Wheetsin

You just described like 95% of the American population.

There are a few ways to do fills (prep for it, to be specific), and countless levels of experience in between, all of which will impact the actual fill experience you will have. I have had two painful fills. One was when they used lidocaine, and that hurt like a B. Much worse than a lidocaine shot should hurt. And I have a high pain tolerance. After that I said "no lidocaine" and fills became painless. A tiny, tiny prick, much like getting blood drawn, and then just some pressure. Sometimes a "popping" sensation (maybe like a joint popping) as the port membrane is punctured or as the needle is removed from it. And that's it, really. My second painful fill was actually an unfill done by someone who had not done one before, so 'nuff said about that. The "average" experience I have is: Surgeon or fill person palpitating area to find port. "Target" marked on the skin. Needle poked in. Needle pulled out. Area cleaned & band-aid applied. I have never felt anything after a fill (minus the emergency situation, but that's irrelevant) - no immediate tightening sensation, no nausea, etc. Restriction changes I can feel, but nothing around the actual fill. BTW, I too have (or had, I'm rather desysetized by now) a strong needle phobia. In fact, fear of an IV (never had one before my band surgery) was one of the factors that caused me to wait 5 years to get this surgery done. During a fill, there's no reason for you to even see the needle. You're (usually) laying flat back, so you're looking at the ceiling.

I did not have troubles. Describe the pain you are feeling.

Why am I thinking that Malley was on North Oak?? Who's on N Oak?

I'm glad the hot liquids are working for you. I would suggest that you keep at those for a day, maybe even two, and then slowly progress back to foods. So once you're confident the hot liquids are no problem, moev up to something a little thicker like a "cream of..." Soup. If that goes well move on to some mushies, etc. You may have just had a serious irritation that caused swelling. As the swelling lessens, you will be able to add more things to your diet. About a year ago I was overfilled. I got stuck on a chewable Vitamin and over the course of about 6 hours swelled to the point that I couldn't even get my own saliva down, so I was having to yak like every 4 - 5 minutes. I got it taken care of, but I took about 6 days to work my way back up to regular foods. Better safe than sorry!

Full article at Atlanta News, Sports, Atlanta Weather, Business News | ajc.com. I've shared my opinion here before that while I don't mind paying more taxes than someone who makes less money, I do mind paying a higher percentage. My husband and I will be some of the other ripped off people receiving only a partial rebate, and as a matter of principle, it really pisses me off. REALLY. We have worked hard vocationally and educationally to get where we are today. My student loans (which I only took out my first four years of college) are my second largest debt next to my mortgage. Of course, I don't get jack of a deduction from the interest - income is too high, even though I paid more in student loan interest ALONE than many people made this year. Another place I'm ripped off. It truly feels like we are penalized for having an income above the magical cutoff. We have worked hard to get here, and work hard for our money, we have tried to better ourselves and strive to be top producers in our fields, which happen to be well-paid fields, and because of our work, we get penalized. While others - including (I fully recognize there are lots of degrees in "others" and this is just one part) those who don't work hard, don't worry about furthering (or even having) careers, etc. get handouts. "Well, they need the money more than you do." (What I've heard countless times that discussion on this has come up)... ... Maybe so, but there are people out there who need the money less than I do, and I would think it unfair if I received something and they did not. And I really have to question "need." No one will convince me that most families will spend this money on things that are truly needed like...what... groceries, utilities, medication. I observed about 12 people at work talking about this rebate, and the consensus purchases were things like bigger TVs, game systems ("rock band" - whatever that is), jewelret... you know, the things that will put the money imemdiately into the economy. People don't need those things. If $600 makes or breaks you financially, then you NEED to pay off some debt or rearrange your financial situation, a higher paying job... lots of possibilities here, but you don't need a freaking XBOX. That's not what most people are going to do with this money, so it has jack shit to do with need and that's admitted freely in the purpose statement for this rebate. Where oh where is my consumption-based tax?!? Oh yeah, not one of the forerunners, that's where. :biggrin:

I own a business so technically my husband works for me, even though we're partners. This is outside of our regular jobs. We don't have any challenges. Our individual skills draw clear lines around who owns what, and we just get the job done. No need to provide my link as I wouldn't see LBT as a potential market (hence no one would need the link).

Ask your surgeon NOT to provide the procedure name, just "laparoscopic surgery" or something. Does your company have some type of short term disability (STD) benefit? Most large companies here do. If you're on STD you would not need to worry about a note. And last - not many people need more than 7 days off. I'd guess the average is 5. Are you planning on needing more? If not, the note may be a moot point.

Dr. Malley is the onyl surgeon I've heard of who is actually in KCMO. I don't know his contact info but if you google him I'm sure you'll find him. He's the one with all the commercials on TV. I used Dr. Hoehn in Shawnee Mission. kcbariatric.com. There's a place in KS with "grass" in the name, I can't remember it exactly. You might want to browse through the MO & KS forums, and see what surgeons people are mentioning. That will give you some good starting points.

Those sound like bypass procedure rules. Many surgeons seem to use them interchangeably. Unfortunately, because the way the two procedures eat, and what they tolerate, and even how the evolve are total different directions from each other. Following a surgeon's diet is always best, but perhaps you'd be within your rights to question some of these rules.

Hi Yvonne 72, I moved your thread to the Nevada area. Hopefully that will let more people in those areas see your question.

I didn't require a referral so I didn't talk to my physician. The only involvement she had was to do the physical required by my surgeon. Do you require a referral for approval? I went to the seminar in Nov, had surgery in March. Much of that time was me dragging my heels about my decision.

Moved to the lounge per not being surgery discussion but rather solicitation of an event.

At the point that they denied the claim you should have received an EoB and it should have a clearly stated reason why it was not covered. For example, I used an in-network physician a few weeks ago, but when I received my EoB it stated: Claim denied because: in-network physician not used. I got mine taken care of, but the point is -- have you received your statement, and what was the reason? If you have not received it, call and ask them why it was denied. I personally would start here vs. escalating. I also had a hard time getting my insurance co to cover the anesthesia portion of my surgery. Stupid, huh? Come to find out there was a conflict in the way that billing is submitted between anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists. I nagged while they fought it out between them, and they eventually paid. Insurance companies really aren't looking to rip people off, so if it were me I would give them a good faith opportunity to explain the situation. Once you know WHY it was denied, you can move forward accordingly. Also, review your letter of approval. Most have a clause to the effect of, "...this does not guarantee payment/approval."

Yeah, that's why I asked those two questions in particular. I had my GB out in August. It took a while to diagnose because I had atypical symptoms - it took an ultrasound to be sure. If you can associate it to meals, especially high fat meals, and especially later in the evening, say it's waking you up at night -- GB is definitely in the line-up. On the breathing I asked because of pleurisy. You pretty much (as I understood it) nailed the location, but you'd probably feel it more with deep breaths -- have to breathe shallow to avoid pain -- even if it didn't last long. (I've had pleurisy with an upper resp infection, it hurts). Then again, I don't get paid near enough to diagnose people, so it's worth exactly what you paid for it. :biggrin:

Hahaham, we're all like 50 lbs from goal and wanting PS. I'm waiting to see what happens kid-wise, so it's not anytime in my immediate future, but I do plan to go for it one day. In the meantime, I could stand to have the scrotum taken off the undersides of my arms.

See... I'm picky about the whole weight/fat thing. I think too many people see them as one in the same, and all that does is cause confusion, extra challenge, and too often hurt emotions/self concept. I'd say in answer to the quote above that the loss of fat is the number one goal, not loss of weight. Loss of weight is best measured by a scale - agreed. Loss of fat is best measured by some device that measures body fat. You could lose weight by dehydrating yourself, hitting ketosis and having a Fluid dump -- heck, even a colon cleanse, a haircut, or an amputation. :biggrin: Unless you have some extreme intervention (lipo for example), you're only going to lose fat by using it up. (I'm not suggesting you'd dehydrate yourself to lose weight, etc. -- just using them as illustrations of the weight/fat difference).

Yeah I like my tea and I like it slightly sweet. Not sweet tea, but not plain either. I used to use Equal. It was my preferred sweetner because (IMO) it dissolved the best. I always thought Splenda was too sweet. But honestly, I've switched back to raw sugar. About a year ago. I drink tea maybe 3x a week, so we're talking about 3 tsp per week, not much. I did some thinking and research, and for me, in the long run, I'd rather take on the carbs/calories of natural sweetner than the chemicals. I've been trying pretty hard to do -- not quite an organic diet, but more of a "back to basics" campaign -- cutting out as much processing and manipulation of food as I reasonably can. A teaspoon of raw sugar has 5g carbs, 20 calories. I can deal with that. ETA - I've tried Stevia, and it too is too sweet for me, and I didn't care for the aftertaste. Too "fake" for me. I don't really like sweet things, and tea is the only thing I can think of that I add sugar to, but I do like a hint of sweetness.

I have heard of it happening, but don't personally know anyone it happens to. Perhaps call your surgeon prior to your appointment, he may want to move it up a bit.

Well yeah, thinks like medications or supplements that are known to discolor urine obviously fall outside of the "if you're urine isn't clear/light" radar. (Because something can be dark yellow and still be clear). My lips & skin are my biggest tell-tales. Ugh, and they hurt too.

No, you're MY hero!

Moderators are basically just helpers. Very rarely do we have to actually moderate. Most of it is making sure posts are in the right place, helping things stay on topic, answering questions when we can, handling issues with accounts, etc. Generally moderators are either identified because they (for whatever reason) stand out to either the Admin or other moderators. Reasons might include activity, how you've handled situations, how helpful you are, post count, etc. I know on my board, I select moderators based on their activity level, the knowledge behind their information, their behavior, etc. but most board owners have their own criteria.

As I understand it "Super Moderator" is the default title for all moderators. It's just that some of us have our own titles, so Super Moderator (default) doesn't show.

Alexandra would be a good one to chime in, she knows way more about the industry than I do. I'm on the outskirts & not directly involved with brokering, underwriting, etc.

I have a hard time with protein bars, so yeah - they fill me up because they usually take their time going down. When that happens, it's usually a good 6 - 10 hours before I feel hunger again.