wootsie73

Well guys, I think I'm bipolar type 2, but I haven't been diagnosed. I am 50 years old and have just been living with it all my life without treatment, but I finally have an appointment with a psychiatrist in Feburary of next year. The reason I say I think I have it is because my daughter has type 2 and is being treated for it. She does fairly well on her meds, but I have many of the same symptoms she has. The only problem we both have is we are nurses and a nurse can't be diagnosed with bipolar and keep her license! So, my daughter's official diagnoses is severe depression. I will have to have the same because of my license. I recycle sometimes more frequently than others, but I do have cycles. For a long time I attributed it to PMS, but I had a hysterectomy when I was 28, so I must have been delusional too! LOL Anyway, I'm glad I may soon be treated for it, because it sucks going through these cycles without anything to help. I am on about 10 meds already, so I dread that part of it, but I would rather feel better. Joan

I just wanted to update you guys on one of my love interests. The guy I told you about, Steve, has moved back to Amarillo! So, I got the letter I wrote him returned to me yesterday. I think that's good news since I thought he just wasn't interested. I live in Amarillo part of the time already, so I will see what I can come up with when I get back there in a few weeks! BTW, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. My daughter got cancelled at work, so we got to have our Thanksgiving today after all. Joan

Whoo-Hoo Giggles! Way to go girl. I hope you have a great time on the date. You so deserve it. Let us know how it goes. Joan

Congradulations on your decision to get the band. I don't have mine yet either, but I made the decision to use Dr David Provost at UTSW because of the testimonials I read on Obesityhelp.com. I have to add that I am a Medicare patient, so I am required to have my surgery done at a Center of Excellence. Not many places in Texas are accredited with the certification, so I had to pick one of the docs that practices at those centers. Of course, the accreditation means a lot to me since I'm a nurse. Many of the other centers are working towards that goal with the Medicare change. Baylor in Dallas, Methodist in Dallas, Zale Lipshy, North Hills in North Richland Hills, and I think the hospital in Denton are the only centers in the area at this time. Dr Provost has a seminar on December 12th, in case you are interested. Good luck, no matter which doc you decide to use. Everyone will think theirs is the best. I can't say that yet because I haven't seen mine yet. Joan

Congradulations on your approval! I'm so happy for you. Now for the diet pill thing, this could be a huge issue for you. What kind of diet pills are you taking? The reason I'm asking is because I'm an RN and I'm a little concerned about withdrawal symptoms. You can send me a private message if you would like, but it may be very difficult for you to get off of them since you have been on them for so long. I'm sure your surgeon knows what's going on, so follow his advise. The pills should be out of your system in 2 weeks, but you may have some terrible side effects when youu stop taking them. Good luck!

Well, I've talked about the dogs and everything else on here, but I've spent very little time just talking about the lap-band surgery. I'm terrified of having the surgery because I've always been a failure at dieting. This weight has been my worst enemy for a long time, but I've always looked at it as my friend.:think It has helped me keep from meeting men and putting my heart on the line again. So.....I'm setting out on a brand new journey with this. I want my life back and I want to be asked out again and maybe find a life partner. I'm getting older and I don't want to spend the rest of my life alone. I want to go out and have fun! I have my appointment with Dr Provost in January and I called and found out when his next seminar is. It's December 6th, so I am getting excited! I want to know exactly how he works and what be expects of his patients. I can't wait! :clap2::clap2: This is getting really real now. I know that sounds crazy, but it's kinda been an out of body experience to this point. I'm happy to start on this new adventure! The puppies are 4 weeks old today! It seems like they should only be a few days old. They will be gone soon and I will have to make the decision about staying here and living with my daughter, or going back to Amarillo. That's gonna be a tough one. I have my parents, my niece and her family, and some friends there. I have only my daughter and the Boxers here, so.....I will decide about that later.

