jmomma5

Thanks for asking! I do still feel nauseous most of the time when I eat and can't eat much. I push through it and do ok though. I just don't enjoy eating much at all, which I suppose is good since enjoying food too much is what landed me where I was! Lol! I have lost about 42 pounds as of this morning! And I am about 9 weeks out from surgery. I wish I was down a bit more, but I'll take it! This week I've lost about 3 pounds. I hit a bit of a stall/slowdown for about 3 weeks between weeks 3-6 for some reason, but I seem to be back to losing pretty steadily now! Now I'm just waiting to see if I am going to experience the dreaded hair loss! So far so good, but I hear it often happens around 4-5 months out! I'm hoping I'll get lucky and I will be spared that!

I'm 8 weeks put and can't eat any meat that is dry or too dense either. Very moist chicken or hamburger is ok sometimes. Using sauces or something to moisten or soften it helps. Fish with sauce and lots of lemon juice is ok. I just can't really eat much of anything at all. There is little enjoyment in eating anymore. But that's ok since enjoying food a little too much is what got me where I was and never want to be again!

Everything I eat or drink makes me nauseous! It's driving me crazy! I had surgery on May 14th and am on pureed food or very soft food. I'm just hoping that I will eventually be able to eat without feeling ill! The upside is that I've lost a total of 31 pounds, about 22 of them since surgery day.

I have graduated to puréed foods also, but the idea of puréed meat makes me sick! Sticking primarily to yogurt. Contemplating some refried beans. Water has been so hard to get in and after only a couple spoonfuls of anything I'm so full I think it's coming back up! So far I've avoided that, thank goodness! I did go in for IV hydration and some other meds a few days ago, and that helped perk me up some, but still dragging a little! I also had hiatal hernia repair and that has been probably the worst part of this! Each swallow is an effort! Plus feeling gassy and slightly nauseated all the time! Aren't I a joy! Praying the next 2-4 weeks fly by so I can start enjoying life again!

It is normal to have gas pains! I had excruciating gas pains for about 5-6 days! They gave me a prescription levison to relax the stomach muscles and Valium to for muscle spasms that helped tremendously, and I also used maximum stretch gas X. It will pass soon. They also told me not to expect weight loss to show up on the scale for several days because of all the IV fluids they give you in the hospital. Good luck! You'll be feeling better within a few days!

I got sleeved May 14. More difficult recovery than I thought, as far as staying hydrated and getting protein in. I am really just not feeling very good. Kind of blah and no energy. Also so hard with my family eating regular food and not being able to eat any of it! BUT, I have lost a total of 20 pounds so far since the pre-op diet, so that's encouraging! I know it's going to get better every day! Just need the next 2-4 weeks to go by quickly!

I had my surgery May 14th! First 6 days have been rough. Also struggling to get liquids in. Protein drinks are not even a little appetizing! Have lost 8lbs since surgery and about 20 total. Feeling not so fabulous, but hopeful that more fluid intake will help! Tire easily and just drained. Wishing these first 2 weeks away so I can start on soft mushy foods. Yogurt sounds heavenly right now! Too thick though, according to dr. Z

Hi all! I was sleeved last week, May 14th. On all liquids, not able to get all my protein in, but trying. Liquids at all are slow going! Feel drained, weak, and just generally yucky! Trying to get more fluids in so that I don't get dehydrated. Ugh! I know this will get better, but I am sick of feeling so blah! I have a house and 5 kids to take care of! This better pass quick! They're getting tired of having a sick mom!

I am somewhat long winded when it comes to writing, so I will attempt to be brief! Sorry in advance if I end up with a long post! Anyway, I have been on this journey now for almost a year and a half! I began in November of 2010! At the time, we had Anthem bcbs. I went to the wls orientation and met with the dr. to find out if I was even a candidate for this type of surgery since my BMI is not 40. I am about 215 lbs and 5'3" so my bmi is about 38. I have several comorbidities, includig high bp, GERD, arthritis in hips an knees, and high cholesterol. He determined that I was a candidate, so I called Anthem and was told by a rep that yes, insurance covered the surgery so I proceeded to jump through the necessary hoops! When we submitted the request for approval, it was denied. My husband's company had specifically excluded wls from its policy! Remember though that I had been specifically told by a real person that I was covered? Well she wrote in her notes regarding our conversation that she had told me that it wasn't covered! I was vindicated by the transcripts of our recorded conversation which proved that I had been given incorrect information and she had falsified her notes! Unfortunately, while at least I had proof that I had indeed been given the wrong info, because I hadn't already had the surgery, I was pretty much S.O.L! If I had had the surgery they would have been forced to cover it! I tell you this to give a little background. Needless to say, I was devastated, heart broken, depressed, etc, etc! I had no recourse! They weren't going to suddenly cover this, I couldn't afford a legal fight, (although I think I had a case!), and I certainly couldn't afford a $20K surgery out of pocket! Fast forward a year! My husband took a new position with a new company that had Aetna and does cover wls!!! Yay! I wasted no time! I was back in the dr's office about an hour and a half after he signed his contract! The dr's determined that I would qualify, but I had to complete a 14 wk medically supervised weight loss class. A pain, but whatever I had to do, I was wiling to do! Mind you, I had to be careful, because I couldn't drop below a bmi of 35! Done! Woo hoo! All paperwork submitted! And then the news that once again. I had been denied! WHAT?! Apparently, since my high bp is controlled on medication they deemed it not medically necessary! Are you freakin kidding me?! No mention of the GERD, the high cholesterol, the hiatal hernia, borderline diabetes! So now I appeal! I am waiting for more information re: my medical history, and with any luck a letter from my pcp supporting the medical necessity of the surgery! But meanwhile, I am again deflated, discouraged, angry, and depressed! I am thinking that I should do a sleep study to see if sleep apnea is a factor, which I suspect it is, so that I can add that to the list of comorbids! So, sorry to be so long, but I did warn you! If anyone made it this far, here are my questions! Is anyone with a bmi under 40 trying to get approved/ been approved with Aetna? If so, what are your comorbidities? Just trying to weigh my odds of the surgery being approved upon appeal and looking for a little hope to keep me going! Thanks for your responses, if you made it this far!!

I have had that with other laparoscopy surgeries and simethicone (spelling?) pills really helped as well as walking.

Well that is freaking awesome!! Now I just have to get approved! My luck there will be some other weird reason why I still don't qualify! I have high cholesterol, high triglycerides, high BP, GERD, beginning stages of arthritis in my hips and knees, a hiatal hernia, and mild sleep apnea! Aetna would only consider the HBP, but wanted me to be on three meds, and I was only on two! Where is the logic in any of that?!! Well keep your fingers crossed!! I'm going for round three in a few weeks! If I don't get approved this time, I will be seriously depressed!! Anyone know what they require as far as pre req's go? I did a 14 week managed weight loss program a year ago, and I have a 20+ years of documented obesity and HBP. I have seen some people talking about a 6 month weight loss program. Is that a requirement of BCBS? Any info you can give me would be much appreciated!

Round 3! Hopefully the third time's the charm! Round one-Anthem BCBS, would have been a go except long story short, hubby's company excludes wls from their policies! Round two-Aetna, tried and denied twice because my BMI is under 40 and my comorbid, hypertension is controlled on two medications, not 3! Aaargh! Round three-HSA qualifies BCBS, hubby now self employed and have this new insurance. Waiting a few weeks before hitting the new plan with this request. Anyone ever been approved for the sleeve on an HSA BCBS plan? I so hope this one is the winning round! Let me know your experience if you've had one! Thanks!

Our plan has a $10K deductible. How does that work for surgery? Will I have to satisfy that deductible before I can have the surgery?

Never got approved. I was denied on my second appeal and my surgical coordinator said that since I had submitted all my information and had nothing new to submit, it would be useless to appeal any further. Depressed angry and hope was gone. Fast forward again! My husband has left that job, is now self employed and our insurance will likely be an HSA qualifying bcbs plan. As soon as we have our policy confirmed, I want to try to move forward again with surgery! Anyone have something like this and has your surgery been covered!

I hope you get approved and can enjoy a new body and a fun vacation! Keep me posted on whether you get approved! I had just given up, but after reading all these posts, I think I will resurect the fight and try again! I decided after responding to your post and reading some others to try going through a different weight loss program to see if they might be of more help to me. The surgical coordinator I was working with at the other clinic was really no help at all and usually made me feel like I was kind of an inconvenience when I would call to ask questions about what to do next! I'll see what this other place has to say and if they have any suggestions as to how to proceed! It just makes no sense that I was denied when I'm reading all these posts about people who have the same BMI, only one comorbidity, without HBP, and they get approved quickly without any issues from Aetna!

I did not get a cpap machine and they would not approve me, despite my long list of comorbidities. Because of my BMI being under 40 (37) they refused based on my high blood pressure being controlled on two medications. According to their clinical bulletin it has to be uncontrolled on three medications! In my opinion a completely ridiculous requirement! I have "mild sleep apnea" and that was not even considered. The only basis for their denial was the HBP. I appealed once and submitted tons of info on history of hypertension, arthritis, sleep apnea, GERD, high cholesterol, etc, and was denied again. I decided to give up at that point because in order to appeal again, I needed to add additional documentation and I had submitted everything I had. So frustrating! I'm open to ideas if anyone has any! I hope you get approved! If sleep apnea is your only comorbidity and you are approved, I may try to take my appeal to the next level. Who knows! Maybe the third time will be the charm!

I am about to submit my appeal! I gathered as much history as I could re: my other comorbids like GERD, arthritis. High cholesterol, and high triglycerides, mild sleep apnea, as well as a letter from my primary care physician supporting my decision. I also wrote an impassioned letter pleading my case an asking that they consider all my obesity related medical problems not just high blood pressure! I also asked them to view me as a person, not just a medical case file! I will submit everything tomorrow so we'll see how it goes! I will be praying hard and keeping my fingers crossed! I will let you know as soon as I hear anything! Keep me posted on your fight as well!

I am so sorry! I totally understand what you are going through. I am surprised that with sleep apnea you were denied! That bums me out as I was hoping that my "mild" sleep apnea might score me some points in my appeal! Hopefully we will both be successful eventually!