StephOinAZ

Omg, I know everyone is differnet but man some of you are making me seriously re-evaluate my efforts :scared2: thanks for the motivation

Hey there :redface: Here is my blog link: Losing To Win I LOVE followers :wink2:

Ok so I'm on my 3rd day out of surgery and I have some questions. 1.) First and most concerning, my belly button is bleeding! Not like it was a cut, but it's continuously bleeding w/what appears to be puss? I clean it out with a tissue, but it keeps coming back and the blood dries up around the edge of my belly button. Anyone know what this could possibly be? I am going to call my Dr. tomorrow and ask, but if anyone else knows, please let me know ASAP! 2.) I'm not in pain per say but I am seriously uncomfortable because the gas is staying in my tummy and not traveling up to my shoulder like most people say it does. I can't fart it out and Gas X doesn't really seem to do much. Any suggestions? How long does this usually last? Otherwise my surgery went GREAT and I'll be posting about it very soon Once I'm caught up w/everything else, lol. THANKS GUYS!!!

This is for all the people getting banded on June 18th: GOOD LUCK!!! We're going in tomorrow for our bands :w00t: I can't wait to hear how everyone is doing when you get a chance to check in after surgery. I hope that everyone is safe and not in too much pain for the next few days. Keep in touch! :blushing:

* GASP * I'm so sorry!! That would be dissapointing. But you know...I just got one of those forwarded emails that was saying how there are so many people alive who worked in the Twin Towers on 9/11 because of something that pissed them off at the time. Like one person was late because they were caught in traffic, one person missed their cab, one had to take their kid to school cause he missed the bus, etc. The moral of the story is, sometimes God puts you exactly where you NEED to be. So yeah it sucks that you couldn't get out when you planned, but perhaps it's for a good reason. I'm glad you're staying in the June group, just because you got postponed doesn't make you any less of a journey! (cheesy, I know...I'm good at it) :blushing::w00t:

YAY!!! Congratulations :w00t: That's so exciting! Thanks for sharing the not so wonderful immediate side effects, it's good for us to know everything that we may experience too. I'm going in tomorrow!!! I can't wait! :blushing:

Hooray! It's so fun seeing everyone get checked off the list one by one every day :cursing: I hope everything continues to go well for you. Oh, MY surgeon said that protein shakes aren't clear liquids, but you should check with your surgeon so that you know for sure. Keep us posted :sad:

Yay!!! That's exciting, now you have one HUGE stress taken care of. I remember when I was waiting for my passport for a vacation and I never really felt like we were going until I finally got it in the mail. So now you must feel so much better that you've crossed that bridge :cursing:

What a great attitude! That's half the battle right there! I too will not be able to attend support groups because of my work schedule and my location. I have come to rely heavily (no pun intended) on these boards for my support. I haven't even been banded yet (6/18!!!!) but the support I get is already helping me so much more than doing this alone. Hang in there and recognize EVERY acheivement, especially the small ones, they add up quick:thumbup:

I'm on the 18th!!!!

Hey everyone! I haven't been on for a while, getting things taken care of on the back end before surgery. My surgeon's office finally faxed over my approval request on Friday...YAY, so I'm anxiously awaiting my approval :tt2: *FINGERS CROSSED* Anyway, I have about 215 lbs to loose. I was wondering if any of you who have lost around that much (or more) could post some before and after pics? It's hard to even imagine what I have to look forward to and would love some visuals :biggrin: THANKS! As always I appreciate the support :biggrin:

Congratulations! I know, I can recall when I WAS in the 200s thinking how HUGE I was, now I'd KILL to be in the 200s again! LOL! Keep up the good work!

I found a blog by a member of OH and I LOOOVVVEEEE her recipies!!! I seriously can't stand like slim fast type shakes, but these are so wonderful. She has protien ice cream too! Check out her blog and you will find the best recipies! Good luck :thumbup: theworldaccordingtoeggface: Protein Ice Cream

Wow, I so feel everyone's pain. :thumbup: It's just aweful. Here are SOME of mine (I have a ton, but will stick to these for now): :thumbup: When I was only 12 my grandma (who I always thought was plump) bought a pair of jeans that didn't fit her. She gave them to me and said "Here, these are WAY to big for me, they should fit you just fine." I know she didn't mean to be hurtful, but that one stung. :thumbup: At Sea World in San Diego my little (and skinny) sister wanted to ride the Journey to Atlantis ride. After spending like an hour in line searching up and down to see if there was anyone else in line even close to being as big as I am, I finally got to the cars. There were notices everywhere saying that you "must be in good health" to ride. And all I could think about is that that probably meant "you can't be fat." I didn't see anyone my size and I wanted to get out of line so bad, but the only option I would have had was to walk back down through the entire line, and I knew everyone would know WHY I was leaving. So I just prayed and prayed that I would fit!! Then the guy in the seat in front of me, he got in first and he slipped and pressed the saftey bar all the way down, so I couldn't even get into the seat and had to have some come release it. NO one would have been able to get in w/the bar down, but I felt like everyone who saw thought it was something to do w/my weight. Thankfully I got in, but it was soooo embarassing and it was was a TIGHT fit. I was sure the hydrolics would burst and I would go flying out of my car and die. :blushing: Like everyone else, I've had airplane issues I've lied to the attendants and told them I was pregnant and needed an extender. One lady gave me a very attitud-y "Mmmm-hmmm." She knew I was full of it. :blushing: Every time we go to the farm for Halloween we ride the trian, and we only have 3 small neices/nephews and we all "claim" a kid to sit next to so that we can fit in those tiny little pathetic excuses for seats. :blushing: :blushing::bored::blushing: MOST EMBARASSING!!!! Every summer we go tubing down Salt River and this last year there was a patch of river that was SERIOUSLY low and there I was just floating along, relaxing, and then all of a sudden I feel rocks scraping my butt and then I just STOP. There I was...stuck in my innertube on a bed of rocks. I tried bouncing my innertube out of the shallow area and couldn't move an inch! Just then a huge tube-party of really hot guys passed by and all started laughing that I was stuck. I wanted to drown myself Then a group of really skinny girls in bikinis came by, and they were way nice, and they offered to grab onto my tube and pull me out of the shallow part but they couldn't get me to move :*( they finally let go and floated on down w/o me. So finally when no one else was coming, I had to ROLL myself off my tube and that just made my big belly fall out of my tankini and so I had to hoist up my bottoms again and then walk barefoot through these terrible rocks and cut up the bottom of my feet. Finally I got back to the deeper part and was able to keep going. THEN...as if that wasn't enough, at the final check-point where you have to get out of the river, the current picked up really fast and I tried to get off my innertube but the current was pulling me down river beacuse I was so "boyant" and I couldn't control it. I dug my feet into the sand, broken shells, broken glass, sharp rocks, and was desperately clinging to my innertube because it's like a $20 fee to replace if you loose it, and then I'm also trying to HOLD UP my bathingsuit, but it didn't work, my belly was hanging out and I was just trying to stand up!! Some guy came out and took my tube for me and threw it to shore and then came back out w/a towl for me to cover myself up with! In a way that was nice, but insulting at the same time. OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG that was the worst. I cried all the way back to our car. I can't wait to LIVE my life w/o having to worry about if I'm too fat for it. What a horrible life to have

I know I'm a little late on this post, but I was wondering...have you been tested for PCOS? I'm asking because PCOS causes the hormonal imbalances that lead to miscarriage and MAJOR mood swings. Especially since you are over 300 lbs (as am I) the chance that you have PCOS is pretty high. MANY women are mis-diagnosed as being bi-polar when in fact, it's PCOS mood swings. I was diagnosed as bi-polar when I was in high school and was on medication for it and everything. The meds kinda sorta helped, but never fully kept me from getting depressed again. Once I started noticing other symptoms (like dark facial and body hair, thinning scalp hair, skin tags, missed periods, etc) I went to the doctor and was officially diagnosed w/PCOS. Anyway...if you haven't been tested for it before, I would! It may mean that you don't need to be on bi-polar meds at all. Also, if you DO have PCOS, that would explain the miscarriages, and your doctor could put you on Metform so that when you do get prego again, the Metformin will reduce your risk of miscarriage by something like 73% (I forget the exact percentage). Loosing weight will deffinately help balance out those hormones. And I can't tell you how much I understand how badly you want to have a baby right this very second. But I really encourage you to wait!

Hey all, I've been keeping busy reading all the posts in here on PCOS. I see that one hasn't been posted for so long! Any newer members having lap-band who also have PCOS? I'm still in the pre-stages of appointments to get approved for lap-band. I was wondering...has anyone had a hard time getting approved for lap-band because of PCOS? At my surgeon's seminar the other day, she was saying how women w/PCOS do better on gastric bypass than on lap-band. I'm pretty set on getting a band and NOT bypass, but just curiouse if anyone else was told that?

Hi Chris :cry_smile: I'm Stephanie and I'm new here too. I completely understand how you feel. Let me know if you ever want to talk or get some of the jitters off your chest! I'm right there with ya buddy :drool: You can find TONS of support here, no doubt!

Well some offices will be more helpful then others, doesn't sound like yours wanted to be right now. Here are some universal codes for bariatric surgery (generalized, not specific for Lap-Band but if they cover bariatric surgery then you can most likely try for lap-band) : These are from other bandsters: 43843 43770 These are from my BC/BS handbook w/the surgery requirements and these are specific for Lap-Band: 43773 43774 43843 43886 43887 43888 HCPCS 52082 HCPCS 52083 I know it may seem like a lot but hopefully your insurance will cover ONE of those codes, if not more. Insurance really is a pain. I see why so many people are willing to self pay, lol. Hope this helps!

Thanks for the tips :cool2: That is all wonderful information for newbies like me who need re-assurance.

I also have BC/BS PPO, but the package that my employer selected covers weight loss surgery. One tip is to not ask directly if the cover lap-bad, but ask if the cover "surgery for the treatment of morbid obesity" or better yet, call the surgeon that you want to have your surgery done through, and ask their biller what insurance code they use for lap-band and then call BC/BS and just ask if they cover that exact code. Give them as little personal information as you can. They can tell you if you just give them the group number and the company name. You don't need to give them anything else, I didn't since I didn't have any other information. Try to find out if it's just your employer that excluded that option from the insurance pacakge, or if it's BC/BS just not approving it. Insurance companies are very known for denying claims multiple times before they approve them, just to see who's seriouse or not. I really wish you the best of luck! Feel free to send me a message :cool2:

I'm not sure how COBRA works, but I completely agree, if you worked enough hours to have the sick time and/or vacation time, then that can't count against you! Did they take your insurance payments out of your paycheck? If so, then legally they cannot deny you coverage since you paid for it. It does sound pretty shady. That is very frusterating, I'm sorry you're going through that. Don't give up and make sure you keep fighting for this! Good luck!!

Oh wow, that's coming up fast! Thanks for the reply, I really appreciate it. Good luck!!

Thanks for the replies! I really appreciate it :smile: I really want to loose weight first, before I get pregnant. My hope is that I am banded within a few months and then wait at least a year before we start trying. I'd really love to just get prego naturally w/o Clomid but I'm willing to do whatever I need to do. Thanks again!! :wub:

On a dark and stormy night, wait...no...it was a bright and sunny 118 degree Arizona day...I was looking up information on Clomid because DH and I had given up trying to get pregnant naturally. We honestly haven't been trying as long as some, but to me 3 years is long enough. Any time I brought up the idea of Clomid to my OB/GYN she told me I needed to loose some weight before she'd agree to put me on it. She never told me how much, I never thought about asking. Well, after loosing only 10lbs after an entire year (thanks a lot insuline resistance), I felt that I deserved to be put on Clomid anyway since I made a huge effort. It's the thought that counts, right? So for the millionth time, I was lost in some web of threads looking up info, tips, success stories, etc on Clomid when I happened to see a thread with a topic I've never see before. The user was asking if anyone knew the exact BMI one would have to be in order to be approved for Clomid. Huh? You had to be a certain BMI? I opened up the post and saw dozens of replies, each of them from women all over the country, all of whom stated that the maximum BMI that you can be to be approved for Clomid is 30. THIRTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I currently weigh 345 with a BMI of 54. It took me ONE YEAR to loose 10 lbs and now I have to loose 120 before I'll even be CONSIDERED for Clomid?!?!?! At the rate I'm going that could take me 12 years!! Has anyone else heard of this rule? I mean this whole time my Dr. was telling me to loose weight I was expecting that she wanted me to loose like 20 or 30 lbs, not 120! So as I resolved myself into a pool of tears, I saw a little square flashing at me on the side of the message board screen with an add for Lap-Band. I opened it and now here I am. I'm just starting down this road and I have a LONG way to go, but I'm here. And that's a huge start.

Hi Emily :biggrin: I also have PCOS and a long family history of seriouse health problems on both sides of my family. I'm still in the pre-approval stage myself, it's a slow process. I'm so excited at the thought of Lap-Band just based on all the stories I've heard from other bandsters who also have PCOS and how much of a difference it made! PCOS makes lossing weight SO much harder! I work out all the time and eat right and I never loose weight. My doctor just keeps saying that because of my insuline resistance that it will be very hard for me to loose weight w/o some kind of "assistance." That's exactly why I'm getting the band! So I'm at the starting gates of this journey also so if you need a buddy to go through it with you, I'm here :biggrin2: