2goldengirl

So long as you don't plan to drive yourself back home, I think it's fine. My husband has a quarterly medical procedure. He gets himself down to the hospital in the morning, and I go pick him up. Good luck!

No such thing as a waiting list. And Blue Shield doesn't require six months any longer. Once you meet criteria, surgeon submits surgical request to your medical group, and provided they submit everything they need to when the request is submitted, medical group has five business days to make a decision. The 5-day turnaround is the law in CA. Here is a link to all of Blue Shield's medical policies. You'll find bariatric surgery under "B". It will download as a .pdf. BTW, your PCP, your medical group, and your surgeon's office may not know that Blue Shield changed their policy effective July 31, 2015.

Why do you need the body composition test?

You need to take care of you, and most importantly, don't let guilt make you go back too soon. What would you tell someone who works for you? Nobody, I mean nobody, needs to know why you have to take medical leave. That's between you and the HR department. Do what you need to to take care of you.

Absolutely fantastic! I hope you're very proud of your accomplishment. What will you do to celebrate/reward yourself? Massage? New boots? Jewelry?

The goal of the six month program is not necessarily loss, so much as showing that you can adhere to a program, since you'll have to change your habits for good postop. I wouldn't worry. You're almost there!

One thing that can happen if you've recently started working out (particularly with weights) is there can be some muscle swelling, which can lead to some Fluid retention - the fluid is actually in the muscle. You burn up muscle sugar (glycogen), and as you replace it, four parts Water get stored along with it. It's temporary, as are all fluid shifts. There's a big difference between fluid gain (which happens to everyone, and fluctuates a lot) and fat gain (which I sincerly doubt is your issue). The scale can't differentiate between the two. Don't let it mess with your head. Hang in there!

No need for images, and as for your BMI history, it is what it is. As for the psych eval, what they're looking for is that you are aware of the changes you need to make in your behaviors around food and choices, and don't have any kind of serious psychiatric illness that could get in the way of your success. No big deal and nothing you need to prepare for, really. Take a deep breath, you're nearly there. Good luck!

Just for future reference, a martini glass with water and two olives looks exactly like the real thing. And anyone who thinks it's up to them to determine whether you ought to be drinking or eating anything needs to get a life.

yeah sh'e not the best person, my husband is friends with her and sometimes in order to spend time wiht my husband I have to put up with her tagging along. at the restaurant she takes the wrapper off her straw and tosses the paper into my husband's glass of Water and thinks it's just the funniest thing ever. OK, given this, there is a lot more wrong here than this so-called "friend" being rude. Husband needs a knock upside the head. One does NOT treat one's spouse like this. Period.

Why do you need a filter? Do you have a stroke or clot history?

Have someone hide your scale. Seriously. The first month or so after surgery, your body is trying to heal. That's the first order of business, for it, and for you. There is SO much going on internally that can't be measured on a scale. Follow directions, and trust the process. 18 lbs in 16 days is awesome. Believe it.

Sign a release of records and give contact info for any MD's you have seen in the past year;. They'll ask for what they need.

Your insurance doesn't determine your preop diet, your surgeon does. Some surgeons don't require one, based on their experience and your starting weight. Not something to worry about!

Are you on meds for high blood pressure? Your blood pressure may have dropped from weight loss, and adding meds that make it lower can make it very low, which makes you feel like you just crawled out from under a rock.

@@Elode, thank you so much for this thread. I'm preop, so I'm trying to wrap my mind around what future thinking and choices will really need to be like. Threads like this are a huge help.

Lactaid. Most of the chain groceries here in CA have their own version.

I would follow the NUT advice and see how you feel after a couple weeks.

It confirms that you have the benefit for bariatric surgery, but there has been no decision made on approval or denial of any surgery (possibly because no request has been submitted yet). It also means you have to be eligible with your plan at the time you have any services (standard disclaimer). I hope this helps!

I wonder how it would turn out if I stuffed a turkey with crab, scallops, celery, onion, old bay seasoning and breadcrumbs. Crab Cake Stuffed Turkey. You really know how to hurt a San Franciscan there Our Dungeness crab season has been delayed - toxic algae blooms are causing issues from warm ocean temps. Dungeness season was supposed to start tomorrow. It's a huge disappointment for the hordes of folks who look forward to the season opening each year, but a potential economic disaster for the fishermen who make half their annual income from crab season.

Here we were, thinking you'd been off enjoying something that involved having to scrape together bail money, and you've been all responsible and everything!

Back when I was in my 30's, I had my tonsils out ten days before Thanksgiving. While I could swallow, chewing was really hard for me - the muscles in my mouth and tongue were really sore, and I had trouble getting food from the front of my mouth to the back of my mouth. The first solid food I had was on Thanksgiving. All I could manage was a bit of turkey with gravy, some sweet potato, and some mashed potatoes. I will never Forget how heavenly it was to actually eat something. I was still having trouble talking. Two pals came over to help me cook. I write every stop of the entire meal out on post-it notes and stuck them on the kitchen cabinets. I just slapped them on the counter instead of talking. I'm guessing all the newly-sleeved will have holidays every bit as memorable!

Preferred IPA will be doing the actual review of your surgery based on LA Care's criteria. You shouldn't have to contact them directly, they have to apply your request against LA Care's criteria.

Honestly, the first thing I would do is ask for repeat bloodwork just in case there was a lb error. With results so far outside the norm it's reasonable to do that. I'm a bit surprised your PCP didn't pick up the phone and call the surgeon and have a chat with him.

At 5'3" and 216 lbs, your BMI is 38.3. Medi-Cal requires specifics concerning co-morbidities (for example, your high blood pressure) to cover surgery for patients with a BMI less than 40. You can call LA Care Member Services and ask for their criteria for bariatric surgery. They will either give you a link to view it online or send you hard copy. I hope this helps!