June 16th, 2008 — , bipolar, blogging, discrimination, empowerment, healthcare, mental health, mental health america, mental illness, stigma from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
The House will vote next week on legislation to stop child abuse and neglect at boot camps, wilderness camps, and behavior modification facilities that work with children who have behavioral, emotional, or mental health problems. While tens of thousands of teens attend private residential programs, many go unregulated, allowing practices ranging from sexual abuse to denying youth food, water,
Continue reading → Vote to Stop Abuse in Teen Residential Programs
June 4th, 2008 — , bipolar, depression, discrimination, empowerment, healthcare, mental health, mental illness, stigma from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
Calls Needed for Delay of Medicaid Rules Please Mobilize Calls to Legislators Today June 2, 2008–Grassroots advocacy is urgently needed to help secure the moratorium on the seven Medicaid regulations in the supplemental spending bill, approved before Memorial Day by both House and Senate in both versions of the Iraq supplemental funding bill. The rules would greatly reduce access to
Continue reading → Moratorium on Medicaid Rules at Risk–Calls Needed Now
May 30th, 2008 — , Health, Motivation, NAMI, SAD, bipolar, blogging, depression, empowerment, mental health, mental health america, mental illness from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
Mental Health America - Take Action
With your help the Senate passed legislation last week to delay the seven controversial Medicaid regulations as part of the supplemental war funding bill (H.R. 2642). The amendment adding this delay on the harmful new rules to the bill passed by a vote of 75 to 22, exceeding the two-thirds vote needed to override a threatened Presidential veto. Don’t
May 20th, 2008 — , advocasy, bipolar, depression, health problems, healthcare, mental health, mental health america, mental illness, stigma, suicide from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
Last week, the House again approved legislation to delay a series of federal regulations that would severely limit Medicaid coverage of rehabilitative, case management, and school-based services. The amendment to the supplemental war funding bill that included this delay on the regs passed by a vote of 256-166. Thanks to all of you who contacted your representative - you helped make a
Continue reading → The Senate’s Turn to Act on Harmful Medicaid Regs
May 14th, 2008 — , bipolar, causes, depression, healthcare, mental health, mental health america, stigma from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
Mental Health Month:
Get Connected
Mental Health America - Take Action
Legislation to delay a series of federal regulations that would severely limit Medicaid coverage of rehabilitative, case management, and school-based services is being opposed by certain Republican Senators. To counter this opposition, Democratic leaders are seeking to incorporate this legislation into a supplemental war
Continue reading → Critical Vote this Week to Delay Harmful Medicaid Regs
May 12th, 2008 — , advocasy, bipolar, causes, depression, mental health, mental illness, suicide from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
2008 Out of the Darkness Community Walk registration is now open! If you haven’t done so already, please visit www.outofthedarkness.org to register for a walk in your area! If you do not see a walk in your area and would like to start a walk in your community, please contact Mike Lamma, Director of Field Management, at mlamma@afsp.org or 1-888-333-AFSP (2377) x16. Please include your
May 5th, 2008 — , Personal, WLS, advocasy, empowerment, fat acceptance, fat phobia, mental health, suicide from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
Yesterday was the 4th anniversary of my WLS.
WOW……what a difference a year makes.
I had a heck of a post all planned to post yesterday. Going into all the new problems that have cropped up for me thanks to the WLS. But in writing that post I wanted to go back and read what I wrote last year. I won’t post it all but here is a part that made me stop and think…..
A question was posed in the
April 21st, 2008 — , WLS, complications, fat acceptance, health problems, mental health, mortality, obesity, rant, suicide, unhealthy eating, weight loss from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
The Bypass Effect On Diabetes, Cancer, Surgery Can Send Diabetes Into Remission, And May Reduce Risk Of Certain Cancers - CBS News
WOW!!!
And here all this time I thought 60 Minutes was a news program.
This crap is nothing but a friggin’ infomercial…..
And don’t even get me started about the WLS cheerleaders throughout the comments section. Many of them I know. Let them walk a few days
April 19th, 2008 — , Motivation, bipolar, blogging, empowerment, inspiration, mental health, mental illness, positive thinking, stigma from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
A great site was brought to my attention by a fellow blogger. I have just finished reading some of it and felt compelled to write a post. Here’s the comment she left on my blog describing the purpose of the site.
Bipolar Speaks said… Most of you know me as “Dreamwriter.” I recently
Launched a new blog called, “Bipolar Speaks.” One day something came over me as I was reading websites called
April 10th, 2008 — , depression, empowerment, health problems, inspiration, mental health, weightloss from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
I found this on one of the many blogs I read and just had to share……
Is there something you have always wanted to do, but keep putting it off for whatever reason? Are you so caught up in the day to day grind you’ve forgotten how to relax?
Bottom line, is real life kicking you in the a$$……
Let go of some of that excess baggage —-I’m talking the mental baggage here folks—-forget
April 8th, 2008 — , Low Carb, Personal, WLS, anemia, complications, health problems, ketogenic, mental health, recipe, weightloss from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
Nice to have some good news for a change. My follow-up EGD done last Friday was GREAT!! Following the soft bland diet and the new meds made a world of difference. My stoma ulcer is completely healed as well as the fistula. This means no revision surgery. Yippee damn skippy!!!
You just don’t realize how happy that made me.
Another plus is now I can eat some decent food.
By decent food I mean
April 7th, 2008 — , Health, Motivation, NAMI, bipolar, depression, mental health, mental illness, rant, stigma, suicide from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
From NAMI:
Last summer, Joe Jordan, an asbestos demolition contractor, bought the Weston Hospital in West Virginia, which is registered as a national historic landmark.
He has renamed it the “Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum,”(trans-alleghenylunaticasylum(dot)com–because I REFUSE to link to it) which was its name in another era. Constructed in 1864 as a psychiatric hospital, it housed more than
March 20th, 2008 — , Anatomical Donor, Diabetes, Health, WLS, advocasy, bipolar, causes, depression, mental health, mental illness, mortality, nutrition, obesity, weight loss from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
I can just hear the majority of y’all out there going EWWWW!!!!
If you feel that way based on your particular spiritual beliefs, then don’t bother reading further. I respect your beliefs. Just wish more respected mine. That’s another post for another day.
I am an Anatomical Donor.
I’m sure many of you out there are organ donors. Here again you may not be, based on your spiritual beliefs. Yet
Continue reading → Anatomical Gift–Donating a Body to Science
March 17th, 2008 — , advocasy, bipolar, causes, depression, discrimination, mental health, mental health america, mental illness, parity, stigma, suicide from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
House passes mental health parity - work still to be done
The House of Representatives passed the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act, HR 1424, on March 5! The House-passed measure must now be reconciled with a parity bill already passed by the Senate, S. 558. A final version will have to be approved by both chambers and signed by the President before people living with mental
March 16th, 2008 — , WLS, anemia, calcium, health problems, iron, ketogenic, mental health, nutrition, obesity, rant, regain, unhealthy eating, weightloss from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
Newest Research from “Obesity Surgery Journal”
11-Year Experience with Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding for Morbid Obesity—What Happened to the First 123 Patients?
Abstract
Background Few long-term studies regarding the outcome of laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding for morbid obesity have so far been published. We report our 11-year experience with the technique by looking
March 14th, 2008 — , Motivation, Personal, WLS, blogging, discrimination, mental health, mental health america, stigma from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
I was searching through some of my old posts looking for something. Lo and behold what should I find??? I’ve been blogging for a year now. Here is my very first post:
Where to StartMarch 9, 2007
Hello my name is Diane and I’m a blog junkie. For years now I have been addicted to online blogs. I read about anything and everything. There is so much info out there in cyberworld that just calls out
March 8th, 2008 — , bipolar, depression, mental health, mental illness, psychiatric advance directive, stigma from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
Psychiatric Advance DirectivesIf you are concerned that you may be subject to involuntary psychiatric commitment or treatment at some future time, you can prepare a legal document in advance to express your choices about treatment. The document is called an advance directive for mental health decision making.
