danasuze

Another chase bander here. I'm an underwriter in the dallas roc for home lending and my insurance is through aetna. I had to prove a bmi over 40 for at least 5 years and do a 3 month preop diet. I started the process the end of january and was finally banded on july 10th. I remember reading something in the handbook when i first started that clearly stated that chase would cover bariatric surgery. Hopefully the bank side is the same as home lending. Good luck and let me know how your doing with the process!

I know how you feel! I had my first fill yesterday and was gritching about not having lost anything for almost 2 weeks and the nurse practioner explained it to me in a way that FINALLY made sense. I explained that I was only eating about 800 calories a day and that it didn't make sense that I wasn't losing. She asked if when I ate if I still felt like I could eat more than what I was and I said yes I could but that I honestly wasn't. What she told me was that my body was going into "starvation mode" and that because I was not ever getting that full feeling my brain was not getting the signals that it had gotten enough food. Therefor it was holding on to everything because it felt that it wouldn't get anymore. Once they do a fill and the pouch was actually getting full and food not passing as quickly because the band was too loose my body would start sending those signal again to my brain that I wasn't being starved and to start burning the calories again. It may take a couple of fills to get it to just the right spot but that it would get there. For some reason the way she said it to me (and hopefully my re-telling to you) made it all finally "click". I left so upbeat and I had honestly been really discouraged when I went in. Keep up the momentum of eating the right foods and small amounts! Once they get the band adjusted it will start coming off again. Oddly enough I also dropped 3lbs from when I weighed yesterday before the dr's office to this morning when I weighed again. LOL!! Hopefully this helps!

2 tablespoons light mayonnaise 2 tablespoons minced green onion (green part only) 2 tablespoons finely minced red bell pepper ½ teaspoon yellow mustard 1 teaspoon finely minced fresh parsley 2 tablespoons egg substitute, such as Egg Beaters 1/2 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning 1/2 pound lump crab meat 3 tablespoons plain bread crumbs 1/2 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs) Cooking spray Dipping sauce (recipe follows) FERNANDO SALAZAR/Wichita Eagle Light mayonnaise, egg substitute and crispy panko crumbs add up to crab cakes with at least half the fat of restaurant versions. Put the first seven ingredients into a bowl. Blend with a whisk. Fold in the crab meat and plain bread crumbs. In a muffin tin, lightly coat eight muffin cups with cooking spray, then fill cups with equal amounts of crab mixture. Press down lightly on each crab cake so that the top is flat. Cover muffin tin with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour. Then try to take one of the crab cakes out of the tin. If the crab cake doesn't stay together firmly, put the muffin tin in the freezer for 10 minutes. After crab cakes are chilled, preheat oven to 400 F. Fill a shallow dish with panko bread crumbs. After removing each crab cake from the muffin tin, roll it in panko until coated. Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray, then place each crab cake on the baking sheet. Lightly coat the top of each crab cake with cooking spray. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the coating is crispy and lightly browned. Serve immediately with the sauce. Makes 4 servings. Dipping sauce: Combine ¼ cup light mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons chopped dill pickle slices, 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, ½ teaspoon finely minced fresh parsley, ½ teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon chili powder, 1/8 teaspoon powdered cayenne, ¼ teaspoon ground cumin, 1/8 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Cover and chill sauce until serving. PER SERVING (2 cakes): Calories 198 Fat 9 g Cholesterol 40 mg Sodium 929 mg Carbohydrates 14 g Protein 16 g SOURCE: Adapted from Top Secret Restaurant recipes 2 by Todd Wilbur I haven't tried this yet but printed it out to try it when i get the chance!

I used Dr Benavidas in Richardson. He was wonderful and knowledgeable. I was banded on 7-10 and have so far had no problems and 22 lbs lost so far since i started the process. I ended up choosing him after several people I knew recommended him. I'm really glad I did. I contribute my quick recovery in part to him being a great surgeon with lots of experience. Good luck on your journey!

I'm 11 days out from surgery and feel the same way! I know how you feel about the diet coke. That was the one thing that I thought I would miss so much. Funny but I haven't even missed it at all!!! The first thing that has gone away was the swelling in my feet. What a difference that alone makes. I used to hate those first few steps because my feet hurt so much. In just a week it was all gone and I could finally see my ankles again and it didn't hurt when I took those first steps after waking or being in the car for my 1 hour commute to work. Even better I can finally wear all the cute shoes I have in my closet that I haven't been able to wear for at least a year!! So far I haven't been all that hungry and I only moved to a full liquid diet yesterday. My co-workers couldn't believe that all I was having for lunch was a measly little 5 ounces of Soup and that was enough to fill me up. I've lost about 14 lbs since surgery and looking forward to the other 136 going bye bye forever!!! I still think about my favorite chicken florentine Pasta but i'm sure i'll figure out a way to make something similar without the pasta that will fit into my new plan. Someone posted the other day about taking tostitos spinich dip and chicken and mixing that together so as soon as I can go to real food thats one of the first on my list. Good luck in your journey!!! Dana

Looking for someone in the Plano are to be a walking buddy. I'm located about as close to the middle of plano as you can get. Anyone around interested in meeting to walk at least a couple of nights a week? Thanks! Dana

This is the best thread yet!! I won't miss: Thighs rubbing together Asking for a seat belt extension on airplanes Grandma bathing suits Buying clothes only at Lane Bryant or Avenue Only being able to wear certain shoes because my feet are too swollen Not taking my dogs for walks like I should cause I'm too tired Fat sex! Being afraid to sleep over or let anyone sleep here because of my snoring Feeling like a Queen size bed is too small for two people Standing around cause only the plastic lawn chairs are left Being completely ignored by good looking men Meeting men who only like fat chicks in private and won't go anywhere The "you have such a pretty face" comments Avoiding camera's like the plague Being the fat friend Not wanting to go places because your sick of the "looks" Getting everything to go so no one will see you eat even when it's a salad Jeans that are too tight Buying ugly bra's and panties Not being able to keep up with my thin friends when we do things Not being invited to do things because they know i can't keep up Not being able to paint my own toe nails The list could go on and on!

6 months is NOTHING! It actually took me 2 1/2 years to get mine approved. I started with my indurance company (oh wait that should be "insurance company") BCBS-maryland with my old company. They would not approve it at all. They flat out said they would approve GB but not the LAP BAND. And there was no way I was going to go the GB route. I like my intestines in the order they are now thank you very much. So even through appeals I couldn't get them to say yes. Well low and behold my company closed in August '07 and I went to work for another company in September '07 so as soon as I made it past the 90 day mark I started again since we had a different insurance carrier. So come January I made another appt with a different surgeon (I'm really glad I changed too!) and started all over again. The new insurance company insisted that I do a 90 day Dr supervised diet and 3 visits with a nutritionist. I can not begin to tell you how crushed I was that I was going to have to wait yet again! But everyone kept telling me "Don't worry it will go much faster than you think". So I went to each and every appt, kept my diary and did everything they asked. I wasn't about to give them any reason to not say yes this time! Once they gathered all the info the Dr's office submitted the information to insurance. I finally got an approval the first week of June! I had to do a 2 week preop diet so I wanted a little time to get all the favorites out of my system once last time so I scheduled my surgery for July 10th. So on June 26th I started my preop diet and I haven't looked back since. When I was talking to the surgeon the day before the surgery and he was asking if I was ready I told oh yeah I've been trying to get to this point for 2 1/2 years and he told me that it was probably for the best since the new 3rd generation band was SO much better than the one I would have had if this had happened when I started. Go to the appts, meet with the nutritionist and think of this as the time you need to be sure that you REALLY are ready to do this. Because it is a new way of life and you do have to be prepared to make the changes to your life that are needed to be sucessful. I'm a firm believer in all things happen for a reason and I fully believe that my having to wait was meant to be so that I had the time to deal with my issues and understand what got me here in the first place and get my mind set to make this work. Good luck!!

I found some stuff called "better than buillon" (kroger) and that has been wonderful! The chicken is so much better than whats in the can. Its a paste that you add to hot Water so you can make it a half cup at a time. Also lots of protien shakes, special K protien water, sf Jello and yogurt. I've been living on that for the last week and am looking forward to Sunday when I can switch to full liquid and get some additional choices! i have to admit that it hasn't been nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be living on liquids. But I know that i will definately not be wanting any soup when this stage is over. Never have been much of a soup drinker to begin with and its a good thing since the recommend that you don't once you get to real foods since it slips past the band too easily. Good Luck! Dana

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NewJEM congratulations on the surgery date! I had mine on the 10th and am soooo glad that I did it. Failure is not an option has been my mantra through this and I'm more than happy to share it with someone else!! You have to keep the positive outlook. We are taking control of our lives again and there is definately no room to fail when you are doing that. Good Luck!! Dana

Dr B did my surgery on July 10th and I honestly could not have been happier with him. He was very personable and the staff in his office (especially Valerie & Stephanie) are wonderful. Very easy to talk to and informed. My best friend went with me and he was very good at explaining to her about my aftercare since she would be the one with me. She too really liked him and the way that he dealt with both me and her. I went to him based on several recommendations of people who had used him and and glad I did choose him. It's my understanding that there are only 4 other docs in the U.S. that have been trained to do the proceedure longer than he has. That says alot to me becuase I wanted someone who had LOTS of experience in dealing with this. It's only been 4 days for me but I know that this was the right time and place for me.

Well i had my surgery on Thursday (7/10) and i'm experiencing the same feeling. When i feel it coming on i get up and walk around the house. I swear i have burped more in the last 3 days than i have my whole life. I will be glad when i get over the bloated feeling cause that seems to be the only thing making me feel off. They have me on a liquid diet for 10 days and i'm still trying to find a workable option on the protien shakes. The brand the dr's office carries makes me sick to my stomach so that won't work. Right now just doing broth's and sugar free jello with a little yogurt thrown in. Does anyone have an suggestions for the protien shake? Atkins doesn't taste all that great but so far the best i've found and it doesn't mess with my tummy like the protien powder does.