sr910

I was stressing about this today and called my insurance company. Although I have a $2,000 deductible, that only counts toward copays. My in-patient surgery copay is only $200, and that's all I have to pay. I reworded and asked over and over to make sure $200 was correct as my total out-of-pocket cost, and it is! But of course I'm preparing myself in case they surprise me with a bigger bill. =) and I have anthem blue cross in California -- the select ***.

Finished medical clearance (bloodwork, EKG, etc), nutrition visits, and psych clearance is being sent to my surgeon's office TODAY. Then it'll be submitted to insurance. Excited!! And nervous. And anxious. Can't wait to get my date!!

I had to have a chest x-ray, EKG, urinalysis, and full bloodwork.

Are you well hydrated? I got food poisoning (Broccoli soup at Coco's -- BEWARE!) and despite my insane consumption of liquids, I got dehydrated. My body was so dehydrated that my muscles started getting really tight, including my chest muscles. I couldn't inhale, thought I was having a heart attack (worst case scenario always comes to mind first), so I went to the ER. 2 bags of fluid through an IV and I felt a million times better. Just a thought, in case maybe you haven't been getting in enough fluids. I'm no doctor, so don't listen to me.

Stomach acid would leak into your abdominal cavity.. Prob wouldn't show up in blood.

What's your Vitamin schedule like? I'm not sleeved yet, but trying to get in to habit of taking Vitamins thoughout the day. I'm taking a prenatal multi (it has all the same as the multi +biotin), D3 (2x a day), B12 (sublingual, 1000mcg per week for now -- maybe more after surgery?) Currently... Morning -- prenatal, D3, B12 Noon -- Night -- D3 After surgery... Morning -- prenatal, D3, B12, calcium citrate Noon -- Iron Night -- D3 Does this seem right? My nut gave me a sheet with instructions for vitamins on my last visit with her. I read them when I got home, so it was too late to ask for guidance/clarification. I won't see her again until after surgery I think... A friend said she had a hard time taking the calcium with all the other morning pills, but I'd prefer to just get them done if it works for me. I was thinking maybe calcium at noon, then iron with the D3 at night, but if D3 helps with the calcium absorption, should I not put them together? Ugh I have no idea what I'm doing!

Fat makes us sluggish and tired -- caffeine helps offset that. But without the fat (or just less of it), we'll feel more energized! Also -- have you started B12? That should give you an energy boost!

Drugstore.com has CitraCal +D with Magnesium.. http://m.drugstore.com/citracal-calcium-citrate-with-vitamin-d-plus-magnesium-coated-tablets/qxp202339?catid=183252

My nut suggested mixing benefiber into protein shakes. I'm finding the protein shakes alone tend to constipate me -- not cool! Kind of nervous about how things will be after I'm sleeved and drinking lots of protein with lots of vitamin pills =\

http://www.obesityaction.org/wp-content/uploads/Weight-Loss-Surgery-and-Hair-Loss.pdf

Okay, first off I don't think your decision to have WLS should be considered a "dirty little secret" and choosing to not tell people shouldn't be looked at as, "Ooh, you're a liar and terrible person." People I work with are vicious. If you don't tell them, they'll all try and guess, come to a concensus, then spread rumors of what they suspect is going on. You do tell them, and they all gossip and judge about it. I'm going to leave it as simple as possible -- "I have a medical issue that requires surgery, and I'll be out for this many weeks." Period. If you want to tell people, great. I'm sure you will have some supportive people. But you'll likely have judgmental people that are going to question your decision -- and the only way to avoid those people is to not include them in your personal matters. Just be prepared for that. Sorry I don't mean to offend anyone -- this has just been my experience in 8+ years with a large government employer...

Yeah I thought your coordinator was supposed to fight for you (well, fight the insurance company...) and be nice and patient with all your questions. =\

I don't think she has a supervisor that I could ask for, but she said she would "go ahead and put it through for approval, but it's going to get denied." Rude. But she did go on to tell me that I can do an expedited appeal and get an answer within a few days. It just drives me nuts that she said one thing and now refuses that she would have ever said that -- and she talks over me on the phone and it's just frustrating. Anyway, hopefully I don't have to deal with her too much longer, then after surgery, never again!

I attended the informational seminar in July, and Dietician visits started in August. I spoke with my coordinator regarding a timeline and surgery date and now she denies ever telling me the things she told me. First thing I did was contact my insurance company and ask if a medically-supervised diet was required and they provided me a link to view their guidelines -- there's no specific timeframe for bariatric surgery approval, it just says dieting efforts need to be fully evaluated by the surgeon. Hooray! So then I call my specific medical group and their requirement is minimum 3 months. Great! So I call the coordinator and let her know what I've researched and found out and she tells me that I'll complete my nutritionist appts in October, then that I'd have a consultation in November, and surgery sometime in December. I distinctly remember her saying December was a busy month because people who work as teachers try to get their surgeries done over winter break. Then I distinctly remember saying that I was feeling relieved to have it done in December because it would pretty much guarantee a successful new year! Yeah so I finished my nutritionist appointments and called her to set up the surgeon consult (as she told me to) and she, "oh, no you have to do 6 months of dieting. I wouldnt have told you 3, it's always 6." Ugh.

In San Diego. In the midst of my 3-month medically-supervised diet. Should be scheduled for a date in December with George Mueller at Sharp.

Hourglass. Hoping it stays that way. As far as laser hair removal goes, I got 6 treatments (underarms) for around $100. Look for those mass coupon e-mail things like Groupon, Daily Save, etc.

I don't have an exact date yet, but December for sure. I'm finally going to start a new year the way I've always wanted to! No more dreading setting a New Year's resolution, knowing that I'd fail and beat myself up about it.

Bought one of these -- it melted and got misshapen when I left it in the car, and it wasn't even a hot day! Plus it was plastic. No matter how hard I try, I am not motivated to drink water out of plastic, and I LOVE water... Yes! I re-use glass Snapple bottles to make Lipton Cold Brew iced tea. Everything tastes crisper and cleaner out of a glass bottle. I had trouble with the camelback one because I didn't like having to bite the rubbery mouthpiece -- plus it seemed germy to me. I'm a little weird with germs/bottles. So my recommendation is a glass Takeya bottle. I find that I drink more water because it's crisp and tastes GOOD! And I've tried everything -- those metal bottles, tons of plastic bottles... plus, since I'm weird with germs and stuff, I know I can wash the glass with HOT water and not have to worry about it melting or releasing some kind of chemical... http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003DTLNVA/?tag=hyprod-20&hvadid=15469465059&hvpos=1o1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6350148991710026100&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&ref=asc_df_B003DTLNVA The Container Store also carries this one, which is very similar with the protective sleeve around it. http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10029942&N=&Ntt=glass+bottle

No one really knows if it helps, but my theory is that it will *guide* the skin to stick close to the body as you shrink. It's worth a shot... plus tons of moisturizer and exercise!

Have you watched "Weight of the Nation?" It was On Demand on HBO and it was really interesting to see America go from hungry and skinny from the early 1900s to the 1940s, then they showed the invention of the microwave and frozen meals in the 1950s, and we kind of spiraled out of control from there. My grandma grew up on a farm in Arkansas and I have photos from her childhood -- guess what -- EVERYONE IS SKINNY! I can't find a single fat person in any of her photos from the 1930s and 40s... As convenient as technology is (don't get my wrong, I love my iPhone, dishwasher, etc.), things being more convenient has made people so lazy! What about those little vacuums that roll around by themselves?! Jeez...

My coordinator originally told me that I'd have to do 6 months of medically supervised dieting, per the insurance company. I called the insurance and there was absolutely no mention of "6 months." They did say that I had to have "actively participated in non-surgical methods of weight reduction" and that the doctor had to "fully evaluate" that, but nothing about 6 months. I spoke with my coordinator the other day and mentioned that, and she said, "oh we'll just have you do the 3-month that also incorporates an exercise program." I still won't actually get sleeved until December (I haven't even had my first nutritionist appt yet), but at least it's not 6 months of dieting because the coordinator *assumed* my insurance had the 6-month requirement. I have Anthem Blue Cross Select H M O in California -- maybe you can ask? Good luck with everything.

I don't even have a date yet other than "sometime in December" and I'm having the exact same feelings! I hate it when people say that wls is an "extreme" option. When you look at the statistics, it really isn't extreme -- it's a proven effective tool in immediate weight loss and long term maintenance. I watched "One Nation Overweight" on Netflix the other night, and there it was again -- "the extreme option of bariatric surgery." It was really bugging me! But now that I have my nutritionist appointment scheduled, and my date as "December 2012," "Extreme" keeps popping into my head. Like, this is crazy, I can do it on my own, I don't need surgery, etc etc... I don't know. I've got more time to mull things over than you do. I believe that this is a great decision -- great that we even have the option! Good luck.

Okay, update... Talked to coordinator and have my first appt with nutritionist Aug 22. Called insurance company and found that they do NOT specify any sort of time frame, but just say that I have to have actively participated in non-surgical methods of weight loss and that the doctor must evaluate. Spoke w/ coordinator and told her about insurance not requiring 6 mo diet, and I also told her about my insurance changing to a higher deductible plan in January, so... She said I can just do 3-month diet and get sleeved in December!! First thought: I won't have that looming feeling of failure over a New Year's resolution. Second thought: Surgery -- is this too extreme? Do I really want to do this?? I have a few months to think... =)

Iron and zinc levels also have an impact on hair loss. http://bariatrictimes.com/2008/09/19/the-latest-on-nutrition-and-hair-loss-in-the-bariatric-patient/