lauragshsu

I haven't hit the 100lb mark yet, but I'm more than half way there. I started off with 144lbs to lose. I never even considered bypass. I have a friend who was in a coma for two weeks after a problem with her bypass. She has huge scars over her chest from tubes and needles. She lost about 50lbs. A year later, she had lapband.

And another article: The question isn’t whether President Barack Obama’s decision to file a lawsuit to block Arizona’s new immigration law is a political risk. There’s little doubt of that. What’s unclear is whether taking on public opinion on this emotionally charged issue will cost him more votes among the overall electorate than he will gain among the vocal minority who find the law abhorrent. The American people like what Arizona has done to combat illegal immigration, polls show. They are comfortable with the law-enforcement-only approach that the president disdains. The political unknown about the Arizona lawsuit – the state’s law has become the symbol of the fight over illegal immigration — and its electoral repercussions involves the question of comparative salience: Your third-grade social studies teacher may have told you that majority opinion rules in the U.S., but that is not always the case. The majority doesn’t always prevail on political issues. Clearly, based on the polling data, the American people were opposed to the health care overhaul that Congress passed and the president signed in March. We’ll see in November whether that issue will have electoral repercussions for the president and his party. Often a well-organized and dedicated minority can overcome a majority that is less committed to a cause. That is what the White House hopes will happen politically with immigration. The Big Question The key political question on the lawsuit is this: Will the goodwill that the Obama administration gains among Hispanics and other immigrant-rights supporters be worth the loss among the much larger group of voters who disagree with him on Arizona? The Justice Department on Tuesday asked the U.S. District Court in Arizona to block implementation of the law scheduled for July 29. The law would allow police to ask people stopped in connection with a non-immigration crime to prove they are in the U.S. legally. It is expected that U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton, appointed to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton in 2000, will handle the case. She is already handling other lawsuits challenging the Arizona law, and just last week ruled that Mexico can file a legal brief opposing the law. The federal suit, which challenges Arizona’s ability to pre-empt Congress’s role in setting immigration policy, becomes one of six challenges to the new law. But by filing its own lawsuit, rather than joining or endorsing one of the others, the White House is making a political statement. Despite condemnation of the law by the Obama administration – the president labeled it “misdirected” — and calls from some Democrats for an economic boycott of Arizona, polls show the country sees things differently. Wishing for a Similar Law These polls show voters generally support the Arizona law and want a similar statute in their own state. Three of five Democratic members of Congress from Arizona, worried about their prospects in November, asked the White House not to file the suit. And it is not just in the states close to the Mexican border where this sentiment is strong. A Quinnipiac University poll of Florida voters released last month found that they approve of the Arizona law 59%-29%. In Ohio, another Quinnipiac poll released last month found support by 48%-28%. Asked whether they would want their own state to pass a similar law, the answer was yes, 55%-34% in Florida and 45%-35% in Ohio. The White House position is that criminal sanctions and law enforcement are not by themselves the way to deal with illegal immigration. The president favors a solution that would lead to making the estimated 10 million to 12 million illegal immigrants legal residents and eventual U.S. citizens. Getty Images Will Obama’s decision to file a lawsuit challenging Arizona’s immigration law cost him more votes among the overall electorate than he will gain among the vocal minority who find the law abhorrent? But voters have a different view. A Quinnipiac University national poll last month found that by 66%-26% voters thought any overhaul in immigration law should be in the direction of stricter enforcement rather than integrating illegal immigrants into American society. Although voters disagree with the president on illegal immigration, and it is the kind of hot-button issue that can get voters to the polls, the unknown is how that will translate at the ballot box this November. Obama’s Political Capital In general, President Obama’s job approval rating has been in the mid-to-high 40s — not bad, but not terrific. A few points lower would be a political problem; a few points higher would give him the political capital to pursue his agenda without worrying about a backlash. A Wall Street Journal/NBC poll released last month asked voters what attributes and positions a congressional candidate had that make them feel enthusiastic or comfortable about him or her. Favoring the Arizona law ranked sixth on the list of 18, ahead of an endorsement from Mr. Obama but behind supporting a cut in federal spending, being a woman and being a first-time candidate. A Washington Post/ABC News poll in June found that Americans disapprove of the president’s handing of immigration 51%-39%, a lower rating than he gets overall and on most issues. There is very little doubt that in filing the lawsuit Mr. Obama is taking on public opinion. The unknown is whether his party will pay the price for it come November and in his own re-election in 2012.

