BJean

Driver I feel kind of fascinated by your posts. You've only posted 5 times and I'm not criticizing but your grammar is so shaky, they're hard to read. Perhaps that is because you are not well. I do wish you the very best. But if you would like for people to know your story, it would be helpful if you would give us lots more information. Your 5 posts are pretty sketchy and if you know of a stateside doctor who has caused you grief, please let us know who it is. Thanks!

Well I had no idea that this discussion had been going on so long - since August of '09? Well that really explains a lot about the intensity of some of the posts, and yours above. I honestly didn't read Tiffykins post to be personally insulting to anyone. At least I don't remember her calling any individuals out like you have done. What are the rules, anyway? At LBT, they stick pretty close to the plan of not getting personal. I think maybe you're being a little defensive. For those of us who have no idea of the history of this thread, you can say stuff that is veiled without saying anyone's name and we won't know who you're talking about. But of course the ones personally involved will know and that's what you want. From a newbie/outsiders viewpoint, people have been hurt. They have contracted infections in their wound sites, and at least one person has a leak and another is seriously worried about contracting AIDS. These are things that engender serious concern. There is nothing wrong for people to want to share bad news when it could possibly affect someone who may be thinking of using the doctor who was involved. Can you blame them? Don't we all want to help others? You have your agenda and it is the opposite of many of the people with knowledge of what sounds like an inordinate number of complications. You have every right to post your good and genuinely happy experience and they can tell what they know. All's fair in love and war. People looking for a doctor can sort it out for themselves. No sense in anybody getting defensive here. In fact, it might have the opposite effect of what you're looking for. :smile1:

pnw218, I'm curious... do you work for the doctor and/or clinic in question? No accusations or recriminations here, just wondering because hasn't it been said that you do?

To have that kind of metabolism would be wonderful. Except the doctors say that people who are that thin are not always as healthy as someone who is overweight. So although the grass may look greener, sometimes what you see isn't really something to wish for.

You betcha! I think you're the greatest, Cleo's! *wink, grin*

As for the cartoon, that's why they have such little credibility. The fact that they do not piss and moan about the same exact problems during a Republican administration makes it pretty obvious that it isn't really about taxes and big government. It's about things like abortion, gun control, subsidies for the wealthy and seapration of church and state. As for your second post, if the Tea baggers were honest and interested enough to research the financial backers of their movement, I don't think they would be surprised or care. They're just glad that someone is paying for their signs and organizing their protest rallies. They are some of the most transparent right wing extremists on the planet. I've actually heard some regular people say they agree with some of the ideology of the tea baggers. Well sure, who isn't for lower taxes, fewer government programs, etc.? But that isn't what it's REALLY about and anyone who thinks it is, is just not looking hard enough behind the scenes. And we should all thank Cleo's for keeping it real!!

Oh pooh, you're such a guy. :-)

OMG Tiffy, your message was so helpful it made me cry. Who me, emotional? You know exactly how I'm feeling and you couldn't have said it better. Thank you so much. I will print your post and keep it handy for when I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong if I hit a low spot. I've read a couple of people say that getting the sleeve was actually easier than the band surgery. I've not allowed myself to believe that it would be the case for me though and you telling me to get rid of those negative thoughts was a real wake up call! Why have I decided that I'm going to experience the worst case scenario? I'm going to focus on your very positive words and other positive posts instead of worrying about the negative possibilities. After all, I know I can actually handle any hand I'm dealt. Why not assume I'm going to get a Royal Flush?! Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Yaaay Key's Pirate!!! I was reading this thread and that was exactly what I was thinking!! I don't know about the rest of you but I've been on diets for the greater part of my adult life. My obese body has been put through all that and the band. Now it has become one efficient calorie saving machine. It never knows when I'm going to try to starve it again so it just hangs on to every thing I give it. When I dieted some of those real low calorie diets, I too thought the thing I was going to have to do was to cut even more calories to start losing again when I was stalled. Well I learned that if I ate MORE instead of less when I stalled, the pounds started falling off again. After a few days of that, I could cut back again and see a significant weight loss. Until I read this thread I had forgotten all about that. I probably would have done exactly the same thing as most of you and cried a lot and wondered how in the world I was going to be able to exist on even less! You need to not only eat more Protein but at this point you probably should get in a little fat too. The cheeses are good for that. And who doesn't like cheese! I agree that all this is counter intuitive, but it is absolutely true and if if trying it for a couple of days doesn't jump start your losses again, then all you have to do is begin again with what you were doing when you were losing quickly. Best of continued success for all of you and I hope that when I get to this stage, I won't forget the remedy. If I do forget, please remind me. When we're depressed and not losing and eating very little, it is easy to get foggy brained and kinda out of it. You're doing well - you've lost a good amount of weight so far - and you should be very proud of your progress and happy that you're well on the road to a healthier, slimmer you!!

Have you ever blended the Costco Premier shakes with ice? Anything canned sounds more user friendly than the protein powder. I always have to worry about what I'm going to mix with my whey protein powder. But I was told by my dietician that I can't use skim milk because of the sugars in milk. She says that it messes up the enzymes in your stomach and keeps good things from happening. Have you ever heard that? I don't mean to question her knowledge, but isn't whey protein a form of milk?

This administration is not the government. So to pretend that any poll that says Americans distrust the government means that they distrust the president is just plain stupid. But if Americans distrust the government, it is very probable that it is because of things that have happened over the course of history. If a poll wants to know if Americans distrust the president, then that is the question it will ask. And to address your sarcastic remark, we don't think that the president is the second coming, but we know that he is trying to fix what's broken. And getting rid of programs that are ineffective, outdated and mismanaged is one of his priorities. But to say that there are NO GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS that are running financially stable is quite a stretch. You always tend to exaggerate. Why don't you just stick to what you know. And you know that you don't know that ALL government programs are unstable. Or if you don't understand that, you don't care that you don't know, but you're willing to state it anyway. Hmmmm, sounds a lot like some of the proclamations of the tea baggers.

Well I think that trying to influence someone to choose a doctor or clinic, knowing that they take unnecessary risks that can cause infection, is irresponsible and self-serving. I hope that is not the case here. I hope this is just a case of both sides having an honest assessment of the doctor and hospital, in spite of the fact that their experiences and posts are diametrically opposed to one another. I have a sneaking suspicion that money motives could be at work on one side of the equation although I sincerely hope and wish that is not the case. But it seems to be what makes the most sense regarding some of the arguments.

iluvaleo, Louisiana, that's cool. Is he getting as nervous as I am? I'm not too worried about the surgery itself, just more about the learning how to eat and drink without pain and nausea afterwards.

FAB50, yes it's rude and it is very, very ignorant. You can't help but wish that they could gain lots of weight just to see how it feels - just for a day!

Well the closer I get to my surgery date, the more petrified I become. I'm not worried about the pain from surgery. I'm not actually worried about missing any foods at all. I'm worried mostly about the first month or two. I am beginning to figure out that it is going to be a very painful process of learning what works and what doesn't and what will happen as a result of doing something that doesn't work. I have visions of lots of pain and nausea dancing in my head. After going through all the pain of having the band I am worried that going through this is going to be just as bad and take just as long to figure out. I'd like to think that I can be smart enough going into surgery that from the first moment I begin to ingest Water or ice chips or anything, I can prevent the nausea and I can use a tiny baby spoon and prevent the spasms. Am I being totally naive? Don't worry, I can handle the truth! What are considered "slider" foods by most people? I've noticed that some people say they can't eat anything in the morning and others say they have a harder time eating at night. You're 9 months or so out from surgery so you may have fogotten these things. Or since you had some complications, your situation might be different than what I will go through. But I appreciate any help you have for me Tiffy. You must have helped dozens and dozens of people through this by now. You are one of the very best at supporting people here. And trust me, we all thank you so very much for sticking with us as we face the very scary unknown!

cleo's your recap of the Bush election and his subsequent behavior as president is relevant when the right wing behaves as if Obama is selling us down the river. They seem to have loved it when Bush actually did sell us down the river. They loved that rich white boy who didn't show up for his military duty, who crashed and burned in the oil business, who was a miserable governor and who is obviously a selfish twit, ran this country. And knowning that, why is it surprising that they dislike a man who is well educated, cares about those who are not wealthy, adept at handling foeign affairs, who actually shows up to work and tells his fellow Americans what is going on and what he has planned for this country, and who is actually trying to fix the things that are wrong for Americans? As for the election, when the governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, participated in the scam of the election of his brother, I lived there then and if you had any idea how pervasive the corruption was on a precinct by precinct basis there, you'd probably be shocked. And it didn't just happen in Florida. I have personal knowledge of similar corruption in the St. Louis area. Where else they had their goons in place to keep Democratic votes from being counted I have no idea. But I have a pretty good guess.

As for the birthers, during the campaign when people questioned his citizenry, Obama's people supplied his birth certificate. But even with the evidence smacking them in the face, they still claim he is not a citizen of the U.S. These people are idiots - nut balls - numbskulls with their own policital agenda. Why in the world anyone is still paying any attention to them at all is the true mystery!!

IMMORE, who says this isn't a debate. I agree that it probably shouldn't be. But the very nature of the topic is going to affect people differently and having a discussion or even a debate isn't too surprising. Does the debate aspect of it make you uncomfortable?

Driver63, I too am very sorry to hear that you experienced a leak. I must tell you that on this particular thread though, if you want to tell a convincing story to help us, it would be very helpful if you would post where exactly you had your surgery in the states. And it would interest me personally to know if you knew about the 1% rate by reading about it here or did your doctor tell you that? Is your surgical doctor treating you? What did they do when you went to othe ER? Will they have to do surgery to repair the leak? Do you have to worry about pneumonia? With the stent and JP, do they think that will fix the problem permanently? What have they told you is your prognosis? Are you okay now? In other words, it would be beneficial if you would tell us your whole story, when you are up to it, of course. We're all pulling for you.

Mary I understand your frustration. I have been trying really hard to stay completely open-minded about this whole thread. I've been trying to just read what eveyrone posts and then decide who sounds more credible. Well I have come to the conclusion that the people whose posts I've read who have had complications and complaints about the doctor and the clinic sound far more credible than those posts defending them. And that is totally without any insider knowledge of any kind. And that is not to say that I am wishing this debate had never happened or that I want to stop reading it. In fact, I am fascinated by it. To think that some people - a number of people - who have gone to one particular doctor have had similar stories of their post-operative care, which are quite frankly horrible, is damning evidence no matter what the opposing team tries to come up with to discredit them. At least two of the people who are defending the doctor and clinic seem to be motivated by personal gain. The people who have posted their bad experiences do not have that motivation. They seem to be posting their health issues with us just as people share their good experiences - it's simply what they're going through and they want others to benefit from the information they're sharing with us. It's tough for the doctor and clinic to have people come here and tell things that their patients went through when they are not happy and glowing reports. But it is what it is and nothing anyone else says - like EVERY doctor has complications - is going to change what they experienced. And as further evidence there have been some posts from patients who did not have complciations but who have stated that they probably would not recommend the doctor to their friends. By the same token, there have been some posts by some of their patients who have said that they had a good experience and would recommend the doctor and clinic. So it's up to each and everyone of us who reads this thread to make up our own minds where we want to go for surgery and who we want to do it. I've made up my mind. I personally wouldn't take a chance on going to a place that might - only MIGHT - have questionable medical treatment practices. I would choose a doctor and hospital that I knew for sure had all the things I expect from a doctor and medical facility before turning my life over to them. If it meant that I needed to save more money to have the surgery then that's what I would do. But then, that's just me.

I think the people at the forefront making up the stuff that the tea baggers say are the wealthy well-educated folks. The followers, the real baggers themselves, are just regular folks, like you and me - but without a brain.

Ain't it the truth Fab! I know there have been times when my demeanor was probably partially to blame. But most of the time I think it's just because people discriminate against fat people. My sister is very heavy and when I was thin and we would go out together I actually heard guys make fun of her - within earshot! I wanted to smack them. She has always been overweight even when she was a kid so I guess she learned how to cope with it. But it had to hurt. When I gained weight I was still surprised that people could be so rude and insensitive. But it always hurt me more for my sister than myself. I probably felt like I deserved it.

angel, thanks. I'm getting kinda freaked. Didn't sleep at all last night. Tiffy, I know you had a really rough start. But after the 4th or 5th month mark when you got your appetite back, was it hard to make yourself stay on the diet? I think those of us who are getting ready for surgery have as one of our biggest fears, that for some reason we won't be as successful as everybody else and we'll be back to our old really stupid eating for emotional reasons thing and potentially, like with the band, only lose weight initially and not be able to get 'er done - goal wise.

She may read them but that doesn't mean that she understands them. I found a couple more items in that post that she wouldn't agree with if you separated them from the PEW poll.

Great suggestion. I tried that. They're too tight with a buck. I even suggested nickels. Fortunately there are a couple of other gals who share my poliltics and we enjoy exchanging glances when one of them begins to spew right wing garbage. The most obnoxious ones are old (70s) and former military wives. They think they're being patriotic. They use the term "socialist" when they speak of Obama, but let's face it, they'be been sucking at the government teat their husband's entire career. I apologize for that visual. I just couldn't come up with anything that describes it better.