BJean

Two things that I'm sickntired of lately!!! 1) phone calls to my cell phone where someone leaves messages for some unknown person to call them back "right away." I finally got tired of just deleting them and called to find out what it was about. They were collection agencies (so they said) and had my number with someone else's name. AAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH! 2) I'm home recuperating from major, life threatening surgery and my phone rings 2 or 3 times a day for 4 days in a row. When I pick up, there's no one there. Same phone number with an "unknown" identity on my caller ID. Finally I picked it up and there was someone on the line. It was a nurse employed by my Health Insurance Company. No, she wasn't calling to see how I was after surgery. She had no idea that I'd been in the hospital. She was calling because she's a nurse who is employed by the insurance company to offer free advice and answer health-related questions. It was infuriating. After a very stupid conversation, where she kept asking if I have any questions she could help me with, I finally asked her something about the drugs they gave me at the hospital and she answered, "I have no idea." Good grief. It could drive a sober person to drink. I asked to be taken out of the "program" and that they never call me again. Well, they've only called once since then. I guess that's a start.:biggrin::angry_smile::biggrin::angry_smile:

U agree 100% too! Well said, OUSooner!

Holey Moley MimIN!!! Your photo is amazing! You are one gorgeous babe! Great job all the way around. Keep knocking them dead... I'm sure you are slaying them wherever you go. Congrats! karey: I lost another pound this last week. So I am down 11 since we started this thread. Another 9 in order to make the goal I set. I'm motivated more than ever. Today the doc said I shouldn't get any restriction yet. I have another appt. in 12 days. Maybe a small fill then. So far, I haven't really needed it. He also told me I can swim (as long as I don't do any belly busters - isn't he the funny one). I didn't ask him about free weights because I'm not supposed to lift more than 10 pounds for another 2 weeks. So I think I'm gonna go back to 3 lb. weights and it should be all right. jjsmiles: Today they (doctor & dietician) decided that I am not drinking enough water or eating enough protein. They want me to get 100 grams of protein a day!! Sheesh. Anyway, I agreed to journal everything. Everything I take in, everyday. I know I'll probably find out that I am not getting as much water and protein as I'd been telling myself. Are you journaling online or just on paper? Don't feel bad about the cake. I did a dumb thing and rewarded myself for the 11 lbs. - which is really dumb if you reward yourself with food, which I did - anyway I shared a hot fudge sundae at the Cheesecake Factory tonight with my DH and interestingly, I feel like crap for the first time in weeks. :biggrin: The good thing is that it has made me more aware of how lousy eating carbs and especially ice cream, makes me feel. :biggrin: Blotation big time. Back on the wagon and back to feeling better! :thumbup:

kat that loveseat sounds suweet! That's a great idea. I'm gonna try to talk my DH into that. His recliner is about to bite the dust and mine isn't that comfortable. If we could share a throw and cuddle in the winter, it would be super cool! Thanks for the idear. Elizabeth Hasselbeck is a freak without warning.

OUSooner, that's an awesome photo!!! I remember your photo from many months ago. Congratulations!!!! You must feel great!

I have never been on a liquid diet after a fill. My doctor says to take it easy and soft foods are a good idea, but he's never suggested a clear or liquid diet after a fill. I will add that my doctor is very conservative with each fill. He has never given me a lot more restriction that I came in with. And I have been overfilled too. But I've never left his office when I wasn't able to drink 4 oz with no problem. They always give us some herbal tea to make sure we aren't overfilled when we leave.

kissyjean: Since you are from Illinois, perhaps you have some information about Senator Obama that I haven't heard. I would be very interested in knowing what it is that makes you anti-Senator Obama. I do not understand, for the life of me, how serving in a war or being a POW and suffering disabling injuries can possibly qualify a person for being president. It may underscore your belief that he is a man of honor, which is a great quality for a president to have. So in that way, I understand your point. I see why his adopting a handicapped child is something to be admired. But there's a lot of baggage that has come with his marriage and his service on the hill that is not attractive. None the least of which are his numerous prounouncements of a particular direction he believes in wholeheartedly, only for him to recant that statement and go in a completely different direction later - sometimes even just days later. He has accused Senator Obama of flip flopping but I have not found that to be true in nearly every case where he made the accusation. He has perfected the art of spin, which I am sure he learned over his many long years of dealing with the press. And we voters are very quick to buy into the spin without seriously checking out the truth. I believe we do that because it is not only convincing on the surface, but we WANT to believe anything that our candidate says. So we not only believe it, we repeat it, we revel in it and we applaud the man for saying it. We should be ashamed for blindly accepting things that we know are hateful, dishonest and blatantly disrespectful to either candidate. One of these men is likely to be our next president. We should be as respectful of the candidates running for the office as we think everyone should be of the president himself. If we were smart, we would stick to the real issues. Sometimes that's just too much work for us Americans. We don't want to give it that much time or energy. I once thought I could support John McCain, but that was long before I learned what the man is really made of. He is not what he promises to be and I feel that I know what I would be getting if he won the election. That is why I would never vote for him. I respect his service to this country. My heart goes out to him regarding his torture at the hands of his captors. But he's a desperate man and desperate men are capable of bad things. Listen closely to what he says about Senator Obama. Watch the Republican way of winning elections and if you can look past what you see and you can endorse their activities, then more power to you. I've been around a long time and I just hate what elections have become in this country. All that being said, I am sincerely interested in any information you can provide that makes you dislike the idea of Senator Obama being our next president.

You are obviously conservative and probably Republicans. Of course you want to defend your president. It is completely understandable. But you must understand that many of us (I'd guess at least 50% of Americans) totally disagree that 9/11 actually had anything at all to do with our shock and awe invasion of Iraq. And each and every rationale that you list only add fire to the fire in our bellies about this administration's lack of honesty, their disregard for the Constitution, the environment, our military personnel, and their unbelievable greed. To our way of thinking, the atrocities that this administration has committed are far, far more embarrassing and worse than the former president's sexual indiscretions. And thousands have died because of this president. Thousands! This administration did all they could to cloak the war in Iraq with the robe of the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. They kept us living in utter terror with their constantly changing levels of threat and constant reminders of how vulnerable the United States is. They used it until it finally became embarrassing to the White House. His latest fiasco was his big pronouncement that he endorses off-shore drilling for oil. And to underscore that statement of brilliance, the oil prices dropped that day. And you still think that this president isn't a pawn in this game? A game that you and me and most middle class Americans are paying for. It is beyond me how you and I can be living in the same country and have such polar opposite beliefs about what has happened to this country over the past 7.5 years. But we do, and those differences and our ability to voice our thoughts and beliefs is what makes this country stronger than most other countries. I do hope that you will agree (even if we think George W. Bush is absolutely the worst president at least in recent history) that we need to elect a new president who will actually be an good example to Americans and the rest of the world and who will be strong enough and intelligent enough to lead us out of this disasterous mess that we are in.

georgebals, you got that right!! The thing that is just nuts is that in the U.S., at least, they don't even have to be smart and have some style about them. We have some of the most lackluster people in our government these days and it sucks. It wasn't always this bad. There are degrees of badness and this is the baddest. You can quote me. :wink2:

It's funny how weight loss for me starts at the top and works its way down, whereas gaining is just the opposite. When I gain, it shows in my upper thighs and butt first and it takes a long time for it to effect my face and boobs and upper body. Now that I'm losing again, my face is getting very lean and bras are looser and the buns still look big as ever. Do you gain and lose that way karey? How are you doing today? I didn't ask about your perforated stomach and what that meant to your overall health. I was told that if my colon had perforated, it would have undoubtedly killed me. I'm sure your tummy isn't as much of a threat to your overall health though, especially if there's no necrotic tissue dumping into your innards. I've been guilty of kind of overdoing it the past couple of days. How about you? I know when I'm doing too much because my lower back and kidney area start hurting. At that point I have to sit or lie down until it's better. Do you experience anything like that? As for the general public here, I gotta say that without any fill I am enjoying drinking more Water. The restriction of drinking 15 minutes before a meal and 2 hours after really slowed my water intake down and I'm enjoying the stuff all the time. Anybody else have that situation or do you go ahead and drink water whenever you want to?

