HarleyNana

My surgery was done in Hampton, VA. It was a package deal of $15,750.00, broken down..$10,500.00 hospital-1 night stay, $4500.00-surgeon, $750.00 anesth. All paid up front. That did not include the $150 psych bill. Now every one who read an xray is trying to charge me additional, the ekg readers want money. I keep refering them to the hospital and dr's office. I'm not paying any more! Then the hospital called and wanted me to work out financial arrangements for these other little charges because I DIDN'T have insurance. I told her I DO have insurance, and who it's with is immaterial because they don't cover wls and they wouldn't be getting anymore than the $10,500 certified ck they got before they did the surgery. They kept trying to get me to pay 1/2 the charges since they thought I had no insurance, but once I told them I had insurance, they were trying their best to get the name so they could bill them full price. That's why our rates are outrageous. I own a construction business, one day one of my guys got cut, as soon as he went to medcare, they wanted to know if workers comp was paying, I said NO, I would be paying. Now if he'd broken his leg and was going to be out of work for a while, I would have give them the w/c carrier's name. Paying that $150.00 for stitches prob saved me a couple of thousand from prem increase for reporting a claim. Workers Comp Ins, that's another whole ballgame. Oh Lisa, I guess I was kinda bored too, ramble, ramble, oh yea, fills and follow up are included for a year, without fluro, after that, I won't care, because I'll be at goal. (Please Lord let me be at goal, lol.)

Alex, you sure your weight is right, You sure look a lot smaller than what you've stated. You look marvelous darlin!

Glad you're both home.

Greg, how do you spell "two-sha", you know, like I second that, ditto!

Betty, I would have sent you a get well, but I feel like a real dummy, I've never been to the "lounge" before. I especially like the joke thread. Glad you're better.

Ryan, Your Mom, Mary Ann and Edwin are not around anymore, eat as slow or fast as you desire to eat! You're the big guy in control now and now it's time for you to become what you might have been....it's never too late.

Katie, I'm glad Dr. Allen assisted in the placement of my band. He must be pretty good to be the proctor for Inmed. He was also there for the repair of my haital hernia. Didn't get a chance to meet him, but I'm glad he was there.

Delarla, I could have written that entire post myself. When I was a young girl, (never little), I would take my lunch to school. I couldn't concentrate any of the morning for thinking about what was in my lunch. I could hardly wait to eat it. When we go to a restaurant, I always ordered a salad because I couldn't stand watching someone else eat while I was sitting there and to give me something to do while waiting for the main course. And before ordering, I always ordered something that I knew came in abundance, I wanted to make sure I got my money's worth you know.

I just need to at least take the baby steps. I need some serious exercise for my inner thighs. I realized today that I'm already starting to get sagging skin there. I thought with this small of a weight loss I had a ways to go before being concerned about sagging skin. Jack you go any good inner thigh exercises.

Make notes, when I saw my doctor pre-op, I had all my questions written down and went through everyone of them. Most of them were prompted by articles on LBT, he wrote the site down and said he needed to check it out.

Katie, I tried the spray vitamins and the smell came through my pores and would last all day, plus you have to spray numerous times per day. Again, this particular liquid vitamin is a 1 gulp a day and done. The spray may work for others as well, maybe I'm just over sensitive.

Read the message by Penni about liquid vitamins in General Discussion. I got a bottle and 1 quick gulp and you're done for the day. No after taste, it's yuky looking green, but a citrus taste that's gone by the time you put the bottle back in the fridge.

Darcy that's why I'm not going to weigh today. I had several things with salt, ham, beans, etc and I know I'm holding fluid, which is probably what you're doing. Don't get discouraged and re-evaluate what you've eaten the last few days, a lot of salt? Don't be too hard on yourself, those lbs will prob be gone in a couple of days.

Sounds like the vitamin to me, especially since it's pretty much gone today. I always took my daily pills before bed, but now have tried to switch to am, to avoid the problems you dealt with last night.

Funny you mentioned beans, I have eaten lots of bean products. When I go to Taco Bell, I get the pintos n cheese and a soft taco supreme, w/tomatoes, then I dump the pintos/cheese & contents of taco into a bowl, stir it up and makes quite a meal. For New Years, blackeyed peas. I think/hope these are healthy fiberous-protein choices.

Please let us know the results, hope all goes well. I know you had me checking mine out real good last night and this am.

Obviously, you can't take a few chomps and swallow, ya gotta chew chew chew chew. Also, you could do half and see how it goes, then the other half, plus it's a healthy. I really think s/f hard candy and the viactiv is why I have managed to keep from grazing, (I put these on top of the real chocolates my dh can eat, he has to dig a little, LOL).Don't forget your liquid vitamins! Oh yea, I finally broke the stuck on 18 lb , -20.5 now :banana .

Prunes, a banders best friend. Also fills in for a snack with a purpose.

Nancy, 60 lbs in 3 months, that's wonderful. Is the 1cc still holding you? My dr is planning on a fill every month. Hope I won't need one every month. Keep up the good work.

Melissa, I'm only 4 weeks post op and mine doesn't look anything like that, actually, I can't even tell which place is actually the port, although I think I know which one. You might want to pm Delarla, she's had major port problems, she would be the pro on this one. Please let us know what you find out.

I'll be 4 weeks post-op tomorrow and I didn't think I'd ever get to -20. While I was still on liquids I stayed the same for days, I couldn't believe it, but I actually wasn't eating enough. In two days I had 2 cups of Soup each day, and gained 1.5 lbs. I almost cried I was so upset. So, I started eating higher Protein mush then lost the 1.5 and then some. The body really does store food, it may be worth a try to eat more protein and see what happens. I do very little carbs, maybe a spoon full of mashed potatoes, but no bread. I'm introducing solids now, still don't want to start breads or taters, I'm afraid if I start that will be my down fall, so I'm not going there, I hope. Wow 19 lbs, have you picked up a couple bags of 10lb potatoes and see what your missing carrying around everyday. You've done quite well, it's not like you had a bypass, don't beat yourself up, enjoy your journey.

Michelle, you must live pretty close to Mexico. Do you drive or fly, I've never even been close, wouldn't know where to start. I may consider Mexico after my year of free fills. You've done very well, congratulations on your loss.

I'm 4 days short of being a month post-op and I'm already very happy with my band. It has given me the willpower I needed to make the right food choices. It's one of those things where you have a calm and just know this was meant for you to do. Enjoy your new journey and good luck.

Blossom, I would demand a appt/meeting with the Dr. I would tell him exactly what you've told us and that you want your free fills, unless there's an indication there's a problem with the band, I don't see where you'd need fluro everytime. My doc said he was filling w/ 1cc on Jan 10, then another on Feb 10. When I asked about the fluro, he said, just a waste unless there's a problem, just an added expense. I get a year of fills, not 12 or 6, but a year of what ever it takes. I would ask him why he used the 10 after he told you he would be using the smaller one, there must be a reason, but is it a valid reason? As for his office help, either put them in their place or ask for the office manager and don't hold back! You paid for better service and you deserve the service and attention....just my opinion. I'd be in somebody's face like flies on do-do. Doctors or their staff do not intimidate me, I'm footing the bill and I will be treated with respect or I will be making complaints with the medical board. Stay out of the kitchen and get in that doctor's face! You've worked too hard to have a major setback. Good Luck!

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