RebecaSparkles

Yeah, the difference between a bmi of 40 & 43 for me is 13#! So then the question is , exactly how much are those 13# worth? Answer about 12k. Luckily, I qualified but if I hadn't you bet I would gain that weight pretty quick. I self pay for my insurance so I could choose to swap if I had to. I figure as a back up I'd self pay but I'm worried I'd get complications and have huge medical bills so better to get insurance to cover & they'll take care of complications after co-pay / out of pocket max.

The wraps are pretty much only worth it if you're going to a big event & don't fit into your dress. As far as shrinkles, can't be worse than all the jiggle. I plan on buying a pretty corset & gaters to hold everything in place just in case. My hubby and I discussed a breast augmentation but he prefers I didn't. I think I may be able to get my insurance to pay for a pannulectimy or removal of the pannus ( lowest roll). I'm more concerned about the area below the pannus & above the " lady leaves" I think it's the mons pubis in technical terms. I have a fluffy fat deposit there not sure if it's gonna be aweful?

Oh, and what was your out of pocket? I have a 30% co-insurance... Trying to estimate to save up! I forgot to say I'll be wearing a bright green dress at the meeting so you won't miss me!

Do you have to go to the surgical associates or kaisers support groups? Both? Three before surgery or three after? I will be there at the fairoaks meeting. Do they weigh us in or anything? What's it like?

Is it warm to the back of the hand? Probably worth it to get an xray though midtarsal breaks are very difficult to see & can be missed. Unsolicited advice: if they tell you to either cast it or wear a cam walker ( big black knee high boot type immobilization orthosis) do it religiously! If they say no weight bearing they mean it, those small bones in your foot have a poor blood supply compared to the long bones & can be difficult to heal without surgical intervention. Oh, and pick the big black boot, you can shower your leg using a shower chair, if you have the regular cast you will be miserable! It may be unavoidable but just my $2

So, I went to the Kaiser Weight Loss Surgery Class 1. Here's a run down of what happened: We signed in showed our member cards and our drivers licenses. The NUT began going over the paperwork that was in folders they gave us. Pretty much a snooze fest here. Asked us to start recording our food and beverage intake and to fill out the homework forms for our next visit one on one. Pretty much a brief overview of serving sizes of fruits and vegetables, showed us the plastic food, etc... Nothing exciting. There were hand outs on exercising and dieting and healthy changes to make. Then the big guns: we had to lose 3% of our current body weights by the end of the 6th months or else our paperwork would be on hold until then. (as mentioned by another poster) She laid out the kaiser visits, they must be no less than 1 month apart (one a month was how she said it): Visit 1- was the class we were at Visit 2- Nut appointment just for you Visit 3- Nut appointment just for you Visit 4- Weight loss surgery class 2 Visit 5- Nut appointment just for you Visit 6- Nut appointment just for you Somewhere in there you must call and do a phone screening for the psych eval. If they aren't satisfied they'll have you come in or they'll clear you over the phone Also, you must have taken the Weight control class at some point during the 6 visits, or in the past year- which is a one time class about general weight loss for everybody. I'd already taken it but it was over a year ago so I get to go again! yay She went around the table and asked everyone what they were leaning towards. Then took us over to OB/GYN and weighed us one by one and took our height measurements. The NUT then calculated a "goal range"/ expected weight loss amount and final weight. She put me at 170-180 ( loss of 55-65 #) That seems like not enough loss. I think they're overly conservative with their numbers because I see people on here and in real life who get down to much more loss of excess weight. Never even asked us where we'd like to be. Anyways, They did say as another poster commented that if your bmi dips below the kaiser cut off (bmi of 40) during the loss of the 3% it won't disqualify you. However, my bmi was 39.1 a few years ago and she said that she wasn't sure if I'd be approved due to that and she'd submit me to the obesity work group for a pre-approval or denial based on that pre-requisite.Then later that night, she eneded up emailing me back and saying that she checked my file and saw that I did have my pcos & high bp documented and that I was all good. She said for Virginia they use the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, They have an exclusive floor just for kaiser patients. Not sure if that's good or bad. The local hospital Inova FairOaks is an Center of Excellence in Bariatric surgery, and it irks me that they're going to make us go to a less awesome hospital. Nothing I can do about that though, so I guess I'll stop whinging about it. Anybody have Dr. Salameh or Dr. Mayes ?

Alberta Mom- i use assets. It's made by the spanx ppl and a little less compression. I do say I'm grumpy at the end of day & can't wait for the spanx/assets to come off. I will say that sizing is difficult without trying them on. I went to Target & tried on 3 different sizes before I found my size. I wear a size 5 assets & I'm 5"2' @ 227 but very apple shapped. You may have a different shape & thus different size. I have doubled up on yhem for my wedding dress but it really hurt. But hurt less than a tight corset. Good luck!

I'm an orthotist, someone that makes leg beaces & foot orthotics. I'd suggest getting yourself a good pair of sturdy well fitting shoes. Not the floppy chucks or keds kind. Depending on where you are in your wls you may need mens shoes to help with the girth of your foot. Or maybe a ladies wide will do. Look for a firm heel when you grab the back of the shoe, for the middle part of the shoe to be more full/ square. You do not want the middle of the shoe to be undercut like a puma or some of the nikes. As far as toes you want a more square or round toe shape not pointy. I recommend apex, asics and new balance. As far as your specific pain area I cannot truely offer judgement without a full work up but I suspect you need a shoe that has a stiffer sole & not one that is so flexible like those thin soled popular ones marketed for running. Oh, and don't go barefoot, it puts pressure on all the ligaments in your foot, I recommend some ugly birkenstocks! They're very supportive house shoes! Good luck! If you want to you can pm me with more questions. Happy to help!

I am a 28 yr old small business co-owner.I live in the washington DC metro area/ Northern Virginia. We do orthotics & prosthetics ( leg braces, back braces , artificial legs, cranial remolding) specializing in pediatrics. It is very rewarding but tough too because it's a constant push to keep working & not take time for yourself. - ie : I can finish this leg now & little timmy can walk this week vs I can go home & see my family that's often grumpy. I co-own with my Dad & my DH live with him in his mc mansion from 1989 that's falling apart. I din't have kids but I do have 2 younger dogs ages 3 & 3.5 Nami & Frankie. They are part of the reason I want this surgery, so I can walk them properly instead of huffing & puffin. I just recently graduated from a masters certificate program at Northwestern university & lived in downtown chicago. Chicago was a great food city & sadly I ate everything in site with the you'll never live here so enjoy it while you can thought. I enjoy swing dancing, zumba & ice skating when thinner & have more stamina. Lately, I've been doing lots of home renovation & got rid of a whole dump truck of my hoarder dad's stuff! I'm a big dr.who fan & a brony. I met my dh at Chipotle Mexican Grill in 2007, we started dating in 2008, engaged in 2009, married in 2011. I had my 27th bday, graduated from Northwestern , moved home & got married all in one week. I was going to get Wls in 2010 but with school, wedding planning & an imminent across country move it was too much. I needed to be in a better place mentally & stable in my work/ home situation. Loving to get to know the people here!

I am a 28 yr old small business co-owner.I live in the washington DC metro area/ Northern Virginia. We do orthotics & prosthetics ( leg braces, back braces , artificial legs, cranial remolding) specializing in pediatrics. It is very rewarding but tough too because it's a constant push to keep working & not take time for yourself. - ie : I can finish this leg now & little timmy can walk this week vs I can go home & see my family that's often grumpy. I co-own with my Dad & my DH live with him in his mc mansion from 1989 that's falling apart. I din't have kids but I do have 2 younger dogs ages 3 & 3.5 Nami & Frankie. They are part of the reason I want this surgery, so I can walk them properly instead of huffing & puffin. I just recently graduated from a masters certificate program at Northwestern university & lived in downtown chicago. Chicago was a great food city & sadly I ate everything in site with the you'll never live here so enjoy it while you can thought. I enjoy swing dancing, zumba & ice skating when thinner & have more stamina. Lately, I've been doing lots of home renovation & got rid of a whole dump truck of my hoarder dad's stuff! I'm a big dr.who fan & a brony. I met my dh at Chipotle Mexican Grill in 2007, we started dating in 2008, engaged in 2009, married in 2011. I had my 27th bday, graduated from Northwestern , moved home & got married all in one week. I was going to get Wls in 2010 but with school, wedding planning & an imminent across country move it was too much. I needed to be in a better place mentally & stable in my work/ home situation. Loving to get to know the people here!

