TheGh0st

Still sore today but like I said it's getting better. Lying on back with knee up actually felt good. Was impossible to lay on right side even laying on left put my right leg in a position that hurt my hip. Stepping up with right leg also was so painful I was going up each new step with left foot first then pulling right up to it. Summarizing holding weight stable was OK-ish but moving weight up or forward with right side was very painful. There was an actual spot on right side about size of ping pong ball that was very painful to touch and felt like the bone was sticking out more at that point than the same place on the left side. Just glad its getting better now.

***WORLDS OF FUN*** Saturday SEPT 6th I finally set a date with my co-worker last week. We want to get together as many people who are interested in going to WOF on Saturday Sep 6th. Any and all are welcome. Even if you can't come but have friends, relatives or neighbors that want to have them contact me. If we get 15+ people together we can have what they called an "un-catered" event with tickets at approx $22 per adult for WOF. With 40+ people we can do a catered lunch for approx $27 per adult which includes the food. It's a bit more expensive but you definitely get more than $5 worth of food at the picnic. OK assuming you can keep it down. <48" Youth & 62+ Seniors are cheaper & I believe you can also opt for a WOF/OOF rate but I have the specifics at work. PLEASE if any of you are interested let me know. epsdianet@aol.com

Meant to ask how dinner went tonight. Wish I could have gone. I've always wanted to try the Melting Pot. Not exactly DH's cup of tea. We had fun in Branson. Didn't do the big parks but went on the Railway & the Ducks as well as checking out the Ripley's Museum (DH's idea) and a little power shopping at the mall with Missouri's conveniently timed Tax-Free weekend. But the day before we went I noticed my right hip was just a little sore. By the time we got to Branson I was in extreme pain. Don't remember doing anything to hurt it and have never had pain like it before. It was concentrated to one small spot about the size of a ping pong ball on my right hip but was so painful I couldn't walk without a limp and using my right leg to go up any stairs was out of the question. I was poping Tylenol & Advil right and left nearly doubling the daily max for each with little relief. Saturday afternoon My whole right leg went numb and tingly at the same time. I was seriously considering going to an urgent care but didn't want DH to remember his 40th as the time his wife wimped out especially after I was looking forward to showing off my slimmer and more active body so I did everything I could to pass it off as a slight cramp. Yesterday I was so ready to admit myself to the Hospital the minute I got back to KC today. But now today its suddenly back to just mildly sore. Stairs aren't fun & it hurts to walk but no limp. I wish I knew what happened so I could avoid it in the future. OK if you are still reading - My DH will be glad of the excuse for me to postpone HSSH until next month. Yes all are welcome from what I've read of the posts by the groups host on KCBandsters site. But I agree lets all get together for a meal again sometime in the next month.

So who all is going to Teusday's Meeting at HSSH? I'm planning on it but found out DH isn't leaving for Cancun (the bum) until Wed A.M. so he's not to happy I won't see him the night before. Maybe we could all meet up outside or somewhere nearby to go together. I'm a little nervous going somewhere new by myself.

:happybday: Happy Bandversary!! You lost how much? :wow2: :hail: I am in awe of you!! You are an inspiration.

I want to change jobs put now I can't per LAP BAND, Ideas? Can I rush the process? When looking at other jobs - You should make sure they still cover the band as well. If they don't you will need to pay $100+ for each fill and will also not be covered for any complications like dear Cynthia on this board. She was covered at time of surgery then her company dropped the coverage and she ended up with the "mystery" problem of the fills not working. One possibly "silly" suggestion I've heard on another site but will pass on anyways is that even part-time Starbucks employees are covered for this. If you changed jobs that would cover your fills and any potential complications. I was self pay so I wish I'd known about this before surgery last year. Now, I'll just work a little overtime to cover the fills after my year is up next month and "touch wood" no complications arise.

How long from the time your approved until you actually have surgery? As you are already approved and have a date to meet Hoehn it could be just a couple weeks depending on his & your schedule. Also depends on if & how much additional pre-op meetings they ask you to do. They will want you to meet with a nutritionist & the Psych doc but sometimes also require a Heart &/or Pulmanary checkout. I required the Heart but not Pulmanary. Took me approx 2-3 weeks after meeting with Hoehn. They were willing to tentatively set a surgery date that first visit on the assumption I could get the other work finished in time. Whats the hardest part? Surgery wise - Nothing Really. Post Surgery - For me it has been water. I like to gulp very cold water and have recently gotten to a point I'm restricted enough I can't do that. If I do I get sore in my upper chest and my mouth starts to water like crazy. Others on this board say they are as tight or tighter than me but can still chug away. (BUMS!) Everything else has been surprisingly easy to get use to. I want to change jobs put now I can't per LAP BAND, Ideas? Can I rush the process? I'm assuming you mean time between consult & surgery? If so you can probably schedule most if not all the necessary pre-op work the into the same week. Just cry to the scheduling people at each location. Biggest road block would be if Sabobathy (Psych) wanted to see you more than once. He did me but it, I still was able to get in within a couple weeks like I said. He just gave me an approval after the first meeting with a note in the file he wanted to see me one more time before surgery. (The day before in my case) How long until you feel normal? After Surgery? Personally, I had the surgery on a Tuesday and went back to work the Next Wednesday. Really felt well enough I could have gone back in one or two days. But wasn't sure how I'd feel facing work and its stresses while still on a liquid only diet. Worse the Gallbladder surgery or the same? For me this was MUCH Easier. Then again the doc that did my Gallbladder broke a needle off inside me when sewing me up and had to go back in to find it. Making the surgery take nearly an 1-1/2 hrs longer. I ended up with some nasty side effects to the prolonged anethesia as well as the darvacet pain meds afterwards. So I think that surgery isn't the best comparison. Mortality rates per this Dr. H? Specifict to Dr. H. - Mortality - None (That we know of I guess) Complications - VERY FEW - I have only heard of 4 - 2 port infections, 1 complication due to a pre-existing stomach condition that should have excluded the patient but her family insisted on going ahead with surgery. and 1 mystery complication where the band just isn't restricting the patient no matter how tight it's filled. One of the port infections & the "Mystery" complication both post on this board regularily. Surgery in General - VERY VERY LOW IF AT ALL - Think I've heard of only the rare instance of serious complication due to a Dr. "nicking" the Esophagus during surgery. May have even resulted in death but I don't remember reading that. There are two case studies done over a 5+ year time frame on 700+ patients that are GREAT Reads. I can give you links to them or pdf copies if you would like. Just let me know. - Love "Wheetsin's" suggestion that you also look into complication rates of the anethesist there is probably more risk with that aspect of the surgery than any other. Anyway all and any replies would be GREAT! I live in Shawnee KS.

Quote: Originally Posted by Wheetsin One if these days I'll do MBTI with you guys. Or one of the other 30-something personality inventory models I use. Look at learning styles, or people styles, or personality structure... (yes I'm a :nerd:, but I can't help but love this stuff). Count me in the Nerd category - I love the idea as well. Cynthia - I'm glad you finally have a surgery date. I'll be praying all goes well and it doesn't need to be removed. I'm glad you were able to get the funds but it's too bad about the insurance company though. I still feel the doc could have stepped up and covered some/all of it, no matter what the ultimate problem/cause is considering how you have been complaining about this for months before your insurance company dropped coverage of this. And especially if you had warned him that this needed to be resolved before the insurance company was dropping coverage.

By the By - Even though we've never really talked in depth before. I've always looked forward to seeing all of you at group. Throughout my journey there have been a handful of individuals I see & hear speak at group that really have helped me without even knowing I noticed them. And I believe it is safe to say I count everyone of you on this board among that select group. This is not some silly pep talk. I truly admire each of you for your struggles and acomplishments and been inspired by each of you. So keep your heads high no matter where you are as for every person you see blocking the path ahead of you, there are 10 standing just out of sight behind you looking to you as a guide along their path.

Angela - I like you short and simple explaination much better than mine "Volume Discount".

Melting Pot sounds like fun, I've never been there. I was assuming it was more of a personal thing between the 4? of you as the whole discussion started before I joined the board. Would have loved to come. Only that's the same day DH is turning 40! Me & my strange foods. I'd also like to invite all of you to try Ethiopian with me sometime. If you haven't already had it before. It one of my favorite foods. There is a great restaurant down on the city market. And it's very high Protein low carb. It is a great place to go with a group. Every one orders seperately but when the food arrives it is all on one giant round platter they place in the middle of the table. They then give you this "bread/flan" they call Indira made from some grain called Teff that has NO Carbs. The idea is that you eat the food by tearing off chunks of the Indiri, placing it over the food then using it to pick up a "pinch" of spiced meats, Beans or veggies. They will also provide forks for those who can't stomach the Indiri wether or not it has carbs it's still a bit "doughy". Let me know sometime after the Melting Pot maybe we can set a date to meet at the City Market some Saturday Morning.

Don't get me wrong I love seeing the info you have on the billing from this surgery!

OK I am NOT a person with any qualifications to talk about this. The *LINE* I've been given before from various Docs and dare I say it my mother who does coding/billing work for a group of doctors is that Insurance companies work as a large block of potential customers to negotiate special "Discounts" off what the insurance company determines to be the "Going Rate" (Can't remember correct term). Therefore the insurance companies supposedly get really ticked off if Dr's are found to be billing a self pay patient anything less than this "GR". I've heard the best you can push for is to make sure you aren't billed more than the "GR" though I have heard of patients in other areas of medicine where the docs are generous enough to accept payment from a self-pay for the same amt as insurance then "write off" the difference. They are carefull to document it as a bill for the full amount then a "write off" of uncollectable debt to save face with IC's. Even if the info I just gave is close to correct it still sounds like a bunch of *BULL* after all its the average Joe without Ins that needs the biggest break.

OH BOY! It's sad to say but I think you could win any worst IL contest. I did get a laugh over your stories and would love to hear more sometime. They definitely sound like the type of IL's that you have to laugh at for fear of crying over if you didn't. Now if you don't want to hear about mine feel free to skip rest of post I really have been blessed with my IL's. We usually get along well. MIL & I Will talk over the phone every week or two. Sometimes DH complains I know more about what is going on with his family than he does. When we get together MIL & I like to go window shopping together. She is a Martha Stewart "wanna-be" and has helped us paint, tile, re-upholster & even build furniture from scratch for us. Visiting their house in Lincoln, NE is fun for me (BORING for husband) They live on 5 acres just outside of town along side a long bike/walking trail. She keeps Chickens & a Llama and has a Spinning Wheel (from Sweden), a Loom, Potters Wheel & Kiln. Only wish she had a horse for me to ride. Before Brian was born I'd have fun going up to visit & playing with these "toys". The thing I like the best wasn't the fancy house or "toys" so much as the fact that their house & property is large enough I can lose my husband on it. There would be times I'd go most of the day not seeing him or the IL's without even leaving the house. Until recently DH & I lived in a little 900 Square Foot House and previously an even smaller apartment so that space was priceless. But sure made my out-laws jeaolous of the time I spent with the IL's. They couldn't understand it didn't have to do with the difference in income. Staying with my outlaws confined me to an even smaller space and subjected me & DH to hours of conversation mostly retelling old family stories. On the down side the FIL drinks too much at times, & MIL is always getting on his case about something. He usually deserves it but I'm not use to watching others fight so it can be uncomfortable. Our house usually kept those things private. Then again my parents are divorced now and his aren't. The MIL has also made an art of making all the siblings feel sorry for how "stressed & overworked" she always is, despite her lack of any kind of job. She makes us DIL's feel so badly for her we find ourselves trying to get time off from our FULL TIME Jobs to go help her on her projects. Then we step back and say wait a minute She doesn't even have a job or young children at home, Why are we the one's taking time off from our busy lives to help her instead of the other way around? Not to mention the whole "French Women" *Stuff* she keeps bringing up lately. STILL Compared to your IL's I have NOTHING to complain about. If I had any hopes of competing with you on the sad/twisted family stories it would have to be on the out-law side of my family. But I won't bore you guys with that on-line. You think I talk long now!! OH BOY, you don't know what long is. - Diane

It would be SO easy to tell you take the plane tickets and run. But I had a small taste of what you are describing when I was engaged to a Brit. But in my case the future IL won out & we didn't marry. So I think I have just a tiny understanding of the difficulties and strings attached your IL's money. My FIL owns a Nebraska Accounting Firm. No where near the money of your IL's. Still it gets under my skin when they try to say they are just middle class. Makes me wonder if they think their middle class what do they think of my family background? My IL's do offer more than we take and DH turns them down more than I would. I hate taking their handouts, its just I know how poor our finances are. But with DH turning 40 and me 37 this fall we need to stand on our own feet more and stop taking their help even if it is only once every few years.

Ben's going to be gone during the HSSH group this month either way I plan on going. Just if he is gone I'll be bringing Brian along with. KC Bandsters can sometimes be tricky as they frequently have it the same night as Hoehn's though theirs starts at 7pm instead of 6pm. They haven't posted a firm date for August yet but here's a link to thier Yahoo Forum Group if you are interested in taking a look. http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/KCBandsters/

Congrats on your dog coming home. And my husband totally agrees with you about the "paid" vacations. He is hates the idea of vacationing with all his relatives and their dramas no matter where they offer to take us. Not that we get to do it often. In 14 years they've actually only paid for one other holiday (to London with themselves & one of the other sons & wife). We've also gone on vacation with the same brother & wife to Branson a couple times using a freind of the family's time share. But we still had to pay for it ourselves. I have the occasional drama with his family as well like the whole bit over my mother-in-law going on & on about some book called "Why French women don't get fat" & how French women potty train their children before the age of one when mine is about to turn 3. Sometimes I do worry that as my weight continues to come off things will become more strained. But all in all I love his family and refer to our relatives as the in-laws & out-laws, with mine being the out-laws for good reason. I've been wanting to try the other Heartland Spine group as well. These groups are my "nights" out & away from dh & son. But he's been resisting me a bit on having 3 nights out.

Hi all. I also had a great time before & after group. Angela - Good to hear your dog is improving. I'll keep praying he can come home in the morning. Cynthia - I'm jealous of you and your boss that is leaving. I have one my co-workers & I've been praying to leave for 8 years. One day maybe, one day. Or maybe I'll get off my ever-shrinking behind and get that new job I keep talking about. Oh - I'm going to have to cancel my Friday fill as hubby & I are planning on going for a quick trip to Branson next weekend. It's his 40th on the 6th. We kept talking about doing something bigger like London, Scotland or France but don't really have the funds for it this year. Hopefully next. Anyway the following week the bum is going to Cancun for a week's vacation with his father, 3 brothers & possibly one brother-in-law. His father is paying for everyone's trip. Then in January my mother-in-law is talking about taking all us daughter-in-laws & her one actual daughter to somewhere like Vegas. Hmmm. I think I'd prefer Cancun but oh well I'm not going to say one bad thing about a free trip if I get to go.

FYI all - I have Plain & Strawberry Cheesecake Protein Puddings as well as Chocolate & Chocolate w/Crunchy P.B. to bring tonight. I'm going to try to swing by a Wendy's or someother place I can swipe some Ketchup cups from and I'll make sure to bring some small spoons.

Angela - That's terrible about your dog. I hope he is on the mend soon. And I'll see you at the next meeting God willing.

Oh well, just an idea. The powders will be great! Hey, I forgot to tell all my good news. I was cleaning out a closet Sunday and for whatever reason decided to try on my wedding dress. IT FIT!!!!! I'd forgotton/repressed how far I'd already moved up the scale by then (13+ years ago) but still I'm so excited to think I've made it this far.

Angela - Panera is across from the hospital in a strip mall on 75th. Also, I work out near 114th & Strangline & Drive there from KCK. If you wanted I could swing buy and pick up the samples to store in the fridge at my work Thursday.

FYI - I also have a small load of 20-24 & 2X clothes in the backseat of my car that I'll let anyone look through if they want before or after the group Thursday. I don't really want to carry it all the way in with the construction going on.

Up WAY too late tonight but seem to be on a roll with food posts. And I think it may be helping. I did pass up on the single serving slice of peach pie in the grocery deli tonight despite large craving. but then again failed by buying a small chocolate mint Russell Stovers candy. Breakfast - Nothing Lunch - 3/4ths of a Chicken Enchilada with couple tablespoons worth of refried beans and about a half dozen large tortilla chips. Dinner - 1/2 cup chocolate protein pudding Shopping snack - afore mentioned mint chocolate Late Snack - Homemade Chive Flavored Cheese Curds from City Market. OOPS also snacked on last of Little Debbie PB Bar. Was leftover from some snacks I bought to sell at garage sale. Well looking back maybe posting what I'm eating isn't helping as much as it could. I highly doubt my protein/carb ratio was anywhere it needed to be. Oh well, tomorrow's another day. Part of my pathetic problem is personal sabotoge. When the scale seemed to being showing 1/2 pound loss nearly every day since the fill I felt motivated to keep pushing for a new low each day. Then 2 days ago I only ate about 2 cups of food all day (i.e. about 1 pound of food) then I woke up the next day over a pound heavier. I was so bummed that after eating so well that day I managed to gain instead of losing. My head knows it was probably a difference in my hydration levels, but it doesn't help me feel any better. Now the last 2 days I just can't seem to keep myself as close to "the tracks" as I wish I could. I was so hoping to see 189 by Sunday A.M. Now I'll be lucky to see the 191.4 from Thursday.

OMG! That's terrible! I've heard of terrible pain with food stuck (Experienced just a little myself) but I've never hear of an ER visit over it. I can't imaging having to deal with that pain not too mention the horrible after taste of all that slime. I hope you are feeling better soon.