SAD HATTER

I think it will go by pretty quickly. Tax season will eat up half of it. Then by may, school is out and the kids will keep me busy at home, trips to the lake to go tubing, camping. My daughter sings (she is 11) and she gets to sing in Branson, Missouri in April, so right now I am focused on that show. Then in June and July she is at camp. So, I should stay pretty pre-occupied. Which is good. Every day I try to make better decisions than the day before.

I have a call scheduled for march 3rd. I have several questions. I also would like to kniw which bmi they use to qualify. If i loose too much i will drop below 40 and then requirements change. They did give me an LCRA page though. That is where my husband works. So I bet the requirements are correct. Im ok with them. Ive been fat for a long time. Whats a few months. Ha

I have had my first official appointment for my 6 month diet. I called Optum yesterday and got signed up with them. I have United Healthcare Choice through my husbands work. They are requiring 6 monthly visits to include weight, bp, discussion of food, exercise, and a food log from me. I am required just one psych consult, and it has to be a Bariatric Center of Excellence. Those are my requirements per my insurance. I am hoping for an August date for surgery. If I cannot do August, I will have to wait till late October (Sept & Oct 15th deadlines are horrible here). I am optimistic that I can get paperwork finished for a late August date though.

Optum is like a nurse/healthcare support. I have a case manager i have to talk to every month

I like having binders. I also like post-it notes and stickers. Colored pens. Felt tip fine point sharpies. Envelopes. Etc etc etc

I have not experienced this with my husband. I am still in the 6 month pre- diet. My husband married me when I was 300 pounds. He is 6' 4" , weighs 215, and has a 34 inch waist. He has always been a big, strong, manly man. He has no preference as to size. He said if I want to get the surgery, that is fine with him. But he didn't want me to get it just because I wanted to be skinny. He wanted me to know that even if I stayed this fat forever, that he didn't care. I don't think he will worry that I will leave. I try to make my attraction to him known every day. We have a really strong bond. I think open communication is the key to working through a huge physical transformation.

I got the form from my insurance this morning that goes into detail on what I need. I soooo should have stuck with Weight Watchers, becuase united will accept weigh-ins for 6 months, and a 2 year proof of weight. But oooohhh noooooo, I had to quit that a year ago, so now I get to do the 6th month diet. They emailed me a form to take with me to each visit for the dr to fill out, and after that I fax it in. Time to get this show on the road... This next 6 months is going to DRAG!!!!!

I bought a fit bit. The cheap one that just clips to my bra. Every day I try to beat the day before. That's it. No huge # to meet. Just do better than the day before. Also I am quitting sodas now so its not a big deal later, and trying to cut back on the bread too. My focus is going to be on preparing mentally for this challenge, because I think that is going to be the hardest part. They are giving us the tool, now we will have to mentally carry out this process. Follow directions, and remember that we paid to have this done to us. And we wanted it, and by golly, we are going to make goal! That's what I am doing. I am also blogging and driving my husband nuts. That part seems fun!

OMG I KNOW!!! It has basically consumed my every waking minute. I fill the days with lists, recipes, Pinterest, and research. I read everything I can get my hands on. I read as many people's stories and blogs as I can. I want to read it all, The good, the bad. And I also started blogging about my journey too. I am posting a lot of detail about the insurance and the actual happenings that will get me from here to surgery date because for a year I had a hard time finding someone blogging their story about how it all works, in detail. So I wanted to do that. Pinterest was already like crack to me... now it's even worse, LOL

My pcp doctor's office has a service where we check in each month for a bp and weight check when we are dieting. So there is documentation of my monthly weight, but no visit notes. Does anyone know if tge weight documentation after the initial visit meets the requirements, or if they demand visit notes?

I am doing my 6 month diet appointments with my primary care physician. The Dr is over 2 hours from me and I cannot take off that much each month. So I am having my pcp forward everything to the bariatric center. Did you use Optum too?

I called and they were very vague as to what documentation is required for tge 6 months. UHC doesn't have the info online for that portion of our policy. Just that it covers it over 40 bmi.

I have united healthcare. I better do a full appointment just to cover my rear. I dont want them to have any reason to be a pain in the rear. My husbands work will basically stop paying part of my premium if i am still comsidered obese next year so i dont want to mess around.

My pcp doctor's office has a service where we check in each month for a bp and weight check when we are dieting. So there is documentation of my monthly weight, but no visit notes. Does anyone know if tge weight documentation after the initial visit meets the requirements, or if they demand visit notes?

I am Austin area. Surgery probably won't be till December. I am 35 with 2 kids.

I have my first appointment set. I will be discussing sleeve vs RNY with my surgeon. I am leaning toward sleeve, because the digestive tract stays in tact. I am 350 pounds and 6 feet tall. I was wondering how you losses went. I have talked to some people that followed their drs instructions and just had a really hard time losing. Then I have talked to people that had crazy good results. Any advise?

Oh the horrible agony of defeat after working for 3 months, 6 days a week, at a hard core program, only to realize, that you ate too much and didn't put a dent in your butt. I was eating healthy, but eating way too much. Dang hunger.

I have been exercising for about 5 years. Sadly, I am still fat... You would think doing several rounds of P90X and Insanity and all that other crap would mean I was losing, but no. Hunger always kicked my butt. Weights is my favorite thing to do, and kickboxing. I used to run about 6 miles a day, but now my knees hurt so bad that I can barely jog for a block. So one of the things I look most forward to, is being able to run. To throw on the earbuds, and run all my stress away. just me and the road after everyone else goes to sleep. It has been 14 years since I considered myself a runner. And I miss it.

That actually helps a lot, that you still have restriction. That is a big fear, that I will lose weight, then the feeling of fullness, or the restriction, will fade, and I will start being really hungry and over eat again.

Plus, the supra pubic catheter, once removed, can leak a little, which I would think you would not want. Not inside you.

I would think the rate of infection would be higher with the one going through the skin.

Speed isn't really an issue. I am more concerned with long-term success and health. I am wondering if there are any sleevers that wish they had done the RNY? and if so, why?

I am using Dr Pilcher in San Antonio. I am trying to decide between the sleeve and RNY. My biggest problem is that I am always hungry. Also, I really like food. I can diet and exercise and just not lose much because the hunger always takes over. I can usually do about 2 months and stick to a strict diet, then after that, I just get really exausted of always being hungry, and I cheat. I work out, and I love lifting weights. I like feeling strong. But I am 350 and I need to be closer to 200. I am 6 feet tall. I am worried that the sleeve will not kick the hunger. Then again, I worry about the rny and the lifelong issues it brings with supplements and the inability to eat some of my favorite foods again. i am more concerned with the long term success and quality of life, than the immediate weight loss. I have been reading up, and seen a lot of people that had the sleeve that are still hungry, and that scares me, because to go through all the prep with insurance, and the surgery, and to still be hungry... would suck. Has anyone else used Dr Pilcher in Texas?

I have had a cath several times. When they do it in the OR they make sure everything is sterile. And they are so much easier that the abdomem ones.

I have not done the pre-op diet yet but I do use Unjury for my protein shakes. I have for years. I love the chicken flavor. And the strawberry is more like a fruit punch. Which I like.