ShoeLover

I guess I'm an OG patient of Dr Garcia's. Glad to see so many people happy with his care, and also glad to see a lot more people going by themselves. When I was researching the sleeve around this time last year, very few people were going alone, so I felt strange about it. Love Dr. Garcia though.

When to buy new clothes? Sometime before the current ones fall off your azz.

I have Aetna, and my employer has an exclusion as well. You may be able to appeal with your employer, but usually when it is an exclusion they don't approve it. That's why I used my FSA to have my surgery in Mexico.

I count from my pre- op weight because I would not have been on the pre-op diet if I wasn't having the surgery. To me, it's all part of the process.

I am a patient of Dr Garcia's and I still post here quite frequently. I have not posted a before/after though, because I want to wait until I hit the one year mark. So far I have lost 95 pounds, and I look and feel wonderful.

I don't have a way to find my old ticker either. I used to click on it to take me to the site to update it, now I don't have the link anymore. I'm beyond pissed about it too, because if I had prior notice, I could have gotten the information before it was deleted.

I just wish I had been given prior notice that the external ticker would be removed, because now I can't remember the name of the ticker I was using. I would just come here and click on it when I needed to update it, now I won't be able to find it. So it really would have been nice to warn me first before you guys just deleted it.

I can believe that the coordinators would lie to get your business if Dr. Garcia decided to stop using their service. That is a horrible lie, but I've been on this board for about a year, and I've seen it happen before. I was 100% satisfied with the care that I received from Dr. Garcia.

My costume this year - amazed that I am thin enough to be MJ

I definitely want to try the cream cheese pancakes.< /p>

Not sure how far out you are, but if you want to indulge a little, get some vodka and mix with a light juice. I use Crangrape light, and I just found out about Minute Maid 15 calorie juices. Not that I'm condoning drinking in the early stages, but I know people are going to do what they want, and I drink occasionally.

Dr. Garcia is great - you will not regret your decision. I have had absolutely no complications AT ALL. Everything went extremely well.

If anyone has any questions about it, PM me. It was easier to do it that way than it would have been if it had been covered on my insurance. I'm glad I did it this year, though, because for 2013 the IRS is only letting you put up to $2500 in the account instead of $5000.

I've answered this question in several previous posts asking this. I've done it, no problem. My insurance also has an exclusion, that's why I used my HCRA funds for the surgery.

I am using my flex spending for $5K of it. I got an intrest free credit card for the other $5K. It is intrest free until the end of 2013...

I didn't think you could use Flex Spending account monies for cosmetic surgery, I was under the impression that tax free money could only be used for what they deem as "medically necessary" procedures. If I'm wrong, or if you have found a way to get around that, please let me know. Maybe it's just my employer's policy that is like that.

I used my FSA for surgery in Mexico, my FSA is on a Visa card, and they just ran it like a regular credit card. I did have to submit medical necessity and an itemized bill to my FSA insurance company, but it was no problem.

Yes definitely! Keep us posted so we can look out for it.

I wasnt going to tell people but then when push came to shove and I wasnt accepting dinner requsts a week past surgery, i realized i HAD to tell the truth. I take the truth seriously and I think it owuld ruin my credibility if i started lying to people at this point over such a trivial thing. Yes I had a weight loss procedure is my answer when asked, though complications have lead me to NO Fing WEIGHT LOSS but since i'm stuck on bed rest for six weeks people ask why.

we should all take our own path but i'd rather sya "hard work and portion control" than gall bladder surgery and diet pills. Keep to the truth it will set you free

My friends know that I've had surgery, sometimes I don't want to tell them the truth about how much weight I've lost since they are trying to compete with me - that's what I meant.

Yes, and sometimes its irritating. Today this guy came up to me talking about, "Smile - you look so mean." I'm like, dude, I'm trying to figure out which of the whole wheat breads has the least carbs. I'm concentrating. LEAVE ME ALONE. Idiot. I guess I'm supposed to walk around with a stupid grin on my face all the time?? NOT. I had almost forgotten that this type of thing happens a lot for the slim girls.

my advice is research, research, research. And then go with whomever you feel the comfortable about.

That's funny. You do look absolutely gorgeous.

I lost a friend who I was extremely close with. It was the typical story: she's always been thin, I've always been bigger than her. She would get all the male attention while I played the wing(wo)man role. You all know how it goes...

When I told her I was getting surgery, she hit me with the "Why don't you just diet and exercise? Get a trainer, not a surgeon!" and a few other pretty hurtful statements. I have seen her twice and spoken to her maybe 5 times since surgery; even though I have reached out to her several times. It used to really bother me...now not so much. It's her problem, not mine. I'm focusing on the positive people and things in my life.

@ShoeLover: I agree! & when they ask about my progress I wonder if it is because they care about my journey or if it's for the "unspoken competition". It's strange.

Yes, I almost don't want to tell them about my progress, and I NEVER bring it up to them. But of course just the sight of me if they haven't seen me in a while will spark their curiosity. I haven't figured out a way to not tell them the truth when they ask. But If I want to brag a little about my accomplishments, I post here.

I haven't lost any friends yet, but I do see some jealousy and competition. Now a lot of my friends are on fad diets and exercising in an attempt to "keep up" or maintain their status as smaller than me. Maybe I should be flattered that I motivated them to make some changes, but it really makes me feel awkward because of what I think their motives are.

wow, that sounds really good. I wanna try it!

I live in Texas and the health insurance through my employer has an exclusion as well. I was able to pay for my surgery by signing up for an HSA last year during open enrollment. The maximum I could put in was $5000, which they take out of my pay over the course of a year in increments, but I could use all of the account money as of January 1st of this year. The money was put on a debit card, and I was able to use that to pay for my surgery this past February in Mexico. All I had to do was submit an itemized receipt for the surgery, and a letter of medical necessity to verify that the charge on the card was for medical expenses. I think most employers' open enrollment is coming up soon, so if it is available at your job, sign up. I think some places also call it a Healthcare Reimbursement Account.