BJean

BetsyJane: I love the way you have with words and I enjoy reading your thoughtful posts. Carlene: I don't know how you dig up all this stuff, but it is definitely food for thought. Right now I want to write NewYork's Senator Clinton to demand answers to this Kurdish woman's claims about her. I do realize that people can write anything they wish. It may not necessarily be true, but it bears checking out.

MourningFuneral: I really wish we lived closer. Unfortunately I believe that some of my relationships trigger my binge eating too. Or maybe that's just an excuse. Who knows? But it sounds to me like you are almost overdoing it and perhaps not getting enough nutrition and satisfaction from what you ARE eating. And after a few days or so of that, you lose it. If you stay full enough with things that will stay in your system long enough, hunger shouldn't be trampling all over your plans. Ha. I can't believe I just wrote that. I'm the world's worst at cruising along and then one day eating an entire bowlful of candy. I met a man at the LB office where I go, and he was very interesting. He was frustrated. All of his answers to the dietictian's questions were perfect. He was doing just exactly what he'd been told. Only he had one small problem... chocolate. His lap band surgery was in August. He had lost over 30 lbs before Halloween. Since Halloween, when his wife brought bags of candy into the house, he's gained those 30 back, plus more. He made me look like the poster child for Lap Band. And I'm not. But you know, don't you, that if this were easy or some exact science, we wouldn't be having this conversation. You are not as unique or different as you might feel from the rest of us posting here. If you read all the good accomplishments that people have here, sometimes it can make you feel like a total failure. But if you go to some of the threads where people are having even more problems than you are, you'll realize that you just haven't figured out yet how to make this thing work for you. I can tell you one thing. I'm still hungry and I still want to jump up and grab some chocolate every time I see that damn Ghieridelli chocolate ad on TV that they're running every 5 minutes! But I don't because I'll be damned if I'm going to let those ads control my life! Please hang in there and work hard to find out how to make this thing work for you. I'm still searching for answers and I am starving for chocolate or Cookies or ice cream every stinking step of the way. But I lost 3 lbs. this week and that's about the best feeling in the world for me right now. I'll put my money on the fact that you can do it!

BetsyJane: I have empathy for the position too. It is an enormous responsibility. One that most of us can hardly imagine, much less relate to. George W. Bush, however, did get into this job with his eyes wide open. He lived through his father being president, something most people will never experience. He knew exactly what was expected of him and he has gone about doing it. Even when any reasonable person would cave from the pressure of outside intelligence and the lack of support from the citizens of the United States, he has made choices that have been to the detriment of many, many people worldwide. The thing that has us so riled up, those of us who disagree with his actions and decisions, is that he hasn't tried to represent this country in a way that is beneficial to its' citizens or in a way that is beneficial to the world at large. Some presidents have failed in similar fashion in the past, but haven't we learned from their mistakes? Bush has not had an agenda that sincerely included any efforts to make the world a better place. He has chosen to do whatever is in his and his party's best interests. It is an embarrassment to the United States and not only will we learn about much of it after he leaves office but more importantly, we will need to work very hard to repair the damage that his choices have caused. That's why I can't feel empathy for the man. For heavens sakes, he thinks his election to office is his divine right! Doesn't that speak for itself?

Hi. MOM I'm down 3 this week. Woo hoo! I am not like some of you who don't want a fill before Christmas. I am afraid NOT to get another one. The 3rd fill has finally helped although I do not have the restriction that will keep me from overeating sometimes. Like last night I wound up having a whole cup of soup and half a sandwich from Panera, so you who've been to Panera know that half of a Panera sandwich is like a whole sandwich you make at home. I just kept eating. No uncomfortable suggestion from the band to stop. I don't want to go through Christmas like I did at Thanksgiving where I lose my resolve and start eating things I know will make me gain weight. But I don't want to be like Tami (I think) and have to struggle to get down enough food to assure nutrition. I still worry about hair loss. I have a question about water. Sometimes when I'm really thirsty, I drink about 7 or 8 oz and then I can't help myself, I go right back for more. Then I get strange sharp pains in various places that are really uncomfortable. Does anyone else experience this? Is it gas? Sometimes I wonder if the water is putting pressure on the band and it is causing leakage at the port site or someplace. Any input out there?

Carlene: I take back my encouraging words for your thoughts of running for office. I'm afraid you're way too honest and plain spoken to ever make it in politics! Lord knows I'm guilty of that.

Carlene you go girl!

OMG. I l leave for a few days and you all go berserk! People here have talked over and over (including me) about the inaccuracy and political bias in news reporting today. After reading what some of the pro-Bush people have said here, I can only guess that they have been taken in because they want and need to believe it! I don't blame them, believing that their president and his cabinet are working in this country's best interests, is a much more comfortable place for our heads and hearts to live than it is to accept the horror of today's reality! For someone to blame Clinton for the deaths of firemen at the World Trade Center is someone in complete denial. If it makes you more comfortable who am I to give you a hard time? But things can't get much clearer right now, who was right and who was wrong, and if you still don't see it, it is because you don't WANT to see it. You've been probably been brought up by conservative parents, you read conservative and maybe even right wing publications, and you can't face the reality of how Bush has corrupted our freedom in this country and how much more he wants to do in the next couple of years that will infringe on our personal freedom. If it makes you all feel better to think that he's doing these things for you, I won't argue with you because you've proven you don't get it. But please stop accusing others of needing their mouths banded. Hang on...you're going to hear more and more Americans being vocal about regaining some of what we have lost under President Bush because some of us have lost more than 2 of our family members and some of us are smart enough to know exactly what this President is doing to this country, and as Green has pointed out, to many other countries in the process.

Jack thanks for sharing that little pearl of wisdom...100 miles, one mile at a time. If I can keep that in mind, maybe I will be find this journey easier. When I was in my late 20s, I ran 1 mile about 3 times a week. One day my husband and I decided to take a run together and he said I should try for 2 miles. He ran about 5 miles home from work every day. I told him there was no way I could run 2 miles, that 1 mile was already too hard. He said, that's okay, just do what you can and stop whenever you have to. I wound up running the 2 miles and it felt wonderful! I ran that 2nd mile one step at a time. It got easier the longer I ran. Something else I read earlier in this thread really hit home: she is thinking about food ALL the time. I know I have more important things in my life, sometimes I just can't be bothered with them when I'm obsessing about what I can eat next. I realized when I read that post, that I think about food ALL the time! I am definitely a binge eater. At least I WAS. I really have to think of myself as a successful bandster, not an unsuccessful one. Because, after all, I have lost a noticable amount of weight and I feel better and I do believe that I can lead a normal life and have a normal relationship with food. But old behavior is hard to change, especially if one isn't motivated. I'm really going to try hard to think of it as ONE POUND AT A TIME. Damn it I can do that!

Betsyjane: Most everyone can function quite well in this country without engaging anyone in discussion about politics and without reading the news or watching the news on TV. How much did 9/11 really affect most of us? Emotionally, after watching it over and over and being haunted by the images and being frightened to death about terrorists and our enemies taking over this country, it affected us a lot. But in real terms, about the only way it has impacted most of our daily lives is when we board an airplane. A few thousand people were killed, more were indirectly affected by those deaths, but the country as a whole is inhabited by millions and life has gone on in a practical way that is very much like it went on before those attacks. You just have to decide how important politics is to your daily life and your sense of well being. I consider this place an educational opportunity for me. And I read each post and know that everyone has his or her own biased opinion. That's part of the fun of it and part of the challenge of using it to help me learn how my fellow Americans perceive the world around us. A forum like this shouldn't be taken so seriously that it is disturbing. After all, anyone can write anything here and we have to remember that not everyone is sincere or well-informed.

I liked Bill Clinton's politics and the way he conducted the business as the President. His personal conflicts and behavior behind closed doors was a good thing for me to learn about. I hated the way it all went down. However as a young person, my parents always taught us that adopting a high set of moral standards was paramount to our long-term success in the world. That may not be so true today, but it is true at least to some extent. Back then during the cold war (which I prefer to the hot war), there was plenty of reason for politicians and our president in particular, to be pure as the driven snow. It was not unusual for someone in politics to be blackmailed by agents of our enemies if they had a skeleton in their closet. Realizing that the leader of our country, President Clinton, was willing to state publicly that he didn't have sexual relations with Monica, when he had, was admitting that if someone who had the position and power to blackmail him, he might have bent under that pressure. As it turned out he put himself and the office of the presidency in peril because the Republicans were willing to do anything to get him removed from office. It was a very unfortunate thing for our country and it was damaging to the presidency. There are several books and it has been discussed on various open forums about the affairs of past presidents, going all the way back to Dwight Eisenhower. Who knows what compromises were made back then if, or when, one of those powerful men was threatened with exposure. Today we have a religious leader who wielded enormous influence in right wing political circles, exposed for purchasing illegal drugs from a Gay friend of his - both things that he railed against. And a Republican congressman who was found to be sending obscene messages to young men. Barney Frank, on the other hand, who lives an alternative (Gay) lifestyle, but who makes no apologies for it and has been open about it and who hasn't been compromised or exposed and who probably can't be blackmailed or coerced - at least with regard to his sex life - is a much preferable person to have in office. We have every right to ask our politicians to be of high moral standards. It should be a requirement of any position of power. But the fact is, almost every human being has some flaw somewhere that could be exploited. Probably the best we can do is to support those we feel can do a good job and who seem to have a pure heart. And then we just hope for the best. Personally I believe that Bill Clinton got us into less trouble thinking with his penis than this President has thinking with his so-called brain.

BetsyJane: Amen! I guess that's why I'm so appalled that we (including my fat you-know-which part of my anatomy) sits here and takes it.

BetsyJane: The first turning point should have been when we allowed the Republican party to do what they did to the highly popular, elected and sitting President, Bill Clinton. Next the elections scams that went down all over the country. We let that happen with no fall out to speak of. Then we gave G.W. the power to take our nation into war without the direct vote of the entire Congress. That allows those folks the ability to shrug their shoulders now and shake their heads and make the President take all the heat. He deserves heat but they do too. Actually being a person who grew up with the assassinations of John Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy and with questionable government or political involvement in several other deaths surrounding those assassinations, I tend to think that some people in this country will do anything to get and stay in power. If the rest of us peaceniks want to keep sticking our heads in the sand and not stand up for what's right and good in this nation, we will continue to get whatever they deal out. The best analogy I can think of right this moment is when there is a person in a company who is willing to lie and do crooked things in order to get ahead, and their closest adversary is an honest person who sticks to a strong personal code of ethics, the cheater will win most of the time. I'm not saying that the bad person won't someday pay for his dirty rotten ways, but if they're willing to do most anything, right or wrong, they can usually figure out a way to stay in power over those who are not willing to compromise their moral standards. So although I get really crazy thinking about how timid and beaten down the Democrats behave, I am proud that for the most part they are not willing to stoop to the level of the dirtier party.

Betsy: Do you really believe he didn't understand the concept? He's dumb, but certainly not that dumb. He wanted us to be an occupying force in Iraq, he wanted to be in control. I don't have to explain why, do I? He also wanted us to seem mean and threatening. The old big bully concept of scaring the terrorists. See how smart and effective that has been? The only thing we've truly accomplished with this attack on Iraq is control of oil - oh and as a by-product, we got rid of the man we placed in power there many years ago. Yea us.

I've seen people post that fills cost anywhere from $200 to $1000 each. It seems to run the gamut. You will need to ask your doctor to know for sure.

You crack me up! I can confirm that needing a fill and feeling hungry makes me as bitchy as when I had PMS! People watch out~! Mouse: I do think that the media is patently biased in their reporting. When I was young reporters were bound to a code (that I thought was enforced by law) of reporting the facts with no political leanings whatsoever. I think this mess all started with them figuring out that if using the word "CRASH!" instead of "accident" brought more listeners or readers, then embellishing "CRASH!" was even better. Then they started analyzing the President's address afterwards, then analyzing the speeches at the election conventions, and after that it was katy bar the door! I don't know why responsibility in reporting became a thing of the past and why they aren't all held to a standard set of rules. It is very hard to read a newspaper or magazine or watch the nightly news without feeling insulted these days. I do know that in England and a few other places around the world, print journalism reveals that there is a lot offered up in the dailies that is pure gossip and entertainment. When you speak with the British however, they seem politically astute compared to what you think most men-on-the-street in America would be. With all the biased reporting of the news and all of the slanted talk shows that try to pass off commentary as news in the U.S., it's a wonder any of us knows exactly what's going on here. Americans aren't all that stupid though and they proved that in the last elections. So as ugly as it has become, at least we are aware enough of the situation for us to be discussing it here, and surely we are a decent cross-section of the general population.

MOM: I'm down 1 lbs. Slow and steady wins the race? Afraid not in this race. Third fill is working a tiny bit. I need MORE! I need to lose 2 lbs. per week to make me happy.

Betsyjane: Thanks for your thoughtful reply. And Mousecrazy I understand what you're saying. Unfortunately what Carlene posted is a very real problem for us. As much as no one wants to hear it, it is reminisent of Viet Nam in that we secure an area one day only to have it infiltrated and returned to a hot zone the next day. The civil war that is festering is causing our peacekeeping efforts to be practically ineffective. Last week I watched a report on some of the schools and businesses that had been able to function again, but that now people are abandoning because of the unpredictable bombings nearby. There is certainly value to the U.S. in keeping some control over their oil. And in theory there is value in our staying the course so that we don't look weak. But we have been weakened by our involvement and every day that we continue the course we're on, we grow weaker and the bad guys get stronger. I appreciated Betsyjane's theory to push for diplomacy between the neighboring countries of Iran, Syria and Turkey so that maybe we can assist in stabilizing the region to some degree. Because if we don't and we continue to do what we've been doing in Iraq, it looks like there's a very good chance that the war will push beyond Iraq's borders and if that happens, the U.S. will be in a worse spot than ever militarily.

I come in peace. I think it's very bad that we as a nation of people are so divided by the current political climate in this country. I don't want to participate any further in a forum that reflects that divison and which I'm afraid is only contributing to the anger between the supporters of our current administration and the manner that the president has governed this nation, with those of us who feel betrayed and believe our troops have been made to pay the ultimate price of a futile war. Somehow our leaders need to find a solution that will allow some healing nationwide and one that will give some relief to the country of Iraq. Although discussion and voicing of opinion is healthy, it is obvious that many of us are in real emotional pain over this miserable situation that our country is in. Instead of lashing out at each other, we should think about discussing ways to resolve this country's precarious position in Iraq instead of accusing each other of things that neither of us may have intended with our words. Mousecrazy do you have any suggestions for a solution to the war that might really work?

Mousecrazy: My point was that you were changing the wording of the post with which you took issue. I was being a little sarcastic too. "Relationship" would need to be defined with reference to Bush and/or the Bush family when discussing their relationship with any of the bin Laden family or any bin Laden individual if we really wanted to get to the bottom of whether it is relevant to this topic, or not. Political diplomacy is one type of interaction or relationship a President may have with nationals of other countries, close personal relationships or ties are quite another. You're intelligent enough to understand the difference and tossing that about as a means to divert attention from the meat of the discussion isn't worthy of you. And as for me, I never said that Bush met with bin Laden. You must have me mixed up with some other poster. As to your use of the analogy "Clinton entertained the Ku Klux Klan in the White House" I find that not analogous at all, considering there has never been any discussion of that in the press, has there? There has been lots of media attention to the Bush family's relationship with the bin Laden family. But to answer your question regarding whether I perceive you to be intolerant by questioning the statement made earlier about Bush's family meeting bin Laden's family (or whatever), the answer is no. I expect anyone who disagrees with any statements made here to state their opposition openly if they would like to. That doesn't speak to intolerance, this is an open forum of discussion about the issue of the "...worst American President" which is the title of the thread. But I will take issue with your statement that, "... conservatives and supporters of America must accept liberals and American fault finders, while the reverse is rarely ever true." Your incendiary statement to that effect shows that in this forum, quite the opposite is true. You're the one who is is taking personal pot shots. Those of us whom you call, "liberals and American fault finders" are 1) quite possibly not all that liberal and, 2) not finding fault with America. We just think that this president stinks. Your name-calling and labeling of us because you disagree with our politics is of course, your choice to make.

Mousecrazy: Who exactly IS "Usama" anyway? I'm surprised that someone thinks that the Bushes having a relationship with the bin Laden family is only slightly important. But I'm glad you stated your feelings this time instead of just challenging someone else to do what you think they should here. I'm like Leatha about the "rules" here, and to my way of thinking the good part is that there ain't no rules. If someone wants to pull up tons of info that enlightens us all, so be it. If someone wants to come here just to state their opinion, like me, that's fair too. But I think we all need to understand that our opinions and politics are ours alone and we all have the same options open to us. Thank God for diversity and tolerance is what makes America a great place to live.

leatha_G: By whom were you directed and you were ridiculed by whom? Someone who runs this website or another bandster? Was it in regard to this thread or a different one? Just curious and always willing to learn the rules. BJ

Where has anyone here said that Usama bin Laden was entertained by the Bushes at Crawford Texas? It was stated that the Bush family has entertained Bin Laden at their ranch. It doesn't state anything about someone named Usama bin Laden. It doesn't mention which ranch, which Bushes, or which member of the Bin Laden family. Why should anyone document something that they didn't even say? Furthermore I agreed about the connection between the Bin Laden family and the Bush family. I am sure that there is no way I could possibly document that connection in such a way that would please you. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt, dear. I can tell you for sure that the Bin Ladens owned a home in Florida, near Orlando (Windermere to be precise) and when 9/11 happened, the Bin Ladens were picked up and escorted out of the country for their protection. The house was put on the market by a very close friend of mine. She was informed that the name was never to be used in connection with the marketing of the home. That direction specifically came from a representative of the Bush family. Furthermore, it is common knowledge that all of the Bin Laden family that were in the U.S. were permitted to leave the country without benefit of questioning regarding Osama's whereabouts or about any other sensitive and potentially helpful information that might be garnered that would aid in his capture. No one has to believe anything that is said here. This is not a school. This is simply a forum dedicated for the purpose of allowing people to exchange ideas and experiences and beliefs. There have been quite a number of posts on other threads that make claims about the pros and cons of Lap Band surgery and all that entails. I haven't once seen anyone require documentation for any of it. It's a good thing because much of it is a lot of bunk. This is a forum. This is not journalism, it is not an Encyclopedia. It isn't a website that claims to be providing facts about anything. It is a forum whereby participants are able to discuss whatever they wish and the other participants are able to read what is posted and use it or discard it however they see fit. If you require documentation on any subject with which you disagree, go forth and find it. Then state your case right here if you want to. But there have been no rules set forth that state that one must document each claim in their post with specific dates, times, places, names, or other facts. Please just chill out. If you don't like what you're reading just say so if you wish. And if you want to challenge someone about something they've stated, do so. But to require documentation is an effort for you to defend something that you obviously can't defend with any documentation of your own or you would have provided it.

Dr. C from Cincinnati: I would like to send you a big ole' hug for participating on this forum! I really appreciate getting to read your input from time to time. Thanks!! BJean

Tami: I agree with you. Besides, I wasn't really losing weight so I really did need a fill by anyone's standards. I've had my third fill and I STILL am not restricted enough. I hope that means I've lost quite a bit of fat from inside my body. Otherwise maybe I've sprung a leak. LOL You're very fortunate to be able to lose successfully. I got to the point where I couldn't lose anymore. Much less keep it off. It's a good thing that you've been proactive and have taken control!

You gotta be kidding me. Our bands can get too horizontal?? How does that happen and what is the result? Are there any other symptoms? Like bulging port or something? Not enough restriction because it's not upright? I have not been checked. My doc just errs on the side of caution and taking it very slow. Maybe if a band slides and gets in a horizontal position, he can tell by symptoms or other tale tell signs. Tell me all you know about this. I've wondered if I have something odd going on. But then I guess we all do that from time to time. Don't we?