Champ715

I also work a desk job, although not a stressful one. I went back on a Wednesday and only worked noon-4 or 5 pm. I was absolutely drained and exhausted when it was time to go home. By the second week, I was still low on energy but was able to put in a full 8-hour day. I had some hiccups along the way and took random days off due to nausea, fatigue, etc.

I didn't shorten my clear liquids or full liquids phase but I did shorten the pureed stage. I was having a hard time getting over the texture of pureed foods and the aversion was causing me to not eat at all, which isn't good. I ended up transitioning into soft foods probably a week early and I was very careful to chew chew chew. I'll note this WAS NOT recommended by my nutritionist but I didn't have any issues. I guess it's just trial and error to see what works for you. Just be careful and know that your doc or nutritionist will probably advise against moving to the next stage too soon.

I have BCBS Alabama and they require 3 years of medical records showing a BMI of 40 or higher for 2012, 2013, and 2014. For every visit, I have had a BMI of 40+ except for one visit in December 2014. Last December I had a bad case of pneumonia and mono. I was very sick for over 3 weeks and lost a lot of weight from not being able to eat much. When I saw my doctor during this time, my BMI had dropped to 36. Will insurance disqualify me for this one weight not being high enough, even though all my other visits qualify? I've tried to contact the insurance person at the surgeon's office but I can't get her to call me back. Hopefully someone here has dealt with a similar experience. Thanks everyone!

Have you asked him why he's avoiding you? What makes you think the issue is surgery related? I can say from experience that the few month after surgery was hard on my fiancé. It was all about me me me because I was navigating through such a huge life change. My parents, friends, family were all catering to my every need and I think his feelings definitely took a back seat. I was also an emotional rollercoaster those first 4-5 weeks. It wasn't until around the 8 week mark when everything leveled out and got back to normal. He's extremely supportive and complimentary of my progress and success. If he ever started acting oddly, I would want to figure out why and what i could do to fix it. Try to remember that this process has probably been a big change for him too. Maybe just try to hear things from his point of view then assess from there.

Are you asking me? I'm 28.

I was sleeved on 9.30.15 and have lost 41 lbs so far. I saw my nutritionist last week and expressed to her that I felt I was losing slowly. She reassured me that I started at a lower BMI so weight loss will probably be slower for me than for someone who has a lot more weight to lose. She wants me to have a goal of 1-2 lbs lost per week, which seems realistic. There are a lot of great posts on here about slow losing, stalls, etc. I can't remember who said it but one lady said it's important to remember that weight loss is not always a linear process. Sometimes you'll stall. Sometimes you'll gain. It's usually not the result of bad choices on your part, but the result of your body adjusting. Just follow your plan and trust the process and overall you'll see a loss. If you're doing everything right then just be patient. If you think you're losing slowly because you're not eating enough, eating too much, not getting protein, etc. then maybe go visit your nutritionist to get back on track. Hang in there and be proud of how far you've come already!

I'm not a surgeon or nutritionist but it seems normal to me (and awesome!). I've lost 41 lbs in 3 1/2 months but I started at a lower weight and didn't do so great getting my Protein in at first. I've seen lots and lots of posts here about people losing that much and more in a month. I think your progress is great and you shouldn't have anything to worry about. However, if it's bothering you then reach out to your surgeon or nutritionist for a professional opinion.

I was sleeved on 9.30.15 and am down 41 lbs as of today. I still have 36 lbs to lose but I'm happy to see progress already. Photos on the left are from my highest weight of 205 in March 2015. Photos on the right are last month around 167. PS Sorry they're kind of blurry. I had to zoom in a lot on the before photos.

My surgeon's office has an insurance coordinator who met with me on my very first appointment. She was able to look up my insurance information then tell me what my deductible would be and any out-of-pocket expenses. I knew this information from the very beginning so it baffles me that you are two weeks away and nobody has told you.

I had United Health Care through my employer and was required to do 6 consecutive visits with a nutritionist and the psych evaluation. My surgeon's office has a bariatric insurance coordinator who told me that I would be disqualified if my BMI dropped below 40 at any point during the 6 months of visits. She basically explained it this way: the insurance company wants to find any reason to deny coverage for the surgery so if they see that you lost weight with just diet and exercise, they'll say that you don't need surgery to lose weight. I started with a BMI of exactly 40 so I had to be careful not to lose even an ounce during the 6 month visits. I actually ended up gaining 3-4 lbs throughout the six month period. It seems like all policies and clauses are different so this may not be the case for you. I just wanted to make sure I passed on my experience because I'd hate for someone to get half way through with their 6 months, lose a pound, then be disqualified and have to start all over.

When was your surgery? I couldn't get my chewables down either for the first month. They tasted so chalky and nasty. My plan didn't allow me to swallow a pill bigger than a pencil eraser until I was on solid foods (which was 8 weeks for me). Do you have a nutritionist or bariatric advisor that you can talk to? He/she should be able to help you find some other options or at least let you know when you can progress to a tablet. It does get easier. Hang in there!

I've never heard of an employer doing this. Is that even legal? I have BCBS through my employer and I didn't even have to tell them what kind of surgery I was having. I just told my boss I'd be out for a week for surgery but nobody asked any questions past that. It seems like if you met the insurance requirements and the insurance company approved you then your employer should be able to introduce their own requirements or caveats. I would definitely try to get some more information on this because it sounds fishy to me.

That is so odd and seems so wrong. I wasn't even weighed again after I had gotten insurance approval. I weighed myself at home the morning of surgery but they didn't weigh me at the hospital. I'm not sure the doctor can dictate whether or not they file your insurance. Don't they have to do that? I would definitely get your insurance company to try to contact the doctor. Good luck and I hope it works out!

Yes, I was this way for 3-4 days after surgery. After the cloudiness went away, then came the intense emotions and feelings of "what have I done?". I was an emotional rollercoaster for probably 2 1/2 weeks then everything leveled out. I'm a little over 3 months out now and I've never felt better! Hang in there!

I have long thick hair so I've always had a lot break off in the shower. I'm three months post op and just started noticing more than usual coming out when I shower and wash my hair. One thing that has helped me is only washing my hair every 3 days or so. I know that sounds gross but I have very dry and coarse hair so it doesn't get oily/dirty very quickly. I also make sure to brush it very gently to prevent tangles. Unfortunately, I don't think there's anything you can do thjat will absolutely prevent hair loss. Getting enough Protein and being gentle to your hair will definitely help mitigate the loss. It will eventually grow back so try not to worry too much about it.

I was sleeved on 9/30 and have lost 39 lbs so far but nobody at work has noticed (or at least nobody at work has said anything).

My plan allowed bread at 6 weeks out but it says "all bread must be toasted and crispy". I guess this is to prevent that "doughy ball" people are referring to. My nutritionist also told me not to have starchy carbs every day. I usually have bread, pasta, or some kind of cracker/chips maybe 1-2 times per week.

My nutritionist told me about some capsule Multivitamins that are a smaller dosage than the 6-pill serving size of Bariatric Advantage. Does anyone have any idea what brand these are? I would email and ask her but she's on vacation for three weeks. I can't get anyone at the surgeon's office to answer either. Thanks in advance!

Everything I've read says that Biotin will not prevent the hair loss; it will only help with regrowth. As far as dosage, I would just get whatever dosage they have available bottled at the drug store. Our bodies do not absorb excess nutrients (you just pee them out) so there's no point taking a huge dosage.

I have BCBS Alabama and my six months had to be consecutive and all with the same program.

I'd say it's probably head hunger. I am three months post op and still don't experience true hunger. What I feel is more of an empty feeling. Even though I don't get hungry, I do get cravings like I always did. Sometimes I think "man, a diet coke would be so good right now" but I just drink Water instead and the cravings go away. I know it's all in my head. PS the way I distinguish between hunger and "empty" feeling is by asking myself "will anything satisfy the feeling or will only something very specific satisfy the feeling?" For example, prior to surgery, when I felt hungry I would always want something very specific like a cheeseburger or nachos or whatever. Only that specific food I was craving would make me feel better. The "empty" feeling I have now is satisfied by whatever I put in my stomach, regardless of whatever I might be craving.

I'm sure it will be frowned upon that I'm telling you this but this is what worked for me so here goes. At three weeks post op, I hit a stall that lasted about 11 days. I was right at 188 and didn't lose an ounce for 11 days. I was following the diet plan religiously and only eating Protein first then vegetables. I still couldn't eat more than an ounce (maybe two ounces) at a time. I wondered if maybe I wasn't getting enough energy from my food so maybe my body was in starvation mode and was holding onto all that fat. One night I had 1/4 of a baked potato for dinner then the rest the next day for lunch. The following day I was down 2 pounds. I know starchy carbs are a "no-no" but I think my body needed that glucose to convert to energy. I try to stay away from starchy carbs but I still lose when I do eat them. For me, moderation is key.

My morning nausea was present until about 3 weeks post op. I would get really hot and dizzy while getting ready in the morning to the point where I felt like I would pass out. It does get better with time and eventually goes away. Hang in there!

All protein drinks/shakes were sickeningly sweet for me the first month post op. I'm 3 months post op now and I love the premier chocolate shakes. Isopure is still pretty sweet to me but it's tolerable if a dilute it with water. I think it's normal to not be able to get all your protein in these first few weeks. Just hang in there and soon you'll be able to tolerate more. Good luck!

This actually seems like pretty terrible advice. If you can't afford to buy new clothes with the money you actually have, maybe don't rack up "oodles" of credit with terribly high interest rates.