Sharon1964

I use the Keurig for instant hot chocolate for the kid, instant noodles, instant cider, even Theraflu instant.

@@Fatty McFatster Have a Hunt's brand sugar free pudding. The chocolate is good. It is thick like homemade pudding. Don't get Jello brand, theirs is thin and just not worth it. Now, don't just "have" the pudding. EXPERIENCE the pudding. Peel the lid off slowly, smell the pudding, inhale deeply. Take a small bit on a spoon and put it in your mouth and turn it over, using your tongue to get it off the spoon. Move it all around in your mouth, feel it, taste it, sense it. Swallow it. Repeat. Or smear it all over your wife and lick it off her. Now isn't that better than popcorn and a movie???

One scrambled egg with cheese. One homemade smoothie Greek Yogurt (about half to three-quarters of it is all I can eat)

My boss, today, in astonishment, when seeing me walk down the hall towards him... "YOU'RE SKINNY!" I'll take that.

We cannot have a haut, faux, internet romance if I show you everything at once, now can we???

Normal BMI 19 to 24 Overweight BMI 25 to 29 Obese BMI 30 to 39 Extreme (Morbid) Obesity BMI 40 to 49 Super Morbidly Obese BMI 50+ Hey! I moved down a category and didn't even notice!

@@sketcher709 I'm sorry you had that experience.

Okay, I have to credit this to the fever I had Saturday - 102.9 degrees F. Friday I weighed 301. Today (Monday), I weigh 294. I think the fever burned off fat. Wonder if I can get another fever?!?!?!

No, that wasn't what I said. What I was referring to was that a patient comes up positive for a drug that is not on their Dept of Justice report. We do make exceptions to the "all controlled substances from us" rule for psychotherapeutic medications. I wasn't trying to give every protocol we have as that would take a novel. As long as we're here, I'll say we're not treating people like criminals. We're trying to keep them alive. For instance, we recently found that we were prescribing Norco to a patient and they went and got Tylenol with codeine from someone else. What's the problem with that? Norco has Tylenol in it and now they're double-dosing on Tylenol which can seriously harm their liver. My boss is well aware that long-term use of opioids can make pain syndromes worse. We try to move people to agonist-antagonist drugs when appropriate, sooner rather than later. @@Huggies123 and also while we're here, do you get this problem resolved?

I was going to go with "douchecanoe" but "asshat" works also.

Tell us what you're eating.

Awwww. Four and a half months ago I was 403. Today I'm 297.

Look at my sig! Look! I'm in the two's now!

Are you kidding? I was asking myself that in the recovery room! But then I just kept reminding myself that this was a huge leap off a very big cliff, and I was going to fly! That, or it could have been the good drugs.

The only one who will really know is your insurance company. Since it's been five years since your last surgery, I would expect you would have to start over. However, your insurance company might have different requirements for a conversion surgery than for someone who has never had one before (I'm assuming you have the same insurance). The only one who can answer about your deductible is your surgeon and/or your hospital. I had to pay the majority of it up front.

Sometimes, the universe whispers in your ear, "save your breath." I try to listen when it does that.

My surgeon recommended sleeve because you have more medication options later. I have some joint problems that require meds. After research both bypass and sleeve, I was more comfortable with the sleeve than the bypass.

It will take a little while, but food WILL lose the hold it has on you. It will be a strange feeling; it was for me. You're only a week out, your body is being flooded with hormones. Know that this is normal, and it too shall pass. Hang in there!

"Ever seen John Carpenter's 'The Thing'?" No - "Good, let's talk about something else" - said with a weird smile. Yes - "Well there you go. Now let's talk about something else.

@@LadiSani Hang in there, you're going to make it. We need your heart to make it through this surgery!

I'm four months out and my plan calls for 1/3 cup food at each of 3 meals per day, no Snacks. There are 16 tablespoons in a cup, so I am eating about 5 tablespoons or so at each meal. It sounds like you are eating at most 1/4 cup, which doesn't sound like enough. Also, are you taking a PPI? It reduces stomach acid and may help you not feel hungry. I have no hunger now (although not everyone is that lucky); I eat by the clock. Also, I am drinking a lot between meals.

Here are the contracted amounts for my surgery with Blue Shield of California in Fresno County. The fee schedule in your county will be different, but not by a huge amount. Hospital - operating room plus two nights' stay: $10,288.00 Surgeon's fee: $1,267.94 Anesthesiologist fee: $778.77 Labs inpatient: $84.74 TOTAL: $12,419.45 For the sake of simplicity, let's round it off to $13,000. The only time the total cost is going to matter is if it's less than your out of pocket maximum. And remember all these numbers are for a calendar year; you don't want to start the process in November or December. Blue Shield Bronze 60 PPO: Deductible of $6,000 per calendar year, out of pocket max of $6500 (including deductible). This means you are going to pay $6500 for your surgery (and all the preop stuff) then Blue Shield is going to pay everything after that. The silver plans are similar to the bronze plans, with a $6250 to $6500 out of pocket max. That's going to be your total. The difference really comes with the gold and platinum plans. They have no deductible and a lower out of pocket max. The platinum plan has a $4000 out of pocket max, so that's going to be your total. Now, I don't know what the premiums are for your age and zip code. But let's say the premium is $100 for the bronze and $500 per month for the platinum. And let's say it's going to take you 6 months to get all your testing and preop stuff done. bronze: $100 premium per month x 6 months = $600, plus $6500 for your out of pocket max means you'll be paying $7100 total. platinum: $500 premium per month x 6 months = $3000 plus $4000 out of pocket = $7000 total. So with these numbers, you don't get more for your money with the "better" plan (platinum) - they're about the same. If you go longer than six months, the differences are greater. 7 months: bronze $7200; platinum $7600 8 months: bronze $7300; platinum $8200 If you keep the plan for the whole year (and you may be contractually obligated to do so, I'm not sure: 12 months: bronze $7700; platinum $10,600 Remember these are examples only as I don't know what your premiums would be. Now we focused on the out of pocket max because you're planning surgery. If you're looking at plans for regular day-to-day health care, there are other factors to consider to determine what's best for your situation.

Are you looking to purchase insurance, or do you already have insurance? Edited to say, never mind, I just saw your other post. Give me a few minutes and I'll get back to you.

She has her moments!

I ended up breaking off my relationship last week. I made sure to tell the person I talked about above, that it had NOTHING to do with me losing weight or wanting to find someone else!