WASaBubbleButt

My insurance cord. just called me and said my insurance would only pay for a lapband or bypass. They said if I wanted the sleeve I would have to be self pay.

I am so sad and disappointed I could cry.

She wants me to talk to the surgeon about it when I go for a visit before I decide what to do.

I will have to pay alot of money at the visit.

$250 consult

$500 program fee

$295 for Phych Eval.

:tongue_smilie: Judy

Can you tell them you are willing to pay the consult but you aren't sure you want surgery just yet so you can't pay for a psych eval and program fee? At least you can talk to your surgeon and just take this one step at a time?

Thanks for that -- I always thought that Atkins wasn't healthy for any length of time. I prefer sals with a bit of chicken and cheese on them over eggs, red meat, etc. I also love whole grain bread - I can't even tell you the last time I bought white bread. So it's nice to read you take on moderation of all food groups is the best path ... once I am off these damn liquids/mushies and can eat "real" food, I intend to go back to eating the veggies, fish, chicken, fruits and some whole grain foods as I did before ... I'll just leave out the pastries, ice cream, Cookies -- basically white refined sugar. I think I will do well with that concept ... and lots of exercising -- I guess only time will tell.

My 3 month check up (at my one year post op) was primo! The only food group I have cut out is white carbs. Bread, Pasta, flour, sugar, and potatoes.

I feel great, I maintain well, life is grand.

I feel one hell of a lot better than when I was having band problems and lived on Protein shakes and tuna!

Well, situps are not a very effective method of getting rid of your belly anyway, so if they hurt, dont do them.

To get rid of the belly, you need CARDIO. You can strengthen your abdominal muscles till the cows come home but that does not get rid of fat, you have to burn the fat to have a flat stomach adn for that, you need to eat less and move more. Running, spinning or cycling, swimming, walking, elliptical, those things are what will get rid of your belly.

To strengthen it, if you dont like sit ups - look at more pilates style exercises - planks, fit ball work, I never do a sit up and I have rock hard abs. Mostly from running, it strengthens your tummy marvellously.

Also, be realistic, if you are apple shapes and carry a lot of weight in your belly, it probably will be one of the last areas to shed all of the weight.

Jacqui is right, spot training was proven ineffective years ago. You need hard cardio and lots of it. Your body will burn fat where it wants to and you get no say-so over it. :tongue2:/

Honestly, the way I felt after surgery, I couldn't imagine having to sit through a flight back home.

I'd die. I'd choke myself on peanuts.

I was in an ungodly amount of pain after surgery. I was in the hospital for about 8 hrs and didn't feel halfway decent until 8 or so days later....and yes, I was on meds.

I wasn't able to ride in a car comfortably for 2 weeks+.... a plane after 2 days would've put me over the edge.

Everyone's different of course, but these things need to be considered too.

Surgeon skill plays a big role in that as well. If your surgeon is inexperienced or simply rough during surgery you are going to have a more difficult recovery. I went shopping two days after my band with no problem whatsoever and after my sleeve revision I went for a long weekend up north within a week post op.

Surgeon skill means everything in the world.

Also, some people just don't do pain well. But I have to say, I never had pain with my band, just sore and uncomfortable and I had a hiatal hernia repair done at the same time.

Why would you be eating peanuts 2 days post op?

You can see obesity trends according to the state you live in:

BRFSS Prevalence and Trends Data - List of All States

Just find your state and click for more details.

By the way- I dont work for orchard bank I work in real estate and believe it or not a 615 is not a bad score. You can buy a home with a 620. Anywho we work with people needing credit repair (and they pay for this info) but I figured I would share it with you since you are in need of assistance. Any other questions- feel free to ask.

Good luck to you!

The problem with surgery loans is that they are unsecured loans so your credit has to be higher. A friend of mine is going through this right now. Every single surgery loan company has told her the same thing, for a surgery loan you have to be around 675-700 before they will even consider it. :rolleyes2:(

Is there a certain time period in which one can edit their own posts? I noticed this morning I had a typo and was going to edit it; however, the edit option was not there and is was my own post. Not that it matters, just an occupational hazard -- drives me crazy when I happen across a post of mine and it has a typo.

Just curious. Thanks

If you want me to edit something for you just send me a link and I'll do whatever you wish.

Maybe we should talk to Alex about that. I'm not sure why the restriction is there.

I am still tyring to find a Protein I like. Does anyone know how much shipping is for samples from vitalady.com & about how long it takes to receive them? We are leaving in one week for surgery & I'd love to be able to order some full sizes before leaving.

Also, any suggestions on which nectar flavors to try?

Vitalady is a great source but it's kind of expensive, isn't it? Is it cheaper to contact the manufacturer? They have some sort of sample deal they do.

After you decide what you like this is the cheapest place I have found when you figure in shipping:

Netrition.com - The Internet's Premier Nutrition Superstore!

No matter how much you order it's only $4.95 for shipping. I'm waiting for two orders from there myself. Cheaper shipping doesn't help when I forget stuff and have to order twice. ;o)

I am no help with nectar flavors, I'm the rare one that doesn't like any of them.

What is a good way to set a goal weight? I don't want to set an unrealistic goal, but I don't want to set my goal weight too high either. Anyone have a good way to set a goal?

I didn't really know what weight would be ideal for me so my original goal was a BMI of 24.9, the top end of normal BMI. I just went from there.

Here is a BMI calculator:

Calculate your BMI - Standard BMI Calculator

And a BMR calculator as well:

BMR Calculator

On the above link if you look in the lower right hand side it gives more things to calculate. ;o)

my DH will be going with me and he is wanting to know about the cafeteria in the hospital. I'm assuming that is where he will need to go to get his meals & he'd like to know what to expect...what's served, what's the cost? Also, how about the Lucerna hotel? What is available there & what are the prices like?

DH is big on budgeting, so he's putting our "Mexico" budget together right now. :laugh0: One more thing, if we use our Visa debit card should we expect extra charges? We don't want to carry any more cash that is necessary.

It is very good food and it is very affordable too. I'd say about $6.00/meal and it's a LOT of food. They have traditional Mexican food, Soups, burgers, sandwiches, oh... their OJ is fresh squeezed.

There are other restaurants around the hospital that are verrry easy walking distance. Less than a block.

At Lucerna they have everything but it is a bit more expensive.

The businesses won't charge you more for using a credit/debit card but your bank will. I don't recall how much, maybe someone else knows? It has to do with the exchange rate. Since I'm not banded I don't have to go there anymore so I haven't used a credit card there in ages.

Hi everyone. I'm recently new to this site. I came here because I was determined to get the sleeve done and remove my band.

Today I scheduled my surgery but decided on the RNY over the Sleeve. My surgeon really feels that I would do better with the RNY over the sleeve - Because I love sweets, and I know how easy it is to eat around my lap band I've decided to go with the RNY as my revision. I feel that I've made a good decision and Hopefully with determination I will be a success story.

I owe each of you who post a big Thank you-- I've learned alot about the sleeve and was originally my choice for Revision. Thank you for posting your experiences and your success stories.

This is a great forum- I hope it's okay if I continue to come back and visit and post even though I'm not a sleeved person. Your all so inspirational!

My surgery date is Aug 3rd!!!

Congrats on getting a date! Good for you!

It does not matter which surgery type you have, you are always welcome here, forever! BTW, Alex will be opening up a bypass forum soon as well!

The sleeve isn't a right fit for everyone, no single surgery type is. We all have to decide what surgery type is right for us. I think you will find that you have an easier time with bypass merely because you have previously been banded. You already know the routine, small bites, eat slowly, etc.

I remember a few months after I revised to a sleeve from a band and I was posting on another board someone asked if you slime or barf a lot with a sleeve. I said that I hadn't and I was maybe 4-5 months post op. Another person told me I was not telling the truth, we all slime and barf in the beginning. I really hadn't and that is when I realized the ONLY reason I didn't was because I had already learned how to eat after WLS.

I think you will find that you have an easier time than newbies to WLS when you have your revision. You won't have the problems they may have.

Congrats to you! And if you try to leave our forum we'll find you and drag you back. ;o) Besides, I think we also have a bypass section of the forum. If we don't we'll add one but I am pretty sure Elisabeth added one in the beginning.

Congrats on your date! That's the day you get your life back!

Thanks, Elisabeth. I am sitting here reading this eating a piece of bacon. ;o)

Yesterday was agood day. I felt amazingly good. Dr Campos warned me last night that I may not feel as good today an he was right. I am very sore, it is hard to take a deep breath and I am very tired. I have't had the horrible gas everyone taks about, but I have been trying to walk alot. It hurts to burp. I fly home on Wednesday which is a 7 hour flight. I sure hope I feel better by then. Let me know when I should start feeling better. nausea hits me suddenly. i ave to focus very hard to not throw up.

Day #2 is the worst! You'll feel better each day. Congrats on getting your surgery!

The more you walk the better you'll feel and the faster you will feel great!

oops, the last post was not from Jaffa Steve, it was from skinnymommytobe. i forgot to log him off.

HA! I did not realize you are Jaffa's wife!

Add your fresh, canned or frozen greens in the pot with your ham hocks and Water. Put on the lid and simmer. It dosen't take very long for the greens to cook.

How long is not very long? A few minutes? An hour? I never even knew what greens were until Grandma (a friend's gma) made them for me and I instantly fell in love! She had another recipe for what she called Gypsy chicken. Ohhhh that was good. And her fried chicken was the BEST!

Grandma's can always cook well!

She's going with her fiance. He's getting sleeved.

Oye veh.... I couldn't sleep last night and must have had my head up my butt. ;o)

Hello,

I have recently had people at work tell me they think I am too thin and have been telling my husband that as well. Now they have him concerned and he is bothering me about it.

I am in the normal BMI range with a BMI of 22. I am 5'8" and weigh 145. I feel very healthy and at an appropriate weight. I work out moderatly - 5x/week for about 40 minutes. I eat a wide variety of foods and take my supplements.

My feelings are getting hurt and I am wondering if anyone else has had experience with this and how have you dealt with it? My husband is overweight as are many of the people I work with. I think we are just used to seeing people heavy and that when you are in the normal range you look thin.

I am guessing they are also used to seeing me heavy and that this is all a change for them. Please let me know what you say to people and has anyone else had problems with this?

thank you ,

michelle

I get the same thing and I'm a BMI of 20. Remember, a BMI of 18.5-24.9 is normal and healthy.

I think people say these things for two reasons, one is that 2/3 of the population today is overweight or obese, the healthy BMIers truly are the minority. People no longer recognize a healthy weight anymore.

Also, I have noticed that those who tell me I am too thin are overweight themselves. It's a hard pill to swallow when you see someone that was able to lose weight and you can't.

I wouldn't let it hurt my feelings, life is too short. Let them deal with their stuff in their own time.

Actually it's pretty crazy... the $6500 covers ALL transportation and hotel fees... EVERYTHING! I've looked at it.

It really is a good deal. You can't go to just anyone in MX but you can't go to just anyone in the US either. You have to do your research.

US: $9K on up, usually much higher

MX: $6500

US: Surgery is done on an outpatient basis usually

MX: Two nights of hospitalization

US: Less experienced surgeons usually (MX has been banding people for 18 years, US is 8 years so obviously, they are going to be more experienced typically since they have been doing it 10 years longer)

MX: Harder to find after care

There are pros and cons to anything, people have to research and find their comfort level.

But if she goes to Mexico, she still has to pay for the air fare and hotel and food expenese. Those also add up on top of the $6500. Plus, no one will be there to take care of her after the surgery. At hometown, at least Mom and Dad could take care of her for a couple of days after the surgery.

Depends on where she goes. My doc is in MX and he charges $6500 for the band, the person has to pay their own airfare ($300?) and she would be in the hospital for two nights after surgery. Figure ... $6800 total. There are no hotel expenses. Clinics use hotels. The better doctors work out of actual hospitals.

Even if someone went with her they would stay in her room with her. An extra $300 for airfare and maybe $50 for food. That is $7150. Still MUCH cheaper than the US and a LOT more hospitalization.

The issue here is that she would have to find follow up care BEFORE going to MX for surgery. In my city it is no big deal, some cities have nobody that will do follow up care on anyone they did not operate on.

For what she is looking at spending in the US she could actually have a sleeve in MX and never need routine follow up care. That is another option.

I am a "with faith anything is possible" kinda gal.

The Lord Provides for "me" I worry about "me" only, cause if I dont worry about Me who will???

I have UNCONDITIONAL Faith.....:thumbdown:

Skinny and Poor, and maybe the lord will provide me with a Multi millionare!!

I have a hunch you aren't in the kind of need that a starving child is Africa is. You have to admit, if he isn't providing for those seriously in need, and are dying for just a piece of bread, he doesn't really provide all that well?

Maybe you are just extra special, not sure. ;o)

Good point -- I'll have to see what's available.

??? Didn't you already have surgery?

I have read that there are only 20 surgeons who perform the VSG worldwide. Surely this is inaccurate??

Who all has had their surgery in the US?

Nonono... it's about 50. Those who have done 250 sleeves AND 250 bypasses. Staple line experience. That is key. If you are looking for the #1 US sleeve surgeon it is Cirangle in SF, CA. If you are looking for the #1 sleeve surgeon in MX it is Aceves.

Bypass is the hard staple line, sleeves are easier. Go with experience to avoid leaks.

I think so - because when they moved us to the last room on the right by the double doors, our reception went to nearly nil.

Wonder if I can "choose" our room when Bob goes for his surgery ... LOL

If the room is open, why couldn't you?

might have to give them a call i think!!!!!!

Let us not forget, hospitals are in competition with one another to get patients. You are the consumer, they are the merchant. Make them behave as such.

I can eat about 2 - 2 1/2 ounces of cottage cheese at a time. Still working on that. yogurt goes down easier.

Soft foods ALWAYS go down faster and easier. That is how one eats around their surgery type. Go for it, eat around your surgery type during the healing phase. After you are done healing THEN you do the WLS way, solid Proteins first.

For now, go for it. Eat around your sleeve. It's all good during healing.