OutsideMatchInside

I think a lot of has to do with education and socioeconomic levels. The people I know that are upper middle class and have degrees beyond Bachelors are accepting of surgery and have no issues with it. This is also a group of people more accepting of cosmetic procedures (breasts, nose jobs are common). The lower the education levels and the lower the income, the more flack. Many people see surgery as expensive and frivolous. We have to remember that even with the affordable care act in America, many people still cannot afford basic medical care. When they see other people receiving care they could never even dream of it creates issues. Heck, a lot of people think going to the dermatologist is frivolous. Shows like the biggest loser don't help. They make it seem like all you need to do is work harder. Now I notice lots of people on IG being elevated for losing weight the natural way, which is awesome, but most won't last. I am lucky my close circle of friends are all very supportive. I haven't told other people because they honestly don't matter. I am all for keeping surgery private, life is hard enough without other people judging you over something that doesn't involve them.

@@ava32 Unless this social worker is going to carry around all your excess weight for you and take on all the medical issues, they can STFU. My experience with the sleeve has been, once I healed, after 6 months. I function just like a normal person. The only difference is I eat 6 ounce of food max at a time. The thing is, a lot of slim healthy people don't eat that differently. I don't really eat small portions, I am eating the correct portions. I struggled with my weight from age 20 to my late 30s. I wish I could have had the sleeve at your age. My life would have been massively different. And yes this is totally a business, but they aren't pushing WLS in a cark alley and approaching people. I went to the clinic because my mind was already made up that I needed serious intervention and I was tired of starving myself and not getting anywhere. Now I can eat proper portions, I don't feel like I am starving and I am losing weight without a lot of stress. The longer you are fat, the more damage you do to yourself. If you can correct it young, don't let anyone stand in your way.

If you have to self pay on the VSG part, ask for them to bill you at the same rate they charge BCBS. My surgeon fees for my surgery as paid, not billed, was around $1000. You live in state that does not consider bariatric surgery a necessity so no policy is going to include bariatric surgery unless they really just want to because they are not required to by law. I'm sorry you are having this experience. BCBSIL was wonderful with my approval, and claims. They have excellent customer service. Not all the companies using the BCBS name are the same.

You could have eaten the guac with a fork and it would have been all good. Fritos though? Come on. Just so no to chips.

I had decaf coffee on my tray in the hospital. I started cold brew coffee (lower acid) at 6 weeks, and I had it warm or cold. Coffee doesn't dehydrate you, that is a myth.

One thing you can try are acid skin peels, like TCA. That might give you some tightening. If you have never done a peel before find a professional.

Only plastic surgery is going to fix that. Sorry

I weigh everyday now. Part of it is to teach me not to be attached to the scale and to also learn about fluctuations. It was hard for me to get to this point, but now it is easy to do and not freak out about the numbers. The reason I was able to get so large in the first place was I never weighed myself, I was only weighed at the Dr. That let my weight get completely out of control. Now I weigh myself every day, but only one day a week counts are my record. I am doing this and making it normal habit so I am prepared for maintenance down the road. I want to weight myself every or every other day for life. When I seen an upward trend I want to stop it at 10 pounds instead of letting the weight pile up.

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@@about face It depends on the plan you have but my BCBSIL plan last year covered surgery at 100%. I think my PPO plan last year was silver. The list of Blue Distinction facilities is pretty long and they are the best programs so there is no reason really to choose anything else.

I mainly had seafood until 6 months. I had ground beef, lamb and pork a few times. I wasn't cleared for steak until 6 months. I have steak several times a week now because I find it the most filling and satisfying. As long as a meat isn't dry, I don't have issues with it.

Who is your doctor?

Congrats on the hard work!

@@Sophie74656 When you have a G cup, you don't really get a lot of choices in cheap bras. What a $60 bra from Soma can do your silhouette, is worth a million bucks. When I get my band size down to a 36, the first thing I am buying is a bra from Agent Provocateur.

There are a lot of STL Metro sleevers. http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/353796-any-missouri-people/page-13?hl=%2Bmissouri#entry4098252 Did you have some specific questions?

If you have ever made clothes and used sewing patterns, you would know that larger sizes are harder to work with on a bolt of fabric. It is not the same, you have more waste, they are harder to fit and you use more fabric, period. That isn't debatable, it is a simple fact. It costs more. Visit a fabric store. There is a huge difference in the cut and feel of a $10 tshirt and a $90 tshirt. Just because once person doesn't appreciate the difference doesn't mean that other people don't. There is a reason why I pay $90 for jeans, because they fit and feel better than $20 jeans.

If I was going to self pay I would go to Blossom. They have a great youtube channel and they seem to be very advanced when it comes to surgery and nutrition. https://www.youtube.com/user/BlossomWeightLoss

@@Anna Nim The prices at similar stores are the same and or higher. The prices at New York and Company are the same as Lane Bryant. The prices at the Limited are the same also. If you don't believe me go to the websites and do price comparisons. Lane Bryant was or is still, owned by The Limited. Look at the prices at the Limited. They quality of the clothing is the same. And some of the construction at Lane Bryant is better because they sew over the seams for added strength. Women's specialty clothing brands cost the same. Plus size stores are not charging that much more if anything. A bra at Soma is $60, the average bra at Lane Bryant is $45.

I really didn't have any NS goals, except sitting comfortably on a plane. A lot of the NSV I have now, just strike me as odd. They aren't things that I thought of as an issue before, now that I can do certain things I couldn't before they are fun surprises. The amount of space between me and the steering wheel on my car amazes me every time I drive. I'm glad that before surgery I didn't think I was missing out on much, because knowing the difference between before and now, my heavier self might have been unhappy.

My doctor told me to use Vitamin E, so I did. It works. I used scar sheets also, I got them from Walmart and cut them in half. They totally help also. I am using bio oil now. I only have one noticeable scar.

You can wear huge over sized hoop earrings and they don't touch your shoulder anymore because your collar bone is visible now.

The elation I felt waking up after surgery, was huge. I had a deep hidden fear I wouldn't wake up. I really hate hospitals, I think they are death traps. 2nd to that was fitting on a plane comfortably. The first time in 20 years I didn't feel like I was imposing on other peoples space. It felt great.

Before I had surgery they took like 10 vials of blood, I am sure they did a pregnancy test off of one of them. I think they might have done a urine one when I checked in, but I can't remember, the details of the time pre-surgery are kind of a blue because of the drugs.

Buffets are kinda perfect because lots of people just get small tastes of things, so the fact you are getting small amounts will go unnoticed. If you like seafood, you should have plenty of options of things to eat. Moist seafood goes down easy and you can eat it in amounts that will allow you to meet your Protein goals. Watch out for sauces, since they usually have sugars and carb thickeners.

I think you should probably work on your food shame issues with therapy, now and after surgery. You can pour your Protein shakes in tumbler, so people can't see they are Protein Shakes. You can put your protein on a bed of green veggies, even if you aren't eating the veggies it looks more "normal" If you feel like people comment and think about how you eat now, you are going to be more self conscious after surgery. You really need to address this or it is going to snowball into a huge issue and create new problems.