Weight Loss Surgery If you've had it, or are considering it, share your discussions here

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Old 07-04-2011, 01:05 AM   #1  
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As I type this I feel this pain in my heart. The sadness is killing me. I was diagnosed with PCOS and diabetes, high colesterol, high blood presure, and so on. I decided to make a change. I started going 5 time a week to the gym and I changed the way I eat and its been half a year and no weight loss. I really don't know what to do. I don't even know how much they charge for the surgery or if I could pay monthly since I can't afford a chunk of money nor do I have insurance. Can someone please help me. I'm starting to get worst chest pains like sharp pains that run through all the way to my arm or shoulders. I don't want to die. I've changed the way I eat but its no help. Why?
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Old 07-04-2011, 10:12 AM   #2  
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Good morning, Daughter! and i hope you weren't on the East Coast when you submitted this post - that's too late at night to be up worrying!

As you can see, I used the magic moderator wand to move your post so that more people will see it.

Believe me, i feel your fear. let's start with how old you are - but no matter what age you are, chest pains mean YOU HAVE TO GO TO A DOCTOR. honest. you need an ECG and a few other test to get checked out. and i'm here to tell you that it could be stress, but it also could be more serious.

let's not panic about the surgery just yet - ya gotta deal with the chest pains first. and then do some research to find the best surgery for you, and then figure out how to pay for it. depending on your age, you might qualify for medicare. if your income is low enough, you might qualify for medicaid in your state, but each state has different policies.

as for the WHY, well, it's really hard to say. some diabetes drugs cause weight gain - so the fact that you've maintained might be a real accomplishment. sometimes the type of exercise makes a difference, sometimes the mix of foods makes a difference.

let's just take it one step at a time. GO GET THOSE CHEST PAINS CHECKED OUT!!!!

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Old 07-04-2011, 02:22 PM   #3  
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Thank you. I am 23 years old. I was up till 5am crying. So yeah the time was right =/ I'm soo tired of this weight I need it off. I applied for medi and I was denied. I am nit on medication for diabetes anymore since I couldn't afford them. I no longer take any meds at all. All this is stressing me more and more everyday. The only meds I currently have left over are the ibupropher for the PCOS pain and the arthritis medicine. Once I finish them, I can no longer get more. But I know if I get the surgery I won't get all these chest pain etc.
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Old 07-04-2011, 03:07 PM   #4  
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Do you work? Is there a reason you cannot afford the meds? Have you spoken to your doctor about not being able to afford medication? There are several patient assistance programs that provide low cost or free medications based on income. Ask them ASAP. Do you measure your blood sugars? Every day you have high readings and do not take your medication, you are potentially damaging your body. At 23, you are way too young for that.

Strongly agree - go to an emergency department if you don't have a doctor and tell them you have chest pain. Treatment will be given regardless of your ability to pay per federal law. You need to get checked out. Diabetes + high blood pressure + obesity puts you at very high risk for heart problems, please get it investigated asap.
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Old 07-04-2011, 03:52 PM   #5  
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in addition to patient assistance programs, there are a lot of discount drug plans. ask your pharmacist for some help - they have LOTS of information. I'm assuming your working at a job that doesn't give you benefits - right? and maybe only parttime?

as hard as it is these days, please also consider finding another job, a fuill time one with benefits. and believe me, i know first-hand how hard that can be, but it's gotta be a priority so that you can afford your medications and get yourself healthy.

and about the chest pains - surgery DOES NOT guarantee that they'll go away. chances are good that they WILL go away, but everything depends on what's causing them, and my bet right now is that they're all part of an anxiety attack or stress. but YOU'LL NEVER KNOW UNTIL YOU GET CHECKED OUT!!!

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Old 07-04-2011, 04:24 PM   #6  
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one more thing. tell your doc what's going on - including the fact that you can't afford the meds and therefore you're not taking them. Although the rules have changed concerning what pharmaceutical reps can and can't do in a doc's office, they STILL drop off samples, and most docs will give them to patients who can't afford them.

your doc might also be able to prescribe a different, much less expensive medication - and that can help.

don't give up on yourself - and don't give into the panic. NOW is the time for coming up with solutions so that you can live a long and happy life. honest!
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Old 07-04-2011, 09:18 PM   #7  
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Daughter of a king. Wow, I feel the pain you are in...I am sending you some love and positive thoughts!

Now, get to a hospital and have the ekg done its simple and painless, just so you can know for sure if its anxiety or heart issues. Don't worry about the cost, the hospitals around here anyway, have a charity program that helps pay for hospital bills you just have to be proactive. Find out who will help you, do the paperwork and Stand up for yourself!

Believe me, it's easy for me to say that to you from this perspective...I did not know how to, or feel I deserved to stand up for myself but I learned the hard way. Don't let it go, do something now....sometimes we feel out of control but we are the adults now, we can be strong when we thought we couldn't. Love yourself, be there for you....no one else will ever really know where you've been, where you're going, what you think, feel, need or want....you HAVE to take good care of you, in the end...no one else can...we can just cheer you on!

You know it maybe that the chest pains are anxiety but what is the best way to relieve the anxiety that you might be having heart issues? get the EKG and prove to yourself that it isn't. If there are heart issues it is easier and cheaper to find them out now and treat them.

The best way for you to feel like you have control over your life is to be proactive...in your medical treatment, to read about weight loss alternatives, go to OA, find out about surgeons in your area (mine forgave the balance my ins. didn't pay...there are people that care), get a counselor (there are some through the Women and Children's Alliance that are free), and never give up!!

One of my favorite things to say is something like what Martin Luther King once said..."If you can no longer run, than walk...if you can't walk, than crawl...if you can't crawl, than sit....take a rest...and than get up and go again!"

Angela

Last edited by missangelaks; 07-04-2011 at 09:26 PM.
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Old 07-04-2011, 10:28 PM   #8  
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BTW, i gotta point out your own stats. you've lost 40 pounds - MORE THAN 10% OF YOUR TOTAL WEIGHT. that's a great accomplishment. how did you do it?
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Old 07-04-2011, 11:58 PM   #9  
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One thing about the money. Most hospitals have foundation money that is used to help the poor and uninsured get medical care at a lesser rate.

I found this out when my Mom, needed to have her gall bladder out and they discovered she needed stints in her heart.

Between 2 hospitals and multiple Drs., she had over $100,000 worth of surgery reduced to about $5000 that the different places helped her work out a payment plan.

Do not let a lack of money or insurance keep you from getting the care you need.
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Old 07-06-2011, 02:52 PM   #10  
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where do i begin to tell you all a little more. well first of all thank you for those great words of encouragement, it sure made me cry. i am a graphic designer and a photographer. no one wants to hire me so i try to do the work form home. still no business around the area or even online. and even if someone hires me i cant work for them unless they let me off on days my son has appts. my son is a 5 year old who had head trauma/skull fracture. he is now deaf completely frm one ear and hears a little from the other. he has speech problems and he constantly gets bacterial meningitis and we are constantly at the all children's hospital. he has had this 5 times now. he just had surgery not too long ago for the meningitis to stop coming back. he now has monthly or bi weekly visits to his doc which is located 3 to 4 hours away from our home. most of our money goes on his trips etc. but the gov dosent see this. they only see that he gets income and that my husband does as well. but they dont see that this income has to go on him for his medical problems, and for our monthly bills. & its not like we live like wealthy people with cars etc. our bills are the basics light cable/net rent water etc. i dont waste time or money on junk like renting furniture etc. i think im just going to go see a doc and ask them for some help. its a great start like you all said. its true. i have to start somewhere. not to mention i have another appt for my son tomorrow 4 hours away. im really starting to think all this is whats giving me the chest pains.
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Old 07-06-2011, 02:58 PM   #11  
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oh by the way i lost the 40lb by stressing lol i was in the hospital with my son for soo long almost a month without food. they dont feed the parents only the child/patient. i had no money so i was stuck like chuck. i would take bites of my sons left overs. i joined a gym, i was in the gym for 6 months and eating healthy too. so i was surprised that i only lost 7lb and i couldn't afford it so i stopped. it was even hard to afford healthy food. is it just me or has anyone noticed fruits and veggies are more expensive then a bag of junk food?? they told me its because of my PCOS or maybe i have thyroids problem. my mom has it so i dont know...
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Old 07-06-2011, 03:03 PM   #12  
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ps. i love veggies and fruits. i could live my whole life with it. im not really a junk food person but it seems like its the cheapest way to go. i want to start the gym again to atleast let some stress off my shoulders. when i use to work online being a graphic designer i made soo much money i could afford the food and i lost soo much weight i went from a size 26 to a size 16. but then i lost the job and i gained weight all over again.
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Old 07-06-2011, 03:30 PM   #13  
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Firstly, I want to tell you that maintaining a 40 lb loss over such stressful circumstances is an AMAZING success. When I started on this journey, I was housebound and spent most of my day in bed (most days only getting up to go to the bathroom). I lost 20 lbs "accidentally" (as a result of sleep apnea treatment with a CPAP machine, my doctor told me I'd likely lose some weight without trying, and I thought he was insane until I experienced it).

For TWO YEARS I tried to lose weight, but only managed to maintain the 20 lbs lost. I was eating better (and I thought less) and moving more, but the weight wasn't coming off (Still maintaining was a success I'd never acheived before, so even though I was disappointed with my lack of progress on the scale, I was astonished that I was keeping the 20 off, and becoming more physically active and able). The progress was insanely slow, like chipping away at a mountain with a teaspoon. It's taken me five or six years to lose 90 lbs. On one hand it seems ridiculously slow progress, and on the other maintaining any weight loss for more than a year is something I was never able to do previously in 35 years of dieting.

You've already done more than most people do, by losing the 40 lbs. Stay in the game and you'll continue to succeed.

If there's a TOPS (taking off pounds sensibly) group in your area (to find out, check out tops.org), I highly recommend it. I know it may not be feasible on your budget, but before you decide it's not, consider at least trying a free meeting. Some chapters have a scholarship fund for circumstances like yours, either paying for or loaning you the money or part of it for the national dues (I believe it's $28 per year, which includes a monthly motivational newsletter/magazine). Then there's monthly chapter dues (usually between $2 - $5), but most clubs have ways to earn or win free monthly dues and other prizes, including small amounts of cash (you won't make a huge profit, but you can usually cut your costs considerably).

A lot of younger people complain that TOPS groups are often mostly older people, but this would work in your favor, because of all that experience in the group. I was amazed at how helpful TOPS members were in helping me find financial and medical resources (and in general great money saving, dieting on a tiny budget, tips too).


I think it is ridiculous that governmental assistance looks at income, but not at expenses, especially non-elective medical ones, but that's sadly how the system works.

When I first went on Medicare I didn't know about the "donut hole" or the "medigap," which is a gap in coverage, where you have to pay all medication costs yourself. My medications at the time were costing more than $1000 per month, just for me.

I went to my doctor and explained the situation, and we went through all of my medications and switched to meds on the Sam's Club/Walmart discount list (most meds were $4 for a month's supply). You don't have to be a member to use the Sam's Club pharmacy, but the Sam's Club pharmacist found out for us that paying for the $100 per year membership would save us more than $300 (this isn't always true. It was only one medication that made the membership worth it. We asked the pharmacist to help us figure out if there would be a cost savings. When I stopped taking the one medication, the $100 membership wasn't going to save us anything anymore, we dropped our Sam's Club membership (if we want to shop there we go we print off a free day pass to Sam's, you have to add 10% to purchases, but if you don't buy much or often, it's cheaper than a membership. You can also "share" a membership with a family member by going shopping with someone who has a card).

When there wasn't a discount med available, my doctor gave me samples. My doctor supplied my blood pressure medications through free samples for more than a year, until a similar drug went generic and was put on the discount list.
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Old 07-06-2011, 03:57 PM   #14  
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Also I wanted to add (but didn't want to get lost in my ramblings), Have you heard of etsy.com?

It's an online marketplace for art and crafts of all kinds, as well as art/craft supplies and vintage "stuff." You can sell already completed artwork and photographs and you can also sell custom services, and the costs are quite reasonable (a fraction of those on ebay).

Each item you place on etsy costs 20 cents for 3 or 4 months (I forget which). And I believe you can add up to 6 photographs for each listing.

There are all sorts of tips on the forums and also if you google what you're looking for (For example, to create my store banner I googled "etsy banner generators," and to write my profile, I googled "etsy profiles."

I'm hoping to have my store up and running within a couple weeks (crochet soft sculpture and fashion doll and action figure makeover dolls).
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Old 07-06-2011, 04:26 PM   #15  
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oh wow i am the same way. it takes for ever to lose it. im starting to feel pumped with energy from you girls. all the great feedback's etc is helpful. i want to do the lap band or gastric if there is a way to pay monthly but i was wondering if there were any girls out here who has experienced these two and if they have before and after pics or how faST did they lose it. or how much monthly it would be to see if i can even pay it. i know if i lose the weight my diabetes etc will be gone. when i had medi and found out i had all these problems my doc said if i lost the weight it would all go away. i just dont want to keep this fat and have these things get worst.
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