For all of you who have clothing that you have melted out of, here is a great way to help our brothers and sisters trying to survive the hurricane disaster. I keep reading that there is a desperate need for plus size clothing, including bras and underwear. These poor women have been reduced to wearing trashbags! Lets all round up what we can and send it to our sisters in need. Also there is a need for maternity wear, as well as diapers and assorted baby goods. I've looked around online and this is what I could find: An address to send plus size clothing to: Helping Hands for Texas c/o Alamo Premier Mortgage Group 10223 281 Freeway, Suite 200 http://www.sohmission.org/needs.html Mailing Address: Star of Hope 1811 Ruiz Street, Houston, Texas 77002 Urgent Needs Include: Women's clothing - size 16 & up Women's Underwear - new only - plus sizes Mens Dress shirts - large Mens Sports coats - large Mens Dress suits - large Mens Dress shoes - large Please mail donations directly to them and include a note stating that the donation is part of the ElegantPlus.com Hurricane Relief Drive. If you are in Houston and would like to drop off items: Do not take items to the George R. Brown Convention Center or the Reliant Astrodome complex. They are not handling donations anymore. Take donations to any of three new dropoff locations: Gulf Haven Church at 10716 Sabo Road Houston, TX 77089-1618; West Houston Church at 2390 West Sam Houston Parkway North Houston, TX 77043-2019 (at Hammerly); and Berean 7th Day Adventist Church, 2119 Saint Emanuel St. Houston, TX 77003-5954. Donations will be transported to two newly appropriated warehouses for distribution to all local shelters. Immediate need for specific items Relief officials have an urgent need for : -- Play pens, baby bouncers and child safety seats -- New women's clothing, especially plus size (2x -10x) foundation wear. -- New clothing for men, women and children -- New underwear all ages and sizes -- Sheets, blankets and pillows for cribs and regular beds -- Femi! nine hygiene products -- New shoes, all ages and sizes Also check out: Katrina relief in Houston Bellaire Baptist Church Special Needs Shelter 116 Clovis Place San Antonio Tx 78221 In Louisiana: Plus size clothing : Florida Blvd Baptist Church 109 S Florida Blvd Baton rouge, LA 70815 Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana is a food bank, but they are accepting non-food donations for the Katrina evacuees and are coordinating donations for the entire region. If you do send food, it should be ready-to-eat, and not home-made. Non-food items that they are accepting include: clothes, shoes, personal toiletries (toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, soap, shaving supplies, feminine hygiene products), baby bottles, etc. Please send packages to: Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana 2307 Texas Avenue Shreveport, LA 71103. There are 45,000 New Orleans refugees staying at the River Center for 2-3 months. They are asking for direct donations. The PR person noted there are many many babies and children. She said they need EVERYTHING! She specifically mentioned: Clothes Blankets Formula Water Diapers Non-perishable food Sheets Pillows Sleeping Bags ANYTHING you can spare! Please ship packages to: The Baton Rouge River Center 275 South River Road Baton Rouge, LA, 70802 Phone- 225-389-3030 The Baton Rouge Saint Vincent DePaul Society is accepting donations for displaced families who are in the Baton Rouge Area. Label the boxes with the size of clothing and if it is for a boy or girl, man or woman. She said to please use smaller boxes if you do not have many like sized items of the same size. Larger boxes are absolutely acceptable if they for example are womens size 8 and not mixed with other sized clothes. Or to please place them within a plastic bag with the same sizes in them labeled if using a big box. Things on their much needed list as of today are: Infant Clothing/layettes Diapers Formula Bottles Baby wipes Childrens Clothing Childrens Shoes Socks Undergarmets Washcloths Towels Toiletries Blankets Childrens Sleeping Bags Bookbags Pillows First Aid Items Childrens Tylenol Baseball Caps to limit sun exposure Non Aeresol deoderant Non Aeresol Bug Repellant Coloring Books Crayons Please ship packages to: St Vincent DePaul Society St Vincent DePaul Place Baton Rouge LA 70802 Community Action in Alabama is assisting hundreds of people displaced by Hurricane Katrina. If you can spare any clothing above a size 16 for women, or above an XL for men please send to: Community Action (Phone # 251-626-2646) 26440 North Pollard Rd. Daphne, Alabama 36526 Rosetta has expressed that they also have a shortage of toiletry items (toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, tampons and sanitary napkins). They can also use diapers in all sizes. Please feel free to circulate this request widely. I saw this post from Craiglist Boston. Also try checking out Craiglist for your local area.

I had the gastric bypass on 04/05 with lots of complications. My weight loss is not as great as others, but in 2mths, I have lost 50lbs. I don't have any psych problems because of weight loss... it is just weird to lose so much weight in such a short amount of time after struggling my entire life to loose weight. Hope this helps some

I'm sharing my heart in hope of helping someone, and giving strength to those who might have regained some weight. Check out my profile for my story Lana

Hi!! There is a special for the WISH center in San Antonio Texas, maybe they will answer your questions I agree with you, is bad when they do not pay attention to you http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/wish_center_lapband_special.html

I am pre-op, so I do not have much to say. Have you spoken with your doctor or a nutritionist about why you are not losing since your surgery? You look fabulous I LOVE YOUR PICS God bless and I hope all works well for you.