tripletmomma2000

Here's hoping you had a great surgery today!! We're all here waiting to hear how you're doing once you feel well enough to come back and report!! Blessings to you!!! Karen

updated with all the newcomers since the last posting :smile2:

Just thinking about you!!!!!! I hope everything went smoothly, and that you come home tomorrow with a big ol' smile on your face!!! Hugs, Karen

LL67....... If it makes you feel better, today is day 21 of the pre-op diet for me! My doctor asked me to do 3 weeks, since my BMI is over 50. My surgery is Thursday, so I have 2 more days of liquid, and then I'm going to guess I'm not going to want to eat solids for the next 2 weeks anyway :smile2: The reason I haven't cheated? (and to say that I have wanted to is putting it mildly) I did not want to look back at this journey, and see that I couldn't follow the rules from the beginning. The one thing that has helped me is VERY STRONG flavored, sugar free chewing gum. They have all those crazy strong ones now: Dentine Ice, Ice Cube Crushers, Orbit.... etc. I chew it like a BIG OL' COW, and it definitely makes me feel better! And, honestly, remember..... you can eat at your favorite Mexican restaurant again. But next time you go, you'll chew your food slowly, enjoy the HELL out of it, and come home with a doggie bag, because you won't be able to finish it.... so you can have it for lunch the next day too Hang in there...... honestly, it does get easier!! Hugs, Karen

Hey.... when are we starting this??

Hey mommy! I'm going to guess that it's going to be due the morning of your surgery. My son Martin had surgery 2 years ago, and I needed another $400.00 to fulfill our deductible, and I had to pay it when I registered him in for surgery. Be prepared, and have it with you (or a credit card... you know what I mean Karen

I'm updating the table, and each time I edit it, it will update in each one of my posts.... too bad I can't edit my original post here, I'd add it to that! Anyway... here is the list, updated:

I obviously did!! I fold everyone's underwear at my house... but I don't Iron the BEDSHEETS like my mom does! Can you imagine??

Hi gang! I'm not sure if you guys remember, but I have BC/BS PPO Michigan, individual coverage. They just removed all bariatric procedures from their coverage this past January 2009. They said it is just not covered. My doctor CALLED them this past Friday, and I'm not sure who he talked to, but my status moved from "denied" to "pending".... my agent who is my liaison with BC/BS told me they don't cover, no exceptions... however, it looks like they might actually consider this? I'm not going to hold my breath.... I'm probably going to have to pay somewhere about $6-8K for the procedure (I'm getting hiatal hernia surgery along with it) out of pocket, which I was prepared for... but can I actually HOPE that my insurance company is going to do what's right, and cover this for me?? I am not getting my hopes up... but it sure would be nice not to have to pay that much $$ for my surgery! I'm taking prayers where I can get them! Karen

No surprise, insurance said NO. However, since I'm having hiatal hernia surgery as well, I got a grand total for what I need to pay for the band: $6000.00 The band itself costs $5200.00.... so they are only charging me $800.00 to put it in! I'm grateful that that's all I have to pay. But don't think I'm not going to appeal my insurance's decision!

Honestly?? When I told her I was getting the LB, she got MAD. She told me that my husband would hate it if I lost my curves, and that I'd probably end up getting a divorce, blah blah blah. She and I used to be friendly.... but she has a BAD habit of complaining about me... to everyone else, AND me. We had to work together for the last year on the PTA, and she screamed out one night at a meeting "if ONE more person talks about how much work SAINT Karen has done so far this year, I'm going to go CRAZY!! I've done WAY more work than her!!!" Who does that???? So... am I a witch for wanting to grin like an idiot when I weigh less than her??? (btw.... that would be 220) YES I AM!! Watch me fly!!

Well, at least it's only 4 days, and you're totally right... if he's doing it via satellite, he will totally be doing PERFECT!! Yeah!!

FANTASTIC thread Abby!!! Here's mine: TRIPLETMOMMA'S TOP TEN LIST 1. Sit comfortably in a booth at a restaurant 2. Ride a rollercoaster without worrying that I won't fit in the seat! 3. Buy clothes at a store that's NOT Lane Bryant, Avenue, Fashion Bug Plus, Katherines... or even Torrid! 4. Not have to mentally calculate weight limits... and how far over I am! 5. Weigh less than the crabass who lives behind me! Just because I know it's going to piss her off in a BIG way! 6. Not be the largest person in the room 7. Run up 2 flights of stairs in my house, without breathing hard! 8. Have a guy on the street look at me and smile 9. Touch my goddamn toes again! 10. Look in the mirror.... and see how far I've come!

Atkins shakes do the trick! If you're looking for a mix, you could try Isopure.... that's low in carbs. As far as nachos go.... corn chips are exactly that.... ground corn (vegetable), a dash of lime, some salt, and some oil. cheese is ALL Protein and fat, and very low in carbs. Jalapeño peppers help with circulation, and rev metabolism. So, don't beat yourself up! Of all the nasty foods you could have eaten, nachos certainly wasn't the worst! You know your body best! The diet is a guideline, but by no means, a bible! hang in there!

wow.... we have 7 BANDits this week!! Good luck to all!!

How's that for CDO?? CDO you say? Yes...I have CDO, it's like OCD but all the letters are in alphabetical order like they SHOULD be! How funny are we??

Hi everyone! Today marks day 14 of my pre-op diet. I am actually going to be on the diet for 23 days total (day 24 is surgery day!!) Here's the diet in a nutshell: Day 1 and 2: liquid only. Protein drinks, diet soda, diet drinks, Water, etc., not to exceed 1500 calories/day. Day 3-7: liquid diet, and 1 frozen meal (not to exceed 300 calories) daily caloric intake: 1500 Day 8-21: Liquid diet, and 1 frozen meal (not to exceed 300 calories) daily caloric intake: 900 Day 22-23: Liquid only, not to exceed 900 calories. Day 24: SURGERY!! To say I am crabby as hell is to put it mildly. ALSO... if you guys can believe it, I've been STALLED for the last 7 days. I am bouncing between 332-335, and it's starting to piss me off. I thought I broke the stall on Sunday, when I weighed in at 331.9... then yesterday I was 333.3. I nearly threw the scale out of the window. All I can guess is that I had a Lean Cuisine chicken & Penne frozen dinner, and it had 50 carbs. Pasta and I don't generally see eye to eye.... I tend to have big gains after eating it. I don't know what it is about pasta that does it. I don't seem to have the same issue with rice or potatoes.... weird. I'd say it was the wheat... but I don't really have a problem with breads either. WHATEVER. So, I called my doctor, and asked for a scrip for Xanax, so no one in the house gets hurt :biggrin: Generally, though... Xanax just makes me fall asleep. I guess I can't scream at anyone if I'm sleeping, can I?? I am about to go and weigh...... wish me luck. If you hear glass breaking, don't worry... it's just my window where the scale went through :thumbup: ok.... I feel better now that I ranted a bit :thumbup: Karen

It's going to cost somewhere between $5200.00 and less than $10K, because I'm also having hiatal hernia surgery/possible splenectomy as well. I just talked to my insurance company, which said they denied the entire surgery, because LB is included in it. So, my Dr.'s office will probably re-submit for hiatal hernia and splenectomy. I will let you guys know what happens.... I'm getting a bit annoyed at my Dr.'s staff however. I've been asking them for over 2 weeks what the actual cost is going to be if I have to cover the LB myself, the doctor says "$5200.00... little more, little less"..... staff says "probably a little more... not sure". WTF? Of course, you know, the hospital and doctors want to get paid BEFORE they even do anything. Out of exasperation, I called and asked if they'd take a credit card, since they can't seem to tell me how much $$ it will cost. That way, I don't have to take $$ out of savings right away. Once I pay for everything, I can pay off the credit card with the $$ from savings. To say I'm not in the mood for any of this shit is putting it mildly. Oh..... and BC/BS MI individual PPO's reason for not approving any bands after January 2009? People abusing the insurance, and just opting for it to get the surgery, and then dropping the plan. HELLO....... I've been on plan nearly 2 years now.... pretty sure if I was going to abuse it, I'd have done it already!

I use Lose It as well....... generally, when it comes to foods, I just use "create new food" so I can control what the nutritional values are. Agreed...... the database is lacking. I can't believe it doesn't have popcicles of ANY kind in it! Sheesh!

I'm not afraid! This picture is old however...... I was doing Atkins on and off for a few years, and belonged to a forum where I made myself accountable, and took pictures. I have it labeled with weight and date. When I went to see Dr. Gazayerli, I weighed in at 350... but I started the year at 362. My highest ever was 375.5. Today I am 331.1, so I'm about 35 pounds heavier in this picture than I currently am.... but, it still reflects ME. (However, I have only had light hair ONCE in my life, and it's in this picture) Karen

Hey Cathy! I do try to watch the salt... my mom got me some beef broth.. and I was stunned to see that the serving was only 1/2 cup...... 10 calories?? Then I saw the salt content: 860mg salt... that means 1 cup has 1720! OMG!!!!!! Thanks for the heads up..... I'll need to scrutinize every little mg! I always know when I'm retaining Water, and I certainly was yesterday. Funny thing..... I have a tattoo on my left foot (flowers) and it swells up underneath the tattoo when I'm retaining water. The tattoo almost gets 3D looking. Can't decide if that's cool.... or just freaky (or kinda freaky cool??)