pennyt

I get to do the Upper GI series in the morning. I'm not worried, since I've had to drink barium several times in the past. Trust me, it's easier to drink it than the other ways they've given it to me. One way involved a tube up my nostril and down into my intestinal tract. Ugh! It was bad, even under conscious sedation. Don't worry, you will probably never ever ever have to do that test. Anyway, there are different flavors of the barium that you drink. I don't like the berry flavored at all. It was hard for me to gag down the bottle of it. The banana is tolerable, at least in my opinion. They do have unflavored, also, and it was better than the berry flavored, but still not good.

At my psych eval, I did the MMPI and some other multi-question survey instrument. The psych had me come back for a second appt so we could go over the results. I thought the results described me perfectly! The main thing it said is that I'm a caretaker, and put others needs before my own. (Well, yeah. I'm typing this while I'm sitting at my mother-in-law's house where I'm on Mamaw-sitting duty for the day. She has to have someone here 24, 7.) I think this just goes to show that, yes, sometimes those assessment tools are great, and do the job that they were designed to do. Sometimes they don't assess perfectly. We just need to remember that they are tools, and there is a margin of error built into the instruments since there is no way they can be used for everyone. In addition to the above, the results are skewed to a certain way of life that doesn't apply to everyone. It had several "do you believe in a higher power" type questions. Those questions showed an area of "concern" because I do not have a strong religious base. Well, yeah. I'm agnostic. Why that should be an area of concern is beyond me, since that really has nothing to do with anything. Final thought: When I answered the questions, I just whizzed through and didn't take very long to think about every question, just answered based on my first instinct.

I'm trying to figure out where the best prices are for protein supplements and vitamins (and anything else we might need/want) are in Indiana. So where does everyone shop? I don't do Wal-mart.

Welcome to the group, and great job on the weight loss so far. Nutzy, Is you weight loss ticker accurate? It shows that you want to get down to an extremely low BMI!

Wonderful post, and a great inspiration!

I'm on May 21st also, and I've decided I'm going to start the pre-surgery diet tomorrow so that I can get started losing weight now. (I'd start today, but we took the admin assistants out for lunch today.) I'm having my surgery in Indy.

I haven't mentioned my surgery to very many people at all. I told my husband and kids (21 and 17) about the surgery. My husband is very supportive, my daughter (17) is "OK, mom, whatever," and my son's comment was, "Well, if you think you need invasive surgery, OK." I know they won't nag me about what I will be eating or not eating, but will be there if I need them. I have mentioned it to my three neices, and all three are supportive, and I've told my best friend. She was the hardest one to tell, since she's one of those skinny people who must have a tapeworm. She can eat and eat and eat and never gain weight. But there's a reason she's my best friend and that's because she's supportive. After I start to lose weight, I might tell more people. Or I might not. I haven't decided yet.

I called FEP BC Customer Service, and was told that if the surgery is done as out-patient, there is a $100 charge for the surgeon, and a $40 copay for the facility. We would also have to pay 30% of the billed cost of the actual lapband device. That could end up being hundreds and hundreds of dollars. If the surgery is inpatient, which means staying 24 hours plus at least a little longer, there is the $100 copay for the surgeon, a $100 copay for the facility per day (up to $500 total for 5 or more days), and NO extra costs for the actual device. I just called my surgeon's office, and Misty is going to look into this further. SHe said if need be, I will be in-patient.

What surgeon are you going to?

I was told that the number of psych visits depends upon what comes up during the eval. I went twice, once for all the assessments, and once to discuss the assessments. Just remember, if you need to go more than once, it's just to help you along the path so that you are successful. You'll also need to go to a nutritional seminar, where one of the dietitians will talk, and you'll find out all about Protein. The other stuff that you'll need to do will depend upon what your insurance requires. I've got Federal Employee BC, so the process was really easy.

He's my choice of surgeon. When I met him at the seminar and for the consult, I really liked him. He has a great sense of humor, and was very easy to speak to.

Miralax is no longer prescription, but can be bought over the counter.

I have ankolosing spondylitis too, as well as IBD. I discussed the band at length with my gastro and my rheumi, and both said that they liked the option of the lapband, if I wanted to have surgery, since it could be removed if any problems arise. I'm in remission right now, so that's a definite factor. (Thank goodness for remicade!) My surgeon is aware of my conditions, and he's OK with the band. It's why I decided to go with a Center for Bariatric Excellence when I chose my surgeon.

I would think it might not be noticed, since emergency people are trained to look at the pulse points: neck and wrists.

I have two glucose meters, one at work and one at home, and I test myself about once or twice a month. My usual fasting (first thing in the morning) is about 90 mg/dL, and my random (probably about an hour or two or three after eating) tends to be about 100-148. It's just that chest pain and then passing out kinda scared me. That pain was completely unlike anything I've felt before, and I wondered if it might be diabetes or pre-diabetes related. I didn't check my sugar until the next morning, since I just went to bed when I got home. I think I'm going to stick one of the meters in my purse, and try to test if I feel this way again.

If you boss is a man, you could always get him to not ask by implying that it's something to do with that mysterious "female stuff". If he wants more detail, you could always talk about heavy bleeding, cramps, etc. Most of the men that I know would quickly end the conversation if anything like that was mentioned.

What's a "body bugg"? I may ask *Aunt Linda*, the owner of my local Curves, if I can have a one month trial to try the place out. She's not really my aunt. She's my best friend's sister-in-law, and we all consider ourselves family. (My kids call all the women in the family "Aunt".) I believe you don't have to be related to be family, you just have to love each other, and you can never have too many people who love you.

When I did my psych-eval, I was given the 50 million (that's what if felt like) MMPI assessment, as well as a smaller one that "only" had about 200 questions. The psychologist requested that I come back for a second appointment so that she could go over the test results, as that is her usual custom. She said that she has just seen so many people stress over what the assessments show, that she likes to let everyone know exactly what the results are, good or bad. That second visit, was just to go over the test results. There were absolutely no surprises, no trick questions. Everything she told me was exactly accurate. The assessments showed that I tend to be the nurturer, taking care of others, and giving, giving, giving. She said I needed to take the time to care more for myself, and put my own needs before others at times. It was like, "yes, yes, right, that's true, yeah, right" for everything she said that the assessment showed. So, as long as you're honest on the assessment tools, you shouldn't be surprised with what the assessment shows. It's not meant to trick you, or to find some hidden mental illness, or to completely exclude you from the surgery. It's meant to help you in this process.

Wonderful! Will your primary insurance cover any of the associated costs, since you have dual coverage and your secondary is paying for the surgery?

I think I would have told him that I was about to lose 250 pounds of pure excess weight, and then I would have said, "Wanna see how fast I can do it?" Then I'd just hang up on him. He was abusive, and you don't deserve that. Find a man who appreciates you, and who won't belittle and hurt you for his own jollies.

So, how are you feeling now that you are several days out of the surgery? Pretty soon that little boy is going to have the best looking mommy in town!

Trust me on this: Drink the lemon ginger flavored Phospasoda mixed with lemonade. The last time I had it, I bought "Simply Lemon" brand, and it was so much easier than ever before. It tastes like salty lemonade, but it went down quickly. Plus, since you're supposed to drink lots of liquids with it, you can really dilute it as much as you want with the lemonade, and you won't get much of the nasty flavor. The next best thing is to see if the doctor will let you do the pill prep that can be used to prepare for a colonoscopy. You'll still need to drink lots of liquids, but the pills don't have a flavor. I've had several colonoscopies over the years due to IBD, so I've become somewhat of an expert on how to clear out the intestines.

I'm a lurker on here, reading everything so that I can be ready for the process. I went to a seminar in February, did my psych eval in late February, my nutrition counseling in March, and everything was submitted to my insurance in late March. The approval just came through yesterday! :sad_smile: I cut out caffeine in March. My surgery is set for May 21st at 7:30 am. I had to put it off for over a month so that I can get everything set up for work so that I can be off for a few days. With the memorial day holiday the next weekend, I even get one extra day off without needing to use that day as sick leave. The worst part is that my husband absolutely needs to be at work that day, so I'm going to have my son take me. We'll probably go up the night before to stay at a hotel so that we don't have to drive as far on surgery morning. I have over a month to taste test different Protein shakes, and to get in my two support groups. Oh, and a month to stress out that I'll forget something! :scared2:

Can I join the party? I'm a juvenile probation officer in Indiana. I just sort of fell into the job 2 years ago after years of working as a teacher in junior high and high school, as well as stints in elementary.