cattoy71

A really good resource to get background info on any bariatric surgeon is obesityhelp.com. You can search your surgeon under the "search" feature and it brings up a great and readable grid that clearly shows all the experience he/she has with each specific bariatric surgery. For example, here's my surgeon: http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/bariatric+surgeon+profile+John+Feng+jjm.html Many doctor's claim to be "pioneers", so please be careful and understand what he/she means by using that word :smile2: I'm almost 6 months out of lapband surgery myself, and am really happy....but, I kinda secretly wish I had the sleeve now, lol.

I paid my surgeon's fees (surgery plus 5 years of fills and follow up) of 7500k in cash and there was absolutely no other discount. I financed the rest of the hospital and anesthesia fees through CapitalOne at a 2.99% APR. The fees were supposed to be an additional 9500k....the weird thing is that I only have receipts for and only paid 8500k. Still can't figure out what happened there but I'm trying to get to the bottom of it since I claimed it on my taxes.

I think that one treatment of SAD (Seasonal Affectedness Disorder) is to up the level of Vitamin d either through supplements and/or light therapy. I definately think that your blue mood can be attributed (along with a host of other things) to low d levels. Try calling your surgeon and asking him about it or ask the doctor that is prescribing your depression meds. Btw, I am also on 2 different type of depression meds.

My Vitamin d is really low too. Most asian women (including east indian) have low vitamin d levels. Call me crazy, but I think it is contributing to my slower weight loss since banding too. I've been put on mega doses of vitamin d for the next 3 months to try to get my levels up to normal. I've been on a little plateau for about a month and am tired often....I have a fill scheduled for tomorrow and will try to get answers to my questions about if it is affecting my rate of weight loss.

I was self-pay and paid 17k. My doctor said that it is a reduced cost from what insurance companies get billed....something like over 30k billed if insurance covers the costs. I can't imagine you are likely to get the costs down so that it's a significant savings.

The number one foreign object retrieved from ER's around the country are bottles and jars! Go figure :rolleyes2:

About the whole stretching thing....For occassional or even more anal sex, there is usually never a problem with regaining tightness. You run into problems when you are someone who is habitually fisted or use other monsterously large penetrative objects. I'm also not at all surprised about anal sex being so popular....it's one of my most requested sex workshops :frown:

Andrew you've just made my day!!!

I was just thinking that I could post an article on the art of anal fisting if anyone is interested! Guys? Anyone?

Man those pictures are too much. I should really print some out and put them around my house to curb my appetite. Thanks for posting :tongue_smilie:

"If your credit is shot and you have no means to pay...well...maybe time to work on yourself and what is important. Where there's a will, there's a way." I love this quote...thank you for saying it so eloquently :tongue_smilie::thumbup::thumbup:

Yesterday I did: 15 minutes on the treadmill @ 4% incline 2 sets of interval machines for legs 15 minutes on the recumbent bike p.s. I love this thread and the accountability. Wish I could find someone at my club to buddy up with too!

I only really felt the band in me directly after surgery. I could actually feel the squeeze sensation for the first few weeks. Otherwise I don't really feel a difference except on the rare occasion I have eaten too much.

Wow, the charges for your fills sound like what doctors charge for fills for patients that were banded elsewhere (i.e. Mexico). You got some good advice about asking about self pay rates. You can often get a year or a series of fills for a fixed amount of money paid up front.

I financed a portion of my self pay surgery through CapitalOne. My APR is something ridiculously low like 2.99% but I think that was based on my FICO score. Couldn't hurt to check them out. You can appy online for a health credit line.

I have no idea since I was self pay. You might want to try posting this in the insurance forum to get more responses. You may also be able to find something if you search "highmark security" under the search function.

I have my fourth fill scheduled for next week. My surgeon is very conservative with fills and now gives me fills of .5ml every 4 weeks. I'm currently at 5ml in a 10ml band. It's weird tho....I have yet to have one single pb episode...I did slime once, but have never had the pb experience. I admit that I haven't been very good at exercising, but have recently been getting back at it. I really feel like it is the only way I will continue to lose weight (instead of flucuating back and forth the same 3 pounds). You'd think that being self pay would be enough incentive to workout, but it hasn't been p.s. thanks for replying to the exercise question

Lol, well I had a thread over in the ladies room you can check out. I'm a workshop consultant for a well known female friendly sex toy store in San Francisco. Mostly I do a lot of workshops and presentations on all things sex. Pretty much everything from basic anatomy and sexual pleasure to LGBTQIQ sex, sex club etiquette and fetish play. I've also done smaller technique based workshops for hand-jobs and blow-jobs. For over 5 years I worked in a San Francisco non profit providing support for youth that are HIV positive and have done a lot of travelling as a guest presenter on how internet hook-ups fuel soaring HIV/STD rates.

OOOh I am by no means knocking gay sex or sex in general...I am a sex educator in San Francisco afterall. I was just bringing up the likehood of religion playing into their relationship.

Ok I have a serious question......how is everyone doing so well with their weight loss? Seriously, you guys are rock stars!!! How much exercise are you doing to have lost so much weight. I'm down over 40 from my highest pre-band weight, but some of you guys flew by me miles ago!! p.s. LoveIsLovely, I am so sorry for your loss. Sending you my best thoughts and a bigger hug.

I just wanted to chime in and say that if the couple is in the relationship and not divorced due to religion, then gay sex is mostly likely against religion too...no?

I've tried botox for migraines, and it didn't work well. The strange thing is that all that gag stuff in movies is so wrong because it takes up to 1 full week for the botox to take affect! Not exactly the quick fix everyone talks about, lol.

My insurance totally covered everything except my co-pay. I really haven't had a full on period since I got it in October 2008, but I do have sporadic spotting, and only need to use pantyliners. There is some sporadic cramping, but I use tylenol to help. I did have some funky emotional hormonal feelings for the first week or so while getting used to the estrogen, but overall I'm really happy I have it. If your insurance covers it, totally do it.

I had the mirena implanted about 3 weeks prior to my banding. I also am childfree and my doctor doesn't believe that you must have had a child before she will give you the implant. The initial cramping lasted a few days. Make sure to ask your doctor for a lidocane shot prior to the placement so it is less uncomfortable. I have had occasional cramping that is similar to that of when I'm menstruating. I also spot more frequently now, but haven't had a full period since the implant. I really like it and it's one of the best options if you aren't looking to get pregnant. I was so over doing the pill, and my husband didn't like the feel of the nuva ring.

:mad2::wink2: Oh my that is sooo funny. Maybe you can get her a bodybugg too and see who can burn the most calories:tt2: