pennyt

I'm on May 21st also, and I've decided I'm going to start the pre-surgery diet tomorrow so that I can get started losing weight now. (I'd start today, but we took the admin assistants out for lunch today.) I'm having my surgery in Indy.

I haven't mentioned my surgery to very many people at all. I told my husband and kids (21 and 17) about the surgery. My husband is very supportive, my daughter (17) is "OK, mom, whatever," and my son's comment was, "Well, if you think you need invasive surgery, OK." I know they won't nag me about what I will be eating or not eating, but will be there if I need them. I have mentioned it to my three neices, and all three are supportive, and I've told my best friend. She was the hardest one to tell, since she's one of those skinny people who must have a tapeworm. She can eat and eat and eat and never gain weight. But there's a reason she's my best friend and that's because she's supportive. After I start to lose weight, I might tell more people. Or I might not. I haven't decided yet.

I called FEP BC Customer Service, and was told that if the surgery is done as out-patient, there is a $100 charge for the surgeon, and a $40 copay for the facility. We would also have to pay 30% of the billed cost of the actual lapband device. That could end up being hundreds and hundreds of dollars. If the surgery is inpatient, which means staying 24 hours plus at least a little longer, there is the $100 copay for the surgeon, a $100 copay for the facility per day (up to $500 total for 5 or more days), and NO extra costs for the actual device. I just called my surgeon's office, and Misty is going to look into this further. SHe said if need be, I will be in-patient.

What surgeon are you going to?

I was told that the number of psych visits depends upon what comes up during the eval. I went twice, once for all the assessments, and once to discuss the assessments. Just remember, if you need to go more than once, it's just to help you along the path so that you are successful. You'll also need to go to a nutritional seminar, where one of the dietitians will talk, and you'll find out all about Protein. The other stuff that you'll need to do will depend upon what your insurance requires. I've got Federal Employee BC, so the process was really easy.

He's my choice of surgeon. When I met him at the seminar and for the consult, I really liked him. He has a great sense of humor, and was very easy to speak to.

Miralax is no longer prescription, but can be bought over the counter.

I have ankolosing spondylitis too, as well as IBD. I discussed the band at length with my gastro and my rheumi, and both said that they liked the option of the lapband, if I wanted to have surgery, since it could be removed if any problems arise. I'm in remission right now, so that's a definite factor. (Thank goodness for remicade!) My surgeon is aware of my conditions, and he's OK with the band. It's why I decided to go with a Center for Bariatric Excellence when I chose my surgeon.

I would think it might not be noticed, since emergency people are trained to look at the pulse points: neck and wrists.

I have two glucose meters, one at work and one at home, and I test myself about once or twice a month. My usual fasting (first thing in the morning) is about 90 mg/dL, and my random (probably about an hour or two or three after eating) tends to be about 100-148. It's just that chest pain and then passing out kinda scared me. That pain was completely unlike anything I've felt before, and I wondered if it might be diabetes or pre-diabetes related. I didn't check my sugar until the next morning, since I just went to bed when I got home. I think I'm going to stick one of the meters in my purse, and try to test if I feel this way again.

I haven't even got my band yet, and I'm already thinking about future PS. I have a huge incisional hernia from three prior abdominal surgeries. The scar is all stretched out since it's hard to heal properly after three cuts in the exact same spot. The hernia starts right under my belly button, and is about 6 inches long, and several inches wide. When I lie down on my back, the "innards" settle back into place, and it's like a gully down my tummy. Heck, if I could just get the hernia repaired, I'd lose several inches off my waist. The hernia repair will be more successful if it's done when I'm close to goal weight. Has anyone had a large hernia repaired along with a tummy tuck? Any pictures? How well did your insurance cover the tummy tuck portion?

If you boss is a man, you could always get him to not ask by implying that it's something to do with that mysterious "female stuff". If he wants more detail, you could always talk about heavy bleeding, cramps, etc. Most of the men that I know would quickly end the conversation if anything like that was mentioned.

I need diabetes info from those of you more experienced with the disease. My dad and all five of his siblings are/were diabetic. (Were, because two of the six are dead. I can't ask my dad, because he's one of the two.) So I have a family history of it, and my weight doesn't help. I've had glucose tolerance tests over the years, and randomly check my glucose so that my two aunts don't nag me about checking it. It's always in the normal range. I don't want to call my aunts, because then they would be worried about me. Friday night, I didn't eat much all day because I was way too busy at work. I had a couple boiled eggs between 9 and 10 am, some cheese at noon, and then some sweet tea at 5:30. Well, at about 6:30 that night, my daughter and I went out to eat dinner, and I had a weird thing happen. I took a big drink of a soft drink (not diet), and then felt a pain right in the center of my chest. It just really hurt like (what I imagine) a punch to the area would feel like. Then I got very light-headed, and just had time to tell my daughter that when I passed out. Fortunately, I went over so that my head landed on my purse, so I didn't get hurt. I was only out for about 10 seconds or so, according to my daughter. (Scared her to death, of course.) After that, I still felt light-headed, but felt better after I ate. I still didn't feel up to driving, so daughter drove us home. Could this have been caused by low blood sugar? Why would it have happened after I drank something sugary? Any suggestions? I'll call my doctor on Monday, but just wanted insight if I could get any. Thanks,

What's a "body bugg"? I may ask *Aunt Linda*, the owner of my local Curves, if I can have a one month trial to try the place out. She's not really my aunt. She's my best friend's sister-in-law, and we all consider ourselves family. (My kids call all the women in the family "Aunt".) I believe you don't have to be related to be family, you just have to love each other, and you can never have too many people who love you.

When I did my psych-eval, I was given the 50 million (that's what if felt like) MMPI assessment, as well as a smaller one that "only" had about 200 questions. The psychologist requested that I come back for a second appointment so that she could go over the test results, as that is her usual custom. She said that she has just seen so many people stress over what the assessments show, that she likes to let everyone know exactly what the results are, good or bad. That second visit, was just to go over the test results. There were absolutely no surprises, no trick questions. Everything she told me was exactly accurate. The assessments showed that I tend to be the nurturer, taking care of others, and giving, giving, giving. She said I needed to take the time to care more for myself, and put my own needs before others at times. It was like, "yes, yes, right, that's true, yeah, right" for everything she said that the assessment showed. So, as long as you're honest on the assessment tools, you shouldn't be surprised with what the assessment shows. It's not meant to trick you, or to find some hidden mental illness, or to completely exclude you from the surgery. It's meant to help you in this process.

Wonderful! Will your primary insurance cover any of the associated costs, since you have dual coverage and your secondary is paying for the surgery?

I think I would have told him that I was about to lose 250 pounds of pure excess weight, and then I would have said, "Wanna see how fast I can do it?" Then I'd just hang up on him. He was abusive, and you don't deserve that. Find a man who appreciates you, and who won't belittle and hurt you for his own jollies.

So, how are you feeling now that you are several days out of the surgery? Pretty soon that little boy is going to have the best looking mommy in town!

Trust me on this: Drink the lemon ginger flavored Phospasoda mixed with lemonade. The last time I had it, I bought "Simply Lemon" brand, and it was so much easier than ever before. It tastes like salty lemonade, but it went down quickly. Plus, since you're supposed to drink lots of liquids with it, you can really dilute it as much as you want with the lemonade, and you won't get much of the nasty flavor. The next best thing is to see if the doctor will let you do the pill prep that can be used to prepare for a colonoscopy. You'll still need to drink lots of liquids, but the pills don't have a flavor. I've had several colonoscopies over the years due to IBD, so I've become somewhat of an expert on how to clear out the intestines.

As a juvenile probation officer, I see so many kids who have parents who don't know (and lots who don't care) what the children are doing. It's amazing to hear the stories that these juveniles tell. Yesterday, I spent the entire day with one of my clients who has a problem following school rules. I sat right beside him in his classes observing. I told him that I have no problem coming to the school if the teachers contact me, but I guess he just didn't believe me. He should have believed.

May 13th is the best day in May, IMO. That's my little boy's birthday! He's not so little anymore, since he's a foot taller than I am, and he'll be 21 on his birthday. My surgery date is May 21st, at St. Francis Hospital in Beech Grove, IN, which is the same hospital where my son was born.

I've got the basic option of BC/BC, and it took less than three weeks for approval once the doctor's office sent everything in to them. There was no requirement for a 6 month supervised diet. I did need to have a BMI over 40 (which I had to gain to get), or else co-morbidities. When I went in for my seminar and surgical consult, the person running the seminar said that FEP BC is the easiest to get approved. I had to have a psych eval, which only cost $20 for the co-pay. You'll need to call BC to get the name of a provider for the psych eval so that they pay. When I phoned, I told the customer service rep why I was going, and she approved 16 visits right then and there, in case I wanted to continue to go if any issues were found during the evaluation. From my experience with FEP BC, surgeries have a $100 co-pay, as well as a $100 copay for the facility. I'm concerned that there might be a difference in how the actual band is covered under in-patient and out-patient surgery. I plan to call BC to ask on Monday.

Has anyone tried Miralax for constipation after banding? It's OTC now, and just needs to be mixed with a liquid. I always use orange juice since I can still feel the texture of the powder, even if it is fully dissolved in the liquid. With OJ, I can just pretend it's the pulp. It's just a mind over matter thing. the powder is fully dissolved. It can't be seen. I just know it's in there. I don't get that same feeling when I mix anything else, just the miralax.

I'm a lurker on here, reading everything so that I can be ready for the process. I went to a seminar in February, did my psych eval in late February, my nutrition counseling in March, and everything was submitted to my insurance in late March. The approval just came through yesterday! :sad_smile: I cut out caffeine in March. My surgery is set for May 21st at 7:30 am. I had to put it off for over a month so that I can get everything set up for work so that I can be off for a few days. With the memorial day holiday the next weekend, I even get one extra day off without needing to use that day as sick leave. The worst part is that my husband absolutely needs to be at work that day, so I'm going to have my son take me. We'll probably go up the night before to stay at a hotel so that we don't have to drive as far on surgery morning. I have over a month to taste test different Protein shakes, and to get in my two support groups. Oh, and a month to stress out that I'll forget something! :scared2:

I know someone who has Borderline Personality Disorder which is a very hard mental condition to treat, who got approved for the surgery. She's also an alcoholic. If she can get through the psych test, you should have no problems. Just be honest, and talk to the doctor about how you plan to work on the issues surrounding your emotional eating. How will you take care of your emotional needs now that food will not be an option? What supports (friends and family) do you have to help you when you need emotional support? Good luck.