Sharon1964

Everyone else is taking the high road. I'm going to take the low road! (I know, some of you are going to be SOOOOO surprised!) "How much have you lost" Response: Actually, I've gained 10 pounds. "You need to be careful" Response: You're absolutely right. I should remember your advice more often. I'm so glad I have you to help me! "So many people gain back the weight" Response: Yes, they do. And I'll probably be one of those people! "You have such a pretty face" Response: Oh gosh THANKS! And you know, you have such a pretty... ummm... ahhhh.... ummmm... EARLOBE! Most people who say nasty things don't know what to say when you agree with them.

No reputable surgeon should do that. A lot of medical offices now have a paragraph in their welcome packet that says we do not code or bill to get something paid; we code and bill what was done; please do not ask us to do otherwise. Occasionally a patient will ask me to change a code. I pull out their medical record and if the requested item is not there, it will not happen. For instance, if muscle strain is covered but fibromyalgia is not covered, I won't put muscle strain on their claim if muscle strain is not actually documented by the doctor in their medical record. The treatment may even be exactly the same, but we still will not do it. If a patient then says, "well my other doctor does it", I offer to put them in touch with the Medical Board, the Office of the Inspector General, the Medicare Fraud Unit (whichever is applicable in their situation). That usually ends the conversation.

If you have to see this woman again before you get another doctor, I suggest coming clean with her. Tell her that you are disappointed in your doctor-patient relationship, that she doesn't seem to care about you as a patient, she never suggests any preventive care, etc. Tell her that you've done your research on bariatric surgery and the truth is NOT that most people gain all the weight back, and you don't appreciate her defeatist attitude. Even if nothing comes of it, you may be helping another patient not have to go through the same thing. You never know, she may even apologize and sit down and listen to you.

But when you have it, do you Celebrate??? That was my head-banging moment, more than the food item itself, I think. Celebrating eating something loaded with carbs at two months out. Am I saying I won't have pizza at some point in the future? No, I'm not saying that. But if, when I do, it involves me CELEBRATING that, I hope someone slaps the keeerap out of me.

@jenn1 Thanks! I'll save that for when I'm at that point!

From what I could find, as long as an item is legal in a foreign country AND legal here, you can use FSA for it. If the item is legal in the foreign country (like certain medicines) but not legal here, you cannot use FSA for it.

You look great!

I knew it would be you! This post came out of a head-banging moment where I saw someone CELEBRATING being able to eat pizza at two months out. Celebrate that you lost weight. Celebrate that you are in smaller sizes. Celebrate that you are healthier. Celebrate that you can fit into a restaurant booth, an airplane seat, a restroom stall. CELEBRATE! But celebrate that you can eat a piece of pizza??

Seriously. If I Celebrate being able to eat pizza two months after surgery, someone please slap me. HARD. One, my surgeon doesn't allow bread, Pasta, or crackers for six months after surgery. Two, if I wanted to keep eating the foods that got me where I am today, I wouldn't be having the surgery.

If you can, I'd advise going straight to the cortisone shots. Don't let anyone tell you that they are "dangerous" or they will "make you gain weight." They are not like steroids that circulate in your system...the cortisone stays localized (that is how it works!) and will eliminate the PF inflammation while it heals. What a godsend this stuff is. I've done them twice. Once the PF heals, you can then keep it at bay with all the above PT. But get yourself out of the acute pain now. I cannot understand why people don't go immediately for the proven cure and fool around with all the other methods. *********************************************************** The scientific literature isn't so gung-ho on injections for PF. The risk of rupture of the PF is high, which can make the problem exponentially worse. I asked my boss (board-certified in pain management as well as physical med & rehab) if he would inject mine. He said the lidocaine mixed in with the steroid would give me some temporary relief, but the literature doesn't show it is helpful long-term. I had him do it anyway, because I was in so much pain. And good heavens, did it ever hurt! I called him all kinds of bad names! Unfortunately, he was correct. I'm glad it helped you; I was hoping I would also be one of the few it helped. WEIRD! I edited a sentence at the bottom to fix a misspelling and I lost the formatting of the quoted part!

Sending good thoughts your way.

My PF has come and gone over the years. I'm in the second year of "come on" right now. I only have it in one foot, thank goodness. I'm hoping that WLS will push it into the "gone" category. I keep a bag of frozen peas handy. Numbing up the bottom of my foot when it's particularly bad helps me a lot.

Get your primary care doctor to give you a note off work; it can be on a prescription pad. All it has to say is "surgery date: XX/XX/XX. Off work for two weeks afterwards then half time for one week then full duty thereafter."" Or however many weeks you want off.

Wondering what you ended up doing.

Take your height without your shoes on. And yanno, we shrink as we get older.

I have heard of a few people that have been successful, but ONLY because the insurance company misled them and told them they were covered for the surgery for a period of around six months or so before discovering the mistake (while they were still in the preop phase). If the insurance company hasn't done anything like that, I would say it really isn't an avenue to put any hope into. Your "need" has nothing to do with it. Insurance is a business; it's not about healthcare.

Okay, so I bought a box of ECODRINK at costco. Tried the blueberry/pomegranate flavor this morning. Reminded me of the colonoscopy prep drink that made me barf. I figured, maybe it's too strong. So I diluted it by half with Water. Still barf-worthy. Stirred in a packet of splenda. Better, but for someone who drinks water all day at work, and peach tea crystal light at home, I'm just having a very hard time choking this stuff down. I even put it in the freezer for a while to get it extra-cold. Only helped a little. Are you guys drinking this stuff straight? Is there a secret I'm missing? If I can't figure out a way to choke this stuff down, it's going back to Costco. HELP!

I think you should be honest and call your surgeon. If they don't want to operate, it's for a good reason. Maybe they can switch you with someone that is scheduled for next week.

I think you're misunderstanding the nutrition/program requirement. You have to have some sort of physician-involved program for six months. I went to my pcp once a month for six months and he did all of the documentation and nutrition/exercise counseling. At the end, he faxed his visit reports over to the surgeon who included them in the package to insurance to get auth. Instead of seeing an MD once a month, you can see a registered dietician that is part of a medical practice. You can also join a program like Weight Watchers, with medical supervision. You don't have to wait six months and THEN join a program (you don't actually have to join a program at all).

No. Many if not all of those are requirements by your surgeon.

It could be any number of things... nutritionist, classes, etc. Are you done with mental health? They might want to do some psych testing that isn't covered by your insurance. You might want to call them back and ask them what they believe you will be paying for.

I highlighted some things in your post that I think are important. You feel like you're not being heard, but when people gave you suggestions you don't like that either. They're telling you what worked for them; most of the time, that's all someone knows - what worked for them. I'm unclear as to what you wanted from them. Why do you feel you need to experience a rapid weight loss to be successful? You've lost over 80 pounds. OVER EIGHTY POUNDS! Congratulations! That is awesome! Does it matter if you lost 80 pounds in 5 months or 80 pounds in 15 months? Not really, you would still be exactly where you are today, at 1 1/2 yrs out. What are you trying to say that you feel you're not being heard? That it is easy for some people and not for others? Yes, it is. That not the same exact thing works for everyone (upping calories, not upping calories)? Yep, true. Do you feel like you got promised the "happily ever after" and no one delivered? As a creaky, cranky old lady, I can tell you that a whole heck of a lot of things never get delivered. Think about this... in 1 1/2 years from now, what will your life be like? Are you going to be in the exact same place you are now, just a year and a half older? Or are you going to pull yourself up, get a grip, knock off eating the crap you're eating, and re-dedicate yourself to LIVING YOUR LIFE??

I started the process in November of last year. My surgery date is now about 4 1/2 weeks away. I didn't think it would ever get here. I read these boards and saw all kinds of people getting their surgery and saying, "don't worry, the time will fly by." Well, you know what, it pretty much has. I figured, it took me nine months to grow a human being, I can take six months or so to go through this process.

Why are you anticipating that this is going to be negative? Work on some positive thoughts and statements instead: I'm excited about this phase of the process... it means I'm almost there. When I feel hunger, I'm going to have what I'm allowed. I'm ready to put aside the food and habits that got me to this place. I can't wait!

I don't think calling a hospital is going to help you. Call United and get your benefits booklet, if you don't already have it, and ask them specifically for their bariatric surgery policy in writing. Is this a group plan through employment or an individual plan?