aliya

I usually don't go in the basement (I hope I don't wind up like the old guy who stayed on Mt St Helens until it was too late to leave), but when the weatherman said "Take shelter now and get some protection for your head," well, you don't have to tell me twice. I need my head for work and stuff.

I'm waiting for this to arrive from QVC. I love a chopped salad and like that you can do everything at once. Plus, I'm a sucker for kitchen gadgets. They had a cheaper version at walmart, but this one is bigger and has a bowl you can keep the salad in.

I was watching the big red blob on the tornado map and missed her weigh in. So in 2 months, with a balloon, she lost 7 lbs??? How is it possible to eat that much when you basically have a little baby in your stomach?

Darn darn darn - the siren is going off. I had to sit in the basement for an hour on Friday (we actually had a tornado at the edge of town) and now here it is again. I had to switch channels to see the map. Dang - funnel clouds sighted, but it looks like it's going north & east of me. I'm.not.sitting.in.the.basement.tonight. And on top of that, the phone rings every other minute because the university phones, texts, and sends out email warnings.

Hmm - if I had a balloon in my stomach, I'm pretty sure I couldn't eat a big bowl of salad/whatever she had. Maybe the same amount, but over 2 meals. And of course, she's still in the scooter.

It's not 2 minutes in and she's whining about, "It hurts." I don't have much sympathy for her. Any bets on how she turns out?

Yo, my people!

As we say in the law biz, "No one can eff you up like an anesthesiologist." ☺️ You don't want to add any problems to an already delicate situation.

I hear you. I just get tired of these people saying 'nothing has worked' or 'only Dr Now can help me,' when they don't take even the first steps to help themselves first.

The thing is, they wouldn't need extraordinarily specialized equipment if they were 3-400 lbs instead of 600.

Absolutely agreeing with you on the liability issues, but I always tell myself that the whining about 'no other doctor will help me,' isn't the complete truth from these people. I bet you any competent bariatric surgeon, especially one associated with a university hospital, could have helped most of these people. They would have had to do the same thing Dr Now tells them to do - stick to a diet and try to get some more exercise (mostly so they can get up after surgery, I'm not trying to turn them into marathon runners). They don't want to do the work and/or they have a misunderstanding of the surgery, thinking that's all they need without changing their eating habits. Despite what they say about being at the end of their rope, they don't want to give up the food. Considering how big they are, and that Dr Now's compliant patients lose 30-50 lbs a month, most of these people could lose 200 pounds in a few months, putting them in the range of 'regular' people who get bariatric surgery.

"I'm going to adjust his perspective." Dr Now re Steve Assanti.

I'm moving this over here because I didn't see the request to move 'stuff on the highway' chat to Small Talk until after I posted it. A wreck is the least of some one's worries. When I was at the U of Washington, a young woman who had recently graduated and started working was hit when some guy's furniture came off of his truck and through her windshield. She wasn't killed, but it took out the middle of her face, left her blind and disfigured. She was awarded $15 million (which may have been reduced on appeal. I haven't found that info yet.) as jurors found that the design of the UHaul truck made it impossible to secure loads. The WA legislature passed a law criminalizing failure to secure a load when someone is injured or killed. Previously, drivers only got a $250 fine. I ALWAYS think of this young woman, who had her life in front of her, when I'm behind some open truck w/a bunch of stuff in it. I stay way behind.

I've also seen those UK shows where they put them on a milk diet prior to surgery. I am no where near 350 and looked into WLS for diabetes. I cancelled my appointment w/the shrink and stopped at that point. They did gives us a nice little diet plan, which I don't even think was low carb, it seemed more like the Am Diabetic Assn's old fashioned exchange diet program. I was told I wouldn't have to lose any weight before surgery. The bariatric unit at my uni's hospital doesn't use protein shakes, either. Just regular food in controlled amounts before surgery. I have no idea if the scenario would have been different if I weight 600 lbs.

Can someone familiar with the Medicaid system tell me if it will pay for Steven to get surgery on his legs? These government programs can be weird. It seems that you can need a head transplant and nothing will be covered, but if you need some salve for a stye, no problem. 😩 I can't imagine that the situation with his legs can be resolved just through weight loss. Or maybe they're too far gone? Can they do surgery when you have moss on your legs? I guess the same goes for James K - if the skin is so damaged, is surgery even a possibility?

What? Steven lives in Des Moines??? You mean there's a chance I might see him in Iowa City? Be still my heart.

I get you, but I think the issue is Justin just had an operation and Dr Now is his physician. The next thing that happens is Justin has a problem and then there's a lawsuit for malpractice. Dr Now has a right to ask Justin to come in. If I were he, if Justin doesn't come in, I write a letter, send it registered, that I am no longer his physician for failure to follow medical direction. I say this as a lapsed lawyer who always sees at least 2 sides to an issues - especially a side that can get the s..t sued out of you (step-father was a litigator w/his fair share of malpractice cases. This was dinner table conversation when I was growing up.). Father should be ashamed for giving Justin's drugs to Steven. Jeez. All of them need to be away from each other.

Oh goodness dad, please don't try and make Justin be responsible for getting Steven off of drugs. Please. It's not his job.

I stopped Nyquil years ago because it was giving me dreams like the acid trips I used to take heard about in the 1970's. I substituted with Dayquil until I went to Urgent Care one time and the physician's assistant almost had a stroke taking my blood pressure. She practically ran out of the room to get the nurse. Turns out that stuff can shoot your blood pressure up sky high and you won't even feel it.

Who is the woman? What voices/accents on these people! I can't stand listening to them.

Did he put Justin on a liquid diet until the surgery? Is that new for Dr Now? I've seen the UK shows where they put patients on a milk diet, but I don't think it lasts the whole month before surgery.

I don't know why people talk about drugs like they are a bad thing. 😄

One of us is getting old and forgets sometimes. I won't say which one of us it is.

As.a.kite.

I can't even look at grapes in the store anymore. I blame the folks on this board.