Mexico on Tuesday asked a federal court in Arizona to declare the state's new immigration law unconstitutional, arguing that the country's own interests and its citizens' rights are at stake. Lawyers for Mexico on Tuesday submitted a legal brief in support of one of five lawsuits challenging the law. The law will take effect July 29 unless implementation is blocked by a court. The law generally requires police investigating another incident or crime to ask people about their immigration status if there's a "reasonable suspicion" they're in the country illegally. It also makes being in Arizona illegally a misdemeanor, and it prohibits seeking day-labor work along the state's streets. Until recently, Mexican law made illegal immigration a criminal offense -- anyone arrested for the violation could be fined, imprisoned for up to two years and deported. Mexican lawmakers changed that in 2008 to make illegal immigration a civil violation like it is in the United States, but their law still reads an awful lot like Arizona's. Arizona's policy, which President Felipe Calderon derided during a recent U.S. trip as "discriminatory," states police can't randomly stop people and demand papers, and the law prohibits racial profiling. Mexican law, however, requires law enforcement officials "to demand that foreigners prove their legal presence in the country before attending to any issues." Amnesty International recently issued a report claiming illegal immigrants in Mexico -- typically from Central America -- face abuse, rape and kidnappings, and that Mexican police do little to stop it. When illegal immigration was a criminal offense in Mexico, officials were known to seek bribes from suspects to keep them out of jail. But Mexico said it has a legitimate interest in defending its citizens' rights and that Arizona's law would lead to racial profiling, hinder trade and tourism, and strain the countries' work on combating drug trafficking and related violence. Citing "grave concerns," Mexico said its interest in having predictable, consistent relations with the United States shouldn't be frustrated by one state. "Mexican citizens will be afraid to visit Arizona for work or pleasure out of concern that they will be subject to unlawful police scrutiny and detention," the brief said. It will be up to a U.S. District Court judge to decide whether to accept the brief along with similar ones submitted by various U.S. organizations. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who signed the law on April 23 and changes to it on April 30, has lawyers defending it in court. In a statement issued late Tuesday, Brewer said she was "very disappointed" to learn of Mexico's filing and reiterated that "Arizona's immigration enforcement laws are both reasonable and constitutional." "I believe that Arizona will ultimately prevail and that our laws will be found constitutional," Brewer added. Brewer and other supporters of the bill say the law is intended to pressure illegal immigrants to leave the United States. They contend it is a needed response to federal inaction over what they say is a porous border and social problems caused by illegal immigration. They also argue that it has protections against racial profiling. Mexican officials previously had voiced opposition to the Arizona law, with Calderon saying June 8 that the law "opens a Pandora's box of the worst abuses in the history of humanity" by promoting racial profiling and potentially leading to an authoritarian society U.S. officials have said the Obama administration has serious concerns about the law and may challenge it in court. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton recently went further by saying a lawsuit is planned.

Anyone have any thoughts on the recent lawsuit? What about thoughts on Mexico joining in?

Sorry for the misinformation. I have got to stop smoking crack.

Anyone else have this? I haven't had a fill since the beginning of May (almost two months). In the last ten days, I've suddenly developed a weird pain. Sometimes when I eat (no matter what I eat or how fast I eat) I get a sharp stabbing pain under my right breast. It's not when I've eaten a lot or eaten the wrong thing. It normally happens after just 1-2 bites. It happens at least once a day. I often have to burp back up or try and vomit what I've just eaten to relieve the pain. I talked to the Dr and they think my band might suddenly be too tight (again, I haven't had a recent fill). They had me come in this morning and took .3cc out. If it doesn't improve, then they think theres the possibility of a band slip. My question is, has anyone's band suddenly become "too tight", even without a recent fill?

Nope, never too late to join! Just add yourself and your info to the spreadsheet. We just completed week one, and are on week two.

So I looked up info on gallbladder, and it says the sharp pains are on the right side. Mine are all on my left side under my left breast. The pains have subdued, and I can eat, but it seems I vomit at least once a day (not full-on vomiting, but regurgitating what I just ate).

I had to have a slight unfill on Friday (band was suddenly tight) and the person who did it used numbing medication. OMG, I am going to request it every time from now on.

There is so much in this article that is just wrong, it drives me nuts. I colored the last line in red. Seriously? If you don't *really* work for it, you won't be proud? The Dangers of the Weight Loss Surgery Craze By food. It’s expensive, invasive, dangerous (1 in 350 people die) and irreversible. It’s forced starvation, yet many people gain the weight back because they still don’t know how to eat properly and over time stretch the remaining portion back out. Vomiting is also very common as most people are unable to decipher hunger cues and over fill the stomach. The Lap Band surgery is the same principle, blocking off part of the stomach, except a rubber band is placed around the stomach. The band often slips, and has to be fixed with more surgery. Your tiny tummy doesn’t allow you to eat more than a few bites of food at a time, which makes getting a well balanced diet nearly impossible, and causes many Vitamin and mineral deficiencies (but who cares if you’re thin, right!?) Because of the shrunken stomach, patients must follow a strict diet to reduce complications and to not damage the stomach after surgery. If you have to follow a strict diet anyway, why not just follow a healthy one to lose weight, and leave surgery out of it? Liposuction is a cosmetic surgery where fat is sucked directly from the body. People often look to lipo as a miracle cure, but lipo is meant to be a spot treatment, to lipo multiple areas of the body can be very traumatic and a horribly painful recovery. Fat and blood clots can occur and travel to the lungs causing death. Nerves and skin can be damaged causing intense pain and a puckered, bruised, wrinkly appearance. And you thought making it into the gym was painful. Approximately 1/3 of people who have weight loss surgery need a followup surgery to fix complications. You need to learn how to eat healthily to make a lifelong change. Something got you over weight in the first place, and until you start taking care of yourself the right way, and not the easy way, that weight will come right back on- even after a major surgery. Besides, if you didn’t work for it, will you ever really be proud of it?

Yeah, I didn't go to her blog. I'm just surprised that the website she wrote this to didn't have more people comment about the flat out lies she wrote.

Oh, and in case you want to discuss your "easy way out" with the author who as never suffered from a weight problem, here's her e-mail address: kellycturner@hotmail.com

I agree that even 3 months out, you're still not completely healed. I ended up in the ER almost three months out from intense abdominal pain. Turns out I had popped an internal stitch from coughing so much (I had bronchitis).

I'll admit, I was once one of those people who thought weight loss surgery was the "easy way out". Why did I think this? I was doing weight watchers hard core and struggling to lose (PCOS). I frequented their message boards for support, and it was a common theme you hear: "WLS is taking the easy way out". It got so I believed it, too. Until I realized I was only 28, weighing over 300lbs, on the verge of being diabetic and probably not seeing my daughter grow up. That's when I knew I needed something more. I haven't been back to a WW meeting or the website because I know what kind of anger and venom they have towards those who have had WLS.

Like butt sex.

I believe most of us started last sunday or Monday. I weigh in every Friday, so I'm just using that as the weight I record.

The thing is, I don't feel tight. I just have a sharp stabbing pain when I eating sometimes. It doesn't happen at every meal and sometimes the same meal will hurt one day but not the next.

Banded at 28, would have done it 18 if I could have.

I'm bumping the spreadsheet up: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ApBMiLjvkwExdEh3eXQwZ2JOemthWHRhaWRZMldpR2c&hl=en&authkey=CIbr1NIE#gid=0 just add your name and weight if you haven't yet!

Are you actually in downtown Houston, or are you in the outskirts area? I know of a fabulous tailor, but he's in Atascocita, about 30 minutes north of Houston.

I have had an emergency unfill, but not in the ER. I had been vomiting up everything, including water and saliva, for 24 hrs. My surgeon was worried about me becoming dehydrated and had me come in at 8am the next day (it was a Sunday). It took him two pokes, and it hurt like nothing else I've ever known. Of course, he had to go through the bruise that had formed from the fill two days prior. He ended up doing a complete unfill because I was showing signs of dehydration. I waited three weeks before getting refilled, only because I was so swollen (from the vomiting) and weak.

I had surgery 3/15 and my incision still seeps fluid. Then again, my Dr only glued mine shut, not sewed or stapled it, so it's takign forever to heal.

I had only a single incison through my belly button.

I don't believe it makes you stupid to get your news information from Fox. I think it makes you stupid to get your news from ONLY Fox (or CNN, or NBC, ABC, CBS, the Huffington Post, etc). If I read something on a news station, I automatically try and find another source. I don't think any one news station is best to find ALL your news needs- they're all slanted to pander to their audience. Variety is best.

For whatever reason, the spreadsheet won't load on the first click for me. I have to close it and try again, and it always works. Let me know if it's still not working for some of you.