The National Resource Center on
Continue reading → Information Alert on Psychiatric Advance Directives
March 7th, 2008 — , NAMI, advocasy, bipolar, causes, depression, mental health, mental health america, mental illness, parity from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
You helped make history!! Your support for mental health parity helped propel the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act, H.R. 1424, to a historic vote in the House of Representatives where it passed 268-148 on March 5. This first-ever House vote on a comprehensive mental health/addiction parity bill gives our cause new momentum. Work yet to be done.
But even with this victory,
March 6th, 2008 — , NAMI, advocasy, causes, depression, discrimination, mental health, mental illness, stigma, suicide from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
Staggering statistic huh.
I’ve talked about suicide and mental health quite alot in my blog. I’ve even touched on the fact that I once found myself in that deep dark pit of despair. Lucky for me, I survived my own suicide attempt. It has caused lasting health issues for me. But I’m still holding on.
The typical person can not grasp why someone would attempt take their own life. You would
February 29th, 2008 — , advocasy, depression, discrimination, healthcare, mental health, parity, truth from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
URGENT ALERT
HISTORIC PARITY VOTE NEXT WEEK
The House of Representatives has scheduled a historic vote on a comprehensive mental health/substance use parity bill on March 5. Please urge your U.S. Representative to support passage of H.R. 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act.
SEND AN EMAIL
Given the importance of this vote, please take a minute to also call your
February 25th, 2008 — , Health, WLS, accountability, advocasy, complications, diet, discrimination, eating disorder, fat acceptance, mental health, mortality, stigma, weight loss from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
Even before all the difficulties I have been experiencing as of late, I have always disagreed with the idea of kids having WLS. I have even gone back to some of my earlier posts on the support forums to make sure my own words didn’t come back to haunt me. Even when I was a staunch supporter of WLS, I was looking at the possible long term effects it may have if used on kids.
I stumbled on a blog
February 23rd, 2008 — , diet, eating disorder, fat phobia, health problems, mental health, nutrition, obesity, stigma, weight loss from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
I moderate the comments on this blog to keep out spam. I’m not here to censor others comments. I recently had a comment that honestly I did not want to publish. It pissed me off and made me sad all at the same time. I’ve been trying to figure out how to respond. Here is the comment. My responses in red.
Why have your posts become so negative about WLS?
I will be the first to admit my present
February 19th, 2008 — , Health, Motivation, advocasy, discrimination, living single, mental health, rant, stigma from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
For years I was one of those women who thought she had to have someone in her life to be complete. This belief led me into all sorts of bad relationships. What’s up with that??
Why did my whole self worth seem to hinge on whether I was part of a couple or not?
I’m one of those who never does anything half way. When I get involved with someone it is full force from the get go.Yeah, I know not
February 18th, 2008 — , WLS, advocasy, depression, eating disorder, health problems, mental health, nutrition, obesity, suicide, unhealthy eating, weight loss from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
I have been following the news of the death of Polly Williams. Polly was one of the four women featured in Lauren Greenfield’s Emmy-nominated documentary Thin. The film documents the experiences of young women at the Renfrew Center, a residential facility for the treatment of eating disorders.
Here’s an update on Polly’s death:
There has been much speculation on how Polly died, with many people
February 16th, 2008 — , WLS, diet, eating disorder, hotfat4sale, hunger, mental health, mental illness, nutrition, obesity, rant, unhealthy eating, weightloss from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
Here I go once again writing about eating disorders and WLS. I’ve been very open about my loooooong history with an ED, over 30 years now. I knew I wasn’t alone in this. Shoot, I’m of the opinion if you don’t have an ED before WLS, you sure end up with one afterwards.
Some of the WLS support boards are very much like the pro-ana, pro-mia boards. Well, diet support sites in general, really.
February 6th, 2008 — , WLS, complications, fat phobia, mental health, rant, stigma, supplements, weight loss from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
I’m in a pretty bad place mind wise about living this life after WLS.
By the bariatric surgeon’s standards, I am a huge success. I lost over 200 pounds and have been able to maintain that weight loss. Is that number on the scale all there is to judge your success?
I eat on average 2000 cals a day. Take multiple supplements each and everyday like clockwork. Yet my most recent lab work has me
February 4th, 2008 — , Dana Carpender, Health, Low Carb, WLS, carbohydrates, diet, fat phobia, health problems, ketogenic, mental health, nutrition, obesity, stigma, weight loss from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
It’s Monday morning and I really don’t have time for an in depth post. Just wanted to share some interesting blog posts from around the web.
Weight of the Evidence: Bill Introduced to Mandate Restaurants Deny the Obese Service
MISSISSIPPI; HOUSE BILL NO. 282
An act to prohibit certain food establishments from serving food to any person who is obese, based on criteria prescribed by the state
January 14th, 2008 — , Health, NAMI, causes, healthcare, mental health, mental illness, parity, presidential elections from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
In one of my recent Mental Health posts, I told you how NAMI sent out a questionnaire to all the presidential candidates. This is how it stand so far:Democrats Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New YorkQuestionnaire response John Edwards, former Senator…
Continue reading → UPDATE: Learn About The Candidates Views on Mental Health
January 12th, 2008 — , Dana Carpender, Health, Low Carb, WLS, diet, fat phobia, ketogenic, mental health, nutrition, obesity, weight loss, whole foods from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
I believe in following an eating plan made of “whole foods”. Just what are whole foods?Whole foods are those that are unprocessed and unrefined, or processed and refined as little as possible before being consumed. They typically do not contain added s…
December 28th, 2007 — , Health, advocasy, bipolar, causes, depression, healthcare, mental health, mental illness, parity from BamaGal @ Back Across The Line
NAMI sent a questionnaire on leading mental health issues to all the presidential candidates. Candidates are answering and we encourage you to view their positions on our new Explore the Candidates page.NAMI will be posting additional responses and ma…
Continue reading → Learn About the Candidates’ Views on Mental Healthcare
December 6th, 2007 — , Health, Motivation, Personal, advocasy, bipolar, causes, depression, empowerment, mental health, mental illness, stigma, suicide from BG @ Back Across The Line
ATTENTION: ACTION NEEDEDWe are SO close! Passage of a strong parity law is within reach. But this session of Congress will end before Christmas. If a parity bill is not passed by then, we risk losing it entirely in election-year deadlock!Join me and ma…
October 26th, 2007 — , Health, SAD, WLS, bipolar, carbohydrates, complications, depression, healthcare, inspiration, mental health, mental illness, metabolic advantage, mortality, nutrition, obesity, protein, suicide from BG @ Back Across The Line
I did a post early on this subject. In light of new research,I felt compelled to go more in depth on some things. Living life after having WLS is difficult enough on your mental health. Throw in the added complication of a severe mental illness and it …
October 23rd, 2007 — , WLS, complications, mental health, mental illness, mortality, suicide from BG @ Back Across The Line
All around the web, the talk is going on. Bloggers are posting about it. Message boards are talking about it. News reports are abundant. But in all this, the WLS community is strangely quiet. The message boards have nothing to say. None of the bloggers…
October 20th, 2007 — , Health, Larry McCleary, Low Carb, MCT oil, mental health, mental illness, nutrition, supplements from BG @ Back Across The Line
I’m in the process of reading Dr McCleary’s book, The Brain Trust Program. So far I’m really getting into it. It makes a good addition to my ever growing library about nutrition and health. I was most interested in this because it deals with brain heal…