Cangel76

I worked for an insurance company and they have negotiated rates with all the hospitals. Once they write off a portion of the bill that is it, it is gone and done. Sometimes the hospitals have idiots in the billing department that then tries to charge you for the write off. Also, everyone bills the insurance or they are supposed to, so there will be a bill from the radiologist who read xrays and then other care. I do not believe those dingalings sent the bill in, so it is important that you call them today and say, "my insurance covers this and did not receive your billing, if you do not submit it with in 30 days you guys have to eat the cost." They will send it in that day, trust me. EDIT: Didn't see you posted a response that it was taken care of. LOL

With the boards I haven't had a chance to say hello to everyone. I really do wish everyone the best of luck on this journey. I think this is a good place to vent, share triumphs and joys. Looking forward to getting to know you all a lot better.

I know and it annoys me that I don't have a quick tab that I can just jump to my blog. My blog is my venting place. Not thrilled with this but not much I can do about it. Edit: Sorry about that, I found my quick tab to my blog~ LOL Still don't like the new lay out though.

First of all I haven't heard of chewing 28 times. It just has to be small enough to swallow. So don't beat yourself up. I was not allowed to eat regular food. It was liquids first, then puree/musy and then regular food. Now I never said it didn't hurt, it was minimal for me, by day 7 or so I was over the worst of the gas issues. I walked a lot and most of the gas was out by day 5. Some people just have a harder time getting the gas out of their systems. IT is also more painful for people who had to have Hernias repaired so none of them would tell you it is a walk in the park. It is a major surgery. Oh and I also slept upright for one week.

I have never had Cellulitis before, my doctor said it was due to Water pooling around the wound. So this is a cellulitis came after the surgery.

Okay so first vent, I don't like the new board. Okay beyond that, I had a single incision surgery through my belly button for lap band. Last thursday I went for my 2 week post op and the doctor cleaned the belly button and said everything looks great. So then Friday my belly button was sore, figured it was just from cleaning it out. So I was thrilled waking up Saturday Morning to find a hot red spot going down from my belly button. I went to the ER and they agreed it was an infection, they called my doctor and he came in even though it was his day off. He reopened the incision while I watched. We cleaned it out now and I have to go for wound care. It also delays my first fill which sucks because with my luck I am going to gain back all the weight I lost. So now I am just hanging in there on regular foods, and hoping that this process goes quickly. I have Cellulitis, this little bump sucks. I thought I was out of the infection risk catagory two weeks out.

I am 5' tall and was 234. I call myself the weeble wobble. I had no comorbidity, in other words I have no illnesses. I didn't have high BP my cholesterol was only up 2 points and down 2 points for good cholesterol. I had no signs of diabetes but I have Hypothyroidism which causes weight gain and then PCOS which causes weight gain. So with the odds stacked against me and wanting to be proactive I was blessed that the insurance approved me. As far as the first few weeks, they are tough, liquid diet to mushy to solids. Definately research recipes ahead of time, it will make your life so much easier to have several ideas for mushy foods. I made thick chili with bison meat. 4oz or half a cup was 23g of Protein. The pain wasn't that bad, as long as you don't lay around. You have to get up and walk and it is uncomfy, but it is much more uncomfortable to have gas trapped in your body. Once on solids before a fill, you are going to be hungry at times, Water, water, water, fluids, fluids, fluds. Stay away from sugar and carbs and you should loose weight fine. I wish you the best of luck.

Last time I posted was on Thursday of last week, talking about seeing my Doctor. Some back story for those who don't know I got a single incision procedure done to my belly button. Well, on Thursday my doctor cleaned it and said everything looked great. Well Friday my belly buttonw as tender, I assumed it was from cleaning until Saturday morning I had a red streak going down my belly button. It was hot to the touch so off to the ER I went. To my doctors credit, he came in on his day off to see me at the hospital. He reopened the incision (yes I was awake for this and he just used local anethisia on the site) and I held my belly button open as he cut away. He then packed it and said if it didn't start looking better that I had to go back in for surgery. That he wanted me to go back to the ER on Sunday to get the bandage changed again. So Sunday I went and he came in again to do the job. Then on Monday I saw him, I feel like I should have a frequent flyer card or something. Besides the double antibiotics I am on and feeling nauseous from that, I feel really good. Besides the fact that I am starving and have been wanting comfort foods. Last night I made Home made Pizza for the kids and noodles. Not protein enriched foods huh? I forgave myself and I am still loosing weight somehow even though I am not portioning my foods by the cup fulls. I am eating every two to three hours. I hate starving but I am still loosing weight. I get to go to the gym and walk on the treadmill at least. So a bump in my road! I will survive and I am glad it is a small bump.

It depends on the individual. The main thing my doctor said is that 1-2lbs a week is met. So the first two to three weeks is the greatest weight loss and then after that it slows to 1-2 lbs a week. That means only 4-8lbs a week. That isn't a heck of a lot but it is something. So you figure if you have to loose 80lbs, at the least you will need 20 months to complete that goal. At the best, 10 months. Hope this helps you out. Sounds like you are doing great.

I just have to agree with everyone. 600-800 calories is probably too low body goes into starvation mode Also if you started at the gym muscle weighs more then fat Get Water, water, water Doing this, make sure you are getting enough Protein or you will start getting sick. You can start loosing your hair and get gall stones. Weight loss after the first two to three weeks should drop off a great deal, 1-2lbs a week. Some have more then that, others less. In two weeks I lost 10lbs and the doctor said that was great, so 22 in three weeks, none of that preop is awesome.

When you have an initial consult with the doctor they will work the details out with you and the office managers will know all the details of what your insurance covers and what they need for documentation. Good luck!

Just want to say, everyone seems to be doing awesome. Some are losing faster than others but that is normal. Just focus on yourself and congrats to everyone else and your victories.

Deb how has your weight loss been two weeks out?

As much as you want to, don't sleep all day. Get up and walk, walk, walk or else you will have gas pain for a very long time. As far as drinking, keep a bottle near you and just do it. I mean it is either that or back in the hospital. That is how I made myself drink. I thought, "do I want to end up back in the hospital, hooked up to IVS because I am not drinking enough or do I want to stay home. I also numbered my bottles of Water, I had 2 because the other liquid came from Protein shakes. What I did with that is I had to finish bottle one by noon. Protein shake am, water between, then the next protein shake, etc. I also had a protein mix that was fruit flavored I would do with my water just to boost protein when needed. Good luck!

Doctor had emergancy surgery so my appointment ended up really late. I lost ten pound since surgery which they said is awesome. I am doing well, they are proud of me and one of the girls didn't recognize me. I said, "I didn't loose that much weight yet. She reminded me that since October 21, 1010 I have lost 19lbs and I should be proud. I am now on a regular diet and will get my first fill on December 2, 2010.

I started the process six months ago with a nutritionist. June2010, 234 Oct 21, 2010 226 Nov 2, 2010 217.9 Nov 18, 2010 207.8 My doctor put me on solids and wanted to do my first fill next week but it's Thanksgiving so I will have to wait until December 2, 2010. Overall I am quite happy with that. I told them I usually weight myself in the morning so she said, "oh so you are about 205," Love it. So happy.... That being said, I can eat again!

I think you both need help. It sounds to me like this marriage has perhaps been desolving for a while. Here is something I want you to think about.... I am the child of a mother who had just one or two glasses of wine a night. If you are to the point of falling down drunk, that is an alcoholic. If you can not live with alcohol and you are refusing to quit because you like it too much, you are on your way to becoming an alcoholic. I think you personally need to evaluate your personal issues. I think your husband needs to evaluate his personal issues. Heck we all have them, we all need to grow up. Compromise and learning each other. Wasn't he a smart ass before this point? Is this new? If my husband did that I would laugh. Thing is I sometimes take things too seriously and he tries to remind me that life isn't that serious. To have fun with it. Your marriage is in trouble it has nothing to do with the weight loss.

I seriously want to bang my head against the wall. I am waiting for the gym membership paper to go through so I can join. It is a process because the lady who handles it is busy on a project. The weather hasn't been very nice here so walking any great distance is not happening. The more I sit around the more I want to eat things like Pumpkin Pie. I am going to be making myself a bunch of sugar free snacks to have in the house. Truth is I am still in that soooo hungry phase. I seem to be loosing weight every other day at this point. I hope my doctor isn't too disappointed in me for not loosing a ton of weight. I am trying to keep my body filled with high protein foods. This is why I made more Chili, I just throw it in the food processor before I warm it up. My bowels are still super messed up and will talk to the Doctor about that tomorrow. I am super exhausted and think I need to start counting calories just as much as I need to start focusing on proteins. Seriously, exhausted. I WANT TO GO TO THE GYM!!!! That is all.

It is funny, going through this process I was totally okay with not loosing quickly. I understood that everyone looses at their own rate and that it is a journey, I need to make adjustments based on my body. Then you get here and you are like, "Why the heck is the scale jumping around all over the freaking place." I have resorted back to a protein shake during the day to increase my protein and to get myself back on track. I am starving and was eating a packet of Cream of Wheat and that is something my body does not like. That is one thing I am learning very quickly, carbs do nothing for me but put on weight. So no more mashed potatoes and bread. I need the fiber though so will talk to the doctor today about fiber supplements. I am nervous about seeing the doctor today, what if there scales make it look even worse. Sigh, it will get better and my doctor will be thrilled that I am honest and self aware enough to know what I am doing wrong. I WANT TO GO TO THE GYM! That is all.

Thinking of all of you that have been banded and will be banded. sending you lots of luck and healing energy. The surgery is the easy part. The first few weeks before fill can be difficult. Lots of gentle hugs, you'll be tender for about a week and remember, walk, walk, walk, walk, the first two days are hard, the next three are a medium level, you will get tired easily and then after that you can do pretty good. Follow your lifting restrictions to the best of your ability. Good luck.

I think this is a great idea. I think we all need as much positive as we can get. It amazes me how everyone so quickly focuses on the negative. I am thrilled that I got this done, still no fill, super hungry, but I know that this is all just a miniscule moment in a long term future of health and longevity. Yes, I am thrilled, frustrated at times but thrilled.