Will T

I agree totally Kim. Well said.

exactly. I agree with much of what you've said. The issue that started in the shoutbox was from an exiled member, the troll, who had returned at started insulting people and others chimed in, based on several accounts. It then bled over into more mudslinging by the regular members. In essence, it was not the ONE troll, but his presence triggered some of the events. That is the issue I was referencing. There are other issues. I've heard both sides of it, and it is sickening. A long time ago, on a message board far, far away, there lived people who were awesome and supportive of each other, but several of them were seduced by the dark side, and there was no one there to Jedi-kick some forum decorum into them. So, the dark side achieved success. The decision has been made, and the powers that be feel this is the "group hug - kumbahyah chorus" that we need to move forward. It's his call, and he made it. I dont think the site will wither and fade away, but the last 6 months has surely caused it to lose members, lose supporters, and damaged friendships. That isn't Chad's fault, that posters were acting like children or drama queens/kings, but the avalanche is felt by future bandsters who would've benefitted from experienced ears, eyes, and stomachs.... C'est la vie.

my apologies... old age does have it's downfall... It was clynn who straightened out the troll issue. Aren't the two of you related though? That may be the source of my "oops".

well said, Kristy. one of the other forums contains a thread where this board is discussed, and it is JUST what you said. Several are trashing THIS forum, because of "artbitrary" censorship (I am not passing a judgement, just commenting on their posts) and it DIRECTLY imparts negativism toward OCC and Dr. Ortiz. We agree that the solutions are simple. Warn, then ban, just as the rules for use state. What happened before, when snowbird pulled a Queen Fiona on a troll, solved a lot of issues quickly. The troll came in, started a LOT of trouble because several posters were posting LOTS of off-topic posts, and no moderators were adusting the threads (moving off topic posts to the off topic category). No moderator sent this troll any notice that his comments were out of line... until snowbird joined us. The problem took a few days, then the troll appeared a few times in a "fake moustache and glasses" and had to be booted a few more times before he got the message. I hear he resurfaced again, and that HE started the ruckus in the shoutbox. ONE person caused it all to shut down. And, he is laughing his backside off at the board now, because HE won, thanks to Chad's decisions. Sorry, Chad, if you feel I am being critical, but... I guess I am being critical of the choice of solution. The shoutbox was added because people wanted a chatroom. A nice feature, but, as people said, tough to enforce rules within it. The PMs... when I received one from the troll when he threatened to call my BOSS and my family, I sent copies to two moderators, who suggested I ignore him. Sheeesh... Ignore someone who has threatened to try and get me fired?? It showed the lack of strength of the persons in charge. Snowbird was the one who kicked the crap out of the troll - several weeks later, when she got involved.

Then experienced moderators (and most moderators on bulletin board sites are unpaid) should be brought in, wouldn't you agree? If you're saying that "it's THEIR site and they can do with it what they want" then it isn't really performing the service the doctors intended for it. On the contrary, I've NEVER seen input either first or second-hand from any of the OCC doctors. If they REALLY care, they would make input for the questions.. the SERIOUS questions many of the posters post, wouldn't you agree? There are solutions to the issues presented here that are obvious, that are effective, and that do not 'hack off' features. I am one of many suggesting that the other solutions be initiated for the benefit of the site.

Leave off the shoutbox then. If anyone misuses the PMs, then disable it for those who misuse it ONLY. It's simple for me to forward an improper PM to you. One warning, then zing.... loss of privilege for the offender. That is what we were TOLD would happen months ago, when someone else began sending rude PMs.

This will be the third group from this forum to form on Facebook. The first was from people upset at the lack of action by moderators until it was WAYYYY too late to effectively correct a situation. The second, more recently formed, is new to me. There are approximately 72 people formerly on this forum who are active on Facebook. Some left due to drifting away, some left due to conflicts, some left due to cat-fighting with others [rowwwwrrrrrr-slash- slash]. Good luck with your group, Kristy! Maybe you can find a few more bandsters and everyone can learn from each others' experiences.

If those who violated the protocols were the ones who were banned, and not ALL of us, then it would not be necessary to eliminate the function. Agreed, most often it is the innocent who have to pay the price for the abuse of a few. Lisa is right on here... this site is and was a godsend to me prior to my surgery... and afterwards.

I am disappointed. The action you've taken has damaged the site. If moderators monitor the site daily, your number of issues becomes trivial, because they are nipped as minor problems instead of being allowed to blossom, or avalanche into HUGE problems like those that have caused others to leave the site. Before, we've had issues with a troll, and the problem DISAPPEARED because several moderators kept a close eye and before we know it, the problem was cured. I agree with Donna. The solution is not to strip away the amenities, it's to correctly monitor and moderate their use. Set standards that ALL the moderators understand, and initiate them. Yes, you will need more moderators, but most bulletin board sites have 10-12, so no one gets stuck with the burden of reading the entire site. Please make the PROPER decisions, and get the site back to where it is useful.

Of the many message boards I am a member of, this is the first time I've seen this happen. Sad. The moderators do little moderating, but are big on cutting off an arm to stop a splinter. C'est la vie. mona, I received notice of a PM from you, but am unable to read it. Send me an email at bwillard1912@aol.com - thanks! Julie, I agree with you. Moderators monitor a board daily, and make appropriate judgements on postings. They move posts to appropriate boards, and answer questions right away. There are features, like PMs which allow us to communicate with each other without airing for all to see, just as you've mentioned. It would've been APPROPRIATE for the person making this decision to have had the decency to send us all communication (they can do that easily) informing us of the messaging option shut-down. Oh well. Deaf ears will hear this, too.

Lisa was 100% right-on, and I'll bet Jude was going to hit it right-on too. Good luck Kristy and Happy New Year everyone!

If you look at older bandsters, at the bottom where the signature is, many have dates of fills. There was a mistake. The first fill is not advised within 6 weeks of the surgery. My surgery was in April, and I've had fills within a 6 month period. I would recommend calling TJ again and confirming it before you purchase plane tickets. A call is much cheaper than re-scheduling a flight. There is also no "set" time limit between fills, though there are recommended times. I feel restriction within 24 hours of a fill. I've seen a couple of people get filled twice within a month. It all depends on your schedule, how well you respond to your fill, how aggressive you are towards acheiveing your goal, and your pocketbook. Good luck with it.

I sent you a pvt, hon to make it easier

Doctors in this area of the country who perform the lapband procedure require possible patients to attend a 2 hour seminar prior to being accepted as a patient (most do nationwide, I've been told). I attended two such seminars for two different doctors. I felt badly in both of them; though I am not an underwear model, there were people in both seminars that were taking up three chairs. The doctors explained the procedure, both using a powerpoint presentation with slides, and one of them used actual photos at times. I did my research. Both doctors explained the post-op diet. All three (those two plus the OCC plan) are similar. The pouch would only be stretched by overfilling it. One doctor posted his statistics. Since 2004, he has completed over 700 of the lapband surgeries. He spends more time doing the Roux procedure, for severe cases. In his 700+ cases, he has had only TWO documented problems, and they were band slippage - by the SAME person. The person, within two weeks of surgery, went to a megabar (southern term for an all you can eat buffet) and stuffed himself - three plates-full at a sitting. And here in the south, a plate means 'pile it on until it falls off'. Both cases were by the same person. One weakness in the OCC program is patient follow-up. I had my surgery on April 8, and I have no recollection of even receiving a phone call asking if i returned home safely (not transportation-wise, but band wise)... how was the first week going with liquids.... how was the second week going... etc.... The doctors here SEE their patients for follow up twice each week following surgery, and call each day the first week, just to check on them. Some type of after-care program was seriously suggested to OCC, but to my knowledge, no such program exists. Just being handed some papers, and say "folllow this" can be spiced up a notch... the quality of the REST of the program is high, the after-care portion needs to be raised to the REST of the program's level of quality. There are FEW cases of band slippage documented according to the doctors. It happens when patients ABUSE after-care instructions. A stretched pouch will come from 'quantity' of food, not 'density', because the VOLUME of food enlargens the pouch. The liquids, and other soft foods (soups, jellos, etc) pass through the rather large opening easier than steak and other more-dense foods. This post-op program gives the procedure time to heal. A small container of jello with two small pieces of fruit in it is NOT going to cause your upper pouch to rupture like the revered Jiffy-pop popcorn tin. I am not, nor have I ever advocated going to a megabar during a post-op time frame. I was simply stating what I had done, based on the diet presented to me by OCC, and that I did not stretch my pouch or cause band slippage. Reading as many posts on here about this same subject has taught me that people fear JUST THAT... that one little "oops" will cause a major system meltdown. It doesn't. If it is a LITTLE 'oops'. The best advice came from one poster... use your judgement. If one bite of something causes you a problem, DON'T TAKE A SECOND BITE.... back down. This was posted a year ago, but still rings true in this case. These same issues have been debated before. Each new generation of bandsters should go back and read postings from prior generations (a generation on this forum seems to last about 4 months or so). Be well, eat smartly, lose much, achieve your dream.

Hi Kristy, It wasn't just "one person". Read the past two year's worth of posts about what people have, and have not done. In my profession, I am trained to make observations, and the one constant I can tell you about the 21 day post op plan is that it has had changes over the time that I've been reading and deciding to do this procedure myself. Some doctors are much more strict than the OCC plan, and others are less strict. I'm glad that you followed the rules to the letter. I followed the rules presented to ME to the letter, by the same source that presented you with yours... interesting, isn't it? I've been on the forum well over a year now, and the ONE thing new bandsters need is HONESTY.... I honestly told what I did and the results. If she didn't want our honesty, she probably would've called Gabrielle and asked her personally what was best. Be well.

JUST the tummy pics?? awwwwwwwwww

I was doing Wendy's chili on day 10 with no problems. They simmer it for 4 hours, so everything in it is almost liquid anyway. I did jello, jello with small bits of fruit (they come in little plastic containers) and I even did the pudding (I loved the key lime flavored one) for lunches starting after the liquid phase. I went slowly, and drank a lot of Arnold Palmers to get the full feeling (and with 0 calories, it didn't hurt one bit). I know, I ate a few crackers with my soups but still had no problems. None whatsoever.

Cindy, I had all liquids for the recommended time from Gabrielle. I had no problems with any liquids made from powder. My favorite was an Arnold Palmer made from the powdered versions of Crystal Light tea and Crystal Light Lemonade. It was zero calories, and tasted wonderful with broths and thin soups. Also, as more density was added, Wendy's chili was a godsend. I ate it twice a day, and loved it the last week to 10 days of the "dreaded 21". I ate it as I could tolerate it, and the savoriness of it was wonderful. There are other soups people have posted about previously (I recommend searching for "soups" under the search function, and it will give you posts from months past that have long been hidden on the fourm). Good luck with your journey; you'll find it personally rewarding and see the results over a period of time. Excelsior!

1. Name: Bill 2. Location: SC 3. Age: 21 (hehehe) 4. Band Date: April 8 2008 5. Married: Yes since "Every Breath You Take" was the #1 song in America, and John Belushi was still alive on Saturday Night Live. 6. Children: 2 sons (24 and 15); 1 daughter added in August when she married the oldest one. 7. Hobbies: Cooking, Sports (playing and watching), about 1000 others 8. Work: Physics Teacher (working on my doctorate now) 9. What was the deciding factor(s) on getting banded: I realized why I always chose to take the photographs at events 10. Interesting factoid: I've been to the wreck site of the Titanic twice, and Dawnie and Ute (Willi) love to harass me unmercifully. I give it back to them, though. I wonder how many kiddies out there even REMEMBER John Belushi on Saturday Night Live? and for CaraMBA... I went to SEE Xanadu in the movie theater.... she was SO hot... makes me almost want to go back to a disco... LOL

Wow Kim... you're a doll : ) you, misty and lisa are my idols.... you all need to send me nude statues of yourselves so i can put them up in the gardens by the pool... with nice flowers around them. That way, I can have 'motivation' every day of the week : )

there are a bunch of us old bandsters who have found each other on facebook. I'm there, and have a dozen friends from this site on it. Some of the bandsters have been very private about the lapband, and don't want it mentioned on FB, or I'd suggest them as friends too. Gosh, it's been so long since i posted, all the faces are new, except for the ancient ones who've been here FOREVER... search for me by my name in my profile... I'm there. I was banded April 8, and I'm down around 47 pounds. I had a glitch occur in September and October, so I was delayed in my losing. I've had three fills, with a fourth coming after the holidays. See you all on facebook! Bill

woohooo!!! Ride 'em Cowgirl!!!! [hears the crack of the whip in the background] Oops. I didn't say that....

it figures.. she put in the "package" shot just for Don... the pics of the bandsters look awesome!! Please identify a few in the group photo. I picked out about half of the group. I liked the smiles, too... except there were one or two subtle grins, that leads me to believe something DID happen in Portland that stayed in Portland...... Awesome pics!

I just noticed "supreme" is written under my name.... I may just have pizza for dinner tonight. wow. I guess they do that by age. I have a great story about the pre-op diet. I did the shake for breakfast, shake for lunch, chips and salsa for a snack and sensible dinners for about two weeks and lost around 14 pounds. It wasnt the amount they wanted me to lose, but Gabrielle said I had done well. She asked me how I had done when I went in for pre-op on my surgery day. I smiled at her, and said it was AWESOME! I said "shake diet was the best thing I've ever done." She said..."really? a lot of people do not like the shake diet." I told her "I loved it. McDonalds would see me coming and have a couple of them ready for me at every meal. Sometimes I'd have chocolate and strawberry, sometimes vanilla and strawberry, I'd just pick two and drive off after paying." Her eyes got as big around as saucers... "OH NO!... You aren't supposed to the McDonald's milkshakes!!!" I looked at her with a blank stare... "uh oh... my bad." After a moment or two, she figured out that I was pullingher chain a little bit, and she started laughing and laughing... feel free to use it with her when you go in. A couple of others have used the same lines, and it starts her day with a big laugh. She's as sweet as they come, also... Good luck, bandsters-to-be.... I don't regret my choice to be banded for one moment. Don't y'all just think Donna is adorable??

i believe it was 14%, but I'm paying it off quickly by paying against the principal each month. PBing is talked about in many other topics. It's where you have difficulty for a minute or so with gases escaping the stomach (thus the burping) due to the restricted opening from the band. It happens to us all.