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Yes I checked the reviews and they were good, he was the surgeon that had trained the surgeon that did my lap band years ago. He was late that day and I was the first patient of 7 so maybe he rushed through my surgery or maybe it was something to do with his finger injury a month prior. The surgical center said “your blood pressure is a little low so the surgeon wants you to spend the night at the hospital as a precaution, he will text your husband the address of the hospital to meet him at” so looking back yes I think they downplayed it to get me out of there. On the way I kept passing out. The hospital he sent us to was 49 miles away because apparently he doesn’t have rights anymore at the one that was a few miles away. I had asked his office staff previously what happens if there are complications and they said the surgical center is close to the hospital. A lawyer won’t touch this because the Dr. doesn’t have malpractice insurance (that’s something I kick myself for not knowing and hopefully anyone reading this learns from my mistake) and they say I don’t have permanent injuries from it. You would think with the trauma, stress and all the bills even besides the hospital bills, the hematologist, cardiologist, paying for someone to help take care of my specials needs daughter, the extended recovery time would matter but it doesn’t. Thank you both for the advice on the insurance and what to do with the hospital billing department. I get on all that first thing tomorrow.

This sounds like the surgeon is distancing himself as far as he can. For goodness sake they didnt even get you an ambulance ! You may need to speak to someone to start a negligence claim. I am so sorry this happened to you.

Went to the clinic today n I'm back on the bill but like 3 times a week. Sigh .. maybe it was too soon going off it

this is so awful. I am so sorry this happened to you. This was one of the things that scared me about plastic surgery (which is usually self-pay - if insurance covered it, I wouldn't have been as concerned). I opted to pay more for a plastic surgeon who did it in a hospital and insisted his patients spend the night there, too, so they could monitor me in case anything happened (although even though it gave me some peace of mind, it probably wouldn't have helped money-wise -I'm sure I, too, might have gotten a huge bill if something like this had happened to me). I don't know what to say other than this is just awful. I wonder if talking to the hospital's billing dept might help - maybe they'd be willing to reduce it? (I don't know since I haven't been in that situation). But how can they expect anyone to be able to pay that?

Things I’ve eaten: This beautiful egg sandwich with bacon, cheese and spicy mayo between perfectly toasted buttery brioche bread. I picked it up early in the morning but decided I didn’t want to eat it when I got home. Later at night fixed myself half of it with ketchup: A couple of bites in I decided I didn’t feel like eating the bread so picked out the bread and ate the insides of the entire sandwich. Here’s an after of the unfortunate bread (it was so good but too rich and filling): The next day I made 2 ribbon eggs with shallots, feta and pepper flakes. Ate it all with one protein toast (who dis? The secret is taking one whole hour to eat it and eating soooo slowly) also it was after a strenuous hour of exercise ha!

Not that uncommon and comparatively not more strict. There are variations between surgeons and surgeries with many of these things. Sometimes it’s also related to you, your health, how much weight you have to lose, your relationship with food, etc, Not being allowed carbonated drinks is common. The differences arise in length of time of this avoidance and then whether you can tolerate it. Also you may be allowed sparkling water that you let go flat a bit but not sodas. Same with alcohol avoidance but there are three main reasons often behind this. One is concern for addiction transfer which can occur after weight loss surgery. Secondly, alcohol is calorie dense and offers no nutrients which are vital while we are losing and eating small portions and lastly it will slow your metabolism & dehydrate you. Again some surgeons just put a time frame on it but it does depend on your surgery too. Caffeine is another thing that is allowed by some surgeons and not by others and again there can be differences in for how long you should avoid it. Deconstructing meals is not a forever thing. Certainly while losing, focussing on eating the protein component of your meal first is very important. If you are able after you’ve eaten the protein in your meal. you then can eat your vegetables then any carbs you are allowed. (There were many times I could only eat my protein at a meal and nothing else.) This is because of the small portions we can eat initially & the necessity of getting that protein in to meet your protein goals. It does make tracking your food much easier too. When you near your goal, and are eating larger portions, it’s not as important to eat your protein first but you must continue to hit your protein goals forever so it will be something of which you are aware when you’re eating. In saying that I often ate soups, stews & casserole type dishes, omelettes, etc. which combined protein & vegetables while losing but not every meal and not every day. Actually not allowing protein shakes is also not uncommon. For example, in the UK, many aren’t allowed protein shakes in the pre surgery diet (they drink milk instead). Protein shakes aren’t the sole source of protein & nutrients in that first stage after surgery. Bone broths, consommés and cream soups are also options. Thank goodness too because after surgery those protein shakes can be disgusting. I found them unpleasantly grainy and crazy sweet & struggled to drink one a day. Best advice is to follow your plan while you are losing.However, if you find it difficult to tolerate your food options or to reach your goals ask for alternatives that will allow you to still meet protein goals & other nutrient requirements within any calorie guidelines you are given. How and what you eat once your weight has stabilised is up to you, what you’ve learnt about your eating and relationship with food and if it allows you to maintain a lower and healthier weight & lifestyle.

A couple of things. I have never heard of anyone having a sleeve and not spending 1 night in the hospital. It was done as a same day procedure? And it should have been done in a hospital. Was it done in a surgery center and not the hospital? If so, why? When I had my sleeve and later my revision to bypass, BCBS paid for both. Why did they not pay for yours? Typically if you're self pay, insurance won't pay for any care pertaining to that procedure if it was something they already wouldn't cover. Have you reached out to the surgeon who did your surgery? What did they say about the complications? And I guess I'm confused about how an artery was knicked and nobody noticed for 10 hours. And yes, if you had a sleeve and it was billed as a lap band, it most definitely needs to be corrected.

win today: FINALLY got Mr. to agree to come to hot yoga with me!!! not sure he loves it as much as me (yet!!), but he's committed to the 15 day trail, and said he'll come with me whenever i go (which is every day! ha!) i have fantasies of going to yoga retreats in Bali (with him) so crossing fingers he gets on board!!

1. What was the best part of surgery for you? The best part is also the hardest to explain. The best way I can put it is that pre-surgery, I had a demon in my stomach. This demon demanded rich foods and thought that if one of something tasted good, then four of something would taste amazing (this made the demon a liar, but I had to obey these lies). The surgery removed the demon. I no longer feel controlled by cravings. 2. What was the worst part of surgery for you? The 48 hours prior to the surgery were miserable. I could only have water, Gatorades and black coffee. Then I had to take strong laxatives prior to the surgery, so I was defecating so much that my body was expelling food I hadn't even eaten yet. And I couldn't go to sleep because any flatulence had the potential to be ... explosive. So it's 1 am, I am starving, dehydrated, sitting on the john and I need to be at the hospital at 5:30. 3. Did you have any complications (minor or major) during or after your surgery? Nothing major. I greatly underestimated how sore my stomach would be and how long it would take for the soreness to go away. I am a stomach sleeper and it was three months before I felt comfortable sleeping on my stomach. 4. How has adjusting to your new life been for you? I love the new life. I am able to exercise (bike, jog, lift weights) like I never have, I have great energy. I can shop at pretty much any clothing store. It has allowed me to become a better version of myself. 5. How long did it take you to feel comfortable eating food? It was probably 8 months to a year before I felt like I could try any food and not have to worry about my stomach having trouble. 6. Is there anything you can’t eat anymore that you used to enjoy? Can't eat, as in, I physically cannot handle it? Nothing. But there are plenty of things that I used to love that I am uninterested in. Like I have no desire to eat a donut. Just seems like pure sugar to me. 7. What was your recovery like? Any vomiting or dumping syndrome? I did not have dumping syndrome (although some sugar alcohols hit my stomach hard). I did have some vomiting, but it was either due to eating too fast or eating a food that my stomach wasn't ready to handle yet (I had some stewed beef at like the 90 day mark and I wasn't as ready for it as I thought I was. 8. How long did it take you to feel semi-normal after surgery? I would say 90-120 days before I felt physically normal (could sleep on my stomach, could handle most foods) 9. Did you experience higher energy level post surgery? In the immediate aftermath of the surgery, no. This was my first (and so far, only) major surgery and I really underestimated how much it would sap my energy. I was walking gingerly for a while. But once I fully recovered, I have had way more energy. 10. Did surgery affect your mental health? Yes, in mostly good ways. The pre-surgery success-failure cycle of yo-yo dieting impacted my psyche way more than I realized. So this state of long-term success helped greatly (and success, both great and small, is an excellent anti-depressant). Will it cure your depression? Absolutely not. To the extent that you think your problems in life are caused by your size ("I'm single because I'm overweight" or "My weight is why they won't give the promotion" or "my weight is why my mother is passive-aggressive toward me"), the surgery will not make those problems go away. I'm very lucky and very blessed to live an amazing life and the weight-loss has only further revealed what an amazing and blessed life I have. 11. Do you regret it? Would you recommend it? I do not regret it. I make it a personal policy not to outright recommend it to anyone because everyone has their own journey. For many years, I saw bariatric surgery as a last resort, a kind of "pull in case of emergency" lever. I realized that I was 40+ yrs old with a wife and children and no diet had ever worked for me and I was only fooling myself if I thought the next one would do the trick. I had to either pull the lever or make peace with being morbidly obese for the rest of my life. I pulled the lever and I would pull it again without hesitation.

I was self pay at a surgical center and had to go to a hospital 10 hours later for another surgery because of internal bleeding(nicked artery), needed several transfusions and spent 3 days in the hospital plus had to have more blood and iron transfusions after leaving that hospital. I’m now stuck with over $175,000 in hospitals bills and more still coming. BCBS is denying the claim because they don’t cover bariatric surgery or complications. The hospital billed it as complications of lap band instead of complications of gastric sleeve. I’m told it doesn’t matter because they won’t pay either but what if I want to appeal it, shouldn’t it be billed correctly?