green

I was banded in Sept 2006 and my experiences with TLBC have been excellent. Nancy is a genius at giving a fill; she is in and out of that port without even a sissy like me feeling anything at all. Though she speaks rapidly, a personal quirk and one which might strike some of you as expressing her impatience, I have always found her to be very warm and helpful. As for Dr. Yau, he helped to save my bacon. I had been having throat problems which I assumed were band-related. He had me into Scarborough Grace, his home hospital, in order to have this checked out by a fluoroscopy. Turns out I was just fine but he urged me to see an ears, nose and throat specialist and offered to set up an appointment with one. Good thing that I did follow his suggestion: it turned out that I have throat cancer. The TLBC folks are a fine team. You will have to ask for help if you feel you need it as they are not mind readers. For me, a downtown grrl, the location was a big plus.

Hey! It is great to see you back, grrl. Lisa in TO and I have been wondering how you are doing. We were thinking of giving you a shout out. For what it is worth, here are my 2 cents' worth: undertaking weight loss is a big deal even with the assistance of the Lap Band. This is because the act of eating itself is not neutral and one's perception of oneself is an altogether loaded issue psychologically speaking. You must, therefore, work at this project at your own chosen speed and you must not beat yourself up over any perceived failures. Just know that the band and your friends at LBT are available for you whenever you want 'em.

Although I have a lot of friends in real life I have also acquired a rich virtual life thanks to the internet in general and to LBT in particular. Finding forums such as this one can occupy one's intellect and one's emotions and keep one away from the fridge simply because posting is a two-handed activity. Because of my positive experience with the internet (and the band and the role which LBT has played) I guess my advice would be to exploit and enjoy the net. As for making friends in real life, this can become challenging as one grows older. A lot of our most enduring friendships are made while we are young and single - in highschool, university, and of course we meet people at work. A stay at home mum whose best friends have outside jobs is going to feel kind of lonely. This is because you don't have the same material to "share" anymore. Your time is spent differently and your needs will be of a different order, too. This is why I am going to suggest that you volunteer in an area which means something to you. You might also want to take a night class in something which interests you. The third way to make friends is to get yourself a charming puppy and take the animal for walks; this will be good for your health and good for your social life.

Kat, do they continue to monitor you for a reoccurance of Cancer? If so, how do they do this? Scans?

I thought the same thing when I was getting my band, that its reversibility would be useful should I ever get cancer. Now I do have cancer and they will be installing a feeding tube.

Why would you think that a repulsive so-called art project would be "okay with pro choicers?" What a ridiculous and offensive statement! Being pro choice does not mean that one condones bad art. Please don't conflate tasteless art and the pro choice concerns over women's rights to their own bodies.

I don't like most children very much and I can't stand babies and toddlers. Some people are not maternal. I am one of them. I am 58 years old and I have never, ever regretted not having children. Women don't have to have children. (And there are many unwanted animals who need good homes, ya know.) As for that "conceptual art event," it made the Canadian media. I am pleased to hear that this may in fact be a hoax. I was personally disgusted when I first heard about it.

I never feel foolish anymore. I just tell 'em that that it is all part of being blonde (which I am). This gets them laughing. Thank gawd for blonde jokes, eh. My screw-ups have been so much easier and fun to justify ever since.

Mmmm...Shopping...... My favourite sport, eh.

Of course any intelligent person is going to be concerned about statistics; this is part of risk assessment and this is what one does when deciding upon a course of action. Having the facts, and knowing the statistics (or the probabilities) is part of having the facts, permits you to make an informed decision - which is far better for your health, happiness, and your finances than operating on an assumption, eh.

I really like this response. I think many of you consider that it is not fair that poor people get away with so many freebies - stuff like medical care, food and shelter assistance - but having money is fabulous. It buys you the freedom to do whatever you want to do whenever you want to do it. I have paid for my own Lap Band surgery and a face lift. I also get to travel in exotic places, live in a nice house, have nice stuff, and eat good food and drink good wine. I pay for it but my life is much nicer, I think. I also believe that most poor people are not bums but just folk who haven't been in the right place at the right time. In civilized societies we provide the basics for our weakest citizens. We don't like to see 'em perishing in the streets. This is what differentiates our societies here in the west from that of an African tinpot dictatorship.

Yep, I agree with Gadget.

Haha. That's the trouble with working retail....you're not allowed to use sarcasm. Apart from this drawback, how's the job?

Hated highschool, loved university.

What my fellow Canuck said.

I didn't need my surgery at the time I had it - I was one of the lower BMI gang when I had it - but I was gonna need it within a year or so.

I love that show! But most of the young chicks are forced into marriage and baby-making with those old farts. Ewww.

What CrueFan said. BMI is useful as a general rule of thumb but that is all. My own BMI is currently excellent and also a case in point. Because I am now fighting cancer I don't do anything much except lie around. As a result I have terrible muscle mass and yet still have isolated areas of fat. In addition, fat or skinny, I have always been thick-waisted and this is now known to be a Bad Thing with respect to heart and stroke issues. Ugh, eh!

I am pleased that things are going better for you. I was going to add that your husband may have been mourning the loss of his old job and going through a bit of a depression. It is good to hear that life is looking sunnier again.

I have read in the media that someone using a cell phone while driving can be as slow to react to on road actions as any drunk driver. But driving drunk is against the law.

Bwahahahaha!

Well, why don't you wait until you have some time to give over to this issue and then explain yourself in a complete and cogent manner? It is understandable that folks will become irritated by hints and allegations which come largely unattended by a factual account. We are here because we have weight issues but that is all. The brains still work.

I know that it is possible to reconcile Christian religious belief and a belief in evolution; indeed many many Christians do believe in both. I would be interested to hear what Stein's arguments are. I would like to know whether he posits that this creation was devised by unspecified Creator (or Creators) or whether he believes that this Creator is the God of Christianity (or of one of the other major world religions for that matter). If the first is the case and his arguments are compelling then I might be shifted to agnosticism or even to a generalised belief that God is out there but is pretty much unknowable except through what we can deduce from looking at this universe. Then I would be Green the theist. And to obtain my best understanding of the universe I would do as I do now: I would listen as critically as I am able (given that I am a natural blonde and kinda old) to what the scientists have to say. I believe in doing this for it is the science community which devotes itself and its resources to research in the field of natural phenonema. Stein's film trailer promises that there are scientists who have discovered that there is a creative hand in the building of this universe. I want to remain an open-minded grrl and I naturally want to learn more. I really am intrigued. And it is always fun to learn new things, isn't it? And Plain, you are so right. No one benefits from intolerance.

I love South Park. Thanks for posting this. I have added it to my favourites list.

Thanks, ingyrob. I am having a pretty good day today. No real nausea and I feel good enough that I am able to avoid the morphine. This means that I have been able to post on LBT.