Well, I've talked about the dogs and everything else on here, but I've spent very little time just talking about the lap-band surgery. I'm terrified of having the surgery because I've always been a failure at dieting. This weight has been my worst enemy for a long time, but I've always looked at it as my friend.:think It has helped me keep from meeting men and putting my heart on the line again. So.....I'm setting out on a brand new journey with this. I want my life back and I want to be asked out again and maybe find a life partner. I'm getting older and I don't want to spend the rest of my life alone. I want to go out and have fun! I have my appointment with Dr Provost in January and I called and found out when his next seminar is. It's December 6th, so I am getting excited! I want to know exactly how he works and what be expects of his patients. I can't wait! :clap2::clap2: This is getting really real now. I know that sounds crazy, but it's kinda been an out of body experience to this point. I'm happy to start on this new adventure! The puppies are 4 weeks old today! It seems like they should only be a few days old. They will be gone soon and I will have to make the decision about staying here and living with my daughter, or going back to Amarillo. That's gonna be a tough one. I have my parents, my niece and her family, and some friends there. I have only my daughter and the Boxers here, so.....I will decide about that later.

Thanks for the encouragement apinksoprano! I needed to hear that from someone. Actually, I'm hoping I hear from Steve, the love of my life soon. He has moved from Amarillo to this area, so I thought I would take a shot and see if he was interested or not. I did tell the other guy how I feel, only in a letter. He hasn't even gotten it yet, so I don't know how he will react.....If it's negative, so be it. I know there is someone out there for me! I have had no life at all except for work and family for sooooo many years. I just haven't done anything to meet men, so I didn't meet any. I have a thing about dating people I work with. I DON'T! Too much can go wrong in that type of situation. You still have to work with them if you break up. Good luck with your surgery today! Let us know how it goes. Joan

I am so glad someone started this thread! I just found it tonight, but I think it's great. My name is Joan and I'm 50. It's interesting to read the posts of the much younger women here. I was slim when I was in my 20's, but I was seriously hurt in a few relationships along the way. So, as I porked out day after day and poured on more and more weight, I said I wanted to find someone who liked me for me instead of what I looked like on the outside. Well, I'm still single and not really dating at this point in my life. Of course, I have very low self-esteem like most of you other girls do. That has worked very much to my detriment, but I also think this weight has been my parka for many years. I believe I gained tons of weight to protect myself from getting hurt again! That's the bottom line with me. I always said I wanted to find someone, but deep down, I didn't really want that. If I got into a relationship again, then I had to put myself out there and take the huge risk of being hurt again, and I didn't think I could handle that. So.......now I've decided I want my life back. When I was younger, I didn't get involved with men because I had a small child. I wasn't just afraid of her being hurt if the relationship ended, but I was very concerned about her being molested by a man I was dating or married to; another excuse. Well, my daughter is 33 now, so I sure can't use that as an excuse anymore. I've learned a lot from her in the past few years though. She was married and got divorced, but she just rebounded and started going out again within a few weeks or so. She is in a relationship now, but if it ended, she would start dating someone else in a very short time. I have also met someone, a friend without physical contact at this point. We've been talking on the phone numerous time per day since the first part of August. He was going through a divorce and needed a friend, so his sister introduced us. His divorce is final, but I get very mixed messages from him. Sometimes I think he really cares for me, but other times I know I'm just his friend. I don't know why, but I still believe my weight has a lot to do with our not really dating. I don't know if that's my parka coming back on, or if it's really true. But, he has told me he thinks me having the surgery is horse hockey. I think he is starting to come around though, very slowly. In either case, he has helped my self-esteem more than I thought was possible. He takes me out to dinner and spends hours at a time with me on the phone. So, I have taken a huge step and written a letter to the love of my life who I lost to another woman, because I thought I was in love with someone else until it was too late. As my daughter says, that's a huge step for me. I know he is divorced from her, so no I'm not after a married man. I'm ready and willing to put myself out there again and take the chance of being hurt again. So she's right, it is a huge step for me. My decision to have the surgery has nothing to do with men though. I've had some very serious health issues in the past few years and am doing it so I can get healthy again. I'm tired of being sick all the time, so....hence the surgery. I'm not banded yet, but I have my first consultation set for January 4, 2007 and I'm so excited I can barely contain myself most days. I spend a huge amount of time on here and other websites learning as much as I can about the lap-band. I'm an RN, so I know I'm very particular who does my surgery and what I need to expect from it pre and post op. So, that's my story. I can't wait for this thread to continue so we can all share our experiences as we lose the weight. Sorry this is so long, I just wanted to get some things off of my chest and let you guys get to know the real me; something I struggle with on a daily basis. Joan

Hey Bettina, I just wanted to let you know that I've watched this video twice now and I think it will really help me know what questions I should ask. Plus, it's answered a lot of the questions I was having. My only problem now is deciding rather I want the Lap-Band or the bypass. What do you think? Just curious because after watching it, I'm wondering if the bypass would be the best option. Huh? I'll probably still stick with the band, because it's so much less invasive. Anyway, thanks for sharing this with us.