karey you're sounding stronger. Great! You have a fantastic support team - that's why we have kids I guess! You've done such a great job of loving and nurturing them and now they're anxious to take care of you. I'm very happy with my support team too, but I'll bet my daughter wishes I'd had a couple more kids. :biggrin: I'm sure she's pretty tired of having to do her jobs and mine too. She's been amazing. Sure helped my DH to have her support as well. I am glad that you were able to get a new band. When my stuff first started happening and I learned the kind of surgery I was facing, I figured I should have it taken out. But my LB doc was my surgeon for this too and he assured me that there was no reason for him to remove the band. Whew! It's been 3 weeks since the surgery and now I'm looking forward to getting a small fill. I hadn't realized how much I depend on my band and the way it keeps me in check. I've been eating bread, and had one muffin, none of which I had been able to eat for over a year. I realize now that I really didn't miss them and was doing just fine without that stuff. Congratulations on your first walk - the stroller probably made a good balance and something to lean on a little if you got tired. Thank goodness you were already in such good shape! That should really help you bounce back quicker. Good job of keeping the faith in the band. You're doing great, karey!

Hi luluc! Thanks, I've missed reading yours as well. I am definitely on the mend. In fact, it is going better than I thought it would. In another couple of weeks, I might enter a marathon. Well, that's a slight exaggeration maybe, but I might walk around a block! I've missed stirring up trouble. I hope you're taking care of things for me!

Devana! Long time no read...you. How in the world are you? Thanks for your note! Yeah, I think I'm gonna make it. plain: Actually they're pretty certain that it was a blood clot that cut off the blood supply to my colon on the left side. I didn't have any indications of plaque build up - no high cholesterol, etc., and with a little research they came up with an obvious answer. Although I am way too old to still be taking hormone replacement therapy, I thought it was keeping my skin young, among other things, and didn't really pay attention to the stats or recommendations of not taking it after age 35, if you smoke. I had quit smoking for a long time, but recently started again. The GI guy said it only takes one cigarette combined with the propensity to produce blood clots to generate an attack like mine. It could have happened elsewhere in my body; like my brain, my heart or legs. Needless to say, no more estrogen and no more stinking cigarettes. I was axing for trouble, dang it, and I got it. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I am hoping that getting rid of those two things will prevent another attack elsewhere. Man after something like that you feel all raw and vulnerable. Everyday I get through brings me closer to feeling like I can function normally again and not live in constant fear. Thanks for your feedback, plain. You sound highly qualified to dispense medical opinions. Honestly, all kidding aside, sometimes using common sense is all it takes. There's so much info on the web today and so many books that are available, it's easy to at least understand the questions you need to be asking your doctor. Or your nearest qualified Doctor of Sexiness. Speaking of which, how long do I have to wait???

Yeah, so far I'm a lucky one. The attack started late Friday afternoon, went to the hospital Sat. AM, had a cat scan which made it quite obvious that I had a serious problem, Sunday AM had a colonoscopy revealing the dying section of my colon, Monday AM had resection. In the photos from the colonoscopy, there was an area that they said had already died. My doc had reasons for not wanting to operate on Sunday and I trusted him. I am glad that he didn't make a judgement call that ended with me with a necrotic perforation in the morgue. plain I really thought I was a dead man. (girl) A couple of times I begged them to let me die - including when they brought me out from under the anesthesia after surgery. I am still living in fear that it will happen again somewhere else in my existing colon. Although every day I feel better and have some faith that I will survive this. (And get to go on our planned trip to Italy in Sept.) Friends that we are supposed to travel with were in shock about this event and I think they realized what the outcome might have been if I had been on a small cruise ship off the coast of Portofino or traipsing through some little remote Italian village. Let me axe you, now be honest with me... is there a good chance that it will happen again? That's something that I was too wigged out to ask the doc. But I'd like to know, for sure. And btw, thanks for asking about me! It is theraputic to talk about all this.

