AtlantaRed

A fever blister or cold sore is a form of the herpes virus. Many people have the virus in their system from chilhood, having a parent or someone kiss you. Some never have an outbreak, others have them often. Stress or illness can cause one to come on. Once you have the virus, you always have it and it is extremely contagious until it is completely gone, scab and all. Herpes 1 is generally the oral kind with only 1 sore. Herpes 2 is the genital kind with a cluster of sores.

Hope that helps.

My first public meet with my now hubby, we met for a short hike.

I did a lot of online dating and had A LOT of first dates! I finally went into each one thinking it would be a one time meet and would just enjoy the company and the activity. Once I let go of expecting a followup or second date, they weren't as painful or depressing!

Met mine on okcupid (might just be cupid now).

I'm in Atlanta! I'm also having surgery done August 29 at Emory Johns Creek. I'm hoping to lose about 110 lbs.

Who was your surgeon? Did you go through insurance or self pay? I have a consultation with Dr. Johnson on Tuesday and will be self pay. Am wondering about what kind of testing they require.

I'm around. I'm having my first consultation with Dr. William Johnson on Tuesday. It's a long way. He's in Suwanee and I'm out past Six Flags.

I'm hoping to be. Consultation next Tuesday!

Hi there, did you ever look into the Georgia docs? Not as far as Houston and much less than $18,000.

You can make beef Jerky at home and make it with less salt. I bought a dehydrator on Amazon for about $50. I also bought a jerky gun and jerky seasoning from Nesco on Amazon. It has tip attachments. You have to use lean ground beef. There is a tip that makes it come out like a Slim Jim and a flat one that makes it come out like a store-bought flat jerky. I prefer the flat one, people actually think it is steak and can't believe it is ground beef! Plus, the jerky seasoning, which also tastes amazing and like store bought, can be made without the extra packet of "cure" which is where the salt is. The only reason to use the cure is if you are taking it hiking, camping, etc. where it will sit out for a long time. If at home, you can keep it in the fridge and it will keep without the cure.

I bought it originally to make the dogs homemade treats, however, now it's one for them and one for me! It is SOOOO good!

You can also just buy the seasoning and jerky gun and use in your oven but that takes longer and you have to keep the oven door open for the drying. With the dehydrator, it takes 4 hours. If the dogs weren't getting any, 2 pounds of lean ground beef would make over a week's worth of jerky treats just for me!

Anyone missing pizza, look up recipes for "meatzza". It's pizza with a meat crust! Can't get anymore low carb than that! A family that I work for, who is NOT on a low carb diet, they just love meat, tried it and everyone loved it, including the kids!

My BF had gastric bypass. She had had irregular periods her whole life and only got pregnant once, 19 years ago, without ever using birth control. However, immediately after having the bypass, she began having regular monthly periods and was pregnant before the end of 1 year! She was 42, was high-risk due to malabsorption issues with gastric bypass, but the baby was healthy and she lost the pregnancy weight within a few weeks without trying!

I see you've already scheduled your appointment, but my surgeon was able to bill my initial consultation to insurance so I only paid my co-pay. I also had my pre-surgical testing done via my PCP (blood work, x-ray, EKG, etc) and that was covered by my insurance as well. I was self-pay for my surgery, as my insurance company wouldn't cover any sort of bariatric surgery. Just wanted to put it out there as an option!

Thanks so much!! We are in between insurance right now as hubby started a new job and he is the insurance carrier. I spoke with them about coverage so I know it isn't covered. Maybe I can wait until our new insurance kicks in to get the testing done!

Insurance doesn't kick in until Nov 1

Would love to have this done before the end of the year. Hoping since I will be self-pay, I can get it done sooner than if I had insurance!

Thanks again for the info!

I was called to set up my appointment and the initial consultation will be $175 and then a separate appointment with the nutritionist will be $50.

Appointment in 2 weeks! Can't wait for that first appointment!

Do you mind sharing who you are looking at? I am in TN and am looking at all of my options. So far the best self pay I have found price-wise is $12,200 - and that's in TX. Atlanta would be a much easier trip. Thanks!

I'm looking at Dr.William Johnson at Atlanta Bariatrics. I've also seen posts regarding Dr. Titus Duncan (not at home so don't know his website right now) but his site says $9999.00 for the sleeve.

Not sure if this is a option for you, but many people here that have done self-pay, have had a great experience going to Mexico.

They are real doctors performing surgery is real hospitals... I am having Sleeve surgery done next Friday with Dr. Garcia and I'm paying $4700 which includes all pre-op and post-op tests, leak tests, meds, 2 nights hospital and 3 night hotel (5 Star Marriott Tijuana Hotel), transportation too and from the SD Airport.

Before spending the last year researching WLS in Mexico, if someone told me to goto Mexaico to have surgery, I would have told them they were out of their minds !!!! lol However... it is really safe, and some of the worlds best doctors are doing WLS in Mexaico.

Again, not sure if this is a option for you... But I know I would have NEVER considered of going to Mexico before I researched it.

Thank you for you input!

I actually am from El Paso, TX which is across the street from Juarez, MX. I have read the rave reviews about the experiences from Mexico. However, my husband would NEVER consider that! lol

Maybe if we were looking at $18,000 instead of closer to $11,000, I might push harder.

The doctors I'm interested in are affiliated with Emory here in Atlanta which is a big deal (to me, anyway) and am looking forward to the initial consult. I gues I will go from there!

Thanks again!

Don't get me wrong, I found it all to be very helpful, but my surgeon didn't require it. Best of luck to you!

Thanks so much!

I wonder if you need all of the extra visits (nutritionist, psych, etc...) if you are self pay. I don't think my surgeon required it, my insurance company did.

I'm guessing I might not need as much preop stuff; however, I would think they might still need to know that you are healthy enough for the surgery and are getting it for the right reason? Maybe if not required due to insurance, they can determine some of that in the consultation.

Hope to find out soon!

I was sleeve by Dr. James Davidson last July, it was $11,000 and it included all pre- op except some labs, surgery and hospital fees and nutrition classes, also one- year of after care and classes!

Oh wow, that's awesome! Great to know the possibility is there! Thanks so much!

Wow.. You joined 3 years ago? Have you been considering the sleeve that long?

No, 3 years ago I joined the LapBand talk forum, they are connected. I was considering LapBand 3 years ago. Then, I stopped considering anything as our insurance wasn't covering anything. I was also pretty "healthy" for being so overweight. When I joined this forum last week, I had to go through the lapband forum. Insurance still isn't covering it but now I'm having issues, mainly aches and pains preventing me from even trying to get out and move. So, insurance or not, it's time!

Thank you so much for your answers!

I did the online seminar last night and am waiting for them to call for an appointment.

I will make sure to take this info with me to hopefully understand how to pay for bill everything!

The website said the sleeve started at $11,000 which isn't pocket change but seem to be on the lower end of many I have seen on here.

Thanks again!

Hello,

I'm just beginning the process and will probably be self pay. I'm wondering about the cost of the initial consultation. Specifically, I'm in GA but any input would help. I'm guessing it isn't a free initial consultation, but would love to be pleasantly surprised!

Also, if you are self pay (in the US) do you have to pay out of pocket for all of the initial tests and evaluations or is that part of the total cost? I know 6 months of postop checkups is included. Would my insurance cover the initial testing if they are not covering the WLS?

Thanks for any guidance!

Red

Hi everyone!

I am just starting out on this journey and would like to consult with Dr. William Johnson through Atlanta Bariatrics. He also works out of Emory. Was anyone else in GA self pay? I'm wondering how much the initial consultation is? My husband got a new job so we are in between insurance coverage. However, I asked already if the new insurance covers WLS and they said no. So, wondering about the initial fee for first consult?

Also, if anyone was self pay, do you have to pay for all of the initial testing out of pocket, or will insurance cover most of that in general?

Thanks for any help!

Red

I also find watching tv helps. When I would go to the Y, I would start the elliptical 15 minutes into one of my favorite 1 hour shows, then I would have to do it the whole 45 minutes to watch the end of the show!

Doing it at home would be hard, though, since you can get off the elliptical and still watch the end of the show.

I also am a huge fan of outdoors. I keep a small cooler in the car with partially frozen Water and then take a small gatorade with me for the walk at the closest state park.

I'm in GA so I know hot and HUMID weather! I've grown to feel really good about the sweat!