missheidi47

P.S. Dave is doing great being off the chemo for a month now, back to his jolly old self, and up to NO GOOD by always smacking my backside EVERY time he walks by me.....the chemo???? Or not????!!! All I know is it is sore, and will get a BRIEF vacation once the surgery is done! A little fatigue remains, but otherwise he feels great, and I am SOOOO thankful I cannot say.....have a great evening, all.......

Sending continued prayers for strength and peace. So happy the news is good, and it sounds like you have the best medical team surrounding you.

NikkiDoc - I've found that pants by "Women with Control" on QVC fit nicely in this size range. HTH

Okay my rant: Size 18s are now clown pants but size 16 are too small. Camel toe is so not the look I am going for.
This morning I tried on 4 pairs of pants: two size 16, one size 16W, one size 18- all no go. I am now wearing a dress. My size 16 capris fit but other than 1 pair are all not quite dressy enough work work except Friday when we can wear jeans. I guess I am going to be wearing dresses and skirts for work for a little while.

When a featured model is said to be wearing a certain size (14/16, 1XL) but she's perfectly proportioned (flat tummy, hourglass shape, perfectly defined waist, perfect bust) and looks like she probably wears half that size.
I hate that plus size clothes have extra room in the bust; not all plus size women have large chests.
I hate that there's such a big jump from plus size to regular sizes; the inbetween phase is so not fun.

V neck tees that are too deep to be work-appropriate.
Whatever size I currently need is the one that they don't have any more of.
Plus size catalogs and web sites that don't have models who are plus-size. I know that most plus-size models are like size 10, but some websites show their clothes on someone who is size 2. Not gonna look like that on me.

I just got back from a 7 day cruise. I focused on Protein and vegetables, but I definitely included some foods that are not part of my regular diet. I had a bite of bread a couple of times. It was yummy, but I won't miss it now that I'm back to my routine. I'm 5 months out. I found that some things I used to love aren't very appealing now. The broiled fish, seafood, and lean meat I ate was delicious. I don't feel the need to Celebrate what I ate, but I will celebrate that I lost a pound on vacation (that's never happened before!) And I will celebrate that I've been back for 3 days, and I'm back in my old (new) eating routine. I feel great, and I had a fantastic time on vacation. Thank you, Sleeve, for keeping me on track!

Ok, we have a surgery date, but due to the surgeon's busy schedule (he only does one of these surgeries a day -since this surgery is a minimum of 5 hours long, and that is once a week he operates) it won't be until October 7th. He is very optimistic for Dave, and figures the surgery to add 10 years to the average person having it. Remember, this is the ONLY surgeon in the U.S. that does this heated chemotherapy surgery, so we are extremely fortunate to have him do the surgery. He has been doing this type of surgery for 20 years, and is extremely familiar with Dave's type of situation.
Apparently the month we need to wait for the surgery should not cause the tumor to regrow (in that amount of time), and in the meantime, Dave can (hopefully) put ON some weight and focus on getting as strong and healthy as possible before the
surgery. The surgeon suggested strengthening and toning the muscles by doing reps with 5lb weights, which he has found to really help with this type of surgery. A diet rich in calories, but low in refined and processed foods are in order (once again, a challenge for MY diet!!!), but he still is having difficulty finding interest in eating.
All of this will change,however, if there is a cancellation, and they move him up in the schedule, which we hope will happen - the sooner the better to get this over with! I'll write more as we find out more....Bless you all and have a great evening!

AND.....the results are IN! The best case scenario has been given to Dave, thank God, in his situation. Our beloved Oncologist called us at about 9:30 our time last night for a brief fill-in, then again this morning at 9:30 for the full story. The PET scan showed the cancer was in the predicted colon (tumor), as well as in a couple of lymph nodes in that region, and in a couple of spots around the left side of the abdominal cavity. But NOWHERE else! Not in any other organ, nor in the brain, or bones! And it shows most of the cancer was destroyed during chemo, but still remains somewhat in the tumor in the colon itself. All will be removed during surgery, and the Oncologist does not believe Dave will need a coloscopy bag. However, that will be determined by the surgeon, as well as if he will have the radiation during surgery, but right now that is the plan.
So, needless to say, this news is the best we could have asked for, especially the part where there isn't any additional cancer. Obviously no one can predict he future, but the Oncologist is optimistically cautious, and so are we! Onto the surgeon's visit on September 1st, when the surgery will be scheduled, and we think it will be almost immediately, depending on if the Avastin is completely out of his system. It will be a very rough surgery, with a long recovery, but we are very anxious to get this going, and get PAST this!
All of your prayers and good wishes are heard, felt, and very much appreciated. We cannot believe how many people have shown support and love for us, it just brings tears to our eyes. "Thank you" seems so inadequate. Just know that you are all in our hearts, and in OUR prayers, and God Himself knows your hearts, and SOMEDAY, your reward will be great!
More as we progress, my dears, and God bless YOU all!
Jenifer

Many years ago, when I moved to this area, I made an appt with a family medical practice doctor. Highly recommended by friends.
My initial visit I was seen by the nurse practitioner. She is very professional and much more personable than any dr I've ever seen.
In 16 years of visits I have seen my actual dr only once per year.
My health has always been good and never any major issues.
I've discovered that a nurse practitioner or a medical assistant are the offices best asset.

"Ask and ye shall receive..." And POW!!! Did I receive!!! THIS is why I come here! I needed to vent this hot air from my system, to release my turmoil (as if losing sleep over an ill husband isn't enough, huh?!), because I have gotten very little sleep over this since Wednesday. There is sure a lot of spiritual warfare going on in our lives right now.
You have, once again, allowed me to get this off my chest, and have, once again, come to my rescue! I will do as you ALL have suggested: pray for them (I must admit, this will be a serious challenge for me), and let this lie. I will work at releasing it, but since I first started reading your responses, it HAS been leaving me!!!
I can honestly say I don't know how I'll react if they show up at the party. Maybe by then (I have a week to work on it) I will be able to let all of it go. I have decided that returning to this church would be a mistake. I need one that can support me, instead of me having to justify what I do to a bunch of hypocrites. Unfortunately for me, one of these men is a neighbor, so we might see him from time to time, just in a passing-by scenario.
I thank you all for your time and consideration of this situation, for your prayers and kind words...you are truly an inspiration for me.
Update on Dave: he had his fifth chemo treatment set this past week, with side effects ranging from nausea/vomiting, extreme fatigue, facial sores, nose bleeds, and no appetite. Same as before, for the most part. He is maintaining his weight, but I am truly fighting a battle there. This chemo apparently sends a false satiation sensation to the brain, so he doesn't want to eat (bottle THAT for us WLS'ers!!!). I have to force it in him and he doesn't like my nagging about it. Everything he eats has mega calories and fat, sugar...to keep him at his current weight - he must be getting in 5000 to 10000 cal. a day! And STILL won't gain! Anyone seeing a HUGE irony here, besides me?!!!! Feed him all I can, while trying to stay on my plan! HA!!! I, too, am maintaining, but have stopped losing. But I am happy with what I have lost, and do my best to stay at what I am now.
Dave has one more treatment set to do before surgery. He will not have the Avastin this time, as it has to be out of his system before the surgery, so the colon can heal. 4-6 weeks after the last treatment he will have the surgery. Since he still has not had the PET scan, we still don't know the extent of the cancer. Here's where a good prayer can help: pray that the cancer has NOT invaded any other areas within him, that it is localized to the colon area (tumor) ONLY. And that the surgery can fully remove it and any surrounding bits. I've prayed this so much God MUST be tired of hearing it by now! But I believe in the power of prayer, and in God's will.
I will keep you apprised of the situation, as I know more. Thank you all sooooo much, for everything. YOU are my blessing!

My experience has been similar, also at a Center of Excellence. I see the surgeon and the PA or NP. The surgeon is great, but I've had better answers from the PA in relation to follow up issues. My initial fee covered 3 months of follow up visits, but I don't have to pay the copays for the rest of 2015 because I met the out of pocket max. I appreciate the team approach, because I know it is unlikely that the entire team will leave the practice from visit to visit. I know that some of the players may change as time goes on, but I've still got a great team around me.

@@VSGAnn2014 Sweet Jesus No!! That's the mom from honey boo boo! I'm Just going to forget you said that! You think I'm an animal or something?! Lol!

