Janae

I used to work for general surgeions. We told people they coould pull them off after 2 weeks if they hadn't fallen off.

I am almost 6 months out and having the exact same problem. I have regained 2 ibs also and I just can't seem to get the scale to move again. I wouldn't cancel my NUT appt if I were you. She may be able to provide some insight and tips to get the weight loss moving again. Please post her thoughts here after your appt. I would appreciate the sharing!

Some doctors now perform the procedure through 1 incision. There is a new tool they use to manage all of the scopes, trochanters and instruments via 1 incision. Ask your doctor if he offers this if you are concerned about scarring. I'm 55 so I'm more worried about how I look with clothes on than off! My DH loves me regardless. I think my doctor charged an extra fee for this and it does increase the operative time a bit.

I'm almost 6 months out and can honestly say the feeling of "full" for me has changed. At first, when I started mushies, full was very hard to pin down. It was just a feeling that I shouldn't take another bite. A kind of sensation at the bottom of my esophagus. If I ate another bite, I didn't throw up but was uncomfortable. I had to take a bite and wait a couple of minutes to see if I had the feeling. When I started eating solid Protein, I could eat about 1 oz and then the thought of another bite was nauseating. Now, it is just the normal "I feel full" I had before I was sleeved. There is no "little sensation" anymore. It is full on "DON'T EAT ANOTHER BITE!" I still have to remind myself to eat slowly. It is so hard for me still. If I don't eat chicken slowly, I get a horrible pain in my stomach as the chicken makes its way to the bottom of the sleeve that reminds me to slow down!

You are the patient and can control what happens to your body. If it is difficult to hit a vein and you have suffered from multiple sticks before, just kindly tell the nurse about your experience and ask for the anesthesiologist to do it after you are put to sleep. You are the one in control of the situation. The nurses may not like it and may fuss, but stick to your guns. If I were in your situation, I would only let the anesthesiologist stick me. They have the most experience with difficult sticks. I should know - I work for one!

Go to UnitedHealthcareOnline.com. Click on Medical & Drug Policies and Coverage Determination. Click on Bariatric Procedures. This is the criteria used to determine coverage, unless you plan has a specific rider excluding coverage altogether (call the pre-authorization telephone number on your insurance card and ask this question).. If your husband meets all of the criteria, gather up all of his medical records and submit to UHC with a letter that addresses how he meets each criterion. Indicate who his surgeon will be and that they refused to submit the request. If denied, appeal the denial by requesting that a board-certified bariatric surgeon review the case. Ask them to explain why it was denied when all stated criterion were met. Good luck!

I had IBS also pre=sleeve but have had no problems with it since being sleeved in March. For me, I think I was really just carb-sensitive. Whether all IBS is really carb sensitivity, I don't know. but mine appears to be gone now.

Your BCBS "home plan" should have a website with their policies. Look for Medical Policies or search on "Bariatric Surgery." Most CSR's don't really know what the policies are. For PPO plans, you can go t any BCBS provider, regardless of location, but the home plan policies dictate the coverage.. If you have the name of your BCBS carrier, I can help you locate and interpret your requirements. (I've been in the medical.insurance industry for 30 years).

The video is great for patients with a gastric bypass. They do not have a sphinctor muscle between their pouch and the intestinal connection so fluids will wash food through much more quickly. Sleeve patients retain the pyloric sphinctor in all of its previous glory. There is no medical evidence that my doctor can finds that indicates that it suddenly quits working after a sleeve. That is, the muscle remains contracted until digestion is completed in the stomach and then opens for slow drainage into the intestine. I honestly believe that sleevers can drink some liquids with impunity. I drink about a half a cup of liquid with meals and can tell no difference in the length of timebefore I get hungry again when compared to not drinking. I personally do not see any reason to give up drinking with meals. Neither does my doctor. Each of us should listen carefully to our doctors instructions but doctors are not gods and (heaven forbid!) have been known to be falliable. Just my 2 cents.

I had an approval letter from Aetna PPO for a lap band surgery and decided to change doctors. The new doc mistakenly submitted for a lap band when I really had decided to go with the sleeve (thank goodnes!) It only took a phone call and 2 days to have it switched to sleeve approval. I doubt you will have a problem. Good luck!

