three sixty six

i don't smoke any more, but my surgeon's office will postpone your surgery if you don't quit 2 months before surgery.

you can quit!!!! :purplebananna:

hey, Delaware! glad to hear everything went well. from what i've read, the gas just takes time to either get absorbed or expelled. sounds mighty pleasant! :regular_smile:

sam is great. i love how he always talks in the third person. "Sam thinks you should not be eating that." haha...

how are you feeling otherwise? do you feel the band? can you tell something's there now? curiosity has the better of me.

glad to hear your SFH experience went well. they don't call 'em Centers of Excellence for nothin! (i hope)... update us when you can.

Ali's book is on my nightstand right now :biggrin2:

I'm probably going to be self-pay.. I want to negotiate with my surgeon to pay what insurance companies will pay.

Can anyone tell me what their ins. billed vs. what was paid?

Thanks!!

May 30, 2008 is the date, and surgery is the game!

I'm originally from coastal NJ (the Shore), living in Delaware. Full-time law student at night, work for a law firm during the day.

Been fat all my life. Never been a healthy weight. My pediatrician used the word "obese" for the first time when I was 8.

I'm 25 now and my 25th birthday was the "epiphany" I was afraid would never come. I'm single and ready to mingle, baby! Can't do that as well as I want to until I've swapped shells.

Looking forward to chatting with you all!

I've come to terms with the fact that my employer (big local law firm) doesn't pay for the WLS rider and that I'm on my own to be self-pay. I've had to get adjusted to that, but the seething has subsided and I've accepted it. Fine.

NOW, after I find out that my surgeon wants me out of work for two (and not the one I originally planned on) weeks, I emailed HR about taking a medical leave under FMLA, as I think I just about have two weeks' vacation in the bank for the year (and always travel home for Christmas between semesters, so there's about 5 days' worth right there).

I find out today that I can't use FMLA/medical leave UNTIL I exhaust all my vacation and personal time. What?! That means that b/c of my surg, I will be out of all vacation time for the year.

This STINKS!:wink_smile:

Lynn, how did everything go????

I guess it was easier b/c I LOVE crystal light iced tea (and I'm -gasp- starting to love water!).

the funny thing is, I am more of a "gulper" w/o straws! I take bigger gulps, rather than small sips. I wonder just how much of a difference there is..

My surg date is tentatively set for 5/30/08 (I hafta wait until the semester's over)... and I knew giving up soda would be hard, soooo

On Ash Wednesday, I gave it up. I've been without soda (ALL kinds, diet, reg, clear, even seltzer) for a whopping one month, three weeks, and change!

Woot, woot!

On a similar note, I gave up straws two weeks ago. That's been harder than soda!

I never thought I'd have an "ah-ha" moment. I was scared that it would never happen, I'd never hit rock bottom, and I'd be destined to be 800lb and die before I'm thirty.

My "ah-ha" came with my 25th birthday. All my life I thought that by 25, I'd be an attorney, married, and living in a house with a picket-fenced-in yard. My life hasn't been on track (still in school, didn't marry the guy I thought I would, still single, living in a condo, no fence!) and I thought, by God, change what you CAN!

I vowed to be my best self.

FINALLY SCHEDULED!!!!

My new "birthday" is May 30, 2008.

woot, woot!!!!

good luck to you, lynn! your surg date is fast approaching. are you getting it done at christiana or st francis (i'm going to st francis).

headed to chrias now for another class!

keep us posted on the next week's events!

I'm 25 y/o, live, work, and go to school in Wilmington. I'm originally from NJ.

Hoping for surgery in June. Probably self-pay.

I'm going through the process now - already had my cardiologist appt, bloodwork, chest x-ray. Have appts for EGD, psych eval, and pulmo.

How soon after getting this stuff done do you think I'll be able to get a surgery date? I like to plan these things.

Anyone else in the Wilmington area? What support groups are available to us?

hey there! I'm a pt of Dr. Irgau's too :biggrin:

three days? that's IT?

i have to do 2 weeks!!!

anyone know of a good online store for those plastic retainers? my tat shop doesn't have the hoops for my cartilidge...

thanks!

btw, when i drop this wt, im SO piercing my nose. :biggrin2:

in Delaware we have a choice between 2 hospitals: 1 is about $22k and the other is $17,500. Naturally I chose the $17,500. The hospital has a great reputation.

$17,500 includes 11k for the hospital. Above $17,500 is a $550 "program fee" that covers the classes, seminars, etc.

The price does not include all the pre-op doctors. So far, I've seen a cardiologist, and had bloodwork. I need to get an EGD and chest x-ray, see a pulmonologist, and get a psych eval - all not paid for out of that $17,500.

My insurance has a policy exclusion so I'm self-pay.

i've been "obese" since i was 8 years old. Other than the pediatrician I had at that age, NONE of my PCPs have ever told me to lose weight. i think that's a bad thing.

if you think for one second that your doc is judging you, get a new one! shop around. set up appts for consults. don't settle.

funny you should mention it! i just bought it. i've already read LapBand for Life and another book I loaned to my mom (so she can understand this too). I also picked up K. Ali's book "Fighting Weight."

I heard WLS for Dummies is a great tool!

the doctor was great! i felt really comfortable with him. i ended up keeping my appointment with the doctor i hadn't yet met. i'm so comfortable with this surgery center, i could see anyone there and be 100% happy.

he was very thorough, explaining the process, how the band works, etc. he even had a model of a stomach on his desk with a band and he filled an unfilled it so i could see how restriction works. very cool!

i asked some questions and he had great, thoughtful answers. i didn't have a lot to ask, thanks to you kind people on these boards! i just read and read and read all day. so, thanks! my doctor says i'm very well-educated on the subject :biggrin:

now i'm scheduling some other docs: i have to see a cardiologist and get a tube down the throat (i forget what that's called) to check out my digestive tract. yeah! i need to set up a psych consult as well. i start the WLS classes at the center next week.

we're right on track! i hope to have surgery in june, when school is out for the summer (i'm in law school now).

the only hurdle right now is insurance. the policy provided by my employer has a bariatric exclusion, but you better BELIEVE i am fighting it. i need strength for this fight, but i'm not backing down.

wish me luck!

Is it true? No more beer for ever and ever?

I had my initial consult on Friday. "You'll just have to learn to like wine," my doc said with a chuckle.

Anyone a beer drinker like me? Are you banded and still drink it?

see, this is why pictures rock. Bet, you look AWESOME! You should be so proud! Can you tell us what size you started at, and what size you are today? inspirational!

i talked to our HR person (the most un-fun convo i've had in years) and she was VERY sympathetic. she told me what other floors had "nice bathrooms" in our building to use until ours gets fixed. turns out they recently had that loo replaced. i feel better, but i'm still afraid to pee at work!!!!

got my first consultation with the doctor this morning!! wish me luck :redface:

hey there. haven't been banded yet, so i'm at my heaviest right now.. anyone experience a toilet, erm.. sounding like it's cracking when you sit on it? i know this is a weird question.. but i'm at work and my regular loo that i use every day just started making this sound when i was on it ! it sounds like it's gonna come off the wall! is this possible? can i really make a toilet come off the wall? it's the industrial kind with nothing underneath, only attached to the wall.. what are the weight limits on those puppies?

sorry for the strange question, but now i'm afraid to pee!!!!!!