preciouspup

Yes I can feel my port. It's kinda wierd to feel something under your skin isn't it. You will see your most success when you get to a proper fill level. Sometimes that takes more then one fill. For me it was my 3rd fill. Kinda frustrating but well worth it once I got there. I lost slow to begin with, so don't beat yourself up if thats what happens. Right now it is alot of will power. It will get better!

You wont still be swollen by the time you can get a fill. By the time I was okayed to get a fill I was fine and you will be too. Your sister would probably be more understanding if you called her and explained to her that it would be helpful "for now" while your on liquids if she ate before she came over or she could have a nice bowl of tomato soup with you! Be honest with them, they will respond in their own way but they will be aware of how you feel. Because thats hard, right when your getting your appitite back... If it helps, schedule your fill now for 4 or 6 weeks from your sugery date, what ever your doc goes by then mark the days off on a calander. Each day marked off is a day of success. Sometimes a visual is helpul.

Your doing great! I am glad your feeling better. If you need something with some substance make up some vegetable soup then blend it in the blender till it's liquid. It will help because it's a little thicker but has a bunch of vitamins and nutrients. Don't eat anything solid even if your tempted. Every day you get through is one day longer you've allowed yourself to heal. It really does go fast. Just like life. Just think 2007 and almost over already...didn't we just ring it in a few months ago?

I am glad to hear your home. I remember that uncomfortable feeling but it does ease up. If you can sleep on your back thats probably your best possibility for getting comfortable. You have just taken one great big step into a new you! How exciting. One thing I think that makes it hard to get comfy is you may have small incisions but you have them on both side so it causes the discomfort in more than one area. I found that the incision above the port stayed sensitive longer then the others for me so FYI it's normal if you experience that. My children are watching Shrek 3 right now as I type. I like the Shrek movies. Keep us updated on how your feeling

BabyCat, You will be in my thoughts and prayers. Your right your sister shouldn't have pulled this to day. Right now they should be there for you but not everyone is emotionally available when we need them. Try to turn this into a positive and think of why they may be reacting the way they are. Tell yourself that they are doing this because they care about you and they are worried about you. Surgery is very scary for many people. Even though they are not supporting you the way you need them right now, it might make you relax and feel better about the situation if you think about it as that they don't know how to support you in any other way then showing fear because they care. Does that make any sense. I am looking forward to hearing about your experience and how well it goes...

BabyCat Thank you for the compliment about my wieghtloss. I was 319 when I started so I have come a long way and feel a lot better about myself. I have worked hard and you will too. I have had people say "oh you did it the EASY way" that irritates me more then anything because it's not easy you still have to want it and work toward it. Your absolutely right, it's a tool, thats it a tool to assist in your progression. Yes it is a helpful tool but it takes work and dedication. I still have a way to go yet so we will still be working this journey together. Your current weight was my half way mark so we are probably pretty close to having the same amount to lose at this point. I am not sure what your final goal is but i am sure it is probably fairly close. I have had periods of great success and periods of no loss. So keep your spirits high you have a journey ahead of you. My "plan" is to be ready for PS by January of 09 because I am renewing my vows in Vegas in June of 09 and want to be healed from that. I will definitely need it there is no way around it with as much weight as I will have lost. You on the other hand may not have too since you are not as over weight as I was. This is very exciting. I am going to checking in to hear how it went for you.

How exciting...about the protien drinks, I am not a good one to ask because I don't care much for them. I found that the Curves brand tastes okay but I think they all need to be made with very cold liquid or if they are premade then they need to be refridgerated. But thats just my opinionBut I haven't drank them in a while and have read about some much better tasting ones. I am hoping someone chimes in with the names because I can't remember what they are. Atkins shakes are tolerable if they are really cold so buy some prior to surgery and put them in the fridge if you don't get any other ideas. Wanted to say I will be looking forward to hearing about your experience and how good your doing!

I don't know who you were talking to about the above question but for me, no...I would have qualified if my insurance would have covered but it didn't. I went to Mexico because it was the only place I could find it under 10,000 and I was taking out a loan to pay for it. I do not regret going to Mexico though because I had a great doc.

I had Dr. Kuri too. That was 2 years ago, My price was higher though $8950.00 Great that he is offering it even cheaper now. I thought it was a great price compared to what I was finding back a couple of years ago. He is a great doctor and I would recommend him to anyone. I have sent a co-worker and her friend to him as well and they were very happy with their experiences as well. The other doctors he works with are very nice as well.

You don't get your first fill for usually 6 weeks after your surgery. I know some docs do it sooner but my doc said the average is 6 and thats what he goes by. My first fill was a little painful because of the tilted port like I explained earlier. I don't think normally it's anymore painful then a getting a shot. Because my doctor uses that numming stuff with the first shot and then performs the fill. So I would have to say you will probably work yourself up for nothing because then unknown is always nerve wracking then you'll think wow that's it, its over...that was easy. About the liquid diet. You are on complet liquids to begin with and from being fresh out of surgery, I didn't want to eat anyway. After that you move onto full liquids which can have some substance to it, like blended Soup. It's warm, and comforting and you can drink what you want of it and put the rest in the fridge and have more later. By the end of the two weeks I wanted food though. I think thats how you know your healing well because it takes more to satisfy you. You want to chew. But take it slow because it's a learning process.

I noticed she hasn't posted in a while but in case your still reading this thread I wanted to offer up an idea: I did pay cash for my surgery 9950.00 in Mexico plus fight for my hubby and I so I totally understand. The insurance that I have now does pay for it but I had it done before I became an employee with the county so guess what they wont pay for any of the follow up care either since they didn't pay for the proceedure. But about the Plastic Surgery a couple of thoughts. First do you or your husband have a health savings account through your employment? My husband does so we signed up for it as an "extra" We have medical through me and he carries a minimal medical plan through his job to be eligible for the HSA... SO what it does is allows us to save money for anything medical related and use it when needed. Shawns company matches 100% of his contribution to a certian amount. So each paycheck he contributes 50 his employer matches the 50 which means I have 200 a month being saved for my PS when the time comes. So work is going to be paying half the cost of my surgery and we will be paying the other half through our contributions. For that matter anyone with patience could use the same concept to save for their surgery. Also I have read numerous different places about insurance covering some procedures for health related medical reasons that stem from major weightloss. The trick is documentation, documentation, documentation...with your MD so he/she has a strong case to submit to your insurance co. skin irritation, rashes or what ever could be contributed to lose skin as the problem should be documented with your MD if your going to try to go this route. From everything I have read it's about getting the procedure away from "cosmetic" and into " for health purposes" Just a couple of thoughts/ideas it really put my mind at ease when I started saving through the HSA.

MaryJayne Don't get discouraged. I lost slowly in the beginning until I reached a good fill level. You are most likely not there yet. Schedule an appt with your doctor for a fill . Another thing that helps with hunger is increasing fiber and protein. You'll there it just takes getting to the right level.

I am still able to get fills, it just takes a little longer for the doctor to locate the center of the port. It turned out to be okay now that he knows where my port is tilted and has it marked in my chart. It took almost 20 minutes to located the center of the port the first time and it is usually a 1-2 minute proceedure really. There was a lot of brusing and tenderness after the first fill because of him having to continue to move the needle while locating the center. No problems now. He is a really good doc and has it marked really well so it's back to to quick proceedure...No regrets just take caution.