faithmd

I would caution you all that unless all of the different Blue policies above can from the exact same employer, there is no way to know if all the requirements are the same. Each employer can pay for different riders. I have MCare HMO and my requirements were stated almost EXACTLY like the OP's. And yes, that did mean MONTHLY weigh-ins with the doctor, NOT WW or Jenny Craig or LA Weight Loss, etc. Discussions with the Dr. MONTHLY that are documented about what I was doing to lose weight, and in my case, I had a 5% excess weight loss requirement, which I didn't make, so I was denied my first application. The next month I kicked it into gear and was approved. To the OP, please take your insurance card in hand and call the number on it, get them to email or snail mail or fax you a hard copy of the requirements. Also, most large ins co's have case managers fro things like bariatric surgery, ask if your Blue has them, and then ask to speak with one. They are your point person, your sounding board, and the person who can explain it all. In my case, my ins co did NOT accept a letter, they would ONLY accept copies of my office notes for EACH MONTH of my visits. Please follow up with this ASAP. I considered going to Mexico, but I called around in my area to see who would accept a band from another surgeon, be it from out of the country or from the next state...and I couldn't find anyone reasonable. Very few will accept another surgeon's band, and there is a premium price to take on your care. It is different in many cases, some charge more per fill, some charge a program fee. Unfortunately, we don't have a Fill Centers USA nearby, that is a great resource for those with a band from Mexico. I ended up going to Hurley in Flint, after considering Dr. Deol, and the guys at Beaumont. Hope this helps.

Check out the Food forum here, there are loads of good recipes for each stage.

WasaBB, f*ck$in grow a pair, would ya? :peep: Post some damn pics, even I did and I started 100lbs MORE than you did! I would bet you are a beautiful woman. I know you are a lovely person. Wheetsin, I didn't think the dress was too tight at all, I thought it looked really good. I agree with WasaBB, you are STUNNING!<!-- google_ad_section_end --><!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

Ah, gotcha! Yep, my dad just had one with the new prep kit and preferred that by FAR to the former gallon prep. If the GI guy wants you to use the PEG/GoLytely, ask if you can take the other prep (OsmoPrep).

Ooooo, Alaska is a sausage fest? Sign me up! I love Michigan, I can't imagine living in any state other than MI. Now country...we want to move to Ireland. DH live in England (near Ipswich) for a few years and liked it, but after our trip to Ireland and Scotland, he decided he LOVED Ireland. I do too. He also would love to move back to the panhandle of Florida, not me, too hot and muggy even for one month of the year. Heck, MI is too hot sometimes!

A colonoscoy goes in from the bottom end, so it doesn't go near the band.

BooBoo: someone stole your grill, WTF? Did you ask at the storage yard? I'd be pretty pi$$ed. Claud, I'm so sorry you are hurting. I'm about your age and occas think about why I haven't had kids yet. Then I think about how it would not make my life any easier or any more fulfilling right now. A child to patch loneliness just doesn't work. But it's such a personal decision. No one but you can tell you what to do. My loss is stalled too, but it's hand to mouth with Oreo disease in my case. I think you look BEAUTIFUL, it will pick back up.

lawanda, of course that is good! Remember we are told that our loss is only expected to be 1-2lbs per week, you are spot on, and if you took it as an average, a little over. Good job!

Perhaps insane was a bad choice of words, but I wanted to shake it up a bit. Have you been fat for only a few weeks? I know I've been fat for YEARS, why on earth can we not stick for a few measly little tiny weeks to an eating plan designed to help our new lease on life heal in the proper place? Jsut because it went down fine doesn't mean it will be fine later. BTW, perhaps my surgeon was strict, but he said no Pasta or rice for THREE MONTHS. Too sticky. (I ate pasta at about 6 weeks out, though-it was the Protein whole grain kind, so it wasn't white flour sticky stuff.)

Are you guys INSANE? Lordy, I would guess hazeleye isn't doing quite so bad, but the OP...OMG why on EARTH would you risk your band like this? Yes you can, we all have to do it, and you CAN do this!!!! I've written something like this before on other threads. If we were pregnant and our OB were to tell us that we could cause damage to our fetus unless we stayed on a strict liquid diet for four weeks, you'd better believe we'd have no problem staying on that diet. In fact most of us would probably stay on the liquid diet for even longer, just to be safe. Why don't we care as much about ourselves????? Why on earth do we "cheating" and risking our bands? Just because something goes down okay doesn't mean it isn't setting us up for damage later. The sutures are helping scar tissue form around the band and that's what holds it in place on our stomachs. The sutures only help hold it on the front, scar tissue is all that holds it on the back of the stomach. Everytime we eat something more than a liquid, (and no, chewing something until it's liquid does not count) it causes our stomachs to churn to digest that food. That churning stops the scar tissue from forming, or helps break new scar tissue just barely formed. I understand that some doctors move folks along faster in their diet programs, that's okay if it's what your doctor says to do, but Allergan (the manufacturer of the band) advises a very slow progression. Damage we do now freshly banded may not show up until a year or two down the line. Maybe we have a bad episode of vomiting and because we just couldn't wait to chew, we didn't get good adhesion of scar tissue early on, it may slip. Really think about it, folks. If it were to protect an unborn life, we'd do anything. This band is the key to our new lives.

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That's a good idea.

Thanks for posting this, Wendell. It is GREAT information to have. Maybe it will become a Sticky.

For many people, that's their feeling of restriction. I had the lump feeling for many weeks after being banded and occasionally get it when I'm feeling tighter (like early in the day, TOM, etc).

Scroll down to the bottom of this page, you'll find many threads about whether to get a medic alert tag, and/or what one should say. Hope these other threads help.

Hi, I'm a June Bandster (21st) and still have not been filled yet. Many of my band sisters have had four and I think has had five fills already. I truly think I'm the only one who hasn't had a fill of my group.

re: BMW-go get one if you can afford it! re: women-remember we are NOT like you guys at all, there are VERY few of us who can be non-committal without falling in love and going a bit psycho (I fully expect to be chastised by my sisters, but I stand by my statement). I can't imagine a woman who could or would want to stick around for any length or time without expecting a rock out of the deal. I look at the majority of med students and docs around me and the men are ALL married. Women stick like glue to a guy who's going to be a doc. Female residents seem to rarely be married, don't know what the difference is. Good luck! Come bitch and vent anytime!

fascinating!

And by the way, were I to be younger and single, wow! I think you are WAAAAAY hot!

Wait, aren't you in Med School yourself? I thought I had read where WasaBB wrote that. I imagine it would be somewhat hard to be in the shadow of someone like your father. I agree it has the potential to be tough as hell. But guess what? YOU ARE NOT HIM, so stop beating yourself up and comparing yourself to him. He lived his life, it's your time to live yours. I understand what you mean but it's time to grow a thick skin. WGAF what your DAD's friends say about you? Do they pay your bills or control your bank account? Do they support you emotionally? Do they control your life or do you? I had a desire to do more as well, why couldn't I get it together and go do something with my life? I should have done SOOOOO much more. but I didn't. I have no one to blame but me. You are still only 22, get out there and do it, whatever "it" is. On the relationship front, I now this is going to sound silly and you've heard it a million times, but really, honestly don't worry about it. Again, you are young, too young to worry about settling down. Settling down means responsibility and inability to uproot and move and do something else. Settling down means you have to think of someone else when you make a life change. So don't worry about it right now. That having been said, if you just want women to come flocking to you, I don't quite know what to say. Do you wish to be a playa? Men like that are giant a-holes (sorry...). I just went to my 20th HS reunion this past w/e and ran into the male who in my mind was the biggest playa in HS and though he is fairly successful and has a trophy wife, I cannot imagine his life is at all happy. His comments in conversations and rolling his eyes when talking about having kids and his boistrous, loud attitude and buying everyone drinks to somehow prove himself and his success was so transparent. He is obviously a closet alcoholic and I wonder if at some time in his life he ever did what HE wanted, or if he always followed in his successful father's footsteps. On the other side of the room was a gentleman with his wife who bucked his family's traditions and became a minister. Had four kids and is incredibly happy. His dad said he was so proud of who he had become and what he did with his life. (Yep, we talked about it that night-he and his wife had been very good friends of mine in HS). I'm sort of rambling here, but I just want you to understand you have years ahead of you to become what you want to be. You just have to decide what that is and DO IT. Don't get strapped down with a relationship or kids or a mortgage or a huge car note to look impressive. It may only make you more sad in the long run, and fifteen years from now you might find your liver pickled and your trophy wife is really a bitch who is doing the tennis instructor.

Karen, it is great to see that you are doing so well! Please keep the updates coming.

Darr, please tell me the ibuprofen is NOT a pill, but the children's liquid ibuprofen or at least a chewable form... In any case, just please make sure to drink at least 8oz of Water after taking the ibuprofen so that you are sure it is no longer in your pouch and has made it down into your stomach. The concern with ibuprofen or aspirin or Aleve is how hard on your stomach they are. You need to be certain they do not sit there in the pouch. I was also advised to eat a couple crackers when I took the ibuprofen just to be sure there was something in my lower stomach when I flushed the ibuprofen down into it.

I agree with those above me. WasaBB articulated very well why I would personally never consider bypass. It might be right for some, it is not right for me. WasaBB-WOOHOO!!!! 6lbs!!!!!!

Many people have kept it a secret from any number of people, myself included. If you scroll to the bottom of this page you will find links to a few other threads about this topic. Here's one of them: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/keeping-secret-31977/ Hope this gives you more insight into what other people have done, good luck!

Hello, I don't know if you've had the chance to look around here, but there is an entire forum dedicated to food: Here's a link to the forum: "Food" http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f9/ An important subforum there: "Recipes" http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f82/ Most importantly, a Sticky thread of specifically "mushy stage Recipes" http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f9/mushies-stage-recipes-17637/