transformer

This story from Fox News about attacks on Americans in Mexico just caught my eye: FOXNews.com - Report: Sophisticated Robbers Target Tourists in Baja California - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News Mind you, I'm even afraid to venture out in the dark here at home--I'm such a wimp! :confused: In any case, be careful traveling if there are any hospitals that perform lapband surgery in the areas mentioned by the article!

Exactly! My siblings and I haven't exchanged gifts for decades--to be honest, there are way too many of us in all when you add up the children, their spouses, and their kids! Once in a while, we do a "Yankee swap" where everyone brings one gift and we draw tickets. That's a lot of fun. I usually bring some bizarre item that everyone wants to get! Usually when we get together though, it's all about visiting and not at all about gifts. I'm hoping it'll be nice and snowy when we go to visit this year!

Oh, you ARE a naughty boy, aren't you??

Time/date stamps can be such a b***h, huh?

:focus: By the way, the topic of this thread for those of who just stumbled upon this thread (and are now totally confuzzled) is: Skanky Evil Repulsive Patient Coordinators... Hmmm...I'm just sayin'... :help:

I'm a she, by the way, which goes to show that you don't know diddly-squat about me or what I think. I didn't contradict anything I said in my post about violence in Mexico. Here it is in its entirety so it isn't "twisted" to suit your venomous purposes: "Incidents of Violence in Mexico This story from Fox News about attacks on Americans in Mexico just caught my eye: FOXNews.com - Report: Sophisticated Robbers Target Tourists in Baja California - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News Mind you, I'm even afraid to venture out in the dark here at home--I'm such a wimp! In any case, be careful traveling if there are any hospitals that perform lapband surgery in the areas mentioned by the article!" Any sane and rational human being can see that I stated a fact--the story caught my eye and I thought folks researching doctors in Mexico might be interested in reading the story. I'm not "defending the good nurse" either (although I believe you are a good nurse WASa!). All I said was that her "research" thread was not promoting a particular doctor or medical practice. I stated a fact. I didn't say that any of the doctors doing bands in Mexico were even near the area where those crimes were supposedly committed. I'm already a happy bandster and to be honest, I could care less who does bands in Mexico. Wasa's research information was provided to make people think before just leaping onto the cheapest doctor's bandwagon without considering any other factors. That entire thread was meant to prod people to do the legwork they need to do to learn about potential doctors and medical practices before committing to an invasive surgical procedure. There is absolutely nothing wrong with making people think--who wouldn't defend such a sound practice? :eek: Her goal in starting that thread was not to research and document the crime rate of Tijuana, Mexico. Hopefully, if someone wants surgery done there badly enough, he or she will be smart enough to research those statistics before rushing off blindly. If not, then the consequences will rest on that person's head. It's called personal responsibility. Can those who are keeping up with this thread do me a quick favor and let me know if I am writing effectively using an appropriate United States' dialect of the English language? I'm getting the impression that my posts are terribly difficult to read and comprehend. Here's one more fact I'd like to state before I go. I used to work for a pharmaceutical company back in the day. Lots of wonderful medications have been invented to help people cope with the stress of their everyday lives.:faint:

Anyone who has a cursory understanding of psychology would ascertain that you have not forgiven anyone for anything to this day. Keep in mind that most of us don’t really know each other or what we may have gone through in our own childhood and/or adulthood. Everyone has difficult times that are hard to overcome, but that doesn’t mean that you have to drip with negativity. Despite my own life-long “issues,” I made a conscious choice to become resilient and cling to an optimistic viewpoint as much as I can. If life sucked when you were a kid, start your own traditions now and you'll create some beautiful memories to replace the bitter ones. :focus: Unless I briefly slipped into The Twilight Zone, this thread was posted in the Lapband Talk Lounge, NOT in Rants and Raves, right? The topic here (for anyone who may have blacked out for a brief moment) is: Something is wrong with Christmas when people.....and you know who you are....complain about it. The true sprit of Christmas is giving, giving to your loved ones,giving to even people you dont know. People who really need your help. If someone is being greedy, Show them, Teach them how to help those who really need help. If done right, this could be a life time memory. A memory of what Christmas is. Very well put, Chelle! Again, for those who have trouble navigating on the LBT forum, this ISN’T Rants and Raves! :doh: Without even getting into the whole "controversial" commercial/religious aspect of the holiday season because this isn't a debate, I have to say that my favorite thing about this time of year is that I actually get enough time off that I am able to easily travel home to visit my siblings and their families. I live about 700 miles away from them. We always have such a good time when we get together--they are SO funny! It's good for what ails you! :biggrin1:

Life is SO unfair sometimes!!! :eek:

I know what you mean--I tried a tiny bite of my son's fried food the other day and blech! The taste just doesn't appeal to me any more! I think that's good news, right?

Negligent? Interesting...from what I remember reading on that thread, it seemed that Wasa made every effort to keep it free from "advertising" for specific doctors. When several people asked for more specific information that would amount to promoting a particular doctor, Wasa reposted the same information again--see the portion of post #33 from the "research" thread that is quoted below: I have a pretty good grasp of the written English language most days. The post above sounds pretty even-handed to me, so how it causes such outrage and indignation for some, I'll never know. :eek: As you can see by my signature, I also proudly display my surgeon's name and location based upon my own positive experience with my lapband procedure. That must mean I am a patient coordinator, too, I suppose. It may be disappointing, but I am not paid to promote my doctor nor am I a patient coordinator. Although I must say that being a self-payer, I'd love to earn some extra dough! If someone asks, I do the exact same thing as Wasa and thousands of other people who post on this forum--I tell people about the good experience I had. Does that mean that my doctor has never had a patient with complications? Does that mean I think everyone should go to his practice? No, that's not my decision to make, now is it? It's up to every individual to make up their own mind about which surgeon and which procedure is best after doing their own research. The information Wasa provided is just one viewpoint to consider during the research process. Anyone who would base their decision to have surgery on only one source of information is foolish IMHO. I also think that people who decide that someone is the "best" doctor because they advertise the cheapest price have several screws loose.

There are a lot of out-of-control kids at school that drag others into trouble, then the "good kids" get suspended, too. The rules are getting crazy because schools fear litigation. Everything is driven by the almighty dollar you know. I just pulled my teen out of public school. On top of the behavior issues in schools today, the focus hasn't been on learning for years, but instead on having students jump through idiotic "hoops" to satisfy teachers' whims (such as being sure to take "enough" notes to make the teacher "happy" or your grade will drop...the kid had an A average on assessments of the course content and got a "C" on his report card because he didn't take the amount of notes the teacher demanded). Did he need to take more notes? Really? Now at least he can work at his own pace--go through easier material faster and more difficult material more slowly. I work for public schools and I am SO disenchanted with the whole education business these days. I've been seeing way too many substandard teaching practices in the classrooms. It's really sad. Some teachers work so hard and knock themselves out to make sure everyone is learning (like I did when I was still in the classroom) and others just show up, make the kids fill out worksheets, and go home. Makes me want to rebel and start my own gosh-darn school! So there!

I meant that if someone who posts on this site doesn't care to read Wasa's opinion, then they don't have to. The person who doesn't want to read it just has to simply set up a block! Sorry if I was unclear in my previous post...

:focus: As we consider the story of the British teacher in Sudan, insert any religion you want here if you don't want it to be about Islam: __________. Let's insert "Marsianus" which is the religion of transvestites from Mars instead (yes, I just made that up). It's apparently okey-dokey for a follower of Marsianus to call for the execution of a human being because he/she named a child's toy. The whole world should turn a blind eye to the situation because we "just don't understand" the culture of transvestites from Mars? As far as the U.S. "meddling" in others' business is concerned, millions of Europeans and those in the South Pacific were quite pleased as punch that we were brave enough to intervene and fight on their behalf and sacrifice hundreds of thousands of our boys' lives in the process of securing their freedom. The thousands of emaciated people who were freed from concentration camps built for the express purpose of systematically eliminating all Jews springs to mind. Were we supposed to ignore this, too, because we "didn't understand" the German culture? IMHO, I think not...

Good point, green! Besides, as with the "picking on the newbies" thread or the "pro-choice/pro-life" thread, or the "xxx-may be offensive" thread or the "Islamobile" thread, if someone is not interested in reading what Wasa has to say, don't read it! Blocking Wasa's posts could also put an end to all of the whining about what she has to say. I believe in working as efficiently as possible, so why not kill two birds with one stone so to speak? IMO, if I were getting banded thousands of miles away in a foreign country, I would be eternally grateful to people like Wasa who take the time to compile information about various surgeons and their practices--information that could assist me in making an informed decision. I would have found it very helpful to have a list of questions to consider as I gathered information about the various doctors. Would I base my final decision only on what Wasa contributed? No, I would do my own research and consider a variety of viewpoints and facts. If some people choose to base their decision about where to be banded solely on the basis of cost--it's their body. You very often get what you pay for. This reminds me of the dark ages when I was one of the "smart" kids in school and got picked on mercilessly. When I was an adult and an awesome teacher, I got picked on mercilessly by my adult colleagues. After decades of being put down, it finally dawned on me that all of the "drama" was fueled by jealousy. Someone who feels they don't "measure up" to someone else, will turn around and do whatever they can to tear that person down. I've watched the same scenarios unfold time after time in the classroom among the children. That's the sort of behavior I've seen in on-line forums as well--let's attack those who have been successful or who tell you something you don't want to hear. The more things change, the more they stay the same. That's human nature--not much we can do about that I guess! :noidea:

Welcome! Congratulations on beating cancer! I'm in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. I've read that the lap-band is a good choice for cancer survivors because it is adjustable. Hopefully, the band can help you lose enough weight to help improve your diabetes. I haven't found having the band to be terribly uncomfortable or anything like that. Most of the time I don't even notice it is there. If you follow the "rules" from your doctor, you can minimize problems with your band. Of course, as with any surgery, there are risks that you have to consider...but I'm probably preaching to the choir about that!

Hi there! Check out this thread from the "Food" forum: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f9/liquid-stage-recipes-17636/ Good luck!

I had to attend two different classes. The first class (taught by an OR nurse who had gastric bypass surgery herself) reviewed pre-op procedures/diet, information about the operation itself, and post-op instructions/diet. The second class (taught by the nutritionist) covered long-term nutrition/eating habits for after the post-op diet period was over. We were able to ask questions as well. In addition to the two classes, we were also required to meet with a fitness trainer at a local gym to discuss establishing a fitness plan.

That's the point of posting it--just to be silly! :biggrin1:

If you need a giggle, check out this story about Double-Stuf Oreos: Report: Double Stuf Oreos Could Raise Tolerance To Stuf | The Onion - America's Finest News Source There may be a kernel of truth to it... :hungry:

My doc advises no liquids 30 minutes before eating and an hour after a meal. I've seen some folks post 30 minutes after a meal as well. It depends on your doctor I guess! It would be wise to follow whatever timeframe your MD recommends! Good luck!

I make the appointment for my next fill on the day of the current fill I'm getting if that makes sense. Let's say I got a fill on November 1st. I schedule the next fill for December 20th on November 1st. I've never asked for a fill any earlier than when it was scheduled, although I have had to delay my fill appointment a couple of times due to scheduling issues with meetings at work.

Welcome! Another approach is to do what you want (i.e. lapband surgery) because it's your body and your decision. As for me, I hardly talk about the procedure at all (only a couple people at work know and we rarely talk about it). Since I'm losing weight steadily and not all at once everyone just thinks I'm dieting. I might say something to my family at Christmas now that it's a little over a year after surgery. I didn't want to hear a bunch of negative comments and stupid advice that would bring me down! I've seen people post comments about how their friends became jealous of their weight loss and it ruined the friendship. I've also read that some marriages end because the non-banded spouse can't adjust to the "new" thin person. In other cases, the bandster finally recognizes along the weight loss journey that his/her marriage is (and has been) lousy and he/she decides to abandon ship! This can be a life-changing procedure in more than one way. Hopefully, your friends will come around and decide to be supportive!! :biggrin1:

This link might answer your question: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f73/technical-lap-band-reference-15216/

Hi there! I've seen a lot of people post that their first fill is 6-8 weeks after surgery (as was mine--about 6 weeks out). I still see my doctor about every 6 weeks or so whether I need a fill or not. Some folks have posted that their first fill was as soon as two weeks after their surgery. It just depends on how your doctor chooses to do things. Hang in there!

Hi there! Most folks report that 6-8 weeks after surgery is a typical timeframe for getting a first fill. Other folks posted that they had their first fill as early as 2 weeks after surgery. It depends on the doctor. Waiting 5 weeks does not sound unreasonable. Good luck!