You are worth it! I've been considering a tattoo, but now I've decided to wait until after my surgery, which I hope will be sometime in January!

You are worth it! I've been considering a tattoo, but now I've decided to wait until after my surgery, which I hope will be sometime in January!

I finally have an appointment with Dr. David Provost in Dallas on January 4th of next year. I have no idea what to expect when I have my consultation. Has anyone used him before? I know he has a nutritionist in his office, but I don't have a clue what to expect. All I know is that I'm SOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hate that I can't get it done before the end of the year, but what a way to start the new year! :clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2:

What a total jerk! You can tell he has never had a problem with his weight, but he sure does think we are a bunch of losers. Well, he's the loser!

Thanks for the info! I will sure keep this in mind. It's something I have never really thought about and I live in the Dallas area. Great reminder.

I was just looking at this thing and realized I hadn't made an entry in a long time. So, I'll record everything that's happened here. My daughter and I came to Sherman, TX the next day as I entered in my first entry. We got to her duplex about 2:00 am and she showed me around the house. Now mind you, she rented this duplex for a September 15th move in date, but when we arrived, it was still totally empty! She had moved a few of her clothes, but nothing else. So, after unloading most of the stuff from the bed of her truck, we went to Wal-mart and spent a fortune on stuff we absolutely had to have, like and air mattress to sleep on, sheets, blanket, etc. She went and got some of her personal things from the house where she was living with a room mate, but all of my furniture and big screen tv and stuff is still not here. My tv and my stereo are still at her old house and I hope her friend hasn't sold them by now! The next day I called my mom and she said my daughter had miscounted the due date of the puppies, so they shouldn't be born until the following week. :faint: Finally, on October 23rd, the following Monday evening, she started having the puppies at about 6:30 pm. She had been panting for 24 hours by this point, mind you. I was asleep when my daughter yelled at me to wake up, we had a puppy! :clap2: She said I moved faster than she had ever seen me move in her life! I got up to help and my daughter had the puppy helping our female remove the sac from around it, but she was all red eyed and crying! I said, "for Gods sake child, what are you crying about?" She told me she was crying because her baby was having babies; and she was because my daughter can't have children. I told her to stop the crying and get busy because we didn't have time to be crying! So, the dog was in labor until around 2:30 am when she finally delivered the last of the 7 puppies. We helped deliver every one of them and suctioned their little mouths and nostrils out to make sure they were breathing well. We also cut all of the umbilical cords. What a blessing to see and to be able to help her too! We have 4 males and 3 females. 1 white male and 1 white female! We were shocked because both of our dogs are fawn with flash on them. But, we didn't lose 1 puppy and we have heard that is remarkable for a first litter. Needless to say, I have been very busy cooking for our female 3 times a day. She eats hamburger meat, powdered milk, and scrambled eggs with some dog food mixed in 3 times everyday. Needless to say, she's a little spoiled! I've learned to cook for 2 meals and put it in the frig to save me some time in the kitchen. We took the puppies to the vet on the 27th and had their tails cut off. I felt really bad, but it had to be done. The vet was shocked about the 2 white ones to, but she said they were all beautiful puppies and looked healthy. Whew! What a relief. So, now it's November 14th. We took the puppies and their mom, Baylee, to the vet today. The pups had to be wormed, and Baylee has a fungus in her ear. The puppies are doing extremely well and are growing like little weeds. The white male looks like he's twice the age of the other 6. He's huge! He has a brown spot on his back, so we call him Spot, of course. We are giving my niece a puppy and made the decision which puppy we were going to give her today. We are giving her a little fawn female with white flash on her. She's just adorable. But, they all are! They are all walking around now and starting to bark and growl. They are soooo funny! It's really gonna be hard to let any of them go, but it has to be done. I'm using part of the money to pay for my co-pay on my surgery! The best thing that happened today is I finally got an appointment with Dr. David Provost in Dallas for January 4, 2007. I called his office 2 weeks ago and talked to a woman who took down some medical history and told me a nurse would probably call me the following Monday. Well, I waited all week for her to call, but no call. I even gave her all day yesterday, but no call. So, today I called back and the lady I talked to 2 weeks ago made me the appointment. Why didn't she do that 2 weeks ago? Makes ya' wonder sometimes. So, I have my consult scheduled and I'm very excited about it. I wish I could have seen him before the end of the year, but what a way to start the new year!!!! WHOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, I'm going to spend Thanksgiving here at our home alone because my daughter, Desiree, has to work. We are going to celebrate Thanksgiving on Wednesday since she has to work. I got to see my precious brother last week when he was in town, so the world is good today. I hope I can say the same next week. Sunday, the 12th, I mailed a letter to an old boyfriend of mine that I've located about an hour away from here. I hope he calls, writes, or emails, but I've decided I would always wonder what would have happened if..., so I mailed it. A really big step for me!

I was just looking at this thing and realized I hadn't made an entry in a long time. So, I'll record everything that's happened here. My daughter and I came to Sherman, TX the next day as I entered in my first entry. We got to her duplex about 2:00 am and she showed me around the house. Now mind you, she rented this duplex for a September 15th move in date, but when we arrived, it was still totally empty! She had moved a few of her clothes, but nothing else. So, after unloading most of the stuff from the bed of her truck, we went to Wal-mart and spent a fortune on stuff we absolutely had to have, like and air mattress to sleep on, sheets, blanket, etc. She went and got some of her personal things from the house where she was living with a room mate, but all of my furniture and big screen tv and stuff is still not here. My tv and my stereo are still at her old house and I hope her friend hasn't sold them by now! The next day I called my mom and she said my daughter had miscounted the due date of the puppies, so they shouldn't be born until the following week. :faint: Finally, on October 23rd, the following Monday evening, she started having the puppies at about 6:30 pm. She had been panting for 24 hours by this point, mind you. I was asleep when my daughter yelled at me to wake up, we had a puppy! :clap2: She said I moved faster than she had ever seen me move in her life! I got up to help and my daughter had the puppy helping our female remove the sac from around it, but she was all red eyed and crying! I said, "for Gods sake child, what are you crying about?" She told me she was crying because her baby was having babies; and she was because my daughter can't have children. I told her to stop the crying and get busy because we didn't have time to be crying! So, the dog was in labor until around 2:30 am when she finally delivered the last of the 7 puppies. We helped deliver every one of them and suctioned their little mouths and nostrils out to make sure they were breathing well. We also cut all of the umbilical cords. What a blessing to see and to be able to help her too! We have 4 males and 3 females. 1 white male and 1 white female! We were shocked because both of our dogs are fawn with flash on them. But, we didn't lose 1 puppy and we have heard that is remarkable for a first litter. Needless to say, I have been very busy cooking for our female 3 times a day. She eats hamburger meat, powdered milk, and scrambled eggs with some dog food mixed in 3 times everyday. Needless to say, she's a little spoiled! I've learned to cook for 2 meals and put it in the frig to save me some time in the kitchen. We took the puppies to the vet on the 27th and had their tails cut off. I felt really bad, but it had to be done. The vet was shocked about the 2 white ones to, but she said they were all beautiful puppies and looked healthy. Whew! What a relief. So, now it's November 14th. We took the puppies and their mom, Baylee, to the vet today. The pups had to be wormed, and Baylee has a fungus in her ear. The puppies are doing extremely well and are growing like little weeds. The white male looks like he's twice the age of the other 6. He's huge! He has a brown spot on his back, so we call him Spot, of course. We are giving my niece a puppy and made the decision which puppy we were going to give her today. We are giving her a little fawn female with white flash on her. She's just adorable. But, they all are! They are all walking around now and starting to bark and growl. They are soooo funny! It's really gonna be hard to let any of them go, but it has to be done. I'm using part of the money to pay for my co-pay on my surgery! The best thing that happened today is I finally got an appointment with Dr. David Provost in Dallas for January 4, 2007. I called his office 2 weeks ago and talked to a woman who took down some medical history and told me a nurse would probably call me the following Monday. Well, I waited all week for her to call, but no call. I even gave her all day yesterday, but no call. So, today I called back and the lady I talked to 2 weeks ago made me the appointment. Why didn't she do that 2 weeks ago? Makes ya' wonder sometimes. So, I have my consult scheduled and I'm very excited about it. I wish I could have seen him before the end of the year, but what a way to start the new year!!!! WHOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, I'm going to spend Thanksgiving here at our home alone because my daughter, Desiree, has to work. We are going to celebrate Thanksgiving on Wednesday since she has to work. I got to see my precious brother last week when he was in town, so the world is good today. I hope I can say the same next week. Sunday, the 12th, I mailed a letter to an old boyfriend of mine that I've located about an hour away from here. I hope he calls, writes, or emails, but I've decided I would always wonder what would have happened if..., so I mailed it. A really big step for me!

I am so glad to hear you are getting things worked out. Let us know how things go! I found out today that I have an appointment with Dr. David Provost on January 4th. I'm so excited!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry to post again on this thread so soon, but I had to address Anon's post. The UK and Canada both have government controlled healthcare systems, so things are allowed that are not allowed here in the USA! However, just because it's allowed, doesn't make it proper or good technique! Please INSIST on a clean needle for fills or insulin injections NO MATTER WHAT COUNTRY YOU LIVE IN! You are still a human being and deserve proper healthcare practices. THANK GOD FOR THE GOOD OLE USA!!!!!

drcollier, Thanks for the updates! I'm glad you've spoken with Inamed. I'm sure they will force him to stop doing lap-band surgeries. I agree that you should file a law suit! If more of his patients would like to join you, you could file a class action suit and really put him out of business. If I were you, I would discuss your problem of not being able to find another doc with Inamed as well. They may be able to help you out by finding you a new doc. They probably have a lot more pull than you do on your own.

I replied in another thread about this, but there are only 4 centers of excellence in the whole area. Denton isn't 1 of them, but I know they are working on it. Lots of the others are working on it now to since this Medicare change. I've decided to use Dr David Provost at Zale Lipshy, but no one has responded to the thread I posted asking about information on him. Thanks for the info though. It sounds like you have a good doc!

Man do I know that about Medicare. It's a nightmare sometimes, but at least they will pay. I have looked it up and there are the following list of Centers of Excellence in the Dallas area. More are working on it, but this is the most current information I could find. Baylor in Dallas Methodist in Dallas Zale Lipshy in Dallas North Hills in Denton None of the others have gotten the certification yet. I've talked with many of the docs offices about it. I'm still looking for information on here about Dr David Provost at Zale Lipshy. I found a website with information about him from some of his patients, but I would love to find some people on here who used him.:help::help::help:

drcollier, I understand that you aren't looking for any trouble, but this guy needs to be stopped. I'm sure you don't know his infection rate, but I'm sure he has a high one; maybe not in surgery, but port infections! Mindy is right, this is a malpractice suit if you want to persue that, but I hope you at least turn him in to the different organizations we have suggested. I'm an RN and I would lose my license if I pulled that kind of stuff! I know it's a big headache for you, but nothing like it will be if something happens because of his stupidity. Plus, look at all those poor folks that don't think anything about reusing a needle. Someone needs to do something about this guy!

Ok Betinna, What happens when you have 2 Aquarians together in a relationship. Or, better yet, an Aquarian and a Virgo? I am Aquarian! Feb 1st.

drcollier, Now that I think about it, I agree that you should save the needle; it's evidence. You may need to provide proof to whoever you report this to and if you don't have the needle, he will probably deny the accusation and get by with it. In a case like this, you need all the evidence you can get your hands on. They may even talk to the hospital personnel to determine if they send all of his patients home with a needle. In other words, don't destroy the only evidence you have!!!!!!!!!!!!! Besides, it does need to be disposed of properly; in a biohazard sharps container!