green

Waging war in Iraq at this time is a terrible mistake, I believe, and this war will turn out to be this generation's Vietnam. The geo-political situation in the Middle East has been a mess since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. It was then that the European powers, notably Britain, went in and carved the area up into what it is now its present countries. They did so ignoring traditional ethnic and religious alliances. Thus the tragedy of the Kurds in Iraq and thus the in-fighting between the Sunnis and the Shi'as. Then the establishment of Israel threw the area into further turmoil. Had Bush spent more time reading up on history and foreign policy and less time reading the Bible he and his cronies might have thought twice about blundering in and in so doing blowing trillions of taxpayer dollars, alienating the country from much of the international community, and squandering the Republican party's overall credibility. A little more attention to domestic affairs might have ensured that the aftermath of the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina was less grotesque. I have read recently in the newspapers that he feels that God is helping him govern. It would be nice to see a few more competent and less corrupt advisors on board along with God for Bush's close association with big business is showing. Big business is not, you know, gonna get taxed for this very expensive war. And now that the region is destabilized Iran is getting out of control and the problem of the on-going presence of Hezbollah in Lebanon has not been solved. They are still there. They are quiet at the moment is all.

How much do you save by having the op done in Mexico?

Sixteen grand seems to be cheaper or the same as U.S. prices. I did some nosing around on the main site because I was curious about costs. The average seems to be 14 to 16 grand down there and that is in U.S. bucks. I did find one person who paid $8,000 and another who paid $18,000. I wonder what people pay down in Mexico.

Oh, I love wine. I lived in France for a couple of years and got into the habit of drinking it with lunch and dinner. The guy I was living with knew his wines and he had fairly deep pockets and so I got to drink some fairly fabulous stuff. Now I see some of those bottles in Vintages and I moan for awhile. *sound of Green sobbing*

My husband was cool until the day of the surgery. While we were at the clinic waiting for my turn he started to panic. Then he left and drank 3 beers but they were big beers! We had to go home in a cab. As for bitchiness, I got really, really bitchy for awhile on the post-op diet. My husband and I were both suffering. :paranoid

From what I read on the main site about fills it seems that it is best to treat that post-fill period kinda like that post-op period. This means taking it easy on your stomach. Perhaps soups and mushies are a good way to go, and they are less "embiggening," as Homer would say. But don't get discouraged, Time2, remember that you are in this for the long haul and over the short haul we will all have our ups and downs.

Maybe the thing to do when you feel yourself going out of control is to revert to a week of the post-op diet. Right now I am on week two of post-op and am eating soup (Gardenay soups) and lots of yogurt. I don't mind this diet and I figure I can go back to this whenever I find myself drifting back into my bad habits. One of my problems, apart from the carb thing, is that I am a nighttime eater. I am now trying to learn to eat much smaller amounts and during the day. This is really tough for me.

Yep, you should ask your doc about it. I don't think that post-op gas is supposed to last quite this long. There must be another reason for this gas. Gas pains are a real drag.

Ooh, I became very bitchy on the post-op diet so I can imagine how you must be feeling on the pre-op diet when you haven't even been banded yet.

This is bad news indeed. I suppose that there is no way that the operation can be pushed up to ASAP in order that you can be through physiotherapy and able to get another few contract gigs under your belt further down the road. Also, I don't know how any of this works stateside. Will this operation be covered by health insurance? I live in Canada and your medical procedure would be covered by the state because it is a necessary one. As you may know, we have socialized medicine up here. My mother had her knee replaced when she was 82 and this was covered by the state. I, on the other hand, had to pay for my lapband operation as this is deemed a vanity procedure. Your knee certainly sounds very painful and you have all my sympathy. You are receiving a number of body blows at this time.

People can be very strange. When I decided to be banded and booked my operation date my brother, a doctor, had a bit of a freak out and because he is a doctor he was able to back this up with lots of medical warnings. I almost cancelled the surgery since other folks in my life were being negative about it, too. Anyway, I didn't. I was banded two weeks ago this coming Thursday and I feel fine. I also know that I lack the will power to lose weight without an aid like this and I was getting to the point where I had had enough with my body. My interior (and external) life was getting out of hand thanks to my issues with weight. Oof! This is the long way to tell you to go for it and don't worry about what anyone other than your surgeon thinks.

It seems to me that you should be careful about what you eat and how much in that post-op phase. I believe that the theory is that you don't want to stretch your stomach pouch and you also want to let it heal. My docs put me on their post-op diet: one week clear fluids, two weeks fluids (soups and yogurts), followed by two weeks of mushy food. In addition to the type of food they also restrict the amounts. (I got banded a week and a half ago and so I am still on the soup and yogurt stage.) Apparently this is a time when a lot of bandsters lose quite a chunk of weight and this is an added bonus.

I had a lot of gas for the first week after the op. I was going through the chewable Gas-X like the stuff was chocolate. I am now in week two of post op and I feel fine. The gas does eventually go away. Moving around does seem to help.

Add me to the September list. I got banded on Thursday, Sept 7. I was told beforehand that I would recover quickly and they were right! I spent the first 3 days sleeping a lot and suffering from gas pains. Pains from the actual incisions were minor and didn't last long at all. My new liquid diet took some adjusting to, though. For the first week I kept having fantasies of pasta in cream sauce and filet of beef done rare. Choosing the band was a good move, I think.

