mkmelissag

I, too, have been screwed over by my husband's employer....we got our new ins cards (United Healthcare Choice Plus, as well) and the first thing I did was look up the coverage. I had a bad feeling, esp since I know my hubby blabbed all about my surgery to his co-workers, and he works for a small company. Sure enough - the first exclusion - ANY treatment for obesity, surgical or non-surgical. I had surgery on 12/24 - and barely made it - I was rescheduled two times! (Yeah, thanks for all your prayers for my speedy recovery - you could have at least given us the courtesy to let us know that coverage for service that you KNEW we used was going to change! Sorry, I'm not the least bit bitter, am I? ) My surgeon has a deal where if you pay that day, its 50% off - so $140 for a fill. I can deal with that every 6 to 8 weeks. I'm a little concerned now, however, since my first fill attempt was unsuccessful. If I have to do a fill under x-ray, I will have to pay the hospital $500+. I hope it doesn't come to that. I'm in Bolingbrook and I really love my surgeon - let me know if you want contact info. I'm going to my first group meeting Tues night. They are once a month, and free. Good luck and let us know how it turns out for you.

I'm so glad I found this thread. The exact same thing happened to me - on the same day no less! Went in for the first fill - three monster needles and lots of rooting around in there, and no luck. He found the port just fine, but couldn't get to the center. He said the angle might be off,and he didn't want to torture me anymore. Honestly it didn't hurt much at all... he doesn't numb,says the worst part is the needle piercing the skin, which I found to be true. He offered to go to x-ray, but since his office is in a hospital and I'm self-pay, I would owe the hospital $500 + just for the xray. I'm going back next Friday to try again. I just hope my port isn't "flipped". I can't afford another surgery! Good luck on Tuesday - I'll be checking in to see how it goes!

OMG - this is so me. I've always spent my Sundays cooking and prepping food for the week, but now what used to last a week could easily last a whole month! I'm having a hard time learning to cook in smaller portions. I keep saying I'm going to have a "clean the freezer" week (or two or three), but I'm always seduced by a new recipe, or I just get plain bored! I'm going to try to stay out of the grocery store this weekend. No inspiration/temptations! I'm a HUGE fan of TopChef. I keep thinking about trying to come up with my own "amuse bouche." :thumbup: I did get a Spanish Tapas cookbook for Christmas. Still, I don't need 18 appetizer portions. I just don't know how to shop or cook in such small amounts!

LOL! I can't wait until that happens for me! :rolleyes2: Someday I will be smaller than hubby!

I get this a lot too - especially from my mom and sister. I try to respond by saying right now I'm not focusing on the numbers, but rather on how I feel. Then I show them how loose my pants are. I was banded on 12/24 and have 2 weeks until my first fill. I get tired of trying to explain fills, restriction, etc. too. I weigh myself only once a week anyway, so I can always say, "gee, I'm not sure, haven't weighed since Tuesday!" I also hate, can you eat that??? Um, if I couldn't, I wouldn't. I don't need food police. :thumbup:

I also agree with not adding water. I've found that adding additional herbs/spices towards the end of the cooking works best. It's almost like all the flavor boils away if you add it all at the beginning (except for bay leaves) . A splash of vinegar or worchestserhire sauce at the end does wonders.

Emjay - thanks for the tip - that's a great blog!

My doc says once a week. I have to it do at the gym because I'm still too heavy for my home scale to register :thumbup: and I refuse to buy a new one! They do weigh me at the docs of course, but my doc is more interested in what I'm weighing at home. I do struggle with the temptation to weigh myself more often, but I know that is only self-sabotaging. I'm trying to focus more on how I feel and how my clothes are fitting.

I second that! When they first canceled my surgery the day of due to my sinus issues, I was told to come back in two weeks - which would have been the 18th. I spoke with the girl in the office on the 4th, confirmed (so I thought), the 18th. I needed to have my insurance approval extended, and I was really worried I wouldn't get in by the end of the year because my husbands insurance is changing Jan 1. I did not wan to start this whole thing over again with a new ins co! I called last Wednesday just to check everything was OK with the ins - left a msg. Didn't get a call back by noon on Friday - called again. They had to "look into it and call me back". I was NOT scheduled on the 18th! She called me back at 5 minutes to five on Friday - I'm scheduled now on the 23rd. Whew! I have a suspicion that until I called last Friday I had been forgotten, and then they scrambled to get me in. It pays to be persistant! BTW - Karyna - can you udpate my surg date to the 23rd? Merry Christmas to me! :thumbup:

The low-carb stuff isn't too bad once you get all the "carby" stuff out of the house. My hubby is so excited for me to get the lap band, and the low-carb pre-op diet. Low carb is his weapon of choice in the battle of the bulge. I won't be "sabotaging" him any more! Some of my faves: I find that tuna, chicken or egg salad are good to eat with a lot of salad greens. And easy to make in a pinch. I eat my eggs and bacon every morning. Real cream in the coffee - no sugar. I'm not a huge meat eater, so I like to steam up a pile of broccoli and cauliflower and make a cheese sauce out of cream, cream cheese and cheddar. Yummy. Snack on celery and cream cheese. Taco salads without the chips. Then SF Jello with real whipped cream for dessert. I can keep that up for a couple of weeks. I never could longer than that, though. That's why I'm doing lap band! If hubby keeps it up, he'll probably lose as much as me! Sending everyone being banded this week tons of good thoughts!

It's funny - my surgeon's criteria for needing a fill is exactly that. He said "if you can eat a whole Subway, then you need a fill".

I can't wait to hear from the others that were scheduled for today! I was one of them, until the anesthesiologist took a look at my throat and listened to my lungs. Turns out my minor sinus congestion was not so minor. Because of the risk of pneumonia, and that I have airway issues (sleep apnea) anyway, she won't touch me for at least two weeks! AH! I was so bummed this morning, and went out for a big pancake breakfast (terrible, I know). I was freaking out because my 90 day window for insurance approval is about to expire and I will have re-submit everything. Also, the word at my husband's job is that the insurance will be changing on Jan 1, so if I don't get it done by the end of the year, I'm going to have to start over with a whole new ins co! I feel a lot better now that I've talked to the ins coordinator at the the surgeons ofc - she said not to worry - she's already working on the new approval. I'm tentatively rescheduled for the 18th. I stopped by my pcp, and she gave me the stongest antibiotic she could. I think she was just as bummed - she's been trying to get me to do the lap band for almost 2 yrs now! Actually now I'm kind of glad. I don't want to risk complications. An the 18th works out better work schedule-wise.... more time to re-coop with the holiday thrown in. Thank goodness we didn't plan to travel this Xmas! Anyway, I hope everyone else who was scheduled today sailed through with flying colors. You guys are in my thoughts.

Tomorrow is the day! AAAHHH! And I'm a little crabby today.... unexpectedly. I was totally pumped yesterday, but this morning at breakfast I snapped at my poor hubby. I must be mourning the bacon, realizing this was my last "real" breakfast in a long time. :sad: (my pre-op diet is low-carb) I need some advice..... I woke up yesterday with sinus congestion and a bit of sore throat (probably from the drainage). It's a little better today, but not great. I don't have a fever. Do I call my surgeon? I afraid if I call they'll cancel. Best wishes on everyone who's day is today - you are in my thoughts!

Hi! I've been reading this thread for a couple of weeks now, but this is my first post. I'm scheduled for December 4th and I'm excited and nervous at the same time! I'm so glad to have found this site - it's been so helpful already! I had my pre-admit blood work done today, and it suddenly became so real. Even though I've been working towards this for over 3 months, all of a sudden it seemed to come up so fast!