Wheetsin

Oh, the toe is fine, jsut a little purple. But I had no idea how many times I stub my toes. Now that it really hurts to do so, I'm much more aware of it, and it's a f-in lot! What really got me was the "we don't want anyone to get AIDS." When you hear something like that, it's almost surreal. It took a few seconds to register that she wasn't joking.

Laurend does this really taste like chocolate & Peanut Butter, as opposed to, say, the cheap ass easter candy "chocolate and peanut butter" that are waxy chocolate surrounding compressed peanut butter flakes? I normally just add a spoonful of peanut butter to my chocolate mixes, but if I can get the flavor, without the fat/calories... I'm "in like phlegm" (as my husband, who often misunderstands English, would say).

I don't take them, but I was given a shot of Heparin during my prep. My mother has taken Coumadin for many years, and when she has required surgery, they have given her a program to wean off her medication for a week or so prior to the procedure. If she ever requires emergency surgery, maybe they'll just shoot her full of Vitamin K - who knows.

I range from a 14 to a 26. Most often I'm an 18/20 (split between a 1x and a 2x). A little consistency would be nice, especially since I tend to buy things and try them on at home.

What? :confused:

Normal. As long as it doesn't smell really bad.

ee if your surgeon is concerned. If he's not, here's what I would adivse. You could have some residual swelling. Especially if the 3cc caused you some problems. I went from 2.5 to 3 and found 3 to be way too tight. I needed an emergency unfill. I had been at 2.5 for a very long time and had only mild restriction. They took me down to 2.0, and for a while I was tighter than I had been at 2.5. For about 2 weeks, in fact. This made sense when I considered all the crap my esophagus had been through just in the 4 days I was at 3.0. If you can get liquids down, go with them for a day or two. Then try a warm basic mushy like thinned mashed potatoes. Only teeny bites, and waiting about 5 mins between bites to make sure it's not going to haunt you. If the potatoes do ok, give mushies a few days. If you're still doing ok, progress so soft foods, etc. Just like pre-op. If the potatoes do not do ok, I would seek an unfill. I had to work my way back up to 2.5 - it's not that unusual.

Yesterday I'm in a fabric store, pushing a shopping cart. In this weird series of events involving the cart's very grippy wheels, my heeled sandals that pointed my toes downward at just the right angle, and not paying attention, I managed to tear off the tip of my baby toe. At first I thought I had just stubbed it, but then the blood came. So I see a bathroom and walk toward it and get yelled at by an elder employee - "You can't go in there! That's just for us!" So I tell her that I've hurt my foot and just need to stick my foot in the sink for a second, and use some paper towels. She looks at my foot and says "Oh no, no no. That's a bad idea. We don't want anyone getting AIDS." lol So - can YOU go get me a paper towel? And she says no, she has to watch the cash registers. So I walked over to the $$$$ decorator fabric that was closest to me, grabbed all the free swatches out of the envelope, and wiped my toe, shoe, and made a makeshift bandage. She says, "I can't believe you did that, that's like $30 in fabric right there!" Ok, free therapy rant over. :confused:

Answers below in blue.

Band incisions were closed with staples covered with sheets of clear sticker stuff. Had another lap surgery a few weeks ago and he used absorbable sutures and steristrips, covered with the same sticker. Except for the navel incision which was left as-is (and ended up pulling open). I found the sutures & strips to be MUCH itcher than the staples, but the scarring (so far) much, much less.

Not a vegetarian, but I don't eat red meat, and eat veggie probably 60% of the time. With the lap-band there aren't any guaranteed eating nevers. I'm about 18 months out and have yet to find something I can't eat. I had asparagus lastnight, eat it about once a week, it's one of my favorite vegetables. It just takes a lot of chewing, and I have to trim off more than I would pre-op. Rubbed in olive oil, sprinkled with garlic salt, and cooked on the grill. Mmmmmm. I lurve lentils - probably have them cold in a salad or hot in a Soup 2x or 3x a week. A store by my work, where I usually have lunch (IF I have lunch) has a great Turkish lentil curry soup - and I don't even like curry.

BTW - we found ours through VRBO too, after seeing some that looked kind of shady on other sites based in the UK. We're going late February. This year is my parents 35th anniv and my in-laws' 40th, so this is our gift to them. I go to Tampa all the time for work, but haven't been to Orlando. We have friends there so we're hoping to get the low down on good places to go. Disney doesn't do much for me. I grew up in San Diego and went to DLand all the time, visited about 2 years ago and it was way too -- over the top. But we'll see - really depends on what the parents in the group want to do since it's their trip (just my bill). I would like to get a scuba dive in, and go deep sea fishing. Hubby wants to go to Canaveral - he's a space/science nut. My parents want Sea World (we had annual passes in San Diego, and they've missed it dearly) and Medeival Times. The in-laws are from Europe and have no clue what they want. That's a lot for 1 week.

Thanks guys, I'd appreciate the info. We have one we really like, and I have the contract filled out but not signed/sent. The guy seems legit and he uses a local mgmt company, which is a heck of a lot better than someone saying "just send me a check."

Was responding to her, but I get it now. I read things very literally.

Not that big of a deal. I saw some butt cleavage, but didn't NYPD Blue or smtg have butt shots in it? *sigh* I miss European commercials. Even the ones with Eric Roberts. :paranoid

Your band should not be felt. You'll feel it enough the first time you do something bad. I do feel my port - from the outside, but also inside if I move/twist wrong. For a long time I thought I could feel my band itself from the outside, and would get some uncomfortable pressure if I was in a particular position. My surgeon explained this as scar tissue (being the "lump" I was feeling) and scar tissue/band pressing on other things being the discomfort.

Answers below in blue. All just IMO.

My plan is an EPO specific to the Midwest. My fills were free for a year. Me surgeon always includes free fills for one year - or did when I was banded, anyway. After that, they were considered office visits and charged at my $20 copay rate.

Tears for Fears :rockon:

Let's clarify something that may be adding unnecessarily to your confusion. When you say that you have UHC, that just means that UHC is your carrier. It has nothing to do with your coverage. As a company, UHC will offer several different coverage plans - kind of like the grocery store carries several different types of groceries. Some UHC plans exclude WLS. Others cover it at 100%. And between those two extremes there are a LOT of options. My employer offers something like 9 different UHC plans (my band was covered 100% with a $20 copay). My requirements were BMI over 40, or 35+ with 2+ comorbidities. Another person here at my work has a different UHC plan and he is required to do a 6 month diet. What you need to do is find out which plan you have, and get the SPD (Summary Plan Description) for it. The SPD will detail what is covered and excluded. If WLS is excluded, it will be in there. This is assuming exclusion isn't at an employer level (I *think* employer enforced exlcusions are listed in the exclusions esction, anyway). If all else fails, call your insurance company and ask them if it's covered, and/or what the requirements are. BUT, do not ask about "Lap-Band". Lap-Band is a brand name, like "Tylenol" -- not a generic term like "pain killer." You will want to ask about the procedure, not the band, which will be "adjustable gastric banding" or something similar. There's also a procedure code you could use, but I don't remember what it is. If you search here I'm sure you could find it. Hope this helps.

I cringe every time I see it.

Answers below in blue.

New before/during pictures here. I'm right around 150 - 155 lost, 50ish to go. BMI 55 pre-op, 33 now. Size 30/32 (on a good day) then, and anywhere from a 14 - 20 now. Mostly 14/16 or 18/20 in shirts, and 20 in pants. Except for things I buy at Target. $^%&$% Target. Makes all their sizes tiny. I can remember thinking... I'll never get there... And now I think... 50 more lbs? I can do that with my eyes closed & hands tied behind my back. Everyone that's a part of this thread... hang in there. The road seems long, so long you can't see the end. But I promise it's there. :rose:

My mother's first response was, "So you're not going to try another diet?" May as well have been a slap in the face. Funny - she would ask me questions about it, and try to be supportive, but she had her reservations and she wasn't flawless in trying to hide them. On the other hand, my father was thrilled. He said that he missed his thin, happy daughter, and if this is what it took to get her back, then do it yesterday. That sounds bad. Not he missed his thin daughter, but he missed me being happy, and it's hard to be happy at nearly 400 lbs. He also said that he thought this is what I would need to keep the weight off (has lost it many times, had never been able to maintain the loss), then how could it be a bad thing? Come to find out, my mother's reservations were due to some people who know who were part of the FDA trials. Sisters, one of them going through some pretty bad stuff. She didn't understand the changes that had been made, that not everyone lives like this lady does. Now mom and dad both want the band.

The only time I have a problem with bread is if I try to swallow too much at once. Oh, wait - I have that same problem with anything if I swallow too much at once. :rose: I don't eat a lot of bread because I do try and watch my carbs, with varying degrees of success, but I can eat it as long as I chew to goo. As a matter of fact, I had foccacia with dinner tonight. Mmm.