Sleeveless in seattle

Wow, you really wear your weight well. You looked nowhere near 380 and still look nowhere near 240. You look great! Good job! I hope to follow your footsteps! Any tips?

My surgeon says to stay away from lentils and split pea for a while. Weird how different surgeons can be so, well, different!

I forgot to add....I asked the insurance coordinator at NWWLS about the BLIS insurance and she said that they (the office) take care of submitting everything. You do have to go back if you have complications since it is the surgeon who is covered by BLIS, you can't just choose a different dr and go there. Hope that makes sense.

I'm guessing you are choosing between the same two that I had to...PSB or NWWLS? Im self pay and I'll tell you why I decided on NWWLS. Have you been to the seminars yet? NWWLS seminar, I met the surgeon (along with other employees). He talked quite a bit and also had a Q&A session after, along with staying late to answer individual questions. PSB...only a coordinator came to the seminar. She had some info but not a lot. Couldn't answer everyone's questions (there were only 6 of us). She had been sleeved which I thought would be helpful. She kept talking about how she lost like 80 lbs, had a tummy tuck and has now joined weight watchers to lose more weight (she's still fairly overweight). That was not reassuring to me! She has been sleeved, is an employee there and still feels the need to go to weight watchers for support, nutritional info, etc.?! Both centers do "outpatient", which is less than 24 hours stay. You are around my starting weight and PSB told me it is an overnight stay for a sleeve at my size. NWWLS is overnight, going home the next morning after your leak test. Both were the same for me as far as a stay. Overall I felt way more comfortable with NWWLS although I've heard good things with PSB too, it would've helped had the seminar gone better and I met an actual surgeon. They were both very comparable in cost which led me to look at the BLIS insurance as you are. That was the final deciding factor. I can't afford extra hospital bills in case of an emergency when I'm already paying so much for the surgery itself. My dad was in the hospital (in Everett) for 10 days with no insurance...the bill was $90,000!!! And I do have insurance, it just excludes the surgery and complications. I've had my consult, psych, nutritionist visit and endoscopy so far and all has gone well. I should have a date sometime this week. If I would've doubted the facility or felt uncomfortable at any time I would've had to reconsider but I really feel more at peace having the BLIS. Im sorry this is so long, I'm sure I've missed parts of why I chose one over the other but I hope it helped.

Ditto on the question above about exercise. No loose tummy skin??? There is hope!

You look a lot younger now! Keep it up!

I just wanted to say that your pain sounds like the gallbladder attacks I used to have.

So I saw in your profile you are the same height and similar starting weight as me. I know everyone's different but how is the excess skin situation for you? Did you lose all that weight with the sleeve or is that your highest weight? How long did it take you?

I have group health Alliant plus so it is the most flexible of all their plans and I can see any doctor I want. On the flip side, bariatric surgery is an exclusion on my plan so I just paid almost 20,000 for my upcoming surgery. Is it included in your plan? If it is included and you were denied then they should be able to be specific about what you need to do in order for them to approve and pay. The phone operators for group health don't generally know what they're talking about the times I've needed to call. I would check your benefit book and see what it says. Also, if the doctor had to put in for it then maybe he can tell you what hoops you need to jump though.

Don't worry too much about it, people tend to judge from outward appearances. A BMI of 35 is obese isn't it? I have a much higher BMI than you (would love your 35!!) yet you are actually a better candidate for the surgery than me because I have no co-morbidities like you. I do have a friend who is having "weight loss surgery" with a lower BMI than you and it is for severe digestive problems. To judge by just looking at her size, she definitely does not need it, but if you knew what she went through she really needs it. Also I have heard of people having a bypass for digestion issues and acid reflux.

I love my vitamix. It is a lot of money but that's why I bought it at Costco. It was the cheapest there and I can return it whenever with no questions asked.

I love Big Train. I use cold coffee as the liquid and vanilla flavored mostly. Also I sometimes add sugar free syrup like salted caramel for a change. I get mine from supplyvillage.com I didn't like the vanilla latte at all but plain vanilla is great. Mocha is my second favorite. I prefer it using the blended drink recipe on the back with 2 scoops. My husband takes a scoop in a Blender Bottle to work every day and adds a k-cup to it.

I love Big Train. I use cold coffee as the liquid and vanilla flavored mostly. Also I sometimes add sugar free syrup like salted caramel for a change. I get mine from supplyvillage.com I didn't like the vanilla latte at all but plain vanilla is great. Mocha is my second favorite. I prefer it using the blended drink recipe on the back with 2 scoops. My husband takes a scoop in a Blender Bottle to work every day and adds a k-cup to it.