Dude. It's more than the freaking ride (although that is GREAT).
No chub rub, no huff and puff, no mini freak-outs at the bottom of 8 flights of steps wondering if I'd make it while carrying a big ass tube, no praying for a long line so I could catch my breath...
The rides were great fun, the normalcy was better.

For the first time since my surgery, I took my kids to a Water park.
First and foremost, I was always one of those fatties that forced myself to "keep up" with "normal weight" people so I never visibly showed how hard it was to walk the park and climb the (freaking endless) steps to the tops of the rides. That said, by the end of the day, I used to be so exhausted I didn't want to move the next day.
This time was SO MUCH different. Never once was I out of breath. Never once did I dread squeezing my ass into a tube. I wasn't the fastest down to the bottom and my thighs didn't rub themselves into misery just because I was wet and huffing along with the group. lunch time wasn't an absolute RELIEF like it used to be -- instead, it was just lunch.< /p>
I am fairly certain I looked fine in my swimsuit and I wasn't the slow one in the group. There was one ride where the entire group had to step on a scale to ensure we didn't surpass maximum rate for the tube and I didn't sweat it for a second. In fact, I happily jumped on the scale and didn't think twice about someone seeing my weight.
I am no longer "new" to the WLS experience, but this was a great thing. For real.

I am fortunate that mine is a Center of Excellence. I knew beforehand that it was a "team" of professionals. I paid a one-time program fee before surgery and I will never have a co-pay or out-of-pocket fee for follow-up visits.
I saw my surgeon twice before surgery and twice after surgery. Subsequent visits were with her PA. I also see the nutritionist at each visit. So, it goes, nurse, PA, nutritionist (and once with the exercise specialist for assessment).
I am happy with my surgical team. They are very professional and knowledgeable and they are keeping me on track.

I don't have any sleeve issues or sleeve specific questions. I am d ping great and I have a clear plan on what to eat. My primary can track my blood work. If I have any sleeve issues or questions. I will either suck it up and go back or I will choose another doctor that is closer. They don't seem interested in resolving the billing issues though and I won't go back until they do. I have spent enough money out of pocket this year without a doctor office hustling me out of co-pays they are not entitled to

OP I will address the copay. You likely should not be paying any copay for your 6 week visit. You should be in your post-op day period. Any care that is within the post-op period is considered part of the fee for the surgery. The surgeon should not be charging you a co-pay and should not be billing insurance, nor should the insurance pay for visits during the post-op period.
Any major surgery should have a post-op period. It will vary depending on the surgery. The insurance companies use fairly standard guidelines. I think for the sleeve it is 90 days. (If you have a visit with the same surgeon for an issue not related to the surgeon a copay would apply.) The surgery fee is a global fee.
And this is the issue right here. They charged a co-pay for my one week follow up visit. I thought it was odd, and I questioned it and told them this was my one week post-op visit and they said, yest I still had to pay a co-pay. At the time I just wrote the check because I knew I met my out of pocket for the year and blue cross will refund it. All of my claims process in about 3 days from service. I get an email, I can view them online. Within 10 days I have a check refunding me for my out of pocket.
That first post-op visit from over a month ago still has not billed. When I asked about it, I got the run around. Their billing number has a menu that is just a loop. I want them to bill Blue Cross so I can get my money back.
This already left a bad taste in my mouth. I spent 28 hours in the hospital, my one week post-op should not have had a co-pay in my opinion. Again, I brushed it off, because I knew it would be refunded. Then they wanted to change my appointment, then not only is there a change, but there is also a different provider completely unknown to me.
They are ripping me off and no one will give me a straight answer. $50 is not a large sum of money in the big scheme of things but it makes me feel like I can't trust them, they are either crooked or incompetent. Either one makes me not want to do business with them again.
If I can't trust someone with $50 I certainly can't trust them with my health.

There are other practices where the PAs are known and deal with patients Washington University is like this, the PA is on the website as part of the team. This isn't that kind of practice.
If I had been introduced to the PA before hand I could have included the PA in my decision making process. Adding someone new to the equation and not even providing their name is highly unprofessional.

