Julia_N

If he's worried about your boobs, he can buy you some new ones! :biggrin:

I'm not an insurance expert, BeTheBudda, but about 5 months ago, I got off COBRA and onto my new company's plan. My understanding is that if you keep the COBRA and move to a group plan, then it's not considered a preexisting condition. The continued insurance coverage is the key. If you had a break in coverage, it's a preexisting condition for the duration of the break. At least that's why my COBRA people told me. Good luck! I also have Aetna and so far it's been pretty good coverage. :Banane37:

I'm a non-recovered book addict. :whatchutalkingabout Actually, maybe recovering since my favorite used bookstore closed and I don't have a cheap source anymore. I've read all but the most recent Stephanie Plum book. She has 14 out, not including a couple that aren't part of the number series. I especially loved the first four. After that, they seemed to lose something for me. I still read them when they come out, but don't love them like I used to. I've been reading a lot of young adult lately, too. I've read the first three Stephanie Meyer books and awaiting my daughter to finish the fourth so I can have it. I've also enjoyed the first two books in the City of Ember series. Also, I had an audiobook of The Book Thief and thoroughly enjoyed it. If anyone's interested in young adult epics, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series is great. I got the audiobooks from the library and they had multiple actors playing the different roles. (I do a lot of audiobooks because I have a 40-mile one-day daily commute. Thank God for libraries!)

I've heard of people losing height by losing weight. Just my luck. I lose a couple of inches in height and then have to lose even MORE weight.

May I ask a related question? Did anyone feel her (or his) hair got thicker because the scalp was stretched over less fat? I assume there must be some fat between the scalp and the skull. I'm hoping the hair above my forehead will look thicker with less head to cover. :thumbup:

Thanks for asking! I went to Allergan's site a second time and sought info and got a second "Dear Julia" letter. I wrote a snail-mail reply to the person who wrote me and haven't heard anything yet. The company's address is in Irvine, which is close to me, but the letter had been sent from somewhere with a ZIP code that begins with a 6, so who knows where the person is based. But that's pretty moot, because I had an appointment with my regular physician and it turns out he just got back from a seminar at Stanford about lap-band surgery and now believes it's one of the best things an obese person can do. And he thinks I'm a perfect candiate. So the insurance wheels are turning and I have an info seminar with my chosen surgeon next week. I want my band yesterday! :biggrin2:

Body noise is so fun! I'm glad I have a private, enclosed work area.:w00t:

No garlic? Are they using vampire doctors now? :cursing:

:eek: I requested info from Allergan's Lap-Band site. I requested it by mail. Instead of the kit, I got a letter from the VP of marketing telling me that I don't qualify for Lap-Band surgery and offered me a bunch of Web sites with nonsurgical alternatives. As many of you probably know, to request a kit you have to punch in your height, weight and age and it tells you your BMI. According to the site, you need a BMI of 40, or lower with co-morbidities. My BMI is around 49. Seems like that is right in the range. Anyone else get a letter like this? (I realize Allergan doesn't make the decision on whether my insurance company or doctor approves the surgery. It's frustrating that I won't have anything to bring to my doctor Thursday when I have my first visit to get the ball rolling.)

Thanks, everyone. I guess Allergan's computer must be turning that first digit of everyone's BMI to a 1! If only it were that easy. :eek:

Oh, great. I'm naturally pretty gassy, so after surgery I guess I'll be a Saturn rocket! :thumbup:

A few years ago, I lost 55 pounds (on a 5-foot-2 frame, so that was a significant amount; I still had about that much to go). I started working out at a gym the day I started the diet (Weight Watchers). I didn't have any problems with excess skin, despite going through childbirth a few years before. The skin seemed to tighten up pretty well. I was in my late 40s at the time, so you who are younger are more elastic. This might be even more important if you'll lose a lot of weight quickly. Of course, some people are genetically doomed to have excess skin. But working out can't hurt. Good luck to you both! :smile2:

Howdy. I've been thinking about Lap Band for a long time but this is the first time I've investigated it. I don't know yet if my insurance will cover it or where I'll have it done. I just know that I'd like my knees and feet to stop hurting when I climb stairs and I'd like to cut down on the 12 medications I must take every day. I'll be doing a lot of reading on this site and others to make my final decision. I'm the sole breadwinner for my family, so I want to make sure I'm not doing something that will take me out. Full gastric bypass seems too dangerous to me. So thanks in advance to everyone for their postings. :thumbup: