MacMadame

Oh, THAT kind of gas. If you need the other kind, I'm kind of full of it right now. I've been saying we were in a recession since 2004. No one believes me though. I'm not buying it. I'm SURE you are a jackass expert, plain. :tt1: Apparently a lot of people heard from me. I was dialing while high on morphine from my hospital room. You can read all about it in my blog.

So how did the other person cheat? I am very curious about this because sometime when I tried to vote for you, the votecaster wouldn't let me even though I was on a different machine I'd never voted for you on.

My surgeon has a program fee too for insurance people. It's not that uncommon but the amount really varies from practice to pratice. It covers unlimited access to their nutritionist and counselor and fills for a set period of time (2 years?) and a bunch of other stuff. Personally, I think it's a bit pricey (several thousand) but I'm self-pay so it doesn't impact me. I think for some people having access to a registered dietician and a licensed counselor as much as you want would be worth it but I don't think I'll use them that much so I'm glad I don't have to deal with this.

Plain - you will suffer for that. :confused: No gas? Weird.

I'm not an early bird either. And I have to be at the hospital by 6am tomorrow. I hope my SURGEON is a freaking morning person.

Hey, I remember you. :smile: So, England, huh? Do you know where in England yet?

Yikes! Prolapse and twisted intestines. Sounds scary.

Are you guys participating in the Post-Op Support and General Support boards? Because what you are experiencing is not limited to the Realize band and there are a lot more people on those other boards who can help you because they've been there.

I'm having a sleeve too only done lap and I'm paying for it. :girl_hug: Actually, I know it will work. I'll lose the weight because I *always* lose the weight. It's keeping it off that scares me. Oh and giving up my control to eat what I want when I want it.

I talked to my mom today and she said "tell me this isn't one of the scary operations where I have to worry about you". Heh heh. Moms.

Interesting. On the VSG board I go to, most of the people have to do a BOWEL CLEANSE. Personally I think that's a bit crazy. We're not getting our bowels operated on, just our stomach. But I am supposed to be on clears the day before and also have to take some MoM -- it's to help prevent constipation from all the meds they'll end up giving us. I don't mind a day of clears. It beats a 2 week liquid diet.

Hi Kmann- Yes, it's normal to think that. And every week the scale doesn't move, the feelings often come up again. So be prepared .... because at various time the scales will stop moving. However, during those times, you still lose weight. It's just that you are retaining Water or building muscle so the scale doesn't move. But the inches continue to come off. I'm having surgery in 3 days and I'm totally freaked out about it and mostly for that reason.

Wow, not even clears the day before to make sure you were empty?

Speaking of football, my fantasy team is in the lead!

Oh, okay, that makes more sense. Families can be weird about WLS, can't they?

I say pray for sleep apnea. Neither arthritis, nor asthma will count. Hypertension does, but some insurance companies want it to be not controlled by medicine. If yours is borderline, then it probably could easily be controlled by medicine and won't be counted. UHC was vague about whether they'd count mine when I was looking into them. Can't help you on the bankruptcy issue. Sorry.

I have to do clear liquids the whole day! I'm thinking I might even start with the clear liquids the night before.

I'm curious why he thinks you'd lose more weight with a band? All the research I've seen shows that the sleeve has much better weight loss numbers. What size boughie does he use?

That's how my upper GI went. Well, I didn't go 360 on the table. The guy did shake my hips at one point. Okay...

Acid reflux?

Reposting the link to make life easier: www.bravenet.com - A Bravenet.com Vote

She'll probably lose weight as you do just because she'll have to change her cooking to accommodate your band. (or if you do the cooking, you'll change.) Plus, as you start being more active, she may join you.

It's Friday and I'm going to ride a train through the forest and have a free lunch.

Like FairyFacade said, self-pays pay a negotiated rate that is a lot less than what the insurance company is billed. I think it's often slightly more than the insurance company actually pays though. Of course, that's going to vary depending on the insurance company. I have to pay the anesthesiologist $1000 ... I hope that's for my whole surgery because with my hiatal hernia and scar tissue from my gallbladder removal, there is no way I'm getting out in the "average" time.

Okay, I've looked at some pictures and I think maybe it goes down the part of the tummy that's not cut but that maybe some of it's branches might be cut. Here's a picture: http://www.clinicalexams.co.uk/images/vagus_nerve_10.jpg But I doubt it's to scale. :biggrin: