man has WLS for free

Oh I am on such a rant... a *****en moan'n screamin mad rant... ok, so wed night channel 12 (10:00 KPDX? not sure what station it is) did a story on a guy who had gastric bypass. he weighed in at 6 hundred something.. ok.. news lead in: man has gastric bypass for FREE... on YOUR TAX DOLLARS... they go into the whole story of how he would have died with out it, how he couldn't get into a car, plane ect... then they started in on how "and" should medicade pay for a surgery that "PEOPLE DO TO THEM SELFS" by eating.. it was so freaken negative.. they interviewed people on the streets asking what they thought and of course one "little" girl says' well, I heard that even after the surgery if they continue eating the way they always did they could gain it all back.. end of clip!!! yes, we all know (some of us first hand) how easy it is to gain weight back.. but here is my rant and it's an old one if you have been around long enough to see my rants.. lets compare gastric bypass to drug addicts!!! who exactly is costing medicade/ins. companys more money????????????? hmmmmmmmm 1st.. how many hard core drug addicts even have ins. other than medicade? not near as many as fat people... at least we still work.. never seen a fat person holding up a 7-11 for a twinkie!! 2. if we are lucky enough to get the surgery at an average cost of 40,000.00 paid by ins. or medicade.. we don't continue to run in and out of rehabs over and over and over and over and over.. (at about 10,000 a pop) 3. once we have the surgery and loose the weight "if" we were on any disability we usualy will loose that and return to the work force as we "CAN".. drug addicts??? nope, once they go through rehab, they get a job loose it, back on assistance and back in rehabs.. 4. and this is my biggest problem of all becuase I see if first hand... I just interviewed a 51 yr old man as a prospective client.. he had a stroke from shooting up too much heroin.. he is in a nursing home (state pay of course) at 5000.00 per month... he is 51 yrs old.. he could very possibly live another 20 to 30 years with a fried brain and body costing the state up to this amount for ALL THOSE YEARS... and if ya ever get a chance to go to a nursing home LOOK AROUND.. it's not just the dying elderly in those places.. the number of 18 to 60 year old people in there is climbing every day due to many reasons but the biggest is drug and alcohol related!!! now where is YOUR TAX DOLLARS GOING????????????????????????? and yet fat people are disgusting, shelfish, evil people for eating too much... oh there is so much more in my brain but I simply am NOT articulate enough to scream at the right people.. obesity is just as much of an addiction/disease as drug addicts and yet "WE" are to be looked upon as the lowest life form out there.. blame everything on fat people.. I won't even go into all the added costs the states pay for drug addicts to support the children they keep having and the medical costs these babies have after being born to a crack head momma!! but I bet my life it's a hell of lot more than being born to a fat momma!! ok, I'm done now... no I dont' have any actual numbers, yes I am biased and no I don't really know what I am talking about other than what I see first hand.. I'd rather be a "digusting fat person" any day than a freaken drug addict.. I don't care what good ole society thinks!! as always they can kiss my fat ass.. and yes, even at 149 (again today) it's still a FAT ASS!! told ya I was mad as hell... Theresa

I am not completely sure I get your points. I sure get your incredible hostility toward people disabled by drug use. Please do the guy you interviewed a favor and do not take him into your home. Your hostility toward him and people like him is pretty ugly. No one should have to be under the "care" of someone so hostile to them. Whether it is past drug use or obesity, hostility toward others for a disease is dehumanizing. tee

I warned every one it was a rant... my hostility is against society that see "FAT" people as a burden and yet pitty drug addicts... they are "BOTH" a disease/addiction.. I was comparing them because that is what I am around in the fact of who is costing the governement the most amount of money.. I am NOT hostile towards drug addicts or fat people or any other diseased population.. you missed my point of my rant being against the way society looks upon "US" and how the news coverage did that piece.. I said I am not articulate enough to get out what I really want so I'm sorry it came accross that way to you.. Theresa

I for one am backing you up Theresa. I get the context of what you are saying and I don't think there is anything wrong with having some justifiable anger over this. I do have a low opinion of drug addicts. I deal with them every day in my job as well. I am a police dispatcher and I do get to have contact with them on a daily basis. Where do I get off thinking a fat person is better than a drug addict? Well, for one, driving under the influence of food is neither criminal nor impairing. As Theresa stated, fat people don't hold up 7-11's for a Twinkie. They don't burglarize other people's homes so they can afford to buy a pizza. Being under the influence of food doesn't cause a person to become physically violent toward another, it doesn't cause another person to get cancer from second hand exposure, nor does it cause the death of innocent people. Drugs do. On a daily basis. We've all heard it said before that fat people have a harder struggle because all people have to eat in order to live. It's a fact of life. If you are addicted to food, you have no way to avoid it. You confront it on a daily basis. At least people trying to get off drugs can avoid it completely and never have to be exposed again if they choose. So yes, I ABSOLUTELY have more empathy for someone who is obese over someone who involves themselves in illegal drugs. And yes, I ABSOLUTELY think the benefits of providing "free" gastric bypasses are much greater for the government financially than trying to get drug addicts off drugs. And yes, I ABSOLUTELY believe that the weaker, more self-centered and selfish of the two types of people are the drug addicts. For all the reasons I just stated it is obvious what I base my beliefs on. And yes, all these statements are generalities that can be argued in the opposite with specific cases. But this is my perception and I seriously doubt it will change. I've been put upon by the world all my life for my obesity. I have gone through periods where I starved myself, quite LITERALLY, in order to lose weight. And mostly because I was so beaten down by nasty comments from others, I just wanted it to stop. The longest I have ever been out of work is 3 months, and I am now 38 years old. I bristle at the thought that some good for nothing crack ***** is bleeding the system dry and getting plenty of sympathy from people who see it as a horrible addiction that is nearly impossible to break, while they look at someone like myself and think "why should we help someone like that out?" Yeah. It's not like we're addicted to crack. Dina

Ditto Dina Michele

thank you so much sweetie for understanding where I was coming from... I didn't mean to start a ******g match on the oregon boards at all.. I was simply ranting about this news peice putting down gastric bypass being paid for by medicade when no one blinks an eye at paying out so much money for drug addicts to get rehab or the after math of the family destruction.. so anyway, thank you for understanding.. I am not uncompasionate towards anyone but I do have my issues seeing so much of it professionaly as well as personaly with family.. and yes it ****** me off drug addicts get pitty and we get spat on by society.. Theresa

I do agree that obesity is a disease and those of us suffering from this disease should have the same rights and help that additcts and alcholics have. That being said, I must disagree with one comment you made. That comment was that food is neither criminal nor imparing. The reason for my opinion is that people under the influence of food can have black outs just like an alcoholic. If that person is driving a motorized vehicle at the same time as the black out occurs, that is considered impaired and can be harmful to anyone in the immediate area. How do I know this?? It has happened to me. I did not know at the time exactly what was going on, but when I went to inhouse treatment for bulimia 15 years ago, this topic was addressed. That was when I realized I was a danger to others as well as myself. If I had been in an accident at the time of a blackout, I would have been charged with driving under the influence. When I got back from my in house treatment, I asked the people who I worked for about it, and since they were State Troopers, I feel I have valid information. Of course this was in another state, I don't know if Oregon has the same laws. I don't want to cause a controversy, just want people to be aware of what CAN and DOES happen. Thanks for allowing me to give what little insite I have on the subject.

I understand and agree that some people can have reactions to both certain foods and amounts based on allergies and diabetes. I hope you don't take offense to my counter-argument here, but I do see a difference still yet. The point is that food is not an illegal substance and one will never be charged with driving under the influence of food. Food in general is not impairing, either. Everyone has to eat...even diabetics and people allergic to certain foods. In Oregon our troopers (I'm an OSP dispatcher) will pull someone over if they display poor driving whether it be from alcohol or diabetic reactions. The difference is that the one impaired from alcohol will go to jail. The one who is diabetic will likely have an ambulance called for them and/or will be given food or supervised while they take their medication so that they can recover from their reaction. They do not go to jail and it is not a crime. It can become a crime if their license is suspended because they no longer medically qualify for a license. But that would be the case with someone who is legally blind or someone who has no arms or legs. Certainly people with food reactions can be a hazard on the road. The difference is that they have a medical condition - they aren't shooting up or chugging down then going for a joy ride. That is why they aren't prosecuted. Same goes for people who have heart attacks and strokes while driving. Dina

The hostility toward the man in a nursing home, presumably someone you would take into your care, is very clearly stated and leaves little room for any misunderstanding. It has nothing at all to do with government money and everything to do with a vulnerable person with a caregiver so hostile to his plight. I believe you articulated yourself very well. tee

give me a break... I was not being HOSTILE towards his "plight". I was using this as an example of how much his drug addiction will now cost TAX PAYERS... his addiction did fry his brain and body!! and that is being hostile by saying that????????? no, it's not!! it is stating the facts.. he is now messed up becuase of his drug addiction. you do NOT know me!! so don't even pretend to know if I am hostile twards anyone I care about either professionaly or personaly.. you know NOTHING about what I have been through, seen, and cared about.. if anyone is coming off hostile it is YOU!!