CariC

November 23rd. Surgery weight 370 cw 319. Lots of fluids and meal planning. No real exercise program yet. Sent from my SM-G935T using the BariatricPal App

They gave me jello the night of my surgery so I think that depends on your surgeon. I was also allowed cottage cheese on full liquids the day after my surgery. However I agree the OP should call the surgeon. Sent from my SM-G935T using the BariatricPal App

I had the sleeve on Nov 23rd. I had no gas pain. After I got out of recovery and had a good stress cry my husband and I fell asleep for about 2 hrs. The nurses left us alone for that while. Once I woke up I was fine. My incisions hurt when I sat up and I was scared to move around too much on my own so my husband would help me sit up and such. The same night of surgery I did about 10 to 15 mins of walking around the ward. The next morning they removed my catheter ( I was cathed during surgery and had low urine output so they made me keep it in till the next morning once I was producing enough). I asked them to unhook the monitors and stuff and I did a bunch of laps. Once I got back in the room I sat on the couch cause I hate hospital beds. The surgeon came in and was surprised. He asked if I wanted to home and I was like YES PLEASE. So he signed my release and I got to come home about 11am the day after surgery . On the way home we went grocery shopping. I took it slow and was fine. The last pain med I had was IV tylenol the night of surgery. The only pain I experienced felt like I'd done a lot of situps. My sister in law had the sleeve with my surgeon 1 year ago. She said she had very mild gas pain but did have enough surgical pain to warrant a 2 night hospital stay and tylenol 3 for about a week. Sent from my SM-G935T using the BariatricPal App

I have Aetna and my approval took 5 days after they got all the information. Sent from my SM-G935T using the BariatricPal App

I was submitted to AETNA on the 14th called a few dys later and thry told me they received the request but no clinical ingormation. Called my doc and tbey resubmitted the clinicals on the 24th and received approval the 31st. My surgery is on the 23rd of November. I suggest calling member services and requesting status and any notes made so far in case you have an issue like mine. Sent from my SM-G935T using the BariatricPal App

I see Dr.Schurict. He is part of Penn and he attends at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philly but he does have an office in Cherry Hill. I have always gone to his Philly office. My surgery is scheduled for 11/23 he and his team have been awesome. My post open appt will be at the cherry Hill office. I don't know if Philly is too far north but the whole program there is great. My SIL had her suegery with him a year ago and she's done great. Sent from my SM-G935T using the BariatricPal App

So I had my first meeting yesterday and I thought I would write out what happened and what my timeline looks like for those looking at what to expect. This is my experience of course and will, I am sure, vary depending on your doctor and insurance. My Stats: Name: Cari Age: 32 BMI: 54 Doctor: Alan Schuricht , Pennsylvania Hospital, Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program Insurance: Amerihealth NJ PPO I went to the information session on Sat 6/18/2016 at Penn Presbyterian Hospital. The following Monday I called the bariatric center and asked for an appointment with Dr. Schuricht (my SIL had her surgery with him so I decided to use him) My first appointment was Tuesday 6/21/2016 The intake nurse: Took my Blood Pressure (147/77) Height 5'9" Weight 369.9 Last Menstrual cycle date asked about any current conditions, medication, pain etc (no conditions) I was then moved to the exam room where I met a nurse practitioner. She took: A detailed family medical history A detailed personal medical history Explained who my team was and what they would all do for me Then she gave me a print out of all the appointments I would have to make and explained what each were and what the requirements were for my insurance (however she wasn't 100% sure and the coordinator would later explain it to me more clearly) Then the Surgeon came in I met with Dr. Schuricht He asked: What surgery I wanted and why He agreed that he thought I was a good candidate for sleeve He then talked to me about how I should expect things to go and what the expectations were for my efforts. He told me he could only help me and I had to want it and said the key to success was follow through and follow ups. Then the nutritionist came in She took A detailed dietary history (what i'd done to loose weight and how successful I was) She asked me about my medical history again and dietary restrictions (i'm a vegetarian) She went over what I was expected to do over the 3 months of managed weight loss (I don't have to loose but I can't gain) She explained how I could start preparing my body for after surgery: Get into the habit of eating several small meals a day Get more Water We set some goals for our next visit 10 mins of walking a day 3 meals a day at least Smaller portions Then I met with the coordinator and she scheduled my visits and explained my insurance requirements including 3 nut visits (this one counted as the first then 2 more 30 days apart), a a Psych eval, 1 support group meeting. She also explained their requirements as a surgical center. My dates are as follows: July 22nd 7:45am Upper GI contrast scan 10:00 2nd nutritionist visit August 5th 10am Psych evaluation 1pm Cardiac Clearance August 19th 9:30am 3rd and final nutritionist visit 10:45am Respiratory and pulmonary clearance. Then somewhere in there I have to go to one support group meeting and a nutrition class 2 weeks before the surgery once I have that date. So there you have it a snap shot at a first visit and the reqs through amerihealth.

@@gottadosumthin They don't accept cards for the fee. Check or Cash only and the only ATM is in the hospital across the street :/. So come prepared (I was not and was lucky my husband came with and he ran and got it while I was in with the therapist.

No problem glad it was helpful. Here is some more on the process for me so far. July 22nd Upper GI test: This was not fun for me as I have trouble swallowing thick or goopy things. First I swallowed some crystals, about a teaspoon full , with about as much Water. They feel kind of like pop rocks and taste like the powder on sour candies but without the bite. Then I stood in front of an upright xray bed and was handed a cup of the contrast Fluid. I stood and swallowed big gulps while they moved the x-ray thing around taking video/x-rays of my upper give at work. The liquid is white tastes kinda like Mylanta and is the consistency of a melted milkshake mixed with pudding. Once I finished the cup they took a few more pictures then they tilted the bed back to a laying position. I laid down and the technician instructed me on how to turn this way and that sometimes on my side sometimes on my back and sometimes face down. So they could take images of my stomach as it was coated by the company trade fluid from different angles. Next I laid on my stomach and was given another cup of contrast with a straw which I had to sip while they did more images. Once that was done they sent me to another room where they took my two chest xrays. I was instructed to eat and drink normally and to drink extra fluids to get the contrast stuff moving out. The techs were all very nice and the test was not too bad. They found I had a slight hiatal hernia and everything else was normal. 2nd Nutritionist visit Weighed in. I lost 3 pounds we talked about what was working What wasn't and what we could do next. We set some goals : more activity, more Protein, less carbs. I spoke to the nurse practitioner about my blood work that I had done before coming and she asked me to start taking Iron and rx strength Vitamin D since both were low. August 5th Psych evaluation I met with a therapist who had me fill out a few questionnaires. 1 on my diet habits 1 on anxiety 1 on depression (if you've ever had a baby this is the same one they give you post partum to assess your risk for ppd) Then we went into her office. We talked about: My dieting history My hobbies My support system (family, friends, etc) My husband's feelings about the surgery She asked me to explain what I knew about the procedure, the pre-op diet, the post-op diet, the risks of surgery etc. We also discussed why I wanted the surgery and how I would prepare for it. She gave me clearance and told me my only requirement was ro finish my nutritionist visits and she recommended I join one of the support groups (beyond the one mandatory session) I explained I'm not a people person and don't find that environment helpful and she said online support is good too (hello bariatricpal.com) Cardiac clearance I had a big cardiac work up 3 years ago when I was pregnant because I have a heart murmur since childhood. The cardiac doctor listened to my heart, took my BP, did an ekg, looked over the medical records from the previous clearance and cleared me for surgery. Though I don't have hypertension he did say that I have had some high measures here and there in the past and I should keep an eye on it even after surgery. August 19th This should have been my last nutritionist visit but my insurance is changing to AETNA on Sept 1st so I have to do one more visit because they require 4 visits. I weighed in down 2 more pounds and did the same as before. Set some new goals : smaller plates and using myfitness pal. Respiratory clearance Met with a sleep specialist. They took my BP, weight, did a regular exam then I answered about 100 questions about sleep habits. She told me I really have no symptoms of sleep apnea but because of my heart murmur they wanted me to do a sleep study anyways. Luckily my insurance covers the in lab study without having to do at home studies first. (Basically she said even if the home study was normal the doctor would have sent me for a lab study because of my heart so I'm glad I could skip that step). She said either way I was cleared for surgery it was just a matter of making sure that if I do have sleep apnea I would have to have a machine before and for surgery. My sleep study is scheduled for Saturday August 27th 7:30p-6:30a. My last nutritionist visit is set for jFriday September 16th after that they will submit to my insurance for approval. So there's that if you should have any questions I'll gladly answer them Sent from my SM-G935T using the BariatricPal App

My first appointment was at my surgeon's office. I met him right after the nurse practitioner. I chose him and his program (penn metabolic and bariatric surgery). I wouldn't be ok with not knowing who my surgeon was and what his stats are etc. Sent from my SM-N920T using the BariatricPal App

Hi @@FabFemale! I have Amerihealth NJ and am just starting what we're their requirements for approval? Any info would be great! Sent from my SM-N920T using the BariatricPal App