piercedqt78

And my family/friends benefit that I can be DD when we go out. I have a drink early in the evening, then switch to either Water or iced tea. I also saved a TON on my last cruise by not drinking anything at all. Usually on vacation I have a drink with dinner each night, this time I had a coffee or hot tea on the lido deck when everyone else was having a midnight snack (really a second dinner imho), and was totally happy with that substitution.

We have a local gastropub that is always packed and there is usually an hour wait for a table. My husband and I will order a beer flight, I have one he has the other 3 or 4 depending on what we order. I have no problems drinking my small glass of beer, and then an hour or so later having dinner. I will say that the alcohol sneaks up on me, and after only 1 beer, or 1/2 of a vodka cranberry I'm tipsy. I'm like you a few drinks a year at most, but pre-surgery I could handle my liquor with no problem, now lol not so much. I will also let you know that if alcohol hits you like it does me, the tipsy feeling only last 15 or 20 mins. I am totally sober by meal time, and don't have to worry about eating too much due to lower inhibitions. It's a weird buzz, it hits quickly and disappears just as quickly. I'm aware the beer is empty calories, but it's something I enjoy, and it hasn't slowed my weight loss at all.

I was a long term bandster, but I was able to have my revision in a single surgery. I was also told 50/50 in pre-op, and it was on my release form too. I told him to please do what made the most sense, but that either way I wanted a sleeve, same day or 4-6 months later. I woke up and asked for a sip of Water, only to be told sorry newly sleeved tummies are not allowed anything until the swallow test tomorrow. I have never been so relieved to have a dry mouth in my entire life. I spent 2 nights in the hospital, and was discharged around 2pm on day 3. My biggest complaint is that I have a weird phantom port, I swear I can feel it, and there is a lump of scar tissue there, the plastic surgeon says he will remove as much as possible with my tummy tuck, lower body lift. Good luck to you, but remember the doctor is going to do what is best for your health.

I used to be a pear, now I'm an hourglass. I love my sleeve.

I'm at goal, and unfortunately still have a size 22 skin wrapped around my size 2 body. I'm looking into plastics, but for now just cover it up. I was a pear shape, and all of my skin is tummy, lower back, and upper legs, but I hide it well. The plastic surgeon that I had my consult thought I was there for tattoo removal, he was floored when I opened my robe and he saw the excess skin. We will be submitting my paperwork in the next few weeks to see if insurance will help with payment at all. Like the others I wouldn't trade my new life, body, and confidence for anything. Because of a genetic autoimmune disease I have almost no elasticity in my skin, so I didn't bounce back at all in the skin department. But I'm going to take care of that very soon, with or without insurance, with would be better of course. LOL

Yep, don't stress about it . Like others said it's mostly Water weight, and swelling. It will come off before your first post-op appt.

What days/times work best for you? What area are you in? I'm in Orange Park South.

It was my first, and we only did 3 nights. I was only home about 4 days before I was looking to book another longer trip. We are going again in Nov, for 6 nights, and my daughter is bringing her bff.

I had my sleeve done in Jacksonville Florida at St. Vincent's Riverside Hospital with Dr. Uchal. I'm totally happy with my results!

I went on a cruise to the Bahamas when I lost 100 pounds!

I love lands end suits at Sears, not cheap but very well made. And they make a fit for every body type.

I didn't read the entire thread, I'm a long timer for Bariatric Eating, being banded almost 9 years ago, and the revising to the sleeve last May. My band life was wrought with complications, with my band and also with my medical issues. So any weight I lost was regained from extended bed rest, inability to exercise or even walk for almost a year. When I got my sleeve, I was determined to exercise daily. My body has a very different plan for my journey. I am 15 pounds under my doctors goal. And I eat what I want. The NUT told me to start getting my Protein from shakes, and start eating more carbs, as I am borderline underweight. I am looking at plastics now, but they want me to pick up a few pounds before I can have surgery. He doesn't want me going into surgery and not being healthy enough to heal. My surgeon faxed him my last 3 sets of near perfect labs, and he has agreed to back down from 15 pounds gained to only 5 pounds. I was instructed to start a daily insure shake until I am back to 118 pounds. I eat pizza once a week, a single slice of super thin crust cheese with either beef or veggies. I also drink iced tea all day long, with 1/2 cup of sugar per gallon. When I told my NUT and doctor what I eat they were fine with it, as long as I'm not OVER eating, they aren't worried. I make really good choices most of the time, but I am human, not perfect and I eat what sounds good to me. I love grilled shrimp and scallops, and could honestly live on grilled chicken. Today I made a nice southern Easter dinner, it was fried chicken, green Beans, mashed potatoes and Red Lobster's garlic cheddar biscuits with fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream. My family will have ice cream with dessert, but I can't tolerate it at all I don't worry about tracking my food, I did in the beginning and once I had a good feel for my daily calories/protein/carbs I stopped using MFP and just eat what I want in tiny portions. I use my tool to reduce my portions, not to only eat bland food. And my NUT and Surgeon say I'm doing great.