I've always drunk a lot of water with my meals but now that I have been banded I am trying to train myself out of this. It is difficult to give this habit up.

I wouldn't get too bent out of shape about this if I were you as long as the rest of your marriage is in good shape. Many men who would never stray in real life do enjoy a fantasy life. Just as some women enjoy reading romances, some men enjoy watching porn. Men are configured differently from us; they like to look. This being said, the suggestion that you ask if you might watch a porn flick or two with him is a good one. However, it may be something in the way of a private pleasure for him, and we all need our private pleasures. My own husband occasionally goes to the local strip joint for a beer or two, and he will look at girls over the internet late at night after his work shift is over. He is quite open about this and I have been around men - I work in the aircraft industry - to know that this is par for the course. As he says, "I like to look," and in all other ways he is a great mate. If you've got yourself a good man, then try to absorb his porn habit. It seems to be a guy thing.

Yah, carbs are my downfall, too. I am a carb freak. Sweets and soda don't interest me at all but breads, pasta, and potatoes.... Mmmm. And then there has to be cheese on top of all them carbs just to make them taste even better!

Worshipping a picture of George Bush?!?! That's like worshipping a picture of Howdy Doody!

When I started builing aircraft I was a lot thinner and so did not get any crap on this score. My "embiggening" has been due to being post-menopausal, a raft of "fattening" drugs which are used to treat depression, and my deep love of carbs and cheese. I was initially treated badly on the floor because I am a woman and because it was suspected that I am Jewish; thus I got the old one-two of sexist and racist discrimination and life on the shop floor was bad, very bad, for the first 2-3 years. But the job paid extremely well and I was able to stick it out and prove myself, to boot. (I did all my crying at home of course.) And I couldn't complain about the harrassment to anyone; my life really would have been a living hell! I am surprised to hear that your wife doesn't like dogs,T.O.M. The Brits are often quite fond of animals, lavishing on them all the physical affection that they can't lavish on their fellow human beings. Look at the Queen and her corgis.

I read somewhere on the main site that drinking anything with gas was bad for our new smaller stomachs. Gassy drinks can stretch the stomach. This has been why I have been drinking my daily couple of shot glasses of beer after they have gone flat. Oh yah, can't resist the beer when my mate brings home a can or two. I have also had chips over the weekend. I have been chewing them into a mush though. The truth is that I have been all out of tzatziki and I am really missing salt. This is why I chewed up some cold bacon today. Apart from these misdemeanors I have been sticking to the soup and yogurt diet. I don't know how one qualifies as a therapist, Kimmason, but now you've got me curious. And yep, I am still off work due to depression. I am thinking about early retirement now that I am starting to come out of 3.5 years of really deep depression. At the worst of it I couldn't even move! My mother died last year and left me some money which will provide a bit of an income, I am 57, and I am thinking that there are other things that I might like to do. I am kinda artsy. I paint and I like writing and I like the computer even though I am totally blonde! The mate is used to having me at home. So I am thinking retirement and taking courses in various things as well as getting back into the gym once I heal from the banding. I still haven't decided yet because I will be giving up a very good gig but I am leaning in the direction of early retirement. I think I want to learn knew stuff now that I am less depressed. (Maybe I can help Cloe with her lambing next time the sheepies are having babies. I've never done anything like that before.) Good luck on your fill and liquids for the first day after, eh.

Sometimes it seems as though fat is the final frontier, doesn't it? I feel badly that your/our concern got such short schrift in the corporate diversity class, wavy, especially as much more is known about this issue of weight now. We know, for instance, that it has to do with the luck of the genetic deck as much as anything else, and we know that the entire industrialised world is getting fatter. It was discriminatory and therefore wrong for your issue to be ignored in that class. Perhaps you may wish to write them a letter or a manifesto at some future point. I myself am always annoyed at the lack of decent clothing choices once a grrl hits size big and bitch about this routinely on my own blog and elsewhere. As for being brought up British, it sure has presented me with problems over the years. My discomfort when anyone infringes the 3-foot no-fly zone extends to everyone except my mate. This means that I am always exceedingly uncomfortable around tiny children who naturally think that every lap is theirs to sit on. And I remember my horror when I was small and adults wanted to pick me up and give me a kiss! How I detested this in much the same way that I hate it now when folks insist that their children kiss me. I am more physically friendly now but this has been learned behaviour on my part. I think to myself must touch arm or pat shoulder! I guess I show my affection for people through my conversation and my letters....

I think that you should try discussing how much fill with your fill 'er up specialist. I was reading on the main site that too much fill can be worse than too little. It hurts and for some reason ? you don't lose weight. The TLBC has me scheduled for 3 fills starting mid-Oct and ending mid-Nov. This means that I will be getting one fill every two weeks. Yuck! I am kinda dreading the fills. Good thing I have lotsa demerol left over. I hate needles.

LOL! You and I are built back to front. When someone throws themselves into my arms I find myself gingerly tapping them on the back with my fingertips. It's the way I was brought up.

Yah, It's true. A gay friend of mine who has been around (what gay guy hasn't?) told me that they are petite.

I've been hanging about the site for about a week now because I am about to be banded, and I want to learn as much as I can from people who are walking the walk and talking the talk. The site is supportive, interesting, and lots of fun. I've learned a lot about this business of being banded, the fills, and what to expect post-op. This is why I decided to join. I am less frightened about the operation now, but more freaked out about the fills; the procedure sounds a little gross.