I think as long as you own it it doesn't matter. But I will say I prefer a nicely groomed mostly bald to full bald over a poorly covered up balding. One other issue is the scratch factor. Please be careful of rubbing ur head stubble too much in sensitive areas. Or like if we're the big spoon and u put ur head in a "motorboat" position it can be painful due to prickly stubble in the chest region. Or even if you put your head on our shoulder or back. Anyways, for me the trick it to rock it. Good luck!

You can always continue your medicaid coverage with COBRA. They will usually let you continue your coverage if you pay the monthly premium out of pocket. I know that it will usually be a lot like 4-600 a month. But just remember medicaid has some of the best coverage around. Usually very little to no out of pocket expenses. A wls will cost you what 12k in the usa , 5-6k in Mexico. Your main issue is to get the surgery & then you can swap to a different insurance. I'm fairly certain ( like 45-50%) that medicaid is cobra eligible. But bc its intended for a certain group & you don't meet that criteria they may cut you off. Have you thought of switching now and using medicaid as a primary & the other insurance as a secondary? Oh, and please be careful your new insurance has bariactric coverage, I'm having a hard time bc my insurance is looking like 6 months of nut classes & then 3 month wait just for initial surgeons meeting! I'd swap as I pay for my ins totally out of pocket but can't find a similarly priced plan w/ bariactric coverage. Good luck!

Are they going to weigh us privately or in a group setting? Will we have to wear a gown? Little nervous, is it like WEight Watchers? Semi-private?

Yay! That is all.

Hi Twins! Thanks! I'm 5"2 227 very apple shapped. Thinner arms & legs, no varicose veins ( knock on wood) i've got that going for me. All my friends have the veins in their legs since sophmore year of college. I used to be a championship figure skater until I broke my coccyx in 9th grade & lost the nerve to jump anymore. Then the weight really came back , I was heavy from 1 st grade thru 6th lost it by getting into skating & karate. I've been the fattest or nearly the fattest of all my friends ever since. So ready to be rid of this extra weight. I was going through the process last year but I was accepted into a hoity toity university far away & got married so I felt it was too much on my plate at the time. I don't regret getting married at my before weight though, I know that deep down my hubby loves me at my thickest, I made sure he knew I was an as is purchase and made no promises about losing or gaining after marriage. So, if I do lose the weight then its pure win for him because he gets an upgrade.

Yeah, I'm looking into switching but I had. A " touch " of pnemonia at the beginning of march & wanted to get my health back before switching. I honestly still feel like crap after taking 2 weeks off and having Fluid in my lungs. I kept coughing til I vomited to the point that I lost 8# in one week & was put on anti nausea meds that made me high as a kite! Had to stop taking them bc I couldn't function but then I'd vomit. Thankfully my cough died down & my lungs are mostly dry though I still feel a bit of fluid/ mucus. Glad to hear my weight tomorrow will be the weight on record. I can stop trying not to lose and just be. I suspect the first 10 will come off fairly easily. The second not so much. If diet & exercise worked for me I wouldn't be here. I am worried that I'll resort to a crash diet to get approved & then get approved. But have issues bc i'll have gained it back in the 3-6 months I'll wait for surgery. Anyways. That's a problem for future Rebeca to deal with , i'm going to make puppy snuggles in bed!

I would email your dr a pic of the area and a close up of the hole. They may want you to come in or they may let you get antibiotics via phone. Never know? Or it could be the adipose tissue & dermis?

Yea. My primary care doctor is not happy about my decision to do this at all. She is the least supportive person on my healthcare team. My GYN is behind me full force. My Nut is cold & I don't really like her as shes 95# sopping wet & is very condescending with me. I switched Nut to a different one that I have the class on with tomorrow. Anyways, thank you so much and I reeally rwally appreciate it as kaiser info on the web is mostly just about kaiser california. There's so little info about Kaiser va/md/dc that I thought they waited out all the people who wanted wls. I half suspect the class that I'm going to will be only 1/4 full. Ugh. So frusterating and if it weren't a sin to pay out of pocket when I have coverage I'd just find a way to do it. I guess I'm more worried of complications & the insurance not paying for them if you go out of pocket.

