Bufflehead

That sounds crazy. Possibly they misunderstood your question, or some temp answered the phone? Try again and make sure you are speaking to the insurance coordinator? Possibly go in and talk in person and explain your concerns? I would make it very clear that you are not showing up at the hospital until you have written authorization from the insurance company in hand. Good luck!

My surgeon says hair loss has nothing to do with biotin, protein, etc., so I can't offer any comments on eating something or using some sort of special magic potion to regrow hair. What I can tell you is that if you are feeling self-conscious because your scalp is showing through, check out a concealer product such as Toppik or Nanogen. They are super simple to use and they work! I used them before I had surgery because I already was suffering from bad hair loss (faulty genetics, I guess). They come in all different shades -- most people find that if they buy the shade they think is just one shade too light, it works better than trying to match their hair perfectly. You just gently shake the fibers over where your hair is thin, gently pat them into place, and give a quick sweep with hairspray. All those thinning parts just disappear.

I would say don't let the lack of exercise stress you out. What is most important in weight loss is how you eat. Some people will let the stress from surgery, coupled with freaking out about not exercising, let them get into a mindspace of "everything is terrible and hopeless, I may as well give up on eating right and just comfort myself with cupcakes" -- don't let this be you! Have a strong game plan with respect to your eating and stick to it. Work hard on your rehab as prescribed after your surgery but don't rush getting back to exercise. Your job is to heal and recover and think long-term. Also, I would say stay off the scale for a week at least after surgery -- surgery can play havoc with our bodies with weird results on the scale. eta: remember that your body will appreciate a high-protein diet after your knee surgery to help heal, so be sure to have worked that into your post-op eating plan. Good luck! I think you will do great.

I allow myself to eat dry chicken breast and broccoli. If I don't actually want dry chicken breast and broccoli, I am not really hungry. If I do want it, I eat it, and there isn't much damage you can do to your daily calorie or carb intake with these two items.

Does this happen more frequently when you stand up? It might be orthostatic hypotension. Try pumping your legs like you are riding a bike for a few minutes before standing up. Are you on blood pressure meds? You may want to talk to your health care provider about adjusting them if so. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/orthostatic-hypotension/basics/definition/con-20031255 PS many people end up with hypotension right after weight loss surgery, especially if they are on meds to lower their blood pressure.

Hazelnut Mocha Protein Shake 1 cup unsweetened cashew milk 1/2 to 1 scoop coffee protein powder (usually Syntrax Nectar Cappuccino) 2 tsp instant coffee 1 shot SF chocolate syrup 1 shot SF hazelnut syrup

FYI you should be able to get your prescriptions filled before your surgery so you don't need to stop at a pharmacy. Just make sure you get that squared away with your surgeon's office in advance.

I didn't eat fruit (other than avocados) for a few months after surgery -- I was focused on protein, and the carbs were just too high for my plan. Not eating fruit didn't hurt me! I was eventually able to add it back in. Keep in mind that you will be eating very small portions of whatever you are eating. 25 grams of blueberries (a very reasonable amount for a sleever to add to some yogurt) has 2.5 grams of sugar.

@@280journey I had my cards with me, but the only thing I ended up using them for was some shopping on Amazon when I was bored the second day

@@280journey I did and it was no problem at all. I was glad not to have anyone hovering around me in the hospital that I felt like I had to entertain or look nice for. The hospital was well-staffed with nurses and nursing assistants and they took care of all my needs. The only thing I needed to make special arrangements for was making sure that my eyeglasses and overnight bag made it safely from the pre-op staging area to my hospital room, and the nurses took care of that too -- I just had to make them aware, because usually they take that stuff to a family member in the waiting room to look after it.

I think you have to be on the web version to set up your profile. Next time you are near a computer, head to www.bariatricpal.com, log in, and look for the little gear next to your username in the upper right hand corner. Good luck! PS I think you can probably do it from your phone or tablet as long as you are using a web browser to access rather than the app version. Might be a little cramped though!

To get rid of the message/lecture about the dangers of eating too little, use the "Quick Add" tool and add in enough calories to bump yourself up over 1,000 calories for the day. Then click to close your diary. After you close your diary, just subtract the calories out. The message is stupid and annoying, I agree.

@@dietbelle be careful about telling that particular lie unless you have already had your gall bladder out. Many wls patients end up having their gall bladders out in the first year after surgery due to rapid weight loss. If that happens to you, you'll either have to pile another lie on top of the first, or come clean. IMO (and this is for everyone, not just @@dietbelle) If you don't want to tell people exactly what you are doing, don't. If people ask why you were away from work, or you tell someone in advance, just say you are taking/took some personal time off. If they ask why or what for, just repeat "personal time off" and add emphasis to personal. If they know you had surgery but you don't want to disclose what kind of surgery, say something like "gosh, that's really personal" or "I'm afraid I'd embarrass us both terribly if I went into the gory details" -- let them think you're getting anal fissures repaired or something like that. For me, I never just say "exercise and eating less" when someone asks about weight loss. There is so much stigma around weight loss surgery, I want to try to remove some of that. All people know are third-hand horror stories. Furthermore, so many people believe that it should be possible just to diet away 100+ lbs. I don't want to feed into that misperception. And, I really don't care what people think about my medical choices, if they don't like it, they can step off. All that said, I've told everyone who asked, and I only got one negative reaction. People may be more supportive and open-minded than you are anticipating. I also knew that if I fudged the truth and said I was losing weight just by eating less and exercising more, people would eventually figure it out and regard me as a dishonest person. My reputation and relationships are invaluable to me -- I don't care what people think about my medical choices, but I absolutely do care about what people think about my character. I don't want to ever be seen as sneaky or less than honest in any way.

@@karen091866 please don't apologize for not figuring out the search function . . . I love this site but that particular feature is extremely poorly designed! It took me a long time to figure it out and a significant portion of my job involves searching for information online!

When you do the search, be sure to use the drop-down arrow next to the search box and change the "search section" from THIS TOPIC to FORUMS. I just did a quick test search using "emotional" and searching the forums and I got a ton of hits. Anyway, many, many people experience raging emotions after surgery, usually because of hormone dumping. Your body is emptying out fat cells to access the energy inside -- but your body also stores hormones in fat cells. They flood into your blood stream and can make you into a weepy, emotional basketcase, or a rampaging ragebeast, or anything in between. Add into that the stress of surgery and of not having our typical, tried and true way of dealing with problems and stress (self-medicating with food) and of course most of us end up with all sorts of emotional upheaval. Be gentle with yourself, don't make any huge decisions in the next few months, and keep going. In the vast majority of cases, it sorts itself out pretty quickly.

While I agree with everyone that typically you just have to wait out a stall, I will say you gave a lot of information about your workouts but not much about your food intake. How many calories and carbs are you getting each day? That may be what you need to adjust, rather than your workout or your protein intake. It's also important to get a solid seven hours of sleep each night. Not getting enough sleep can mess up your weight loss.

I would ask her if she has had other patients who have had sleeve gastrectomy or other wls surgery, and whether she believes it is a good option for you. If she seems positive about it, ask her if she has a recommendation for a surgeon and ask her if she will participate in any required pre-op diet or clearances. If she seems opposed to surgery or uneducated, tell her thanks for her opinion and time. When you leave, find a surgeon and get a recommmendation from their office for a wls-friendly PCP and get yourself a new doctor. Good luck!

I love my immersion blender for protein shakes -- the shakes are smooth and creamy with no air bubbles or foam.

I don't take fish oil . . . the main "people" that fish oil has proven benefits for are supplement manufacturers, whose profits benefit. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/30/fish-oil-claims-not-supported-by-research/ In fact, too much fish oil may be dangerous: http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/fish-oil-friend-or-foe-201307126467 Plus, gross fish oil burps, no thank you.

You will need some time to rest and recover from surgery. Perhaps your partner and older children can rotate food prep duties for the first month or so, which will help you both in your recovery and in getting past any residual desire for food. That said, many people find that they are more grossed out by food immediately after surgery than tempted by it, so it may not be an issue for you at all.

You need to get in 64 oz of fluids per day -- most surgeons don't care whether it is water or something else (as long as the something else isn't liquor!). Most plans call for you to track total fluid intake. What does that look like for you? 16 oz of fluids total is a real problem, but 16 oz of water plus 48 ounces of other liquids is great. Did your medical team give you guidelines on caloric intake? Mine had me on under 600 calories for the first four weeks post-op, but every plan is a little, or a lot, different.

Your vagus nerve may have been irritated during surgery. It runs along the top of the stomach, and controls much of your upper body's functions -- the stuff you can't control, like hiccups, sneezing, and yes, a runny nose. As @@Yaberhoo says, many people find that if they eat too much, they get a runny nose post-sleeve. If your runny nose is constant, it seems likely it will clear up within a few weeks as the nerve calms down. If it doesn't, check in with your surgeon just to make sure everything is okay. Good luck!

Omeprazole/Prilosec. The otc directions say to take 20 mg once per day, but my doctor always says take 20 mg in the morning and another 20 mg at night. There may be other PPI's available OTC as well. My doctor says stay away from Tums and other non-PPI type acid drugs as they really just don't work very well (for anyone). If you go to a pharmacy, the pharmacist should be able to help out and recommend things as well, if you prefer getting medical advice from a medical professional rather than some random message board stranger (I would!).

@@Runner1 sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but once you are several months out of surgery, for most sleevers, things like chips and cookies go down extremely easily.

I tried them and found them okay but not something I bothered to order again. I know a lot of people love them, though.