You might talk to your family doctor and explain what you are doing. Ask if he will follow you post op and write a return to work slip for you. In actuality, your employer only needs an MD to clear you to return to work. There is no need to reveal the exact medical reason you were out of work. Only that it was for medical reasons and that you are cleared to return.

Ask your surgeon for the CPT and ICD-9 codes for your procedure. Call Anthem and tell them you need the allowed amounts for those codes. They will be agle to give you the amounts. If there ise more than 1 CPT code, ask Anthem to explain how the multiple surgery rules will be applied. Usually it is 100% for highest fee, 50% of 2nd highest and 25$ of all others, but Anthem may have different rules. They can also give you the amount allowed for the hospital bill (if there are no complications) with the same codes, Anesthesia is more variable because the amount of time for your surgery may vary from others. Hope this helps and GOOD LUCK!!

Just shy of 5 months since surgery (3/10/11) ,,,,,,,,,,, 58 lbs lost!! Gotta love that sleeve!!!

How much Fluid are you getting in each day? The nausea may be due to dehydration> Also, if you are only taking in 200 cal/day, you probably won't feel well. I didn't really start feeling better until 8 weeks out. Prior to that, I was still nauseous a lot due to dehydration. Fortunately, I manage a clinic so I had the nurse give me IV fluids several times. Hope you feel better soon!

I was so excited I started yesterday! I have a wedding to attend in 1 month so I'm extra motivated. Here are my stats for yesterday: Water - 72 ozs Exercise - 30 min Protein - 66.6 g Breakfast - 1 1/2 eggs Snack - Turkey sausage link lunch - 1/3 Cobb salad Snack - Chili dinner - 1/3 Cobb salad Weighed this morning - lost 1 lb after a 2 week stall!!! Thanks LMD for coming up with this challenge!

If the above suggestions don't work. you may need quinine. The best source for this is tonic water (yep, like gin and tonic). I made the mistake of buying the non-diet kind but I believe there are sugar-free varieties available. I only need a couple of sips a week and I am free of those muscle cramps that used to wake me up in the dead of night!

I'm 55 and was sleeved 3/10/11. Surgery went fine and I took no pain meds after I returned home. I had no problems the first week but tired very easily. I started mushies the 2nd week and had problems withnausea/ vomitting for about 3 weeks. In retrospect, I probably should have done full liquids for a couple of weeks but I was following doctors instructions. By 4 weeks I was over the worst of it and began to feel normal. My stomach was no longer constantly in my thoughts LOL! I have learned to love my sleeve over the last 2.5 months. I hit a 2 week stall about 2 weeks ago and decreased my fat grams and elimiated caffeine. Oh, did I mention I started back on Diet dr. Pepper at 2 months? I sip and have had no problems. Now I drink de-caf! Weight loss is a little slower than I expected but I am extremely satisfied with my sleeve!

I believe when I finish losing weight, I will need a complete body-off restoration!! (Google it if you don't know what it is) LOL!

I began sipping caffeine-free diet soda at about 2 months out. I have had no problems whatsoever.

If everything goes smoothly with surgery you should have no problems as long as you have the relatives to help out. I couldn't drive for 5 days post op so my hubbie was in charge of going to the store if I needed something. However, if one of you has complications, the other would be in a very weakened state and probably unable to provide the support they would want to give. Statistically, it probably wont happen, but it is a consideration. Good luck to you both! (BTW, I have Aetna insurance and was in for one night)

Tiffykins, thanks for the awesome post!! I'm so sorry for the issues that are challenging you but know you will come thru with flying colors. Love the before and after pix - very inspirational! Sprout is already adorable. I hope you are saving your posts for your baby book. Keep up the good work and your bundle of joy will be here in (almost) no time .... then its back to the skinny bod!!

Congratulations!!! that is totally awesome!! Sounds loke you are really workin that sleeve, girl. Way to go!

Congrats! And, I'll bet from reading your posts, that you will continue your success on down the road. Here's to your 70, 80, 90% and more!!! You are such an inspiration yo us all - thanks for your wonderful and insightful posts!

I just printed out the regimen for the treadmill C25K regimen. I'm going to start tonight! I'm almost 3 months out from surgery and feel like I need to do more than walking now.

Check out this link for the"best complete ab exercise!" http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/training-day/201105/single-best-ab-exercise-and-its-not-crunch