Winegoddesstx

Has anyone been able to get private insurance after surgery? I'm still stunned that nobody is discussing this?!! Surely, I'm not the only single, self-employed person that needs to find private insurance after surgery? I can stay on COBRA until March 2012, but I'd really like to find my own insurance well before that deadline. It's not like I can't pay for it - I never dreamed there would be no insurance company willing to cover me.

Hi dle204 - did you ever find more info or get new coverage? I left my old job to start a new business and have been paying COBRA, but need to find private coverage soon. I was distressed to find out Blue Cross Texas won't cover me at all due to my lap band - even though I am 2+years post op! I can't believe this topic has not come up more in the forums - unless I'm just not looking in the right places? Cheers!

I am having the same problem right now. After all the discussions on getting approved from your current carrier, I can't believe no one is talking about how difficult it is to get coverage after the surgery. I was shocked when I called Blue Cross Texas today. I'm willing to pay cost of coverage, but I'm wondering if anyone will cover me. My surgery was two+ years ago!

Well, sorry for this much delayed response - I never did go in for my second fill before my trip to Italy. I got back on June 10 and I'm affraid to get on the scales! I did lots of walking during the trip but I certainly ate more than I should have. I've been trying to scale back the eating to something more normal this week, but I had a hormonal ice cream craving on Thursday that resulted in a pint of Blue Bell Carmel Turtle Fudge going down in one sitting. I'll probably step on the scales tomorrow to see what the damage adds up to and face the music. I really need to schedule my next fill, but I'm back on the road Monday - Friday for the next two weeks! I'm in the wine business and work for an importer. I manage our business through our distribution network in five states. I'm usually travelling 3 days out of the week, but lately I've been gone more than that. Italy was definitly pleasure - a long planned vacation with friends. Cheers!

Hi Mamakatken, I'm glad to hear your weight loss is progressing again. I had my first fill on May 5. It was a little tough at first because I did not realize I'd be back on liquids and mushies for a week. I had business travel scheduled for the next day and was on the road all week. The only time I have problems eating a particular thing is when I'm not paying attention and don't take the time to thoroughly chew whatever I'm eating. I finally had a PB/sliming experience 2 days after my first fill when I ate a roasted chicken leg too fast. It really scared me and it hurt! I don't think I'll let that happen agian....My weight loss has been slow but I knew that would probably be the case. I'm not getting any excercise and I'm drinking alcohol in moderation. I've got to start getting in some walking. I think I may go in for a second fill next week - I'm still eating more than a cup and a half too often. I'm going to Italy on June 1 and I'd like to be settled with my next fill before then. Thanks for sharing your progress on this board - it really helps discussing this with people on the same surgery/fill schedule. Cheers!

I'm with you on this one! I think it's very rude and this is a very personal and private topic for me. I realize many people share this information with friends and coworkers, but I've chosen to keep it very private. It's very early in the journey for me, so no one has noticed anything different yet - 15 pounds is hardly a dent in the bigger number - but I'm sure eventually people will start asking me about my weight loss. We'll see how I feel about it then, but for now it is just too personal a subject to discuss with anyone other than my closest friends. I'm single and don't have any immediate family living nearby. I've only told my two closest friends - no one in my family knows yet. Of course, the annonymity this board provides and all the great information posted by everyone is a tremendous support! Cheers!

Well, this week was my first week back on the road and eating in restaurants all week. I guess the fact that I did not gain any weight back is a good sign. I definitly hindered my weight loss by drinking wine all week. I had someone travelling with me this time for a sales blitz and that usually involves consuming more wine than I normally would. The food part was pretty easy. I'm definitly ready for my first fill. I need to call the Dr.'s office on Monday and get it scheduled. I hope all you fellow April Fool's day bandsters are doing well. Cheers!

Well, I finally overdid it.... I've been able to eat pretty much anything in small quantity and with lots of chewing but yesterday I finally met my match. I'm on the board for local charitable organization and we were having a Saturday morning meeting where breakfast tacos were being served. Unfortunately, I was talking while eating the taco and not paying attention to eating this thing carefully. Next thing I knew I was in pain because that flour tortilla was stuck. Fortunately, I was able to get up from the table, go to the restroom with a glass of water and wash it down. I spent a few minutes in the restroom waiting for the pain to pass and worrying that something was going to come back up. It didn't but I sure learned my lesson - pay attention while you are eating and don't eat flour tortillas! Cheers!

Oh yes, it really came over me yesterday and today. I'm hungry! The good news is it I can still get pretty full on a serving of grits, a cup of broth, and a slim fast spread over a couple of hours. It seems to come in waves but when I'm hungry, I'm darn hungry and I have to make an effort to eat very slowly. I clearly need that first fill and two weeks seems a long way away. I did eat thicker grits today and some cottage cheese. I sure am looking forward to scrambled eggs...... Cheers!

Hi CynthiaMcC - I'm also a single gal who likes to cook. I've always cooked for 2-4 on the weekends and enjoyed the leftovers during the week when I'm not travelling. This could prove a little more challenging since I'll be eating so much less. I guess I'll just have to see how it goes. Cheers!

Texgirly - I'm with you - to hell with the chicken breast if I can eat beef! I'm not really craving beef yet, but just like the Mexican food craving, I'm sure it will come. I have to confess, I nibbled some solid food on two occasions this week. I managed to skip the peanuts, popcorn, hotdogs, cracker jacks and beer at the baseball game on Tuesday, but after the game we walked over to Vic & Anthony's Steakhouse for a glass of wine and a crab cake (the best crab cake I've found in Houston!). I had two tiny bites but could tell I should stop there. One glass of wine. It was all fine. Last night after the Opera, we walked across the street and had 2 glasses of wine and shared a seafood sampler appetizer - I ate a small crab cake (not nearly as good as Vic & Anthony's), a piece of grilled shrimp, and 3 pieces of fried calamari. Of course, I chewed very carefully. It all went down too easily - I guess I'm more ready for that first fill than I thought. I definitly went over 1000 calories yesterday. I left room for the wine consumption in my plan for the day, but I did not anticipate eating anything after the performance last night. I'm back on thick liquids today but really looking forward to mushies on Tuesday. Scrambled eggs sound soooo good right now... Cheers!

Follow up post op appointment went well - I've lost 9 lbs since surgery for a two week total of 12 lbs gone. Gas pain is finally gone and it's a little easier to eat my mushy foods yesterday and today. I worry it's getting too easy. I'll have to really watch the calories next week. I go back for my first fill in 2-3 weeks, but this is a great start. Now I just need to buy a scale.... Cheers!

I have to agree with OH Juli's comments. I'm in sales and am pretty well regarded in my field. I'm confident and successful when it comes to my work. I've never been thin, but I've been a size 14-16 most of my adult life. It's only in the last 10 years my weight escalated and I've noticed just slight differences in the way people interact with me. My reputation in my field is pretty well established but I must admit, I worry that bigger and better opportunities might not come my way if I don't get this weight off. This idea has been simmering in my brain for about a year now. the slight differences in how I'm treated are mostly subtle and I think I am more self conscious about my size than other people are conscious of what they may be thinking when they see me. Men & women in the U.S. are still very courteous - even on airplanes which is where I am most uncomfortable about my size. I sense a little more rudeness when I'm traveling abroad, but that can be just as much my own perceptual filters as it is rudeness to fat American women or any American. Plenty of men hold doors open for me and offer to lift my briefcase or luggage into the overhead compartment for me on airplanes. I have two stories about airplane travel that illustrate my frustration with being fat. First, on a recent flight from Houston to San Antonio, I was one of the first passendgers to board. On this particular plane the seatbelt was a little too tight (they do vary from plane to plane) and I quetly asked the flight attendant for an extension. She forgot while everyone else was getting on the plane and I had to ask her again. At this point, she hollered up the aisle to her co-worker for a seat belt extension. I was mortified as heads turned to look at me. The second and worst incident was about six months ago on another short Southwest Airlines flight from Dallas to Houston. In this case, I was one of the last people to get on the plane. The flight was full and only middle seats were left. So, I found the first one available and sat down. I'm big, but not so big that I overlap the armrests and I pull my arms and shoulders in so I am not touching anyone. The older man next to me in the aisle seat got up in a huff and moved across the aisle to sit in a middle seat, but next to a very young and attractive thin woman. Again, I was mortified that I was so fat and unattractive that this man could not sit next to me for 1 hour. I was really angry and hurt. I spent the entire flight trying to think of just the right thing to say to this man but in the end decided it was just not worth it. I think I stewed on this for days afterwards. I think my anxiety about being the fat chick that no one wants to sit next to on an airplane 6 times a week is what finally pushed me to have the lapband surgery. I'll let you know if I think people's attitudes toward me change as I start to lose weight. This has been a very interesting thread..... Cheers!

Okay - that made me laugh so hard I snorted!

Hi Texgirly, I'm also from Texas and only 9 days post op. I'll be curious to hear how you do with other Mexican foods. It has not hit me yet, but I know it will eventually - you know what I'm talking about - the overwelming craving for Mexican food! It's always been my comfort food and one of the first things I have after traveling outside Texas for any length of time. Ceviche sounds soooo good right now.... Cheers!

That's great! I need to buy a new scale. I haven't used the one I have in so long and just realized it does not work anymore. I'll find out my current weight tomorrow when I go in for my follow up. I don't feel like I've really lost more than a couple of pounds, but I put on a shirt to go to the baseball game last night and was surprised at how much better it fit than when I wore it last spring. Cheers!

I can't wait to hear about your dinner parties and menus! Keep us posted. Cheers!

Thanks kbinaz! That is exactly what I was hoping to hear. Cheers!

I'm so excited about grits and soup today! Still some lingering gas - but nothing like it was. I've had no pain around the incisions or port. The incisions must be healing because they are starting to itch a little. I go for my follow up on Thursday but so far, so good. Cheers!

I'm really sad that all that sounds great to me right now...I'm still on week one liquids. I really don't like all these pre-fab, processed protein shakes. Yuk! I'll be looking for suggestions on mushy food soon.... Cheers!

Hi Aquameliza - fortunately I did not have to go on a pre-op diet. The time between insurance approval and scheduling my surgery on April 1 was so short and full of work travel that I really did not have time to plan the big feast. It did cross my mind....but I think not having time to dwell on it was better for me. I had some misgivings over the weekend prior to the surgery but managed to talk myself off the ledge and go through with it. So far, so good - I am looking for reassurance from the other foodies that I can still enjoy food and wine since that is what I do for a living. Of course, all that will be in very small amounts..... Cheers!

Hello Mamakatken - glad to hear you are doing great. I'm also an April Fool Avenger. I'm feeling great except for some lingering gas pain but it is so much less today. I was surprised how much easier it was to get that first Protein drink down this morning. I'm surprised you are trying pudding cups already? I'm still on thin liquids. I'll start thicker liquids on Wednesday. I only took two days sick time off. I work out of my house when not traveling, so that makes it easier. Cheers!

Hi Taz - I think you misunderstood - I DON'T feel guilty about leaving food on the plate. The only reason I wouldn't stop eating is because I like it so much. When I stop to realize I am full/satisfied I have no problem leaving the food - that's why I never take a to-go box even when I'm dining in my hometown. I think I had a bigger stigma about being the fat chick carrying food out than I did about waste or the starving children in China. Cheers!

I'll be asking my surgeon that very question during our follow up meeting later this week. I'm in the wine business and while I can do these two weeks without drinking wine, eventually I intend to get back to my average 1 glass per day. My doctor knows this about me and the only concern was the number of calories I would be comsuming in wine. I'll have to adjust for this because I'm not giving up wine!

I had my surgery on April 1 and I'm still having some strong, sporadic gas pains. I have not taken anything for it and I probably should be walking more, but it has been a little better each day. Cheers!