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WTH!?! FedEx has proof that you didn't sign for the package until 7/11. One would THINK that Countrywide would want someone to continue to pay on their mortgage instead of defaulting b/c you know if they have to sell your house, they might have to sell at a loss. My former mortgage (during the good real estate times) was with them but thank God I don't have a mtg with them now. Stupidity drives me crazy. After I bought my current house, i got all kind of "come back" emails and letters from them. Little did I know.... I was having trouble sleeping Thurs night and saw Treasury Secy Paulson and Fed Chairman Bernanke testifying about the Bear Sterns situation to the House Financial (or was it Financial Services?) Committee. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about the intricacies of real estate to completely understand what was being said. It was interesting timing to see that Friday, the announcement was made that the FDIC had taken over conservatorship of IndyMac Bank in California. WTF is going onnnnnnnn? This also doesn't taken into account about the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae situation. I agree with the earlier poster that Americans definitely have the entitlement mindset and spend way too much and save too little. However, there were scrupulous and fraudulent lenders that got many into this horrible, horrible situation. I personally believe anyone and everyone associated with fraudulent mortgages should GO TO JAIL. That, of course, would be nearly impossible to pull off. Enough of my rambling. Susan, I will be thinking about you and praying that you get the crap with Countrywide figured out. GIVE 'EM HELL. PS - And don't even get me started about the healthcare industry in this country.

Im ok with 900-1200 but thats it... even if I wanted to I cant eat more bc im full... I mean working out should help either way loose fat n gain muscle.. its not like im starving myself...so hopefully a combo with my eating n working should speed up the process... bc im not really loosing pounds right now

In the never ending saga of republican hypocrisy we have this story. Now keep in mind that thirteen republican state attorney generals are suing the federal government over the Affordable Health care and that they are using tax payer money to do so. If they are so cash strapped, where are they getting this money? Nebraska is one of those states and the Nebraska republican governor Heineman has the nerve to go hat in hand to the federal government. It sure takes cajones. Also, keep in mind that these same republican governors who regularly bash Obama and the federal government and the stimulus were more than happy to take that stimulus with one hand while criticizing it with the other. Now, they want the federal government to bail them out by not making spending cuts that will affect them. Hmmm. I thought the republicans said they had a mandate from the people to cut spending. But again, in true hypcritical fashion - they support cuts as long as it doesn't affect them (and that goes for people who support cuts in spending too - as long as they don't lose their job or are otherwise affected by the cuts then they're okay.) Governors to feds: Avoid causing states any more painSunday, February 27, 2011By Liz Sidoti, The Associated PressWASHINGTON -- Their states on the brink of financial catastrophe, governors pleaded Saturday for the divided federal government to avoid doing anything that would hamper the tenuous economic recovery back home. Their message to Washington: Prevent a government shutdown, abstain from spending cuts that dramatically will affect states and end even preliminary discussions about allowing states to declare bankruptcy. "Anything that Congress does that will undermine our recovery is quite troublesome to us," said Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, head of the National Governors Association, as she opened the bipartisan group's winter meeting. "We're asking for cooperation." "We don't need a hiccup now in our recovery," she added. "We are fragile." States have made $75 billion in budget cuts and raised taxes by $33 billion over the past two years to make up for budget shortfalls caused by the recession. Governors drained reserve cash funds and oversaw several rounds of severe budget cuts, so much so that Republicans and Democrats alike now are focused on how to completely remake state governments. The overall economic situation in states is improving. "Recovering, not recovered," as Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, a Democrat, put it. High unemployment persists. Even more dire budget situations are to come. Over the next 21/2 years, states face an estimated $175 billion more in budget gaps that they have no choice but to fill. The hole is caused partly because an initial infusion of cash from President Barack Obama's economic stimulus law, as well as extensions of that money, will dry up in June. States received $103 billion in Medicaid money and $48 billion in education dollars to soften the recession's blow. Ms. Gregoire and the NGA's vice chairman, Gov. Dave Heineman, R-Neb., recently met with House and Senate leaders as well as Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and asked them to be mindful of how the loss of the money, as well as further spending cuts, could hurt states. The warnings come just as the Commerce Department reported that state and local responses to the fiscal crisis were undercutting the national recovery, slowing economic growth. Governors said the report only proved their point. "For two years, governors have said when we cut we impact the recovery," said Ms. Gregoire. "We know we have to make the cuts, but we can ill afford to have Congress on top of that cutting us more because the result will slow the recovery in our home states and in the nation." Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, a Democrat, noted that, unlike the federal government, states are required to balance their budgets. Noting the painful cuts, he said, "We don't have any choice." To ease the pain, Maine Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican, urged the federal government to loosen regulations that he says are hindering the recovery. The governors met in Washington as Republicans who control the House and Democrats who run the Senate are in a high-stakes debate over the federal budget and trillion-dollar deficits. GOP leaders have faced pressure from a contingent of newly elected tea party-supported lawmakers to cut spending even deeper than originally planned, setting up a clash with the White House and Senate Democrats over legislation necessary to keep the government running past this coming Friday's deadline.

I don't know what state you’re in, but I've been in emergency medicine for about 8 years in CA and have been called to testify 7 times in 8 years. Never about service's I've rendered one time was a comment that was made in very poor taste by a paramedic from a different agency that I happened to be working alongside. Another was about a doctor who tried to take control of an emergency scene on a traffic collision and refused to release care of the patient and it slowed the patients arrival to the hospital, the other 5 were complete and utter BS, brought by scourge of the earth type people who I'd ran on literally hundreds of times and they were trying to get rich. That’s in 8 short years. Why should we limit them? Well let’s say the doctor does something atrocious. Let’s say you go in for appendicitis and you leave without your foot. Now you sue. And you get an extremely liberal jury who decides that your pain and suffering is worth 250 million dollars. Would you have ever made anywhere near that amount of money in your life? No. Is your pain worth a lot? Absolutely, but 250 mil? Now most likely a judge would throw that out and make his own ruling and assign a more reasonable number. But that is the sort of thing that can and does happen. One of the trials I testified in the person was asking 50 million dollars from the ambulance company because the medic never started an IV or hooked up a heart monitor. Now in this persons past trips they had almost always been hooked up to a heart monitor and had an IV started. They asked the medic why he didn't do it, he told them that the vitals were stable and it wasn't needed. The patient demanded he do what he was told by the patient, and the medic refused. And was being sued for 50 million dollars. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. Another was a person who wanted to be seen in the ER they "the fastest" way in was by ambulance complaining of chest pain. However they didn't know that we had a no nonsense medic working with us and a equally no nonsense triage nurse and PA waiting at the ED. So in route the patient was attached to a 12 lead that showed nothing, BP was normal, skin's normal, resp rate normal, the only thing abnormal was the patients pain scale which when we asked they very calmly said it was at least a 10 out of 10. I've never experienced what I would call a 10 out of 10 pain wise but I have been in so much pain I was on the ground in tears, I'd call that about a 9. To have someone look me square in the face and say 10 usually to be honest makes laugh a little inside. So needless to say we arrive at the ED we've already made base contact informed them we would be bringing the patient in threw triage as they were not critical and didn't need a bed right away. The patient felt otherwise and sued the ambulance company, my fire department, the hospital and the doctors group that the PA worked for as well as the triage nurse. And he only wanted a cool 25 million for his "pain and suffering". If we stop these we stop a lot of wasted money. Two examples of my short 8 years in the medical service. There are probably thousands and thousands more.

I agree. Even as an adoptive mom, I would have loved to breastfeed. That wasn't possible in MY case. Some can. We found out about our daughter 2 weeks before her birth, so I didn't have enough time to prepare. They need to switch her formula! The poor child is going to be malnourished if she's throwing up that much! There are alternative formulas on the market that are great. DD did great on formula. I didn't have to warm it (she hated it warmed) and almost NEVER spit up. We'd mix a batch in the AM and fill bottles as needed. Did the playtex insert things and that was nice and easy. She's rarely sick and it's always mild, when her friends are sick as dogs (having been breasfed babies). I know all of us have our own experiences and our kids will be sick or not, no matter how or what they were fed. The formulas these days are really good, though not equivalent to breastmilk, are close with all the nutrients, etc. DD's never had an ear infection, major illness or anything. AND she's almost 2 1/2! Now when she gets to preschool, whole 'nother story! LOL! I do dislike the 'rabidness' of some of the people of the breastfeeding coalition. Some of us just can't. If I'd had a bio-kid it's not guaranteed that I'd been able to breastfeed. The women in my family have a history of not being able to, either at all, for very long, or very well. I totally agree with breastfeeding IF you can BUT you shouldn't be made to feel bad if you can't or won't.

My daughter was breastfed until 3 1/2, never had an ear infection, rarely sick, etc., in that time. Then she weaned, and within a year and a half, she'd had over a dozen ear infections, sick all the time, had to have tubes put in her ears. The thing is, what they won't say, breastfeeding doesn't prevent illness, allergies, obesity, and all that. Formula increases the risk. Breastfeeding just leaves the child at the biological norm for them. If your children (and other breastfed children) have asthma, sleep apnea, etc., they would be worse off and sicker if they'd been formula fed. However, everybody wants to say things like "breastfeeding reduces the risks of _____" when it should be "formula increases the risks of _____."

That really is a drag. That knowledge would have saved you a lot of frustration and relieved you of all feelings of failure. I must confess that I didn't know this when I paid for the operation. At the time I just felt so fed up with being fat that I cut a cheque, and got the band. It was my dumb good luck that the band solved many of my problems and that I had an easy time recovering from the surgery.

I can't wait for my plastics I'm terrified of the pain bc I'm a huge baby and had the hardest time with recovery from my gastric bypass but I feel I've earned this i worked my butt off literally to be healthy and fit now I wanna be happy and feel comfortable in clothes I have to constently tuck in my skin and my breasts are like a 100 year old lady my arms don't bother me but the loose skin from my breast and belly honestly hurt the more weight I lost the more pain I was in I can wait to wear jeans comfortably and feel like a 26 year old!! Instead of the old women I feel like now so I'll spend the 18,500 dollars to be comfortable in my own skin I need skin removed from my thighs but that can wait!!!

I'm bored and raised in Tennessee with redneck family members that are all from the South. To us, going North is Kentucky. I'm not ignorant, but we're Southerners at heart. I think that is a good question because my life has always revolved around food. As a kid (I've even noticed I've done this with my kids) we're rewarded with food. When people came to our house, you were just fed. If you didn't eat what was offered it was considered rude. Cleaning your plate was a must to show respect. I know as I've gotten older (I'm 36) it makes me happy to see people devour my food I've cooked or to praise me with how it tastes. Food was used as comfort. If I was sick, eating would cure it all (except a tummy bug). Us Southerners have "comfort foods" that are fried in lard, bacon grease, or oils and you had your sweets like homemade pies, cookies and cakes. Carbs was/is a staple. Every meal had biscuits or cornbread (not the sweet kind). I actually just finished making biscuits for my husband that I freeze for his breakfast. We are all up in peoples business. When something happens in a persons family, it's nothing to take casseroles, cakes, breads, etc. I have struggled so much to lose weight. I'm 9 months post op and I've been stalled for 2-3 months. Winter is hard for me because of deaths and birthdays and I've used food for comfort my whole life except when I was on drugs. I can't speak for all Southerners, but this is my own personal experience.

Wow, well with this surgery most people have some of the same negatives (the liquid diet), or have similar negative side effects (nausea/constipation), but also have good things to balance it out. I have gone through a lot of the same things as everyone else on here, and am also going through some stuff that may not be as common. Whether or not it makes us regret the surgery is definitely a personal experience based on many factors, but it seems like the majority come out on the side of No Regrets. Like you, I considered backing out a month or so before my surgery date. My daughter helped me realize that with surgery things may or may not get better, and yes, some things could possibly get worse (small percentage). But without it, probably nothing was going to change (at least not for the better). So it ended up being a no brainer and I felt extremely confident going forward even through the sucky pre-op diet (over Xmas) and what I assumed would just be a terrible first few months of puking and misery post-op. Things did not turn out the way I thought, and as I have just been journaling, I will share, if you care to read: I am 5 months post-op as of yesterday. I am down 51.2 lbs, 31 total inches overall since pre-op, body fat percentage back under 30%. My weight loss has been a bit slower than most - they say probably bc my starting weight was lower (205.8) and also I have a lot of chronic pain so my workouts are not exactly intense. But thankfully the more I lose the better I can move. My body did not want to let go of these last couple lbs - I thought I'd never reach the 50 lb milestone! It was like 48, 48.5, 49.2, 49.6...like seriously? Lol, talk about a frustrating month! But I'm finally over that hurdle and goal is between 14-20 lbs from here. I'm short, so honestly I have always looked better lower than that - say in my 120's, but I'm older now and my skin is not bouncing back the way it once did, and gravity is a real son of gun. So I will probably stop around 135/140 in order to keep things looking a little more "well-rounded" - and I also think it will be easier to maintain. That's my thought process right now anyway. My surgery itself went smooth, so no issues there. I have never vomited (which shocks me no end as I'm prone to nausea), I have felt nauseated 2-3x max - but it passed quickly. I do, however, have issues with reflux. Had reflux pre-op that was well controlled by OTC Nexium. Now it can be very painful at times. Like some others, I too think maybe I should have considered the by-pass more seriously, but also bc my ins did not cover and I went to MX as self-pay, the sleeve seemed like the best option overall. One thing for me is I never lost the hunger sensation. My "Ghrelin Game's" strong, I guess. But the biggest "issue" I have had, and it's no small thing, is I still struggle with many solid foods. I have slowly introduced them as instructed and when instructed, chew chew chew, etc. But after maybe 5 small bites of MANY foods (I do ok w/some), I still feel hungry, so I intend to probably eat a few more bites to become satiated, but all of a sudden start getting bad pain in center of diaphragm...feel completely "clogged" or "backed up" with food even though I've eaten so little and I still felt hungry 2 seconds ago...then usually get some reflux...get the hiccups...will need to take Tums...often suck on 1 or 2 wintergreen Lifesavers as they also seem to help w/digestion...then suck on ice chips for a little while which also seems to help. It sounds pretty miserable, and honestly, it is. To avoid, I could probably take 2-3 small bites, wait 20-30 minutes and have another 2-3 bites. Or, just stick to eating softer food. So, most nights I have yogurt for dinner with unflavored protein powder, chia seeds, a few mashed fresh blackberries, and a little organic coconut granola. It's about 5 oz. total, and I take my time eating that also - about 20 mins I'd say. Luckily, I enjoy the yogurt combo, but once or twice a week, I want Real Food for dinner, and that is my struggle. It's especially hard on the weekends bc my husband and I like to go out on Sat to a farmer's market or something and then have lunch (or dinner & a movie...). But it's miserable for me to sit at a restaurant where I can barely eat anything on the menu (comfortably) and then have to sit (w/back pain & probably stomach pain) and wait for my husband to enjoy his meal. Lately we haven't been going out much, which is a real drag. I expected it to be like this for the first several mos, but figured it would slowly be getting better by now. I knew I'd have diet restrictions and certain foods would take longer to agree w/me (some might never work well again), but I didn't expect that So Many real foods (meaning meats/veggies, etc. dinner type foods) would be too painful to eat. For me this is the most difficult thing and I am praying it gets better w/time. If I can eat a couple oz. of chicken/turkey/fish/steak + say 1/2 cup of cooked veggies/salad/potatoes (whatever), w/o any pain or reflux, and enjoy my food & comfortably sit & enjoy the company of my husband (sisters/kids) until they finish eating, even if it's at 9 months or a yr post-op, I will be ok w/that. It's the thought that it might never happen that worries me. On the other hand, when this happens, my husband feels so bad, and sometimes says, "I'm sorry babe, you must really regret having that surgery now." And I'm like, "No I don't! How else was I ever going to lose 50 pounds in 5 mos w/all the health/pain issues I have?" I never thought I would weigh 154 lbs again, much less 135-140 where I hope to land. So, yeah. It sucks that I have to eat yogurt for dinner most nights. (There are a handful of other things I could have instead, but some of those I have for breakfast/lunch/snacks, and also the yogurt is easy to throw together). But hopefully that will get better as more time passes, and if it doesn't...I don't know...I have to think it's got to be better than stuffing my face w/whatever I wanted but then feeling awful every time I got dressed or looked in the mirror...

I have only been banded for a week, so I have not had any fills yet but I hear the flouroscopy is better for finding the port. I am now praying it is bc you have me scared . I am not one for needles but if I was in your situation I would try the other way and if you can't you can always just say to yourself "it hurts to be beautiful". My mother used to tell me that when she was brushing my hair as a child. Now I totally see that with eyelash curlers and such tools she was right all along. :tt2: Good luck!!

A few things... 1--you can get insurance for anything...but the more a policy covers, the more it costs. People have BC/BS policies that pay and other people have policies that don't. You need to get a copy of YOUR policy and see what YOUR policy covers. It can be very different from the BC/BS policy the person next door has. And you'll seldom get the same answer twice from the people who work there. (Some just read better than others.) 2--a lot of what gets covered and what doesn't is in how you phrase it. My insurance is NOT in the mood to pay for a breast lift. But if WILL pay for a breast reduction and, if what is left of my breasts turns out to be lifted....well, oh my. If you ask for wls, you probably won't get it. If you ask for weight loss surgery because you're overweight, you probably won't get it. BUT, if you ask for weight loss surgery as treatment for morbid obesity, then you're at least in the ballpark. 3--your BMI is close. Most insurers want a BMI of 40. So if you are 5'9" and 265, your BMI is 39.1 and you are NOT MO. But if you are 5'8" and 265, your BMI is 40.3 and you ARE MO. So wear your heaviest jeans and several layers of clothes and, if they measure your height, have them do it while your shoes are off. Also, some insurers accept a BMI of 35 WITH comorbidities. Do you have any health problems related to your weight. (Do you snore? Have you had a sleep study?) Then, I'm going to kind of give you a hard time here: You need to read more. My answers might be right or they might be way out in left field. When you pop into an internet bulletin board and ask a question, your answers could be coming from two drunks and an inmate with nothing better to do. Get information from several sources, and don't trust any ONE source to be 100% accurate all of the time. Good luck, Sue

Okay, I was banded 12.01.09 and I have only lost 17lbs to date. I have had 3 fills and I still feel hungry after eating a saucer of food. I am not making horrible food choices, and I exercise at least 3 days a week. My surgeon for some reason will not tell me how much he has filled my band with...the last time i saw him, he was just fussing @ me and making me feel even worse than I already do. He says I am the worst patient he has ever had. Preop i was 296 and when I weighed myself today i was 279. I mean, I dnt know what i am doing wrong..I told my doc I can eat more than a saucer, he gave me a fill(i guess), but I still dnt have that feeling of being satisfied...the only difference I feel is when I eat certain foods like baked chicken, it is very hard for it to go down and I start having productive burps and the sliming starts. I have since moved to another city and my insurance doesnt kick in unitl june1st...i have an appt with another lapband doc here on the 2nd of june...maybe he can help me get on track...im just so upset and mad @ myself bc im not losing any weight. Is the intial weightloss supposed to be this slow? Maybe I shouldve gotten the gastric bypass. Anyone with any advice, plz help. Thanks:confused:

Okay, I was banded 12.01.09 and I have only lost 17lbs to date. I have had 3 fills and I still feel hungry after eating a saucer of food. I am not making horrible food choices, and I exercise at least 3 days a week. My surgeon for some reason will not tell me how much he has filled my band with...the last time i saw him, he was just fussing @ me and making me feel even worse than I already do. He says I am the worst patient he has ever had. Preop i was 296 and when I weighed myself today i was 279. I mean, I dnt know what i am doing wrong..I told my doc I can eat more than a saucer, he gave me a fill(i guess), but I still dnt have that feeling of being satisfied...the only difference I feel is when I eat certain foods like baked chicken, it is very hard for it to go down and I start having productive burps and the sliming starts. I have since moved to another city and my insurance doesnt kick in unitl june1st...i have an appt with another lapband doc here on the 2nd of june...maybe he can help me get on track...im just so upset and mad @ myself bc im not losing any weight. Is the intial weightloss supposed to be this slow? Maybe I shouldve gotten the gastric bypass. Anyone with any advice, plz help. Thanks:confused:

I've done reasearch and I was trying to make a point. Religion and science are one in the same. Just for the record it's the spirtual world not super natural bs. Those worlds exist! There are many realms outside of what you see before you. I totally agree with what you are stated especially the holocust of innocent people! Actually there were billions of Africans slaughtered. There is no excuse for that what's so ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had my weight loss surgery 4 months ago and am down 84lbs, and my husband is driving me nuts, he is convinced I am cheating on him, he said it has nothing to do with the weight loss but that's BS!!! 84 lbs ago he could care less what I did, were I went or if I even came home after a night out with the girls, now he blows up my phone the entire time Im out and I have never given him a reason to believe that I was. I am how ever going out more than I was, I no longer feel like the big pink elephant in the room and I can actually find cute clothes that fit me. Its really an insult that he felt like no one would bother with me before but now I might have a shot. He's even looked at my phone records and was calling numbers!!! I know 2 other people that have had surgeries and they to are now divorced which is were I feel like I want to be, not because I want to find better but because he thought so little of me. Just remember everyones different, Im just telling of my experience. Good luck!!!

Thanks Cookie, That was very nice of you. I'm not the type of person who responds well to attacks and well who the heck does? We all have a breaking point where we just blow and can't take it anymore. It takes me a while to get things right and if I'm not getting something right I reach out for feedback and this being the lap band talk forum I found it to be the best place to reach out to others and see if there were others out there who were having similar issues. Some took it as I was just not exercising enough and eating around the band and others took me as a lap band hater. I found my depression to have a profound influence in my life and tended to use food as a comfort. I had a hard time replacing that comfort with something positive. I also genetically have always been a bit pudgy but the yo yo dieting tended to make me bigger and bigger and so that was not helping. Since the band my diabetes got worse and I ended up with high cholesterol for the first time in my life. So putting it all together this was not a good mix and I felt like a failure because I went through all of this and ended up more depressed and more unhealthy than I ever have been in my life. There was something keeping me from becoming healthy from the inside out and having been fed negatives about myself all my life and then the fear of more negatives because of my "failure attempt at banding" I felt more like crap and then one day it seemed I was getting it from all ends and POOF I blew, but it also was "knock on wood" a turning point for me to seek out health from the inside out and work my way to a healthier opinion of myself and also in turn have a healthier body and mind. I think we all come here to help ourselves in one way or another. We need this validation somehow and also by helping others we find a great feeling and it also helps how we relate to ourselves in a positive light. I think some people who tend to write a bit too much about themselves can be seen as annoying to others and feel that an attack is in order. It's not something we can control just how we deal with it is the important thing. If we're attacked here on a thread and don't take it personally then we're doing well! Anyway I've written way too much on the matter and hope that all do well and find what works for us and thanks to all out there that have helped me in my journey I really, really appreciate it. Only you really know what it's like we have that in common even if we all didn't start out the same or end the same we're all pretty much looking for the band to help us in our journey for health, thanks brandyII.:cursing:

Sometimes if a woman feels insecure she distances herself emotionally bc if u were to leave her it won't hurt as much. This is one way people (men and women) self-sabotage relationships. "well he's gonna leave me anyway so it may as well be on my terms" What she needs is to be reassured Ur in this together. Regardless of weight loss or gain. You need to make up your mind whether you truly want to be together or whether this honeymoon phase with your weight loss is going to turn Ur head at other girls that pay you more attention.

All of my hair has fallen out. Like all. I went to the doctor for my 3 month follow up and he checked labs early bc of how much had fallen out. They all were normal. I did add biotin but I basically have bald spots. I ordered a wig bc there’s nothing I can do. 😭 I’m 4 months out. This all came out at once and it hasn’t stopped.

Lighten up, its just a donut. Lighten up, its just a spoon of fried crap. Lighten up (7 months after sleeve) ooooo its just a carton of ben and jerrys. My cheater foods now are honey sprinkled on my greek yogurt. Whole wheat pita bread with sauce and low fat mozarella. Skinny latte from starbucks. I am purposely staying away from shitty stuff bc i know myself

Hi all. I'm went to college and earned my BS in Criminal Justice and now I'm a customer service advisor at a credit card call center in Springfield Mo for the last 4 yrs, before that I was a eligibility specialist at Family Services..

I sooo agree I have three kids who are autistic and I have to travel a half hr every 30 days per child so I make 6 round trips a month for prescriptions for kids at that all bc of drug addicts and pill abusers I think they need to punish those offenders and not everyone. I could go on and on about this subject. It's bad enough the money you pay for prescriptions let alone the gas you pay going back and forth for them. I could maybe even somewhat understand if the meds were pain meds but they are nothing but pills to help the moods with autistic children. It's an absolute shame. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I was self pay for band in 2001 and did well with weight loss at the beginning. Had some fills and unfills around 2009 and after that never felt right. Was too tight and did not eat well. Had imaging studies in 2011that showed esophagitis, gastritis, and a hiatal hernia. I had terrible shoulder pain and heartburn almost daily. Finally had the band emptied in 2013 but still have symptoms. Had a surgeon send in a letter in 2011 but was denied. I never got a copy of the denial. I want to try again but I have not been at a 35 bmi for two years. Anyone approved due to medical necessity for similar circumstances? Also my preferred surgeon is not at a center of excellence and I really want him to do my surgery. I have thought about self pay but am scared that if I develop complications since I have had band for 14 years that insurance will not cover the complications. Thank you for your thoughts!

I know that I am in perimenopause. My GYN diagnosed that last year after I kept complaining about hot flashes. This year is the first time that I have skipped periods without being on some type of bc pills. I am hoping that I won't have to go the route of hysterectomy. My mom had hers done in her 30s. I am already starting all of the problems she had plus PCOS. Thanks EVE for screwing it up for all womankind! lol

Yes, just because it comes from the deli counter doesnt mean its identifiable as meat. I dont buy frozen chicken or fish either. To me, chicken comes from the butcher, either whole, or as breast fillets, pieces, thighs etc. I usually buy free range chickens, organic are a bit expensive. I also wont buy Aldi chickens becuase they're HUGE for $7.50, sheesh, WHAT must they have fed those things. Im surprised they dont breed them with four drumsticks, except they'd probably never be able to catch them. I dunno, I just feel with meat, fresh, and identifiable as what it once was is best. Deli meat freaks me out a little. Like black pudding EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW. I give the kids chicken sandwiches in their school lunches, I just take a fillet, microwave it for a few minutes and shred. You can keep it in the freezer too. It thaws OK. They'll eat ham, but I wont coz I just plain dont like it. But all those kids meats, chicken loaf and and smiley loaf etc, what on earth is it? *runs screaming from the supermarket* Look, I'm a big old hypocrite. I just have my little phobias - artificial sweetener and deli meat being two of them. I see no problem at all with guzzling a gallon of coffee a day, so dont listen to me, lol.