BJean

Green, thank you sincerely for bringing a fresh viewpoint to this discussion. You are absolutely correct about there being different values put on different lives. It exists throughout the world. It will always be that way until we someday reach nirvana where everyone is equal in everyway - which is impossible here on earth. For some people to believe that an undeveloped fetus is more important and "trumps" the value of the life of its' host, is unacceptable. For people to say that pregnancy, labor and delivery and giving birth to a living breathing human being is an "inconvenience" is simplifying and presuming to the point of ridiculousness. Having a child should be considered much, much, much more important than an just an "inconvenience" to anyone - although I do know that human life is treated that way by many people, unfortunately. The discussion about adoption here points to how easy or difficult that particilar legality can affect each person touched by it. The fact that we are all so different only goes to underscore the fact that there is no one perfect answer to the question of unwanted pregnancies. That is why they must all be dealt with on a singular basis.

Pix, I didn't know that B12 could have a positive affect on liver function. Very cool! I just got some that is to be dissolved under the tongue. I haven't been good about taking it but now I definitely will be! Thanks a lot!!!

I used to listen to people here who said that they had so many cc's in a certain size band and try to decide whether I had enough restriction by listening to others. Everyone is different. Your fill amount cannot be gauged by anyone else's fill amount. It is dangerous for people to get the mindset that they must have a certain amount of fill to be successful. I played into that game and I am now paying the price. Please be careful, ya'll. There can be repercussions if you overfill and stay that way for too long. Btw congratulations on your success, rharriet. Writing down what you eat is always beneficial to people who are trying to change their eating plan. That's a great suggestion.

I thought I was going to look like Sharon Osborne within a year. No dice for me either. I lost beautifully for the first 5 months. Took off 42 lbs. Then I hit a wall. I insisted on lots of restriction and got to the point where I could hardly keep down 2 bites of real food. I became hungry all the time. I was obsessed with trying to figure out what I could eat and keep down. I found that I could eat nuts and chocolate. I gained about 12 lbs. back. I have been as frustrated as you can imagine. In retrospect I am sure that I thought I would just watch the weight drop off like a bypass patient even though everyone said over and over that the band is just a tool. I never expected to have such an appetite, especially after such a great initial weight loss and relatively no appetite. Like Jack, I have made it to a BMI of 35. Much better, but not out of the woods. And initially after the good loss, my blood work stats dropped significantly. Now I have found, after 1.5 years with the band, and recently losing 10 of the 12 lbs I'd gained back, that my stats are creeping back up. Even my blood sugar which yesterday was at 103! I recently contracted an eye infection, a painful kidney infection, and now I have shingles (not the house kind). My family doctor is checking me for auto-immune disorders and I'm scared that I might have Lupus or some other serious ailment. I haven't taken the time to sit down with my LB doctor although I'm sure he would want to know about all of this. I think Jack had it right when he suggested that this is not a sprint but a long-term marathon. Getting in too big a hurry can produce problems and what we really should want is good health over the long haul. :mad:

I was emailed to see if I would be interested in becoming a moderator. I was surprised. I had always wondered how one became a moderator. I wish I had the time. Wheet, you're my hero.

Hey gang, I read that banded patients should never take NSAIDS because of the potential for erosion where the band contacts the stomach. I also read that it takes quite some time for this to happen, but I wouldn't want to do anything that could possibly cause erosion. That can, if bad enough, cause long-term problems and even death. My GP (family doc - who does not do LB surgery) told me about a patient of his who had been banded and wound up in intensive care because of erosion and who had to spend over a month in the hospital with two surgeries and half of her stomach removed. I have really bad knees and I have taken Naproxyn and Aleve the entire time I've had the band because no one told me that it was risky. I am now using Extra Strength Tylenol - so now I only have to worry about my liver. :mad:

Thanks, Elenation. But just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get me. Right? :mad:

Hey, just jumping in without reading all the previous pages, but I just wanted to throw out a word or two of caution: Please be careful about getting overfilled. You should not have trouble drinking water! And if you are feeling like your food is high up, you could be stretching your esophogus which is not good. You should never have reflux! Please tell your doctor if you are having reflux. This is important! I'm not trying to scare you, but when I was early in band-hood, I thought the more restriction the faster I'd lose weight. I thought that was what people here kept telling us we should expect. I thought you should never be hungry and that being really restricted would prevent that. The fact is that I went for a couple of months with too much restriction and I actually gained weight. I was hungry all the time because I just couldn't eat enough real food. You should be able to eat real food and keep it down. If you can only eat a couple of bites of food without getting that stuck pain, you're too restricted and eventually you will probably pay for it one way or another. And not in a good way. Please do not ignore warning signs. The band is great if it is working FOR you. If it becomes something that causes damage, it is the opposite of great. Take your time and become friends with it and use it only as a tool. Don't expect it to take away all of your hunger and don't expect it to make the weight fall off faster than 1 to 2 lbs. per week.

Hey... wait a minute... I resemble that remark!

If you're telling someone that they must have a child, you're trying to play God and no one has that right over another human being's body and belief system. You also have absolutely no right to force a woman to get an abortion. As far as I'm concerned, they are one and the same. Neither scenario is acceptable or fair or right. Like I said before gadget, keep up all your good work in supporting women who have unplanned and unwanted pregnancies. You're providing a valuable service if you are helping to give them the adoption option. But your guidance should never become force.

Sure can't say as I blame you Sunwyse! Sometimes it's hard for the natives to muster up some interest in the elections. :mad:

Ok. Well I revise my earlier post about Florida to say that Sarasota is very neat. Living on one of the coasts is a far different experience than living inland! Always enjoyed the Salvadore Dali museum, the Ringling Museum and house and other museums in the Sarasota area, rather than the attractions in Orlando like Disney, Sea World, etc., teaming with sweaty, grumpy tourists.

As far as I'm concerned, Florida is a nice place to be from. I wish I could say that my 14+ years there were sublime, but I'd be lying! I've heard that the R.E. market there has taken quite the nose dive. Maybe you could actually find a shack that would be a good place to hang for short visits. We wouldn't want you to abuse the lovely new you by spending too much time sweatin' with the oldies! Does he have a particular spot in mind?

Choosing adoption is not ALWAYS the best answer. I believe I understand your feelings on the issue, Ceredad, and of course your feelings are valid and important. However as much as anti-choice people would like to believe that adoption is a perfect solution to a very difficult problem, it just is not. To compel fertile women to have children because some women cannot have children is completely unfair and completely wrong. If a woman wants to have a baby that is the result of an unwanted and unplanned pregnancy, she is completely and totally free to do so. Thankfully there are many women who make that choice. But people have no right to force women to have children. This issue is way too important to everyone involved, including the baby, for the government or religious people or people of certain beliefs to make the decisions for all women on whether or not to bear unwanted children. This is an issue that is being discussed because it is so very important. There are many people who feel that it is within their rights to protect unborn children. There are many more people who believe that it is a personal issue, to be dealt with by the affected people, not an issue to be decided by elected officials, supreme court justices or their next door neighbor. (Good point, Peaches!) We better all be prepared to deal with it big time if a Republican gets elected. In fact, our current president may have already put the wheels in motion to go forward on this issue. We should be discussing it and we should be deciding exactly how we feel about it. Do you want your government to be run by people who want to make these kinds of personal decisions for you?

Green I actually thought that if the Republicans ran Mitt, they might be able to put him in office. I did think he presented quite a few issues that would be difficult to overcome, but there was something that was attractive about his demeanor and background too. I guess it's just McCain's turn. A little late, but he's sure paid his dues!

Grace from Utah I can help but wonder where you got your information about Bill Clinton's cheating? He's heated on her for years and years and Monica wasn't the last time? How exactly do you know that? You got a crystal ball? How do you feel about George W. Bush's alcohol abuse, cocaine use and bad, bad performance in business? Same goes? He's always abused alcohol and the rest and he'll always abuse alcohol and the other stuff?

Too bad we can't depend upon our elected officials to always do the honest and right thing. If we could, we wouldn't have to worry about gerrymandering and hundreds of other potentially corrupt political activities.

And he gave you the wooley legs to keep you warm. I also remember the "floods"! That was the time in the spring when the snow melted. Oh geez, you couldn't step off the sidewalk at intersections because of the backed up sewer system from all the mud, Water and slush from melting snow. So I do remember the downside. I prefer to spend my time thinking about that quiet blanket of snow over the city that you described so beautifully. Met a lot of snow birds down south. It was nice to meet people who didn't seem to mind the unrelenting heat and humidity in Orlando. They were the ones who were sporting deep, sexy tans. The rest of us wore SPF 50 sunscreen under our hats.

I'm sooo jealous, green!!! Your post took me back to my time in Montreal where our 18th floor apartment had floor to ceiling windows in every room (except the bathrooms). It was dizzying to look out and watch the swirling snow coming down. We were surrounded by quaint streets of historical homes on one side, neat specialty shops on the other side and off in the distance, the St. John's river. What a wonderful time of my life! We were able to cross country ski every weekend and went so many breathtaking places in Canada and Vermont to downhill ski. I can understand why you might be dreaming of the warm waters of the Bahamas right now, but I miss Canada!

Well done, Jack. I think a lot of people have been confused by this. We probably all learned about it in grade school, but many of us could use a refresher course. I worked for the Attorney General of Virginia years ago and watched cases progress that were centered around this very topic. So it is quite real and one reason why I am a bit frustrated when I hear people talk about political parties being of little importance.

I've been off-line for the past coupla pages of posts. I've sure enjoyed catching up! It is always interesting to me to learn that people who are not wealthy support Republicans. Jack too I have had trouble finding a candidate in this election that I can wholly embrace. But I defnitely find that my choice is darned easy if it is a McCain/Huckabee vs. Clinton/Obama ticket because the lines are so clearly defined.

Well thanks ya'll!! Very helpful, laura. I've read some online info and I have watched the specials on TV, but I really wanted to know some specifics about why his supporters are backing him. I appreciate what each of you posted. After watching one special on the various health care plans - which, let's face it, is an enormous problem, I liked Obama's take on it the best. The Republicans are following an approach very much like everything else they do, let the people have the money... they will make the decisions about when and how they buy health insurance and it will take care of itself. Very much like their approach to Social Security, education, etc. They seem to ignore the reasons why we have the problems we have right now. Empower the insurance providers and the pharmacutical companies? No darned way!!! We know that trickle down doesen't work and that while in theory this idea seems good for most people, it actually doesn't solve the problem of unaffordable, unattainable insurance and health care for the middle class or the poor. Republicans say that idea is fostered by "bleeding heart liberals" who want nothing but big government and more taxes, which couldn't be further from the truth. I have no problem with the rich getting richer as long as it isn't by taking unfair advantage of and crushing everyone else. If the wealthy hadn't been so consumed with greed we wouldn't have some of the major problems that we have now, like unattainable health care for some of our citizens. Hillary wants to enforce a law that says everyone HAS to buy health insurance. That will work about as well as mandatory car insurance. Some people still won't buy it and we will wind up paying for their health care as well as paying our own premiums. Plus it still gives the insurance companies power. So although some of the fine points of her plan are good, I don't like that one. Obama doesn't agree with her that people should be forced to buy insurance. I'm not sure that his plan will work, but so far it is the freshest approach and one that doesn't scare me. Some people have said that Obama is very much like Kennedy. I tend to diasgree. His demeanor is very different. He's much calmer and more smooth in his quiet manner. Jack Kennedy was very dynamic and outspoken and showed no fear. He attacked sometimes if he felt it was necessary. I've never seen Obama come on strong and get that fearless outspoken demeanor that I've been waiting for. Of course that's one of the characteristics that people criticize about both Hillary and John McCain. So maybe Obama does have what it takes to win-over the populace and get this country back on a path to healing this very broken nation.

I LOVE SNOW!! That's one reason I enjoyed living in Montreal so much!!! Everytime I had the chance I walked miles in the snow - once even got frostbite in a couple of exposed places on my face because I was having so much fun that I was oblivious to the cold. Gosh, it must have been about 6 years or so since we went to the balloon festival in New Mexico. DH used to have business at Sandia Labs. I don't remember the festival park so I'm sure it hadn't been built yet. You say you're just south of the Colorado border, Kat? You're probably east of it, but have you ever been to Cuchara, CO? We came this close > < to buying a property there in the late 70's. I've always thought it was a mistake that we didn't. The last time I was there was about 4 years ago and it was still very beautiful. Prices had gone up a tad... surprise, surprise. I got to go up in a balloon when we lived in Montreal. There is a balloon festival in the fall in Saint Jean sur Richlieu. It was fantastic. They did the whole ceremony when we landed with the dirt on our heads and wine and everything. The farmer was proud that we landed on his property and he was very gracious. Our pilot was very experienced and considered to be the best one at the festival. After he told us a few operating tips about ballooning, I realized how important it is to get an excellent pilot if you ever go up. They made arrangements at DH's work for us to go up and he had to tell them how much we weighed. Wouldn't you know the funny thing now is I remember how I lied about my weight prior to the flight because I didn't want DH's coworkers to know how fat I was. I had to pull the pilot aside before we went up and tell him the truth. Sigh. Little did I know at the time I could get even bigger!! I guess I figured I'd explode before my skin would stretch so much.

ingyrob: I never had any kind of addiction until I started smoking a certain brand of Benson & Hedges menthol. You can probably taste the chemicals, but eff it, they're addictive. Your mom probably knows!~ Green you paint a pretty picture. At least your wrinkles are a thing of the past, right? So you're a tightly wrapped, yellow-fingered, green-toothed, brown-lunged beauty! And real smart to boot. What else could one want? Oh yeah, and you're skinny - I forgot that!

Please, I beg of you... include me in! I love New Mexico and all things native to it. If I could choose any place to live, it would be the mountains of New Mexico. Second and third choices being Arizona and Colorado. We've spent a few weeks in Albuquerque for the balloon festival over the years. And I love Santa Fe in the winter. Thanks green. Given the time and money, we could map out a really fun trip to discover the great southwest!