3loves

She is just too precious!! Thanks for sharing!! It seems we can never get enough of baby pics around here. :baby:

Now I know it's true!! :faint: I have a friend that told me a similar thing and I didn't want to believe, but when I would have to resubmit or call several times b/c the insurance company said they didn't have the info, it did raise my curiosity. Like I said in an earlier post, I feel like I have to fight to get my honest claims paid and paid in a timely manner in which does not affect my credit rating. This attitude that so many of us have experienced, shows that consumers are forced into a reactive mode instead of being proactive in most cases. It's no wonder some people feel it necessary to put quarters or sand in their pockets. They are just playing the game that insurance companies create. I'm not condoning these actions and hope that I'm never in a position to choose. What if one of my children needed a life-saving procedure? You can bet the house, barn, AND the land that insurance would have everything they needed to approve any such issue regarding my family. I would walk on Water with the help of the Lord if I had to. Bottom line.....insurance companies hold too much power to determine our health care. The sad truth is that some of these people that make final decisions are not properly trained in EVERY field that they are covering. This is wrong and should be fixed. Anyone have any ideas?

Wow....that is kind of scary. I would probably take this a little further and involve a mod. This is cyberworld and there are a lot of weirdo's out there. Maybe you should post of pic of your hubby and your pit bull.

Just the word "insurance" irritates me. I feel regardless if you are going for WLS or just trying to get a regular claim filed, you will have an occasional fight on your hands to get the benefits you have paid and continue to pay for. At least this has been my experience since I was old enough to start paying my own insurance. I have to carefully watch and monitor every claim that comes through to make sure it is paid properly. I have a claim for my son from last year that is still unpaid b/c NGS (my ins company at the time) thinks it may have been a car accident. They sent a form requesting a life history (BTW, I'm not able to go online and provide this info, only my snail mail) to verify the claim. He was in an accident at school and needed stitches which is clearly documented in ALL paperwork. They paid part of the claim, but this part they just want to put off in an effort to see if I'll take the time to file the ADDITIONAL paperwork to get this claim paid. I don't know what this is actually called, but there are a certain number of claims everyday that go through a similar process to provide more cash flow for the insurance company. They can delay paying and sometimes get out of paying what they should have paid in the first place b/c some people won't take the time for follow-up. WHEW....glad I got that out. :tired Now, on to another point regarding insurance......this is copied and pasted from a thread I posted when I was trying to get approval. It seems I was nearly denied for being completely honest. I think we are living in a day and time where people are forced to respond in a negative way just to keep up with some of the antics being performed my insurance companies today. ~ The medical records I submitted from my Optifast last year showed non-compliance. Yes, they did indeed state that on different occasions b/c I was always completely honest if I had something other than the shakes/bars. On these occasions, I was light-headed, shaky, and thought I may even pass out so I would have A cracker or A slice of bread with Peanut Butter. Another time, I ate a piece of cake at my birthday party. Another time I ate 6, yes I counted and put that on my sheet, 6 Frito's just b/c I wanted them. I told Patty that I do not understand how they can consider this a failure for me since I did lose weight....I lost 32 lbs over 3 mos. She then said, well this surgery is for people that can't lose weight. WHAT?? I thought I was going to blow!! I stayed calm and told her that if I could keep the weight off, why would I be asking for WLS? It seems I am in a no win situation with them. I then went on to tell her that I have specific records from my family doctor (she confirmed they had them) from 1992 showing different weight loss attempts & I always put the weight back on and more. She said the medical records had to be recent. My records run from 1992 - Nov 2004. We moved to IN in 2004 so I had a new doc. I told Patty that I am very surprised that I need to address such an issue as the non-compliance and that I would go to my grave saying that I did not fail that program. She did try to be encouraging and said that they haven't said no yet, but they would resubmit if I got the new evaluations. I feel that once I get the evaluations corrected/complete with my surgeons office, they are going to deny me based on my Optifast program and non-compliance. My husband told me I was too honest. Now I'm feeling it doesn't really pay to be honest if this is the game I have to play. I felt I was only hurting myself if I wasn't forthcoming with every little thing I put in my mouth while on the Optifast program. I mean, I told everything every time. What is wrong with me? I ended up getting an advocate involved from my DH's company since they were self-funded. She even had to plead my case and told them she felt I was qualified. I plainly told her I felt this was a case of insurance trying everything they could to deny what I was entitled to. After a couple weeks, I was finally approved. Why should it take so much work and effort on our part to get the benefits that are listed in our policy? I am thankful to have insurance, but feel I also have to watch EVERYTHING very carefully to make sure I get what I pay for. Insurance is need of a MAJOR overhaul. Personally, I don't think universal coverage is the answer, but changes do need to be made. Insurance is a game and sometimes you have to play by their rules or you won't get the benefits you deserve. That is how I feel even though I have always been 100% completely honest about everything I've submitted. It's just that I've been Enlightened by my lapband experience & that being honest with insurance companies can have consequences. Boy, am I windy today or what.....sorry for the long post. :faint:

I got the Magic Bullet for my birthday and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I use it at LEAST once a day and sometimes more. I even took it with me when I visited my dad for Father's Day. I purchased it at Wal-Mart.

I tried Pilate's and didn't care for it too much. I did feel like I got a good workout, but it gave me a headache. I still have my Pilate's DVD set. I wonder if I'm allowed to offer them for sale on here? It's the Winsor Pilate's Basic 3 DVD Workout set along with a recipe booklet (they call it a meal plan). If anyone is interested, PM me and if I'm not allowed to do this, please smack my hand and send me to my room. :eek: :update: DVD's are now sold....thanks to all who were interested!!

Hugs to you Amy.:hug: Your kids are so lucky to have such a wonderful mommy that can take on any situation that comes her way. I love your attitude and your spunk!! This is bittersweet, I know. The Lord does answer prayers and this is His way of shutting one door and opening another one. Your eyes are open to see it. YEAH.....your going to have your band soon!!! :clap2: Good for you. :fish: Keep your chin up and don't hold back any tears.....it will do you some good. Hey, maybe we could vote on how much you will weight after you get home? Just out of curiosity, did the docs ever speculate as to how much they thought they would be taking off for your apron surgery? I'm very intrigued by the whole thing. I have a feeling I will need a tummy tuck myself someday. :eek:

I had McDonalds single cheeseburger, Wendy's Frescata sandwiches (loooved those), Reese Cups, & Goldfish crackers just to name a few. The great this is that I don't have any desire to have ANY of these things now. The only issue I had when I got home after being banded was those stupid Pizza Hut commercials. For some reason, they made me want pizza. I got over that after a couple of days of those yummy chocolate protein shakes.

Hmmm....does that now come in hot pink?

I concur.....Wheetsin, you will be an excellent moderator!! If you ever see this :mod: :bewaremod: , you may want to get the guns loaded. :heh: :pound: I do wish you the very best and may the force always be with you!!

Welcome and CONGRATULATIONS!!! :welcome: I was banded on May 26th and have loved every minute of it. Even when I was in pain, I was still happy in my heart. This thread should be closed b/c we've started a new thread for the month of June. Come join us here: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=19312 You probably won't get much feedback here b/c everyone is now on the new thread. You may even want to copy and paste your recent post on the other thread. So glad you have joined us & we look forward to getting to know you better!!

Amy ~ You are in my prayers. You have a great perspective on this and I'm thankful for the docs being so cautious. No surgery is worth it if there are complications that could result in a negative outcome. Perhaps there are some blood tests that can be done here in the states to check the clotting feature (for lack of a better term) of your blood. Maybe a nurse or doc will see this thread and have some advice. I pray for the Lord's will and guidance.

Amy ~ I'm glad you liked your package. I was stressing a little about what to get you for your surgery, so I mixed up a few things for surgery and some fun stuff. I was thinking of your kids when I sent the bubbles....glad they claimed them. :biggrin1: The neck wrap is going to be your best friend. My DH has his own b/c we were fighting over it all the time. You can put that in the microwave with the cover on it. That's what I do. I rotate it every 1 - 1.5 min. Just don't put it in for several min at a time b/c it will catch on fire per my cousin (I think she put it in for 5 min). :eek: It is made of 100% flax seed so it does burn. It also works great on your back or leg or anywhere. The Cell Block-C is a must have this summer. I use it daily on my face. It provides unbelievable protection for your creamy white skin. If you have a black light, put it on half of your face and look at the difference. It will protect you from UVA & UVB rays. I'll send you a PM with more details. Have you smelled it yet? MMMmmmm good.

My right boob does rest one on my tiny incisions, but it has healed nicely. I wore my old nursing bras for a couple of weeks. Did I mention that I hate wearing bras period? I would never go out in public w/o one, but when I'm home, the puppies are hanging low.

I had NGS American. My file was submitted on 2/8/06 and I got approval on 4/20/06. My psychologist had to re-submit his approval letter b/c insurance required specific wording even though it said I was recommended for surgery. Personally, I got the feeling my company was using delay tactics b/c they didn't want to pay. I hope you get a fast approval. A lot of people do. Let us know when you do get approval. It will be an exciting day for sure. :clap2:

I agree with the advice Tamyrn gave. I found out shortly b4 my surgery while doing my stress test that I was allergic to the tape. I told everyone and they made sure to use the really good tape. They said it was the best tape in the hospital. I had no rash or swelling....all was well. ~ Good Luck~

Your children are just too precious!!! The little one gives me baby fever.:faint:Need to get the weight off first. Thanks for sharing!!

I was so excited when I got my package today!! A very special THANK YOU to Asphalt Angel AKA Jolynn. It is absolutely perfect and looks and smells wonderful. I wonder how you knew I loved those scents. I rec'vd a lovely patriotic basket, apples & cinnamon potpourri, and a dreamy jar candle called creamy vanilla glaze. I thought my DH was going to make me rub it all over my body. :welldoneclap: He really liked it too. Here's a pic & thanks again Jolynn!! You could not have sent a better gift.

Bless your heart. I've had some port pain, but not to the extent you have described. I think you should hook up with mychevygirl AKA DeAnn. She was banded in May and pulled the muscle where her port was located. I think she posted this info on the May thread. You can do a search on her user name and in the meantime, I'll mention this to her. I bet she could offer some words of wisdom. Good luck to you and I sure hope this pain passes quickly. Hang in there. :biggrin1:

For some reason, I was craving ice cream. I found this wonderful Edy's Slow Churn Light ice cream with half the fat of regular ice cream. I eat a couple of small scoops and I'm good to go. You would never know it's half the fat and it makes a great little treat for me. :biggrin1: I'm currently 4 wks out as of tomorrow and I am down 203.6352 scoops. :clap2:

Gordon said a few wks ago that Michigan would make or break them for the rest of the season....or something to that effect. He finished 8th and I do look for things to improve for him. There's still a lot of racing to do b4 the "Chase" starts. My mom keeps saying he needs to get rid of his new crew chief. She just doesn't like that guy for some reason. Tony really needs to get his act together and do some healing as well or he could very easily be out of it. So much can happen between now and Sept. Nothing is a SURE thing.

:funnypost: So funny and so true. I will send this to my DH. He sent me something similar last week expressing the other side of the coin, so he has this one coming. :heh:

We also call it a pee pee. My oldest seems to have more of a fascination with his than the younger one. The oldest ALWAYS has his hands in his pants and sometimes it hurts me to see him pull it out so far. It reminds me of "Stretch Armstrong". Does anyone remember that? My brothers had one growing up.....it would stretch forever. One night we were both watching TV and he said, "look mommy". It was at full attention. I said, "put that thing back in there and leave it alone". The next day I had a talk with my DH b/c I didn't understand. I guess it's a boy thing. I was relieved to hear my son was normal. You would think growing up with three brothers, I would have some experience. I guess I wasn't exposed to their antics except for peeing outside.

Don't fret too much. Part of this is just knowing you ARE getting the band and kind of like the last supper syndrome. I ate pizza a couple of days b4 my surgery and now I could care less about pizza. For me, the band has been such a blessing and seems to have changed the way I look at food. It's a mental thing that happens in your mind when you decide you ARE going to succeed. YOU CAN DO THIS!! I know you can b/c I'm doing it and I don't have much will power. Keep in mind, I was just banded on May 26th.....I know I will never see the numbers I saw on the scale pre-band.....NEVER EVER AGAIN. Hang in there and start tomorrow fresh.

Too funny!! I guess I better go find some of my old purses. Mandy ~ I think you should try a different town.....don't think those guys would get a free ride, clean windows or not.