Hi Ele! I'd send 'em but I'd get busted for sure! I'm actually quite a lot better. It is so hard to believe that I just came home a week ago. I never would have believed that I could improve and change this quickly! Not having a 12 inch midline incision is a large part of it I think. Thank goodness for that! The dude went directly through my belly button. It is wierd to think about and odd to see. But the scars are really looking good. Not so much like wounds - just scars. I am eating real food again. I'm nervous about regaining the 10 lbs. I lost! I am going to continue to eat very small portions and stay away from bread and sweets. The temptation is there because I have no restriction, but the one thing that I am enjoying is being able to drink lots of Water whenever I want!! Have a great trip. Thanks for checking in on me - you're a cool dude-ette. bj

karey: I'm glad you're feeling like being up and at the computer. Darn! 6 new holes on your new flat tummy. Well as they say, nature isn't perfect. No perfect trees, flowers, etc., you're just a product of mother nature with a few slight blemishes. Otherwise, perfection! One thing that I have been concerned about since my really too tight episodes of last summer, is that not only do we bandsters have a "tighter is better" mindset, many doctors and related professionals in the field of LB surgery do too. So the answer has always tended to be if you weren't losing weight or not losing fast enough, was to add more fill. When I told my experiences here last summer and continuing into the fall, I could tell by the responses that people were saying basically: ok yeah, whatever. And really didn't think I had a clue. Everyone figured me for just having no willpower and not enough commitment to the band working. Your problem is very regrettable and unfortunate, but if you are listened to and your message reaches more people, it will have at least served a good purpose for that. Folks, PB'ing is NOT a good thing. It is a bad thing. You might get away with it for a while, or you might not. There's no reason to take those kinds of chances with your band. The stakes are too high. We should all stop trying to have quick weight losses with the band and do ourselves a favor and love ourselves for a reasonable 1 to 2 pound loss per week. I'm not absolutely NOT criticizing you karey. I'm not suggesting that you did anything incorrectely. I'm just saying that being too tight can cause slippage and erosion and those are both seriously threatening to our health and our success. Number II in my lecture series is now over. You can now return to your previously scheduled fun thread. :crying: P.S. Praying for your speedy recovery, karey!!

Why thank you, Susan. I sure appreciate it. I've been much more active today and I've been able to eat more. I'm beginning to wish I could have some restriction. But first things first. I should just be glad to get my appetite back. I couldn't force myself to eat anything for days. I had a thought at one time when I couldn't even eat a bite of Jello, wouldn't it be ironic if I wound up anorexric. Not a thing funny about that. Wish I could send you some Vicodan, elenation. Turns out it doesn't agree with me and I have a bunch of expensive pills just going to waste. Maybe I should stand on the street and look for buyers. You know I'm joking I hope. Hope you have a great vacation from the job. BJean

Elenation I'm glad to know you missed me. I have been off to hell and back. I had an attack of ischemic colitis that almost left me dead. I lived but I am minus half of my large intestine. Strangely enough I'm learning that I can survive without it and I'm beginning to forget the indescribable pain that went on for days. Are you feeling sorry for me yet? I seem to be milking it. But for cripes sake I deserve just a teensy bit of whining - a person doesn't have near death experiences every day. Gotta get some mileage out of it. My DH brought me home last Sunday and here it is Friday and I'm still just posting a tiny bit here and there at LBT. I've decided that maybe all that debating I was "enjoying" might not be the healthiest thing in the world for me. I don't like gratuitous mamby pamby threads, but rage is overrated. I've enjoyed getting to know you a little in this process. At first, I sure thought you were a nut. But you seem like a cool person that I would love to have as a friend. Yes, I do remember our talk about your job and its' political influences. I am not quite clear headed - if I ever was. I am sure I'm still sloughing off all the drugs though so please bear with me. In any case, the doc says I'm going to be able to march down to the voting booth and cast my ballot in November. So you conservatives better watch out! :thumbdown:

karey, as mcgreen so eloquently put it HOLY HELL! My gosh I knew something was wrong, but I sure didn't think you'd have to get some new holes!! I too was so glad that I didn't have to have my band removed. I have no fill yet but yesterday the doc said I might be able to get some in 2 weeks. I hope you will rest up, give your bod some TLC and get back at it too. What a lousy birthday present. But you're a gift to all of us here and we are thankful that you're on the mend. :thumbdown:

elenation: Now I'm not saying that I'm unobservant, but I just noticed that you live in Paris. I never noticed that before. You talked just like your typical American conservative leaning a bit to the right. I am really surprised that you feel so passionate and are so opinionated about what's right and wrong for America. Are you an American in Paris? It seems like Jesus can be defined as being a liberal. It's easy to count the ways. Can you list all the reasons why you think Jesus was a conservative or a liberterian? I'm trying to keep an open mind. :wub:

karey if I could come get you in my car and take you to the doctor, I would do it. And I'm not even supposed to drive yet. Dang it girl, you have to have an unfill. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt, you know. You are going to hurt something and then where will you be?! Seriously, just before my attack of ischemic colitis, I had gone for an unfill because they insisted on it. I happened to mention that I was coughing a little after meals and not able to eat much. They are learning that they have to spend more time counseling their LB patients on the dangers of being overfilled than on explaining about too little fill. They have made a believer out of me. When I was overfilled it was practically impossible to lose weight. I know that is contrary to everything we tend to read here. But for some of us it is absolutely accurate and we can't be so stubborn as to ignore the symptoms. Karey it is dangerous! Don't be a martyre!!!! I know you care about yourself, so dang it girl, insist on getting in today! Otherwise, Happy Birthday young lady.

Hi ya'll. I'm back. Good news: 10 lbs. lighter. Bad news: almost died. Aw I don't mean to sound grim. It was an awful 8 days, but I'm gonna be fine, they tell me. One interesting aside is that my LB doc was my colon resection surgeon. He's an expert in laprascopic surgery so I lucked out, big time. I can't tell you how great it feels to be home and pecking away in front of the keyboard. They released me a few hours ago and here I am at LBT. Think this is addictive? Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers! Jacquie, my heart goes out to you hearing about your colon problems!!!! PM me anytime if you want to swap stories! MinMi: It was great to read that you're getting back in the groove. And darlin please enjoy every minute of your life today. You're gorgeous and wonderful and do everything you can from here on out just being healthy and having fun! Sounds trite, but things can slip away in a blink and you have so much to be grateful for and so much life to enjoy. Best wishes to all of you on your road to health and beauty. You are worth every bit of effort it takes and if you're taking care of yourself, it's all good!

tink, I appreciate the positive feedback. It occurred to me while posting on this thread that we're probably all very good people, with honorable intentions. Yet we seem to lose it over this extremely derisive issue. The whole country is at odds over it. And maybe we have never really tried to solve the real problem. We've just argued about the perceived problem. I believe that we actually could work together to bring about a real change in our thinking and our approach to the problem. We could serously help women and children if we worked together instead of fighting each other. Let's face it. We are never going to help those who need the help if we just dig in our heels and continue the bitterness toward each other. tink, you're a good example of how it can come about!

This is exactly why I haven't told anyone but some, not all, family members and a couple of friends. Everyone sees articles and ads for WTS and lately a lot about the band. People have preconceived ideas about what it all means. The most important thing they think is that it is a revision that will keep us from getting hungry and it will keep us from eating the wrong foods. That's understandable. Many of us thought the LB would do just that. Even though we were told that it is a tool, just a tool, not a miracle, it has taken a surprising amount of work. We have to really work at not eating the wrong things. We have to work at keeping exercise in our daily routine. We have to do almost as much to lose the weight as we did before WLS. But you'd never convince them of that so we really shouldn't be surprised that their eyes glaze over and they lose interest when we don't respond, "Jenny Craig" or "Weight Watchers."

These responses to babygirl's question really surprised me. I thought I'd be reading lots of posts saying that the guys got what they deserved. One day I watched one of those feisty talk shows. The host was interviewing some gangstas (love that term) who made a living by taking other people's things. The one statement that stayed with me was when one of the gangstas said, "I don't understand it. It's too easy. People just let us take their stuff. If it was me, I wouldn't let nobody take my stuff." Ever since then I've felt that as long as ciminals are going to threaten my safety and threaten to take my hard-earned possessions from me, I think it is good that I have the legal right to defend both my body and my castle. That being said, I don't own guns. I wish nobody did. It's too easy to kill someone quickly in the heat of the moment. I'm like plain, I wouldn't want to be Jay Horn and have to live with having killed two people, no matter what the reason was. The truth is, if I found bad guys in my house, I'd probably just lecture them so long they'd hang themselves so they didn't have to listen to me anymore. :thumbup: