bklyn1984

I chose to tell family and friends who I knew would be supportive of me. I do not welcome negativity and drama in my life. I had plenty of that in the past and I am over it and I am in a very good place right now. Besides it's none of anybody's business what I do with my life. Not everyone is as open as you are and if you know someone personally who had WLS and you know that they did not tell everyone I would hope that you would respect them enough not to say anything in public. Congrats on your progress so far. Keep up the good work.

I have this band and I have 5cc in the band. My next appointment is May 5th and right now I have what I consider good restriction so hopefully I will not need another fill at that visit. My surgeon likes the AP bands.

Just a suggestion. You may want to switch to ground flax seeds or grind them yourself. If you do not already do this. I recently found out that you do not get all of the benefits from eating the seeds. When my cousin told me this I went looking around and found this article: Ground flaxseed: Better than whole? - MayoClinic.com Your breakfast is very similar to mine. It fills me up and I was a person who never ate breakfast before.

Name.............. Start ..........Current.......... Goal ........ToGo 3ShotRoc..............345..............263................220......... ..43 alabubba..............464..............464................400......... ...64 annieemmm.........200..............198.................170......... ..28 ashleyrenee......240...........240...........199...........41 barb12590............173..............161................155.......... .6 Betelnut…………......95….……...…273 …....……..245………….28 Bklyn1984.............317..............248................230......... ..18 blaze21................200.8...........192.8..............170....... .22.8 Chicky Abby..........314..............314................270............44 clcort...................236...............200...............200...... ......36 countrygirlNY........253..............217................182.......... ..35 crzytchr2004.........237..............232................210.......... .22 Fab by 50.............215..............204................175............29 Fordgal88.............199..............175................199......... ..24 Htaylor1021.....210............210............185.........25 Jazma .............261..........261............235..........24 Jennyt71...............245..............204................170........ ...34 keepingfaith08...225..........225.............190.........35 LessJess...............228..............228................199........ ....29 Letsgetitstarted.....229..............229................199.......... ..30 libbyjane1976.......283...............283................250.......... .33 LilMissDiva...........251.6............247.6..............227......... ..20.6 liz_hager..............158..............158.................145....... ....13 LisaRT.............254...........254.............225.........29 Long2BThin...........192..............190.................169......... ..21 Loveislovely...........191..............191.................169....... .. ..22 Mair.....................222..............220................199...... ......21 mamacj................316..............269................233......... ...36 Melody_mary_42f .277...........231............170..........49 MsNickelback....172...........167............149..........18 nicolerose........365...........288............260..........28 nursemelly.......245...........209............185..........24 onehotmama.........272.............237.................210............ 27 pbpuniser.............212..............212................182......... ..30 peachwood......251...........251............230..........21 picklesix...........197..........187.............170.........17 sexylips................238..............238................199....... ....39 SillyGoose............258...............240................228........ ...12 simone................182...............176.............160........... ....16 ukcatsfan.............340...............340................300........ ...40 workingmom.....214...........214............175.........39 ZiggyLove........226...........202............180.........22

I am down 8 as of today. I have 5 more to go

Name___________StartWeight___CurrentWeight______Goal_________ToGo *****:cool2:************************:tt2:************ ********* *** Alleycia...........255............226.........152.......74 AmethystJade.......231.8..........212.........150.......62.0 Babe...............308............278.6.......199.......79.6 Bellaperdente......196............177.........150.......27 Bklyn1984..........317............248.........165.......83 Bostongurl.........190............186.........133.......53 Brandy.............198............181.........166.......15 Cappy..............240............227.5.......130.......97.5 Chocolate_Snaps....244............224.........175.......49 CubsGirl17.........147............135.........130.......5 Clarebear08........192............176.5.......160.......16.5 Donna113...........183............172.5.......126.......46.5 Ebonie.............307............307.........200.......107 EmmaWang...........241............210.........140.......70 FalloutGirl........282............278.........165.......112 FeliciaLevy75......200............194.........140.......54 FlordiaPete........413............380.........300.......80 GratefulHeart......226............199.........135.......64 GuyMontag..........325............276.........200.......76 health4life........279............239.........150.......89 inri09.............287............254.........185.......69 janesays...........225............199.........160.......39 kimaly.............194............183.........160.......23 Lindar172..........246............222.2.......150.......72.2 Linksmom...........234............234.........145.......89 LocomotiveEngineer.311............311.........220.......91 Long2BThin.........216............188.5.......169.......19.5 lotzasunshine......270............257.........180.......77 Loveislovely.......216............194.........175.......19 ltgordon...........284.8..........250.5.......185.......65.5 lucyavery..........205............205.........140.......65 Mair...............231............222.........140.......83 Mamanmidwife.......264............260.........200.......60 mdgarcia31665......220............220.........165.......55 MissNilsa..........180............180.........132.......48 nicolerose.........365............288.........258.......30 Rhea2d.............283............233.........185.......58 Sandra267..........220............220.........165.......55 Tabithan...........240............240.........200.......40 Tuger..............192............187.5.......130.......57.5 Under200...........242............199.........155.......44 vzghj3.............202............202.........150.......52 Wendy_Wo...........242............218.........142.......76 WOWOX7.............173............147.........125.......22

This is so true considering I still do not see it. I think I maybe getting there though. I used to be a size 26/28 for bottoms and a 3X for the top. Well today I went to Kohl's and they are having an amazing sale! I found pants size 22 which I thought was my size and I also found another pant that was a 20 thinking let me see just how long it will be until I can get into these. I did not have to wait long because the 22s were big and the 20 fit just right! WOW! :drool: So I bought them, jeans, and a 1X top. The other great thing about this shopping trip was that one of the pants were $14.00 (60% off). Kohl's also gave me 15% off and a $10.00 coupon to come back with.

Way to go! Too bad you did not tape it I would have loved to seen that! I would have added and at least my lungs are clean and I will live a lot longer than you will. What a bi**h!

I met with friends who have not seen me since September 08 and one of my friends stayed in her car while I was outside of the restaurant because she did not recognize me :smile:

Is your BMI below 40? If not, then call them back and speak to a supervisor I was told no diet and no documention other than the diagnostic testing results and psychological exam results.

Yes that's true I confirmed with them that there is no 6 month diet with a BMI of 40+. If you are below 40 BMI then they will look for the 6 month diet and documentation of previous attempts and your co-morbidities. If your surgeon's office insists that it is BCBS FEP then they do not know this insurance. It applies to both Standard and Basic Options. I am in NJ so my contact is BCBS NJ. I was told by someone at BCBS that your surgeon should know what to include in the package that is sent to them. My surgeon's office put me through everything and if I did not like my surgeon the way I do I would have went to someone else. But I like him and I trust him. I had to give notes for 5 years and do a 6 month diet. So it was my surgeon's office who required this not BCBS FEP and I have read that I am not the only one who has had this problem. You still have to go through the diagnostic and psychological testing that you cannot get out of. It will also help if you do have co-morbidities. When my surgeon found out I had sleep apnea he was concerned for my health and at the same time he was happy since he said that this is one of the top co-morbidities for WLS approval. Here's what it is in the plan brochure that's available at Blue Cross and Blue Shield's Federal Employee Plan: Gastric restrictive procedures, gastric malabsorptive procedures, and combination restrictive and malabsorptive procedures to treat morbid obesity – a condition in which an individual has a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or more, or an individual with a BMI of 35 or more with co-morbidities who has failed conservative treatment; eligible members must be age 18 or over. Benefits are also available for diagnostic studies and a psychological examination performed prior to the procedure to determine if the patient is a candidate for the procedure. Note: You must get prior approval for outpatient surgery for morbid obesity. Please refer to page 16 for more information. If I were you I would call your BCBS and confirm it with them and get their name. I do not think it's a state by state plan but check your plan brochure to make sure.

I have standard option. My approval was received less than 48 hours after being submitted. I have not experienced any problems with this insurance. Go to Blue Cross and Blue Shield's Federal Employee Plan and download the 2009 brochure plan. With a BMI of 40+ you are not required to do a 6 month diet. You will need to have diagnosting testing done (your surgeon should let you know what tests the surgeon requires) and a psychological exam. I made sure everyone was in network so my out of pocket was very little. My time frame was over 7 months but not because of BCBS FEP. My surgeon's office required that I do the 6 month diet and would not give me a date until I had everything done on their checklist and the insurance approved it. Make sure your surgeon's office is completely familiar with this insurance. They hear BCBS and they have it in their head that they all work the same and FEP is very different as you know. My surgeon required cardiac clearance, pulmonary clearance (I have asthma pretty bad), and my primary clearance. Then I had a Upper GI, Chest X-ray, and Blood work. They also sent me in for a sleep study and found that I have sleep apnea so that added time to everything too. This is just my experience while it was not a very bad one I wish that I had been more aggressive with office when it came to the 6 month diet because it was not required. Just make sure to read the brochure plan to know exactly what you can expect with things like deductibles, hospital stay if necessary, outpatient surgery (this changed), and what you will be responsible for if any of your providers are out of network they a few changes with that also.

Today was my second and he found my port a lot quicker this time even though he stills there's a lot of scar tissue. I thought I would only have 2.5cc when I left. The 1st one was 2cc and today's was 0.5cc. My surgeon mentioned to me that there's actually 5cc :seeya: in my 14cc band. He said that when they were "priming" (correct me if this is the wrong word) my band during surgery that there was 2.5cc left behind. Man I knew it! He said there was probably a little bit left but I felt a good restriction up until 8 weeks post-op. Oh well! Less poking around for me :thumbdown: He was reluctant to give me a fill today but I have been hungry a lot sooner after meals so he said I will only give you a little because your weight loss is above what I would expect you to be losing. My restriction tonight is very good and I am on liquids again and it does not bother me at all. I have not received a EOB for the first fill and I am hoping that he did not bill it for anything other than a office visit. If it's billed with a in office surgery code I will have to pay 15% of what my insurance allows. Something happened between my hospital and my insurance so my hospital has said they will not bill me for the hospital portion. They told the insurance company who then called to tell me this. So while I am saving a lot of money my catastrophic level has not been met.

My surgeon told me the same thing about probably having some Fluid in the band after surgery. Well today I go in for my second fill and he told me that there was 2.5cc in the band after surgery, he put 2cc for my first fill, and today he put in 0.5cc. I know what you are saying about introducing solid foods but if you do like everyone here has said about chewing well, tracking what you eat, and measuring your foods you will be fine. Do you have any guidelines from a nutritionist to follow? You are in NO way a "Stupid DooDoo Poopie Head." Yes you got the instructions mixed up but you were on pureed Foods for 5 weeks in a row! That's shows that you are committed to making this work for you in my opinion. I am no expert in getting fills sooner than your surgeon wants you to come in but if you think that you cannot wait until then maybe he will let you come in sooner than a month call him if you need to.

Name___________StartWeight___CurrentWeight______Goal_________ToGo ****************:thumbup:************************:biggrin:* ********* *** AmethystJade.......231.8..........212.........150.......62.0 Babe...............308............282.6.......199.......83.6 Bellaperdente......196............181.........150.......31 Bklyn1984..........317............253.........165.......88 Bostongurl.........190............186.........133.......53 Brandy.............198............181.........166.......15 Cappy..............240............227.5.......130.......97.5 Chocolate_Snaps....244............224.........175.......49 CubsGirl17.........147............135.........130.......5 Clarebear08........192............176.5.......160.......16.5 Donna113...........183............174.........126.......48 Ebonie.............307............307.........200.......107 EmmaWang...........241............220.........140.......80 FalloutGirl........282............278.........165.......112 FeliciaLevy75......200............194.........140.......54 FlordiaPete........413............386.........300.......86 GratefulHeart......226............199.........135.......64 GuyMontag..........325............295.........200.......95 health4life........279............239.........150.......89 inri09.............287............254.........185.......69 janesays...........225............208.........160.......48 kimaly.............194............183.........160.......23 Lindar172..........246............222.2.......150.......72.2 Linksmom...........234............234.........145.......89 LocomotiveEngineer.311............311.........220.......91 Long2BThin.........216............191.........169.......22 lotzasunshine......270............258.5.......180.......78.5 Loveislovely.......216............197.........175.......22 ltgordon...........284.8..........250.5.......185.......65.5 lucyavery..........205............205.........140.......65 Mair...............231............222.........140.......83 Mamanmidwife.......264............260.........200.......60 mdgarcia31665......220............220.........165.......55 MissNilsa..........180............180.........132.......48 nicolerose.........365............288.........258.......30 Rhea2d.............283............233.........185.......58 Sandra267..........220............220.........165.......55 Tabithan...........240............240.........200.......40 Tuger..............192............187.5.......130.......57.5 Under200...........242............199.........155.......44 vzghj3.............202............202.........150.......52 Wendy_Wo...........242............218.........142.......76 WOWOX7.............173............157.........125.......32

I met my goal this morning! http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pfAYfZkr9NWic_LuT_qA_DA

I am down 3lbs

Name.............. Start ..........Current.......... Goal ........ToGo 3ShotRoc..............345..............263................220......... ..43 alabubba..............464..............464................400......... ....64 annieemmm.........200..............198.................170......... ..28 barb12590............173..............163................155.......... ....8 Betelnut………….....295….……...…270 …....……..245………….25 Bklyn1984.............317..............253................230......... ..23 blaze21................200.8...........195..............170......... ..30.8 Chicky Abby..........314..............314................270...........44 countrygirlNY........253..............217................182.......... ..35 crzytchr2004.........237..............231................210.......... .21 Fab by 50.............215..............215................175...........40 Fordgal88.............199..............175................193.5....... ..18.5 Htaylor1021.....210............210............185.........25 Jennyt71...............245..............207................170........ ...37 keepingfaith08...225..........221.5.............190.......31.5 LessJess...............228..............228................199........ ...29 Letsgetitstarted.....229..............229................199.......... .30 libbyjane1976.......283...............283................250.......... 33 LilMissDiva...........251.6............247.6..............227......... .20.6 liz_hager..............158..............157.................145....... ....12 Long2BThin...........192..............191.................169......... ..22 Mair.....................222..............220................199...... .....21 mamacj................316..............269................233......... ...36 MsNickelback....172...........172............149..........23 nicolerose.......365..........288............260.........28 Nursemelly............245............210.................185.......... ...25 onehotmama.........272.............234.................210............ 24 pbpuniser.............212..............212................182......... ..30 peachwood......251...........251............230.........21 picklesix...........197..........197.............170.........27 sexylips................238..............238................199....... ....39 SillyGoose............258...............239................228........ ...11 simone................182...............182................160........ ...22 ukcatsfan.............340...............340................300........ ...40 workingmom.....214...........214............175.........39

For me personally I would not get the band unfilled. I have not told a lot of my family and friends. I was recently out with someone and they asked why I did not eat as much and why I would not take any of the left over food. I told her that I decided to work with a nutritionist, doctor, and personal trainer to lose weight (she did notice the weight loss) for my health and by eating smaller healthier portions I have been very successful in losing my weight. She applauded me for this and said she wished that she had the will power to do what I do. We talked about my exercising routines and what I eat and do not eat. The band was never discussed because it's a personal choice for me. Not everyone needs to know my business. If you explain it to them that what you are doing is for your overall health I do not see how they could be insulted by this. You should be applauded for your achievements. I know you will probably take this part the wrong way but if they are insulted after you have explained this to them then oh well. I am sorry but I am doing this for me and for no one else. For years I did things for everyone else with no regard for what I was doing to my own health. Now I will not do anything to compromise all that I have achieved because I will offend someone. By the way we are planning on a vacation (maybe overseas not sure) within the year and I have absolutely no intention of unfilling my band. My DH is 100% in agreement with me on this. Good luck with what ever you decide to do. Make the decision for you and for no one else.

I donate mine to the Veterans Affairs and for women business clothing that I have I am going to donate them to Dress For Success. Dress for Success: Support DFS: Donate: Clothing

I used to like M&Ms well I tried half of one (without peanuts) because I heard about a change in taste and wanted to see if this was true and OMG! it was like someone shoved a teaspoon of sugar in my mouth. I spit it out real fast and washed my mouth.

I'm in :ohmy: coloradobanding......13lbs debbie_7155............8lbs stephleon..............13lbs fluffy jen...............13lbs jaynell31...............15lbs louandboosmom......15lbs laurr925................13lbs bek1986...............15lbs cmanzley..............15lbs 1rockinmom...........15lbs catho72................12lbs delivered...............15lbs gus-gus..................8lbs a buddy.................12lbs ncsqueen...............15lbs shellyphaunts..........15lbs bamagal.................15lbs kmbmom.................15lbs crystal525..............15lbs minxz.....................12lbs bklyn1984...............13lbs

Right now my current goals are: 1.) Have a weight loss of 70lbs by April 25th. I am at 61lbs down now. 2.) I also begin training to run a 5K on July 4th. My training starts April 2nd. It's so weird to think that I actually want to run :ohmy: 3.) I bought an XL tee-shirt that I want to wear by July. 4.) I want to have a "1" in front of my clothes size by this Fall. It's hard to think of any long term goals right now but I would love to be at goal this time next year. DH has promised me a clothes shopping spree for when that happens. So the motivation is there. I had a NSV last weekend when I was able to sit comfortably in a movie theatre seat with my jacket on I still had room to move around.

My band is 14cc and my surgeon said it was the best size for me.

You're both doing so great! Congrats! Peanutband you're just about half way there keep it up!