I just started them, but they are the ones that my insurance covers. So I guess they are good. If you are doing shakes and Vitamins I would check with www.insurenutrition.com

Just an FYI it's 4 times a day. That is what I was shipped from Insurenutrition.com they also provided Protein shakes, and scar cream. All covered by my health insurance. And they are a sponsor here on bariatric pal.

excess fat stores estrogen and you may be dropping fat, and getting a big dose of estrogen dropped into your system. It could also be a yeast infection starting from the antibiotics that you were given during surgery. I was advised to either take a probiotic, drink kefir or eat yogurt to prevent yeast problems.

I will be 1 year post revision in early May, and still have a port. I just had my plastics consult and the surgeon asked me if my port was left in place. I told him no, but the bariatric surgeon explained that they had to "dig" it out of the scar tissue that had enveloped it. He is going to try to remove all the knot when/if I get my tummy tuck/thigh lift. I guess we will see what happens.

14 oz of the base is about 140 calories. Like I said it does have sugar, and calories, but if you are craving a coke or Dr. pepper there is no carbonation, and it really eases the craving. I get a child sized or a small, so it's about 70 calories for the 8 oz, and the diet dr pepper has like 10 calories. Not too bad.

I have a regular dr. pepper once in a while with no problem. For those that want the taste without the carbonation, go to Sonic and order a diet (whatever soda) made into a slush. They make it into an icee type drink using the flavored syrup, but not the carbonation. It taste the same, and has the same caffine without the bubbles. Just a word or warning though there are a few calories in the slush mix, but not enough to derail your progress. I lived on diet dr pepper slush with cherry and vanilla when I was on the liquid only phase in the first days post-op. The cold liquids helped with swelling and also kept me hydrated.

If you have a Sonic near you, they can make a slush with Diet Dr. Pepper. It's amazing, and no carbonation at all. They can also add cherry or vanilla syrup and it only adds a few calories. The slush mix has some calories, but not too many, and it really helps with the cravings.

I'm approaching my 1 year on May 8th. I still have a small knot in the port area. Looks and feels like I still have a port, and the more weight I drop the more visible it is. I'm going to talk to the plastic surgeon tomorrow about removing it when they do my lower body lift.

I contacted the office of the doctor that came highly recomended by my daughter's peds group (they use them for reconstructive surgery when needed) and made an appt to see them on wed. I have a huge packet to fill out and they suggested that I make a list of questions and bring that with me, and also to call my insurance and get their requirements for coverage. I did, and they directed me to a medical article on their website. It has a list of requirements, and I think I meet them all. But I'm not sure. Here is the exact wording: Indications and Limitations of Coverage Coverage for cosmetic services is determined according to individual or group customer benefits. Corrective facial surgery will be considered cosmetic rather than reconstructive when there is no functional impairment present. An indication or a diagnosis of "pain" may qualify as functional impairment. Psychiatric indications do not warrant payment for cosmetic surgery when no functional impairment is present. However, severe psychological impairment, appropriately documented, can be classified as "significant functional impairment" on an individual consideration basis. In cases involving psychiatric disorder or involutional changes due to aging, the claim should be accompanied by a report from a psychiatrist who indicates a definite psychiatric condition relevant to the condition to be corrected by the surgery and that the proposed correction is likely to be of significant help in treating the psychiatric problem. These services require medical review prior to payment. Some common procedures which may be potentially cosmetic may also be considered reconstructive. The guidelines in this policy should be used to determine whether those procedures are cosmetic or reconstructive. There may be procedures other than those included in this policy which could be performed for either cosmetic or reconstructive purposes. These procedures should be reviewed on an individual consideration basis and classified as reconstructive surgery only when there is documented functional impairment. The following procedures are considered reconstructive and medically necessary when all of the procedures specific guidelines below are met: Abdominoplasty, Panniculectomy ("Tummy Tuck")(15830, 15847, 17999), when all of the following criteria are met: Preoperative photographs document that the panniculus or fold hangs at or below the level of the symphysis pubis; and The medical records document that the panniculus or fold causes chronic intertrigo (dermatitis occurring on opposed surfaces of the skin, skin irritation, infection or chafing) that consistently recurs or remains refractory to appropriate medical therapy (including appropriate prescription medications) over a period of three (3) months. NOTE: The patient must be at least 18 months postoperative following bariatric surgery. NOTE: Report procedure code 15830 (Excision, excessive skin and subcutaneous tissue [includes lipectomy]; abdomen, infraumbilical panniculectomy) when performing a panniculectomy. Report procedure codes 15830 and 15847 (Excision, excessive skin and subcutaneous tissue [includes lipectomy], abdomen [e.g., abdominoplasty] includes umbilical transposition and fascial plication) when an abdominoplasty is performed with a panniculectomy. Procedure code 15847 should only be reported with procedure code 15830. When an abdominoplasty is performed without panniculectomy, report procedure code 17999 with a description of the service. Place of Service: Outpatient/Inpatient Abdominoplasty/panniculectomy is typically an outpatient procedure which is only eligible for coverage as an inpatient procedure in special circumstances including, but not limited to the presence of a co-morbid condition that would require monitoring in a more controlled environment such as the inpatient setting. https://secure.highmark.com/ldap/medicalpolicy/wpa-highmark/S-28-026.html I have lost 130 pounds, and have a ton of skin that just hangs everywhere. I have pain when I sit or lay down from my skin "bunching up" and I also have issues with rashes, and ulcers. On the 1st requirement, it states that the "panniculus or fold hangs at or below the level of the symphysis pubis" Is that when I am standing upright, or when I lean forward? Also I had my sleeve last may (less than a year ago) but I was originally banded 9 years ago, I'm hoping they will consider that. I also need my thighs taken care of, but there are no guidelines for that, so I guess we will see what they say about that. Any body have a list of questions that they have asked, or that I should be looking into asking? I have never done this before, and am a bit lost. I was also happy that they will be doing the consult free of charge, and I am welcome to have a consult with each and every surgeon in the office, at no cost to me. They encourage you to see them all, one at a time to make you the most comfortable. Also should I be prepared for them to take photos of my in my bra and panties? The only thing I know about plastic surgery is what I have seen on TV/Movies. I know that's just sad, but I'm more of a tomboy than I care to admit and before all of this wouldn't have considered plastic surgery at all.

It was amazing easy, I had my surgery on a thursday afternoon and was back at work (no lifting) on Sat evening. I was a bit sore, but didn't take pain meds after the 2nd day. I felt so much better from the stomach issues that the little bit of discomfort from the incision was nothing.

ok, so I got a callback today about my stuff. I was approved for the scar cream, and Protein shakes but not the Vitamins. I was told by the gentleman that called me that they might send me Vitamin samples, but he wasn't sure. I was told when I called in the beginning that they waved any co-pays, then today I get the call about my stuff being shipped and that I was approved and provided a tracking number, then just before I hang up he says, "while I have you on the phone do you want to take care of the $45 co-pay? The stuff has already shipped, I told him I would wait for the invoice and mail them a money order or check. Sorry but I'm not giving a credit card to a company that I have never done business with, call me paranoid. I then called my prescription drug plan member service line, and was told the scar cream was billed at almost $5,000. That seems insanely high, but it was covered. I was a little disappointed that I can't get even the one month trial of the liquid vitamins, I asked if I could pay out of pocket for them, and was told "they are very expensive, and if Insurance doesn't cover them they are not really a good deal. He refused to even quote me a price. He did however tell me that I could get a letter from my Dr., and my insurance may make an exception for the vitamins. Who knows? So now I'm just waiting on my shipment. The tracking # says it's a 50 pound box. I will post when it arrives. He also told me they are hoping to have strawberry by the end of April, and if I wanted to try that I could call and change my order as long as I do it 24 hours before shipping time next month.

I had issues with my gallbladder, when they found no gallstones, and no swelling they did the hida scan, it was the worst pain I have ever experienced, and I had a baby that was almost 7 pounds naturally. When they did the injection into the iv for the hida scan within about 2 minutes I was in the fetal position from the pain. I have a super high pain tolerance and that pretty much took me to my knees. The tech took a few images, but said the pain told her way more than the scan itself would. When I got into my car and called my lapband surgeon (I was revised to a sleeve after 8 years of being banded) to let him know the results would be in his office before the close of business he asked how I was feeling, I told him I thought being hit by a Grey Hound bus would have felt better, he said "I'll have my scheduler put you on the first opening of my operating schedule. My gall bladder was filling but not emptying correctly, so I felt like a giant balloon was being inflated in my chest. After it was removed I was back to my old self within 24 hours. Before I went to my surgeon I was in the ER 4 times with chest pain, vomiting and shortness of breath. They kept telling me I either had indigestion, GERD, or it was all in my head. I'm glad I insisted that my surgeon look into it, if not for him sending me for the HIDA scan I would still be dealing with it, or it would have ruptured. It's funny I walked into his office when the pain was still bad on a daily basis and told him to remove my lapband, and while he was inside my abdomen to poke around and see what was going on to cause the pain. At first he thought it might be my port pulling away from the muscle and the pain was from my stitches tearing, but he didn't give up or blow me off, he just made it better.

um, I think we might have been twins seperated at birth. Sounds like the perfect pizza to me, only thing missing is a bit of spinach.