L12

You will probably get a variety of answers, as there are different kinds of Tricare; I also have a sneaking suspicion that sometimes it depends on what Tricare representative processes the billing and how they interpret coverage, as I have read on here so many people being told (and charged) differently. I have Tricare Reserve Select, which is similar in most ways to Tricare Standard. I had to pay a few copays, as well as cover about $600 of the surgery to meet my catastrophic cap, after which Tricare covered the rest.

As long as you are eating fully cooked rice, it shouldn't expand in your stomach as it has already expanded from absorbing liquid during cooking. I rarely have a problem eating rice.

It definitely helped my appetite. For quite awhile after surgery I still had the urge to fill up my plate and eat a lot even if I wasn't hungry, but not anymore. I experience what I would consider normal hunger now, if its around mealtime, or if I wait too long to eat or skip a meal, but nothing extreme. I have always loved to cook, and the band has actually helped me with this, as I cook more than ever but rarely have the desire to eat much of what I make. I fill up quickly, and my mental hunger has all but disappeared.

I agree that your expectations are very high right now, but I would also warn you to keep them in check for the long term as well. It may take several fills until you get optimal restriction and your weight loss takes off. It took me six months until I reached my sweet spot and really started to lose steadily, but it DID eventually pay off! Be patient!

I'm not sure if I understand the question...but I found the term "obese" and "morbidly obese" very frightening, because I knew the increasing danger I was in. I wasn't insulted, as it was in reference to a medical condition that I obviously had, not a definition of or insult to me as a person.

I'm doing C25K! There's an iphone application that I use that's been really easy and fun. W6D3 is tomorrow. I skipped week 2 but repeated a day during week 5. I used to run before I gained weight, but I wasn't expecting my body to fall back into it as easily as it has; I'm enjoying running more now than I ever did previously! I'm registered to run the Disney Half Marathon in January; training for that starts in October!

Well...here is the first before and after I've posted. I've exceeded my goal, but am training for a half marathon and expect to lose a bit more. The after picture was taken today at work, after I showed a coworker my before picture. She insisted on taking an after picture (ugh--not the best!) and emailing both of them to her daughter to convince her to get banded!

I've had a couple of 0.5mL fills, and an 0.1mL fill. The 0.1mL was perfect for getting me just a touch tighter when I was so close to my sweet spot.

I don't know if that's common, but two of my friends who've been banded for five years have both had to get a few unfills in the last couple of years, as opposed to fills. I was banded Dec 08, and can see myself getting an unfill in the future; I'm fine for the most part, but get inexplicably tight sometimes, other times very loose. I keep losing though, which is the main reason I might get an unfill; I'm thrilled with the continued weight loss, but don't want to lose TOO much (which is a problem I'm happy to have to think about!).

LOL, I've had that argument over meals with people too; their plate is loaded with crap, while I'm eating grilled meat and piles of veggies. The only time anyone tells me my grilled meat and vegetables are unhealthy is if I say it's low carb. Silly how people argue over a label, instead of thinking about what I'm actually eating. And funny enough, my husband was recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes; he has been placed on a permanent low carb diet by his doctor (even though he's already thin, not trying to lose weight). He's eating healthier with more veggies and less fat eating low carb than he ever has before--no sugar and VERY limited carbs, and it's having very fast, positive results on his daily blood sugar readings and intermittent blood test results. Tell HIM not to low carb and you're going to sentence him to insulin for the rest of his life.

There is SOOO much more to PCOS than just ovarian cysts. The hormone imbalances can be a nightmare; if your doc hasn't sent you for bloodwork, find a new doc ASAP.

When I was heavier I had to lose much more for it to make a difference in sizing. But since I've gotten under size 14, it only takes 5 or 10 pounds for me to go down a size.

I get really tight for a couple of days during my period too; I usually have to go to liquids for a day or two during. There is NO way I'm going to get an unfill every single month for that when I know it passes. Two visits to the doctor every single month for as long as I have the band? No thanks!

On some menus recently I've seen skinny margaritas and mojitos listed, using Crystal Light lemonade. And I know that Splenda can be subbed for the sugar in mojitos! I also like gin and tonics, which aren't too bad on calories as cocktails go. Other than that, I often go with rum and diet; my doctor isn't strict on carbonation, it doesn't cause me a problem, and I don't drink carbonated drinks very often anyway!

No one ever suggested bypass over band to me, but I'm happy with the band. I am hypothyroid and have PCOS. Once I attained good restriction (which took five or six months), I lost at a good rate with no plateaus and am still losing--I never thought I would be this thin again!

I have PCOS. As I gained more and more weight, I gradually morphed into an apple from being an hourglass shape. I've lost a lot of weight and have never even had any plateaus, but I still have more to lose on my abdomen and waist; I'm wondering if I'm permanently an apple now. I guess my belly really isn't too bad--it just isn't shrinking as much as my butt and boobs are, and isn't as flat or slender compared to the rest of my body. I still look good, but apparently my belly will be the last part of me to attain my desired proportion.

I voted "force her to see kids at my house," though I don't think that can be forced; you may end up needing another babysitter. Given her circumstances, I wouldn't require her to give it up; it's HER pet and HER house. However, I also don't believe that she would be serious about intensive training or keeping the dog locked up when the grandchildren are around (unless YOU are there to make sure she does). Keep in mind, she may very well get rid of the dog to get a "new" one that hasn't bitten anyone...yet. If she isn't willing to train her pets or allows aggressive behavior to develop and intensify, every animal she owns could develop this problem.

I'm definitely not on a diet. I dieted for years and journaled everything I ate--I HATE journaling, and have refused to do so since surgery. I don't really watch what I eat too much. There are some foods I can't tolerate that well much of the time (bread), but nothing I consider off limits. This is the easiest I've had it in a long, long time in regards to diet and weight. That said, I'd like to lose about ten more pounds, and I THINK I will have to journal, diet, and get more serious about my exercise to do that.

:tt1: That has to go on what must be a looong list of alternative uses for bad Protein shakes! :frown:

LOL, once I read that you were using Bariatric Advantage I completely understood. That stuff made me queasy too! I caved during preop and resorted to using some old Medifast shakes I still had. I still tried getting one BA shake down a day, but it was SO hard and I could never finish it. I still have the big tubs of it, thinking they might come in handy after a bad hurricane if food runs low. That's the only reason I'd touch BA again: SURVIVAL!

Mine seems to fluctuate with how loose and tight it is. When it felt loose for a few days and I could eat more, I'd get worried and go ahead and schedule a fill, only to cancel it a few days or a week later because it had tightened back up. That's happened to me so many times that it's going to take a lot for me to really believe I need another fill! A few times if I've felt TOO tight I've gone on liquids for a day or two; I don't know if it is that which helps, but the tightness eventually goes away again.

I developed significant leakage problems as I gained weight, and had to be on Enablex. It helped, but didn't completely solve the problem. As I lost weight with the band it got better and better, and eventually I got off the Enablex. I have no problems at any time now that I'm a normal weight.

I noticed no increase in restriction for my first fill, which I think was 2 or 3cc. It took me almost six months till I achieved good restriction, so steak would have been fine for me. Everyone is different, so you won't know until you get the fill.

This is very timely as I've been thinking about getting into boxing lately! Largely for stress relief actually, but I would like another crosstraining activity in between running days. I'm not sure how to get started, though; I'm not really into group training and don't want to commit to lots of lessons. AND I don't want to hurt myself!

Mojitos, margaritas, and gin and tonics are a few of my favorites...but I just noticed you already went out. What did YOU order? :smile2: