RebecaSparkles

Lanacane!!! It comes in a yellow box at cvs/walmart etc. it works great on thighs, feet etc. a small pea sized dab goes far & you wont sweat through it. I put that & then for those extra humid days I put the magnolia scented johnson & johnson baby powder but only the non talc kind. There is also a monostat anti chafing cream available that works the same but smaller bottle & more girly smell. Lanacane has no smell, it doesnt leave a discoloration if you get on clothes. I am a prosthetist by trade and we use it on people who have problems on their residual limbs ( stumps). Also, anti-persperant which is different than deodorant applied to thighs the night before with a nice thick coat. And then in the next am you shower it off will help with the sweaty thighs. They also make anti-persperant sprays for amputees that work wonders but can be pricy. Regular walmart/cvs/ grocery store anti persperant normally works for most everyone but you can ask the pharmicist to sell you the " good stuff" over the counter without rx if you need more power! Hope this helps! Rebeca

I had my mirena just under a year. It hurt so bad I was sobbing on the table. My doctor did not give me anything more than motrin for the pain. I have never had a child vaginally or been pregnant so my cervix was super tight & she had to dilate me to put it in without warning. Then I kept having pain in my lower abdomen. Found out that bc I stopped traditional bcp & swapped to mirena I developed in under a month 2 ovarian cysts the size of an iphone. No joke. Had to have an ovary taken out bc they sandwhiched it & cut off the blood supply to it. Still kept the damn mirena through all that. Fast forward 10 months I still had pain in lower abdomen on ovary side so went to different dr and she pretty much had to do all but an abortion to me to pull the damn thing out as it had lodged into the side of my uterus & the arm had grown scar tissue over it she had forcefully remove it.

Having a roebecks polar pinapple smoothie & my dad is making some kind of chicken thing with jerk sauce.

Hey guys Pre-op here but In doing some reading I'm seeing some people comment that their doctors/pa/rn will only give a certain amount of fill at each visit no negotiations. And will only allow a fill every six weeks. Is that normal? I know that fill volume is subjective to each individual. But I also don't see how saying there is no fill standard & then turning around and saying this is our fill standards makes sense. I also observe that 3-4cc is a good place to start if your band had no liquid in it at surgery. I'd appreciate your wisdom on this. Thanks! Rebeca

Hooray!!! If I could throw you a parade I would! Congrats on doing something that is not only constructive but that will also help you in the long run! My dad bought a big screen tv & man cave stuff- my mom got a designer kitchen out of the divorce I think both of them would of been better off with a lap band in the long run. Divorce sucks but stand fast! You are gonna shine!

Woo hoo!!! Awesome lady!! Keep it going!

Baggy pants are pants that have a loose fit. Such as bell bottoms also known as flares. Or boot cut pants. They have excess fabric and are not form fitting below the knee. My hubby also recommended kegel weights for just a few pounds At my appointments they have me remove my jacket and purse but leave my shoes and other clothes on. I fully believe I could wear ankle weights & manipulate the scale quite easily. I'd only be cheating myself but in the long run, for me gaining 10 lbs & being denied would be worse than cheating & finding myself 10# underweight bc "oops I lost too much. " I rarely read of people underweight on the band that are complaining about being under goal. Usually you see yay under goal not boo undergoal & too thin. That's the beauty of the band. Still too big, work the band. Too thin? Work the band the other way in concert with your nut. Tl dr ( too long didnt read) : Ankle weights yes! Can hide w/ good wardrobe choices & perhaps some duck tape. They aren't gonna look under my roles!

If you look for full coverage plans with maternity coverage you'll be more likely to have sucess. I have kaiser permanente va/md/dc and they do cover but I'm not sure if they'll exclude you as a pre-existing condition. You may have some sucess going with aplace like true results that offers a flat fee for self pay. I work in the DME medical field and do have experience with patients negotiating with vendors to give you the insurance adjusted prices. We use a fee schedule that is based off medicare fees. Our " list prices" are 125% of medicare fee. Example: Item costs me 20$ to buy from supplier, medicare pays me $100 based on my regions fee schedule. ( i made 80$) So, if you walk in off the street with medicare you pay me only what your plan stipulates: co-pay, deductable or co-insurance.medicare pays the rest. But, if you have no insurance I'm to charge you my fee from my fee schedule $125. ( i made $105) Lets say you have united or aetna the two worst insurances for my field ( they may pay your doctor nice but not me) they pay out at about 60% of whatever medicare pays me - so same item I bill out at $125- which is my fee schedule amount- and get paid $75. ( I made $55.) So here's where your case comes into play. You ask to pay what the negotiated insurance rate is for the insurance company that your doctor does the most. ( you ask to pay the amount listed in the last example) they may say no , but at least you asked. Also, go down to the hospital or clinic and ask to speak to that billing person face to face. She'll give you some bs about oh we dont know exactly what the charges are til its over. Bulls$&!t, they can pull an average and base your quote off that. They may give you a 10% margin of error so if supplies are needed or an extra scrub nurse you'll still end up within your means. Furthermore, if you do have to self pay negotiate, ask for something extra. Always. A room by yourself, a window view anything, make it so even if you have to pay all 18k you get something you didnt have before. Also, you may have some luck with the state run insurances for the uninsurable -pcip? May of spelled that wrong. But it's based off the fact that you need something and no insurance company will insure you at that level for a resonable amount of money per month. Please please dont give up! If you ever want insurance advice like this or in more detail I'd love to skype with you! Message me on here & we'll set up. Good luck! Rebeca

I know I'll get flamed for this but... Ankle weights and baggy pants. Instant bmi increase if you get the adjustable ankle weights you can take out a pound at a time to make it look like you are losing until you no longer need the weights. I work in the medical field and fight insurance for prosthesis so people can walk. They won't pay and say you've been in a wheel chair you dont need to walk it's not medically necessary. Honestly, what is the difference between needing to lose 80 # and # 90 ? In lapband land if following the rules about an extra month? Without lapband it can take you a year. Cheating big time but if insurance wants to play games....

Congrats!!!! Hope you " break a leg" or is it good luck? Anyways, super excited for you! Get well soon!

Hello, I am not yet banded. Doing my pre-requisits now and found myself with a sinus infection that led to a chest cold. I have been having some very forceful can't stop hardcore coughing til I spit up a mouthful of snot/spit type problems. I am wondering if that had happened to me post op if it would of led to a slip? I haven't read anywhere about forceful coughing leading to a slip but was wondering if anyone has heard or has experience with this? My Dr did give me narcotic cough syrup to quiet my muscles & a special inhailer to help with the lung inflammation in addition to the horse pill antibiotics. I know that vomiting is a big no-no. But what about coughing? Thank you guys! I've been so grateful to find this site/ap. I feel amongst friends even though I've never met y'al. -Rebeca

I had a open & honest discussion about my weight with both my dad & husband. My dad is starting to come around to not being in denial about me being 115 # overweight. I carry almost all my weight in the abdomen & have only slightly chubby arms. He keeps telling me I'm not big enough to need this even though my bmi is 41.7 & I have high BP & Pcos. My dad keeps trying to put me off by every meal we have saying by couldn't have this or that. I then explain how to modify my meal to make band friendly. My hubby is fantastic. We are working on managing his expectations but he did comment on that If I get within 20# of goal by our wedding anniversary he'll take me to a second honeymoon & " bang a baby into me" ! That was big for me to talk about my weight directly & not just as a inference.

Wow!! You look great!! Congrats!

So, I've gotten the referral from my PCP to Surgical Weight Loss Class #1. On that referral they posted the following information. At that visit you will receive information on Kaiser Permanente patient selection criteria for weight loss surgery, a brief overview of the weight loss surgery procedures covered, nutrition and activity issues related successful weight loss surgery, and receive a list of resources. Visit 2 is an individual nutrition follow-up appointment. At that visit you will go over the forms you have been asked to fill out including the Weight Loss Surgery Patient Questionnaire and reasons for desiring weight loss surgery. Your food/fluid/activity records and current dietary supplements will be reviewed as well, and any changes needed in your eating and activity habits to meet your individualized weight goal will be discussed. Visit 3 is an individual nutrition follow-up appointment. You will review your food/fluid records for recommendations on spacing, portions, and needed changes in specific food and Fluid choices. Your activity record for lifestyle and programmed activities will also be reviewed. Visit 4 is the Weight Loss Surgery Class 2 (GB2 class). This class will focus on how to eat after weight loss surgery, dietary supplements needed after surgery and discuss the keys to success following weight loss surgery. Visit 5 is an individual nutrition follow-up appointment. You will review food/fluid/activity records and supplement choices. You will also review your sample meal/beverage schedule for timing of meals, fluids and supplements and your sample puree/soft and regular menus to ensure appropriate food choices. Visit 6 is an individual nutrition follow-up appointment. You will review food/fluid/activity records to ensure they are appropriate. You will finalize meal/beverage schedule, sample meals, supplement selection, and check on support and medicines. In addition to the visits described above, you must attend the Weight Control class taught by a Kaiser Permanente nutritionist. This class should be taken as early into the program as possible. The visits above describe the minimum number of visits to successfully complete the program. Some patients may need additional visits to prepare for weight loss surgery approval. At some point in this process you will also need to call 866-530-8778 to schedule a Behavioral Health Evaluation. Behavior health clearance is required before your case is presented to the Obesity Work Group (OWG) for approval for bariatric surgery. Upon completion of the KP Weight Loss Surgery Program your case will be presented to the OWG and if approved, you will be referred to one of our internal or participating bariatric surgeons.

Hello all! Just wondering if there are any bandsters out there that recieved their bands from Kaiser? I'm just now beginning my journey & am in the process of submitting for approval but they haven't been forthcoming on details on timeline & expectations after approval leading up to getting a date. Thanks!!! Rebeca

Nellie- any updates? I've just been referred for weight loss surgery class #1. Is that the one where they weigh you? I bought some ankle weights to help my cause, my NUT told me last year that I was too thin for WLS @ a BMI of 39.8 and that if I were heavier.... So I read between the lines and am worried about being not heavy enough. Those last 8 lbs just about killed me to put on & I'm having a hard time keeping them on. Connie- my PCP wants me to do weight watchers , and exercise more which I tried to do b4 my wedding and only lost a net of 5 lbs which came right back over the honeymoon. She seems such a negative nancy, even now that my BMI is up to 41 & my bp has been so high she's given me bp pills. I don't feel like she's on my team... My Gyn is totally supportive & so is my derm dr! Anyways. Can anyone outline the process in the dc/md/va area?

Is it like gas ( farts) or gas from the surgery? I'm pre-op and have bern wondering.

These are my toy poodles Nami & Frankie. One of the major reasons I'm having the is surgery ( I'm still in pre-op phase) is to get healthy for them. It kills me that they want to go on long walks, play chase and fetch but I'm too winded/tired/beat to do it. Frankie ( the blk & white) has a weight problem and his vet looked at me with the whole no wonder he's fat too. So.. I dearly love my fur babies. They have always been there for me even when friends or thehubby couldn't or wouldn't be. They are my drive.