Lol. I'm looking at having this surgery so I'll look hot in my maternity pics. I think pregnant women look so breath takingly beautiful. I don't want the are you pregnant or fat questions that I get now. ( I went through a super girly phase & didnt wear pants for 2 years & as a result I have a very round belly & have a hard time with pants. Can't tolerate belts, I have the family flat backside so my pants just slide right down. ) Anyways, I only have 1 ovary due to some teratomas ( cysts with hair, bone, fat, teeth, brain tissue) sorry if TMI but they sandwiched my poor ovary & cut off its blood supply I had them removed & the dr said they were the size of an iphone!!!! I have pcos also so my fertility chances are slim wo this surgery. I'm still debating my options but leaning towards the sleeve. Just wortied I'll possibly stretch it out. As I'm a big volume eater! Never much for sweets still have halloween candy from 2 years ago!

Lol. I'm looking at having this surgery so I'll look hot in my maternity pics. I think pregnant women look so breath takingly beautiful. I don't want the are you pregnant or fat questions that I get now. ( I went through a super girly phase & didnt wear pants for 2 years & as a result I have a very round belly & have a hard time with pants. Can't tolerate belts, I have the family flat backside so my pants just slide right down. ) Anyways, I only have 1 ovary due to some teratomas ( cysts with hair, bone, fat, teeth, brain tissue) sorry if TMI but they sandwiched my poor ovary & cut off its blood supply I had them removed & the dr said they were the size of an iphone!!!! I have pcos also so my fertility chances are slim wo this surgery. I'm still debating my options but leaning towards the sleeve. Just wortied I'll possibly stretch it out. As I'm a big volume eater! Never much for sweets still have halloween candy from 2 years ago!

*** not medical advice, simply my experience as a since I was 16 bcp user*** I loved my nuvaring. But Ihad a hard time getting it into a great position due to its size. Sometimes it would Turtle head and peak out when I was going about my day. I'd have to sneak off & push it back in. Also. You're not supposed to take it out for sex but I always did. Put it on a paper towel & then rinse with tap Water and re-insert. Be careful where you put it though because I went for a wash cloth one time & in the time I was gone my cat got a hold of it & took off. I didnt find it until I moved out two years later. Had an extra on hand so no biggie but.... Also, I know people will flame me for this but I used to use it like seasonal( I would use one for 3 weeks and then put another without waiting a week & having a period). I had 4 " periods" a year & they usually were like 1-2 days. I never had an unwanted pregnancy but did have hormonsl rollercoasters. Like my boobs would hurt when it was time to swap it. I did go to a mirena that was HELL as my doc recommended wrong. I never had a pregnancy & it hurt beyond all pain I'd ever felt going in & she didn't do it right & it ended up growing inyo the side of my uterus & giving me horrid pains. Ended up having a d & c abortion type proceedure to remove it. Do not recommend if you've not been pregnant. That said a buddy of mine has & loves it. I currently take tri-cycline lo. The lo dose is causing my high bp but I refuse to swap as I need the high bp to qualify for vsg & the only alternative is something called the mini pill which is less effective. I don't want children any time soon. Ultimately, I suggest working with your Ob/Gyn to find a solution thats right for you. You don't have to be married to your bcp. Try the nuva ring for two months see how you feel & if the scale agrees with your choice. If your stalled after two months try something else. Btw- the depo shot & the paraguard are not permanent but can have bad raps so be sure to do your homework before you let someone talk yiu into them.

So sorry for your loss. It really really sucks. Hope you are in high spirits.

When do they weigh you at the first class or the nut? I'm stuck between losing or staying the same right now. I'm having a hard time not losing. Which is actually a problem bc I don't want to not qualify. I'm horrified of paying premiums about 350 a month and almost never using the damn insurance & then going through all these hoops & losing the 10% & then to have them deny me. If I have that happen I will feel very cheated.I know that if lost 10% which for me is 22# that I will be at a bmi too low for wls (37.5) I pay out of pocket for my ins & I think I could cancel at any time. But I was much skinnier when I got kaiser & not on meds for Bp or diagnosed with Pcos. I doubt I'll have an easy time finding a reasonable plan (1000deductable, 30% co-insurance,3-400 a month) with a different carrier such as aetna or united. Anyone out there had any luck with other insurances in virginia? Thanks!

I have pcos & high bp but its ok if I take the pills.