anonemouse

Apparently, I have to pay $2000 out of pocket, but the insurance will pay 100% of the remaining.

I really want to have surgery by the end of the year, if I can. I might not get to, though, because of a few problems: 1. Just found out I have to be cleared by a pulmonologist before I can even get my insurance submitted. Getting an appointment for this might take a while. 2. My doctors' office workers can't seem to understand that I need the last 5 years of my files. All of it. Not just documentation of the first time I was there and the last time I was there. The surgery center needs the WHOLE DAMN THING! :target:The one that I did my weight-loss program with didn't even send the records for it. :speechles

Yep, that's why I don't take it anymore. I am insulin resistant, but I decided that it wasn't worth living my life chained to a toilet, especially since I am a field biologist.

I am not sure how much they will actually be able to get done, since they either have to have the cooperation of Bush or a huge majority to bypass a veto. The more important thing, I think, is that they will be able to block a lot of what Bush wants. I think that was a major problem when we had a Republican congress. They were basically a rubber stamp for the President. I hope they do have some investigations and are able to shed some light on the lawfulness and ethicalness (is that a word?) of things that have been going on. As much as I think he deserves it, I doubt they will try to impeach Bush, unless something shocking and totally unforgiveable comes to light in the investigations. I have a feeling the Democrats want to be seen as the better party, not distracting a President when there is a war going on or when there is a possibility of terrorism. I think they want to be able to say something like, "Republicans knew about the possibility of terrorism in the late '90s and still chose to distract the President from dealing with that possibility. We are not going to be that party."

That is actually why I was originally put on it during my weight-loss program. It only helps you lose weight because of the side effects of diarrhea.

Basically, the band is a ring that is placed around your stomach. It can be inflated by adding saline (a fill) or deflated by removing saline.

My brother's girlfriend is a nutritionist for a bariatric surgeon. She currently has a book deal for a cookbook focused at bariatric patients, but it hasn't been published yet. When it does get published, I'll post the info for it.

I don't even really see my PCP anymore, since he basically failed to diagnose my PCOS when he should have (I was on Accutane for acne and not responding - clear indicator of metabolic issues). I just had to see him last week so that he could write a letter to my surgeon for me, since I had seen him for about 5-6 years. If I get sick, I usually either tough it out or go to the university health center.

I hate being sick. I had appointments with all my doctors last week to talk to them about having surgery and to get letters from them. Three appointments in three days. Tuesday, I drove 3 1/2 hours home in order to see my PCP on Wednesday. Wednesday, I had my appointment and drove 3 1/2 hours back to my apartment in Kentucky. On Thursday I had an appointment in Lexington, KY to talk to my endocrinologist, after which I drove 3 1/2 hours home again because my PCP wanted me to get fasting blood work done on Friday morning. On Friday, I had blood drawn and then drove 1 hour to Knoxville, TN to see the nurse practitioner that ran my weight loss program and then drove 2 1/2 hours back to Kentucky. All of this while balancing my own graduate classes and teaching. I was in perfect health before this. Now I have the cold from hell. :faint:

I think it just depends on the insurance. If you have gotten all of your medical records and letters from doctors to the surgeon's office, they should be able to send out everything relatively quickly, I would think. I just faxed all my stuff to my surgeon yesterday, and my doctors were supposed to send out my records and their letters to the surgeon last week.

I have never tried crock pot turkey. I have always cooked my turkeys whole in the over bags you can buy. When you use a foil pan and the oven bag, it makes clean-up a breeze and the turkey is always perfectly done. Just stick it in the oven and forget about it for a few hours.

My parents seem to have come to the conclusion that I will be doing this whether or not they agree with it. I have done my research and I fully believe that this is the right choice for me. My track record with diets is horrible. I do fine for the first couple of weeks, but then I get hungry and eat anything in sight. I always gain back everything, plus a few pounds. Luckily, my brother seems to support my decision. He is asking the surgeon that his girlfriend works for to look into my surgeon, though. He is just really protective, I think. He has always pressured me about my weight and my health, so I think he is just relieved that I am doing something about it.

Look, if this war was about getting al-Qaida and the other cells of jihadists, we wouldn't have invaded Iraq. I don't see how anyone with eyes and ears can believe that invading Iraq helped us in any way. Because we have been so focused on Iraq, the people who actually did attack us are flourishing again in Afganistan. To be quite honest, I am not afraid of Islamic jihadists. I understand that I am much more likely to be killed in a car accident or natural disaster than an Islamic jihadist. You can't stop living your life because of fear. If you do, the people threatening you have won. You can't sacrifice everything that makes you American (i.e. civil liberties) because of fear. If you do, the jihadists and anti-Americanists really have won. In that respect, George Bush is more of a threat to our nation than jihadists.

My paperwork, anyway. I faxed it to the center this afternoon. My doctors should have faxed my records to them by now, since I saw all of them last week and asked them to write letters for me (I managed to catch a cold for my trouble, also. Damn doctors' offices.:sick) Hopefully everything will be sent out to my insurance company soon, because I want to have surgery at the end of the year. For one, it would be a marvelous Christmas present to myself. Two, my deductible is paid for 2006. Save money anywhere you can, I always say. Three, I want as much time to recover as possible before the spring semester starts at my university, mainly because I am afraid of having a wacky reaction to the anesthesia. When my mom had both knees replaces, she had a weird reaction, and wasn't the same, memory and stamina-wise for a couple of months after the surgery. That is what really scares me the most. I have to really concentrate and stay on track next semester if I expect to get my Master's in May.

I guess my feeling is this: I understand why some of you don't want to tell the people who are all up in your face constantly about your weight. They wouldn't be the kind of people I would want to tell, either. But, on the other hand, if someone that I hadn't seen in a long time came up to me and said, "Wow, you look great! How'd you do it?", I think I would let them know about the surgery. I guess I sort of feel that not saying I had surgery at that point would be furthering the myth that everyone should be able to diet and exercise their way to a lower weight. I try to think about how that could affect either the person asking or people she might encourage down the road. Do I want her saying, "You should diet and exercise more, you would lose the weight if you did" or do I want her saying, "Hey, I know someone that had that surgery, it might be an option for you"?

Personally, I feel that everyone deserves respect until they do something to destroy it. And to me, Bush has done plenty to destroy any respect that I once held for him. Why should I respect someone that doesn't respect me? He had the respect and support of the ENTIRE country following 9/11. Ruining that was something only he could do. It was his to lose. He lost our respect when he lied to us and invaded a country under false pretenses. He lost our respect by sacrificing almost 3,000 American soldiers. He lost our respect when he undermined our civil rights, the rights that make us a free nation. The key words are he lost them. We didn't randomly decide to stop respecting the man. How can you say he deserves our respect? You don't continue respecting a doctor that knowingly gives you the wrong diagnosis just because he went to medical school and became a doctor, and you don't continue respecting a man who is knowingly undermining everything this country was founded on just because he was elected to office. ETA: I just wanted to add that I have complete respect for the office of the President. I understand that it is an incredibly difficult position. I just don't have respect for the man. Saying that we should respect a man just because he got elected is like saying that the civil rights protestors in Birmingham should have respected the mayor that had dogs and fire hoses turned loose on them just because he got a majority of the vote to put him in office. It makes absolutely no sense. Being elected to office doesn't automatically make you respectable.

When someone you haven't told asks you how you lost weight? I don't understand. I mean, so many of us complain about how people are always after us to "lose it on our own." Wouldn't letting people know that weight-loss surgery is a viable option that is more common than they think help get rid of the stigma?

Sorry, I've not heard of him. Have you checked out doctors in Nashville? That is where I will (hopefully) be having surgery. A few of them have come highly recommended from this site. The place is called Centennial Center for the Treatment of Obesity, and there are three surgeons that work there. Dr. Houston was the one that was recommended to me, but Dr. Olsen spoke at the seminar that I went to and seemed very knowledgable. Here is the website: www.cmcwls.com They do Lap-Bands for $14,400, which is relatively low for U.S. surgeons.

I don't want to offend anyone, but I feel like I should maybe play devil's advocate. Is there any reason you feel that his behavior will suddenly change? You said that you have tried counseling several times. You have tried to save this marriage. Don't let him or anyone else tell you that you haven't. Taking his previous behavior into account, I urge you to consider whether this is just another ploy or if he is actually sincere. I personally feel that a dog can't change his spots. Don't make a decision right now. You are tired and worn down (mostly because of his behavior, I might add). Don't rush into anything. Take some time for yourself to decompress and think about everything. Just know that we are here to support you, no matter what decision you make.

Don't forget the first World Trade Center attack in the '80s/'90s. There have been other attacks, but the US is still relatively untouched by terrorism, at least compared to European/Mid-East countries. Of couse, if you count bombings by Americans against Americans, the numbers go way up. Unfortunately, I think everyone is so focused on Islamic terrorists that they forget that we have some home-grown ones to also worry about. In some ways, I think that they are probably more likely to attack us in the future than the Islamic terrorists are, since we aren't really paying any attention to them. It's sad to say, but security guards are much more attentive to people with veils or beards and turbans than the average Joe like Tim McVey.

Sickening to know that the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq is approaching that number. All those people dead for what?

Could it be Thrush? Babies usually get it because they drink only milk and their parents don't know to rinse their mouths. I think it shows up as a white film, but I am not sure. You may want to ask some of the parents on the board. I know you can get rid of it pretty easily, but I don't remember how.

Like someone else said, this surgery does not define you as being an obese person. You are obese whether or not you have this surgery. Having it will only define you as someone who is trying to live a healthier, longer life than they probably would have without the surgery. I haven't had the surgery yet. I am in the middle of trying to get my insurance to cover it. I am only 23 and 5' 3" tall, but I weigh around 215 pounds. My mother is obese, my father is overweight. I have a very extensive family history of diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, etc. My mother even had to have both knees replaced because her weight wore the joints out. Because of my weight, I have PCOS, very high cholesterol, asthma, and I am prediabetic. I have tried several times to lose weight, but all the weight I lose always comes back, plus extra. I finally came to the conclusion that if I didn't do something drastic, I was going to keep gaining weight. I would be 300-400 pounds, with diabetes and heart disease. I would be unable to do my job. My family doesn't really understand why I am taking this step. They think I should keep trying to diet and exercise. But I know myself. I can't do this alone. The lap-band will give me the help I need. You need to think about this very hard. Like other people have said, don't let anyone push you into anything you aren't ready for. But also be honest with yourself. Look at your history. If you truly believe that you can lose the weight by dieting and exercising and that you aren't ready for the lap-band, don't get it. But if you are like me, and you know you can't do it on your own, the lap-band is an option.

I can't remember the last time I was able to comfortably cross my legs like a woman. I always cross them like a man does because my belly and thighs get in the way if I try it the other way. I can do it, but my legs start to hurt after a couple minutes from the strain of trying to hold them together.

Anyone had their surgery there? I am planning to have my surgery done by Dr. Olsen.