Tired_Old_Man

I have heard many people say things that were incorrect, but still get the right response because both the speaker and listener were equally illogical. How many times have you heard someone ask, "Do you mind if I sit here next to you?" The response is, "Yes" and the person sits down. What was the question? It was "do you mind"? The asker of the question acts as if he asked, "may I sit here?" If I go to the to the movies and my wife went to the restroom and someone asked, "Do you mind if I sit here next to you?", I would say yes and he would sit down. Then I would have to tell him that my wife would be right back. If someone asks me, "Do you mind if I sit here next to you?", "Yes" means "do not sit" and "no" means, "yes you can sit". If you want to ask "May I sit here?" then ask "May I sit here?". Do not ask "Do you mind if I sit here next to you?" when you mean "May I sit here?" The word "May" does not equal the words "Do you mind". Just because many times, the person that answers the question is just as inattentive to proper usage as the person that asks the question, does not make it right.

I have had people quote those articles to me as if Gospal. In a debate during the 2004 presidential campaign, a coworker (at break) used an article in either the Globe or the Inquirer (Enquirer?) to try to prove a point for his candidate of choice.:help:

New Law: Anyone who reads the tabloids sold at supermarket checkout counters would forfeit their right to vote. I don't mean reading the headlines on the covers as they wait. I mean actually reading the stories.

Being a man of the straight persuasion, I can not speak of personal knowledge, but I would assume that his length would not interfere with your band and unless his prostate/testicle factory is on a wartime production schedule, I doubt if it will be any worse than accidentally swallowing a tablespoon of creamy Soup.:faint:

I'm 61.:help: They say, "you are only as young as you feel". I don't know if that is good or bad.

What burns me are the people (who have the most faults) who judge others on their faults. Have you ever noticed that when you dislike someone instantly that his character trait the infuriates you the most is also yours (though you really hate to admit it to yourself)? Looking in a mirror can be traumatic especially when you are seeing someone else.

I only have one insurance, no secondary.

When I explained the "request for authorization procedure" to her, she was totally lost. And she still did it wrong, because all I needed was an authorization to change the follow-up care provider, not a procedure by procedure authorization. My insurance company like many others, routinely denies coverage and holds back payment for mouths. When you are dealing with $300,000,000 in payments per year, a month or two or more of interest here and a month or two or more of interest there can really add up.

My insurance does not require prior authorization for an endoscopy. It only requires one prior authorization to take over my Lap-Band after-care and only because the insurance company no longer allows any weight control (bariatric) surgery. Asking for the authorization for the bariatric follow-up care and then the endoscopy just puts the idea in the insurance company's head that the endoscopy is related to the Lap-Band. As soon as the Fluid was removed from the Lap-Band, my swallowing problem was gone as seen by the flouroscope. As I said earlier, a friend of my wife had a reflux problem and as soon as they found H.Pylori and she was treated for it, the reflux stopped. Exactly. So by asking for authorization to do a test that only requires authorization if it IS Lap-Band related, the clerk in effect is saying that the test is Lap-Band related when it may not be. Even it was Lap-Band related, I doubt that the insurance company could prove it or that the doctor could know 100% that it was band related, except if the band had herniated the stomach wall.

There is an old say: "If you want it done right; DO IT YOURSELF". But sometimes, you are forced to rely on other people. The insurance company insisted that I was not allowed to make the request, so I printed up a step by step list of directions. 1. Call: 800-xxx-yyyy 2. Select option #2 3. Tell them the name of your institution 4. Tell them my name, ID#, DOB 5. Tell them that you want authorization to do my Lap-Band follow-up care 6. Tell them the follow-up care authorization was previously under xxxxxxxx by zzzzzzzz Of course, I put the x's, z's and y's in place of the actual words and/or numbers that was supposed to be used. All the information required was on my list. There was no thinking required. Could it be that when a patient is covered by medical insurance and a visit costs $200, the insurance says the contracted amount is $125 and then they pay 80% ($100) and I pay 20% ($25), but if the insurance company says the treatment is not covered, the facility gets the full $200 from me, so that if the treatment is covered they only get $125 from the insurance company and me combined? On treatments like surgery, the numbers can even be worse than that. I had orthoscopic surgery one time and the surgery bill was $1500. The company said the contracted amount was $575, so they paid $460 and I paid $115. They received only $575 instead of $1500, but more importantly, I paid only $115 instead of $1500. The facility' billing clerk has no incentive to work for the patient and the insurance company has no incentive to help the patient.

I will be taking it easy. My throat is so sore from the Endoscopy, that I can barely write this. I can't type without saying (what I am writing) out-load. It means that I either have to write very fast or talk very slow.:cool: I have to drive home today from my friend's house. It is about a 90 mile drive.:help: Thanx2all of you4your encouragement. 4the rest of you who boubt my ability2take over Jack's harem, "Why do you think that I am so tired?":clap2: Practice Practice Practice

I had my endoscopy today

Hollywood people are the beautiful people, but all their money, fame and power can not make them happy, nor cut their divorce rate. When we get thin, we may still need to save ourselves. When I was in a bariatric support group in NY, there were a few bypass patients who had lost all the weight that they had wanted to, but they were still having divorces, still have problems with their parents, children and/or siblings. Coming down from 320 to 120 and coming down from 640 to 175 does not make happy anymore than hitting the lottery. It just changes the focus of one's unhappiness. I was very often the one man with 10-13 women in the meeting. Even the shrink was a woman. While talking, I mentioned that I didn't care what I looked like, nor how other people felt about how I looked and a few of the women asked "then why did you have your surgery?" "For my health" I replied. If you had your surgery for the opinion of others or the approval (overt or covert) of others, you will be disappointed when you hit your target weight. Like an alcoholic who has stopped drinking, but is still miserable, achieving your goal does not change the person inside. In fact achieving your goal may remove your only reason for living. Love yourself, no matter who else loves you. Love yourself whether fat, thin or in between. Note: Though I quoted pplqueen to start this post, I am not referring to anyone in particular. It is a general statement. An alcoholic learns at AA not to drink that first drink. But he also learns that if he does fall off the wagon, to get right back on without feeling sorry for himself or beating himself up. We are constantly beaten up because we stand out in a crowd, though the US public is doing their best to make us normal (by comparison to the GROWING of the public). I hope that no one was offended by my thread opening post. It was just a combination of food for thought and confession.

Does Carrie know??

For now, maybe, but just like my eating problem, I want it all.

Hi everyone: I had my endoscopy. The doctor said everything was normal, except for a little gastritis. He took a biopsy of my upper stomach wall to be check for "H. pylori". If it is positive, that might explain the gastric reflux attacks that I have been having and it can be treated with a regiment of antibiotics. I hope others with reflux problems can benefit from that knowledge. My wife had told me about a month ago that her friend had told her of horrible gastric reflux attacks and after she was checked for "H. pylori" and treated with antibiotics, she finally had relief. My wife's friend suggested to my wife that I be tested for "H. pylori", but I never got around to it. My reflux problem was really exacerbated recently when I was taking an antibiotic (clindamycin) for a infected finger-nail. maybe the clindamycin caused a reaction with an infection. My face swelled up, I felt lethargic and I had a rash on my stomach, so I called to get a different antibiotic. When I stopped the clindamycin and switched to the different antibiotic, the reflux improved, but was still very bad. My wife and I are staying at our friend's home, 15 miles from the hospital. I was in no condition to drive the 101 miles to our home tonight.

Especially with me.:help:

Next month will be our 39th Anniversary. I think I'll have to keep her, at least until I get my anniversary gift.

My wife is about ready to toss me out of the house for spending so much time on my PC.

I think my hunger is more emotional than physical. Eating the right Snacks is better than eating the wrong food, but being able to say "NO" is more important. Thanks for your suggestions. I will look into them. I already do things like mix part-skim Ricotta with Jello or no-fat american cheese with Jello. But as soon as I finish eating it, I count the minutes to the next commercial.

I can eat "no-sugar added" icecream, nuts and good snacks until I am blue in the face. The more I eat, the hungrier I get.

#1. I hope my post does not discourage anyone from getting a Lap-Band. I would do it again if I could turn back the clock. Has anyone tryed Hoodia? This Lap-Band would be so much more successful with an appetite supressor. I get so hungry sometimes. #2. I drank some barium after they unfilled by Lap-Band. It looked good on the flourescope. #3. Thanks for all the good wishes. I will report back and let everyone know how things turned out. #4. I always wanted to be surrounded by women. I finally got my wish at this forum.

I had a BMI of 48.28 when I started. Can I join the club?

What part of Florida do you live in? The Cleveland Clinic Bariatric Department is where I am go now. I had my surgery in Brooklyn 4 years ago, but moved to Florida 3 years ago. The Cleveland group in Weston, FL is good. I like them better than the group that was involved with my Lap-Band installation surgery.

I will start a thread in the Lap-Band Complications Section as you suggested and I will link it to this post. Thanks for the warm welcome.