crosswind

. Oh listen, chiquita, it's all jake. We'reall just a bunch of carb deprived maniacs without stomachs.
Yike. That sounds a bit ghoulish don't it?
As far as having a life, Meggie was most excellently wrong on that count. First couple weeks afer surgery as far as I can tell what you do is sit around thinking about what you can't eat. can't do and should not buy just because you're bored and cranky and also newly broke.
Thanks for sticking up for fair play and justice everywhere though. You may just be our ten thousandth maniac

. So yesterday at the grocery store I mulled it over and decided to give baby food a reasonable and fair assessment. On my safe food list it says that boiled pureed fruits are okay, so I bought Gerber "Naturals" baby banana puree. So it's in my fridge this afternoon and I crack one of the vacuum sealed plastic Jetsons serving pods and bury a spoon.
Oddly, there are really not too many baby food choices on the shelves these days. Just a couple of old standards, stuff I remember from when my baby was a baby -- banana, squash, pear -- and by this time, considering the absolute explosion in every other grocery market demographic, including Chef Ramsay in a can for cats, you'd figure babies would at this point be controlling a whole corner of the store.
When my baby was a baby, I don't think I ever tasted anything I gave him. No idea why, something having to do with the food not being for *me*, so this stuff would go from the jar into his mouth and he would swallow it and that was that. If he spit it out, well he didn't know how to eat yet, right?
Now I see why there has not been an exponential catfoodesque explosion in baby food flavors. I also see I've made a massive childrearing mistake. He did too know damn well how to eat. He was right on the ball there because I have *never* tasted anything as plain old noxious as Gerber Naturals banana baby food. I did not taste anything even *remotely* like a banana on that spoon. I did not tase anything I have ever tasted before in 46 years on that spoon. It could tell you what it tasted like but I'm not going to because we're all recovering from stomach surgery and I fear the description would send half the board running for their Compazine. I am picturing my rubbery little peanut spwooshing that stuff out of his mouth with a look of utter disgust and horror as if to say, " you can can't possibly mean to tell me this is food."
Which is exactly what I did.
Dannon Light & Fit and cream of mushroom Soup for lunch.
You know, this is a lot like trying to see how long you can hold your breath underwater, only you're never not going to be underwater, so you better start growing some gills.
In other news, my back hurts. I really think it's from holding myself in weird positions to try to completely insulate my jerryrigged stomach from any trauma whatsoever. After some more mulling, I crushed up a vicodin and drank it out of a wineglass. Don't tell your kids, but that is really one dandy way to down a painkiller.
There's freezing rain today and tornadoes down South. I spent the morning painting a landcape I took a picture of a couple weeks ago in watercolor pencil. Could be worse I guess but I give it a C.

. So yesterday at the grocery store I mulled it over and decided to give baby food a reasonable and fair assessment. On my safe food list it says that boiled pureed fruits are okay, so I bought Gerber "Naturals" baby banana puree. So it's in my fridge this afternoon and I crack one of the vacuum sealed plastic Jetsons serving pods and bury a spoon.
Oddly, there are really not too many baby food choices on the shelves these days. Just a couple of old standards, stuff I remember from when my baby was a baby -- banana, squash, pear -- and by this time, considering the absolute explosion in every other grocery market demographic, including Chef Ramsay in a can for cats, you'd figure babies would at this point be controlling a whole corner of the store.
When my baby was a baby, I don't think I ever tasted anything I gave him. No idea why, something having to do with the food not being for *me*, so this stuff would go from the jar into his mouth and he would swallow it and that was that. If he spit it out, well he didn't know how to eat yet, right?
Now I see why there has not been an exponential catfoodesque explosion in baby food flavors. I also see I've made a massive childrearing mistake. He did too know damn well how to eat. He was right on the ball there because I have *never* tasted anything as plain old noxious as Gerber Naturals banana baby food. I did not taste anything even *remotely* like a banana on that spoon. I did not tase anything I have ever tasted before in 46 years on that spoon. It could tell you what it tasted like but I'm not going to because we're all recovering from stomach surgery and I fear the description would send half the board running for their Compazine. I am picturing my rubbery little peanut spwooshing that stuff out of his mouth with a look of utter disgust and horror as if to say, " you can can't possibly mean to tell me this is food."
Which is exactly what I did.
Dannon Light & Fit and cream of mushroom Soup for lunch.
You know, this is a lot like trying to see how long you can hold your breath underwater, only you're never not going to be underwater, so you better start growing some gills.
In other news, my back hurts. I really think it's from holding myself in weird positions to try to completely insulate my jerryrigged stomach from any trauma whatsoever. After some more mulling, I crushed up a vicodin and drank it out of a wineglass. Don't tell your kids, but that is really one dandy way to down a painkiller.
There's freezing rain today and tornadoes down South. I spent the morning painting a landcape I took a picture of a couple weeks ago in watercolor pencil. Could be worse I guess but I give it a C.

Seven days post op. My incision is not infected. I am not sick or throwing up. I have no fever and no pain.
I am obsessed about getting Water, Protein, taking small sips, not putting anything into my mouth the doc said not to, taking my nexium, getting lots of rest...etc -- because I literally can not afford a complication.
However. Just to let ya know. So far, if you're thinking about going rogue over the border ( with a GOOD surgeon) and no insurance -- seven days out and I'm still not dead.

Susanne, I haven't been sleeved yet. And I think what I was trying to express wasn't whether the "surgeon was right or wrong" -- really how would I know? I'm not a surgeon. What I am trying to say is that it seems like the American healthcare system is really fuqed. And when I say that I mean the whole attitude we've become accustomed to -- wait six months for this evaluation. Wait another four weeks for that approval. The doctor makes his pronouncements about these things and as consumers we really aren't free to argue; even though I have to tell you in that situation I might.
The way I came to my decision about whether I would have surgery in the country ( knowing I sure as Christmas was not going to get covered for this even if I waited til Hell froze over) or out of the country finally had to do with how long I was going to have to wait and how much crap I have to put up with just to get to the freakin *point*. In my *opinion* making people dance on the head of a pin to prove to a doctor they deserve surgery is pointless since the *actual surgery* and post-op is such a massive pain. I truly doubt anyone considering this surgery does not know that their lives are riding on that fork. If you are suicidal or stupid, you are going to go home from the hospital and order a pizza. Otherwise there has to be a clue included somewhere in the fact that your stomach is gone.
What I've gleaned from my research is that the huge variation in pre-op instructions has to do entirely with what is comfortable for the surgeon. There seem to be unique instructions and methods with every guy. If there was an industry or medical standard regarding these things, both you and I would know about it. So what I was trying to say -- respectfully, Susanne -- was that it's possible to separate these issues out without feeling like you ruined your life by eating a cookie. *After* the surgery that might be true for a while. But forever before, with surgeons who insist people have to lose fifty pounds before they can even * get* to the "pre-op diet", and insurance companies denying these procedures at the last minute for some "actuarial" reason -- the way all this goes it seems like you might just die of natural causes or *stress* before you lose pound one.
That's all, just my 2

Actually I think the real true reaason for the pre-op diet is because if I wasn't on it I would do what any normal fat or thin person would do if you told them they would not be able to eat for a month and then very very carefully forever thereafter. I would go insane trying to stuff everything in my mouth I would tell myself I would never taste again. If you want to make an obsessive overeater out of anyone, just tell them the world will be all out of food next week...

Thanks for posting this. When I talked to a customer service rep he said it depended how the claim was written. Most doctors won't refer to the surgery if you mention it migt be a bad idea, and a barium swallow won't raise much suspicion since it's used for all kinds of diagnostic reasons. Basically if he orders it, it's going to go through.

So here is what I found out about getting insured after the VSG. If you are a self-pay patient because you can not get approved by your regular carrier, or because you have no insurance at this time ( possibly because your BMI is too high) -- then your next option is federal or state PCIP insurance.
I am posting this here because even if you have health insurance now, there might come a time later when you lose your job or want to apply for private individual insurance and are denied because the VSG makes you UNINSURABLE. According to the rep at BCBS the surgery needs to be two years old with no complcations in order for them to write a policy. According to AETNA, you may not apply for six weeks after surgery and if complications arise, you are considered uninsurable. According to United Healthcare, you may not have had any bariatric surgery for five years, with no complications.
So in the case that you are truly SOL, Obama's Affordable Insurance Act created an opt-in program for all states to provide low-premium affordable health insurance. Information about that is here:
http://www.healthcare.gov/law/provisions/preexisting/index.html
You can apply immediately and electronically at this link if your state participates in the federal coverage enacted by this law:
https://www.pcip.gov/Apply.html
There is no waiting period.
If your state does not participate in federal PCIP hen they have created their own affordable healthcare state option. Information about your state's PCIP can be found at the top link.

So we're good then? It's not a reported problem and should not be a problem?