OSuzanna

Hi everyone!

Hubby (firey taxman) and I own five offices for H & R Block and he's been an Enrolled Agent for 25 years (in addition to being a full time captain at the fire dept). The medical expenses are deductible if they are over 7.5% of you AGI and don't forget the medical mileage for those of you who drive to the center, the doc, the fill center or your family doc. Please feel free to post here or send us email with any questions you might have and he can answer them for you. We'd be glad to help!

Thanks Terry, but I'm tax stupid - what's AGI?

Thanks Cathy (Kittycat) - will you be my friend?

Sorry, I'm bringing this topic up again, but I still can't get a clear cut answer as to whether or not I can claim MY surgery. When you go into the web site that Mamamichelle gave us and review "surgery, operation, cosmetic surgery, weight loss" I really says nothing about weight loss surgery.

Bottom line, could I claim my surgery - my BMI was around 36 and I had no co-morbidities and my surgery was not ordered by a physician - ?

Also, I still want to see if either my insurance or my Husband's insurance will pay for part of my surgery (I don't expect it to be paid 100%), I know I need to get paper work from OCC, but not sure what I should ask for and how detailed would the report need to be in order for insurance to consider some or all of the surgery?

So, I need to know:

1. Can I claim my surgery on our taxes?

2. What do I need from OCC to submit to the insurance companies?

Thanks for any insight!

Suzanna

How do you add friends? And if you do add friends, do they have to agree?

Stacey,

Suck it up, I was constipated and didn't go for ten days after surgery! Just kidding, I don't mean the "suck it up" part, I'm sure having the runs is just as bad as not going at all. I'm six weeks out from my surgery and I'm finally regulating myself, but it takes me having to take fiber every day. I bought the chewable Benefiber and I chew up about six of those every morning and then by the next morning I go. So I'm finally pretty regular - thank God!

I had my annual "female" check up this week and my OB GYN told me I have to have a colonoscopy - my husband just had to do that and Oh my God, I'm not looking forward to the pre-cleansing that I'm going to have to go through (other than maybe I'll lose a pound or two!). I used to be addicted to Correctol - bad scene, It controlled my life for about 4 years - I just hope I didn't damage something from doing that. Anyway, wish me luck!

And, good luck to you, I hope it goes away soon!

Holy Moly Ramona, you can totally see a difference (I was gonna say "a big difference", but I don't like the word big!).

You look great and it shows everywhere, arms, legs, butt, stomach, etc., etc.

Time to get rid of that shirt - it's way to big; but then again, when you get down to your goal weight (which you will!!!) you'll have to take another picture with it on, you'll be lost in it - that would be great!!!

Good work girl - keep it up we're all cheering you on!!

Happy Birthday Bella! Make a wish and blow out your candles and we wish for you to have a wonderful day with lots of presents (girls always need lots of presents!).

It's my birthday too today and I wished for jewelry and a fast car. One of my co-workers gave me a candy necklace and it was perfect and tasted good, too since it's been such a long time since I have had any candy.

How fun for you Mommy, my baby is 18 and I miss those days of toddler birthday parties - I hope your's on Saturday is a lot of fun!

Hello fellow Leo, it's my birthday today as well. Hip Hip Hoorah!

Happy Birthday and congratulations on your 42nd anniversary! Our anniversary is August 12th and we will be married 36 wonderful years (My husband always says the same thing every year, "Okay, I guess I'll keep you another year" - funny man; little does he know that it's me who's keeping him!)

Way to go on the weight loss, but watch out, I'm catching up!

Today is a very good day!

Oh my gosh, thank you so much, that was a very nice surprise!

When I opened up the forum (as I do every evening) and glanced at the birthday post, I thought "oh look at that, someone has the same birthday as me! What a great way to end the day.

Thanks so much!

p.s. It started out really well this morning, I finally hit 185 - Ive been stuck at 187-190 for about a month! So along with all your birthday wishes this has been a pretty awesome day!!! (except for turning 54 years old - yuck!)

I've tried lots of different protein shakes and I keep going back to GNC's 100% Whey Protein - they really do taste good and they have a great assortment of flavors:

Chocolate

Vanilla

Chocolate Caramel

Strawberry

Banana Creme - my favorite

Mixed Berry

Cookies and Creme

Matter of fact, tomorrow I'm going to get some more as I'm running low and I think I'm going to get the plain chocolate this time so I can mix it with the Banana Creme = ummmmmm Chocolate dipped bananas!

Yummy!!!!

Awwwwwww, that is so sweet, what a dude! Sounds like a keeper to me Paula!

Be careful, check out this website. I also was thinking about getting one, but after reading some of these reviews, I'm not so sure now.

http://www.infomercialscams.com/scams/leg_magic_complaints

Ditto, Kimra -

Although I have to admit I do have an extra 55 minutes a day, but they're already spoken for - I use them everynight when I get home from work. Yep, I sit at my computer and log on to the OCC forum and spend those 55 minutes reading all the new posts that were made since the night before. Do finger and eyeball exercises count?

I'm so proud of the way you handled that situation, as much as you just want to let them have it, it's better to just let it go. It makes you a far superior person! =D>

I wasn't shy about telling people that I was getting banded, but I soon found out everyone has an opinion so I just stopped talking about it.

And look how all of your fellow bandsters reacted, talk about getting everyone's blood boiling! :lb20: It's like a parent with a child, don't hurt my child because I will hurt you back real bad!!! :punish:

I have to admit it's kind of fun to see a "rant" post once in a while, it gets everyone going!!! :aggressive:

Stay strong and ignore those ignorant people!

Lisa, I have to tell you that you are my inspiration! I just looked at your pictures and the transformation is fantastic - you've done such a good job with your band, I hope I will be as successful as you are.

Not only are you beautiful, but your such a good person, too. You have such patience with all of us newly banded and soon to be banded people, I'm sure it must get old with us asking the same questions over and over again. You were the first person to post a note to me when I first joined this forum - that was very nice and welcoming.

Anyway...... My question is and I hope It's okay to ask - you have talked about your tummy tuck and breast surgerys, so I assume it's okay to ask you if you've had upper arm surgery, or are you one of the lucky ones whose skin shrunk as you lost weight? The one picture of you with a pink top on and a white belt around your waist your arms look so slender I was just wondering, because aside from knowing I'm going to have to get a tummy tuck when I'm done, I think I'm going to have really flabby arms and will want to have them done as well. Next week I'll be 54 years old and I don't think my skin will shrink back down around my arms (or anywhere else for that matter - ha ha!). I'm so self conscious about my arms, I rather have them done then my breasts, which could also use a lift!

I'd just like to get a little information on upper arm surgery, so if you didn't have the surgery, maybe one of you other bandsters have and can share your experience.

Thanks!

Suzanna

p.s. Lisa, please don't ever stop posting - you are such a positive person for this forum, we all need people like you when making such a big change in our lives.

Hi,

I ditto everybody else's comments, all in all it was a wonderful experience - absolutely no complaints about anything!

I got banded on June, "friday the 13th" (talk about freaking out!) - not really, I'm not suspicious - yikes, watch out for that black cat under the ladder! Anyway, I'm going back to the OCC for my first fill on August 9th and I'm looking forward to going back to Mexico - I went with my sister and we had a really good time - going shopping on Revolution Ave - make sure you squeeze this in when your down there.

The one comment I do want to make, is that you really should let someone know you're going down there - I would say this to anyone going anywhere. Put yourself in your family's shoes, you would want to know if one of your kids was going away! Sorry, I'm just being a Mom!

Go and have your procedure and enjoy yourself while your down there - they have a beautiful swimming pool you can lounge at and the weather should be really nice.

p.s. I didn't keep my surgery a secret, I didn't tell everyone, but most of my family knew and a couple of co-workers. The thing I discovered that I would have done differently, is not telling people where I was having the surgery - I got a lot of negative feedback when they knew I was going into Mexico for the surgery.

p.p.s. This is a huge tip, because I had a lot of problems going to the bathroom - TAKE YOUR BENEFIBER!!!

:-h

It took me about two weeks before I felt that my stomach was back to my normal size. You'll read a lot of bandsters saying how they felt they looked about 5-6 months pregnant the first week or so - i felt that way! I was banded on June 13th and I still have some very slight discomfort when I go to bed - I have to find the right way to lay down on my side and I'm still not 100% on my stomach - I use two huge pillows on either side of me to put my legs on when I go to bed - My husband doesn't like this, he says I'm building a barrier around myself -

When I talk about this stuff I need to stress that it's very, very mild - no pain, just a little uncomfortable. :girl_sigh:

Bottom line, it's all soooooooooo worth it!!!

Good luck in your journey, I know you'll be just fine. :bye:

Thanks very much for posting your story. You and the other long term bandsters are so needed in this forum for us newbies (am I still a newbie after six weeks?). I want to "grow down" just like you!!!!

Please keep posting you are so encouraging!!!

Wow, you look awesome - just think about next year's camping trip, there won't be anything left of you! By that time you'll probably be hiding behind your adorable daughter!

Congratulations!!!

WELCOME, WELCOME.............

I'M JUST SIX WEEKS OUT AND STILL FEEL AND I PROBABLY ALWAYS WILL FEEL THAT THIS WAS THE BEST CHOICE I'VE EVER MADE! I WAS BANDED AT OCC AND LIKE EVERYONE ELSE WILL TELL YOU, IT WAS A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE!

IT'S NOT AN EASY JOURNEY, MATTER OF FACT, IT'S WORK, BUT LOOK OUT, ONCE YOU START SEEING THAT SCALE GO BACKWARDS - ITS AWESOME AND IN ITSELF VERY MOTIVATING!

GOOD LUCK ON YOUR JOURNEY AND KEEP US POSTED!

WOW!! LOOK AT YOU, ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL :spruce_up: - WHAT INSPIRATION FOR THE REST OF US!!!! :lb24:

Hi all,

I hate to exercise and I knew this would be a big problem for me when I got my lap band. I have a sit down desk job and that doesn't help either. Like most of you the thought of going to a gym totally turns me off, who wants to compete with a bunch of hard body skinny minnies - my self esteem is already deep in the toilet.

I used to like to walk, a few years ago I did the Avon 3 Day with no problems, but for some reason I just can't get into it. I'm not a morning person, so there's no getting up early to walk and by the time I come home at night I have absolutely no energy. I know this is all a big cop out, I just need to get motivated!

Well back in the day, I had (and probably still do have thenm somewhere in the house) Sweatin to the Oldies and I thought at the time that they were a blast! I went hunting around on the internet to find some sort of dance exercise videos and I came across a new form of aerobic dance form called Zumba and I guess there's even "zumba" classes now at some of the gyms. Well I found a good deal on a four cd pack of a Zumba exercise program on ebay and I went ahead and bought it - I haven't received it yet, but I'm actually getting excited about it. It's all based on Latin rythms and I love Latin music anyway, so I'm really hoping this will do the trick for me.

I'll let you know how it works out for me.

Have a great evening everyone!

I use the chewable Wild Berry Benefiber tablets with Calcium, you just chew away until there's nothing left. Three in the a.m. and three in the p.m. and no problems going to the bathroom. If I didn't take them it would be days and days before I went and lets face it, we all feel a little lighter after we go - Oh Lord, here we go with the poopy talk again! :girl_haha:

Awwww, listen to you guys bond - it's so cute. :lb16: Uh, I mean it's so cool! :sun_bespectacled:

Welcome all you dudes (and dudettes).

:lb14:

Hi, Happy Saturday Everyone!

I'm one month post op and still tender at some of my incision spots - nothing bad, they're all healing up nicely, but a couple of them have a hard tiny knot - I guess scar tissue? What I want to know from some of you who have been banded longer if those go away / smooth out?

Thanks all you wonderful fellow bandsters!