no onions

@@Babbs - did you end up buying it? It works well, then? I remember the discussion where you mentioned it.

I bought a set of these on Amazon. Reasonable price, though you could get similar ziplock/gladware probably.

http://www.amazon.com/EasyLunchboxes-3-Compartment-Bento-Containers-Classic/dp/B004S129AQ/ref=zg_bs_12900081_1

1. They are not leakproof - so don't turn upside down if you have a liquid.

2. They microwave well, but I bring a tiny bowl too because (generally) I don't want my applesauce and chicken salad heated like my broccoli. :-)

I noticed you hadn't posted in a bit. Glad things are settling down! :-)

My bariatric nurse thinks that I may have irritated my sleeve. She suggested stepping back to softer foods for a couple of days. Today seemed better as I only had pain twice when I burped; however, now the pain occurs at times without burping. I'm not going to (try not...) stress - will wait a couple of days and if it's still happening I will insist on seeing someone.

I never had to undress to weigh-in. I guess I can see why they might do that, but I would have felt incredibly self-conscious myself. We all have such different experiences!

Good luck to you!

First - love your avatar!

I haven't really detected tanginess.

Have you tried it with spices or perhaps blended up with something else? When I was on purée I blended it with some chicken. It wasn't spectacular, but it was edible. :-)

I also blended it with refried Beans and salsa (it was ok).

I think I drank Water too quickly today and may have caused some issue. Now when I take a sip, I'm almost always experiencing a small burp and then a brief sharp pain in my stomach (left side, slightly below my ribs). I am wondering if I've messed something up!?

Any thoughts?

I searched the site (as well as I could) and didn't find anything similar. I've skipped dinner tonight as I don't want to exacerbate anything. I will call my Dr tomorrow. I would like to have one week where I don't speak with the bariatric nurse!

*And I do realize many of my posts make me sound like some type of hypochondriac -- I'd like to think I'm just hyper-aware and (excessively?) vigilant about checking into every weird feeling I get with the sleeve. :-)

If that is the one that advertises on this site (to get Protein Shakes covered by insurance), many people have expressed negative comments about that company.

Cw is 274

They are red because they are probably irritated by the glue like a lotttt of other people. I had to get my glue off after week 2. The itchiness was unbearable, and I was breaking out into small red dots all over my stomach and the incisions were swollen and red, doc said it would be ok to lightly scrub them off in the shower left to right. Once the glue was off, SO MUCH RELIEF. The swelling went down but the redness was there for another week. If you have irritation you should try benedryl and hydrocortosone cream which worked great for me.

This is almost exactly what my Dr said. Not infected, use Benedryl to stop the itching. Should improve over time. The glue is almost completely gone as of today. Thanks again everyone for your comments.

Thanks everyone! I will update this thread on Friday with the results (Dr review).

@Shustar

LOL - nope. And let me tell you - I think it itches more where the hair is growing back.

Hi all,

I have a Dr. appt on Friday, but in advance, I'd like your (personal post-op or professional) opinion(s) on whether my incisions look ok - they are not pretty. I am 5 weeks out and the dermabond glue is just now starting to fall off. The glue fell off of the upper incision this morning (photo img_0354) in the shower and that particular incision looks very red to me. It is possible that it became irritated by my undershirt moving against it.

Overall, I feel pretty good, my incisions do not hurt, they are slightly warm (if at all), but they do itch a bit.

In any event, your thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Cw for this week is 278. Thanks!

@@FocusOnMeNow

My employer excluded it (bariatric surgery) from our regular PPO policy, but had the second High deductible policy available. Maybe there is an alternate plan? Just a thought.

I also used my HSA to pay for everything to date. I maxed out my contribution to cover my max. out of pocket and a little extra.

I don't think so, but if it comes from my back, that would be just fine. No more waxing! Or if I had to shave my face less frequently that would be great too.

@@SMOKEY2112

The Dr. and I sat in his office and I made my best guess for each year.

The form was provided by my surgeon, so I'm not sure if it was an insurance requirement or not.

There were a few other questions on the form and the Dr. signed it and faxed it to the surgeon's office.

I like the one below. I recently read it in an essay concerning loss (Sheryl Sandberg's):

"Option A is not available. So let's just kick the shit out of option B."

I'm still waiting and I will be 5 weeks this Wednesday.

My glue hasn't fallen off yet, but it's about ready (and boy do the incisions itch). I haven't been able to be in our pool the entire summer so far (we opened late - I hate green pools).

Hi everyone, I have a UHC high deductible plan through my employer. My plan has a deductible of $1750 and a maximum out of pocket of $3250. This means I would never pay more than $3250 annually, even if I hadn't already met my deductible. I'm waiting on bills from the hospital so I can pay the remaining amount (out of $3250) I owe.

Just as fyi - this is what the hospital, surgeon,etc. billed insurance and what insurance paid them.

$4000 - Surgery; $2650 - insurance paid, remaining amount was labeled as "plan discount"

$27691 - Surgery, hospital stay (2 days) and misc. services such as medication; $27046 - insurance paid; I owe $644.

$270 - Pathology (hospital); $182 - insurance paid; remaining amount - plan discount

$1680 - Anesthesia; $1322 - insurance paid; remaining amount - plan discount

$114 - Xray of esophagus (1 week leak test - analysis); $86.00 - insurance paid; remaining amount - plan discount

$632 - Xray of esophagus (1 week leak test - images); $239 - insurance paid; remaining amount - plan discount

I was required to do the following before surgery approval -

1. Attend a seminar - surgeon requirement

2. Meet with a physical therapist - surgeon requirement (possibly insurance too)

3. Meeting with psychologist - insurance requirement

4. Meet with a nutritionist - surgeon requirement

5. 6 month supervised diet - insurance requirement. I met this requirement quickly since I had already participated in a Dr. supervised WLS program approx. 1.5 years ago (for exactly 6 months - who knew I would be that lucky!?).

6. Have my primary care Dr. sign off on this and include a 5 year history of weight. This was best guess since I have only been with this Dr. approx. 1 year.

7. Meet with the surgeon.

I take a nasal B12 once a week. I think it's called nascom.

I haven't felt any guilt. I have had fleeting (seconds) moments of "what have I done" and then I remind myself that 20 years of dieting failed and this is my solution.

I probably feel some guilt about all the time I wasted before, events that I skipped with family and friends, etc.

Hey All,

so I am 2 weeks post op (sleeve) and I have SEVERE pulling pain/stabbing pain to the left of my belly button, internal pain.

Has anyone else has this?

I cant roll on my side of a night time, I cant sit properly or stand properly. When I stand I feel like I need to curl over in pain.

I have seen the surgeon today who has ordered blood tests to see what is going on but its going to take a week to get the results back.

I am beyond scared about this and truth be told have got regrets about getting it done.

any help would be great.

Hi, I experienced something similar with pulling but not stabbing pain to the left of my belly button area. It was not at my incision site. This also happened in my second week. It did get better for me after a couple of weeks, but I did go to the surgeon and made them check me out, just in case. My anxiety got the better of me.

Are you taking pain medication? I did and it was very helpful. I found sleeping in an elevated position (head at an angle) helped too.

Good luck to you and I hope you get some answers soon and feel better! By the way, can they not expedite blood work? A week seems like a long time to me.

@@KDM74

Who told you it wasn't covered? That would be like your employer not covering you for WLS surgery if you were self-pay. I don't think they need to know what specifically you're having done - if a Dr. indicates that you need to be out for recovery then I do not understand why you couldn't take advantage of FMLA. I think there are exceptions for really small companies/businesses.

Let us know what you find out.

Seriously? People are offended by "cunninglinguist"?

I might change my nick to "blowjobssuck."

Lighten up, folks! That's actually why we're here. (Badda boom ... get it?)

Not funny, not funny! :-)

That's what I kept telling myself as I laughed and couldn't stop. Now I have a sore abdomen!

In all fairness, sneezed really big last night, so it was already sore.