Izuri

Not that Ms skinniness is wrong, because she often gives wonderful advice, but I'd go with the exact opposite of this approach. I would call if I haven't heard back in a few more days and be level headed but firm. I have worked in customer service all of my working life and in my opinion when I'm a customer there is almost never a situation where it's ok for a customer to let loose on a representative (The few exceptions being rudeness, repeated inaccuracies, anything far abnormal, etc), especially when it's someone who is not even involved in the situation to begin with. And I can tell you that I'm 110% more likely to go out of my way for someone who is appreciating the time and effort I'm taking. Keep in mind - Insurance companies are not a one size fits all. Neither are insurance plans. I don't work in medical billing, but I do work with insurance billing on a daily basis and things take time. Have you called your insurance company to ask about information? Sometimes it takes forever. Half the time I call them and they refer me to another department, which then transfers me back to the first, and so on. I spent a good three hours one morning last month trying to get something to work through an insurance company - and I work in face to face patient situations - that is a lot of time to sort out one problem when you're also trying to help customers. And the insurance coordinators have to do this on a daily basis, with intricate plans and insurance companies with representatives that cannot always interpret the plans. Not only that but they have to dual bill - which may mean that they have to submit to your primary payer for a denial before they can submit to your secondary. If it is anything like the experiences I have had with insurance, I do not envy the coordinator! The second part is they are a big facility, correct? So imagine your situation times x number of patients they probably having waiting on approval from insurance. There are probably stacks of files to be processed and the more time you spend answering how long it's going to take, is time that is taken away from actually doing their job of getting it processed. You are talking in business days - most places don't stay open on the weekend. So that's 3 business days, if you include today. My point is not to tell you you're wrong for being frustrated, because I was freaking while waiting for insurance to process too, but it's that both what you feel and the response you are getting from the office are normal for big offices. If you had talked to her over a week or two ago and heard nothing, I would start being more upset, but it's not even been a week in business days. I know that having a time frame and getting a date and everything is a wonderful feeling - and I promise you will get it - but sitting here calling the same person six times in the same day will only end up making you feel worse. Maybe take a hot shower, a nap, read a new book, focus on something that will help get your mind off the stress of it and then maybe once you've stopped thinking about it the call will finally come. I'd say if you're still not hearing things maybe by the end of the week/early next week I would call again and try and get a different representative who I will approach calmly but make sure that they know I expect a response even if it's just an update. Maybe it will set things back a little bit, but at least you are getting approved and the surgery is going to happen in due time. If it's a little closer to Christmas than expected, maybe you can help out in other ways. Even if the surgery is in November you may still be well enough to help hang lights and whatnot as long as you're mindful of letting your body rest. Either way, I will keep my fingers crossed for you that your answer will come soon =)

I would be happy to help, but it sounds to me like you are just unhappy with your weight loss rate, which there's not a whole ton you can do to change. You are losing well. 245 to 239 is 6 pounds in 3 weeks - an average of 2 pounds a week. That's great. Plus, just a day after you posted this thread you were down two pounds! You didn't gain the weight overnight, you're not going to lose it. If you haven't gone a full week or two (Probably closer to two) then you're not really stalled. Over a week our bodies can fluctuate with Water weight - it's completely normal. You are doing awesome - try and remember that when the scale isn't going exactly the way you want =) Just make sure you're getting in your Protein, keepin your carbs at a decent level, get your fluids in and work out and you will keep shedding those pounds.

I will update mine maybe over the weekend when I have more energy. Right now I feel just about ready to pass out in bed =) I have not posted pictures yet, and I doubt I will until I'm quite a bit further along. I don't have any real before pictures, just a progress picture a few weeks out. Anyway, I'll get it together and post some pics eventually when I'm down over 50 probably.

I love the NSV! What a thing to make you smile =) Great job - you look fantastic!

Thanks for the suggestions =) I will definitely try them out. I love split pea soup. I do have an ice pack, I think I haven't used it as much because I always seem to forget to put it back in the freezer. I need to make it a habit like I do with putting my keys on the hook - I finally don't lose them as often!

It's normal for your stomach to talk. Mine still does sometimes at about 8 weeks out. It's less than it used to. Sometimes it's air that comes up, sometimes it's just down in my stomach where it gurgles. You could try gas-x strips if it's uncomfortable. Actually, as I'm sitting here right now my stomach is gurgling pretty loud from breakfast =p

It was about 4-5 weeks before my stomach stopped gurgling all the time. It still gurgles sometimes now, but not quite as loudly and not as often.

Lookin good! I about had a fit when I was finally under 300 =) What a great milestone! Welcome to twoterville!

You look fabulous!

Sounds like the green-eyed monster for sure. I would confront her about it personally. I would say something like "I am happy that you notice my weight loss, I am feeling great. I have heard that you've been telling the office that I had my stomach stapled though, and I wanted to let you know that I don't appreciate it. If you would like to talk and get the facts straight, I'm happy to, but in the mean time I'd appreciate if you would refer people to me with questions about my weight." Maybe that sounds snarky - but my coworkers gossip like crazy and it drives me nuts.

Woohoo! I hope everything is going wonderfully =)

I'm about 150 pounds away from goal - but I'm going to get to 160pounds first (which is 125 pounds away) and see how I feel there. I'm not sure getting down to 135 is really realistic for me. Next poster: If you could have one superpower, what would you pick?

Oh and I forgot to add - PB sounds like a slider to me. Are you eating a lot of sliders? Maybe you need more dense proteins in your diet. Or things with more volume.

Only 98 pounds? Wanna trade? =p You are rocking your sleeve! You have lost: a small child, a big dog, 8 cats, 392 sticks of butter, 19.6 5lb free weights, I could go on forever. You have lost a ton of weight. Imagine what all that felt like on your body and you're now free from it forever. You hit a road bump, came to the forum for help - you are obviously still winning this battle - at this point you're just calling in a few reinforcements. You CAN do this. And I wholeheartedly believe that you will. A couple of ideas for hard times: - Diva's back to basics - Add more exercise - But try something new and totally different - zumba, running, hiking, salsa dancing - something that will get you reinterested in it - Search for great tasty alternatives: PB2 was a great suggestion. Look on the recipes forum, write a list of your favorite things and make a goal that over the next 2 weeks you will find a new, healthy, tasty alternative for each. Maybe it's not exactly the same, but spend some time and browse a store like Whole Foods or Trader Joe's to see if you can find something interesting. - Distract yourself: If I am bored I will eat til the sun goes down. If you are on the move, maybe it will help you too. - Get a hobby: This goes along with bored. Plus you will feel invested in something. Half of eating for me is the addiction, so finding another thing I love that is actually productive is killing 2 birds with one stone. My new favorites are drawing on the new tablet I got for my pc, learning to crochet, and trying to convince myself I love my homework =p (Totally not working) - Get a buddy: Every time you're feeling like grabbing the PB - text your buddy. If you don't have one, I am always happy to have more friends. If you do have one, or you have a friend IRL who is very supportive they can help even more. When you're having a hard time have them drag you out to a park for a walk. - Throw out the junk: If you don't have family that's going to whine about it, get rid of it. If it's too tempting to have around, then maybe it's just better off not to. The things that I can't throw out I try and hide from myself. Out of sight, out of mind. I haven't seen a donut in about 12 weeks now - and writing this post is the first time I really thought about them. Last year I used to eat one a day just about. Now they're just a faint memory like oh yeah those used to be nice. - Start a journal/write in your blog: Every time you wanna eat write about it. It's your blog, your journal, and you're free to write anything you want. Look at my blog - it's almost all whiney. And fifteen minutes after I wrote all that I had a big "PHEW!" thank goodness that's off my chest. Once it was out it was off my chest and I could start to go on with my day. I'll stop at that because I don't wanna give you like 3 pages of text - but I could go on and on. I hope at least some of it helps. You have stayed on the wagon before and you can get your butt right back on and start losing again. You are awesome. Don't beat yourself up, accept that you made some mistakes, and keep on going! =)

Everyone thinks their decision is the right decision. And it is - for them. I'm not surprised at all that they talk down about the sleeve - because for them the lapband may be right for their weight loss journey. It is interesting though. Something I hadn't really thought about. I have ventured over to the gastric plication forum to read through for curiosity before, but it's way less active. I may go look through lbtalk a bit just to read through their opinions.

I think that it would be nice to see a movement toward preventative care. We get so focused on curing people that we forget that we could avoid a number of diseases and ailments by pushing more preventative care. There is some movement toward it, but in the long run we could save ourselves far more money by preventing the disease in the first place. My surgery cost my insurance company about $20,000, but to pay for doctor visits, surgeries/amputations for necrotic ulcers due to noncompliance, hospitalizations, medications, etc for if I got diabetes would far outweigh the cost of surgery. But type 2 diabetes is preventable in a lot of people - does that mean that it should still be under the uncontrollable category? Or alcoholism? The list could really go on and on of self-inflicted ailments that are considered necessary by insurance. Personally, I don't feel that this is all that much different. Some of us are addicted to food, some of us have mobility limitations, etc. It may start out as something that is elective, but obesity is a large risk factor in an endless number of diseases. I do agree that that's how insurance companies see things like this nowadays, but I hope in the future we can see a change to them covering more preventative care - not just weight loss surgery, but other measures that help keep people healthy. OP: I would try to see if your HR has any kind of appeals process. The worst that they can do is come back and say no. I know that I - along with probably a number of people on this board - would be very interested to see the process and the results if you do. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Yay!!!! Your patience paid off =) Today is officially the day you have LESS than a month til sleeve!!! Congrats =)

I'm having a bit of trouble. I spend the majority of my days at school all day, where I do not always have access to a refrigerator/microwave to bring myself an actual lunch, and I'm failing at giving myself enough to eat/giving myself any variety. I am still on soft foods for another month or so, which really limits the things I would usually turn to (Protein bars, salad, etc). Lately I have been bringing myself string cheese, a Protein Drink, and a fruit - but during my long days when I have class and then clinical that is not enough. I have tried a muscle milk and an Isopure but then I just feel like I haven't had anything to actually eat all day. I know protein wise it's good for me, but I'd really like to switch it up and incorporate some actual food into the equation. So I guess this is my question: Do any of you have any ideas for soft food lunches/snacks that do not have to be refrigerated or microwaved that I could take with me to school? Thanks!

Lyndynojo - You look incredible in your progress pictures - and only 7 pounds from goal is incredible. Plus through your posts you are always kind and respectful while still offering your opinion. You are doing awesome, keep it up =)

Which stall? haha. Seriously though, first one was three weeks, second was a week. I'm 7.5weeks out. The drop after stall was drastic for the first one, slow for the second one. Hang in there, it happens to everyone! It will end eventually.

So I know some of this has already been said - but I feel similarly. I'm not down nearly as much as you are, but as far as what I have been able to figure out/decided about it: - The larger you are, the less difference you will be able to see/feel with losses until you are at a much lower weight. - Larger sizes have more room between sizes. - You may have been squeezing into the size you're wearing pre-surgery. So maybe they're fitting much better and you never noticed - You live with yourself every day - it's hard to see a difference when yous ee yourself every day - You may still be losing inches - measure? - Do you take pictures for progress? Maybe side by side you will see it - Have you lost from weird places? I always seem to lose weight from my bust first...I think all my 40 pounds have come from them lol It's frustrating, but there is a difference - and maybe some of it came from around your organs, which is actually even better for your health. Hang in there =)

I think this is an awesome thing. I would love to be involved in some way - like I said, I have no experience really doing web design, except home pages when I was young, but if there's any help with ideas, or compiling stuff I'd totally be up for helping. I love the friendship idea too - obesityhelp used to have a thread that would match you up with a random penpal, but I think the person kinda quit doing it. But maybe that could be something like it, like you could put in the options (ex: 100+ to lose, married, mothers, etc) and then it would give you the option to randomly match with someone or to be able to browse and pick. Anyway - if you can think of any way I can help let me know! I'm all for it.

I am still only a couple months out, but have noticed more attention from people in general. No dates yet - I haven't ventured on to online dating in quite a while. I think once I'm down about 50 more pounds I'll be ready to look into actually dating. For the time being I'm just open to possibilities - we'll see what happens. I too would love a WLS dating site. It'd be nice to be with someone who knows what I'm going through.

Are you still losing inches? Hang in there!! You will hit the other side of this stupid stall.

50 pounds is a lot! You are doing awesome!! =)