My wife has worked around surgeons and doctors for so long that she passed some knowledge down to me. There are certain things that people just firmly believe that are wrong. Many people want the doctor to give their child a shot instead of "just a nurse". But what they don't realize is that the doctor doesn't give shots that often and is really bad at it from lack of practice. Nurses to many a day and therefor are better at it.
Same thing applies to surgeons and their assistants. Many times the assistants have better bedside manners and they are more familiar with complications and questions post-op. Surgeons are good at what they do, which is dealing with people when they are knocked out. The assistants are the ones that are going to be giving you the real information and dispensing it as well. They also can translate what you are saying to what the surgeon needs to know and vice verse.

I just got back from a 7 day cruise. I focused on Protein and vegetables, but I definitely included some foods that are not part of my regular diet. I had a bite of bread a couple of times. It was yummy, but I won't miss it now that I'm back to my routine. I'm 5 months out. I found that some things I used to love aren't very appealing now. The broiled fish, seafood, and lean meat I ate was delicious. I don't feel the need to Celebrate what I ate, but I will celebrate that I lost a pound on vacation (that's never happened before!) And I will celebrate that I've been back for 3 days, and I'm back in my old (new) eating routine. I feel great, and I had a fantastic time on vacation. Thank you, Sleeve, for keeping me on track!

I just got back from a 7 day cruise. I focused on Protein and vegetables, but I definitely included some foods that are not part of my regular diet. I had a bite of bread a couple of times. It was yummy, but I won't miss it now that I'm back to my routine. I'm 5 months out. I found that some things I used to love aren't very appealing now. The broiled fish, seafood, and lean meat I ate was delicious. I don't feel the need to Celebrate what I ate, but I will celebrate that I lost a pound on vacation (that's never happened before!) And I will celebrate that I've been back for 3 days, and I'm back in my old (new) eating routine. I feel great, and I had a fantastic time on vacation. Thank you, Sleeve, for keeping me on track!

I just got back from a 7 day cruise. I focused on Protein and vegetables, but I definitely included some foods that are not part of my regular diet. I had a bite of bread a couple of times. It was yummy, but I won't miss it now that I'm back to my routine. I'm 5 months out. I found that some things I used to love aren't very appealing now. The broiled fish, seafood, and lean meat I ate was delicious. I don't feel the need to Celebrate what I ate, but I will celebrate that I lost a pound on vacation (that's never happened before!) And I will celebrate that I've been back for 3 days, and I'm back in my old (new) eating routine. I feel great, and I had a fantastic time on vacation. Thank you, Sleeve, for keeping me on track!

I knew it would be you!
This post came out of a head-banging moment where I saw someone CELEBRATING being able to eat pizza at two months out.
Celebrate that you lost weight. Celebrate that you are in smaller sizes. Celebrate that you are healthier. Celebrate that you can fit into a restaurant booth, an airplane seat, a restroom stall. CELEBRATE!
But celebrate that you can eat a piece of pizza? ?

I was concerned how I would be able to handle my first vacation after being sleeved. Just got back yesterday and I have to say it was a success. We do enjoy eating out on vacation and we still did eat out a lot, but I was very careful with my choices. I ate chicken but when I got bored with that, I had spare ribs (could only eat two); smoked turkey; steak; and grilled shrimp - all in very small portions. I ordered the smallest portions I could (sometimes ordering off the appetizer menu). I listened to my stomach and stopped as soon as I felt that restriction. I did walk at least four miles everyday on the beach. We were also with my sister and her husband and she had a harder time with what I was eating. She kept saying she felt bad for me because I couldn't eat much, but I kept telling her don't feel bad for me because I don't feel bad and I do feel good about myself.
The truth is I did miss eating all the usual vacation type foods a bit - ice cream, alcohol, chocolate, Italian food etc. but I am down 40 pounds and as they say - nothing tastes as good as being thin feels. But I only missed the foods for the moment, once that passed, I felt good about my choices.
It also felt good that I was able to wear clothes on my vacation that I hadn't fit into in years. I still felt self-conscious in a bathing suit, but that is my insecurity.
I hope that once I am down to my goal weight (40 pounds to go) I will be able to occasionally enjoy some treats.
For now I feel good, I am thrilled with my progress and am looking forward to many more vacations with my newer slimmer body!
Thanks for all your support!