kimk1999

Definitely talk to your HR person at work. I'm definitely not an expert, but there's a chance your employer could have opted out of this part of the coverage to save some money. Did you find the coverage page once you logged in and went to see your coverage? Or did you find that wls was covered generically by that insurance company.

Yeah I agree with the previous commenters. Tell him. I barely told anybody but I definitely told my fiancé. They should know in case you have some major complication. I have a card in my wallet that states we cannot have a blind ngtube (spelling - can't remember real name) placed but your sig other should mention this to EMTs or at least you have the lap band and to check your card for details. Just about every one has had a stuck episode. When you eat with someone you love you need to be able to deal with it appropriately. If you take a bite and rush to the restroom that will be awkward to answer. I think you should tell your bf to gain his support. He should be on your team and help you out. If he's not that kind of guy, you might want to reconsider for when life does get really tough. Say cancer / chemo.

Yeah I second gowalking's advice. Can you find someone else? My surgeon and gyno both know I did the lap band to get lose weight for pregnancy. They are both on board. My surgeon recently gave me the green light to start trying (whenever I reach a weight that I want to be to get pregnant). Congrats on the pregnancy and I wish you the best of luck this time around. if you can find a different surgeon, I'd recommend trying that route.

I can completely understand that desire with the results of losing weight but yeah it's definitely not something to toy with. Especially if you can't even keep liquids down. Are you doing super small sips? Definitely try to get in to see your doctor as soon as possible. Did you tell them that you can't keep liquids down? Is there a NP on site that can help with an unfill? Not from personal experience, but from what I've read, it'll be hit or miss if the ER will have a knowledgeable doctor that will know how to unfill. Google and look up signs for dehydration. The ER can definitely help with that at least. I know you love this magical quick weight loss but go see your doc asap!!

Dec 2, 2013 - Pre-op appt - 208 Dec 16 - Surgery date - 202Dec 30 - 2 week post op - 194.5Jan 24 - at 6 week post op - 189 March 15 - 3 month post op - 175 So 27 lbs within 3 months. Now down to 170. I've somewhat hit a stall lately, but I've included more alcohol in my diet too so that's slowing me down. You might make it too. Some people lose quicker some lose slower. I have missed the gym more than gone, but I've definitely kept up my walking. Try your best to really limit portions. Stop when you've eaten the 4-6 oz even if you don't feel full. Hang up a swimsuit for motivation.

Yeah definitely talk to your surgeon and call your insurance. I was approved with a BMI of 36 and high cholesterol, 'possible' obesity related sleep apnea, and PCOS. I really just needed a BMI over 35 and 1 comorbidality. I've read that some insurances require 40. Even after you call your insurance see if your surgeon has had any luck getting similar issues approved. I was discouraged after just the insurance call but the surgeons office made it seem possible and it was! Banded Dec 2013. Oh yeah, if you need a 3 month surprised diet make sure that you really don't lose any weight to drop below the 35. Don't want to mess that part up with everything else going on, lol. It's a game and learn to play their rules.

I am band patient... Anyways, I can only take the gummy Vitamins as those are the only ones without Zinc. Any other Vitamin that I take with even just 2.5 mg of Zinc I'll become extremely nauseated. I can't do Zycam or certain lozenges either. If you can't stomach the others might want to revisit your doctor to see if you can go back to the gummy kind. Something with sugar should be better than nothing at all. Again I'm a band patient so sleeve requirements might be different.

Any clue what amount is in your band? I've heard of a lot of surgeons that only give like 0.5 to 1 cc per fill. I'm at a 5.8 in a 10 cc band. The quantity of fills doesn't matter as much when compared to the qty in the band. Ask your doc to be more aggressive with fills if you're not feeling full with little amounts and hungry all the time.

On myfitnesspal page, my 'quote' is that I'm tired of the weight roller coaster. I feel like the only one at work that's gone up and down so much. The latest was that I had gained about 60lbs in my current role at work (over a year time period). Gained and lost 30,40,50 many times over. I had been trying to get pregnant for about 1.5 years and after a lot of tests my doc basically told me that I needed to lose weight and reduce my stress. Well I'm an engineer and the main breadwinner that needs the job. I've done what I can to reduce stress but it's still there. I tried to lose weight on my own but it felt stuck and therefore looked into wls. My surgeon originally requested 12 month waiting period to maximize weight loss but last visit she gave me the go ahead to start trying once I reach a goal weight for pregnancy. I'm 3 months banded. 33.5 years old. BMI was 36.2 but now 28.9! Part of me wishes I did this earlier but I think this was the perfect time for me.

Wow! I have not heard of that before. Good luck!!

Honestly.- I think you're eating too little and making your body think it's in starvation mode. My doc recommends 800-1000 calories. Try to add a snack or two between meals to try to boost your metabolism.

Banded Dec 2013 with Cigna paying 1. Had the 3 month physician supervised diet plan. BMI was at 35, so in couldn't really lose any weight with this plan. Just a waste of money for documentation. Weight watcher types not approved. Needed to be a physician. 2. My surgeon as part of my medical history I did fill out a form of the different types of diets that I had done over the past 7-10 years (can't remember). It wasn't official in any way. Just my memory. Dates (to-from), diet type (weight watchers, HCG, B-12, diet / exercise), starting weight and ending weight. Nothing was 'officially' documented, no proof. Cigna didn't question it as far as I know of. I don't know if my surgeons office did anything to try to back it up - called HCG clinic, B-12 clinic or left it alone.

Bander here so I may be offering non applicable advice... No carbonation - anytime that I've had a beer, I've had to ask for a straw too to swirl it around to reduce the carbonation. Oh how I miss my beer sometimes. If I'm 'desperate' for lack of a better word, I'll have a sip or two without any problems of my fiancé's beer. Carbonation now is just quite painful. Hurts up in my shoulder area. I'll drink wine and sometimes mixed drinks like a mojito or sangria. Again, need to be careful of those bubbles. Yes they are empty calories but it's an enjoyable part of life. Wine is even healthy for you in moderation. I still keep a log of my calories when drinking. I'm definitely more of a light weight. I'll feel nauseated a lot quicker too so be careful. You're not eating as much, less food in the stomach to slow it down, you're not drinking as much overall (daily/weekly) and you've lost weight - all factors that contribute to your diminishing tolerance. Be careful, don't plan on driving and have fun.

Oh another 'trick' that some people have done here and my surgeons office has told me about others-- they will let you weigh in with whatever you have in your pockets / on you. Some have mentioned a purse with weights. Others have put rocks in their pockets or wore ankle weights.

My insurance required a min of 35 BMI w/ comorbidalities. How much weight would you have to gain to get up to 35. Sounds crazy I know. During the required three month pre-op diet, I was 'advised' not to lose any weight to make sure insurance didn't deny. As soon as it was approved I started losing again. Lol. If you want them to pay you have to play their games. Yes the surgery is approved for less than 35 BMI but I don't know of any insurances that will pay for less than 35. By the way - my insurance is Cigna.

How much water do they recommend? I'm trying to drink at least two liters of water a day but I still feel a bit dehydrated. It's hard to drink even that amount. My skin is super dry and even my inner part of my hands look pruney (like I've been in water but I haven't). Googling those symptoms it says I'm likely dehydrated. I'll also drink about 16 oz of black coffee in the morning.

@@bluetigereyes - I suggest to try different nuts before the trip. Almonds (at least pre-band) gives me intestinal discomfort and gas. I do my best to limit them. If you're stuck in a car ride, that might not be the time to figure that out I've heard my brother in law mention the same thing so it might be somewhat common.

Beef Jerky works for me (Oberto makes some without MSG). Just make sure you take small bites as that's difficult to chew really well sometimes. Dried fruits (I love Apricots). Nuts. Cooler with yogurt (but don't over pack that). Protein shakes. Have you looked on the forum for fast food ideas and it still doesn't work or haven't tried them yet? Chick-fil-a - I get the kids 4 count grilled nugget combo (with fruit). Sometimes I can have it plain, sometimes I need BBQ to get it down. Wendy's - many people like the chili. Panera bread (sit down fast food) - I like the turkey chili or the black bean Soup Chipotle - I get a single taco, chicken, mild salsa, black Beans, sour cream, cheese... Then I skip the shell. It's only $2.47.

I am starting to feel a little guilty when some of the heavier coworkers ask how I've lost weight. Part of me wants to tell to them but I really want to keep that private. For the most part I tell them portion control, low carbs and exercising more. Which is all true. I do add the 'for the most part' at the beginning to sort of disclaim that it's not the only things, lol. If they don't ask further or specific questions then I'm not going to expand upon it. I guess it's sort of like the "How are you doing" general question. You tell them "good" and will usually reply "How are you?" 'Good' is not the full story there. You're omitting some back story there. Also the whole - what did you do this weekend? You don't tell them every little detail. So that's how I try to not feel guilty about not mentioning my band.

Oh - one thing a family I knew that would do... Say they are going to a state for something specific (family reunion), they'd stop at the state line and pick up a ton of brochures and make lots of stops along the way. If it was normally say a 16 hr straight drive, it might take them 4-5 days to get there. They really enjoyed their journey to their destination.

Yeah if you're from Florida just about everything will be better (I live here too so I can say that). Here's my wish list California - make a 2+ week trip to cover everything - redwood forest, wineries, coastline, San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge, Hollywood, isn't Yellowstone up there near the Redwood trees? Washington - Seattle (my brother lives in Spokane so I've seen the eastern side of the state) Oye there's too much to type with my little phone keyboard. Lol. Mine are the major highlights. Hiking here, seeing that. Etc. I have the travel bug big time, just not the budget to make it all happen anytime soon.

One of the biggest places a lot of us use to track calories is on myfitnesspal. There's a lot of us that have share our user name to have friends on that site. They even have a phone app to scan barcodes or just enter your calories while out and about.

I'm about 3 months post op - I only told my parents, my fiancé and one close coworker that I eat lunch with everyday. My mom told my grandma and my sister. No clue if my grandma told the rest of the family (for prayer of course during my surgery). My mom told me about my sister in law was planning bypass, so I ended up telling her. My fiancé told his brother. So it's slowly expanded. I still haven't said anything on FB. I hope to keep it pretty quiet. My sister was hurt to find out from my mom, but knowing her, she would have tried to talk me out of it. I know it's bad to pick her feelings being hurt over mine but I needed the surgery and not to try another quick fix fad diet.

I tried pescatarian for a few months pee banding. I enjoyed it and liked it. My fiancé is the main cook. He loves beef so I try not to complain. Plus we like different fishes. I like plain low taste and he likes stronger tasting fish. I was mostly keying into the comment about trying it for a month. It probably wouldn't hurt anything but just wanted to warn what might happen after the 1 month trial period.

There's so much I want to see/do that it is a bit pointless to list it all. Mostly we've been focusing on seeing Florida lighthouses. Which way are you leaning? Outdoors with hiking? Sightseeing historical monuments, theme parks, etc. that might help us give a better structured opinions.