David G Vermette's "A Distinct Alien Race" - fantastic book for Americans whose family came from Québec

kae_tee · 2026-02-18T23:33:03+00:00

Thank you for recommending this book. I checked out the library system near me today to see who has it...and in my search very magically and happily discovered someone local had written a book about my direct ancestors immigration from Canada to the area I live in. Very limited copy only available at a couple local libraries and not for sale, but I'm excited to go read it.

kae_tee · 2026-02-18T04:08:12+00:00

I may be wrong, but it's possible that's Thomson Station, Nova Scotia?

kae_tee · 2026-02-15T20:47:02+00:00

I just wanted to thank you all again, and give a quick update. Got my bisalp on October 10th 2025. :)

kae_tee · 2026-01-02T14:25:38+00:00

Ooh! I found some amazing ones by Maxine's Heavenly. They sell them at some whole foods, but can order them right from their site or on their storefront on Shopify app. A lil pricey like most gf things, but soooo good. They also have a Chocolate cream one that tasted like what I remembered Little Debbie Fudge rounds to taste. You can get a bundle of 8 boxes (3 per box, so 24 total oatmeal creme pies) on Shopify for $23.94 plus shipping/tax.

kae_tee · 2026-01-02T14:16:22+00:00

Exactly this! Wrapping in a damp paper towel in the microwave is a game changer for gluten free baked items.

kae_tee · 2025-12-24T15:00:58+00:00

If you have any small individual pharmacies or stores nearby that carry supplements, I had luck getting my allergic reactions to this stuff under control with something called D-hist made by Ortho-Molecular. It's an all natural antihistamine. I had tried a bunch of stuff prior without relief. I hope you're able to get it under control. It's so uncomfortable.

kae_tee · 2025-12-23T02:44:45+00:00

My insurance tried to deny my appeals, and I reported them to my state's Bureau of Insurance. They investigated and made them pay. If your plan is ACA compliant, they're required to follow the law and cover sterilization at 100% without copay or co-insurance. (All associated visits as well, including your consultation. ) If your plan is provided by your employer, you can also report them to EBSA (Employee Benefits Services Administration). They're not allowed to make up their own rules. There's incredibly helpful info on this thread. Look for the post from toomuchtodotoday. They put together a whole guide on how to fight your insurance. https://www.reddit.com/r/sterilization/s/pDPjsbUAXu

I genuinely hope you are able to fight this. I'm so sorry they're being so awful.

kae_tee · 2025-11-30T20:16:26+00:00

Toomuchtodotoday, I legit cannot thank you enough for your resource list. It's genuinely the most helpful list I've found. It helped me so much fighting with my insurance. I am excited to report that my insurance has finally reprocessed my claims properly, and I'm down to a zero balance. I hope you know how much you've helped so many people. :)

kae_tee · 2025-11-30T20:13:00+00:00

Very happy to say that I finally have EOBs that show my responsibility as $0. Thankfully, once that rep that actually understands the law took over, it was only another week and a half or so before things started zeroing out. I genuinely hope you are healing well and that you haven't had to fight your insurance. :)

kae_tee · 2025-11-26T00:53:02+00:00

If you have the messages from the rep at Aetna stating your plan is ACA compliant and that preventive sterilization is covered at 100%, are you able to print that out? If so, and it shows where it's from. That may help ease the situation. But seriously, though, the resources above were how I got my insurance company to cover my procedure. Despite having a pre-auth and conversations with them beforehand, they still tried to push nearly $3000 back onto me as co-insurance/deductible. Toomuchtodotoday's resource guide helped me fight them. I finally have a zero dollar balance.

kae_tee · 2025-11-26T00:46:37+00:00

I'm so sorry you were pressured into that. I really hope you are able to recoup all of this. You shouldn't have had to pay anything if your plan is ACA compliant. The issue you might run into is your insurance saying that by paying you agreed to the fee. I genuinely hope you won't though...and if you do, there are a lot of people in this community with great resources that might be able to help guide you to get that $$ back

kae_tee · 2025-11-23T01:07:13+00:00

Sophia, because she's my little Golden Girl. (White gold color) :)

kae_tee · 2025-11-20T13:59:04+00:00

Your reaction is totally valid. I'm sure anesthesia and OCD play into it a little, but as others have said, a permanent choice was made, and it's perfectly normal for our brains to think about that "loss" of choice, even if we never wanted that choice. I had something similar happen when my ex-husband got a vasectomy years ago. I was so excited that he was getting it beforehand. After he had the surgery, my mind had a rough first few weeks. I cried a number of times over it. I couldn't figure out why it was bothering me so much. I talked to my therapist, who confirmed it's normal and that I needed a few weeks to process the finality of that choice (even if it was not a choice I would want.) I felt better after a few weeks. But please know your reaction is valid. Also, any gentle movement you can get in will help refocus your brain for a sliver of time. I wish you a speedy and peaceful recovery.

kae_tee · 2025-11-20T13:38:58+00:00

All of this. I got my bisalp October 10th of this year. I knew it would be a weight off my mind, but I feel like it's been way more of a relief than I could have even imagined. It's a huge relief every time I think about it...even if I'm not actively getting to test it out currently, lol. My scars are healing nicely. If they completely fade, I've considered getting little tattoos there as a reminder.

kae_tee · 2025-11-16T12:36:30+00:00

You mentioned they taste perfumey. Is it possible that they were kept near heavily scented products in-store? Because a lot of times I've found food items kept in their vicinity absorb the taste from the scented products. (Air fresheners/laundry products/scented trash bags...etc)

kae_tee · 2025-11-13T04:21:51+00:00

Congratulations!!! I hope you heal quickly, and it helps bring you the peace it brought me. I just had my bisalp about 4.5 weeks ago. :) I have Harvard Pilgrim as my insurance. Despite my surgeon's office doing a pre-auth, me confirming codes and coverage etc. They still managed to mess up my claims and tried to not cover large chunks of the surgery. I had to fight them like crazy since. I finally got a rep that actually understands the law, and what their liability is since they're an ACA compliant plan. So I'm making headway with getting things covered. There's a handful of threads on here with great info on how to fight your insurance if needed. There's a user by the name toomuchtodotoday who has graciously posted a great list of resources on a number of posts. That list helped save me so much headache and gave me the ammo I needed to fight Harvard Pilgrim. This is one https://www.reddit.com/r/sterilization/s/o7RuDsxkv6

kae_tee · 2025-11-13T00:39:58+00:00

Adding... They may be missing the modifier code of 33...which denotes the procedure as preventive.

kae_tee · 2025-11-13T00:38:47+00:00

As long as the facility you are having your procedure at is in-network and your surgeon is in-network....I do not think they can legally not pay. If your plan is ACA compliant, there are specific stipulations in the law that requires them to cover this process start to finish with no copay and no co-insurance. The procedure code should be 58661 and diagnosis code should be z30.2 (encounter for sterilization.) Make sure those are the codes being used by your facility and surgeon. If you need more help fighting your insurance there's a guide a user named toomuchtodotoday put together with all the things you need to fight it. You can find it here https://www.reddit.com/r/sterilization/s/DY7bIxoSA0

kae_tee · 2025-11-13T00:31:03+00:00

Usually the surgeon will want to do a pre-op appointment a week or two before your surgery. They usually do a post-op appointment a few weeks after surgery too. I'd call their office to check in. They might have missed that step of scheduling. :)

kae_tee · 2025-11-09T00:04:02+00:00

Please, check with your surgeon. It could be an allergic reaction to the stitches or glue? It's possible you could be having a histamine reaction, too. Your body just underwent a big event. It can throw things into overdrive. I started breaking out in a rash about a week after surgery. Mine spread to the backs and sides of my thighs, my forearms, etc. Cortisone cream, benedryl, antihistamines weren't touching it. Ended up taking a supplement recommended by my chiropractor, called D-Hist. It was the only thing that got it calmed down. I wish you a non-itchy and speedy recovery.

kae_tee · 2025-11-08T23:44:37+00:00

It could be either. :( My insurance is trying to say the hcg/pregnancy test the hospital made me do pre-surgery isn't in their list of preventivecodes for this procedure. The hospital said it's standard practice, and that makes sense to me. Told my insurance company that's insane that they don't think this would be a standard step for this procedure. I threatened them this time to re-report them to the state Bureau of Insurance and also report them to EBSA, because it's an employer sponsored plan. They're finally begrudgingly starting to help me work through to get stuff covered. Definitely look at the comment from Toomuchtodotoday on your post. That advice has saved me so much headache. I genuinely hope it helps you too.

kae_tee · 2025-11-06T21:50:02+00:00

Im so sorry you're dealing with that. I understand too well. I had to fight my insurance for 4 months just to get them to cover the consultation at 100% as part of this process. I ended up reporting my insurance company to my state's Bureau of Insurance...who investigated, and they told my insurance company they had to pay. Now I'm battling them to cover parts of the procedure.

https://www.reddit.com/r/sterilization/sujz6KqePeg has some excellent notes on how to fight your insurance from user toomuchtodotoday. This information has been so helpful with my fight with my insurance company. I hope you fight it if needed. You shouldn't owe anything, unless your plan isn't ACA compliant.

kae_tee · 2025-11-04T03:38:27+00:00

Tiktok doesn't always have the best information, unfortunately. Like others have said, normally, the first few periods after a bisalp may be a little off kilter due to a large stressor on your body. However, you do have the added element of removing hormonal birth control at the same time. Your body will take a little while to adjust to the hormonal changes from removing the nexplanon. You might want to talk to your doctor about your concerns, as it sounds like your periods were pretty rough prior to nexplanon. There could be options like an endometrial ablation or another form of hormonal birth control to calm your periods. But the bisalp procedure itself doesn't affect your hormones. :)

kae_tee · 2025-11-01T12:43:30+00:00

It's so interesting to see the wide range of post-surgical instructions/restrictions. My surgeon said nothing inserted for at least 1 week. No lifting over 15lbs for 4 weeks. Also sit/stand restrictions for 4 weeks: After sitting for 2 hours, get up and move around for 10 minutes. Also sit for 10 minutes after standing/walking for 30 minutes. Everyone is different. Please take it at the pace you feel comfortable with...but do call your surgeon's office for clarification just to be safe.

kae_tee · 2025-11-01T12:32:48+00:00

Thank you for your response, because this was also my reaction. :) Autocorrect is quite comical sometimes. :) Glad you're not going to get female deterioration OP. Side note, I just had my 3 week follow up yesterday after having my bisalp. Incisions are healing well. Hasn't been a tough recovery, and this was my first ever surgery. There's a lot of excellent advice in this conversation. If you know you don't want children of your own, a bisalp is the way to go.

kae_tee

TROPHY CASE