coltonwade

well at first my surgery was going to be paid for by cleaning houses . ( I am self pay ) I picked up 6 houses really quickly. We own our own concrete company and my husband picked up this ridicoulous job that is paying VERY WELL . the profits from that job along are going to pay for my surgery . So once i found out about that i quit cleaning houses LOL Now im just waiting for this job to finish which should be next week barring no more weather delays. Im looking at surgery now the middle of Feb. It was suppose to get done this week actually but the job is delayed. Everyone else put in what their surgery cost , after reading more i guess i will too . LOL total with pre op testing ( I have no health insurance) its going to be right around $13,000 in the USA in Texas So here's hoping Mindy

The doc im using is in San Antonio TX . its $12,000 which includes a yr of fills. He's by far the cheapest around here and an AWESOME Doc. Here is his website. http://www.saweightlosscenter.com/ HTH mindy

I think so , It might not be the most popular post fill diet . And honestly im not real thrilled with it . Just another reason to have as few fills as possible lol Mindy

I have a 14 yr old son and a 15 yr old daughter. And EMO to them is "EMOtional " Music that is based on emotions. Talks alot about emotions . The kids who listen to that kind of music and " Dress" a certain way , black hair, tight pants, more punk rock are EMO . Here is a good link http://www.fourfa.com/ This has pics of "Emo" Fashion" Here at least Emo kids arent known for cutting Mindy

Oh Kat, I did not take it as you putting me down at all. I wasnt sure what you meant for sure. I am not banded yet so sometimes i feel Like I should not say something about something I do not know or have experienced yet. But I do know for me , NOW , being self pay , im going to say i'll follow my docs advice to a T . My doc has you on 3 days liquids, 3 days mushies, 3 days semi solids and 3 days solids after every fill. I have had people tell me " FIND A NEW DOC" just because its not what their doc does. But personally I would rather be safe than sorry , for just the reason you said, everyones body will do something differently . Like you also said , asking questions is important. Knowing a docs fill policy is important as well. Some feel my docs fill policy is goofy ( the post fill diet) therefore probably would not want to go to him , I find it better to be safe than sorry , so I do not have a problem with it . BUT its better to know before hand than when you go in for a fill. Also like i said , I may go in have the first fill under flouro and feel its not needed? I wont know until im in those shoes. But I did not take your post as offensive at all. I hope you did not take mine that way either. Thanks for your help Mindy

Im not sure if this is what you meant or not . But for me its not a matter of if I can see it or not . Its a matter the the DOC can see it. For me its a the fact the doc can see the flow , he should know the amount of flow even with swelling is going to give you such and such restriction once swelling goes down, with actually seeing it , he know's ( and I do ) the tubing is not being punctured and is not leaking. Its not a matter of "all is well' So pig out. Of course you have to still follow ur docs instructions. My docs post fill diet is VERY conservative, its almost a week before ur on solids again after a fill. I realize its more conservative than other docs BUT He's got the stats to back it up . So i'll follow it. So if it means less sticks, possibly avoiding another surgery and less fills in the long run , flouro is worth it to me. Mindy

I too was disappointed. I do like Sharon but she's very immature in my opinion. She could have used this as a tool to help others, to help herself understand WHY She wants the band removed . She said she's going to get as big as a house once the band is off she's going to eat eat eat .She wants the band off to eat , in my opinon it was plane and simple . Dr Phil said because she hasnt dealt with her issues as to WHY She eats that having the band off is going to do change nothing but have the band off, its true, and ya know what ? She's not going to change . She's too immature to . Dr Phil says she thrives on drama , so she'll blow up again to have the drama around her so her kids need her again . She had no intention on coming on that show to "Deal" with or learn anything, it was to promote her book and that was it . Just my take on it. Mindy

a friend of mine goes to the same doc that im going to use and her first fill was under flouro . The Dr wants to do the first one under to get a feel for the placement , location ect.. He did her second fill with out the flouro and hits the port every time the first time. One thing I read that made sense to me was under flouro the doc can see the flow of the barium therefore see the amount of restriction that you are getting. Its not a guess when your not under the Xray . Even though my first yrs of fills are free if i dont use flouro I think i'll still opt for the $100 if it means I might needs LESS fills , less pokes and better restriction ? Just my opinion of it. I might change my mind after being banded. LOL MIndy

I am going to be banded in Jan and I have decided after being on the boards for months now that I am pretty sure im doing all my fills via flouro . My doc does the first one under flouro anyway . But I think being self pay as well that I cant risk or afford not to . I think i also read in a book im reading now that ppl who do fills under flouro tend to have less fills before they reach their sweet spot. So Im opting for flouro every time. I think in the long run the $100 i'll have to pay for that is worth it . Mindy

thanks Susan, I think I would actually be better if i had a date. Its the not being 100% certain thing that is killing me right now. Congrats on your surgery. I hope it goes well. if everything goes as planned I want mine to be the week after yours. So that i can be recovered for the most part for my son's 6th bday . Thanks again Mindy

Have you looked into the Clothing exchange on Obesity Help ? I got some really nice clothes from there. I needed some warm tops , knowing winter was coming up i didnt want to buy something w/surgery so close. I explained it to the lady i got some items from . They are very nice . I think i got 10 tops for about $10 with shipping ? Might want to check it out. Also if you have an Avenue store they usually have clothes on sale for CHEAP. PLUS you can use coupons on top of coupons , then when you outgrow them sell them for more clothes. Just a thought. I may have a shopping issue but im a tight a$$ too . LOL Do you have Craigslist ? Look on there for clothing . Email me i might be able to help you out. Or at least give ya some ideas email is coltonwade@yahoo.com or PM me. Mindy

This is a good topic for me right now. I have been over wt for about 7 yrs. Never have I really felt ( or noticed is probably more accurate) discrimination or even looks about my weight until recently . I can not get health insurance because of my weight. On top of the fact I have migraines. But its my weight. I have gotten private health insurance with migraines so its my weight. I was in tears a few days go because i got yet another rejection letter . Even though here i set 30 days or less before surgery , it hurts . HOnestly i do not know how the insurance company gets away with this. Its wt discrimination. Not only that but they TELL YOU they are deniying you because of your wt. My ONLY Option now is something called the Texas High Risk Health Pool. Its going to cost me $250 a month for a $5000 dedcutible for a PPO policy . Thats what im paying for my husband and my 2 boys . Its NUTS. Mindy

What I have been doing is putting away like $25 a week in a seperate savings account for my "Skinny" clothes fund. That way by time i am in need of skinny clothes I'll have a good chunck saved up and i'll be able to just have some fun buying them LOL. I did do something that I thought was silly when i heard others do it ... I LOVE LOVE LOVE Old Navy's Yoga pants. They are the best thing since sliced bread . The day after thanksgiving they were on sale for $10 . they are hardly ever on sale . I usually were an XL , they had one pair of XL , a L and the rest were M and S SO what do i do ? Buy the XL , L , M and S LMAO They are NEVER on sale and I thought " this will be motivation to get into something plus i can work out in them " I looked at the small and though " BOY this is a long way away " LMAO . But oh well . everytime I go to the mall I think " I cant wait until i can wear those " Thanks for listening so glad others understand. MIndy

Thank you Flabuless. Love your name by the way ! LOL Im trying to wait , im just not very good at it. Thank goodness its christmas time , I can justify shopping a bit lol. I LOVE Making other ppl feel good so christmas is the perfect time for that . Luckily we are not short on money this yr for the first time EVER. I just have to control it. I do however see a problem arrising with skinny clothes when i get there. I Could have a SERIOUS shopping issue lol Thanks again Mindy

There is no back up plan for us . We filed chapter 7 bankcrupcy in Feb of this yr , so I can not get financing or a credit card or card with large enough limits to cover it. The job IS going to pay , its almost done, with weather and delays from other contractors its just taking longer than expected. It was suppose to be finished this week , but now its behind schedule. The job will be done soon then we probably have to wait a few weeks to get paid. Im just a very impatient person lol. As far as the pre op stuff there really isnt a big hurry on any of it , I just do not want to do the pre op testing , have it done and be waiting for surgery . Again impatient. lol I think its just a matter of things being SO CLOSE now that i feel like its going to take forever . Thanks for listening . Mindy

Ok so here i sit waiting to "Start" this process. Im going to start my pre op testing the week after Christmas. IM waiting on money to come in from a job my husband is doing( we own our own business) i plan on having surgery the first or second week in Jan. DH tells me last night that the job might not be done until Jan. It was suppose to be done in December. So i get pissy , he tells me , " Could you wait until Feb ? " I got pissed and said " IM NOT WAITING until Feb you better figure something else out if i have to wait " Then i felt bad telling him that because he works SO HARD, not many husbands would bid a job working for an ass just to ger his wife surgery , which is what my dh did. But im so tired of waiting, I dont even want to start my pre op tests until I have my money in hand, Im afraid if i do then i'll be jinxing it or i'll be SO ANXIOUS I wont be able to stand it. I have had to watch my shopping habits. I think im trying to make myself feel better by shopping and i need to watch it . DH even said something and he usually doenst care how much money i spent as long as our bills get paid which they are . But im just obssesing about things right now. UGHHH. HOW DO you wait ? Thanks for listening Mindy:think

My best friend and I have been best friends for 20 yrs. Since we were 11. She's always been thinner than I was. Even when i was thin she was always tiny. Shes heavier now than she's ever been and that's a size 9 ,( I WISH ! That was my heaviest) LOL I wish I had not told her about wanting to have surgery . I got the whole " its the easy way out , I would feel better if you tried this and that first , Surgery is a big deal and I cant see "Waisting" money like that" you know the usual negative responses. Shes also a religious person who feels she can not lie which also involves saying those things to people that you really shouldnt say , ( You know those things you might THINK about your friends but you would NEVER SAY to them) well, she says them because she thinks it lying if you dont. So she said some pretty hurtful things to me. I could show you the emails . LOL Finally I had to explain to her that she could be supportive of my choice without supporting the surgery . She could just be supportive of ME. MOST of her negatvity came from just not knowing enough about the surgery , what she THOUGHT she knew was abotu bypass. She's alot better now but it took her several months. Its something I would have chosen NOT to keep from her but to do it again , I probably would have told her AFTER surgery . HTH Mindy

I do not think its particuarly fair and alot to ask to say to Lyndsey or anyone else that's had a bad experience in Mexico to " dont think that Mexico was a bad choice" its as if your asking everyone to discount their feelings. They have a right to how they feel based on the horrible experiences they have had with the surgeons they have had. I personally think its 100% normal and with in their rights to think Mexico was a bad choice , just as I would think the same if they said " I should not have gone to such and such doc in the states" . I applaud Lyndsey for telling everyone of her experience, hopefully it will save someone else the heart ache because obviously this doc is not safe. Just my input Mindy

This yr im looking forward to xmas for a few reasons. We started our own business in Feb and it is doing really well. So for the first time in my life I can afford to give my kids a nice christmas and not have to worry about how im going to pay my bills the next week or depend on my parents for ANYTHING this yr. Also im able to get my parents a nice gift as well . Something I have never been able to do . And im looking forward to being banded right after christmas . So its going to be a good christmas. We are not going anywhere so that wont cost anything . We just bought my husband a new truck , so with that , my surgery and christmas im not going to go overboard with christmas but we will be able to have a good one. Dinner will probably be at my parents house. Mindy

Once i hit the one month mark it was pretty much up hill from there. I remeber thinking this is NEVER going to get better on some days. But by time i got to one month i wasnt thinking of smoking as much . You should be up hill from here. I use gum too if i wanted to smoke. Still do if i get stressed out Mindy PS GOOD JOB Your doing AWESOME

Kimberly, Sorry I have to say somethings to what you said. You do not HAVE To smoke .. NOW , first let me say this, I am NOT one of those " Ex" Smokers who thinks EVERYONE should quit and will lecture everyone about it . Or think im a goodie goodie because i have quit. BUT i will tell you I have the will power of a fly , none, nada , zero ! I smoked for over 15 yrs at least a pack a day . And to answer your question "What am I suppose to do?Become a hermit & not go around my family and friends ever again?" YES , Not ever again but You tell ANYONE who smokes to NOT COME AROUND YOU SMOKING until you feel you can be around it and not have the urge to smoke. You do what EVER IT TAKES , what ever you feel you have to do to quit . I did what EVER I felt I HAD to do to quit. THat meant when friends and my dad came over ( I Smoked outside) NO SMOKING Outside, I threw away ANYTHING that was realated to smoking , Every single butt around my house , lighters, ashtrays ANYTHING. Stress is something else,.. I realized that when i quit smoking I had NO IDEA how to deal with stress with out cigs. I was SO VERY Stressed out when things stressed me out . BUT I learned to talk things out when they stressed me out and that helped alot. But my husband made a comment to me the other day , he said ' Do you know that since you quit smoking things do not stress you out as much and as easily as they use to " So maybe ciggs exaggerated stress symptoms. NOW I quit before i was banded to avoid having to quit and loose wt. But I kind of dont see the point of surgery to make yourself healthy if your going to smoke still ? It made more sense for me to quit before surgery than after. But TRUST ME IF I CAN Quit anyone can lol . Good luck and you can do it . HTH Mindy

Welbutrin taken for depression wont work as "Zyban" will for helping you quit. Its taking totally differently . Wellbutrin taken for depression helped me take the edge off my cravings and my irritability thouhg and it made quitting this time MUCH More bearable. HTH Mindy

Im not banded yet so im not sure exactly what is ok . What about tea? There is some really good Raspberry tea Arizona tea has that I drink when I broke myself of sodas. You might want to try that ? I get migraines if i dont get enough caffeine in and these teas work fine for me and they are not carbonated . Mindy

If you have ever had these at Chili's you will LOVE Them . Here is the recipe http://www.recipezaar.com/15870 You can make it simpiliar but buying the sauces , but these are SO GOOD HTH Mindy

CONGRATS Angelburch! that is AWESOME. and the docs will know . When they get in there and you start bleeding more than normal they will know you didnt quit smoking . :omg: so good for you for quitting. I agree quitting is a personal choice. I was one of those smokers that would ask non smokers if they minded if i smoked in MY Car. But i feel MUCH better now that im not smoking. My DH says im calmer too lol Mindy