I am scheduled for February 18th. I will be first in. Wow, this process takes forever.

On 09/09/2019 at 18:29, Goody222 said:

Size ten. That is my goal size so I can fit my “cute” clothes. congrats...you look great

Thanks.
My goal size is 8/10 so I’m really really close.
Another 10-15 pounds and I should be there.

On 9/8/2019 at 10:23 PM, Recidivist said:

Since I'm in the process of moving, I went through all of the clothes I own over the course of several weeks. I was thrilled to see that almost nothing fit any longer (including the "skinny jeans" I was keeping as inspiration), but I was then faced with the prospect of buying a whole new wardrobe. I dropped off many trash bags full of clothes to the local Salvation Army store, and then immediately walked around to the front to enter the store as a customer to buy smaller stuff. It's a relatively inexpensive way to refresh your wardrobe quickly!

Amazing! You look great! Keep up the good work.

On 9/5/2019 at 7:28 PM, Recidivist said:

Everything, you are gorgeous! What a beautiful face!

Thank you

23 hours ago, Goody222 said:

I wish you happiness with whatever you decide to do in your marriage. I would suggest you check into the cost of COBRA coverage if that is something you can Afford right now. it would continue your existing coverage and since you already met your deductible that is huge. Another option since your income has been reduced is to consider the ACA exchanges you might qualify for mostly subsidized coverage. Good luck and if you have any questions about coverage an options you can email me. I have manages benefits for various companies for over 20 years. I would be glad to help.

That’s helpful! Waiting on the paperwork now!

21 minutes ago, Everythinganna said:

That’s helpful! Waiting on the paperwork now!

Good luck.

15 hours ago, Goody222 said:

Good luck.

I have a question. So while I am waiting on the cobra paperwork which seems to be taking a long time, do I just pay cash and then send those receipts in or how is that handled?

I would assume dental is different? I had Delta dental and my son is supposed to get braces on Monday. I guess I am no longer covered..?.

3 hours ago, Everythinganna said:

I have a question. So while I am waiting on the cobra paperwork which seems to be taking a long time, do I just pay cash and then send those receipts in or how is that handled?

I would assume dental is different? I had Delta dental and my son is supposed to get braces on Monday. I guess I am no longer covered..?.

So, your husbands employer basically has 44 days to get the paperwork out( 30 to notify insurance or the benefits administrator and 14 to mail it to you. If it has been longer than that reach out to the employer. It would be a violation of the COBRA regs. No employer wants to mess with the DOL on this issue.

As far as paying and submitting receipts. If you can avoid it , I would. First, the insurance company is not authorizing whatever it is you are paying for. There is always a possibility that they deny it. Unless it is a routine doctor visit that is normally subject to a copay. The other concern is that insurance companies negotiate reimbursement rates with doctors. That rate is typically less than what the doctors office charges a cash paying person (unless the office is willing to provide a discount. You may run the risk of submitting a receipt for $200 and being reimbursed at$65 or some other low number.

As far as dental, that is also eligible for COBRA coverage(vision too).

I only have one caution, the cost of COBRA coverage can be quite a shock. As an employee your company typically contributes more than 5O% of the cost (obviously the employer contribution varies by company and the level of coverage I.e. employee only, family etc). With COBRA you pay the full premium plus 2% for administration.

Hoping yours is not too expensive.

Thank you goodie! I’m bracing for over $1,000 a month... hopefully it won’t be $2000 or more ?

On 9/10/2019 at 1:26 AM, Goody222 said:

You look great! Isn’t it crazy to think six months ago the jacket that is too big actually fit? Great job

Hey, Marine. You look fantastic! To me you look like a "normal" person now--I wouldn't consider you overweight if I met you on the street. Great job! As we've said, everyone's journey is different, but we will all end up in the same place if we stick to the program.

I really like the fact that you took the "after" picture in your "before" clothes, which makes the difference really dramatic!

Hi, all. I just wanted to say again how nice it is to have our little community here for support. I hope most of us continue to post here once we are in the maintenance stage.

Before leaving for Australia, I've been doing a "sentimental journey" to visit old friends and colleagues, none of whom have seen me since the surgery. Many of them don't recognize me at first, which I consider a compliment. Once they get past the shock, they invariably ask, "How did you do it?" I know they mean well, but I don't want to share my surgery with anyone but family and close friends. I generally say something like it was a long-term, medically supervised diet, with high protein, no sugar, and very little fat and carbs (all of which is actually true). I then change the subject.

How widely are you all sharing the fact that you had the surgery? What do you say to people with whom you have only sporadic contact?

On 09/11/2019 at 20:24, Recidivist said:

Hi, all. I just wanted to say again how nice it is to have our little community here for support. I hope most of us continue to post here once we are in the maintenance stage.

Before leaving for Australia, I've been doing a "sentimental journey" to visit old friends and colleagues, none of whom have seen me since the surgery. Many of them don't recognize me at first, which I consider a compliment. Once they get past the shock, they invariably ask, "How did you do it?" I know they mean well, but I don't want to share my surgery with anyone but family and close friends. I generally say something like it was a long-term, medically supervised diet, with high Protein, no sugar, and very little fat and carbs (all of which is actually true). I then change the subject.

How widely are you all sharing the fact that you had the surgery? What do you say to people with whom you have only sporadic contact?

Funny you should post this today.

So it’s flu shot season, which means many times during the day I step outside the pharmacy to give shots. Usually I wear my now-oversized smock coat, but we’re still dealing with second-summer and temps are well into the 90’s and I had my jacket off because I had started sweating

I went out to give a shot to a “regular” and her jaw dropped when she saw me.
She’s definitely MO— if I had to guess, I’d put her between 40-45% BMI— and she couldn’t stop asking me “how???”

I thought for a moment as I was prepping the shot and realized I’d be a pretty crappy healthcare professional if I didn’t explain the “how”.

What I said went something along the lines of
“After years and years of trying and failing on a multitude of different diet and exercise plans, I chose WLS as my tool to get my health and well-being back. It’s taken a lot of hard work and dedication and WILL CONTINUE to do so for my entire life, but I’m committed to making this life-altering change in previous habits and behaviors in order to live a healthier, happier life”.

I then gave some quick advice (because she told me she had been thinking about WLS) about checking first with her insurance to see if/what place was covered and then to plead watch videos and online seminars as the next step.
Who knows? Maybe it made a difference, but seeing the desperation in that woman’s eyes gave me the opportunity to maybe make a difference

20 hours ago, Sheribear68 said:

Funny you should post this today.

So it’s flu shot season, which means many times during the day I step outside the pharmacy to give shots. Usually I wear my now-oversized smock coat, but we’re still dealing with second-summer and temps are well into the 90’s and I had my jacket off because I had started sweating

I went out to give a shot to a “regular” and her jaw dropped when she saw me.
She’s definitely MO— if I had to guess, I’d put her between 40-45% BMI— and she couldn’t stop asking me “how???”

I thought for a moment as I was prepping the shot and realized I’d be a pretty crappy healthcare professional if I didn’t explain the “how”.

What I said went something along the lines of
“After years and years of trying and failing on a multitude of different diet and exercise plans, I chose WLS as my tool to get my health and well-being back. It’s taken a lot of hard work and dedication and WILL CONTINUE to do so for my entire life, but I’m committed to making this life-altering change in previous habits and behaviors in order to live a healthier, happier life”.

I then gave some quick advice (because she told me she had been thinking about WLS) about checking first with her insurance to see if/what place was covered and then to plead watch videos and online seminars as the next step.
Who knows? Maybe it made a difference, but seeing the desperation in that woman’s eyes gave me the opportunity to maybe make a difference

Great topic! For those who I know, but don't know well, such as casual work colleagues, I tell them that I've made a change in lifestyle and I'm focusing on eating more protein and less carbs. I leave it at that. I did have a situation, though, in which a former colleague asked me how I did it. She is overweight and kept pressing. She knew I had been out of the office in February for surgery, but not what kind. I finally told her, but the first thing I said to her when she said she was considering WLS too is "Oh, you don't need the surgery. You look great!" I really don't think I handled it well, but I wanted to boost her self esteem. She definitely wants to lose weight and because she is so overweight, I should have given her a different answer. I used to have people say things like that to me--that I looked great and didn't need to lose weight--but I know they were being kind. I did go back and tell my colleague to feel free to ask me any questions, so I hope that I helped her out a little.

On a side note, I find it so difficult seeing very overweight people now without thinking "Oh, you should consider WLS." I don't say it out loud, obviously, but when I see someone like that, I really feel for them and want to share with them what could be life changing and life saving!

I am just reading your posts and it struck me... what if I hadn't gone over to my friends house and she hadn't told me about her WLS. I know I would still be gaining weight and at 360 I was terribly ill. I didn't realise how ill I was till after. It seriously makes me shudder. I'd be on my way to death. I am SO thankful that the stars aligned... even though I ended up with the leak in my sleeve. I'd do it all over again.

Yesterday I went to Dress Barn to purchase some smaller pants. It was the first time ever I went to the regular size side of the store YEAH. I must admit I did feel a little lost, had no idea what size I am. The saleslady had me spin around and told me I was a REGULAR

Yesterday I went to Dress Barn to purchase some smaller pants. It was the first time ever I went to the regular size side of the store YEAH. I must admit I did feel a little lost, had no idea what size I am. The saleslady had me spin around and told me I was a REGULAR size 16!!. When I went to purchase the pants she told me I saved $10 on each pair because regular size is cheaper! YEAH