Jencovi

I had my band in 2009 and after many problems decided to have it removed in 2013. I struggled with my weight for the following year and was sleeved ten weeks ago. My insurance covered everything. Band removal and then the sleeve even though I was not considered obese anymore. I have a PPO. Your surgeon may not even be able to answer insurance questions. There may be a person in their office dedicated to insurance verification. Even though they can't file anything for you they should be able to give you an idea about what your insurance may or may not cover. Good luck!

As a 29 year old nurse, allow me to apologize for her ignorance. You are not too old for ANYTHING! What a moron. I hope you tell someone at the hospital about your call. She was unprofessional and just plain rude. You are stressed enough about surgery. You don't need some idiot calling you too old to add to that stress. She needs to be reprimanded for her actions. Good luck with your surgery! You will be fine.

Added you

I don't. But did you know there a clothing exchange on bariatric pal? I'm not sure which section it's under. Sorry.

You name the complication, I lost sleep over it. But ultimately I know that even with a strict workout regiment and many different diets (weight watchers, Jenny Craig, nutri system, gluten-free, dairy free...) I wasn't losing weight on my own and my type 1 diabetes was only getting worse. I am fortunate to be younger (29) and have a beautiful 18 month old daughter and loving supportive husband. So after lots of struggle and too much lost sleep I decided to meet with the surgeon who removed my band. He sat down with me, my husband and my mom and explained all the complications and the difference between gastric sleeve and bypass. I knew the sleeve was right for me. Dr. Pham never mentioned a concern about scar tissue. But he had done my band removal and had extensive notes from that surgery on my anatomy. So he knew what he was dealing with. I am 10 weeks out tomorrow. My a1c is down, I've lost 37 pounds and feel amazing. I never felt this good ever in my life. So it was the right decision for me.

I feel that a ban the band campaign is a good idea but I doubt it will help. We have morons like Dr. Oz having band surgeons on his show saying anyone who needs to lose 30 pounds should have lapband surgery. I am disappointed in the band. But I know from my own experience that you have to let people inform themselves and make their own opinions. I thought the band would save my life. Boy was I wrong. BUT I made the decision myself. The surgeon who placed my band 5 years ago didn't tell me about the sleeve. So I didn't realize what it was. But I also liked what I'm sure we all liked about the band. Safe and reversible. Here I am 5 years later and had the sleeve done two months ago. While I am not happy with the band and am loving my new life with the sleeve, I had to take the journey I did to get to where I am. You could have never talked me into the sleeve 5 years ago. And one year ago my new surgeon couldn't talk me into the sleeve when he removed my band. Also I feel that the main issue isn't with the consumer so much as it is with the surgeons who continue to push the band and the FDA who keeps it on the market. Hopefully the FDA and old school surgeons will see the light. Maybe a ban the band campaign is what they need

If you like eggs and they don't irritate your tummy I find soft boiled egg (you can do medium too but my nut said stay away from hard boiled for a while) to be tasty and quick. You can add some avocado if you like that. Soft boiled eggs are filling and high in protein. All my other ideas that came to mind involve meat. Sorry I'm not more helpful.

I found the extension cord for charging my phone and ipad to be most useful. Didn't use much else. Good luck!

I got your friend request!

And SuperFab...you look great in your jeans! Wahoo!

I will add you! Though I'm not on there as much now that I have fitbit. But I have them linked.

That is weird! Is it a phone or ipad? My ipad app does so much more than my phone app.

Mine won't either so I'm adding you to my contacts as "Darianna BP" and just putting your email in the contact info. Lol.

My fitbit email is jennamariecovington@hotmail.com. I need buddies too!

I love that people are willing to open their homes to us! I also can look into community centers and libraries. I feel like larger hospitals that have bariatric programs (like UCI, St. Joseph's...) may not want us to meet there because they already facilitate their own program's group. But smaller hospitals like Placentia-Linda may have rooms for us to use. For those willing to let us meet at your house, what days and times would be available? When do we want to have our first meeting?

Why did they change you to the other surgeon? That's a bummer. But if its someone who was working with an experienced surgeon then they know what they are doing. I know a few people from the site who had hernia repairs at the same time. It does make recovery more challenging. But it will be worth it.

Are there any we are supposed to stay away from? I take Benadryl to help me sleep but I know that doesn't work for everyone. Are natural sleep aids like melatonin okay? Sorry. I'm clearly not up on this subject. Lol.

Hi everyone! I am in the city of Orange. I honestly have no idea where we could meet. I'm sure I could do some research and figure something out. I'm open to meeting somewhere else too (Brea, Irvine). Anyone have any ideas about a meeting spot? I am spending the rest of my Easter with family so I may not be back on today but I will definitely be back tomorrow. Happy Easter friends! Jen

Hi Alex. I am interested in leading an Orange County group. I have had two weight loss surgeries (band then sleeve) and am very comfortable talking to people. I'm not just good at talking, but listening and remembering what people have shared with me. I am a stay at home mom and have a very open schedule. If anyone is in OC and reading this, feel free to message me! Let me know if you already attend a support group and if there's anything you feel should be talked about more (or talked about less). I would love suggestion from others. Have a great weekend! Jen

I have already had the sleeve but just wanted to say hello. I'm in OC too. Are you having surgery in June? Who is your surgeon and hospital? I had mine at St. Joes in Orange and Dr. Pham is my surgeon.

Good decision. My weigh in day is Fridays. Having only one weigh in day makes life easier. I still fall back into my scaleoholism from time to time. But it never helps. I have also been feeling days of total discouragement. But I know I did the right thing and am losing at a good pace. I started working out with a trainer who has lots of experience with bariatric patients and is also a nutritionist. She has been really encouraging. My surgeon is actually a partner (with two other surgeons) in her new facility so my surgeon happened to stop by during my workout. It was actually kind of nice. I got to ask him a few questions that I forgot at my last appointment. So that worked out nicely. Down to 194. It was a slow week but hopefully working with a trainer will help keep my weight loss consistent.

I have had mine for a month and I love it! Good choice!

SF you have had quite the stressful recovery with moving and having extreme nausea. Try not to be so hard on yourself. You're doing amazing! The true hunger is also a struggle for me. I'm at the point where I feel like I'm eating 20 times a day. That isn't true but I do feel true hunger about every 1.5-2 hours and am also on a ppi twice daily. Try to remind yourself that you're awesome and have done so well! You got this hun.

Glad to hear that hope you enjoyed your evening out!

I have had a few drinks. Not together. Except one night. I had a ridiculously huge margarita with my brothers (so it was still technically just one) and it was awful. I got really dehydrated. I wasn't even really hungover but I just felt bad all night. But I have had both mixed drinks and wine. A half glass of wine really helps me relax and feel like a "normal" (non-sleeved) person. But I haven't done it more than 2-3 times. I have also found the alcohol topic to be really hard to talk about. People just talk down about it and try to make you feel like an idiot. If you have just one glass I'm sure you'll be fine. But don't be surprised if you can't finish it or get tipsy really fast. Enjoy your date night!