faithmd

Absolutely wonderful

That's going to be my hardest thing to change about cooking, to not cook so much food. It's only DH and I now, but I was so used to cooking enough food for four or six, and we'd eat it all (the two of us). DH would complain that I made too much, but he'd eat it!

The baby juice bottles of apple-prune juices are great, they are small enough to be able to drink in one sitting and portable.

I don't journal, but I use www.fitday.com for food intake, exercise, it has a journal section, offers reports about Vitamin intake, etc. I tried www.sparkpeople.com but I didn't like it's format as well. It was prettier than fitday, but I work nights and the format of putting foods into seperate meals didn't work for me. fitday just does it as a running list. Good luck finding something that will work for you!

Hello Mrs. Husker! I love to garden, too. I didn't the last couple of years but plan to do it in earnest this year. I'll till the soil next weekend and start adding peet and humus and fertilizers to get it ready for planting in mid-May. (I'm in Michigan.) I LOVE to can! This year I'm going to try pressure canning meats and low-acid foods in pint jars as hopefully by the time I get to eat them, I'll be eating smaller amounts. I purchased a Guardian Service pressure canner last year (if anyone doesn't know what Guardian Service is, it is an aluminum cookware line that was sold in home parties much like tupperware back in the 1930's-1950's) and I just have to get a new gasket for it. Here's a link to a great website about how to grow asparagus, it is not easy at all and takes a couple of years to establish some good beds. you don't harvest asparagus for eating the first year (at least) from it, but once established it's great to have. The only think about this link is that it is from Ohio State University so some of the info is about Ohio growing challenges. But it really is a great article about how to get started: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1603.html

You might want to PM the owner, Alex

How about trying to schedule a fill with Dr. Wagner instead? And perhaps tell them that your insurance company is giving you grief about having a non-MD do your fills. I hate lying, but I HATE needles MORE and I'll lie to get an easier fill! Another idea is calling your insurance to find out the coverage for a fill with fluoro, and then insist on a fill with fluoro (so they can see) which I believe will (in Hurley's practice) be done by a surgeon.

Alexandra, what a great idea. They order out all the time at work and I've been holding back on doing that while I try to prepare for the changes I will have to make in my life after banding. Occasionally if they order from Jimmy John's I will order an Unwich (Jimmy John's sandwich minus the roll, wrapped in a lettuce leaf), but I guess I didn't think of ordering from other places and just tossing the bread. Such a simple and tasty thing to do! I'm not a chick pea nor a lentil fan. Actually I don't like any beans/legumes (except as hummus). Nor do I care for canned Salmon, but She Smiles' recipe gave me a GREAT idea to use those packets of salmon filets and the canned tomatoes to create some yummy things. I wouldn't have thought of mixing tomatoes with the salmon and some garlic. Sounds really good for a summer dish!

What an exciting and amazing NSV!!! I love the pic!

I haven't been banded yet, but I have suffered from some pretty severe gas pains before, and I have to say, it sounds like it to me. Especially since it has moved a bit.

Good luck and congrats on your date!!!

I cannot speak to Cigna, but I have also not heard of anyone who was able to bypass any length of time requirement. Mine is 12 months MD supervised program. The important thing to remember is that they will be laying out a lot of money for this procedure and they want to know that you can follow a physician's advice and orders. The goal of the MD supervised weight loss is not to then say they won't pay for it if you are able to lose weight with the program, but to teach you good eating habits, etc. One other word of advice, if there is also a weight loss requirement with that 6 month program, you MUST lose it. My insurance company requires 5% loss of excess weight in addition to the 12 month program. I was sick over my 12 months and because of meds I was on, I gained quite a bit of weight. I was then able to lose about 20 lbs (of almost 30 that I had gained) before I applied, but I was denied because I didn't lose the original 5%. My insurance takes your starting weight at the beginning of the MD program and then you have to lost 5% of the excess of that. I have to make it to 335 and apply again.

Okay, here's a couple of links to threads that will probably answer your question, I'm sorry I can't answer you myself, but I haven't been banded yet: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=17625 http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=18946

Here's a link to a good thread for lower BMI bandsters, perhaps someone who frequents there can also offer some assistance: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=26697

Here's a link to a very interesting poll about whether folks told or not: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=31977 I have only told my husband and my parents about where I am at in my journey, and NO ONE knows how much I weigh other than my clinicians. Sometimes I think I shouldn't have told my mom, as she wants to tell others. I've told a very good friend I'm planning on it, but lately I've decided not to tell her if I get it or not. I think I'm just going to stop talking about it and see if she forgets. I've decided not to tell because I don't want food police and I really don't want folks constantly asking how much I've lost and why I'm not losing faster, etc... I know people only have the best of intentions, but I'd just rather keep it to myself. In every other aspect of my life, I'm pretty much an open book, I share a lot, probably too much, actually. So I wonder if this will be hard for me to keep quiet about, but I'm going to try.

I'm thinking she's only about 55 or 60 and was a sun worshipper her whole life. Remember Magda from Something About Mary? Hell, I'd be grateful to look like that at 60 or 70 or 80 (minus the implant issues).

Ooops, I meant to say: and it could be any of the surgeons there (The edit feature isn't working well for me) The nurse also said since they are a practice, the surgeons support each other's patients.

BooBooKitty on here was Dr. Farhan's patient and really liked him. When I was at Hurley, I specifically asked the nurse in my pre-op consultation who does the fills. Is it a only your surgeon, or is it any surgeon or a PA or a nurse, etc? She told me that many people do them and depending on the day you need an appointment it could be anyone of them (that you make the appointment with, I mean). She also told me that some insurances require an MD (and it could ba ny of the surgeons there) to do the fill (I think the car companies' insurance plans) and after reading all I've read and in talking with BooBooKitty, I will be fudging a little white lie and telling them my insurance told me that I have to have an MD as well.

Thanks for the info, and I'm sorry to hear about your dilation. I think a trip to JCP on the morning is in order. I have decided to go ahead and add a small blender to the regular sized one I just bought, that way I have one I can take to work if I want to.

Hiya Margie! I'm glad to see they called you and offered for you to go early, I'd rather go first thing than later any day!

bigthunder, go to www.obesitylaw.com Walter Lindstrom is a lawyer who had RNY and has successfully helped many many many people. For a few hundered doallars he will draft what you need. Check his site out, he says to contact him after the first denial, which you are at.

Most insurances will not cover you for less than a BMI of 35 and that's only with at least 2 comorbidities. If you mean qualify as in finding a surgeon who will perform the surgery on a lower BMI patient and you are paying out of pocket, I would suggest Mexico.

Hi Suz, sorry I haven't written yet. I think you can schedule your fills with whoever you want. I would find it hard to believe Dr, Obeid had a stroke, but I suppose it is possible. I say that I find it hard to believe because when Hurley called to change my first consultation appointment with Dr Obeid, they changed it to one week later and told me that he had a family emergency was hoping to be back in a week or so. Then the next week they called and changed the time and told me I'd be seeing Dr. Wagner because Dr. Obeid would be out for longer than originally anticipated. I would have thought if he had a stroke, they would have known he wasn't coming back anytime soon the first time they called me and would have changed my surgeon then. I did overhear some discussion in the office about him having to go back to Damascus for something serious in the family, but I don't know if that was true or not. Not really any of my business, but I thought he was a really nice man and I really liked his honesty, I was looking forward to having him as my surgeon. I hope all is okay with him soon. I met Dr. Wagner after a three hour wait on my consult day, the whole staff at the office were wonderful. Dr. Wagner answered even my most pointed questions without wriggling once. I appreciated his candor and the time he took with me despite the late time of day. I have heard from many people that the MD's are the ones you want to do the fills.

Okay, that's the last time I edit a post. Guess the code's still messed up.

<p>I'm only a 1, and don't really care one way or the other, but it does seem pretty teenager-ish. And I agree with Chickie.</p> Here's the link to the other Rep thread I found in LBT suggestions: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=33719 I think there needs to be more info about it.