Ok, this is wierd sounding, but I promise it worked for me when I still had my panni.  Yes, this is likely a yeast infection, and it can help with insurance if you decide to have plastics (make sure when you visit the surgeon that you have an active infection going so he can take pictures to send to the insurance company).  But when it happened I'd slather the area with plain (no fruit, no flavoring) yogurt.   The little beasties in the yogurt ate up the yeast, and it pretty much cleared up overnight.  I suspect buttermilk, or any kind of cultured milk, would work, too.  I'd put it on at night, sleep with it, then wa**** off in the morning.   Make sure the yogurt has live or active cultures.   Although I imagine the diaper rash stuff would be a little more pleasant to use. Good luck. Marcia

hey there Sonya.. i to have that problem and have found that a CHEAP diaper rash cream works wonders. i always keep several tubes on hand. In my dealing with this problem i normally put alot to coat it so that the moisture stays out.. hope it helps.  Teresa

The meetings are always the third Monday of the month at 6:30 pm at Pine Grove in the Assembly Hall.  Hope to see you there.

Ok this is an embarrassing question but I don't know who else to ask. I have this lap of skin that hangs over (have not had surgery yet) and it is very irritated, red, itching and some pain...what would you use to make it better and to stop the itching? I have been using medicated powder for over a week now and it isn't getting better. I know most people seem to have this problem after surgery. I don't know what else to do and I am to embarrassed to call my dr about it..If you know of anything that might help it please respond about it...I know you all get tired of me asking silly questions but I have learned more from you all here than anyone or anywhere else.. Thanks  Sonya

I tried Voc. Rehab back when I was interested in having surgery in 2002-2003. I got denied because it was not work related and eventually tried again in 2005 I believe and I was told Voc. Rehab was no longer paying for WLS.  I have BCBS of MS - State Network and they won't even touch WLS of any kind.  I gave up on all them and paid for surgery out of pocket in July 2006. Karine