Band_Groupie

Thanks! I've added this to my list of questions for my consult with the surgeon in a few weeks!

After navigating some of my insurance maze (still pre-band) I can reinforce what you said about checking with your insurance directly. It's a simple phone call and you can probably get a print out online or they'll send it to you. I found that even when others had the same insurance co. as mine they widely varied from state to state and in my case even from areas of the same state. I have BC/BS, but specifically Highmark PPO Blue for Western PA, others with BCBS had very different requirements (I don't have to provide any history and others have to provide 3-5 years). If you don't want to call, I'd suggest you repost with the insurance co. name and specific state/area and hope that someone with the same policy would answer your questions (there's also the state by state forum you could try). You're yo-yoing sounds just like me...good luck!:thumbup:

A little off-topic, but in case someone has the same allergies as I do...I'm highly allergic to almost everything environmental including most detergents. I'm pre-band, but had another surgery a few years ago which involved a 2 night stay. My DH had to bring me sheets, pillow and a nightie from home as I was about to scratch my skin off-rash everywhere (I think they boil those hospital sheets in bleach). They told me lots of people bring their own pillows (just don't take a white pillowcase and you'll remember it when you leave). I had a sleep test a few weeks ago and took my own set of sheets (just put over/under theirs), pillow, jammies...plan to do the same for my LB surgery (not for the surgery bed, but for the stay after).

It was the day before Thanksgiving and we’re packing up the car to go to go to Philly to my SIL/In-laws. We’re trying to get out the door by lunchtime because we know how bad the PA Turnpike gets this day. Side note: You pay a toll to take your life into your (white knuckled) hands to tailgate at 65 mph; :car::car:leave more then two car-lengths and someone darts in front of you (no turn signal, no smile, no wave…Happy Holidays to you too!), causing you to slam on the brakes and wonder if the car tailgating you will soon be in your backseat! :scared2: Back to the story…I finally got my three teens (DD is now 21 actually) out of bed and packing up their final items around 10am (this is early for some of them…teens!). My middle one (DS-18) comes up from the basement beaming.:biggrin: PAUSE right there! This alone is a holiday miracle…he’s going through that moody-teen:glare:Ask-your-teenager-now-while-they-still-know-everything phase:sneaky:…so moments of “beaming” are a rare commodity! He announces “I got accepted into the Engineering school at Penn State main campus!!! Whoo-Hoo!!”:party:(insert us jumping up and down here). Those of you that know PSU, know what a feat it is to get accepted to main campus your Freshman year (most go to a satellite their first 2 years). He’s a very smart kid (National Honor Society), but isn’t the best test taker (psyches himself out:scared2:). He took a course and studied for the SAT, 2 hours almost every day for months, and then took it several times. He thought he wanted to go to Ohio State “OH”… “IO”!!! (DH-Mr.SA and my alma-mater), but he missed the out-of-state scholarship by a mere 10 points on the SAT, so it was just too expensive to go there…He was crushed,:hurt:but I kept telling him things happen for a reason. Since then :pray2:we’ve been waiting:toetap05: for the acceptance letters online everyday, so this was welcome news indeed! He is totally thrilled (and we are too! He deserves this after all that hard work!...dilemma:confused3:...who will we root for at the PSU-OSU game next year?)! One of his best friends that he played on the soccer team and ref’d with got accepted as well (also engineering) so they’re making plans to room together. My niece is a junior there now, so she was thrilled when we got to her home for Thanksgiving and he told her. The chant around our house now is… :thumbup:“WE ARE” … “PENN STATE”:biggrin3:!!!

I just found out I have a choice and can put the port just about anywhere on my body (I think that still means only on the front, not back of my body). I’m hearing that many of you have had issues with where it is as you’ve gotten thinner (now: shows, hurts ribs, bothers you with clothing/beltline, moved, flipped because of loc., etc.). So…<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> For those who are near goal/goal (or if you’re down enough now to know how you’d answer this). If you were starting over, and could mark and “X” right where you want your port…where would you put it (so where would you move yours to)? If it's over to one side I don't care about right/left as everyone has a different answer to this based on dominate side, which side you sleep on, etc.

It was the day before Thanksgiving and we’re packing up the car to go to go to Philly to my SIL/In-laws. We’re trying to get out the door by lunchtime because we know how bad the PA Turnpike gets this day. Side note: You pay a toll to take your life into your (white knuckled) hands to tailgate at 65 mph; :car::car:leave more then two car-lengths and someone darts in front of you (no turn signal, no smile, no wave…Happy Holidays to you too!), causing you to slam on the brakes and wonder if the car tailgating you will soon be in your backseat! :huh2: Back to the story…I finally got my three teens (DD is now 21 actually) out of bed and packing up their final items around 10am (this is early for some of them…teens!). My middle one (DS-18) comes up from the basement beaming.:glare: PAUSE right there! This alone is a holiday miracle…he’s going through that moody-teen:glare:Ask-your-teenager-now-while-they-still-know-everything phase:sneaky:…so moments of “beaming” are a rare commodity! He announces “I got accepted into the Engineering school at Penn State main campus!!! Whoo-Hoo!!”:party:(insert us jumping up and down here). Those of you that know PSU, know what a feat it is to get accepted to main campus your Freshman year (most go to a satellite their first 2 years). He’s a very smart kid (National Honor Society), but isn’t the best test taker (psyches himself out:scared2:). He took a course and studied for the SAT, 2 hours almost every day for months, and then took it several times. He thought he wanted to go to Ohio State “OH”… “IO”!!! (DH-Mr.SA and my alma-mater), but he missed the out-of-state scholarship by a mere 10 points on the SAT, so it was just too expensive to go there…He was crushed,:hurt:but I kept telling him things happen for a reason. Since then :pray2:we’ve been waiting:toetap05: for the acceptance letters online everyday, so this was welcome news indeed! He is totally thrilled (and we are too! He deserves this after all that hard work!...dilemma:confused3:...who will we root for at the PSU-OSU game next year?)! One of his best friends that he played on the soccer team and ref’d with got accepted as well (also engineering) so they’re making plans to room together. My niece is a junior there now, so she was thrilled when we got to her home for Thanksgiving and he told her. The chant around our house now is… :thumbup:“WE ARE” … “PENN STATE”:confused:!!!

Hilarious...I can hardly wait until my first holiday after band...not! :-)

Melody- How do you drink Crystal Light with fiber? Do you add it?

On our way out...waiting for DD (sigh-slow), but I had to stop in...You've made the best decision for you and you've got your Dr. behind you and I'm sure your surgeon will agree, so don't listen to negative comments. I don't get why anyone would come to one of these websites designed for getting/giving support and not be supportive? Maybe they're jealous that you don't have as much to lose as they did? Hey, maybe I'll be jealous (hee, hee) you'll be losing 5x as fast as me, but that won't stop me from being supportive of you! We're in this together...here's to Spring '09!!! (I think there's even a moderator on here with the sleeve.)

Sounds like you're progressing well on your path! I'm so happy you've got the support of your Dr. and a plan. I'm really glad you're sticking around! There's even a forum section for RNY & other procedures here...and so many issues are the same anyway, right? Have a great holiday!

24- Good job Amy! Ticker-go to Tickerfactory.com and follow the step by step selection process, you'll pick a background, item that will move along, etc. (they have a weight loss section) at the end you copy and paste the link they give here. Here, go to User CP (see it up top left under the tabs) and then go to Edit signature, that's where you paste the ticker info. Have fun.

We’re off tomorrow :driving:for the holiday to DH-Mr.SA’s Family. I’ve been finding myself saying goodbye to certain foods already (does anyone else do that?)…strange since I’m still 6 mo. from the band. It’s mainly those items I don’t get often, like this past weekend at my parent’s house we were celebrating early Christmas…I found myself relishing Mom’s :drool:homemade pumpkin roll and her strawberry salad (she only makes once a year). Now I’m already looking forward to, and mourning the future loss of,:cool: the stuffing and pumpkin pie on Thursday. I know I’ll get tastes of things in the future, but it’s like saying goodbye to a good friend (OK, maybe a friend you thought was a good friend, but was really stabbing you in the back:sneaky:…I see it’s time to start that mindset change).:confused: HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL!

Hello! Friendly bunch here. 13 1/2 pounds is great! Just a suggestion--You might want to post an intro. at the Forum tab-Introduce Yourself, as well (maybe add your state or age to the title and you'll get more replies from people that have something in common). Keep on blogging though so we can see how you're doing! -BG

You look great!!!! Like a new person. What an inspiration!

We’re off tomorrow :driving:for the holiday to DH-Mr.SA’s Family. I’ve been finding myself saying goodbye to certain foods already (does anyone else do that?)…strange since I’m still 6 mo. from the band. It’s mainly those items I don’t get often, like this past weekend at my parent’s house we were celebrating early Christmas…I found myself relishing Mom’s :drool:homemade pumpkin roll and her strawberry salad (she only makes once a year). Now I’m already looking forward to, and mourning the future loss of,:confused: the stuffing and pumpkin pie on Thursday. I know I’ll get tastes of things in the future, but it’s like saying goodbye to a good friend (OK, maybe a friend you thought was a good friend, but was really stabbing you in the back:sneaky:…I see it’s time to start that mindset change).:thumbup: HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL!

Hey SS! What is a "shot of protein" (carmel sounds good though)? Was that for hunger or for the constipation? How was your class? No question for me about the LB over RNY. Not only the obvious- less invasive surgery, but you can stretch the restricted part and that can only be corrected with further surgery. I guess the main reason is I already know I can stick to a diet pretty well and I don't mind that it will come off more slowly than the RNY as long as I get to the same point in the future. I'm not as worried about losing the weight as in keeping it off...love that you can continue to add fills as you get thinner. I also like that if I get sick or something (like I'm 99 years old and need chemo) in the future and need more nutrition they can un-fill or even take it out. As my surgeon said, those that need RNY are those that need the weight off now (might die soon, can't wait the 5 years LB may take).

I want to sell some of our packrat "stuff" in the basement on eBay (some small antiques, books, and lots of my kids stuff now that my youngest is 13 and they've moved out of the toy stage). I've been planning this for a year, but I'm afraid to get started because I don't know what I'm doing. I've been setting aside stuff in boxes and the mound is growing. We've got a verified PayPal account we've been using for years to buy...yep, more "stuff". I've watched some of those video training things on eBay awhile back, but I know they changed some of their costs, etc. the past year. I've been collecting small boxes, bubble wrap and peanuts for a year. I'm afraid I'll make major beginner mistakes that will end up costing us money. Do I start a new eBay account just to sell? Is it safe to have this tied to our bank account when you're selling (even though we're verified we always us a credit card to pay now). I'm most confused about the shipping part as I know I've combined items often when purchasing on eBay so how do you know what to charge for shipping and also if they combine items. Do I bundle inexpensive things like board games together or is it better to sell everything as single items? I'm not sure about some of it even being worth anything (no broken stuff, but stuff that I wouldn't think is worth the shipping cost...so is there money to be made?)? :confused:Do you pay for all those extras always- extra pics, etc. I've got a digital camera, but keep in mind I've never put a pic on the internet so I'm not a techie but I'm eager to learn...haven't even figured out how to do an avatar yet. I've heard Sun. night is a good time to end...are their good months to start selling?...is now a bad time of year? How did you start and what mistakes have you made?:cool: Please share your tips! Now that I'm working toward getting banded next summer I'm motivated to start this so I can cover whatever the insurance won't...including years of fills. Thanks so much for ANY advice:smile:!

Thanks Laura...I'll take a look at Craig's List!

:driving:We had a good weekend back home with my family (once we got through the snow). It’s nice having my daughter home from college for the holiday.:confused: DH took my two oldest to the football game and I went shopping with the girls. We celebrated early Christmas Saturday night and it went very smoothly. My sister sent me some hilarious video’s of elves dancing to Christmas music with my families faces on the elves (you do them yourself at the Office Max website- “Elf Yourself” by JibJab) give it a try; they’re hysterical (and the elves are all skinny)!:huh2: Anyway I’d forwarded it to my sister-in-law (the true “foodie”; she can cook) and asked her yet AGAIN:sad: what I could bring for Thanksgiving (read blog "Why I won't be asked to bring dessert..."). Her response “Just bring yourselves on Turkey Day!”. :glare: I told you so:tt2:…:cool:

:driving:We had a good weekend back home with my family (once we got through the snow). It’s nice having my daughter home from college for the holiday.:thumbup: DH took my two oldest to the football game and I went shopping with the girls. We celebrated early Christmas Saturday night and it went very smoothly. My sister sent me some hilarious video’s of elves dancing to Christmas music with my families faces on the elves (you do them yourself at the Office Max website- “Elf Yourself” by JibJab) give it a try; they’re hysterical (and the elves are all skinny)!:huh2: Anyway I’d forwarded it to my sister-in-law (the true “foodie”; she can cook) and asked her yet AGAIN:sad: what I could bring for Thanksgiving (read blog "Why I won't be asked to bring dessert..."). Her response “Just bring yourselves on Turkey Day!”. :glare: I told you so:tt2:…:confused:

I got my first call from my “Healthwise” coach, Valerie today. (In case you haven’t read…it’s a third party co. that DH's company hires to coach those with “issues” like mine on the health survey form we have to fill out for insurance). I had to answer all those embarrassing questions first…height, weight,:willy_nilly:…after that it doesn’t matter right? Anyhoo…we start into diet and I tell her about the LB and the 6 mo. diet I’m on with my PCP. Didn’t say anything about the LB, but she loved the diet plan…start at 1600 cal. And step down 100 ea. month. She was so supportive and encouraging.:incazzato: Everything I said was immediately given positive reinforcement. I was feeling myself relax…like a day at the spa:sleep: (or what I imagine it to be like since I’ve never been to one). We talked a little about my exercise habits, etc., then we set some goals for next month’s call. She’s all about reinforcing what the PCP is doing with me. :cryin: I suggested adding 10 min. to my exercise routine, she suggested 5 min….it’s all about small changes she said and being able to easily make them. More supportive discussion…la, la, la…I’m feeling like I just got a massage :banghead:(or what I imagine a massage to be like, since I’ve never had one). We set a date for next month…la, la, la…OK, that wasn’t so bad!:cursing:

Just got home from our weekend with my family. I'm calling tomorrow to set up some appointments. How did your meeting go?

Just wanted to say I'll be thinking of you tomorrow. I'm sure all will go smoothly. Let us know how you're doing when you're feeling up to it. Parents can surprise us can't they? It's good that you have support! Take care, and you're not alone. -BG

We had to fill ours out in order to get insured.