LousPeachy

Has anyone who has had surgery or is Pre-Op dealt with Medicare and AARP Supplimental Insurance? I have the one that covers the excess that Medicare doesn't as long as Medicare covers part of it. I know the Doctor will discuss it when we meet after the Seminar but I am just curious to know. Thanks, Louise

Well, just about two months to the day since my seminar and a brief visit with the surgeon, the right medical records were sent by the right person to the right person. In other words, after much effort by my husband and I, the surgeon has what he needs to make a decision about whether or not he will do WLS on me! But, of course, the first I can get in to see him is July 8. But, after already waiting for two months, I guess that is not bad. At least I will know if I will have surgery or not. I haven't posted in a while. I decided to "forget" about surgery till I know if it is a go or not. I haven't lost any more weight but have maintained what I HAVE lost. I just can't seem to get going again. This has been going on for a week. I have NO idea what to do. And what if I can't have surgery? How will I ever get all this weight off.....I am afraid discouragement is reigning supreme in my heart and mind right now. Louise

Well, my WLS may have to be put on hold for a while. I had to go to the ER last night, actually in the middle of the night. Late yesterday afternoon, I got back pain on the left side and became nauseated. I trip to the ER confirmed what I suspected, a UTI and trying to pass a kidney stone. This is the third time I have had stones and the first two times required surgery. This time I may be able to pass it since it is the ureter right where it enters into the bladder (or it will get stuck there). Four different meds and drink drink drink, even more than before (if that is possible) LOLOL. The CT Scan uncovered a couple other things that need to be checked out before WLS but since I am only on appointment #2 of 4 NUT visits, hopefully everything will work out OK so I will keep my July 8 appointment with the surgeon to see if he will even do the surgery (liver problems). Life is never easy is it! Louise

I love Chick-Fil-A Diet Lemonade. I water it down to around 50% water and 50% lemonade, sometimes even less lemonade because it is so sweet. Can I count the whole thing towards my daily water intake?

I noticed most of the FREE SAMPLES listed on other topics are from years ago and the freebies they offered then are no longer avalible. I am scouring the Internet looking for free samples I have a couple that are really 100% free and many that you pay for but you can get individual servings and not be stuck with tons of stuff you don't like. I will post totally free, if I find any, as well as those that are available for a nominal cost if there is any interest in my doing this. Reply if you would like me to do this. MY BLOG-LOSING IT AT 67 http://losingitat67.wordpress.com I have started posting a inspirational quote/picture every day.

I think I already know the answer to my question but would like to know if anyone else has had to deal with existing scar tissue from previous surgeries. I have a lot of abdominal scar tissue from two surgeries. I suspect that bypass may be the only option I will have since Medicare only covers open surgery for that one type of surgery. Has anyone dealt with this problem? Louise

By the time I got home from the ER, the pain was gone. Since the stone was almost to the kidney, I am hoping it passed on its own (that's what the paperwork they gave me said, no more pain means the stone passed). But I am still going to see the Urologist on July 7. I have a call out to my liver doctor too since they saw a couple of things that need to be checked out. I also have to wait for the Culture and Sensivity to come back about my UTI later this week. Both doctors will want to see the CT Scan itself so I will have to call the hospital this week and get them. Also, I know the WLS doctor will want to see the CT Scan too and read the reports. Thanks for caring everyone. Louise

My Surgeon's staff's inefficiency STILL never ceases to amaze me. Seminar and first meeting with WL Surgeon, CHECK! First of 4 sessions with NUT, CHECK! Knowing if the surgeon WILL DO surgery on me because of NonAlcoholic Cirrhosis liver damage, STILL no check there. A true case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. All it takes to know one way or the other is for the Liver MD to get my records to the WLS so he can review them. Simple right? WRONG WRONG WRONG! Call after call to the Surgeon, week after week, after being more than patient and being told something different each time I called, I am well beyond frustration. No we don't have the records. Yes we do have the records. Dr hasn't had time to review them but he will soon. No we don't have the records. I think you get the picture. Then my husband stepped up to the plate and started calling the surgeon himself. We FINALLY found out what the problem is. At first he was given the same runaround as I had been given. Then yesterday he spoke to someone who was able to tell him what the problem is....the Liver doctor hadn't sent the imaging records, just my last lab work and the records of my last office visit. The fault of the Liver guy right? WRONG AGAIN. The Surgeon NEVER REQUESTED those records! So, another call to the Surgeon when I get up, a wait for them to send the request and another 7-10 day wait for the Liver guy to send the imaging info, a wait for the doctor to review them and another wait for them to let me know the doctor's decision. There is so much else that has to be done pre-op that I don't intend to have done if there will be no surgery. Has anyone else gone through this kind of thing? I would switch Doctors if this guy didn't have such a great reputation. With all the surgeries he has done, why does he, like so many other doctors, surround himself with such inefficient airheads! They either don't know what is required or as I suspect, they just don't care! If it didn't require so much walking that is difficult at this weight, I would pick up the papers myself and hand deliver them. My husband is legally blind so it would be almost impossible for him to navigate the hospital (where the Surgeon's office is) w/o me. I have learned to be patient in the 67 years I have lived on this earth but these people would try the patience of Job!

In the first place! Hit send too soon, sorry. Now, I can't figure out why, when the request was made for ALL MEDICAL RECORDS the Liver guy did NOT intend to send imaging files. Am I missing something here? Well, I will wait till next Friday to see if WLS people get the imaging files from Liver people. All this hassle is really getting to me. Beating a dead horse so to speak is incredibly frustrating.

Called liver doctor a bit ago. They did NOT intend to send imaging records to the surgeon. The request they received was to send ALL records and there are a lot of those. I had told the Surgeons staff to BE SPECIFIC. When I was told they requested all records, I should have taken them litterly. Anywho, they are sending CT SCANS, BIOPSIES, and all other imaging reports. I THINK that is what Dr. Turnquest wanted in th

Even though I am at least 3 months from surgery and still don't know for sure if I can even have it done, I am on a post-op diet already. Why put off the inevitable. I am staying away from the "dangerous" food and eating only the healthy stuff. I am "addicted" to food that isn't good for me. Like any other addict, even a little bit of the wrong food would likely get me started on junk food so I avoid it completely. Do I crave those foods? Most definitely. But I know myself only too well so just don't eat it at all.

Well, I STILL have elephant feet but they are slowly improving day by day. Since I can't eat this expensive soup as often as I had intended to and LOVE soup even if it doesn't stay with you, I decided to create my OWN! I ordered some unsalted chicken broth and dehydrated veggies from Amazon.com and they will be here tomorrow. I must have 50 different herbs and spices in my pantry that I can play around with. I also just got a microwave pressure cooker thingie (I have an electric one I use too) so I should be able to soften the dried veggies (hope so anyhow). I just need to figure out what kind of noodles will work. This will be trial and error for a while but I am confident I will be able to come up with something at least as good as store bought (and probably better) with a fraction of the sodium. I am not familiar with the Raman Noodle thingies. Are the noodles and seasonings separate? They might work and are really cheap.

I just ordered 4 different kinds of soup from NASHAU Nutrition. They are pretty high in protein, 12g and up and low calorie. Most have pretty good reviews and a package of 7 is between $12- $13. Usually shipping is free on a $99 order but they had a one day only deal with free shipping on a $49 order. Has anyone tried them? I will "review" them when they get here.

Forgot to mention I called the Surgeon early this morning and told them what the problem was regarding my records (shouldn't this have been the other way around?). Of course they said they would and would be specific atating exactly what was needed. DH called them early afternoon to be sure they had done their job (they said they had) and also asked EXACTLY what they requested and their reply was "EVERYTHING". I guess they are getting sick of hearing from us and just want to get rid of us. My Liver doctor is simply going to LOVE the "everything" request but at this point I really don't care WHO is inconvenienced as long as I know if the Surgeon will do the surgery!

Thanks so VERY much for sharing all your experiences. It's comforting to know I am not alone in all this! Nothing personal or offense intended towards ALL the young skinny pretty girls that work in doctor's offices. Not all of them operate this way. But I must admit I would rather walk into a office and see a bunch of hobbling old prunes like myself (that do the job they were hired to do) behind the desk than these young bumbling inefficient space cadets.

I have wanted to try making some but after pricing a "soup home", I decided it is not in the budget right now. Who would have ever dreamed that some day we would pay $5.99 for a bone. I used to buy them and give them to my dogs raw.

They are full of that darn sodium which causes my feet and ankles to swell horribly. Such a shame. The actually sound pretty good!

Well, I have tried all 4 of the soups I ordered and they weren't too bad tasting. Mainly liquid but with the addition of some cooked veggies, they were rather filling though I DO agree they don't stay with you for very long. I have had to stop using them however, for a while at least. They have TONS of sodium in them and after several days of eating one or two a day, my feet swelled up like balloons! I am STILL trying to get rid of the Water in my ankles and feet! I don't want to waste $50 so I may be ok if I limit myself to one or so a week.

Mine wasn't really a diet I guess. But my most stupid weight loss attempt was "weight loss shots". This was back in the 70's. The doctor never would tell my girlfriend and I what these shots actually were, just kept telling us they would help us lose the weight. It sounded good back then. Now that I have experienced more of life, I suspect I was paying a lot of money for getting shot up with sterile Water. Can anyone top this one for pure stupidity?

My "stress/emotional eating day" has cost me 1.4 pounds. That one day caused a weight gain of 1.4 pounds. Do I feel better now two days after my binge? Not no but hell no!!! Will it be able to resist the urge to do it again? I truly don't know the answer to that Million Dollar Question. Do I regret eating a zillion calories and not even enjoying them?? A resounding YES. Hopefully I have learned a lesson and won't forget it. It ain't easy...

I have stayed on a healthy eating plan and lost over 40 pounds. I felt SO good about everything. Then the stress got to me 3 days ago and everything went the totally downhill from there. My husband and I got into a few rip roaring arguments. My 2 old dogs with bad tempers kept battling for alpha status and the younger ones kept getting caught in the middle, barking and growling with a few nips here and there. My PCP changed my antidepressent and it costs 10 times more than my old one. She won't switch me back and told me to see a psychologist for other options. The WLS STILL hasn't reviewed my records from my liver doctor so I will know if I can have surgery despite the fact he has had them since last Friday. I suspect he was never given them by his office staff (call back today between 5-6). Why do I think I STILL won't know anything when I call. And the worse, stupidity reigned just a bit ago and I ate a big hamburger with cheese PLUS I have been grazing on a huge bowl of popcorn all day. I am totally disgusted with myself. AND, to top it off, I didn't even enjoy the burger or the popcorn. I actually ENJOY the healthy foods I have been eating. What I pigged out one today tasted horrible to me. I would have enjoyed a Protein shake more! Thanks for letting me vent. Nobody can work all this out but me, myself and I. But thanks for listening.

I am back ON the wagon today instead of under it. I called the surgeon again today and told them all our other plans are on hold till we find out about surgery. I spoke to the same girl as yesterday and she said she told me to call between 4-5, NOT 5-6 like I know she said. But yesterday she specifically told me that time because because, her own words, the doctor was in clinic til 5. One thing, she DID talk to the doctor briefly today when I was on the phone so he IS aware I am waiting for his decision whether or not to do the surgery. She said I should know something early next week (where have I heard this before). I told HER i would be bugging her Wednesday if she didn't get back to me by then. And I will bug her until I know. Thanks again everyone.

Has anyone else had trouble using the sweetener STEVIA? Man, what a stomach ache it gives me!

Thanks for the encouragement everyone. As I suspected, when I called the surgeons office back "between 5-6", they were already gone for the day. But first thing tomorrow I will be back on the phone. If this doctor wasn't so highly rated, I would find someone else. I am NOT going to the office since it is in a huge hospital and I am exhausted by the time I finally get there. Plus the temps are already hot and humid here in Houston, in the mid 90's some days. This is OUR "winter". Thanks again everyone.

I will NOT weigh myself again until I get feeling better emotionally. This past few days have been draining for me. Plus I should find out this week if my Surgeon will do surgery on me (chronic health problems). I have been hanging on by a thread and fighting the urge to eat what I shouldn't. I am afraid if I find that my scale isn't doing what it to, I will fall off the wagon and there goes my hope of better health. So I will simply avoid the scale till I am able to handle whatever it says.