2goldengirl

I've had a Tanita body fat monitor scale for about ten years, and I am VERY happy with it. It uses electrical impedance to measure lean mass vs. fat mass as a percentage. I usually show about a 10% difference in body fat percentage between first thing in the morning (when I usually weigh), and midafternoon (which is usually the most accurate in terms of the fat percentage). I chart the trends, and if I step on the scale in the morning and I see both a gain in lbs and a decrease in body fat %, I know that the gain is fluid.

I have to disagree. OCD can seriously affect a person's ability to be successful with the surgery. If I am reading the OP's post correctly, it's her own doctor who treats her OCD that told her she needed to delay. Threatening legal action is no way to get a positive psychological evaluation, or a positive reaction out of anyone!

Excellus Medical Policy.pdf Here is a copy of Excellus medical policy. You have to show documentation of obesity X 5 years and show: History of rigorous attempts at weight reduction. 1. There must be written evidence of a weight loss history, either by the bariatric surgeon, primary care physician or nutritionist. This documentation should include the name of the weight loss program, length of participation in the program and any weight loss achieved. At least one program must have been a supervised weight loss program; 2. Weight loss attempts need not be continuous, but a minimum total of six months is required. a. If the patient has had no previous attempts at medical weight loss, participation for a minimum of six months in a preoperative bariatric surgery weight loss program is required. b. If past prior attempts of weight loss are remote (greater than 5 years), then the patient is required to participate, for a minimum of six months in a preoperative bariatric surgery weight loss program I hope this helps.

I would find yourself a Registered Dietician who works with endurance athletes. Clearly, you will need to fuel your body differently than your average athlete for this kind of activity. Years ago, I was training for a couple 100km bike rides. Not racing, but distance. I worked with an RD who was a marathoner. It was tricky because I was on a weight loss program at the time. Each week we planned out my training rides, recovery day(s), and how to adjust my calories. I found that the harder I trained, the more my appetite just evaporated. I was having to make myself take a few bites of something every two hours after a long ride. I found I could handle liquids better than solids on heavy training days. Her advice was worth every penny I paid her.

It will clear up. Don't worry! Be glad to be rid of it, H. pylori causes stomach ulcers.

It depends on what your surgeon says. You will notice, whenever it is, that a little wine may hit you HARD postop. You are likely to be told to wait three to six months - alcohol can be a powerful stomach irritant. Of course you can live without wine and cheese for a while. I've cut way, way down on it preop. A few months ago, I couldn't imagine dinner without my glass of wine. But these days I skip it unless it's a special occasion, and I have managed to survive. I know I'll have to do without for a few months after surgery, and I figure it's a small price to pay for giving up my chances of developing diabetes

Not necessary to tell your surgeon. Gonna make that postop walking hard, though. Ouch!

The biopsies are routine, even if they don't see any inflammation. They do the biopsies to check for H. pylori, which causes ulcers. And the inflammation around your esophagus could definitely be reflux. You shouldn't have to wait more than a few days for your results.

HN medical policy is the same for B & G as any other member, what is limited is your network. Are you in the Bay Area, or Sacramento? I can check to see which facilities you need to use that offer bariatric surgery. Here is a link to HN's national medical policies: https://www.healthnet.com/portal/provider/content/iwc/provider/unprotected/working_with_HN/content/medical_policies.action The policy will open as a .pdf. Your medical group/IPA will actually be the ones reviewing and approving your surgery, but they have to use HN's medical policy. I hope this helps!

Fantastic! I keep wondering what 6 months postop will look and feel like. Hard to imagine, really. It helps to see posts like yours.

If you are having infections, your body needs extra nutrition to recover. While you are recovering, 900 calories for a 400+ lb person is VERY low. I'd suggest something more like 1200 calories, emphasis on lean Protein, healthy fats, and complex carbs. My surgery is three weeks from yesterday. I'm easing my way into liquids for the preop 10 days by doing Protein shakes for Breakfast and lunch, protein + veggies for dinner, and low-carb Snacks if I'm hungry. I'm gradually backing off on carbs to avoid the two-three day headach-y period that comes from doing that all at once. There's a balance to be struck by giving your body enough calories and nutrition to be healthy while trying to lose some weight preop.

Deviled eggs. I taught my DSD when I taught her to make them that whomever brings deviled eggs is automatically the most popular person at any gathering.

Agreed, you don't have to "explain" what you're doing on vacation!

Just a clarification. Insurance adjusters aren't the ones who make any decisions about whether anything is covered. Any health plan that is accredited by either of the two major national accrediting bodies or is licensed by Medicare has to have physicians and pharmacists making coverage decisions according to evidence-based clinical criteria. Employers who purchase insurance can (depending on the state and the health plan) purchase insurance for their insureds that excludes specific procedures, but if the State in which the coverage is sold requires a set of basic benefits, those basic benefits can't be excluded. Just as an example, many policies here in CA used to exclude coverage for infertility treatment. That isn't the case any longer, because companies that didn't provide it couldn't compete for qualified candidates for employment without it. Companies wanted to exclude it because it raised the cost of coverage for every single insured for that company, and they wanted to keep premium costs down so that neither they nor their employees were paying for coverage that a very small percentage of people needed to use. States can, and do, mandate benefits, but what proved to be the case here in CA is that for every mandated benefit, there is an incremental increase in costs both for premiums for the purchaser/consumer, and for the insurer to prove compliance with the mandate. One of the provisions of the ACA is to eliminate the "pre-existing condition" penalty in terms of someone's eligibility to become insured. I can only speak for the situation here in CA, but here, if you go out of plan for surgery of any kind, whether you see a local plastic surgeon or a cardiologist in Morocco, and you need care for complications, you're covered for those complications. It's the law.

Diabetes (according to NIH) is A1c > 6.5, fasting glucose > 126. Prediabetes A1c 5.7-6.5, fasting glucose 100-125 Normal A1c is 5 or less, fasting glucose < 100. The PCP's I work with are encouraged to check an A1c annually for any of their patients who have had a fasting glucose > 100 or who have other predisposing factors for diabetes, including obesity, sedentary lifestyle, and/or family history of diabetes. My A1c had crept up from 5.7 to 6.1, and that's a huge part of why I started considering a sleeve.

I foresee the insurance picture changing over time. I'm in CA, and coverage for bariatric surgery here is the norm, not the exception. I've worked in managed care for twenty years. Twenty years ago, nobody asked for, or got bariatric surgery. Ten years ago, it was rare. Today, it's routine. My PCP views weight loss surgery as "definitive treatment for obesity". That would have been a radical statement five or ten years ago.

In that case, there are large bariatric surgery centers at UCSF, CPMC (San Francisco); John Muir Concord (both Dr. Chin and his group, and Dr. Kwan and her colleagues; Valleycare in Pleasanton, and Alta Bates-Summit in Oakland (First Surgical). I believe there is also one down the Peninsula, but I don't know for certain. My PCP's office had such trouble with Dr. Chin's office staff that I was switched to Dr. Kwan and I'm very, very happy with both her and her staff. I manage a lot of clients who use both First Surgical and Valleycare, and they are happy with both. I don't have any first hand experience with the San Francisco locations or surgeons.

I dunno what a psychologist is doing quoting statistics anyhow, it isn't exactly their field. Tune out what you don't need. be willing to learn, and keep on with the goal in mind. Thank heavens your surgeon is more skilled than the psychologist seems to be!

I love it with a sprinkle of seasoned salt. I also love it with tuna on it, which seems wierd, but really tasty!

6 grams of sugar per cup.

Who you can see and where you can have your surgery may have a lot to do with who your insured by, and which medical group/IPA you're with if you have H M O insurance. Are you H M O, or P P O?

There are lots of Bay Area's in the US - could you be a bit more specific?

@@Babbs, I just have to give you a shout-out for the most entertaining threadjack evah.

I love Tony Bennett so..... In San Francisco (home of the World's Most Beautiful Ballpark), when the Giants win a home game, they play "I left My Heart in San Francisco". And in answer to your question: "Sh-boom" by the Crew Cuts. We can't have our Babbs being sad!