kareyquilts

Jacquie: Good to hear from you. I'm going to start recording what I'm eating again. You're right, it is a good technique! Mimin: How are the wedding plans coming? Okay, I was doing pretty good until yesterday when I started getting the bills for my recent slippage. So far it looks like it's going to cost about $40,000! I'm in shock! My insurance won't cover anything related to it. It just doesn't seem right to charge so much. My original band cost $13,000. I was thinking that the surgery would be a little more than that but not 3 times as much. The doc said that he would fight for me to get the bill down, but he hasn't been in since I got my bill. I'm not sure what recourse I have, but I just think that since my insurance company didn't contract with them for any set prices that they can charge what they want. They charged me $9,000 for sterile supplies. How many sterile supplies could I have used? They charged me $6,000 for the ER, and I never even went to the ER. I went straight to short stay surgery. I just feel sick about this and very guilty that my family will have to pay for this. Does anyone out there have any experience with this kind of thing?

Frangi: Wow, August 26th. I can't believe you are ready to go for round 2. I'm going to be watching all of this very carefully, as the fat graftying technique is what my doctor suggested as well. You know that you can't sit or lie on your back side for 2 weeks, while the little fat cells fight for their lives? I'm just really not sure what to do. I've even thought about flying out to see Dr. S and get his opinion on what this ole body could benefit from. Right now, I'm still trying to recover from my latest surgery and get through the liquid diet! Glad you're back, it's been awfully quite a round here!

You are looking great, Neal!

How is everyone doing? It's been pretty quite on here. Well, I've gained back 3 pounds! Oh bother! I have had a few milkshakes on this liquid diet, but I don't think that many! I just started back to walking yesterday and was able to go 3 miles today. Not very fast, it took an hour, but at least I'm moving again! I'm frustrated about this last bit of weight and I guess impatient. I think l'll start logging what I eat again. It's just never ending, is it?! Hope everyone will use this thread to help and support one another.

Are you feeling better after the fill? It's so hard to decide what to do. We should be pros, but it seems that these decisions can be agonizing.

You're going to reach onederland before you know it! YEAH! Let me know when it happens and I'll send you a balloon parade. Keep on trucking!

Cori- Yeah! Sounds like a plan, keep us posted and what you find out!

Cori: I have the silicone implants behind the muscle and I think they feel and look totally natural (and so does DH). The upper part is not too full and looks good. They fit my body, I still don't have a lot of cleavage because mine are rather far apart and I'm not naturally built like that I didn't get really large ones. Does that make sense? I was interested to read of Dr. Schulman's technique and if I would have known about it, I totally would have looked into. I don't think the scar is any worse that other techniques and it is one less foreign body and it is you (therefore natural). It also gets rid of the pesky bra fat (which I had to have lipoed). If I were you and you're inclined that way, I would certainly look into the technique. It really might be worth it. That being said, I really really like the way my breasts turned out. Frangi: I think its very normal to want to get use to your new body. It really does take time! I finally think I'm getting there. At first, there was a bit of a disconnect. I've talked to others that have experienced the same thing. I know that I really didn't have a good idea of my body naturally. I never realized quite how heavy I had gotten, etc. I think that exercise has really helped me get more in touch with my body. I bet you feel the same. You'll get use to your new shape before you know it!

Neal: Thanks for your well wishes. I'm feeling better everyday. Compared to the TT, it was a mosquito bite (as Nina would say). I can start walking this week and plan to do so. How are you feeling after your recent touch up surgery?

My lap band doc said not to eat or drink for 1/2 hour before or after a meal. I still try and follow that rule. If I'm stuck, just like jjsmiles, I can't drink anything or it just makes matters worse. As far as weight loss, BJean, I would say that it works the same for me. DAMN! My new breasts are getting smaller and my thighs seem to be the same! I need the thighs to go down and maybe the upper abs, but everything else could stay the same. My face is looking rather haggard, but that could be because of all I've been through. Hoping so. We went to our cabin for a few days and while it was nice, I'm plum worn out and yes, my back does hurt! Did I mention that I hate this liquid diet. Oh, Salsa, I've tried 2 or your soup recipes and they were very nice. If you have any other great recipes I would love to have them.

Becky: Congratulations! So happy for you! Now, you must start a new thread so we can give you lots and lots of support! Way to go!

The time will go very fast! Tell Dr. Saltz hi for me! He and his staff are wonderful! My only advice to you at this point, is to exercise your little heart out. The better shape your in the better your recovery. As things get closer, we can come up with lots more advice! LOL!

BJean: Sounds like your doing better also! YEAH! These ups and downs of life can really be something! I'm glad your doing better. Your DD will get blessed in heaven, as will we all, for our good deeds. I know that muffin didn't hurt you any, but it is amazing how we depend on our bands. I know from my unfill after ps when I enjoyed several rueben sandwiches and a hamburger that old cycles can actually start quite easily! This liquid diet is getting rather old, after only 1 week (3 more to go). The good news is that I have lost another 4 pounds. However, I wouldn't recommend this as a new diet faze! I bet you feel the same way about your recent weight loss! LOL!

Dr. S: It was great to hear your voice on the radio link! I have seen LED lights for sale in various catalogs are they worthwhile or just not powerful enough to get the job done?

Dr. Schulman: I was reading about your work with light therapy and wondering how that is going and if you have any good data yet on it's efficacy? I find it fasnicating on so many levels, both physically and metaphysically as light is always seen as healing. Is it a red light or some other kind of short frequency light? Do you think other plastic surgeons will be offering this service soon? (It's the New York thing, so far, from Utah, Ugg!).

Diane: I went to my lapband doc today to get a check up and asked her about other reasons my band would have slipped and she said that it was possible that during ps something happened, or the HCG could have added to the mix or it could have been a combination of things. I guess it doesn't matter. Inquiring minds just want to know (me)! At any rate, I'm healing well and that's what matters at this point. I guess they put a new band in called the APL. There hasn't been a recorded slip with this band yet. It's the largest band-14 ml and the first fill is 4 mls. Wow! Huh?! I guess when you have a slip and get sick your stomach really swells. I'm just glad I have any band at all! About the DH. Stay strong. That's all I can say!

BBK: I'm wondering if an implant would help even out both sides? I love my implants, my bra size isn't really bigger than I started with, I just fill out my bra better. I have better volume on the top and they just look better. I really would talk to him about it. There's no doubt he'll have an opinion about it! They always do! LOL!

BBK: Thanks for sharing. Great pics. I'm glad that your doc is going to fix everything. Are you going to get implants with the breast repair? ? What approach is your doc going to make to fix the problems and when? Your tummy looks fantastic and you are looking absolutely wonderful!

So, Dr. Saltz is going to do the anchor incision? I like how honest Dr. Saltz is also and I know that you will get a good result. I'm very excited for you!

Sweets: You're right that things work out for a reason. Hopefully you will understand why and find some peace. Plastic surgery is worth waiting for. Good luck with your weight loss and everything else you have going in your life. Keep us posted!

Loridee: I just realized that you pmd me about this. I'm sorry, I've been a little out of it. I had to have my band removed and replaced due to slippage last week and I'm not thinking as clearly as normal, which isn't always that great anyway! LOL! So, I guess that you liked Dr. Salz better than Dr. Chick? So did I. Though Dr. Chick would have done more at one time and that would have been nice! What was the deciding points for you, if you don't mind sharing!?

Lori: Just saw your thread. How did your appointment go with Dr. Chick? What did you decide, etc? Looking forward to sharing your journey.

Kat: Thanks for the enlightenment. I never saw my fat die and now I feel very cheated! LOL! I'm with everyone else on this one. Die Fat Die!

Salsa: Point your friends to my thread or have them pm me. Ghost: Congratulations on your .4 loss! I would be really upset if my husband was in my face about what I eat. I would feel very rebellious and probably undermine myself. Maybe you need to have a heart to heart with him, when your both feeling calm. Support is good but I hate it when people make negative comments about how much or how little I eat. Anyway, glad you lost some. I have been thinking about why my band slipped and have a little theory that I posted on my plastic's thread. Check it out and tell me if you think I'm on the right or wrong track. Kareyquilts TT, BL, Lipo & BA - Page 21 Thanks!

Thanks for all the well wishes. I am starting to feel better. Still very nauseauted, which I don't remember being when I first got my band. I agree with BJean that it isn't good to be too tight. I really didn't think I was too tight because at first, I pb'd only occassionally. It was only in the last 2 weeks that I thought I could be too tight and I should have gotten my butt into the doc before I did. That being said, I'm really wondering if the problem didn't start when I had my plastic surgery. While lying in bed the other night, I was watching Big Medicine and they were doing a TT on a lapband patient. One of the surgeon's got a hold of the patient's port and the other ps went a little balistic, saying, do not pull on that port, you can totallly pull the band off or make it slip. That made me think, because during my tt, they changed my port to a lower profile port. I also had my first serious episode with pbing after a pain pill was stuck and I had to get an unfill right after surgery. It has only been since my TT, that I have had issues with my band. I guess that I'll never be able to prove it, but I really do wonder if something happened in my surgery? As far as who has to pay for this surgery? I do! My insurance company doesn't pay for anything related to my band. It sucks! Of course, my lap band doc said they would give me a break and try and get the hospital to give me a break and contact the band makers, etc. We will see how much of a break I get. I'll keep you posted. Anyway, we're a lot more vulnerable than we think we are. I'm not really angry about any of it, I would just like to know what really happened and why. Was I too tight? Yeah? Maybe? I just know I'm going to be very careful with my second chance. I'm not going to hurry in to get fills. Of course, I'm almost at goal, so I can be more relaxed about it. I just don't want to gain any weight and I really do want to get the last little bit off, it just might have to be with diet and exercise and not as much reliance on the band.