scarybird

I am so very disappointed. Today, my surgeon decided not to do the surgery. I have insurance approval, my family doc and my psychiatrists approval... I even had a surgery date. But I am bipolar and take a handful of psychiatric meds every day. I have switched meds frequently because of side effects. The surgeon is not comfortable performing the surgery as I haven't been on the same consistent meds for over a year. A year would show that the meds are working, and that I am stable. But the thing is, I *am* stable. My moods are VERY stable. I still fight depression and anxiety some - but they do not hold me back from living life. I am totally compliant with my medications and my doctor's appointments - and I have a long, documented history of this. I have NEVER been on the same meds for over a year, and I doubt I ever will be. But she is worried that I am not stable enough to handle the hormonal changes after surgery. My heart is broken. This blow might affect me more than the surgery itself might have.

Update: I talked with the surgeon again, and she agreed to look into it more. Well after many, many hoops to jump through, multiple appointments with my psychiatrist and THEIRS, and personality testing... both psychiatrists are saying that they recommend me for surgery and I am stable. The surgeons office will receive the other docs' reports by the end of the week... so the surgeon will make the final decision then. I hope my insurance approval is still valid and didn't expire. Cross your fingers for me please!!

I am so excited!! I just got notice today that Humana PPO / Medicare approved my surgery!! I don't have a date set yet, but I am hoping for early spring. I know I had all sorts of questions about whether humana would approve me or not, so I wanted to document my process in case someone else needs to hear about it. I started out the process at 318 pounds, BMI of 45.6. I have NO co-morbidities. No high blood pressure, no pre-diabetes. No real joint issues that have been documented. I was told that I needed to have 6 months of doctor supervised diet - and I had 3 months, then a 2 month break, then 4 more months. This didn't seem to be an issue. I didn't lose weight every month, but was down about 15 lbs total at the end. I had to meet twice with a psychiatrist, but I am not sure if that was a Humana mandate - I know my surgeon's office required it. My approval was submitted on Thursday Nov 8th, 2012. My dr's office received notification on Monday Nov 12th that the surgery has been approved! I am excited to get this going and meet everyone here!

Question for all of you a post-oppers... what does your nutritionist recommend for total calorie intake? I am not so worried about the first few months - I am under the impression that you couldn't take in a lot of calories even if you tried. But in the active losing phase, what are the total calories you strive for in day? What about in maintenance mode? Thanks for any info you can give!!

Wow! I can definitely notice a difference! Great job!

I haven't looked into this yet - but could you take two of the vitamins with 100%?

Chris, Sounds like you are doing great!! I am scheduled for surgery in January, and I appreciate you taking the time to give us an update. Your weight loss is phenomenal! I am curious, how has your mood been? At my support group meeting the other day, someone said that her mood for a couple of months after surgery was a combo between PMS and postpartum depression. This scares me! But I keep telling myself that a year or so of physical and mental difficulties is a small price to pay for many years of good health!

Count me in! I've got a tentative date of January 10th! I am 37 yr old, in Des Moines, Iowa. I am anxious to get this journey started! : )