over Iraq. The other thing was casualties. Everyone was impressed with the fact we were able to do our job with as few casualties as we had. But for the 146 Americans killed in action, and for their families -- it wasn't a cheap war. And the question for the president, in terms of whether or not we went on to Baghdad, took additional casualties in an effort to get Saddam Hussein, was how many additional dead Americans is Saddam worth? Our judgment was, not very many, and I think we got it right.”

Wow- you've had a lot to deal with. I hope it's calming down. I've been struggling too, and have started seeing the pych in my clinic. She suggests approaching this like a project at work. Figure out what the specific tasks are and start doing them. Breaking down "Getting on track" to acutal steps so it is doable. For example, I had started having a glass of wine a few nights a week, and worse eating M&Ms all day at work. Among other things, but I decided to focus on that. My plan was no candy, and no alcohol unless I can truely say it's a special occasion. One week later, I've had neither and am down about 5 pounds. So, pick one or two things to start with, and focus on them maybe?

The band can be quite fickle, I think that when I'm really hungry, I don't take the small bites and chew well, and I often have problems. Yes, .1-2 can make a big difference. Also, if you've been PBing a lot, your stoma can be irritated and swollen, so you could try a couple of days on liquids and see what happens?

We asked about a discount last time we went, I love their buffet and the outlet stores nearby, and they said they had gotten lots of requests, but were not considering changing the policy. So, we don't go anymore, because it's just too much money for what we can eat.

I agree with the suggestion to talk to your banding doctor honestly about your alcohol consumption, and it's affect on being banded. I was told last week by the psych I'm seeing that when she had even a glass of wine, her weight loss stalled for 3 days(she is banded also). I have been stuck since May, and realized that's when I started having a couple of glasses of wine a week(well, along with other bad habits for weight loss). Not enough calories to be that big an issue, but I stopped a week ago, and I'm down 5 pounds this week. So, I have to think there is something to it.

LOL-I've had that happen so often! We did tell the waiters at our favorite Mexican place we were banded and that's why we always took food home, they were starting to wonder why we kept coming in and not eating much. So now, they bring boxes with our food everytime. If a waitress asks if the food was OK, I usually say it was good and I just wasn't as hungry as I thought, so I'd love to take the rest home for later.

IMHO, you are not at your sweet spot, you are too tight. You should be able to eat more then 1-2 bites of solid Protein. The problem that I found being too tight was that I wasn't eating the good food because I couldn't keep it down, do was eating WAY too much softer foods. Making me not lose weight. Making me think getting an unfill would just make it worse. I was wrong, and it took an esophigel spasm that put me in the ER, thinking I was having a heart attack to make me realize I was doing damage to my body and still not losing weight.

I had a lot of the same questions before being banded. What I didn't get, and I don't think you can until you experience it, is that the band is a tool that makes it possible to do the things we need to. I loved the staff at NWWLS, and Dr. Montgomery is great. Call the office and ask to talk to their insurance person.

Research and questioning are GREAT. I had a lot of the same thoughts. What I've found in the year I've been banded is that it is nothing more or less then a tool. I have to do the right things of course, but it's possible now. I once compared it to being given a hammer to pound nails when you'd been using Jello. I've found that my appetite is dimmed. I still have urges to eat for reasons other then physical hunger, but find it easier many times to not give in. I spent almost 40 years trying and failing to lose much weight, and never kept it off. I'm down just over 60 pounds now, and even when I've been plautead haven't regained more then a pound or two. That is a totally new thing for me.

LOL-yeah a drink or two does tend to make me focus less on what I'm eating.:hungry: And I end up eating more. But I'm ready to go again on this journey, and am looking for everything I can improve.

So it's not just her then? Good - then I have some hope. I like wine and a drink, but not enough to stall my loss over.

I've been plateued(sp?) for a long time now, and last week was talking to the psych in my clinic. She said that when she was losing weight(she's banded too) she found that having a drink stalled her weight loss for about 3 days everytime. Even one drink. Well, I have been having a glass of wine a couple of times a week, not much because of the calories, so I've cut it out totally. And I am down a couple of pounds. So, that might be something to consider.

Edit doesn't seem to be working, I meant "White-knuckling"

I just don't get doctors who install bands, then are so stingy with fills. Mine looks not just at weight loss, but also how hungry you are, and if you are doing too much "white-knucking". I'd call the Dr, and explain that you are really fighting hunger, and ask if he'd reconsider a fill. There is also a mind-set that goes on, we tend to think of Doctors as the final authority, with some justification since they do have knowledge we don't, but in the end we are the consumers and need to be heard.

Most of us needed more then one fill to feel restricted. And will continue to need fills as we lose weight. It's a process, and takes patience I know I didn't have!! So, keep in touch with your doctor about your restriction level, and don't freak out yet.

You talked about the Guttmacher Institute being biased, then you post something that starts with these statements? It's just as biased IMHO.

I'm actually north of you, Everett area. Any questions you have, fire away.

If they just wanted the baby to not exist? Not in those words, but I have talked to some women who had abortions about why they did. None of them (granted a small sample) said anything about not wanting the baby to exist, or anything about their DNA. The minority just didn't want to be pregnant at all. So for them, adoption wasn't seen as an option. Had someone offered to take the baby and gestate it seperately, they may have agreed for all I know. It wasn't some grudge or bad feeling towards their fetus if that makes sense. For others, it was because there was medical risk for them. Again, I'm not talking hundreds of people here, just a few I know.

Wow, I've never heard that from the people I know who aborted.

Wow - tough one. I know I'd miss someone in a list! Personally, I think a big convention with everyone would be cool. But some names that come to mind right away are Laurend, Green, T.O.M.(wherever he is), wheetsin, derrik, gadgetlady, jack, carlene, wasabubblebutt and alexandra

I had a moment of almost panic, because I didn't know where I was or what was going on. That passed eps. when I saw DH, and I was just groggy for a while, I wanted to sleep and they keep waking me up! No pain, no naseua. I did have problems with vomtting after my Gallbladder surgery about 5 years ago, but then it was an emergency surgery and I had been eating and drinking that day. No tubes at all.

I had to have one, I snored and DH reported that he knew I stopped breathing at times. The idea is that under anethesia, any apnea problem you have can become worse, so they want to know if you have it. They told me to bring my CPAP to the surgery center in case they decided to use it, they didn't have to. The sleep study was OK. Not my idea of a good time, but not too bad. I went in about 6:30 in the evening, had a little time to kill before they hooked me up. The room was a standard hospital room, but decorated more like a hotel room. They attach wire leads to several places, on your head, face, chest and legs. When you are ready to go to sleep, they plug it in, and run tests to make sure it's working. Then you go to sleep and they observe the readings. Sometimes they will put a cpap mask on you partway through the night, if it's clear you have apnea. They did for me, and it made a big difference in how I felt the next day.

I will be, but I've lost interest over the last few seasons. So this may be my last, it'll depend on how they do.

I think it's "eight days a week"?

I'm OK with it. Yes, our parents and grandparents didn't have it, but then they didn't have the Internet either. Sometimes progress is good! :-). I also see it as a marketing thing, something to entice parents to shop where there is such parking available.