My head is about to explode.

Thanks for the reminder that "support" is what it (or this) is all about! Like I said, I have been in survival mode, but forgetting that in teaching someone else, we tend to learn the most. D.

Dx, I agree with everything you said with the exception of, "PS, Please help me care about punctuation." I'm hoping against all hope that you meant to say, "PS, Please help me NOT to care about punctuation." The reason? If I acted as if I cared about punctuation and grammar the way I truly do, I'd be the spelling and grammar nazi/police and I'd never ever get to the heart of 98% of the posts on any of the boards! *sigh* Thanks for the wisdom and the laugh, Vanessa

Hey Vanessa No, my problem is the random unfettered use of Commas, "Quotation Marks," and Capitalization. I'm rarely looking over at what is popping up on the scene as I type So it's sort of "Conversational" typing that has NOTHING to do With written English. And spelling is not even on the radar. Have a Great Weekend! Best Wishes- Dx

Ah, but you do so well at what escapes most of us! You write in English prose!!!! Happy writing, Vanessa

Mine too but I thought it was allergies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG, U guys are too funny! Thanks for giving me such a good laugh first thing in the morning!!! What is this fish thread? I've got to read it! Sometimes I am surprised that some of the people were passed by their psychologist (pre-op) to have this surgery! There is a tiny bit of common sense that is needed...

I agree with the misinformation out there ... but, its not only amongst the people on the boards, but I've seen surgeons and nutritionists with COMPLETELY different opinions on things (one nut says we should limit fats to eating fat-free everything, yet another says we should be eating "real" butter and mayo; another one says by 3 months out, we should be eating that same amount the rest of our lives, while others rebut that and give us varying amounts of how much we "should be able to eat") ... its enough to make one crazy, and when all those opinions (and more) are added here, it does get a little nutty. I do like the analogy of the sophomores teaching the freshmen, but I try to help with what I know by my own personal experiences. Do I cringe when someone 3 weeks out says "why can't we have chips"?, or at 3 months out has "tried" cookies or a snickers bar? You bet. But I am not anyone to judge anyone's eating (having probs with my own right now), but if you're asking me for my opinion or advice based on my experience, don't expect me to not give it. I think my main frustration with the main board is that when I first came to OH, I read at least the last 2 days posts before I posted something. I am seeing the same questions asked within an hour of one another ... I would prefer to add to one post and keep a conversation going than jump all over the place ... if I see a question asked, I will only answer it once ... I think that's one of the reasons I like the grads board, although I do see the same question asked from time to time, there is more conversation going on, and I get the feeling that more people here will take a look to see if their issue is addressed in another recent post. Karyn

I had never even heard of OH before I had surgery, and it wasn't until I had some "issues" after surgery that I came online to find a support board. I asked stupid and repetitive questions at first, mainly because I had an urgent need for info quickly and wasn't saavy about the site to do a search. I learned after a while to search before I spoke. But just try to give people a break, because at one point I was that person, or you may have been one. I try to to judge. Some of the things I see asked I just want to scream "oh god are you kidding", only to remember that someone probably said the same thing of me once. I celebrated my 2 years anniversary last week. I am still learning! (And still being stupid). Michelle

I actually found OH one week prior to my surgery, and my head really was about to explode as I stayed up 3 nights trying to read as much as I could. I think one of my frustrations is when someone asks one of these questions, and you tell them something they don't want to hear (and I do try to be eloquent and never flame anyone), they get defensive and sometimes downright rude. Granted, this is not everybody. And yes, I'm sure I did ask some stupid questions at the beginning too ... I don't expect anyone to do searches to find information (which, by the way is NOT a very convenient tool on this site), but maybe just check 5 posts down! And just for the record, I support everyone on these boards, because we're all on the same journey, perhaps different paths, but the same journey nonetheless. If I feel I can't be supportive (which is not just always "agreeing" with people, no matter what), then I back off ... because, actually, I've got my own issues for which I really need support right now (and yes, I've gotten flamed even here too, that's why I pretty much just shut up most of the time), so if I feel I don't have anything to offer right now, I'll stay away from the main board, and if I feel maybe I can somewhere somehow be of some value, that's when I might pop my head into a post. (This post may not make much sense right now, as I'm rather dizzy and not feeling too well, so I hope I haven't offended anyone).